What's New on Pinterest: Toast to the New Year

We're ready to pop the cork on the new year and are on the lookout for some colorful new ideas to help celebrate. Raise a glass to all the ideas on our "Toast to the New Year" Pinterest board, then shake up your glasses with candy cane cocktails, gingersnap martinis, caramel apple hot toddy or a champagne-inclusive cocktail sure to tickle the fancy of champagners everywhere. 2014, here we come!

Appetizing Aperture: Brunch at No. 246

Biscuits topped with country fried steak and doused in gravy? Yes, please! No. 246 obliges to the great demand with their biscuits and gravy brunch favorite that will have you planning your weekend rise 'n shine strategy early in the week. Stop by the downtown Decatur restaurant for weekend brunch served every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Gerry Klaskala Taking his Talents to Naples Winter Wine Festival and Benefit

Gerry Klaskala, executive chef and owner of Aria, is taking his talents to Naples, Fla. during the Naples Winter Wine Festival, January 24-26, 2014. On Friday, January 24, Klaskala and other celebrity chefs from across the nation will take over the kitchens and dining rooms of Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) trustees - and the homeowners won't mind a bit. The chefs will prepare signature dishes and be joined by vintners with fine wines to create an intimate, one-of-a-kind wining and dining experience for guests. All this preparation and hard work will aid the NCEF's primary annual fundraising event. Themed "Celebrate the Journey," the festival boasts other events including "Meet the Kids Day Tour & Luncheon," wine tastings, gourmet meals and an auction offering wines, dining and travel experiences and one-of-a-kind treasures. The NCEF supports programs that improve the physical, emotional and educational lives of underprivileged and at-risk children in Collier County, Fla.

#Foodgram of the Week: @realalesharpton

 

Find out the latest and greatest in all things brewery and beer-related from writer, travel journalist and photographer Ale Sharpton. He covers everything beer from new brew news to craft beer events and products on his Instagram (@realalesharpton),Cruisin' for a Brewsin' blog and web show. 

Merry Christmas from Melissa Libby & Associates

Thank you all for such an amazing year! We've had a blast at Melissa Libby & Associates and have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! 

We Won't Let You Drop the Ball on Making Plans to Welcome 2014

  

The holiday season seems compacted this year (remember, Thanksgiving came late in November). If it's been a blur and you're juggling a full holiday load, remain calm and click on our blog roundup of places to celebrate. Your plans may be up in the air today, but let someone else drop the ball on New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve news flash - here's the word on more places to enjoy a special New Year's Eve dinner:

Article 14 in Midtown has a special menu for New Year's Eve. Salads include a simple garden, Little Gem and Kale Yeah ($7-$10). Then move on to starters of soup, bacon-wrapped dates or she-crab mussels ($6-$13) and small plates such as housemade chips with Vidalia onion dip, okra chips, southern spiced Georgia pecans, pimento cheese, salumi, deviled eggs, chopped chicken liver and a duck confit slider ($3-$11). Among the evening's entrées are a farmers market risotto with poached farm egg, pan-roasted sea scallops with pulled duck and crispy bacon, pan-roasted chicken with Anson Mills grits and grilled skirt steak. Reservations: 404-443-8432.

All night long on New Year's Eve, Marlow's Tavern locations are offering a three-course, prix fixe menu for $36 per person. Each location has its own menu variation, but you just might find a first taste of lobster and shrimp chowder or winter tavern salad before sailing into the 'MT' Surf & Turf of grilled filet mignon and jumbo tempura shrimp or cumin-scented sea scallops. Options for finishes include warm chocolate cake, chocolate crème brûlée or a spirited holiday spice martini. Call your favorite Marlow's Tavern location for more information.

G's Midtown is serving their regular menu on New Year's Eve. At 10 p.m., a DJ starts spinning tunes and party favors are passed out to guests. The ball drop will be on all television screens along with an in-restaurant balloon drop to celebrate the new year. For more information, call 404-872-8012.

 

Buckhead's Seven Lamps celebrates the New Year in style with a $75 four-course prix fixe menu. Sample menu items include Bramlett Farms trout with smoked potato, Georgia shrimp, confit carrots and shrimp bisque, and Wagyu beef flat iron steak with potato gnocchi, grilled romaine lettuce, braised cipollini onions with red wine bacon jus is served. Diners can sip on beverage pairings for an additional $35. An a la carte menu is served as well. For more information and to make a reservation, call 404-467-8950.

Cheers to Half-Price Bottles of Wine at G's Midtown Every Monday!

Beat the Monday blues and join G's Midtown for half-price bottles of wine. Every Monday, all wines served by the glass are half price when purchased by the bottle from 5-11 p.m. While you are sipping on that perfect pinot, order dinner from their new menu. G's Iron Skillet Mac and Steak is one of my favorites! With top sirloin steak, iron skillet mac & cheese, haricot vert and herb butter, it's no wonder this is a signature item!

Take a Peek at Our Wish List for Last-Minute Gift Ideas Plus More More in this Week's Dish

                                               

MLA is hoping for a foodie gift-filled holiday, with the fun and delicious items on our wish list this year. Be sure to check out what we are all wishing for, New Year's Eve happenings, plus much more in this week's Dish. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Kneads and Wants on MLAers Christmas Lists

 

We consider ourselves very fortunate to eat and drink for a living - and that about covers our "kneads." Wants? Given that we love all things culinary, it didn't take long for us to compile a wish list to set out on Santa's cookie plate. Elves, have at it, and thanks!

• Gretchen's black lab Pepper chewed up her garlic peeler thus procuring a new one tops her list. A lemon zester would pair nicely with it (and lemon is really good at removing any wayward garlic scent off your hands).
• Nicole pines for a cook's herb wreath, fragrant with bay leaf, sage, rosemary and oregano and handmade on a California farm. She hopes the aromatic find at Williams-Sonoma will lead to some culinary inspirations.
• Amy keeps news moving out to the media and feels a stalwart KitchenAid five-quart stand mixer will help her keep a handle on 325 watts of powerful churning at home.
• Suong is rapping about this “99 Bottles” growler jug from West Elm. She may have 99 problems figuring out which beer to fill this 64-oz. bottle up with first, but finishing it off ain’t one. 
• Emily craves a copy of "The New Classics," the latest from Australian cookbook author Donna Hay. Simple, well-defined recipes and mouthwatering photography make this book a constant companion, both in the kitchen and for conducting culinary research in a cozy armchair.
• Something warm and dry, hints Mandy. Specifically, the Excalibur nine-tray dehydrator at The Cook's Warehouse so she can preserve the veggies from her garden and dry up some healthy homemade fruit snacks for her household.
• "Chop, chop!" says Brooks, who would love a food processor to do just that, along with other kitchen counter talents.
• Tuan can guzzle some tea, and he prefers the loose-leaf varieties. To corral his leaves, he is enthused about the clever infusers at BoredPanda. We want to know what kind of tea the designers were sipping when they came up with the Tea.Tanic, the Deep Tea Diver, the Robot Infuser and Mr. Tea, who considers your mug a hot tub.
• Brandon is always working to improve his core with the office apple corer and slicer. Now he's getting bold and asking for one for home because they make preparing and eating an apple so darn fun.
• Melissa wants to stay as warm as pizza fresh from a hot oven. She's dreaming about a toasty pizza slice sleeping bag that might do the trick as she rests her head on broccoli, mushroom and pepperoni-shaped pillows.
• Georgia Tech student Linda puts in a request for gift cards to the city's best restaurants so she can try them out on her college student-sized budget!