Atlanta Day 2: Family and Friends and Tapas, Oh My!

Roasted figs topped with bacon and herbed goat cheese and roasted spiced almonds

Today was a day of feasting. We awoke to the promise of a fulfilling southern breakfast at a jubilant little restaurant called The Flying Biscuit, a place not unknown to locals as evidenced by the 30 minute waiting list and hoards of satisfied people coming and going through the front door. Once our happy moment arrived, we slipped through the hungry crowds, weaved between brightly colored tables radiating cheerful chatter, and installed ourselves at a pleasant little table draped in a bright blue and pink floral oil cloth to the rear of the room. The menu was crammed with tempting treats and I went with the first to catch my eye: The Southern Scramble, which was a heavenly marriage of collard greens, caramelized onions, spicy eggs, and cheddar accompanied by a bowl of “creamy, dreamy grits” and a biscuit so tall and fluffy I almost thought that it would begin to fly! Naturally, I stuffed myself sick, but could find no morsel of remorse, for the food was so satisfying and delicious that to regret tasting even one bite would be unthinkable!

Cumin Chickpea Spread and Crostini with Tomato Jam

We returned to Chez Nightingale just in time to help my talented and beautiful sister-in-law, Lindsay, prepare her most exquisite menu for the tapas party later that evening. The Nightingale women bonded together in a cooking frenzy to braise, slice, dice, sauté, grill, taste, drink, and laugh over an infinite mess of splatters and spills that covered the kitchen from ceiling to floor. This scene is always the one I am most eager to meet during our visits to Atlanta- three determined and focused women learning about each other and becoming a closer family through cooking. Finally the dishes were topped with their final garnish and set on a most inviting table amidst sunflowers and candles and the invités swarmed around the feast like moths to a flame exhaling mmm’s and oooh’s between bites. They coddled their crostinis with cumin chickpea spread and tomato jam, Spanish meatballs in saffron sauce, rioja-braised chorizo, caramelized mushrooms, toasted spiced almonds, grilled summer vegetables, garlic prawns, and red or white sangria like precious treasures and nibbled them with such care and attention that we beamed with fulfillment at the compliment. By the end of the feast, all were drunk with joy (and sangria too!) and laughed together amidst the intoxicating aromas of sweet spices and food carefully prepared for the ones we love and make us whole.

Grilled Summer Vegetables and Spicey Garlic Prawns