Woodland

Sunday, we joined up with April and Katie for brunch at Woodland. April promised a surprise, which turned out to be LESLIE! Fun, fun...

I'd never been to Woodland before, but it has a fun, funky feel and very good food. It's wasn't super-packed, so we didn't have to wait for a table or feel rushed about our meal. They basically have two breakfast choices, but in reality the choices are limitless. You can get Eggs Benedict with ham, spinach or salmon. There other choice is called 'the morning wood' and features two eggs any style (I had mine poached and they were perfect.) and four side choices from what seems like an endless list. I had tater tots, grits, homemade biscuit (the best biscuit I've ever had outside of my mother's kitchen, I might add.) and a fruit cup that was so much more. Every bite of fruit was perfect, even the cantaloupe. April and Leslie shared a 'mimosa for two,' which we decided was more like a mimosa for the table since it was a carafe of juice and a bottle of Cava. They also have pancakes, french toast and cinnamon rolls--which I intend to try on my next visit.

Woodland

1716 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
Phone: 512.441.6800

www.woodlandaustin.com

Holiday Blitz

When it comes to holiday entertaining, I like to hit it hard and hit it fast. This year, that meant getting the tree and other decorations up before Thanksgiving; planning a party for forty-something upon returning from New Orleans; and giving an open house on the first day of December before anyone had a chance to get sick of all the madness.

Those who know me, know that I am a meticulous party planner. This means that I:

• Begin to think about the menu months in advance.
• Pull recipes as I find them and keep copies in appropriately labeled files.
• Start a shopping list weeks before with complete breakdown of what needs to be purchased from where.
• Create a list of what need to prepared in what order.
• Consider serving pieces and tablescaping far in advance.
• Make intricate sketches of how the serving pieces should be arranged.
  

This year, I just threw it together in about three days. Honest. I didn't even decide on the final menu until the Wednesday night before the party. Of course, this sort of lackadaisical approach took its toll on the host, and I spent the week after recovering at an undisclosed location frequented by many celebrities. Anyways, it all turned out magnificently and I hope you enjoy the photos of the spread...



Savories:
Mixed nuts
Peanuts with rice paper (my favorite addiction)
Pub mixed
An array of fine cheese, with fig compote, quince paste, dried apricots, fruit and nuts
Raw and roasted vegetables with green goddess dip and hummus
Polenta squares with tomato olive relish
Potsticker baskets with cherry, cashew 'chicken' salad
Hot onion souffle
Wheatsville Co-op Popcorn Tofu w/apricot dipping sauce

Sweets:
Chocolate cakes with peppermint whipped cream
Ruth Johnson's Almond Roca
Crème puffs

To drink:
Beer and wine (everyone was drinking beer, which was strange)
Sodas
Spiked Angel Punch

Glad you came if you were there, wish you had if you didn't...

Happy Holidays!

Don't Say I didn't Warn You...

...but in this month's issue of Bon Appétit, they have proclaimed that the punch bowl is BACK. Literally. Dear reader, recall that you heard it here first (never doubt me!) and that I have been proclaiming the social merits of the punch bowl forever. In my opinion, the punch bowl never left the party, so there is no reason to declare it back. And what say you? Will you jump on this bandwagon, or wait until it's too late and everyone has a punch bowl while your sideboard sits empty? What? You don't even have sideboard? Get thee to the furniture store!

Likewise, both Metropolitan Home and Bon Appétit have also professed a fondness for the coupe, the short, rounded champagne glass made popular by the media and at champagne fountains for ages. In legend, this small rounded glass was said to be shaped upon the breast of a variety of French noblewomen, including Marie Antoinette, Madame du Pompadour, the Countess du Barry and Diane de Poitiers. The idea being that suitors and admirers of said women could toast the beauty of their bosoms with glasses shaped on those very breasts and filled with the very best champagne. Notorious women all (mostly French, n'est-ce pas?), this legend is of course fantastical fiction, but a delicious idea.

Strangely, for years these same magazines and lifestyles guides has derided this traditional glass as second rate. The simple reason being that a tall, elegant flute preserves the all-important bubbles of sparkling wine longer. Suddenly, this doesn't matter and you can purchase coupes from Crate and Barrel or Baccarat. Am I tossing my lovingly collected set of mismatched flutes for a new set of coupes modeling on the breasts of decadent French aristocrats? Oh reader, I thought you knew me.