Poco-Cocoa

So I saw this photo and recipe ages ago and was completely in love with the idea of squash jam. Squash jam! All wintery and sweet and perfect with cheese or good bread.

So I had all these sweet potatoes, and I thought, wouldn’t that work instead? I mean, orange winter vegetable and all.

I don’t know what I did wrong, but here’s the result:

It went from hard pieces of sweet potato swimming in sugar liquid to hard pieces of sweet potato stuck in burnt caramel. I thought maybe it would at least work as sweet potato candy, but no dice. So there’s that.

In other news, we finally went back to Enoteca Vespaio, which we hadn’t been to in years. We loved it! I want to make it part of our usual restaurant rotation. It feels like Florence in there. Or New York. All tiny and squished together, dark and slow and simple and lovely. We even had a bit of limoncello and amaretti cookie afterward. I think we’ll have to visit again soon with Aimee & Josh.

We talked about our little restaurant rotation, too. We love trying new places, but we also love having a few restaurants that feel homey, that aren’t too fancy, that have really good food and dishes that we look forward to having again. Our usuals lately are Foreign & Domestic, Bufalina, Elizabeth Street Cafe, and Joe’s Bakery. Others we visit less often but still feel like usual haunts, like Justine’s, Perla’s, Clark’s, and Takoba. I’m sure I’m forgetting some. We’ve tried a few east side spots lately, and I think El Sapo will become a usual happy hour spot, and we really enjoyed Counter Cafe for lunch. Anyway, it makes me think of what Ned says about Foreign & Domestic – he never meant for it to be a “special occasion” place. If it was in New York, it would just be a neighborhood restaurant, one that you’d visit every week or two for good food. And that’s kind of how I view some of these places – the food is really good, and it’s casual without being too casual. So I’m interested in whittling down our rotation to places that really make us feel good. Places that spark joy.*

So after my sweet potato disaster, I was happy to find this little video to cheer me up. Taylor Swift + 80s aerobics. (**The video was removed! You’ll just have to take my word for it, it was great.)

I hope you’ve all had a great weekend!♥

*I’ll have to update you soon on things that spark joy. 🙂

Look at these lovely cookies. Aren’t they amazing? There are “Oreo” cookies and fluffernutters and smoked chocolate cookies and couch potato cookies and “mallowmars”… this is what happens when you plan a big event for chefs and they send you a thank you. Thanks, Rebecca! 🙂

I feel like I’ve been really productive yesterday and today. I’ve gotten a lot of work done, though it seems like there is always new work. Which is good? I think? Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with so many new ideas and opportunities. My first instinct is to curl up into a ball and say that there is just too much to think about! But usually Justin gives me a big hug and says I can do it and then I just do it. Thank goodness for husbands.

I’ve started the process for Indie Chefs Week Austin, January 2015. The last event just ended on October 19, and here we are already going strong for the next event. It’s definitely fun and constantly changing, but it also feels like I can never get ahead, never plan fully, never feel fully prepared for each event. But maybe that’s just how this project is – a constant, daily challenge to keep me on my toes.

Anyway, tonight my brain is full of ideas and worries, and I’d like to clear it out. I think it’s time for some crosswords and silly puns and maybe a re-watching of Game of Thrones. I’ve only watched the first three seasons, and I’m slowly reading the books, so it’s fun to go back and re-watch the first episodes. At some point, we’ll have to subscribe to HBO just so I can see the newest season! So no spoilers, guys. 😉

I hope your Thursday has been lovely. xo