Mark Your Calendar for Chocolate! 2009

The team at Melissa Libby and Associates is proud to take part in Chocolate! 2009 for another year! The ninth annual fundraiser for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Georgia chapter will take place on Thursday, June 18th from 5 pm-10 pm. They are back for another year of pure indulgence at Villa Christina restaurant. Chocolate tastings from Atlanta’s premier pastry chefs take the main stage. Come enjoy martini tastings, a full dinner buffet, chocolate beer and chocolate espresso. Live entertainment, a silent auction, a cash bar and FREE valet parking promise to make this special evening one to celebrate in style!
To learn more and purchase tickets, please visit www.chocolateforcf.org .

Boo hoo! Mussels Deal Ends at Dogwood Friday!

In the "all good things must come to an end" category: the all-you-can-eat mussels special at Dogwood ends tomorrow night. You might want to make one more trip over there with a $20 bill and eat yourself silly on those awesome mussels and that glass of Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc. I'll save you a seat at the bar!

MLA Hearts JCT

It’s the time when I brag about how much I love my job, then flaunt our fun in front of all who dread sitting in traffic to head to an office they are still not quite sure they like. Last night’s episode: Drinks at JCT Kitchen. We got together to partake in the fun cocktails and catch up on the week’s events. JCT has a great bar on the second floor, which has both indoor and outdoor seating. Unfortunately for us, the weather was a little too chilly for us to sit outside, but as it gets nicer, I am sure this’ll be our second home (it’s only 3 ½ minutes from our new office – not that I was counting…) While a few of the girls took the safe route (wine), several of us tried the cool cocktails. Melissa and Caryn had the JCTea -- ice-tea infused gin, Grand Marnier, lemon, orange bitters, served up.

I had the Rough Rider -- vanilla-infused 10Cane rum, Mexican Coca-Cola, velvet falernum, served on the rocks – which, despite my girlish embarrassment from the name, was definitely strong enough for a man! Then, just to make sure we were hooked for life, the truffle fries came out. All I can say is I think we may need to do some studies to test the addictive properties of those fries…(In my best Schwarzenegger voice “I’ll be back!”)

Til the next episode, champagne wishes and cognac dreams! Don’t you wish your job was hot like mine!?!

Eat Like There's No Tomorrow

Eat Like There's No Tomorrow... that's what Chef Hands Rueffert does in his cookbook that is filled with do-able recipes using blushing peaches, lush green gardens and close-ups of glistening grilled meats. What makes Chef Hans’ Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow even more beautiful is that each purchase of the $24.95 book returns to Chef Hans to cover the expenses of his own cancer treatment and to support his young family.

In painful irony, Chef Hans returned home to Georgia from the first season of the “Next Food Network Star” to find he was in advanced stages of stomach and esophageal cancer. While fighting the cancer, Chef Hans wrote, produced and hosted “Hans Cooks the South” on PBS. Right now, Chef Hans is in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston fighting for his life and is determined to continue in the food world he loves. Order copies of the $24.95 cookbook through Out of the Blue, a gift shop in the Georgia mountain town of Blue Ridge, owned by Hans’ dear friend Sarah. All book sales will go directly to the Ruefferts. Read more about Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow on www.hanscooks.com or on Facebook.

Food is the Star of Georgia Organics Conference

It all started with the homemade pickles ...

and then came the pickled Georgia shrimp, the potted Springer Mountain Farms chicken liver, the Flat Creek Lodge cow's milk feta, the pickled local beets, the salad of local greens with buttermilk dressing and the Southern yeast buns with Sparkman's Cream Valley butter.

The White Oak Pastures grass fed beef brisket was delicious, as was the Riverview Farms pig pickin' which I put homemade hot sauce on. We got the yummy Barefoot Farmer's butternut squash but I'll never forgive them for skipping our table with the Buckeye Creek Farm's corn spoonbread.However, they remembered to bring us the braised Georgia greens with diced turnip roots and that pretty much made up for everything.

Oh, and Michael Pollan spoke.