a bean counter's food blog
I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. I’ve cooked up a storm and destroyed my kitchen on a near-daily basis, but the results have been pretty dismal. I made NC pulled pork sandwiches. Blegh. I made turkey meatballs. Blah. I made sausage and potato gratin. Meh.
But then, I made THIS:
Would you believe me if I told you this saucy plate of Mexican goodness clocks in at under 350 calories?
Shut the front door.
Tis the season for excessive amounts of cookies and glorious baked goodies! Fa-la-la-la-la…. la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Everywhere I turn there are COOKIES! I love it… hate it….
LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
HATE.
help.
Over the past two years I’ve developed an addiction to food photography. The styling and the mood. The subject and the props. The lighting. OMG the lighting. I’ve drooled over photos in magazines, on blogs, and in cookbooks and I’ve snapped thousands of food photos trying (and hoping) to get shots that looked half as good. I can count on one hand (that’s five fingers, folks) the number of photos I have taken that I truly loved (one of them being the pic I used for my header on the blog).
That is downright sad.
This Saturday night the stars aligned.
I was sent the ultimate gift from the food gods: a VIP invitation to the pre-opening Friends and Family event at Mellow Mushroom’s newest Charlotte location in Ballantyne! When presented with such a gift, I do not ask questions. I do not hesitate. I just say YES. YES PLEASE!
Mellow Mushroom has 100+ locally owned and operated locations spanning across 15 states, and if I do say so myself the Ballantyne location is a welcome addition!
Clearly, I wasn’t the only person in town who couldn’t wait to check out the new spot because the place was hoppin! We had a few minutes to spare, so Jarrod, our friend Sam, and I headed over to the sprawling circular bar at the center of the restaurant.
