October is breast cancer awareness month, and the Centraarchy restaurant group is here to help the cause. Their restaurants — including New York Prime, Joey D’s Oak Room, and Tavern at Phipps here in Atlanta — are all serving up the Pink Kiss martini with 50% of the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. The cocktail is delicious, and there’s nothing better than drinking when you know the proceeds are going to charity.

Upon arriving at New York Prime for happy hour, we were greeted by Bobby — one of the managing partners. If you’re having trouble finding New York Prime, we suggest coming down Lenox and turning in at the Ritz-Carlton. If you get lost, just call the restaurant at 404.846.0644 and they’ll help guide you. That’s what we had to do y’all…and thanks again to Bobby for helping us find our way!

The Pretty Southern Girls with Pink Kiss Martinis

After settling in at the bar with our pal Elizabeth from Southern Color, our bartender Steve served up two of the prettiest pink cocktails. We loved our happy hour at New York Prime, and plan to go back for more Pink Kisses to help support the Susan G. Komen foundation. There’s nothing better than supporting a good cause and unwinding from a hard day with a pretty drink at the same time! The Pink Kiss is pure perfection. Not too sweet, but strong and sparkly. So make a reservation to help sip martinis for breast cancer awareness! Here’s the recipe if y’all want to make this drink at home after October ends.

The Pink Kiss Martini is a sweet treat.

1 1/4 oz. Absolut Grapevine
3/4 oz. St. Germaine liquor
3/4 oz. Peachtree Peach Schnapps
3/4 oz. cranberry juice
Squeeze of 1 lemon wedge
Dollop of raspberry sorbet
Prosecco

Pour liquors into a martini shaker over ice, then squeeze lemon and strain into a martini glass. Serve with a tiny scoop of raspberry sorbet and a splash of Prosecco. Y’all can try to make it at home, but get to a Centraarchy restaurant this week to celebrate the ta-ta’s and happy hour! Keep up with New York Prime on Facebook and Twitter, and while y’all are at, keep up with Pretty Southern too.

Go see Steve at New York Prime in Atlanta. Look for the charmer in a pink tie!

Preparing a gourmet meal is now as easy as clicking the “order” button. A startup called Plated serves up a clever concept which delivers all the ingredients you need right to your door. Plated is cofounded by Josh Hix, a Georgia Tech grad who went onto achieve his MBA at Harvard. It was there he met his partner, Nick Taranto, and they set out to make the “Warby Parker of food.” Every week, a new menu with seven different dishes is posted to the Plated website (including vegetarian options). You select your plates and quantity in 2, 4, or 6 plates then wait for your delicious ingredients to arrive at your doorstep. Here in Atlanta, we’ve been getting our Plated orders every Wednesday. By signing up for the Plated membership program, you’ll get discounts every week on your plates.

Our first plated box arrives!

Here’s an overview of what to expect. For our first order, we picked Chicken Satays with Peanut Sauce and Jeweled Rice, plus Orcchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. We received an email prior to delivery saying we’d need olive oil, salt and pepper for cooking our meals. Everything else was included. They even come with cooling packs, which y’all can reuse for your tailgate coolers. After launching in other major DMAs such as New York, San Francisco, and Chicago — Plated was ready to serve up tasty meals in Atlanta.

Our ingredients for Chicken Satays, Peanut Sauce and Jeweled Rice.

The company has gone nationwide but focuses on using local, sustainable ingredients. The proof is literally in the pudding. All the proteins are hormone-free, and even the fish is wild-caught. The produce is fresh and ready-to-eat. Even the spices and sauces come in portion-size packages. Each Plated box comes with step-by-step instructions for creating a masterpiece right in your own kitchen. It’s like the Ikea of dinners. Even husbands, boyfriends and bachelors will enjoy putting together a Plated meal, and it’s sure to impress your date or significant other.

Chicken Satays, Jeweled Rice & Peanut Dipping Sauce.

All the recipes are the brain child of Elana Karp: Plated’s Cordon Bleu-trained in-house culinary director. There’s something for everyone on the menu. Since the Atlanta launch, we’ve enjoyed Chicken Tortilla Soup, Seared Ahi Tuna over Sushi Rice with a Cucumber-Avocado-Scallion topping, and Orcchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. Plated even includes toppings such as parmesan cheese with pasta orders, or ginger and wasabi with Japanese-influenced meals.

Even husbands will be fans of Plated’s broccoli.

Use the code “Pretty Southern” to receive two free plates. You’ll also be able to send free plates to three of your friends after you place your first Plated order. Keep up with Plated on Facebook, Twitter and their adorable, inspiring Pinterest boards. Be sure the Tweet and Instagram photos of your delicious dishes using #Plated and #FoodPorn. While y’all are at it, be sure to follow Pretty Southern on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook too. We look forward to sharing more delicious Plates with you, dear reader!
 

For our recent pretty southern bridal shower, one of our hostesses came up with this recipe. It’s so simple, the presentation looks great in the phyllo cups, and they are tasty too. This recipe yields 60 of the Chicken Caesar Salad Cups. You’ll need.

• 1 lb. of chicken breasts
• 1 bag of shredded lettuce
• Phyllo cups (we bought a few packages for 60 cups)
• Your favorite Caesar dressing
• Empty squirt bottle (find one for $1 at WalMart)

Cook chicken and shred (it should yield at least 2 cups of cooked chicken). Fill squirt bottle with Caesar dressing. Place shredded lettuce in phyllo cups. Top with the cooked chicken, then add a drizzle of the dressing. Arrange cups on a platter and serve!

Chicken Caesar Salad Cups with Deviled Eggs and Mini Sandwiches. A perfect spread for a Southern bridal shower.

Fall is here which means it’s time to bust out those crock pots and savory casserole recipes. This is a takeoff from Chandler’s Chicken & Rice, but with a few shortcuts to make it an easy, weeknight meal. This recipe will easily feed a family of four, or leave you with leftovers for days. You’ll need:

• 1 rotisserie chicken (a fully cooked one from your local grocery store)
• 1 bag of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Pouch (Long Grain & Wild)
• 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of grated Swiss cheese
• 1 (10 oz) can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup — you can also use Cream of Celery or Cream of Mushroom w/ Roasted Garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 lemons, thinly sliced
• freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet of medium-low heat. Sauté onions, celery and pepper until the onion turns translucent. In a large bowl, mix shredded rotisserie chicken, rice, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, and mushroom soup. Add in sautéed veggies and a few more grinds of black pepper. Spray a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray then evenly spread your cheesy-veggie-chicken-rice mixture. Place lemon slices on top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes. It’s going to smell amazing, but you’ve got to let it stand for a minute before serving. Enjoy!

The management team at East Andrews in the heart of the Buckhead bar scene has taken their massive complex and transformed it into several fabulous creative concepts. In one shared space, y’all have Cellar 56, East Andrews Upstairs, Prohibition, Stout, Czar Ice Bar, the Improv Comedy Club, and now Stillhouse. It’s a welcome addition to the scene serving up custom moonshine cocktails which pack a punch in the most delicious way, followed by a Southern-inspired menu to soak it all up.

The best moonshine cocktails in Atlanta

Pretty Southern and our pal at Kitchen Causual, Katy Deluca Lucey, were privileged to attend recent media tasting at Stillhouse. We sat at the bar where our bartender Nicholas Bustos took excellent care of us. He kicked up a Carolina Mule by adding some fall inspiration with apple pie moonshine, ginger beer, peach bitters, and lime juice. It was the best way to serve moonshine! After ordering a round of drinks, it was time for the food. The menu at Stillhouse aims to please.

Appetizers include devilled eggs, fried green tomatoes, crab cakes, pimento cheese, or mussels swimming in a moonshine-based broth. Burgers are the main focus of the menu, and goodness they are so good. A “Classic” burger includes two beef patties, cheddar cheese and bacon. The PB & J comes with the standard two patties plus a peanut humus, fig jam, a slice of peach, then the bun is topped with bleu cheese and pecans.

Bring your appetite! Featuring the PB & J burger, mac ‘n cheese, and gouda fries, plus regular or spicy ketchup.

As an homage to its neighborhood, the Buckhead burger is topped with duck confit, goat cheese, spinach, beets and a green tomato relish. Other menu high lights include burgers featuring crab cakes, black-eyed pea patties (for the vegetarians), fried oysters or the Augusta burger which is topped with pulled pork. For side dishes, sample the fries drizzled with gouda, mac ‘n cheese, cole slaw, or bacon-creamed corn.

For dessert, there’s an amazing assortment to choose from, including Krispy Kreme bread pudding, coconut cream pie, or flourless chocolate cake. But y’all have to save room for more drinks, as Stillhouse also serves up a bevy of housemade moonshine infusions. Ask for a sample of the Strawberry Basil, or try the crazy flavor of the Vidalia Onion & Jalapeno (which as Katy pointed out would be great for a moonshine Bloody Mary). There’s also smoke-infused cocktails, a custom creation from bartender Alec Dunlop.

For more information about Stillhouse, like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.