A few months ago I got this jambalaya recipe as my weekly Garnish & Gather meal and shared it with my family.  It's quickly become our favorite and a staple meal at our house.  Family members request it when they come over for dinner.  It's quick and easy to make.

To be 100% honest with you guys, I made it last night for my weekly bachelor viewing party.  I tripled the recipe so I would have plenty to photograph for you this morning, and it was almost all gone!  This is about a half a cup, and I had to use all my best photography skills to get this picture!  I'm sad I don't have leftovers for lunch, but I'm sure I'll make it again next week ;)

This week's Garnish & Gather meal featured chicken thighs.  I was hesitant.  Historically I've been more of a white meat girl.  Since confessing my love for Top Chef, I'm embarrassed to admit this.  Tom Colicchioregularly touts the superiority of dark meat, but I just wasn't there. 

Chef Amy Ponzoli changed my mind.  Maybe it was the cherry gastrique, or maybe it was the wine, I'm not sure, but for the first time I saw what all the hype was about.  The meat was flavorful and cooked perfectly!  The flavor combination of the sweet and tart cherry gastrique and the chicken thighs was heaven.

Let's be honest.  Everything I know about food I learned from Top Chef.  To say I'm an avid fan would be an understatement.  I've seen every season multiple times. The depths of my online following of Chef Kevin Gillespie, my all time favorite contestant, might categorize me as a stalker, but I've accepted it.  The first time I saw him at Woodfire Grill I thought I was standing a little too close to the open flame, but looking back I may have been having a crush-induced hot flash.  He signed my menu, and it's one of my most prized possessions (like in my trophy cabinet).  The first time I went to his new restaurantGunshow, I was mentally prepared to see him.  I psyched myself up all day, but when he walked up to the table I totally lost my nerve. My mom ended up blurting out, "she's a really big fan!" 

Some wives long for jewelry or Swiss ski trips.  Not me.  The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen is my dream destination.  I drop hints at least three times a week.  My number one rational is that Tom Colicchio will be there, and he's "less than a god, but more than a man... you know like hercules or something." Jimmy's afraid I might embarrass myself fan-girling, so I'm not sure how well that argument is going.

Anyway, that was a very roundabout introduction ... the point I was trying to get across is that Top Chefhas made me into a self-proclaimed foodie.  As soon as a plate of food is placed in front of me, I channel my inner Gail Simmons and get to work.  Is this too salty?  Is the meat cooked to my liking?  I'm very hard to please.

Now that we all agree that I'm fully qualified to review restaurants, I'll get to work on Cooks & Soldiers.

I'm sure those of you who are friends with both Jimmy and me on Facebook laugh behind our backs as we post, "This restaurant looks amazing!  Let's check it out!" on each other's walls... as if we don't have a 7 month old at home and haven't been out to eat anywhere except Houston's in months. (That's not a knock on Houston's... it's awesome).  The DESIRE to go out on the town and check out new places is still there even if the work/preparation that goes into it proves to be fairly difficult.  Next year I resolve to try some of the intriguing new restaurants popping up around Atlanta.  Going out to a nice dinner with my love is one of my favorite things in life, and next year I will!

Here are some of the places I'm really looking forward to trying!

Here's a list of places that make me happy to live in Atlanta :)

1. The Sundial Restaurant

I LOVE the Sundial!  It's located at the top of the Westin in downtown Atlanta, and I've been going there since I was a child.  You can see all the way to Stone Mountain, which is such a treat for a little kid!

Recently I introduced Jimmy to the Sundial, and he loved it too.  There's something about sipping a White Russian while taking a 360° spin around the skyline that just says "Welcome to Atlanta!"

To be 100% honest, I've never eaten there... so perhaps this deserves the title of my favorite bar in Atlanta...

2. Watershed on Peachtree

Ever since 6th grade I've had a fairly fanatical obsession with The Indigo Girls.  Galileo had me at first listen, and the CDs have been staples in my car ever since.  When they opened Watershed here in Atlanta, I was desperate to go.  While I loved the Decatur location, I have to say that the new Peachtree location is much better.  It's closer to my house, and I love the design.  I've heard the fried chicken is out of this world, but I was delighted with my gluten free veggie plate as well.  The servers are wonderfully knowledgeable about which items are gluten free and which can be made gluten free, which is so refreshing.  Jimmy's taking me there for dinner tonight... lucky me!

3. Sophie's Uptown

Sophie's is a cute little cafe/bakery on Pharr Road.  They publish a gluten free menu every day that includes quiches, soups and even sandwiches.  I whole heartedly recommend the tomato soup (ask for an extra pack of Saltines).  The sandwich was good, but I'm not a huge fan of gluten free bread.  I have to say though, sometimes you just need a sandwich.  They also donate to homeless pets, which makes me feel good about eating there.

4. Houston's 

If you don't like Houston's you don't like Atlanta.  I'm serious.  Every time you go to Houston's you know what you're going to get.  Here's a list of the absolute best things at Houston's in case you live in a hole:  Spinach dip, French Dip, chicken fingers + fries + colesalw, salad with the chicken fingers on it (forget the name), crab cakes, vegetable plate, Hickory Burger, tortilla soup, grilled artichoke, bbq chicken.  FYI, I just asked Lindley (my bff) what her favorite things were at Houston's. She launched into a list that included the grilled chicken salad subbing in chicken fingers and the sleeper favorite smoked salmon, which nobody ever gets because you'd be a fool not to order the the spinach dip or artichoke heart.  Kids who were raised in Atlanta and went to Westminster love Houston's as much UGA grads like the Bulldogs.  It's a thing.  By the way... if you go there and tell them you are gluten free they will make you almost anything on the menu gluten free.... except the chicken fingers, which crushed a little piece of my soul.

5. Nuevo Loreado

Lindley and I love Mexican food more than anything.  When we lived together at UGA we would go to the La Parilla on Prince at least 5 times a week (sometimes twice a day if we just had to).  We would go to the drug store next door and buy gossip magazines.  Then we would go in to La Parilla and order two giant mugs of beer in the frostiest glasses you've ever seen.  We'd spend at least 45 minutes drinking our beers and eating bean dip before we ordered our taco salads (her's with no cheese... we were on weight watchers, of course).  The whole experience would take at least two hours, but the servers never said anything to us because we were probably their best customers.  Though we left Athens at least 15 lbs heavier, we also left with holes in our hearts that no frosty beer or taco salad could ever fill... not to say we haven't tried.  We've probably tried every mexican restaurant in the city, and we rate them all... though that's a different blog post for a different day.  Suffice it to say we like Nuevo Loreado the best.  They have the best salsa and the best taco salads.  I know some of you are jumping out of your chair because I didn't say Jalisco's, but give me a break... I like what I like.  The salsa at Jalisco's is a touch too hot, and I can't go in there wearing pajama pants and a sweat shirt because I'll run into like 30 people I know.  Last night Lindley and I went over to Nuevo Loreado, and I carried a little plastic bag of gluten free chips.  My Bud Light bottle was cold, but it was no frosty mug.  At the end of the day I say if you can't drive to Athens, you're best option is to hit up Nuevo Loreado.  As a side note, be careful wearing you're pajamas because you'll most likely see someone you know ;)

Tomorrow I'll work on finishing the list.  Have a great night everybody!

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Well... it's time for my first ever recipe.  I'm no Katie Oblinger, but I think the pictures are ok, and the food is amazing... so you might want to take a gander.

I have been feeling a little sad lately.  My grandmother (mom's mom) is in a nursing home very near our lake house.  She has been there for a few years and it's been good for her.  She has Alzheimer's, and they take great care of her.  I try to go once every other month or so to visit her.  I have been incredibly busy recently, and I actually havent seen her since June.  I went this past weekend and was astounded by the change in her.  Usually she is so happy and smiling.  Even if she doesn't know me she lights up when I walk in the room and she holds my hand and says she's "feeling a little bit better today."  When I went this weekend she wasn't talking or smiling.  She just looked at me and squeezed my hand.  It was so sad I just started crying.  She has been such an important person in my life.  She is honestly the sweetest and most motherly person I've ever met.  Another one of her best traits is her cooking ability.  She maks the most amazing beef stew.  My brother Ben and I liked it so much we would always request it when we went to visit.  She actually nicknamed it "Ben's Stew" we liked it so much.  My whole life, every time I saw her, she would make this.

She's been on my mind a lot this week.  Last night I was leaving work, and it was really rainy and cold in Atlanta...  I just thought, "tonight would be a great night for "Ben's Stew."  I called up my cousin/bff Kristin and went over the details and then headed over to Publix to grab the supplies.  When I was thinking of a side, I immediately thought of my step mother's (Missy) brussel sprouts.

Missy is such a great cook!!!  You walk into her house and it always smells like home cooking.   She started making these brussel sprouts a few years ago, and we all just love them.  According to Missy, and I agree 100%, these are the best leftovers in the world... put them in the fridge and a few hours take one out and eat it cold... life changing.

This meal is such a wonderful combination of two very important women in my life who I love very much.  I hope you like it!  Jimmy certainly did (keep reading).

Side note:  Before you adjust the color on you monitor, I have lime green countertops.  My house was built in the 50s, and they have never been updated.  Some may say outdated... I say charming (no I don't... I say I don't have the money to change them).

Here's what you need:

"Beef for Stew" or "Stew Beef."  You can find it at the grocery... it's exactly what it sounds like... (You can either wash or not...  I think arguments can be made for doing it both ways.  I did not wash mine first.)

What Rachel Ray calles EVOO.

Fingerlings...  at least this is what I picked.  You can also just use Irish if you like. (Wash them)

Bag of carrots...  I like these baby cut ones, but you can also get the stalks and cut them up #morework #prewashed

Bag of Brussels.  Wash them.

White onion.

Beer.  This is not to use in the cooking.... it's to drink while you cook.  DUH.  flockboston.com - visit the website.

You also need: beef broth, chicken broth, corn starch, garlic, butter, salt, pepper, Lawry's seasoning, and cayenne pepper.

Lets get this party started. (beef stew first)

Heat up some oil (how much? I don't know... about that much) in a pan.

Throw in the "Stew Beef" and brown it. (add salt and pepper... like a dash of each)

Get out your garlic....

Throw about that much in the pan...   like a kitchen spoon full.

Dice up your onion.  This photo was taken mid-dice....

Throw your diced onions in with the beef and garlic.

Get your fingerlings and cut them in half.  You don't have to cut them in half, but I like to because they sort of mush up better, which adds to the stew-iness of it.  Yea, like that makes sense.

Throw them in the pot.

Add your carrots, and put in a can of beef broth.

Cover and cook for about 25-30 minutes.

Get out a new pan... a small one.

Take a spoon full of about that much butter...

Melt it in a pan...

Throw in some corn starch.... maybe 2 tablespoons?  That's a guess.

Pour in some chicken broth....  maybe 1/2 of a cup?  Until it looks like that.... it should actually be a little bit more watery...  I added more chicken stock after I took the picture.

Pour this mixture into the big pan of beef stew. It helps thicken it up and turn it into a stew.  You can also add a little more salt and pepper, a dash of Lawry's and 2 shakes of cayenne pepper, if you like a little spice.

It starts to look more like this...  it gets thicker as it cooks down.  Cook it for about 10 more minutes with the top on and you're finished!  Yum!

Now let's do the brussel sprouts.  It goes without saying that I did these at the same time, but it's easier to understand if you explain them separately.

Preheat your oven to 350...

Take your washed brussels and put them on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle some EVOO (that phrase really annoys me) on top and sprinkle with sea salt.  Shake the cookie sheet so the brussels all get coated with the oil/salt mixture.  Put them in the oven.

In 15 minutes open the oven and shake the tray again...

15 minutes later do it again...

15 minutes later they should look like this.  Take 'um out!

Then....  Take two plates and serve it up!

Make sure you have a boyfriend who's willing to try it even if he's skeptical.

"Sure Blayne...  of course I'm willing to try your cooking and have you photograph it for your blog..."  Something else interesting about this picture... I had finished my beer (duh) and was drinking some iced tea out of the sweet new cup I got at Striplings this weekend.  Don't know what Striplings is?  Read yesterday's post.

First bite!  This is right after he said, "you know Blayne, I don't really like brussel sprouts."  You may notice I only gave him three.  Go back to the picture above and look at how many I got.

"No Sister!  You can't have any of my dinner!  I ate it all!"  Jimmy ate all the brussels on his plate and then half of mine...  See...  they are THAT GOOD!

This was such a fun meal to make, and I felt much better afterwards.  I am incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful family.  Everyone brings so much to the table (see what I did there?).  I love you all so much.

*As I was writing this post my mom came in to tell me that my grandmother is not doing well today.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  She really is amazing.

Houses and Sausage?  The perfect combination! Let's start with the house.