Food Hangovers and Slutty Cake

December 18, 2013 By Laura

Atlanta is a food mecca.

It really has become like a mini San Francisco!

This is the food portion of Sarah’s weekend visit… my favorite part! There’s nothing more fun than watching a friend enjoy a meal. Don’t get me wrong – I love to eat it too, but sharing something you love so much with a good friend makes the experience that much better.

So does the fact that Sarah created an image for the extravaganza:

Friday began with a dinner with Sarah and Heather at Cardamom Hill, my favorite Indian spot. The food is inspired by Chef Asha Gomez’s native cuisine from Kerala, but bring in a Southern influence.

We ordered a few starters: Bhajia (sweet potato and onion fritters served with tamarind sauce), Egg Appam (rice & coconut crepe with a poached egg and chili grilled shrimp), and green beans in a spicy garlic-onion masala.

Then we moved on to dinner. First was an Indian take on the classic Shrimp and Grits: spicy Kerala-curried shrimp over grits with leeks, ginger and roasted peppers. The second dish was a red snapper fillet seasoned with a masala paste over a roasted in a banana leaf. It is topped with a coconut milk curry and served with basmati rice and cardamom-scented sweet potatoes.

It’s all as good as it sounds. One thing I love about Asha is that she doesn’t tame her spices to cater to an “American” palette. Each dish had the perfect level of heat – enough to feel it, but not so much that it over took the flavor of the dish.

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Saturday morning we were slightly suffering from food hangovers, so I served Sarah my special morning “cocktail.” I swear it has magical powers. This, plus some eggs and fruit, fueled one helluva glute day!

After glute camp, protein shakes, the epic grocery trip, coffee, and a trip to Kroger (another grocery store), we – once again – did the stereotypical “blogger” thing for a snack: hummus, veggies, and summer rolls.

Sarah Instagrammed while I took a picture of her taking a picture of our foods. Also note the kabocha on the side. 😉

For dinner, I took her to Decatur. It is one of my favorite parts of Atlanta, and is home to one of the best restaurants in the city, Cakes & Ale.

I’ve,eaten here before, but I swear it gets better every time. This was no exception. In fact, our meal here was one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory in Atlanta. Thus, it will be known as…

We elected to sit at the bar, which I typically find to be the best seat in the house. A good bartender knows everything about the restaurant – from menu to cocktails – and will often let you sample things.

Evan at Cakes & Ale is a good bartender. He started us off well with a gin drink for Sarah and his take on a Manhattan for me.

This most excellent bartender surprised us with a small gift – Arancini with citrus and fennel pollen! This is one of my favorite dished there. Imagine a cheese stick, but as a rice ball with fun spices. We also ordered the butternut squash “hummus” with naan, pomegranate, cilantro, and za’atar to start. I thought my butternut hummus was good… but the impossibly smooth, whipped quality of this pseudo-hummus stole me heart.

Our mains were a roasted cauliflower and shell beans with turnips, carrots, arugula, feta, and poached egg and a Striped Bass with creamed savoy cabbage, roasted fennel salsa, smoked beets, black trumpet mushrooms. The smoked beets deserve a paragraph of them own. I’ll save you the pontificating and just say that they were go good that upon first bite Sarah and I both paused in stunned silence.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get better, the bartender sold us on dessert. It was a hazelnut Bavarian cake with praline bavarian mousse, vanilla sauce, and topped with a nougatine.

That sounds wonderful, but his personal description is what sealed the deal for me. He called it “slutty cake.”

It was the best kind of slutty. Rich, decadent, cream-filled… silky smooth…

I need a cold shower jut remembering it, so this will conclude What I Ate with Sarah. Check out all the link ups here. And check out Sarah’s recaps here and here.

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Don’t forget click here to enter the giveaway for the Holiday Sampler box from Sizzlefish. Win 1 for you and 1 to gift!

Have you ever had a food hangover? The struggle is real!

What is the best meal you’ve had at a restaurant?

Getting Schooled at the Food & Wine Festival

June 6, 2013 By Laura

Food & Wine is about more than stuffing your face.

Though you know from my last post on the topic that I stuffed it well.

My favorite feature of Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival is the focus on education. Each day of the festival begins with classes led by well-known Southern chefs and libation experts. You get to choose 3 per day from a long list. Proof that life is full of tough choices.

My friend Rich and Me

My strategy was to choose classes that were diverse. The amount of time I spent creating my schedule is embarrassing, but in the end it paid off!

Without rambling on (hopefully), I want to share some photos and takeaways from a few of those classes.

This Little Piggy Got Spicy

This class was taught by Chef Asha Gomez, a lady I admire and respect (she inspired me to try curry leaves!). She owns Cardamom Hill, one of the best Indian restaurants in Atlanta. She focuses on cuisine from her home-region of Kerala. It’s much different that the spicy curry dishes many associate with Indian food!

I especially love Asha’s mentality when it comes to trying new things:

I will never walk away from a fruit, vegetable, or spice that I am not familiar with. I will always pick it up and try it.

Pork Vindaloo

While some of her dishes may seem like fusion, she prefers to call it evolution. Her fried chicken recipe is one her mother made back in India!
Curry powder is a Western thing; in India curry simply means that something is braised with a sauce
Classic Indian spices are black pepper, cardamom, and ginger; cumin and red chili pepper were introduced later by foreign merchants
There is no naan in Kerala – gluten is not produced there so their main carb is rice
The smaller the pepper, the spicier it is (I can’t believe I never realized this, but SO true)
To learn the nuances of a spice, blanch a vegetable it in it

Fresh Start

Chef Nathan Lyon taught this clean eating course. You may be familiar with his series on Discovery Health, A Lyon in the Kitchen, or from his appearance on The Next Food Network Star.

Summer Squash Salad

When you salt food, do it from high up; this allows the salt to be distributed more evenly
Sea salt is better than table salt (duh), and you can use less of it
You don’t need to spend a ton of money on a variety of knives, rather have a couple of favorites and keep them sharp
His focus on eating seasonally was best demonstrated with a delicious gazpacho-esque smoothie combo (that I forgot to take a pic of): watermelon, tomatoes, jalapeno, parsley, mint, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, red wine vinegar, and freshly squeezed lemon juice

Beer & Doughnuts

Beer Director Greg Elbert and Pastry Chef Tiffany MacIsaac (read: doughnut genius) from Birch & Barley and GBD Chicken & Donuts in Washington DC blew my mind with this session. Who knew beer would be so tasty for breakfast?!

Beers sampled:

Gose – old German beer style from Leipzig, unfiltered wheat beer, crispness and low hop, hints of coriander
Allagash Curieux – this is Allagash’s Tripel Ale in Jim Beam bourbon barrels, amber color, soft and flavorful, yeast and vanilla upfront with hints of tasty bourbon at the end (this was my favorite)
Avery Anniversary Twenty – new release (we were the frist in GA to try it), copper color, super hoppy IPA, citrus sweetness, surprisingly not bitter

Doughnuts sampled:

Passion Fruit glazed, churro-style
Classic yeast doughnut with a chocolate pudding filling, topped with chocolate glaze, maldon salt, and Cocoa Krispies
Sour cream doughnut with a grapefruit and campari glaze

Like wine, the best pairing is the one that tastes good to you
What tastes good to me is the Allagash Curieux with the chocolate yeast doughnut or the grapefruit glazed
When pairing food and drink, “make sure the impact matches” (this is why we typically don’t drink a light white wine with a T-bone steak)

Aged to Delicious Bourbon and Cheese

Led by Tim Gaddis of Atlanta’s Star Provisions and Seth Thompson of The Bourbon Review magazine, this session was a boozy treat. At least it was after noon at this point. To be honest I think all cheeses go with bourbon… I was an easy sell.

The Bourbons:

Blanton’s Single Barrel – amber color, lots of citrus on the nose, nice caramel and clove taste
Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey – reddish gold color, more oak and leather in taste, some vanilla
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked – dark copper color, tons of butterscotch up front, deepens to a warm and woody finish (easily my #1)
Four Roses Small Batch – amber color, lighter with more caramel and fruit on the finish

There isn’t much in terms of education notes to share here – you really have to experiment at home!

The cheeses were all scrumptious – we sampled Sweet Grass Dairy’s Green Hill Cow’s Milk, Ossau Inaty Sheep’s Milk, Rogue Blue, and Gouda. I’d had all but one before (I love cheese, what can I say?).

The one I hadn’t tried was actually my favorite! It was a Aged 5 Year Gouda. It wasn’t smoked – it was a deliciously sweet butterscotch/caramel flavor that sung when paired with the Woodford.

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One other note: don’t be afraid to go to events by yourself! I went solo on Saturday and met two awesome friends who I hung out with into the evening.

Were any of the lessons/takeaways new or surprising to you?

What is the most valuable food or drink-related lesson you’ve learned?

Marvelous Monday Meals

March 18, 2013 By Laura

Rainy Mondays can be hard.

Ok, always. Rainy Mondays are always hard…

A few weeks ago I committed to making an effort to be more positive on this most glorious day of the week and joined the diva-licious Katie in her Marvelous in My Monday link up. This week I need to get back on that train.

What a better way to do it than recap some tasty food? I’ve been eating good this past week, and I have a LOT to share. This is a long one. ~~That’s what shai said.~~ Sorry… but not really. 😉

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To start it off, last Sunday my friend Kathleen and I went to an underground supper club hosted by Souper Jenny. she does these once or twice a year; the secret location and chef is announced the day before the event.

Our surprise chef was Omar Powell! He is the Chef de Cuisine at my favorite Indian Restaurant, Cardamom Hill (a James Beard nominee!), yet he is Jamaican with a French culinary training. I was beyond excited to see what he came up with!

We arrived at the secret location (a local pasta shop, Storico Fresco) and were immediately blown away by the stunning table setting!

Before the meal, we had the chance to walk around a bit and I ~~got in the professional photographer’s way~~ snuck behind the counter to grab a shot of Chef Powell and Chef-Owner Asha Gomez discussing a dish.

The first course was a small treat that left me ~~way too~~ excited for the rest of the evening. Soft farm eggs with ackee, cod, scallions, and bacon. The flavors could have easily over-taken the egg, but they were perfectly balanced in the delicate shell. There is nothing more fabulous than a perfectly cooked egg.

Next we were presented with a brown stewed chicken served over tun cornmeal, pickled onions, and fin herbs.

We questioned whether it was really chicken – I’ve never had a more rich, flavorful piece of chicken in my life. This could have easily passed as a tender piece of red meat. It doesn’t even look like chicken, does it?

I almost asked for seconds… and I did ask for the recipe!

The third dish was a Jerked Pork served with yellow yam augratin, mango, papaya jam, and all spice oil.

The flavor combination in this dish was perfection. The jerk was just the right amount of heat against the sweet fruit, and the creamy augratin. Augratin can often be too rich for me, but this yam was restrained and didn’t take away from the other components.

This next dish was my favorite of the night. I think… it’s hard to choose! It was a oxtail agnolotii (agnolotii is a stuffed pasta, like ravioli) in a pumpkin soup laced with all spice and black pepper tulie.

I’m a huge oxtail fan, and the agnolotii did not disappoint. However, what made this dish for me was the soup. I admired his use of all spice here because it is one I’m timid with. A little bit can go a long way. The burst of it here gave a depth of flavor to the soup, allowing it to stand out against a big flavor like oxtail.

Lastly, we enjoyed a sweet and savory dessert. This was a cornmeal pone with comte cheese, “drops,” and thyme honey.

I had not heard of drops before. Apparently they are a Jamaican street food candy. It’s a sugar-glazed, chewy piece of coconut. That sweetness with the thyme honey and the more savory pone and cheese was a storybook end to a memorable meal. I’d like to say I was too stuffed to eat it all… but I ate mine and half of Kathleen’s.

#sorryimnotsorry

Yes, I ate the flower too.

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I had another awesome meal with my mom last friday night. We went to a family favorite, Everybody’s Pizza.

This place is one that will forever have a place in my heart. They have been open since 1971 and this coming Tuesday is their last day in business. My parents used to go on dates there in college, and later my dad would take me as a treat on Friday nights.

He’d tell me stories about what it was like “back on the day” when then had communal seating and tables of strangers would share pies and pitchers of beers. We would eat an entire pizza and then polish off a giant order of bread pudding. There are staving kids in Africa, right?

In honor of my dad, my mom and I had one last meal there. We toasted my dad’s memory with beers and shared a giant pizza. Half cheeseless veggie, and half with extra feta cheese, portabello mushrooms, jalapenos, and meatballs. And then a bread pudding. We were only going to eat half… ~~but you know that didn’t happen~~. 🙂

It was a great night sharing stories and eating one last meal at a local haunt. Everybody’s, you will be sorely missed.

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What do you do the morning after carb-loading? You take a trip up Stone Mountain! Mom and I met up with my friend Kathleen the next morning for a hike up the mountain in the gorgeous spring weather.

They were great sports, cheering me on as I ran my sprints up the steep part. They even joined in for a couple of rounds!

Where’s Waldo?

The refuel was classic. Fro-yo from Yoforia for lunch! Fruit, dairy, protein… I got chocolate and Irish cream flavors with kiwi, strawberries, pretzels and a Reese’s egg. Is that not the BEST topping offering?!

This deliciousness fueled my trip to the gym for a killer shoulder and glute workout. Sprints + glutes in the gym = one tired butt.

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Finally, on Sunday, I rounded out the marvelous with a day of softball. My women’s softball team beat both male teams we played!

I think it was the lucky socks.

After the game we had a social, and I brough a St. Patrick’s Day treat for the team: Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes!! These cupcakes are an annual request… they don’t have to twist my arm too hard to oblige. 😉

This is a fantastically indulgent cupcake. The base is Guinness chocolate cake. I fill them with Irish whiskey ganache and then ice them with an Irish cream frosting.

I’m too late to post a recipe for the holiday… but if you’re interested I may do a post later this week. Let me know!

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It was a bit of a gluttonous weekend, but coupled with a LOT of activity. No regrets, but I’m really looking forward to getting back to normalcy this week!

Does your family have a nostalgia restaurant? Is it still there?

What is making YOUR Monday marvelous today?

Contemplating Carnivore + WIAW

April 25, 2012 By Laura

Don’t cry for me, Argentina…

I recently decided on my 2012 international trip and there’s no crying here! Two of my best friends from grad school and I are going to Argentina AND Uruguay! Leaving just 6 weeks from today!!!

Here’s my dilemma: Argentina is known for meat. I love to travel and try new foods, and I always said that whatever veggie-food thing I have going is out the window when I travel. No restrictions. But now I am scared I’ll get sick… and meat just doesn’t appeal to me like it used it.

I did eat 3 bites of meat at dinner tonight… so far so good.

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Meat dilemmas aside, Jenn (who called me a genius last night) @ Peas and Crayons is hosting What I Ate Wednesday this month in the theme of veggies:

Check out my veggie eats (plus a couple of meats) below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.

Breakfast:

This morning I woke up feeling jumpy… in a plyo way. I bounced out of bed and down to the gym for 60 mins of Plyo with Tony Horton (from P90X). In case you haven’t tried it yet, this plyo DVD with kick your butt. It left me hot, sweaty, and STARVING.

I ran up to my condo for a tasty Banana-Maple-Ginger Smoothie accompanied by a (vegan) Raw Cookie Dough Ball, compliments of this recipe by Lisa @ Healthful Sense (I always keep a batch in the freezer for a quick snack or smoothie topping).

Banana-Maple-Ginger Smoothie

1 small banana
1 C spinach
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp maca (optional)
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1 T ground flax seed
5-6 drops vanilla liquid Stevia
1/2 in piece of fresh ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp maple extract

Lunch:

Working from home makes me happy because I get to MOVE so much more. Bring chained to a desk is really hard for me. In the interest of movement, I walked to one of my favorite spots – MetroFresh – to meet a friend for lunch.

MetroFresh’s menu changes daily, but they always offer 5-6 soups, 7-8 salads/sides, and a couple of sandwiches. They also designate which items are vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free. Love that.

Today I had a Swiss Chard and White Bean Stew and a Maple-Citrus Wild Rice Salad with Mushrooms, Feta, Cucumber, Black Wheatberries, and Dried Cranberries. Finger-lickin’ good.

Side note: Did anyone watch Doogie Howser or Party of 5 growing up? The owner of MetroFresh, Mitchell Anderson, played roles in both hit shows!

Snacks:

My lunch was pretty filling, and I knew I was going out for dinner so I was a little light on the snacks today. I did enjoy a Kombucha, a banana (topped with a failed attempt at chocolate-peanut butter – the texture was nasty), and a piece of chocolate (to help me feel better after the PB fail).

Dinner:

Apparently is was a day for dining out. I had dinner with my mom and cousin at a local Indian spot called Cardamom Hill. This place is amazing – I blogged about it here when they first opened, and they have only gotten better since.

For appetizers we ordered Pork Vindaloo (pork shoulder slow-cooked in a flavorful vinegar sauce with turmeric and cardamom served with a side of appam), Coconut Curry Vegetable Stew, and a Squid special that was cooked in a red chili sauce and served with a side of fried plantains.

I did take a bite of everything… it was the first time I’ve had pork in months. It was delicious, but I still couldn’t imagine eating a whole order. The vegetable curry soup was my favorite!

Remembering how delicious it was the first time there, I ordered the Vegetable Platter. It wasn’t quiiiite as good, but that is a preference thing. They do change-up pieces of the dish, and on my first trip there was more heat incorporated. I love spicy food.

From L to R: Avail (lightly steamed vegetables in a shaved coconut sauce), Sambhar (a stew with okra, carrots, and potatoes), stack of sliced warm Beets layered with housemade yogurt and mustard seeds, and seasoned rice.

My favorite was the Avail. That shaved coconut sauce was perfect – not too sweet or heavy, complimenting the root veggies it was served over.

The winner was my mom’s dish (unpictured). She ordered the Kerala-Style Fried Chicken, served over vegetable pileau (rice with veggies). Yup, I took another bite of meat… I don’t regret it. This chicken was among the best I’ve ever tasted. Don’t skip it if you are in the neighborhood (and you eat meat).

Dessert:

Someone once said there is a whole separate part of your stomach for dessert. They weren’t kidding. I should have been stuffed after all of that… yet I came home and enjoyed a So Delicious coconut ice cream bar. The bar is dairy-free and contains only 1g of sugar… and you would never be able to tell.

So Delicious, indeed.

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Another reminder to enter my NuNaturals giveaway – there are 4 chances to win the new NuNaturals Orange and Lemon Liquid Stevias! Contest ends Thursday at 11:59pm EST. Click here to enter.

Have you ever been to Argentina, or South America? Any suggestions?

Have you ever gone back to eating meat? How did you ease back in to it?

Cardamom Hill

January 13, 2012 By Laura

If you have been reading for a while, you know that I LOVE Indian flavors.

Wednesday night I tried a much-hyped new Indian restaurant in Atlanta, Cardamom Hill (1700 Northside Dr.NW #A6, Atlanta, GA 30318, 404.549.7012).

The owner, Asha Gomez, is locally-famous for her underground supper clubs. She wanted to share her food with a broader audience, thus Cardamom Hill was born. I’m sad to have missed her Supper Clubs, but am excited to see where she takes the restaurant.

Cardamom Hill menu

They don’t have their liquor license yet, but they do keep some beers in the back to share. Thus, I tasted my first Schiltz. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined… though that’s not saying a lot. They did have a Sweetwater IPA in the cooler that the server ~~mercifully~~ graciously brought me after I couldn’t handle anymore Schlitz.

The food was MUCH better than the beer selection. 🙂 I’m really kidding – it was great of them to offer my friend and I anything at all.

We started with a beautifully plated salad of arugula, starfruit, radish, cucumber, and papaya. It was dressed in a tamarind vinaigrette. Each item on its own was flavorful and fresh; however, my companion and I both felt it lacked something to pull it together. I also thought it was slightly over-dressed (normally I ask for dressing on the side – my mistake!).

Our second app was on the house. Beef and Potato Croquettes seasoned with ginger, garlic, and green papaya salad. I nibbled on the potato part of the croquette (trying to stick to the veg thing) and wasn’t blown away. I loved the (pickled?) ginger and garlic served with it. I wish that had been used in a salad!

For my entrée I chose the Vegetable Trio, served with coconut rice.

Part 1 of the trio was Sweet Potato Verka sautéed in coconut oil with mustard seeds, shallots, and curry leaves. It was absolutely fantastic. A little oily, but honestly… that just made it better. Perfectly balanced between the sweetness of the potato and the subtle heat from the spices, I could eat this dish all day every day.

As good as that was, Part 2 of the trio topped it. It was a “Seasonal” Thoran, which is listed on the menus as a stir-fry but (as the waiter described) this more accurately identified as a soup. A phenomenal soup. The broth was just spiced enough with dried red chillies. It contained bite-sized pieces of carrot, eggplant, potato, and tomato. I’m not sure what sorts of other spices were in this, but whoa. My friend and I agreed it was the best dish of the night.

Dear Asha, Please keep this on as an appetizer soup.

Lastly, I had a Beet Pachadi. 3 warm beets layered with housemade yogurt (ask for it to be left off to make this dish vegan) and mustard seeds, topped a curry leaf. It was also good, just not quite as stand-out as the first 2 items.

My friend had the Braised Short Ribs with roasted coconut sauce, served over umpa (like fried polenta, but made from semolina). It was nice… but I was happy I stuck with the veg.

We couldn’t pass up a traditional dessert. I have no idea what this is called, but it was a warm coconut milk soup with toasted coconut, cashew halves, cardamom seeds, ginger, and rice noodles. It was one of those dishes you keep eating but you’re not entirely sure you love. The flavors were just so interesting! We wondered if it would be better (albeit non-traditional) cold?

If you’re in the Atlanta area, I do recommend trying Cardamom Hill. The service was solid and it has a lot of potential. This isn’t the typical curry-laden Indian food many of us are accustomed to. Dishes from the Southwest Indian state of Kerala are laced with interesting spice blends and not heavy on the heat. It just enough spice to detect. You know the balance of flavors much be great if I’m not begging for more heat.

Don’t miss the Vegetable Trio, try the dessert for fun… and do make sure to BYOB. There’s no corking fee while they await the liquor license.

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I just realized it’s friday the 13th! Some people shudder, but 13 is my lucky number and this is my lucky day (knock on wood).

Do you like trying authentic food from different cultures? Panda Express doesn’t count.

Who’s doing something fun this weekend?

Food Hangovers and Slutty Cake

Getting Schooled at the Food & Wine Festival

This Little Piggy Got Spicy

Fresh Start

Beer & Doughnuts

Aged to Delicious Bourbon and Cheese

Marvelous Monday Meals

Contemplating Carnivore + WIAW

Breakfast:

Banana-Maple-Ginger Smoothie

Lunch:

Snacks:

Dinner:

Dessert:

Cardamom Hill

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