Category: Kat’s Podcasts

A Feast Fit For A Roman Emperor

Imagine being in a rustic, Tuscan-style home, barefoot in some sort of old(ish), wrinkled-yet completely chic-long, linen dress, in a kitchen with no air conditioning that’s older than my great grandmother, and you’re there cooking under the guidance of a sweet Italian old woman you can barely communicate with.

Regardless of the fact that this explains my great grandmother more so than my actual grandmother, I still like to imagine that this is how and where I learned to cook. It’s really not far off, though. Simply replace the Tuscan-style home with a one-story house in the countryside of upstate New York and it’s basically the same situation.

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of every summer-for the better part of a month- my older sister and I would leave Chicago and head to a little place called Hillsdale, a town in Columbia County consisting of rolling hills, open farmland and wooden tracts. We did what any normal kid would do during summer break: go fishing, swimming, hiking, tree climbing, and mow the lawn on my grandpa’s tractor, my personal favorite. Aside from that I would always make time to cook with my Grammy (as I like to call her). When I think about cooking I am immediately brought back to her kitchen, and if there is one thing I’ve taken away from her cooking it is that you must put love into every dish you make.

Today was one of those days where I woke up early, went grocery shopping and spent the better part of six hours cooking. Since it was such a nice day in Austin, and probably one of the last warm days for a while, I decided to turn off the air conditioning, open the door leading out to my deck, and cook barefoot, which has now resulted in my feet turning a disgusting shade of black. TMI, I know, but it was well worth it. I had a whole meal planned out: brussels sprout soup topped with candied pancetta, crispy parmesan biscuits filled with lemon butter, baby arugula and smoked salmon, and dark chocolate cupcakes with matcha green tea frosting.

I know, I know, it’s a lot of food but my friends and I decided we would have a mock thanksgiving, even though none of the food we made resembled anything that would be on a thanksgiving table… that’s beside the point though. What really matters is that overall the dinner was a success, I was surrounded by close friends, and we pretty much had a feast.

This Ketchup To Fry Ratio Is A Serious Problem

Fast food is like crack-once you put that first fry into your mouth all hell breaks loose. There is no stopping that food baby that is about to grow from one week to 9 months in, lets be honest here, a span of minutes. Whether you enjoy that creepy dude Jack in the Box’s curly fries or Mickey D’s hot and crunchy fries that are really only good for one second, there comes a moment in everyone’s life when they must try P. Terry’s.

If I could eat P. Terry’s everyday, I would; however, loading my body with several tons of shoe string fries is not in my best interest. Now, normally I speed through a fast food restaurant-if I can I even call it that-as fast as I can, while covering my surroundings with my peripherals, to make sure no one I possibly know sees me. However, when it comes to P. Terry’s I make sure to get the whole shabang for my buck.

We all know that one moment when we finish our sauce only to realize we still have ¾ of our fries left. I mean it almost ruins the whole point of consuming the 10:1 oil to actual food ratio. It worries me so much that I make sure to ask for EXTRA fist fulls of sauce just to be safe, because you never know how many times you will want to double dip. I have perfected this art, since P. Terry’s is always stingy with their sauce, to the point where my kitchen drawer is now a black hole for unopened ketchup packets because I can never actually offer them to the public. As for me, opening that drawer at 2 am after a long night is like waking up on Christmas morning… only to ketchup…

The Blue Hawaiian

As my friends and I were having, what I thought was, a normal and relaxing lunch at the abandon and graffiti filled Castle Hill, a car that was bizarre on a level that cannot be explained in simple terms pulls up.

Have you ever woken up one morning and decided you would glue objects to your car in an effort to make it ‘fancy’? Holly and daughter Gena Klemm have done just this.

In 1997, Holly and Gena were instantly inspired with the idea of art cars after, “seeing the mayor decked in a red tux, with his red hair, in his red car,” at the Mayor’s Parade in Hampden.

They decorated their first car for Baltimore’s Art Scape Festival in 1997; however, Holly said, “they never qualified because they had to have it towed since it wouldn’t run.”

Although their neighbor had no interest in art cars, he gave them two cars, one of which is the exact car they pulled up in today, “The Blue Hawaiian”. For the past 11 years, Holly and Gena have turned heads as they stroll around in their 1988 Chevy. Originally created in Baltimore, it now permanently resides in Austin where it’s sand castles, murals of the sea and it’s interior filled with tropical colors, instantly make you feel as if you are at the beaches on the islands of Hawaii.

The Klemms exhibit their cars at classic shows annually; especially the Annual Art Car Parade in Houston, where around 300 cars are displayed and over 300,000 people show up.

Some might think gluing ‘junk’ on a car is just part of the whole ‘Keep Austin Weird’ vibe. This kind of stuff is all over the South, and although it may be weird in Baltimore, Holly thinks, “its something people enjoy because it is an old car. It’s touchable and sits right on the street. Even if the cars are weird, people still relate to them.”

Despite originally being baffled by this unusual car, talking to Holly gave me insight on something I really didn’t know much about; and, turns out, she was right. Sitting in an art car, regardless of how strange it may be, enabled me to gain an appreciation for it on a deeper level that I normally wouldn’t have had.

I Told My Kid I Ate All Their Halloween Candy

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holidays. My favorite part as a child was trick-or-treating. Not just that, though. The best part of it all was running to my room with my sister, after hours of going house to house collecting as much candy as my bag could hold without breaking, and dumping out everything to see the final result. We would sit in our room for hours, comparing each of our bags and trading the pieces we didn’t want, stuffing our faces with more candy than either of our stomachs could handle.

For the past two years, Jimmy Kimmel issued a challenge to all parents to: tell your children you ate all their Halloween candy, film the whole thing and then post it to YouTube. Previous years the challenge became famous, gaining over 34 million views. Since there was such a great response, he decided to do it again this year.

Here is the clip

Despite the last three kids’ remarks, one of whom says, “Its alright, I just want you to feel happy,” I, honestly, would have probably been one of those kids to throw a huge fit. I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Halloween Candy

SOCO FOOD TRAILERS KICKED OUT

We all love heading to South Congress during the weekend. Foodies, locals and tourists have come to this spot since 2009 to spend time shopping, while getting a quick bite to eat at the ever-famous food trailers. Four years ago after, the company who houses C3 Presents (the organizer for ACL), plans to build a hotel failed, trailers took over to rent space on the property; however, last week, the dreaded notification finally came that come March, the owners must pack up their trailers in order to make way for a new hotel.

With the rising number of people moving to Austin in the past few decades, will making way for these new hotels change the vibe of Austin from “weird locals” to a more business corporate crowd? While growth of hotels are needed in order for Austin to be more successful, the food trailers are a local iconic spot and have become a well known spot for tourists in Austin. They can only hope customers will follow wherever they move to… wherever that will be.

Take A Walk Down The PINK Carpet

A photographer welcomes you as you walk down the pink carpet. As you approach the giant glass doors, you are handed a grapefruit and champagne cocktail that added vibrancy to the already bubbly mood going on inside of Saks Fifth Avenue Austin, which was decked in pink.

Tonight, NSIDE Magazine hosted the “2012 Key To The Cure” launch party benefitting the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. Complementary food from PBK Stem and Stein nourished the hungry and diverse crowd as they perused through the cosmetics, shoes, clothes and silent auction items. Making their way through the racks, they came upon a table hosting The Cupcake Bar that individually designed each cupcake by hand.

Anne Hudson and Wes Womack were found among the crowd as well as Bevo, a personal favorite. Overall the night was a great success, as they not only raised money but also awareness for Breast Cancer and their survivors.

 

Cooking is fun… I guess

One of my favorite things in this world is food. During the day, I eat… at night, I eat… and when I’m home doing homework, I, of course, have the food network on 24/7. Honestly, how many of you can say that you don’t like eating… I mean unless you just totally hate food… and in that case… well, I’m sorry.

Since I’m a broke college student and all, I don’t have the luxury of going out to eat all the time, so instead I’ve found this love for cooking. That isn’t to say that I’ve never cooked before and that I am completely incapable of doing so, unlike my sister, but every now and then I find a day where I pretend that I’m an amazing chef… I find that I have so many friends on days like these… weird, I know…

Any who… I know I should be studying and all, but sometimes my computer just calls to me… OPEN ME… it’s almost like it has this unnatural power over me where I just can’t seem to say no. So, naturally, I open my laptop where I find myself on other blogging sites, mainly ones that revolve around food.

Two of my favorite sites, that I visit at least once a day… sometimes more, are and

I mean seriously, these things just shouldn’t exist. Once I open these sites, I’m in a complete trance. I can’t seem to close the web browser… I really just have no idea how it happens… it’s truly magical. As soon as you’re there, these pictures pop up, nearly out of the page. Its like, if you put your tongue to the computer screen you can taste the food… almost… not like I do that or anything… maybe…

I was really craving doughnuts today… maybe it was because I live literally right next to Krispy Kreme and can see it outside of my window… but decided I didn’t want to give in and today would be the perfect day to have something homemade. So I have this folder on my desktop with over 100 recipes in it… its kind of bad. Just like some people collect stamps or have these things called hobbies or whatever… well I collect recipes. So naturally, I go to open my folder and I’m scrolling through it and remember I saved this recipe for Cinnamon and Sugar Ricotta Fritters that I told myself I would try sooner or later.

Well let me tell you… it was seriously the best decision I have EVER made… plus it took less than an hour to make, so really you have no excuse to not try it. I know, ricotta in a doughnut you may ask… its weird right? I thought so too… but no… it is the lightest, fluffiest thing I have ever had. So for all of you out there who are too worried to consume any calories… just think of it as eating air… but better.

Here is the recipe that I “stole” from A Cozy Kitchen… I made one batch covered with cinnamon and sugar and the other I covered in powdered sugar… either way its delicious:

Fritters:
Vegetable Oil
3 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Topping:
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
4 tablespoons McCormick ground cinnamon

1. In a cast iron skillet (or saucepan), heat 2 inches of vegetable oil to 350˚F. Line a large baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels and set near the saucepan.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla; add the ricotta and beat until smooth. In another bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until just combined.

3. Add sugar and cinnamon to a plate and toss. Place near the stove, as you’re going to want to toss the hot doughnuts in the mixture.

4. Using a small ice cream scoop or 2 teaspoons, slide 8 walnut-size rounds of batter into the hot oil. Fry over moderate heat until golden brown all over and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fritters to the paper towels to drain. Immediately roll them in to the cinnamon and sugar mixture and serve. Continue frying the remaining fritters in batches of 8.

Recipe adapted from Gale Gand

Yields 16 fritters

Jewelry You’ll FALL For

Conveniently located in Central Austin, TOUCH OF SASS, recently featured in Austin Fashion Report, has Jewelry to FALL For. This fabulous boutique has anything one would ever want in their closet. Whether you’re looking for game-day gear, a new purse or a statement piece, Touch of Sass offers a variety of accessories that are sure to sass up any fall wardrobe. CC SKYE, Manic Trout, Urban Posh and Leighelena are only a few featured labels that are carried here. Be sure to stop by 500 North Lamar and grab these hand-picked fashion favorites while they last!