Restaurant Review: D.B.A. Barbecue

Located in the Virginia-Highlands, D.B.A. Barbecue is a casual neighborhood restaurant characterized by it's southern hospitality! Managing partner Matt Coggin and Chef Drew Kirkland have created the perfect menu and atmosphere to enjoy a true southern experience! 

Start your night with a basket of Warm White Cheese and Corn Muffins with Honey butter. Oh so yummy, fluffy, and flavorful! Straight from the Smokehouse, my plate included All Natural Free Range Pulled Chicken, Sweet Potato Fries, and the cheesiest Mac and Cheese I've ever had! I also got to steal some bites from my friends and I can honestly say the Southern Style Potato Salad and Red Beans and Rice were mouth-watering! Best Potato Salad I've ever had...period! To finish off the night, try the Banana Pudding served with whipped cream and Vanilla Wafers! The Bourbon Ice Cream is also extremely flavorful and addicting! 

All-in-all, you really can't go wrong with the amazing selections at D.B.A. Barbecue! The incredible service and hospitality paired with their wide variety of appetizing plates, snacks, and sides make for a perfect casual night down south!

Check the D.B.A. Barbecue website for menu, business hours, and specials! www.dbabarbecue.com

Recipe: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted margarine

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars, cut into bite-size chunks

5 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

4 teaspoons flour 

8 extra-large paper muffin cups (or use 4 ramekins)

1 (6-ounce) container rasberries

1/2 cup confection sugar 

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F and adjust oven rack to middle position. Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolved. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour until combined.*

Spray muffin papers, or ramekins, with vegetable cooking spray. Fill 4 ramekins or 8 extra-large muffin papers with chocolate mixture, about 3/4 of the way. 

Bake until batter puffs but center isn't set, about 8-10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and pull paper lining off of cake, or serve in the ramekin (as shown above). Top each cake with sifted confection sugar and a couple of rasberries. ENJOY!

*The great part about this recipe is that you can make it in advance! Just refrigerate and return mixture into room temperature an hour before baking! 

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Tis' the Season to GIVE!

It's that time of year for Christmas tree decorating, cookie baking, and LOTS of holiday cheer, but many people this year are truly struggling to provide for themselves and their families. What better way to celebrate this year than to give to those who really need it!  This year, Matt and I decided to skip the gifts to eachother and donate to the kiddies at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. After an afternoon at Target and a cart filled with Crayola Crayons, Barbies, and Tonka Trucks, we were happier than we could have ever been receiving presents from one another! Do what you can to help people in need this year, whether it is donating your time, cans of soup, toys for children, or $5! For information on how you can give back to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, please visit http://www.choa.org, and download their wishlists!

Restaurant Review: Veni Vidi Vici

Another AMAZING Buckhead Life Group Restaurant! My family and I have been big fans of their entire fleet of restaurants for years, but have never tried Veni Vidi Vici before last week, and we are so glad we did! Although the parking situation is a little tricky and currently under construction, you forget about that the second you walk into the restaurant. Located in the heart of Midtown, the warm atmosphere and tuscan-style layout makes you feel like you're right in the heart of Italy! We began our night with a bottle of wine, homemade bread, crispy calamari, and steamed mussels with spicy tomatoes, chicpeas, and sambuca (my personal favorite!) We proceeded our appetizers with some amazing entrees, including the Farfalle and Rigatoni (shown on right), and Zuppa di Mare, which was a medley of mussels, clams, prawns, scallops, and tomato lobster broth. The authentic Italian dishes, amazing service, and warm atmosphere made it a new family favorite!

Recipe: Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry Cobbler

Recipe Courtesy of Sandra Lee

2 pounds frozen blackberries, thawed

1 cup sugar plus more for dusting

3 tablespoons instant tapioca

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 (7.75-ounce) packet butter biscuit mix

3/4 cup cream soda, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8 (4-inch) ramekins with butter flavored cooking spray and set aside.

In a bowl, combine thawed blackberries, tapioca, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of cream soda and sugar. Transfer to ramekins, filling about 2/3 of the way up.

In a large bowl, combine biscuit mix and remaining cream soda. Mix until well blended. Sprinkle biscuit mix over berries, making sure it covers the majority of the top. Dust with sugar and bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm and messy!

Blowing Out the Candles

I wanted to thank everyone for all the warm birthday wishes and love I've received over the past few days! I have been so lucky and thankful for my friends and family, and am really grateful for every opportunity and obstacle that God has given to me. I've learned a lot this past year, but I think the one true realization that I've come to is that life is too short and precious to sweat the small stuff. This upcoming year, I hope to remember to be grateful and live life to the fullest, capturing and living in every moment, because we truly only have one life to live.

Restaurant Review: Sushi House

For my recent birthday celebration, I decided to try Sushi House in Buckhead with two of my best girlfriends. Voted City's Best Sushi in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, we had to check it out! We started our night with a glass of wine and an order of their spring rolls for an appetizer, which came out hot and flavorful! We ordered an array of sushi, as you see above, and decided to try a little bit of everything, which I didn't mind at all! My favorite roll was the Kamikaze roll (shown on left), filled with crab, shrimp tempora, cream cheese, topped with tuna and eel. Oh so yummy! We also tried some of the spicy tuna rolls and crunchy rolls (shown on right) which consisted of a spicy tuna roll, topped with a spicy mayo and additional tuna with lots of crunchies! With two locations in Orlando and Atlanta, it is a definite hidden gem in this city!