Breakfast at CBD Provisions (Dallas)
After staying in town for a Dallas Cowboys game, we ventured to downtown Dallas for breakfast. Their weekday breakfast selection wasn’t as good as their weekend brunch but it was our best option and it was very tasty!

Homemade Sweet Potato Hash
This has become my boyfriend’s signature homemade breakfast dish and I love it! Sweet potatoes are roasted with rosemary and then cooked with kale, bacon, garlic and onions. Finally, eggs are cracked on top and it’s baked in the oven. Hearty, healthy and delicious!

Bites at Wine and Swine
Austin Food & Wine Alliance’s annual Wine and Swine event is consistently my favorite annual Austin culinary event. The weather is usually perfect and the food can’t be beat. My favorite dishes this year were the pastrami bun from Olamaie (that ended up winning the award), the pulled pork torta from Franklin Barbecue, cassata gelato in a tiny lard pastry crust from Dolce Neve, and smoked Hawaiian pork roll from Launderette.

Hot Pot at Shabu
Craving warmth on a cold night, we found it at Shabu. We had a spread of shrimp, quail eggs, beef slices, two kinds of mushrooms, and Chinese lettuce.

Homemade Pecan Pie
I made this pecan pie for my work Thanksgiving potluck. It was a hit!

Crabsgiving
Following up our Seafood Boil, we had the equipment for a few more weeks before we had to give it back, so why not another? This time, in addition to shrimp and snow crab, we got king crab. I would NOT want to encounter one of those things in real life! The legs were long and sharp. Our friends braved the cold with us and we enjoyed our fill of seafood.

Homemade Chicken in Spicy Red Pepper, Tomato and Mushroom Sauce
When I crave a certain dish, I consult the internet to find a trustworthy recipe. When my boyfriend craves a certain dish, he buys all the ingredients he thinks goes in it and wings it. It’s a great talent to have (especially if you simply reap the benefits like me), and this dish turned out SO GOOD. It’s got spicy red peppers, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, white wine, chicken, garlic, yellow onions and a bunch of spices. Served on top of brown rice and with a side of homemade black beans, this dish will hopefully become a staple!

Chinese Thanksgiving Feast
My dad and cousin put a big effort into our Thanksgiving meal this year and it was so good! Lobster, crab and crab fried rice, mushrooms, steamed fish, jellyfish, turkey and Chinese broccoli. We all had full bellies by the end of the night.

Gyro Plate at Prince Lebanese Grill (Dallas/Arlington)
Boyfriend and I went to visit his sweet grandma in Arlington during Thanksgiving, and we found a highly rated restaurant in the area. She had never had Lebanese food, and it was so cute hearing her say, “well, I tried a new kind of food today!” We learned when we sat down that the restaurant’s claim to fame was their appearance on Food Network years ago. We started with their popular appetizer plate with hummus, babaganoush, tabouli, and dolmas. Boyfriend had the spicy chicken shwarma that was tasty and I really enjoyed my gyro plate with meat, rice, pita and greek salad. If you’re ever in the area, give this place a visit!

Kale and Avocado Dip, Matcha Horchata, and Quinoa Burger at True Food Kitchen (Dallas)
True Food Kitchen is an aesthetically cute and trendy restaurant in Dallas’ Preston Center and there are locations around the U.S. Their menu is focused on anti-inflammatory and seasonal foods. We started with the kale and avocado dip, which was very similar to guacamole. I loved my matcha horchata, made with almond milk, and my quinoa “burger” had a little too much quinoa but I enjoyed the flavor combination of quinoa, hummus, tzatziki, tomato, cucumber, red onion, avocado and feta. I’m looking forward to the Austin location coming soon!

The eats with no photos because the restaurants were dark and I was savoring the moments!

Dinner at NoRTH
The situation: way past dinner time at 9pm and all the new restaurants you want to go to are too far south. Thank goodness for the restaurants at the Domain! My favorite dishes of the night were the Grilled Cauliflower with fried egg and baby asparagus and the bolognese pasta dish. Dinner was delightfully paired with a stellar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dinner at Bullfight
I was excited to try Bullfight for my birthday dinner. The overall experience was good but not great. The marinated octopus dish was very tender but over-seasoned. The grilled quail and tomato gazpacho were good but not impressive. I didn’t enjoy the crab on toast. My favorite dishes were the mushrooms with a jamon cured egg and the diver scallops. For dessert, the Crema Catalana (creme brûlée) was really good. The Tempranillo and Monastrell red wines (by the glass) were very compatible with the food. Wanting to re-live some of my amazing eats in Spain, I may have had too high of expectations for traditional Spanish eats, but Bullfight has a lot of potential to become a favorite. I’m looking forward to returning with friends next month to try the jamon! Side note: If you’re looking for Spanish tapas and traditional dishes, Barlata is the closest I’ve found in Austin. Bullfight is more of a fusion restaurant.

What mind-boggling things have you been eating this month? Have you tried any new restaurants lately?

The post Flavors of the Month: November 2015 appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

My friends Dan and Sarah and I are very serious about our food. We went on a whirlwind adventure in Spain in 2013 that was filled with the best Spanish eats. We love discovering new restaurants in Austin. We all have some cooking and baking talents. When Dan got a sous vide earlier this year, it kicked off an unofficial potluck dinner party series between us and our significant others. We’re taking turns hosting and providing the main dish. First, Dan made some delicious sous vide steaks and then, Sarah made an incredible Mediterranean spread. Boyfriend and I got to thinking about what we would do and a seafood boil was the indisputable winner.

Thankfully, cooler weather made this dinner party perfect for the backyard, especially since the boiling part could get messy. We kept the event set-up simple since we wanted to focus our efforts on the star of the show: the food! We lit citronella candles to keep insects away and strung some outdoor lights and a homemade pennant banner.

We used a folding table, created nautical doodles on butcher paper, and covered it with a plastic tablecloth. This table covering simplified the clean-up at the end of the dinner because all we needed to do was roll it up and toss it out. We had cracking utensils, paper towels, wet wipes, shell bowls and trash cans ready.

Ah yes, the food! The spicy boil included seven clusters of crab, two pounds of shrimp and sides of potatoes, sausage, and mushrooms. We grubbed down family style around the table. The drink cooler was full of white wine and beer. For dessert, Sarah made refreshing pink lemonade bars. I ordered these cute crab bibs because no one wants crab and shrimp guts on them!

Simple evenings like this, focused on great friends and food and less about how picture-perfect everything looks, are my favorite. I love themed events with beautiful decor, but at the end of the night, when we’re sitting together, full from fantastic food and laughing from the stories we’re telling, it’s the people and the memories we are creating that truly matters. I hope your adventurous living involves nights like these!

One of my goals this year is to throw 12 celebrations. This is #12 of 12, but I’m not finished yet! These are big and small parties for any occasion with the goal of planning and executing something fun. See all the celebrations here.

The post Seafood Boil Dinner Party appeared first on Fearless Captivations.