Bastille Day Celebrations that will make your tummy happy.

Bastille Day is tomorrow, which means tomorrow is full of celebrations. Here's some of the events I found for tomorrow.

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Peche on 4th Street is offering $2.50 St. Germain cocktails from open until close. If you haven't had St. Germain or been to Peche yet, you are missing out. Get there! Also, here's the blog post from the St. Germain Dinner at Fino.
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Mirabelle is also hosting a Bastille Day Dinner with some French wines for your inner wine fancier. Information follows.

Bastille Day Wine Dinner, Weds, July 14th, @ 7pm. $65 (inclusive of tip/tax) 346-7900
We had such a great response to Michael raiding the cellar for the All American Wine Dinner, that he has been sent down again to find French wines for the celebration of Bastille Day. And what a set of wines: a terrific French 100% pinot noir sparkler, something old (2001 Puligny Montrachet) , something new (New World style Bordeaux), his favorite score from the acclaimed 2007 Rhone vintage, and a little Sauternes to send everyone home sweet. Michael obtained these wines over the years and on futures, so take advantage of his purchasing prowess and enjoy this Bastille wine dinner at half the price of its value.

Mirabelle Restaurant
Bastille Day Wine Dinner
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 7:00pm

Reception
Truffled Brie Gougeres
(NV) Brut D’Argent Sparkling Rose

Menu
Pan roasted Monkfish with Crispy Shallots
Avruga Caviar-Chive Remoulade and Sauce Meuniere
2001 Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Gerard Chavy

Butter Roasted Quail with Herb-Bread Stuffing
Green Peppercorn Sauce
2006 Chateau GRAND DESTIEU Grand Cru
(Saint-Émilion, 90 points Wine Spectator)

Boeuf Bourguignon ala Julia Child w/ Les Halles Frites
2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, MAS DE BOISLAUZON
(94 points. Robert Parker)

Dessert
Brillat-Savarin Crème Brulee with Pear & Apple Compote
2006 Sauternes, Chateau Roumieu-Lacoste

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Le Cordon Bleu is offering a four course French menu for just 17.89 on July 14th. 

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The Austin Museum of Art is also throwing a Bastille Day Celebration, complete with a Poodle Parade. 

July 14, 2010 from 5:30-9 pm
Austin Museum of Art-Downtown 823 Congress Ave at 9th Street
All proceeds benefit the AMOA’s exhibition and education programs
For everyone with a French flair for excitement…all ages!

Admission Tickets: $10-AMOA Members / $15-General Public
Join AMOA today and receive a free ticket benefit.

OOO-LA-LA! Party Features: Poodle Parade and Prize Promenade/French Music/"Picture Yourself in Paris" collaborative mural/food and wine on a sidewalk café/photograph opportunities/berets and other great souvenirs.

Poodle Prize Package:

• Lunch for two at Chez Nous,
• a 8x10 pet portrait and sitting by Robin Jackson Photography,
• a gift basket from Lofty Dog, and a trophy designed by Carl McQueary.

Waterstone offers $25 haircuts to benefit the American Cancer Society

Operation #givetolive hair donation has been completed with success.  Not only did Joel Hamburger and Nanette give me an awesome hair cut, Waterstone is offering a generous deal.  From now until July 1st, haircuts booked with select stylists are only $25 (be sure to mention #givetolive or ask for Blanca).  That $25 is going to the American Cancer Society.  If you believe in karma, Waterstone definitely has a great bit of good karma coming to them.  I'd also like thank Sugar Mama's for providing yummy cupcakes for the event, and to St. Germain for the drinks.  From #BATHH and other donations, we raised about $100 for #givetolive.  Thank you so much to everyone to contributed to the cause.  


Don't forget.  The $25 haircut deal for the American Cancer Society only lasts until July 1st.  Make sure you give Waterstone a call at (512) 373-7546 and mention #givetolive. They'll set you up with the stylists.  Waterstone is located near 30th and Guadalupe.  



Joel is messing with my hair.  He's getting a feel for it. 

Measuring the hair. I've already committed. No turning back now.

Nanette is going for it.  She cut off the bulk of it.  Read her blog about dealing with cancer here.

It turned out to be 11 inches of hair.

There's my former locks.

I'm about to giggle.  I can't remember why.  Joel is concentrating on the hair. 

Trimming the ends. 

And the final product.  Wow that looks shiny. 



There's the cupcake fairy, sans hair, with smile.  I love the new cut.  Thanks to Joel and Waterstone Aesthetics for their generosity to cancer research. 

Dinner at Fino Austin with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

My inner foodie dreams had come true.  Not only was I going to attend a dinner and cocktail pairing with St. Germain Elderflower liqueur at Fino, but I was also going to provide the dessert.  Chef Jason Donoho and Bill Norris presented a fabulous dinner and cocktail dinner, and Richard Arebalo did a wonderful and thorough write up.  

Two of my favorite dishes from the dinner were the scallop crudo with grapefruit and lavender and the pork belly confit with seared foie gras and julienned apples over smoked potatoes.  The scallop crudo was simply amazing.  With sweet and citrus notes paired with the light fragrance of lavender, the dish was to die for. Yes, I want that as part of my last meals. This dish also inspired me to top grapefruit with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur.  The pork belly confit with foie gras and apples was also intense, rich, and well balanced.  The potatoes were amazing.  As an ordinary root veggie, the potato is usually a filler food, a side dish, something that we generally kick to the back of our minds. Not these potatoes though.  With smokey goodness, Chef Jason's smoked potatoes can hold their own.

The dessert I provided is a very special to me.  I first tried an ispahan cupcake made by Deverah Otten at Cupcake Meetup 2.0 at SXSW 2009.  One bite, and I was in love.  Ispahan is a classic French combination of lychees, raspberry, and rosewater created by Peirre Hermes.  I worked on my tipsy ispahan (boozed up version) recipe for several months only to think "This needs something."  I chatted about my problem with the extremely knowledgeable Bill Norris, and he introduced me to St. Germain.  I'm very honored that I got to share my favorite cupcake at Fino.  The cupcake is Amaretto cake, brushed with rose water, filled with lychees and raspberries, topped with St. Germain Swiss buttercream, and garnished with a fresh rose petal.
A big thank you to Fino_Austin, Chef Jason Donoho, and Bill Norris for having us over for dinner.  A big thank you to Bryan Townsend from St. Germain making it happen.  Don't forget to read Richard's in-depth write up of the dinner. 

Bill preparing the drinks.

Pouring of the first drink.

Delicious snacks.

Bryan Townsend from St. Germain.

Scallop Crudo, grapefruit, and lavender.

Pork Belly confit, foie gras, apples, and smokey potatoes.

Bill teaching us about St. Germain.

Pretty bottle for a lovely drink.

 The Tipsy Ispahan.

The Ispahan Cocktail - Best in Show at First Yelp Cocktail Throwdown

Yelp's Elite event was a cocktail throwdown, not to be confused with the upcoming Cocktail Throwdown on Sept. 24th.  For the Yelp event, Elite members were asked to submit up to 3 original cocktail recipes.  The list of cocktail names were voted upon by the members, and the top 5 were served at the event tonight.  The other cocktails were the Beer Margarita, Make Her Mojito, Bee's Knees, and Intoxicated Mojito (I think).  
 My cocktail was based off of a cupcake (surprise!) My ispahan cupcake is Amaretto Cake, brushed with rose water, filled with Lychees and Raspberries, topped with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur Swiss Buttercream.  It won Best in Show, and with that, I won a gigantic basket of libations from Twin Liquors!  Yay! Here's the recipe.  Enjoy! Photo above by John Knox.

 
 Ispahan Cocktail

The ispahan is a signature creation of Pierre Hermé, a French pastry chef who has been dubbed the "Picasso of Pastry-making".  The combination of rose, raspberry, and lychees was first used in macaroons, but it now more common (relatively) in other pasties such as cakes and cupcakes.  The name Ispahan, also known as 'Pompon des Princes" is actually the name for pink half-opened rose that grows wild in Iran. 
 

	1/4 oz Chambord
	3 oz lychee juice (from can or fresh)
	1 oz Vodka
	2 oz club soda
	Splash St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
	Garnishes: Whole Raspberries, Whole Lychee fruit (canned or fresh), fresh rose petals (preferably edible)

Combine chambord, lychee juice, and vodka in a shaker.  Shake with ice for 10 seconds and pour into martini glass straining out the ice. Pour club soda into the glass as you pour the chambord, lychee juice, and vodka mixture.  Float a splash of St. Germain on top of the drink.  Garnish with whole raspberry, lychee fruit, and fresh rose petal. Place lychee fruit and raspberry inside the rose petal like a cradle.  Using a cocktail sword or other item, pierce through the rose petal, then fruit, then rose petal again. The fruit should be secured inside the rose petal. 

*Lychees can be found canned at any local Asian market or event specialty stores such as Whole Foods or Central Market. The liquid from the canned lychees can be used as the lychee juice.

The cupcakes.

More cupcake please.

St. Germain Elderflower

My prize!