sunday dinners

we have been spoiled the last 2 sunday's. our friends have kindly invited us over for a homemade dinner. gnocchi last week, oven baked chicken and mac and cheese this week! this sunday's dinner also included fried plantains for a quick dessert. i was hesitant to dip it in sour cream, but it did not disappoint me. the entire dinner was lovely. i also enjoyed sitting in the living room listening to the jazz records. who was the artist again?

new workout diet

is it wrong to eat a pork chop, 2 eggs, hash browns and a biscuit after you work out? had a lovely pilates workout at castle hill fitness on saturday, but we couldn't resist going down the street to the Counter Cafe on lamar. i must confess that i finished every bit of it. so far, i have had some great meals there. you have to time it just right due to the limited amount of space in this cute diner. it is fun to sit at the counter and watch them cook up a storm. their burger was even listed in Texas Monthly as one of the top 50 best burgers in texas. good burger, but too much bread for me. i like for the burger and bun to match up, personally. sandy's, p. terry's, hat creek and mighty fine are my favs right now. probably more to do with my obsession with french fries, but still good burgers.

gnocchi

we were looking forward to some tasty broccoli fresh from the garden this week. they are looking good and i even see lots of tiny sprouts shooting off of the main stem. hmmmm...what should we make? steamed broccoli with meyer lemons from our tree? stir fry broccoli? Or just eat it raw?
i found the perfect thing to do with it. a good friend made some homemade gnocchi and we got an invite for dinner. it was yummy. light and fluffy pillows of pasta. he did really well for his first time. his slow simmered sauce with bison complimented the pasta. oh, and the broccoli from the garden was steamed and shared the plate.

a trip to venice.

no, not venice italy. jean and i visited our parents in venice, florida over the weekend. my mom had a surprise birthday party on saturday and she had no idea we were part of the surprise. she was in such shock, that she didn't come near us for about 30 minutes. needless to say, we all relaxed and had a good time after some yummy filipino food.

i really enjoyed the new restaurants we tried during this trip. angelo's italian market was super cute. it was just down the road from my parents. market turned restaurant with just a few tables inside. we were not able to sitdown and eat (reservations required), but ordered some lasagna to go. jean found the case full of italian sweets.


mom took us to lunch at a thai bistro that she seems to frequent. we were headed to the outlets, so we shared a few dishes for fuel. i am not a big sweets person, but i definitely enjoyed the thai doughnuts with a peanut dipping sauce. little pillows of dough that were warm and melted in your mouth. the sauce had just the right amount of sweetness to it.















all mom kept talking about was a restaurant with the best fried chicken around. she claimed it was the best she has ever tasted, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, salted to perfection. well, of course we had to go try it! it was an amish
resturant called Troyer's Dutch Heritage. as you can see, i had to try it all. the buffet had just the right amount of choices. not too overwhelming. by the way, the chicken was wonderful (but still comes in second to jan's fried chicken). they made everything from scratch and even had a storefront with lots for sale. bread, cheese, pies, cookies, peanut butter, meat, salsa, preserves! i had to get a small strawberry pie for us to try. is it wrong that i had it for breakfast?

you can't go to florida without having seafood. Captain Eddie's Family Seafood. fried seafood served in a gigantic boat dish, of course. ok, it wasn't the best thing for me, but it was really good. i had the coconut crusted shrimp and catfish. the coleslaw was creamy yummy, hushpuppies were perfect and a stella to wash it down with.

i'm beginning to enjoy venice more and more now!

Onion Creek Kitchens at Juniper Hills Farm

for those of you that have not been able to experience the beauty of Juniper Hills Farm, you must put that on your to-do-list now! sign up for a cooking class or stay the night at the cabins. a group of us spent the weekend relaxing, eating and drinking. on friday, we took homemade dough, made individual pizzas from a variety of toppings and cooked them in the outdoor oven. pesto, chicken, sausage, onions, alfredo sauce...whatever combination you craved. saturday night, asian foods filled the air. Wonton Sesame Crisps with Wasabi-Lime Cream, Chinese Broccoli Stir Fry with Garlic, Chinese BBQ Pork and Singapore Sling's topped off the evening. one drink equals 1/2 bottle of wine, so i was told. they were yummy! to complete the weekend, we made brunch for our lovely hosts. dutch pancakes made in the cast iron skillet, sausage, fruit, potatoes. oh and burnt bacon...courtesy of yours truly. another fabulous weekend with friends. how can you go wrong?

Pork belly, you say?

had a lovely dinner at Fino last night. small plates are a perfect way to try out a variety of items on the menu. but i have to say it works best with a small group. i am always sad when the plate is passed around and when it finally reaches me, i get the tiny remains of what was once a perfect bite. this was my first time trying pork belly and i must say it was lovely. salty goodness with a fennel, orange slaw, accompanied by spicy peanuts. the combination was perfect. one day i would like to try an entree, but the small plates continue to make me happy. thumbs up to the calamari, fried goat cheese and spicy fennel sausage flatbread. the tempranillo completed the meal. although i should say my company completed the evening. shhhhhhh....V!

new phone!

ok, it has obviously been a long time since i have posted. but since i haven't given out the blog address to anyone, it probably does not matter. i have a new phone with a much better camera now. my hope is to take more pictures of my food and blog about it. a few friends encouraged me to post more often and not worry so much about it (beware, my grammar and spelling sucks!). i should have lots to talk about since we all will be going to juniper hills farm this weekend to eat, drink and be merry!