Anvil Bar & Refuge

So last night I headed out to Montrose's Anvil Bar & Refuge, a cocktail bar run by Robert Heugel, Kevin Floyd, and Steve Flippo-- a couple of cocktail freaks who also manage Drink Dogma, a cocktail blog dedicated to art and seduction of quality spirits.

My first drink was adorable and delicious. Gin, honey and lemon. Named for something related to a bee. I don't remember, but it was good. Didn't want to drink it too fast good. My second drink was a drink that involved egg whites and tequila. It was okay. Kinda frothy and didn't sit right knowing the two were mixed. The atmosphere was great, the clientele was a little more upscale than one would expect, but I think that will balance out as time goes on.

Jacked pictures from Drink Dogma and someone's flickr account, who obviously has some stake in the bar. Both sites provide lots of neat photos and information about how the the bar came to be.

Sidenote: I hate that I ended two sentences on this post with prepositions.

weekend of gluttony

- went to Maria Selma Mexican in Montrose. a little over-priced, but good.

- stocked up on desserts from Thierry Anre Tellier Cafe & Pastry Shop. ohmygoshsoyummy.

-went to Texas Junk Co. for the first time. Wow, if you need, want a pair of fabulous vintage leather boots, this is THE place to go. Huge selection prices from $30-60.

-BF brought me three time world champion gumbo from Lafayette, LA. Delicious.

-Tokyohana Sushi in River Oaks has the best drink and sushi specials. We made out like bandits.

-Saw I Love You, Man. Paul Rudd is dreamy as always. He and Jason Siegal are funny. I laughed. Out Loud. A lot.

- met with BF's family for dinner at Goode Co. Taqueria. My so filling. I woke up full and still taste the grilled onions in my mouth.

I envision vegetables for the rest of the week....

True Blue French Bakery in Houston

Thierry Andre Tellier Cafe & Pastry Shop

Can I tell you how thrilled I was when we found this place last weekend? Well, I was VERY thrilled. Especially since the amazingly delicious pastries were LESS THAN the price of cupcakes. I love me some boutique cupcakes, but knowing that they are more expensive than a gourmet mango mousse cake and a hazelnut cocoa pyramid, I pretty much will be going here every weekend for my sweets fix.

And I know I continuously apologize for crummy iPhone pictures. Too lazy to bust out my old digi. One day I will have a real blog with clear photos. I'm seriously considering spending some of my tax refund on a digital SLR. Probably going to buy a used one from Craigslist. If you know anyone selling, let me know!

Yeeee-HAW!

Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Cook-Off is this weekend! ( The world's biggest rodeo, biggest BBQ cook-off..biggest deal in Houston). One of the perks of my job is free passes to the cook-off from various radio and TV stations. Also, Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears are playing tomorrow night at one of the big tents! Double bonus points.

Wish I could have a reason to buy these cherry blossom boots from caboots.com and wear them more than once a year. So pretty and not cheesy cowgirl style--which always is in abundance at Rodeo.

NOLA Eats + Drinks

Before we got to NOLA, BF was very adamant about eating tons of boudin, oysters, etc. And that we did. It wasn't part of our New Years Cleanse, but it was worth it.

Amazing oysters and boudin at both Desire & ACME Oysters. Different, famous and delicious. Desire allows you to sit on adorably 40's-style diner and watch the Bourbon St. Madness. (picture of dining room above)

Absinthe from Old Absinthe House Bar, or last stop on the Ghost Tour and super cute, authentic and not too touristy. The tour by the way, was hilarious and entertaining way to see the city. Highly recommended by me and the Travel Channel.

I had my first Louisiana Salty Dog at Herbsaint (gin & grapefruit juice, rimmed with sugar and salt). This place was right across from our hotel in the central business district, and was a trendy spot for the locals. Fantastic food, ambiance, etc.

Totally excited to find French Macarons at the cafe inside the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center! Mission Accomplished.

Always In Great Taste

While BF and I were apartment hunting last weekend (Houston, Seattle, Chicago? Where am I going to live in six weeks????), we came across the adorable Sugar Babies Cupcake Boutique. Okay, so the uber-girly decor may nauseate your male companion, but you can get the cupcakes to-go!

You must check it out if you're in the Kirby/Montrose Area. It's also next to a fantastic design shop with plenty of stationery goodies that will tug on your letterpressed heart strings.

Sugar Babies Cupcake Boutique
3310 S. Shepherd
Houston, TX 77098

Temping Ain't So Bad

Yesterday I got hooked up with delicious treats. First, someone from the mail room gave me some dark chocolate with a cute wrapper (this person said they hated dark chocolate. What a suspicious character!).

AND there was a huge delivery of about 30 slow-cooked briskets. I got one because someone in accounts payable has the sickies. It was literally 20 lbs, which is more meat than I care to discuss.

Pumpkin & Ginger Cupcakes

This Thanksgiving is going to be my first with Boyfriend's family. It's not a huge deal because his family is close and I see them all the time. I will definitely feel as if I am part of their bunch. I already know what I'm bringing to the table...

The past couple of years I've been completely cupcake crazy, but the more health conscious I am, I've only baked for special occasions. I was super-pumped to find this recipe in a book my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas last year.

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
Pinch of salt

1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
3/4 cup cat-free skim milk
1/3 cup sunflower oil
3 tbsp. chopped candied ginger
4 tbsp. pumpkin seeds

Prehead oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a spon. In a larger bowl, beat the egg, pumpkin, milk, and oil with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the flour to the pumpkin mixture, mixing until nearly combined. Foil in the candied ginger, but do now overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Sprinkle each muffin with a few pumpkin seeds.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins and cool on a rack.

Thank Heaven for Little Dogs

1. Boyfriend is back in town.. we made our first stop at Japaneiro's, always the most amazing food!

2. Went to Houston ArtCrawl, had a great time drinking wine with friends. We didn't get to too many studios, but I really liked this one. Patrick Medrano is the name. That's the sweet dog who inhabited studio TwentyTwenty. The painting in the very right hand corner of the dog picture is called Pig Toss. The full version is the sea foam green photo. It must be 10' x 7'? Massive.

3. Tried a new restaurant, Bluefish sushi in Houston. I was surprised to find that they had fried ice cream! I only noticed this as we were leaving, so I will have to go back.

4. I'm dog sittng a big hairy dog named Scout. He's going to get me back on the working man's schedule.

5. I got a LOT done with my little project. Still keeping it on the hush.

Tea Musings

Celestial Seasonings is kicking ass in the flavor department. Their new Holiday flavor, Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride (yes, really) is rocking my world. Bon Appetit indeed, sir or madam.

After looking at their Web site I'm falling more in love with their products. No calories, sugar, all natural ingredients, ethical trade, yada yada ya. All I know is Chocolate Raspberry Bliss and Sugar Plum Spice are calling my name.

Cheers!

Have a great weekend! Today I'm "modeling" in the Fort Bend Business Expo Fashion Show. EEk, I didn't put to much thought into it when I said yes. I just thought, "why the hell not? I have nothing better to do." Ironically, I wouldn't be involved in the expo if it wasn't for my former job. MAYBE I'll post pictures later.

This weekend I'm headed to boyfriend's grandparents' lake house for a little relaxation and family time. Adiós!

P.S. That's really my breakfast smiling at you...

More SMA Food

There was so much delicious food to enjoy without breaking the bank. It was nice to be somewhere where the dollar wasn't worthless.

1. chicken drenched in chipotle pepper sauce with mango salsa-- this was my favorite meal of the whole trip. From La Posadita on the Jardin.

2. All the spices that accompanied my 70.00 peso chicken soup ( 5.32 USD). Fresh and AMAZING!

3. the chicken soup all it's garnishes

4. spicy chicken

5. gourmet chocolates in EVERY flavor: Cinnamon, coffee, ginger, chile.. you name it.

6. warm pink pastries

Fortunately we walked everywhere and burned those pastry and chocolate calories right off. If anyone goes to San Miguel and is looking for good traditional Mexican food, I HIGHLY recommend La Posadita. The restaurant has two levels, one of which is a huge rooftop terrace that will either give you a view of the Parroqia, a 15th century church or the Mexican hillside sprinkled with colorful Spanish-style buildings.

Since I've been home, I've had Mexican food approximately six times: Berry Hill, Fajita Flats, Los Tios, Chipotle to name a few. Chelsey and I decided that Mexican food is just 'regular food'.

Vitamins on the Cheap

Can you believe that we bought everything in the last picture for 4.30 USD (55 pesos)? That's some apple, starfruit or carambola, bell peppers, tomatoes, some green beans, and a giant papaya. That would have been at least $15 at our beloved Whole Foods.

Over the past year I've become obsessed with juicy bell peppers for their tangy taste, crunchy texture and high volume of nutrients. It's been rough though, sometime I can only find them at $3.99 a pop. That's why I was super happy to stock up on some bell peppers, as well as other produce while we were in Mexico. This trip may have been the first vacation where I didn't eat buttery restaurant food every day.

Anthony Bourdain Captures Spain, My Heart

Yesterday I saw Anothony Bourdain: No Reservations - Spain. This is by far one of my favorite shows on television. I wish I could find more information on all the chef's he visited with while in Spain. Bourdain describes the Spain episode as "some of the purest, hardest, straight-to-the-action, food porn."

Obviously, it was the chocolate segment that really did me in. Choclatier Enric Rovira of Barcelona sculpts, shaves, airbrushes and melts his chocolate into art. It's basically Easter eggs for the rich.

Dinner Cakes

How funny is this?? Found these "Dinner Cupcakes" on Black Eiffel. It looks like this baker got his/her inspiration from Luby's cafeteria.

Chocolate French Macarons

As I mentioned before, I was going to try making some french macarons over the weekend. I tried a Martha Stewart recipe and this delicious chocolate recipe from DavidLebovitz.com. The second recipe was more helpful. The above picture is my messy result.

I'm working on perfecting the technique in order to win some money in a company cooking contest. I'll split the profits with boyfriend since he's such a big help around the kitchen. He made chocolate mousse for filling:)

Chocolate Macarons

Macaron Batter

1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces , 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (15 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn't quite fine enough.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the countertop to flatten the macarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.


Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Ingredients
4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons espresso or very strong coffee (I used decaf espresso from a local Starbucks)
1 cup cold heavy cream
3 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar

(Optional) Raspberries and extra whipped cream


Method
1 Whip the cream to soft peaks, then refrigerate.

2 Combine the chocolate, butter, and espresso in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not simmering, water, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool until the chocolate is just slightly warmer than body temperature. To test, dab some chocolate on your bottom lip. It should feel warm. If it is too cool, the mixture will seize when the other ingredients are added.

3 Once the melted chocolate has cooled slightly, whip the egg whites in a medium bowl until they are foamy and beginning to hold a shape. Sprinkle in the sugar and beat until soft peaks form.

4 When the chocolate has reached the proper temperature, stir in the yolks. Gently stir in about one-third of the whipped cream. Fold in half the whites just until incorporated, then fold in the remaining whites, and finally the remaining whipped cream.

5 Spoon or pipe the mousse into a serving bowl or individual dishes. If you wish, layer in fresh raspberries and whipped cream. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. (The mousse can be refrigerated for up to a day.)

Friday, You Couldn't Have Come Sooner!

September was filled with craziness. From Paris to Ike, Austin and San Antonio-- I had a year's worth of travel, experiences and delicious food.

October will be a little more mellow, I think. We're staying around Houston this weekend;Today's mission will be to re-create the scrumptios Parisian macarons we tried in Paris from PAUL. I'm hoping to get in touch with a few Houston friends so they can test the goods. Have a great weekend! xo

Happy October!

Today's kind of exciting because we're having a little family over for dinner tonight. Jon's friend from work, his wife and new baby. We've never had anyone over for dinner, so we're cleaning like crazy and dreaming up fun recipes to cook. There's talks of mango crème brûlée for dessert which makes me very happy. I feel very lucky to have a boyfriend who enjoys cooking.. it makes life a little fatter for me:)

Monosaccharide Overload

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to develop diabetes. This past weekend was filled with SUGAR!

1. margarita cupcakes and raspberry sorbet from Jon's Mother's birthday
2. chocolate flan from The Chocolate Bar(also of West Alabama fame)
3. crème brûlée from Whole Foods
4. peach cobbler from Hermann Memorial Hospital (Mommy got her appendix out, is doing A-OK)

All I can think about right now is that I want fish and veggies for dinner, no dessert. Give me bland bland nutrients please! Note the hugeness of the chocolate cakes from The Chocolate Bar-- that is an 8x10 sheet of paper to the right of the cakes.

Foodie Weekend

This weekend was absolutely delightful. Looking back on the highlights.. many of them involved food. To balance it out, there was some lots soccer for Jon and a little bit of power-walking for myself.


I got to use these neat little egg fry rings from Williams-Sanoma. Work like a charm and perfect for an English muffin.


We went into Chinatown last night for dumplings at Lai Lai Dumpling House with Jon's dad, Scott and our friend Ms. Brown. Ms. Brown suggested the place, it was awesome and CHEAP. I can't wait to go back and show it off to visitors.

Afterward we headed next door to an Asian bakery and found pretty little breads and pastries... I LOVE the stamped pastry the most. I didn't get any because they were stuffed with meat and I was already full from the dumpling dinner. The pastel breads look like they're straight out of Seussville and the purple ones look like mold and probably taste like heaven. I ended up buying super-thin vanilla tea cookies with sesame seeds. When I got home I crushed them over mint chocolate chip ice cream and gorged.