Prolonging the Holidays: My Austin to Boston Swap!

Tags

atxbos, Austin, Austin Food Blogger Alliance, Boston, food swap

Remember when I went to that food photography workshop in October and how it was put together by the Austin Food Blogger Alliance (AFBA)? Well, I became a member the following month! I missed out on the kitchen gadget White Elephant in December due to a gig, but did participate in something a little more one-on-one, minus the in-person factor!

In November, it was announced that there was going to be a first-time swap between the AFBA bloggers and Boston Food Bloggers. Two awesome, rhyming cities with large populations of folks with culinary obsessions…of course we’d want to swap food!

Who was I paired with? Ryan from This Is Not A Martini. His unusual creations include a Fried Green Tomato Martini, Roll With It (sushi-inspired), and for food science-lovers, a Deconstructed Mac N Cheese Martini. Clearly a creative guy, right? I think the Pad Thai One On  and Fall For Me sound like the first two I’d try!

When I asked Ryan if he had any likes/dislikes when it came to food, he basically said he’s open to anything, but isn’t big on sweets. I had a hunch about both of these things from his blog, so started thinking of what I could send when my usual instinct is to make cookies. I got to thinking about flavors of south Texas, which is heavily influenced by our southern neighbor, Mexico!

Here is what I ended up sending: red and green tortilla chips from El Lago with Salsa Verde from Austin Slow Burn, barbecue sauce from The Salt Lick, and Chile Lime Peanuts made by me! I drew a nerdy card to go with it and wrote a little more than intended (not surprising).

Now, what did Ryan send me?

Ingredients for a cheddar apple pie martini! So New England, right? Awesome!

Why am I so late with posting this? I wanted to actually make the martini but needed a couple things to do so first (like, hello, martini glass? and thank you, Goodwill).

Isn’t it pretty? The beverage part of this is vodka, cinnamon liqueur, apple jelly, and sparkling apple cider. Where is the cheddar component? Cheddar powder coats half of the rim! The other half is rimmed with apple jelly and then coated with a blend of sugar and dried apples. He even included decorative sugar leaves! Pretty genius, no?

It was definitely different from any other cocktail I’ve tried, and I really enjoyed it! I ate some white cheddar rice crackers with it, which was a nice combination.

Thanks so much to Ryan for the fun tasty beverage! Also, many thanks to Jodi and Rachel for organizing the swap and matching up everyone! You can read about some of the other swaps here.