But now Chioke is moving to THE big city, New York City, to continue his education, and will be gone for three years. Three years I will not be able to walk two blocks for a hug or a special cocktail. Three years I will not be able to hear the sound of his smooth voice and laugh at his wicked jokes.

My heart is a little heavy today.

We spent our last evening together for a while doing what we do best – eating. Eric, Holly, Chioke and I met up at JCT. Kitchen in Atlanta for a (semi) celebratory meal. I first introduced you to  JCT on my first meeting with Eddie and Jaithan.

Since JCT. does southern cuisine best, it was a fitting place to say our goodbyes.

JCT Kitchen

JCT. was thumping when we arrived. Chioke was waiting for us at the bar, looking very big city already. Out table was ready and we were ready to order.

While waiting for our dinner, Chioke filled us in about apartment hunting in New York, finding his brownstone and upon arrival, realizing that a bunch of stuff was not going to fit into his big city, small space, new home. But also about the thrill of being in the middle of the world’s most exciting city. I couldn’t help but feel a little envious and very hayseed. He is embarking on a mad, crazy adventure and I can’t wait to hear every detail as he becomes a New Yorker.

But for tonight, he was still very much the southern gentleman.

And so we ate.

Deviled Eggs With Benton’s Bacon and Truffled Parmesan Fries to start.

Truffled Fries

Chioke and Eric Model The Deviled Eggs

This Would Make For A Most Glamorous Breakfast, Yes?

Our Sweet Holly

And then, the entrees and more talk of New York. Holly goes every year for Toy Fair (how much fun would that be? Toys!) and Chioke and she made their plans to meet up soon.

Chioke's Slow Cooked Rabbit

Chioke chose the Slow Cooked Rabbit with farmstand onion & fontina filled pasta, local greens, candied garlic jus. It was melt in your mouth delicious.

My Crispy Duck

Crispy “Duck & Dumplings” duck leg confit, duck meatballs, potato dumplings, local greens, preserved tomatoes. It was dark in the restaurant and was I ever surprised when I bit into what I thought were potatoes and they were duck meatballs. Amazing.

Holly's Shrimp And Grits

Holly opted for Shrimp & Grits with Benton’s country ham, tim & alice’s red mule grits, soft poached egg, crusty bread for sopping. I almost ordered this but I wanted everyone to be able to try each other’s plates. I will be getting this when we return. Scrumptious.

JCT's Signature Dish - Fried Chicken

Eric ordered the signature dish, Jct. fried chicken served with macaroni and cheese, garlicky green beans. They only make a certain amount of this dish per night so nabbing an order is a special treat. And that macaroni and cheese, oh my goodness.

We all sampled, tasted and critiqued. Everything was delicious.

Especially the company.

Chioke And Me

It is too difficult to say goodbye, so I’ll just say, “see you soon, my sweet friend.” Save me a seat at the local diner.

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to Jay Z & Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (sniff)

and Billy Joel – New York State of Mind

AND Frank Sinatra – New York, New York

On day one, after spending the afternoon on the Crush Pad with Doug, Sharon and Chef Dairen, we drove home to Atlanta where Eric had made dinner reservations at Abbatoir. It was a splendid affair, although no pictures. A couple needs to have some private time, after all.

But on Sunday, we made our favorite baked potato salad and headed over to Jay and Valerie’s house for their fabulous fried chicken, and Curtis’ world famous pulled pork and lots of other goodies. And of course, I brought my camera!

She's A Grand Old Flag, She's A High Flying Flag....

Jay and Valerie are masters at frying chicken and there was bunch of it! Curtis made his pulled pork, (you met him here), I made potato salad, but there was also pasta salad, deviled eggs, Taruan’s amazing baked beans, Chioke’s wowee jello shots(!!), watermelon (of course – it’s July 4th!), cobbler and I’m sure lots of other dishes I am forgetting. I blame the jello shots.

Mr. Photo, please!

Mmmm, Fried Chicken!

Baked Beans and Deviled Eggs

The Aforementioned Jello Shots

No, Chioke did not make one type of jello shot – he made three! The green is a margarita shot, the dark red are Jack Daniels and black cherry and the last offering was Tropic Thunder – Malibu Rum, pineapple and cranberry juices. That last one was my favorite. Oh yes, yes, it was.

One Perfect, Carb Laden Plate

Curtis even made his own bbq sauce. Yum, yum, yum.

World Famous Curtis, Our Own BBQ KIng

Sweet Denise

Tim and Becky, Cutting Up

Our Buddy Rick

Taruan & Valerie, Kicking Back

Darling Chioke and Me

Mr. Perfect and Me!

Shane, Showing Off His Neighborhood Gear

I Love The Impish Look On Valerie's Face Here....

Always Adorable Marcus and Shawn

I'm Pretty Sure This Was Later In The Evening...

It was a perfect way to not only celebrate July 4th, but to celebrate Eric and I moving home to Atlanta just one short year ago today.

Thanks again, Jay and Valerie, for hosting – you all are the greatest!

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to Zac Brown Band – Chicken Fried

The official start of summer is just days away, but Old Sol seems antsy to bring it on. It is positively steamy here in Atlanta and what better way to beat the heat than ice cream? Now I know that might coincide with your bikini-ready plans, but you need to give yourself a tiny break here and there, yes?

There are so many fantastic ice cream purveyors here in our city – just turn around and you bump into one!

If Only We Could All Look So Sweet Gobbling Ice Cream

How about a newbie?  Scott Smallwood sent me some info on a new treat outpost on the Westside of town – that’s over by me! Whee! Let me share with you:

ATLANTA (June 3, 2010) – The Westside Creamery announced today they will be unveiling their first batch of locally-sourced “farm to bowl” ice creams and sorbets, available to the public for purchase this Saturday.

Westside Creamery has partnered with Johnston Family Farm, a family owned and operated Georgia dairy that has been in continuous operation since 1956, for its supply of fresh milk and cream.

Flavors available for purchase by the pint, cone, and scoop will include Mint Sweet Tea, Lemon Buttermilk Sorbet, Honey + Apricot, and Blueberry Buckle.

Westside Creamery is owned and operated by native Georgians Maggie Rentz and Greg Smith, who envision churning ice cream and sorbet year-round that captures the essence of each season, using ingredients grown and harvested around Georgia wherever possible.

Maggie Rentz, owner and creator of the Westside Creamery, describes the company’s mission: “Our goal is to consistently produce new, innovative creations, whether that be unique flavor combinations or new, luxurious twists on old standbys.  But just as important as our focus on flavor is our love of this community, its growers, and its consumers,” said Maggie, who herself grew up on a small farm in South Georgia.   “Our goal is to integrate healthy, sustainable, local food into our frozen confections, and to support and uplift our community in a collective celebration of one of the world’s greatest foods.”

Visit the Westside Creamery’s website for more information about purchase locations and seasonal flavors. http://westsidecreamery.com

They also offer a chocolate stout made with beer for you grownups out there – great for a dinner with beer pairings!

Sweet Tea Ice Cream from Westside Creamery

On Sunday night, bestie Chioke brought over some King of Pops ice cream pops for us to enjoy while watching the MTV Movie Awards. They had been on my list to try and I believe Chioke picked up 2 of each flavor – amazing!  I had the chocolate mint, but there was Grapefruit cilantro, Banana Pudding, Mexican Chocolate, Strawberry Lemonade and maybe a few others I can’t remember (help, Chioke?) Spectacular.  And the Cult King is kind of covert – you have to follow him on Twitter or Facebook to see where he will turn up next. If you don’t want to do that, though, you can always go to Cabbagetown Market and see Lisa – she carries the pops, too. And while you are at the market, try Mike’s awesome ice creams – he makes a bacon-flavored ice cream! Doesn’t that sound fun? But there are some less adventurous flavors, too. But they are all delicious.

For the ice cream that is on the top of everyone’s list, try Morelli’s Ice Cream. This place never disappoints and Donald and his beautiful wife are so nice and don’t mind if you want to try all the flavors. They are so patient. Their Salted Caramel will turn you into a ravenous badger – it is that good. It might just change your life.

And for those of you who just can’t get enough frozen delights – you HAVE to go book a ticket on FREEZE! presented by The Broke Socialite on Saturday, June 19th. A luxury shuttle bus will squire you to a bundle of cool purveyors that should fix your fix by the end of the tour. Trust me, The Broke Socialite knows what she’s doing – I went on the Sugar Coma tour in January and it was a blast. For more info and tickets, click here.

Go out and treat yourself today – it is going to be a scorcher!!

xoxo, Patti

Today Blogging To The Eagles Heartache Tonight

This week has been a flurry of parties and with the weekend approaching there seems to be no end in sight. Two dinners with Jeff at our house, Shameeka’s fabulous reception at the Mansion on Peachtree, dinner with my Love at WASABi after the reception, tapas at Clint’s followed by dinner at Carrie and Steven’s loft (more on that next week), tonight a dinner party at the home of neighbor and pastry chef Dave and his wife, Sue, tomorrow the exciting Blogger’s Brunch at The Four Season’s Park 75, then a graduation celebration with my favorite former boss and his precious family and on to Leila’s birthday party on Saturday night.

Whew. Sometimes, a girl is in need of a swanky cocktail just to slow down and reflect a bit.

Is that girl (or guy) you? Do you need a break, my Sweetie? Have I got the cocktail for you. Made with St-Germain.

The Rare and Beautiful Elderflower

But enough with the history, let’s talk cocktails.  You can surely sip St-Germain over a few slivers of ice as an aperitif, but most of the times I have had it in a cocktail, it has been paired with gin.  So yesterday I drove to Green’s and picked up a bottle of St-Germain and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin and got ready to mix.

Oops! I left the house without any recipes for cocktails, so how was I expected to mix up a drink with no ingredients?  See? I have been busy this week!

But the distinguished crafters of St-Germain are kind enough to include a few recipes in the tiny book that comes attached to the sexy, belle epoque, bottle. Funny, the original St-Germain Cocktail doesn’t even mention gin.

The St-Germain Cocktail

2 shots Champagne or Dry White Wine (preferably Sauvignon Blanc)
1.5 shots St-Germain
2 shots Sparkling Water or Club Soda

Stir ingredients in a tall ice-filled Collins glass, mixing completely. Garnish with lemon twist. Feel fancy-schmancy like the French.

For those of you wanting to try a gin based cocktail made with St-Germain, here’s a doozy from Robert Hess at the Chanticleer Society (this is especially for you, Chioke!)

Who else saw Iron Man 2 this weekend? Show of hands? Me, me!! A group of our besties got together and caravaned to the drive-in to enjoy the late spring weather and have a little cookout (any reason for a cookout with our friends!) We joined our friends and neighbors, Jay & Val, Chioke & Taruan and Jay’s sister, Heather, and had a blast.

Jay and Val had obviously done this before and brought a portable grill, all the turkey brats and potato salad. I brought cole slaw, chips & spinach dip, Italian sausages and a lobster tail. We all parked next to each other (that was a feat – it was packed!) and got to grilling. Val also made sangria and the fun began.

Chef Jay Firing Up The Grill

While the food was grilling, we visited, snacked and caught up with each other.  Everyone else there had the same idea – it was amazing the amount of people with grills and fancy set-ups we saw.  Big groups of folks, just hanging out and enjoying the weather.

This is really best told with photos.

Lots of Folks Had The Same Idea

The Back of the SUV Makes for a Great Serving Area - Pre-Dinner Treats

Darlings Chioke & Taruan

Jay Takes A Break From Cooking To Visit With Me

Nom, Nom, Nom - It's a Cookout, Y'all!

Sweeties Heather and Val Enjoy A Sangria

This Saturday is Val’s graduation party – but more about that later! Congrats, Val!

We Are Still An Hour From The Start of Iron Man 2, But Having Fun

Our Funny Cooler and the New Radio Eric Picked Up for Tonight - You Can Wind It Up! Isn't That Cool?

A little backstory on that cooler. It’s brand new, but our neighborhood can be rough in patches, so Eric deduced that a crummy looking cooler wouldn’t get taken. My incredibly smart husband!

Men, Men, Men...Manly Eric and Jay - What's Happening, Guys?

The sun started to set and we snuggled into our seats with our plates of yumminess.

Food Is Ready!

Eric and Taruan, Pre-Movie

Is It Time for Iron Man 2, Yet?

And suddenly, it is ridiculously cold! Who expected that? Why, Jay and Val, that’s who.  They brought blankets for us all. You all are the greatest! Thanks.

Taruan Finds The Back of the Escape Makes a Great, Uh, Escape!

But Not Before Posing With Me and Val...

The sun goes down and I snuggle with one of Val and Jay’s blankets and get ready for the previews. Don’t you love previews? Me, too.

Preview For Shrek #15, Or Something - How Many Shrek Movies Have They Made Already?

And then, it’s time for Iron Man 2. Oh, boy, it was good. Full of fun. So go see it, if you haven’t already. And under the stars, it was even better. And with great friends, it was the best.

The movie was over and no one was ready for the party to be over, so everyone popped over to our house to watch Betty White on SNL. Which, I bet, might have been the most watched SNL ever.  Hilarious.

Hope your weekend was as much fun.

xoxo, Patti

This past Saturday, my angel of a husband tackled making paella for 7 of us. Armed with a recipe given to us by our dear Chioke (who coaxed it out of a chef in Barcelona!), Eric took to the kitchen like a man on a mission. And it was a mission – feed 7 hungry friends.

First up, get the oil in the pan hot:

Caution - Super Hot Oil!

Then, make the sofrito. What’s sofrito you ask? It’s a saute’ of onions, garlic, and parsley. Pretty easy. And pretty, too.

Mmmm, Sofrito Makes The House Smell Heavenly!

Then, add your rice.

Doesn't It Look Good Already?

And then 50 cups of water – I’m just checking to see if you are paying attention! We cut this recipe back to serve 8, so about 4.5 cups of water here:

A Sea of Rice and Water, Waiting To Turn Magically Into Paella

While Eric was busy cooking, I was busy setting the table. My knockout roses are, well, a Knockout! I cut these from the front yard, where they are a riot of color.

Almost Like Barcelona...

And borrowed that adorable napkin trick I recently shared with you. Tell me what you think.

Like A Sweet Bowtie

And then our friends showed up. Right on time!

Bestie Holly

Taruan Shows Oscar Some Love

Check out Taruan’s tee – it’s the StaPuft Marshmallow Man, only the head is Taruan. Love it!

The paella was incredible. How could I have not snapped a million pics of it?  It was so delicious we ate it before we thought about it. So sorry.

And then we broke out the Scrabble board and played til 1 a.m.  Chioke beat us all soundly.

Even though I didn’t get any photos of the paella, here is the recipe. This should feed 10-12. Please read the entire recipe before you start to make it yourself.  And you can always trade out some things. We didn’t have any spanish chorizo, so we used italian sausage. Lobster was too pricey, so we used octopus.  Use your imagination.

But just make it – you will make your mouth so happy!

Thank you, my darling Eric, for making it for us!

xoxo, Patti

PAELLA (Barcelona)

Spice Mix for chicken, recipe follows
1 (3-pound) frying chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Spanish onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
4 cups short grain Spanish rice
6 cups water, warm
Generous pinch saffron threads
1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 lobster tails
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Lemon wedges, for serving

Special equipment:

Large paella pan or wide shallow skillet

Directions

Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it’s perfect.

Cook’s note: The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat.

Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.

Spice Mix for chicken:

* 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken; marinate for 1 hour, covered

This past Friday was my sweet Taruan’s birthday date of birth celebration day. Called a “get together” by his partner, Chioke. Tomato, tomahto – I call it a party. And it was such fun!

Chioke always has something surprising and fun at his parties get togethers and this time was no different. Take a look at the outside of their house as we walked up.

Nope, That Doesn't Scream "Party". Not One Bit.

How about we call it a “birthday roundup”? Maybe that sounds too much like a rodeo. Anyhoo…

More surprises awaited us inside. Chioke had rented a frozen drink machine for making margaritas and daquiris. Mmmmmm!

Still Not A Party?

And there was pizza from Slice. And beer. And Jenga. And Trouble – anyone remember Trouble from their childhood? Yup, we played that, too.

Frozen Drinks Give You A Brain Freeze? How About A Stella?

Crystal brought her wicked deviled eggs (really, this seems like a party)…I consumed as many as I could before they were all gone. I’m not kidding, these things could be a food group.

Our Bestie, And Host for The Evening, Chioke

And we played Jenga. We are a Jenga lovin’ bunch, I tell you.

Tiffany Takes Her Turn At Jenga

PJ, Chioke and Tauran - Who May or May Not Have Had A Birthday Party...

Jenga Break

From the Top, Marcus, Sean, Julian, Val and Leila

Eric and Tiffany Enjoy the, uh, Round Up!

Next up, Trouble. Hilariously played as adults.

Remember? I'm Sure That Popping Noise Drove My Mother Insane When I Was A Kid

Taruan and I Playing Trouble

And there were card games, too. Are you sure this isn’t a party, Chioke?

PJ and Taruan Play Spades, But Not At A Party, Mind You...

And there were tons of laughs.

Our Newest Friends and Neighbors, Sean and Marcus

Ashley, Tiffany and Val

Harold and Brandon At the Card Table

My Number One Darling

And then, all of a sudden, a HUGE cake appeared. With candles. And gummy bears.  I don’t know about you, but cake always says party to me. Although, this could just be the dessert portion of the night. You decide.

Dessert For The Date Of Birth Gathering

And then Taruan made a wish and blew out all the candles. But don’t call this a party.

Blowing Out the Get Together Dessert Candles. Still, NOT A PARTY...

Oh, who is anyone kidding? This was every bit a party and a great one, at that. Thanks, Chioke for your constant inspiration and to you and Taruan both for being the dearest friends. We love you!

xoxo, Patti