Friday, March 28, 2014

What’s New on Pinterest: Scratch-Made Sauces




Pasta sauce, pesto sauce, dipping sauce, be saucy or get sauced. Sure, you can buy it by the jar or you can perfect a batch of your own after perusing our scratch-made sauces board.

On the Front Burner: Junior League of Atlanta Tour of Kitchens




Leave it to the Junior League of Atlanta to discover what’s cooking in 14 of Atlanta’s finest residential, drool-over kitchens. Their 17th annual Tour of Kitchens heats up in houses across town Saturday, March 29 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, March 30 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. On Sunday at 11:45 a.m., Nikolai’s Roof chef Stephanie Alderete will perform a cooking demonstration where she serves up seared diver scallops with forest mushrooms, sweet peas and sweetbread crust, red watercress and a crustacean demi-glace. Tour tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at JLA headquarters and at each home during the tour. Spring sunshine or showers, the event goes on as planned.

Foraging Inspires Drew Belline of No. 246; He Shares Chanterelle Recipe on HGTV


Photo by Tuan Huynh

As Drew Belline tells it, a forager showing up at his restaurant with a bag of forest-fresh chanterelles turned him on to the beauty of foraging. Now hooked, he excuses himself from the kitchen at times to find fungi in the North Georgia mountains to inspire recipes at No. 246 in Decatur. HGTV blogger Danny Bonvissuto recently featured Belline, his fancy for foraging and his recipe for wild chanterelle mushrooms in Parmesan brodo with goat cheese tortellini, sweet corn and tarragon. Lack of foraging needn’t send you on a guilt trip. Store-bought chanterelles do just fine.

Willy’s Mexicana Grill Now Open and Rolling Burritos in Brookhaven’s Cherokee Plaza




There really is a Willy behind Brookhaven’s newest burrito destination, Willy’s Mexicana Grill in Cherokee Plaza. Around 1995, he discovered his purpose in life: to provide that California-fresh burrito-bundle experience to deprived Atlantans. Over the years, he’s rolled thousands of burritos. Willy’s newest location is convenient to both Brookhaveners and Buckhead office dwellers scouting a palate-pleasing burrito fix between 11 a.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week. Guac, salsas and other menu items are made from scratch. Guests select from more than 20 fresh toppings and mouthwatering proteins, such as lean sirloin steak, chargrilled adobe or Sinaloa chicken, chipotle barbecue pork or marinated tofu plus vegetarian options. This Willy’s is the first one to offer sopapillas, those sweetly cinnamon, addicting southwestern dessert treats that pair nicely with Willy’s house-made specialty lemonades and flavored iced teas.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Appetizing Aperture: Umi




Phone food photo alert. Location: Umi in Buckhead. As soon as the plate graces your table, record a shot of the visually apparent artistry in Umi’s spicy tuna crispy rice. Do it pronto because there’s no stopping your fingers or fork once you start on these bites of lightly fried crispy sushi rice topped with spicy tuna tartar and jalapeño slices.

#Foodgram of the Week: @denise_woodward




Some eat light, others chase light. Chez Us Bay Area photographer and blogger Denise Woodward falls into the latter category, clicking away on her iPhone 5s and capturing some very appealing shots. Look up her Instagram, @denise_woodward.