Birthday Boy

Unfortunately Calvin was not feeling well on his birthday so we had Cameli's (our favorite pizza joint) rather than going to the nice dinner I'd planned - we'll do it eventually! Later in the week I did make him a Boston Cream Pie, which was quite yummy if I do say so myself.

Housewarming!

After living in my new place for nearly 6 months, I decided it was time for a housewarming. I made some food and invited lots of folks over to tour the house and have a bite to eat. It was a lovely day so we were able to keep the windows open, which was nice, and guests enjoyed the back patio.

Cherry blue cheese chicken salad (homemade), shrimp salad (Costco - it's really good there!), croissants, goat cheese with grapes, crackers and fig chutney, chips, guacamole and salsa.



Oatmeal raisin cookies and magic cookie bars.



Ruth made me a beautiful flower arrangement.



The back yard - hasn't ever looked this good, before or since!



Back patio, second view.

Fall Grillin'

This fall after settling into my new place, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Big Green Egg smoker & grill. So far, I've been able to get some good results, although I'm still getting the hang of regulating the temperature. So far I've cooked turkey burgers, beef burgers, lamb chops, swordfish & lots of vegetables.

The key to these moist turkey burgers is Trader Joe's cranberry chutney as well as sauteed apples & onions that I mix in with the meat along with an egg, bread crumbs and spices.

Grilled swordfish & grilled onions with mashed sweet potatoes, fresh corn & collard greens.

Grilled lamb chops, grilled baby eggplants & pita bread.

Chateau de Buford Highway

After reading several positive reviews about Chateau de Saigon, we decided to go check it out on a recent Friday evening. The service a bit slow, although the place was busy, and we did not find the food to be as good as other places in the area (like Pho Dai Loi #2, which is one of my favorites). This place does have a large menu, however, and there are other dishes I'd like to try, so a return trip may be warranted in the future.

The spring rolls were not as flavorful as usual and the light colored peanut sauce was not my favorite - I prefer the darker sauce with peanuts sprinkled on top.



Sugar cane wrapped shrimp. This dish was tasty and it was neat eating real sugarcane, although it turned out to be a bit awkward trying to get all of the sugar out of the cane!



The vermicelli was beautifully presented but it lacked the kick found in other restaurants' versions. Of course we livened it up with some Siracha, but it was still not the best.



This was my favorite dish - papaya salad with beef strips, dried onions & scallions. The sublime flavor and the crunch really make this unique and delicious.

Chateau de Saigon
4300 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
(404) 929-0034

Rosh Hashanah Delights

Cousins Joanne and Craig graciously hosted a Rosh Hashanah dinner at their place to bring in the Jewish New Year. It was wonderful to feast on a homemade dinner with friends and family.

Our friend Dana brought a beautiful and very delicious challah.



Brisket, a rice dish and a wonderful chickpea salad.



The chickpea salad again and a pear and walnut salad.

Dogwood - A very special office lunch.

To celebrate several important office milestones, we headed to Dogwood for a very special lunch, complete with handmade flowers for each honoree. I thoroughly enjoyed this place and would recommend it for anyone looking for a special meal.

The exterior of Dogwood in midtown Atlanta.



I love the warmth of the interior. There is an upstairs seating section as well.



I'd indicated to the restaurant that we were celebrating. We were delighted to find confetti on our table when we arrived - very festive!



Ruth's beautiful bouquets, including fresh fruits.



Tempura quail appetizer - very tender and delicious.



Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp. This was an excellent appetizer that we had a hard time sharing!



Three selections from the grits bar.



Yours truly with Chef Shane Touhy



The soup flight was outstanding, and a made a gorgeous photo.



Stuffed chicken breast.



Pan seared trout with succotash



Grilled pound cake with key lime gelato - yum!



Creme brulee - again, another delicious choice.



Chocolate terrine with sea salt - smooth, dense and delicious.



Apple cornbread upside down cake with gelato



Our group following the hearty meal.

Dogwood
565 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30308
Tel. (404) 835-1410

Another fun cooking class!

Saturday morning I was in for a treat when I attended a very intimate, fun cooking class with some friends at the instructor's home. We prepared several delicious salads, my favorite being the Blue Cheese Cherry Chicken salad that I must make again at home! The photos say it all! I really loved this class because we really got to eat! None of this - here's one bite thing.

Chef Diane prepares the Salmon Salads

Here are our salads, ready to go!

Salmon Nicoise Salad "To-Go"

Surf & Turf Fajita Salad with Shrimp and Steak

Orange Chicken Salad - the dressing goes on!

Orange Chicken Salad

Blue Cheese Cherry Chicken Salad over Spinach

Pizza Pizza!

Our wonderful creation

On Friday night Cal and I made our own pizza from Trader Joe's dough, balsamic chicken, fresh mozzarella, roasted potatoes, green peppers and tomatoes. It was quite tasty, although I'm interested in buying a pizza stone to make it more authentic. We were inspired by the awesome pizza at Cameli's, especially the Joey Woolum pizza, which is our favorite (with jalepenos, add chicken!) I will try and do a post on that soon.

DESTAnation

Fish with salad and fresh injera

Fish with salad and lamb tibs

Vegetarian sampler platter

Desta has become one of my favorite Ethiopian restaurants in Atlanta. Situated at the corner of Clairmont and Briarcliff, it shares the corner with several other restaurants serving Ethiopian food. I found the taste here as well as the service and atmosphere, very pleasing. The wait was also shorter than average for Ethiopian food, which many know can take longer than you ever thought possible (I'm reminded of a now-closed place in Hampton, Virginia where a friend and I waited over an HOUR for lunch to arrive at an Ethiopian restaurant in 2005 - we were the only patrons!).

But the main attraction here is the food: the fish (we learned later it's tilapia) with salad is simply amazing. I have been craving it ever since I tried it the first time. The flavors are pungent yet not overwhelming and the lightness of the fish allows more room to use the spongy injera to soak up the juices from the meat and from the delicious salad. The lamb dish we tried was good, but not as unique or exceptional as the fish. The vegetarian platter was steller, with quite a variety including my favorites - the collards and carrots & potatoes. When I go back, I'll be lobbying whoever goes with me to share the fish and the veggie platter.

Desta Ethiopian Kitchen

3086 Briarcliff Road

Atlanta, GA 30329

404-929-0011

Matty Cakes = Cakes Galore

Classic Chocolate Cake, Banana Nut Cupcake, Chocolate Mousse Cake

Matty Cakes is a relatively new bakery, conveniently located on Piedmont next to the "Gorilla Car Wash." I have enjoyed their cupacakes several times - the chocolate with cream in the center and the red velvet are my favorites and their giant cookies are fantastic. Today I stopped by with a couple of friends to try the goodies pictured above. The two chocolate desserts were fabulous, moist and rich with lots of chocolate. I love crumb crusts and the chocolate cookie crust on the mousse cake is one of my favorites. The banana nut cupcake was not as good - the cake was dry, leaving the icing to try and compensate, which is did to an extent, but really, there is no reason a banana cake should be dry - ask anyone who has tried my famous chocolate chip banana bread!

Matty Cakes also has great sandwiches, which we pick up on occasion from my office. I adore the turkey, cranberry brie sandwich on their homemade multigrain bread - TO DIE FOR! I've also seen some of their specialty cakes, including a cake shaped like a handbag. If you like that kind of thing, I'll bet they can make any shape cake you'd like. The owner is also around and friendly to those coming in to pick up orders. There is no seating in the place so be prepared to take out - it's near Piedmont Park so you could get great fixins for a picnic and go sit outside!

Matty Cakes Bakery
1830 Piedmont Ave
Atlanta, GA 30324
(404) 917-2253

Einstein's - not so much a genius but good Dessert is Near!

I won a gift card to Metrotainment restaurants back in January, so I thought it was high time to put it to use. Cal and I planned to attend the Friday Jazz at the High Museum, so we parked between the museum and Einstein's and walked to dinner, jazz and then dessert. Unfortunately we soon figure out that weshould have tried Cowtippers - or somewhere other than Einsteins to get our use out of the gift card.

We sat on the patio and the flies were horrible. We should have moved inside immediately but instead suffered through the meal. The inside of the restaurant is actually quite appealing, with modern decor and a pleasant ambiance.

The "sushi" appetizer, which I think has now gone off menu, was the best thing we tried, although it was far from exceptional. The cucumber salad tasted like cucumbers and Siracha - nothing else. While I love Siracha, this is not what I expect when ordering a cucumber salad. I would not recommend this place where there are so many other midtown hot spots with much better food.

Fried sushi roll with tuna poke on the side

Fish with Asparagus - can't remember what kind!

Crabcake melt with cucumber salad

Desserts from Chocolate Pink

Upon returning from the jazz event at the High, we stopped at Chocolate Pink for dessert. They have meticulously created lots of great choices, although the prices are quite high. The atmosphere is calming yet trendy and we enjoyed the strawberry tart and chocolate concoction, although the melon green tea drink was cloyingly sweet.

Einsteins
1077 Juniper St NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 876-7925

Chocolate Pink
905 Juniper St NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 745-9292