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Balsamic Strawberries With Basil Whipped Cream

October 29, 2014 by Kristin

When I first opened this month’s HEB Primo Picks package, my first instinct was to roast something. I roasted cauliflower and later broccoli, but neither felt worthy of a blog post. And then my mind shifted to desserts… Balsamic desserts.

While roasting all of those veggies, the thickness of the Central Market balsamic vinegar was noticeably different than what you can typically find in the grocery store. It was slightly reduced, a closer resemblance to the balsamic I brought back from Italy last month. This was my motivation for reducing it further.

How visions of roasted veggies turned into a balsamic reduction mixed with sliced strawberries and olive oil, topped with basil whipped cream, I’ll never know. But what I can tell you is how much I loved this combo.

As part of the HEB Primo Picks team, I received compensation to sample various Primo Picks products. The opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.

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ACL 2014 Tunes & Eats

October 8, 2014 by Kristin

Before I was even able to unpack from Italy, it was time to pick up Emily from the airport for ACL weekend! I squeezed in a little work on Friday {Em was a good sport and came to work with me}, we ate lunch at St. Philip {yumm!}, and then we were off to Zilker Park to meet up with Justin and Heidi.

Day 1 consisted of CHRVCHES, St. Vincent, Foster the People, Beck, and a huge surprise. When we met up with Heidi after St. Vincent, she showed up with VIP wristbands to the Samsung stage where, not only were we able to watch bands play from the top of the stage, but were treated to bbq, vodka/ginger beers, and air conditioned bathrooms. We couldn’t, and still can’t, thank Heidi enough for sharing this experience with us!

On the morning of Day 2, I took Emily and Justin to one of my favorite brunch spots, Olivia, where I gorged on a bison burger sans bun and the best french fries in all of the land {seriously}. We sipped brunch cocktails while we planned out our day and then walked over to the fest.

Day 2 was insanely crowded. We began at Poliça, rushed over to Samsung to see Lana Del Ray from above, crossed the park again to see Interpol, then hiked back to Samsung for the Foster DJ set and Eminem. It’s amazing that we all managed to stay together. It’s even more amazing that Heidi pulled us aside to introduce us to Mark Foster and Isom Innis of Foster the People!

Day 3 started out much the same as Day 2. We brunched at Josephine House {another favorite of mine} with Emily’s cousin. Polenta and grits was my breakfast of champion choice.

But by the time we made it to the fest, we lost half our crew. Emily and Heidi were beat, so Justin and I peeled through the slightly-less-crowded crowd to see Real Estate and Spoon.

After Spoon, I trekked back to my place to get ready and pick up Em for Uchiko dinner, where we topped off an amazing weekend with an even more amazing meal!

If you’re curious about any of the bands listed above, most of the names are hyperlinked to the YouTube videos of my favorite songs.

Til next year, ACL!

Pizza Making With Chef Anna

September 26, 2014 by Kristin

One of the events on the DaVinci Wine Storyteller Experience itinerary that I was most looking forward to was pizza making with Chef Anna. Wood-fired pizza has been a long time favorite of mine, but experimenting with a wood-fired oven has never been within reach. The folks at DaVinci changed this by providing us not only with a wood-fired pizza oven, but an outdoor variety overlooking Tuscan vineyards and a lovely Chef Anna to guide us through the process.

Chef Anna, who has been preparing fabulous meals for us throughout the week, graciously let us in on her secrets for perfect pizza napolatena. Secrets which didn’t involve measuring cups or spoons, only general ingredient proportions and modifications based on the feeling of the dough in our hands.

Triple zero flour and fresh yeast {both of which I had never cooked with}, salt, sugar, and water. So simple.

We let our dough rise underneath crisp, white linens in the cool Tuscan breeze. That alone was a sight worth seeing.

When it came time to roll the dough, it was much tougher than I expected. I felt as if my dough had failed because it seemed like it barely grew with each pass of the rolling pin. But after a little bit of patience {I was being watched by Chef Anna, after all} and a lot of small progress, I was left with a large, round-ish palette of dough, ready for toppings.

I dressed the dough with Chef Anna’s sauce, thinly sliced red onion, salami, crumbled mozzarella, and a dab of gorgonzola here and there. And 90 seconds later, when my pizza was pulled from the fire, it was almost unbelievable that I was responsible for such a good looking pie. And the taste? Well, it was wonderful enough to earn the vote for best pizza!

I did agree with Felipo {the pizza judge} that all of our pizzas were great in their own way. Karen‘s pizza had fresh rosemary that was growing wild at the Casale, Jennifer‘s veggie pizza was a lighter alternative, and Celeste‘s heart-shaped pizza was as delicious as it was adorable. We spent the remainder of the evening sharing our pizzas, pairing them with DaVinci Pinot Grigio. All of us were shocked that a white wine could go so well with pizza, but the night ended with four pinot grigio pizza fans.

Welcome To Casale Di Valle!

September 22, 2014 by Kristin

It seems like just yesterday I received the phone call letting me know I had been selected as one of four storytellers in this year’s DaVinci Wine Storyteller Experience. Details were provided, time flew by, and before I knew it, I was flying across the Atlantic wondering what I had gotten myself into. Obviously it was going to be great. Obviously. But I couldn’t yet picture how it would all come together. The flight over felt much like Christmas Eve – if the Santa list was forgotten, courage to sneak a peak through wrapping paper was lost, and present destiny was in someone else’s hands.

Thankfully I had a day in Florence to adjust. A day to walk miles and miles from one side of the city to the other and back. A day to live in a typical hotel, with a typical staff, and typical amenities. A day {after 20 hours of travel} to completely wipe myself out and sleep the heaviest of sleeps. I needed this exact combination of things to prepare me for what was about to come.

As soon as we arrived to Casale Di Valle, we were welcomed by gorgeous Tuscan views, a warm-hearted crew, and the comfort of knowing that every experience during this upcoming week would be better than anything we could have anticipated. Every sight we saw was magical. And how could it not be? We were in the middle of a 16th century hunting lodge with 360 degree surrounds of vineyard.

After touring the property, each of the storytellers were led to their rooms. My path consisted of walking up a stone stairway with rope handrails, down a long, narrow hallway that branched off to a secondary kitchen, sitting area, and large, formal dining room, which led me to the Rose room. A room so cozy, I couldn’t wait to unpack my belongings and call home for the next week.

After a few minutes to let it all sink in, we regrouped downstairs for lunch under the gazebo. A gazebo with a built in pizza oven that we’ll soon be using to bake homemade pizza!

I could dance around adjectives for hours to find a way to describe our lunch only to arrive back at the word perfect, so I’ll stick to lunch was perfect. Bruschetta, salamis, prosciutto, grilled bread drizzled with olive oil, a selection of cheeses, and an abundance of DaVinci pinot grigio – I couldn’t have dreamt up a dreamier meal.

We cheersed the first of many cheerses and, once again, let it all sink in. We are here, at the Casale Di Valle, for the next week. And in the next week we will create memories that will be incomparable to anything any of us have ever experienced.

To follow along with our adventures in real-ish time, follow FoodFash on Instagram and Facebook!

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