Fulk Fest 2012

This past weekend, we celebrated Fulk Fest 2012 - which is what we coined Eric's 40th Birthday Weekend Celebration (Eric Fulkerson... Fulk Fest... you get the point).

All four of us left work, dogs, house, bills, and everything that makes us worry to spend one awesome day in Atlanta that revolved around eating and of course, celebrating Eric turning 40. Or as I like to refer to it, Eric turning OLD.

The best part of the weekend, was that each stop was a surprise for Eric - literally - his lovely wife planned this whole thing and he didn't even know it!

First stop was Holy Taco for lunch. We sat outside and had an amazing lunch which involved tequila drinks, limonada loca and fried chicken heart tacos as well as pork belly sandwiches and chorizo quesadilla.

Next stop was beer tasting and brewery tour at Red Brick Brewing Company.

We hang out for a while and drank "free" beer, played ping pong (this was Eric's first time playing ping pong... believe it or not).

We didn't realize until we got there that the tour wasn't actually until 4:15pm, so we didn't stay for the tour because we had things to do (check in at the hotel) and places to be (make it to dinner by 7:00pm).

Kerrie had not only managed to get us a reservation at Local Three (Eric's favorite restaurant in Atlanta):

but she had gone the extra 8391 miles and coordinated a Chef's Table for us... in the Kitchen! This was our table:

Birthday (old) boy besides himself with joy when the server told us that we were about to have a 10-course meal with pairings...

So the adventure started:

Dehydrated Cheddar, Bacon & Thyme Popcorn

And continued:

Heirloom Tomatoes, Avocado & Blue Crab Salad
 with Yogurt Mint Dressing

 And continued:

Marinated Figs, Caramelized Onions, Blue Cheese & Polenta

And more food:

Roasted Monk Fish, Creamed Corn,
Candied Bacon Relish & Cilantro Puree

This is Mike R. Server - it was about into course 5 that we realized that we didn't know his name! Not because he didn't tell us, but because we were all in another planet when he introduced himself when we first got there. So we asked him... he told us his name was Mike. We still don't know his last name, so we coined him Mike R. Server.

So we asked him to take our picture! The guy in the back, to the right is Tom... they were doing a tour of the kitchen:

We took pictures of each other:

Then we proceeded to eat the next course:

Seared Duck Breast with Peach & Vidalia Onion Relish
over Summer Squash Puree

As if we all don't already get enough of commercial kitchens, people at work provided us with entertainment!

We moved on to the next course:

Braised Pork Short Rib, Coconut Rice,
Snow Peas & Housemade Kimchi

And asked Mike R. Server to take a picture of us toasting (this was toast #6, by the way)

At one point, we took a break to use the restroom. This picture is a good representation of how our plates ended up after each course. Every piece of food was exquisite and the beverage pairing elevated each dish to the next level!

I think it was after that when things got funny. "Guys! Look cute!":

"Fern, I bet you can't put your hair up with that knife":

Not sure what's happening on this one:

"Kerrie, you have to drink your water too!"

More food:

Grilled Ribeye with Loaded Potato Puree & Chimichurri

Palatte cleanser:

Cantaloupe Sorbet

Because all that food and wine wasn't enough, now it's time for cheese course, paired with beer:

L-R:
Lamb Chopper, Cocoa Cardona, Big Ed's Gouda & Blue Cheese
Local Honey & Blackberry Preserves

Grand finale was Eric's favorite, Twix Bar made in-house:

Ricotta Cheesecake & Housemade Twix Bar
Shortbread Cookie topped with Salted Caramel
& Dipped in White Chocolate

Wines that were served, starting with course #2 (far right) to course #6 (far left)

Then we waited for the Taxi:

Which took forever, so we entertained ourselves by playing in the fountain:

We couldn't go home with empty bellies, so the next morning we got up and went to Highland Bakery and had breakfast!

 Here we are looking tired:

We wrapped up the weekend by going to Mass at the Basilica of Sacred Heart of Jesus - very pretty church!

We had such a fantastic time enjoying eachother's company while doing something we all have a passion for - eating unbelievable food. If I had to pick one picture to describe the weekend, it would be this one:

Happy 40th Birthday Weekend my friend, I get beside myself when I sit back and think about how all we are doing is building memories that will stick with us forever, memories that hopefully one day we will get to tell our children with great joy, just like our parents share their memories with great friends along their lifetime and tell us those fun stories today reminiscing of the Good Old Days!

Going Green

Finally, the Aldredge Household is joining the recycling world and going green. A few weeks ago this bin was dropped off at our house:

A week after that, they dropped off a letter indicating what all we can and cannot put in it. We can put newspapers, soda cans, food cans and High-Density Polyethylene plastics - or in layman terms, plastics that have the 2 inside the recycling symbol.

At first I was super skeptical about the whole recycling situation - #1, we don't drink very many cokes or eat out of cans anymore. #2, we don't get the newspaper. #3, we don't drink milk and I don't see very many plastic containers sitting around.

Boy did I proof myself wrong. I find myself inspecting every plastic container in my house hoping to recycle it (and get mad when I come across one that's actually not recyclable). I have since learned that not all plastic containers are created equal, some are PETE (instead of HDPE), those are the ones with the 1 inside the recycling symbol (and for the most part, clear plastic).

I'm going to find another container and put all the other things this one container won't hold, such as PETEs, glass, cardboard and just take it to the recycling center in the city of Byron, GA.

Excited!

Extreme

With weather like this, we just have to move slow in the South.

No more words - now I go back to sitting and doing nothing.

Sneaky Cuddle

This is what Norm found this morning as he came around the corner of the couch, except she was actually asleep. Her eyes opened when the camera shutter went off.

She was all curled up into a tiny (relatively) ball. Norm says it was the sweetest thing, so he couldn't yell at her to get her off the couch.

So in almost a whisper he said "Cali girl, Cali girl you have to get off the couch". So she got up and, still asleep, tumbled over to her bed.

Sweet little thing.

Okay, enough of that - now back to the fact that THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE FURNITURE!

Bug Print

Earlier today, I was sitting outside hanging out with Pellet & Cali. I had my legs up against the arm rest of the chair (no big deal). When I moved my leg, I noticed there was a squished bug on my leg, so naturally, I removed it (it was dead, yea gross, whatever). But the little dude left this print behind on my leg:

Can you see it's little body, and two legs and little head? It's smack in the middle of the picture (I know, weird picture, but I just have to share).

A New Mixing Friend

Norm discovered this at the store the other day:

So we bought a six-pack and what did we do with it? Mixed it with gin, of course!

Gin
Equal Parts Tonic Water & San Pellegrino Aranciata
Lime
Ice

Enjoy!

It certainly is tasty on it's own as well...

Copy Cat Cal

Pellet has been sleeping like this for years - ever since we was a little baby. He is very particular about it, he only tucks his head under the bed on Norm's side and he only does it at night.

People ask me if he does this when it's storming outside and the answer is no, he gets on the bed when it's storming outside. He just does it when he goes to sleep.

Last night, I was getting ready for bed and came out of the bathroom to find this:

She was passed out with her head under the bed (on Norm's side). She is so funny!