Ears Perked.

Bonjour Sizzlahhhs. I'm enjoying my time here in Hawaii, so much so that I'm absolutely dreaddding coming home. I can't wait to share all my island adventures with you! I've been busy in the kitchen too, so plenty of recipes comin' atcha too!

For now, I want to give you a Monday night ear snack. There are some things I think you need to be listening to. I have embedded some videos for you for songs that are live recordings and won't be available on Spotify/iTunes/etc. Then I'll include a link to the playlist I've been spinning the most these days. 

1.) If you know me, you know I'm a FAN of Jack White. I find him terrifyingly talented. By terrifyingly, I mean that I think I would actually be terrified to meet him in person. I'd melt into a puddle of jelly and lose my ability to speak. I'm also fairly certain he is not totally a human. The video below is of a performance in a French Chateau. Does it get any better? As a self-proclaimed francophile, the answer is a resounding 'non'. You can definitely hear the Nashville creeping into his new album Lazaretto, and Mama likey. Enjoy. 

2.) If you still know me, you also know that it doesn't get much better than Iron & Wine. I was lucky enough to see them at Fitzgerald's a few years back and it was just unreal. I also find him wildy talented and will make my children listen to him. Here's a real treat of him singing in Gruene Hall. I love it. You should too. 

And now for TheSizzles September Sizzle playlist.  CLICK HERE and follow it so you can check out what I add in the coming weeks. September is also my birthday month, so it's just special in general, because DUH. 

So there you have it. A #musicalmonday for you folks. I hope you enjoy and I'll be back this week with a recipe and an adventure! 

happybirthdaymonthtome, 

Thirsty Thursday. 21 & Up Por Favor

Hola Sizzlers! It has been an eventful morning; it downpoured and rained cats and dogs (luckily I got to wear my Hunter Wellies to work...I work in marketing...Wellies are acceptable.) Then I rushed into the office to work on a new project only to find that the other half of the creative dept. was filming some sort of commercial/ad/something....at the row where I sit. An hour later I finally got to sit and work. RAR. 

As I stared out the window waiting for my desk to be evacuated by the person wearing a straw hat and floaties (don't even ask!) I was trying to think happy thoughts. Naturally, after thinking about puppies and beaches, I thought how nice a glass of wine might taste later on this evening. 

Before you do anything, click here, play this song, and read along. You're welcome. 

Red Red Wiiiiiiine. (& Champers) Girl's night out at Provisions. 

It's no secret I love me some red wine. My penchant for wine has followed an interesting path; starting with the magnums of Rosé and Moscato that I started with in college (gag!) and then I got real classy and only sipped Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. Then the white wine phase died. To the day, I can only handly maybe one glass of crisp white wine with a full meal, otherwise count me out. 

It's alllll about the red, amigos. Once I started, I couldn't stop. Throw in my little jaunt to Italy 2 summers ago, and it's fair to say I'm a budding connoisseur. 

So, in the spirit of Thirsty Thursday, and the fact that Easter is upon us and it's a custom in the Sizzle Household to indulge in a glass or two (or maybe more, who knows) during the Easter feast, I shall be showering you with some of my favorites. Now, for my beer drinkers, I even saved a spot for you. I love beer, but we'll save that for another post! Maybe I'll even go wild and do a hard liquor post... But for now, we shall indulge in the delightful world of the red. 

DISCLAIMER: I try to keep these all on a reasonable budget. It's always nice to splurge, but when you also have a taste for J.Crew and shoes....well...yeah. 

A delightful Cabernet Franc.

I tried this wine with a dear friend who used to slang wine here in Houston, and she was spot on with this recommendation. It's sexy (because it's French) and has a rich, dark and spicy element. Click here for more in depth reviews. 

Merlot

Ok, fine. I'll be honest. I really was drawn to the label first, but I really do love Independent Producers. They give good wine. This Washington wine is not too sweet in the way of Merlot, and was super smooth and delightful. Click here for more info. 

I'm a huge fan of Pinot Noirs and red blends, and this bottle was great for the price. It has a very full flavor, but doesn't punch you in the tastebuds. A great wine to pair with a meal instead of just on its own. 

GO BUY THIS NOW BEFORE I DRINK IT ALLLLL.

Now for one of my current favorites. THIS.IS.AMAZING. I tried this wine initially at Dolce Vita over pizza and a Caprese, and was really impressed. I went to Central Meerkat a few days later and found it for an incredible price. I keep it in my house all the time now. This earthy Italian is cultivated in volcanic soil so you get some great mineral notes (which I love!) and apparently the volcanic soil lends itself to health benefits? SURE. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. More info here. 

Dark & Fruity

I had a glass of this a Paulie's recently and was very impressed. Dark and violety, and just lovely all over. Very well priced and very well reviewed. 

Ciao amore

This is another great Italian. VERY well priced, and very tasty. It's so good someone at Forbes decided to write about it. Read it here. 

How could you not like it? It has an OWL on it!!

And now for my beer drinkers. Half of the allure of this beer was that it was illegal to sell in Texas, but in the last 6 months or so (maybe even longer) it's been making it's way in! (legally!) Central Meerkat has it and Paulie's has been selling some too. I first tasted it over fresh gulf oysters in NOLA, so the experience was just insane. It's a white beer with citrus notes and I can't get enough. Just be careful because too many of these can HURT the next day. Not that I know from experience. Just what I heard. 

And there you have it my friends. The inaugural Thirsty Thursday. So finish your work, go home, and pour yourself a little something. Because TheSizzle told you so; you definitely deserve it!

Cheers, Chin Chin, Salut, Santé, 1,2,3, DRINK (like in college)

M is for anything but Mondays.

I love my job, but I love my weekends, so given the choice between fun adventures and being under fluorescent office lights....I'm going to have to pick the weekend gallivanting. Wouldn't you? 

Some weekend snippets/recommendations for your viewing/auditory/olfactory/tastebud pleasure:

VIEWING:

I made it out to Memorial Park on Saturday for a nice 3 mile run, and of course the 'ole ankle isn't up to snuff so it was more of like an injured antelope hobble. But I saw some beautiful Bluebonnets on the way, so that helped. 

Later on, I sunbathed like a desert lizard who hadn't seen the sun in months (oh wait, I haven't seen then sun in months) and ended up with an embarrassing raccoon tan. Beverage of choice: Red Stripe. It's a delicious beer that also tastes amazing with a lime. Highly recommend.

#totes

Auditory/Ear Snacks:

As I've aforementioned, I'm really into music. If you haven't started following my 'starred' list, please do so; I guarantee you'll like it. Even if it IS a work in progress. 

Here are my current obsessions:

The Wood Brothers- "I Got Loaded" just amazing. In fact, I love it so much here's a youtube vid of them. 

CLICK HERE to see the latest and greatest songs that I'm currently spinning constantly.

OLFACTORY:

Sunday night I made a trip to Central Market and bought some fresh gulf redfish (recipe coming soon!) and couldn't help but buy myself some lovely flowers. Sometimes it's just nice to be nice to yourself. I highly recommend it. If you're a dude...maybe this is like buying yourself a nice six pack? (though I do love that too....) Anywho, these smell phenomenal. Sorry you can't smell my screen.

Garden roses and stock from CM.

TASTEBUDS/#NOMCITY:

Friday night I headed to one of my favorite gems in Houston, Giacomo's Cibo e Vino. 

Great menu selection (our friend gave up pasta & bread for Lent and was still totally able to find some delightful options) and their wine list is extensive and amazingly well priced. Amazingly. 

I ordered the torteli di bietola which is ravioli stuffed with Ricotta cheese, swiss chard and finished off with a sage butter sauce. I get the 1/2 order because that means there are no calories in it. You didn't know that? You're welcome.

My friend ordered the pasta bolognese and WHOA. Mind blown. It's probably the best bolognese I've had since I left Italy. I'm not kidding. Perfect perfect pasta, and sauce that was 1,000,000% on point. 

every.last.bite.

It's a perfect casual date spot/friend spot/just a great spot in general and when the weather finally decides to be stable, get out on that patio and feast. 

MORAL OF THE STORY/YOUR TO-DO LIST:

1.) Try Red Stripe lager. 

2.) Listen to cool tunes 

3.) Buy yourself something to say "hey, thanks self!"

4.) Go to Giacomo's 

As always, leave your comments/arguments/suggestions below! Can't wait to hear from y'all!