Showing posts with label giveaway!!. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giveaway!!. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Celebrate with Crispy Chicken Tortilla Rollups Spicy Avocado Crema a Chobani Yogurt Giveaway!!
NOTE: This popular recipe has been updated to provide a separate ingredient list and clearer preparation instructions. To get to the recipe, simply GO HERE!!
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Crispy Chicken Tortilla Rollups & Spicy Avocado Crema
a Weekend Gourmet Original
a Weekend Gourmet Original
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
A Food Lovers Weekend in New Orleans Part 3 Plus an Aunt Sallys Pralines Giveaway!!
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| From the moment you walk up the steps to Commanders Palace, you know youre in for a fabulous experience! |
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| Looking over the brunch menu while we enjoy our eye-openers, signature house-made garlic bread, and peach gazpacho. |
The food was excellent, starting with the appetizers. The guys had Commanders excellent Creole gumbo, Crystal (social media guru extraordinaire) had a tuile cookie filled with sweetened Creole cream cheese and topped with sweet diced cantaloupe. I adore shrimp remoulade, so I gave theirs a try: the shrimp were plump and sweet, and the remoulade had a perfect punch!
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| A sweet appetizer: tuile cookie filled with sweetened Creole cream cheese and locally grown cantaloupe. Add in some vanilla bean-infused syrup and candied pecans, and youve got a winner! |
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| A savory appetizer: Louisiana shrimp served with spicy remoulade sauce. |
Next came the entrees. First up was the Pecan Crusted Gulf Fish with Prosecco Poached Crabmeat, Spiced Pecans, and Crushed Corn Sauce. We also tried the Barbeque Shrimp with Andouille Cracked Corn Grits and Abita Beer Barbeque Sauce. The fish was moist, spicy, and nutty...and the crabmeat provided a nice sweet counterbalance. The shrimp were plump in a spicy sauce...and the grits were earthy and spicy from the chunks of sausage.
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| Pecan-crusted Gulf fish topped with lump crabmeat...served in a pool of crushed corn sauce. |
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| A spicy entree: Seared shrimp in Abita beer barbeque sauce, served over andouille-spiked grits. |
Between the entrees and the dessert course, the strolling jazz combo stopped by our table to play a New Orleans standard. It was great fun...and everyone in the dining room was clapping and enjoying it as much as we were! Before we knew it, dessert arrived. My two favorites were their signature Creole Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Sauce and the Praline Parfait. The souffle takes a down-home favorite and elevates it to gourmet status...fluffy, rich, and sinful (in the best way possible)!! The parfait was almost too pretty to eat: vanilla bean ice cream layered with house-made pralines, whipped cream, and candied pecans...wrapped in a honey tuile and topped with sticky praline sauce.
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| Commanders signature dessert: Creole bread pudding souffle...with whiskey sauce added tableside, just before eating. Ethereal... |
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| Praline parfait...sweet, but not overly rich! Pralines, vanilla bean ice cream, and whipped cream. Encased in a crunchy honey tuile cookie and topped with candied almonds and caramel sauce. |
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| The Weekend Gourmet crew is all smiles as we enjoy Sunday Jazz Brunch. |
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| A duo of sorbet at Sucre: coconut basil and fresh strawberry. The perfect way to cool off on a warm, humid afternoon in New Orleans! |
Everything they sent with us was fabulous! We especially enjoyed the White Chocolate Bread Pudding and the Turtle: chocolate bread pudding topped chocolate mousse, salted caramel mousse, and a hidden gem! Both were decadent, and the small portion size made them not overly rich. The chocolate collection included flavors that were reminiscent of New Orleans.
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| White Chocolate Bread Pudding from Sucre...good warm or at room temperature! |
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| The Turtle: layers of chocolate and caramel mousse topped with ganache and a candied pecan. |
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| The New Orleans Chocolate Collection: handmade and flavored with local flavors, including chicory, bananas foster, and a fleur-de-lis-shaped chocolate ganache. |
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| Locals...and The Weekend Gourmet...line up to purchase authentic Italian ice cream and baked goods at Angelo Brocato. |
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| A sampling of cannoli and Italian cookies from Angelo Brocato. |
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| Pralines bubbling away in a well-used copper pot...in the kitchen at Aunt Sallys Pralines. |
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| A batch of pralines cooling in the kitchen, while another batch is cooking away in the background. Each pot makes approximately 300 pralines. |
In business since the 1930s, Aunt Sallys offers a wide variety of pralines, including traditional Creole, creamy, and chewy. They also come in several flavors, including original pecan, triple chocolate, bananas foster, and even a spicy one flavored with a bit of Louisiana Tabasco sauce! Even better, Aunt Sallys is going to give one of my readers a 12-pack of their Creole pralines: six each of Original and Triple Chocolate! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below telling me how you might use Aunt Sallys pralines in your kitchen...or if you plain to enjoy them straight from the box "as is." Make sure to leave your e-mail so I can contact you if you win. I will accept entries until this Friday, September 21st, and the winner will be notified this weekend.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Announcing A Food Lovers Weekend in Dallas and a Dallas BIG Family Fun Prize Package Giveaway!!
Its time to announce the next city in our continuing A Food Lovers Weekend In... travelogue series. This time, were sticking close to home to spotlight Dallas! We went to college in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so were very excited to check out some of the areas best food and attractions later this month. For those not familiar with Texas geography, Dallas is located in North Texas. Fort Worth is located nearby, and there are lots of smaller communities between these two large cities. Collectively, this area is known as the Metroplex. Dallas is a large city that has a thriving food scene that were excited to explore! I have received lots of planning assistance for this trip from the helpful staff of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, and we have a great lineup of restaurants and attractions that we plan to share with you! When we were in college, we passed this view of the Dallas skyline many times...and its especially pretty at night!
Our hotel accommodations for this trip are being provided by the NYLO Dallas South Side Hotel. This ultramodern boutique property is part of the 4-hotel NYLO Hotels group. They have three locations in Dallas and one location in New York. The South Side location features 76 loft-style eco-friendly rooms and 8 suites. The property incorporates unique urban design elements including: polished concrete floors, 10+ foot-high ceilings, large windows that allow lots of natural light and afford city views, locally-sourced artwork and custom furnishings. They also offer upscale amenities, including: a 42-inch flat screen HDTV and WiFi in all rooms. The property also features a rooftop pool that features sweeping city views and a popular adjacent bar named Soda Bar.
restaurants well be spotlighting.
Im so excited about our upcoming trip, that Im sharing the fun with you!! In conjunction with our upcoming Dallas travelogue, The Weekend Gourmet is happy to host a fun Dallas giveaway. One lucky winner is going to experience BIG Family Fun in Dallas this Summer! The fabulous prize package pictured left is being provided by the nice people at the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. The prize package includes the following:
- Four tickets (two adult + two youth) to the gorgeous outdoor Dallas Arboretum
- Tickets valid daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Expiration date: December 31, 2013
- One BIG card for savings at other Dallas Family Fun venues
- Fun summer essentials for the entire family to enjoy in Dallas, including four colorful water bottles.
To enter the contest, simply leave me a comment below. Tell me what you and your family would most like to do when you win the prize package and head to Dallas. Please make sure to include your e-mail address in your comment so I can easily contact you if youre the winner. Ill accept entries until this Sunday (7/7) at 1159 p.m. CST. The winner will be contacted via e-mail on Monday 7/8. Good luck!!!
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