June 2, 2012

Union Square Farmer’s Market

I like going to the farmer’s market. I don’t get all of my groceries there. In fact, I seldom buy more than a handful of items. The reason I like going however is mainly because of all the great photo opportunities. Oh yeah, and because oftentimes you can buy unique drinks and cool food stuffs.

Before my journey through the market, I grabbed a cup of joe and a banana nut muffin at the Mud food (or coffee?) truck. The iced coffee was standard, nothing out-of-the-ordinary (is that hyphenated?) but the muffin was pretty tasty. I also really liked this sign. Image

My first stop at the market was the Deep Mountain Maple (http://deepmountainmaple.com/green-market) stand. Aside from maple syrup, they sell “maple candy” and the picture of the one below is coconut flavored. It’s awesome and you should get some. ImageNext I stopped by the Nordic Breads (http://www.nordicbreads.com/) stand where I got a nice piece of old school rye, and later made this for brunch: rye bread, fresh butter, swiss cheese and cucumber. Yum. ImageAnd now for the finale…pictures of flowers. Brunch flowers? ImageImageImageImage

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May 6, 2012

Brunchin’ at Perla’s

If you’ve arrived early, why wouldn’t you munch on fried jalapeno cornbread and sip on a fancy drink? That is exactly what my sister did. I don’t know what this cocktail is called but it looks pretty. It tasted pretty too. Image

Moving on. This weekend’s brunch spot was Perla’s, a seafood and oyster bar on South Congress. The vibe was great, the patio seating was perfect, as was the mist that occasionally served to cool the crowd. The brunch menu selection can be found at http://perlasaustin.com/images/uploads/perlas_menu_brunch.pdf. There are tons of things to snack on, and an array of egg dishes for brunch. 

I ordered the lobster frittata and it was pretty legit. I would add salt or salsa for a little more flavor but the lobster did taste amazing. The main ingredients include egg white, asparagus, tomato, basil, lobster and avocado. How could that not taste good? ImageImage

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Next up was the lobster omelette, which can be seen below. A slight disappointment primarily due to its small size, and $$$ price tag. It was still good but I probably would not order this during my next visit. Ingredients include farm eggs, creme fraiche, caviar and white cheddar with a baby lettuce salad on the side. Image

Lastly, we’ve got the crab florentine. It’s basically an english muffin with lump crab, griddled tomato and lemon spinach, two poached eggs topped off with tabasco hollandaise sauce. 

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The service was good and the ambiance was great too. I noticed that the restaurant boasted a copy of Modernist Cuisine, which retails for about $400-$500. Anyways, I liked this place and am anxious to return at some point. Hope you like the pictures! 

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April 8, 2012

Breakfast at Counter Cafe

So, it was time to try a new place for breakfast yesterday. Decided to go with Counter Cafe on Lamar since I’ve generally heard only good things about the eatery. The website and the menu of the place can be found here: http://www.countercafe.com/. I went with the Counter Crab Cakes. For once the crab cakes did not taste or smell too “fishy.” The sauces, the lemon aioli and the curried peanut sauce, nicely complemented the cakes and the 2 poached eggs. I was swayed into ordered the breakfast potatoes instead of the toast, as they are supposedly the “best in town”. They were a little too greasy, and overall did not add or take away from the main event, the crab cakes and the eggs poached to perfection. ImageImageImageImage

The place is small, and if you get there when it is busy, then you might have to wait a while. In general though, I really liked the vibe of this place. The people were nice and the quality of the food was great.

Below is a photo of the Texas Quail and Eggs. Comes with a homemade biscuit made just for you, jam, potatoes, 2 eggs any style, and of course, the quail. This was also a solid choice, but I would recommend the Counter Crab Cakes if you’re looking for some interesting flavors.

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I did good, huh!

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February 25, 2012

Grilled Duck Egg Breakfast Sandwich

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I recently discovered that you can purchase duck eggs at the store, and that they are actually meant to be consumed. They are exactly like regular eggs in taste but differ in that they are much larger, have a harder shell, and about twice the protein and cholesterol as one egg. The sweetness of the honey and the cranberry sauce pair nicely with the tangy, lemony, minty tabbouleh I made yesterday.

Ingredients:

  1. Bread of choice (I used Honey Whole Wheat)
  2. Duck eggs, available seasonally at Central Market
  3. Cranberry sauce, left over from Thanksgiving
  4. Goat cheese
  5. Tabbouleh
  6. Maple glazed ham
  7. Honey

Process:

  1. Turn on the George Foreman
  2. Spread cheese on one slice and honey and cranberry sauce on the other
  3. Place ham on both pieces of bread
  4. Toss the bread on the grill but do not close the grill
  5. Fry the duck egg
  6. Place all of the ingredients on one slice and lastly add the tabbouleh so that your bread does not get soggy
  7. Close the grill and try to warm everything for a bit so the ingredients melt together nicely

 

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January 28, 2012

French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:

Casserole

  1. 1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread
  2. 8 eggs
  3. 2 cups half-and-half
  4. 1 cup milk (skim is fine)
  5. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  6. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  7. 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  8. Dash salt
  9. Maple syrup
Topping
  1. 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
  2. 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  3. 1 cup honey glazed pecans (or plain is fine too)
  4. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  5. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Process:

Day 1

Casserole

  1. Slice the bread  into 1-inch slices each
  2. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices
  3. In a bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until blended but not too bubbly
  4. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture
  5. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices
  6. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight
Topping
  1. Mix ingredients

Day 2

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Spread topping  over the bread and bake for 40 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden
  3. At this point, maple syrup seems like overkill, rendering it optional
  4. Try to moderate yourself…

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January 25, 2012

Eggs on Pizza

 

Ingredients:

  1. Left over pizza– I happen to use artichoke cheese and spinach pizza
  2. Eggs

Process:

  1. Crack eggs on the pizza.
  2. Bake until you see fit. I prefer it a little runny but that’s just me. The egg white should definitely be white in color though.
  3. Serve!

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October 7, 2011

Omelet or Omelette?

Spelling this word has always been confusing to many of use. According to the browser’s spell check, omelet is correct, yet so many of us still write omelette. Anyways… ever since school started, I’ve been having an omelette every morning. I must say a nice slow, well prepared breakfast does make an otherwise ordinary day better. 

Spinach Ham & Cheese

Ingredients:

  1. Black forest ham (or other meat of choice)
  2. Spinach (or other vegetable)
  3. Goat cheese (or other cheese)
  4. Monterrey Jack
  5. Eggs
  6. Tomato/Salsa
  7. Non-stick spray (butter or olive oil)

Process:

  1. Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaVbpQQrDL0 to master the technique (it might be in part 2 or 3)
  2. Chop the ingredients while you watch the video
  3. Add the ingredients on the eggs
  4. Serve!

I know this seems very basic, but mastering the omelette technique is not easy. I’ve made a total of probably 40 or 50 omelettes and I still make mistakes sometimes. I also really try to mix it up with the ingredients. Two of my favorite secret ingredients definitely include cream cheese and/or goat cheese. They both add such a creamy texture. So lovely. So good.

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