I ate pizza

for breakfast this morning. Not sure where from - it was someone's leftovers. It was good, though.

The delectable French Quarter.

That's right, nearly nine months later, I bring you a sample of my tasty explorations of New Orleans. A little overdue, but well timed since the posts have begun to dwindle.

First off, we have the most delicious sampler I've ever had. It consisted of four regional dishes, 1. Gumbo 2. Jambalaya 3. Something with shrimp and rice and 4. Something with Red Beans... I wrote down their names, but I don't remember where because it was nine months ago. I DO remember that it was accompanied by some delicious fried and battered alligator (think: chicken strips but more exciting).

Next up was my first foray into the world of Oysters. My conclusion was that Oyster sauce = delicious, Oysters themselves = slimy. . My companion ordered turtle soup, and although I'm glad to have had the experience, the soup did not taste much different than spicy grass. Interesting yes, delicious? I think not.

I wish I had taken pictures of the world famous New Orleans Beniget. So fried and powdered and amazing.

That's my day in the French Quarter in a nutshell. Hope it titillated your tastebuds a satisfactory amount!

More Boring Day Projects

My most recent forays into the food world, as I impatiently await the start of my Obama gig and hopefully another paying deal...
Banana-flax seed bread.

Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin

This thing was seriously an amazing flavor explosion--it has lime, cilantro, coconut milk, spinach, black beans, rice, sweet potatoes--a random medley, but a great one. There's also a great thyme-cornmeal crust baked on top. I only had orzo on hand so next time I think I'll use wild or brown rice, or maybe even arborio to get some added creaminess. This tasted great but didn't hold together as well as I'd hoped.

Karina invited me over for tabouleh and told me to make anything I wanted to go with it. I had three cans of beans on hand and some cilantro, so this dip-salad-thing happened. Pintos, kidneys, garbanzos, cilantro, bell pepper, tomatoes, cumin, thyme, and ground up yellow corn chips.

Ah, the makings for some great tabouleh.

It actually turned out massively delish, and we toasted some pita in the oven to go along with it. In the cute new condo. And we had wine. We are adorable.

Learning to Jerk the Beef

I want to preface all of this by saying that any sexual-seeming innuendo herein should be taken at the most literal level possible. Because this entry really is about Blake showing me how to jerk beef.

First we made the marinades. His was sweet spicy garlic and involved quite a bit of brown sugar. Mine was Thai-Style with peanut sauce and hella ginger, sort of satay-inspired.

We let it marinate overnight then dried it in the morning and the results were spectacular. Blake's was a little too sweet for my taste, it kind of masked the beef. I like when you taste the purest beef flavor, it smelled so good when we were cutting it. Yeah, I realized I like the smell of raw beef. Does this make me sick? I'm such a carnivore.

It was pretty wonderful. My dog ate a bag of it. Next time, wine marinades, more oven time, and higher quality beef--daria and i plan to try flank.

-Linni, Oak Park IL

Mother's Day Brunch

I think it'd be pretty sweet to be the mother of a someone who likes to cook, because any holiday from flag day to christmas to mother's day is an excuse to make something delicious.
Some spinach, getting ready to be added to eggs and feta for a frittata, and some peaches getting ready for the pancake

The dutch baby, sittin pretty in the oven

A closer look...

Voila! Dutch Apple Pancake with Spiced Fruit and Greek Yogurt--yummo.

-Linni, Oak Park IL

Glazes, and Frostings, and Cakes- Oh My!

Fat Pack Member Taylor Feldman- newest of them all- broke in her right to bake as a year older by baking seventeen cakes for her seventeenth birthday.


Appropriate?



A generous portion more than not.


However, only a few Fat Pack members were there to actually experience them, so here the images remain for your viewing pleasure.





<--A traditional yellow Barbie cake.. as expected. Chocolate Bundt with Mountain Cream Frosting and Parlor Pecans.








Mini Red Velvet Bundt Cakes with White
Frosting and Bubble Sprinkles

Angel Food with Lemon Glaze and garnished with Lemon Zest




Texas Sheath Cake with Chocolate Pecan Frosting





<--Four Layer German Chocolate with Honey Almond Frosting and Toasted Coconut Three

Layer Carrot Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese and Walnut Frosting and much, much more

Wish you all were there to share! More cakes to come in the future
With Love and Adoration,
Fat-T :)

THIS JUST IN

I ATE THIS TOO FAST TO TAKE PICTURES OF IT

you know my hot jam, peanut butter, banana, and honey on wheat toast?

Today, I put peanut butter, banana, and honey on a wheat WRAP. so essentially, a burrito.

Then, as if that wasn't good enough, I grilled it on the good old george foreman lean mean fat-reducing machine.

Next time, I may put some mushy cooked cinnamon apples on a warm wrap, or some berries and cream cheese? a whole new era of breakfast burrito has arrived.

-Linni
LA, CA