SALA – Sabor de Mexico

Sala, is yet another one of Virginia Highland’s well kept secrets. The cuisine is Mexcican; exquisite and authentic. To begin with, I was charmed by the interiors; fire red, orange and very inviting. They have an outdoor patio, an indoor salon and an ample bar. It seems like a popular restaurant, it was crowded and we even bumped into friends, enjoying the same Mexican earthiness as us!

They serve a very delicious, complimentary dip with chips, a touch out of the ordinary salsa. The wine list was extensive and was well paired with the different entrees. Most of the entrees are wood-grilled or roasted and the portions very large. Me, in my effort to be different, chose the shrimp cocktail however and I can honestly admit that it wasn’t all that appetizing. My favorite part, as usual, was the dessert; dense chocolate cake with a mousse.

The only down-side was that they did not have complimentary parking and despite a reservation, the wait time was pretty long. It was worth the wait though!

Banana Loaf

Here's a recipe I randomly found on the Internet for a simple Banana Loaf.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
3 bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Nuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking tray. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, stir in the mashed bananas. Overipe bananas are just perfect. In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Blend the banana mixture into the flour mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

You can also add in pecans or walnuts. It turned out pretty good, a little more butter would have made it perfectly moist. I wish it were good enough to kick away the Sunday evening blues!

Jell-O Shots

Yesterday, after the longest time, we had a 'Girls Night In'. My contribution was Jello-Shots. I think I had as much fun making them as we had eating 'em!

Ingredients:
2 cups boiling water
1 6 oz. package of gelatin
6 ounces cold water
10 ounces Vodka

Method:

Bring water to a boil, then remove from heat.
Stir together boiling water and powdered gelatin in a medium mixing bowl. Stir constantly until gelatin is completely dissolved.
Stir in water and Vodka.

I did this three times with different colored gelatin. Pour mixture into shot glasses or an ice-cube tray.

TIP: Make sure the vodka is really chilled before adding it to the gelatin.

We had an amazing time. Chit-chat, Chinese food, chick-flicks; the makings of a perfect night-in.

Via

Via was our V-Day destination. Located off Piedmont road, Via with its large bar is as much a cocktail lounge as it is a full service restaurant. The interiors are done in a midnight blue and the mezzanine floor adds to the ample seating. As is with most restaurants on Valentine’s Day, the menu was pre-decided and the tab at a fixed rate per person. The dinner was really very good and the presentations were perfect. The four course meal began with succulent lamb chops and ended with a scrumptious Zeppoli platter. Zeppoli, I learnt, are little Italian donuts! The cherry on the cake though was the complimentary champagne with unlimited refills. More than the restaurant, kudos to SK for choosing a perfect place and making it memorable.

Food Stock

For want of something interesting to write, I decided to delve into my pantry for inspiration. As is with anyone's pantry, I found a weird assortment of food, from very different parts of the world, some just begging to be cooked and some way past the expiration date; some healthy and some definitely not. Here are some of the many pictures of my food stock.

'Fuse' is a Vitamin enriched water. Fuse Slenderize has just 10 calories, perhaps one of the reasons I really like it! The picture right above is some of the food I got back from my trip to India. The jackfruit papad and 'rice sevai' or semai are pure Mangalorean, Mum perhaps even bought it from the Mangalore store on Hill road. The semai goes really well with chicken or mutton curry, a substitute for rice. The 'Miracle Blend' is a seasoning I use most on fish. It isn't all that miraculous but when you're in a hurry, it will definitely serve your purpose. Finally, the picture below is what G junior bought me from Italy. A kind of penne pasta with natural vegetable dye and a corn pesto sauce to go with it. If I wasn't on my agonizing low carb diet, I would've cooked it a long time ago. Well, one of these days ......

Strip

Strip is yet another trendy restaurant prominently located in the heart of Atlantic Station. It belongs to the immensely successful heretoserve chain of restaurants and is just as popular as Twist, Shout or any of the others.

Strip primarily serves steaks and sushi so unless you enjoy one of these foods I would not recommend this restaurant to you. In spite of the expansive salon, the open patio and the rooftop, this restaurant is always teeming with Atlanta’s hippest looking for the perfect weekend hotspot. A reservation is therefore absolutely necessary. I think it’s a perfect place to lounge around with friends, especially if you’re not overly concerned about spending too much! I’ve been here just once, more than a year ago, and had an absolutely swell time.

The picture alongside at Strip is definitely one that goes down memory lane.

Green Beans and Mushroom

This is a quick and delicious way to cook green beans. It’s a Chinese preparation and obviously pairs really well haka noodles.

Ingredients:
½ lb green beans
¼ lb chopped mushrooms
5 Tbs soy sauce
5 Tbs cooking wine
2 Tbs chinese red chili sauce
2 Tbs chopped garlic
2 Tbs olive oil

Method:
Blanch the green beans under slightly tender and keep aside. In a wok, sauté the chopped garlic in some olive oil. Add the soysauce and the red chili sauce. Once the mixture begins sputtering, add the chopped mushrooms and the cooking wine. Let this cook for a while. Finally add the green beans, cover the wok and let it simmer on a slow flame.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes.

Love It.