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Month: March 2014

  • Fat Tuesday

    Okay so this post is a tad bit late…like a week late but I have committed to writing it and so I shall.

    This year National Pancake Day fell on Fat Tuesday…how cool was that. Every year I participate in IHOP’s fundraiser for The Children’s Miracle Network with my kids.  They give away a short stack while collecting donations for the group.  My date that morning was my oldest child, Akeem. Nothing like some Mother-Son time : )

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    We enjoyed a lovely breakfast together and helped a good cause while we were at it.

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    Now the start of my day was good…pancakes and family..I’d say that was an excellent start to Fat Tuesday but it got better as the day went on. You see I was to have lunch with one of my inner circle( what I call my handful of TRUE friends).  Now I know some of the most fun loving, life enjoying people and Nykki Burkes is one of them.  For our lunch together I made Panko-Parmesan Encrusted Cod with a Brown Rice Pilaf and Steamed Broccoli. Now I tried to share the ease of making this dish with her but she was more interested in eating it than actually learning how to make it…gotta love Nykki

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    We chatted about new things, old things, lives she saved while flying and all the things that make being a flight attendant great and …..not so great. She had made some great plans for the rest of our day and I was looking forward to it. We decided to add one more to person to the mix (another inner circle member) my sister-in-law Sandy.  We were definitely going to have fun whether we wanted to or not. Our first stop on Nykki’s agenda was a restaurant in the Inman Park area of Atlanta named Parish. I loved it from the moment we pulled up to the building. It’s the only remaining building from a 1890’s pipe factory. It had been restored to show off the building’s  great structure and turned into a restaurant.

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    We went to Parish to enjoy some wine and that we did….along with a tasting from their small plates.We sampled the Pan-Fried Pierogis, the Black Truffle Grilled Cheese and the Rosemary-Garlic Fries.  Let’s just say I’m definitely looking forward to a return visit. Learn more about the restaurant, their menu and extensive wine list at Parish

    Sparkling Rose` Wine
    Sparkling Rose` Wine

     

    Pierogis
    Pierogis
    Black Truffle Grilled Cheese
    Black Truffle Grilled Cheese
    Rosemary Garlic Fries
    Rosemary Garlic Fries

    Our next stop on the Fat Tuesday train was Kat’s Cafe for Comedy Night.  We had a wonderful host who kept in real and had us laughing all night.  The drink special for the night was the Summertime Martini so we had a round or two…not bad for a special but Sandy ordered a Juke Joint and she said it had a nice kick to it. What we learned….drink special aren’t as strong as the other drinks they make( if you’re into strong drinks).  We, of course, ordered something to eat…..the Bayou Pizza.  It was soooo good. The toppings included tilapia, shrimp, onions & bell peppers with the right amount of spiciness…I would order that again.  Check out Kat’s Cafe they have something going on every night of the week.

    Bayou Pizza $ Summertime Martini
    Bayou Pizza $ Summertime Martini

    Well my Fat Tuesday was a blast with great people.  Sandy & Nykki can’t wait until next time.

     

     

     

     

  • “A girl should …

    “A girl should be two things….Classy and Fabulous” – Coco Chanel

  • Gettysburger….

    If you’re a “Scandal” fan, of which I am, you have heard on several occasions them mention the infamous burger joint Gettysburger,  Well you can only imagine the shock and awe that came across my face when I found out that Gettysburger did not exist. How was I gonna replicate one of their burgers, for the mid-season premier, if they didn’t really exist. In my mind I had already planned this post detailing how I went about gathering ingredients, prepping and then preparing my wonderful version of a Gettysburger burger. what would I do now?

    I did the next best thing. I created a burger I felt would exist on the menu at Gettysburger. I created the Insde-Out Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger with a side of Garlic Parmesan Steak Fries. I went as far to make the pickles from scratch and a chipotle mayo for the buns.  I mean if you gonna go with something that doesn’t exist why not go all out.

    cucmbersI used half of an English cucumber cut on the bias. I then brined the slices  in a heated mixture of salt, sugar, a crushed garlic clove, a few red pepper flakes, fresh dill, a bay leaf and vinegar.

    PicklesViola …..Pickles….. well they became pickles once the liquid cooled.

    Then for the burger I did what my Mom taught me to do oh so many years ago.  A package of onion-mushroom soup mix,  black pepper, worcestershire sauce, an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs.  Once combined I made a thin patty and placed a slice of cheddar cheese that I folded in half along the center of the patty.  Then I made another patty and placed that on top of the first sealing the cheese in the middle.

    inside outburgerNow  all I had to do was cook them. I am about the slow and go when cooking a good burger.  Medium heat and I never flatten the patty while cooking ( your squeezing all the luscious juices out…who wants a dry burger?). Haven’t you been told to not play with you food? Well don’t fiddle with your burger while it’s cooking let it do what it has to……that’s cook. I only turn my burger ONCE during cooking.

    Besides the pickles and the burgers I also made a quick spread for my burger buns, Chipotle Mayo. I took a 1/4 cup of mayo and added 2 teaspoons of chipolte salsa ( you can find it in a can in the international section of your supermarket) and mixed. Depending on how spicy you like it you can add more or less of the chipotle salsa.

    As for the Garlic Parmesan Steak Fries it was simple ( no I didn’t make the fries from scratch) I prepared a bag of steak fries in the oven ( I try to avoid frying as much as possible). I sprinkled them with some olive oil to help crisp them up in the oven and dusted them with a mixture of kosher salt and black pepper.  About 5 minutes before they were to finished in the oven I heated a 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1  1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic. I pulled the fries from the oven  dumped them in a bow,l added the heated olive oil along with a handful of shredded Parmesan and minced parsley. Then I tossed everything together making sure the fries were well coated. This was the end result of my hard work ( not that hard )

    the finished product

    Yeah if I were running the Infamously Fictitious Gettysburger this would be on the menu.