Sriracha Vodka

I think flavored vodka has gone too far!  UV Vodka has introduced Sriracha vodka (they also have other crazy vodkas like salty watermelon, candy bar and sweet green tea).  On their website, they suggest using it in Bloody Mary's or drinking it on the rocks.  Here's the LA Times article if you want to read more.

Would you try it?  I'd taste it but would much rather use a good regular vodka and real sriracha sauce.

Recipe: Spiced-Ham-and-Cheese Toasts

We made these Spiced-Ham-and-Cheese Toasts from Food and Wine Magazine (Dec 2013, p. 140) along with the Cream of Leek and Potato Soup.  Nice soup and sandwich dinner on a cold winter day.

I tweaked this recipe a bit, and it still turned out delicious.  Here's what I did:

• Sauteed the onions in butter
• Mixed dried sage, cloves, cayenne, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced scallions, Dijon mustard and apple cider together in a bowl.  = the spread
• Took sliced bread and put the spread on it.  Topped it with the sauteed onions.  And then broiled it until the spread was just bubbling.
• Topped it with smoked ham and served.

Perhaps next time I should try making it per the recipe -- as a pate.  I can see this as being a nice hors d'oeuvres for a party.

Recipe: Cream of Leek and Potato Soup

Cream of Leek and Potato Soup!  We'd been talking about making a leek & potato soup, and then I saw this recipe in Food and Wine Magazine (Dec 2013, p.142).  SO EASY to make especially with our new Vitamix!  And, I'd say that the soup is moderately healthy.  I mean, it's leeks, onions, potatoes, chives, water, salt & pepper -- and just a little butter, vermouth, white wine, creme fraiche or sour cream.

This recipe makes 10 cups (for a party), so you may want to adjust ingredient proportions and make half a batch.

2013 Paris Food Journal

This is a food journal to remind us of the wonderful meals we had in Paris.
I'm missing it a lot as I type this.

Day 0

• Just showing you what you get when you're on American Airlines from Dallas to Paris.

It's pasta

Day 1

• Lovely and sumptuous welcome macarons in our hotel room
• Snack:  crepe noix coco (coconut nutella crepe)
• Dinner at Cafe Vavin
• salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onions, mushrooms, diced potatoes, foie gras on toast (so delicious!!!)
• beef stew (it was a bit salty) and cornichons
• drinks:  petit chablis, Heineken

Day 2

• Breakfast at Julien Boulangerie:  2 cafe au laits, pain au chocolate, another chocolate pastry
• Lunch at Galeries Lafayette
• Caeser salad: chicken, green beans, tomato, boiled egg, parsley
• lasagna and salad
• Snack at Galeries Lafayette:  Starbucks latte
• Snack at Le Marquis de Lauderee:  3 macarons (dark chocolate, cassis, raspberry)
• Bought snack at the Champs-Elysees Christmas Market for later: chocolate covered marshmallows (one was blueberry flavored!)
• Dinner at Chez Clement:  
• bacon-wrapped pollock steak w/mashed potatoes
• sausage, steak and chicken w/mashed potatoes
• 2 chocolate profiteroles
• chocolate tart topped with pears
• 1/2 carafe of wine
• 2 cafe au laits

Day 3

• Breakfast in our room:  Starbucks lattes and bananas from the "bio" (organic) grocery store
• Lunch at the Pompidou museum cafe:  ham & cheese baguette, sweet & spicy crisps
• Snack:  $9 (each!) caramel eclairs at L'Eclair de Genie
• Dinner at Le Royal:  
• cassoulet
• steak au poivre with frites
• 1/2 carafe of Sancerre

Day 4 (Thanksgiving Day)

• Breakfast at cafe around the corner:  2 cafe au laits, long Nutella pastry, large apricot & cream pastry
• Snack:  2 macarons from Dalloyau (grapefruit w/sesame seeds; Cognac);  cheese crepes
• Coffee break at Fauchon
• Pre-dinner:  wine at Verjus a Vin
• Thanksgiving Dinner at Kunitoraya on 1 Rue Villedo 75001
• udon with duck
• udon with beef

Day 5

• Breakfast at Julien Boulangerie:  spinach & salmon quiche, 2 coffees
• Snack in the St. Michel district:  crepe with Nutella, banana and Grand Marnier
• Snack in Montmatre at Starbucks: espresso
• Lunch in Montmatre:  crepe with cheese, mushrooms and egg
• Dinner in our room:  baguette, organic ham, petit Brie, Italian grapes, red wine, macarons (chocolat, citron, framboise)

Day 6

• Breakfast at cafe around the corner:  grilled apple pastry, cafe au lait, espresso
• Lunch:  picked up a sandwich around the corner to take on the train to Poissy
• Snack/Dinner at Angelina:  Champagne, dark hot chocolate, white hot chocolate, a millefuille pastry, a pastry that they recommended since they ran out of the one I wanted

Day 7

• Breakfast at Starbucks (everything else was closed on Sunday):  espresso, latte, chocolate chip muffin, pancakes
• Lunch in St. Michel district:  ham & cheese crepe; egg, cheese and doner kebab chicken crepe
• Snack at Starbucks:  latte, orange juice
• Dinner at Chez Clement near our hotel:  beet root salad, steak & frites, duck breast & frites, profiteroles

Day 8

• Breakfast at cafe around the corner:  amazing pear almond tart; disappointing raisin roll; espresso

Airplane

• Airplane food
• My last macarons that I bought from the Fauchon boutique in the airport

Recipe: Three-Mushroom-and-Quinoa Salad

I've made farro before, but this was my first time making quinoa.  We made the Three-Mushroom-and-Quinoa Salad from Food and Wine Magazine (Dec 2013, p. 240).  I'm not a fan of this recipe.  It was just blah. . . not flavorful.  Perhaps, it was because we didn't include the pine nuts, but I highly doubt that.

One thing I did learn from making this recipe is that 3 cups of quinoa (which is what the recipe calls for) can feed an army.  For 2 people, we should have made 1/2 a cup, and I think we'd still have leftovers.

If anyone has a great quinoa recipe I should try, please comment below!