I have a sweet tooth, for sure. I am one who says, "There is always room for dessert." When I am not baking sugary creations at home, I am on the hunt for the perfect sweet treat, wherever I am. Pick a city, state, or country that I've visited and ask me what dessert you should try and I will serve you a stellar suggestion. Here are a few of my favorite sweets from some spots in Atlanta. 

Five Daughters Bakery

This "croissant-style 100 layer doughnut" (aka cronut) is flaky, sweet, comes in a variety of staple- and seasonal flavors, and sometimes has a rich, creamy filling. If there's a Five Daughters around, I am definitely indulging in this decadent treat. I love their staple flavors: The Purist and King Kong. Recently, I had their seasonal Triple Raspberry (pictured) and it was scrumptious. 

Rita's Ice

Ever since I tasted my first gelati (layers of Italian ice and frozen custard) --I think I was 18--, I've been hooked. Creamy, thick...

As our cities are opening back up, we're all excited to start dining out again -- at least I am. Though I love to cook, I have missed eating out. I love getting dressed up and indulging in my favorite fare: lobster, crab, shrimp, filet mignon... Here are a few restaurants offering dine-in and serving up excellent seafood.

SURF & TURF AT MARCEL 

Our first restaurant visit (since the stay-at-home order was put into place) was to Marcel, the American steakhouse by Ford Fry. This was our top choice as Marcel does not disappoint.  I indulged in their 8 oz. Filet Madame (medium rare, of course) topped with Alabama Jumbo Lump Oscar. The whole dish was melt-in-your-mouth, savor-every-bite delicious. 

LOBSTER ROLL AT COUSIN'S MAINE LOBSTER

I consider myself a lobster roll connoisseur. I've had many, and you might be surprised to find out that they're not easy to pull off. All lobster rolls are not created equal. With that being said, Cousin's Maine creates one of...

Tika Sumpter covers MIAMI LIVING's June/July 2020 issue. The gorgeous actress-producer-writer sat down with me in February to talk about her new hit sitcom, Mixed-ish; Sonic the Hedgehog movie; and her new endeavors: Sugaberry.com and The Suga podcast. "It’s part of this really cool universe, which not only tells something funny, but is also socially impactful --you learn something, but without being beat over the head. I’m just grateful to be part of this planet, of the -ish universe,” says Tika about Mixed-ish. Direct link to her cover story here.

We also have interviews with Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' Adam Rodriguez, The Big Show Show's Allison Munn, and Roswell, New Mexico's Jeanine Mason. There is high fashion, luxury real estate, hot products and more. Read the June/July issue here. 

When I was trying to come up with a title/subject for this week's blog, I turned to Jerry; he said it should be about family night. Initially, I was hesitant to use that title as we aren't officially married yet --can I call us a family? He assured me that I can and that we are. 

I love planning little special occasions to break up the monotony of the week. This week is the twin's 13th birthday, so I wanted to ensure that their time with us was extra special. I normally cook or bake at least one dish with the boys the week they're at our place, but I wanted to plan more.

On Monday (Memorial Day), we barbecued. Jerry grilled up some cheeseburgers and hot dogs, and the boys helped me make homemade lemonade with freshly squeezed lemons and boiled simple syrup. It was so good. 

On Tuesday, we made a No Fuss Lemon Tart (recipe by HalfBakedHarvest.com). It's ironic that "no fuss" was in this recipe's title, especially since...

Last week, Jerry and I jumped on the healthy-eating bandwagon (after all the baking I've been doing, it was needed!), which meant I needed to find some great salad recipes. Here is what I whipped up for us.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Ceviche Chopped Salad

This salad or "ceviche" was our absolute favorite. It is made with cooked shrimp, red onion, avocados, tomatoes, fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro leaves, sea salt and pepper. It's light, refreshing, and super yummy. Recipe by Clean Food Crush.

Broccoli Salad

We bought a huge bag of broccoli from Costco, so I wanted to figure out a new (to us) way to prepare it --rather than air frying, baking, steaming... This salad is sweet and savory with blanched broccoli, raisins, bacon, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, sour cream, mayo, sugar, and white vinegar (I slightly modified Sugar Spun Run's recipe). I find broccoli to be quite bland, even when infused with garlic and lemon, but this salad definitely added loads of flavor and texture to this veggie....