#858 I talk a lot about food in this one

I really like my Chromebook! I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but it's a fun toy. I like the portability. Right now I'm sitting in my bed, watching the Jazz game with T and writing this post. I also really like it when I'm trying a new recipe. I set it up on my kitchen counter and follow the recipe easily. Much nicer than trying to squint at the recipe on my beloved iPhone.

Speaking of recipes, I tried another new one tonight. Found it on Pinterest, of course. It was total comfort food and it was easy and so tasty. I took some stew meat and browned it with some onions, then put it in the crock pot. To the meat, I added one packet of onion soup mix, a packet of brown gravy mix, a can of beefy mushroom condensed soup and a can of Sprite. I also added a cup of fresh mushrooms. I put turned the crockpot on low and let it cook for about six hours. I served the meaty/mushroomy deliciousness over buttered noodles. Talk about comfort food.  Man, it was good. MT said we could add it to our rotation, so I know he liked it. Even T gobbled it down. :)

In all, today has been a fun day. I planned a little outing for myself for today: I was going to have lunch at Les Madeleines and go to the new Trader Joe's. I expected to go by myself, but MT and T ended up coming with me. Les Madeleines is a little French bakery that serves soups, salads, sandwiches and pastries. My mom is a big fan of a particular pastry they make there, the Kouing aman, and I've been in the shop a few times to buy the pastries for Mom, but I haven't had anything other than a chocolate croissant.

Today I had the Parisian ham and cheese sandwich with pommes frites. So good! The bread was crusty and chewy on the edges, soft and tender in the middle. The ham was sliced super thin and tasted deliciously hammy. The pommes frites were great, too. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Great lunch!

MT had a turkey and avocado sandwich with a side salad and T opted for a breakfast sandwich of ham, egg and cheese, which he absolutely gobbled.

Since we were at a bakery and sitting right in front of the display case, we decided we must have dessert. MT was quick to pick what he wanted. A true choco-holic, he opted for the Chocolate Tangerine semi-fredo. I like cookies, especially when they are not all chocolatey. I chose the rosemary sugar cookie. T couldn't decide, so I humored him and let him order four things. He got a palmier, a black and white cookie, a peanut butter cookie, a brownie. We also had to order a Kouing aman.

MT's dessert was delicious. It had a chocolate tangerine mousse covered in a shell of dark chocolate. It was crazy good. The tangerine flavor was subtle and mixed perfectly with the chocolate. The shell was divine, seriously some really, really good chocolate. My rosemary cookie was also very good, a delightful palette cleanser. MT thought it tasted earthy, or maybe he said herby. I couldn't tell because he was mostly stuffing his face with the semi-fredo.  T liked the brownie. I didn't get a bite of that one, but we shared everything else. Everything else was fine, but not as good as MT's dessert. Except for the star of the show, the kouing aman.

By far though, for both T and I, the superstar was the Kouing aman. I completely understand why my mom loves it so much - it is incredible. The outside is crunchy with caramelized sugar and a hint of saltiness. The inside is flaky layers of rich, buttery pastry that melts in the mouth. We groaned with joy after every bite. My taste buds stood up and applauded. It was fantastic. If you are able, you should absolutely try this treat. The dessert was featured on the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." I tried to post the clip below, so if you are interested in hearing real chefs describe it, click below. I hope it works. If not, go the the Food Network website or google kouing aman.

watch the video

All in all, we really enjoyed our lunch, as you can tell :)

I did a few other things - my first visit to the new Trader Joe's, went to the library and actually DIDN'T come out with a book, though I saw a few I'd like to read, went to Target to find MT's favorite cereal (the only place we can find it!), and I watched a movie, "Beasts of the Southern Wild". It was unexpected and kind of strange. Best Picture caliber? I don't know. The kid, Hushpuppy, was adorable. Best Actress caliber? Probably. She was very good.

Then there was dinner and there's been reading and there was a Jazz overtime win against the Pacers. It's all very good.