Sums it up

This photo pretty much defines Alex and I as a couple.

Delicious spread before us, and engrossed in food & Words with Friends.

:)

Have a great weekend!

Shalom, ya'll, Part II.

The classic post-passover dish, Matzoh Brie!  The leftover Matzoh from Passover is "scalded" (brie means scalded) in boiling water to soften it to a noodle-like consistency.  After it is adequately softened, the matzoh is mixed with a combination of egg, milk, salt, and sugar, and soaked.  It's very similar to French toast.  Then the whole thing is fried in a pan and served either savory (with salt and pepper) or sweet (powdered sugar is a popular topping).

We went the sweet-route, with a selection of spreads and toppings.  Pictured starting at top right and moving clockwise: maple syrup, meyer lemon curd, rhubarb strawberry compote, pecan butter, and strawberry balsamic jam.

Orchids and terrariums

When I went to the Botanical Gardens last week, they were selling "gently used orchids."

We totally cleaned up.

Excuse the blurriness of these pictures.  Lighting was bad, and my camera is a point and shoot.

Now I'm feeling like Nero Wolfe.

I also did a terrarium tutorial for a friend last week.  

We might have gone a little overboard.

Once you get started with terrariums, its hard to stop!  And this time of year the fancy succulents are appearing in Southern garden stores (though if you live in California, apparently they grow like moss - plentiful and underfoot year-round).

Shalom, ya'll!

We celebrated Passover earlier this week.  Passover is the Jewish holy day commemorating the story of Exodus, in which ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.  If your first introduction to Passover was through this Rugrats episode, you're not alone.  My first Seder was with Alex's family in 2008 and I have to say, I kind of loved it!  Then again, with kugel, charoset, and lamb on the menu, and in the timeless words of Alex's Bubby, what's not to like?

Above is our Seder plate, featuring the bitter herbs (ground horseradish. Horseradish >>onions.  If you make it, you will cry), a scorched egg, parsley, scorched lamb shankbone, and charoset.  For an explanation on the Seder plate, wiki.

Here's Alex acting as the zayde and reading from the haggadah.  After (in no particular order) much reading, the asking of the four questions, the recitation of the plagues, eating of bitter herbs, and breaking of the Afikomen, we commenced eating.

Blurry matzoh

Matzoh ball soup with a fried matzoh ball (inspired by Matzoh Ball Gumbo)

Gefilte fish with horseradish.

Atlanta brisket, with glazed carrots, noodle kugel, and potato kugel.

Brisket.

Dessert.  coconut macaroons and matzoh crunch.

Needless to say, by the end we were filled with both remembrance of the Exodus and a lot of food.

What better way to end the evening than bachi ball?

Botanical Gardens

Last week I paid a visit to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  Situated at the North-end of Piedmont Park, the Botanical Gardens afford scenic views of the city skyline amid a well-maintained natural setting.

See the skyscraper?

There were creatures both living...

 and not.

My grandmother has one of these.  See?

The orchids were pretty fantastic.

So was whatever this plant is -->

The weather was beautiful, and the company enjoyable.

Especially this one.

Invitations are out!

Many thanks to Nathan & Anna Bond at Rifle Paper Co. for doing such an amazing job!

Watershed Tuesdays: Fried Chicken

Photo from Watershed website

The Watershed Restaurant is yet another of those places you'll find in Atlanta (it's technically in Decatur).  You know type: organically grown, local food, Southern style, all housed in a converted gas station.  Despite the many shared qualities between it and other Atlanta establishments, the Watershed distinguishes itself from the pack.  Why, you ask? Because its good.  Really good.

We went for the famed fried chicken, which you can only get Tuesday nights (a very clever ploy to turn what is otherwise a slow night into a must-do).  Watershed's fried chicken was given its own NYTimes review back in 2005 and sometime in 2009, the chef Scott Peacock gave Martha Stewart a cooking lesson.

Enough talk.  Let's get to the chicken.

 Finger. Licking. Good.

Served with 2 angel biscuits, perfectly cooked green beans in butter sauce, and creamy mashed potatoes, with butter and honey on the side for the biscuits.

Everything was perfect, just how you'd want it to be.  The breading was crispy and flavorful and clung to the meat instead of sliding off.  The meat was uniformly juicy and tender.  The flavor was surprisingly clean, given they fry these babies in lard flavored with country ham, and just the right amount of salt (the salt & pepper also on the honey plate were superfluous).  

Watershed was definitely worth the trip!  The food was great and the ambiance was pleasing too.

After dinner we took a stroll around downtown Decatur.

I don't think I'll ever get used to how beautiful April is in Atlanta.  

But the caterpillars dangling from every tree are something I can do without!