Oh New Mexico...how I miss you

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo! My dad and brother went to a Braves game, so it was just me and my momma...which meant the kitchen was mine!

I made my Southwest green chile chicken enchiladas that were OUT OF THIS WORLD! I have to say, the Hatch green chile makes a huge difference!

Here is my recipe if you ever wanna try it, but I am warning you, without the Hatch green chile, it's only mediocre...

Preheat the oven to 450.
In a large saucepan, empty one can cream of chicken soup, one 4 oz can of green chile, 16 oz sour cream, 2-3 grilled chicken breasts (shredded or chopped), then top with another can of cream of chicken soup (or fiesta nacho soup if desired). Warm thoroughly. Caution: it will pop as it heats.
Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Stir mixture in saucepan and then spoon a small amount of sauce into bottom of the pan.
Take tortillas (I prefer flour), spoon in about a tablespoon of sauce, add a sprinkle of cheese, roll tortilla and place in pan. Repeat, "squishing" the tortillas as you go. Top the rolled tortillas with the rest of the mixture, then top with more cheese.
Place pan in the oven and cook about 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and golden.
ENJOY!

King cake season is over. Time to redirect my focus.

My dad's next business trip is to London, and it brings back memories of my summer trip with my sister to London and Paris. London was fabulous, and I promise you I could live there with very little transition.

However, Paris captured my heart. Every time we turned a corner, there was another piece of old beauty or new innovation to draw me in. Of course, food was a huge part of the enjoyment.

Elise and I stayed at a very nice hotel near the airport for several reasons, but mainly because it had a free shuttle to the airport which was also a connection to the train systems into Paris. We also were able to reserve a room in this 5 star hotel for only 49 euros/night. But that's a whole other story.

Every morning, we'd wake up, get ready and catch the shuttle to the airport. There was a bakery stand just inside the terminal where we were dropped off, and we would get a fresh croissant for breakfast. There is nothing like a fresh French croissant. We would then take the train into town while looking at our brochure on the museums and decide which museums to see first, what we were looking for at those museums, etc.

My favorite day was when we went to the Louvre. We started the day as normal, took the tube and walked to the Orangerie Museum, where I was thrilled to take in Monet's water lilies. Breathtaking. Neither Elise nor I had a clue how large these paintings are! We then walked through the park to get to the Louvre. About halfway through the park, we stopped at a cafe for lunch. I can't remember what Elise ate, but I had a fantastic cheese plate. They brought out a basket of fresh baguettes and a plate with cheeses, butter, and a little salad with olive oil. I am drooling as I type this. I couldn't identify which element was the best because each one was beyond description. The butter and cheeses all looked similar, so each bite was a surprise of whether I had put too much butter on the bread (is there such a thing?) or if it was just the right size of cheese. Glad we walked so much while we were there!

Because of our awesome museum hopper pass we bought at the airport (AWESOME deal), we had our own special entrance once we got to the Louvre and were able to skip the line of about 100 people. After we saw the Mona Lisa (a bit disappointing) and some Michelango sculptures, we ended our afternoon with some coffee American at a sidewalk cafe before making our way back to the train station.

All of these memories are so real - I can almost feel the energy from all of the walking, I can almost feel the crusty baguettes in my hands and the butter and cheese melting in my mouth. I wish I had brought back some French olive oil.

I guess I need some help narrowing my next quest. Should I focus on the French olive oil? The baguettes? The cheese? or even the macarons I tasted at the French bakery that were so rich Elise and I split one macaron into 4 and ate one piece each day? Leave your comments and let me know what to try, if you know of any good French bakeries or restaurants in the Atlanta area, or if you have any memories about Paris you'd like to share.

King Cake #1 arrived and tasted

It felt like Christmas morning today, for 2 reasons - 1) it snowed overnight. 2)FedEx came with a package that made me jump for joy!

Our first king cake of the season from Rouses. Cherry and Bavarian. I'm not sure if I was just spoiled in Moss Bluff or if I misconstrued my memories? I thought 2 flavors would be together throughout the whole cake instead of one flavor on half the cake and another flavor throughout the other. Oh well. Nonetheless, this king cake was delicious, moist, and so sweet!

Our family has been on a low sugar, low sodium diet, and we have not had sugary foods in a while. (Sure hope the folks at the QWLC center aren't reading this! haha!) I am still on a sugar high from 2 slices of the cake - one from each filling. Not that this will stop me from having another slice or two for breakfast with my coffee!

Hoping to enjoy other king cakes throughout this season. Yay for eating down memory lane...

King Cake #1 ordered

First king cake of the season has been ordered. I am so stinking excited, I don't know if I can contain myself until it arrives Thursday-ish.

I have also decided to only order one king cake at a time so we can extend the enjoyment of each cake. This week I ordered a cherry & bavarian cream king cake from Rouses, Louisiana's Best. Next up - Pronia's Deli in Lake Charles, LA. Hopefully soon I'll also be revisiting Market Basket's king cake.

I can almost taste the king cake now...and my poor scale can almost feel the pounds adding up already. Bring it!

On the hunt for King Cake

I recently realized how much food has played a part in my memories of the places I've lived and traveled to. We are about one month away from Mardi Gras, and in high school, we would bring king cake to class.

What is a king cake? King cake is a cinnamon sugar pastry (sometimes braided) in the shape of an "O". It can be filled with a plethora of fillings, then topped with icing and Mardi Gras colors. A plastic baby is hidden in the cake, and whoever receives the piece with the baby in it has to buy the next cake. In some families, you're treated like a king for a day...but we never followed that when I was in high school.

You can have king cakes shipped to you, but without personally tasting the cakes, it will be hard to tell if it's the one you like. For example, some king cakes do not include fillings of any kind - it's just the cinnamon dough braided and formed into an "O". I prefer the ooey gooey fillings. Luckily my family agrees with me. However, *which* filling is the one thing none of us can agree. I love the Cherry, Strawberry or Raspberry filling, and I love it even better with either Bavarian Cream or Cream Cheese. I think Cherry Bavarian is my all time favorite. My brother will not touch cream cheese and prefers not to be near Bavarian cream. My parents enjoy pralines; I can't stand them. We always end up ordering more than one cake.

After searching for Atlanta bakeries with great king cakes and not finding anything like my high school favorites, I turned to Facebook to ask my friends still in the area to ship one or two out to me. My great friends have sent me several links for bakeries in Southwest Louisiana to ship cakes.

Here are my top 3 contenders:
Pronia's Deli - Lake Charles, LA - baked from scratch. Fillings include: strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, cream cheese, Bavarian cream, apple, pecan praline, coconut cream, apple cinnamon pecan, or any combination of 2 flavors. According to their website, they ship for under $30.
Meche's Donut King - Lafayette, LA - FRIED king cake. Fillings include: plain, blueberry, blueberry cream cheese, chocolate, lemon, raspberry, raspberry cream cheese, Bavarian cream, cream cheese. Option of 2 fillings, one for each half. According to their website, the cake is $29 plus shipping (about $19 to Atlanta).
Market Basket - Moss Bluff, LA - baked in the local grocery store with a variety of fillings. I can't find specifics online, but I remember the cakes reasonably priced.

To be completely honest, I may need to order from more than one to satisfy every one in the family.

More to come once a decision is made, and definitely more when I eat the king cakes! :)

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!