Forking Up

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Welcome to #BrunchWeek 2018 hosted by Love and Confections and A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures! This year is even bigger and better than ever! Thirty eight bloggers from around the country are showcasing their best brunch dishes. We have so many delicious recipes for you to enjoy throughout the week (over 150!!) including cocktails, appetizers, pastries, tarts, main courses, and plenty of desserts! Our BrunchWeek Sponsors are helping us give away some great prizes. Thank you so much, Sponsors, for your generosity. We have an incredible giveaway below and we’d love if you would take a moment to read about it and what you can win!


Prize #1 Dixie Crystals is giving one winner a 6-Quart Instant Pot 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer and a case of Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar

Since 1917, Dixie Crystals® has been the South's choice for high-quality sugar and sweeteners. For generations, Dixie Crystals has been at the heart of family traditions and celebrations. Our pure cane, non-GMO sugar products guarantee that treasured family recipes will turn out right every time. Bake with love and Dixie Crystals.



Prize #2 Cabot Creamery Co-operative is giving one winner a Cheese Board Set, including a slate cheese board, Boska cheese knife, Legacy Collection Cabot Cheddars, Founders 1919 Collection Cheddars, Waxed Private Stock, Waxed Vintage Choice, and 3 Year Artisan cheeses.

Cabot Creamery Co-operative, makers of naturally aged, award-winning cheeses and dairy products is owned by 1,000 dairy farm families in New England and New York.



Prize #3 LorAnn Oils and Flavors is giving one winner A Baking and Candy Making Prize package. The package includes: ceramic serving platter, a collection of 5 LorAnn Bakery Emulsions, one each of LorAnn Madagascar vanilla extract and Madagascar vanilla bean paste, Lollipop cookbook along with re-usable candy mold, candy packaging accessories, candy thermometer, and a pack of 3 LorAnn super-strength candy oils.

Our flavors. Your creations. For over 50 years, LorAnn Oils has been supplying professionals and home chefs with the finest quality candy and baking flavors, essential oils, and specialty ingredients. Visit us at www.LorAnnOils.com to shop, learn, and discover new recipe ideas.
Eggland’s Best eggs have more of the delicious, farm fresh taste you and your family love – anyway you cook them. Plus, Eggland’s Best provides superior nutrition such as 6x more vitamin D, 10x more vitamin E, and double the omega 3s compared to ordinary eggs so why settle for less?
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cannon & Belle* - Have you ever written off a place because it was in a hotel? Hotel restaurants tend to thrive on convenience and nothing more. Well, I'm never judging a book by its location ever again. This place is hands. down. incredible. We started with cornbread and bacon butter (!!) and braised short rib (zomg) followed by the pork chop for myself and the ribeye for my plus one. I was recently invited to sample their spring menu and I am not hyperbole-ing when I say every single forkful was better than the next. And no, it being on the house (how can I thank y'all enough??) didn't sway my opinion--I'm of the "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all" camp with my various blogger comps. And I have only nice things to say. It was truly incredible and the icing on the cake was the service. Our server was attentive and made excellent suggestions, even pulling over the bartender to show us how their Fall Old Fashioned was made (here's a hint: REAL FIRE (do I have enough parenthetical statements? Yikes))With the closing of my beloved Vox Table, I needed a new date night restaurant. And I've found one. Definitely give Cannon and Belle a try if you're in the Austin area!
500 E 4th St, Austin, TX 78701

Depressed Cake Shop - A lesser-discussed subject on this blog: I struggle with anxiety and depression. So, major shout out to Depressed Cake Shop, a project by NAMI Austin (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and local bakeries.

From the website:

Participating Depressed Cake Shop pop-up bakeries will promote Mental Health Month throughout the month of May featuring items decorated with an element of gray to signify the gray cloud that can descend over a beautiful world when someone is struggling with mental health issues. Bright colors inside the dessert represent the hope that always continues. When customers purchase a "depressed" item, they will receive a free "conversation starter" card designed to offer specific information about how to talk about mental health with loved ones.

For more info, visit their website!

T22 - The new brick and mortar is so close to me, I could eat their delicious Nashville Hot Chicken every day if I wanted to! It's just perfect. Juicy on the inside, perfectly crisp on the outside, so so flavorful (even the mild is delishhh) and AS BIG AS YOUR FACE. I'm not even kidding. The amazing cocktails and happy hour are just the icing on the cake. The skin on the chicken? The best.
7211 Burnet Rd, Austin TX


YouTube!
As I've been growing my own channel (please subscribe?) I've been studying popular Youtubers to see how it's done. I haven't had cable in about 4 years, but binge-watching Youtube is pretty much my new channel surfing. Here are the ones I love most lately:

Makeup Junkie G - I stumbled upon the documentary following Georgia, and was touched by her journey. What a surprise that she popped up in my Youtube suggestions once I started following makeup tutorials! Her accent is my favorite and her tutorials are easy to follow, and her vlogs are always a great time! Her bubbly nature and adorable pup make this one to watch.

EmmymadeinJapan - Something about Emmy's soothing voice and quirky sense of humor puts me at ease after a long day. She's even named the food spot that often appears on her lip--Winston. I can't quite put my finger on why her channel is so wonderful, it just is. Her channel was what convinced me to start doing my own tasting/unboxing videos. Thanks, Emmy!

Flat Films - Okay, this is kind of a cheat because I'm a part of this production company. But, if you want to see me and one of my very best friends banter about random things, give it a subscribe!

PS. Subscribe to my channel--my friend and I will be reviewing MD 20/20 as well as all of Yellowbird's sauces!





I need to check out these local spots!

• HEO Eatery
• Hank's
• Arpeggio's
• Be on the lookout for a local roundup of my favorite neighborhood spots!

• Veggie Quiche
• Healthy Benny
• Caramelized Onion Apple Galette
• Country-Fried Steak and Eggs
• Breakfast Margarita

Pssst! This is a re-post of an old blog post from my old blog. I'm posting it moreso for nostalgia and the recipe itself. It was originally posted in 2011. Keep that in mind, or just skip to the end for the actual recipe. I may or may not update it to be more recent, but it's a Monday and I haven't done a recipe for a while, so here you go.

A conversation I had with a friend:
"I have a great opportunity for you!"
"Really? About what?"
"Your cooking!"
"My... cooking? Or you mean writing? My blog?"
"No, your cooking. [the restaurant across the street from my community theater] is starting a program where they let local chefs into their kitchen for a night for special menus! You could make a menu and open it up to their customers and make it yourself in their kitchen! I gave them your name."
"But... I'm not a chef, I'm a writer. A food writer, but still--"
"But you cook."
"I do but--"
"It'd be a great opportunity to promote your book, you should think about it!"
So, I thought about it.

Not that I ever thought seeing my dishes on someone's paid-for plate would ever be a reality for me, or even something I was remotely interested in. After all, I want to write about food, not make it for other people in the very intimidating restaurant business where as a waitress I was once stiffed a tip for not letting my table purchase alcohol without proper ID. And, remember, just a few years ago I could hardly make toast.

Me, in the kitchen. Running a restaurant kitchen? Hard to picture...

When I began this blog, I was not one to think up a recipe on my own. If you go back far enough--please, don't, the pictures are abhorrent--you'll mostly see either recipes pulled from cookbooks in my personal collection or Google searches, or simply links to outside recipes since I didn't feel right copy and pasting. I was unsure of my abilities in the kitchen, and refused to stray from what was written lest I create something inedible.

Random Cat Picture to break up text! My cat, Finn. Duh.

These days, I'm happy to say, I find myself rarely following a recipe word-for-word. I'll glance at it once or twice, then search for similar recipes to compare cooking times and techniques, and when I have the bare bones of the process down I just go wild. More often than not, I end up with something ranging from absolutely delicious to at least mostly enjoyably edible. Recent posts link back to content I've "adapted," often showing little resemblance to the original content.

Random dog picture to break up the text! It's my dog, Lily!

I look back on these two years of food blogging and am so proud of myself for coming this far. Could I compile a menu of recipes for an actual restaurant? Why not? I'm already conceiving 100 recipes for my cookbook (which is being pitched by my agent RIGHT NOW OMG), I already have dinner parties for friends about once a month. Though my timing isn't the best--appetizers and main course should not come out at the same time--timing is something that I can fix.

I think, to be a truly well rounded food writer, one needs to understand all different angles and aspects of careers in food. I'd love to be a food critic for a day, or be on a farm tending to vegetables and livestock, just to know what those sides of the industry are like. Running a restaurant for a night would surely put me out of my comfort zone, but even if I failed miserably I'd be all the better for it and my writing would improve. This goal I have of being a food writer (or publisher!) as a full time career feels so close, but I know I still have so far to go. Chef and writer are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and perhaps to be one or the other you must appreciate both.


So, I'll think about it. I know I COULD do it, I'm always up for the challenge. The idea is apparently still in the planning stages, so I have time. We'll see if they call.*

*2018 update: they never called. But I'm always up for cooking opportunities! Email me!
And now, back to recipe development. These mussels were on sale for just $1.99 per pound, and though I'd never made mussels before, the deal was too good to pass up! I knew that I loved spicy mussels, and I loved mussels in white wine sauce rather than the heavy tomato sauce they sometimes come in at restaurants, but could not find a recipe that combined the two. So, I made my own. The results were pretty fantastic.

Spicy White Wine Mussels
(Used Ina Garten's Recipe for times and liquid amounts for steaming)

• 1.5 lbs mussels, rinsed and de-bearded
• 1 tbs butter + 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp hot chili oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 handful of fresh parsley, diced
• 2 tsp capers, optional
• salt and pepper, to taste

-In a dutch oven or large saucepan (make sure you have a lid handy), heat the butter and olive oil until combined. Stir in the onion, garlic, pepper flakes, cayenne, and chili oil and heat until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant.

-Add the wine and broth and stir until combined and just barely simmering. Add the mussels and cover immediately. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until mussels have opened and cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and capers. Let sit for two minutes with the cover on. Remove any mussels that have not opened and serve hot with sauce spooned over the top.

Oros has officially launched!

In case you missed my last post, Oros is a new messaging app that instantly connects you to people around the world--allowing you to text anyone, anywhere, about anything! Simply download the app, select your interests, and post your message. Other Oros users will see your message and reply.

For example, y'all know I'm a foodie. I'm also a somewhat broke Millennial. This means that when I'm in a new place, or perhaps searching for a new cuisine, I want to ensure I'm not wasting my funds. But certain review sites' sketchy practices coupled with the fact people don't go out of their way to review unless service was excellent or terrible... there's lots of room for error.


Thats why I love Oros! I can post a question like "where is the best pizza in Los Angeles?" "Is Franklin BBQ worth the line?" "Which airport is going to be the least busy during the holidays?" and get REAL responses from REAL people in REAL time.



And, as a person with a passion for food, I also like to share my educated foodie opinions with anyone who is looking for the best spots in town. It feels good to help someone have a great night out!

Oros is available for both iOS and Android. Take it for a spin, Austin!