Chris's Musings

It's Day 16, otherwise known to me as "Whole30 HUMP DAY - WOOT WOOT!"  Can you tell I'm excited?  14 days till I can start eating fake food again... oh wait, maybe it isn't all that great ;-) To tell you the truth, the whole thing has been a great experience so far.  I get bored with my food, yes.  I get massive cravings.  But... I feel great and my energy levels are good. A few days ago, a friend in my Whole30 support group posted this blog article to our group page (by the way, I don't recommend anyone doing this without some moral support).  It's pretty funny ( http://whole30.com/2012/09/doing-the-whole30-when/ ).  However, I think this list is somewhat incomplete and I feel somewhat compelled to add a few based on my experience.  I'll put it in here as a points system... tell me how many points you have, if in fact you are doing Whole30 (and have been on the program for at least a few weeks) +1 point:  You feel your clothes gettin...

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you buy a GroupOn or a LivingSocial to a restaurant that sounds uber-interesting, time passes, and 4 months later you look at your deal app on your phone and realize that you've got 3 weeks to use it? Yeah - that was me last week.  I saw this LivingSocial to a new Creole restaurant in Kennesaw that got some great reviews, and given my affinity for Cajun food and the lack of options in Metro-Atlanta I thought I'd give it a shot.  It was due to expire in a couple of weeks. So guess what, last night I took my girlfriend out to this place (don't worry, I bought it intending to take her :) ).   And here's my review of the place... in the spirit of the cute little old lady that reviewed her town's new Olive Garden in Grand Forks, ND.   (Don't worry - this place is one of a kind.  It's not a review of a ginormous national chain copied over 730 times across the nation.  I did smile when I read her little review ...

This weekend, I was able to get home and enjoy my fill of great Texas food, and yes I'm watching my calories and making sure to work out a little extra this week.  Needless to say, I've had some Mexican, some Greek (there's a famous place in Montrose called Niko Niko's that's crazy good - and was on Diners Drive-ins, and Dives), and of course some Goode Company BBQ :-) I do miss Texas BBQ.  I really do.  Not that my new home doesn't have good BBQ - it's just not the same and that's okay.  I'm sure that you know some folks that when you say the word "barbecue" automatically think about something that may or may not be foreign to your experience, so having been around I'll give you a little lexicon. "Southern" Barbecue (Tennessee/Georgia variety) This would be slow smoked pulled pork with a sweet sauce, most often served with macaroni and cheese, french fries, collard greens, or a plethora of other sides.  Those just happen...

Some of you know that I organize a once a month dinner club for friends and friends of friends to explore new restaurants in the city, meet new people, and have interesting conversation.  I am somewhat of a foodie and started organizing these dinners a few years ago because I wanted to go out to nice dinners but was on a dating fast at the time (and usually you go to restaurants like these on dates), so why not organize a "dinner club?" For this summer, I have themed my picks as the "Summer of Celebrity" and am picking restaurants that are owned by well-known celebrities or have been featured on a national program.  For whatever reason, this month I felt lazy (I say this, because I usually never choose restaurants that are part of national chains) and picked Ted's Montana Grill as it is owned by one of Atlanta's most famous (or infamous) celebrities, media mogul Ted Turner.  I organized for last Thursday night.   On the way from my office to the restauran...

I finally got a chance to, on a lazy Saturday afternoon last weekend, watch Food, Inc.   If you don't know what this movie is, it's a documentary that this investigative journalist did on on the food industry that supplies the vast majority of our supermarket and fast food products to the shelves that we purchase everyday.  Chances are, if you have seen it, it disturbed you.  It disturbed me.... from thoughts of "well, that's not completely destructive but it's unjust and I'm certain it's unethical" to "that is downright disgusting" (seeing the cattle feedlots and the chicken coop will do that!) Now, I'm a conservative.   What that means is, I don't feel that the government should be telling us what we should and should not eat.  I'm very opposed to their infringement in the personal everyday decisions of citizens.  And I totally get that we as citizens need to exercise personal responsibility when making decisions on the food w...

Last night, I and about 10 other friends went out to our monthly "Six Degrees" dinner club outing. This time, I picked out a place near my 'hood that I've been wanting to try for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. The restaurant we went out to was Bangkok Thyme. Bangkok Thyme is a combination Thai and Sushi restaurant in Sandy Springs (the "North Buckhead" area of Sandy Springs) and has a really good atmosphere, attentive waiters, and high quality food. It was pretty reasonable too. I remember as we were talking and waiting on our dinners to come out that I would get really envious of the other dishes being brought out (everything looked great!). I got the chef's special fried rice, which I asked to make spicy. I highly recommend it, even if you are like one of our guests that is more of a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy. There is something for everyone there. These dinner clubs are always fun and there's usually a sligh...

Here's where I got the basic framework recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/the-best-of/chef-joes-baked-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html Recipe and My Modifications below: Ingredients Kosher salt 2 cups elbow macaroni 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups evaporated milk 1/2 cup butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2-1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar 1 cup bread crumbs 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally until it is almost tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, 1/4 cup melted butter, the cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of salt. Put half the macaroni into a buttered 2-quart casserole and top with half the cheddar cheese. Repeat. Pour the milk mixture over the macaroni and cheese. In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the paprika, th...