My son’s Montessori school recently had a fundraiser dinner, and I figured I’m better at finding good food than I am at decorating and organizing a big event, so I volunteered for the task of getting dessert donated.

As I often do when I need help with something, I turned to the Twitterverse. Within a few short minutes of asking my Twitter friends for suggestions, I had two lovely ladies agree to donate their goods!

Kristen Paige Gathany just started Sugar Crumb Bakery a little over a month ago out of her home in Sylvan Park.

Sugar Crumb Bakery’s Brown Butter Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookie

Let me tell you – she bakes what is quite possibly the BEST chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had: the brown butter fleur de sel chocolate chip. Yep.

The photo doesn’t even come close to doing it justice. They were most certainly the talk of the evening amongst the parents attending the fundraiser, and once word spread throughout the room,  they were the first cookie to disappear completely from the dessert table!

Her gluten-free vegan chocolate chip cookies went pretty fast too. While there is no reason that I personally need to eat gluten-free or vegan, I gave one a try (you know, for research purposes), and thought they were great. Again, please forgive the photo. The lighting in the venue was not the greatest, so the pics aren’t as pretty as the real product.

Earlier this week I was so excited to see that I’m not the only person who has discovered Kristen and Sugar Crumb – Jennifer Justus profiled her in The Tennessean! For more on her story and her favorite ingredient, click here.

To see her current holiday cookie menu, and more of what she does, visit the Sugar Crumb Bakery Facebook page. If you’d like to contact her directly, email her at hellosugarcrumb@gmail.com.

Next up is Robin from the Toffee Cellar in Nolensville. When I say toffee, I’m sure you get an image in your mind. Well, wipe that image away and check this out.

Robin’s toffee is like no other that I’ve had before. Not only is it rich and buttery and delicious, it also comes in a wide variety of unique flavors! Imagine white blueberry almond, chocolate peanut butter, white chocolate cashew, dark chocolate almond…

White Chocolate Macadamia Toffee from Toffee Cellar

With roasted macadamia nuts topped with white chocolate, toasted coconut and then more roasted macadamia nuts, the White Chocolate Macadamia Toffee might have been my favorite of the bunch. And usually I prefer dark or milk chocolate over white all day long!

But the most popular at the event, by far, was the S’mores version, a gooey marshmallow chocolate graham cracker toffee. Have you ever heard of such? Every single last piece of the S’mores toffee was gone from the dessert table within probably the first hour of the party. And for good reason.

Toffee Cellar’s Chocolate S’mores toffee

Be sure to follow the Toffee Cellar on Twitter for specials, and check out their Facebook page and their website to see the wide variety of flavors she creates. This stuff would make for fantastic holiday gifts!

Every family has their own holiday food tradition, maybe even a few.

The sweet treat that I look forward to every year around this time is my Aunt Gay’s Rum Cake. For me, the Christmas season would not be complete without it.

In late November, she begins baking dozens and dozens of Rum Cakes for friends and relatives. And every November, I eagerly await its arrival at my front door. Actually, it’s not just me –  my husband and even a few of my friends feel the same way!

See that stuff left behind on the plate? You’re gonna want to scrape and eat every sugary, buttery morsel of it.

Aunt Gay hand delivers to most of the recipients, but for those that live far away, she carefully wraps and ships them. When I lived in California, she even sent them clear across the country to me! Now that I’m a little closer to home, she makes sure that I get mine when we see each other on Thanksgiving Day.

If the cake makes it through the long Thanksgiving weekend, we’re doing good. Honestly, in a perfect world, I would keep it around for weeks before finishing it off because the longer it sits, the better it gets.

But seriously, it’s really, really difficult to keep it in the house for more than a few days. And this isn’t a small cake! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and sometimes do).

So while I’m sharing the recipe, I’m giving you fair warning and will not take the blame if you devour it in 2 days time!

Aunt Gay’s Rum Cake

Serves 20

Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 box (18 1/2 oz) butter golden cake mix
1 instant vanilla pudding (3 3/4 oz)
1/2 cup light rum
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable cooking oil

Rum Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup light rum
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Rum Glaze Directions:
Place all ingredients in small saucepan and boil for 2-3 minutes.

Cake Directions:
Place cake and pudding mixes in large mixing bowl. Add rum, water, oil and
eggs; mix for 2 minutes. Grease and flour a bundt pan or a tube pan.
Pour chopped nuts in pan first and then pour batter into cake pan and bake at 325
degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Remove from oven and poke small holes in cake and start to pour some of the warm Rum Glaze on it. After a few minutes turn cake out of pan onto cake plate and poke more small holes around the top of cake and gradually pour the rest of the Rum Glaze over cake.

Best if made a few days ahead of time and let cake set in a cool place.
It gets better and better with time (if you’re able to refrain from eating immediately, that is!)

I love planning menus for parties, but this past year I haven’t had too many (okay, any) opportunities to host a party of my own.

So when the kind folks at Quirk Books reached out and asked if I’d like to preview Tiny Food Party! by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park, I was super excited at the prospect of throwing a party and experimenting with some itty bitty bites from the cookbook.

Of course, life doesn’t always work out exactly like you’ve planned. That is to say, my party actually ended up being someone else’s party. Does that make any sense? Allow me to explain.

My friend Melanie invited me to attend a spa party she was throwing, and since it was going to be the only weekend that I would have been able to host a party of my own, instead of trying to do both, I just asked her if she would mind if I made the food for her party!

Since Melanie is also the mother of an infant, I’m pretty sure she was thrilled at the prospect of not having to cook in addition to cleaning her house. Definitely a win-win. I cook. She preps the house and provides libations. We come together and the party is a huge success!

Mini Chicken ‘n’ Waffles – my new obsession

With recipes like Pint Size Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Sticks, Little Sweet Potato Latkes, Tiny Fried Tacos, Mac n Cheese Bites, and Mini Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches, it was really hard to decide what to make for the party.  Ultimately I went with Bite-size Caprese Skewers, Snack Size Beef Empanadas, and Pint-size Chicken ‘n’ Waffles.

All were delicious, and all garnered raves from the party-goers. But the biggest hit and my personal favorite? The Chicken ‘n’ Waffles. I’ll admit that I am now a bit obsessed. For every meal since the party, I’ve wished that I had those little nuggets instead of whatever it is I’m having at that given moment. They will absolutely, for sure, be on my next party menu!

Also up next: Itty-Bitty Bacon Churros and Little Coffeecake Cocktails. Or maybe Cozy Eggnog Shooters. Or both!

Pint-Size Chicken 'n' Waffles

Makes 30. From Tiny Food Party!

Ingredients:

10 chicken tenders, each cut into 3 equal pieces
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened
2 1/2 Tbsp honey, plus extra for drizzling
30 mini waffles, or 3 1/2 Belgian waffles, cut into 30 (1-inch) pieces
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups vegetable oil
*optional: cayenne pepper

Directions:

Place chicken in bowl and cover with buttermilk. Stir gently, cover and refrigerate. (Tip: Soaking the chicken in the buttermilk several hours or overnight will help the breading adhere better when frying)

To prep the honey butter, whisk together butter and honey in a small bowl to combine. (*add cayenne pepper to taste, if you'd like your sauce to be a little spicy sweet)

Preheat oven to 375. Place waffles on a baking sheet and toast for 12-15 minutes.

In a small shallow dish stir together flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Heat oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from buttermilk and dredge in flour mixture. Shake off excess and carefully drop breaded chicken into the hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes on each side. Drain onto paper towels and season with salt.

Spread a teaspoon of honey butter onto each waffles and top with a piece of fried chicken. Finish with a drizzle of honey and serve warm. (Note: I actually put the fried chicken on first, then just poured honey butter on top of everything. So delicious!)

~Giveaway~

CONTEST CLOSED

The winners are:

#24 Kristen

#72 Kate

#31 Amanda Jenks

 Just in time for Christmas, I have not one, not two, but THREE Tiny Food Party! cookbooks to give away!

To enter, all you have to do is this:

Mandatory

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite party food is. If you link to the recipe, even better!

For up to 2 additional entries, you can do either or both of the following. Note: You must leave a separate comment for each optional entry.

2.  Follow me on Twitter (@betheats) and tweet “Happy holidays! Enter to win a copy of Tiny Food Party! from @betheats! http://bit.ly/11MOZBY ”, then leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

3.  Like Eat.Drink.Smile. on Facebook and come back and tell me you did so (or just tell me you already do if that’s the case!)

Contest ends on Friday, December 7th at Noon Central. Once the winners are chosen, I’ll make contact via email and post the names here on the blog. If they don’t respond within 48 hours, I’ll be forced to choose others, so be sure to check your email!

Full disclosure: I was given 4 copies of Tiny Party Food! to do with as I please, plus money to purchase ingredients for testing out some of the recipes in the cookbook. Thoughts and opinions all my own.

Several years ago I lived in Bellevue. Let’s just say the dining scene in that little corner of the world wasn’t exactly booming back then. And while I still wouldn’t exactly say that it’s booming now, things are certainly looking up!

In fact, just over the hill from my old house, a new gastropub has opened, and if it had been there when I lived in that house, there would have been a well worn path over the hill and through the woods to its front door.

Before {PUB}licity opened a couple of weeks ago, I got a sneak peek (and taste) of a few menu items, some of my favorites being the steak tacos with chimichurri, roasted chicken and gouda panini, fried artichoke with bacon aioli, veggie pasty, and the bacon sampler. Yes, you read that right. A Bacon Sampler made up of applewood smoked bacon, chocolate-dipped bacon and maple candied bacon. Uh huh.

In addition to the food, they have an extremely impressive beer list, wine and handcrafted cocktails.

Special thanks to my friend Erin who somehow managed to snap several pics while eating AND holding a baby. She’s much more talented than me, as I was doing good to just keep my little one from pulling all the plates off the table!

Check out their full menu on their Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter to keep up with the latest news and happenings, including what beer they’ve just tapped!

{PUB}licity
7073 Hwy 70 S (in the Kroger shopping center)
Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 730-6400

Mon – Sun 11 am – 11 pm

Not only did Bellevue just get an awesome new gastropub, but very soon a cute little gourmet cafe will be opening just down the street.

I’ve been a fan of perl catering for a couple of years now, ever since I first discovered their onion bisque at Iron Fork. Elizabeth and Robert, the husband-wife team behind perl, launched a KickStarter campaign earlier this year to raise funds for an actual brick and mortar location, and now, months later, they’re watching it come to life!

If all goes well with inspections this week, they’ll be serving their first brunch at Perl Market and Cafe this Saturday, December 1st. *UPDATE* – new opening date is Wednesday, December 5th!

The new business will offer breakfast and lunch with grab and go or sit down service, with an emphasis on local products.

Here are just a few menu items they’ve mentioned: Buffalo Frog Legs with celery root remoulade, a “DLT” made with duck confit & house cured bacon on fry bread, a pulled pork cassoulet, and waffle fried chicken with cider reduction and braised greens. Okay, I’m hungry now.

Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on the opening and be the first to know of any specials and features they have in the cafe and market!

Perl
7114 Hwy 70 S
Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 646-1390

Tues – Sat 6am – 6pm

(Note: The cafe space is also available for rent after 6 pm Tues- Sat and all day Sun & Mon)

On Monday, December 3rd, Feast restaurant officially opens in the old Allium/Germantown East space.

The locally owned restaurant describes its cuisine as “traditional foods with a twist”. Some items on the menu include mesquite smoked chicken egg rolls with barbecue dipping sauce, tarragon lemon ahi tuna with herbed focaccia crostini, tart apple pesto chicken salad, an assortment of flatbreads, a philly filet sandwich, and chicken feta ravioli.

And because I can’t help myself, I have to show you one of the desserts on the menu: Mocha Goo Goo Pie!

photo courtesy of Feast

Be sure to follow Feast on Twitter and their Facebook page because they’ve been doing some cool giveaways — I even won a free dessert! Wonder what I’ll order?

Feast
501 Main Street
Nashville TN 37206

615-252-2542

Sun – Thurs 11 am- 10 pm
Fri and Sat 11 am – 11 pm

The area between Cummins Station and Mercy Lounge is about to get a little spicier! Salsa restaurant, featuring Puerto Rican and Latin cuisine, is scheduled to open next Thursday, December 6th some time the week of December 17th. (no restaurant ever seems to open as originally scheduled!!)

Juan Reyes, the chef/owner of Salsa, gave me a look around the new (though not yet completely finished) space yesterday, and boy, did I like what I saw! With vibrant colors and cool fixtures, it’s seems like a perfect place to grab a pitcher of sangria and cozy up in a booth with friends for hours on end.

 A peek inside Salsa

Before relocating to Nashville in July, Juan owned and operated a fantastic restaurant in Puerto Rico for 10 years, and is modeling his concept here around that successful business.

I’m already a really big fan of Latin cuisine, so just a quick glance at the menu has me almost salivating in anticipation. The first item on my wish list? Churrasco with Tamarind and Ginger Sauce. (Me and my crazy ginger obsession.)

The next item? Pastelon de Amarillos. C’mon. A Puerto Rican Lasagna made with Sweet Plantains? Sounds too interesting to pass up.

To keep up with progress and confirm the opening date, follow along on Facebook or Twitter!

Salsa Restaurant
818 Palmer Place
Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 401-9316

Mon – Thurs 11 am- 9 pm
Fri – Sat 11 am- 11 pm

Free coffee, chocolate and beer? I’m there!

This Wednesday’s tasting event at the Turnip Truck in the Gulch should give you some great ideas for shopping locally this holiday season. Personally I can’t wait to see what Sarah of Bang Candy Company is bringing to sample; she always has something delightful. I’m also eager to taste MooHoo, a chocolate milk stout from Terrapin. It was created in collaboration with Olive & Sinclair chocolate – hello!

Of course, I won’t just be snagging treats from everyone’s tables, I’ll also be sharing my own, as I’m bringing Goo Goo Clusters for all the shoppers! So please, if you drop in, stop by and say hi :-)

What:
Local and Regional Coffee, Chocolate and Beer Tasting

When:
Wednesday, November 28th, 2012
5 – 7 pm

Where:
Turnip Truck Urban Fare
321 12th Ave South in the Gulch

Cost:
Free

Participants include:

Bang Candy Company
Bongo Java
Drew’s Brews
Just Love Coffee
Goo Goo Cluster
Nashville Toffee
Olive & Sinclair
Raw Shakti Chocolate
Terrapin Beer Company
Yazoo Brewing Company

This event is free and open to the public; advance registration is not needed. Beer samples and purchases are for customers 21 and older.

As of last night, Rolf and Daughters, the highly anticipated new restaurant in Germantown, is officially open for business!

What I know:

• The owner is James Beard nominated Philip Krajeck
• The name Rolf and Daughters came from the chef’s middle name + he has 2 daughters
• The restaurant is located in the historic Werthan Factory building
• The food is described as “modern peasant food”, with Northern Italian and Mediterranean influences, using Southern, seasonal ingredients (their menus, including their cocktail menu that looks amazing, are on the website)

What I also know: If I weren’t headed to Chicago, I’d be walking in that door myself this weekend!

If you go (or already have), please report back. I’ll be getting over there as soon as I can and when I do, I’d love to have some guidance on what to order. Drop me a note and let me know what you tried, what was great, etc.

For more information, Like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and/or check out their website!

Rolf and Daughters
700 Taylor Street
Nashville, TN 37208
615-866-9897
Mon – Sun 5:30 pm – 10 pm

A year ago (almost exactly to the date), I wrote a post titled Coffee Ramblings, where I listed some of my favorite spots to savor a good cup of coffee around Nashville. One of those named was Roast, Inc. Well, a few months later, Roast was still roasting and selling their incredible coffee beans, but they had shuttered their coffee shop.

I was sad, but not for long. Shortly after I learned of the closing, I heard that they were planning to reopen the retail space, this time in an even better location closer to my house!

While it is not open quite yet, it is getting very, very close. Actually, the new place, 8th and Roast, is doing a soft opening tomorrow with a complimentary cupping. They’ll be sampling many of their coffees via various brewing methods to introduce the new coffee shop to the neighborhood. Too bad I’ll be out of town and missing out on this free coffee. Please, go drink some for me!

What: 8th and Roast Complimentary Coffee Sampling

When: Friday, November 16th
1-6pm

Where: 8th and Roast
on 8th Avenue where Douglas Avenue intersects, across the street from Zanie’s

Cool Facts about 8th and Roast:

• The space is part of Douglas Corner, which was built in the 30′s as the terminus for the mule trolley that ferried people from downtown out into the “suburbs.” Much of the original building is being retained (ceilings, exposed brick walls).
• Their two long community tables are re-purposed bowling alley lanes that were built in America in the 40s.
• They are moving the single-brew service to a “self pour” station that will speed overall service up and also give people a chance to experience pouring their own coffee. That bar was formerly part of the lunch counter at the Commerce Street bus station in 1974.

To keep up with what is happening with Roast, and when 8th and Roast officially opens for business, Like them on Facebook or Follow on Twitter.

8th and Roast – OPENING SOON!
2108 8th Ave S
Nashville, TN 37204

As you know, I often post about my favorite events going on around town, encouraging you guys to get out and have a good time. But this time I’m doing more than encouraging – I’m requesting. Beseeching. Imploring. Urging. I truly desire that each and every one of you attend!

That’s because this time around I’m not just an attendee. As you can see from the graphic above, I’m teaming up with my friend, Arnold Myint, and his friend Kevin Sbraga, winner of Top Chef D.C., to host this special Family Meal at Cha Chah on November 29th!

Top Chef D.C. winner Kevin Sbraga

The 3-course meal will benefit The Nashville Food Project (formerly Mobile Loaves and Fishes), a non-profit organization that provides increased access to healthy foods in working poor and homeless communities across Davidson County. In addition to distributing nutritious meals and fresh produce to these communities, they also offer educational programming in food gardens year-round.

Now let me break this down for you: You’ve got 2 amazing chefs that have both appeared on Top Chef. One that won Top Chef. A very worthy cause. A 3-course meal that is going to be absolutely delicious. Incredible bottles of wine available for purchase from Aleksey. Oh yeah, and me!

So now what you are waiting for? Mark your calendar for November 29th, and call or go online to make your reservation. Seating will begin at 6 pm, and while parties of 4 are encouraged, they aren’t required. What we care about most is that you grab some friends or family members and gather with us for this very special Family Meal!

What:

Family Meal to benefit The Nashville Food Project

When:

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Where:

Cha Chah

Mark your calendars. And then go read this post over on Bites written by my friend Lesley, because she says it better than I ever could.