Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

A while back, I worked in an office where we would hold pot lucks practically once a week. I made these savory pinwheels as a quick solution.

Red Onion and Dill

Ingredients

Red Onion (diced)

Dill

Smoked Salmon

Dijon Mustard

Honey

2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls Dough

Unroll 2 cans of Crescent Rolls Dough into a rectangular strips.

Whisk honey and mustard together and spread the mixture onto the flat dough. Don't put too much on the dough.

Sprinkle dill, then the onion and salmon.

Roll up the dough and cut.

Place the pinwheels onto a baking sheet, and bake according to can instructions.

Smoked Salmon, Dill, Red Onion, Honey mixed with Dijon Mustard, and Crescent Roll Dough

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

Pure Luck Farm and Bella Vista with Tasty Touring and a Hill Country Fall Picnic

Fickle Foodie and I went on our first Tasty Touring to Pure Luck Farm and Bella Vista Ranch to learn about rearing goats for goat milk and chevre and the difficulties of growing olive trees for olive oil in Texas.


A big "thank you" to Jodi of Tasty Touring for organizing this charming Hill Country tour!

Pure Luck Farm

Fickle Foodie and I were immediately drawn to the smokey chipotle goat cheese and the aromatic basil pesto goat cheese. We bought one of each to add to our picnic basket for later.

Goat Cheese Tasting: Chipotle and Basil Pesto Chevre

I learned quite a lot from the Bella Vista tour, and the olive oil and vanilla fig balsamic vinegar tasting left a lasting impression.

Bella Vista Ranch Olive Grove

After touring both farms, Fickle Foodie and I drove through Wimberley and had a picnic at Devil's Backbone, a scenic spot overlooking a gigantic valley in the Hill Country.

Devil's Backbone

Our picnic consisted of:

Chilled Green Tea Soba Noodles

Herbes de Provence Chicken Legs

Orzo Salad with Cucumbers, Onions, feta cheese and lemon vinaigrette

Baguette

Pure Luck Farm Chipotle Goat Cheese and Basil Pesto Goat Cheese

Thai-style Salsa with Tortilla Chips

Grapes
Chocolate Chip Cookies and Ginger Cookies

Sweet Tea Leaf Honey Mint Green Tea

Frank Hot Dogs and Beer

Frank

I recently met up with Fickle Foodie and our friend, Sara, for hot dogs at Frank, seeing how the joint is the talk of the town right now.

All of us enjoyed the chili cheese waffle fries, and I liked my corn cup.

Corn Cup; Chili Cheese Waffle Fries

I really can't say much about the crawfish boil hot dog (pork, crawfish tails, and corn sausage topped with potato salad). I waited more than a week to try it, and when I got it, I was sorely disappointed. The sausage lacked Cajun seasoning. C'mon. If it's called crawfish boil, I better feel like sneezing because of the spices and seasonings. There was no "bam" to this dog; instead, I got bland.

Crawfish Boil

My friends enjoyed their dogs, so maybe my choice was a blip on the menu.

Diablo Verde; Notorious P.I.G.

I'm not sure if I will return. I enjoyed the texture of the sausage on a crusty bread, but I can pretty much re-create anything on the menu I really want to try at home with the help of some interesting sausages at Central Market.

Crepes Mille

Crepes Mille

Crepes Mille on S. Congress Ave serves amazingly tasty crepes.

I dislike the texture of most crepe batters. Crepes Mille makes crepes that actually don't get rubbery and egg-y when it cools! I wasn't even able to encounter a crepe that didn't have that problem in Paris!

The creative fillings and toppings skyrocket this little trailer right up my favorite Austin food trailer list. My friend, Elisabeth, and I shared the new Pork Chop Chipotle with asparagus, onions, Monterrey Jack cheese, and smoked chipotle cream sauce and the Sticky Rice Mango Crepe of Yelp fame.

Pork Chop Chipotle Crepe; Sticky Rice Mango Crepe

The Pork Chop Chipotle Crepe was a tangy, mildly spicy, creamy, and smokey concoction, absolutely delicious.

The Sticky Rice Mango Crepe came unexpectedly with organic jam, peanut butter, what looked like corn flakes and chocolate syrup. I would've liked this crepe just the way it was named in capital letters rather than with the additional stuff in the lower case description on the menu. However, it was still pretty darn good!

Autumn Afternoon Tea at Tea Embassy

When I read that Tea Embassy is holding afternoon tea on Halloween, I rushed right over and reserved a spot in the sitting room and invited my parents. The last time I had afternoon tea was at Claridge's in London with my mom. We both loved our experience there, so I thought it would be great to recapture the atmosphere in Austin, this time with my dad!

Tea Embassy

This obviously was a different atmosphere from Claridge's. Instead of a big hotel foyer, we sat on parlor room chairs and a sofa next to the fire place in an intimate tea room. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Afternoon Tea at Tea Embassy

The menu and tea choices were infused with the autumn theme. We drank walnut green tea, cinnamon spice, and pumpkin spice. The walnut green tea was exquisite. It was aromatic yet had a light taste. It has hints of pineapple and coconut. The owner told us that the walnut green, and most of their other flavored teas, is blended in Germany.

Walnut Green Tea; Pumpkin Spice

First Course; Second and Third Courses

Our first course consisted of a pumpkin tart with spiced caramelized onions, mini baked brie topped with cranberry ginger chutney, and apple chicken salad tea sandwich. Each bite were light and pleasant. I especially enjoyed the pumpkin tart, which I think I'll try to recreate for a picnic.

Pumpkin Tart with Caramelized Spiced Onions, Baked Brie with Cranberry Ginger Chutney, and Apple Chicken Tea Sandwiches

I'm more of a savory person, so once the first course of savory bites is over, it always feels downhill from there. It's inevitable and never the fault of the afternoon tea venues. I'm just not much of a sweets person...unless the establishment is La Petite Rose in Paris...

Nonetheless, they did a fantastic job with the cream scones, lemon curd, clotted cream, and jam for the second course. None of us like scones, but we finished these with ease.

Cranberry Cream Scones; Lemon Curd, Clotted Cream, and Jam

The third course is more sweets, but again, we cleaned off the tray, smacked our lips most inelegantly, and drank some more walnut green. Ah, such a hard day's work of acting genteel!

Bread Pudding Bites with Caramel, Apple Spice Tea Cake, and Dark Chocolate Dipped Brownie Bites

Cravin' for Cajun: Gumbo's and Shoal Creek Saloon

Our boss at work took us to Gumbo's for lunch, and I realized just how much I miss Cajun food. Crawfish, gumbo, jambalaya...quick get me a napkin I'm slobbering just writing these words! I can't blame being in China for this deprivation. Austin is lacking in good Louisiana cookin' in general. It's not often I can afford to eat at Gumbo's everytime I crave it.

I sat down, scanned the menu quickly and ordered the trout Michael, which is trout in a cream sauce with crawfish and a side of jamalaya.

I must have forgotten my manners and ate like a madwoman because my boss asked, "Don't they have anything close to jambalaya or gumbo in China since it's a rice dish?" Rice dishes, sure...there are plenty...but nothing this heavy with flava!

Trout Michael with Jambalaya

The next day, I drove by Shoal Creek Saloon, and saw the words "Duck Gumbo" painted on the side of their building, and pulled into their parking lot without even thinking. My instincts took over...Must eat duck gumbo...inexpensive Cajun food...good... I walked onto the patio in a trance and ordered a bowl of the duck gumbo and a seafood platter of fried catfish and fried crawfish.

Shoal Creek Saloon

I've never been to Shoal Creek Saloon, but I've driven past this place countless times. Unfortunately, that day was likely my last visit. The food was not memorable. Not even the smoked duck in the gumbo could lure me back. The roux of the gumbo tasted burnt and the breading of the catfish and crawfish had none of the flava that usually knocks me off my chair in a real Cajun meal.

Nope, I suppose my search for less expensive Louisiana fare is still on-going.

Duck Gumbo

Fried Catfish, Crawfish, Cole Slaw, and Beans

Squash & Scallops Take Two

I bought a butternut squash like I said I would after my first interpretation of the pumpkin and scallops tapas I had in Dalian, China. Butternut squash definitely has a sweeter and creamier taste than acorn squash, and thus works better for this dish. However, I believe the even sweeter pumpkin would make this dish even better. No wonder the tapas restaurant in Dalian stuck with the pumpkin. I never cooked anything besides zucchini and yellow squash in the squash family so this dish was a fun excuse for me to experiment and taste the different larger squashes.

I cooked the sauce and the scallops the same as last time, but opted to steam my butternut squash this time because it's less work.

Seared Scallops with Creamy Mustard Wine Sauce on Steamed Mashed Butternut Squash