Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Souper Underground Supper Club

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Atlanta is BIG on Supper Clubs and special “Chef Series.”

Maybe it’s due to the economy?  

Make the ~$100 meal exclusive (i.e. limited seating) and people believe they are paying for something truly special.  Although it isn’t always perfectly executed (i.e. worth the price tag), my food adventures this week certainly were worth it!

Wednesday night’s dinner with Hugh Acheson was incredible.  Tonight’s dinner was equally good (if not better… shhhh!).

Given I’ve become a professional this week recently, I thought I’d share the ingredients for a exclusive fantastic dinner.

The Pre-Run:

  • Distance – 6.2 miles
  • Time: 52:38
  • Pace: 8:44

The Fabulous Friend:

Me with the lovely Kathleen

The Graceful Host:

The legendary Jennifer Levison of Souper Jenny

The Perfect Setting:

Secret Garden

The Talented Chef:

Jenny with Chef David Sweeny, formerly of Dynamic Dish

The Epic Entertainment:

That’s a belly dancer. With a wine glass on her head.

Do NOT try this at home (at least on a light colored rug)

The belly dancer was too cool.  She was dancing, shaking what her mamma gave her, and doing splits without spilling a drop of that wine on her head.  She’s my new idol.

Good food is also key.  This secret supper club succeeded.

The chef, David Sweeny, owned the now-defunct Dynamic Dish.  Dynamic Dish was a vegetarian restaurant in town.  In my opinion, it was one of the best overall restaurants.  Local, fresh ingredients were carefully prepared for the daily menu.  Why can’t places like this stay in business?!

Anyway, tonight we were lucky enough to enjoy David’s creations once again.  These dishes did include meat – I asked David if he was a vegetarian and found it funny that he is not.  Whatever, boy can cook!

90% of everything served was organic and locally sourced.  As in picked from a Georgia farm the day before this dinner. The meat was also local, sourced from a farm in North Georgia (who knew GA had lamb?!).

Hors d’oeuvres consisted of Borekas and pickled radishes (which I couldn’t stop eating).

Then we made our way to the garden for the cold course:

Cold Course

Clockwise, the plate consisted of:

  • M’Tabbal – puree of grilled eggplant, sesame, yogurt, cucumber, parsley, mint, and olives
  • Sesame Tandoori
  • Warak Ei Nab Zait – Wine leaves filled with Egyptian rice, lamb, beef, fennel, and Lebanese spice (my FAVORITE)
  • Tajan – spicy puree of sweet peppers, preserved lemon, pine nuts, and sesame
  • Heirloom tomatoes

While I could have eaten the cold course all night long, next up was the Hot Course:

Hot Course

  • Kefta Halabieh – grilled skewers of minced local lamb and beef
  • Grilled Summer Squash
  • Kofteuk Tabouleh – fine grain Syrian bulgar, mint, parsley, and turmeric
  • Crem Tum – creamy basil and garlic sauce (I wish I knew more because it was fantastic)
  • Tajan

What would any meal be without dessert?

Dessert

Homemade Baklava with Orange Cardamom Ice Cream and a Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt.

One VERY important tip:

Look before you sip if you’re dining outside. 🙂

Thank you to Jenny, David, and the Souper Jenny team for an amazing, gourmet food-filled evening.  Not to mention some incredible dining companions.  I am so lucky to live in a town among such passionate, creative people.

If you’re ever in Atlanta don’t miss lunch at Jenny’s restaurant, Souper Jenny.

***

I think I’m developing a supper club addiction.

Would you have finished that glass of wine? (After fishing out the bug, of course.)

Did anyone else nearly melt in the heat this weekend? Not that I’m complaining…

Chef Summer Series – Hugh Acheson

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Before I write about yet another gluttonous feast delicious dinner…

 

Let’s talk about running in 90 degree temps.

 

I took off today a little later than planned (see the last pic in the post for an explanation).  It was already closing in on 90 when I got outside to run.  Nothing like a little sweat.  My original plan was 7 miles.

My Reality:

  • Distance – 5 miles
  • Time – 41:58
  • Pace – 8:32

 

A good pace, but I think it’s just because I hauled it home at the end just to get it over with.  Seriously.

I have NEVER felt like I might puke during a run before.. Until today (no, it wasn’t the champagne, thankyouverymuch).  It was so hot and I was sweating so hard… not pretty.  I need hot weather running tips.  Or I need to wake up earlier.

 

There was a treat waiting for me when I got back.  The vegan SunWarrior Protein Powder I ordered arrived!  Vanilla flavor.

Still sweating, I got to work making a huge green vanilla-almond shake with my new powder.

 

I wanted SO badly to like it. The ingredients/nutrients are awesome.

It’s chalky and not-so-tasty.  Any one want a full (minus one scoop) bag of this?  I’ll ship it to ya!

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Let’s talk about something much more delicious!  Wednesday night was a dinner of epic proportions.

 

One of the new friends I met while going solo to the Food and Wine Festival and I went to the first in a Chef’s Summer Series put on by ONE. Midtown Kitchen.

The series of dinners consists of 5 course meals with pairings prepared by some of Atlanta’s best chefs in conjunction with ONE’s chef, Drew Van Leuvan.  Last night’s meal with Hugh Acheson from Empire State South was outstanding!

James River Oyster with limoncello and lemon verbena

L to R: Summer Squash, Warm Bucheron, Veal Sweetbread, and Weisswurst all over Salsa Verde

Beets, Radishes, Arugula, Nasturtiums, and Pickled Ramps with a Charred Vidalia Cream

Beef Tartare with Cured Local Yolk, Crisp Tendon, Baby Fennel, and Tomato

Riverview Pork Loin with Braised Belly, Mixed Bean Escabeche, Sorghum & Green Tomato Chow Chow

Tres Leches with Blackberries, Lime Sugar, and Vanilla Lime Sorbet

The food was amazing. Except the oysters.  I do NOT like them, Sam I Am. Other than the ocean food, I can’t even choose a favorite course.

The flavors on each plate were spot on – they played off of each other such that each bite was better than the last.  Well done, Hugh and Drew!

Did I mention each course had champagne pairings?!

 

The champagne pairings were interesting.  I thought by the end they were a bit of a stretch (5 champagne pairings = HARD).  And I probably more champagne last night than I drank in all of 2010 combined.  Ouch.

My favorite by far was a Chateau St Michelle Luxe.  It paired really well with the tartare, something I didn’t think a sparkler could effectively do. At $20/bottle, it’s a get deal too!


We are planning to attend a few more.  June 29th with Bruce Logue from La Pietra Cucina is next on my list.  La Pietra is one of my top 5 restaurants in Atlanta!

***

Talk about a champagne high!  I’m going to take a teensy break from drinking.  At least until Supper Club Saturday.  Supper Clubs and Dinner Series are really popular here.

Do you have a lot of dinner events/clubs in your area?

Do you like the sweeter champagnes or dry?  Or do you care (mimosas anyone)?

 

Never Enough Weekend

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Boat days are good days.

However, After a drink sun-filled day at the lake, I needed a good trail run.

I decided to head to Stone Mountain Park for the morning.  Stone Mountain is a gigantic granite dome in Georgia.  The granite extends underground 9 miles.  Its “claim to fame” isn’t the amount of rock.  It has the largest bas-relief in the world. The carving depicts three famed Confederates: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.  If you hear banjos, run.

Anyhow… it is also very steep.

With grave markers carved into it.

And lots of sweaty people.

There’s a skyride if you’re a wuss hiking isn’t your thing.

Granite kind of looks like moon rock.

Going down is easier than coming up.

 Admittedly, the second time up the mountain, I wasn’t so much running anymore.  5.5 miles in an hour and 10 mins.  I’ll take it!

Thank you, QT for the recovery drink.

 Followed by an exhausted thumbs up for myself.

 Both served to tide me over until lunch while I made my Dekalb Farmer’s Market treat trip.  This place is really an amusement park for foodies.

I got all of this loot for $35!!!

Lots of good eats to come this week!

The day was rounded out with a delicious dinner and a #winning night of darts.

Sorry, Casey

We won’t talk about the pool games I lost.

 The next day I needed an apple (apples help with beer billiards night recovery).  1/2 for breakfast with a muffin.  What about the other half, you ask..?

Today was a back/bicep day.  Post-workout I needed my 20g of protein, so I made something that looks questionable, but actually tasted like chocolate-y pudding.  The protein powder made it more thick (i.e. pudding-like) than applesauce-like. It’s not much of a recipe, but I’m writing it out here (mostly so I don’t forget… does anyone else do this?!). 🙂

Chocolate Apple Pudding

  • 1/2 apple
  • 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
  • 1/8 C vanilla unsweetened coconut milk (a la So Delicious)

Put it in a blender, give it a whir, and enjoy!

***

Now I am suffering from the long weekend blues.  Not to mention I am SORE. 🙂  Did it have to end!?

What was your favorite part of the long weekend?  

Do you get a little sad going back to reality after a long weekend?

Peach Caprese Salad

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Good Morning, fellow long weekend-ers!!!

It’s another short post, as I am continuing to enjoy the long weekend.  And I have the sunburn to prove it.  Terrible, I know.

Thank you everyone for the positive feedback to my new Fitness page!  I’m excited about continuing to grow/improve it.

As for my mystery lunch… it was a (Georgia) Peach Caprese!

Peaches are in season now and I’ve had great luck finding perfect ones at local farmer’s markets.  Try subbing them for tomatoes in other dishes too – they are delicious in sandwiches (with parm and prosciutto), salads (with blue cheese  and arugula), or even in salsa (with cilantro, onion, and mango)!

Check out my guest post @ The Athlete’s Plate for a riveting write up.  Thanks again to Matt for asking me to be his guest!

Peach Caprese Salad

  • 1 medium ball of Mozzarella di Bufala
  • 1 large peach 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1 tsp high-quality olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Slice mozzarella into 1/4 inch rounds. Peel peaches and slice those into similar sized rounds. Chiffonade (chiffonade = stack basil in a small pile and roll into a cigar-like shape then slice into ribbons) the basil using a sharp knife (a clean cut helps prevent the leaves from darkening).

Layer the mozzarella and peach slices on a plate and sprinkle the basil over the top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste.

Note: You can also drizzle them with a balsamic reduction, which is what I did here.

***

I’m off to run up a mountain before hitting up some festivals.  Good times.

Do you keep up with workouts over holidays or call it a total vaca?

NEW Fitness Page!

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

 

If today’s post seems a bit rushed… that’s because it is.  I’m headed out the door to spend the day on the lake with friends.  (Note to self: remember the sunscreen!)

 

I have an exciting addition!  I added a “Fitness” page.  Check it out in the top menu or by clicking here.

The page has 3 categories:

  • Workouts – a summary of workouts I’ve posted (are you doing your push ups?!)
  • Related Topics – more general fitness tips/observations
  • Races – races run and links to their recaps

 

Feedback/requests welcome! 🙂

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Thanks to the crazy rain we had Thursday night, I had a kickin’ run yesterday.  The temperature was perfect and the air was clean.  I think this was my fastest pace yet for a more-than-5K run.

Stats:

  • Distance: 5 miles
  • Time: 41:18
  • Pace: 8:24

 

Then I came home and dug down into a new layer of hell with Excel.  Not.  Kidding.


 

Happily, I did have a fantastic lunch.

More to come on this deliciousness!

 

And at 5:30p I had my first in-home massage.  Why have I not been doing this my whole life?!  It was amazing.  If you are like me, every time you have a massage you wish you could just relax/sleep/do-anything-but-get-dressed-and-drive-home.

The answer is an in-home massage.  They come to you!  All I had to do was roll off the table and onto the couch.  Bonus: it’s about the same $$$ as going to the spa!

***

Time to roll out!

Are you a beach person or a lake person?  Are you enjoying either this weekend?

 

Unwinding with Gratin

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You know those days when you walk in to work thinking everything is going smoothly?  Your projects are expanding, there’s a long weekend ahead of you… life is good.  And then everything turns upside down.

Yeah… welcome to my Wednesday.

 

It started out well.  I ate a prune (instant stick-to-your-ribs energy!) and hit the streets for an run before the heat was too overwhelming.

Stats:

  • Distance: 5 miles
  • Time: 41:38
  • Pace: 8.28

 

When I walked in from my run, the concierge told me I had a package.  Packages aren’t bills!  Oh happy day! 🙂

I won a copy of Heidi Swanson’s new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, from Lisa @ Snack Girl!  I never win anything – and THIS is a rockstar item to win.

If you don’t already know her, Heidi is one amazing cook.  I’ve never made anything from her blog that I didn’t love.  Check her out @ 101 Cookbooks.

 

Smiling in my cookbook-winning afterglow, I enjoyed a repeat breakfast: Protein Banana Pudding. This time I spread it on an Udi’s Gluten-Free bagel.  It was pretty good!  The texture still felt “normal” – something a lot of gluten-free breads lack (IMHO).

Full-disclosure: I never eat breakfast at the table.  It gets scarfed down in the bathroom in my mad-morning rush whilst chastising myself for not getting out of bed earlier.

I bought myself flowers


Then I got to work and the proverbial shit hit the fan.

The highlight of my day was using the restroom on another floor.  Why?  Because they had a sign on the door explaining why there are black mats on the floor between the stall dividers.

Apparently there was “concern voiced over the shiny finish to the restroom floor and the lack of privacy.  The solution was to add a couple of mats strategically placed mats between stalls to obscure the view of the person beside you.”

Who does that?! It did make me laugh, which was exactly what I needed. 🙂

Back in the safety of my own bathroom home, I took a moment to exhale before beginning dinner.  Gena @ Choosing Raw posted a recipe for Vegan Summer Vegetable Gratin.  I’ve been waiting forever weeks days to try it.

Step 1: Make it non-vegan… I was out of milk!

This Gratin is time consuming to make, but I promise it’s worth it.  The panko gave the eggplant an awesome crunch.  All that basil will look excessive when you’re layering, but it adds an amazing flavor.  Next time, I’ll may adding more tomatoes (they were fantastic roasted!).

This was incredibly good as-is.  I had 2 servings.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Seconds. That’s a cookie on the plate behind the gratin. + a glass of Syrah.

Summer Vegetable Gratin

  • 1 1/2 medium zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 in rounds
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/2 in rounds
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3/4 C whole wheat panko
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 C Daiya pepperjack cheese
  • 1 C fresh basil, cut into ribbons
  • S+P, taste

 

Sprinkle the eggplant and the tomatoes with a generous dose of salt and let them sit for ~30 mins.  This draws out moisture and takes the biterness out of the eggplant.

Meanwhile, set oven to broil, and sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and pepper.  Place them on a piece of foil in the oven until nearly crispy (but still moist).  Remove and set aside.  Reduce oven heat to 400 degrees.

Firmly pat eggplant and tomatoes dry.  On a plate, mix the oregano and red pepper flakes into the panko.  Dip eggplant slices in the egg, then dredge them in the panko and transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet with the tomato slices.

Place them in the oven for 15 mins.  Flip the eggplant slices over and remove tomatoes (the should be soft and browning).  After 25-30 mins (or when the eggplant is browned and crispy), remove the egplant.

Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Layer 4-6 slices of the eggplant in a small casserole dish.  Top with 1/3 of the Daiya and 1/3 of the basil.  Next, layer the zucchini and tomato slices.  Add another layer of 1/3 of the Daiya and 1/3 of the basil, followed by the remaining slices of eggplant.  Top with the remaining third of Daiya and basil.

Bake for 10-15 mins, or until the Daiya is melted.  The vegetables will be slightly crispy from the baking.

Make 6 servings.

***

Cooking relaxes me after an especially hard day.  Weird, huh?

What do you do to unwind?

Does your office have those mats between the stalls?! Creepy.


Tasting, Tasting 1-2

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Saturday and Sunday I visited the tasting tents at the Food and Wine Festival.  I miiiight have snuck in Saturday… shhhh!

The gates of heaven

The food was all good, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more variety.

There’s only so much fried chicken and BBQ I can consume.

Indian-Spiced Fried Chicken and Waffles = worth it

An exception to the “too much fried” rule is the above Indian-Spiced Fried Chicken and Waffles by Asha Gomez of Spice Route Supper Club.  I have GOT to check out one of her events ASAP.  Rumor has it she may be looking for a restaurant space…

Celeb Highlight: I got to meet Chef Norman Van Aken (the father of fusion… I shook his hand!).

Food Highlight: The beer, cheeses, and desserts (duh).

Best beer – New Heaven

The cheese spread (pun intended)

Coming to Whole Foods ATL soon!

I wish I’d done a better job remembering to photograph… there’s was just so much to eat! 🙂

My favorites beer/cheese/dessert:

  • Wild Heaven Craft Beers – I’d had these before, but Invocation and Ode to Mercy are the two brews offered by this new Decatur, GA-based brewery.  If you find them, drink them immediately.  It’s the best new beer I’ve tasted in a long time.
  • Sweet Grass Dairy’s Truffled Chevre – Decadently delicious.  There’s no other way to describe this.  Need proof?  They are complete OUT for the season.  🙁
  • The Hungry Peach’s Peach Cobbler Cupcake – Moist, flavorful, light… dignity is the only thing that kept me from devouring their whole display
  • High Road Craft Ice Cream – Every flavor was good (I shamelessly sampled everything), but if I had to cheese I’d say don’t miss the Caffeine Cacao and the French Toast (JUST like your mamma’s… in ice cream-form).  Good news for Georgian’s – they are coming soon to Whole Foods!  #godblesswholefoods

I had a great time hanging out with 2 new friends on Saturday and the Lippy crew on Sunday.  (Nathan’s wife, Chelsee = coolest chick ever.)

Me and Nathan Lippy. Our hair matches a little.

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If you ever wonder if your “clean” way of eating really makes a difference, eat like I did all weekend.  Monday I woke up feeling like crap.  Too.  Much.  Rich.  Food.

I seriously almost hurled during the flight to my client meeting.

At least it was better than it would have been: I ran 5 miles Saturday morning, took an hour walk that afternoon, played 2 ball games Sunday morning, and then ran 3.5 miles.  I should re-name this blog Run-Eat-Repeat. 🙂

I’m trying to mini-detox this week.  It’s not working so well since I’ve been traveling, but I’m definitely eating much cleaner than I did this weekend!  Monday I drank my breakfast (not in a noon-game tailgating way) before rushing to the airport:

Some days, you just need a green smoothie.  This was one of those days.

I did my P90X Ab Ripper X (best ab workout ever, btw), followed by my 75 push-ups (are you doing yours?!).  Then chugged enjoyed this refreshing smoothie.

Mango-Almond Smoothie

  • 1/2 champagne mango
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 C fresh spinach
  • 1 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp Maca
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • water (adjust to desired consistency)

Put it in a blender.  Pour into glass.  Top with your favorite crunchy treat (I love this low-sugar citrus-granola).  

Drink up!

***

More like what I gorged on this weekend… but whatever… 🙂

Even though we’re already mid-week, this may be a timely discussion question given the upcoming long weekend…

How do you detox after a weekend of indulgence?

Not-So-Chili Tofu

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Hope we all make it through the weekend!

If we don’t, at least I’ll die happy having gone to Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival!  It’s like foodie heaven up in here. 🙂

 

I’ll also die warm because it was already 80 degrees when I left for my run yesterday morning!  Not that I’m complaining – I am OVER being cold all the time.

Stats:

  • Distance: 5 miles
  • Time: 42:03
  • Pace: 8:41

 

It was an especially fun run since the Food & Wine Festival is in my neighborhood.  I liked running around watching everything getting set up.  So.  Excited.

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Following that fabulousness, I got my 20g of protein from my favorite Atlanta Farm Fresh Greek-style yogurt.  Straight out of the container with my first peach of the season and some granola.

 

In the mail today I found a surprise: My free samples arrived from Bragg!

Hit their website to request your own.  It takes about 6 weeks, but they do come.

I should have used them in my lunch, but I already had something tasty planned.   Chili Nutty Tofu.

Added bonus: It is a repeat recipe!  I struggle with making the same thing twice, but I’ve been craving nut butters like nobody’s business lately and my Chili Nutty Tofu was calling my name.

Not many edits to the recipe other than using my Spiced Almond Butter instead of PB.  That turned out to be a finger lickin’ good move.  And I turned it into a Chili Nutty Bowl.

I had extra chili nutty marinade, so I coated slices of zucchini and radishes to roast.  I’ve never heard of roasted radishes before, but it was pretty good!  Roasting took the “bite” out of the taste (in a good way).

The asparagus came from a farmer’s market – isn’t it the biggest you’ve ever seen?! And yes, it is purple.  I coated it in lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. Same for the cherry tomatoes.

The tofu and the asparagus went in the 400 degree oven on a foil-lined baking sheet for 10 mins.  At that point, I tossed them and added the tomatoes, zucchini, and radishes to pan to bake another 10 mins.

Apparently I was a little eager to eat… I burned my finger tips trying to pick up the veggies to place on the bowl ‘o spinach.  Whaaat?!  I get excited about my veggies.

***

Food & Wine recap next week!  Let me just say that it is so cool to have so much talent in one place.  Some people go ga-ga over actors, others like rockstars… I like chefs.

What are you doing for the end of the world this weekend?

Who “does it” for you?  Athletes?  Actors?  Chefs?


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