Holiday Bounty

The past two days have been rather plentiful at work. Yesterday the institute had our holiday lunch. Everyone brought their favorite dish but the director of the institute outdid everyone. When I cast my eyes onto the long buffet table in the institute's dining area they completely ignored all the homemade dishes and focused on the massive spread of French cheeses.

I. Love. Cheese.

The director of my institute must have paid at least a thousand dollars on the array. One of the blocks cost $75 and there were several ramekins containing Saint Felicien. Saint Felicien is one of the best French cheeses. The salty white rind of this cheese is the compartment for the delicate but bold creamy inside. I cannot explain the flavor sensation of this cheese but its fantastic. I was also amazed that our director had acquired enough to feed the entire institute. Because this cheese is raw and unpressed they are not supposed to be imported into the US because it doesn't comply with FDA and USDA requirements. It made the cheese all the more delicious. One of the other investigators went to a local fine foods market, Eatzi's, and purchased an amazing array of artisan breads for the cheese. It was a really nice gesture.

Today one of the other investigators I work with, Michelle, decided that we needed to do something fun. She gathered a bunch of us and treated us to a terrific lunch at Bread Winners complete with dessert. Bread Winners is one of my favorite restaurants here in Dallas and if any of you reading come to visit you must dine at the McKinney avenue location. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they bake all of their breads, cakes, and cookies in house. I have never had a bad meal there but the best thing that I have had is their Brie Stuffed Range Chicken.

Its a striking difference from where I used to work and the best part is that I can tell that it's sincere appreciation for the work we all do.