The Lobster Pile

Driskill Hotel Christmas Brunch

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:43:00 +0000

After several years of whipping up a multi-course dinner on Christmas Day, I decided that I wanted someone to cook for me for a change. Jimi and I have been crazy busy this year, and neither of us had time to cook, so I came up with the idea of going to a restaurant for dinner instead. Did a little research and found that the historic Driskill Hotel puts on a Legendary [capitalized!] Christmas Brunch. Check out the menu here. It turned out to be $60/person, with unlimited champagne. And I mean UNLIMITED champagne. Pretty good deal, I say.

Here's the lobby with a lovely stained glass ceiling. They had a professional photographer there, taking complimentary family photos. I am not going to post ours (high def digital - ugh!).

The brunch took up the entire mezzanine of the hotel, including the surrounding ballrooms.

Here's the breakfast breads and pastry table, which also included scrambled eggs with leeks, applewood smoked bacon and breakfast potatoes.

Cinnamon toast with Grand Marnier apple sauce. So pretty!

An omelette station.

Another omelette station.

The main dinner station, with chafing dishes full of rich and indulgent foods.

One of the four carving stations.

We were seated in the Maximilian room which according to the hotel's website, was originally the men's smoking room. The gold mirrors, one of which you can see in the background, were thought to have belonged to Mexican emperor Maximilian's wife, Carlotta.

First round. Starting from top left: roasted butternut squash salad with pumpkin seeds, manchego, baby arugula & sherry vinaigrette, chilled mussels, shrimp and assorted smoked fish.

Second round. Crepes Suzette in Grand Marnier. I remember my mom making this for special occasions. I think I need to add this recipe to my repertoire.

Third round. What shall I call this? The circle of delights? The meat and potatoes wheel of cardiac arrest? It's not the most appealing picture, but it sure was delicious. Starting from the top left: braised veal cheeks with celery root puree (luxurious, creamy, savory & a tad sweet - this was definitely my favorite), dried fruit stuffed pork loin with port a jus, prime rib, maple sweet potato puree, herbed polenta.

Can she do it? Can she do it? Oh, yes she can! Just enough room in the tummy for round number four. From top left: rum bread pudding, custard in a mint chocolate rainbow cup thingy, mousse tart, choc covered strawberry, mini eclair.

And then Jimi had to roll me out to the car. All in all it was a lovely time and definitely something we would do again. The quality of the food was pretty high for a buffet, and both of us really enjoyed the chilled seafood station (although they ran out of the crab claws before we could grab some... damn!). The free booze makes it a definite thumbs up. I also highly recommend this for families (there were tons of kids there) and those with out-of-town guests, as the hotel was beautifully decorated and the staff was extremely polite and accommodating.

So... what to do next year? Perhaps dinner at the Four Seasons.

Christmas Eve Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:31:00 +0000

Michelle and I have a Christmas Eve tradition of feasting on gourmet goodies from Central Market. We always eat well during the holidays. We paired everything with this wine, an oaky, earthy, rich Chianti recommended to us by the wine guy at CM. The Chimay is for a post xmas treat.

Here's a sampling of our fantastic fresh fruits, including starfruit, kiwi, blackberries, red pear, pomegranate, and cantaloupe.

Our cheese tray, clockwise from upper left: smoked Caciocavallo (cow's milk) from southern Italy, Beecher's Flagship Reserve Cheddar from Seattle, Boschetto with white truffle (sheep & cow's milk) from Florence,Italy, and finally, the wedge at the bottom is Neal's Yard Montgomery's Cheddar, my favorite cheese, and a true British farmhouse artisan cheese. It is amazingly complex - the flavor changes distinctly with each bite from center to rind. At the center, it is musty and quite sharp. From there the flavors mellow, and at the edge of the rind, this cheese tastes EXACTLY like raw peanuts.

Does anybody else out there really enjoy watching 'Dexter'?

Tender Cambridge hot-smoked salmon from Scotland (it was really good, but not as good as the one I make).

Alexian Truffle Mousse (pork & poultry liver, sherry, truffles, wild mushrooms) with Cherith Valley Gardens Red Wine Jelly and Scandinavian Delights Lingonberry Spread.

Anna's Ginger Thins, LU Petit Ecolier and Jules Destrooper Almond Thins.

This is a view of the whole spread. Sorry we didn't have pictures of the prosciutto (San Daniele), salami (Piller's Old Forest), and Jamon Iberico.

Michelle got the girls some horrible little outfits and insisted on forcing them onto the poor little beasts...I had no part in this, I promise you. Soon I will destroy these images.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

Casa de Weedman

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:24:00 +0000

So here's what the house looks like these days. Still haven't gotten around to doing the study and master bedroom, but I guess we'll get around to it eventually. The whole house is tile, and I'll tell you what. It is soooo much better than carpet, especially with dogs that love to track in mud and throw up on occasion.

Didn't have time to do the Christmas decorations this year, but did do a few floral arrangements to make things a little festive!

The living room.

Then entertainment center (note viking like helmet).

The hall of curiosities.

The dining area. It's like Nuevo Laredo exploded in here.

Your standard 1980s kitchen.

Our resident statue, aptly named Flaco, stands guard over the dog bowls. How we hauled that thing across the border is a story in itself.

Our crazy gold Indian bathroom.

The guest bedroom.

An inspiration for dream vacations...

Kir Royale

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:10:00 +0000

After spending a day and a half cleaning and scouring the house, I decided that Jimi and I should start our holiday celebrations early. And nothing says happy holidays like a Kir Royale. It's such a simple and pretty drink, just champagne and creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). Cheers!

Kenobi

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Our new fave restaurant is Kenobi, a sushi place at the Arboretum. They have a rockin' $2 [yes, that's two dollars!] happy hour on Monday nights and a really cool modern asian bar area. You know, the kind that plays groovy latin electronica for upscale hipsters. Their rolls are ok, the sushi pretty good, and the beef yakitori excellent.

And for a grand total of $37.23, we had:
1 bowl edamame
1 chicken yakitori appetizer
1 beef yakitori appetizer
1 pork dumpling appetizer
1 bowl fried calamari
3 pieces sushi
1 spicy tuna roll
2 lemon blueberry vodka cocktails
2 domestic beers

Kenobi Lemonade

Beef Yakitori

Calamari with 2 kinds of sauce.

The last of the pork gyoza dumplings.

Unhappy Karma in a paper hat that we made for her.

Boeuf Bourguignon

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:08:00 +0000

Tony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, besides being a highly amusing read, is a great resource for simplified french bistro recipes. He's got a really easy recipe for the french classic boeuf bourguignon, and I modified it a little to add some of Julia Child's techniques. Boeuf bourguignon is basically a glorified pot roast with A LOT of wine in it. The key is to sear and brown the beef cubes before adding the vegetables and liquids.

Here's my ingredient list:
2 lb beef roast (I used chuck)
1/4 C olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 tbsp flour
2.5 C red burgandy
6 carrots, chopped
2 C beef stock (used Jimi's homemade semi-demi-glace mixed with water)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bouquet garni
salt & pepper

Four hours later and... voila! Meat that falls apart, swimming in a thick rich sauce. Serve with a crusty piece of bread and a big glass of red wine!

Pumpkin Carving Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:16:00 +0000

I convinced Jimi to join me in my pumpkin carving madness. He opted for a traditional theme, but I continued with my "alternative" designs. Here are the tools of the trade, a pumpkin carver from HEB and a cheap wood working tool from Hobby Lobby. I also used a large nail for the eye pupils.

Michelle's before...

Michelle's after...

Jimi's before...

Jimi's after...

All in a row before...

All in a row after!

Jimi's Birthday & Pumpkin Carving Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:09:00 +0000

For Jimi's birthday, we had a crab boil. Got some live dungeness crab & Kirin from the chinese market down the street and boiled them out back.

Chocolate mousse birthday cake from Central Market.

I found some pumpkin carving stencils on this cool web site and decided to do a non Halloween themed design. I hadn't carved a pumpkin since I was about 12 years old, but this one turned out really well. I didn't go to art school for nothin'!

Livestrong Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:57:00 +0000

My brother, sister-in-law & nephew came into town for the Lance Armstrong Foundation Livestrong Challenge on Saturday morning. The weather was fabulous, and I think around 3-4,000 people showed up. A lot of people wore "in memory" and "survivor" cards, and some of the stories were really heartbreaking. Some of the sick kids who were unable to walk were carted around in rickshaws, and the crowd threw up a big cheer when they passed.

For the rest of today's pics, go to our Flickr site.

Banh Duc

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:17:00 +0000

I am continuing my experimentation with asian desserts from the chinese market. The ingredients in this so called Vietnamese "jello cake" were tapioca starch, sugar, hulled sesame seeds and green food coloring. It had the consistency of bubble tea pearls, and the sauce tasted like coconut. Interesting, but not really my thing.

20 Guinea Hen Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:52:00 +0000

We finally got some video of the new flock!

Guinea Hen Calls in Our Yard

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Every day, three times a day. The neighborhood guinea hens are cute, but loud. The flock just had a bunch of babies again. I counted 20 chicks the other day! Maybe I'll walk down to their house & see if I can get some video of them.

Amaretto Cranberry Kiss

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:52:00 +0000

The amaretto in this drink gives it a flavor similar to a mai tai. Jimi says it's unusual and interesting. I like it because it's not your usual cocktail, but all the ingredients are readily available. It would be a good drink to make for an evening summer party.

Winter Squash Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:33:00 +0000

I've gotten a couple of (carnival?) winter squash from Johnson's Backyard recently. They're pretty big, so I decided to make a batch of soup out of them. Found this Winter Squash Soup recipe that's easy to make and freeze. It's a pretty standard cream of squash soup. Nothing amazing, but it makes for a good work lunch. If you have a bunch of squash that you need to use up, this is the perfect recipe. Used 1/2 cup of 2% milk instead of 1/4 cup heavy cream.

Houston's Crab Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Houston's has the most awesome crab cakes I've ever had in my life. They're made out of fresh blue crab, and there's absolutely no bread filler. Just a little egg to bind the crab and a slight dusting of flour on the outside. And the coleslaw side is the bomb. The crab cakes aren't on the menu, so you just have to call at the beginning of the week to find out if they'll have them as a special. This visit Jimi and I ordered a glass of champagne, and the bartender brought us each a little bottle. Neat!

Silly Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Here are more pics of Karma & Chaka Khan. Karma loves to sleep on our clothes, no matter how uncomfortable.

Grilled Corn with Maple Chipotle Glaze

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:06:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite grilled corn recipes. Spicy, sweet and buttery. And then add the smoke from the grill. Yum.

Bird in the Curtain

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Jimi found a bird sleeping in our outdoor curtains.

New Orleans - Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:24:00 +0000

Hayley and I just don't bounce back like we used to, and we were hurtin' a bit when we woke up Monday morning. It was pouring outside anyway, so we decided that we just wanted to sleep in and hang out in the room for the day. Cheers to the Omni staff for letting us check out at 3:00 without charges! They were all super nice during our entire visit, and I'd definitely stay there again.

Before we left, Hayley and I spent some time uptown at Chris & Dorie's house. I didn't take any pics, but we took a walk through the neighborhood to check out all of the houses that had been condemned or were still vacant (and there are a bunch). Memorial hospital is also in her neighborhood... the one where all of that horrible shit went down during Katrina when the remaining doctors and patients were basically abandoned. If you're interested in how the reconstruction is going (or not going), check out these sets of Flickr pics. 4 years after. 3 years after. 2 years after.

On a lighter note, our last stop before the airport was the eatery Ignatius on Magazine St.

This would be the boudin meatloaf.

And here we are with the crab & corn bisque (yes, I had to have it again before I left) and Hayley's shrimp-n-grits.

And here's an action shot of Dorie and her tabasco.

One last Abita at the airport and that was it. I don't think I could have stuffed any more into my stomach. Thanks again to Dorie & Chris for hauling our tourist asses around town!

To view all of the New Orleans pics, go to our Flickr site.

New Orleans - Day 2, Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Hayley and Dorie took me to August for my 40th birthday. The chef, John Besh, won the 2006 James Beard award for Best Chef in the Southeast and was runner-up in the Next Iron Chef. His restaurant August has been on Gourmet Magazine's list of best restaurants twice, so I knew we were in for a treat. Just check out this sample menu.

The interior of August was comprised of a series of small intimate rooms covered in dark wood paneling. The chandeliers hung from a raised ceiling, and I got the feeling (a good one) that we were in an exclusive turn-of-the-century banker's club. It was the chic modern version of "old money".

We all decided on the four course tasting menu, primarily because it looked so good, but also because it was so reasonable... $60 with wine pairings, $40 without.

Our pre first course was an amuse bouche served in a hollowed out eggshell. Seafood custard with truffle oil and caviar. I love truffles, so this was right up my alley. I also love Hayley's face in this pic.

The first official course was warm salad of pieds du veau, crispy veal sweetbreads and fresh hearts of palm (Flor Prosecco, Bastianich , Friuli, Italy - and wouldn't you know it, according to the Dallas Morning News, Central Market is the only store which sells it). The salad had a nice light vinaigrette, which matched well with the veal foot carpaccio, and lightly fried sweetbreads, which were buttery like foie gras. Now I'll have to add veal feet and and thymus glands to the list of exotic foods I've tried!

The second course was silverqueen corn riz en boule with pecan wood bacon, cipollini onions and chanterelle mushrooms (1998 Rose Rioja, Vina Tondonia, López de Heredia, Spain). Smoky was the operative word here, and the vermouth like quality of the wine really complimented it.

The third course was hand rolled spaghettini with clams, mussels and blue crab with spicy tomato and fresh basil (Pinot Noir, Anne Amie, Oregon). I'd have to say that this was our least favorite dish of the night. Not that it was bad, in fact it was quite pleasant, but the flavors just didn't wow me. The simple light tomato basil sauce with that hint of seafood was good, but not exceptional like the previous three courses had been.

We finished with a napoleon of nougatine with valhrona chocolate bavarois and salted toffee ice cream (2007 banyuls grenache - vintner unknown). This might have been my favorite dish of the night, mostly because of the wine pairing. The banyuls was very sweet on its own, but paired with the bitter chocolate and salt of the dessert, it became something really different and special. Earthy, buttery and a touch savory.

All in all it was a really superb meal, especially for the price. You definitely couldn't get something like this in Austin or Dallas for under $100. Thanks a bunch to Hayley & Dorie for taking me here!

After dinner, we walked to the quarter for drinks at Hotel Monteleone. This place has one of the kitschiest bars I've ever seen. Check it out. And it rotates!!! Love it. A wonderful ending to a wonderful evening.

To view all of the New Orleans pics, go to our Flickr site.

New Orleans - Day 2, Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:41:00 +0000

The fanciest Arby's in the world!

The morning of our second day in New Orleans turned out to be stormy, so it was a good thing that we spent it at the Audubon Insectarium. The place is geared towards kids, but if you have an interest in creepy crawly things or, you know, science, then it's pretty fun. Hayley had to continue our tradition of posing in/around/like statues while on vacation.

The exhibit started out interestingly enough with a table devoted to the millipede and centipede. I learned that millipedes feel funky, and that Texas must contain half of the world's poisonous creatures (the centipede was from our great state).

There were bunches of tanks with live beetles, roaches, grubs, slugs and many more little insects and animals, but one of my favorite rooms turned out to be the one with all the dead ones in it. They had some beautiful displays, with the beetles and butterflies arranged in intricate designs.

Hmmmm. Yummy.

The last room in the exhibit was Butterflies in Flight, and like its name suggests, it was a sealed off area that housed live butterflies.

Before leaving, we went by the "Bug Appetit" room (ha ha, get it?), where we had the pleasure of tasting cinnamon mealworms and cajun spiced crickets. They weren't gross at all actually, since they cooked the shit out of them until they were crispy husks.

The weather cleared up while we were in the insectarium, so we decided to go for a walk in the quarter. Stopped by Royal Blend and had a super cool iced coffee in their super cool courtyard.

And then stopped by La Maison d'Absinthe to check out all of their cool antique glassware reproductions. I so love the absinthe sets.

AND THEN, I don't know what possessed me... maybe it was because I was turning 40 and trying to relive my youth... but I had to get an $8 hurricane from Pat O'Brien's. I don't know why I thought they put fruit juice in those things, but they so don't. It tasted like Hi-C punch. Granted, they were generous with the liquor, and at least they put it in a plastic cup so that I could carry it next door to...

... The Old Coffee Pot Restaurant, where I had the crab & corn bisque and Hayley ate a shrimp po'boy.

And here's the requisite parting shot of Bourbon, now complete with three(!) Larry Flynt establishments.

To view all of the New Orleans pics, go to our Flickr site.

New Orleans - Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:18:00 +0000

Photo by nonsense bird

New Orleans has always been a favorite town of mine, and when Hayley suggested we visit our friend there (the weekend before my 40th birthday no less), I was clapping my hands like a little girl.

Dorie and her boyfriend Chris know all of the cool local spots, and we immediately started off our culinary extravaganza at the po'boy institution Parkway Bakery & Tavern. Forgot my camera for this one, but the oyster po'boy looked just like the pic above, with fresh crusty french bread, golden fried oysters, and "dressed" with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and mayo. I would kill for a place like this in Austin.

After dropping our stuff off at the hotel (stayed outside of the quarter to avoid the inflated prices), we headed down Chartres for a drink. Things were in full swing, since it was the day of the Red Dress Run, a charity "run" (in the loosest sense of the word) put on by the N.O. Hash House Harriers, self described as "a drinking club with a running problem". Managed to get a quick blurry pic of some of the participants with required red dress.

Dorie and Hayley pondering the Abita at Molly's, near the market.

Chris and Dorie have a car, so we were able to drive around some of the city and get a look at how the Katrina reconstruction is progressing. We checked out some of the galleries in the Bywater district, and then when to a cute little restaurant called Elizabeth's.

Elizabeth's is kind of like a relaxed semi-upscale down home cooking establishment, if that makes any sense. I mean, where else can you have sautéed mahi-mahi with citrus buerre blanc and fried chicken & collard greens on the same menu? We all shared our dishes, which was a good thing since my fried chicken plate turned out to be an entire half of a bird. You can see the remnants of our meal below... seared scallops with a buttery sauce, steak in a chimichurri, sweet potato fries, collard greens, beets and some of the best damn stewed cabbage I've ever had. I might have to write Gourmet magazine and see if they can get and print the recipe.

Our last stop for the day was the funky wine bar Bacchanal. It's really more of a wine shop, but they allow you to buy bottles and take them out on the back patio. There were a couple of classical guitarists playing, and the torch lighting with the jungle like vegetation created a nice ambiance. Once again, I wish we had places like this in Austin.

To view all of the New Orleans pics, go to our Flickr site.

Behold...

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:52:00 +0000

... Jimi's BBQ hot wings.

Squirrel on a Hot Bark Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:38:00 +0000

The squirrels must have been really hot this Sunday afternoon. They kept digging out holes in the dirt below the tree and lying down in them. One of them finally just spread eagle at the base and lay there for a nap.

Karma on the Couch

noreply@blogger.com (Mic and Jimi) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:35:00 +0000