Madhatters

Every Saturday my husband's sweet grandparents go to Madhatters Tea room on South Alamo.

Not to be confused with these character's although I think it would great fun to be invited to their tea parties.

They enjoy their meal and company and then for the next couple of hours sit and play their favorite game Tac-Tik. Tac-Tik is kind of like the French version of Sorry!, they picked it up years ago during one of their many summers they spent in the South of France attending the Institut de Francais for french lessons. This is where Grace Kelly went to learn french after she became engaged to the Prince of Monaco. There was an article about the school in Time magazine, and it credited Mimi and Papo is the couple who has attended the school the most times at 11 returns. This Saturday we joined them for the amazing eggs benedict, banana english muffins, and fresh squeezed orange juice.

And of course Tea!

After our amazing meal, the games begin! You can only attain the coveted board game custom made from "a man" in the countryside in France, so there is only one copy of the game per Kilpatrick family. I managed to find an explanation of the game on a french website. Of course i had no idea what they were saying because it was all in french.

You play in pairs, with the goal of getting all of your pegs into the safety area with a few twists along the way of course. We played three rounds, and unfortunately only won the first.

Needless to say it was great fun and great company. It made me laugh a little that our waiter looked and acted a little like this little guy.

Week and a Half Anniversary

After our fairy tale wedding the Argyle packaged up our very own dinner for us to go, so we could really taste and enjoy everything because your just in a haze the night of the actual wedding. We left the glorious farewell brunch on Sunday and went to Wimberly, TX for a 'Mini-Moon'. A week and a half later we thawed out the vacuum sealed deliciousness and decided to try our first romantic dinner at home.
Our sealed food:

I am a complete dishoholic, inherited from my mother. I absolutely love my Penzo dishes from Zimbabwe. However the country is in unrest right now so the owner of Penzo is moving the company to South Africa so unfortunately my coveted dinnerware is now very VERY hard to come by, but I still just love them so much. Alas the magician at Hanleywood, she goes by the name Ingrid, beautifully put together the placemats, napkins, and napkin rings to perfectly compliment to whole look.

My sweet grandmother also brought me these highball glasses etched with various African animals all the way from Uganda, they are fabulous, thanks Nonny.

To finish the whole affect, another gift from my other grandmother, a pair of antique candlestick holders. She gave us these as an engagement present with a note "For lots of candlelit dinners for two" and it almost melted my heart. They are gorgeous and the perfect final addition to our table, for a magazine ready evening.

The evening would not be complete without pieces of our wedding and groom's cakes! (Not to fret the top of the wedding cake is still safely stowed away in my parents practically walk-in freezer)

Hydrangeas

My new dry cleaners is right next to flower shop conveniently, I may or may not have planned it that way so I would get fresh flowers every time I picked up my clean clothes. Today hydrangeas were abundant!
My naked vases look so much better with a little color in them, and they brighten up my day a little each time I walk by.

Happiness

Can believe only $20 worth of flowers, cut the right way will give you weeks of bliss.

Bonjour!

I love coffee, live for the after dinner espresso or cappuccino the thicker/darker the better. In the mornings a good fat free latte is what I go for, but of course that doesn't always happen because things get busy and well I get lazy. I have a great coffee maker that grinds the coffee before brewing and on a timer, so that when I wake up it is ready. This is great, but a few times in my tiny loft-like apartment I had forgotten to turn the timer off and was abruptly awakened to what sounded like a construction site in my kitchen. This also comes with some major clean up with so many parts of the coffee maker. My new favorite form of coffee comes from my french press!
In a perfect world I would enjoy my latte in this picture that I took back in Paris last August.

In the real word I use this 8-cup Bonjour french press from Williams Sonoma

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products_g/bonjour-maximus-8-cup-french-press/?pkey=e%7Cfrench%2Bpresses%7C26%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C15&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

You have to boil water:

Add your desired coffee (ground) to the french press glass, with the press part out and in the open position. The amount of coffee varies with the amount you are going to make: 1 to 2 tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee per 8 oz of water. You may have to experiment with the amount of coffee in order to achieve your desired taste. For my size I use around 3 and half scoops.

Once you have boiling water add it to the press pot and let steep for around 4 minutes (the longer you wait the richer it becomes).

Once the coffee has steeped, put the press in the glass in open position and press the grinds to the bottom, once they are turn the press to the off position or 'flavor sealing' position. And bonjour to great coffee in the morning!

Texas Tortilla Soup

My mom was famous for her Texas Tortilla Soup so much so she was published in Sarah Steves, Diane Gates, and Claire Vaughn's cookbook Favorites, Chilhood Friends Still Cooking Up Fun. I loved it so much growing up, when I moved away for college I conquered the art of making it for myself to enjoy whenever I wanted. If you are not normally cook it may seem like a lot of prep work, but if you are in a little more of a rush there are a few ways to cheat (I'll fill you in later). Warning: this is a meaty filling tortilla soup, not for sissy girls on a 'diet'

Texas Tortilla Soup

 



½ stick butter

½ cup oil



1 large onion, chopped



1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped



4 cloves garlic, minced



2 large carrots, chopped

6 ribs celery, diced



1 pound chicken, raw, boned & diced



1 teaspoon each-ground cumin, chili powder, salt and lemon pepper



3 teaspoons picante sauce



½ cup flour



1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes



40 ounces chicken broth



8 corn tortillas, cut in strips

Garnishes: 1-cup sour cream, sliced avocados & 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

Chop all vegetables beforehand so everything goes pretty fluid.

Heat butter and oil in a large pot and sauté chopped onions, jalapeno, garlic, carrots and celery. Simmer 5 minutes.

Add cumin, chili powder, salt, lemon pepper, hot sauce, flour and chicken.

Stir till flour coats ingredients.

Add tomatoes and chicken stock and simmer 1 hour.

Drop tortilla strips into hot oil and fry until crisp. Drain on paper towel. And add whatever other fixins you want (I personally put a little bit of everything) 

Open a bottle of wine and it's like a little mexican heaven in a bowl. 

Ways to cheat: IF you don't have enough time, of course everything is a little better completely fresh

1- buy the onions pre-cut at HEB

2- buy the snacking carrots and celery and ready with just a few extra chops

3- buy the tenders cut of the chicken and just cut up a little more 

4- Own an avocado slicer, makes perfect slices everytime