chocolate pink

as you may know, I'm on a quest to find the best cupcakes around. so after several recommendations, kara & I really wanted to check out chocolate pink in atlanta. it's a really cute cafe that serves all kinds of pastries & coffee. both of our cupcakes were delicious! kara got the coconut (coconut milk pound cake with coconut sour cream filling & white chocolate buttercream icing) & I tried the mochaccino (vanilla chiffon cake with coffee cream filling, topped with chocolate ganache & coffee buttercream). I had to stop myself for ordering another one...

antique shopping in atlanta

kara & I love finding unique pieces at thrift stores, estate sales & antique shops. so one of the first things we did in atlanta was visit kuduz antique market & a bunch of different stores in chamblee's antique row.

here are just a couple of photos (unfortunately most of the pictures I took are on my lomo & I haven't developed the film yet).

flip burger boutique

one of my very favorite chefs from "top chef" was richard blais. he was the one who was really into all of that molecular gastronomy stuff. well he is the genius behind this hip atlanta restaurant called flip burger boutique.

the atmosphere is fun & the menu is really creative. we started with the fried pickles with buttermilk ranch, followed by the flip burger, a side of hand-cut french fries with pomegranate ketchup, a  wedge salad (to make ourselves feel better), and ended with the nutella & burnt marshmallow milkshake (that's where the liquid nitrogen came into play). sooo delicious!

sisters

"a loyal sister is worth a thousand friends". ~ marian eigerman

I went to visit my sweet sister in atlanta this past weekend. we had a blast chatting, eating, site-seeing, antique shopping & giggling. that's pretty much all we do when we're together is giggle...constantly. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but kara knows me better than any friend I've ever had & she loves me regardless. no matter what, I know that she'll always be there for me (& vise-versa). sisters are pretty much the best thing in the world.  this quote above says it all.

this week I'll be blogging about some of the fun things to do in atlanta.

new ok go video

yet another clever video from ok go. enjoy!

millionaire's shortbread

I'm a big shortbread fan. I loved the shortbread from atlanta bread... but then they closed. so when I spotted this recipe on food network, I really wanted to try it out (after all, the only thing that's better than shortbread is shortbread covered in chocolate!). it's really simple, with just five main ingredients (although I did add a tiny bit of vanilla), and really really delicious & addictive. 

I had this beautiful gray sea salt that I sprinkled on top before serving, which made such a difference- I love that sweet & salty combination.

millionaire's shortbread (from claire robinson, food network)
ingredients

shortbread:

• 2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for preparing pans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon salt

caramel layer:

• 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons butter

chocolate topping:

• 3/4 pound good-quality milk chocolate

directions

shortbread:

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

butter 2 (8-inch) square nonstick pans and coat with flour, tapping off excess. place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse once. add butter and pulse until mixture resembles peas. press the shortbread mixture into prepared pans and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. remove from the oven and let cool completely.

caramel layer:

in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. continue stirring over the heat until mixture becomes thick and amber in color, about 15 minutes. pour the caramel over the cooked shortbread and spread evenly using an offset spatula. cool to room temperature.

chocolate topping:

in a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. once chocolate has melted, pour it over the cooled caramel layer. cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely, allowing chocolate to slightly harden but not get hard. cut into 2-inch squares and sprinkle with sea salt if desired. store in an airtight container, either at room temperature in the refrigerator.

brilliant advertising

check out this brilliant interactive site if you dare.  I don't want to give it away, so when you're finished, you can read about the campaign here.