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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.

Marvelous Monday

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!

Souper Jenny Underground Supper Club - Omar Powell

 

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.

Soft Farm Eggs from Omar Powell

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!

Omar Powell's Brown Stewed Chicken

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.

Omar Powell Jerked Pork

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.

Oxtail Agnolotti by Omar Powell

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

Cornmeal Pone by Omar Powell

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?

Everybody's Pizza

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.

Yoforia

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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. 😉

Irish Car Bomb

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!

***

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?

 

Filed Under: Baking, Fitness, Restaurants, Running, Softball Tagged With: Asha Gomez, Cardamom Hill, cupcakes, dessert, dinner, Everybody's Pizza, frozen yogurt, James Beard, Marvelous Monday, Omar Powell, pizza, softball, Souper Jenny, St. Patrick's Day, underground dinner, underground supper club, Yoforia

Text-less Tuesday

December 13, 2011 By Laura

It’s a busy time of year.

This isn’t news to anyone, but it has finally caught up to me.  As a result, an (almost) Text-less Tuesday post.  Here’s a bit about what I’ve been up to lately:

1. Another fantastic meal from Push Start Kitchens:

Crepe Cake with Dulce de Leche, Pears, and Lime Creme

You would have do it too

2. A (cold) visit to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Holiday Lights show:

3. New hair from the fabulous Karen @ Lava Hair Studio.  Nothing too funky since I had a client meeting the next day.  Just wait ’til February. 🙂

Picture of Karen taking a picture of me

4. A business trip to Farm Links Golf Resort that had me sleeping in an 1800s farmhouse.  Alone.  It may have been haunted.

Complete with ample reading material in case you left your laptop battery in Atlanta… I’m surprised lightning didn’t strike me. 

Not that religious books are bad… but they were literally the only option out of 100s of books in the house.

I did discover the Kindle app and the Pinterest app, both of which saved my life.

***

I’m 5 seconds from a full holiday nervous break down.  (Not really.  Yet.) 

What fun apps have you discovered lately?

Are you in holiday panic-mode, or are you more organized than I am?

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Christmas, Lava Hair Studio, Push Start Kitchen, underground dinner

Game Day Inspired Dinner

November 19, 2011 By Laura

Underground dinners are my favorite.

 

The “secret” suppers have exploded in Atlanta and – from what I hear – across the country.  They are meals prepared by local (mostly) aspiring chefs for a small group of people lucky enough to catch wind of the event.  I’ve been to quite a few and always come away inspired and with several new friends.

 

Push Start Kitchen has been my favorite so far.  I’ve only been to two (click here for the details of that event), but hope to have the opportunity to attend more.  Atlanta local Zach Meloy and his Costa Rican wife Christina prepare a thoughtful menu full of unique flavor combinations.  (Think Southern meets Latin).

When I received the email about Zach’s November dinner, I knew I had to go.  He was preparing a menu inspired by stadium traditions!  You guys know I love my football.

 

It happened to be held on my friend Jessica’s birthday (check out the gluten-free meatball guest post she wrote for me here), and I was excited to share the experience with my friend.

 

The evening began with a delicious tequila and pear cocktail, accompanied by Zach’s take on corn nuts.  These were tossed in an addicting sweet-spicy sauce.  I may have eaten more than my share.

 

Next up was the soup course.  We were given bowls with granola (he uses Trader Joe’s), pickled carrot, buttermilk panna cotta, and chipotle molasses.  That alone was a gorgeous showing!

 

Zach then circled the table, pouring celery root soup atop each plating.  It was a perfect combination of textures and flavors – crunchy granola, vinegar-laced carrots, subtle sweetness of the panna cotta, and the fantastic smoky heat from the chipotle molasses were all tied together with the earthy, rich celery soup.  He needs to start serving seconds!

I could have died happy after this, but we still had the main course to come!

 

Slow cooked chicken, with crispy onion, grain mustard panade, roasted red cabbage, and pretzel puree.  Yes it was as good as it sounds.

Zach’s chicken was the most perfectly cooked meat I’ve ever put in my mouth.  That’s no small feat. The grain mustard had just the right amount of tang with the ballpark-salty pretzel puree.

Some people turn up their noses at the idea of ordering chicken in restaurants because it’s so “pedestrian.”  I always argue that – like eggs – if a chef can prepare it perfectly, it’s the sign of real talent.

 

You know when you don’t want to finish a dish or drink because it’s so good you don’t want  it to end?  Our stadium meal was one I was sad to see end.  Alas, it was time for dessert.

Mexican hot chocolate cake with malt ice cream, dulce de leche with black salt, and kettle corn.

 

The cake was good, but he could have made the dessert entirely of the homemade ice cream, popcorn, and the smoky black salted caramel.  Lately I’ve posted a lot about my love of sweet-salty or savory combos and this hit the spot!  I swear I didn’t make special requests.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of Jessica’s dessert.  She is gluten-free, so Zach prepared a caramelized banana dish for her that looked fabulous.  She didn’t offer to share.  He even put a candle in it!

 

The meal ended with a thick berry cordial and a sweet Latin candy rolled in crushed almonds, dipped and coated on the spot.  Two desserts = just my style.

 

The night didn’t end there, but this post does!

***

Thanks to all for a second Top 9 this week!  Check out my Sparkling Cake Balls on FoodBuzz by clicking here.

What is your favorite stadium food?

What chef would prepare the meal at your dream supper club?

 

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: cocktails, dessert, dinner, Push Start Kitchen, restaurants, underground dinner

Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls

August 8, 2011 By Laura

Let’s talk about balls.

 

Hee hee… yes, I’m 10 years old…

Delta is my home-away-from-home this week.  Lots of work travel.  It’s only appropriate that I highlight my favorite Delta snack – Biscoff.

biscoff

 

Ever since Miss Smart benevolently bequeathed unto me a scrumptious jar of my very own Biscoff spread, I’ve been fantasizing innovating new and decedent different ways to use it.

I’m officially on the sauce.  Soft serve sauce, that is. 🙂

 

Enter: Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls.

I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconut balls… here they are standing in a row…

 

No joke – these really are like eating a big, satisfying bite of Biscoff cookie dough.

This edible cookie dough is a bite-sized ball of brown-sugar and coconutty deliciousness.  At less than 60 calories, 2.5g of sugar, and 1 gram of protein, they aren’t that bad for you!  I’m not claiming Biscoff to be a health food, but the other ingredients are. 🙂

 

A couple of these balls make a great pre-workout snack – easy to grab and go with a teensy sugar boost to pick you up.  They even have a whole gram of protein each!

 

These may be the best balls yet.  And I really, really loved S’more Balls.

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Don’t worry, you’re getting the recipe…. AFTER you tell me if you’ve been doing push-ups!

I’m really proud of myself – I did them all but one day this week.  The day I skipped was one where I did the P90X Tricep workout, which is push-up-heavy.

 

I also tried out a new-ish ab exercise.  Hayley @ Oat Couture posted 4 and 6-minute versions of a plank sequence she does.  It reminded me that I’ve been slacking in the planking (click here for my plank advice).  It really is the single best thing you can do (aside from cardio) to improve your abs.  Click the links below to see Hayley’s plank progression with her demo pics (she has perfect form!).

 

Workout Recap (8/1-8/7)

  • Monday – P90X Shoulder & Arms, Ab Ripper X, 84 push-ups
  • Tuesday – 4 mile run, 84 push-ups, Oat Couture’s 6 Minute Plank Sequence
  • Wednesday – P90X Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X, 84 push-ups
  • Thursday – Oat Couture’s 6 Minute Plank Sequence, 84 push-ups
  • Friday – 4 mile run, 84 push-ups
  • Saturday – P9p0X Triceps & Chest, Ab Ripper X
  • Sunday – 9 mile run, 84 push-ups

 

The running was a bit lacking this week because I was SO SORE from the P90X leg workout that I was struggling to do much (that’s what I get for slacking on legs).

However, I did bang out 9 miles on Sunday (in 1:12:14!!!) AND I committed to running Atlanta’s Thanksgiving Half Marathon with some friends. I can’t wait!

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Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls

  • 1/2 C Biscoff spread
  • 1/4 C applesauce
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 T coconut flour
  • 3 T white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 C rolled oats
  • 2 T unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

 

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, combine wet ingredients until smooth.

Slowly mix in flours, followed by the oats. Lastly, mix in shredded coconut.  

Scoop ~2 tsp of dough onto parchment-lined tray and roll to form balls. Freeze or refrigerate until dough firm.

Enjoy!

Makes ~20 balls

Notes: If you don’t have access to Biscoff spread, substitute your favorite nut butter.  If you do that be sure to taste as you go – you may need to add maple syrup or other sweetener.  You may also sub in other flours – or use all coconut for gluten-free dough!

Approximate Nutritionals: 58 calories, 2.9 g fat, 6.8g carbs, 0.9g fiber, 2.5g sugar, 1g protein

***

Thank you for your input on the dessert for Feast Noir!  I think I’m going with the Peach Tart… but those brownies will happen SOON too!

What are your favorite balls?  (Keep it clean!)

Have you been doing push-ups?!

 

Filed Under: Baking, Core, Fitness, Products, Recap, Recipes, Running, Weights Tagged With: Biscoff, dessert, Feast Noir, oats, P90X, raw food, running, snacks, underground dinner, workout

Dessert Dilemma

August 6, 2011 By Laura

Feast Noir.

 

It’s being held at an undisclosed location in Atlanta on August 14th.  They’ve held similar events in Paris so it must be cool.

Video of ‘Dinner en Blanc’ in Paris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=CtZtVxho1Zk&feature=fvst

 

The premise is that 1,000 people come together to dine.  One person volunteers as the “head” of their table and organizes the others.  This means figuring out every aspect of who brings what – from the table to the silverware to the dishes.

 

Of couse I volunteered dessert. 🙂

I know I want to pair it with a Spanish sherry, and that almond pairs exceptionally well with sherry.  I also know I want to try a “next time I need something impressive to share” recipe I’ve saved (please tell me other people do this too… I have 132 saved on Delicious – and that’s just desserts).  That’s as far as I’ve gotten.

 

Now I need your help.  I’ve narrowed it down to 4 recipes.  Which one would you bring?   Or would you bring something entirely different?

 

In the running so far are my (TBD) versions of the following:

 

Sweet Cherry-Brown Butter Bars

Source: The Baker Chick


Raspberry Lemon Amaretti Cake

Source: What's For Lunch, Honey?


Creamy Peach Tart with Smokey Almond Crust

(note: this would become probably a cherry tart)

Source: Food & Wine


Chocolate Lavender Brownies with Lavender Ganache

(I realize this has nothing to do with almonds but don’t they sound fantastic?!)

Source: Sweet Life

***

Maybe I should test all 4… this is my kind of dilemma! 🙂

Have you ever heard of an event like this before?

What would you bring to share at Feast Noir?

 

Filed Under: Baking, Recipes Tagged With: dessert, dinner, entertaining, Feast Noir, underground dinner

Biscoff Sauce + WIAW

August 3, 2011 By Laura

What I Ate…

errrr... on Friday night of last week.  Details, details… but I promise a real recipe from Wednesday at the end!

I’ve been meaning to write a post about this Underground Supper I went to last Friday.  It is the best supper event I’ve attended to date!  And you guys know I do these a lot.

Atlanta native Zach Meloy started Push Start Kitchen with his wife, Christina.  They recently returned from a stint in Costa Rica where they ran a restaurant.  This supper club is their way to generate some buzz and money in hopes of pushing a restaurant start here in Atlanta.

So my foodie-partner-in-crime (Corinne) and I trekked out to The Goat Farm.

The Goat Farm is a kitschy little hippie-like colony that – in addition to literally being a goat farm – hosts a variety of events (this night included a dance performance and a food truck), is home to a few loft owners, and has it’s own coffee shop/late night $2 beer stop.  I had NO idea places like this existed in Atlanta but I’m moving in.

We were to dine in a small room with 8 others among ancient ceiling pulley systems, discarded books, and cotton mill ruins.

Candles were lit, Dark and Stormy beverages flowed, and the night began to move.

Pictures were taken in front of an old pile of bricks by a local photographer.  A train rolled by.  We found a copy of The World According to Garp.  I ran into a girl I went to high school with (what are the odds?!).

All while enjoying a lovely canape – a small masa biscuit topped with cream cheese and red pepper jam:

After the first round of drinks and the canapes were consumed, we took our seats at a rustic (read: IKEA) dining table for the first course.

First, the wine (served by Zach): a light rose, full of strawberries and refreshing on a muggy night.

I was of course busy ogling the already-plated food on the chef’s table next to my right…

First course: crispy Serrano ham, tomato confit, avocado, smoked chile cornbread, with molasses vinaigrette and basil.

Now.  I don’t like cornbread (bad Southerner!), but this stuff was delicious.  It was soft and smokey, not gritty and dry like the bread I often see.  The Serrano was perfectly crisped and added the right level of salt to compliment the plump tomatoes.

I could have eaten this all night and been content.  Alas, the meal must go on!

Second Course: Sous vide pork tenderloin, roasted plum mole, crispy grits, goat cheese, country ham powder, and greens.

You read me correctly – PLUM mole.  Spiced chocolate plum sauce.  I nearly begged Chef for a jar of the stuff.

For those of you who haven’t had meat prepared sous vide before, it is basically cooking meat at a low temperature in a plastic bag underwater.  This allows you to cook even the thickest cuts of meat evenly at a perfectly controlled temperature, resulting in (arguably) the most juicy meat perfection (sorry if I just made all the vegetarians gag!).

Back to the mole.  It was amazing with the pork not too sweet and a bit smokey.  All of this was complemented by the slightly salty flash-fried grit cakes and creamy goat cheese.  I gobbled up mine so fast Corinne asked if I wanted to finish hers.

The Finale: Rum scented “pan perdido,” condensed milk ice cream, pickled cherries, and galleta maria

I didn’t know what half of that meant until I googled at home later.  My initial description was “deconstructed dessert French toast.”

It turns out I wasn’t too far off!  Pan perdido is essentially bread pudding.  Chef Zach pan-fried it so it was especially french toast-like (nom nom).  Galleta marias are tea biscuit-like brown sugar cookies found throughout Latin America.  They almost crumbled to the touch and their vanilla and cinnamon flavorings only added to my french toast fantasy.  Served with homemade ice cream and pickled cherries… I can now die happy.

The way to my stomach’s heart is dessert.  Someone must have let that cat out of the bag because we were presented with a sweet coconut candy rolled in almond meal:

The bird didn’t want any, so I ate it all myself. 🙂


As promised, I am posting something I actually made and ate this week for a change.

The Biscoff spread Miss Smart gifted me with has been burning a hole in my pantry.  This is an emergency situation, remedied only by having banana soft serve (which I think you all are familiar with) for breakfast.

Why soft serve?  To go with my Biscoff Sauce, of course!

Biscoff spread tastes like a creamed version on the brown sugar cookies served on Delta flights… but better.

Why better?  Let me break this down: Spread = Peanut Butter-like = Awesome.

biscoff spread

In fact, it says right on the jar that it should be used any where you’d normally use PB or chocolate spread.  Cookie spread!!! *swoon*

Can you call 2 ingredients a recipe?  Maybe not… but it’s what I ate for breakfast on Wednesday (WIABW).


Banana Soft Serve

Freeze a banana.  Toss said banana in blender.  Blend until smooth (can add milk if you need to thin it out a bit to blend).

Biscoff Sauce

  • 1 T Biscoff spread
  • 1/8 tsp coconut oil

Place both ingredients in a small bowl.  

Microwave for ~10 seconds – just until melted (BE CAREFUL – it will burn).  Stir together.  

Try to top soft serve with sauce before you slurp it up

***

This jar doesn’t have a prayer of lasting through the weekend.  It will be used for some epic oats.

What food product have you recently tried and loved?

Does anyone want to write a guest post for me next week?  Pretty please?!

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes, Restaurants Tagged With: breakfast, dessert, dinner, Push Start Kitchen, restaurants, snacks, underground dinner, WIAW

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