As some of you may know, Lane and I have the wonderful privilege of being part of an amazing group of friends and colleagues that also love food and cooking. Almost two years ago, two of those dear ladies started a rotating dinner party that we take turns hosting and cooking and it has been just so much fun. Each quarter the ten of us gather for a multi-course, home cooked feast. The evenings are always filled with the best food and cocktails and hours of great conversation and laughter. Lane and I hosted our first dinner last March (check out the menu and list of recipes here!) and last week, it was our turn again. This time we decided to tackle an eight course Southern themed menu and boy was it a good time.

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting the recipes and full menu here on With Two Spoons. We are so excited to share it all with you! Some of the recipes we developed or adapted ourselves and few others we left to the recipes of foodie icons like Ina Garten, Deb Perleman, and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. At the end of the series you’ll have a full menu ready and waiting if you are looking to host your own Southern inspired party.

As many good parties do, we started with cocktails. In the interest of keeping things simple, we chose to serve a signature drink for everyone as they arrived and then switch to wine and prosecco (one red, one white, one sparkling!) for the rest of the evening. Our cocktail of choice for this party was the amazing Bourbon Tea from Garden and Gun Magazine and the Apiary event center in Kentucky.

The base of the drink is a simple syrup made with lemon, orange, ginger, cinnamon and mint. A small amount of this flavor filled syrup is poured over ice and then bourbon and an ounce of elderflower liquor (like St. Germain) is added. Top the whole thing with a splash of ginger ale and you have a simple southern drink that everyone will love. A word of caution: these cocktails are meant to be savored so go slow!

Find the recipe (and lots more Southern goodness!) at Garden and Gun magazine, here.

We’ll be back on Friday with this week’s Good Food Reads and next week our moveable feast continues with one of our main courses.