tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-560164266636041502024-03-13T09:01:26.056-07:00the dough ballCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-67406912764855619402011-05-30T14:49:00.000-07:002011-05-30T16:37:17.531-07:00Istanbul, Cappadoccia, BozcaadaGasp. Yes, the blog is still breathing. Barely. I’m sure you thought for the past year, it was coughing and wheezing to its slow death (at the rate I was posting…), but alas, I’ve decided to bring it back for another go round. Since my last post from almost exactly half a year ago, I’ve returned to Austin (again), but I promise I have no plans to wait another six months and move back to Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-84293470413377519682010-11-28T11:25:00.000-08:002010-11-28T15:33:17.042-08:00An Ode to DonostiaIn an effort to recreate San Sebastián while not physically there, I compiled in my head a list of some of the most traditional and some of my favorite pintxos that can be found there. I think it’s important to take advantage of living in Spain while I can; because I see ham legs, hoof and all, everyday when I leave the house, I become a bit jaded when it comes to jamón ibérico. It is highly Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-28186453066995149702010-11-11T03:31:00.000-08:002010-11-28T15:24:46.597-08:00As Martha says....Good things. Simple as that.chocolate con churros in San Sebastianbuñuelos during Lent and homemade hot chocolate with a touch of Frangelicobirthday chocolates sent all the way from Austinbirthday deliciousness from Bubo in Barcelona...with a touch of Pedro XimenezCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-42589314023380641612010-09-28T14:25:00.000-07:002010-09-28T14:51:00.357-07:00Lavender Panna CottaThis recipe is a piece of panna cotta. Super easy, very delicious, and leads to many serving possibilities. I’ve only shown the simplest photos, with a few blackberries thrown on top, but this humble lavender panna cotta was also turned into a multi-component dessert. This started off with a bottom layer of berries that the panna cotta was poured over, then topped with white peaches, white Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-50690297170520878442010-09-27T14:38:00.001-07:002010-10-27T10:36:23.621-07:00Pink Peppercorn TrufflesLooking at this blog (and now restaurant) is what has whipped me back into posting. Whodda thunkit? Pictures of British cuisine inspiring me on the food front? But they are beautiful, mouth-watering photos. I am a bit surprised, because true or not, the English are not known for their brilliant, delectable food (case in point: jellied eels). Or at least they haven't been in the past. Although I Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-76495581791172587812010-06-14T07:50:00.000-07:002010-11-28T15:37:05.252-08:00Sevilla: Round TwoThis is going to be more picture based and less wordy. But I went back to Sevilla in April and actually remembered to take pictures of the food. So here it is. And let me say, compared to Barcelona, it's like going from New York City prices to middle of Mexico prices. Amazing. Oh and my memory's a little fuzzy, as I didn't write down anything I had. So these are mostly educated guesses.And we're Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-25676317797654955092010-04-15T16:24:00.000-07:002010-04-15T18:26:52.816-07:00Chocolate Babka and blogger blehI now remember why I took such a long, unintentional hiatus from blogposting. It's blogger. To put it lightly, I don't love it. After a few months away, I was motivated to post a delicious Thai dish just a couple days ago. As you can probably see if you scroll to the bottom of this post, I did (successfully?) post it. You might also notice that the font size is different than previous posts, Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-35580691225360579372010-04-13T18:21:00.000-07:002010-11-28T15:40:46.644-08:00Kaeng Keao Wan KungAnd I’m back. I never left, but got lazy, fashion week(s) happened, weather in Barcelona has been conducive to sitting around, and doing nothing, wanting to blame the government or something. I still need to write that letter, as today, mid-Spring, was in the 50s I think, but I didn’t want to depress myself by actually confirming it.It has left me a bit of time to cook though, and nice warm and Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-26510271030696509422009-12-30T16:09:00.000-08:002009-12-30T16:47:41.308-08:00Tiramisu CheesecakeOh the endless possibilities that cheesecake provides. Tiramisu cheesecake is just another example. And because it was an experiment and I decided to throw it together kind of last minute, my recipe is a little loose and you might need to change it for your own preferences. Before I made it, I looked at a lot of different recipes online and found many that used the lady fingers crushed up and Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-32559873237204134362009-10-22T08:19:00.000-07:002009-10-22T08:31:30.603-07:00Enchiladas PotosinasFew things are better in life than homemade Mexican food. My parents always tell me that was one of the beauties of living in El Paso back in the late 70s and early 80s, before the city it was across the border from became known as one of the most dangerous places in the world, and back when labour was cheap. People sometimes think Mexican is a bunch of grease and yellow cheese, and while Tex-MexCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-21587444862196943812009-09-25T15:12:00.000-07:002009-09-26T17:54:44.557-07:00Toot Toot, Beep BeepI'm not one to toot my own horn, I mean I try to be modest: "Oh you think that chocolate hazelnut cheesecake really was good? Oh, thanks...well, it was sooo easy..." even if I know the dessert was a dance on the taste buds. But on this one I'm definitely tooting. Maybe because it's kind of a surprise, not in my usual play book. I'm gonna tell you right now, it's banana cake. Those words kind of Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-28209017414413428382009-09-05T11:31:00.000-07:002009-09-05T11:39:24.383-07:00A Little Summer Something...Thought I'd just give you a little something pretty to look at with the promise that more will come soon. This crostini, or good stuff on toast, was sort of thrown together at the last minute, but with some really great ingredients. I pulled whatever we had out of the fridge, and in this case it ended up being ricotta and pecorino romano (love its saltiness), then grilled some asparagus, and Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-62980414867131423072009-07-28T14:09:00.001-07:002009-07-28T15:17:11.905-07:00LondonAlright, it’s been long enough. I guess I owe you something now. Let’s start with part of the reason it’s taken me so long to get back to you. I went on a little trip to Europe (ok, 2 ½ weeks over the sea doesn’t explain months of no word, but it might help) and I went to London. London is a big city, and there’s lots to see and lots to eat, so I’m not sure how much I covered in three days, but Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-17521195656055571992009-04-16T14:36:00.000-07:002009-04-16T15:17:36.502-07:001969: A Great Year, Especially for CookbooksWhen I first came back to Austin, I took a trip down south to Thrift Town. You can probably guess by the name, but it's a second hand shop, not trendy like vintage, but old romance novel and overalls like goodwill. There’s a small book section, and surprisingly, within that, there's a cookbook section. There I discovered a few books that were very old and pretty used, about cooking in different Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-84989384076750252222009-02-12T18:17:00.000-08:002009-02-12T18:21:03.342-08:00Super American CheesecakeIn Spain I would always use ingredients like lemons, rose water, coffee, chocolate, vanilla beans or other ‘natural’ ingredients like that. So it was kind of a relief and a celebration of all things American and processed to make a deliciously rich and unnatural (in a good way) cheesecake. I went straight to the candy aisle, because what isn’t made better with the addition of candy? I site Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-90354836951605998222009-01-20T21:34:00.000-08:002009-01-20T21:45:19.867-08:00Bar MutI’m getting very nostalgic and a bit sad too. I’m writing this from San Francisco (Yay! New city! New tastes and food to discover! New things to post about!) but I haven’t done that yet, as I’ve just recently arrived. What I have done is looked at In Praise of Sardine’s pictures of Barcelona and remembered all the food I left behind. Of course I miss my friends there, but the food. The food. So, Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-67429946922155338722009-01-08T10:12:00.000-08:002010-11-30T10:36:47.340-08:00Pizza PartyI have a little annual Christmas party I like to throw at my house, and I always try and come up with a theme. We’ve done the usual Tacky Sweater party, and then I tried a bitch’n’swap (google it if you’re unfamiliar). I’ve even considered having my friends come dressed as members from the first Christmas, you know, some Wise Women, and a donkey or two. That one has yet to happen. This year I Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-28816948760680848572008-12-22T14:49:00.000-08:002008-12-22T15:02:27.485-08:00ToffifeeEvery year for Christmas we get a box of toffee in the mail. It’s actually sent by someone, it doesn’t just randomly come, don’t worry. In spite of this annual happening, toffee has never meant Christmas for me. I’ve never been too crazy about it either. But let me let you in on a secret: it’s delicious. Really delicious. I mean the two main ingredients are butter and sugar, so although it’s Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-17091032778719042612008-12-07T14:34:00.000-08:002008-12-07T15:58:49.618-08:00New YorkNew York is an obvious and inevitable choice for anyone’s list of favorite cities to eat in. It should have been in mine before Rome or Sevilla or any of those, but proximity from Barcelona gave way to European cities. I’ve been to New York more times than I can count on two hands, probably because my sister lived there for the past five years. But on this most recent trip, I visited some pretty Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-57238051426063499192008-11-17T19:27:00.000-08:002008-11-17T19:32:04.853-08:00Savory TartThis is one of the best savory tarts ever. It’s got goat cheese, mushrooms, leeks, and garlic, which are all ingredients for goodness. This is actually a combination of two tarts I found from epicurious.com because I couldn’t decide between the two and knew I wanted goat cheese and mushrooms. The leeks were actually an afterthought, and the one I have pictured here was made with green onions Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-60232006407834871472008-11-05T14:04:00.000-08:002008-11-05T14:25:49.250-08:00Sicilian Cannoli (is there any other kind?)Ok, it's about time for another recipe. Something happens when you don't have a job. You (or at least I) would think that you'd have a lot more time for other stuff, like posting on your foodblog, but I've found that along with the laziness that not working provides, there's also a loss of motivation. I keep waiting until I start working, figure things out, get back into a routine and start Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-56104575654772494462008-10-13T18:24:00.000-07:002008-10-13T18:42:23.789-07:00TerrabacusThey say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Not always true. I knew what I had when I had Terrabacus, and now it’s gone, and I’m even more sad. Technically, it’s not gone. I’m sure it’s still right there on Muntaner by Diagonal, but for me, far away in Austin, it’s gone. From the outside, I thought it was a wine store/wine bar. This is not completely untrue. It’s got smart, frosted Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-37337346548762337772008-09-20T13:47:00.000-07:002008-09-20T14:09:38.578-07:00UchiOk, so now that I’m back in Austin, I figure I should write about an Austin restaurant. What better way to announce that I’m here? And this restaurant of all restaurants, this one that I’ve been wanting to go to for at least 4 years, this was somewhat my ‘homecoming’ meal. It’s not Mexican or barbeque (we do have a bit of other food down here), and it’s not casual. It’s also not so secret anymoreCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-70951405262005246752008-09-11T14:39:00.000-07:002008-09-11T14:49:49.718-07:00Wedding Shower Cake Good Enough to Be Wedding CakeSo I’m back in Austin now and I will blame the move and the readjustment for the long absence in writing. But now I’m back to it, and it does make me sad that I’ve had the same post at the top of my page for over a month. Part of the readjusting is finding a job, deciding what you’re going to do with yourself now, in a new city. Cooking would be an ideal way for me to go, but it’s not a career Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56016426663604150.post-33130557264003093932008-08-06T13:55:00.000-07:002008-08-06T14:08:49.917-07:00Cochinita PibilFinally it’s summer in Barcelona. The weather threw us for a loop there for a while, raining and cold in mid-June. But now the heat has arrived and isn’t going anywhere. But I am. I’m leaving Barcelona to go back to Austin, which will be no relief from heat, and from what I hear and read, a bit hotter than here. But this post actually has nothing to do with that, it’s just about the inaugural Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705294125276529576noreply@blogger.com1