Hootie Hoo! Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen

We love Carla Hall.  We enjoyed watching her on Top Chef because she exuded so much positive, fun-loving energy.  Then we went to a taping of The Chew and discovered that she is just the same in person - so cool!  So when she opened up a small restaurant in Brooklyn, we knew we'd need to check it out.

Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen is focused on one awesome thing:  Nashville hot chicken.  As it says on their website, it's a "unique twist on southern fried chicken, traditionally fried in an iron skillet and then tossed in a spicy cayenne paste."  You can order by the piece, by the plate, or by the bucket and there are 6 levels of "heat" to choose from depending on how spicy you feel.  And then there are a variety of classic Southern side dishes and drinks to pair with your poultry.  We decided to try a leg and a breast (to sample both white and dark meat), the mac 'n' cheese, and savory cornbread.  We went with the Hootie Hot spice (Level 4) so we could really focus on tasting the chicken instead of burning our tastebuds, but eventually Mel does want to attempt the BOOMSHAKALAKA (Level 6) just for fun.

 

The chicken was absolutely divine:  sooooooo juicy and flavorful.  The heat level was just-right, enough for a little kick without being overpowering.  The sides were also delicious, and a perfect complement to the spice on the meat.  Part of the restaurant's social media campaign is for diners to take a photo of their first taste of the chicken and post it with #HOTCHICKENFACE, so of course Mel couldn't resist a fun hashtag opportunity!

They also offer a small selection of classic Southern desserts.  Carla is actually known for her great baking recipes so we decided to round off the meal with a whoopie pie.  Super sweet and super delish! 

The one challenge with this place is the size.  We're used to small restaurants because, let's face it, city real estate ain't cheap.  But even by city standards, Southern Kitchen is pretty small.  They try to make the most of the corner spot they have with an efficient layout.  The order counter is up front, and a bar counter with stools lines the window.  There are two long communal tables, and the back is an open counter to the kitchen so you can see when your order is ready.  We were lucky enough to get there when it wasn't crowded, which allowed us to grab the end of a table and the only high chair they have.  But as we were wrapping up, we realized that large parties had a bit of trouble getting seats together and another family with a small child had to wait for us to give up the high chair.  But the food is just too good to stay away, so we're thinking next time we go we'll plan on taking the food to-go and enjoying it outside by the water.  

BOOMSHAKALAKA - we're coming for ya!

Slow Cooker Banana Bread

We're big fans of The Great British Baking Show.  You'd think a baking show wouldn't be all that exciting, but there's just something about it that makes it addictive.  The hosts' witty banter.  Mary Berry's wise yet welcoming demeanor.  Paul Hollywood's snarky disposition.  The contestants' creative ideas.  The British accents.  Overall, it's a fun window into just how challenging it is to be an excellent baker.  We really should appreciate quality baked goods more!

Anyways, we've been watching it every night lately because they just released new seasons on Netflix.  So when we had three bananas ripen too fast to be eaten, Mel's first thought jumped to banana bread.  The one hitch is that Mel is by no means into baking.  It requires much more careful measuring and timing than cooking, and it's much harder to mask mistakes.  So rather than braving an oven bake, she searched for a recipe that would use the trusty slow cooker and found one for Slow Cooker Banana Bread with Brown Sugar Sauce that looked pretty easy to follow.  She decided to skip the brown sugar sauce in the hopes that our little guy would try some (we're trying to get him into a wider variety of foods and he has yet to fall in love with bread).  She also greased the side of the slow cooker with butter rather than cooking spray.  Otherwise, the recipe was followed to the letter.  Unfortunately, the end result was less than desirable.  If it were being judged by Mary and Paul, the word "underbaked" would be featured prominently. 

The big mistake:  using butter to grease the slow cooker.  By the hour and a half mark, the sides were becoming too brown but the center was still raw.  Mel tried leaving it on a bit longer, but the sides just kept getting darker and there was no hope for that center.  So she wound up cutting the raw part out and saving the edge pieces that were still edible.  

The portions we were left with had good flavor, so we may try this recipe again and use cooking spray.  But more than likely, we'll give a good old oven bake a try instead.  In the meantime, we'll keep watching our friends from across the pond and hopefully become better bakers by osmosis.

CORRECTION: March 14

Mel realized that this recipe was screwed up because she didn't put the slow cooker cover on properly and too much air was escaping!  ::forehead slap::  So we tried it again to give it a fair shake.  Verdict:  not bad at all!  When cooked properly, the texture is actually nice and light.  And thanks to using cooking spray instead of butter to grease the slow cooker, the whole loaf lifted out perfectly.  The curved edges still got a bit burnt, but overall we were pleased and will keep this recipe around for times when we have some super ripe bananas we don't want to waste.

Roasted Chicken and Crispy Sprouts

So this subscription to Rachael Ray Every Day might be responsible for a serious surge of blog posts because the awesome recipes just keep coming!  Yet another meal we tried and loved:  Roasted Chicken and Crispy Sprouts.

We loved it not because it's extremely innovative, but rather because it's so simple yet tasty.  We roast chicken all the time, we roast veggies all the time, and yet never thought that the little addition of lemon wedges would add so much extra flavor.  And let's be honest:  you can't beat a one-dish supper, especially when you have to chase after a toddler.  Just put everything in the roasting pan and pop in the oven.  The only effort required is cutting the sprouts and lemon.  Cha-ching!

Once everything is fully roasted, squeeze the lemon juice over all of it and serve.  We LOVED the citrus zip of each bite.  Will be making this one frequently for sure!

TBT: Valentine's Treat - Chocolat Moderne

Valentine's Day was about a month ago, yes.  But it would be remiss if we did not post about the AMAZING chocolate DJ brought home to celebrate that day.  He did some serious research to find the best chocolatier near his office and discovered Chocolat Moderne. 

 Since the majority of excellent reviews were obviously focused on the candy, DJ was shocked to find when he arrived at the address that this place actually operates out of an apartment!  Gotta love the surprises of NYC.  At first he was thinking. "Um... apartment chocolate?  Is this legit?"  But he picked out an awesome variety of the bite-size treats, and each one was extremely decadent, unique, and beautifully designed.  This place is definitely worth stopping by if you want to go beyond the regular chocolate box and enjoy some inventive flavors.