ECC's Weblog

San Antone

eclaire84 — Tue, 17 May 2011 05:12:46 +0000

Went to San Antonio this weekend and fell in love. Dined at Ocho twice. Walked to the Pearl and drank a glass of iced jamaica and marveled at the hibiscus flowers planted along the Riverwalk. Went to the Alamo and tried on coonskin hats in the gift shop, contemplating the application to become a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas so I can put “DRT” beside my name next time I sign the guest book at the Alamo. Rode the Riverwalk taxi like a good tourist should. And bought a fedora at Paris Hatters, one of Johnny Cash’s old haunts.
Being a tourist is fun. Playing one in a town you don’t live in is even better! Here’s some photos I took of my adventures. My only regret is that I did not find a mariachi band… Next trip!

Pearl

New favorite hat from Paris Hatters

Ocho

: Hibiscus flower along the Riverwalk

: Hemingway Daquiri at Ocho

Pachanga

eclaire84 — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:42:15 +0000

PACHANGA: SPANISH FOR CELEBRATION

This will be my third Pachanga to attend. It’s a special festival for me as it marks when and where I first tried Bud Lite Lime and became better acquainted with my future coworkers A.K.A. surrogate family.

WHAT: Pachanga is a Latin-themed music, cultural arts and food festival dedicated to showcasing the vibrant blend of Latino-created music and art and the impact it has on American culture today.

WHEN: Saturday, May 21 at noon to 11pm

WHERE: Fiesta Gardens

HOW: Tickets are on sale at pachangafest.com, Waterloo Records and all Front Gate Tickets outlets, including frontgatetickets.com. A portion of all proceeds will benefit the FuturoFund Austin.

www.pachangafest.com
Twitter @pachangafest

Food Trailers galore: Arepas Venezuelan Grill (Arepas!), Boomerang’s Pies (Southwest chicken pie, vegan pie), The Zubik House (smoked shoulder sausages with mango pico de gallo), Snowie shaved ice, Juanita’s Botanitas (roasted elotes, gorditos and frito pie), Best Wurst (jalapeno sausages), Izzoz Tacos (ancho braised pork tacos, veggie and meat tamales), Juice Box (aguas frescas and coconut water), Cain’s Fine Catering (shrimp ceviche, shredded beef salad, empanadas), Rocco’s Tacos (carne guisada tacos, menudo, elotes) and Mom and Pops (all natural popsicles).
Hasta Sabado!

Duck Fat Makes Everything Better

eclaire84 — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:17:28 +0000

My brother and I have an appreciation for rich food and as a joke we have contests for who can be the “Fat Kid” with culinary exploits. I won last week.

Haddingtons is my new love child.

I went there last weekend with some girlfriends and proceeded to drink a Duck Fat Sazerac and snacked on Duck Live Mousse Pate in front of one of my friends who’s a vegan. Irony isn’t lost on me… Wishing I had some cholesterol meds after that snack. For those who love pate, this is the best freaking thing–Mulberry chef Zack Northcutt knows what he’s doing. This pate is creamy, smooth butter on your tongue goodness and on lightly toasted crumpet bread it is HEAVEN.

I washed it down with the Duck Fat Sazerac, which I first tried at the Sustainable Food Center Dinner in November. Head bartender Bill Norris (formerly of Fino) has mastered rye infused with duck fat and toned it down with peychaud’s bitters, absinthe rinse, served cold and neat for $9 it gets the job done.

Duck Liver Mousse Pate topped with molasses bourbon reduction, side of toast

Haddingtons is at 601 W. Sixth St. 992-0204
www.thehaddington.com
Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, for dinner 5 to 11 p.m. daily and brunch 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The bar is open until 2 a.m. every day.

Hibiscus Margarita

eclaire84 — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Hibiscus Margarita

Baby it's cold outside: Hibiscus margarita

I came home the other night to a freezing house and decided my fireplace, layers of sweaters and blanket cape weren’t going to be enough to warm me up. I went to the kitchen to foraging for spirits. Alas, no wine, beer but I did find some old tequila, triple sec and remembered I had a few limes in the fridge. Some shaking and squeezing yielded a suitable margarita, but something was missing. HIBISCUS! I remembered I had hibiscus tea in the fridge, a splash later and a delicious cocktail was born.

HIBISCUS MARGARITA
1 ounce tequila
Dash of Triple Sec
Juice of 1 lime
Fill a martini shaker with ice and pour in the tequila, Triple sec and lime juice. Shake until the martini shaker is frosted with condensation. Strain the contents into the margarita glass and garnish with the lime. Pour a splash of hibiscus tea on top.

Sharona’s Kosher Salt Oatmeal Cookies

eclaire84 — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:10:12 +0000

Oatmeal Kosher Salt Cookies
Recipe courtesy of my friend Sharona, the craftiest woman I know. She has an awesome food trailer during the Roundtop Antique Fair called Sack Lunch. For more info on Sack Lunch go to grooveefortune.com.

Kosher Salt Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 30-35 cookies
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt (reserve half to sprinkle on top of cookies before baking, only mix 1/2 teaspoon in batter)
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

biscuits on sundays

eclaire84 — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 03:14:20 +0000

gluttony took hold of me at the meat area of Wheatsville Co-Op sending me into visions of chorizo biscuits and gravy:

Biscuits: I’m a cheat, having tried a lot of recipes, I find Krusteaz Scone Mix does a better job than I ever will and all I have to add is water and cook them at 350-degrees for 10 minutes.

Ingredients for gravy:
2 links spicy chorizo
1 small yellow onion, diced fine.
4 Tbsp. flour
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions for gravy: squeeze meat out of casing, brown meat in skillet over medium heat until cooked. place meat on plate with paper towels, reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the chorizo oil in a cup, leave 1-2 additional tablespoons in pan. cook onion same skillet with salt, pepper and thyme springs until onions are translucent, remove from pan, place on chorizo plate. pour reserved oil in skillet, add the flour, stir with a whisk until flour and oil incorporate. gradually add cream in fourths until incorporated, turn heat to low, stir regularly as gravy thickens. once to desired consistency, add cooked onions and chorizo to gravy. Pour over warm, buttered biscuits and serve.

Biscuits n' gravy

Gazpacho al-Andalus

eclaire84 — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:56:29 +0000

Purificación Hernandez, my Señora I lived with for five months in Granada, turned me on to my favorite use for tomatoes: Gazpacho! This summer I moved so without gas in my house for the first week and 110-degree temperatures, gazpacho was the solution.

Gazpacho

Ingredients:
6-8 roma tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cucumber, peeled and cubed (be sure to taste first, nothing worse than a bitter cucumber, *unless it’s a bitter woman* kidding)
salt and pepper to taste
optional: French bread, and Parmesan shavings

Directions: Combine chopped tomatoes, minced garlic and olive oil in food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste. Chill for an hour in the refrigerator. Serve topped with cucumber, Parmesan and bread.

¡Buen Provecho! (If you’re too hungry to wait for the soup to chill, add ice cubes like Puri did.)

ladies who shoot

eclaire84 — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:30:16 +0000

Shooting range

Red’s Indoor Range in Austin, Texas encourages women to shoot, hence free rentals on Monday nights and half-off the hourly range fee. Best $7 I spent last week letting off some steam. Just saying…

Frank: Hot Dog Hot Cold

eclaire84 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:08:49 +0000

Frank: Hot Dogs Cold Beer

Frank,

I love this place for the look of the building, design and taste of the menu. My first night there I went for a ladies night and one of my friends tried a bacon bourbon cocktail. I’m pro-bacon and this is interesting in theory because who does like bacon? In practice, for my taste, the ginger cherry limeade was more palatable. Brunch is worth checking out as well with awesome chicken & waffles, eggs benedict and more.

The Texas Benedict consists of a jumbo biscuit topped with pulled pork, fried eggs and jalapeno hollandaise. Last time I ate this I washed it down with a table of coffee siphon and afterward I passed out for three hours. Now that’s a good meal!

Texas Benedict

4th & Colorado, Austin 78701
http://hotdogscoldbeer.com/

Coffee Siphon

Mandola’s Italian Market at the Triangle

eclaire84 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:39:31 +0000

Mandola's Italian Market

If I’m craving Italian, this is my favorite stop. What I love about Mandola’s is they always have fresh entrees at a reasonable price. The market is fun for picking up some table wine and imported treats.

Mandola’s Italian Market

www.mandolasmarket.com

4700 Guadalupe Street
Austin, TX 78751-3778
(512) 419-9700