The German immigration to Texas began in 1830 and the settlers tended to cluster together in German communities, maintaining the traditions and customs from their mutter-land.

Yesterday the Professor and I road tripped out to Fredericksburg and Luckenbach on a GORGEOUS spring day. Roadside bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush were in full force and signs for vineyards and peach orchards added to the poetic backdrop of the 90+ minute drive.

We started in Fredericksburg where the highlight for us was lunch at one of the oldest restaurants in town, Der Lindenbaum.

Now we did consider driving another 13 miles to the Alamo Springs Cafe which according to Texas Monthly (2009) has the 3rd best burger in Texas. They even featured it on the cover:

Tempting, for sure. But we were in more of a German frame of mind and Der Lindenbaum’s historical stone building lured us in.

Such a great call. The room was cozy and the staff was pleasant, speaking with just enough of a thick European accent to make it all feel legit. Thank heavens the Professor has two years of college German under his belt because I am more of a romance language kind of girl. I think he was having fun interpreting for me.

We absolutely loved our meal. He ordered some sort of sausage schnitzel with sauerkraut and warm german salad. I was torn. I’m always down for weinerschnitzel with a fresh squeeze of lemon, but opted instead for the spicy beef gulasch – because let’s be honest, I just couldn’t pass up saying the word gulasch. Gulasch. How often do you work that in your daily vernacular?

After pairing this delicious comfort fare with a little red wein, I felt as if I should be wandering out to my sleigh parked in the icy German Alps — as opposed to the balmy central Texas sunshine. But when we stepped outside the restaurant we were greeted by this guy playing the akkordeon on the streets of Fredericksburg.

After lunch we cruised just about ten miles down the road to Luckenbach…yes, as in Willie and Waylon and the boys. And yes, it’s as magical a music spot as you could ever hope for.

We stumbled on a great afternoon show with the band blacktopGYSPY. Their sort of ransom note, lowercase/uppercase type treatment aside, this band was good. Killer lead vocals, killer fiddle, killer harmonies. What more could you ask for from a Texas band entertaining you for free under the live oaks at Luckenbach? When we wandered up they were playing this…

Then they broke into a little June Carter Cash cover…

They had the crowd enraptured for hours. They played multiple sets and people were eating it up straight through their last song. Later in the evening they were slated to open for Billy Joe Shaver who was performing in the legendary dancehall.

We couldn’t stay for the night show, but we did wander over and pay homage.

And enjoyed all the sage bumper stickers in the bar…

It was a fine Hill Country day, a real fine day. Cause as they say, “Everybody is somebody in Luckenbach.”

So that’s all for now. Hope everyone is having a Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Masters…whatever makes you happy. Auf Wiedersehen Yall.

The only two things in life that make it worth livin’
Is guitars tuned good ‘n’ firm-feelin’ women
I don’t need my name in the marquee lights
I got my songs and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it’s time we got back to the basics of love

Has anyone else noticed the current culinary love affair with the Brussel Sprout? I always thought of it as the out-of-town runt cousin of the already annoying cabbage. But the Brussel Sprout is officially having its moment in the spotlight. Perhaps the greatest ugly-duckling-turned-swan vegetable story of all time.

The only love I had for the brussel sprout as a kid was on the Muppet Show. Remember the Swedish Chef? I distinctly remember watching an episode in our den in London (I was probably 4th grade?) and my dad and I laughed so hard it hurt as the Swedish Chef used a revolver to shoot a head of lettuce which made it rain brussel sprouts.

Apparently the sketch is timeless. I about peed in my pants to see it again:

That circa 1980 bit was the last time I even gave a brussel sprout the time of day.

Until last year.

Suddenly the little buggers are everywhere! They are popping up on every menu in town, out of town. Fine dining, casual spots. People are pinning brussel sprout recipes on Pinterest. What in the world, who flipped this switch?

Last November my friend Melissa from the Gluten Free for Good blog did a post about roasted brussel sprouts for breakfast and I have to say, it was the first moment ever that a brussel sprout actually looked appealing to me.

I didn’t make the recipe — but I actually kinda thought about it. They’re obviously good for you. I believe the claims that these little cabbage nibblets are highly nutritious. Apparently they have anticancer superpowers, which is always a plus. It’s just hard to overcome my childhood gag reflex at the mere thought of them. Although Melissa’s did look pretty good…

Well, I finally toedipped into the brussel sprout lovefest this past Valentines. We dined at the Little House Bistro in Mobile (delish) and they were an option on the holiday menu. I have to say, not bad. It wasn’t love at first bite or anything. I mean, I didn’t like like them, but I did like them as a friend. Maybe even a little secret crush?

Well, the secret crush has evolved into a full fledged torrid love affair. I have found the brussel sprout of my heart people. At The Snack Bar, right here in our neighborhood in Austin, they flash fry brussel sprouts and serve them with a housemade aioli sauce.

Do I hear harps playing?

Because we have about 7-10 more days of enjoyable spring weather before Hades-like temps arrive with a vengeance and start choking the life force out of us, the Professor was adamant we walk down South Congress to dinner last night. The breeze was lovely, and even at dusk the moon was already big and juicy. He was right, it was a beautiful night to go al fresca.

We wove through the throngs of First Thursday visitors (or as I like to call them tourists) with a lackadaisical ease. Okay, that’s a lie. In a frustrated effort to get around some tourists bottlenecking at Guero’s Beer Garden, I misstepped, tripped, blew out my flip flop, almost busted on my face, and wound up with a bloody toe.

But I immediately forgot my swollen toe pain and bloody suffering when I saw the new sign at The Austin Motel/The Snack Bar. (Some credit also goes to the wine.)

Now if you’re at all familiar with one of the most popular, beloved and photographed bits of graffiti which is on the wall of Jo’s Coffee…

…then you too will smile at the new sign next door at The Austin Motel/Snack Bar:

I love you so much. I love you more. I love you so much. I love you more. Seated between these two signs, the Professor and I found ourselves in a loop repeating these phrases to each other throughout dinner.

Awwww.

I do love the Snack Bar. Cool scene, slow service (which is okay because we wanted to lounge) yummy wine and good food. We shared a spread of baba ghanoush, hummus, manchego mac n cheese, Mediterranean flatbread pizza, and my new all time favorite brussel sprouts.

These brussel sprouts are salty and crispy and sumptuous. I can’t stop thinking about them this morning and wondering if I can get over there and order some to go for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner.

Yes, thanks to the Snack Bar (and let’s be honest, the term “flash fry”) my love has sprouted for the sprout.

I believe the feeling is mutual.

True to the multi-entendre title of this post, our al fresca lunch upon arrival in Big D this past Saturday was both substantial and satisfying. You see, I grew up in Dallas until the age of 12, lived there again in my 20s, and absolutely relish any and every chance I get to pop back up and see my Dallas crowd. Especially a trip that kicks off at Jack’s Burger House.

The reason for the 24-hour roadtrip? Well, I am humbled to report that I was asked to participate in a fundraising event aptly penned “Tables of Content”, which is hosted by and helps to support the Friends of the SMU Libraries.

So The Professor, Little Chick and I ventured up I-35 on Saturday morning, and rolled into Dallas just in time for a late lunch at the venerable Jack’s Burger House — which for the record just celebrated its 60th year flippin’ burgers and serving up its one-of-a-kind seasoned fries.

After lunch we visited friends and I gave the Professor and Little Chick a little driving tour. I showed them my elementary school, the pool where we went swimming, where family friends live, and the house where I grew up — incidentally the place where I wrote my first book which for the record was self-published and self-bound. With staples.

All of a sudden it was time to check in to our hotel, gussie up, and head over to the SMU campus.

The Professor was very impressed with how beautiful SMU is. I have to admit, I have spent a fair amount of time traipsing around SMU through the years and it is awfully impressive. It was both lovely and special to be back.

The evening began with a cocktail reception on the back porch of a building in the business school. I was honored to be one of the authors selected as 2012’s Top Ten Haute Young Authors.

We had some laughs with the other writers about the name of the category. Clearly I’m not young, so I suppose I slid through on the “haute” vote? Then there was some discrepancy on whether we were pronouncing it “haute” as in high french couture, “hot” as in redhot new writer, or “hawt” as in Texas sassy.

I opted not to question it further, choosing to accept all combinations of fashionable, in demand, and really really good looking.

Patrons of the event were trustees, community activists and all-around book lovers – my kinda crowd. They were engaged and dynamic and we were swamped at my table talking about the Texas Water Safari and signing copies of PADDLEFISH. Thank heavens the Professor was with me, we were quite a circus act! It was a really, really fun scene.

First Lady Laura Bush was in attendance but we didn’t see her until everyone moved inside for the seated dinner. Sadly she escaped with her secret service and no copy of PADDLEFISH. Che sera.

We were at a table with two other Haute Young authors, Becky Wade and PJ Hoover. It was cool to be with two other female writers, both of them moms with kids about the age of mine, and it was an invaluable gift to have that time to swap stories with each other. Our husbands chimed in with their points of view, it was a lively group. Also at the table were Amy Carver and Cindy Ruppi who worked on the event and made everything run seamlessly.

(PS ladies, the meal was delish!)

That said, the real highlight of the evening for me personally was to see them present the 2012 Literati award to one of the dearest people in my whole life….my surrogate father…Marshall Terry. (Lest you think I adopted this man against his will, he introduced me multiple times as his fake daughter. So yes, he does know me.)

It was serendipity that I was a participant the same night he received this incredible honor. Marshall has been a family friend and personal mentor, in my life since I was a mere eight years old. His daughter is my very nearest and dearest sister-friend from childhood, she is even Little Chick’s godmother. I could barely hold back the tears listening to Marsh’s life achievements, and I was very very proud to be there when he accepted.

Not only a published author time and time again, Marsh was an English professor at SMU for about half a century and taught generations of talented Texas writers. He created the Creative Writing Department, served as Associate Provost, co-authored the university’s strategic plan, lead study programs in Spain, Taos and Oxford, and taught the infamous “Myth of the American West” course.

He is known simply as “Mr SMU.”

Luckily the fact that his daughter Mary and I traveled along as young girls to the SMU in Oxford summer program didn’t cost him his job. We weren’t that much of a nuisance. Although we did hang out in the beer cellar pub on campus for hours on end playing pinball and chumming up with all the college kids.

It was a special night all the way around. MANY THANKS to the Friends of the SMU Library, including Toni Terry and Amy Carver who both brought me into the mix, and special congrats to my dear friend, Mr SMU.

We capped off the evening meeting up with one of my best Carolina Dallas girlfriends and her husband, enjoying big laughs and margaritas at Mi Cocina.

Have I mentioned I love visiting my friends in Dallas?

And of course, it wouldn’t be a proper drive home without insane traffic on I-35 and a stop in West at the Little Czech Bakery for a kolache to go.

Delicious is our business.

I wish that were my tagline.

Sometimes it’s hard to find another married couple with whom you can relate, but as you can clearly see, the Professor and I have a lot in common with Victoria and David Beckham. He’s arguably one of the most famous soccer players in history, she, the world’s most under-nourished former pop star. So there’s that, of course.

Plus, not everyone looks good in hats. Much less are there couples who can pull it off at the same time.

Now, the Beckhams moved from England to LA and struggle to blend in in America all the while parenting four kids and juggling hectic travel schedules.

Meanwhile, the Professor and I married later in life and are a veritable case study in blending worlds. I was 40 when we married with an 11-year old daughter. He was 48 and had never been married. We had to merge my single-parent, writer-mentality with his bachelor, uber responsible business-owner lifestyle. We are a modern blended family, co-parenting with Little Chick’s father along with his new wife and her daughter.

On top of that, we are a geographical fusion, commuting between my hometown of Austin TX and the Professor’s hometown of Mobile AL. We raise Little Chick in Austin but the Professor’s business is in Mobile so when Little Chick is with her dad, we spend time there as well. It’s a scheduling challenge that would bring air traffic controllers at JFK to their knees.

In addition to mixing regional cultures, family traditions, personal habits and daily schedules, we have also had to learn to blend our home decor “styles”.

Ahem. I am going to tread lightly here as this has been the source of a spot of friction in our young marriage. Let me just say…the Professor has lived in his house for 18 years and is very particular. Lucky for me he has already invested in some truly gorgeous antique furniture. (Special thanks to the influence of his mother and sisters, thank you!)

But his look is unwavering where as I like to mix it up and get eclectic. He likes super traditional, early Americana, darker colors, and harbors a deep bachelor-commitment to hunter green. Yet I lean more toward lacquered white furniture, bright bold fabrics, mirrored tables…well, you get the picture.

I won’t get into the details but we are at a complete standstill over one accessory in his our house. This relatively small item is actually pretty benign, it just seems outdated to me. Unfortunately he absolutely loves it. I move it away, he moves it back. To him it has come to symbolize one area he doesn’t want to change, plus he says it is a valuable piece, high quality. I see that point, it is nice and all, but I say no matter how much it costs it doesn’t have value to me if it makes me feel like I am part of the tour at Colonial Williamsburg and need to don a bonnet and work at a spindle.

To be fair he had a violent reaction against some of the paint color “risks” I had taken in my our Austin house. (Okay, so maybe that particular shade of lavender wasn’t the best wall color for the kitchen after all, I’ll give him that.)

But in the spirit of compromise and turning his house into our home, he graciously suggested that we redo the kitchen in Alabama. I have to say the planning process has been fun for both of us and we have proved to be a very harmonious team. Turns out we really do have similar taste!

Now it’s time for the real work to begin as we’ve been slaving like maniacs to clean out the cupboards and prepare for the crew to start. Demolition kicked off this morning.

Typically I am the purger in this outfit while my husband likes to save every grease-stained koozie and free ketchup packet that he’s collected through the years. But I did start crying yesterday when the cabinets were getting cleared out and I thought about all the meals we cooked in there while we were dating. We have shared a lot of laughs in this teeny little space over the past four years.

But the nostalgia passes quickly when I think about the new, soon-to-be gorgeous, light-filled kitchen with appliances straight out of the new millennium. Needless to say I have spent hours developing my KITCHEN board on Pinterest.

So in approximately eight short weeks, we will be open for business and hosting the Beckhams for dinner, home-cooked in our new kitchen. I can’t wait! In the spirit of eating and cooking and mixing and blending, I thought I would share links to two recipes that represent both of our hometowns, Mobile and Austin: West Indies Salad and Queso.

On one of my first trips to Alabama, the Professor introduced me to West Indies Salad, a light and delicious crab salad that was invented in Mobile in 1947.

It’s taken a little while but the Professor finally gets that when you eat out in Austin, queso is delivered to your table pretty much right alongside the water. Like venerable Texas cooking blogger Lisa Fain from the Homesick Texan, I grew up making queso with Velveeta and Rotel, but in this recipe Fain puts a more natural twist on this Texmex classic.

Turns out girlfriend Victoria Beckham likes to cook as well, so she’s welcome anytime in my new kitchen to whip up a British delicacy. Wait, do those exist? Doubtful, because in this reality show clip she attempts an all-American apple pie. And also apparently struggles with reading the English language, food hygiene and anger issues. (Cover your private parts Eddie Murphy.)

Okay, so turns out Mrs Beckham can’t cook. Maybe let’s not blend it like her after all. But no worries Vic, when in doubt just add more spice, girl.

Galatoire’s reigns supreme in our culinary hearts as we enjoyed escargot, fried oysters, fresh crab, grilled pompano and soufflé potatoes.

Then we waddled over to Café du Monde for coffee and beignets.

Monday we ventured over to the World War II Museum which is incredible. I feel like we barely scratched the surface, you could stay in there for days. I was most fascinated with the D Day logistics, including learning about these gliders that were towed over the ocean and dropped to glide onto the beaches at Normandy. Dicey! They were aptly nicknamed “Flying Coffins.”

I became lost from my tribe and wandered most of the museum solo. At one point I saw a woman I thought I knew – turns out she was a total stranger. But she seemed to know a hell of a lot about WWII as she explained each exhibit to her son in detail. I wisely shadowed Woman-From-CT–with-Blonde-Son and eavesdropped and learned a great deal more than I would have on my own.

All in all it was a very patriotic tour and a powerful museum, including the 4-D movie we watched about the war. A thumbs up experience from all of us.

After a delicious lunch at the Bon Ton (turtle soup, jambalaya, red beans and rice, fried shrimp, etouffe) it was pretty much time to think about dinner. We had friends from Austin who were also spring-breaking in Nola so we met them at Felix’s for raw oysters, po-boys and cold beer (for the grown ups of course!)

We simply couldn’t resist topping off the evening with another trip to Café du Monde for more beignets.

This morning we trotted over to Jackson Square where we loaded ourselves into a carriage ride and cemetery tour. As much time as I have spent in New Orleans, I am amazed how much more there is to know. Fascinating details about Thomas Jefferson and the signing of the Louisiana Purchase, Louis Armstrong and the birth of Jazz, the Irish and Sicilian immigrants that came to Nola.

After the tour we drove uptown for a decadent and absolutely delicious lunch at Lilette before hitting the road.

And now we are back in Mobile for Phase II of Spring Break 2012. This is the shortest phase (only one night) but as always, it’s focused on food. As much as I am looking forward to trying a new restaurant in Mobile, my mind is still on one thing in particular.

Say hello to my little friend.

First, and you may have already noticed, I have once again redesigned this blog. The previous design was difficult to finetune and the posts got lost on the homepage. I haven’t been posting much lately and I am really ready for that to change. I will of course, always blog about flyfishing as much as possible. But I am also bursting to write about other areas of my life including hilarious family stories, food, fashion, outdoors, music, whatever life throws my way.

It’s such a pain in the ass to deal with these free blog designs and features. I am actually not a complete technical luddite, but hours of CSS framework and short code and plugins and widgets can make anyone crazy. Especially with no support other than a blogger in India kindly answering my forum questions at 2am out of the goodness of his heart.

But it’s going to be worth it, I am faithful. I am hoping with the blog’s new facelift and an increase in posts from your truly, we can get more energy in here, more foot traffic, more comments. To be clear, I am not looking for site traffic, I’m not trying to sell ads. The only thing I want to do here is tell stories, have fun and sell a copy of my own book if someone wants one. The more the conversation is a two-way dialog, the more I get inspired to tell stories. So bring it on friends and neighbors, don’t be shy, comment to your heart’s content.

The other design project I have afoot is our kitchen in Mobile. Now I know I just invited yall to comment more and get chatty with me so I don’t want to seem like I am silencing you right out of the gate, but if you are going to make a Moneypit joke, save it. We’ve already heard it a million times.

Besides, our kitchen project is going to be different! On time, under budget and stress-free. Laugh, if you will but I refuse to be taken over by this endeavor. Especially since I seem to have all the control as the contractor hasn’t done a damn thing. I’ve dealt with all the vendors, resourced every material, measured square footage off the plans, calculated the amount of grout and tile we’ll need, ordered it on my own. I’m practically a licensed General Contractor now.

Sheesh. Design and build a website, design and build a kitchen. Do I have to do everything myself?

I suppose the contractor will probably prove useful with the actual hammer and nail part, the demolition and construction bit. But I have been working my tailfeathers off on the world’ tiniest kitchen remodel and am planning on a big payoff…here are just some of the recipes I aim to try in my new kitchen. (Click on the picture to see the recipes.)

Corn Cake with Avocado Tomato Relish:

Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes:

Veal Chops with Sherry Gastrique and Roasted Peperonata:

Emeril’s Classic Spaghetti Carbonara:

Gluten-free Vegan Babycakes Brownies:

Ah, the new kitchen…visions of grandiose feasts I will suddenly have the energy to prepare, and intricate recipes I will miraculously know how to cook. I will become a clean chef, making everything from scratch and hosting dinner parties on the weekends, and the weeknights. I will cook for hours on Sunday to have meals done ahead for the week.

Alright, alright, so perhaps the only thing truly excessive thing in this scenario is my naive belief that the kitchen project will go smoothly combined with the optimistic notion that I will become a master chef overnight. But hey, a little naiveté-optimism combo can be a good thing once in awhile!

And if some is good, more is better.

Joe Cain 5K

Inspired by Little Chick’s desire to run a 5K, we trained as a family for the last few months and The Professor, Little Chick and I all completed in our first 5K run! After the Texas Water Safari and this roadrace (my only two competitive endeavors) I can honestly say, I would rather paddle another 260 miles than run a mere 3.2. I’m just not a runner. But I did it and I don’t think I held anyone back too badly. Little Chick was the real star!

We chose the Joe Cain race in Mobile AL, because we were already scheduled to be there for Mardi Gras. It was a riot! Joe Cain Day celebrates the famous Mobilian who dressed like an Indian and brought Mardi Gras back to Mobile after the Civil War. Everyone in the race was in the Mardi Gras spirit and the after-party (replete with an air-guitar playing DJ to boot) was hilarious. The race started at 8am on a Sunday; by 10am I’d already had two beers, a slice of pizza and done the electric slide. Twice.

I dig this race culture. I may be the slowest runner alive but I think I am going to sign up for some more parties races.

If you don’t watch the entire Joe Cain 5K montage I’ve created (a little further down), then you must at least watch this snippet of the Professor getting into the post-race party mode. I think my man has some pretty sweet moves.

As much as that makes me smile, I am most proud of how hard Little Chick trained for this race. She worked her tail feathers off and she truly earned and enjoyed that ”finish line feeling”. Here is the full montage of our family 5K experience:

Mardi Gras in Mobile Alabama

Most people associate Mardi Gras with New Orleans, but what you may not realize is that Mobile was the first place in the US to celebrate the European tradition of Mardi Gras. Given the Professor is born-and-raised Mobile stock, we love to wave the Mardi Gras flag and were able to take Little Chick for her first ever Mardi Gras.

Her first parade was on Friday, the Krewe of Columbus. She waved politely, leaned in to catch some throws, marveled at the floats. But by the time Fat Tuesday rolled around and she had been to about seven more parades, she was getting scrappy on the ground, crawling under some woman’s leg for a coveted Mint Moonpie.

Moonpies are the icon of Mardi Gras in Mobile. (We’ll ignore the fact they are a Tennessee delicacy.) Mobile actually has a Moonpie Drop on New Years Eve now. Little Chick caught and collected almost 50 Moonpies — they are clearly her prize possession from Mardi Gras.

Sadly not everyone feels the same. We noticed a lot of Moonpie carnage around town, and it seems the fate of a Banana Moonpie is especially doomed.

For me the Mardi Gras highlight was to see the Professor ride in the final Mardi Gras parade. Not only can the man cast a flyrod, pole a skiff, catch fish, and dance to the Spice Girls, he looks pretty hot on a horse.

It was a magical few days to share with Little Chick and this montage captures just a scarce bit of the pageantry of Mobile Mardi Gras.

Austin Girls Food Weekend

The day after we returned home from Mardi Gras, the Professor’s family came to visit – their first ever time in Austin! It was an old fashioned Girls Weekend and I had a ball with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and two nieces. I had less than 24-hours post Mardi Gras to prepare for their arrival so I madly cleaned sheets and towels and swept everything else under the bed and into a closet.

The good news? I didn’t have to grocery shop or cook one single thing because we ate out every single meal. It was a culinary carnival, Austin-style.

We started mildly healthy with quinoa salads at The Snack Bar, but the sides of Manchego Mac-n-Cheese we added for the table to taste and share were mere foreshadowing of the future indulgences we would engage in for the remainder of the weekend.

For example…later that night we gorged on texmex, queso and pitchers of margaritas at Polvos.

And while Friday started with a respectable ladies lunch with soup and salad, after an afternoon of shopping we hit Gordough’s donut trailer and ate way too many rich, fried donuts smothered in melted chocolate and cake batter and brownie bites. No, I’m not kidding.

Somehow we waddled to Ranch 616 for dinner where we feasted on bacon wrapped shrimp, fried Texas Gulf Coast oysters, tempura asparagus, jalapeno breaded trout, smashed potatoes, fish tacos and frog legs.

 We awoke on Saturday and hit Maria’s Tacos for some migas tacos and, of course, queso for breakfast.

Lunch was at The Mighty Cone trailer while we shopped on South Congress. For dinner, we trekked out to The Salt Lick where I showed these southern girls (who are accustom to chopped pork BBQ) real Texas sliced brisket.

As the grand finale, we ended the evening with a trip to the always decadent Hey Cupcake.

Clearly, I need to sign up for another 5K.

Here’s a musical montage that highlights our mostly-food-focused Girls Weekend, with a few non-noshing detours such as shopping at Eliza Page and Kendra Scott, climbing Mount Bonnell, and Lone Star beers at the Broken Spoke…

I looooved having family in town and sharing Austin with them! I was so sad when they pulled out of here on Sunday morning, but there was no time for tears. I had to roll myself down I-35 to a book signing at Troutfest…

GRTU Troutfest

First of all I just have to thank Greg Welander from Sportsmans Finest who took these pictures at Troutfest. I had my hands full making change and signing books so I am very grateful Greg got some shots.

Troutfest was a blast! The annual fundraiser hosted by GRTU is a wonderful place to up your fishin’ skillz, see new gear, meet area guides and shops.

This is Sheila from Sportsmans Finest tying the most beautiful and intricate butterflies you could ever imagine. They were mind-blowing.

Friday night at Troutfest they announced the winners of the Kids Fishing Writing Contest. I was lucky to serve as a judge and was SO IMPRESSED by the stories these kids submitted.

Saturday night Troutfest sponsored a showing of the 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour. I was busy eating myself insane with the girls at Salt Lick but I heard the films are better than ever and I think everyone enjoyed seeing them outside, on the banks of the Guadalupe.

Personally, I just enjoyed running into friends and socializing! Congrats to all who worked diligently to put on this worthwhile event and many thanks to Phil Dopson for inviting me to sign books.

March Madness

Are you tired yet? Believe me, I have been exhausted all week, recovering from my fun-filled February. But there is no rest for the weary. Here’s a peekaboo at what lies ahead in March…

Texas Independence Day – Today is the day Texas signed its Declaration of Independence from Mexico to become its own country. If you’re a foreigner, or just a little foggy on your 4th grade Texas history, join the countless other FFC readers who have purchased a copy of PADDLEFISH today. Oh, you thought the book was just about paddling? Hell no, I included all sorts of Texana history. So today, I am busy packing and shipping book orders. Computer, post office, computer post office. Keep those orders coming!

Hopefully I will make enough money on book orders today to pay for the cost of the inevitable marriage counseling I will need after another Carolina-Duke game this weekend.

You see, after the crushing Tarheel loss to the evil empire last month, I flung myself into an uncontrollable rage and lashed out at the only person in the house with me, the Professor – who by the way is a big Tarheel fan and cheered hard right by my side. But I was literally so upset about that basketball game I picked the most irrational fight, went to bed in tears and was in a funk well into the next day.

So I approach tomorrow with caution. I have promised to be on better behavior. I have promised to keep my emotions under control. We have invited another couple over in the hopes it will keep me in check. Whew, we’ll see how this goes. Go Heels. That’s all I will say for now about the game because I don’t want to get too riled up.

I need to survive as a member of this family because we have a trip coming up! It’s Little Chick’s Spring Break and we are spending it with my parents along the Gulf Coast, which will be a blast. New Orleans, Mobile, Point Clear.

And for my longtime readers, you know what else March means: Springfest!! That’s right, the lineup has been posted, the incense is already packed. Am buying a new hoop tomorrow and dusting off my hooping skills.

And that my friends, was where I was all February — and where we’re headed in March. I will keep you in the loop….

(PS, many thanks to nieces Margaret and Katy, as well as sister-in-law Laurie, who took most of the Austin pix!)

Ancillary perks included dreamy weather, a delightfully mellow scene which was mandatory since Little Chick is recovering from a concussion (she’s going to be fine but had quite a scare that started our Friday in the ER), learning about all sorts of books from fascinating authors, and getting up close and personal with the gorgeous Texas Capitol building.

We hustled into our seats just in time to hear Lisa Fain start her presentation. Lisa is a food blogger and I have been following her stories since I started blogging myself in 2007. A transplanted Texan living in NYC (I’ve been there, sister! Having my mom ship boxes of canned Ro-Tel to me in Boston) and she blogs about the unique Texas recipes she grew up on. Which are apparently the same ones I grew up on! Now she has published a cook book with the same name as her super successful blog, The Homesick Texan.

She took every picture in the book herself and the stories that introduce the recipes offer the same comfort and kick that her food does. I knew I loved this bird years ago when she explained on her blog in bold detail how to prepare REAL Texas nachos. Each one individually, not in a junkyard pile with dripping toppings seeping off the edges like an elementary school paper mache volcano project. (My words, not hers.) I’ve been her loyal follower ever since.

I was delighted to see she put the nachos, as well as our mutually firm nacho-stance, in the book.

Little Chick had to get back into bed to convalesce so I spent the afternoon with my nose in this cookbook, nostalgic for the Texas classics I’ve loved since I was a kid. I tore myself away only because we had one more goal for the book festival.

Alamo Drafthouse showed one of my all time fav flicks Smokey and the Bandit on the big screen and hosted stuntman, director, now-author Hal Needham who directed ‘Smokey’. At 80, let me just say Hal Needham is about one of the most charming men on the planet. I mean, he is coooool.

Of course, not quite as cool as the Bandit. Yowie. Hubba hubba.

After the movie, the Professor waited in line to purchase a signed copy of Hal Needham’s new book ‘Stuntman’. Mr. Needham was gracious and funny and we are now big time Hal Needham fans.

And because I know you are probably now humming along to the Smokey and the Bandit theme song (which we sang out loud in the theater at the end of the movie) I thought I would share one of the all-time greatest Jackie Gleason scenes of all time. Enjoy….

I’m headed to Montana on Wednesday for a little fall fishing so in the words of the Bandit….I’ll catch you on the flipside.

Before he left we enjoyed a very decadent Saturday together which kicked off at the famed Salt Lick. The weather was gorgeous so while waiting on our table we lounged outdoors at the Salt Lick Cellar where we tasted wines from the Salt Lick vineyard.

Then, it was time for the show. 

I am happy to report that after his debut visit to the Salt Lick, the Professor deemed that it “well exceeded all the hype.”

He flew away to the 406 yesterday but I decided to keep the Austin culinary adventure alive with a visit to the much ballyhooed Izzoz Taco trailer.

I am still heartbroken since my true love, Nueva Onda, closed its doors but I realize I need to try and find a new breakfast taco relationship in the hood. At Izzoz I abandoned my usual controlling, special order mentality and tried to be open to selecting something straight off the menu.

I almost pulled it off. I ordered the Fried Avocado taco (lightly tempura fried avocado was pretty damn good) and the Old School taco – but I had to exchange the cheddar for queso. I mean really. How could you not?

All in all it was a good date with Izzoz. But let’s be honest, it’s a rebound relationship, I’m not over Nueva Onda yet. I really like Izzoz — as a friend.

Then I had to try another relatively new neighborhood spot, La Patisserie, a little french coffee shop and bakery.

The french music was lovely, the pastry case fantastique…

I went with a classic pan au chocolat slightly warmed…

Which disappeared before my eyes.

Le fin.

I could go on and on about oysters at Casamentos, burgers and bloodys at Port Of Call, beignets galore, pompano at Galatoire’s, gnocchi at Lilette, Lucky Dogs off the street, live music at the Mapleleaf, and the all-around hilarity of time I spent in the Quarter and the Marigny and uptown. But I will cut to the chase. Few spots have a hold on my heart like the Chart Room.

I have logged many a late night spinning tunes on the Chart Room jukebox. Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Patsy Cline, David Allan Coe, Frank Sinatra. In fact, over the past few years many of you have asked about the blonde photo of me that I whimsically chose as my FLY FISH CHICK avatar. Here’s the scoop…

That blonde wig photo was taken in the Chart Room on Halloween. For the record, I was dressed as an angel. There’s a halo that isn’t showing up clearly in the picture.

So to all my fishing friends who are hitting the ground in one of my all-time favorite cities, steal away from your laborious convention work and treat yourself to some time in the Chart Room. Play a tune on the jukebox for me.

PS. I love the New Orleans style bloody marys with the marinated green beans. The perfect antidote the day after a night at the Chart Room. Grab one at Port of Call with their signature burger piled high with grated cheddar cheese. Yum, Yum, Yumbo-ya-ya.