My family and I love to eat.  In the spirit of the Food Network show by the same name, we’re going to share the best thing we ever ate and hope that you will tell us your favorites too.

You already know of my love of food trucks, especially when I’m in Los Angeles.  Somehow, somewhere I had heard of  Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches and on one sunny afternoon during our summer stay in LA, I was determined to taste one.   I consulted my iPhone app, TruxMap, and found Coolhaus parked near a Santa Monica office park.   I  knew Coolhaus shared my eating philosophy of quality and sustainability, so I had no guilt whatsoever eating this lunchtime treat.  As for the calories?  Well, if I’m going to indulge, I want to make sure it’s worth it.

Every Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwich is all-natural, handmade and organic whenever possible. Our dairy is sustainably produced and artificial growth hormone free. We use local and seasonabl farmer’s market fresh ingredients. Plus, every ice cream sandwich is wrapped in a customizable, edible wrapper that is all-natural and calorie-free.

-Coolhaus philosophy

The idea is simple: choose your cookies and choose your ice cream and Coolhaus will assemble your sandwich.  Or is that simple?  I will tell you: it is not.   With ice cream flavors like Brown Butter with Candied Bacon, Nutella Toasted Almond or Sea Salt Caramel and cookie flavors like Maple Waffle White Chocolate Chip, Brioche or Snickerdoodle, it is quite hard to decide which cookie and ice combination to make!

After much debate, Girly and I decided upon Maple Waffle White Chocolate Chip cookies with Baked Apple ice cream.    The cookies and the ice cream were delicious by themselves, but together they were incredible, a perfect combination.  It was the best ice cream sandwich I ever ate!

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© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

My family and I love to eat.  In the spirit of the Food Network show by the same name, we’re going to share the best thing we ever ate and hope that you will tell us your favorites too.

Of course we had all kinds of delicious food in Paris, but you know my family, we love sweets.  I had read about French macarons and was eager to try them.   Here in America macaroons (spelled with two o’s) are little mounds of coconut cookies, but French macarons (spelled with one o) are entirely different:

A macaron is a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar,granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from an Italian word “maccarone” or “maccherone”. This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to thealmond paste which is the principal ingredient. It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.  The confectionery is characterized by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the “foot”), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.  -Wikapedia

To learn even more about macarons, read Serious Eats: “Introduction to French Macarons”.

We had our first macaron right down the street from our apartment at Maison Georges Larnicol on rue de Rivoli and after one bite we vowed to have as many macarons as possible while in Paris!  They are insanely delicious!  Delicate, yet bursting with flavor, each bite is heavenly.  I don’t know how they pack all that flavor into such a little tiny cookie.

At Maison Georges Larnicol we had Caramel, Citron (lemon), Bergamot, Pamplemousse (grapefruit) and our favorite at this location, Rose macarons.

Our next macaron tasting was at Le Grand Epicerie Bon Marche, an incredible “grocery store” on the ground floor of the high-end department store Le Bon Marche.  We ate macarons of Framboise (raspberry), Chocolat, Caramel á la Fleur de Sel (salted caramel) and Pêche (peach).  Our favorite macarons  from Le Grand Epicerie Bon Marche were Pêche and Framboise, although all were very good.

Our 3^rd macaron experience was at Angelina.  Since we were there to drink Angelina’s famous hot chocolate (read about it in my next blog post), we only had one macaron on the way out, Manderine Passion. Tropical and fruity, this macaron was different and delicious!  We regret not buying more macarons for later.

Finally we had macarons at the legendary Ladurée.  This was on my “must eat” list and after my first macaron at Maison Georges Larnicol, I really wanted to see if Ladurée’s macarons lived up to the hype.  I can tell you that Ladurée’s macarons were the most expensive ones we tried, but I can also tell you that they were worth every euro.  They are incredible! You can buy them at the shop or have them with a pot of tea in the tea salon next door.  We did both.  The tea was delicious and the salon is beautiful.   Ladurée’s macarons can be packaged to make nice gifts, however it is best to buy gifts at the airport location because macarons must be eaten within 3 days.  We went crazy at Ladurée and tried several flavors: Pistache (pistachio), Chocolat, Cassis Violette (black currant violet), Citron-Thym, Vanille, Coco (coconut), Framboise (raspberry), Café, Caramel á la Fleur de Sel (salted caramel), Pétales de Rose, Melon, Goyave (guava) and Fleur d’ Oranger (orange blossom).  Girly’s favorite was Pistache.  Honestly all the flavors were delicious, but the stand out was Caramel á la Fleur de Sel; it had the perfect mixture of sweet and salty and melted in my mouth.   Mmmmm….it was divine!

It’s a good thing that French macarons are not available near me because I would have a problem!

(Oh, and since leaving France I’ve had a macaron at a “French chocolatier” in Los Angeles.  Not even close.   I’ll wait until my next trip to France to have a real macaron.)

Photos:

Macarons in Maison Georges Larnicol.

Macarons in Ladurée.

Au revior!

*Read about the rest of our Paris vacation and London adventures too!

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© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

If you know anything about my family, you know that we love food.  Our conversations, weekend activities and even vacations are heavily food-centric.   Last summer while living in Los Angeles for a bit, my family fell in love with food trucks.  We had rented an apartment in Venice, where many food trucks park at a local bar, The Brig, on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.  Not only was the food delicious and the prices reasonable, it was just fun eating dinner as we socialized with other patrons and enjoyed perfect California weather.

One of our favorite food trucks in LA, The Buttermilk Truck–maker of pancakes, waffles and other things buttermilk.  Yum!

Red velvet pancakes with cream cheese topping!

Back home in Atlanta we were delighted to follow a new show on The Food Network (one of our favorite channels, since we love food), The Great Food Truck Race.  A fun, adventurous reality tv show contest, The Great Food Truck Race was enthralling entertainment for my foodie family.   We were pleased to see the Nom Nom Truck on the show because we ate there often during our LA summer; the bahn mi sandwiches were delicious (and spicy)!

The Nom Nom Truck parked at The Brig during our LA summer.

Nom Nom Truck seemed to be the show front runner with their savvy marketing, but hard working Grill ‘Em All managed to hang on week after week and eventually won the entire the competition.  My family enjoyed watching the competition: the personalities, challenges and delicious looking food made for some good TV.

So when we heard that season 2 of The Great Food Truck Race was underway and the current competitors were in Atlanta for the weekend, we made it our business to hunt down the trucks and help them in the race.   There were 3 trucks left in the competition when they came to Atlanta: Hodge Podge, The Lime Truck and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese.   We didn’t get a chance to try Hodge Podge, but we ate at The Lime Truck and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese on 2 different days.

The Lime Truck was parked at Atlantic Station and even though we got there 10 minutes after the truck opened, the line was incredibly long.  This was the second day for the trucks in Atlanta, so by now the word had gotten out and everyone wanted a taste.   Also we found out that the challenge that day meant that the trucks were working with one less team member–that translated into slower food prep and slow-moving lines for the costumers.  Thankfully Atlantic Station was kind enough to put umbrellas along the line because it was over 90 degrees that day.   The menu looked interesting:

We settled on Ahi Tuna Poke Nachos, Ribeye Quesadilla, Blue Crab & Scallop Ceviche and Blood Orange Limeade.   The ceviche was my personal favorite of all the choices; I didn’t taste the quesadilla and I didn’t like the nachos.   Honestly the food overall was just not my thing, but my husband and son enjoyed everything we purchased and deemed The Lime Truck a success.

Of the two trucks we tasted during The Great Food Truck Race competition in Atlanta over Memorial Day weekend, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese was my favorite.

At first we balked at the prices–food trucks are usually quite reasonable and $13 for a grilled cheese sandwich was outrageous–but since it was a competition (and we were hungry!) we stayed and ordered almost everything off the limited menu: a grilled cheese sandwich of private stock cheddar, foie gras, applewood bacon and peach preserve, a grilled cheese sandwich of Vermont cremont cheese, prosciutto de parma and quince, Maple Sweet Fries, Mascarpone Peach Brulee and Sweet Tea Arnold Palmer drinks.

Both grilled cheese sandwiches were incredibly delicious and surprisingly big enough for my family of 4 to share.   My husband didn’t care for the sandwich with Vermont cremont cheese because he doesn’t like stinky cheese, but the rest of us loved it.

The sandwich with the foie gras was delectable and we all gobbled it down and fought over the last crumbs.   The sweet potato fries were cooked to perfection and the maple sauce was a nice compliment.

The Mascarpone Peach Brulee was my favorite!  It was a creamy brulee with a light, fresh peachy flavor and the sugar crust was torched properly to a thin crunchy shell.  Everyone in the family tasted a bit, but I tried to east most of it myself.

My only regret is that we didn’t try the oysters; we talked to several people later who said that the oysters were fantastic.  I hope Roxy’s did well during the weekend in Atlanta.  We heard that they had a rough go while parked at a obscure spot in Little Five Points and we found the truck near 12th and Peachtree–not the best location for maximum visibility.  The food was delicious–I just hope they had enough traffic all weekend to sustain their place in the competition.  I guess we’ll find out when the new season of The Great Food Truck Race begins August 14th!

*Look for me on the show; I was interviewed by the film crew after eating at Roxy’s.  Hopefully my interview will make it on the show and not the editing room floor !

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Okay, yes, this post is six months late, but Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop Prompt (Watcha’ cookin? Share a recipe.) inspired me to finally finish the blog post that I began this summer.

The last time I ate at Umami Burger in Santa Monica, California was in July 2010, so while preparing to write this post I went to the restaurant’s website to link up the Jurkey Burger, the best restaurant turkey burger that I ever ate.  It wasn’t on the menu, so I called the restaurant and found out that–noooooo!–they replaced the Jurkey Burger with the Greenbird.  Described as “shelton farms turkey, crushed avocado, green cheese, butter lettuce, spouts, green goddess,” the Greenbird sounds good, I guess, but not as good as jerk-spiced turkey topped with a plantain.   I took this photo of the Jurkey Burger back in July; doesn’t it look simply divine?  (Hang tight.  I’m getting to the “cookin’” and “sharing a recipe” part.)

Sadly, I will never taste that again.   BUT!–the recipe below for Jerk Turkey Burgers With Mango Slow is just as good as Umami’s Jurkey Burger.  Spicy from the jerk seasoning and juicy from the apples, this turkey burger is delicious; my family gobbles it up and asks for more.  I use whole wheat buns and low-fat mayonnaise to make it healthier and grill the patties on my panini maker.   Using a pre-packaged mix of shredded cabbage and carrots make this easy recipe even easier.

I serve some Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Julienne Fries on the side and you can’t tell me that aren’t in some hip Los Angeles eatery.  Except we aren’t.  Did I mention that we sat next to Tom Hanks at Umami Burger?

Jerk Turkey Burgers With Mango Slaw

Recipe from Foodnetwork.com

(yields 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey (*organic of course!)
• 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 small green apple, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup panko
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise, plus more for brushing
• 1/4 cup mango chutney, roughly chopped
• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1 carrot, shredded
• Canola oil, for the grill
• 4 hamburger buns or challah rolls, split

Directions:

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Mix the turkey, jerk seasoning, apple, 1/4 cup scallions and the panko in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Form into four 1-inch-thick patties and make a small indentation in the middle of each with your thumb to prevent it from puffing up on the grill. Refrigerate.

Whisk the mayonnaise and chutney in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot and the remaining 1/4 cup scallions, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Brush the grill with canola oil. Grill the turkey patties until browned and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Brush the cut sides of the buns with mayonnaise and sprinkle with jerk seasoning; toast on the grill, about 30 seconds. Serve the burgers and slaw on the buns.

Per serving: Calories 504; Fat 20 g (Saturated 3 g); Cholesterol 51 mg; Sodium 894 mg; Carbohydrate 51 g; Fiber 4 g; Protein 36 g

photo credit: foodnetwork.com, Antonis Achilleos

See Umami Burger; I don’t need your Jurkey Burger!  I can make my own delicious turkey burger at home!  See; I’m just fine.  See….

*Please Umani Burger, please bring back the Jurkey Burger.  Please.  Pretty Please.  For me?

Visit Mama Kat’s Losin It to write a prompt of your own.

********

Other Cooking Groovy posts that you may like:

Whole-What Spaghetti With Lemon, Basil And Salmon

Lemony Shrimp With White Beans and Couscous

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

My family and I love to eat.  In the spirit of the Food Network show by the same name, we’re going to share the best thing we ever ate and hope that you will tell us your favorites too.

As far as frozen treats go, I am not a fan of sorbet; I prefer ice cream, gelato or frozen yogurt.  I like creamy rather than icy.

But a few years ago I had a scoop of Cabernet Sauvignon sorbet at Bennett’s Ice Cream, a family run business that’s been at the LA Farmer’s Market since forever, that made me change my mind about sorbet. It was refreshing, it was light and it taste just like wine.  Hello!

It was the best sorbet I ever ate.

Bennett’s Ice Cream at LA’s Farmer’s Market: old school for real.

The ice cream is made right there on the premises and it’s expensive–almost $4 for a tiny scoop.  But oh so worth it.   Now whenever I come to LA I make sure to go to the Farmer’s Market for my scoop o’ wine. And just like a good glass of wine, I “sip” it slowly…savoring every. Last. Drop.

Or down it quickly and ask for another.  And why not?  Normally I can only drink one glass of wine, but the sorbet has all the goodness without the ill effects.  Too much Cabernet sorbet?–No problem!  The scale may be a bit heavier, but at least I can still drive home.

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.