July 2018

Ruffino’s on the River | Lafayette, LA

July 16, 2018 Kellye Marie

Ruffino’s on the River | 921 Camellia Blvd Lafayette, LA | Facebook: @RuffinosontheRiver | Instagram & Twitter: @Ruffinos

DECADENT. RICH. DREAMY.

Ruffino’s on the River was recommended by the local community as a great place to have a nice dinner. And as a visitor to this wonderful city, I will second that recommendation!

I am always in search of a unique dining experience. So for an appetizer, I ordered the 48-hour braised pork cheek, Benton’s bacon jam, pork jus, & butternut squash puree. For my entrée I ordered the Sweet Tea Duck Breast- Maple Leaf duck, sweet potato puree, Abita root beer glazed candied pecans. And for my dessert, I ordered the Ricotta cheesecake – I have honestly never seen this before so I had to try it.

So…how was everything?

Well, the 48-hour braised pork cheek, Benton’s bacon jam, pork jus, butternut squash puree was to slap yo’ mama good! Whoa! Talk about tender! Talk about flavor on flavor on flavor! One touch of the fork and it falls apart, as it should. This bite was so dreamy. The pork cheeks alone were amazing but that bacon jam. That bacon jam added another note of robust mouthwatering flavor. Paired with the smooth rich and delicate sweetness of the butternut squash puree. It was a perfect bite of sweet and salty. I ate the last one for breakfast with some eggs at the hotel I was staying at. Normally I would not eat leftovers on a trip…but I was not letting a single piece of that go to waste!

YUM!

Ruffino's on the River _Braised Pork Cheek — Appetizer-48-hour braised pork cheek, Benton’s bacon jam, pork jus, & butternut squash puree.

Having cooked the Maple Leaf Duck Breast at home, I was looking forward to my entree. The duck was a perfect medium rare. Duck is great with sweet flavors and this dish was no different. The root beer glaze and candied pecans were a great pairing with that perfectly smooth, rich buttery sweet potato puree. The only thing I would add would be maybe some garlicky haricot verts to help to balance the sweetness and offer a place of rest on your palate. But overall this was delicious and I would definitely order it again! And again!

Ruffino's on the River_Duck Breast — Entrée: Sweet Tea Duck Breast- Maple Leaf duck, sweet potato puree, Abita root beer glazed candied pecans

I have never heard of ricotta cheesecake. And now that I have, I can’t find it anywhere else. I love ricotta cheese. This cheesecake was so rich and delicately flavored. And after an already sweet meal overall – this was a pleasantly semi-sweet surprise. The chocolate ganache was a perfect accompaniment to the actual cheesecake. I could just place a call-in for the cheesecake. Yes, I would do that… pork cheeks and cheesecake please. Ha! Mmm.

Ruffino's on the River _ricotta cheesecake — Ricotta cheesecake with ricotta cream cheese and sour cream the fudge sauce

As I raved about my love for desserts…they brought out their bread pudding – on the house. Honestly, I am not one for bread pudding. It’s one of those things that you either love or you don’t. But I tried it. It had a slightly lighter texture and was not as sweet and heavy as the others I had tried. This was light and airy and had the perfect texture to sop up the white chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis. I would eat this bread pudding before I eat another one, seriously.

Ruffino's on the River _bread pudding — Bread pudding with white chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis

To my surprise they brought out a complimentary cotton candy at the end of the night. While my co-worker finished their beverage, I nibbled with delight. I am not a cotton candy person but something about this little puff was quite enjoyable…even after that large meal.

Ruffino's on the River _cotton candy — Complimentary cotton candy

Ruffino’s on the River…I raise my fork to you! YUM! I’ll be seeing you again!

…still dreaming of those pork cheeks…

Food, Mississippi

La Brioche Patisserie | Jackson, MS

July 16, 2018August 15, 2018 Kellye Marie

La Brioche Patisserie | 2906 N State St, Jackson, MS | Facebook: @labriocheofMS | Instagram: @la_briochefondren |

La Brioche is is cute patisserie in the Fondren, MS area. I stumbled across them after meeting with a client in the building. It was about an hour until my next appointment so I decided to grab a treat and prep for my next meeting.

BEST DECISION EVER!

I had a chocolate entremet the first time I came in. It was almost too pretty to eat. It was DELECTABLE! Sweet and utter indulgence. Rich chocolaty silky smooth mousse. Heaven in a bite.

The next time I was in town, one of my clients raved about their macarons and bought me an assorted tube of mini macarons. I AM SPOILED. They were PERFECT! A delicate, perfectly crisp meringue shell. The perfect amount of flavor and sugar. The pastry cream was smooth and gently flavored.

They have a large variety of macarons and other carefully crafted sweet delicacies including cookies, chocolates, cakes and more! You can even grab a yummy sandwich for lunch…but don’t forget the dessert!

I have been to other patisseries in other states and they pale in comparison. When I say they are perfect, the are! They have become the macaron that I compare everything to. The sweet treats that I desire that are miles away. When I come to town, they are a MUST.

If you are in the area, or plan on being in the area….you HAVE to visit La Brioche Patisserie. They are simply THE BEST!

Go ahead, treat yourself!

Food, Indiana

Thai Fusion | Indianapolis, IN

July 15, 2018 Kellye Marie

Thai Fusion | 9250 W 10th St., Indianapolis, IN | Facebook & Twitter: @ThaiFusionIndy

On Friday I found myself behind a food truck on my way to work. 10 minutes to 9:00 am and lunch was already on my mind. HA! Anywho, I looked them up on Facebook and saw they were going to be at Anthem. Since I could not make it over there, I decided to look up the hours and make them part of my weekend plans.

Currently they are open for dinner on Wednesday & Friday from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 pm. The restaurant is cozy and seats 24. They take your order at the window, you pay and seat yourself and they bring out the food to your table.

I went to the 10th street location for dinner and ordered the Pad Thai with shrimp and 2 Thai spring rolls. The noodles were very flavorful and the spring rolls were crispy and the filling was delicious.

I was able to meet the owner Nelly, she was super sweet. Everyone who came in to pick up their call-in orders knew her by name and spoke to her.

They also operate their food truck during the day at various locations.

Food, Indiana

Urban Eats Grill & Cantina | Indianapolis, IN

July 13, 2018April 10, 2019 Kellye Marie

Urban Eats Grill & Cantina | 250 S Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN | Facebook: @urbaneatsgrillandcantina | Instagram: @urbaneatsindy

This afternoon’s impromptu lunch with co-workers left a little to be desired.

Even though I brought my lunch today, I decided to be social and join a group of my coworkers for lunch. I’m always excited to try new things downtown since I live several miles away from the downtown area. I have never heard of the restaurant before so I had no idea what to expect.

We arrived a little after noon. Other than a large party of about 16 and one to two other tables, the restaurant was mostly empty. We were greeted by a hostess and seated near the rear of the restaurant. The bar is across from the entrance and there are several larger windows facing Meridian St. that let in a small amount of natural light creating a dimly lit atmosphere. The music was a bit loud so we were struggling to hear each other and were forced to almost yell to make conversation. Most of the tables in the center were tall but the chairs at least had a rail to rest your feet so your legs don’t lose circulation while dangling. That was a plus!

So…about the service. I’m not sure if they were understaffed but the servers seemed to be either shy, slightly flustered from the large party in the back or just uninterested in making conversation. Either way it was noticeable.

Our orders were taken in order around the table, but after waiting what seemed to be a long amount of time there was much confusion as to who ordered what when the food came out. My food came last, which was fine.

I ordered the Tacos Dorados lunch special = Deep fried tacos stuffed with chicken, topped with lettuce, tomato, and crema served with a side of rice and beans.

They do bring fresh chips and salsa out for the table. (Yes!) The salsa was really good. The flavors were robust with just the right amount of heat. It also had a great texture unlike those runny salsas that are all too common. I asked for some additional salsa and I’m glad that I did because my chicken was dry and lacked seasoning. The texture was off too & slightly overcooked. So, I used the salsa to add some moisture and flavor to the overall plate. The beans were seasoned well and I enjoyed the delicate flavor of the rice and it’s fluffy texture. Even though the tacos were fried they were a bit too fried for my liking (almost bordering burnt)…which may be why the chicken was a bit dry.

There were mixed reviews heard around the table but overall it was an okay experience that left a little to be desired. While I won’t necessarily pursue this restaurant experience again, I am open to giving another dish a try if it is chosen in the future by someone else.

Faith

Kick fear’s butt!

July 8, 2018July 14, 2018 Kellye Marie

COURAGE noun | cour·age | /ˈkərij/

the ability to do something that frightens one
mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty

In October of 2017, my friend and I were sitting at the dining room table talking about how a year had gone by since a certain event had happened. I was shook thinking that a year had gone by so quickly. I mean, I was seriously disturbed.All at once I thought, “OMG, what have I done in that time? I didn’t get my health and/or weight in check, I am still at the same job, I haven’t started the things I wanted to start – needed to start. WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!

Over the next few days, I had spent some time in prayer and some time in quiet and was led to write several goals to be achieved by the end of 2018. Something about writing it down, makes it so real and attainable.

I wrote down 9 things and the first one was, “kick fear’s butt!“. Now, I am not saying that I live everyday and every moment scared and fearful. No, not at all. I am bold and courageous quite often in many areas of my life. But I will admit that there are some things that keep getting postponed for fear of failure…or fear that I will mess it up. It’s time to get over that! The enemy will use fear to try to keep you from fulfilling God’s plan. It’s time to have courage and do it in spite of those fears… even those things. God wants so much more from me and has so much more for me to do!

When I think of courage, I think of Joshua…’After the death of Moses the Lord ’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”’ -Joshua 1:1-9

I imagine that there may have been some level of fear when the Lord God told Joshua what he wanted him to do. That’s a pretty big job! But the Lord assures Joshua that the promises of Moses are promised to him as well. He tells him that no one will be able to stand against him, that the Lord will be with him, will not fail or abandon him and tells him to “be strong and courageous” 3 times; the last time commanding him to be strong and courageous, and to not be afraid or discouraged because the Lord will be with him everywhere he goes.

I too hear that same voice speaking to me to ‘be strong and courageous because my time has come’. And I will rest in His promises to protect me, lead me, guide me. I will study the Word and meditate on it day and night. I will prosper and succeed in everything I do.

I am strong and courageous because God is with me! And I am kicking fear’s butt!

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”’ -Joshua 1:9

Faith

I’m Batman

July 4, 2018July 7, 2018 Kellye Marie

I believe we all have defining moments in our lives. Moments of hurt, abandonment, humiliation, loss, sickness, abuse, defeat etc. Some of these moments just happen on their own, sometimes people do bad things to us or to our family/friends and some of them are a result of a choice that we made. Either way, they happen. And if you have yet to experience one of these…honey, just keep on living.

Even though there are bad things that happen to us, it’s what we do next that that will have the most impact.

Batman was one of the first movies I remember seeing as a child.

Before there was a ‘Batman’, there was a little boy named Bruce Wayne. One night something terrible happens, his parents are killed. This horrific event becomes a defining moment for Bruce.

We can choose live in our pain, wallow in the hurt OR we take that pain and use it to fuel our purpose.

Bruce decided to take that pain and position himself in order to help others. Yes he was rich, but richness is not his superpower. His superpower was his courage, his determination, his desire for justice, his compassion. He is just a regular man that made a decision to not become defeated by what happened to him, but instead to use it as fuel to help others.

Sometimes we may not be able to actually do anything except choose the attitude that we have about it and during it. And even choosing to be at peace or be happy when facing some of the most difficult trials can impact someone’s life and give them hope and strength.

There is a question that Bruce’s father asks and answers, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up”. If something in life knocks you down… you can choose to stay down OR you can pick yourself right back up, dust it off and come back from it. Yes, you can!

I simply cannot tell a story without thinking of an example from the Word

So….this reminds me of Joseph. His brothers really had it out for him. They were jealous and became mad because their father favored Joseph. Their jealousy caused them to plot against their brother and sell him into slavery. (Genesis 37)

Jealousy is dangerous y’all!

So Joseph gets sold to a man named Potiphar who was an officer to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. The Bible says that the Lord was with Joseph in Potiphar’s house (Genesis 39:2). Potiphar noticed that the Lord was giving Joseph success and put him in charge of his entire household. Okaaaay! *snaps fingers* Then, Potiphar’s wife…well, she acted a fool, lied and got Joseph thrown into prison. First slavery, now prison…and for something he didn’t even do. (Ever feel like when things are just beginning to get better, something else bad happens? Don’t give up!) But even in prison, the Lord made him the favorite with the prison warden. Again, okaaay! Next thing you know, Joseph is in charge of the prison! (Genesis 39)

I just want to say that even in the midst of our trials, God is still blessing us! (don’t miss it focusing on the negatives) Ok, back to the story…

Years later (yes, years in jail for something he didn’t do) Joseph stood before the Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, and interpreted the Pharaoh’s dreams. The Pharaoh saw God in Joseph and then BOOM, the Pharaoh says in Genesis 41:40, “You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting my throne, will have a rank higher than yours”. Then Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of ALL of Egypt! YES! Just like that!

Oh, it gets better…

An extremely long famine soon ravishes the land (the dream that Joseph interpreted), and Egypt is the only place that has food. Due to the Lord blessing Joseph with the gift of interpreting dreams, the Pharaoh was prepared for the famine. So, Joseph’s brothers have to come to Egypt during the famine to buy food. And who do you think they have to ask for that food? RIGHT, Joseph! But they don’t even recognize him until Joseph reveals his identity to them. Can you imagine what the brothers must have felt, bowing down to the same brother they tried to wipe out?! For sure, Joseph would have the best revenge, right? WRONG; he blesses them! He explains that God sent him ahead of them (in this time of famine) to preserve their lives.

Yes, God allowed Joseph to face all of these trials, to save them. Someone is thinking, why could He just save them…Well, God’s ways are not like ours -Isaiah 55:8-9. God doesn’t say we won’t have trials, but that He will be with us in them -Isaiah 43:2. If He would have ‘just saved them’ we would not be able to see His Glory. We would not be able to see how even in the midst of hard times that the Lord is with us, protects us, shows us favor, causes us to succeed, promotes us; that when we are down to nothing, He is up to something; that He is kind and helps us to forgive when we are wronged; that He blesses us and blesses those around us; that He shows compassion even to those who don’t deserve it; He is a provider and He is a deliverer! I could go ONNNN because God is just that good. But God does things HIS WAY, and I’m ok with that!

Ok, now….so then, Pharaoh blesses Joseph and his entire family (70+ people)! And Joseph, in his position of authority, saves the lives of the people of Egypt too. (Joseph’s story is in Genesis 37-50)

When we face trials, we often get stuck focusing on the negatives and start the “woes”. Oh, woe is me! This happened to me and that happened to me. But how often do we ask God to help us in that moment? To ask him why, not as an attempt to place blame, but truly seeking understanding of His will in our lives. That’s right, His will. It’s not about us folks.

Joseph’s brothers tried to take him out…but God had other plans. Hallelujah! And He has a plan for you too, no matter what it looks like.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:20 NLT

You may feel like the hardships you’re facing are trying to take you out. But I want to tell you today that the things you feel may be pulling you back, are actually just positioning you to saves lives, to change lives, to encourage someone, to make a difference! You, yes even you.

What are your trials leading you to?

Be encouraged.

Food, Home Eats

Breakfast “Street Tacos”

July 2, 2018July 15, 2018 Kellye Marie

I want to start off by saying that these tacos rocked my Sunday!

I had a taste for some eggs which is weird because I don’t usually eat eggs. But not only did I want eggs, I wanted them with some ‘ranchero-type’ sauce. Yes, breakfast tacos! I already had some pico de gallo, avocado, tomatillo sauce and black olives. So, I went to the store in pursuit of eggs, cotija cheese and corn tortillas. As I strolled he aisles I spotted some chorizo and just like that my tacos transformed into these beauties.

I usually get the block of cotija cheese and crumble it in the food processor but they only had it pre crumbled. Unlike Queso Fresco, Cotija cheese is a salty, sharp, robust cheese. It does not melt, but instead is crumbly and dry.

Heat tortillas for 15-20 seconds on each side

I’ve never touched chorizo (other than eating it, lol)…so this was definitely a blind run. I will say this particular chorizo is not a solid sausage like a polish sausage it was more like a seasoned loose meat. I just opened the package and put it into a pan and browned it similar to how you would cook ground beef. it melted down and created a pool of red grease. You may want to wear an apron or a shirt you are not particularly fond of just in case you get popped with red grease.Once the sausage was cooked, I drained the grease off. It was also seasoned very well, so I tasted it to make sure I didn’t over season any other component. It also had enough salt for anything paired with it…so I omitted the salt in the other elements.

You will need:

Eggs
Tomatillo sauce (salsa or salsa verde)
Chorizo
Pico de gallo
Avacado
Cotija cheese
cilantro
black olives (garnish)
Tortillas, ‘street taco’ size (or regular size if preferred)

Instructions

Cook chorizo and drain excess grease (put into a container with a lid)
Scramble 2 eggs in a non-stick pan
Put eggs in a bowl and add about 2 tbsps of tomatillo sauce on the eggs and coat eggs evenly
Slice avocado into 1/2 inch pieces (small enough for a small taco)
Prepare your cliantro
Heat tortillas (I used a flat top, but you can heat on the stove, or in the microwave-following package instructions)
Assemble tacos (eggs, chorizo, pico de gallo, avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, olive)

ENJOY!

Faith, Lifestyle

Women of Excellence 2018

July 2, 2018July 7, 2018 Kellye Marie

This weekend I attended my first W.O.E. Conference. It was such a blessing! The theme this year was RESTORED: Regenerated, Reactivated, Renewed.

On the first night, Mrs. Alisha Ramsey of New Life Worship Center really outdid herself. Her play, entitled “Me, Myself, and I” was truly amazing.

Day two featured Ms. Minnie from Little Women Atlanta was there and shared her testimony. Dr. Verna Du Pont brought the message and spirit-filled message about Power that shifted the atmosphere.

I took advantage of the health fair! I stopped by the table for St. Vincent and stepped on the body “composition analyzer”. It measured my BMI, fat %, BMR, Fat massI have some work to do, to say the least.