And now that you’ve thought deeply about your existence, what are you up to tonight?!

Trip advisor told us to go to Habaneros, a small restaurant with only a handful of outdoor tables and an awesome thatched roof.  Trip advisor is generally reliable (such a good idea for a site, by the way – functional social networking – my favorite) so we went.  The restaurant itself was not particularly fancy (or not at all) – and exactly what we were looking for.

There were two fabulous things about Habaneros: the food and the owner, Mario.

The menu at Habaneros has basically nothing on it.

Our server told us they would bring out a few different things to try, if we were OK with this.  Not ordering is our number one favorite thing to do in a restaurant, so we were definitely OK.

We started with chips and guacamole.  I love how simple guacamole is in Mexico – mashed avocados, a sprinkling of queso fresco, and a little salt.  Nothing more.

Next, they brought us a sample platter with: a soft taco with grilled vegetables and a poblano cheese sauce (secret ingredient, “el queso de Philadelphia” – i.e., Philly cream cheese – chef’s own invention – not so authentic, but delicious);  

a chicken tostada with caramelized onions, sour cream, and queso fresco;

and a torta with cochinita pibil (pig exception!) with pickled red onions and fresh avocado. Each was simple, but flavorful and exiciting.  So delicious.

While we were eating, the owner of the restaurant (also the chef), Mario, came out to chat with us.  He was wonderful.  Warm and friendly and genuinely interested in getting to know us.  He is a graphic designer from Mexico City who moved to Cancun and opened a restaurant for fun.  He loves cooking for friends and family, and you become one of those (or both) when you eat there.

[Photo Credit: Trip Advisor (I was so sad I didn't get a picture of Mario, but glad I could lift one!)]

At some point during dinner, our warm Mexican evening turned chilly, with torrential downpour.  Habanero’s charming thatched roof leaked a little (even more charming, right? – isn’t that what a thatched roof is supposed to do?), and the wind blew the rain directly at us.

There were some cabs on the main road, across from the restaurant, but fewer and fewer passed by as the rain continued on.

We talked to Mario for another bit, hoping to wait out the rain.  When it was clear we wouldn’t (it rained all night), Mario ran off, pulled his car around, and told us to get in.  He was going to drive us back to our hotel.  Now, this was meaningful in its own right.  We were basically stuck there otherwise.  But it was also a gesture – an affirmation – of what we felt the whole time we were in Mexico – that the people are wonderful and warm.  Would that ever happen in the States?   Ever?!

When we were getting out of the car, we asked him if we should move to Mexico.  He said we shouldn’t move to Mexico if we didn’t want to enjoy life.

Love.

Abe and I will both be out of town (on different coasts) this week, so we made some impromptu Valentine’s Day plans on Saturday night at Keefers with Adam and Jen.  (If you are looking for a proper steak and some great sides (frites, au gratin potatoes, grilled asparagus), Keefers is among the best I’ve had in Chicago.  Nice ambiance in there, too.  Fireplace, big bar.  Perfect for Valentine’s Day.)

Then on Sunday, which was decidedly lazy, we thought we’d spend the evening preparing a low key Valentine’s dinner.  The main meal is such a side note in this case, because, while it was good, it had nothing on dessert.  So, here we go: butternut squash ravioli with tomato sauce (traditionally you will see butternut squash ravioli with a butter sage sauce, but I like how the sweetness of the butternut squash works with the tart tomato sauce – with a healthy addition of fresh chopped basil and parmesan cheese, this is a cleaner, more complex way  to enjoy this dish (and red sauce is nice for Valentine’s Day, anyway)) and Brussels sprouts with (turkey) bacon.  In all, a satisfying meal.

The highlight, by far, was the dessert.  Earlier in the day I recalled a goat cheese and chocolate dessert I had seen Bobby Flay make on FoodNetwork years ago.  Instead of searching for that dessert, specifically, I searched goat cheese and chocolate and found the most amazing thing you could ever imagine.  Goat cheese and chocolate chunk blondies!  Beyond delicious.  We ate a significant amount of batter – super tangy with the goat cheese – yum – and seriously contemplated whether we should bake the blondies at all.

The recipe can be found here and below.  Please make these on Valentine’s day for maximum love!

Ingredients:

8 T unsalted butter, cold plus a bit more for the baking dish

8 oz fresh, young goat cheese (we assumed this just meant fresh goat cheese – not aged – and it seemed to work fine)

1 c granulated sugar

1 c light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 T vanilla

2 c all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

0.5 t kosher salt

1.5 c bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips (we used chunks!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the chilled goat cheese, chilled butter and both sugars on medium-high speed for 6 minutes. Starting with cold ingredients builds structure and allows you to beat in a lot of air. So run the machine the full 6 minutes.

In the meantime mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Once the butter and cheese are fully creamed they will be light in color with a slightly broken appearance. This is good, the air I mentioned has transformed the sugars. At this point lower the speed and beat in eggs, egg yolk and vanilla until just combined. Turn the machine off and scrape the sides of the bowl.

Fold in the flour mixture in three divisions.  Followed by the chocolate chunks. 

Spread the thick batter into an even layer across the prepared dish.

Bake about 30 to 35 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on rack, then cut into 18 squares. May be store covered up to 4 days.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  What are your plans this week?!

(Last year around this time we were enjoying a super underground vegan supper club and a chocolate Nutella cake from msupermom on a perfect day in San Diego!)

[Photo Credit: Tijuana.com]

Abe and I got married in the fall of 2008.  We didn’t take our honeymoon until the next March, 2009.  (As an aside, when we were on our honeymoon, I got an email from Ali that Cole had passed away in a car accident.  And that is the subject of this brilliant documentary film, coming out any day now . . . .)

This is the genesis of our honeymoon location: Abe was involved in a contentious case with an opposing counsel who hated him.  If you know Abe, you know that this is completely unheard of.  He’s the most likable (lovable!) person ever.  This opposing counsel happened to be a world traveler.  On break during a deposition, Abe asked him to name his favorite vacation spot in the world.  He said Maroma Resort and Spa in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico.  In all the world, he chose Mexico.  On his recommendation, we took a gamble and honeymooned there (gamble because it occurred to us on our way down there that he might have been messing with Abe).

Maroma was beyond spectacular.  By far one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  The beaches are incredible.  The food, for me, was so unique, because even the most exquisite, fine dining experience was still accessible and had a home-cooked feel.  Everyone at the resort was warm and friendly, too (when you arrive, you are greeted by first name and a margarita on the rocks).  Lovely every which way.

Last week, Abe’s mom invited us to join her in Cancun, not far from Maroma, for the weekend.  She has a timeshare down there where she spends several weeks out of the year.  It’s cold and grey in Chicago so we went without hesitation.

Again, completely in love with Mexico.  

Just outside of Cancun, there are these beautiful little towns with artful, designed beach houses and town squares (very European feel – interestingly, given the proximity, there is little American influence in the aesthetics of the houses, store fronts, and town plazas – it’s the Spanish influence that is apparent).  And then of course, there are the beaches.  White sand, clear blue water.

I think we are destined to go back to Mexico.  And stay a while.

Here we go: good quality hamburger topped with Saint Andre cheese, mashed avocado, almond slivers, and honey.  Seriously.  And just in time for the Super Bowl.

Ingredients:

1 pound of 85% lean ground beef;

4 oz or so of Saint Andre cheese, sliced (This cheese is the most delightful thing, by the way – it is a rich cow’s milk cheese (similar to a Camembert) but whipped with sweet cream.  Love.);

1 avocado, mashed;

1/4 cup of slivered almonds (you can toast these for a nutty flavor – I like them pure);

A drizzle of honey for each burger;

Wheat toast

Directions:

Heat pan (or grill, if you live somewhere where that is a reasonable thing to do in February) to medium high heat.  Generously salt and pepper the ground beef.  Form 2 large or 3 medium-sized patties.  Cook to desired temperature (if you are brave, medium rare is really good when you’re using good quality meat).  (Side note: I have to admit, we cooked our burgers in the coconut spread.  Weird, definitely, but we are determined to use it at whatever cost.) 

Toast bread (I always double them up so they’re crispy on the outside and soft on the inside). 

Assemble burgers on toast with cheese, avocado, almonds, and honey.  Side of broccolini.  Eat.

Delicious.

If you try this recipe, or any variation, let me know what you think!

Happy Super Bowl!

So I owe this post an apology.  The coconut spread not only came in handy when we didn’t have any real butter (obviously we did not) and Abe wanted chocolate chip cookies, but it gave the cookies (and batter!) a subtle, delicious hint of coconut.  I bet you didn’t see that coming.

We’ve not done a beet salad in a few months (or maybe weeks, but it feels like a long time).  So here’s a simple one, with porcini olive oil from Baker & Olive and some fresh basil.  

Finally, Steven Tyler was in amazing form the other night.  Ah how I love him.  And TV.  I no longer even feel the need to make this argument in support of good and bad TV.  It’s all therapeutic, for better or worse.  

Are you watching Idol?  Are you compelled to buy coconut spread?  Talk to me people.  xoxo

I’ll give you some stats, and my favorite posts, and then tell you what I have resolved about how to keep this blog alive.

We had a total of 32,264 views on the blog!  444 views on our busiest day.  This is not a high comment blog as compared with our daily stats, but still, we have 747 total comments.

My top five favorite posts from the year include (wow this is kind of hard – deep breath): this post on how to make a t-shirt scarf (and I recently found my post floating around on Pinterest!); these posts for homemade lasagna I and II; this post about Alinea; this post about flying out of Great Falls, Montana (mostly because it was Fabi’s favorite post); and this post about the one and only Jeff Buckley.  Please please share your favorite posts of the last year in the comments below.  Even if you have never weighed in on this blog before, please feel free to chime in – it would mean so much to me to hear from you.

OK – finally, after talking this out with some of you, and due to having a number of new subscribers in the last few months, I have decided to continue posting, only now the posts will come once a week.  I will post once a week for 52 weeks, beginning next week.

I hope this is a decent compromise and that you continue to read and comment and hang out with me weekly!  Thanks so much for all of your support in the last year.  See you next week!  And, in the meantime, I’m headed out into this storm for Whole Foods – my favorite Friday hangout! xoxo,

Diz

Speaking of Hollywood (and classic songs, actually), in the event you haven’t seen this train wreck, apparently Kris Kardashian was making her own work before RSP picked her up for the 18,000 shows in the Kardashian brand.  We all have bones in our closet, I guess.

Anyway, happiest day ever now that the crazy fashionista that is ST is back in my life!  Here’s something else I just discovered that makes me equally happy: Culinary Circle multigrain stone-baked pizza crust.  While homemade pizza crust is ideal, it is not always realistic.  And honestly, this is a comparable (if not better – depends on your pizza crust, I guess) option.  Great option when you are short on time, too.

The multi-grain crust is hearty and satisfying.  It holds ingredients – including fresh mozzarella, which can sometimes cause pizza crust to get a little soggy – well, too.  Tonight, we did a simple pizza with tomato sauce (this traditional sauce reduced to the thickness of pizza sauce), fresh mozzarella, and sauteed baby zucchini.  

Simple, easy, and delicious!

Do you use Culinary Circle products?  Am I last to know about these?

For dessert, Ari sent me a text of this donut.  Peanut butter, chocolate, and Rice Krispies.  Do these actually exist?  I am dying.

In Italy, where my mother was born and raised, when I was in my teens, we went to see the David.  My mom cried at the powerful, white image.  All the way to Florence and in all the stories I had heard, before I turned my head to look, I didn’t even consider that that was an option.