Austin Eats and Drinks

I recently traveled to Austin, TX with a bunch of friends to meet back up with one of our friends who had moved to Texas last year.  We traveled from Connecticut, Washington, and Virginia, so it was kind of a big deal to get us all together at the same place and time. It was great to get together and eat, drink, shop and talk.  I've been to Austin before and love the laid-back, artsy vibe of the place.  I had not, however, been to the South Congress (SoCo) neighborhood, which is where we stayed this time.  We were only there for 2 and a half days, but I could have spent the whole time just exploring this neighborhood, I loved it so much!

First, a shout out to the folks at  Verde Camp, where we stayed.  Great accommodations (despite the large bird population that kept me up at night -- owls -- and early mornings -- I think they were mourning doves) and friendly proprietors, who live across the street from our bungalows.  Because we were seven people, we kind of took over the place, with three of us staying in the Cloud House (which slept 3), and the other four splitting up between the other two bungalows, which slept 2 each. I highly recommend staying there if you are traveling to Austin.

Part of the camp (the Cloud House, where I stayed, is on the right). Loving the sign and cactus!

Cloud House

Fire Pit (we didn't light any fires, though), and the third house our group stayed in the background/right.

This is the inside of the Cloud House. Isn't it cute? You can see a bit of the loft and on the left you can see the (closed) door to the bathroom and the (open) doorway that leads into the bedroom.

As I admitted in my last post, I didn't take a whole lot of food pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it, but the food was great! The first night we went to Guero's Taco Bar, which was within walking distance of Verde Camp.  Of course, I got a taco palate, especially when the server told me that I could order one of each of the tacos I was considering: the Al Pastor and the Chicken Al Carbon.  Both were delicious!  Wish I could have explored the menu even more, but I will definitely make it back there next time I'm in town.


 (photo from Jo's website)

We were also within walking distance of a great coffee shop (really a take out counter, because there is no interior space to sit inside, although there is covered seating outside) with fabulous baked goods. Jo's Coffee Good Food had great coffee, but also offered other drinks, such as the refreshing concoction called a Laura Palmer (it's not listed on their regular menu).  It's an iced tea drink that is pink, and refreshing and delicious!  I also tried one of their breakfast tacos and enjoyed every bite, despite the grackle that tried to make off with it.  Scared the crap out of my friend, though.  :-)

We didn't do a whole lot of barbeque, either, but did make it to a place in downtown Austin called Lamberts Downtown Barbeque. I got the Brown Sugar and Coffee Rubbed Natural Brisket with sides of collard greens and their jicama and carrot slaw (I also tasted their ranch style baked beans, which they brought by mistake but let me keep), which I really enjoyed -- great flavor, nice smoke ring, even the fat had great flavor!

This is our group of ladies after a delicious lunch!

 
(photo from Doc's website))

While  Doc's Bar & Grill had your "typical" bar food, they also had great salads.  My friends enjoyed the Blackened Fish Salad, while I really liked the Sunset Valley Salad (grilled chicken, sliced oranges, Granny Smith apples, avocado, onions, and cilantro on house green with a sesame dressing). Their drinks were really good, too.  We all fell in love with the "Austin Sipper" (I don't remember what was in it) and I had a lovely pecan-infused smoked whiskey on the rocks that really hit the spot at the end of the day.
 

 (photo from Hey Cupcake!'s website)

I am a big fan of food truck cuisine: so fun, so mobile.  :-)  So, when we saw the  Hey Cupcake! cupcake trailer right on the corner near where we were staying, I had to indulge!  We got the half-dozen mini cupcakes to share, plus the John Lemon -- because I'm a sucker for lemon.  They were very good (and I'm kind of a snob when it comes to baked goods, especially cupcakes, which can be done so poorly or get over-hyped for just being average).  Anyway, the John Lemon was really good, as were the chocolate cupcakes, the strawberry, the red velvet and the carrot cake.  The only one I was only lukewarm about was the Vanilla Dream -- way too sweet for my taste.

Of course, we made time for shopping and two great shops were within walking distance.

  Parts and Labour


(photo from Parts & Labour's blog)

I loved this store! Lots of funky clothes, t-shirts, jewelry and gift items all made by Texas-based artists and crafters.  I bought some fun coasters and a cute kitchen towel with a print of (of course) a food truck.  Wish I had more time to browse through the jewelry, but my friends had moved on to other stores, so I had to catch up.

 


(image from Allen Boots' website)

Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Texas if we didn't go boot shopping, and  Allens Boots had an amazing selection of high-quality boots.  I worked up a sweat trying on so many pairs!  Alas, it was not meant to be for me, but one of our group did find a beautiful pair. The staff there is great (and with boots literally stacked to the ceiling, you will need their help at some point). This place is not to be missed!

We did manage to do a couple of things that didn't involve eating, shopping or drinking.  Austin boasts a number of parks and outdoor areas to enjoy that big blue sky.  Barton Springs Pool, located within Zilker Park, is a pool fed by natural springs right in the city, just a 10 minute drive from Verde Camp.  Very reasonable (I think I paid a $4 entry fee for the day) and it is a great way to relax.  The day we went, they were doing some improvements to the grounds, so where you could normally lay out on the grass, it was roped off, so it got kind of crowded, because everyone was relegated to the concrete walkway and the rock outcroppings, but it was still really nice!

So lovely and cool on a warm day!

Austin is also known for the bats that roost under the Congress Avenue Bridge, so we had to try and see it.  Here is a picture of what it CAN look like: 

(Image from blogger Army Galpal, who clearly had a better sighting than we did.  Check out her blog post on it and for more on Austin)

Unfortunately, the night we went, it turned out to be kind of a bust, because they didn't fly out till it was pretty dark (making them hard to see), and even then, it was only, like, five or six at a time.  Apparently, there were a number of pregnant females that stayed under the bridge, or so we were told by someone who we assumed knew about such things.  Anyway, sat in a park that is located underneath the bridge right next to the river, and had fun just sitting and talking while we waited for the bats, so it wasn't really a waste of time. The point of the trip was to hang out with friends, which is exactly what we did.

So if you are ever lucky enough to find yourself in Austin, you should definitely check out the South Congress neighborhood.  I loved it!

Banana Coconut Cake Supreme

Wow! I know that I hadn't blogged in a while, but my last post was March 30.  Sorry guys!! April was really a blur, and May hasn't shaped up to be any less hectic, but I resolve to do better by you!  It might mean that I do something a little different -- sometimes not doing actual recipes but maybe blogging about great food I've eaten.  Like in Austin, TX, where I just was for a girls' weekend.  Of course, being the idiot that I am, I took very few pictures, and really only one of food, but I will put something together on that and make the best of it.

Anyway, I started this one about banana cake so long ago, but I don't even remember what my inspiration was.  Possibly overripe bananas, but I really shouldn't assume that, because I am ok just putting those in the freezer to save for smoothies and such.  My best guess is that it might have been buttermilk that I needed to use up.  Anywhoooo....

This recipe is a lesson in reading comments BEFORE making something you find on-line (I am horribly guilty of reading comments AFTER, which does no one any good at all).  So, assuming I needed to use up ripe bananas and/or buttermilk, I found this recipe, which looked delish and fit the bill (Or is it "filled the bill"? One of these days I am going to look up the actual, correct expression) on Food Network.  The comments, however, were not really keen on using the coconut custard as a filling and a frosting (which is how the original recipe made it), so I figured I would go one better: coconut custard filling with cream cheese frosting.  Sounded good to me!

The only thing I really altered was the coconut custard, because I didn't need the full recipe.  The cake turned out really well in general, but if I was making it for myself, I would have added walnuts to the cake batter (black walnuts if I had 'em -- black walnuts and banana are AWESOME!!) and shredded coconut to the custard to up the coconut flavor, but when I make something to share with kids, I always err on the side of caution and just leave nuts out.

Also, don't be intimidated by the idea of a layer cake.  It can take some practice getting the layers to line up right, and the bottom layer should have the top of the cake on the bottom (leaving the flatter part of the cake layer facing up), while the top layer should have the bottom of that layer facing the bottom of the top layer.  I know, it sounds confusing, but just think of it this way: always have the flat bottom parts of each layer facing each other. Granted, it gets tricky when you have more than two layers, but we won't get into that right now.

My best advice is to never, ever skip lining the cake pans. I know it's kind of a pain in the ass, but better to spend a couple extra minutes on the front end than trying to doctor together broken cake layers. Now I always line the cake pans with parchment, because the few times I thought I could get away with it and skip that step, the cakes always stuck.  If only I could learn from my other mistakes so well…  ;-)

This cake is pretty easy to make, even if there are a few components to it.  The cake layers and the custard can be made a day ahead of time, which makes it a little easier to tackle.

 As you can see, everyone liked the results:

Banana Coconut Cake Supreme

(adapted from a recipe on Food Network)

Banana Coconut Cake: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-coconut-cake-recipe.html

Make the cake from the linked recipe

Coconut Custard: 1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
scant 1/4 cup cornstarch (1/4 cup minus 1 tablespoon)

Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch until there are no lumps, then add the eggs and milk. Whisk until combined.  In a small saucepan (one or two quarts) heat the coconut milk until small bubbles appear around the edges of the milk in the pan (use medium/low heat).  Slowly (about 1/8 of a cup at a time) add the egg/sugar/cornstarch mixture, whisking well after each addition (fancy cooking term: this is called "tempering" the eggs so that they get heated slowly and get fully incorporated with the other ingredients and don't turn into scrambled eggs).

Keep whisking and cooking the custard over low heat until it has thickened. I tried to get a picture of it, but it's hard to do one-handed:











Once the custard has thickened, pour into a bowl, top with plastic wrap (this keeps the custard from forming a "skin"), and allow to cool completely.  You can make this ahead and chill in the fridge up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Frosting: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cream-cheese-frosting-recipe.html

Again, I just made this straight up, no alterations.

Now, the trick is in the assembly.  I took one layer and put it on the platter, then spread all of the coconut custard on, then put the second layer on top of that. Then I chilled it for 20 minutes.

As you can see, much plastic wrap gave its life to make this thing. :-) 

Then I did a "crumb coat" of frosting (where you put a thin layer of frosting all around to keep crumbs from mixing in with the rest of the frosting). Like this:

If you do a crumb coat, put it in the fridge to set up for a few minutes (10 should be enough), then continue to frost the rest of the cake.

1/4 cup toasted coconut (for decoration) (To toast coconut, preheat oven to 350 degrees F, then put coconut a small baking sheet in a shallow layer. Stir occasionally, about every 5-7 minutes, until the coconut is a light tan)

















I then took some of the coconut and decorated the edge of the cake:

:-)

Happy Baking!!

Failure...And Coming Back

I'm going to confess that I don't always hit home runs in the kitchen.  As a matter of fact, I pretty much suck at making any kind of candy that requires more than just melting some chocolate and spreading it on a slab (i.e., chocolate bark).  Chocolate bark, I can do.  But when I have to boil stuff to a specific temperature, I fail. Every. Single. Time.  But, as an optimist (or crazy person), I keep trying, thinking I will finally "get it."  But then I don't.  Again.

This week's debacle comes from the latest issue of Bon Appétit magazine in the form of  Pecan Buttermilk Fudge:



Seriously, how could you not want to try and make that?  I also happened to have some extra buttermilk to use up. So there was that. Plus my eternal optimism.  I tend to ignore that niggling voice that says, "But Marna, you suck at making fudge from scratch." Should have listened to that voice.  I think I overcooked the fudge, because it set harder than a two-day-old baguette.  I had to literally chisel pieces using a steak knife and a meat tenderizer.  Not lying. I was too embarrassed to take a photo of that mess.

But. But. The reason I didn't throw it all in the trash is because the crumbly shards I was able to scrape off tasted really good, the texture notwithstanding. So, I broke the slab in half and put it away for a couple of days until I figured out what to do with it.

Then I figured it out. Not how to make fudge. No, that still eludes me.  I figured out what to do with this impossible-to-eat (seriously jaw-breaker hard) slab of overcooked sugar.  Here's the problem: since the recipe is based on a mistake and I'm not sure exactly what I did wrong, there's no way to replicate this.  Besides, who wants purposely screw up a batch of fudge, then use the results to make something else? That's just crazy.

Besides, the recipe would go like this:

Crust: 4 whole graham crackers
3 Wasa whole grain crackers
1/8 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp melted butter

Crush crackers in food processor into fine crumbs.  Stir in sugar and melted butter.  Pat into 8x8 inch pan.

Filling: 1 batch of jacked up Pecan Buttermilk Fudge
approx. 1/3 cup caramel sauce (I used Smuckers brand)

Melt the jacked up fudge on low power (I used level 4 for 7 minutes) until softened. Stir until smooth, then add the caramel sauce. Combine thoroughly, then pour over crumb crust. Bake in an oven that you set to preheat to 425 (because you're making a quiche crust so the oven was preheating for that anyway). Take the bars out when the topping is slightly bubbling around the edges.  I think it took about 5-7 minutes.

Topping: approx. 1 c. chocolate chips

Sprinkle chocolate chips over the bars, then let them melt.  Carefully spread the chocolate chips smooth over the bars.

Like I said, this can not be replicated. So, sorry about that. But if you want to try this out, go for it!

Here's the good news.  The crumb crust I made was really good.  Combining the Wasa crackers with the graham crackers gave it great texture and not too sweet. Plus it held up when I poured the melted fudge/caramel sauce mixture. I think I'll substitute Wasa crackers for some graham crackers every time I make a graham cracker crust.

But I guess the point of this post is not to share a recipe, but to show all of you that it's okay to make mistakes.  And to experiment. And be willing to keep trying, even though you've failed many times before. Honestly guys, it's just food. Get in that kitchen and start cooking!

Let's Hear It For Leftovers! Corned Beef, Take 2.

Sometimes leftovers are even better than the original meal. I'm think especially of Thanksgiving, but you could also group St. Patrick's Day in there, too.  Even though, as we learned in my last post, corned beef isn't the traditional St. Patrick's meal I thought it was, I still like it and will continue to make it on St. Patrick's Day.  What I like even better is the corned beef hash that I make the day (or two...or three) after.  Not to dis my mom, who is a fabulous cook, but I seem to recall eating the canned stuff, which isn't nearly as good.  I think my favorite part was the soft-cooked egg on top that you smooshed around in the hash to make it gooey and creamy.  :-)

But when I made it from scratch, I always had a hard time getting everything with that yummy crispy crust that provides the textural counterpoint to the egg.  So, I thought I would try to roast everything, rather than try again on the stove top.  Guys, it turned out so well, my youngest kid (you know, the picky one) at it all up, even though he didn't like the first corned beef meal I served earlier that same week! Go figure.  I wanted to share with you, too, because I thought it was easier than the "traditional" way and had a better flavor.  It might take longer, but since it's just sitting in the oven, you can get other stuff done while it's cooking.  I count that as a win all around!

Roasted Corned Beef Hash

12 small Yukon Gold potatoes 

1 onion, chopped into 1/4 inch dice

1/4 head of green cabbage (I used the leftover cabbage I made with the corned beef, but you could use fresh), cut in 1/4 inch dice

4 slices leftover corned beef (approx. 1.5 cups - mine were thick slices)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste


Turn on the oven to preheat to 425 degrees (F).  Put potatoes in a 3 qt. saucepan, then fill the pan with water until it covers the potatoes by an inch or so.  Set the pot with the potatoes in it on the stove and bring the water to a boil.  While that's going on, chop up your cabbage:

When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down so that the water simmers and cook potatoes until they're parboiled (they'll still be hard in the middle), about 4 minutes (you can chop up the onion while the potatoes cook).  Turn off the burner,  drain the water out of the saucepan, but return the potatoes to the pan to cool.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel then cut the potatoes into a 1/4 inch dice.  Cut up the corned beef.  Toss everything on a large rimmed baking sheet with 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil, salt and pepper.  Put it in the oven for about 40 minutes, turning and stirring the mixture about halfway (20 minutes).

After 40 minutes, there should be some dark brown, crusty parts on the corned beef hash (that's the best part).  Pull the sheet out of the oven.

Make some wells in the hash, then crack one egg into each well, like this:

Return to the oven for about 7-8 minutes, until the white is set, but the yolk is still jiggly:

Serve with toast (I made another batch of that soda bread from my previous post - so easy I didn't even need to read the recipe).  You might also like to add a little hot sauce on the top or (what I do) ketchup.  Seriously. It's good. Great, even.  :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day...and another snow storm

So, everybody's home again (snow day #14 for anyone keeping track) due to a storm that dumped another 7 inches on us. This, after we had 60 degree days just 2 days ago.  I like winter, I really do (I grew up in Minnesota, after all, and have Viking blood coursing through my veins, so that should surprise no one), but enough already! Mostly, though, when I'm cooped up inside and it's cold out, all I really want to do is stuff my face with baked goods.  Not cool.  Why can't I crave, say, carrots on a cold day?  I'm sitting here, drinking my tea, pretending it's tastes as good as hot chocolate and feeling a little grumpy.

On the plus side, it's also St. Patrick's Day. The day that everyone is a little bit Irish, even if it's just to drink Guinness.  :-) According to family lore, I actually am a teeny bit Irish.  Unfortunately, I don't have any traditional, handed-down-through-the-generations, secret family recipes to help me commemorate the day, so I had to rely on the internet for help.  I decided to try Martha Stewart's crock pot version of corned beef and cabbage, because I love a crock pot recipe where you can just dump everything in and cook it, but also wanted some Irish soda bread to serve with it.  I did a little research to try and find the most "authentic" recipe (and by authentic, I mean the one that sounded like it had the most history attached to it, because, let's face it, I have no idea what "authentic" or "traditional" Irish soda bread is supposed to be).

Did you know, according to "people on the internet" (whom I assume know more than I do), that traditional Irish soda bread does not have raisins/currants in it?  That it actually only has 4 ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk)?  Neither did I, but I am all for simple, tasty recipes.  So I found this one on allrecipes.com that I thought I would try.  I also read that the flour in Ireland (at least in the past) was kind of poor, without a lot of gluten, so some people in current times use pastry flour to replicate that.  I, one the other hand, did not have pastry flour.  But of course, I couldn't just leave well enough alone. So I used a blend of all purpose flour, cake flour and whole wheat flour.

I also found out that corned beef and cabbage isn't exactly the traditional meal for the Irish on St. Patrick's Day, either. WHAT?!?!  Corned beef is the lutefisk of Irish food traditions?? (for non-Norwegian-Americans, lutefisk is a traditional Norwegian fish dish, usually served by Norwegian-Americans at Christmas, but is hardly ever eaten by actual modern-day Norwegians, probably because no one wants to eat gelatinous, re-hydrated, fish that only tastes good if you dump a boat-load of melted butter on top)   My world was rocked today.


 Before baking:

After: 

 Just before eating:

But I digress. This post was really going to be about soda bread.  Let me tell you, this bread is so tasty and so easy, you will want to make it whenever you want fresh bread with a meal (say, with soup, for brunch, whatever).  Seriously, it's that easy. Except for the flour blend, I did not change anything from the original recipe. Honest. Okay, I did incorporate a couple of technique-type tips from the comments section into my instructions. But that's all. Really.

"Traditional" Irish Soda Bread

1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (mine was on the "heaping teaspoon" side of things)
1 cup of buttermilk
caraway seeds (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. While the oven heats up, put the dry ingredients in a bowl, then stir with a fork to combine.  Start adding the buttermilk, first about half a cup, then stirring to combine with the dry ingredients, then the other half a cup.  Keep stirring everything together with a fork until it comes together (there might still be some flour left in the bottom of the bowl), then use your hand to knead the rest of the flour into the mixture (I did this in the bowl - no need to dump it out and get flour all over the place).  Pat the dough into a disk and put it in a cast iron skillet. With a sharp, serrated knife slash a cross in the top, then sprinkle with caraway seeds (optional).

Put skillet in the pre-heated oven and bake the bread about 15-20 minutes, until it's lightly golden on the outside and sounds hollow when you thump it lightly with your finger.  Take the skillet out, and, while the skillet is still warm, cover the bread with a 9-inch cake pan for 5 minutes. (This helps keep the outside crust from getting too hard).

Makes one loaf -- 8 nice wedge-shaped slices.  Enjoy warm with some good butter.  :-)

Bonus recipe:

Roasted Cabbage

I had some cabbage that wouldn't fit into my crock pot, so I took those two slices and roasted them in the oven while the bread was baking.  Just toss the cabbage with olive oil, salt and pepper, put on a rimmed baking sheet, then roast for about 20 minutes, until it's starting to get brown on the edges.  Pull out of the oven and sprinkle with a little apple cider vinegar (or not, it's good without it too, but I liked the idea of a not-too-sour sauerkraut flavor).












And here's a final photo of our "traditional" Irish meal:

A Dessert That's Almost Good For You!

Recently, a good friend of mine asked me to try out a recipe.  She follows a relatively strict diet, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be able to treat herself occasionally, right?  I'm here to tell you that this pie is FABULOUS and has very little refined sugar (only the amount that is in the dark chocolate).  My kids even liked it.  Well, my oldest, liked it all. My younger, pickier eater only liked the crust and didn't care for the coconut flavor of the filling.  But if you like chocolate and coconut together, this is the dessert for you! Confession: I had a piece for breakfast and only felt mildly guilty about it.

The original recipe comes from Nom Nom Paleo and is called Kelly Brozyna's Chocolate Pie and Raw Graham Cracker Crust. Since I'm linking to the recipe, I won't reprint it here, but will walk you through some of the key steps.

The recipe calls for coconut cream, but not the canned coconut cream that has tons of added sugar.  Just take two cans of unsweetened coconut milk (NOT the "lite" kind), put them in the fridge for an hour, then open them up and scrape off the layer of hardened cream (don't shake the cans -- you want to be sure the cream stays separate).  What do you do with the leftover coconut milk?  You can make Carrot Coconut Soup, like I did, or use it in a smoothie.

The other thing that I had to change is the type of nuts used, because I didn't have enough walnuts.  So I used almonds instead.  I don't know if almonds have less oil in them than walnuts, but my crust wasn't very sticky, so I added another date.

I should have added two extra dates, because it still wasn't very sticky (or at least just sticky enough to stay formed in the pie plate), but I forged ahead.  

I tried using my measuring cup trick to spread the crumbs evenly, but the dates just kept sticking to the bottom of the cup, so I ended up just using my hands, anyway.  Ironically, the crumbs weren't sticky enough to stick to each other. I had a tough time with that part...

The filling couldn't have been easier.  Just dump the stuff in all together and blend.  Unfortunately, using the food processor (as suggested in the recipe) left little date chunks:

I wanted to try and get it as smooth as it showed in the original recipe, so I dumped it all in the blender. Success!  The blender got the filling a lot smoother.  I suggest using that, if you make this recipe.

Then, just put in the fridge to set and you have a simple, delicious, healthy-ish, yet decadent dessert that even non-Paleo folks will appreciate!