Free bubbly? How so?

CUCINA ASELLINA’S SAYS “GRAZIE” WITH COMPLIMENTARY BUBBLY

IN HONOR OF ITS ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Celebrating During Dinner Service this Monday, June 3 through Sunday, June 16, 2013.

Midtown’s premier Italian hotspot, Cucina Asellina, is turning one! To commemorate 365 days of great eats, vino and friends, Cucina Asellina and The ONE Group are popping the bubbly to say “grazie” to all of its supporters. Kicking off last night, June 3 at 5 p.m., and extending through Sunday, June 16, 2013, anyone that makes a dinner reservation at Cucina Asellina will receive a complimentary round of bubbly for their entire table! For reservations, call 404.793-0141 or visit asellina.com. Stay connected with Cucina Asellina on Twitter at @AsellinaATL on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CucinaAsellina.

WHAT: Cucina Asellina’s One-Year Anniversary

WHEN: During dinner Monday, June 3 through Sunday, June 16, 2013.

WHERE: Cucina Asellina
1075 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30309

CONTACT: Call 404.793.0141 or visit www.facebook.com/CucinaAsellina for more information or to make a reservation.

About Cucina Asellina:?
Cucina Asellina is a contemporary Italian restaurant located in the heart of Midtown featuring simple Italian dishes made from the finest ingredients in a warm, thoughtfully designed environment. An extension of NYC-based sister restaurant Ristorante Asellina, Cucina Asellina is located in the 12th & Midtown development at 1075 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309. For more information visit www.asellina.com.

Pssst…meet me at the bar!

xoxo, Patti

Who was our winner?

It was Clint!!

Congratulations! You have just won a $25 gift certificate to delicious Chow Bing. Enjoy!

xoxo, Patti

Eric and I had the opportunity to check out Chow Bing last week – what a nice change of pace!

Nestled in the Pencil Lofts off Decatur Street, this is sure to be a hit with the apartment complexes and Georgia State University, which surrounds it. The owner and chef, Gary, was an absolute delight as we discussed restaurants and healthy eating.

Chow Bing is healthy disguised as fast food. It is super yummy and affordable.

We started with the Lobster Philly Wontons. They were tasty, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more filling inside. But we gobbled them up. Crunchy on the outside, hot and tasty on the inside.

Lobster Won Tons

Next up, cocktails. We loved the boozy bubble teas! I chose pineapple and Eric enjoyed the mocha. I had never had a bubble tea, and I really enjoyed the chewy tapioca bubbles. It was like cocktail and dessert in one glass. That works for me.

Icy, creamy, pineappley! Yum!

For entrees, you have two choices – Bing Rolls or Bing Bowls. The Bing Rolls are like an Asian burrito and are filled with fresh ingredients like shrimp, chicken, beef, broccolini, red cabbage and a host of other things to make you feel really good about what you are eating. All the seafood and vegetables are from sustainable sources. The Bing Bowls have all the same ingredients but are served over either rice or noodles.

My entree, Grilled Shrimp Bing Roll. The roll was stuffed with shrimp, scallions, purple slaw and spice cilantro lime sauce. I opted for noodles in mine, too.

I guess I should have unwrapped it before I photographed it, huh?

Eric ordered the Bing Bowl with Roasted Pork. Noodles served with pickled carrots, cilantro, jalapeno and hoisin bbq sauce highlighted the pork. Delicious.

A return trip is in order.

Would you like to try Chow Bing for free? Here’s your chance to win a $25 gift certificate, so you can fill up on all this healthy goodness.

Just leave a comment below and I will pick a random winner on Monday!

xoxo, Patti

With Pinewood Studios (home to the James Bond franchise), coming to Atlanta next year, everyone is going to want to throw a casino party.

Here’s a no-fail list to make your party fabulous!

The Five Minute Guide To A Casino Party

With films like Casino Royale lighting up our TV screens and online casinos taking off in a huge way across the globe, gaming culture is very much in vogue. Add into the equation the high-octane adrenaline rush of communal gaming, the glitz, the glamour and the timeless cool of the casino world, and you’ll understand exactly why more and more people are hosting casino-themed parties and get togethers.

To many, the task of planning the casino party to end all parties is a daunting task; surely there’s a heck of a lot to do, right?

Of course not! That’s why this is a five minute guide, Darlings! Sure, you can spend weeks trying to hit on the formula for the perfect party occasion, but as a matter of fact, you can put together a super-cool casino party in next to no time. Here’s
our five-minute guide to organizing a fun-packed casino shindig:

The basics. You can’t have a casino party without setting up a poker table. You’ll need a deck of cards, something to use as chips (tiddlywinks are a good bet), a table and chairs. Tres simple.

Drinks. So you want to wow your guests with a delicious cocktail experience, but the chances are you’re no professional mixologist. Thank heavens for the Moscow Mule! All you’ll need to create this fiery concoction is some vodka, some ginger beer and a few
limes. Mix the vodka and ginger beer to taste, and then add a slice of lime (chop each fruit into eight pieces). For an extra zesty flavor, squeeze the lime juice into the drink and run the segment around the rim of the glass – your guests will be pleased as punch.

Music. You’ve got to nail this one to create the perfect casino ambiance. We suggest firing up Spotify and heading straight for Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits – sure to keep things classy. For a change of tempo later in the evening, a certain Mr Snoop Dogg’s got your back.

The centerpiece. For an eye-catching party centerpiece, get hold of a laptop, wire it up to the biggest TV you can lay your hands on and load up Jackpot Capital Casino. Head over to the slots section of the website and there you have your ready-made party focal point. Listen to the oohs and the ahhs of your guests as the reels spin… And if someone hits the jackpot, this party’s going to the next level…

The guests. Nothing could be more important than your party guests. Ask over the most wonderful, weird and worthy folk you know (this is the South, and we have plenty of sparkling personalities!) and none of the above even matter too much, you’ll have the time of your life!

So there you have it, a great party in no time at all. I hope this five minute casino party guide leads to one or more nights of total joy for you and your friends!

As I gear up for Super Bowl Sunday and our Snack Bracket, I think I’ve found the winning recipe.

Although, now that I’m getting ready to link to it, I think Holly might have already made this once before and I disremember.

Anyhoo! I found this on Taste and Tell and I’m going to make it for Sunday. Maybe. If I don’t find something else.

Sorry, Hol.

Holly might have beat me to this.

The Super Bowl is coming up and I am ready to party.

We’ve been watching our pennies, but still love to entertain.

What’s a party-loving couple to do?

If you’ve been penny pinching, too, I have an idea for you!

This is what we had originally wanted to do for Super Sunday.

This is such fun!

But not very budget conscious.

So, Eric came up with the idea of a Snack Bracket. Everyone brings a nibble and we all vote on the winner.

There are 5 categories:

1. Dips
2. Nibbles – Meaty
3. Nibbles – Veggies
4. Dessert
5. Best In Show

We will provide beer, wine and our own bracket entries.

Just add napkins, fun table decor, cups and plates and you are good to go.

This week, let’s talk about possible entries in each category.

xoxo, Patti

Do you love Downton Abbey? Isn’t it positively delicious?

At The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, you can do just that. And if you have never experienced Afternoon Tea at our city’s favorite hotel, you are in for a luxe treat.

Inspired by Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Theatre, guests may enjoy the pleasantries of British-styled tea and snap a photo of themselves with a fanciful cutout of Lord Grantham and Lady Grantham, Dowager Countess, at the hotel’s iconic fireplace in The Lobby Lounge from Wednesday, January 9 through Sunday, January 13, 2013.

January 2013 marks 29 years of serving Afternoon Tea at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. Presented in the British tradition, Afternoon Tea includes the guest’s choice of fine loose tea steeped in a bone china teapot, and poured through a silver strainer into the teacup. A new menu of delectable savories, warm scones and sweets accompanies the tea service.

Afternoon Tea
Smoked Salmon and American Caviar on Pumpernickel Bread
Cucumber with Dill and Lemon Ricotta Cream Mini-Sandwich
Traditional Egg Salad with Truffle
Prosciutto and Melon Canapés with Mascarpone Dijon Spread
Turkey Open Face Canapé with Orange Marmalade
Georgia Shrimp Profiterole with Tarragon and Basil

Currant and Traditional Scones, Devonshire Cream and Lemon Curd
Traditional Opera Torte, Lemon Tartlet
Profiterole of Grand Marnier Pastry Cream
Lime Financier, Citrus Madeleine, French Macaroon, Cherry Spritz

Seatings for Afternoon Tea are at 2:30 and 3 p.m. The price of Afternoon Tea is $44 per person. Royal Afternoon Tea is $60 per person, and includes Afternoon Tea with the addition of a glass of Heidsieck Monopole, Brut, “Blue Top”, France along with strawberries topped with whipped cream and Grand Marnier. Prices are inclusive of valet parking and exclusive of taxes and gratuities.

Please call (404) 240-7035 for information and reservations.

Can you believe it’s almost Christmas? Holy cow!

We are hosting a tiny dessert and cocktail party late Christmas night. Seems like a good time. Everyone will be done with family celebrations and be ready to unwind.

So, before the house fills up and it all gets funny and weird, I’m going to dish about my favorite things this season.

1. This blog. I love Jessica so much, it’s a little frightening. I want her to be my bestie. Her posts are always fabulous and hilarious and make me want to devour everything she cooks. There goes my cool card. Which I never had to begin with. Ah well.

2. Zombie anything. I am especially psyched up to see Warm Bodies. It doesn’t come out until February, but I will be first in line. Because inside, I am really just a 12 year old, tiara and sparkle wearing tween.

3. My brand spanking year old company, Atlanta Movie Tours, complete with the coolest business partner ever. Today, we received a request from the BBC, wanting to take our Big Zombie Tour (see #2). OMGoshie, the BBC, y’all!

4. Copious amounts of sweets. I don’t even eat dessert the rest of the year, but Christmas makes me crazy. I have had orange/chocolate & mint/chocolate cake balls, a boodle of coconut macaroons and plan to eat 23 cinnamon rolls before the end of the year. Don’t judge.

This would be me. Circa Dec. 8-Jan. 2

5. All the coolest parties. There was the cocktail party that Wendy and Jeffrey threw, where they served Krispy Kreme donuts with chocolate fondue. It was insanely good. There was the Tacky Christmas Sweater Party with the Peaches where I met a young woman who I soon realized I had known when she was 8 when I worked with her mother. Talk about trippy. Dinner with Clint and Matt and their adorable dog, Ollie, who I could just eat up. Jay’s 40th Birthday, with surprise guest, my darling Taruan, straight from NYC. That was awesome.

What have been some of your favorite parties this year?

xoxo,
Patti

I love to watch ice skaters. As for ice skating myself, not so much. But I do enjoy an icy beverage. And I love things that are super swanky.

On December 14 and 15 only, the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta is switching up their already divine Lumen lobby bar into an ice fantasy.

It’s the ice bar!

Once again the interactive Ice Bar offers a bit of martini merriment in Lumen, their lobby bar. Guests may select a special martini—such as the Orient Appletini or the Purple Cosmo—and watch as the bartender pours the vodka down the sculpted ice luge, chilling the beverage as it splashes into the guest’s glass. The Ice Bar is open Friday and Saturday, December 14 and 15 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Separate from the ice bar, our signature holiday cocktail for 2012 is the “Pine Tree,” created by the hotel’s mixologist, and offered in Lumen throughout December.

Doesn’t the garnish look like the Grinch’s hat?

Pine Tree
One and a half ounces Maker’s Mark or other premium bourbon whiskey
One ounce Midori Melon Liqueur
Half ounce of fresh lemon juice
Splash of ginger ale
Three green cherries
One sprig of fresh Rosemary

Combine first three ingredients in cocktail shaker, shake vigorously and pour over ice into a martini glass. Top with a splash of ginger ale, garnish with green cherries and rosemary sprig.

Race you there!

The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta (Downtown)
www.ritzcarlton.com/atlanta
404-659-0400

Is your tree up? Ours is. SO excited.  See, we usually give these massive parties that leave no room for a tree.

This year is different. No massive Black Tie party. Small Christmas dinner party.

But anyhoo, this is about putting up the tree. Well, not exactly, but a drink to put your tree up by.

It’s this lovely little concoction that takes Jailhouse Brewing’s Jailhouse Stout and mixes it with Whynatte.

Have you not heard of these treats? They both started in Atlanta, but I’m pretty sure you can get them anywhere. Jailhouse Brewing is creating awesome crafted beers and Whynatte is the yummiest coffee/latte/caffeine drink on the planet. Serious.

So here’s the complicated recipe:

Pour some Whynatte in a glass.

Top with Jailhouse Stout.

Drink.

Beer floats for Adults! Yum!

And you know, drink responsibly and all that. A designated driver is a beloved driver. Buy him/her a big present for getting you home safe.

xoxo, Patti