Thursday, August 2, 2012

AJ's Famous Seafood and PoBoys

It's official: I was meant to live in the South! 
I experienced my first poboy on Monday. Yes, experienced. For those who don't know (me last week), a poboy is a sandwich with seafood on it and slathered in deliciousness. I admit that I haven't had the real real thing from New Orleans, but that doesn't change how much I enjoyed that sandwich. Aunt Andrea and I were out looking at an antique/consignment shop at lunchtime and she said that she remembered a poboy place from a few years ago, so we went. Cue the Heavenly Chorus.

AJ's Famous Seafood & Po Boy's on Urbanspoon

AJ's offers things like 13 kinds of PoBoys, Muffulettas, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Bayou Fries, Cheese Grits, Red Beans and Rice, Seafood platters, Cajun Eggrolls, and Gator Tacos! Not to mention the specials like Gator Chili. *drool* And they offer all this at pretty decent prices: half a poboy with a side of fries or red beans and rice is only $7 and they don't skimp on the fish.
Andrea got the shrimp poboy with red beans and rice and I got the scallop poboy with fries. Oh my gosh, was that thing gooooood! It makes me all tingly just thinking about it. The scallops had a little bit of crispy batter on the outside and plentiful plushy pillows of loveliness on the inside! The bread was pretty decent, too! And the fries were crispy enough (and not crinkles or shoestrings) and there was some good seasoning salt on the table. The red beans and rice were delectable! I could've eaten a whole bowl of them, but then I wouldn't have been able to fit in the sandwich. The only negative I have is the Crystal Hot Sauce: not spicy at all! That's the hot sauce maker's fault, though, and any hot sauce is better than none at all. 
Haul your hungry butt over to 2100 Roswell Rd. Suite 200-O in Marietta.

I need to get that Gator Chili....

Pickle's Neighborhood Grill

No, not real pickles....though we did experiment with making some last week...anyways, I'm talking about a restaurant. If you want a juicy burger on Texas Toast slathered in yummy toppings with some crispy crinkle fries or jalapeño poppers, Pickle's..has...that....yeah..the menu even says they serve Hot Pub Pickles, though I haven't tried them, yet.
The first time we went, we got the Spotlight Burger and the BLT something something and both were quite good. The second time, Dave got the BLT thing again and I got a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of soup, but I really don't know what kind of soup it was. I wasn't impressed with either the soup or the grilled cheese--the grilled cheese was just Wonder Bread with Kraft singles on it and the soup was just some watery stuff from a can. Last time, I got the Philly Cheesesteak and Jalapeño Poppers and enjoyed both, though you can get the same poppers from the frozen aisle at the supermarket. 
Now, I'm kind of picky about my fries. I'm addicted, don't get me wrong, but there are kinds I like and kinds I like less and they can't be too wiggly or have stayed way too long in the fryer. Then there's the matter of seasoning. Mostly, salt will do, but there actually has to be salt on them. I prefer something more, like Five Guys Cajun Fries or SmashBurger's Smashfries, but I won't turn my nose up at simply salted. Then we get to the type of fry. I don't really like crinkle fries and shoestring fries piss me off (where's my fry? I can't get a nice, crispy outside with a fluffy inside from something have the circumference of a pencil! These are no fun to dip)! But I digress.
Verdict on Pickle's: worth a try or two, depending on how many you take with you and if you're willing to share bites.
Burgers: pretty good.
Cheesesteak: good. 
Fries: crispy, but crinkle.
Grilled cheese: not worth it.
Soup: not worth it.
Jalapeño Poppers: good, but cheaper for frozen ones.
Something that might get me there again: they're supposed to start serving breakfast soon (I'm a sucker for breakfast food that isn't cereal)!
Pickle's is on 5450 Peachtree Parkway in Norcross, Georgia. Give it a try!





Pickles Neighborhood Grill on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Spumoni Cupcakes

So I was at the supermarket and ended up buying a box of pistachio pudding because I just couldn't pass it by. I got home and decided that I wanted to do something more with it than just pudding. Pudding's great, but pudding-filled cupcakes are better, right? That's what I thought, too, but what else do you put with pistachio? Spumoni (the good version of neopolitan)ice cream has pistachio! So here's my take on spumoni. It's somewhat loosely based on a recipe for Boston Cream Cupcakes from my Big Book of Cupcakes cookbook.


Spumoni Cupcakes


Ingredients


   Batter:

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 5 egg whites
  • 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
   Filling:

  • 1 box Pistachio Pudding mix, prepared with 1 3/4 cups milk



   Strawberry Sauce:

  • 7-10 strawberries, cut up
  • 2 Tbl sugar
  • 1 Tbl cornstarch



   Frosting:

  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • strawberry sauce
  • 7-10 strawberries, minced



   Garnish:

  • Mini Oreos or crushed regular size Oreos



Directions


   Batter:

  • Heat oven to 350. Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper liners.
  • In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  • In large bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar. Beat 2 minutes longer. Add egg whites and beat well. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating until just blended.
  • Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
   Strawberry Sauce:
  • Meanwhile, in small saucepan, stir all Strawberry Sauce ingredients together. Continue stirring and breaking down strawberries until sauce thickens to a consistency similar to maple syrup. Force through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl. Cool in fridge.
   Frosting:
  • In large bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter until well blended. Add Strawberry Sauce and minced strawberries and beat until frosting is creamy. Refrigerate so that it sets up and becomes thick.
   Assembly:
  • Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the centers of the cupcakes to create a good-sized space for the pudding. 
  • Spoon just enough pudding into cupcakes to come almost to the top or just level.
  • Frost generously (this frosting is just so delicious you'll want a mouthful of it).
  • Garnish with Oreos.
  • EAT!