The crust alone...

There is a jewel here in Houston that I am surprised I have not mentioned before.  It is the go to place for desserts and pseudo dining...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The House of Pies!

There are two locations here in Houston (on Westheimer and on Kirby) and while it bills itself as a "family dining" place, no one is fooled by this.  It is simply the place to go to get a slice of pie.  Everything from your traditional fruit pies to the creme pies to cheesecakes.  Now they do have a great set of cakes (the carrot cake is great), but the shiny baubles are the pies.

Now, this weekend the Web Guy is getting a visit from the very lovely lady and we will be venturing to Austin for my first visit there.  Now that SHOULD the center of our discussions, but no... we are ensuring that our schedule includes two mandatory stops.  Everything else revolves around this... pie at the House of Pies (which we will hit after seeing Kinky Boots at TUTS on Saturday night) and sopapillas at Molina's Cantina (traditionally before I take her to the airport).   It is funny (but not surprising) that places to eat here in Houston override pretty much everything else.

So eat up, folks.  Go out and grab a slice (or two) to go with a cup of coffee.  I know I will be...

Sunshine on my shoulder and Austin on my mind

Okay... it is February 12th and it is going to be 65 degrees today.  I know that this hackneyed explorer has said this type of thing before, but I still cannot quite grasp it.  It is going to be 65 degrees in the middle of February!  It is 17 degrees today where I grew up...

Lord how I love this place!

Anyhoo, I am also getting very excited because next weekend I will be making my first trek into the city of Austin.  My very special friend is flying in to Houston as a belated birthday present and we will discover the state capitol (supposedly there is music there...).  I have been scoping out the places to visit on Sixth Street and also on South Congress street.  I have no idea what we will find, but I know that we will have a ball.  The two of us have been in a blues mood lately so that will be the focus.

What we have a tendency to do is to map out and plan to visit a few places which gives us a battle plan.  Then, once we get there we have the total freedom to throw everything to the wind and wander.  I believe that the mapping give us something to fall back on if our wandering needs help.  It really is a great way to explore.

Now... I want to go walk around outside.  This weather is gorgeous!

Always something...

I have made a bit of a discovery.  It very well could be that I am the last one to this party, but the young lady I am head over heels for just introduced me to Jeff Daniels.  Yes, the actor Jeff Daniels...only did you know that he is also a singer/songwriter?

 Now I believe that the primary reason my lady knew this is because she and Jeff are native Michiganders and those people have a tendency to have some sort of telekinetic thing going on with each other...(people from Wisconsin have similar capabilities), but I am impressed nonetheless.  And I also have to say that I am very impressed with Jeff Daniels as a musician.  So impressed that I am going to buy his albums.

I guess it just goes to show you that there is usually much more than what is on the surface of things.  There is almost always another layer or aspect to what you see.  So, it is with a deep sense of gratitude that I learn that lesson again and again.  I try never to focus on the appearances but it is always great to have the lesson smack you upside the head every now and then.

And while we are at it...give Jeff Daniels' album "Days Like These" a listen.  You just might like it.

Winter lineup

Thick socks are a must!

Okay, okay... for Houston, winter is here.  The temps are dipping into the lower 40's... possibly even (gasp) into the freezing zone and the folks here are a bit taken aback.  As a born and bred northerner (where it is currently 7 degrees), I can offer a bit of advice to these poor stricken folks that will help.

First off.. THICK SOCKS!  Go out and get a few pairs of hunter socks from a place like Gander Mountain.  I cannot tell you how much this makes a difference in the winter.  "Warm feet, warm heart" is an old Amish saying and those folks know how to brave the cold.

The other winter time occupation has to do with the kitchen.  There is nothing that will warm you up and keep off the chill better than to make some home made bread, soup and stews.  Because of the length of time that it takes to make these items, it is a really great way to spend an afternoon basking in the warmth of an oven.  The smells of what is cooking will naturally cheer you up and the eating of your concoctions will (for some reason) keep the warmth with you longer.

So cheer up Houstonians.  These three or four weeks of winter will pass before you know it and we will once again be on our way back to the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Go get some socks, make a hearty beef stew for dinner (or loaded potato soup), curl up in the blanket and watch a movie.  I will make the popcorn.

Back in the Saddle...

The Web guy and the Web kids

I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday break.  I made the insane 14 hour drive up to the frozen north to see my family.  Now when I say insane drive, please take that with a grain of salt.  Sure 14 hours is a long time to be driving, but what I am referring to with my quip is the scenery during the trek....specifically a certain three to four hour period between Little Rock, Arkansas and the Missouri line.  'Taint pretty, McGee... (look up the reference).  I actually saw a house that had ten to fifteen mattresses on the front and side lawns.  But the best part was that the mattresses seemed to have multiple burnt holes in each of them.  It was as if they were experimenting with explosives... 

The trick to these marathon types of drives is to simply put your head down and bull through it...as my father has always done.  No, actually it helps to get out of the car periodically.  I always get out for a bit (get a drink/snack) when I fill up the car and get out about half way between fill ups.  I cannot stress enough how wonderful a bluetooth ear piece is as well.

A wonderful time was had by all as you can see by the picture.

With chocolate and cheesecake

As I wrap up 2014 I leisurely sat back in my recliner, sipped a wonderfully made hot toddy and watched Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby croon "White Christmas"...

...if only that were true.

In reality, I spent the last weekend in a blind panic making chocolate truffles as gifts because I could not think of anything else and I am supposed to drive 14 hours to Illinois in 3 days.  I am still finding chocolate in crevices and there is the not-so faint smell of peppermint where I spilt the bottle of peppermint oil.

Zazzles, my cat, will not go into the kitchen now...

Anyhoo, I did get to spend yesterday evening with a wonderful friend (Shaun) and her zany family while making mini cheesecakes for the Illinois crew.  My test subjects for the evening seemed to enjoy the peppermint mocha cheesecakes.   I sang songs with her mother, talked university politics with her PhD sister and essentially terrorized Shaun's two daughters although they would not let me rap (CoolPapaD... Yo!).  It was definitely the break I needed and appreciated.  I even felt confident spilling peppermint oil in her kitchen.

It is the holiday season and I really miss my two young 'uns and a certain lady (and her daughter) who live in the DC suburbs, but having such a good friend here in Houston alleviates that a bit.  Thanks again, Shaun!  (She told me that she reads this thing...)

My second year here in the Bayou City comes to a close and I am bumbling towards 2015 with the same smile on my face.  Houston is a wonderful city with so much to offer and after two years, I have only scratched the surface.

Salut!

They have a mold for that!?

Last year, I made flavored chocolates for my daughter and bought a variety of hot sauces for my son.  These Christmas presents were a hit and has driven me to try a food item as a gift once again.  So this year, I am going all chocolate.  I am going to do my best to replicate Pease's Candies truffles and Peppermint bark.  I grew up with Pease's Candies in my hometown of Springfield, Illinois and it was always fun to take part in one of the tours of the factory every once in a while.

Anyway, I hemmed and hawed back and forth about whether to make cupcakes or chocolates this year and landed on the side of chocolates.  It also gave me a chance to go back to a store that is just a treat to visit.  Amazing Cake Supplies (yes, their website is just horrible) is just a fun place to visit.  I mean, they have damn near ANYTHING you would want in the baking and candy making arena.  I have spent nearly an hour (which is a lifetime for me) just walking about in the aisles looking at all of the gadgets, candy molds, baking molds, flavorings... I mean it is just fun.

Last weekend I made the Peppermint Bark and experimented with making the truffles.  Making the creamy filling and coating that with milk chocolate.  It made a wonderful mess and was quite fun to be frank...

So this weekend, I will have a friend over and we will make an assembly line of chocolate making goodness.  I will travel back to Illinois with a car packed with boxes of truffles and feel really good about myself.  That is...until I hit the 20 degree weather.  Then I will wonder why everyone doesn't just come down here to Houston for the holidays.