More things I LOVE!

Once again, I have NO idea where I got them...I just throw them in a file. I really need to start documenting urls.

Akward.

If only I had this guide when in high school....sigh.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/03/awkward-situation-survival-guide.html

oh la la!

I love Julia Childs. I loved her even before all the recent hype. I have her cookbook and read through it at least once a week. I treat it more like a novel than a cookbook. But, I think that isn't uncommon for people who love to cook.

Earlier this year I decided to tackle the epitome of french cooking...boeuf bourguignon.

According to Wikipedia:

Beef bourguignon (especially American English, pronounced /ˌbiːf ˌbʊərɡɨnˈjɔːn/) or bœuf bourguignon (especially British English, pronounced /ˌbɝːf ˈbʊərɡɨnjɔːn/[1] or French pronunciation: [bœf buʁɡinjɔ̃]), also called beef Burgundy and boeuf à la bourguignonne,[2] is a well known traditional French recipe. It is a stew prepared with beef braised in red wine, traditionally red Burgundy, and beef broth, generally flavoured with garlic, onions and a bouquet garni, with pearl onions and mushrooms added towards the end of cooking. Traditionally the meat was larded with lardons, but modern beef is sufficiently tender and well marbled that this very time-consuming technique is rarely used anymore. However, bacon cut into small cubes is still used to produce the initial cooking fat and added to the dish at the end.

The recipe take up 4 pages in the book and hours to prepare...I was immediately hooked.

We went all out for ingredients...

... European butter, prime cuts of meat, fresh vegetables and herbs and as much organic as possible.

I can't even tell you how delicious this was. The depth of flavor was amazing- well worth the time investment. I am including the recipe below and can't encourage you enough to try it.

WTF?

When I think refinancing, I think Gandolf.

Holiday Gifts...

I know this is a sickness, but I am already starting to think about christmas. We are trying to make as much as we can for gifts, so that means starting early. This is what we did for TootToot's teachers and Beau's coworkers. It is Cowboy Cookie Mix- fun and easy to put together. Both Beau and I have some stuff in the works for family and friends this year, too. The trick is getting it completed before the holidays!



(Here is link to how to put together the cookie mix:http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cowboy-cookie-mix-in-a-jar/Detail.aspx )

Savannah.

More about Savannah.... mostly the food!

We stayed a new hotel in Savannah called AVIA. It was lovely. Only having been open for about a year it was nice and clean and very modern (with a slightly Asian feel). Our room had floor to ceiling windows that overlooked one of the squares. It was perfectly located for walking almost anywhere.

http://www.aviahotels.com/hotels/savannah/

For lunch we decided to walk over to the Olde Pink House - yum! This is an old mansion that was converted into a restaurant. It has over 14 dining rooms and each one is decorated differently. We had a wide assortment of delicious treats- lemonade mixed with vodka and grenadine, oysters, grit chips with local cheeses, shrimp and grits and everything was wonderful. It is a bit pricey, but it was fun.

http://www.americascuisine.com/georgia/savannah/TheOldePinkHouse.aspx

Between lunch and dinner we walked around, drank, and walked, and drank and ended up in the hotel bar- which is nice and comfortable. We ordered drinks (shocker) and a cheese tray. It was a nice light snack to hold us over to dinner (and to keep us from getting to liquored up).

Dinner was pickup from Vinnie Van Gogo's- arguably some of the best pizza I have ever had. We did cheese and jalapeno/pepperoni. We sat out on the back patio of the hotel right by the pool.

http://www.vinnievangogo.com/

The next morning we walked down to Breakfast at B Matthews. Beau and I discovered this plan last year when we were there for the wedding. They have amazing food and the atmosphere is charming. It is small place but they have indoor and outdoor seating which is nice. They make their own biscuits- who can turn that down. The biscuits were in the oven when we were there so they gave us some hot ones to take away.

http://www.bmatthewseatery.com/

Another gem we discovered when we were there last time was BD Burgers. Seriously, the BEST BURGER EVAH!!! People, they make their own buns!! FRESH! Check out the website for some burger porn. There is always a wait, but there are a ton of stores around there to poke around in while you wait.

http://www.bdburgers.net/

Dinner on our last night was by far the best meal we had. The hotel where the wedding had been held also has a fantastic restaurant, 45 Bistro. The bistro had catered the wedding and the food was really wonderful- but let me tell you, it was sooooo much better to eat off the menu! We started off with drinks and attacked the appetizers with zeal. We had carpaccio and escargot. Both were well seasoned and delicious. The salads were also fresh and tasty. For an entree I enjoyed the quinoa encrusted grouper (seriously the best fish I have ever had). The duck prepared two ways was great (and I am not a duck fan). Beau played it safe getting the steak. Although the steak was good, he enjoyed the other dishes more. Dessert rounded out the meal and left us all totally stuffed....but happy.
http://www.marshallhouse.com/dining_45bistro.shtml

The morning we left, we decided to try the breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was Easter Sunday so we were concerned about crowds elsewhere. The buffet was surprisingly good. Usually hotel buffets are dry toast and picked over pastries, but this was amazing. Cooked to order omelets, eggs, french toast, pancakes, shrimp and grits, and waffles. Fresh smoked salmon complete with capers, red onions and cream cheese. There were a ton of pastries selections as well as cheeses, fruits, cereal and other wonderful treats.

And get this, all the walking we didn't gain a pound while there. Shocking, no?