Anatomy of a Dinner Party: a day in the life of a hospitalityaholic
 

Venkman’s

Written by Patti on October 11th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

Last week John was in town and so we had to celebrate. We chose Venkman’s, one of faves. There was also an acoustic set of Beatles tunes thrown in for free.

Have you been to Venkman’s? Named after Bill Murray’s character in Ghostbusters. Thursday night their special is an entire fried chicken served with pickled veggies, slaw and potato wedges. All for $29. Eric and I decided to go for it and were rewarded with crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside chicken with puckery pickled veggies and creamy slaw. The potato wedges were a nice foil to all the tartness. And after we ate our fill of chicken, there was still plenty left to craft into a fabulous breakfast hash on Saturday.

And jalapeno corn muffins, too!

And jalapeno corn muffins, too!

I love Venkman’s. You should go. And say hi to Chef Nick Melvin.

xoxo, Patti

 

Red Phone Booth & Amalfi Pizza

Written by Patti on September 20th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

We went on a double date with sweet friends Spencer and Allison to Red Phone Booth and Amalfi this past Saturday.

It was marvelous! The Red Phone Booth is a speakeasy only accessible via the…you guessed it…red phone booth!

 

Pre-dinner cocktails! This is the fog cutter

Pre-dinner cocktails! This is the fog cutter

 

Date night!

Date night!

 

Spencer had the best pie of the night.

Spencer had the best pie of the night.

 

Eric is so cheeky.

Eric is so cheeky.

Pie crust stuffed with fresh ricotta.

Pie crust stuffed with fresh ricotta.

 

Go. You will love it. Pinky swear.

xoxo, Patti

 

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – DragonCon

Written by Patti on September 9th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

DragonCon – could there be anything more magical? Cosplay, meeting all your favorite characters and then drinking with them.

Photos really tell the story best.

Visiting with Robbie the Robot.

Visiting with Robbie the Robot.

The land of Oz

The land of Oz

Mojojojo and Me.

Mojojojo and Me.

Captain America was there, too!

Captain America was there, too!

Bestie Melanie met two old friends. Like Jurassic Old.

Bestie Melanie met two old friends. Like Jurassic Old.

It was the place to be! Were you there? I’d love to hear your stories.

xoxo, Patti

 

 

 

Venkman’s

Written by Patti on September 8th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

If you know me, you know I love Bill Murray. Love love love.

This weekend Eric and I popped over to the brand new eatery in town, Venkman’s. Named after Bill’s character in Ghostbusters. Because these people must be awesome.

They are. The brunch was fabulous.

PICS!

Big Ass Sticky Bun. Yes, that's the name.

Big Ass Sticky Bun. Yes, that’s the name.

 

Duck hash. OMG.

Duck hash. OMG.

Eric's breakfast sammie with homemade sausage. Nom nom nom

Eric’s breakfast sammie with homemade sausage. Nom nom nom

 

Esteban took amazing care of us. We got there way late for brunch and they didn’t even try to kick us out. We kept ordering mimosas and they all smiled kindly and kept ’em coming.

Go – order everything and say hi to  adorable Carrie at the hostess stand and Adam the badass sous chef. You’ll love it.

“Who you gonna call?” Venkman’s!!

Oh! And they have a PUPPET BRUNCH!! I have no idea what that is, but I’m going next time.

xoxo, Patti

 

 

Martha and Snoop – Together Again

Written by Patti on August 12th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

I love a good dinner party. I mean, duh! So I cannot wait til this fall for Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg’s new dinner party show.

You can read all about it on Vanity Fair.com

I wonder if anyone would watch it I taped our dinner parties? Tell me below in the comment section (which is finally fixed).

I will be glued to my seat waiting for this show. With a gin and juice, natch.

xoxo, Patti

 

BLT Salad

Written by Patti on August 11th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

I was starting to wonder if I could face another salad – can I keep the magic going?

Surprisingly, yes.

This little number comes from How Sweet It Is, which is a daily obsession. Jessica is always coming up with the tastiest dishes and she is also completely adorable.

There is everything to love about this BLT Salad – bacon, fresh corn, grape tomatoes, feta (to be honest, I ran out of feta and used goat cheese), but besides that, we followed this recipe to the letter. And we were greatly rewarded.

It counteracts those Krispy Kreme donuts I had for breakfast. Ok – you can judge me. But just a little bit. 🙂

Go make this with someone you love.

Seriously, these salads keep getting better!

Seriously, these salads keep getting better!

blt chopped salad with corn, feta + avocado

Totally lifted from Jessica at How Sweet It Is.

ingredients:

2 cups butter lettuce, chopped
2 cups fresh arugula, chopped
1 pint grape tomatos, quartered
4 slices thick-cut bacon, fried and crumbled
1 cup sweet corn
1 avocado, chopped
4 ounces feta, crumbled

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

directions:

As a note, to chop my lettuce I like to lay it out on a big cutting board and just continuously run my knife through it (in all different directions) until it’s chopped as much as I like.

In a large bowl, combine lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, corn and avocado. Add in salt, pepper, olive oil and lime juice then toss well to coat. Fold in bacon and feta then divide evenly amount 2 plates. Serve!

That Jessica knows her stuff.

And for extra inspiration, go visit my girl and fellow co-founder at Atlanta Movie Tours, Carrie, at her blog, Cre8iveone, where she is slaying it! So proud. Go, visit, leave a very sweet comment.

xoxo, Patti

 

Sometimes, It’s Just Snacks

Written by Patti on August 10th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

Same theme – it’s HOT here in Atlanta. Even too hot to make salad. Last night I threw together this fun platter of treats from rummaging in the fridge and the pantry.

Crab dip, baby carrots, club crackers, grapes and pistachios. It was like a tiny cocktail party without…gasp…the cocktails. Even we have to take break every once in a while.

 

It doesn't have to be difficult to be delish.

It doesn’t have to be difficult to be delish.

Pull out your cute little bowls and a nice white platter and add some colorful food and you have an instant party. Voila!

xoxo, Patti

 

Farro Salad – Yes it’s cold…

Written by Patti on August 9th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

Yes, I am still on a chopped salad kick. Today’s entry comes to us from Ellie Krieger, who served her adorable little salads in tiny mason jars.

I don’t want to eat out of a mason jar. I want a real bowl, so I can get every bite. Sue me.

But I digress. If you want to layer this salad in a mason jar, you go right ahead. I’m sure it will be precious. But I’m just hungry!

This salad is just as good the next day. I mean – it is TASTY!

Farro Salad. You should make this. Like right now.

Farro Salad. You should make this. Like right now.

Layered Farro Salad (or not layered – I won’t judge)

Ingredients

1 cup farro
11/4 cups walnut pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups shredded kale leaves
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
11/4 cups crumbled feta cheese (6 ounces)
2 cups quartered red or black grapes

Directions

Cook the farro according to the directions on the package. Drain well, then place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside to cool, then chop.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Place the kale in a medium bowl, add half of the dressing, and toss to combine. Add the onion, parsley, and remaining dressing to the farro and toss to combine.

To assemble the salad, place the farro in the bottom of a large glass bowl, patting down slightly. Add the kale on top. Sprinkle with the feta cheese. Then layer with the grapes and finally the walnuts. Alternatively, make individual salads by layering the ingredients in wide-mouthed 12-ounce (500 ml) jars.

Makes 8 servings

You know the drill – gobble down like hungry badgers and wash it all down with something delicious. A margarita would be nice here.

xoxo, Patti

 

Kroger = KroBar = Louis and Alysa

Written by Patti on August 8th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

Eric and I do all our shopping at Kroger with an occasional stop at Trader Joe’s and if we’re feeling like pretending we are the 1%, Whole Foods.

In Atlanta we like to name our Krogers. There’s the Disco Kroger on Piedmont which used to be the dance club Limelight and the most unfortunately named but most famous, Murder Kroger on Ponce de Leon (which Atlantans all know is pronounced Ponce Dee Lee On. If you pronounce it with a spanish flair ie. Ponce A Day Lee Ahn, you will have outed yourself and we will all know you are from out of town immediately and might say to your face, “bless your heart”, which if you don’t know, is not something you want a southerner to say to you.)

Anyhoo. The newest Kroger is setting the city on fire. Eric and I call it KroBar and my girlene and Atlanta Movie Tours co-founder, Carrie calls it Boozy Kroger, which I think is hilarious. Now why would we call this particular Kroger this name? Oh, boy, wait til you hear this!

This Kroger has a bar in it!! A bona fide, belly up and order craft beer and wine from an honest to goodness bartender. Now in all honesty, this is brilliant marketing. We show up, have a beverage, meet either other friends that are shopping or brand new friends who are also drinking and we stay. For like HOURS! My newest favorite bartenders, Louis and Alysa keep the party going with their witty repartee and bringing us delicious snacks and allowing us to taste beverages we have an interest in.

THIS IS DANGEROUS. We have wiled away 4 hours between drinking and shopping here. But dangerous in the most fun way ever.  The last time we did this, I walked out with 3 lbs of crab legs that were not on the list, but I just had to have for dinner. I rationalized this by the fact that $25 worth of crab legs was much cheaper than eating at our favorite weekend seafood place. Eric concurred and in the basket they went.

Krobar!

If you live in Atlanta, this is a don’t miss, one-of-a-kind treat.

Say hello to Louis for me!

xoxo, Patti

 

 

Still Chopping

Written by Patti on August 6th, 2016

Good Morning Darlings!

Remember when I said I could eat that BBQ chopped chicken salad every day? I might have been exaggerating a teeny bit.

So I have another salad to share with you so you won’t get bored.

This one is a Greek Salad that takes a LOT of liberties with the OG recipe. I mean A LOT. Since it took liberties, so did we. Eric hates kale so we used arugula. We love arugula. We may or may not have bought a bottled basil/garlic vinaigrette that I found at Kroger so we didn’t have make our own. It was still super tasty. Here’s a hot photo of that cool salad.

I've got to switch up my backgrounds. I promise to work on that next week.

I’ve got to switch up my backgrounds. I promise to work on that next week.

This recipe called for chickpeas. I’m not a big fan, but it’s been a while, so I thought I would give them another go. They work really well in this salad and you don’t miss that there’s no meat in the dish.

I found this salad at Gimme Some Oven (how cute is that blog name?)

CHOPPED KALE  ARUGULA GREEK SALAD

This chopped kale arugula salad is fresh and full of those Greek flavors we all love!

INGREDIENTS:

GREEK SALAD INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 large bunch (about 10 ounces) kale arugula leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cucumber, seeded and diced
  • 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
  • 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • garlic parsley vinaigrette (see below)

GARLIC PARSLEY VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 3 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed (or finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

TO MAKE THE GREEK SALAD:

Toss all ingredients together with desired amount of dressing until evenly mixed.

TO MAKE THE GARLIC LEMON VINAIGRETTE:

Whisk all ingredients together until blended. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Gobble down like hungry badgers and add a Corona (or two, no judging here). Go visit Ali at Gimme Some Oven, who lives in Kansas City where my bestie John is now living. COME HOME JOHN!

Ahem. I miss John.

xoxo, Patti