What are Chitlins?

A Southern Delicacy! You may know what they also are, but why do sooo many people eat them and why is there an entire festival to celebrate them? I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Evidently, you have to get chitlins at a reputable place, my friend at work knew just where to go! This afternoon she brought in a plate of them for me to try "as much as I'd like."

I had heard that they smelled pretty bad, so it was just fine with me that I was slightly stuffed up today. She didn't believe that I would actually go thru with trying them, and to tell you the truth...I wasn't so sure either! I mixed a portion of the chitlins with the rice and started to put on the hot sauce but NO, she insisted that I try one bite first, plain, to see what they actually tasted like. Unfortunately this was true, so the first bite I had was plain chitlins!
Having an over the top imagination, I chewed them up quite fast and swallowed them hoping not to get too much taste........Not tooooo bad, I'll try a bite with the hot sauce! This time I decided to go ahead and give them a taste!They tasted like overcooked pasta that had been in the refrigerator for a week, then reheated with onions, hot sauce and thin gravy! But that was NOT the worst part! The after taste was hooorrendous. I am writing this 3 hours, 2 pieces of gum, 3 glasses of tea, 2 mouthwash swishes and a shot of vodka later and I am still contending with the after taste!

Herbs, Olive Oil and Tyler Florence...oh my!

That's right...Tyler Florence from the food network! Typically, I go to Atlanta to visit the High Art Museum, but this past weekend was spent in ATL enjoying major retail therapy with Mom Lynne and Becky. We scheduled into our shopping adventure a side trip to see a special cooking demonstration by Tyler Florence. We got there an hour early thinking that we would be plenty early...well, there was no seating left...but we were in the first row of standing room (great view)! They began handing out red tickets and the lady after me received the last ticket...this red ticket was redeemable for a free Tyler Florence cookbook that he was personally going to sign after the show! He showed us how to cook shrimp scampi fettucini, lamb with mashed potatoes, and beef with risotto. The best part was that we got to sample each dish! After the show he signed my cookbook and we got our picture taken with him!

Wine, Food and Friends

Salud! Last night I went with a couple friends to Cellar on Green for a wine and food pairing as well as a wine tasting. They began by bringing us each a placemat with a row of circles for each of the 5 different wines to taste. One of my friends is quite the wine expert, so he was able to tell us how and what to taste in each type of wine. We began by swirling the wine in our glass to release the aroma and decide what all we could smell, then we tasted the wine to see what types of tastes we could discover and how the wine felt in our mouths. Once I was told that a wine had notes of 'berry' or 'mineral', it was easier to recognize. Although, I'm not sure that I could do that on my own...I guess that I'll have to practice!
After that, they brought out 3 different tapas for us to pair with 3 wines. It is incredible to see how wine can be a 'condiment' for food and the taste completey change.
One of my favorite wines was the Sangre de Toro...and she let me keep the bull.

Welcome to the 52 week experiment

New Years Resolutions always seem to focus on what we can do better in the coming year. This type of resolution still tied me to the previous year and doesn't allow me to experience my full potential for learning and living in the current year.

I have decided to abandon trying to decide what I did well last year or what I didn't do so well and came up with a new type of resolution: to spend this year trying or doing 52 new things! Each time to complete a new experience, I will post the story on this blog.

At the end of the year, I should have 52 new experiences under my belt. Please check back regularly to see my progress!

Happy 2009!