This week was a busy one, characterized by two main themes: Eating and snow.

Restaurants visited on these blistery winter eves:

Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels: Warm, cozy, full of wine.

Au Petit Sud Ouest: Specializing in duck. Foie gras on warm toast, followed by seared duck breast.

Pied de Cochon: French onion soup at its finest at this traditional spot.

Cacio e Pepe: Plenty of hot pasta to keep you warm.

Chez Casimir: A perfect French brunch feast with Paris covered in snow outside.

…with a Galette de Rois (king’s cake) and a fajita feast thrown in for good measure. All in a week’s work.

It snowed like crazy and I went on a surreal Porsche date, where the week of eating out began at the lovely wine bar Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels. Intimate, perfect date ambiance, and just the place to sip wine at the bar or on one of the plush couches.

A fun dinner at Au Petit Sud Ouest, a little restaurant in the 7th that specializes in duck.  Here you can see a wall (made of wine glasses) surrounding Kyle’s dessert, which our waiter built in order to prevent Maygan from attempting to take a bite since she said she didn’t want dessert.

But eventually he came around, bringing us tiny espresso spoons that were meant to communicate the proportion of dessert we were allowed to partake in.  And he quacked every time he came by our table.

There are toasters on every table so that you can have warm fresh toast with your foie gras (a must at a place like this).

French onion soup with the French!  Nick, a coworker, has a French girlfriend who organized a surprise dinner to welcome him back after a two month trip home to California.  Nick said one of the first things he wanted was French onion soup, and Pied de Cochon is famous for theirs.

The signature melted cheese came in three extremely different levels on the cheese melting scale: A soft melt, a crispy melt, and straight crispy.

Oh deliciousness, I have found you. It’s a great winter treat, and is not for the lactose faint of heart.

Just when I thought I couldn’t handle any more deliciousness (not possible, obviously), we went to dinner at Italian restaurant Cacio e Pepe to visit my friend Ludovic (of 14-Hour-Brunch fame), who is one of the most fun and friendly people around.  Here you can find hands down the most delicious Italian antipasti platter on Planet Earth.  Don’t look directly at the burrata, lest its creamy perfection overwhelm you.

Friday

On Friday, we celebrated one of my favorite French traditions, the Galette de Rois, which is where the Gulf Coast area gets the Mardi Gras tradition of King’s Cake.  It always happens in January because this is when the Epiphany is celebrated – When the three kings brought gifts after the birth of Jesus.  You will see these delicious flaky pastries in all the bakeries this time of year.  It always comes with a paper crown, and there’s a tiny figurine, “la feve”, hidden somewhere within the dense bottom layer.

The tradition is that everyone gathers around a table, and the youngest person gets under the table.  You cut the Galette de Rois into enough pieces for everyone, and the youngin’ under the table says who gets the first piece, second piece, and so on.  When all pieces are distributed, we all eat together, and someone, upon finding the “feve”, becomes King for a day.

Congratulations, your majesty!

By the time we left work, a nice layer of snow had already coated the ground, and it was still coming down.  I kept giggling with excitement as we walked home, and for some reason it kept coming out as a high pitched “ho-ho-ho-ho!”  I’ve never done this before, but it KEPT coming out over and over, so we decided it must be my snow laugh.  I can identify with Santa more than ever.  It kept on snowing all night long in a steady stream, and it was fun to watch out the big window from my bedroom.

And then…lo and behold…Saturday morning brought scenes meant for postcards.

It was unreal, and I’m kicking myself for only bringing my iPhone instead of my real camera.

We had a lovely Sunday brunch at Chez Casimir, and I kind of pinched myself at the winter wonderland outside of the window while we dined on French cheese and omelettes and a dutch oven of slow cooked beef and vegetables in this cozy bistro atmosphere.

I was happy to have a reason to be forced out into another neighborhood to see more snow-covered goodness.  More winter wonderland pictures can be found here.

Sunday night, I bargained with my friend Rick to come over and put together IKEA furniture in exchange for a fajita dinner.  A grill pan is the only way to go in a BBQ-less city. Grilled peppers, onions, chicken fajitas, Texas salsa, and guac made for a great taste of home.

The results of Rick’s IKEA craftsmanship…

Somewhere to put clothes!  The small closet in our entry way is barely big enough to contain winter coats let alone my summer & winter clothes, many of which are hidden under my bed until we see sun again. In a world where closets and couches are not a given in any apartment, the addition of a small IKEA love seat and this wardrobe to my room make for much, much happiness.

“No money is better spent than what is laid out for domestic satisfaction.” – Samuel Johnson

“…and baguettes and travel.” – Julie Neis