Chicken Uncle Jesse Katsopolis

What a weekend! I drove to Dallas to see my Pops for his birthday and Dad's day. I also was on quest to get my AC compressor fixed - that's right, rode all the way to Dallas without AC (PS- thanks to Seth for being such a trooper!). My Uncle Tommy installed the rebuilt compressor that I had purchased here in Austin (Thanks a TON Uncle Tommy!). However, once installed, it proved to be less than perfectly rebuilt. Bummer. So it was BACK to Austin sans AC (Thanks again to Seth for being such a trooper in the Texas heat). Even still, we had an awesome time in Big D with the fam. We did some grillin n chillin (I know, I'm mad at myself for typing it so don't you start!), we had some good food and fun. Happy Father's Day Dad!!!!

On to today's culinary adventures! I hit up Rio's Brazilian Cafe:










I did not even realize that Brasil had a soccer game today (S-O-C-C-E-R!!!!). The place was packed - and certainly not for the service. Don't get me wrong. Everyone was very polite and got my order right and everything, but geeeeez louiiiiiiise did it take forever to actually get to order. They have an abbreviated menu on Sundays for brunch. So I had the Bolinho Aipim (yucca pastry stuffed with smoked cheese and roasted peppers). It was alriiiigt. The cheese didn't get all melty gooey. It was actually kind of ... gritty? Not delicious, but I didn't hate it. I also had the Linguiça something. It was basically sausage, peppers, onions and tomato in some sauce that I could not decipher. Again, not amazing, but I wasn't sending it back. I feel like my experience there was hindered by my own choices. I played it safe, but at the same time, I wanted to try multiple things, and being by myself sort of cornered me into these options. I'll definitely go back when there's not a Brasil SOCCER match on. I'll also take some friends and force them to all order different things so we can sample the whole menu.

As previously stated, I'm rollin' hot with no AC. Hmmmm.... what to do on a HOT Texas day....... Hmmmmmmmm.........













HECK YES!!!! A Boston Cream Pie snowball from Casey's New Orleans Snowballs!!! (sorry for the Yelp link, guess they don't have a site?) Man oh man! If you're getting "snocones" from anywhere but 51st and Airport, you're getting the wrong stuff. They have at least 1 billion flavor combinations AND THEY'RE ALL DELICIOUS!!! I've worked my way through a good bit of the list and have yet to hit a dud. Go to there. Now.

My Big Fat Greek Dinner!

Ouch. I know. I'm stretching here, but it's late and I'm tired.













I got some lemon-rosemary marinated chicken breasts from CM, topped em with olive oil-cured roasted tomatoes and goat cheese. Yuummmmm! I also made couscous (blah), tabouli salad (tasty), and tzatziki with toasted wheat pita chips (winner). Oh yea, there's graffiti eggplant (purple and white smeared looking) on the plate as well. Wonder why I forgot that? Oh. Right. Because it was forgettable. All in all, the chicken, tabouli, and tzatziki saved the meal. Not bad. How bout some dessert?













How about Häagan-Dazs 5 Vanilla bean ice cream mixed with plain Greek yogurt? Topped with fresh strawberries and (attempted) bruleed figs. The figs were not as sweet as I'd hoped, and the yogurt/ice cream blend didn't set up as well as I'd hoped. I will be trying this again. It will be mine. Oh yes! It will be mine.

I've got a CRAZY week this week. Gotta get the AC fixed in my truck. Most likely working a couple triples. TOOL show on Tuesday. Starting my new schedule at Uchi, which includes working my first pantry training shift Wednesday - plating apps, desserts, oysters, salads. Written Final on Thursday and Practical Final on Friday. Phew. I'm already exhausted just from typing that! Wish me luck!!!!