Oreo Madness

In recent years Oreo has certainly drifted from the original chocolate with cream filling cookie that Americans know and love. The culinary and marketing geniuses at Nabisco have ventured into various sandwich flavor combos such as mint chocolate, peanut butter with chocolate, and vanilla vanilla options. Now they are stretching into holiday and seasonally specific flavors such as Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Apple! 

When I saw that these traditionally fall ingredients had been turned into cookie sandwiches I couldn't resist picking up a pack of each! Wanting to spread the autumn joy I took these to work and shared with co-workers. While I do not need to sit down and eat an entire pack of these, they were pretty good and a fun way to start the season! 

P.S. Someone told me that there is a cookie dough Oreo out there... I must find these!!

Games: Not Just for Kids

Since Brie has moved back to NOLA we have been gathering with amigos for game nights more frequently. A lot of Cranium and now Scattergories when we are staying in the for the evening, and a lot of Heads Up when we are out. Heads Up is a game on our phones where a player selects a category (could be Blockbusters, brand names, Perfect Pairs, animals, etc.) then puts the phone to their head, screen out so the group can see it. The group then gives hints to the player trying to get them to guess the word/name/phrase on the screen. So for example, if the player selected animals and the answer is "cat", the group could say things like "feline", "meow", etc. to get them to guess correctly. You try to get as many correct as you can before your minute is up! We all have our strengths and it is fun to set a goal to try to achieve. For instance, AV and Sara are really good at giving hints about and guessing songs so AV set a goal of seven (that may seem low, but it is harder than you'd think!) so they played round after round until he got seven correct answers in under a minute! Thank goodness Sara can sing and knows a lot of obscure songs! My contribution to helping him meet his goal was more context clues, such as "British group" or "won American Idol" while Sara sang the actual song. Haha! It is a lot of fun :)

Here is Jane Lynch playing with Ellen:

So in looking up YouTube videos of Heads Up I discovered that we are way behind on this trend! The app has been out for over a year and Ellen created it! She plays with guests on her show! Well how about that!

Dinner Lab: Danny Espinoza

Sara and I utilized my Dinner Lab membership for the first time last week. Located in an under construction ground level of an apartment building downtown, we enjoyed a modern Mexican feast created by Chef Danny Espinoza. 

Aguachile: shrimp | jicama | coriander tuile | passion fruit 

Paired with: Day of the Dead Hop on or Die IPA

There was a tomatillo juice that each diner poured over their ceviche. The tuile (wafer) was delicious! Refreshing way to begin the meal.

Flautas de Papa: huitlacoche | poblano aioli | red cabbage slaw | queso fresco

This was my least favorite course of the dinner, but it wasn't anything to be upset about. In my opinion it was the least interesting, but tasty none-the-less.

Panza de Cerdo: pork belly | hibiscus | cauliflower | pico de tomatillo

Paired with: Chimayó: tequila | unfiltered apple cider | fresh lemon juice | creme de Cassis | apple slices for garnish

Holy moly! The cauliflower puree was so creamy and complimented the melt in your mouth pork belly perfectly! Very satisfying.

 

Ternera de Oscar: braised veal short rib | epazote crab salad | chipotle hollandaise | lentils

Paired with: Day of the Dead Pay the Ferryman Porter

Just when I thought the pork belly was going to be the clear winner they placed this gorgeous plate in front of me. I love lentils. I love crab. I love short ribs! I could have eaten 10 of these (had I not been so full already!) happily!

 

Pastel de Tres Leches: vanilla soaked sponge cake | mango puree | puffed wild rice | rompope whop cream

The best imaginable ending to a great meal came in the form of this light, fruity dessert with tequila whipped cream. The puffed wild rice added a great crunch and warmth. I forced it all down despite being stuffed!

Each bamboo plate they presented to me was filled with something more interesting and delicious than the last! If only there was a way to indulge in such awesome cuisine without getting full! This was Mexican food unlike anything I have ever had. But like with most fiestas, the party wasn't over until guests had their chance to whack a piñata!! 

Chef Danny is in a competition with other Dinner Lab chefs where the winner, based on diner's feedback, gets a brick and mortar restaurant to call their own! How cool is that!? 

Car Ownership

In the last two weeks I have:

>>changed my other headlight bulb (recollect my first go at this here) after I realized it was burnt out

>>had my oil changed--no biggie--that is routine, but they talked me into replacing my air filter while I was there

>>caught a flat in one of my new tires by running over a key (see photo) and thus had to change back to my spare until I can get it fixed/replaced

>>attempted to jump a co-worker's car only to drain my own battery thus beginning my electrical woes that led to being jumped by a friendly Costco employee (died while getting gas) and the subsequent replacement of the battery

When it rains it pours.

Twin Peaks

A co-worker insisted that I binge watch Twin Peaks last weekend--and what can I say, I am easily talked into wasting hours of time and becoming obsessed with television shows! I was waayyyyy too young to watch this when it originally aired in 1990, but I am digging it now, 24 years later! 

I finished the first season (8 episodes) pretty quickly, but I still don't know who killed Laura Palmer, so I am diving into season two (22 episodes) right now. I can tell a difference in the writing based on David Lynch's involvement more in the beginning of the series, it seems a little less sharp and on point in its last season. The supernatural aspects have increased as I have made my way through the story as well as scenes of a peculiar nature. The acting is intentionally satirical and reminds me of Fargo while the soundtrack is reminiscent of a sappy soap opera! The trailer above gives a good sampling of the slow piano tunes. 

I'm liking it. When I finish out the show on Netflix I am going to look into watching the prequel movie that was made! 

Football

It still feels way too hot outside for it be football season, but I'm going with it. The Saints are not starting things off very well. They are 0-2 currently, but, fingers-crossed, this Sunday's season opener at the Dome will be a win! While the Saints haven't been looking so hot, I have a 1-1 record with my fantasy team! Haha! I will say that playing has helped me learn more about the game and has resulted in me being more interested in watching other teams besides just the Saints.