{Over The Weekend} Chili Cookoff and Home Decor

Monday again.
And, it's already afternoon! Where has this day gone?

Never mind that, I'll just think on what a great weekend I had. It started Friday night with a cocktail: Disaronno and Red Ribbon Root Beer.

I'd mistakenly sworn off the unique taste of root beer years before, as it didn't suit my taste buds. So much wasted time. This cocktail is a sweet go-to now, especially with craft root beer. 

Chili in Wexford

The Texan in me is skipping again. Earlier this week Whole Foods in Wexford contacted me about their inaugural Chili Cook-Off this Saturday {1/12} with an invitation to come and taste the entries. I'm down! Too bad I can't enter the contest! I love making Nigella's Cornbread-Topped Chili or the Yam & Bean Orange-Scented Chili from Everybody Likes Sandwiches. What are your favorite recipes for chili?

Yam & Bean Orange-Scented Chili Via Everybody Likes Sandwiches

Here's the skinny on Saturday's event:

Warm Up From the “Chili”-Weather with Whole Foods Market® Wexford First Annual Chili Cook-Off Competition!  Enjoy assorted chili recipes while listening to local group Broke, Stranded & Ugly

WHAT:           Whole Foods Market Wexford is hosting their FIRST EVER Chili Cook-Off! From slow-roasted crock pot chili to one-pot chili casseroles, Wexford Team Members have begun preparing their best rendition of momma’s homemade chili.  Whether you are accustomed to lamb, lentils, or seafood chili or beef, veggies and tofu, there will be bowls of goodness filled with savory flavors for all palettes at this FREE event. 

For those who prefer the staple made from all organic ingredients to those who swear on canned made chili, the community is invited to vote on which Wexford Team Member’s recipe should hold the bragging rights for “the best chili ever.”  Along with sampling, all taste-testers will receive copies of recipes to try at home as they listen to live music performing in the café from local group Broke, Stranded & Ugly.

WHEN:          Saturday, January 12, 2013

                          12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:         Whole Foods Market | Wexford

10576 Perry Highway

Wexford, PA 15090

724.940.6100

I'm ready to indulge in mouthful after mouthful of steamy chili {even if the weather's supposed to warm up this weekend} at the new Whole Foods in Wexford.  However, I'm not sure about this band. With a name like that, what do they sing about?!

If you're going, join the Twitter conversation by following Whole Foods in Wexford @WFMWexford and me {if you haven't already!} @CristinAshley.  Tweet me pictures! 

Have a great weekend!

PGH Dining: La Gourmandine

Whichever way you look at it, Husband and I have been lucky to live close to a bakery, and a French patisserie at that. La Gourmandine is affixed in a group of shops on Butler Street, across from the Boys & Girls Club at 46th street. I've neglected to write a PGH Dining post about La Gourmandine, mainly because we've been so often that it becomes somewhat commonplace. The "bakery" is anything but commonplace, however. 

We've had the chance to sample almost every offering they have, from breads to sandwiches to quiches to those lovely pastries and desserts. Everything is delicious, because it's made in the true French way, with no short cuts. 

You've seen the following desserts we gobbled up this past December. 

One of the Religieuses - Two tiers of choux pastry filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with fondant.

The pastry above was featured in the February issue of Pittsburgh Magazine {on page 49 if you want to know}. The article about the patisserie is on page 55, and features the head pastry chef, Fabien Moreau. The article lauds Moreau's work, and {wisely, in my opinion} urges each 'Burgher to visit the shop.
And these, too, which were our New Year's treats.

Husband's Tartelet au Citron {Lemon Tart}.

My Buche de Noel.

 Then, we shortly moved on to the breads. They all have a perfect crumb, but our favorite is he Pain aux Cereales, which is bread with sesame seeds, flax and sunflower seeds.

It reminds me of Seeduction bread from Whole Foods, but it's more hearty because of the amount of seeds. Seeduction is overwhelmed by seeds, and there isn't much room for the actual bread. The Pain aux Cereales is a perfect mix of both.

More recently, we stopped in for a quick snack of madeleines and coffee. 

Husband, for some weird reason unknown to me, loves his madeleines to be saccrine-sweet, with a pungent lemon flavor. I love a softly sweet madeleine that's scented with lemon. La Gourmandine achieves the latter. 

There's nothing better than dipping a lemony scented biscuit-type confection into a hot coffee. This brings me to a whole other discussion. Other French patisseries I've been to in the past have set the coffee standards fairly high. They have a house-brewed coffee, but also options for lattes, espresso and other 'specialty' drinks. La Gourmandine chooses to only offer carafe-pumped, self-served coffee. Don't get me wrong - I am a fan of the coffee they serve, but it's a bit of a contradiction between the superb baked goods they offer to the type of coffee service they offer. This is so nit-picky, I'm not going to spend any more time on it!

We also have had the chance to try most of their sandwiches {La Parisien, the ham, Swiss and butter is our favorite}, served on their homemade baguette. Continuing with their savory options, we purchased one of the Foccacia Garnie, which is a small round focaccia, topped with mozzarella, Parmesan, basil and tomato. 

Focaccia on the tray.

It was almost like a small pizza, but with actual bread as the crust. It wasn't greasy, as focaccia is sometimes. Lovely for a quick lunch.

 They also serve Foccacia aux olives, as pictured below. 

Of course, since I married an olive-hater, we didn't romantically share one of these. {In my dreams!}

Overall, I love each and every offering from La Gourmandine. It's a classic patisserie, and I feel lucky to have it in my neighborhood. 

Busy Weekend!

The holiday season is in full swing, mainly noted by all of the money we've been having to spend (Gifts, Food, Travel, etc.) This past weekend has been fun, but I'm not going to be able to write about the second or third parts of our San Francisco trip. Maybe with my time off?

Friday evening, Amanda and Martie (my sister- and mother-in-law) came to eat dinner with us and stay the night. Roy (my father-in-law) joined us for dinner at La Duni at Northpark. We ate inside because of the rainy weather (I love their outdoor seating!).

The next morning was the 2010 Memory Walk, hosted by the Dallas chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. It was held at the Dallas Zoo, and was a pretty good time! The animals were out and about - the giraffes were especially friendly, and I was able to touch two of them a couple of times. It didn't rain, and the weather was clear and cool. Other than it being a little disorganized because of the way the routes were shaped, it was a great event.

Today I've been doing some catch-up on work (not nearly enough), and am about to get ready to head to Sherman. We're picking up some of our holiday decorations, as well as eating dinner with my side of the family for my Uncle's birthday.

What a weekend! We also made stops by Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Neuhaus Cafe and Daria Lane. I'm looking forward to getting through this week at work, and then enjoying Thanksgiving!

Return to Previous Subjects

Okay, so I'm guessing my hair doesn't look too hot considering the lack of comments here and on Facebook. I get it. Thanks, guys. I'll just throw it in a ponytail (ponyhair?) until it grows out a little more. Or, better yet, all of you guys can shove it! I kinda like it now, so I'm going to wear it with pride. So ha, take that.

On another note, the new Whole Foods at Park Lane is amazing. Lest I get myself into trouble, I should leave it at that. But I can't. Their layout is different from other Whole Foods I've been to, but don't worry, Foodies, everything is still there. And more. The geniuses that are management decided to incorporate a wine bar, barbecue stand, and a large bulk section into this store.

You can buy olive oils and vinegars by weight now. Oh God. Where is my paycheck going? Oh, and what is that I hear? Live music outside? Perfect. Only a block away from one of my employers, I'm fiending to go there for lunch pretty much every day. The SALADS! The ciabatta rolls! The vegan delights! Just the produce is making me drool. Go and see for yourself.

Whole Foods!

Oh, and the new Whole Foods on Park Lane is opening today! I am super excited because it's down the street from my new apartment. I'm hoping Husband will take me to go check it out tonight. WITH my new haircut!

(and yes, that picture is of the one in Austin. Get over it. :))

Picture & Food Find-Caching

A few weekends ago, I mentioned going out with Kelly & Michelle. I wanted to post a photo for everyone - it was such a great night! The photo is from before we went out. (My ugly kitchen is in the background.)

Friday night Michael and I went on one of our Whole Foods Dates. This may seem odd to a few of you, but it's something of which we are able to get great enjoyment. We go with no purchase in mind (a dangerous concept to some), and just walk around looking at the different merchandise. We get something unfamiliar or unique (to us) every time. This time we purchased a Ram's Head Challah, two Rishi tea flavors (White Rose and a Lavender Oolong), and a White Beauty heirloom tomato.

Even though we live in the middle of the highest number of Jewish people in Dallas, we've never tried much of the Kosher food that infiltrates the markets. We picked up the Challah, and I have to say, it's delicious. It's made with a large number of eggs and a good amount of sugar, so it's a sweet and luxurious bread. The teas were VERY rich and a lot more intense than my usual teas, black and Earl Grey (http://www.rishi-tea.com/). Finally, the tomato. My sister brought some heirloom tomatoes for us to eat when she visited us for the Tech/UT game. I had never had an heirloom outside of the restaurant setting, so it was a very nice surprise. After trying the red and green varieties, I decided to try all of the rest: I found an Amish red and a White Beauty. The red was much the same as the other red variety I had tried, but the Beauty was buttery with an almost melty taste when you ate it. I made a lunch of tomatoes and bread. It was glorious.