I'm an Instant Pot Convert

Danger, danger, Will Robinson!

 You've probably heard people raving about the Instant Pot, right?  I have too. When I learned that it is a pressure cooker, instantly (ha, see what I did there!) I had flashbacks to my mom's old school pressure cooker from the '70s. (See the horrifying contraption pictured above.)


You remember, right? It was a huge pot with a locking lid, that little rocking doo-dad on the top of the lid that would jiggle back and forth and then, of course the WARNINGS.  "Kids, whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH the pressure cooker.  Don't even go near the pressure cooker.  Don't even look at it."  It was so terrifying that I couldn't even tell you what mom cooked in that damn thing.  I just stayed the hell away from it.  

Then, there's the storage issue that I have.  I live in a smallish mid-century downtown house. Storage is at a premium. I have 4 crockpots (it's a long story), a rice cooker (what??), a stand mixer, a pasta attachment, stock pots, etc.  You get it.  But, all of a sudden, my beloved Ball-N-Chain asked me if I'd ever heard of the Instant Pot.  Then, more and more frequently, he brought up the Instant Pot.  Finally, it dawned on me.  The man wants an Instant Pot.

Viola. 

Long story short, I've joined the Instant Pot world. Man, what a crazy invention this thing is.  It's a pressure cooker, a crockpot, a saute pan, a yogurt maker, a jar sterilizer, a rice cooker and as we learned tonight, a RIB COOKER. Yes, folks, I made BBQ ribs tonight in under an hour.  An hour, that's only 60 minutes, friends. 

I can't take any credit for this recipe; I googled it.  Because of my childhood terror surrounding the pressure cooking phenomenon, I am strictly following step-by-step instructions.  I found B1G1 ribs the other day and assumed that someone could teach me how to cook them in the Instant Pot and Google doesn't disappoint.  

I made a dry rub, which I rubbed all over the meat (duh!). I used the Instant Pot trivet and coiled the racks and stood them up on their sides.  Cooked at high pressure for 20 minutes.  Yes, 20 minutes.  Now, the pot takes about 15 minutes to come up to pressure, then actual cooking time is 20.  Then, I took them out, laid them flat on a cookie sheet, brushed with sauce and broiled for about 6 minutes.  Done. 

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?  

I am amazed.  They were ridiculously tender, falling off the bone, and it was all ready in record time.  I think the beloved Ball-N-Chain is happy that we've joined this Instant Pot society. 

Served with pole beans and hush puppies.  I used a Kansas City style BBQ sauce; I cheated, not homemade this time.  

The moral of this story?  The Instant Pot is pretty darn cool.  I found out today that a friend of mine just killed her crockpot, so I'm donating one of mine.  That opens up some storage!  Anyone need a rice cooker?

Kitchen Six: Seriously Good Food

We all know the phrases/sayings/cliches about how lucky we are if we end up with one good friend. I am fortunate to be able to say that I have 5, not counting my sister. I've explained this so many times to my daughter, who is at the age where she experiences the "friend du jour" concept. My true golden friends are all ladies I met in college. My friend and roommate at Wofford, Heidi, will attest to my freshman assertion that we were there to form "Big Chill relationships."  We succeeded.

So, this is the year that we all hit 50.  Except one December baby, who quietly already celebrated hers and then tried to con the rest of us into thinking it was this coming December. (You know who you are.) Heidi hosted Leigh, Lourdes and myself at her home in Atlanta this past weekend for us to reunite, laugh, cuss like sailors, drink like hobos and generally bask in the glow of our 50 year old awesomeness! (I'm still 49, btw.)

I could go on and on about the weekend, but you are here because you like FOOD.  So, get this...Heidi and her husband Lloyd, along with friends, have invested in a restaurant in their neighborhood of the big ATL. They've been in business for a little over a year.  Their executive chef,  Jason Jimenez, has been named as one of Atlanta's "Up and Coming" chefs. He creates a menu features 6 appetizers, 6 entrees, 6 desserts, every 6 days.  

***KITCHEN SIX***

 

Leigh, Me, Heidi, Lourdes

 

It's like going to Cheers, but a lot nicer. The interior is upscale, yet casual and comfortable and hip. The staff all seem to enjoy being there and were in tune with their customers. To say the atmosphere is friendly is an understatement.  And, from what I've been told, the goal was to create an environment for neighbors to see each other and enjoy some really damn good food.  Having been there, I can affirm that they have achieved that goal.

Ok, let's talk about the food.  The best part, right?  So, we clearly set out to really explore this menu because we almost ordered everything on it.  Per Heidi's recommendation, we started off with the hushpuppies and pimento cheese.

The pimento cheese was served with homemade crackers which were wonderful. They were firm enough to stand up to the cheese but yet tender enough that they just melted in your mouth.  The cheese was topped with pickled peppers and homemade bread & butter pickles.  The flavor of the cheese was prominent, which is sometimes lacking in other pimento cheeses I've sampled.  When my buddy Lourdes bit into a hushpuppy, I thought I was in that "When Harry Met Sally" diner scene.  Yes, I'll have what she's having too.  They were phenomenal.  Everything you want in a puppy...super crispy, not greasy, the inside was tender and then spiked with shrimp and peppers. To take it one step further, they were served with a poblano cream.  Ohhhh, Jason...

In the midst of all this was the GA mule.  I can't even remember exactly what ingredients the Kitchen Six folks used to make this cocktail, but suffice to say, you need to order one. I had a Hendrick's and tonic because I haven't had it in forever. 

Lourdes and her GA mule.  It's like I'm sitting next to a movie star.

 Our fantastic waiter informed us of a special salad not on the menu that day.  We opted to have one to share.  It was beautiful.  Mixed baby lettuces, apricots, toasted almonds and a blueberry vinaigrette.  Simply delicious.

Leigh and Lourdes both chose the Roasted Chicken because Heidi said she doesn't know "what he does to that chicken" but it's so good.  They agreed.  It was served with cute fingerling potatoes and a grilled lemon. 

 Heidi selected the Pan-Roased Red Fish which, honestly, I don't know if I've ever had. The skin was so delightfully crisp and the fish was perfectly cooked.  Another winner.

 I decided on the Glazed Baby Back Ribs.  It was a toss up between these and the Beef Short Ribs.  The baby backs were served alongside grits and with a side of sauteed apples.  As the lady placed my plate on the table, she said "These grits are gonna change your life."  Instantly intrigued by that prospect, I dove into those grits.  They were indeed fantastic and I do, in fact, feel much better about my world! The ribs were great; nice and meaty and lean (y'all know how I am about fat on meat.) I'm not sure exactly what the glaze was composed of but it doesn't matter because it was just delicious and I wasn't there to dissect anyone's recipe!

Now it's time for dessert.  We took Heidi's advice again and ordered the Decadent Cake, which is a flourless chocolate cake and the Vanilla Pot de Creme.  Ok, I'm not a huge sweet eater, but good Lord, these were good.

This is the Decadent Cake.  I put a dramatic filter on this picture to illustrate to you the sheer gravity of this cake.  You can just imagine this showing up in a film like Casablanca. It's like a bite of the best ganache-y fudge ever. Chocolate fanatics would sell their souls for this cake. Like the grits, this will change your life. 

The Vanilla Pot de Creme is also pretty life-changing.  Rich vanilla flavor with a nut crumble and whipped cream on top.  One of us, who shall remain nameless, practically licked the bowl. 

The moral of this story is this:  if you live in, around or near Atlanta, you should seek out Kitchen Six.  If you find yourself visiting Atlanta, you should seek out Kitchen Six.  If you know people in Atlanta, you should tell them to seek out Kitchen Six. I think my friends (and their friends) and this chef have created a very special environment and exceptional food.  I wish we had something like this place in my neighborhood.  But, we don't, so I'll just have to get to Atlanta more often.  Heidi, just keep my room ready.  

Rockin' Ribs

I've told you all before that I was intimidated by ribs for many years.  I finally broke down and tried them when an issue of Bon Appetit's cover beckoned me.  That recipe was ridiculously easy and delicious and not nearly as time consuming as people tell you. I've made it numerous times now, but I'm still a rib-cookin'-newbie.  I am constantly perusing other recipes for different flavors and techniques to try.  Recently, I found baby backs on sale and grabbed a rack.  What to do, what to do?

I went to my new favorite website (and cookbook publisher), www.AllRecipes.com for some guidance.  Neil was working late that day, which means he probably skipped lunch, and would arrive here starving.  This recipe caught my eye because of the flavors, the time involved and the good ratings.  Decision made.

Look at these babies!

I know, right?

Collards, field peas and BBQ...they eat this way up North, right?

My Southern Belle...in her motorcycle jersey.

I served the ribs with collard greens and field peas.  I really think I surprised Neil with this kind of down home meal on a weeknight.  The little gourmand also loved it.  Happiness all around!  If you're like me, wrestling with the intimidation of cooking ribs, and cooking them well, try this recipe.  It worked just as it promised and the result was tender and delicious.  

Discovering good food in another town

When you travel, you almost always have to eat out.  Thankfully, most hotels now throw in breakfast, which is most humane, quite frankly.  Sending people out into an unfamiliar town first thing in the morning, looking for food...just not nice if you ask me.  But, then, there are the other meals.  Once upon a time, if you didn't know someone from there or who had been there and could make a recommendation, it was quite literally a roll of the dice.  It's somewhat easier today thanks to apps and websites such as Urbanspoon to reduce the risk of making a bad bet.  

This past Friday, we took the Vivver out of school early and headed up to the mountains.  Our final destination was my sister's house for my brother-in-law's Big 4-0.  But, first, we stopped off in Hendersonville, NC to check out the Apple Festival, spend the night and then head on up the mountain in the morning.  The festival opened on Friday afternoon, so we checked in at the hotel and then headed to Main Street.  

She can't resist any kind of face painting

We let Viv ride some of the rides and as she whizzed around in the air, I glanced over and spotted a pizza joint that had all the looks and characteristics of a local joint.  Later, I began consulting my Urbanspoon app to see where we should venture out for dinner.  I kept finding restaurants that at first glance looked and sounded good, but the reviews were terrible.  Over and over again, terrible reviews.  So, then, I remembered the place I'd seen...

We walked back down the street to arrive at 2 Guys Pizza & Ribs.  

We scored!  This place is family owned and family friendly.  They are located in what appears to be an old warehouse, so the ceilings are high.  The bar is large and features seating, but out in the main part of the restaurant, it's set up with outdoor tables, umbrellas, white lights strung from pergolas...you know, creating that outdoor feeling.  

Damn iPhone photography!

The Vivver was immediately delighted to find that they have a kids' gameroom.  Neil started off with a Two Hearted ale while I stuck with my old stand by...the house Chardonnay.  As Neil and Viv disappeared into the gameroom, I was given complete control of perusing the menu and deciding for us all.  

Unfortunately, my sweet baby child has gone from eating black olives and pepperoni pizza to "just cheese."  Ohh, the influences of the boring kids that one encounters in school!  Anyway, the kids cheese pizza for her.  For Neil and myself, I chose the "Classic" which was pepperoni, salami, ham, sausage, bacon, olives, bell peppers, onions.  (I hope i'm not forgetting an ingredient!)  

Once again, the iPhone doesn't do it justice

Y'all are probably get tired of hearing me go off about pizza (yes, I believe it's the world's perfect food. yes, I would order it as my last meal if I were on death row, etc, etc, you guys know me.)  The first thing I noticed was how incredibly good this entire place smelled.  In fact, I went so far as to post on Facebook how great it smelled and within minutes, one of my friends replied that she had been there and the pizza was great.  

When the pizza arrived, the first thing we both took note of was how visually appealing it was. As we tasted it, we both remarked about how much we liked the addition of the salami, which I don't remember having on pizza before, nor have I thought of it.  Delicious pizza topping.  As most of you know, a pizza is only as good as its crust.  For those of you in Columbia, let me compare this crust to Zorba's.  It's substantial enough on the bottom to support the toppings and cheese without being too thick or bready.  The outer crust is crisp, but airy and light on the inside.  Well, 2 Guys have very similar crust.  Just perfect.  Neil and I thoroughly enjoyed our pie.  And the Vivver?  Well, her kids pizza was devoured handily.

Took this back to the hotel for later!

Now, let me touch on a topic that is important to me.  As we waited for our food, I noticed an attractive lady in a white blouse who was on the floor, expediting at the window, greeting people as they arrived (mostly all by name) and seemed to really be on top of everything going on in the restaurant.  Clearly, the owner or manager.  I asked our server Mandy and learned that this was the owner, Melody.  We ended up getting to talk to Melody ourselves and telling her how much we enjoyed our dinner.  She was a most gracious hostess and also let us know that she and her husband both worked the business together, as well as their 3 kids.  We chatted a bit, she insisted on buying us a glass of wine (ok, twist my arm) and by the time we left, she gave me a hug!  This is what I consider the most fun and memorable type of restaurant experience.  When you get great food, have a pleasant experience and leave feeling like you're a regular, they are doing something, many things, right.  By the way, Mandy was one of the best waitresses we've had in a long, long time.

If you check out Urbanspoon, you'll see that many Hendersonvillites are complaining about this place being cash only...no plastic.  Clearly there's a reason for this.  I don't know what it is, but there must be a reason. Some merchants simply can't bear to pay fees to process their own money.  I get it.  So, they have an atm in their vestibule for convenience.  Neil used it and was half expecting it to charge an unusual fee for use, but it was merely a buck, like any other atm that isn't your own.  Relax people...Get some cash and come have a great pizza.  

Our experience at 2 Guys was great and we'll definitely be back when we're in the area.  It's in the heart of Hendersonville, which still isn't far from I-26, so if you're passing through there, you can head into town to eat and not totally derail your travel time.  If you make it there, try to see if Melody is in the house.  She's a delightful lady, a fantastic host and the most hospitable restaurant owner you'll meet.