Berry Delicious

I would say that I have more of a savory tooth than a sweet tooth. If I had to choose between fries or a shake, the salty fries would prevail. But, I do love dessert when it is fresh, simple, and a little bit decadent. Enter Giada's Berries with Mascarpone.

I knew I was meant to make (and eat) this dish when I realized we had all but one of the ingredients on hand (we didn't have meringue cookies to crumble on top, but I'm not a huge fan of meringue anyway, so no biggie).

Don't let the humble appearance fool you. The simple, harmonious balance of fresh fruit and luxurious cream makes this a dessert to behold. Perfectly ripe berries + cinnamon-kissed cream = a luscious delight. 

Next time you're in the mood for something berry delicious, give this a try...I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Happy Searching,


p.s. The recipe calls for whipping the cream and then folding it into the mascarpone. I was too impatient for this step and just whipped it all together with a whisk. Still yummy!

Starbucks, You're Still the One

We live in a city that prides itself on supporting local businesses. Bumper stickers, t-shirts, and billboards everywhere display "Keep Austin Weird" as a reminder to choose the unique, independent shops over the cookie-cutter corporate giants to maintain Austin's eclectic feel. As much I as love and support several of Austin's own entrepreneurs, I can't deny my allegiance to a certain java giant...Starbucks.

I am a shameless lover of Starbucks. When we went to Seattle to visit Mama & Papa C, they asked us if there were any sites we didn't want to miss. My must-see? The First Starbucks in Pike's Market. 

Although I don't go everyday (because we would go broke), I support the Starbucks Corporation at least once a week (and usually have gift cards to support my habit...thanks, Mom). I've tasted most of the coffee items on the menu and like to try the newest creations (Dark Cherry Mocha is good but a bit sweet). I adore their breakfast sandwiches (my favorite is the Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon) and their pastries (the Morning Bun is heavenly). 

My standard, though, is simple: a double tall non-fat latte (with half of a Splenda swirled in). It's basic--a regular latte with an extra shot of espresso. After I took my first sip of this Saturday's morning indulgence, I thought to myself,  This is delicious...  

What's your signature Starbucks (or other coffee shop) drink?

Happy Searching,

p.s. My friend Corinne shared some great news...free *$ on April 15th! Check out her blog for details!

Pizza Perfection

Anyone who knows me is aware of my love for pizza. It probably started when I was little and my dad would pick up a Filippi's pizza on his way home from a late night's work. He and my mom would wake my sister and I up for an impromptu pizza party, the four of us giggling over a pizza picnic using their bed as a table. I think it's been my favorite food ever since.

Last night, we made pizza a casa (at home) and it turned out to be pretty delicious. We used some store-bought flatbread instead of making our own dough (which for the amount of time saved is well worth the purchase, although I'm sure homemade dough is delish). We picked up this whole grain naan flatbread that we found in the deli section. The whole grain was more for nutritional value than flavor, but it was still pretty good:

We were inspired by two pizzas: the Parma from Mandola's Market and Tyler Florence's Bacon, Rosemary, Potato Pizza. We made a few adjustments, but both of our versions were spot-on scrumptious. Mandola's was a layer of fresh mozzarella and prosciutto, topped with arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette and shaved parmesan cheese. Tyler's had a mixture of crumbled bacon, rosemary, onion, and thinly-sliced potatoes baked under melty cheese.

Mmmm...I wish we had some leftover!

Happy Searching,

Sparkling Sips

When asked, "What's your favorite sound in the world?", thousands of possible responses begin popping up in my head. Birds chirping in the morning....ocean waves rhythmically lapping onto the beach...a summer breeze gently blowing through the trees. All very wonderful sounds, but the most lovely? I'd have to say it's the pop of a champagne cork.

Why? Because it means a celebration is near. Sparkling bubbles happily drift to the top of the glass, ready to toast a marriage, a promotion, or a Thursday night (why not?). Whenever you hear the sound of a champagne cork popping, good times are about to ensue.

One of my favorite ways to imbibe this effervescent delight is in a Kir Royal (the "r" is silent...it's pronounced "key roy-al"). It's simply champagne with a splash of cassis (black currant liqueur), sort of like a fancy mimosa.

Maybe it's the bubbles or maybe it's the name, but sipping one of these does make you feel a bit like a princess. A deliciously giddy princess (depending on how many you have, of course). I highly recommend raising a glass, especially if you've never tried one. Cheers!

Happy Searching,


p.s. If you make one of these at home, I recommend a dry champagne or sparkling wine since the liqueur is rather sweet.

Just for the Halibut

For as much as I love carbs (pasta, rice, repeat), my husband loves fish even more. He would eat fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if he could. Needless to say, we throw fish into the mix a few times a week if we can. Recently, Ryan found some gorgeous, fresh halibut fillets and a few other fun ingredients to come up with a lovely seafood dinner.

How beautiful is that?!? Here's the rundown...

Ryan rubbed the fillets with olive oil, salt & pepper, then pan-seared them and threw them in the oven to finish cooking. He topped them with a tart and spicy blood-orange salsa. The side dish? Tomatoes stuffed with a mix of crumbled sausage, creamy ricotta, and brown rice...then topped with provolone cheese and baked until gooey.

Am I a lucky girl or what?!? So yummy!

Happy Searching,  

Dessert Envy

In my opinion if we lived in a perfect world, we would all get dessert with every meal. Without worrying about calories. Or fat. Or cholesterol. Unfortunately, my world is imperfect and does not include a daily dessert. If it did, however, Andi's Banana's Foster would be on the menu regularly.

The thought of my friend in her kitchen with a saucepan aflame made me laugh out loud, so I was slightly disappointed to learn that she chose the safe route and skipped the pyrotechnics. After seeing her dessert, though, I don't think she needed any special effects.

She took sliced bananas and sauteed them in butter, brown sugar, and a smidge of rum (...am I forgetting anything, Andi?). After letting the slices carmelize, she swirled them in a deep toffee brown sauce before spooning them over vanilla ice cream. I mean, does anything sound--or look--better?!? 

Honestly, at least two times while writing this post I have looked longingly at our fruit basket for spotted bananas...you know, the ones that usually occupy it and overstay their welcome? How is it that the one time I want to use them, they're not there?

All I know is that if I had some bananas in the house, I'd be making this right now. Delish!

Happy Searching!

Chicken, Veggies & Rice: The Old Standby

Contrary to what previous posts may lead you to believe, we don't have fancy dinners every single night. We both enjoy being in the kitchen (though Ryan has been sporting the chef hat most of the time lately), creating new dishes and checking out interesting recipes. But sometimes we need to just throw something together.

One of our go-to meals is roasted chicken with veggies and steamed rice. It might sound a bit boring, but even our old standby is delicious. Here's what we do:

Chicken: Throw two (or however many) skin-on, bone-in breasts onto a sheet pan (you can use boneless skinless if you really want, but the bone keeps the meat juicy and the skin...oh, the skin is problematic delicious...when it comes out of the oven crispy and golden, calling for a nibble. Mmmm...I digress). Rub with olive oil (a tablespoon or so), squeeze half a lemon over them, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper (really, liberally is the key here--it's amazing what an aggressive toss of S&P will do for plain old chicken). Roast at 400 for about 20 minutes (or until the skin is crispy...mmmmm).

Veggies: After checking our fridge inventory and pulling out whatever hasn't started growing things, the veggies get similar treatment to the chicken. We usually have carrots, some sort of squash, onions, and maybe some cherry tomatoes or asparagus. We cut them up into big, rustic pieces (except for the tomatoes) and then toss them with olive oil. Add some salt and pepper, lemon juice (from the other half of the lemon) and maybe some crushed garlic. Roast at 400 for about 10-15 minutes (this really depends on how "well done" you like your vegetables...I prefer mine to still have some crunch; Ryan prefers them to be a bit more cooked...up to you). Finish with some grated parmesan if you have some.  

Rice: If the other two-thirds of this meal weren't so yummy, I could eat the rice all by itself. I love it. One of our favorites is this Brown Rice Medley from Trader Joe's (which they don't have in Texas so we get it "imported" from our California hook-ups). If we run out of the good stuff, we use some sort of brown rice (not instant, although I'm sure you could if you wanted to save time). 

What really makes the rice, though, is one of our kitchen staples: McCormick's Chicken Base. It's like a boullion paste that you just add to water and--voila!--dull rice to delish! You can get it at CostCo for cheap and we use it all the time. 

So there you have it! The Old Standby...pretty quick, quite satisfying, and one of our favorites.

Happy Searching!