Winter? Christmas?

It doesn't feel like winter and it doesn't feel like Christmas. I am not not in a festive mood, but I am not really feeling the holiday spirit either. Not one little bit. I didn't put a tree up or decorate any. I didn't bake any cookies or send any Christmas cards. The extent of my participation this season has been watching Christmas Vacation on Netflix and wearing my peppermint ring to work twice last week. Ha! Speaking of work...it has kicked my ass repeatedly this past week and it isn't over yet.

 

I spent today trying to get some shopping done along with chores and errands. In an attempt to force some cheer upon myself I thought I would drive down St. Charles a piece to admire the Christmas lights on my way home. In the past there has been a house with huge trees in the yard that have their branches and trunks wrapped entirely in white lights. I recall it being a very extraordinary site and was looking forward to getting a glimpse this evening. Of course it was my luck that the beauty I remember was not on display. Sigh. I did enjoy the other houses that were lit up though.

 

I cannot wait to be home and relax with family and friends. I hope that my toughest decision to make while in Virginia is which pet to love on more! My goal is to make every effort to welcome 2014 recharged and refocused because God knows I barely know my own name right now.

Dreary Weekend

This past weekend was kind of a dreary, dull one unfortunately. The weather was overcast, rainy, foggy, and temperatures teetered annoyingly between warm and cold. Disregarding the nastiness outside, I managed to have a nice, albeit, low key couple of days.

 

Friday night Sara, Zack and I dined on some yummy Ancora pizza before making our way to Cure for some spirits and socializing. 'Twas a lovely time as always.

 

Sazerac at Cure | Brisket tacos from Taceaux Loceaux | The latest McMain banner for the Saints v. Panthers game

 

 

Saturday was spent being lazy! I didn't manage to pull myself out of bed until an appalling 2:00pm then chose to lie around reading for the next few hours. Later than evening Brie, Andrew and I made a grocery store trip to grab brownie-making ingredients then went to Brie's place to bake. After AV had finished up his last shift at Daisy we met up at his house so that he could continue packing while we were able spend some time with our world-traveler. In between his last minute packing efforts we ventured out to Taceaux Loceaux for some good ol' fashioned taco truck yumminess!

 

The next morning I drove the fearless adventurer to the airport before heading to work to get some things done. That night the Saints played the Panthers, both of whom were tied 9-3 for the season. Luckily for New Orleanians the Saints pulled ahead and now have a 10-3 record!

Dallas Buyers Club

On Saturday Zack and I went to see Dallas Buyers Club. This shoe-in Oscar nominee was filmed here in New Orleans and received a lot of press due to Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto's gauntly appearances. Their commitment to their rolls surely cannot be questioned. It was funny to recognize the inside of F&M's in one scene!

 

 

While I liked the film and don't really have any negative criticism to give, Zack and I both left the theater with nothing much to say about it. It was a solid movie, fine performances all the way around (I feel like Jared Leto may get a Best Supporting Actor nod) and had the added touch of being based on a true story, but I can't help but compare it to 2008's Milk, even though they are movies about entirely different things.

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like... Summer?

The weather in New Orleans can be such a roller coaster! The week of Thanksgiving it was socks-at-night, heater-on temperatures and now this week has been flip-flops and AC weather! It hit 80 here today?! How am I supposed to be in the holiday spirit when it feels like beach time outside? I looked at the miniature Christmas trees at Whole Foods this evening but I couldn't bring myself to buy one, it doesn't feel right quite yet. I'm really hoping the chill returns soon!

Another Flat Tire

I'm not sure what it is with my front driver's side tire going flat (it has happened once before) but it is obnoxious! My tire pressure light came on when I was leaving work the other day so I hopped out and did a quick glance at all four tires. I didn't see anything suspicious so I assumed that it was the cold weather change setting the gauge off--as it has done in the past. The next morning when I walked out of the house I was greeted by a FLAT tire.

 

 

A co-worker has AAA that she generously called for me and within ten minutes of showing up the flat was off and the spare was installed. We couldn't find anything stuck in the tire so I am unsure what caused this nonsense. I can't imagine the immaculately smooth, flat streets of New Orleans had anything to do with this...

Thanksgiving

How does that old saying go? "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". Well, I am going to apply that to my Thanksgiving regarding family and friends. Of course I would have preferred to be with family in Virginia, however, that was not in the cards for me this year so I spent my day with friends and their family!

Mom sent me this picture of the gang at the cabin :)

Along with the fact that I was not with family for the holiday, I woke up Thursday morning feeling like crud. I knew it was coming, but none-the-less, no one likes being sick. My self diagnosis is a sinus infection so I have been treating it with nasal spray, hot tea, steamy showers, and a surplus of vitamins.

Despite my ENT issues, I headed over to Sara's house early to help out in any way that I could with getting dinner prepared. Zack, as well as the rest of Sara's family showed up in the early afternoon. It was my first time meeting most of the Akey clan and all I do is smile reflecting on the humorous bunch! They were a hoot!

My honey, bourbon apple pie... it was an adventure to make but turned out decent. If I try this one again I think I will tweak a few measurements.

It was very nice of Sara to open up her home to Zack and me on this family-centric holiday and include us in their shenanigans! I am thankful for friends that feel like family when blood family isn't close by!

PoBoy Festival Take 4

Last Sunday was the 7th annual Poboy Festival and my 4th year partaking in this fun day! This year was a very chilly one! Despite the windy weather the crowds were out in full force, devouring, dare I guess, thousands of loaves of Leidenheimer French bread stuffed with various goodies!

 

I did my part by savoring the fried lobster genius of GW Fins along with a pile of curly fries covered in pulled pork and cheese by Frencheeze Food Truck.

 

 

Andrew's buddy offered to take a picture for us, however, Brie and I have an abundance of experience with the cell phone selfie...obviously!

The Best Man Holiday

It has been a while since I have indulged in a good ol' cinematic adventure, so Friday night, after a looooong week at work, Sara and I headed to the movies to relax. Good thing we got there early because in it's second week in theaters, we did not expect The Best Man Holiday to be a PACKED viewing! Not that it bothered us any, but we were definitely two of maybe a dozen white people in the entire theater! LOL!

 

This was a sequel to a movie that came out in 1999 but neither of us have seen the original. Regardless the movie was still fun. We laughed. We cried. We were surprised at how much we cried! Overall it was very enjoyable :) I would see it again. They certainly set it up for a third movie to be released later!

China Dirt

My hump day started with a little Hanson Christmas sing-a-long on my drive to work where I was swiftly greeted by a tractor trailer driver dropping off a shipping container full of packaging. A little over a month ago we received our first container from this order filled with pretty macaron and chocolate boxes. It took over half a dozen of us working outside on a sunny day to unload and organize everything but we got it done. Unfortunately, I had not given much thought to the amount of manual labor this task would require and thus dressed inappropriately for the day: jeans, t-shirt and Danskos. Learning from the first large shipment of the season, I went for comfy clothes this go-round: gym pants, t-shirt, tennis shoes. Much better. Regardless of what one wears to unload these monstrosities, touching that much cardboard that was packed in a huge metal box, shipped across the Pacific Ocean, then transported via rail three quarters of the way across the country guarantees that you'll be covered in filth by the end of the day. I affectionately refer to this filth as "China dirt". Hands, arms, face, clothes, shoes, everything is covered in China dirt by the time you make it to the back of the container. Delivery days don't happen often, about two to three times a year, but when they do they are certainly not glamorous days... not at all!

Teaser

Earlier this week the temperatures dipped down into the 30s! Upper 30s at night but 30s none-the-less. It was nice... I put my heated mattress pad on my bed, turned that sucker on and climbed under three big blankets. I was as snug as a bug in a rug I tell you! "Winter" had begun. Ha! Today it is threatening to reach 80. Weirdest weather ever. 

Roommate Sarah's Wedding

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of flying home to Virginia for Roommate Sarah & Lane's wedding!

 

I met Sarah my senior year of college in 2008. She and Lane began dating later that summer. She and I moved into an apartment together after graduation, enjoying our time in the Grandin area while figuring out the "real" world. After two years of being roommates, I moved to New Orleans, while Sarah embarked upon grad school in NYC. Lane joined her in the Big Apple where they lived together until settling back into Roanoke once Sarah had graduated.

 

The Bride & Groom | Bouquet

 

 Aryn, Me, Sarah, Lane, Sarah, Holly, and Ruth (Roanoke girls + Groom)

 

After the ceremony and reception we gathered at a restaurant/bar in downtown Roanoke to continue socializing. It was so nice to see a bunch of gals I went to college with and catch up with everyone. We're all scattered across the country these days: Virginia, New York, California, New Orleans... hard to believe we graduated over five years ago!!

Treats

October has been éclair month at Sucre as mentioned before but until the other night I had only tried one flavor. A Salted Caramel treat got messed up at the kitchen a few weeks back so I was able to sample that one, however, I wanted to make sure I tried a few others before they went away! I swung by the store and picked up a half dozen to be shared with the roomies.

 

Clockwise from the top: S'mores, Raspberry Pistachio, Super Chocolate, General Honore, Apple Pie a la Mode, and the Tabitha.

S'mores = chocolate and graham cream center, topped with roasted marshmallows, and shards of graham cracker croustillant

Raspberry Pistachio = raspberry marmalade covered with pistachio mousse and sliced fresh raspberries

Super Chocolate = chocolate eclair shell filled with chocolate cream covered in a dark chocolate glaze

General Honore = puff pastry with a Crème Diplomat topped with three caramel crusted profiteroles in traditional Mardi Gras colors

Apple Pie a la Mode = spiced cream with roasted Granny Smith apples topped with Chantilly cream

Tabitha = Paris tea infused cream with blackberry marmalade

 

They were all quite tasty but I would say the Apple Pie won my award for the Best Éclair! There are still a few days left before the fall menu rolls out, perhaps I will squeeze a few more flavors in :)

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Ghostbusters!

I  think that I watch a lot of movies and I feel like I view a wide variety of genres, but apparently I have missed out on an entire decade (the 80's) of "great cinema".

I had never seen Ghostbusters before the other night when I went to the Prytania to see it with Andy and Zack. Sure I know it exists, sure I know the song, but, nope, I had never seen this Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver classic.  

It was funny. It was entertaining. Rick Moranis' character was my favorite. Do I need to watch it again? No, not really. Maybe once more, but then I'm good. Watching on the big screen was nice though.

Blues & BBQ

Last Sunday was the Saints bye week so to pass the time without football, Brie, AV, Andrew, Billy, Evan and I went to the Blues & BBQ Festival downtown. It was a gorgeous day out; sunny but not too hot!

 

Boudin Balls & Grits with BBQ

We took in the good food and the good music before heading back uptown for a little Creole Creamery.

Challah-Day Baking Class

On Saturday afternoon I took part in another bread making class at Gracious Bakery. The focus was on sweet doughs and we made Challah, cinnamon rolls, brioche, and Babka. I am still no-pro by a long stretch, but I find the classes fun none-the-less!

 

Sara trying her hand(s) at shaping brioche balls. She was pretty good!

 

Chris, a baker at Gracious, showing us how to do the 6 piece braided Challah. It is way more complicated than a regular braid!

 

6 piece braided piece and Challah roll with pumpkin seeds after they had proofed. | Finished regular braid Challah loaves.

 

 Proofed chocolate swirled Babka

Cinnamon rolls with pecans and raisins | Savannah, another baker at Gracious, putting an egg wash on the brioche rolls | Baked brioche with brownie pieces inside, covered in a chocolate glaze that was then baked again to harden up.

 

 The finished, glazed cinnamon rolls | Savory brioche rolls with coppa, ricotta, and parmesan cheese baked on top | Pearled sugar brioche rolls

 

 

 My take-home pieces!

 

It was so much bread! Luckily the house is full of guys right now, so they have been making a dent in the goodies! I typically only get lunch when I visit Gracious (sandwich and salad combo) but I will definitely be purchasing more of these tasty delights in the future!

The Lumineers

Tuesday = last minute Dinner Lab. Wednesday = last minute Lumineers concert!

An old co-worker and pal had a free ticket and inquired about my interest in going with her Wednesday morning! I knew they were playing New Orleans at some point in October but had not looked into tickets so the surprise offer to go was more than exciting!

A band called Nathanial Rateliff opened, followed by Dr. Dog. I need to look both up on iTunes because I liked their sound. We had general admission tickets so that put us on the ground level where everyone was standing. The only other time I have been to UNO's Lakefront Arena was to see Bob Dylan a few years back.

 

Crowd shot from the top of the arena | The Lumineers' beautiful set... check out those gorgeous chandeliers

 

Laura and I had decided to not fight the masses in an attempt to get closer, so we hung back in the crowd. This choice paid off in a tremendous way when half way through their set the band set up a makeshift stage RIGHT IN FRONT OF US and performed two songs! These pictures are not zoomed in, the entire band was within arms distance! I thought that was super cool that they came out and gave others a chance to see them up close and personal! I'm sure the folks in the stands appreciated it too since they were closer to them as well.

 

I would say I knew 75% of the songs they played but had a big smile plastered on my face 100% of the show! Their energy was very fun!

Dinner Lab

At the last moment Tuesday evening Sara and I were invited to attend a Dinner Lab event at Second Line Stages! I may have mentioned DL on here before, but if not this blurb from their website sums it up nicely:

Dinner Lab is a membership-based social dining experiment that unites undiscovered chefs with adventurous diners who are looking for something different from the traditional restaurant experience. Whether it happens on the roof of an abandoned building, the floor of a paper mill, or inside a motorcycle dealership, we believe that good people, good food and good drink are the only elements paramount to a memorable meal.

 

The theme for that evening's dinner was "Sunday Pub Roast" presented by Chef Jonathan Follett of Root. (I haven't been to Root yet, but intend on going for sure after this fabulous dinner!)

  

Second Line Stages is a movie production studio and home to multiple sound stages. There was a warehouse kind of feeling to the space and lots of graffiti all around. Rumor was that they were shooting American Horror Story in the space beside the area DL had taken over.

 

Two dinners were served that night, this picture was taken after a large portion of the crowd had cleared out. Sara and I dined with the later group. Everyone is set up at long tables with folding chairs so that there is interaction amongst folks who don't know each other.

 
1st Course: ENDIVE oyster-celeriac puree | champagne mignonette | fresh dill CELERY SHOOTER celery | gin | lemon | bitters
Notes: Probably my least favorite of the courses simply because I do not have a taste for oysters...no matter what form they are served in. The drink pairing, however, was delicious and very refreshing!

 

2nd Course: YORKSHIRE PUDDING popover | lamb neck & short rib | marmalade | chives

Notes: Yum! The meat was very tender and flavorful. The little purple flower was a nice, visually pleasing addition.

 
3rd Course: ROOT VEGETABLES crispy potatoes | roasted parsnips | shallot & herb glaze
Notes: An over-easy egg was added to this dish as well which made me nervous since I had never tried runny yolk before. Mine was cooked pretty well though which I think I preferred. I love parsnips. This could be an awesome breakfast dish!

  

4th Course: SUNDAY JOINT roasted lamb leg | bacon-fried brussel sprouts | mashed swede | horseradish-mint sauce

Notes: Sometimes I like lamb and sometimes I don't. This time I liked it! The mashed swede (rutabaga) was very good, very mashed potato like. Bacon-fried anything = great!

 
5th Course: SPOTTED DICK bourbon crème anglaise | cranberries | beef suet WARM ENGLISH PUNCH dark rum | red wine | tea | orange | lemon
Notes: The cake was very dense and the cranberries gave this dessert a nice sweetness. I do not like wine nor oranges but this warmed drink was actually quite tasty. Kind of like a sweet, heated up cough syrup.

 

As an ending note there were dark chocolate peppermints with a hint of violet. They were a nice cool way to end this spectacular meal. My only thoughts were that this was a weighty, warm-themed meal and it would have been especially enjoyable on a cooler evening (damn New Orleans and its 80 degree October days!)

 

It was very cool to be able to attend a Dinner Lab and makes me want to become a member even more, though I don't think membership is open right now due to it's intense popularity! Currently DL is active in New Orleans, Austin, Nashville, and New York with branches opening in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Washington D.C. soon! With growth like that it is hard to believe they have only been at this for slightly over a year! Super cool :)



Carrie

Believe it or not, despite my love for the horror flick genre, I had never seen Carrie until last night. Like most every other American that didn't grow up living under a rock, I knew the gist of the story: "they're all going to laugh at you", pig's blood, telekinesis, mean girls, etc. However, I did take away a few additional things:

 

• Who knew that John Travolta was in this movie?! I certainly did not. Why did I not know this? He definitely was no charming Danny Zuko, that's for sure! His character was ornery and constantly drunk.
• Those girls were just plain ol' mean to Carrie! Who does that to someone? I hear so much about anti-bullying campaigns these days, but clearly this is not a recent phenomenon. Mean Girls has nothing on the brats in this movie. 
• It seemed like there was more nudity than I imagined would have been kosher in 1976. Multiple full frontal girls. Surprised me.
• The guy who took Carrie to prom.... what on earth was that hair-do?? His blond locks were so full and bouncy! I bet a lot of ladies were jealous!
• Was it just me, or did there seem to be an excessive amount of slapping going on throughout this film? Teachers slapping students, girlfriends slapping boyfriends, boyfriends slapping girlfriends, mothers slapping daughters. So much slapping!

I am looking forward to the remake coming out later this month!  

1976 v. 2013

 Those blond ringlets! John Travolta's hair was quite enviable too!

 

They basically showed you the entire movie in the trailer! "If you have a taste for terror..."

 

The version of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" is creepy!