What's in my fridge?

Addie Broyles was kind enough to spotlight my fridge a couple of weeks ago.

And I'm such a lame food blogger that posting a link on my own blog didn't even occur to me until now.

And yes, I really am obsessed with Hal's Hot Love.

And yes, the whole thing really is one big ad for Shanita's Salsitas.

And yes, you really should get your hands on some of her salsitas. Immediately.*

*If you don't know HOW to get your hands on some, and you live in Austin, and you write a food blog .... I've got a way you can try some, for free, and even walk away with a couple of jars. Leave a comment with your blog link and I'll send you details about a launch party on July 31st!

Salmon + asparagus + grill

I go back and forth on salmon and asparagus. Is it a perfect pairing, or a cliche?

Last night's dinner has me leaning toward the former.

We just got back from a long weekend out of town to see Mike's family in Tucson, and I'd encouraged the cat sitter to clear out the veggie drawer and the fruit bowl to share with her family. So when we got back into town, our fridge was a mess of condiments, nearly expired milk, cheeses and little else.

I snuck out of work a lil' early to hit my favorite grocery store, on a mission for healthy, detoxifying foods. (We've both put on a bit of weight since the wedding, and we are thankfully both on the same page about knocking the pounds off, focusing on smaller portions while still making good food.)

At the checkout line, I have this habit of looking down at my groceries and trying to determine how a stranger would judge me if they were to pick through my items. I decided they'd be impressed at the colorful array of fruits and veggies -- and they'd wonder why I'm so overweight if I'm shopping like that.

I took the My Fit Foods approach to my shopping -- buying my proteins in reasonable, pre-cut portions (4-5 oz for me, 5-6 oz for him) and made sure we not only had fruits and vegetables on hand, but a precious few starchy treats (Magic Pop! and whole grain English muffins).

I admit it. Last night's meal would have been just as good without the homemade lemon aioli, which we made for a potluck tonight but decided to sample early.

Still, I went to bed with a slightly grumbly stomach after a salad lunch, an aqua fitness class and this healthy, no-carbs dinner. The scale this morning didn't disappoint.


Salmon, slathered in stone ground mustard. Asparagus with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Both cooked on the grill. Paired with the last bits of roasted tomatoes purchased during a big community garden tomato sale.

House Pizzeria

I'd been craving House Pizzeria for weeks.

I resisted temptation last month, when we drove right past House but decided to go home and make our own pizza with the veggies we had on hand. But ever since I wrote about their potato and goat cheese pizza in my post for Dalia and Hussein's visit, I couldn't get House off my mind.

After a quick stop at a fundraiser and a happy hour for our friend Monica at Opa! Coffee & Wine Bar, Mike and I headed over to House.

The "Noble" was one of the House house specials that evening. When I saw what was on it -- pork belly, goat cheese, arugula and dates -- I decided the goat cheese and potato would have to wait.

The "Noble" was as good as I expected. Sweet and savory came together beautifully on a pizza dough that somehow manages to be chewy and crispy at the same time. I *love* the House crust! Even the burnt bits.

Where I Eat (Or: Recommendations for our Visiting Friends)

My childhood friend Dalia and her honey Hussein are coming to town for 4th of July weekend, and when Hussein asked me to send him a list of my favorite restaurants, I told him I’d write up a post for their trip instead of sending him a numbered list.

My picks have to be stellar for many reasons. First off, Hussein is a chef. In fact, he just got promoted to head chef at an incredible restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona called Zinc Bistro. The upscale, French-inspired bistro was featured on the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” for their French onion soup, and I was lucky enough to try it last year -– along with several other mouth-watering Zinc menu items –- and can report back that it is indeed one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, too. I never did a blog post on Zinc because the restaurant is dimly lit and my pictures were total crap. But I digress.

Hu-Hu, as he is affectionately known, specifically asked me for my top 5 breakfast, lunch and dinner spots.

I think I’ve nailed them down – with a couple of happy hour spots and the like thrown in good measure -- but I’d appreciate any additional comments in the comments section.

I’m secretly – okay, openly and loudly – hoping these two will eventually pack it up and move to Austin. Hu-Hu is a huge Longhorn fan despite never having actually lived in Texas, and Dalia and I grew up together, five hours’ south of here, so I continue to insist she needs to move back closer to home.

Hussein and Dalia are aware that Austin has a great food scene, but Hussein hasn’t spent much time here. So we’ve got to show him just how much Austin has to offer. I’m thinking these suggestions will help:

Breakfast/Brunch

Counter Café/24 Diner. There are so many reasons to go to Counter Café – or 24 Diner just a few doors down when the wait’s too long at the teeny, tiny counter that once housed my friend Reid’s unforgettable, irreplaceable slider joint. Counter Café has won best burger accolades -- #2 in the state, says Texas Monthly. -- but for breakfast, their ginormous, fluffy blueberry pancake won the hearts of my mom and my grandmother (and me!) on a recent visit. And you’ve never had anything like their pimento cheese sandwich. Next door at 24 Diner, I love their budget-friendly breakfast scramble. It’s a smaller portion of their regular breakfast scramble (but still plenty of food!). With a cup of coffee and nice tip, it’s a great under-$10 breakfast. Others go to 24 Diner for righteous burgers – rightly so, as they rival their award-winning neighbor – and for their chicken and waffles.

Frisco’s. Home to the best biscuits, sausage and gravy this side of the Mississippi. Or at least in Austin. Also, the original owner, Harry Akin, was the first on the Austin restaurant scene to hire black staff and integrate Frisco’s.

Curra’s. Oaxacan coffee is the best mug in south Austin. Great breakfast tacos and chilaquiles. Everything about this place screams "south Austin" - in a good way.

Stubb’s Gospel brunch. Okay, this isn’t the best brunch food in town, but it’s damn tasty for a buffet. They have big silver trays filled with bottomless crispy bacon and the creamiest grits you can find in Austin. And then there’s the LIVE GOSPEL CHOIR to which you can shake your groove thing after you’ve had seven slices of bacon. Unfortunately, Stubb’s ‘indoor’ seating is not all too well ventilated to begin with, but nearing noon in early July it just might not be worth it. Sad face.

Cuban Sandwich Café. The best café con leche in town. Cuban breakfast plate for $5.50 includes eggs, ham or bacon, fries and baguette made in-house. Breakfast tacos and pastries abound. (Cream cheese and guava croissant is my favorite, but Mike likes to mix it up and try something new with each visit.) They’ll be featured on The Food Network later this summer. The owner, Enrique, is a Cuban-born former resident of Miami who keeps his place clean and his prices low. Oh, and it’s in my ‘hood!

Lunch

Franklin Barbecue. This should be on the breakfast list, because you have to get to Franklin early if you want to eat there. But don’t take my word for it. See what Hitler has to say. The bride & groom at the best Austin wedding of 2011 (after my own, of course) were kind enough to feed us all Franklin’s. I am still grateful.

Torchy’s. Sure, there are far more authentic tacos to be had in this town. But my pals are coming from Arizona and Dalia is from south Texas. These people know authentic tacos, but they’ve never had a Brushfire. If they decide they want authentic, our neighborhood strip mall tacos will more than suffice.

Frank. Fancy hot dogs. Fancy bloody marys. Fancy coffee. Yes, coffee. They have a couple of talented baristas who will serve you some of the best lattes and cortaditos in town. (Oh, and Dalia doesn’t eat pork, but not to fret – most of their dogs are 100% beef and there’s a veggie dog on the menu as well.) I’m looking forward to trying their corn cup -- grilled corn served off the cob with chili mayonesa, lime juice, cilantro and cotija cheese. I used to make this all the time with Valentina hot sauce.

Blue Dahlia/Haddington’s/Foodheads three-way. My friend Dalia will appreciate the name of the first recommendation, but all of these picks get points for Austin-y ambience and fresh, fun twists on regular ol’ sandwiches. I’d probably choose Blue Dahlia over Haddington’s and Foodheads for the pretty factor. The place is just freaking adorable. But I love the patio most, and the patio at Blue Dahlia and outdoor seating at Foodheads will likely be too hot to handle come 4th of July weekend. So I gotta go with Haddington’s. My gourmet grilled cheese with sundried tomatoes was good enough to try re-creating at home, but through most of my meal, I was eyeing my sister-in-law’s fish and chips. I’m going back for those.

Koriente: Dalia and Hu-Hu are health-conscious, so I’m trying to balance things out a bit with this suggestion. Koriente is awesome for about a million reasons. Their sweet potato noodles and mixmix bibimbop are reasons #2 and #3. But my #1 reason for loving this family-run restaurant is this message painted at the back entrance to this downtown gem.

Happy Hour

Fino. Sangrias, bee stings, fried anchovy olives, blistered Padron peppers with sea salt, Mediterranean-inspired patio and menu. I got to attend a food blogger happy hour there long before I had my own blog. I went in Jodi's place (fortunately for me, she had to work late and offered me her spot in exchange for this post). Fino doubles as a favorite Happy Hour and favorite brunch pick, in my book.

Contigo. I haven’t blogged about this one yet, despite two visits, but you can trust Jodi. I’ve sampled many of their menu items since we’ve gone with a group that is willing to share. Nothing has disappointed, but the fried potatoes & pigs ears and ox tongue slider are OMG-musts. It’s going to be hot as balls July 4th weekend, and while the patio is seriously cool – the weather may not be. Dalia is even more heat intolerant than I am. Contigo may have to wait for a future visit.

Dinner

Uchiko. Just go there. Trust us. And by “us,” I mean every Austinite who has been there.

Foreign & Domestic. Since Uchiko is a little out of our budget these days – saving for late honeymoon in Argentina! – we will hopefully cement our plans for dinner at this Hyde Park spot on their first night in town. My recent hanger steak with fried orzo was memorable, and I wanted to swim in my friend David’s bowl of homemade pasta – but the crispy lamb ribs dusted with sumac and za’atar? If the Food Network asks, I’d say it’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate. On this next visit, I’m getting my own plate of ribs.* Not sharing. Nope. I don’t care if you drove here from Arizona and this is your first Austin experience, guys. Get your own ribs. Love you. Mean it. (Side note: The owner of F&D caught some flak earlier this year for an interview with Eater, and I personally think he came across a bit jerky. I'm not alone. I mean, the guy insulted Thomas Keller (not to mention every brand of Austinite to be found south of the river) -- and my friends know I publicly stalk Thomas Keller. I have dedicated evenings to him. Still, as long as Ned Elliot hasn't murdered anyone, I'm going to continue to support his endeavor with many future purchases of crispy lamb ribs.)

Barley Swine/Odd Duck + Gordough’s. Barley Swine is the air-conditioned, grown-up iteration of the Odd Duck Farm to Trailer concept that knocked my socks off a couple of years ago with its grilled duck wings and pork belly sliders. Even the asparagus was elevated to levels I’ve yet to achieve in my kitchen. So given that we’re all on budgets, I’d suggest Odd Duck for a taste of Barley Swine. And I’d suggest Odd Duck because it’s next to Gordough’s. Gordough’s is a ridiculous, divine, indulgent, do-NOT-mention-Weight-Watcher-points star of the Austin trailer food scene. I’ve heard too many people say too many things about how it’s just too much. Too ridiculous, too divine, too indulgent. “They’re just so big!” “Ugh, I can’t eat one of those things. So sweet!” And to them I say, get the hell over yourself and take a few friends. Get a coupla donuts and split them up. No one’s forcing the whole thing down your throat. Now, if you’re on a diet (as I should be) or you just don’t like donuts (get off my blog NOW), I get it. But if you like donuts and if you like sharing with your friends, give this place a try, enjoy every bite and don’t beat yourself up over it, for crying out loud.

Asia Café. This isn’t New York City, and our version of Chintatown is nothing to write home about if you just moved here from New York (or, say, China). But we’ve got some solid options for Asian fare in our town – and Mike and I (and many of our pals) are keen on the mapo tofu, fried rice, noodles, salt and pepper shrimp, water spinach, baby bok choy and various other offerings at Asia Café. (To be fair, Asia Café is not exactly in our town. It’s a twenty-minute drive from our house. Worth the carbon footprint.)

House/Homeslice/Little Deli. I realize I’m cheating with these multiple picks, but the fact is, there are so many good options within any given category. And for me, pizza deserves not only its own category but its own post. This will have to do for now. For me, each of these picks makes the list because they offer both respectable, delectable crusts and fresh inventive toppings. (Note: Eastside Pies wins the Most Inventive, but they are almost exclusively a delivery pizza place.) House and Homeslice are probably better choices for Austin newcomers; Little Deli is a family-friendly neighborhood joint, and I’d confidently recommend it to locals with children. (If you aren't sure what to order, the House goat cheese and potato pizza was the bomb! A minor complaint, as evidence in this picture not even taken by me is that their crust shows up with a few burnt spots most of the time. For some, however, this is a good thng.)

Midnight snack

Chi’Lantro. Everyone will tell you to hit up Kerbey Lane or Magnolia (blech and blech) while you’re in Austin for late-night grub. Thankfully, 24 Diner (see above) is there for those of us who have been here too long to be impressed with mediocre food and bad service. There are others, too, but when you just want a little snack go find the Chi’Lantro truck and get yourself some Sriracha-soaked kimchi fries. I’ve yet to have these fries at the trailer, but my kimchi-fry obsessed friend Johnny Rollerfeet had more than a half-dozen varieties available for us at his birthday gathering recently, and let’s just say you don’t have to be hungry to enjoy the hell out of these smothered papas. You can find ‘em downtown, super duper late – 3AM? I haven’t seen 3AM in a decade! – and I can’t think of anything better for soaking up booze.

Sweet treats

Cake & Spoon. Austin’s downtown farmer’s market holds many treats – hello, Bola breakfast pizza and Dai Due biscuits and sausage! – but for someone who doesn’t live here and can’t take the goods home, I recommend picking up a key lime or chocolate hazelnut tart from the Cake & Spoon folks. They did our wedding groom’s tarts in lieu of a groom’s cake. I can’t say enough about these tarts, from the flavorful fillings to the thick, crumbly crusts. So much goodness in such a little package. Cupcakes are jealous.

*How much for one rib?

Meat

Memorial Day weekend in my south Texas hometown. Dinner for 11 - with leftovers galore! - on my dad's awesome Argentinian grill.


(See, I told you it hasn't been all carbs.)

Carbalicious

My diet is a bit more balanced than this blog would indicate, I assure you, but the only pictures I've managed to snap lately have been home-cooked and carb-heavy.

Last week, we found ourselves with a huge bunch of water spinach from the Asian grocery store, and rather than do the usual saute, Mike suggested a pesto with sunflower seeds (the only nut we had at home besides almonds) and a little basil from our herb garden.

I loved using our spinach that way, even though it wasn't the best pesto I've ever had.

(And, no, those aren't the largest sunflower seeds on Earth; we used mini farfalle pasta.)

The next day, we had a bunch of pesto left that I couldn't let go to waste, but I didn't want the same dish twice. (I have a problem with this. I'll gladly eat dinner leftovers for lunch, but I don't like to eat the same dinner twice when it's so easy to 'repurpose' the same foods.) So, what to do with that pesto?

I was reading "Blood, Bones & Butter" for one of my book clubs, and I must have seen the word ravioli among the pages, because I stopped for ricotta on the way home from work and asked Mike to make pasta dough. Ta-da! Spinach-ricotta ravioli.

And last night, after wrapping up an Austin weekend for the books -- checking out a new(ish) spinoff of our favorite Chinese restaurant, a movie we could both agree on, a new water sport, my first bike ride in a decade, a Saturday afternoon BBQ, dim sum brunch on Sunday with friends, a return to a new neighborhood spot with more friends, and a trip to Barton Springs for a book club gathering -- I was craving carbs. Again. Specifically, I was craving pizza. (Even though I didn't swim, my appetite grew exponentially in two short hours at Barton Springs.)

We were dropping off friends who'd joined us at the Springs and who live dangerously close to House Pizzeria. House is definitely in my Top 3 for Austin pizza. We were tempted, but Mike pointed out we had plenty of veggies at home and I knew we'd be able to find an easy, no-rise dough recipe on the interwebs. (My dad's crust is my latest go-to, but we were hungry and just didn't have the patience to wait on rising dough.)

Motivated by hunger (and happy to be saving the $20 while using up some of the veggies in our fridge), we turned out a roasted eggplant and zucchini pizza on thin crust in under an hour. He sauteed, I kneaded. It was a really good call.


I'm planning to break this carb kick with Hebrew National dogs (Saturday BBQ leftovers) and asparagrus on the grill tonight, a fajita potluck tomorrow and short ribs with our lovely friends (and conveniently close neighbors) on Thursday.

And then there will be Friday.

Friday, we have reservations for Austin's only five-star restaurant. It's the one-year anniversary of the day Mike proposed and the eve of my 38th birthday.

If I could only schedule my workouts the way I schedule meals.

Dutch baby

Ever since I tore into my first Dutch baby at a north Austin strip mall eatery, it soared to the top of my Favorite Brunch Foods Of All Time list. That was a few months ago, when Mike and I were half-moved into our new home and decided to take a break amid the hubbub and treat ourselves to a fuel-filled breakfast.

We haven't made it back to the Original Pancake House -- and now we might not have to.

Our first attempt at a homemade Dutch baby was surprisingly delectable, and we didn't even use whole milk! (Side note: Are there many childless adults out there who keep a regular supply of whole milk in their fridge?)

Mike did all of the work on this one, but I still wanted to capture this steering wheel of a pancake in all its glory. The final product, once it's puffed in the oven and then collapses on itself within moments of coming out, is delicious on its own but most popularly paired with a healthy squirt of fresh lemon juice and sprinkling of confectioner's sugar.

Oh, baby, was it good.