Donuts, Pizza, Bread Pudding OH MY!

Another week of school completed. Time to catch up on blogging!

Zeppoli. "Soft, traditional Italian doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar, served with chocolate sauce for dipping." You can find these funnel cake like treats at your local Olive Garden. (I don't feel that it is necessary to post the link to Olive Garden). Now, because it has been 5 weeks since I have eaten these due to extenuating circumstances aka school, my memory might be a little fuzzy. They weren't particularly spectacular. They were similar to a funnel cake, but no comparison. If it weren't for the chocolate dipping sauce, which was the consistency of Hershey's syrup, they would have been rather bland hollow pieces (because chocolate makes everything better) of dough sprinkled with a little powdered sugar, which didn't really help enhance the flavor at all. What I do remember is going to Olive Garden with my two roommates and one of their fiances and specifically telling them not to let me eat all of the donuts. I believe there were eight of them total. But then of course, when the plate came out I only gave them one to try, knowing darn well that I wouldn't be able to sit there with the remaining seven and not eat them. It's like the whole saying one thing doing another. I tell them I don't want to eat them all and not to let me, but I secretly want to eat them all and plan on doing just that. Sigh. I've pretty much come to realize that one day I will have diabetes. I actually have been trying to cut back on my sugar. In fact, I didn't eat dessert Monday or Tuesday.....And then ate frozen yogurt, cheesecake, and chocolate cake on Wednesday...But that's another story in itself. Moving on.


Pizza. I work for a personal chef, Diane Lestina, who teaches cooking classes in the Bryan/College Station area. She is amazing. www.chefdiane.com. She also has a pizza oven in her backyard. I recently washed dishes at a wine and cheese party for her, and she so graciously made me some homemade pizza afterwards (yes homemade dough and everything). The first pizza was a simple tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella cheese. Now, I probably shouldn't be blogging about this, only because unless you have a pizza oven as well, you most definitely will not be able to recreate the flavors. The crust is perfect, not too thick, not too thin, not too soft, not too crispy. The fresh tomato flavor paired with the partially melted cheese creates not only a visual masterpiece but a fresh taste that will simply melt in your mouth. And because Diane takes such good care of me and knows how much I love dessert, she made a s'more pizza with Hershey's chocolate and marshmallows and a chocolate pizza drizzled with olive oil and salt. Now, I have been to Max Brenner's in NYC and had their s'more pizza, and it did not compare to the one from Diane's. It probably has something to do with the homemade crust. The simplicity of the two classic s'more ingredients incorporated with the crust bring the s'more to a whole new level. Olive oil and salt, okay. But chocolate? Yes, chocolate. Like I said before, chocolate makes everything better. (And by the way, she used a higher quality of chocolate for this pizza). The richness of the oils melted into the richness of the chocolate into this exquisite ooey gooey combination of bliss. There are simply some situations where opposites do attract.

Bread pudding is essentially bread soaked in eggs, syrup, and some various other ingredients. It is then baked and served with some sort of sweet sauce. The particular bread pudding that I had was served with a hot cognac sauce. First off, I have to give full credit to my manager Michelle Payne. She told me about Chef Point Cafe, which is a restaurant connected to a gas station in Fort Worth. www.chefpointcafe.org. It was also featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. One of the featured dishes on the show was the bread pudding. Since I have yet to eat at Chef Point, my manager so kindly brought me back some of the acclaimed bread pudding. Now, I obviously didn't get to have the bread pudding fresh, but reheating it in the microwave hit a home run for me. It was moist but not runny as a bread pudding should be, and had the perfect balance of sweetness. It tasted of a moist thick version of french toast. Breakfast and dessert...what could be better?

Burgers and Cheesecake

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame bun. Sound good? What about one beef pattie, over easy egg, bacon, mac and cheese, jalapenos on a non-sesame seed bun? Okay, so it doesn't have the same ring to it, but you can only imagine how good it tastes. Or you could try it yourself....

Lankford Grocery & Market on Dennis Street in downtown-ish Houston. There is no website but you can google it easily. You can all thank Food Network's Guy Fieri (yes the guy with the platinum spiked hair) for the discovery of this dive in the middle of a random neighborhood in Houston. I have passed over this restaurant listing in my Zagat book numerous times due to the name. When you hear the word grocery what first comes to mind? A grocery store of course. The thought of eating at a grocery store isn't nearly as appealing as the reality of this fun and casual place. To get to Lankford you drive down back roads through random neighborhoods, and it's literally right next to residential homes. It looks like this little run down house sort of with picnic tables outside. You seat yourself (if there is room) and wait to be served. Your drinks come in plastic cups that you would give to children, and I believe they are only open for lunch. Their menu is pretty basic with burgers and fry sorts until you get to the "grim burger." How can you help but wonder what a burger with jalapenos, mac and cheese, bacon, and egg tastes like? I mean even if you don't like everything on it, it's so unique you can't help but wonder....And that's exactly what happened to me. Jalapenos. No thanks! Bacon....can be sometimes be overbearing... But what the heck! It's just like that saying goes: if you're going to eat a burger and fries might as well load it up! Or maybe that's just the justification process inside my head....

Okay, so first of all, the burger is ginormous (for this purpose, ginormous is a word). I spent a full five minutes strategically planning the best way to fit a bite in my mouth, and it took me a full four bites before I even got a bite of egg. The burger falls apart as you eat it, and it's one of those where you end up losing the pattie, so be warned. I meant to request a fork and knife and just mix it up into a burger mess salad, but for some reason never got around to it. I definitely recommend asking though. So I decided my first bite should include everything. You can't be a food critic without trying it all. The flavor was definitely there, but the jalapenos provided a little too much kick for me, BUT if you like jalapenos feel free to leave them alone. I took them off after the first bite. The bacon was also a little overbearing and masked the flavors of everything else, so I left some on but took a lot off. Again, if you are a bacon lover, leave it on! The macaroni and cheese tasted of creamy goodness, and mixed with the egg flavor was perfection in a bite. The thing should be called brunch in a burger. You get your eggs, your bacon, and your meat. What could be better than that? Needless to say I did not finish the burger, but I did take it home and actually just reheated it so that I could have another bite to better capture the flavors. I used a fork this time, and I must say it reheats almost better than when it first came out. I tried a bite without the bun and jalapenos, and there are simply no words to describe the taste. The contrast of the smokiness from the bacon and the grill taste of the burger with the creamy flavor and texture of the egg and mac and cheese is pure genius. Warning: may cause indigestion. Oh, and they only take cash, but this hidden gem and magical burger are worth a try.


Cheesecake+Pralines=Divine. I'm glad that I am a senior in college and my education in math has provided to be useful. Only kidding. But in all seriousness, divine doesn't even capture the truth. Ciao Bello is where you can find this delectable piece of art. http://ciaobellohouston.com/
The restaurant has only been open for about two weeks and was formed by the owner of the expensive eatery Tony's in Houston where you can find a kobe beef steak for $125 (it's safe to assume that I have tried this-I know I know out of control..I'm working on it). Anyways, Brian went to eat there the other day for lunch and told me that I would love this cheesecake, and of course I did. I can't vouch for the food here because I haven't tried it. However, you can be just like me and call in a to go order for one slice of praline cheesecake at 8:30 PM on a Saturday night, and then when you go to pick it up simply wait by the bar wearing a t-shirt and uncombed hair while the many people in the loud trendy restaurant stare at you and wonder why you're standing there looking like you are waiting for a piece of cheesecake. Is anyone else sensing another Bridget Jones moment? Whatever. When a girl wants dessert then a girl wants dessert! Or maybe that only applies to me...

Okay, so has anyone ever seen the praline cookies that are sometimes sold at the counter of Mexican restaurants and are always sold in a basket at Walgreens. Does anyone even know what a praline is? It is essentially a cookie sized candy made of brown sugar, butter, and pecans. Aka amazingness. Okay, so if you're skeptical about a praline just walk in to any Walgreens, and there will be a basket sitting on one of the counters with a basket of them. They are like a $1, and if you don't feel like spending a $1 on one, I will give you a $1 to take a bite of it and throw it away if you don't like it, only because I know that won't happen, and that in all actuality, I will eat it if you don't like it. So the cheesecake was your basic cheesecake and was covered by a praline mixture. Actually, basic was a bad word. The cheesecake looked basic but it was anything but. It wasn't as dense as most cheesecakes are but had more of the consistency of a white cake, and tasted of a creamier version of white cake. Sometimes cheesecake can get so rich that one bite will do you in, but this particular cheesecake had the perfect balance. The praline mixture on top tasted exactly like a praline cookie. The smokiness of the pecans worked in complete harmony with the sweetness of the sugary taste and the smoothness of the cheesecake. And I'm not just saying this because I'm "that girl" that will eat anything that even remotely resembles chocolate and could think that dirt tastes good if it was sprinkled with sugar. Brian, one of the pickiest eaters I know, was the one that recommended it to me.

So followers...that pretty much sums up a day in the life of yours truly. I've got lots of food blogging to catch up on, but until next time..

Whoop!

Hello everyone. I have returned from falling off the face of the Earth. There is this thing called school that seems to have taken over my life, and apparently all teachers seem to think that my life consists solely of attending their class and studying for their class. Little do they know that I have regular eating and blogging to attend to.

So last night I received my Fightin Texas Aggie Ring! WHOOP! For those of you non Aggies the Aggie Ring is received after completing 95 credit hours and is the most recognized symbol and tradition of being an Aggie. Aggies worldwide wear their Aggie rings. Friends and family come in town for the event and then people proceed to dunk their rings in a pitcher of beer. Yes, that is a full 4.5 beers. You put your ring at the bottom of the pitcher and then chug as fast as possible. Don't ask how we got the tradition.

My mom took Brian and I to a well known restaurant in College Station called Christopher's World Grille. Most people say it's overrated but it's the most well known fine dining restaurant in College Station, so I decided to celebrate there. Although, I have to agree, the food is good, but not spectacular, especially for the price tag. The desserts, however, are to die for. We will get to those later.

Our appetizer was a guatamalan pork tamal: a banana leaf wrapped, tender pork with chile, garlic and lime in a cracked rice masa with mole sauce and beer shooter. Masa is Spanish for dough and is sometimes used for tortillas and tamales. The pork was the sort of fall of the bone tenderness that you come across when it is cooked very well. The flavor combination of the sweet mole sauce, the kick of the cilantro, and the smooth "corniness" (corny, I know) of the masa was delectable. The dish also came with a shot of Shiner beer. My mom had the idea that I should do a miniature ring dunk. I'm waiting until I turn twenty one to officially dunk my ring, so I figured why not. It would be a fun festivity to celebrate getting my ring. Now, I have never tried a soda in my life, so carbonation isn't exactly my cup of tea. I dropped my ring in the shot glass and proceeded to take the shot only to feel this burning fizzing sensation on my tongue. I immediately stopped taking the shot and could not even force myself to finish what was in my mouth. Brian had to take the shot himself in order for us to get my ring out of the shot glass, and so that I could spit what was in my mouth back in the shot glass. It was not a pleasant experience. Very good manners too...

You can just see the excitement in my face.

At the end of dinner when the waiter brought out the dessert tray, I couldn't for the life of me decide which dessert to get. Who would have thought? So I picked my top 3 choices.

Polenta almond cake with fennel ice cream. When they presented this dessert, I was ecstatic. I had just been watching Iron Chef the day before, and the secret ingredient was fennel. I sat there the whole time watching the show dying to know what all the dishes tasted like, and I even remember saying that I wish I could taste the fennel ice cream that one of the competitors made. Someone was definitely watching out for me. Polenta is made from boiled cornmeal, which is ground maize. The texture of the dessert was divine. The cake itself had this grainy crumbliness. Paired with the creaminess of the fennel ice cream brought it to a whole other element. The cake tasted almost of a sweetened version of cornbread, and the ice cream was out of this world. Fennel is an herb that is used for many different things, and when eaten raw tastes like licorice. I am not a fan of licorice, but anything dessert related I am open to trying. The ice cream had a very subtle hint of licorice, but not overbearing. It was the perfect partner to the grainy sweetness of the polenta cake.

The second dessert was a pear almond tart. It was my least favorite of the three, but still delicious. It was your typical tart. It tasted of shortbread cookies and had a soft crunchiness from the almonds. The pear taste was evident, but every once in a while I would taste a hint of banana. Not entirely sure how that got in there..Honestly I was so concerned with inhaling the fennel ice cream and my third dessert that I wasn't completely focusing on the tastes of the tart. The creative caramel sugar piece on top of the dessert and the painted sauce on the plate made for a beautiful presentation.

The third dessert was a chocolate hazelnut sponge cake with espresso ice cream. It was the pinnacle of elegance. They took what could have been a basic chocolate cake and added textural and flavor elements that turned it into this succulent piece of art. There was a layer of chocolate cake and then almost a sort of thick ganache layer, that was not too rich, but just right. It was topped with a crunch hazelnuts nougat piece and paired with a small dish of espresso ice cream. The fusion between all the different pieces of the dish was beautiful. The espresso ice cream literally tasted like Starbuck's in my mouth. Just imagine the strong aroma when you walk in to Starbucks and put that with the creamy coolness of ice cream and chocolate cake. Perfection. You couldn't take just one bit. It was an addiction waiting to happen.

www.christophersworldgrille.com

Cookie Jar Blizzard Among Other Things...

So, expect a decrease in frequency of my blogs until December. Some of you may see this is a good thing, but it makes me very sad. School just started back up, and I feel like I am working a full time job. I feel sorry for those of you already in "the real world." My only enjoyment today has been trying the new Cookie Jar Blizzard from Dairy Queen and writing this blog. I'm not sure which is more sad. The fact that only two things have brought me enjoyment today or the fact that a blizzard and a blog brought me enjoyment. Okay, enough complaining. I really don't want to be viewed as one of those people that complains all the time, but when something goes wrong (like when people that aren't working at the Rec Center or working out park in the parking lot that those that are working out or working need to park in, AKA ME. This is not complaining, this is merely providing an example), what else are you supposed to do? They always say that suppressing your feelings just makes things worse and just causes you to blow up later. We don't want that now, do we? All right, all right, on to the blizzard.

Okay, so the Cookie Jar Blizzard is simply ice cream, Oreo's, cookie dough, and hot fudge. You can pretty much guess what this tastes like since you more than likely have eaten all four of these ingredients at one point in time, but I am in desperate need of escape from reading about audit and tax. Will someone please tell me why I am an accounting major?? And by the way, this blizzard just came out yesterday, and yes folks, it is September 2, and I have already tried it. I subscribe to every single "whatever" of the month club so that I can be the first to know about any new food or desserts that come out and be the first to try new things. I told you. I see Limited Time Only and the alarms start going off. I have no time to finish my readings for class tomorrow, but you can bet that I have plenty of time to go try the new Dairy Queen Blizzard.

All right, back to the blizzard. One word, divine. What could possibly be wrong with something that contains ice cream, Oreo's cookie dough, and hot fudge? The crunchiness of the Oreo's meshed with the creaminess of the ice cream, the softness of the cookie dough, and the rich smoothness of the hot fudge were the pinnacle of perfection. Except when I got to the bottom of it and was just left wanting more. After I got home, I then proceeded to eating handfuls of Hershey Kisses out of a bowl sitting in my living room. I was then interrogated by Brian as to why I was now eating Hershey Kisses. As if that even needs a response.

And as a side note I recently discovered that fresh blueberries pair deliciously with Life Cereal. I randomly tried it one morning, and it has now become the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. So for those of you in the real world....Here is your new incentive.

Epicurean Night

I think just by looking at the title of this post that most of you can assume that Epicurean night is my idea of a good time. And that it was. Brian and I like to go to the race track near our house with our friends every once in a while to do some gambling. Last week it was Epicurean Night at the race track. Basically, lots of local restaurants came and brought samples of some of their menu items and distributed coupons as a way to advertise. You paid $15 for all you can eat food. And since you all know that I would pay $1500 for an all you can eat buffet, $15 was nothing.

To be honest, I don't remember everything that was at Epicurean night, and none of it was really gourmet, I just felt it would be wrong of me not to blog about an Epicurean Night, being a loyal foodie and all. So since I waited a week to post this blog because I have been so busy doing a whole lot of nothing, I will do my best to describe everything as best as possible. My favorite place was Tea for Two Tearoom. www.teafortwotearoom.net They were handing out samples of two different kinds of chicken salad, a quiche, and four different kinds of cake. FOUR!! Let's just say that the two ladies handing out the samples knew who I was by the end of the night. Don't act so surprised.

The first chicken salad had purple grapes and pecans in it. Now, I'm not really a purple grape person. I'm more of a green grape kind of girl. And don't try to tell me that there isn't a difference, because there definitely is. The chicken salad was delicious, but the crunchiness of the pecans and the sweetness of the grapes brought it to a whole other level. The other chicken salad was a jalapeno chicken salad. I'm also not a huge jalapeno fan, ( I know what you're thinking. How can I be a food critic if I don't like everything? But I can't help my taste buds! And the important thing is that I am still willing to try everything, so there!) but the flavor was very interesting and had a little kick to it. And like I have mentioned before, I like to see creativity.

Now to the important part, the cakes. There was a mandarin orange cake, a vanilla cake, a strawberry cake, and a coconut cake. The strawberry cake was out of this world. And I am not just saying this because I am an obsessed dessert freak that can out eat a rhinoceros. Everyone else agreed. First of all, it was bright pink, so it was just appealing to the eye. The cake was so moist and there was this luscious sweet tanginess of strawberries that just blew me away. There are no words to describe this cake. You just have to take my word and go try it yourself.

Another memorable restaurant was Hasta la Pasta. www.hastalapasta.com Now, I like Hasta la Pasta. A lot, actually. But they served some sort of beef with a piece of asparagus and lemon risotto. I thought I would like the lemon risotto because it was creative and all, but it was so lemony, for lack of a better word. There are only a few places that lemon should be served with: water (even though I strongly disagree with this), seafood, and pastries. Note to Hasta la Pasta: never pair lemon and risotto together.

BJ's brewery. www.bjsbrewhouse.com Many of you have probably frequented this chain restaurant known for its beers and pizza. Guess what they served? Caesar salad and a chicken pasta. Um, I think we all know what Caesar salad tastes like....Thanks BJ's...They did however make a comeback with free pizookie coupons. If you have never tried a pizookie, or worse, don't know what it is, you need to be removed from my blog Google group immediately. Just kidding, kind of. A pizookie is a cookie in a small pizza pan that is served fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream on top. It literally melts in your mouth. It's cooked just enough so you don't come down with salmonella, but still has the gooeyness that pairs perfectly with the melting of the ice cream. It comes in flavors like Ghiradelli chocolate, Oreo, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, and white chocolate macadamia nut. And yes, I have had them all. You can even get half of one kind of cookie and half of another. Or, they offer a jumbo pizookie that feeds about 15 people. Oh yes, go ahead and challenge me. Oh, and never, I repeat never, let someone convince you to share one. People will try and tell you they are big enough for two. But no, you need to be eating you're own. Okay, sorry about the rambling. You guys know how I can go on and on about dessert. I'm sure you have stopped listening (reading) by now like you're used to doing.

And in closing, I am trying to raise funds so that I can journey to Napa Valley and dine at The French Laundry, a very famous restaurant. www.frenchlaundry.com They offer a nine course tasting menu every night for only $240 a person! Yes, I am kidding, but not about the fact that I want to eat there. I understand that most, if not all, of you will never understand how I would ever be willing to spend that kind of money on a meal. But someday, somehow, I will find a way...

Monkey Bread

My friend Hayley told me a while back about Monkey Bread. Surprisingly, I had never heard of it, so of course I had to know what it was and when I could have it. We tried all summer to get together to make monkey bread and finally did. It was then that my life changed forever.

Isn't it weird when someone introduces something new to you that you have never heard of, and then within a week within learning that new something you all of a sudden hear about this thing you have never heard of at least 5 more times? That might not make sense when you read that, so here is an example. I had never heard of monkey bread until Hayley told me about it. That was at the beginning of the summer. Then, the rest of the summer i saw mixes for monkey bread everywhere, got sent a recipe for monkey bread in one of my daily recipe emails, and had other people mention monkey bread. What are the odds that after all this time of never knowing about monkey bread that all of a sudden monkey bread was everywhere? Get it? Okay, so on to the monkey bread. I have heard there are different ways to make monkey bread, but this one is just perfect.

Here's what you need: biscuits, melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Now, I don't have exact measurements for you, but I'm pretty sure if you are going to be eating monkey bread, you aren't exactly concerned with calories at the time, so I say just go with what looks good. You start off by cutting each uncooked biscuit into quarters. Then you dip each piece of biscuit into the melted butter, being sure to soak it completely. Finally, you should mix together cinnamon and sugar in a bowl until it looks like a good balance, and you dip each biscuit soaked in butter into the cinnamon sugar mixture until it is fully coated. You should put each coated piece of biscuit into a baking dish. Okay, this is why I am not a recipe writer. My directions are out of order, and I don't have measurements. My goal is to be a food critic, not a recipe writer, so bear with me. I'm 99% sure that this recipe is fool proof. Just go with your gut and make adjustments as you see fit. So, each biscuit piece should cover the bottom of a baking dish. I have been told not to make a second layer because it causes the pieces to be unevenly cooked, so if you are using more than one packet of biscuits or have too many, you can use another small pan, or put all the pieces into a larger dish. Once the bottom of the dish is covered, if you're not already wondering how in the world you will ever work off this wonderfulness, I suggest pouring the excess butter, cinnamon, and sugar over the top. It adds to the experience. Now, I am not sure what the oven should be set at, but 350 degrees always seems to be a safe bet. (And I'm losing my credibility by the millisecond....) Whenever we baked monkey bread, I asked how long, and was told to just kind of watch it, but approximately anywhere from 20-25 minutes. You want the biscuits to be cooked, but you still want everything to be a soft gooey mess, or at least I do. Some people may prefer to have no gooeyness. Tada!

Delicious, huh? Can you think of a better combination of ingredients? It's like a cinnamon roll without the icing, but it's so divine that you don't even need icing. (This coming from the girl, who usually just eats icing off cakes) I also recommend to not even bother with getting individual plates. Just grab a spoon/fork, and dig in. Also, you might as well finish all of it. Here's the way I see it. You have already ruined your diet for the day, so you might as well ruin it completely by finishing the stuff. You know you want to, and besides if you let it sit for later, it will just harden and not be nearly as delicious the next time you eat it. Just trust me on this. Carpe Diem!

Amazing Desserts

Hello everyone. I promise I have not forgotten about you. I failed to mention that my other obsession in life is reading. I have been at home this past week and was trying to finish up some library books that needed to be returned in Houston, hence why I have not blogged in a few days. My sincere apologies.

So, I have had some pretty amazing food experiences since my last blog, and I probably should go in order that they occurred, but I just can't. There are two desserts that I had the other day that I have been dying to blog about. Ever since I started blogging, I have been paying careful attention to the flavors and textures of each and everything I eat. I have considered carrying a notebook around with me to take notes, but luckily my handy dandy phone has a notes section that I usually type key words to jog my memory of each dish. Lists of books that I want to read and movies that I want to see can also be found in the notes section of my phone. I know, weird, but it keeps me from forgetting!

Okay, enough small talk. On to the desserts. The place is Andre Thierry Tellier Cafe. http://www.cafeandpastryshop.com/ The restaurant's only flaw is that they are not open on Sundays. My mom and I were debating where to go eat breakfast on Sunday before I went back to school and of course we wanted to go to Andre's, and of course they weren't open. It's like Chick Fil A. The only time you get a craving for Chick Fil A is on a Sunday, and everyone knows Chick Fil A isn't open on Sundays. Such a buzzkill. (According to Urban Dictionary, buzzkills do not have to be related to alcohol: anything that takes the edge off your fluff, a downer, something that ruins your good mood)

First off, if you ever decide to eat here, you can get a side size portion or a lunch portion. The only difference between the two is $2 and the fact that you get any of their desserts or pastries included with the lunch size portion. So basically you are paying $2 for a piece of cake, which is unheard of. So of course my mom and I go with the lunch size portion. Our first dish was a white chocolate almond and praline cake. I don't think that's the actual name for it, but the waitress didn't seem to be sure of what the exact name was. Basically, there was a top layer of white chocolate that looked to be like cheesecake, but actually had a lighter and fluffier texture than cheesecake. Underneath that was the praline layer that seemed to be a wafer like cookie. And the bottom layer was a very thin white almond cake. The whole dessert was topped with white chocolate shavings. Okay, I know many of you have already stopped reading because of the white chocolate. White chocolate is typically a very rich ingredient and can sometimes be overbearing. Even I, the chocolate queen, will admit that white chocolate can sometimes be too rich, but trust me, it wasn't in this dish. It was the lightest flavor of white chocolate that I have ever tasted while still staying true to the white chocolate flavor. The fluffiness of the white chocolate mousse layer with the crispiness of the praline wafer and subtle almond cake flavor was a breathtaking experience. It was the most unique combination of flavors. This is the kind of dessert that I like to come across. Something you have never heard of before. The praline wafer layer in this cake was the icing on the cake, the bow on a gift, and the cherry on a sundae. (Okay, I made those last two up, but there are no words to describe how brilliant the praline layer brought the whole cake together).

Our second dessert was a raspberry and pistachio mousse cake. The top layer was a thin layer of raspberry, the middle layer was a thick layer of pistachio mousse, and the bottom layer was some sort of brown spongy cake. The cake was moist and had obviously been soaked in some sort of liquor. I didn't get a pistachio taste from the pistachio layer, but the raspberry layer was out of this world. It was a less sticky version of raspberry jam. My favorite thing about the raspberry layer was that it left you hanging with with the crunchiness of the seeds. The crunchiness of the raspberry seeds carried the dish. As far as flavor goes, I probably could have done without the cake, however, it had a lot to live up to with the white chocolate cake sitting right next to it. I loved and appreciated the creativity of the dish and the flavors, and perhaps had I not been so busy eating the white chocolate cake, would have more amazing things to say about this dish.

The moral of this story is that everyone needs to pay a visit to Andres'. You will be happy that you did.

Hot Brandy Cream Pie

1. I would like to apologize for the majority of my blogs being about dessert when this is supposed to be a food blog. I just eat lots of dessert, what can I say?
2. Someone needs to ban me from being able to go look at any food related website. It would really help my eating habits, but I guess then I wouldn't have much to blog about. I guess I just need to find a good balance...
3. I did it. I finally got to try the Hot Brandy Cream Pie from Boston's that I so desired after trying the mousse cake last time. It was so worth the wait.

My friend Mollie and I always use catching up as an excuse to eat dessert. Or maybe I just use it as an excuse and Mollie feels forced to abide. This is most likely the case. I should probably check on that. So anyway, we sit down and Mollie tells me that she is not really that hungry and that asks if we should just share a dessert. Now, I'm not one to share a dessert no matter how full I am, but I'm working on being a better person and trying to compromise more often, especially when it comes to food. However, compromising when it comes to food is just about the hardest thing in the world for me, so I respond that it doesn't really matter, when really inside I'm desperately screaming 'PLEASE ORDER YOUR OWN DESSERT.' If I think it but don't say it out loud that's progress, right? I don't know what it is. Even when I'm trying to be good and cut back on my dessert intake or if I have eaten a four course dessert, I have this phobia that if I share a dessert with someone the world is going to end, and I won't have enough left for myself. People have actually told me that when they share a dessert with me they feel like they are in a race. Of course I took this extremely personally, but in reality I know it's true. I just can't help it. Anytime my boyfriend tries to sample a small bite of my dessert, I nearly bite his head off. It's just a reaction for me, now. It's who I am. I nearly have panic attacks when I let people sample my dessert. It's a major character defect.

So, the waitress comes and I order the hot brandy cream pie, and Mollie kind of looks at me like 'Crap, should I order my own,' and I know she is worried that I will blow a fuse if she doesn't so she does what any good friend would do and orders her own cream pie. Phew. I breathe a sigh of relief. When the waitress brings our desserts out, we realize they are huge. I silently almost wish we would have just split one. Not because I can't finish it, (Ha, yeah right), but because I am trying to cut back (I'm sure you can tell from my blogging). I look at her as if I know that I am a bad friend and make some lame joke like, "man, I guess we could have shared this." She tells me she is mad at me for letting both of us order our own, since she wasn't even hungry in the first place. I tell her that she will thank me once she takes a bite. And boy was I right.

Heaven. I'm actually not a huge Boston cream pie, so I'm not really sure why I was dying to try this version of it (must have something to do with my OCD to try all new things). However, this far exceeded any expectations I had.

"Our signature Boston Cream Pie smothered in brandy butter, drizzled with chocolate sauce and baked to perfection."

When I originally read the description, I was expecting it to have a taste of alcohol to it, but in fact, it didn't. The brandy butter made the cake so incredibly moist. Whenever I took a forkful of cake, it was moist and had this thin layer of butter that just melted into the moistness of the cake. The richness of the cream paired with the moistness of the cake was the perfect mouthwatering incorporation of texture and flavor. Dip the piece in some chocolate sauce, and you have a match made in heaven. There really is nothing like it, and it takes Boston cream pie to a whole other level. And in case you were wondering, Mollie told me that I was right and thanked me afterwards...

Crispy French Toast

I'm sad to say that there isn't anything too exciting to say about the rest of our meals. The boys had to have pizza on our last night, and I tried not to throw a fit about the fact that we were eating something we could eat any other time on our last night. But to make up for it, I did have an amazing breakfast on our last day...after somewhat of a fiasco.

My boyfriend woke me up at 5:00 AM Saturday morning and told me that while he was trying to change our seat arrangements for our flight that day, he discovered that my boarding pass said that my plane departed Friday afternoon. AKA I was supposed to already be back in Houston. Somehow, I had booked my ticket wrong and had booked my departure for a day earlier than I was supposed to. (Not too sure how this happened, considering I was the first one to book the trip.) I then called Continental and told them about my issue, and they informed me that according to their records my ticket had been used and that there was nothing they could do for me over the phone. I had to go to the airport myself. So, at 5:30 in the morning we headed to the airport, told the staff of my situation, waited an hour, paid an extra $150 for a flight change, and two $20 cab fares to and from the airport and were back at the hotel at 7:00 AM. Phew. Needless to say, I was in need of a very fulfilling breakfast to wash away my sorrows. Crunchy French Toast.

I had been debating getting this all week but wasn't sure how I felt about paying $17 for french toast, but finally decided that desperate times call for desperate measures. Plus, it was whole wheat bread, with light syrup, and fruit. Totally worth it. Carb friendly and everything. Well, the french toast turned out to be amazing. There were four pieces and every bit of the toast was coated with corn flakes. It wasn't exactly crispy after I drenched it in syrup, but it was still incredible. The dish came with strawberries and bananas as well. Imagine the sweetness of syrup with the crunch of corn flakes paired with a slight sugary tasted from the powdered sugar with a tangy strawberry slice. It was the perfect fusion of flavors. Not only did it taste good, but the colors from the fruit next to the textured textured look of the toast were absolutely beautiful. It was so pretty I didn't want to eat it. I recommend finding a way to make it at home.

Cab Fare $40
Additional Air Fare Cost $150
Crispy French Toast $17
The pure bliss after eating crispy french toast PRICELESS

Puerto Rico Day Two

I always try to start my day with a healthy breakfast because for some reason I feel like it justifies anything else I eat the rest of the day. Makes perfect sense, right? In our hotel was a little coffee shop that sold sandwiches, pastries, and such where I would get my breakfast. I started my second day in Puerto Rico with two small boxes of Raisin Bran, some milk, and a banana, but of course had to check out the pastries. I decided that I was on vacation and should eat like I was. So, in addition to my already filling breakfast, I decided to get a quesito. A quesito is a Puerto Rican pastry that is basically just sweet pastry dough with a cream cheese filling. Yeah, eat your heart out. Literally. It was amazing. It had the sweetness of a croissant combined with the richness of cream cheese. The cream cheese filling was perfect. It wasn't overflowing out of the pastry. It was simply a very thin layer that seemed to have just been lightly brushed on. It was the perfect combination of flavors. So much for my healthy breakfast....

That day, we went on an all day snorkeling trip, which was amazing. The trip included transportation, so after we had been dropped off at the hotel, I immediately panicked and searched through my bag of stuff that I had brought and realized that I had left my wristlet (a purse that hangs on your wrist) on the van that had dropped us off. And of course it contained all my cash, my credit card, and my drivers license. (By the way, I promise this is headed in a food related direction) So of course, I had to go through all the phone calls and drama of worrying if I was ever going to get it back. I was waiting on a phone call from the company to let me know if they had been able to get ahold of the driver, so we decided to go into Old San Juan and have dinner in the meantime. And what happens? I, of course, get a phone call telling me to meet outside the hotel promptly at 8:30 in order to get my wristlet back. Perfect. Except not so perfect. 8:30 PM, not AM. It was 7:00 at the time and the ride to and our hotel to Old San Juan takes about fifteen minutes. This should be interesting...

The Parrot Club. http://www.oofrestaurants.com/ The atmosphere and food were wonderful, but be sure to bring a flashlight if you ever go. Trust me, you will need one in order to read your menu. The restaurant was extremely dark. We started off with white corn fritters with a queso dip. The combination of the two literally tasted like macaroni and cheese, and not the cheap EZ Mac kind. For our entrees we got a bbq'd chicken breast with mofongo, red snapper with with crab guiso and yuca gratinada, a pumpkin flavored gnocchi with black beans, and a special chicken fried steak. The dish I ordered was the pumpkin flavored gnocchi. It was delicious, but rich. So rich, in fact, that I wasn't able to finish it. The gnocchi had perfect texture and blended well with the black beans and the crispiness of the greens. (I don't remember what kind of greens they exactly were..I know I know) The pumpkin flavor was the icing on the cake. It was subtle enough as to not be too overwhelming but finished the dish with a perfect sweetness of flavors. Everything about my dish was amazing. Until I threw it all up later that night....Nothing is better than waking up in the middle of the night with an awful stomach ache and throwing up pumpkin flavored gnocchi...The boys are convinced the reason I threw up is because of what happened in the next part of the story.

At dinner we were obviously in a hurry since I had to make it back to the hotel by 8:30 in order to get my wristlet from the driver. We were rushing our waiter through the meal, and I eventually asked if I could just get my dessert to go. He insisted that it was ready, so I patiently waited. He brought it to our table at 8:15, and I kid you not, I inhaled my dulce de leche brownie. It actually came with two brownies. I scarfed down the first one and a half brownie, grabbed the other half and ran out the door to grab a taxi. Now that's dedication. The boys think that because I finished an entire two brownies in approximately 60 seconds that this caused me to throw up later on that night. The world will never know..... Now this dulce de leche brownie was pretty darn good. The texture was not that of your typical brownie. It wasn't soft and moist and didn't crumble when held, but was almost hard, but not in an "unfresh" kind of way. That doesn't sound particularly appetizing, but it actually worked well. The brownie tasted like the shortbread cookies that Girl Scouts sell, just in a brownie version. And everyone loves a good shortbread cookie. And as a perfect ending to a perfect meal, we made it to the hotel in time, and I got my wristlet back, money and all. Now why couldn't I have just not left my wristlet on the bus. Then I would have been able to order at least one more dessert. Guess it just goes to show you can't have your cake (brownie) and eat it too.....

Puerto Rico

Hola! I am officially back from Puerto Rico. I know my many followers have missed my many blogs, but not to worry, I am back with many stories to tell! Instead of writing one extremely long blog about all the meals from Puerto Rico, I decided to break it up into separate blogs.

So we started our trip with a lovely meal of turkey dogs, salad, carrots, and a cookies n cream brownie on the airplane. Does anyone even know what a turkey dog is?? I still don't know what it is, and I ate one less than a week ago. It basically looked like a thicker version of a hot dog and was wrapped in bread. I am not a huge hot dog fan to begin with, but I decided to give it a go. There is nothing more frightening and gross than taking that first bite into a hot dog, or I'm sorry, turkey dog. It's such a weird looking specimen that you just can't help but be hesitant. It ended up being pretty good, considering. The turkey dog itself tasted similar to a regular hot dog, and the bread surrounding it tasted like pure soft dough. It was delish, to say the least. After a few bites, I couldn't get over the fact that I was eating a turkey dog, and had to put it down. After finishing off the rest of the bread part of course. As for the carrots and salad I'm sure you can take a wild guess and decide for yourself what those tasted like. And finally, to finish it all off we had a small 150 calorie cookies n cream brownie. It wasn't the best brownie I have ever had, but it definitely wasn't bad. It was harder than a normal brownie is, but had huge Oreo chunks in it. I prefer my desserts to be a little bit larger, but what can you do? I even saved the top part of the wrapper from the brownie so that all you foodies out there would know what brand it is and everything.

As a side note: I used this small wrapper for the remainder of my trip as a bookmark for The Time Traveller's Wife. I must say, it was somewhat challenging making sure it didn't blow away while laying on the beach with the wind blowing everywhere. I was sitting at breakfast by myself the last morning of our trip, reading my book as I waited, and when my waiter came over to bring me out my delicious meal, (more on that later) I grabbed the small wrapper from the table and stuck it in my book. Needless to say, she looked at me like I was crazy. Only someone like me would use a brownie wrapper as a bookmark.

Anyways, the name of the brand is Love and Quiches Desserts. I'm sure it's some brand that only sells to airlines, but good luck anyways!

And now to our first night in Puerto Rico! Well first of all, it poured the whole entire night. It was awful. I was convinced that our trip was going to be horrible and ruined. We took a taxi from our hotel and got dropped off in Old San Juan, which by the way, is beautiful. We had no idea where we would end up, but figured we would just walk around until something looked appealing. And then it starts to monsoon. Literally. We had to hide under a covered building until it stopped. Which it didn't, so we ended up making a run for it to a bar across the street. The boys (my boyfriend and his two friends) decided to have a beer while we waited for the rain to stop. I decided to chat up people at the bar to find out where we could find some good old Puerto Rican food. A guy happened to tell me of this amazing place called Genesis. He said his girlfriend worked there and they had the best authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and assured me he wasn't just telling me that because his girlfriend worked there. This should have been a big red flag.

We left the bar after it stopped raining, only for it to start pouring again. We found Genesis and were excited for our taste buds to take an adventure. The menu itself was very disappointing. I, being the food obsessed freak that I am, remembered running past a restaurant on our way to Genesis that looked really crowded. I told the boys I would take one for the team and run through the pouring rain just to go check out the menu. And she's off! I ran as fast as I could in my oh so sturdy sandals through the rain to the restaurant to see if the menu was any better than Genesis. People were looking at me like I was a mad woman. No, I am not a mad woman. Just a very dedicated and obsessed foodie. I ran underneath an umbrella where a huge group of people were waiting outside the restaurant. I found out that there was a twenty minute wait for the restaurant, so I ran back to Genesis stood in the doorway dripping and stared ahead. I tried.

We all ordered the same thing. Stuffed chicken with sweet plantains with rice and beans. Sounds good right? Wrong. Terribly terribly wrong. First of all, I took a picture of my meal, and the chicken and rice blended in with the plate.

There is something wrong with that picture. (Ha ha, get it?) The first bite was actually decent, but I think it was because we were so hungry. The plantains were sweet as they should be and blended well with whatever sauce was covering the chicken, but if you ended up with a bite of just chicken, it was so dry. Nothing is worse than dry tasteless chicken. I am not a huge fan of white rice, but will eat it, but it was completely undercooked. The beans were decent except it was more like bean liquid than beans. I literally ended up drinking them. The salads we were served were shredded lettuce. I am not exaggerating. There was nothing else. We were given bottles of olive oil and vinegar. Thanks, but if I wanted olive oil and vinegar I could have just gone to Subway. (Puerto Rico actually did have Subways. Very Americanized, which obviously makes sense, but shocked me) I then asked what sort of dessert Puerto Rico was known for. Flan. Of course it is. I hate flan. The texture itself is just disgusting. Lucky for me there was a Haagen Dazs store right across the street from our hotel.

Restaurant Week

Once upon a time, in a far away land, Restaurant Week was created. It was the best thing ever. The end. Okay, just kidding. But seriously, restaurant week really is the best thing ever. For those of you uninformed readers out there, let me fill you in. Restaurant week is usually longer than a week (to my knowledge), and is a time where select restaurants in a certain city offer three course menus for $35. Part of the money spent goes to some sort of Food Bank. Now, in case you are not a frequenter of fine dining establishments, $35 for a three course meal is a bargain and of course gives you an excuse to go hit up a restaurant you have been dying to try. I think you see where I'm going.. I always take advantage of restaurant week. Even if I am on a major budget, restaurant week is the one obvious exception.

Tonight, my mom and I dined at Olivette, a restaurant inside the Houstonian Hotel. The Houstonian, from what I know, is a sort of resort, health spa, hotel all in one. The reason I chose Olivette is because it was a new featured restaurant in my 2009 Zagat book. (Check) However, the main reason was the lemon olive oil cake being featured on their Restaurant Week Menu. Out of all the menus I researched, something about that lemon olive oil cake sounded so enticing, that I had to have it, and I had to have it soon.

Now, I would just go straight in to talking about the desserts at Olivette, because they were to die for, however, I believe that this is a food blog not a dessert blog, so I feel the need to inform all you readers of the food as well. For starters, Olivette brings out a delectable bread basket. I am usually not a huge bread person, because I feel that it's a waste of calories (this coming from the person who will eat five desserts in one sitting). Unless the bread looks very peculiar or is served with some sort of flavored butter, I typically stray away. However, tonight I happened to be starving, so I dug in. One of the choices was some sort of crisp cracker like bread with fennel seeds in it, which was tasty to say the least. There was also this wonderful little ball shaped bread that tasted like a croissant stuffed with a hint of cheese and herbs that was just melted in your mouth. And finally was the sour dough bread. Now, I also typically do not spread butter on my bread (yes, to save calories-laugh all you want), but I decided to indulge, and let me tell you, the butter was so soft and spreadable. There is nothing worse than being served cold, hard butter that just ends up being flung across the table while trying to spread it. I then proceeded to dip the sour dough bread in the olive oil that had been served on a plate with olives on it, and it was wonderful. I guess I should also talk a little bit more about the olives, since the restaurant is called Olivette. Although, apparently Olivette is an italian word, and the restaurant used to serve italian food. Anyways, that is besides the point. I haven't had an olive in years, so I really didn't know what to expect. They tasted like a very very strong olive oil, and I'm not quite sure how I felt about having to take the pit out of my mouth at a nice restaurant. At least they had a plate to put it on.

For our appetizers we selected the veal ravioli served with spinach, garlic, and prosciutto broth and clams served with garlic, parsley, butter, and grilled ciabatta. Now this appetizer course was a little adventurous for me. I tried veal years ago, and literally could see the baby cow as I was eating it and haven't touched it until tonight, and I have never tried clams before. Both presentations were lovely. My waiter came over and poured the prosciutto broth into the bowl that my raviolis were served in, which of course was somehow mesmerizing. The veal ravioli was well portioned as an appetizer and was a nice light starter to a meal. As far as the taste goes, I really don't know what to say. It was different and good, but nothing special. It tasted mostly like a dumpling with a slight hint of prosciutto. The flavors meshed well, but overall, I could have done without. Now to the clams. Keep in mind, that I do not know what clams are supposed to taste like, but I would hope that they are not supposed to taste as they did tonight. All i tasted was the ocean, and not in a good kind of way. More of in a "you're boogie boarding at the beach and get wiped out by a wave and then salt water floods your mouth kind of way." In other words, pure salt. My mom, on the other hand, enjoyed them, so to each his own, I suppose.

For my main course I selected the grilled flat iron steak served with ratatouille, potato croquettes, and basil. My mom had the seared gulf snapper served with spanish chorizo, black olives, fennel, and sherry vinegar. My steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It didn't taste like your basic steak house steak, but more of a zesty flavor. I was so excited to try this "ratatouille" with my steak, because I have been dying to try it since I saw the movie Ratatouille, and was somewhat disappointed. Not necessarily in the ratatouille itself, but the overall flow of the dish. I just didn't think the flavor combination of the zucchini and other vegetables in the ratatouille went well with the steak. The potato croquettes on the other hand were delicious, but then again what's not to like about a potato croquette? (Which in case you don't know, sort of tastes like a breaded hash brown). Now, I am not a seafood person, but will try everything at least once, so of course I had to try my mom's snapper, and I will say it wasn't bad. I typically associate fish as a very light food and chorizo as a heavier flavored food, but the flavors of the two mixed surprisingly well together. And, the fish was not fishy!

Drum roll please...........Lemon olive oil cake. Need I say more? It was everything I thought it would be and more. You know how when you watch those movies like Made of Honor and the girl meets the man of her dreams who is perfect only to find out that he is not the man of her dreams, some other guy is(because duh, I could have told you that in real life people don't get married in castles in Scotland)? Well, this dessert was nothing like it. This was love at first sight and bite. There was no, "I'm not sure of this is the right one business"; this was everything I had been waiting for and more. It was lemon olive oil cake served with a lavender honey cream and blueberries. The cake itself was a yellow cake and was moist with a slight hint of lavender from the cream, very slight though, not too overwhelming. I loaded each bite with the cake itself and the cream then dipped it in the blueberry sauce on the plate and topped it with a blueberry. It was such a smooth clean taste, and the lemon and the blueberry were the perfect flavor combinations. Neither flavors were too tart like lemon and blueberry sometimes can be, and the sweetness of the cake balanced the dish perfectly. Like I said, it was a match made in heaven. For our second dessert, we had a chocolate pudding cake with fudge sauce, hazelnut ice cream, and hazelnut tuile. This dessert was just as incredible as the first. The chocolate pudding cake itself was similar to a molten cake, but the whole cake was moist and fell apart at the touch of a fork, which is probably why it is called a pudding cake. Each bite was filled with chocolate sauce and crumbled cake. I just scooped it up with hazelnut ice cream, which tasted exactly like hazelnuts, and it literally melted in my mouth. The hazelnut tuile was very artistic. I had seen a chef create tuiles, I believe on one of the Top Chef competitions. It basically looked like a long stick with the ball at the end of it of hardened sugar. The stick part tasted like caramel, and the ball had a hazelnut inside. A pleasant surprise. (Pictures will be posted soon).

All in all, Olivette was good, but it didn't blow me away. Except for the desserts. My mom and I decided that since we were in the area though, that we might as well stop at some other dessert places and pick some extra desserts up for the road. And yes, by this point I was full, but for some reason when it comes to dessert, my stomach miraculously is no longer full. Imagine that... Anyways we went to a little cafe in the area and picked up a piece of pistachio cake and some other dessert bar that were also amazing. However nothing beats this. After we had picked up our fourth dessert of the night, we were driving by Memorial Park, which is a very popular park in the area where lots of people go to run, walk their dogs, etc. And when I say lots, I literally mean that I thought a marathon was going on. What beats driving down the road watching packs and packs of runners as you stuff your face with your 4th dessert of the night? How about telling your mom that you should go to the local ice cream place and pick up a free ice cream treat for your dog, when really you just want some ice cream for yourself? And yes, I actually did do that....

http://www.houstonian.com/

The Stolen Mints

So, I'm in the process of moving from one house to another, and I must say, I hate it. However, I did come across something that made moving a little more bearable. Well, I didn't necessarily come across it myself. Let me explain.

As you can tell by now, I have a problem. A food problem, that is. Yes, I am perfectly aware. Well one day, a few months ago, my boyfriend brought home a cup full of the chocolate mints that Olive Garden gives out with the bill. Yes, I know, they are wonderful. I was so excited when he brought them home and planned on devouring them all that night. He told me that I couldn't and said that he was putting them in the outside refrigerator we had in the garage. I can remember a couple days after he brought them home getting a strong craving for something chocolate. Of course I immediately went to the outside refrigerator to have some mints, but when I opened the door, they were gone. I was obviously very upset, but I just figured he had eaten them. I'm sure I found some other chocolate thing to eat. Anyways, today we were cleaning out the refrigerator, and my boyfriend opened this little door in the refrigerator (that I hadn't seen before), and guess what. He had hid them from me! Can you believe that? He had hid them from me so that I wouldn't eat them all. He laughed it off, and I rebelled by finishing the remainder of the mints. All twenty of them. I actually don't think he knows that yet. But I suppose he is about to find out once this blog is posted. Let's just say it just may be a problem when someone has to hide Olive Garden mints from you...

Mile High Ice Cream Pie

So, I know in my last blog I said that domination of the new dessert at Applebee's was going to take place today, but I lied. I don't know what exactly happened, but it wasn't domination, it was more like extreme, mega, ultra domination. I must confess though, that I did have a friend's help, but I could have easily eaten it by myself. And plus, we shared two desserts, so I technically did eat it by myself.

All right, I had planned beforehand on really savoring the dessert, paying special attention to each and every mouthwatering bite so that I could hurry home and blog to all my fans about all the flavors and textures of the new Mile High Ice Cream Pie, but I failed. Miserably. I just can't eat a dessert slowly. I mean, I really think that phrase is an oxymoron. Eat dessert slowly? It's just not right. But in order to give you an idea of all the flavors here is the Applebee's description of the Mile High Ice Cream Pie:

This pie-scraper starts with an OREO® cookie crust, filled with chocolate ice cream and layers of chocolate fudge and peanut butter. Then we add peanut butter ice cream, caramel swirls and peanut brittle. Finally, we drizzle it with hot fudge & caramel, and top it with whipped cream and OREO® cookie crumbs.

Now you understand why I actually ate at Applebee's. The place needs descriptions like that to get people like me in the door. My friend and I showed up in the parking lot, and we were literally the only two cars in the parking lot. I thought the place was closed down, in which case I would, of course, been VERY upset. So what I do remember about the dessert is this: it was finished in approximately 5.2 seconds. Okay, not really, but like I said, we extreme, mega, ultra dominated it. I don't remember tasting much peanut brittle. And you know that on Iron Chef if the "secret ingredient" is not the highlight of the dish, then you definitely aren't going to beat the Iron Chef. And no, peanut brittle is not the "secret ingredient", but what if I was a major peanut brittle freak, and that was the only reason I even wanted to try the Mile High Ice Cream Pie? That would be some major disappointment. I do, however, distinctly remember the Oreo crust and peanut butter layer. And by the way, if you haven't tried dipping Oreo's in peanut butter, you're missing out. I stole that from the Parent Trap. Thanks, Lindsay!

Okay, so the peanut butter layer was very peanut buttery (is that a word?), the texture was very smooth, and the flavor meshed so well with the Oreo crust and ice cream. This is a peanut butter lover's dream. (Okay, maybe I wouldn't make such a good food critic) On the other hand, if you are not a peanut butter lover, it's not so overwhelming that it just tastes like one big peanut butter mess. Although, I'm not sure that that would be such a bad thing. Overall, I give it a B+. I mean, it was good. Real good. I finished it, and probably could eat it every day for the rest of my life, but I just wasn't blown away. I like unique desserts though; something with some weird random combination of flavors that I never would have thought of by myself. In fact, one of my biggest pet peeves is dessert at Italian restaurants. Cheese cake, creme brule, cannoli, tiramisu, blah, blah, blah. Boring! I mean seriously, think about it. When have you ever seen anything different on an Italian dessert menu? Yes, I understand those are considered Italian desserts. But my rule is that there should at least be one off the wall dessert on the menu. I have even been known to base what restaurant I eat at because of this. I once chose a restaurant to eat at in NYC based off a Willy Wonka themed dessert I read about online. It had a golden egg and snozberry flavors and everything! When I went, they told me that it was no longer on the menu. I'll let you guess my reaction, but let's just say no one heard the end of it for weeks...

White and Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake

So you know sometimes when you just get hit with that craving. At first it just subtly taps you on the shoulder and then it becomes like an annoying itch and just consumes you until you give in. If you don't know what I am talking about, then you are one of the lucky ones. This consuming feeling happens to me every night after dinner. It's like as soon as I'm done with dinner this alarm goes off and triggers this craze within me, and at that point there is nothing that can or will try to come between me and dessert.

I was planning on holding back on dessert tonight because I have been planning for days to demolish a new dessert at Applebee's with a friend of mine tomorrow (more on that later.. and yes I plan my dessert eating ahead). I wanted to mentally prepare myself and my stomach for the domination that will occur tomorrow. But then, sure enough, that little alarm went off and reminded me that there are two new desserts from Boston's (the restaurant) that I must try. I swear, when I see the words New or Limited Time Only on a menu, it's like my body goes into panic mode. I'm immediately flooded with this great fear that if I don't get in there right now before the millions of other people who research dessert menus online, I will never have the opportunity again. So sure enough, I found myself calling Boston's and ordering a dessert to go. Yeah, I know, just dessert. Who does that? The icing on the cake was when I was walking up to the restaurant. It was about 9:30, and I was already dressed for bed, and as I walk up I see tons of college students outside on the patio drinking beer and having a good time. So of course, I pull the whole "act like you're text messaging so you look cool move," because I mean come on, I was dressed for bed going to pick up a dessert by myself at Boston's. I mean what is this, Bridget Jones Diary? Then of course the guy at the to-go counter cracks some joke and says, "Oh, I was hoping you weren't going to show up so that I could eat your dessert." ...He obviously didn't know who he was messing with.

So now to the dessert itself! White and Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake. First off, let's be serious. It's from Boston's, a chain restaurant, so it's not going to be some amazing creation that Jacques Torres concocted. (I just googled famous dessert chef) But, being a poor college student, I have accepted the fact that these desserts will have to suffice for now. Plus, they pretty much always fulfill my cravings and my obsession with crossing yet another food item off my infinite list.

So here is the description provided by Boston's on the website; the one that lured me in. Layers of dark and white chocolate mousse between moist chocolate cake and covered with chocolate ganache. Not too shabby, eh? So I started by taking a bite of cake with chocolate mousse. Mm. Then a bite with cake and white chocolate mousse. Double mm. I was starting to think this was actually going to be pretty amazing. Then, as I continued eating, I realized it was just like any other chocolate cake with too sweet of a ganache that only people like me can finish, with some mousse in the middle that was flavored like pudding. But of course, I finished it anyways and it served it's purpose. I just can't help but wonder what would have happened had I gone with the Hot Brandy Cream Pie instead...

Hello fellow foodies

Hello everyone. I am new to blogging but am very excited to start on this journey. I decided to start blogging because I love food, and I apparently talk about it too much, plus I secretly want to be discovered so that I can become a food critic and try all the amazing food that Bobby Flay makes on Iron Chef. (Don't worry I am a fan of all the Iron Chefs) Before my boyfriend hinted to me that people might get a little annoyed with my endless chatter about food, I didn't realize that anyone wasn't interested. After all, who doesn't want to know about the new Nutty Chocolate ice cream that Blue Bell came out with? Anyways, I decided that I needed an outlet, and now here I am.

So you're probably wondering why you should read my blog even though I am sure there are millions of others writing about food. And my answer to you is this: I am obsessed. No, really. There is no other way to describe it. Not only do I have the passion for food, but I have the obsession, and that is what others do not have. Let me explain:

Do you know anyone that orders, on average, three desserts at a nice restaurant and can eat them all after their appetizer and entree?

Do you know of anyone that has made friends and family members drive to a different restaurant after dinner just so they can try the newest dessert?

Do you know anyone that owns a Zagat book and crosses off restaurants as they go to them AND refuses to repeat restaurant until they have been to every single one in the book?

Do you know anyone that gets annoyed with people that order the same thing as their friend sitting next to them?

Do you know anyone that has ever finished a half gallon of ice cream by themselves?

Do you know anyone that is the most kind and selfless person that you know until it comes to food? And then they smack you if you attempt to try their food, even though they already announced at the beginning of dinner that they got to try the first bite of everyone at the table's meal?

Do you know anyone that has ever ordered a dozen cupcakes at a time and finished them all that same day?

Do you know anyone that turned down a laptop as a high school graduation present so that they could go to a few nice restaurants instead?

And finally, do you know anyone whose goal it is to try every single dessert at every nearby restaurant, every Blue Bell, Ben and Jerry's, Coldstone, and Marble Slab ice cream flavor, along with every new Pop-Tart flavor, and every new desert that comes out at fast food restaurants?

Okay, if you don't get the picture by now, then email me, and I can tell you more. Yes, there is more. If you can find someone that meets all of those criteria, then tell me. NOW. Because me and that person are food soul mates. But, I don't know that you will.

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why I am different than every other foodie out there. And yes, you should feel sorry for my friends, family, and especially my boyfriend who usually has to foot the bill.

I know you're probably thinking how high maintenance I am at this point, but I promise I am not! Only when it comes to food of course, but isn't that justified? I don't ask for Coach Purses. Just get me food. I am the easiest person to shop for. All you have to do is take me to a restaurant I have never been, and it must be in my Zagat book. Piece of cake. Mmm..cake..

Anyways, with this blog, I plan on blogging about, oh I don't know, any new desserts I happen to stumble upon (by the way, if you haven't noticed by this point, food is my passion but dessert is my obsession), restaurants, etc. I also wanted to be a critic to the many restaurants I have crossed off in my Zagat book. I thought people might find it interesting to hear what a twenty year old accounting major from Texas with no culinary background might have to say about the food of experienced chefs. I think it will be a good time for everyone. But, I do want to add a disclaimer:

I do read critics reviews of restaurants and movies and everything else, but I do not always listen to them. I read them, but I always keep an open mind. Everything, food especially, is so subjective. I don't feel that you can disregard a restaurant based off one bad night that someone else had. With that being said, any negative experiences I have had at restaurants that I happen to blog about are not by any means meant to discourage people from eating at those restaurants. Everything is an experience and everyone has different experiences. Even if I go to a restaurant and I hate the food, the experience is always worth it it to me, no matter how much money I spent. (Plus, I get to cross them off in my Zagat book!)

So now, I want to clear things up with how I got to be such a foodie. And my answer for you is this: I have no idea. I was the kid that ate chicken fingers at Mexican restaurants, I gagged when I ate salad, I hated it all. Honey nut cheerios, peanut butter sandwiches, chicken fingers, and Little Debbie Star Crunch and I was set. I mean I guess looking back, I did used to win pie eating contests every summer at our country club..but who knows. The summer after my senior year of high school my mom and I started trying out a lot of nice restaurants, and I started to become more obsessed with the idea of food. And ever since then it's just been somewhat of a gradual unfolding of this obsessed inner food freak. I literally eat, sleep, and breathe food. The other day I was trying to study for an accounting test and instead ended up watching Top Chef reruns and researching restaurants for Houston Restaurant Week. Hello, so much more interesting! It's times like those that I really do question what the heck I am doing studying accounting. No one else knows why either. I mean all I ever ask for on my birthday is to be taken to a nice dinner. Most people think that I'm weird, but I like to think of myself as unique. Okay, I am weird, but in a good way, right? Anyways, someday my dream of doing something with food will be fulfilled.

And to end this way too long blog ( I will work on condensing in the future, I just really got carried away with this whole talking about myself business!), I would like to tell anyone and everyone, foodies and non foodies, that Julie and Julia is a must see. I laughed, I cried, I smiled. It was amazing. Words cannot describe. Meryl Streep played an amazing Julia Child, and in fact everyone in the movie played the characters so well. My favorite part of the movie is when Julia and her husband were at dinner and he asked her what she liked to do and she said eat and he then told her that she was very good at it. Okay, reading those words on a blog do not begin to describe how perfect the scene was. All I could think about is, "that's me, that's what I am good at it!" And it was then, that I decided to go through with starting this blog..something that my boyfriend and mom have been telling me to do for a long time.

Until next time....