Things & Stuff
I love, love, love Bar Congress. It’s tiny, cozy, swank and yet approachable, and the drinks are fantastic. Both times we’ve gone, Adam was behind the bar making lovely cocktails. Above is my Palmetto Cocktail, made with rum, vermouth and orange bitters. In the back is Justin’s Tam Tam Swizzle.
They have a small food menu as well, though we haven’t tried any edibles here. You can also swing over to Second Bar + Kitchen next door for dinner or snacks, which we hope to do very soon.
Breakfast at work: coffee and a doughnut. I tried the French roast coffee pod at work, but I didn’t like it, so I switched to hot chai. My coworker brought in doughnuts, and it reminded me of Nick. He often brought doughnuts on fridays.
Lunch: egg in the hole topped with avocado, Farmhouse salad greens with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Snack at work: Farmhouse apple and tangerine with peanut butter. The peanut butter went on the apple, not the tangerine. 🙂
Dinner at Perla’s: chardonnay, hush puppies, grilled oysters, raw oysters, and grilled brussels sprouts.
The oysters were so plump and delicious. I love oyster season.
We met our friend Jason for drinks. We did a tour of our bartender-friends’ establishments. First stop was Bar Congress to see our friend Adam. I adore Bar Congress. I had a Palmetto Cocktail with rum, vermouth, and orange bitters. Lovely.
Second stop was Bess Bistro to see Jason’s friend Bethany. Sazeracs and Vieux Carres.
Last stop was Haddingtons to see our friend Bill (and Brandon and Tiff). No photo, it was pretty dark in the Fox Tavern (the hidden back bar). It was a boozy night. 🙂
We signed up for Farmhouse Delivery again! I think it’s this cold weather – it makes me want to be at home, cooking stuff, baking stuff, eating stuff. Having all this beautiful, local produce delivered to my door really encourages me to cook. As you can see from the photo above, Roux approves of the produce, too.
This week we got apples, sweet tangerines, perfect strawberries (how do they do that in January?!), avocados, broccoli, greens (I dunno what kind they are), green onions, dill, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, and a ginormous cauliflower. Look how big it is!
And the Brussels sprouts are so tiny and cute. I cooked them up right away.
I made pasta with Brussels sprouts, bacon and blue cheese. I don’t really like blue cheese, but I thought I’d be brave and try it again. I still don’t like blue cheese, so I didn’t eat much of this. What’s sad is that I could tell that the dish itself was really, really good! Justin loved it – and if I liked blue cheese, I know I would have loved it, too. Next time I’ll use feta or goat cheese, I think.
Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel, but keep about 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan.
Cook the Brussels sprouts, shallots, and a bit of salt and black pepper in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Stir in broth and cream, cover, and cook until Brussels sprouts are tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Cover and keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook penne in plenty of salted water until tender. Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water; drain the rest and add the penne, walnuts, and bacon to the Brussels sprouts mixture. Toss well, adding a bit of pasta water if needed to keep it moist. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Makes 4 – 6 servings.
Adapted from The Best Simple Recipes.
Our black cat (her name is Little) looks like a black ball of fur in this photo. Actually, she kind of is a black ball of fur. Roux just isn’t sure what she’s up to.
So I did it… I started photographing my daily eats. We’ll see how long it lasts! (You know me and finishing projects…)
I started adding them to my Tumblr page, but Tumblr just doesn’t have the capabilities that WordPress does. I discovered that I’m quite loyal to WordPress. So anyway, my Daily Eats posts will be right here on poco-cocoa, though they won’t show up on the front page. I didn’t want to clutter the place up. 🙂
You can find links to each day on the sidebar over to the right. You can also click on the “Daily Eats” tab up at the top to see all these posts at once. Hope you enjoy them!
breakfast at work: baguette and hot cocoa (made with soy milk)
lunch with A. at Taj Palace: buffet stuff. i also had a few bites of rice pudding.
dinner: leftover chickpea and leek soup, salad greens with avocado and ranch dressing. not pictured: a few potato chips with avocado.
dessert: i had two of these. i like to twist the sandwiches apart and eat each half separately.