the arresting beauty of the south constantly inspires us. whether it is the color of a dirt road, peeled paint on a side of a building, a leaf falling from a tree, beauty lives and breathes everywhere. the southern air will forever inspire us to share the radiance of the south

this week, we are thankful to have the opportunity to share some of our inspirations with you. we hope you will visit us over at beautyeveryday to get your daily dose of beauty.

beautyeveryday is blog brought to you by: R.Wood Studio Ceramics. It’s main contributors are: rinne allen, kristen bach, and rebecca wood. rebecca wood is the creative drive behind r.wood studio and rinne and kristen have worked creatively for rebecca for many years.

garden to table

living in the south, we are immersed in a strong and rich food culture. with a growing season that spans the entire year, we are lucky enough to use fresh and local ingredients, everyday. here we like to share old and new southern recipes, chefs, growers, and all things related to the seasonal food of the south.

we have chosen 6 local chefs to share a southern and seasonal inspired recipe with us. sit down and enjoy this four-course meal while sipping on a southern fall drink.

DRINK: Chris Luken of the National

the national’ is a quaint and cozy restaurant and bar in downtown athens, ga. using fresh and regional ingredients, they serve up some great food. located next door to our art house theater, it makes a perfect date night!

autumn mojito

this is the national’s take on the classic southern summer drink, the mojito. this variation is filled with southern soul and is made entirely from ingredients produced and grown below the mason-dixon line.

over ice

juice half a lime (florida)

2 oz pritchards’s rum (tennesse)

1/4 oz. minted steen’s cane syrup* (louisiana)

top with blenheim’s milder (green cap) ginger ale (south carolina)

*steen’s cane syrup, fresh and/or dried mint and a little bit of water to thin the mixture out. Put over low heat and let the mint steep for about a half an hour.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the post after the jump!

spaghetti squash salad from the four coursemen

the four coursemen’s underground supper club has a cult-like following in athens. kudos to them for always trying inventive food in an inventive space (a restored 1800’s shotgun-style cottage).

spaghetti squash salad w/ pine nuts, tarragon, queso fresco, house vino

the recipe below is the ‘unabridged’ version of their spaghetti squash salad that ran in food & wine earlier this month

3 large spaghetti squash

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup water

1 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup roughly chopped tarragon

2 cups crumbled queso fresco

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

salt, pepper

vinaigrette:

1 tsp thyme, chopped

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

4 tbsp champagne vinegar

1 cup olive oil

pinch of chili flake

salt and pepper to taste

To make vinaigrette, whisk all ingredients together.

To make salad:

Halve squash and scoop out the seeds; rub with olive oil , salt, pepper, and sugar. Place in roasting pan cut side down, put water and wine in pan.

Bake at 350° for 45-55 min, loosely covered with foil

Scrape the cooked squash with a fork with the grain (lengthwise) to remove the strings or “spaghetti”.

Mix and plate the tarragon, toasted pine nuts, vinaigrette, and squash. Sprinkle queso fresco on top, salt to taste.