Chasing Deliciousness

Deliciousness in a Martini?

2011-11-13T13:47:00.001-07:00

One day last week I was having dinner with The Gentleman Caller at a sports bar, and one of the tabletop advertisements (You know those printed cards with the restaurants new dishes or drinks) caught my eye... They had new drinks featuring a brand new flavored vodka by Smirnoff called Fluffed Marshmallow. I really like marshmallows, so I immediately turned to TGC and said we need to get some of that!

TGC being the great guy he is took me to the store and after dinner.

I immediately began searching for a drinks I could make with this new vokda....

The possibilities seemed endless, as I have mentioned before I have quite the sweet tooth.

I found a lot of fun recipes, most of which called for a bunch of liquers that I did not have on hand, then I found it.... the recipe I had been looking for...

A S'More Martini!!!

And Martini Deliciousness was discovered.

Here's how to make your own:

- 1 part Fluffed Marshmallow vodka

- 1 part Godiva Chocolate vodka

- 1 part Irish Cream

Optional :

-Crushed graham crackers for the rim

-Chocolate Syrup for drizzling

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker combine vodkas and Irish cream. Add ice. Cover and shake until chilled.

Dip rim of glass in water then in crushed graham crackers and drizzle glass with chocolate syrup if desired.

Strain cocktail into glass. ENJOY!

A Delicious Dream Realized

2011-09-11T11:43:00.000-06:00

I am a lucky girl. My gentleman caller really likes me, I mean really, really likes me...

I have always wanted to eat a chef's restaurant. Now I don't mean just any chef, but a CHEF. One who I have seen on one of my foodie TV shows, read about in foodie magazines and who's food I have dreamed about eating.

Living in Boise, I don't have a lot of opportunities to realize this dream... which is probably a good thing. A few months ago we began planning to meet my sister and her husband in Las Vegas for a get together... and well my mind was spinning. I may actually get to realize my dream.

In the beginning I was paralyzed wtih indecision, which Chef's restaurant would I choose. I researched, I Yelped, I could not decide. Bobby Flay? Wolfgang Puck? Mario Batali? Hubert Keller?

Then one day while on the phone with my sister she says, "What about Tom Colicchio? Doesn't he have a place in Vegas?" As a Top Chef addict, I knew that Tom was the perfect candidate for my first CHEF's restaurant.

I know Tom Colicchio isn't going to be in the kitchen cooking my food (bummer). But I know Tom Colicchio doesn't just put his name on any restaurant, and that he has super high standards. I knew I could be confident that eating at one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants would be worthy of fulfilling a dream.

So it was settled, we would eat at Craftsteak.

Craftsteak is in the MGM Grand...

On the outside it looks like a little place, but once you venture inside it opens up into a large beautiful dinning room.

One good thing is, the dress code was really flexible.

There were girls in dresses and heels, and guys in shorts and t-shirts. I recommend somewhere in the middle.

Craftsteak has a lovely menu. You can choose from a variety of main dishes and sides that are all ordered á la carte. They also offer 5 different tasting meus. The tasting menus are priced per person and include 3 courses: salad, main dishes (with sides), and dessert. The tasting menus are served family style and give the best opportunity to taste a variety of dishes. That said wagyu beef tasting menus start at $115/per person, so if you plan on going that route save your pennies, and your appetite because you will need both!

Which brings me to the point I started this post with, my gentleman caller really, really likes me.
Because he took me to craftsteak, and let me order whatever I wanted.

Here's a sampler of what we got...

Roasted Prawns

Warm Frisée Salad with farm egg and smoked bacon

The Frisée salad was the most delicious first course for sure! None of us could get enough!

Wagyu Filet

The filet, was tender and had great beefy flavor.

Wagyu Ribeye

The Wagyu Ribeye was fork tender, had a slight buttery flavor but was still beefy.

Wagyu Skirt Steak

Our waiter told us that this was the house favorite. There is a reason.

This steak will change your life.
You will never think about steak the same after tasting just one bite of this steak.
You will dream about this steak.

This was the best steak I have ever had... it had a melt in your mouth, silky texture.
The flavor was like no other steak I had ever tasted, almost like butter.

Silky Masked Potatoes

Braised Maine Lobster in Tarragon Butter

Crème Brûlée
with Berries & Brownie

Chocolate Soufflé
with Salted Caramel Sauce

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Housemade Icecream and Sorbet Sampler

Peach Pavlova

This was my favorite dessert, the vanilla meringues we delicious and the peach sorbet light and refreshing!

Overall this was the best meal I have ever had. Everything was deliciousness.

I wish I had picture of each and every dish we enjoyed. They all deserve to be shared.

We all left with our heads reeling in delight, or maybe for the guys in was reeling in amazement at the bill.

Whatever the case, I could not have asked for a meal more fitting of fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Thank you Craftsteak & Tom Colicchio!

Philosophy Deliciousness

2011-09-03T12:54:00.000-06:00

If you are anything like my gentleman caller, you have read the title and thought, "Hooray we are going to talk about how we really know if food is delicious, and why we even taste at all. Not to mention how those things relate to the meaning of life." Sadly TGC and those like you we are not.

This blog post is about a whole other kind of Philosophy, and if I'm being frank the kind a I prefer... in a big way... sorry to disappoint all of you looking for a good discussion on food philosophy.

Each year for Christmas and sometimes my birthday my good friend Ruthie gets me a set of these delicious Philosophy goodies. Philosophy is a brand of fantastic skin care products, makeup, fragrances, and my favorite bath and body products. Many of their bath and body scents are food related, which is probably the reason I became addicted to them in the first place... chocolate chip cookies, coconut frosting, and cinnamon buns are just a few of their yummy scents.

What has always intrigued me about these yummy body washes are the recipes that come printed on every bottle.

Last Christmas Ruthie's gift included a bottle of body wash labeled Brown Butter Cookie...

It smelled divine, all buttery and sugary, like freshly baked cookies every time I opened the bottle.... I used it off and on since Christmas, saving it for days I deemed worthy of it's delectable scent. Then one day, this summer it was gone :( I had a moment of panic, I shouldn't have used the last bit. I checked their website, no more, limited time only holiday scent. I should have saved it! I'm never going to get that scent back...

Then it hit me, they must put that recipe on the bottle for a reason! That's how I can fix this!!! I will make Philosophy Brown Butter Cookies, and so I made cookies from a recipe I got off a bottle of body wash...

Let me tell you, as amazing as the body wash smelled, I did not have a lot of faith in the cookies. Shame on me! The cookies were amazing! They are a the perfect grown-up sugar cookie. The brown butter gives the cookie a slight nutty flavor, and if you are careful not to over bake them they are soft and moist and a little piece of heaven.

Philosophy's Brown Butter Cookies


2	C	Unsalted Butter
2	C	Brown Sugar
2		Eggs
1	tsp	Baking Soda
1/2	tsp	Baking Powder
1/2	tsp	Salt
3	C	Flour
3 1/2	C	Confectioner's Sugar
1/2	C	Hot Water

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat until light brown (have patience here, it takes a little while). Reserve 1/2 C of the butter after browning for the icing. In a medium bowl beat butter, and brown sugar until cool. Add eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine. Slowly add flour until just combined (careful not to over mix if using an electric mixer). Spoon dough onto ungreased cookie sheet (I like rolling mine into 1 inch balls). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are light brown. Cool on rack.

For icing combine reserved brown butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, hot water and 3½ confectioner's sugar. Drizzle or spoon over cookies (I like to ice mine using the back of the spoon). ENJOY!

Be warned though, once you share with your friends they will be addicted! :)

Thank you Ruthie for sending me down the path that led to the discovery of Philosophy deliciousness... and for being a fantastic friend for the last 12 or so years!

Baking Deliciousness

2011-08-07T14:00:00.001-06:00

Alright I admit it... I am a baking junkie. You know this if you read this blog. I try to write about savory things, but the sweet always lures me in with it's precise measurements, divine smells, and yummy batter of course! Well today I've got a treat for all of you savory food lovers and something for those of you have a giant sweet tooth like me!
Three words.

Stanley Baking Co.

Ok so two words and an abbreviation.

Stanley is my favorite place in Idaho. It is this beautiful little town in a meadow, with the Salmon river running through town with the Sawtooth mountains on one side and the white cloud mountains on the other. It is a small town filled with log cabins and not a chain restaurant in sight. To say that Stanley is picturesque is an understatement.

Just saying the name makes me float off to a daydream sipping coffee and enjoying the view...

Stanley Baking Company is about 3 hours from our home, which is probably a good thing or we would go there everyday! The Gentleman Caller and I have been known to rearrange road trips just to go through Stanley and visit Stanley Bakery, even if it means an extra hour or two.
That's how good this place is.

The bakery is only open mid-may through October, as it's mountain location makes it very difficult to get to during winter months. This summer Matt and I did not have an opportunity to drive through Stanley, so we made a special trip up to Stanley just to visit the Bakery. As always, this trip did not disappoint.

I have tried many of the items on the Bakery's menu in our visits, the pancakes (to die for), the breakfast burrito (amazing), homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (mmmm...), the ham and cheese croissant (I would drive to Stanley just to get one... OK a maybe 2). They serve lunch, and I'm sure if the breakfast items are any indication it is delicious too, I just like breakfast so much I never think to order anything else.

On this visit they were out of my beloved ham and cheese croissant. Instead of pouting (I wanted to- they're sooo good) I decided to try one of their daily specials, an omelet with prosciutto, provolone, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers. Wow. With those ingredients, how could you go wrong?

The omelet was the best I ever had. Fluffy eggs, delicious filling and most importantly everything was in proportion. It seems like every time I order an omelet I get a ton of cheese and a little of the other fillings, all of which over power the egg flavor. Not this time, not at Stanley Bakery. Every bite was more delicious than the one before, and if the omelet wasn't enough it was served with toast and a berry-rhubarb jam both made in house.

This omelet was pure deliciousness... If you ever find yourself in Stanley, Idaho looking for deliciousness you cannot beat Stanley Baking Company & Cafe.

5 Whisks
Deliciousness

One day someone asked me to make their wedding cake....

2011-07-14T09:26:00.000-06:00

So I've not blogged in a while- with good reason (I swear)... the school year was ending (which = craziness), my amazing friend Angie and her gentleman caller came to visit and someone asked me to make their wedding cake.

If you really knew me you would know, in my head I call myself a baker, I would never say it out loud. I just don't think I'm there yet. I dream about being a baker and renting the house next door to use as my working kitchen and selling things out of my home. If you really, really knew me you would know that I dream of leaving my job and opening a little bakery & cafe... The key word is dream. I want these things to happen, I dream about them, but I haven't gotten around to figuring out how to get there....

Then one day someone asked me to make their wedding cake and it all got real. Some how all this talk and dreaming had allowed someone to think I was capable to making their wedding cake. When she first asked in my mind I was like "Shit! What have I done! I clearly have been bragging too much about my cake making abilities!" Out loud I heard myself saying "Yeah, I think I could do that. What were you thinking about for the style of the cake?" So began the adventure of making my first wedding cake...

When I say adventure, I mean adventure. Not only would this be my first wedding cake, but it would be 3 tiers and I would have to transport it 4 hours away. Maybe to you this sounds like an awful lot to take on, but once I said yes I viewed it as a challenge, and I would not back down! I was going to give my friend the best wedding cake I could make.

I researched the best pans for square corners (Parrish Magic Line - not the cheapest pans, but they cook like a dream! All the cakes come out evenly done without humps in the middle!). I researched recipes for cakes, fillings, and frostings. I researched how to assemble and transport cakes... It was a wonderful learning experience.

I considered going into a step by step process of how and what I did... but well that would be the world's longest blog!

The one thing I would pass on to those of you willing to take the plunge and make a wedding cake is...

Practice. Practice EVERYTHING.

I had brand new pans and I was using a new cake recipe and 2 new fillings. Practicing my new cake and was the best thing I could have done. It turned out the recipe was super dense and heavy. None of my practice cake testers liked it. One thing I didn't practice was using the 10" pan, in the name of saving ingredients. In hind site I wish I would have. I had problems with the sturdiness of the cake when slicing the layers and assembling.

A trick I found in my research to keep fillings in check: pipe buttercream around the edges to make a barrier - works like a charm!

The final product!

I would like to thank Chris & Katie Williams for taking a chance on me, it was an honor to be a part of your big day!

What's an (aspiring) Foodie to do?

2011-05-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

I've been dieting for the last three weeks, I refuse to buy new clothes for summer, so I decided to do Weight Watchers online. I hate dieting, I love food. In fact I believe all of my memories are linked to food :) I can tell The Gentleman Caller about all of the places we have been for dinner, and who had what, for the last two and a half years... but I digress.

Yesterday, as I was struggling to stay in my points for the week knowing I had my regular hefty point value Saturday brunch and a graduation party this weekend. I was browsing the Weight Watchers app, randomly plugging in foods to find something that I would at least deem semi-deliciousness. I put in sea bass and it was as if the foodie gods hear my cry, 1 fillet of sea bass only 3 points (for some perspective my morning latte is 3 points)! I was ecstatic. There's this place in town that serves an amazing sea bass dish, it's a little spendy so we don't go all that often, but here was an excuse.

We go the restaurant and have an amazing meal (AMAZING!), everything was on point... We just returned, and I am still basking in the glow of an amazing meal. Here is the issue, as we are finishing our meal the table next to us gets seated. The patrons ask the waiter for recommendations, like any good waiter he suggests the house specialties, as well as the sea bass. At this point I am trying to catch the guy's eye saying order the sea bass, order the sea bass!! The Gentleman Caller says "Just let them have a quiet, uninterrupted evening." I reluctantly stop. I begin to tell TGC that an ordering the right or wrong dish can change the tone of an evening. I tell him about the first time we went to this particular restaurant and how I ordered another dish and it was just ok. I was disappointed with an ok dish at a pricey restaurant. TGC holds his ground and maintains I should not say anything...

The guy orders... and of course he chooses that very same dish that disappointed me on my first visit. I groaned inside (ok, out loud too, but only a little). But I ask all of you out there, What is a Foodie to do in this situation??

Banana Layer Cake with Caramel and Sea Salt-Roasted Pecans

2011-05-08T10:33:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

In honor of mother's day I thought I would post about the cake I made for the gentleman caller's mom's birthday two weeks ago.

I love making birthday cakes. They are my favorite thing to bake, hands down. I pride myself on researching and experimenting to find the right cake for each person. In fact, I thought about and planned TGC's last birthday cake for about 6 months! I have a process when it comes to birthday cakes, I ask for the person of honor's favorite flavors and least favorite flavors. Then I spend a few days, weeks or months mulling over the cake until I have come up with perfect combination. Here are just a few of the birthday cakes I have made this year...

TGC's mom had no requests, except to avoid chocolate, which is easy for me as I previously stated I am not a lover of chocolate baked goods. I wanted a lighter tasting cake, with some fruit flavors... I was originally set on adapting my favorite base cake to do a white cake with a sweetened cream frosting filled with raspberries and raspberry jam... but well I'd done that before and I needed something new... So I opened up one of my baking bibles...

The cover screams deliciousness!

And found the recipe for Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream and Sea Salt-Roasted Pecans. I will be honest, I made the cake as the recipe states... with no regrets. It is a perfect spring recipe. The layer cake is a basic yellow cake with great banana flavor, the banana caramel cream is a light frosting that adds complexity when combined with the lime juice and rum that is drizzled over the layers. The combination is quite tropical and will transport you to a warm day on the beach or a beautiful spring day on the patio at home.

Enough talking about cake, let's make the cake already!

(Full recipe & directions follow the step-by-step photos)

First things first, prep the pans - take a deep breath it's the weekend!

Measuring ingredients makes me happy, after a hectic week measuring ingredients so simple...

Like chopping and dicing. I went to one of those in home cookware parties a while ago where the saleswoman demonstrated a chopping device. When it came time to purchase she was trying to pitch the device to me and I said, "No thanks, I'm working on my knife skills." She looked at me like I was crazy, is it really that bizarre to want to improve your knife skills? I think that's a pretty nice dice, if I don't say so myself!

Notice our fantastic "beer bottle back-splash" below, TGC's influence in the kitchen.

Mise en place, a fantastic thing...

Sifting, another soothing part of baking... I love how the white dry ingredients look in the red bowl.

Enough prep, let's make a cake!

Time to break out the KitchenAid stand sixer,
my favorite kitchen appliance.

In goes the butter.

And the sugar,

I know you know what is coming...

Beautifully creamed butter and sugar, fluffy and light yellow.

With two eggs... the mixture looks a bit curdled, but with patience it will come together.

Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately, ending with the last of the dry ingredients.

What to do with the last of the eggs and sugar? Beat them until thick and pale yellow in color.

It takes a few minutes but when they are done they will have doubled in size.

Fold in the egg mixture into the batter prepared in the stand mixer, when that mixture is homogeneous add the beautifully diced bananas and fold some more.

Then pour the light batter into your prepared pans, bake then cool.

Step 1 Complete, now on the the Banana Caramel Cream!

Mise en place, once again.
I am a bit distractable, so having all the ingredients pre-measured saves me almost every time I bake.

Here comes my second favorite kitchen appliance, Cuisinart food processor... (Thank you TGC!)
Combine the brown sugar, butter, and bananas and blend until smooth.

Add 1½ cups of the heavy cream and blend until combined.
Then transfer your caramel mixture into a medium saucepan.

Heat the caramel over medium heat, whisking your caramel until it boils.

Now the hardest part, boil the caramel with out stirring or swirling until it reaches 218°F.

You'll want to stir it, I did. When standing at the stove cooking I have a strong compulsion to whisk.
I have a this handy thermometer that beeps when it reaches the target temp.

I had to walk away!

Once it hits the target temp transfer to a heat-proof bowl to cool.
I did a bit of stirring to help quicken the cooling process...

Once your caramel has cooled add the remaining cream into your stand mixer and whisk away.

Gradually add your cooled (room temp) caramel to the cream and fold gently... The caramel has a slight banana flavor that is delicious. I am tempted to make it again just to keep around for ice cream sundaes. I dare you not to eat the leftover streaks of caramel in your bowl!

Refrigerate your banana caramel cream until it is firm enough to spread, about 3 hours.

Step 2 Complete, just one more thing to make and we can assembly this beauty!
Sea salt-roasted pecans you're up!

I totally went through the entire bag of pecans to find the best pecan halves, since they were going to the be the garnish for the cake. You do not have to be so particular :)

Pour the butter over the nuts, and toss to coat.

Transfer to a baking sheet and roast in the oven until deep brown and fragrant.
They will make your house smell great!
And as an added bonus there will be extras to toss into your salad with dinner.

Stirring occasionally... It will take about 15 minutes.

Now that the components are finished... we must assemble the cake!

Slice both of your cooled cakes in half, so you have four layers....
You'll also need some fresh squeezed lime juice and some dark rum.

Place one layer on your cake stand, cut side up...

Drizzle the cut side with 1½ teaspoons of lime juice and dark rum.
Top with a heaping cup of the Banana Caramel.

Repeat with each of the layers....

Top with the sea salt-roasted pecans and place next beautiful spring flowers.
Then take a picture to commemorate your beautiful cake & dig in!

Banana Layer Cake with Caramel Cream

and Sea Salt-Roasted Pecans

Recipe from Bon Appétit Desserts, by Barbara Fairchild

Recommendations: If you want to enjoy this cake the day it is made, you may want to start by making the banana-caramel cream, as it takes 3 hours to set. I also roasted my pecans at 350° for approximately 20 minutes while the cake was baking, stirring once after 10 minutes. The cake is delicious the day it is made, I did find that the leftover cake did tend to slide, instead of staying layered. I broke off some bamboo skewers and used them to keep the leftovers in place. Also do not under-estimate the importance of sea salt in this recipe. The tang of the sea-salt adds interest and complexity in this recipe. Additionally, don't skimp on the lime and rum, they really bring the cake together, I used at least 2 teaspoons of each per layer instead of the 1½ suggested.

For the Cake For the Banana-Caramel Cream

2½ C unbleached all purpose flour 1½ C (packed) brown sugar
   1 T baking powder 1 small ripe banana, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
  ½ t (generous) fine sea salt 3 T unsalted butter, room temperature
2½ C sugar, divided 3¾ C chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
  ¾ C unsalted butter, room temperature 4½ t fresh lime juice, divided
   6 large eggs 4½ t dark rum, divided
   1 C plus 2 T buttermilk
   2 small ripe bananas, peeled cut into For the Sea Salt-Roasted Pecans
   ¼-inch cubes (about 1½ C) 2 C pecan halves
   3 T unsalted butter, melted
   1¼ t fine sea salt

Banana Layer Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Sift flour, baking powder, and sea salt into a medium bowl. Beat 1 cup sugar and butter using a stand mixer until well blended. Add 2 eggs; beat until blended. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture in 4 additions, alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions. Set this mixture aside. Beat remaining 4 eggs and remaining 1½ cups sugar in a medium bowl until mixture is thick and pale in color, about 4 minutes. Fold egg mixture into batter prepared in the stand mixer using a rubber spatula. Fold in bananas. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes on racks for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

Banana-Caramel Cream
Combine sugar, banana, and butter in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Add 1½ cups cream; process until blended. Transfer mixture to a heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Cook without stirring or swirling the pan until the thermometer reaches 218°F, about 10 minutes. Pour caramel into a medium bowl. Cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally.

After the banana-caramel has cooled to room temperature whisk remaining 2¼ cups cream in your stand mixer using the whisk attachment. Starting the mixer on low until the mixture becomes frothy, then increasing the speed up to medium, then medium-high until the mixture reaches stiff peaks (the recipe calls for soft mounds here, I wanted my cream a bit stiffer). Remove bowl from stand mixer and gradually fold in cooled caramel mixture. Chill until caramel cream is firm enough to spread, about 3 hours.

Sea Salt-Roasted Pecans
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss pecans and melted butter in a medium bowl to coat. Add sea salt and toss. Spread pecans in single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake pecans until fragrant and slightly darkened color, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Cool pecans on sheet.

Cake Assembly

Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up on platter or cake stand. Drizzle 1½ teaspoons of both lime juice and rum onto the cake. Spread 1¼ cups caramel cream over the top, so that the cream is about ¼ to ⅛ of inch away from the edge. Top with second layer. Drizzle 1½ teaspoons of both lime juice and rum onto the cake. Spread 1½ cups caramel cream over the layer. Repeat with third cake layer, lime juice, rum and caramel cream. Top with the fourth layer, cut side down; spread with remaining caramel cream. Scatter sea salt-roasted pecans over the top of the cake.

Share this deliciousness with others and Enjoy!

My first recipe from my new Bon Appétit subscription...

2011-05-01T17:33:00.000-06:00

I am a food media junkie, seriously! At home our DVR is full of Iron Chef, Top Chef, Chopped, and Good Eats (I could go on). TGC is so great about it, he never complains about the space my cooking shows take up. He even watches most of them with me, and enjoys them (or pretends to, either way I'm ok with it). I subscribe to half a dozen cooking magazines... I adore reading recipes. I'll make a recipe from the magazines here and there, but I usually get a craving for something and go on a recipe hunt, or make something in my regular rotation.

Bon Appétit March 2011

Enter my new subscription to Bon Appétit... I'm not sure why I never subscribed before, but with my Christmas present to myself Bon Appétit Desserts I got a free subscription to the magazine. My first issue came months ago, but it's been a busy few months. I have been sticking to my favorite go-to recipes instead of trying new things. This weekend I spent some quality time catching up; I took the March and April issues with me to the coffee shop this weekend. I was enthralled, with nearly every turn of the page there was a recipe calling my name.

There was a great section in the March issue labeled Pantry Raid, desserts you could make with things you already have on hand. I appreciated this section as I am often looking for something simple to throw together on a weeknight, especially on days TGC or I had a particularly awful day at work. Which unfortunately was exactly the case this week. TGC had a rough day and I wanted to reward him with a little homemade deliciousness. I went over to this issue and opened right up to the solution to all my problems... Homemade Chocolate Puddings with Orange Whipped Cream. Mmmm... a mid week chocolate hit.. Sign me up!

True to the section name "Pantry Raid" I only used things I already had on hand, so I did things a little different...

Chocolate Puddings with Liqueured Cream
Inspired by recipe in March 2011 issue of Bon Appétit
Yield: 2 Martini glasses

These puddings are ultra-chocolaty and decadent, the perfect antidote to a rough day...

Ingredients
   1/4 C plus 1T sugar
   1 T cornstarch
   1/8 t salt
1 1/4 C whole milk, divided
   1 large egg yolk
   6 oz semi-sweet chocolate* (61% cocoa or less)
   1 T unsalted butter
   1/4 t vanilla extract
   3 oz chilled whipping cream
   1 T plus 2 t Liqueur (Grand Mariner, Chambord, Amaretto, or Kahlúa)
   2 t sugar

*I like Ghirardelli baking bars chopped into 1/4 inch pieces, you could use chocolate chips here too

Directions
Whisk 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan to blend. Add 1/4 cup milk and egg yolk and whisk until smooth. Once the mixture is smooth and remaining 1 cup milk. Bring entire mixture to boil over medium high heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute, still whisking constantly. remove pan from heat; add chocolate and butter. Whisk pudding until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Divide the pudding into two martini glasses or three dessert glasses. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of each pudding. Chill until cold, at least three hours. (Can do up to 1 day ahead)

Once puddings have chilled, use a mixer to beat cream, liqueur and remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form.

Uncover puddings, topped with half of the liqueured cream and serve!

I added a little salted caramel syrup to the tops of my chocolate puddings with Kahlúa cream.

Who doesn't love a challenge?

2011-04-16T15:14:00.003-06:00

I am not a brownie lover, it's crazy I admit it. I love chocolate in almost any other form... but for some reason ultra-chocolaty baked goods have never called my name. I guess it was divine intervention, I adore sweets so much that if I also adored brownies and chocolate cake I would have burst due to sugar overload before reaching 30. Despite my indifference to brownies I was inspired to find the best brownie...

By day I am a counselor in a middle school, my job is hectic and full of drama, but there are 2 fabulous ladies that keep me sane, Sarah & Crystal. They are the secretaries at my school, and on more than one occasion this year these ladies have talked me off the ledge... During a rare quiet moment we were discussing favorite desserts and both Sarah & Crystal were discussing their love of brownies, and more specifically the merits of box brownies. Being a from scratch girl I was horrified, how could anyone honestly prefer the flavor box brownies to homemade ones?!? Then I realized my own mistake, I had never tasted a real brownie and a homemade one at the same time, how could I say which was better?

And so the idea of Brownie Beatdown was born... I'll be honest it was the gentleman caller's idea to name it that... but since he's my tech support I let him contribute ideas every once and a while :) I decided to bake 3 homemade batches of brownies and 2 box varieties and host a blind tasting to see which people actually preferred....

I had to choose my brownies wisely, not just any brownie recipe or box mix would do... I remembered seeing an episode of America's Test Kitchen where they made a recipe that could compete against boxed brownie mixes, so I already had one recipe. How would I find the next two recipes I wondered... I looked on the web and found a million brownie recipes, each claiming to be more fudgy, moist, and delicious than the next.... how to pick just 2? Finally I happened upon a story about the Baked Brownie, it happens that the Baked brownie is one of Oprah's favorite things, and has been voted best brownie by the Today show - sounds like a winner! Two down, one to go! I decided to visit allrecipes.com for the last recipe. Allrecipes is one of my go to places for recipes. I appreciate the variety of recipes and all of the feedback from home cooks like me. I chose the best rated brownie recipe... Now for the box brownies... I ventured to the baking aisle of my favorite supermarket... Holy Buckets! There are a lot of box brownie mixes. I decided in the idea of fairness, I should choose some top notch mixes not just your run of the mill 99¢ Pillsbury... sorry Pillsbury. I'm sure I stood in front of the mixes for 10 minutes causing a traffic jam in the baking aisle....

The Brownie Breakdown (that was me)...

Brownie A

America's Test Kitchen better-than-the-box Chewy Brownie Recipe

A chewy homemade brownie, made with Dutch process cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate chunks. This brownie also has shiny, crisp top. Recipe makes one 13x9 pan.

Brownie B

Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium Brownie Mix with Hershey's Syrup

Made with premium ingredients like Dutch cocoa and real Hershey's chocolate syrup, Betty Crocker Original Supreme Brownies contain more than a bars' worth of chocolate in every batch. Mix makes one 9x9 pan.

Brownie C

The Baked Brownie Recipe

A dense, rich and chocolaty brownie. When baked this brownie almost has a fudge center. It is made with Dutch process cocoa and a whopping 11oz of bittersweet chocolate. Recipe makes one 13x9 pan.

Brownie D

Allrecipes.com Best Brownie Recipe

A hybrid homemade brownie that is a little chewy, a little fudgy, and a little cakey. This brownie is perfect for those who do not love an ultra-chocolaty brownie, as it is only made with cocoa powered. Recipe makes one 9x9 pan, or one 9x13 pan when doubled.

Brownie E

Duncan Hines Premium Chewy Fudge Mix

Duncan Hines Brownie Mix Chewy Fudge makes moist and delicious brownies with the rich taste of chewy fudge. Recipe makes one 13x9 pan.

I spent an entire day baking these beautiful brownies and then hosted a blind tasting for a small group of family and friends. The next day I took the remaining brownies to my school and invited the entire staff to test and rate the brownies. I received a total of 27 valid rankings... Any guesses on the winner based on photographs and descriptions???

And the winner is...

I'd be lying if I said the Baked brownie wasn't also my favorite. It has divine chocolate flavor and the moist fudgy center was delectable even for someone who is admittedly ambivalent when it comes to brownies. If there was a brownie that could turn me into a brownie fiend, this would be the one. It is superbly chocolaty without knocking you straight into a chocolate coma, desperate for a glass of milk. And for this reason the Bake brownie is definitely deliciousness.

You can locate this recipe in the Baked cookbook, which I have owned for about 2 years now. It contains some great traditional recipes tweaked in an unconventional way. I love the sweet and salty cake, but that's another blog post... They are also now marketing a mix sold only at Williams Sonoma, and they have a storefront in New York City.

The Official Results...

A special thanks to...
-the gentleman caller for his patience and tech support on this post

-Sarah and Crystal for inspiring this post and being just plain fantastic

-all my blind tasters for their honest feedback

-and finally my dashing carpool companion who tallied the final results

Restaurant Review: Rapanui, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

2011-03-20T03:23:00.000-06:00

I love looking for new restaurants to try, in fact, TGC and I have "new restaurant night" every Wednesday. It gives us an excuse to break out of our pattern and try new places. Being on vacation is like having new restaurant night everyday and some times 2 or 3 times in the same day! For some, this task would be intimidating, but not for me. I love it, asking for recommendations from everyone I meet, searching guidebooks, Urbanspoon, and Yelp in the quest for the next unforgettable bite.

We arrived in Kona yesterday, TGC is rewarding my compassion and understanding of his need to travel to Malaysia and other places for work nearly 2 weeks out of each of last 5 months. We had an amazing day, but that isn't what we are here to talk about... While headed back to the hotel from Costco (picking up some tasty Mai Tai fixings for drinks on the lanai) I was checking out the local reviews on Yelp. I came across Rapanui, it had some pretty good reviews and a great rating. Some of the entrées described sounded delicious, so I thought why not.

Rapanui, is a small little restaurant located in the courtyard of a mall. It was difficult to find, nestled in the back of the Banyan court shopping mall. The restaurant has 9 tables, most of which are located in the courtyard of the mall. It is a quaint little place. There was just 1 server and the owner/chef cooking in the kitchen. I'm not going to lie, the mall was not the fanciest of places, the restrooms were shared with the mall, and the parking area was dark and a bit sketchy (If you were staying in downtown Kona, and could walk up Ali'i drive this would not be an issue). I was prepared for this ahead of time, based on the reviews I read, but it was still a little surprising. However, I know that many of my favorite restaurants are little places just like this one...

Rapanui

When we arrived just two of the tables were full, I was a little concerned... if this place is soo good where are the people!?! The waitress came over right away and sat us at one of the courtyard tables right next to a fountain and koi pond, additionally, from my seat I could see Kailua Bay. It was a beautiful setting, and good company. Before I get to our orders and the menu, I must discuss what happened after we ordered. Right after we ordered, a large group of people showed up wanted to get seated at Rapanui. Included in this group were 5 children ranging in age from 2-10. When they first arrived the children were running around, splashing in the fountain, and having a grand time. I, however, was annoyed. I like kids, I work in education, it comes with the territory, but on vacation, at this quiet little restaurant, I was wanting a quiet dinner with TGC. In my head I was fuming at the audacity of this group to ruin my quiet dinner. Just then, the waitress kindly spoke the group,

and told the group that the children would have to be quieter. I know this may sound rude, but she said it in the nicest way. The group promptly
got the children seated quietly, and the rest of the
meal went smoothly. Thank you, kind waitress,
thank you!

Macadamia Shrimp Stir-Fry

Wha - Satay Skewer Sampler

Now, to the good part. The menu is small, but full of enticing dishes. The fare is mostly island food, their slogan is "Island food for Island people." The owner is from New Zealand, and puts a little different twist on your typical Hawaiian fare. The menu offers local fish, curries, stir-frys, and satays (they call them sates). The wine and beer selection is small, but they do offer some eclectic choices not found in many other places (A Tahitian beer, and wine and beer from NewZealand). I have to say everything sounded amazing, TGC and I both could not decide what to order. In the end TGC went the Wha, which is a sampler of all of their satays. I went for the Macadamia Shrimp stir-fry. The smell of our food cooking, was all it took to know this was going to be a fantastic meal. My Macadamia Shrimp Stir-Fry was delicious from the first bite. The shrimp was cooked, perfectly, which is difficult. They had a light garlicky flavor, and when combined with the house rice and macadmia nuts, it was deliciousness. I can still taste the house rice, a coconut and lemongrass mixture. It wasn't dry and starchy, it was moist and packed with flavor. The buttery and crunchy macadamia nuts brought the whole dish together. Mmmm, I wish I was eating another bite right now.... The dish was served with a peanut sauce, but I didn't need it; the dish was amazing on its own.

As delicious as my stir-fry was, it is not the bite, that has me here typing this blog, fighting jet lag to get this out to you. It was the single bite of one of TGC's skewers. The Wha Skewer Sampler includes two skewers of chicken satay and one beef, shrimp, and pork satay. They were all good, but the unforgettable bite for me was, the beef satay. That one bite (all that TGC would part with) was bliss. All of my taste buds sang with enjoyment while I savored the best satay of my life. The beef satay is marinated in soy sauce, turmeric, 5 spice, cumin, ginger, lime and garlic then grilled perfectly and topped with peanut sauce. The zing of the lime and ginger combine with the earthiness of the spices to create the most amazing bite. Here the peanut sauce is the thing that helps marry all of the flavors together. This dish is sweet and earthy and yet lightened by the lime and ginger... I am still lamenting that I did not order a full order of the beef satay, if I had only known... if I had been more hungry we would have ordered a third entrée. It was that good. If the dish wasn't good enough on it's on it own, it was also served with amazing coconut lemongrass rice. In short the beef satay was deliciousness.

All in all, I don't have many negative things to say about Rapanui. I didn't love the location, the decor was a bit plain, but the food was amazing. With one bite of the food, you won't care where you are, all you will want is another bite of deliciousness...

4 ½ Whisks
Near Deliciousness

Restaurant Review: The Huddle Sports Grill

2011-03-13T17:38:00.000-06:00

The Gentleman Caller (TGC as he is known) has been spending a lot of time flying between here and Malaysia in the last 6 months. Last Saturday TGC returned from yet another trip (hopefully the last for a little while). TGC was craving good old American burgers and beer. We headed to downtown Boise, to his favorite, Old Chicago. Unfortunately, the OC was packed, and he was starving. TGC remembered seeing the Huddle the last weekend he was home, so we headed over to 10th.

The Huddle Sports Grill is located on 10th between Idaho and Bannock, which is a little out of the downtown scene. It is located in the space formerly occupied by the Milky Way, and my beloved Sweetwater's Tropic Zone. The Huddle's decor is a vast departure from the bright yellows and oranges of Sweetwater. The paint scheme is much more muted, grays, whites, and splash of red. The Huddle also offers a pretty big array of televisions, to support your sports viewing needs. They have some sports paraphernalia on the walls and by the bar. All in all, the decor was what you'd expect of a typical sports grill.

The beer selection is pretty good, your basic domestics, a good number of microbrews, even a local selcetion from Sockeye brewery (16 tap beers in all, I believe). The beer menu has been inserted into the napkin holders. The idea is great, less clutter, more room on the table, but I found the menu difficult to read and had to tip the entire holder to the side to be able read the selections. TGC

House Salad @ Huddle Sports Grill

ordered a burger with ham on it, all of the burgers had interesting sports themed names. I asked the waitress for her recommendation, she recommended the Balsamic Marinated Steak Skewers. Being sucker for balsamic anything I went for it, and ordered a house salad as well.

The salad arrived first, as it should. I was pleasantly surprised by the artful composition of the salad, it is a sports grill. I was disappointed by the lack of carrots (that the menu promised). The salad, while nice to look at, was decidedly boring texturally. I was craving crunch! I hoped the dressing would bring it together. Unfortunately, the dressing was pretty boring, a purchased balsamic vinaigrette, with an awful after taste. I am always disappointed when I order a vinaigrette and it is from a bottle. It takes no time to whip a fresh and tasty vinaigrette (link to a tasty homemade balsamic vinaigrette at allrecipes.com). All in all the salad was pretty dull in flavor, I hoped the main course would save this meal...

Balsamic Steak Skewers @ Huddle Sports Grill

Our main courses took longer to arrive than I anticipated based on the number of people in the restaurant (a few tables of patrons, and a table of people I assumed were the owners). TGC says his burger was good, though he declined to have his burger photographed and reviewed here, silly guy. Once again, my dish arrived well plated. I enjoyed the flavor of the grilled red onions and green pepper, they had just enough char from the grill... mmm... good. The balsamic "glaze" was more of a syrup, for me it was over reduced and had lost much of the balsamic flavor. The "glaze," did not add to the flavor of the steak, instead it took away from it. Additionally, it left a funny aftertaste in my mouth, much like the vinaigrette. Which left me thinking, perhaps the problem is the balsamic vinegar the restaurant is using is just of poor quality, that would explain the weird after taste in both the dressing and the glaze. My first bite of steak was pretty good, the char of the grill, with a slice of onion... it was better than I expected. I wish each bite would have been as delicious. There was one very basic flaw with the skewers... the steak pieces were all different sizes. The first piece was cooked to a perfect medium, however, my next piece was well done. Each piece was a different meal, which was disappointing after the first bite.

All in all I was underwhelmed by The Huddle Sports Grill. I recognize they are a sports grill, and are not trying to be a gourmet restaurant. I think that with a few tweaks and attention to detail, the food could be much better. I will probably try them again, but for now my review is:

2½ Whisks
Not bad, not good...

Peanut Squares

2011-03-05T11:47:00.041-07:00

Now I know most of you are thinking of a peanut butter rice cereal bar with chocolate on top. This peanut square is something entirely different. The first time I had a Peanut Square was in 2004, while I was working as a receptionist in a dentist's office back home in Wisconsin. One of our patients brought in a pan of these delicious confections. I must say at first I was skeptical... I mean it's just plain white cake with a little extra frosting, some nuts and it's probably from a box. In the end I acquiesced, I am a sucker for cake, no matter how plain.

I took a tentative bite, ready to be disappointed, and that's when it happened... I was suddenly transported to food nirvana. Sweet vanilla frosting, moist, fluffy white cake, and the saltiness from the peanuts, a perfect counter point to sweet cake and rich frosting. For the next year and half I was delighted to see Maria* walking in with a covered pan, knowing that inside was the salty-sweet cake of my dreams.

Eventually my career path lead me to leave my job at Dr. Spitzer's office. I started craving Maria's peanut squares. I looked for recipes, asked around, but I always got the same answer, "use a store bought white cake mix, frost the sides with a can of vanilla frosting and roll them in chopped peanuts." Up until this point in my life the only kind of cake I had ever eaten was from a box. I knew this cake was different, not to mention the frosting. For years I tasted ever peanut square I saw in a grocery store or bakery, to no avail. No peanut square could live up to Maria's.

Pink Bakery

A Beautiful Door County Cherry

After a few years I moved out west, a virtual peanut square desert, and began teaching my self to bake from scratch. I forgot about the peanut square, out of sight out of mind, I guess. Then this summer I visited Pink Bakery in Door County, WI. I saw a peanut square in the case, instantly all of those wonderful food memories came rushing back. I immediately purchased that peanut square, and took an eager bite, hoping I had finally found the peanut square I had been searching for all these years. It was not Maria's, but the cake was moist and the frosting almost right, I was so close.

Now I was thinking, what would it take to be Maria's peanut square. I cycled through the many cakes I had made in the last three years. Nothing came to mind as an obvious base cake or frosting. Then this weekend I was searching for a delectable non-chocolate dessert to serve to some friends with Sunday dinner. Then it hit me, Peanut Squares, I wanted Peanut Squares. I searched my usual haunts for a recipe, with no luck. I was not giving up, I grabbed a few of my favorite baking books and set out to assemble the perfect cake and frosting combination.

After a little thought and recipe reading I entered the kitchen confident I would be having Maria's Peanut Squares with Sunday dinner... and I am delighted to report I did. In fact, I am eating a leftover Peanut Square as I write this post... Mmmm... delicious. The frosting is buttery and rich, but just enough so that it doesn't overpower the fluffy white cake it encases and the salty peanuts bring everything together. It took all of my self control to not eat the entire batch after waiting this long to recapture that unforgettable bite from nearly 7 years ago.

* Maria's name is sadly not Maria, but due to HIPPA I cannot tell you her real name. It's too bad because she deserves the credit.

Maria's Peanut Squares
Base recipes adapted from: Baking, from my home to yours, By Dorie Greenspan

This recipe takes time, so when you decide to tackle it make sure you have plenty of it. Most the time will be spent frosting the sides of each square. I promise you won't regret the work! These are deliciousness!

For The Cake For the Meringue-Buttercream
2 1/4 C Cake Flour 1 C Sugar
   1 T Baking Powder 4 Lg Egg Whites
   1/2 t Salt 3 Sticks (12 oz) Unsalted Butter (chopped, room temp.)
1 1/4 C Whole Milk 2 t Pure Vanilla Extract
   4 Lg Egg Whites 2 C Dry Roasted & Salted Peanuts (chopped)
1 1/2 C Sugar
   1 Stick (8 T) Unsalted Butter (room temp.)
   1 t Pure Vanilla Extract

Making the Cake
Preheat oven, with a rack in the center position, to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of one 13x9x2 rectangle baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper, then butter the top of the parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a medium sized bowl. Whist together the milk and eggs whites in another medium sized bowl. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or mix with hand mixer. Beat eggs and sugar for 3 minutes at medium speed, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in vanilla extract. Then add one third of the flour mixture, mixing on medium speed until the flour is just incorporated. Next add one half of the milk and egg mixture again mixing until incorporated. Repeat the process by adding one half of the remaining flour mixture and beating on medium speed until incorporated, once it is incorporated, add the remaining milk-egg mixture. Continue beating on medium speed until the milk and egg mixture is incorporated, then add the last of the flour mixture. Once all of the ingredients are combined beat the batter on medium speed for 2 minutes, to create a homogeneous well aerated batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth the top of the cake with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and springy to the touch. When inserted into the center of the cake a knife should come out clean. Cool cake for 5 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edges of the cake, unmold cake onto a cooling rack and remove parchment liner. Flip cake right side up and cool to room temperature.

Making the Meringue-Buttercream

Place the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or other large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. At this point all of the sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should resemble shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from heat.

Working with a stand mixer and whisk attachment or a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. Then add the butter, one handful at a time, beating until it is smooth. Once you've added all of the butter, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until the frosting is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream often separates and looks curdled, no worries, just keep beating and it will come together again. Once you have a thick, velvety, and lustrous buttercream add the vanilla on medium speed until combined. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the buttercream and refrigerate for a few minutes until you are ready to frost the squares.

Finishing the Peanut Squares

Slice the cooled cake into 16 pieces. Then set up a frosting station, similar to a breading station. First your cake, then the buttercream, next the chopped nuts spread onto a plate or half sheet pan. Then have a cooling rack or large baking sheet for the finished squares. It is easiest to frost the squares with a small offset spatula. I frost and roll each square start to finish before starting another, things can get a little messy, but that's part of the fun! Start by putting a thin coat of the buttercream on the sides of the cake (a crumb coat). Then add a large dollop of frosting to the top and frost the top and sides using this frosting. I like 1/3 inch layer on top and 1/4 inch think on the sides. They don't have to be perfect. Take your frosted square and roll it in the chopped nuts. If you find this difficult I have also sprinkled nuts onto the cake then give them a gentle pat so they adhere to the cake. Repeat for remaining squares. Once all of the squares are frosting and coated with peanuts I like to stick them in the fridge for a few minutes for the frosting to set.

The squares are delicious fresh or chilled. They should only be left out at room temperature for an hour or two. I keep them in a sealed container in the fridge, then take the squares out 10 minutes before I want to eat them, if I can wait that long.

A new beginning...

2011-02-26T18:25:00.001-07:00

For the last few years I have been talking to everyone who would listen about the last great thing I tasted, braised, or baked. A few of those kind (or tired) listeners suggested that I write a blog, I've finally dived in fork first! Over the last few years I have developed a passion for deliciousness. Whether I am cooking or savoring the culinary delights of another, I relentlessly pursue that perfect bite. The bite that makes the world stop, taste buds ignite and creates a food memory that you will never forget. Throughout my quest for my next memorable morsel I will share my delicious discoveries and sure to come culinary clunkers with you here, chasing deliciousness.