After what seems like a lifetime of morning sickness and holiday craziness, I have finally been able to spend some quality time in my kitchen and still have enough time and energy left to write about it. I also got quite a bit of motivation from Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking thanks to a sweet friend who got it for me as a Christmas gift. If you are lacking in desire or ideas in any area of homemaking (not just cooking) I would encourage you to take the time to read it.
Enough about my absence, let's get to the food! If any of you have seen Julie and Julia you should be fairly familiar with the concept of this French meal. It is essentially roast beef that is braised in red wine rather than some other liquid. I made mine in the Crock Pot rather than roasting it in the oven and it turned out amazing. I got most of my recipe from the crockpot365 blog and modified it only slightly towards the end for taste. I also made gravy out of the wine/broth mixture cooking it this way produced, and served it with mashed potatoes and homemade sourdough bread. No part of the meal was green which is sort of a no-no in our house, but there were carrots cooked with the beef to help round it out. Everyone loved it, even our guests, but I think I still prefer the American version of roast beef better.
While we're reviewing food, I'm thinking of reviewing local (Auburn) and semi-local (Atlanta to Mobile) restaurants as we try them. Today I had lunch at a fairly new cafe in Auburn, the Crepe Myrtle Cafe attached to the Market at Blooming Colors (located on the corner of Donahue and S.College). They mainly serve crepes, both savory and sweet, but they also serve soups and salads. I had the Cream of Cauliflower and Bleu Cheese soup...I know it sounds crazy, but it is really very similar to broccoli cheese soup with a little extra wonderfulness thanks to the bleu cheese. I also had a panini with roast beef, cheese (cannot remember what kind, but something good), and roasted tomatoes. The roasted tomatoes really took this basic sandwich to a whole new level, I will definitely start using this idea at home. It also came with a small side salad and sweet tea, both of which were good, but forgettable. I had a strawberry and fudge crepe with whipped cream for dessert...honestly, do I need to review this? With those things in it, it had to be good, and it was. The neat thing about this cafe is that they give you great food, with interesting ingredient combinations, and most of the ingredients are locally grown/produced. All of that with a cozy cafe atmosphere is a winner in my book!
