First I want to apologize for missing last week. I have some exciting stuff going on and unless I prepare better for my weekly post I might miss one now and then, but trust me, it will be worth it! I can't wait to share with all of you what I've been up to in a few months!
Ok! That's out of the way. On to my weekend update!
Friday night kicked off the weekend with an awesome dinner at Holeman and Finch. This restaurant is located in Buckhead and specializes in the 'other' parts of the animal and is also known for their burgers. They only make 24 burgers a night, you have to put your name on a list and hope that you've gotten there in time. They don't serve the burgers until 10:00 PM so you have plenty of time to try some of the other interesting items on the menu as well as some of the creative, 'old school' cocktails. I highly suggest this place to anyone interested in trying new things and have a love for some aged, cured, fermented meat.
I met my good friend Julie there at 8:00 PM and the place was packed, we both started off with a vodka soda (I know, how boring! I didn't even know what the other stuff on their cocktail menu was and we were trying to keep it Paleo) We asked for Ciroc or Tito's vodka, which they didn't have either, the bartender suggested a similar vodka, Cathead, an organic corn-based vodka from Mississippi. We got our name on the burger list and claimed the last burger, phew. We were seated just after 9:00 PM and started the journey through the menu. Knowing we had a burger coming and that we wanted to try something 'weird' we narrowed the list down to the Bone Marrow, Sweetbreads or Liver Paté. I know some of you are gagging right now but we were stoked. Unfortunately the Bone Marrow and Liver Paté were made with some gluten ingredients. We were about to order the Sweetbreads when our lovely waitress suggested the Trotter Pierre Koffman, which is basically a pig leg stuffed with sweetbreads and I think there was some liver paté in there too. (Julie, correct me if I'm wrong.) While it was literally a pig leg on a plate, hoof and all, it was absolutely delicious. SO AMAZING!! Then came The Burger. We shared ours and got it without cheese and took the bun off. The meat was seasoned really well and had a nice cook to it. The pickles were homemade and the onions were sautéed but still crunchy. Overall I would give it a B+; not the outstanding burger I was looking for but still really good. Lastly, we decided to try to Bacon Fat Caramel. It came with apples for dipping and was really good, it had a touch more saltiness that normal caramel which I'm guessing is from the bacon fat.
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| Not my best photography here :) I almost forgot to take a picture like I did the rest of the meal! |
Final Review of Holeman and Finch: Would I go back?
Yes, but I would skip the burger and try some of the awesome meats they had hanging in a glass case. I might try one of the other plates and I would definitely have the Trotter again!
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| Not the Trotter but another animal leg just hanging out in the kitchen |
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| Glass case of hanging meats, damn that glare. I need to work on my picture taking! |
Saturday: Against All Grain Book Signing with Danielle Walker
Saturday at Cook's Warehouse in Midtown, Danielle Walker was doing a cooking demo, Q&A session and a book signing of her new cookbook, Against All Grain. Not only was the cooking demo and Q&A session really informative and fun but Danielle is such a delight and her story is inspirational. I highly suggest EVERYONE check out her blog, againstallgrain.com
Her cookbook has a ton of recipes in it and lots of grain-free foods we all miss and loved in our former non-paleo days, like Sandwich bread, WHAT!! Pound cake and some awesome grain-free chocolate chip cookies that she made for us and I got to try and let me tell you, you could not tell that there was no flour or sugar. I asked Danielle a couple questions that I thought I would share with you:
1. What are your 3 kitchen must-haves? Kitchen-ware and Foods
- Spiral slicer- use this to make anything into a noodle shape like squash and zucchini
- BlendTec- a really good quality blender makes prepping a breeze
- Knives- at least 1 sharp knife makes a world of difference when chopping veggies and meat.
You can find these kitchen must-haves and more on Danielle's blog on her shop page.
Food-
- Farmhouse Cultures Sauerkraut- a good quality fermented sauerkraut can be a great go to healthy food.
- Deli meat- good quality deli meat with no additives or preservatives, it's best to look for some organic deli meat sliced from the deli counter. (I use Applegate Organics Roast Beef) and Avocado.
- Coconut and Almond Flour- Wellbee Almond flour has a nice texture and is blanched so it looks more like flour. You can find this on Amazon.com
1. What do you suggest for people who have an egg intolerance but still want to make some of your recipes that calls for an egg binder?
- You can make a flax seed slurry as a substitute for eggs. Ratio being 1:3- 1 TBL Flax seed to 3 TBL water.
3. What's the best way to store goods made with coconut flour?
- Coconut Flour baked goods are best kept in the refrigerator.
After the Q&A session, I got my very own copy of Against All Grain signed by the author herself!
Such a sweet and amazing woman and I feel so lucky I got to meet her and her her story in person. Its amazing how resilient the human body is and how powerful good, clean foods are!
Clean food can change your health and the health of the world!
Stay tuned for next week's recipe as I start a 6 week Whole 30 Paleo challenge. All the recipes I will be posting for the next 6 weeks will be Whole 30 approved.
**Don't for get to subscribe to the blog and leave some feedback! And buy this cookbook, you won't regret it!
Love it!!! So much fun!
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