fine dining, or daily dining in france...

While I am due for another post from the magical france trip of 2010, I need to take a moment to insert a bit about the food I enjoyed while I was there. You see, while editing the photos from my second week where I stayed with my french bestie, I realized how absolutely utterly stunningly gorgeous (not to mention DELICIOUS) the food was. You see, french bestie is an incredible cook. marvelous, really. And of course, being me, I had to photograph every single thing we ate. I was lucky french husband was so patient and understanding of my constantly whipping out the camera at a moments notice... and waiting to eat. or drink his wine. or champagne. See - I really was fortunate~

So, I thought I would share a few photos of the meals that have now spoiled me when it comes to dining. And please believe me when I say that I miss this food every day and try to recreate part of the magic that was "eating chez frenchies"...

Most of our lunches were eaten outside in the sunshine in the french countryside. And please note - when I say "lunch" I am referring to a meal that most would consider a formal dining experience in most other places. We enjoyed wine with every meal (lord knows I could get used to that...) and the freshest ingredients in every meal. It truly was one of those times when you REALLY don't want it to ever end.

Cheese was served at nearly every meal and it was the most magnificent selection of cheeses I have ever enjoyed. I fell in love with M. Jeannot - their cheese man~

Okay, I'm hungry... Time to go peruse my favorite cookbooks in search of some inspiration for the coming week~

Enjoy your Sunday mes amies!

xx

Barracuda Taqueria - my new go-to joint for tex-mex!

Earlier this week, my brilliant friend Annie posted about this incredible Tex-Mex spot in downtown Seattle. Now, this girl is a connoisseur of Tex-Mex - she is the reason for this post.

So, she blogged about this little slice of heaven, and I considered venturing into the city to try it for myself. But before I even had the chance to figure out where they were, I noticed that the owner of said delicious joint had posted on another friend's facebook page. "How do you know him???" I quickly messaged. She explained that he was the boyfriend of a mutual friend. What?!? How did I now know this??? Me being me, I immediately added him as my friend, he accepted, and today, my girlfriend and I had a lunch date. At Barracuda Taqueria. And let me say - you NEED to go.

Located not far from the Space Needle, it is in a fabulous spot in downtown Seattle. Parking is no problem (for lunch at least).

We first met Brian - twin brother of Nathan (the owner of said incredible establishment) and the MOST HONEST man I have ever known. Truly. Honest.

Annie had mentioned the queso. - something that I (sorry Annie) had never tried. Until today. Dear lord. Divine.

We asked Nathan what he would suggest for lunch, and he said he would put together a mix of various tacos to try. We had a great mix of meat and fish, and, uhm, okay, he brought us a tongue taco. No, of course it doesn't say "tongue taco" on the menu. But come on, in the end, it is tongue. Aannddd... seeing that I have just been traveling *in France* and eating such worldly things, I thought hey - I can do this. And I tried. And it seems that when one is in their own city, trying new, different things just doesn't seem to "go down" as easily. Thus, after one. tiny. little. bite., I was done. But I tried. And I have heard that it is very popular - with the tongue crowd I would guess... The shrimp tacos were great though!

Finally, I had to share this sign - after my time in Paris, I found this quite funny~

my favorite foodie sites

~courtesy La Tartine Gourmande

My favorite foodie sites are always on my sidebar. I check in with them every day, as they provide inspiration when sometimes, I desperately need it. There is everything from cooking to baking to meal planning to tricks of the trade. I admire these women as I really think that they are finding a way to do what they are passionate about, as well as making a life out of it. The photography on some of the sites is truly incredible and yet ANOTHER inspiration for me. I really think you are going to enjoy visiting them as well~

Enjoy~

Aran at Cannelle et Vanille is my hero. She cooks. She photographs. She styles. I have had the. worst. crush. on her. Forever. Oh, and she is nice - that is the kicker. This girl can make an eggshell look sexy. Seriously. case in point:

I definitely *heart* her~ don't you just want to climb into these photos???

Another amazing dual-inspiration blogger is Beatrice from La Tartine Gourmande. The fact that she is French immediately attracted me to her site - her photography (not only of food but of life itself) has kept me there, waiting for new posts, going back through her archives. She is truly an inspiration with her styling ability and the magic she creates with the camera. While her main focus on this site seems to be food, she shoots everything, from landscapes, to farm animals (we all know how much I love those), to people.

Joy the Baker really seems to LOVE what she does. She looks good with flour in her hair (okay, seriously, she always looks good - the girl looks like she belongs in the movies), she bakes everything from sweets and treats to breads to savories. I love that she is so passionate about it all - that she really seems to have found where she is supposed to be. She has also hooked up with two other movie-star-looking lovelies to create a sassy, sexy, fabulously fun event that they host in the LA area - On the Lamb Food and Beverage. If you live anywhere near Los Angeles, I would definitely check it out. Sounds like a memorable event!

Molly from Orangette is one of my favorites because not only has she written a book (that I love) but she lives in my city! She loves to cook, when she is not setting up a fantastical new pizza joint with her cutie of a husband. She also writes for my favorite cooking magazine, has a podcast, and basically fits more things into her life than I think should be possible.

Clotilde from Chocolate & Zucchini was recommended by my French teacher. The beauty of this site is that it is offered both en Anglais et en Francais! Clotilde lives in Paris and writes with such heart as she so clearly loves what she does. She has been blogging since 2003, not to mention she too has a book! She writes not only about cooking and baking, but about menu planning, shopping, what tools to use, and she shares tricks on how to make things work if they are a bit tricky. I really enjoy this blog when I am feeling especially "foodie".

Deb from Smitten Kitchen is fabulous for multiple reasons - one of which is the fact that she creates in a truly tiny space, and yet the magic that comes out of said teeny tiny space is incredible. I love that she takes "in the process" photos along with the finished product. She also will take an existing recipe that calls for processed items and come up with her own version that will be truly from scratch and much healthier, yet just as delicious!

Enjoy your Sunday mes amies, and maybe, cook something marvelous!

xx