A Little Piece of Paris in Austin

 

The Best French in Austin!

I made un horrible mistake in my last blog posting. I recounted my favorite restaurants in Austin and completely forgot Chez Nous – Quelle Horreur! I will proclaim something I am sure some Justine’s fans will hiss and spit at – Chez Nous is the best French restaurant in Austin. They not only have fantastic food, a stellar and not too expensive wine list they also have a real Parisian cafe atmosphere – the waiters will even sometime speak to you in French! But what they have that is the best of all is their prix-fixe menu that changes daily. They charge about $27.50 per person and you get a 3-course meal. The starters are usually a choice between a salad Lyonnaise, pate and some type of soup of the day.

Salad Lyonnaise

pate

potato leek soup

For the main course you can usually choose from a red-meat dish either lamb or beef and then there are usually two fish dishes. I love red meat, but Chez Nous does fish so well that I almost always choose one of their fish dishes. My mother who absolutely detests fish (I know, so sad), actually really liked the fish she tried. Of course, their fish is usually covered in a butter and/or cream sauce, so it’s kind of cheating. That’s fine by me.

Sole with mushroom sauce

Steak with a shallot butter sauce

Salmon with a cream sauce

Last, but not least there is the dessert course. In the prix-fixe menu you can choose between mousse, creme caramel and a cheese platter. Or, you can spend a couple bucks more and get other desserts. I always want the creme brulee, so I always order off the main menu for dessert. All of their desserts are excellent though.

Normandy Crepes

Creme Caramel

Creme Brulee

Chez Nous, you will be sorely missed. I guess I just have to try and eat at French restaurants here in Portland to try and find a replacement.

Au Revoir!

A Good Bye Food Tour of Austin

After more than 100 days of over 100 degree weather in the summer of 2011 in Austin, Chris and I made the painful decision to leave the town we loved. It was hard, we have a group of friends we love. But we knew we wanted to be able to live a more outdoorsy life style. We chose to move to Portland, Oregon. It just so happens to also be a pretty awesome foodie town. More on that in a later post.

We knew the most important thing we had to do before we left – eat at our favorite restaurants. So below is a quick list of some of our favorite places in Austin.

5. Enoteca Vespaio – This is a solid Italian restaurant. Not too pricey, but definitely nice. It’s not one of those hidden gem Italian restaurants in a strip mall, it’s a fairly fancy place. But this is Austin, so it’s never going to be too fancy. It shares the kitchen with Vespaio, but it’s half the price. If you have not been, go there. Their suppli is fantastic. I also recommend their spinach salad and tagliatelle con funghi. They also have super cheap, delicious desserts.

                                 

4.Kerbey Lane – There are tons of renowned breakfast places in Austin. Magnolia Cafe is a lot of people’s favorite. I have always been a Kerbey Lane girl. And this became more pronounced when they opened up shop 10 minutes away. Kerbey Lane is home-grown Austin kitsch, from their tattooed waiters to their vegan pancakes. It is supreme comfort food fashioned in a “weird” way. I love it. Please try their pancakes. There is not a bad one. I love their gingerbread as well as their pumpkin, but any will do. Also check out their seasonal specials, always season appropriate and full of locally sourced ingredients.

 

3. Uchiko – It’s not like this place needs my rave review. But I will give it anyway. Uchiko is simply divine. It’s a lot harder to get into now, since Executive Chef Paul Qui won the 9th season of Top Chef. And I will be honest, it was better the first time I went in August than this last time we went. It is still remarkable and inventive cuisine that is delicious. Some of our favorite dishes are the jar jar duck, bacon tataki and the hamachi sushi.

2. Home Slice Pizza – I really love Home Slice. From its unbelievable, thin New York style crust, to it’s wonderfully organic and random play list all the way to its spot-on Austin vibe, this place is just about perfect. Here’s the thing – I love pizza, but I would never have thought a pizza place could be one of my favorite restaurants ever. And it’s because this place is so much more than pizza. The owners of this place, just have it right. We always got the pepperoni, mushroom, basil and eggplant pizza. I miss it, so have it for me!

1. Marie’s House – So this is not a restaurant. This is my friend Marie’s house. Not only does she cook some of the best food in Austin, her house is always abuzz with lots of love and some of the coolest people just walk on into her house. One of our best last meals in Austin was with Marie, her husband Tommy and our friends Barbara and Shiu Mei. Marie whipped up a delicious seafood curry that was unbelievable.

So you may not be able to make a reservation at her place. But always keep in mind that when you cook and open your home to people, you are making a special kind of experience, a special bond, a friend family. It gives me hope that I can find this same kind of family in Portland. We will miss you Austin, but look forward to sharing new memories of our life here in Portland.

Here are a few more Austin favorites:

Uncorked
Andiamo
Clay Pit
Three Little Pigs

South Padre Island: Not a Foodie Destination

Fried Artichoke Hearts from Padre Island Brewing Company

Our anniversary trips have gotten steadily less sexy as time has passed – Paris, Portland and this year – South Padre Island. At least we stick with a “P” theme. This year we had a pretty valid excuse for not jet-setting to Prague or Paraguay. We were just not ready yet to drop off the baby and take off.  So we wanted somewhere that was driving distance (nowhere is a good driving distance with a fussy baby) and was cheap. Initially, the thought was Big Bend, but it’s eight hours away and Padre was six and much cheaper.  We found a great deal at the Travelodge at the very end of the island. We got a two bedroom room with a huge kitchen and living room, plus we got to take Olive and it was only $99 a night. The hotel also had beach access. I highly recommend this place and the location was perfect. It was not fancy by any means, but if you are staying in South Padre you are probably not looking for fancy.

Ranch burger with grilled onions

I wish I could give some positive reviews of the food we had on the island, but man, oh, man, what a disappointment.  Our first stop was the Padre Island Brewing Company. This brew pub was located on the main drag, not too far from our hotel. The menu seemed to consist of standard pub fare. But I guess I have been spoiled by Austin and Portland brew pub food – basic, but tasty. This food was really just basic, not too much ingenuity going on. We started with the fried artichokes and the beer battered mushrooms stuffed with crab and served with ranch and a citrus tartar sauce. And then we split the Ranch Burger, which was topped with BBQ sauce and grilled onions.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I know these choices are not terribly exciting, but neither were our options. And while the food was not horrible, it was just kind of –  meh. At least with this place we did not get stuck with a large bill, which is not something I can say for a couple of our other dining choices.

Delicious Beer!

And at least they had delicious beer! So all in all the food was bland, but the prices and beer made up for it!

Beet and Raspberry Bruschetta and Parisian Mac and Cheese

The next day was Thanksgiving. We all slept in and watched some football (just like at home!). Then we took Olive and the baby down to the beach – for both of them it was their first trip. So we had so much fun.  Olive ran and caught the ball in the waves with Chris, while Owen and I just sat in the shallow part of the water enjoying the lapping water. It was a very nice introduction to the ocean. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by South Padre Island beaches. I am from Florida and I have heard many Texans trash the shore here, so I was a bit nervous. But this part of Texas is not that bad and is fairly comparable to some Atlantic side beaches in Florida.

After the beach we headed back to the room and had a nap. And desperately searched for a restaurant that might be open on the holiday. We found Cafe Kranzler, which seemed like a great option and was ranked highly on Yelp – well, it was ranked highly on Yelp for the area. When we got there, I instantly thought it was a pretty cute place. It’s not fancy, but it’s got a nice vibe to it. And they had what seemed to be a very nice fixed price menu. We decided against it in order to try some of their regular menu items, but it looked great. We started with a couple of appetizers – the beet and raspberry bruschetta and the Parisian Mac and Cheese. Both of these were fantastic and were the highlight of the dining experience. The mac and cheese had brie, mushrooms and truffle oil in it and was superb. The bruschetta was even better, the melange of flavors including the tartness of the raspberries, the earthiness of the beets combined with the creaminess of the goat cheese was amazing – a big winner. If only we had stopped there. But alas, we ordered entrees. I ordered their wiener schnitzel. Mine was not bad, it was pretty basic, it was just bland. It was your standard fare schnitzel, nothing out of the ordinary, very thin. Chris’s entree was just, for lack of a better word – gross. He ordered the mandarin orange crab crepe. While I commend him for ordering exotic, it definitely backfired. The crab filling itself was very sweet and then it was topped with an equally sweet sauce. I think it would have served the chef better to create a contrast versus just piling on the sugar.

Mandarin Orange Crab Crepe

Wiener Schnitzel

Cold Creme Brulee

For dessert we ordered the creme brulee. It’s a favorite dessert of ours. And while it was cold inside and super thick and sugary on top, not my favorite, it was not bad. It just wasn’t my favorite version. This time, we did get stuck with a big bill. So my feelings on this place are very mixed. I might recommend sticking with appetizers and wine.

My sexy husband at Clayton's beach bar

One big surprise was the food at Clayton’s Resort. If you have ever been to Panama City or any other super touristy beach destination, you have seen this place before – huge open deck playing bad music, beach volleyball nets and a frozen alcoholic drink machine. So I was not expecting much. Oddly, this was the best food we had the whole trip.

Yummy nachos and the requisite frozen margarita

Chopped Shrimp Cocktail

Since we had plans for a big dinner, we just ordered a couple of appetizers  – nachos and a shrimp cocktail. The shrimp was hands down the freshest seafood we had the entire trip. And there was a lot of it. At first, I thought the presentation was weird all chopped up in the sauce, but it worked. And the nachos had huge chunks of fresh avocado and tomatoes as well as jalapenos. It was simple and yet very fresh, not what I was expecting.

Snapper Special

Captain Dan

For dinner on our last night I really wanted to go to the Sea Ranch Restaurant. I had done my research and this seemed to be the best place for seafood. I guess I should caveat this again, it seemed like the best place for the Island. What was odd about this place, is that it is right on the water, but I could swear it was some of the most stale and not fresh seafood I have ever eaten. We started with some oysters, clam chowder and a salad. All were ok. The oysters were very nice and yummy. I would recommend them. But the chowder was just unbearably salty and the salad was fine, but nothing extraordinary. Our entrees were not great either. Chris’s entree – the special of the evening was pretty good. It was a snapper with a cream sauce over pasta topped with shrimp. So it had a lot going on to mask anything fishy. Mine was just bad. It was the Captain Dan, which consisted of a broiled flounder, scallops and shrimp. The seafood was so slimy and I could not even eat the fish, it stunk. There is no excuse for that on an island. And then we got the check, which added insult to injury. I will say that our server was impeccable. And it seems that service overall is a big priority, which is great. I just wish they had better food.

If you want good seafood or good food in general in Padre it seems the best way to do it is cook. But the island overall had a great vibe and it was a wonderful getaway.

A New Foodie Has Joined the Family

Owen and His Sweet Potatoes

For the first six months of a baby’s life many things are complicated and stressful for new parents. One thing that is not is food. Babies at this age are either drinking breast milk (free and readily available, at least for most mothers) or formula (not free, but definitely available). So while we are stressing over disrupted sleeping patterns, bowel movements or lack thereof, people constantly telling you your baby is teething and many more issues we never saw coming before baby, we did not have to fret over what to feed baby Owen. I just whipped out a boob or a bottle and he was happy. That all changed on Aug. 20, 2011 – or the day my son became a foodie.

Baby Bullet Filled with My Son's First Meal

In preparation for this day, my mother bought us the Baby Bullet. It’s  a food processor and container system specifically for grinding and storing baby food.It’s been a great investment for us. I mean it’s basically a food processor with matching freezer containers. So if you are low on the cash, it’s not a must have. But if you plan on making your baby’s food and you have an extra $60, go for it!

Since I love food so much, I had a dilemma when choosing his first food. Many people still do the rice cereal first. But after much research, I decided to go with something that packed more of a nutritional punch and actually had some flavor – sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes also happen to be one of the safest foods to give to babies – in terms of food allergies.

So the day before he ate his  first real food, I went to the store with my sister Kara and her fiance Eric, who were visiting from Florida. And we picked out his sweet potato and then I baked it.  It took a lot of effort for me not to add a bunch of cinnamon and other spices. It seemed so uneventful for something so drastically life altering.

And so the day dawned, when my son would join the foodie ranks of our family.

Owen Being Seated for His First Food Experience

There was much fanfare that accompanied this event. It was as if there was a royal wedding going on in our dining room and the press did not want to miss a single minute of the event.

The Press Capturing the Event

And so we all sat and watched Owen take his first spoonful of sweet potatoes.

Owen's First Bite

I do not know what we were expecting. He seemed mostly just mystified by what it was. All in all, he did pretty good.  Despite grimacing at every bite,  he ate the whole container.  And by the whole container, I mean what did not end up on his onesie or his face.

Messy and Mystified about Food

Since his sweet potato feeding he has eaten peas, bananas, rice cereal, peaches, apples, squash, potatoes, brown rice, green beans, avocado and butternut squash. He has loved it all and eaten for the most part with gusto. He looks a lot less confused at dinner time. We are proud to have another foodie join the family!

Andiamo, a year later

Cheesy, herb bread!

First Course

So, it turns out Chris and I have created a birthday tradition. Andiamo’s delicious five-course chef’s menu for Chris’s birthday. We’ll see if we can keep the tradition alive when we have a baby. Something tells me it might be hard to find the time for a five-course meal with 10-month old.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand – food. So a few things were different this time versus our last experience. The service was noticeably improved. Last time they lost our reservation and did not acknowledge his birthday. This time everyone was on the ball and we were sat right away and the hostess even gave Chris a birthday greeting. It was nice to see the improvements.

On the less positive side, while the food was still superb, it was just not as creative as our previous experience. This time our first course was asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with artichoke hearts and roasted bell peppers with an olive oil and red pepper reduction drizzled on top. Of course this was delicious. But I mean, my sister’s boyfriend made asparagus wrapped in prosciutto at Thanksgiving. It’s not exactly deserving of a chef’s menu first course. That’s just an opinion, but hey it’s my blog.

Veal Ravioli

Our second course was absolutely delicious. It was veal ravioli topped with a veal, marinara sauce that was then baked with smoked provolone on top. While it was tasty, just as the first course was it just did not electrify me. This dish just seemed very safe and comfort foodish. Believe me, it was as good as it sounds. But how can you go wrong with tons of cheese baked over pasta stuffed with veal??

The Piece de Resistance

It was finally in our third course that I saw some of the innovation I had experienced the first time we visited Andiamo. This course was a venison osso buco with Barolo wine and tomatoes in a brandy and green peppercorn sauce with a side of spinach risotto. The meat simply fell off the bone. There was no need at all for a knife. And the sauce was perfectly seasoned, not too salty at all. And it did not have the game taste that is so common in venison. It was delectable. And something I might not have ever tried on my own, but I was so glad I did.

Salad Course

After the heaviness of the second and third course,  it was nice to switch it up and have a light salad. The salad consisted of  spring greens with caramelized walnuts, grapes, oranges and pears topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Once again, it was a perfectly fine salad. But it just did not inspire.  There was no real explosion of flavor, it was just kind of bland.

Dessert

Unfortunately, the final course did not knock it out of the park like I was hoping. It was a white and milk chocolate mousse with powdered sugar and butter pecan gelato with white chocolate shavings. First the good, I loved the butter pecan gelato. It was a lovely consistency, with a perfect balance of flavor. The bad was the rest.  I think the problem might be that I am not a big lover of white chocolate. It just, in my book, does not have a lot of flavor. Also, the mousse did not really have a normal consistency. It was more like a Panna Cotta that had too much gelatin in it (and I know this because I have done it before).

On the whole, people reading this might think this is not a very positive review. But I must re-emphasize how wonderful our first meal was there and that this just was not as good. I will still go to Andiamo whenever our paycheck allows. As I love this place. So please check it out.

Also, if you do go for the five-course menu be prepared to spend a lot of time there. The first time was not a timely endeavor, but this recent experience it took us almost three hours to be served and eat.

Travels to Oregon, Part 2 – The Bend Edition

Tumalo Falls State Park

 

Wow, it’s been awhile. I hope I can even remember our trip to Oregon. Not to worry, I have a great memory – much to my husband’s chagrin. So when I last wrote Olive’s Herbs I recalled our edible adventures in Portland with my family. After a few days enjoying the city, Chris and I embarked on the rest of our vacation to Bend. Neither of us had been to this part of Oregon and it looked to be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the weather did not fully cooperate. It was cold and rainy for most of our stay in Bend. And it was a very interesting city, a lot like a rich, ski town. Tons of fancy shops and restaurants in an isolated area for well-off visitors surrounded by small Native American reservations and flat, farm land. Bend is also heralded as a place for outdoor adventurists. There are tons of activities like fly fishing, hiking, swimming, tubing and more. We just visited when the weather was not cooperating. But we did manage to get out and hike for two of the days we were in town. And our most beautiful walk was at Tumalo Falls State park. The only thing you have to pay for is $5 for parking. But bring your checkbook or cash – as you have to leave this in an envelope in a box for the USDA Forestry Service.

Me and Chris at the Observation Area at Tumalo Falls

We also went hiking at the Upper Deschutes Trail, which is also very nice and convenient to downtown Bend. Here is a link to a few other trails in the area.

Oregon Iceberg Wedge Salad Crispy with pancetta and bleu cheese vinaigrette

Well with all that hiking Chris and I were excited (read starved) to eat at one of Bend’s nicest restaurants – the Blacksmith. Since this was our anniversary trip we decided to splurge on a fancy meal. And after much debate we settled on Blacksmith. They have a great “Sunset Dinner” special that is a four-course meal served every day of the week from 4:30 to 5:30 for only $24. But alas, we are not early eaters so we did not partake, but this is a great option!

We started with a very simple iceberg wedge salad, which was delicious. But it’s pretty hard to mess up a wedge of lettuce topped with pancetta and bleu cheese dressing.

Surf and Turf

Campfire Trout

Michele Emery’s Award Winning White Truffle Mac & Cheese

For our entrees we ordered a surf and turf for me and the campfire trout for Chris. And I will tell you I never get surf and turfs, but since I am not drinking wine because of the pregnancy I decided to just go for it. And I am glad I did. The dish is comprised of an organic grilled top sirloin with Dungeness crab and a scallop Newburg sauce. It was divine. The steak was perfectly cooked and the scallop sauce was delicious.

Chris also enjoyed his campfire trout, which consists of a fresh Idaho trout, pan fried in brown butter, served with beer barley risotto, cowboy caponata, grilled spinach and a honey-almond beurre blanc sauce. While I loved my selection more, Chris’s was pretty damned good as well. The trout tasted like it had been caught in the morning.

For our side we could not pass up the truffle mac and cheese. Plus it says it’s award-winning. That means you have to try it. While it was delicious, I must point out that very similarly to the salad it’s hard to mess up something with ingredients like cheese, pasta, breadcrumbs and truffle oil.

Bananas Foster Prepared Tableside

And the absolutely best part of the meal was something we belabored over a bit – the Bananas Foster prepared tableside. Once again I justified dessert by the fact that I am not drinking the wine. And once again, it was worth it. Our wonderful waiter almost lost life and limb in a blaze of flambed dark rum but it was so decadent I would do it again. The dessert consisted of dark rum caramel, poached bananas, warm banana bread, vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream all prepared at your table. If you ever end up at Blacksmith, get this dessert.

Our Repast at the Thompsons

 

Fresh Trout

While we did eat at a few other restaurants in Bend, there were not many noteworthy experiences that we had eating out besides the Blacksmith. Our only other great dining experience was at the home of Bunny and Mark Thompson. Their son Mat and daugher-in-law CJ are friends of ours that live here in Austin. And it just so happened CJ, Mat and their adorable baby girl Maggie were visiting when we were there. So we scored an invitation for dinner. And boy did we get lucky. Mat and Mark had spent the previous day fly fishing and we got to eat the fresh fish they caught. The fish was prepared a couple of ways – baked and grilled. There was also an appetizer of smoked trout – awesome! Bunny did a great job of truly honoring the simplicity of the fish and prepared some delicious but minimal sides. There was a cucumber salad that was dressed with a herbed vinaigrette as well as a rice pilaf dish. It was one of those meals that fed you, but also made you feel a little healthier.

This is just one of the many trips Chris and I have made out the Pacific Northwest and we love it more and more every time. There is the beautiful scenery, a true commitment to locally-sourced healthy foods and wonderful people. We will definitely be back.

St. Pauli N’awlins aka my foodie adventures in New Orleans while pregnant

Here's what I got to drink!

We recently took a family vacation to New Orleans. We all got hotels right in the French Quarter. Normally, this would be pretty awesome. But normally I am not pregnant. And let me tell you all this –  New Orleans is not the city for pregnant people. At 5 p.m. when most people are getting off of work and just hitting the bars, most of New Orleans is passed out puking in the streets from drinking all day long. Also, New Orleans is crowded and humid! I took about three baths a day to just rinse the sweat off. Despite all this I love New Orleans. It’s a city with a personality, a smell and a sound. But does it have a taste??? While most people automatically say Cajun, New Orleans has a very innovative and at times sophisticated palate these days.

Not really sure what this is!!!

Delicious Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

That being said our first stop on the New Orleans road trip was a stop at Bourbon Street Cafe in Jennings, Louisiana – a casino/truck stop/Cajun restaurant.  This place might have been the culinary highlight of our trip. It just goes to show you that sometimes the best stuff comes in the most surprising packages. The gumbo was amazing – big chunks of flavorful, dark meat chicken and loads of smoked sausage. On the side were rice and a very tasty potato salad.

Sweet Potato Fries

Shrimp Po Boy

We also ordered a shrimp po boy which came with a side of sweet potato fries. Both were very good, but it can be hard to mess up fried foods. I would recommend this place just for the gumbo alone!

Once we arrived in New Orleans we had dinner reservations at a highly recommended restaurant called Jacques-Imo’s Cafe. I thought the restaurant had a lot of character and about 3/4 of the table loved their meal. I unfortunately was a part of that 1/4 that did not.

Super Yummy Garlic Corn Muffins

It started off great with a complimentary plate of their delicious garlic, corn muffins. You could feel the butter on your hands – pretty awesome. For me it started going down hill with the salad.

Salad with Worcestershire Sauce

I love salads. I really do. This salad was gross. It was essentially spinach (awesome!) topped with Worcestershire sauce. That was it. I had two bites.

Grouper Imperial

Yummy Lamb Dish

My father and I ordered the grouper. Which he liked. I was disappointed. The description of the grouper did not mention that it was covered in a cream sauce. I really enjoy simple fish dishes, especially with a fish as yummy as grouper. Eric, my sister’s boyfriend ordered a lamb dish with red wine that was fantastic. My husband and sister ordered the soft shell crab special atop friend green tomatoes. They both loved it. My mom ordered an eggplant dish that was sub par, very salty and topped with a too rich cream sauce.

All in all people are going to tell you how great this place is, I say take that with a grain of salt. But give it a try.

Stanley's Awesome Bloody Mary

The next morning we all got up to get some beignets at Cafe du Monde. Well, so did everybody else in New Orleans. So we picked a close by brunch place called Stanley, it is also in Jackson Square. I loved Stanley. It was a simple brunch menu, with some nice New Orleans twists.

Mixed Baby Green with a Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette

Eggs Benedict Po Boy

Eggs Stanley

Eric Lee eating his Big Stanley

Let’s start with the salad. It tasted like a salad should – healthy, not like a lettuce leaf soaked in sodium water. And the dressing was yummy. I also ordered a plain burger and it was delicious. The table ordered a small order of fries and that was enough, the order was huge. My sister and dad ordered the Eggs Benedict Po boy and it was lovely. I could not eat too much because of the raw egg factor, but they both loved it. And my husband ordered the Eggs Stanley, which had cornmeal-crusted P&J’s Louisiana oysters, poached eggs, Canadian bacon and Creole Hollandaise on a toasted English Muffin. I would also highly recommend this dish. There was actually nothing that I can caution anyone against ordering at Stanley. It was all good.

Nola Brewing Tour!

I am not going to go into this portion too much. Because there was not a lot of food consumed, unless you consider hops a meal. But we were lucky enough to get a private tour of the Nola Brewing Company. And I believe they give tours on the first Fridays of the month. Do yourself a favor, if you are beer lover, make a trip here!

Cochon Sign

For Saturday night we celebrated my brother’s 33rd birthday at Cochon a restaurant that specializes in making cuisine out of random pig parts. While I am inspired by their innovation, when you are nine weeks pregnant pig parts don’t sound very appealing. But it was my brother’s choice, so we all went. It was a very large group that included our immediate family, a couple of my brother’s friends and my Aunt Mary and our cousins Anna and Clare. Hence, I will not be going over everyone’s meals. I will pick a few to highlight.

Squash salad with goat cheese and fresh herbs

Delicious squash blossoms with pickled vegetables

Macaroni and Cheese

Birthday Boy Dessert!

What’s interesting to me about Cochon is their inspiration appears to be derived from meat, but their vegetables are what really stood out for me. I did have a side of ribs, but to me they were just so-so, nothing special. Also, Chris ordered their signature dish which was their Louisiana cochon with cracklins. Essentially it’s pulled pork. And he found it to be very boring.  But my word, their squash salad and squash blossoms were out of this world. The salad was fresh and summer-y and full of flavor. The squash blossom was delicious itself, but the pickled vegetables on the side were an incredible complement to blossoms.  Another standout was the macaroni and cheese. It was lovely, it had a homemade cheese sauce that was crispy brown on the top and was just perfect.

flamenküche

assiette de charcuterie

Crawfish Bisque

Our last night in New Orleans we went to Luke’s. This was my choice and all in all it was pretty good. It was not as good as I thought it would be, but the service was awesome.

My sister started off by ordering a yummy Alsatian appetizer called flamenküche , it’s an onion tarte with bacon, caraway and Emmenthaler cheese.  It wads divine.

Dad ordered the assiette de charcuterie which looked delicious. I could not eat it as it involved various meat spreads, one of the many things pregnant women are deprived of.

And lastly Chris ordered the bisque, which was very good. It was not too salty and had nice chunks of crawfish in it.

Ravioli of local crabmeat

The famous Luke burger

Poulet grand mere

Crisp pork belly and clams

For the entrees most of the table ordered the burger. And I had a bite, it was pretty tasty. Apparently Luke is known for it’s burgers, which is a little odd as it’s a fancy French/Alsatian restaurant in a hotel.  For my dinner I ordered the crabmeat ravioli. I was a little disappointed in my dinner. The portions were small and the meal was essentially one-note and bland. Chris ordered the poulet grand mere – an herb roasted local chicken with  bacon and whipped potatoes. This sounded very good to me, but it ended up being VERY salty. So if you are not a salt fan, do not order this dish. My father ordered the pasta with crispy pork belly and clams. He loved it! I had a bit and I thought it was a very nice dish. The pork was cooked perfectly and the fresh pasta was delicious.

For dessert we ordered two portions of the basque vanilla cake with creme fraiche and blueberries. That was a winner! The cake was super moist and the creme fraiche with the blueberries was a great combination.

“gateau basque” vanilla cake

In summary, I would say this culinary adventure to New Orleans was a mixed bag. A few of the dishes were impeccable, but overall most of the restaurants themselves did not shine. Let me know if you all have any other New Orleans restaurants you love!

Koriente: An Austin Favorite

Light and Tasty Hummus Rolls

Before I delve into this, VERY belated, restaurant review I wanted to share something with my readers (aka my husband and my family). As part of having a blog on WordPress you get to see the search query people use to get to your site. And today I saw one of the strangest ever. Apparently someone typed “the louvre dave matthews band tallahasse” and found Olive’s Herbs. If someone can explain this to me, please go ahead.What is odd is that I have definitely been to the Louvre, it’s documented in this web site and I did admit at one point that I was from Tallahassee. But something I have never put out there is that I was indeed at one point in my life a devotee to the Dave Mathews Band (as my poor college roommates Candace and Ali can attest to, they still can’t listen to the musical stylings of the jammy and soulful DMB without thinking of me playing “Under the Table and Dreaming” on repeat).  Fortunately for my friends and family I broke that addiction. Just wanted to share.

But enough about me, let’s talk about food.  It’s way more interesting. Recently, okay, maybe more like a month ago I had a fellow foodie in town Tammy Gordon (of adventures of a florida girl in dc fame). I took her to a mixture of Austin area restaurants – some were new and hip and others were my favorites.  One of these favorites was Koriente. On their web site they describe their food as “… delicious Asian inspired dishes that are healthy, affordable, and quick.” What they fail to mention is Koriente is also centrally located and very affordable. It might not be a fancy date night restaurant, but if you are looking for healthy food in a very cute setting this is your place.

Equally Light and Tasty Koriente Summer Rolls

That night we started off with a couple of appetizers – hummus rolls and summer rolls. I love both of these super healthy options. The hummus roll is presented like your typical spring roll but with some very untraditional fillings including homemade hummus, avocado, organic greens, red cabbage, cucumbers and carrots.  Diners can choose between  peanut sauce or a spicy red pepper sauce.  The summer rolls are a little more traditional but still there is a little twist. The summer rolls are stuffed with avocados, spiced noodles, carrots, cabbage and greens. The summer rolls are served with a light soy-based sauce that is not too salty and is just right.

Chicken Bulgogi with Steamed Vegetables and Rice

For entrees Chris picked the very popular spicy chicken bulgogi. This dish is what one of us usually picks when we are there. It is chicken in a spicy traditional Korean marinade. It’s not too spicy, but definitely has a kick. And the steamed veggies and rice are a great complement to the chicken.

Shrimp Delight

I ordered something new for me, which was the shrimp delight. I’ll be honest it was not as good as I had hoped. I still liked it and would order it again. It was just not as flavorful as my fellow dining companion’s choices. The dish is shrimp, carrot, broccoli and mushrooms in a light sauce served over rice.

Koriente Curry with Tofu

The big winner of the night (at least according to my taste buds) was fellow foodie blogger Tammy. She ordered a superb dish of seared tofu with carrots, onions, potatoes, and button mushrooms topped with a very light curry sauce (not as pungent as the usual curry) on a bed of steamed rice. It was so yummy. I love curry sauces and the tofu was a great texture. I highly recommend this dish.

I would love to somehow tie this blog posting back to the Dave Matthews Band, but alas I am stumped. Perhaps you should make sure to “Crash” into Koriente some time soon, or maybe – I definitely did not see “Ants Marching” anywhere at Koriente, it was a very clean establishment. No, I have it – it’s a “Typical Situation” that I leave Koriente very happy, full and feeling healthy.

The Gnocchi Experiment

Homemade Gnocchi

A staple meal a lot of my great cook friends make is homemade gnocchi with pesto and a grilled steak. I believe the tradition was started by Sarah and Chris Swanson at one of their incredible New Year Dinner parties. I have never made homemade pasta before, but I heard gnocchi was a good place to start. Our guinea pigs were close friends Jessica Lee and Gary Marburger.

Besides a desire to stretch my boundaries as a cook, I was also inspired by our grill and the promise of fresh rosemary. Spring is starting to show up in Austin and there are green things growing all over – including a lot of weeds.

Yogurt-Based Cesar Salad

We started the meal off with a very light Cesar Salad. It’s actually a yogurt-based dressing with garlic, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. I toasted some old crusty baguette and made croutons and then threw on some black olives and Parmesan cheese. It’s so light and tasty.

Filet and Pesto with Gnocchi and Marinara

After the salad, the main course was ready! Because of our new grill ( a present from Chris’s parents!) we have started to throw almost all our vegetables on the grill. This evening was no exception. Chris made a stuffed artichoke and then grilled it along side the filets. I will admit this was the one disappointment of the night. I adore artichokes and add stuffing to them, well forget about it. But for some reason they were a little hard to chew and not very tasty. So I will not share this recipe. And I will be on the lookout for better ideas. Because I cannot believe that grilled, stuffed artichokes are all bad.

The steaks on the other hand were cooked perfectly! Chris sometimes overcooks on the grill. But not this night. It was perfect. the center was a little bloody, but not too rare and there was such a nice flavor from the olive oil, sea salt and rosemary marinade.

I also whipped up a homemade pesto sauce. Pesto sauces are pretty easy to make and are always a winner. So if you are looking to impress.  Below is a standard recipe. But feel free to mix it up and parsley or even cilantro. Have fun with it.

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium-sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Makes 1 cup.

For the gnocchi I used a Eating Well recipe, which I liked a lot. They turned out fantastic. But I will admit half way through I freaked out and had to hand over the dough to Chris. I kind of fault the recipe, here’s a snippet of the instructions “Be careful not to overwork the dough: overworked dough will yield tougher gnocchi.” So I kept softly trying to deal with the dough. The last thing I wanted was tough gnocchi. At least according to this recipe anyway. After checking the clock and realizing our guests were going to arrive shortly I just handed the dough over to Chris, who promptly pushed and pulled that dough into submission. And it was just fine. So I learned a lesson. Do not let the dough scare you!

The marinara sauce was actually a last-minute, fortuitous decision. We had a friend make us this sauce the weekend before and we loved it. So I really thought it would be a great addition.  This should be a staple in all Italian chef’s repertoire. It is simple and divine.

• 28 ounces  whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)
• 5 tablespoons  unsalted butter
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
• Salt to taste

1. Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat.

2. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.

3.Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

I cannot tell you how awesome this sauce was. But how can you go wrong with all that butter???

Panna Cotta with a Berry and Red Wine Syrup

The final masterpiece was a panna cotta with a red wine syrup. I had never make a Panna Cotta before and it is a delight to make. My only real problem is that the recipe calls for gelatin. If you read the comments under the recipe in the blog link I hyperlinked I believe there are some vegetarian options for gelatin. I am not a vegetarian, I just really hate the idea of gelatin.  The panna cotta was easy to make, a crowd pleaser and just a pretty dessert. So if you are looking for something striking and simple this is perfect.

Christmas in the Keys

The closest we got to snowflakes - Christmas Turtles

This year my family tried something a little different for Christmas. Instead of flying home to Tallahassee, we decided to all travel. Our presents were dinners we would cook every night. As you can tell the apple does not fall far from the tree in my family. We love a couple of things immensely – food and travel.

We waffled about where to go; eventually settling on Key West. Then there was lots of confusing emails back and forth about where to stay. Sensing the travel was doomed unless a place was picked quickly we all settled on what seemed like a nice place; a five-bedroom house right on the water in Key Largo. We found it on Craigslist. Here’s a travel tip for you – don’t rent a place on Craigslist. They are not accountable for a community and there are no reviews. Visit a travel rental Web site such as homeaway or VRBO instead. The place was not a complete *&^$ hole. It was pretty close.  Ants marched all over the counter tops and there never seemed to be a stop to their steady stream, the microwave door was held up by duct tape and almost fell on my mother’s foot, there were wires poking out of places that previously held a sound system and the sconces and general design looked a lot like Miami Vice  filmed there. But from the outside, it was beautiful! It was right on the water and we got to visit with manatees and even a huge lizard.

The beautiful exterior

Manny the Manatee

Forget the awful house. I was with family – my mom Janis, my dad Jack, my little sister Kara, her boyfriend Eric, my younger brother John and his wife Ginger. Ginger’s family also spent some time with us as well. Ginger’s mom Janice, Janice’s boyfriend Jeff as well as Ginger’s sister Debbie were all there too. It was definitely some intense family time spent canoeing, deep-sea fishing, diving, sleeping in and mostly eating.  And the highlight of each day were the dinners. Our numbers changed each day. A lot of the family is from Florida so one night there would be nine people, then 11. But each night was filled with the same wonderful conversation, food and ease (mostly fueled by excessive wine and margaritas). Couples were assigned a night to cook. And we spared no expenses. This was our Christmas present to one another.

Kabob Night - clockwise starting from me, John, Ginger, Janice, Janis, Jack, Eric and Kara

The first night was kind of an open night. So for about an hour everyone argued about what to eat. Finally, Chris and I just told everyone we were making grilled kabobs. Some people complained (you know who you are – mom :), but in the end it was a very succesful meal. I think a certain someone even said it ended up being one of their favorites. Chris and I marinated shrimp, pork and chicken then grilled it up. We also had kabobs with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms. We also made a salad and some cheesy potatoes. Oddly, it was my salad dressing that was a big hit. It’s just a simple french vinaigrette with a small twist.

Kabob up close

John in action

The next night was by brother John and his wife Ginger’s turn. I think my brother is an excellent chef. Ginger as well. So I was pretty excited about their dinner. They decided to go a very South Florida route and created a grilled seafood dinner with some Cuban touches – plantains, black beans and rice and a yummy tropical fruit chutney. And for dessert they made poached pears in a red wine sauce. It was absolutely yummy.

Grouper, scallops and stone crab and side dishes

Poached pears in wine sauce

The next night was out turn. It was kind of hard to beat  John and Ginger, but Chris and I tried our hardest. We also wanted to use a lot of seafood. But we opted for an Italian feel to the meal. We made a really simple pasta dish with just diced tomatoes, garlic and wine; and we poached shrimp, scallops and lobster in butter then skewered it in between basil and then grilled it. If I must say so myself it was outstanding. My mother who hates seafood said the lobster was her favorite (haha John and Ginger and Kara and Eric ).  Now that I am done rubbing that in I will discuss our dessert choice. We opted for a simple dessert since our dinner was kind of labor intensive. We made a blueberry and strawberry shortcake. It was pretty yummy, but very simple.

Pasta, salad and seafood

Blue Heaven in Key West

One night we decide to take a night off from cooking and we all piled into a car and drove the two and a half hours to Key West. Key West is ok. It’s pretty touristy and is very crowded. But there is one saving grace – one of my favorite restaurants, Blue Heaven. Chris and I ordered the jerk chicken and it was awesome. Please, do yourself a favor and if you go to Key West go to this restaurant. It’s a great slice of simple and tasty food that is not touristy.

Jerk Chicken

The best key lime pie in Key West

The next night was Christmas Eve and we have a tradition in our family that we eat Polish food. It’s kind of weird, I know. My mom is part Polish, but that’s not even why we eat it. My parent’s first real date was Christmas eve and according to legend it was supposed to be a party. But the only one who showed up was dad. Well that night my mom made her Polish Christmas eve. And my dad was hooked. So in celebration of the date that ensured my brother, sister and I were born we eat kielbasa, sauerkraut, potato pancakes and apple sauce. Unfortunately, this year I forgot to take pictures. But let me assure you it was as yummy as ever. My parents actually picked up some fresh kielbasa in Miami. It was heavenly.

Nugent Family Magic Pancake

For Christmas morning, we somehow were in charge of cooking again. But we had an ace up our sleeves. Chris has a family recipe that is pretty awesome. It’s called a “Magic Pancake”, but basically it’s a Swedish Pancake. It’s lovely because it’s not too sweet, but not too savory either. The finishing touch is some powdered sugar and a spritz of lemon juice. We also pitted some cherries and made a lovely cherry glaze with some port and sugar.

Christmas Burgers - A New Tradition!

You might think at this point we would be so tired of eating. You would be right. Well, we were at least tired of cooking elaborate meals anyway. So when it came time for my sister and her boyfriend to cook we were ready for some good, old-fashioned burgers. And boy were they awesome. They stuffed them with all kinds of goodies – blue cheese, jalapenos, bacon and much more. For sides we ate grilled corn and oven roasted potatoes. For dessert my mom made a tres leches cake.

Tres Leches Cake

In the end, I am a little mixed about the travelling Christmas experiment. It was so much fun to be with my family in one house for a whole week. But because of the weather and lack of presents it just did not feel like Christmas. But I will tell you the meals and conversation at the end of the day were presents enough.

Below are some more photos from the trip. And a recipe!

Kara, me, Eric and Dad Deep Sea Fishing

I Caught a Fish!

Kara and Ginger Decorating Christmas Cookies Apparently in a Way My Sister Does Not Like

Much Better!

Magic Pancake Recipe (not the Nugent recipe, but very similar)

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1/2 cup (2 ounces)  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
small pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of half a juicy lemon)
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Melt the butter in an 11″ straight-sided skillet, or a 12″ skillet with straight or sloping sides. Make sure whatever you use is oven-proof. Or melt the butter, and pour it into a 10″ square pan, or 12″ round deep-dish pizza pan. Yes, the size of the pan matters. Too small, it’ll overflow. Too large, it won’t puff as high. Try to find a pan or oven-proof skillet whose square-inch cooking surface is about 100 square inches.

Whisk together the flour, salt, nutmeg, sugar, milk, vanilla, lemon oil, and eggs till fairly smooth.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the pancake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until it’s very puffy and golden, with deeper brown patches. Remove it from the oven, and sprinkle with the lemon juice, then the sugar. Cut in squares, and serve immediately, garnished with fresh berries, if desired.
Yield: 4 generous servings.