Ending the Holidays

Going back to work last week after the holidays was rough! I don’t think my brain was fully functional at any point during the workweek. Luckily, I made it to both the gym and the weekend, so overall I consider the week a success. Today we took down our Christmas decorations, officially bringing an end to the Christmas season.

Right before everyone was off for Christmas, my department at work partook in our own holiday celebration. As with every social activity at my office, our team’s celebration revolved around food. We started out with lunch at Bravo Italian Kitchen on Restaurant Row. Of course our meal started with some delicious bread, then we were given an option between soup or salad and our choice of entree.

I started with the Italian Wedding Soup, which had meatballs and spinach in a savory chicken broth. The soup was very light and packed a lot of flavor.

I think I may need to attempt a recipe for this soon. I loved the little meatballs.

For my entree, I ordered Mama’s Lasagna Bolognese. The description promised a giant portion, so naturally, I was pretty excited.

The description did not lie. I only managed to get through about half of the dish. The lasagna had layers of noodles with meat sauce and then was topped with alfredo sauce. The alfredo sauce added a nice richness, but overall I found the dish to be too salty. When I went to eat my leftovers the next day, the dish tasted even saltier. The concept was delicious, but there was just too much salt added.

Luckily, dessert came next. They gave our group multiple dessert platters that each had bread pudding, tiramisu and molten chocolate cake.

They were all delicious, but my favorite was the bread pudding. Lunch was so fun, and our celebration had only just began. Next we headed to the next complex over to Farris & Foster’s, a chocolate shop, to learn how to make our own chocolate.

We each got to make a pound of whatever types of chocolate we chose. We could use chocolate molds, make chocolates filled with any variety of fillings or send items through a chocolate conveyor belt to be drenched in chocolate.

The session was a lot of fun. My chocolatier skills leave much to be desired, but in the end, everything tasted great.

Our team outing was such a fun way to kick off the holiday season. I just can’t believe it’s now ending!

What is your favorite type of chocolate? I love dark chocolate paired with something salty.

Pinterest Project: Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Look at me with a blog series. Two posts count as a series, right? Basically I’m not creative enough to come up with my own recipes so I turn to Pinterest to tap into other people’s originality. Last week my office building had a bake sale to support breast cancer. I don’t bake very often, so Pinterest to the rescue.

I was able to find this gem of a recipe for chocolate marshmallow cookies.

The recipe was pretty easy to follow and the cookies bake up quickly. However, my batches did not come out nearly as pretty.

It seems that I would either wrap too little cookie dough around the marshmallow causing marshmallow to ooze out everywhere, or I would wrap too much dough and have really tall cookie mounds. Taste-wise, the cookies were a little too sweet for me, but I also realize I shouldn’t be shocked by the sweetness of a recipe for chocolate cookies wrapped around marshmallows then rolled in sugar. However, my coworkers seemed to really enjoy them, and I got some great compliments on the recipe.

These might be good with a light sprinkle of sea salt to balance out the sweetness and to give them a s’mores feel.

What is your biggest Pinterest success?

French mornings

As evident by my birthday dinner at Chez Vincent, I really enjoy French food; although it can be so rich that it becomes a rare treat. The other morning, Kevin and I grabbed brunch with his brother’s family at Paris Bistro. It’s tucked away in a covered outdoor corridor off Park Avenue.

Paris Bistro offers a two-course brunch on Saturdays and Sundays featuring an entrée and dessert. I ordered their spinach and goat cheese omelet, which was very light and creamy. It was served with potatoes au gratin, which were actually very bland.

Also ordered at the table were the hamburger, quiche lorraine and waffle.

They only have one waffle maker at the restaurant, which seems to get backed up easily, so it did take a long time for the waffle to arrive. We had all finished eating before the waffle was presented.

For dessert, I chose the crème brulee.

I don’t think I’ve ever had bad crème brulee.

Overall the food at Paris Bistro was a little touch and go, and the service was spotty. I think there are better French places in Orlando for better prices.

However, next door to Paris Bistro is Le Macaron, a traditional French pastry shop with traditional French macarons. After our mediocre breakfast, Le Macaron was such a saving grace. French macarons are different from American macaroons. The French versions are like little buttery, flakey cookie sandwiches with just a bit of cream in the center.

I bought a box of assorted flavors, including pistachio, white chocolate basil, butter pecan and raspberry.

They’re a little pricey for such small, delicate cookies, but they really do taste like bites of heaven. They’re now a favorite splurge of mine. It’s okay to eat two desserts after brunch, right?

What is your favorite French food?

Chilly Spoons

I am extremely lucky because my two best friends from college have finally both ended up in Orlando. My friends Megan and Sarah both recently moved to town, and I’ve been having a blast having them near.

(This is from a couple years ago.)

The other evening, the three of us took a little walk to Thornton Park for my first trip to Chilly Spoons. It’s your typical frozen yogurt bar with rotating flavors and a plethora of goodies to top them with.

I have slightly bizarre froyo habits. I love frozen yogurt, but I never really crave more than a little bit of it. That’s why these froyo bars are the best. I can get just a small sampling to satisfy the craving. I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $2 for frozen yogurt at one of these places.

They had pumpkin flavor, but surprisingly I refrained. I was in the mood for something more fruity and sour, so I got their mixed berry tart froyo with strawberries, raspberries and snow caps. I was very happy with my sweet and sour concoction. And it was the perfect amount!

What is your favorite froyo combo? I’m also a pretty big fan of adding gummy bears.

Signs of fall

Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of Kevin’s and I’s first date. Little did I know that it would be my last first date ever. To celebrate, we went out to dinner at The Ravenous Pig. I decided not to play food blogger for one night so we could enjoy a nice evening together without me stopping him to take photos of his food every two minutes.

You can read about a previous trip to The Pig here. It is definitely one of my favorite restaurants. For those of you who haven’t heard of them, it is owned by a husband and wife duo and they were James Beard finalists.

Our meal was amazing. I started out with their specialty margarita and worked my way through soft pretzels with mustard and cheese fondue sauces, a wild mushroom tart, lobster tortellini and then finished my meal off with bread pudding with Nutella ice cream. I think my body is still processing all that food.

The Ravenous Pig was also celebrating their anniversary, so they gave out glasses of champagne!

As amazing as the meal was, the best part was just knowing that I found such a great person who I am lucky enough to now call my fiancé.

But enough of the mushy stuff. I’m loving this weather that has set in Orlando lately, and I hope it stays. You know you’re in Florida when you get excited that the highs are in the 80s. Humidity is down, and it’s just so nice to be outside.

Kevin and I picked up some festive decorations on our last trip to Publix. I know Kevin loves me because he always makes fun of my wanting to decorate for the seasons, but then came home and created this arrangement himself.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of pumpkin flavored everything. When two of my favorite worlds crash together, you get Jeremiah’s pumpkin pie gelati.

I had heard of this seasonal flavor and was so excited to finally try it. It tasted exactly like pumpkin pie, and it was delicious with vanilla soft serve. I already loved Jeremiah’s, but in the fall, I love it even more. Kevin ordered cherry Italian ice on this visit.

What is your favorite thing about fall?