Hypnotic Donuts

A new donut shop just opened in my 'hood in East Dallas!

Hynoptic Donuts 

This picture doesn't do the shop true justice!

These are my niece's choices.

Yes, that's bacon on a donut!

She loved them both.

My favorite (not pictured here)

is the

sopapilla donut

it's covered in cinnamon,

and it's delicious

They also offer biscuits

you can get them plain

or

covered in jam

or

covered in fruit

or

covered in gravy

or

covered in peanut butter

or

covered in gravy and peanut butter

If you go on the weekends, go early and be prepared to stand in line!

The line moves fast, and I promise it's worth the wait.



The Netherlands

Last week, my company sent me on a business trip to Amsterdam.  I only got to take a few pictures with my iPhone, and they didn't really come out very well.. but here we go!

They are pretty random!

It snowed before we got there.  Thankfully, it didn't snow while we were there.

It was just very cold.  Highs in the 20's.

This picture was taken in the train going from Amsterdam to The Hague

 Another picture from the train - on our way to The Hague

This is our view from the car on the way to work on Friday morning

We were amazed at all the people on bicycles

Here's a perfect example - the entire family on bikes for the morning commute

The train

We ate at a pasta bar in Amsterdam

Do you want some "shrimps" with your penne?

Pink Bike....

are words really necessary here?

This is one of the canals in Amsterdam

I took many pictures, but it was dark and cold

This one is fun because the flash highlighted the tires of the bikes

Cheese store at Schiphol Airport

Bolsa Mercado

A couple weeks I got to visit

bolsa mercado in Oak Cliff

They carry all my favorite things...

like wine...

local produce...

fresh bread...

Blueberry Havarti from Brazos Valley

It paired well with this Petite Sirah

These crackers are black

oh, so fun!!!

I love cooking with polenta instead of grits

Duff Zebra Cake

I know that lately, I'm all

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest

...but what can I say

it's very inspiring

which led me to my

latest test kitchen adventure

I've seen several pictures of zebra cakes

on Pinterest

so when I was at Target last week

&

I saw this from Duff

I knew it was meant for me to make a zebra cake - STAT! 

Then I thought, " Hmm.. how do I make mine

stand out

amongst the others on Pinterest?"

Then it came to me...

Of course, PINK

instead of white

pink

 is afterall

my FAVORITE color

At first, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing.

Basically, you have your pink cake

& 

your chocolate cake

Using a 1/4 measuring cup,

start in the middle of a greased 9 in pan

(I used 2 - 9 in pans)

alternate between pink and chocolate

Pouring in in the middle everytime

I was too cautious at first,

and towards the end I realized

that I needed to fill the

measuring cup pretty full

Anyway, it still looks cool..

&

very zebra-ish

I made a traditional buttercream frosting

This pink frosting is very 1980's

I think I might try it again with chocolate frosting

for a more toned down version

..but c'mon

this is pretty fun and amazing

Stay tuned ...

there will definitely be more

zebra cake test kitchen activities

Dude, Sweet Chocolate

Dude Sweet Chocolate

is located

in the Bishop Arts District

of Oak Cliff

They let you tasted anything with a tag

which is just about everything

Here's what I bought:

Albatross

Blue Cheese Sea Salt Fudge

so, so yummy!

I shared this with my friends and a lovely Cabernet Franc

Mull'd Wine 2011 Chocolate Potion

Use this in a chocolate martini

or

over ice cream or hot brownie

or even coffee

They have also 2 other potions

One Night Stand Potion

featuring 100 anos tequila

and

Breakup Potion

featuring Breckenridge Bourbon

I cannot wait to try this, too

Smoke Restaurant - Dallas

This weekend's adventure was in Oak Cliff

We started with breakfast

@

Smoke

Hungry Bear Smoked Ham Steak

& Farm Egg Fritter

with Sweet Corn Griddle Cake

&

Dublin Dr Pepper Red Eye Gravy

 Omelet with BBQ Brisket & Cheddar Cheese

Served with a side of Cheese Grits - Hominy Casserole

Smoke

is located at

901 Ft Worth Ave

next to the

 Belmont Hotel

Spec's - Dallas Grand Opening

Spec's opened here in Dallas

back in December

but today kicks off their official

Grand Opening

I visited a couple of weeks ago

and was in awe of all the stuff they carry

In addition to liquer, beer and wine

here is just a sample of what they have

Spec's is located

at

9500 N. Central Expressway

Dallas, Tx

(off Walnut Hill)

I highly recommend checking this place out!

Buzzbrews

Buzzbrews is another fun breakfast/brunch place

Actually, they have a full menu and are open 24/7

There are 3 locations in Dallas

I went to the one off Lemmon Ave

This was the most delicious omelet

Hare Krishna

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I found this recipe on Pinterest

It originated from cookin up north blog

It is very easy to make

Cake:

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix all the cake ingredients together except for the butter
2. Slowly stir in the melted butter
3. Pour into greased 9X13 pan
4. Mix all the topping ingredients together until well combined
5. Drop evenly over the batter
6. Swirl with a knife
7. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes
8. While warm, drizzle the glaze over the cake

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbsp milk

1 tsp sugar

Company Cafe

Company Cafe is located

off lower Greenville in Dallas

I love their philosophy of

buying local and from Texas

whenever possible

Misty and Melissa - this is for you!

The Beat

Two cage free eggs (sunny side up) with bacon

avocado and tomato

YUM!

Challah French Toast Sticks

Linz's Omelet / Not sure what flavor

I had a bite, and it was yummy

Going out for breakfast is one of my favorite things

to do on the weekends

Dallas has so many to choose from

that my friend, Linz and I are going

to try a new place at least once a month