tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4780693220788570182024-03-12T20:33:30.081-07:00So Much: A Diary of Decadent Desserts...because I love desserts, "so much!"Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-70280288087410185842013-09-04T19:07:00.000-07:002013-09-04T19:07:00.624-07:00Labor Day Desserts<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello from the other side of Labor Day! This early September post brings tidings of how I spent - or more specifically, ate during - my long weekend. I visited towns of the <i>new</i> and <i>port</i> varieties, doing Newburyport, MA one day and Newport, RI another. Your blogger is a sucker for New England seaside villages, so she got the most out of summer's last hurrah.</span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Newburyport</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ah, Newburyport - perhaps my favorite of all those villages, the place I could easily visit each weekend, the town which every other town should emulate. My family has a bit of history with the area, so I try to get there each summer. I'm so glad I was able eat fresh seafood at Michael's, sample fresh beer at Newburyport Brewing Company, enjoy live music in the waterfront park, browse endearing local shops, and eat <b>raspberry chip ice cream</b> at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grams-Homemade-Ice-Cream/408272582530716" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Gram's Homemade Ice Cream</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gram's makes many fantastic flavors, but years (decades?) of trips have led me to zero in on this one. The raspberry flavor of this bright pink ice cream is <i>not</i> the diluted, overly saccharine version you usually find. Rather, it is bright and tangy, with a freshness (and occasional seed) that convinces me that real berries are in it. Imagine a sorbet's pert flavor with an ice cream's composition. Then, it has <i>two</i> kinds of chocolate chips! First, we have large, flat, semisweet chips. These brittle additions add a nice crunch, though they don't really melt in your mouth. Then, we have the scene-stealers. Imagine the tiniest possible peanut butter cups, but instead of having peanut butter on the inside, they're filled with raspberry jam. Such glorious nuggets were liberally incorporated into the ice cream, so that one could get tangy berry freshness, smooth creaminess, a bitter chocolate crunch, the warmth of milk chocolate, and a small burst of fruit <i>all in one bite</i>. A treat if I've ever had one!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gram's always gets me going, but I was <i>beyond</i> excited to discover a new bakery off State Street! <a href="http://buttermilkbaking.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Buttermilk Baking Company</a>'s unassuming sign somehow caught my eye; when I walked up to their storefront and opened the door, I knew I had found <i>the Clear Flour of Newburyport</i>. You're greeted by the heady scent of warm, buttery dough and fresh fruit; you see cases filled with fruit tarts, pies, cakes, cookies, scones, all with that hearty and rustic look. It turns out that they're a year-old farm-to-table operation that clearly takes pride in what they've hand-made from local sources. (Thanks to Buttermilk's site [linked above] for this image!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I took a small</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">peach raspberry pie</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> home, and boy, did it deliver! It made a fantastic visual impression, due to a lightly browned crust ornamented with sparkling turbinado sugar and occasional oozed filling. Also, I love the little dough heart that crowned it all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The interior was similarly impressive. The filling had peach slices, finely-chopped peach bits, and whole raspberries, reduced by the oven into a soft and gooey mixture. I doubt any sugar was added to the filling, it was so delightfully tart. There may have been spices in there - I couldn't quite place what I'd call a faint chutney quality - but that quality didn't take away from the main event, the superior fresh fruit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The combination of crust and filling was perfection. The crust was solid, chewy, and buttery, and it really stood up to the dense filling. Its bottom and sides</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> did not get soggy</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">! No flimsy flakes here, phew. The filling had mostly settled into the pie's base, but the top crust crumbled nicely (with its crunchy sugary bits!) into the filling to guarantee all bites had fruit and pastry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Buttermilk offers a wide range of pies. I wonder what they'll have when I'm next in town. Will I bring home an apple cranberry? A strawberry rhubarb? Or even a Mississippi Mud?!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Newport</span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I saw a different side of Rhode Island's tony town this weekend. A past excursion involved the lovely Cliff Walk and amblings among stately homes, while this trip centered on the (unfortunately tourist-trap-like) shopping area and waterfront scene. At least there were delicious desserts among the tacky tees!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To me, <i>fudge </i>isn't eaten under "normal" circumstances. I won't crave it in the city or my hometown. Rather, I'll get it on getaways only. It's like it can't exist without quaint architecture, wildflower gardens, cobblestone streets, a town square, and fresh mountain or seaside air. Fortunately, such places tend to have at least one small-batch fudgery - and Newport was no exception! <a href="http://www.newportfudgery.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Newport Fudgery</a>'s fudge is hand-whipped in copper kettles; imagine churning butter on a larger (and tastier) scale. They had at least 10 flavors available, so I left with (only) two! I ate the gooey treats over the next few days. I don't have pictures for you, but one description might get your mouth watering.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fudge's texture was perfect - talk about <i>incredibly</i> smooth and consistent, entirely lacking the graininess that often spoils fudge. Flavor-wise, I'm happiest with the <b>chocolate peanut butter fudge</b>. It was a creamy, harmonious blend of milk chocolate and peanut butter; I really can't imagine a better expression of those two ingredients together. The only downside? It had occasional peanuts mixed in, which got soggy over time. Gross! The <b>triple chocolate fudge</b> was much less appealing, even though it lacked nuts. I thought of Baker's chocolate squares, fudgified - sure, you can tell it's made predominantly from semisweet chocolate (as the other two chocolate flavors stayed hidden), but there's also a waxy, chalky taste that really disappoints. I wonder if more sugar would have helped? This was my first semisweet fudge, and I won't need another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I ate a completely different dessert on-site! <a href="http://newportcookie.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Newport Cookie Company</a> has a delightful bakery store that offers cookies, cupcakes, and ice cream in a tea room-inspired setting. Their big draw, for us, was the <b>make-your-own ice cream sandwich</b>. You could choose any of their varied cookie offerings, and an ice cream flavor, to create your own dessert heaven. I chose a <b>heath bar cookie</b>, a <b>chocolate peanut butter chip cookie</b>, and <b>cookies 'n' cream ice cream</b>.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Look at that monster! The ice cream was made by Gifford's, a Maine creamery whose distribution pattern seems to match wherever I'm allowed to have fudge. (I've seen their New England-inspired flavors before, at Woodman's of Essex - a fried-seafood institution just a short drive from Crane Beach.) Their cookies 'n' cream flavor is solid, though they use more Oreo crumbs than actual cookie pieces. The cookie "bread" was what really stole the show! The chocolate peanut butter chip cookie was lumpy and soft, almost like a chewy brownie, with a pleasantly rich chocolate flavor. The chips were sweet and gooey, obviously preferable to actual peanuts. The heath bar cookie was flatter and stronger, made of a sugar cookie dough with heath bar crumbles scattered throughout. I appreciated the cookie's (very high) candy density! I love the caramel notes and solid crunch that toffee brings to baked goods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That said, these three parts didn't stay together too well. I spooned most of my ice cream out the sandwich's sides, and broke off cookie pieces as they crumbled away. However, those cookie bits that got soggy with melting ice cream were particularly good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'd stop by the Cookie Company again, though who knows if I'd get a cookie? I might have to encourage their tendency to decorate with my favorite color - seriously, all non-cookie items had purple flourishes - by buying a cupcake. :-)</span>
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Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-1472520471944394082013-08-25T16:41:00.001-07:002013-08-25T16:41:21.780-07:00Random Acts of Sweetness<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I recently discovered a New Hampshire cupcakery that puts Windham's Sophisticakes, formerly known as Shabby Chic, to shame. Said cupcakery is <a href="http://www.randomsweetness.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Random Acts of Sweetness</a>, in Portsmouth. Their website suggests a focus on custom orders, but their storefront and bakery also serve dessert-craving passersby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Portsmouth has had the highs and lows of New Hampshire's dessert scene. The highs are provided by Byrne & Carlson, a chocolatier whose refined confections are exquisitely delicious; the lows were supplied by the now-defunct (<a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2011/07/another-foray-into-portsmouth-desserts.html" target="_blank">with reason</a>) Portsmouth Baking Company. I was so happy to stumble upon another high, across the street from Byrne & Carlson as you meander down State Street toward Prospect Park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The exuberant, cheerful, and colorful sign grabbed me first. It really stood out against the prim backdrop of Portsmouth's brick townhouses:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, I peered in the shop's window. More good cheer and happy colors were found there, as fabric and paper flowers and butterflies decorated its perimeter. A simple dessert counter could be seen within, full of good-sized and, dare I say it, colorful cupcakes.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How could I NOT go in and buy a cupcake from this shop?!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't have a picture of the cupcake in question, so my description will have to suffice. All dozen or so flavors were tempting, but I chose <b>In the Pom of My Hand</b> - yes, they all had punny names - because I had never had a <b>chocolate pomegranate cupcake</b>. It was a good choice. The cake itself looked like a hybrid of devil's food and a fudgy brownie. It was rich and moist, with assertive chocolate and fruit flavors. I doubt I would have identified the fruit flavor as pomegranate - in the context of the cake, it could have been any number of sweet, tart red fruits - but even with that ambiguity, I loved the bright <i>freshness</i> it imparted to the cake. The light-as-air frosting was more obviously a pomegranate concoction. Clearly whipped, it tasted equally of sugar and the dark, intense fruit. Appearance-wise, it was a pale pink color, and had been swirled onto the cake in a spiral pattern with a pastry bag. Oh, and because icing on the cake is apparently not enough, the frosting was dotted with neon-pink sprinkles. Too cute!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I left the cupcakery with a full stomach, a smile on my face, and a few <i>stickers</i> of the adorable logo pictured above. I was the first adult to ask the owner for some; she had them on hand for children. :-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope RAoS does well. I also hope they install a few tables and chairs in their store, even if custom orders and treats to go are their priorities. People <i>will</i> pop in for a cupcake and want to eat it there, much as we did. The only furniture at present is an awkwardly curved wooden bench. We had a difficult and messy time, divvying up and sharing a cupcake on that bench. Still, I plan to contribute in my small way toward their success by making each future Portsmouth trip a cupcake trip! They change up their flavors on a regular basis, so I'm guaranteed an adventurous new flavor (or several) when I return.</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-33790775116822763192013-06-20T19:12:00.000-07:002013-06-20T19:12:02.359-07:00Portlandia!, East Coast Edition<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a weird and long story as to how I ended up in Portland, Maine the other weekend. Suffice it to say that I (finally) made it there, and I reaped delicious rewards for doing so. The trip was inspired by Maine's exploding craft beer scene, but I had several sweet treats alongside the Belgians and saisons. This travelogue will speak as much (or more) about the meals (and brews) as the desserts!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a weakness for - or, perhaps more accurately, obsession with - Belgian-style frites. Portland has a restaurant specializing in <span style="font-weight: bold;">frites fried in duck fat</span>. The appropriately-named <a href="http://www.duckfat.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Duckfat</a>, therefore, was the first place we ate, and wow, were the frites amazing! Take a look at them in their cone, accessorized with garlic and Thai chili mayos as well as a hefeweizen from Belfast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Maine potatoes were substantive and earthy, and their frying medium imparted a rich, fatty flavor as well as a delightfully consistent, crisp coating. The cone was depleted in record time, washed down by the refreshingly light, orange-tinged hefe. Duckfat also offers panini sandwiches, so I enjoyed their house-cured ham and local Gruyere pressed on bakery bread.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That filling meal did not obviate dessert. <a href="http://twofatcatsbakery.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Two Fat Cats Bakery</a> specializes in pies, but they also have smaller treats. We split a <b>chocolate whoopie pie with chocolate filling</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>while walking back across the city. The cake part had a tough surface, with a soft and airy interior. Its chocolate flavor was <i>very</i> rich, analogous to that of Flour's homemade Oreos; I'd love to know what cocoa powder they used! The intensity was disproportionate to how light the cake was, which made for a very strong impression in relatively few bites. The filling was subtly flavored, somewhere between white and milk chocolate, and light on the tongue while being more solid than standard whipped offerings. There was a lot going on here, and I loved it! (I apologize for not having a picture; I did not want chocolate cream on my phone.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next came the pilgrimage-worthy <a href="http://novareresbiercafe.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Novare Res Bier Cafe</a>. You could spend hours, days, weeks in that bar - it's a fascinating hybrid of cellar-style beer geek hangout, German-inspired biergarten, and hipster dive. Anyone and everyone fits in! I went there to access Maine brews as well as something rare and European (their list of Cantillons had me drooling), both of which were easily found. Maine came in the form of Oxbow's <b>Freestyle #15</b>, a light saison with Centennial hops that had an odd (but delicious) Fruit Loop quality...and Europe appeared as Brasserie de Cazeau's <b>Saison Cazeau</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's a dry, rustic saison that's</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">brewed with elderflowers</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I have likened elderflower to the mythical nectar of the gods; its honeyed, floral sweetness is among the most transcendent flavors (and aromas) I have ever encountered. Now a hint of that glory manifested in a favorite beer style, and I wept. Well, not really. But my appreciation was deep and sincere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eventually, it was time for a nightcap. An imposing edifice along Commercial Street promised "haus-brewed beer"...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...so in we went.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://infinitimaine.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In'finiti Fermentation and Distillation</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">opened 2 months ago, and I wish them every success! The atmosphere is great - think dark, shiny wood tables and chairs; lighting fixtures made from barrel staves and hoops; portholes in the wall; visible brewing apparatus; and a sweeping view of Portland's industrial harbor. Their drinks and food are similarly excellent. I sipped the dankly floral </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Headstash DIPA</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, brewed in collaboration with Maine darling Oxbow, and snacked on a</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">soft, sweet pretzel dipped in mustard</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The following morning brought a return to Two Fat Cats - but <i>not</i> for another whoopie pie! Instead, this cheerful chalkboard sign dictated our eating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's my slice o'</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">blueberry pie</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> on the bakery's outdoor picnic table.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The pie, predictably enough, contained tiny Maine blueberries. Those small fruits are sweeter than their larger cousins, which made the filling rather sugary; I'm sure the actual sugar in the filling didn't help. However, the filling</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">also</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">had a Julie-approved (read: excessive to most) quantity of cinnamon. The spice cut through the sweetness nicely! The flaky yet substantive pie crust was near perfection...and the coffee? Two Fat Cats' proprietary blend, of course!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lunch was a waterfront <b>lobster roll</b> and clam cake, courtesy of <a href="http://portlandlobstercompany.com/" style="color: #1155cc;">Portland Lobster Company</a>. Their lobster roll's filling is simply lobster meat, tossed in butter - none of the 'lobster salad" embarrassments often seen elsewhere. Delicious! Also: lemonade with maple syrup is fantastic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After lunch came <i>The Reason I've Wanted to Go to Portland All These Years</i>. I've been a fan of <a href="http://www.allagash.com/?ao_confirm" style="color: #1155cc;">Allagash Brewing Company</a> since 2009's Interlude triggered THE moment of my beerwakening. Their Belgian lineup is both accessible and creative, offering standard abbey ales as well as inspired experiments in yeast, flavors, fermentation, and storage. I was eager to get closer to their processes and products via a tour and a tasting! Their tour took us through their expanding operation, which involved shiny new fermentation tanks, <i>barrels...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">foudre...</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and this cheerful definition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This apparatus lover was in heaven. Post-tour, our guides offered pours of Allagash's four flagship beers -</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">White, Dubbel, Tripel, and Curieux.</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I left the brewery with a bottle of</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Coolship Cerise</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (a lambic-style cherry beer, brewed in an open fermentation vessel [the coolship] inoculated with naturally-occurring area yeast) and</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FV 13</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (a sour ale brewed in the aforementioned foudre). I also have a cookbook of dishes inspired by Allagash's beer. I can't wait to try the recipes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I knew it would be hard (read: impossible) to top the Snallavisit, but dinner and dessert back at In'finiti was a solid way to end my time in Portland. Their pilsner wasn't as noteworthy as their DIPA, but I appreciated its calm drinkability after all the Allagash hullabaloo. My fish 'n' chips were fried in a delicious and substantive beer batter; the batter was solid enough that I could eat the fish as finger food, dipping the pieces liberally in a tangy, spicy sauce. Then, our dessert defied all expectations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gingerbread & Bacon</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> dessert features a gingerbread cake and black pepper ice cream, both of which are drizzled in salted bourbon caramel and joined by granola and candied bacon. The cake was soft and moist with an assertive ginger flavor, while the ice cream's pepper was subtle and complementary. The salted bourbon caramel won by having</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">some</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">bourbon flavor, but</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">none</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">of the boozy zing I dislike - much like the Curieux sampled earlier! The bacon's candy coating was sweet and grainy, though the bacon bits themselves were a tad fatty and chewy. I've never had a dessert that combined</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">so</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> many unusual or savory elements together; the fact that it disappeared in 5 minutes or less is a testament to how well it worked. I can't wait to see what In'finiti is up to whenever I'm in town again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...and with that, I was on my way back to Boston.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, I almost forgot a treat I saved for the trip home! <a href="http://www.bambambakery.com/index.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bam Bam Bakery</a> sweetened <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/08/dessert-dumps-are-going-to-become.html" style="color: #1155cc;">last summer's business trip</a>; now, I had a gluten-free treat on my own time. The <b>chocolate chip cookie dough bar</b> was an immense square - at least 3"x3"x1.25" - of blondie-style dough, baked and interspersed with chocolate chips, that in turn was topped with heaping chocolate chip cookie dough crumbles. A bittersweet chocolate drizzle decorated the top of the bar. Part gooey, part crumbly, and <i>all</i> so good, I highly recommend this treat (and bakery) to the gluten-free crowd and omnivores alike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lastly, some words on the city itself. I had assumed it would be a larger version of the standard seaside village - quaint streets, neatly manicured buildings and gardens, cute shops, creative eateries, waterfront parks, and so on. Portland has all those things, but in limited quantities; the city as a whole is grittier, and more dilapidated, than I anticipated. There's an edginess and tiredness to the place that you don't see or feel in the seacoast's other havens. Also: so many hipsters! The whole thing almost felt out of place in the larger context of New England. Still, I appreciated the exposure to something so unusual - and as this post attests, there's plenty to enjoy and go back for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until next time...</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-79885249309908959322013-06-17T18:45:00.003-07:002013-06-17T18:45:34.217-07:00BBF Brownies<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/09/of-baked-goods-and-beer.html" target="_blank">several past posts attest</a>, I love <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/12/cupcakes-and-berliner-weisse-take-cake.html" target="_blank">baked goods and craft beer</a>. The latest Bocoup Beer Fest inspired me to combine the two in a new way - namely, <b>baking <i>with</i> beer</b>. (I don't know what took me so long...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I knew I had a winner when I saw <a href="http://thekitchykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/beer-brownies.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">an appealing recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen</a>. Why did I choose it?</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It uses <b>three distinct chocolates</b> - cocoa powder, semisweet chips, and dark (70+% cacao) chocolate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It uses <b>three distinct spices</b> - cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and espresso (not technically a spice, but you know what I'm getting at).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It uses <b>beer </b>- something dark and malty, which makes sense for baking with chocolate (though not for my personal drinking enjoyment).</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What better, or more intriguing, way is there to get creative with brownies?! I'm sharing the slightly-reworded recipe here, with my notes in italics.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C flour</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder. <i>The original recipe suggests Valrhona, but I already had Ghirardelli.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 t cayenne pepper. <i>I more than tripled this, but I could barely taste it in the finished product.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/4 t cinnamon. <i>I more than tripled this, too, and WOW - the pungent spice really came through in the end. I loved it!</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8 T (1 stick) butter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 T instant espresso. <i>I used 3 packets of Starbucks' Via Italian Roast. It's not technically espresso, but it successfully imparts a strong coffee flavor to whatever I put it in.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 1/2 oz dark chocolate. <i>I used Valrhona's Guanaja feves.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 C malty beer. <i>I used Southern Tier's Choklat, an imperial stout brewed with...chocolate!</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4 eggs, room temperature</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C white sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C brown sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 t vanilla</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C semisweet chocolate chips. <i>I used the Whole Foods house brand. Their chips bake better than Toll House's ever have!</i></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 degres. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and spray it with a nonstick cooking spray.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sift the flour, cocoa powder, pepper, and cinnamon together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Melt the butter, dark chocolate, and espresso in a saucepan over heat. Stir the beer in once everything is melted, and let the mixture cool. <i>The beer bubbled and frothed when it was added. It was here that I realized the carbonation was a key component of the recipe.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Add the dry and wet ingredients alternatively to the egg mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. <i>The batter is very thin, almost watery - more like a cake batter than a brownie mix.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fold in the chocolate chips. <i>I enjoyed seeing the beer's bubbles poke up between the chocolate chips.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes. <i>32 minutes worked just fine.</i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Two side notes: I omitted toasted walnuts for reasons my regular readers understand. Also, Claire said <i>any</i> malty beer would work, even a Belgian-style quadrupel! I'll use a quad next to see what Belgian yeast flavor, if any, makes it to the end.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am obsessed with these brownies for two reasons. First of all, the chemistry of baking with a carbonated beverage fascinates me. The beer provides carbon dioxide, so the recipe did not call for baking's typical White Powders. Secondly, the brownies look, feel, and taste unlike anything I've ever made or eaten.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The surface turned out pock-marked and irregular. (Thanks, beer bubbles!) Their texture was like a moist, dense cake with a soft, large crumb. The brownies' only fudgy aspect was at the bottom of the pan, where the chocolate chips had sunk and melted into a gooey layer. This almost-fudge was fantastic, and the melted feves plus cocoa powder added plenty of chocolatey depth to the cakier portion. Aside from the chocolate, the most aggressive flavors were the cinnamon and espresso. Both were so strong that I was reminded of Mexican chocolate. The cayenne pepper, even in its tripled quantity, was barely noticeable. The beer added some maltiness, but that, too, would have slipped past my taste buds if I hadn't been actively searching. Still, the variety in something as simple as a brownie has me wanting more, ASAP! My BBF compatriots must have agreed, since, yet again, the treats were gone in an hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What other items, if any, have <i>you</i> baked with beer?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, for those of you who may be wondering when I'm going to start a beer blog:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I already have one, in the form of <a href="https://untappd.com/" target="_blank">Untappd</a>! This app is basically a Facebook for beer. You check in beers as you drink them, with the option of adding your current location (powered by Foursquare), a rating for the beer (up to five stars, in increments of 0.5), a photo, and a Twitter-style 140-character-limit description. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm pretty diligent about using it, so I have a record of nearly every beer I've had, plus tasting notes, since I downloaded the app last August.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxB7pGRT43Y/Ub-4oMRyLeI/AAAAAAAAAos/Gmma1OwmvqA/s1600/incidental+-+Untappd+screenshot.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxB7pGRT43Y/Ub-4oMRyLeI/AAAAAAAAAos/Gmma1OwmvqA/s320/incidental+-+Untappd+screenshot.PNG" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Follow your friends and see what they're drinking. Like - or in Untappd parlance, toast - and comment on your friends' check-ins. Get ideas for future beerventures from the beers the app suggests following each check-in. Make a note of beers you'd love to have by adding them to your Wish List.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you're as nerdy about craft beer as I am, find me on Untappd - and if you're curious about the check-in pictured above, you'll learn more in my next post! Don't worry, there will be plenty of desserts.</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-6373190855240246692013-05-17T06:44:00.000-07:002013-05-17T06:44:00.158-07:00Maple Cranberry Pecan Breakfast Cake<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are breakfast baked goods desserts? Well, they are in this blog! They're also my biggest food weakness. I probably get more satisfaction from a fluffy, chock-full-of-something-tasty muffin than almost any dessert. However, such indulgences are not practical - so, I usually settle on cereal or Greek yogurt. Unless it's a week when I do a lot of running...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...or there's a <i>potluck brunch</i> at work.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A year ago, we had work brunches fairly regularly. All team members contributed something, and we'd have "team meetings" while noshing on all manner of morning treats. An ideal meeting scenario, correct? I was so excited when my manager put a brunch back on the calendar in 2013. I jump at any opportunity to try another Flour recipe, so I thumbed through my baking Bible, hoping for inspiration. Inspiration came in the form of a <b>maple cranberry pecan breakfast cake</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The recipe is in Joanne's cookbook, so I won't copy it here. This post's title lists its flagship ingredients, and Joanne's instructions, though verbose, are easy to follow. That said, I have two suggestions.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Thaw</i>, then chop, the cranberries.</b> The frozen fruit rolled out from under my knife, which nearly sliced the fingers holding the fruit in place. Next time, I'll either thaw the fruit to room temperature before chopping, or I'll use fresh cranberries. The chopping is necessary to keep the fruit incorporated throughout the batter; the whole cranberries floated to the top of the loaf as it baked.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Line the loaf pan in parchment paper.</b> As the berries floated to the top, the caramelized pecans sank to the bottom. I was <i>not</i> prepared for how sticky they'd be, frustrating all efforts at removing the cake from the pan. I finally got the cake out in chunks, with the base of the loaf separated from the crown; fortunately, it wasn't too hard to reassemble, and it held fast once set. Still, none of that would have happened if I had lined the loaf pan in parchment paper for easy removal. Lesson frustratedly learned.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is the reassembled cake, ready to go in its glazed glory! (Yep, that's a drizzle made of powdered sugar and maple syrup. <i>Whoa</i>.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inconsistent distribution of contents aside, I was really pleased with this cake. First of all, it looks extremely festive. Secondly, it has a taste to match! It has a syrup-soaked flavor without a syrup-soaked texture; just the right amount of syrup, apparently, goes in the batter. Its texture varies from top to bottom; you start with something fluffy and buttery, and end with something dense and moist. The overall effect is like a buttermilk pancake, stuffed with tasty fruits and nuts, that has been exposed to varying degrees of maple syrup. Another way of saying that is that it's </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a Friendly Toast pancake, in actual-cake form</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. (Cantabrigians and New Hampshirites will understand the praise in that analogy.) The cranberries provided pleasant bursts of tart juice that cut through the sweetness, and the caramelized pecans enriched the batter with their dense chewiness and earthy flavor. Oh, and that maple glaze? It was literally icing on the cake!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The baked good went over well at our potluck brunch, alongside the chocolate chip pancakes, French toast casserole, miniature quiches, maple sausage meatballs, donuts, bagels, and fried chicken with waffles ( ! ) that rounded out the spread. But really, would you have expected a lesser reception for anything from Flour? I hope not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's to the next brunch, whenever it may be!</span></div>
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Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-7761697197136862772013-05-16T18:05:00.000-07:002013-05-16T18:06:23.966-07:00Things In Things: Oreo Peanut Butter Brownies<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm seeing a trend when baking recipes surface on social networks. Everyone's combining multiple mass-produced treats into any number of uber-desserts - or so I've seen in friends' recipe suggestions, culled from Facebook and Pinterest. Think of them as homemade via premade. One colleague is particularly good at sharing these ideas with me, so that a small part of each workday is spent salivating over [insert CANDY NAME plus SOMETHING TASTY AND SPREADABLE plus BAKED GOOD TYPE here] rather than, say, project management. I baked the most tempting of Shannon's recommendations just the other week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The treats in question were <b>Oreo and peanut butter double-stuffed brownies</b>. If there's usually a correlation between name length and difficulty of recipe, these are an exception to the rule. You will need:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cupcake liners. <i>Spray their interiors with cooking spray before you start. Doing so will keep your treats from sticking at the end.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 box of Oreos. <i>You could be ambitious and use Double Stuffs, but they're probably too thick for the cupcake pan.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Creamy peanut butter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brownie mix, prepared as directed on the box. <i>I normally make brownies from scratch, but that effort's not worth it when the brownie is just one of many "things" in the "thing".</i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And now, the process!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Take an Oreo, and spread one side with peanut butter. Do the same with another Oreo. Stick one on top of the other, and place them in a cupcake liner. Repeat until your cupcake pan is full.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prepare the brownie mix according to the package's instructions. Then, pour some over each Oreo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bake the treats for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven, and let them cool in the pan on a cooling rack FOR A WHILE.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I tried removing them too soon; they remained gooey well after the cooling limit for cakes and muffins.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The finished product tastes exactly as you would expect. There are a lot of soft Oreo crumbles, and not enough Oreo filling. (This is when I wish the Double Stuffs would have fit!) There's gooey peanut butter oozing between the layers, which flows like fudge after being heated. Lastly, there's a thin coating of brownie around it all. I was very pleased with the fudgy and flavorful Ghirardelli mix, but there isn't enough of it per treat to really satisfy a brownie craving. That said, the dessert in its entirety satisfies any sweet, and a hint of savory, craving that you might have had due to its size.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are so easy to make, and they go over so well, that I highly recommend making them if you ever need a quick, tasty crowd-pleaser. Thanks, Shan, for the idea!</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-30774260084000965982013-03-19T15:39:00.000-07:002013-03-19T15:39:04.801-07:00New Orleans, New Desserts<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know, I know. It's been 3 months since my last post. Let's imagine that, in those months, you read about:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the German chocolate cake I made for Christmas,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Flour's maple cranberry pecan bread, and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the 2013 edition of <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/02/stowe-away.html" target="_blank">this wintry vacation</a>.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You might still read about them, but for now, you get to read about your blogger's first trip to New Orleans! I traveled there for a conference, which didn't leave much time for Julie-style exploration. What little taste I <i>did</i> get of the city, outside of the mile-long convention center (no joke), came in the form of nightlife and restaurants. I learned a few zydeco dance steps. I listened to live jazz on Frenchmen Street. I walked through the French Quarter on a balmy evening. I had the best pulled pork sandwich. And I discovered <a href="http://boucherie-nola.com/" target="_blank">Boucherie</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As soon as my coworkers and I set foot in the restaurant, I had an idea of what the experience was going to be like - and said idea came to be true. Bostonians will understand when I describe Boucherie as "the Craigie of New Orleans". I'm a huge fan of Cambridge's <a href="http://www.craigieonmain.com/" target="_blank">Craigie on Main</a>, and Boucherie has a similar friendly welcome, casual yet refined feel, appreciation of local gastronomic traditions, and pride in its food that made me question for a moment - before the warm night air and accented speech brought me back - whether or not I was back home. Think: smiling staff; simple, modern, yet rustic decor; snout-to-tail menu items; herbal cocktails; wine, wine, and more wine; and a groaning table ready to hold 16 eager eaters. In other words, Boucherie is a slice of restaurant heaven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My group sampled most of the small plates on the menu, which gave me a wide insight into creative Louisiana cooking. I researched more terms on this menu than any other restaurant's, and as a result I can confidently tell you <i>what</i> boudin is as well as <i>how</i> it tastes! (Pork rice sausage; fantastic. And I don't even like sausage!)</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VllB3XedKcU/UUjngU2EKaI/AAAAAAAAAm0/oUuES9sF_ok/s1600/011+-+Boucherie+menu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VllB3XedKcU/UUjngU2EKaI/AAAAAAAAAm0/oUuES9sF_ok/s320/011+-+Boucherie+menu.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We also split several entrees to maximize our tasting options. Here is the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wagyu beef brisket with parmesan fries</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I can't think of another piece of beef, or any gastropub's fries, that are better than this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We ended the meal with desserts for the table. It was a good decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I rarely order bread pudding, since bread's taste and texture is too savory and rough for a satisfying dessert. However, there's an easy way to get around that issue: use a sweeter bread or cake in the pudding. Boucherie implements that workaround with a Southern level of excess by replacing the bread with <i>Krispy Kreme donuts</i>. That's right - this is a <b>Krispy Kreme bread pudding</b>.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WfiFR505hl8/UUjnh-X-56I/AAAAAAAAAnM/NCVGEeDjTSo/s1600/016+-+Boucherie+krispy+kreme+bread+pudding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WfiFR505hl8/UUjnh-X-56I/AAAAAAAAAnM/NCVGEeDjTSo/s320/016+-+Boucherie+krispy+kreme+bread+pudding.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It would be hard for me to</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">not</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> love this, considering the ingredients and process - donut pieces, an abundance of sugary glaze, and caramel, all baked into a square of deliciousness. My few forkfuls were very happy ones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next up was a type of dessert I had never seen. Wikipedia defines it as a single crust filled with a mixture of eggs, butter, white and brown sugar, vanilla, and cornmeal. I'm sure Boucherie honors those ingredients, but they add hot spice and chocolate to their spin on the Southern classic. Behold the <b>Thai chili chocolate <i>chess pie</i>.</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oxeBqGefw6c/UUjnhJ6OBCI/AAAAAAAAAnA/JCqm1mFnPBA/s1600/015+-+Boucherie+chess+pie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oxeBqGefw6c/UUjnhJ6OBCI/AAAAAAAAAnA/JCqm1mFnPBA/s320/015+-+Boucherie+chess+pie.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The pie's texture was very strange, somewhere between brownie batter and a (fully baked) buttermilk muffin. The exposed part of the filling had crusted into something resembling a dense, dry brownie; thinking back on it now that I know the ingredients, I wonder if it had a hint of cornbread flavor. The chocolate wasn't as strong as I would have liked, but the Thai chili sure poked through - especially a few seconds after starting to chew a bite! You can see that whipped cream was on hand to help with the heat, and the actual crust provided a nice, mild, buttery base. I'm not sure if I'd order a chess pie again, but I'm glad gave the regional specialty a try.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who knows when I'll be back at Boucherie, and if they regularly change up their desserts to entice repeat visitors. Perhaps a meal at Craigie will suffice until then?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Several folks suggested I try the <b>cafe au lait</b> and <b>beignets</b> at the French Quarter's famous <a href="http://www.cafedumonde.com/" target="_blank">Cafe du Monde</a>. I had every intention to do so, really - but I didn't get up in time before my departing flight. (The alarm was already set to an unseemly hour!) I'll make them a priority if I'm ever back in town. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">POSTSCRIPT</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I connected through Chicago's Midway airport when heading back to Boston. It wasn't until I was looking for lunch that I remembered - <i>I could find <a href="http://www.fanniemay.com/" target="_blank">Fannie May candy</a> here!</i> As a Chicago-born daughter of Midwestern parents, I grew up on this regional chocolatier's sweets. Heck, it's still such a part of the family candy consciousness that <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-hampshire-easter.html" target="_blank">I get a Fannie May chocolate bunny every Easter</a>. So, I had to come back with something. None of Midway's convenience stores had the boxed assortments I was hoping for, but I <i>did</i> find a row of colorfully-wrapped chocolate bars! (Please excuse this promotional image in lieu of a photo taken while hauling luggage.)</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hPjp_4lDkA4/UUjnYIWcehI/AAAAAAAAAms/LymBktZ1PAM/s1600/Fannie+May+candy+bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hPjp_4lDkA4/UUjnYIWcehI/AAAAAAAAAms/LymBktZ1PAM/s320/Fannie+May+candy+bars.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A bit later, I got on my plane with a few</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">raspberry dark chocolate bars</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">! My family and I enjoyed the bars the following weekend. Fannie May, at least in this range of bars, does not buy into the irritating "percent cacao" trend. (Phew!) They use a simple, solid, and delicious dark chocolate that has an extremely smooth texture and just a hint of sweetness. A raspberry bar has 6 sections, and each section is filled with chocolate raspberry fudge. This surprised me, as I usually see bars filled with raspberry jam or glaze; the different medium ended up being just as tasty. It had a smooth creamy texture, sans seeds (a definite win over jam!); the raspberry flavor was tart and assertive. It held its own against the similarly strong chocolate, resulting in a satisfying flavor combination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Each section melted in my mouth, and when I saw the empty wrapper, I wished I had another one to open. Still, I shouldn't get too mopey. Easter's right around the corner!</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-83059142186844396092012-12-19T11:21:00.002-08:002012-12-19T11:21:39.142-08:00Cupcakes (and a Berliner Weisse) Take the Cake<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This post tells of truly fabulous cupcakes - cupcakes that live up to their name, or have thoroughly earned the hype surrounding them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember when <a href="http://www.kickasscupcakes.com/" target="_blank">Kickass Cupcakes</a> opened a few years ago. How great for Davis Square to get a cupcakery, I thought - and how fun for a bakery of any sort to project a hip, in-your-face identity in place of the usual saccharine, frilly one! Unfortunately, Kickass' first few weeks of cupcakes did <i>not</i> kick ass. I dismissed them outright after having too many dry, flavorless cakes with stiffened, flavorless frostings. Years passed. I saw no reason to revisit - or retaste? - my opinion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then there was Brewberry Fest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.nightshiftbrewing.com/" target="_blank">Night Shift Brewing</a> brews an amazing range of Berliner Weisse-style beers. I love that style's refreshing, mouth-puckering tartness, and I love Night Shift's ability to adapt and evolve it in various fruity and spicy directions. Last week's Brewberry Fest commemorated their release of Mainer Weisse, the standard Berliner base brewed with Maine blueberries and cinnamon. Here are two pours of the purple concoction.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Forget about the overdone sweetness one usually finds (and fears) in fruity beers. Mainer Weisse has a subtle, tangy blueberry flavor, and its cinnamon works well with the inherent Berliner flavors. I would go back to this sour over and over again if I could; unfortunately, it was a limited release that sold out in the days following the Fest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good beers at good Fests are even better with good food! We enjoyed <a href="http://meimeiboston.com/" target="_blank">Mei Mei Street Kitchen</a>'s indulgent mac and cheese, made with Vermont Cheddar and Night Shift's Fallen Apple ale, for dinner. Kickass Cupcakes had a table at the other end of the hall, where they were offering four total flavors of miniature and full-sized cupcakes. The mini cupcakes were free. I thought of Kickass' past fails as mentioned above, but I couldn't say no to free dessert. I'm so glad I took that chance, because WOW - they have improved <i>so</i> dramatically that their current cupcakes <i>totally</i> kick ass and then some! The flavors were:</span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Spicy Chocolate</b> - this flavor was made <i>especially </i>for Night Shift! (All subsequent flavors are from Kickass' usual repertoire.) A dense, flavorful chocolate cake was injected with peppery chocolate ganache; that ganache had been doctored with Night Shift's Viva Habanera ale! Rich chocolate frosting topped the cake, which itself was drizzled with sweet chili sauce <i>and </i>sprinkled with red pepper flakes. A delightful combination of heat and sweet, I kept on coming back for more of these mini confections.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Berry Crumbly</b> - sturdy vanilla cake was dotted with mixed berries and topped with Kickass' interpretation of crumble. Imagine oats that were lightly tossed with melted butter and brown sugar, and then toasted; the effect was pleasant, but not nearly as satisfying as a chunky, flour-based crumble. The frosting was a light, refreshing blend of creme fraiche and marscapone cheese, and a random berry crowned each cake's frosting dollop.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Caramel Mochiatto</b> - the same hearty chocolate cake was filled with an oozy nugget of sweet, translucent caramel. Rich mocha frosting was swirled on top, and chocolate-covered espresso nibs garnished that frosting and added explosive coffee bitterness to the dessert.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cookie Dough</b> - the standard vanilla cake had a gooey scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough at its center. There was probably more cookie dough than cake! The cake and cookie doughs' formulations must have been similar, since simultaneously eating both demonstrated a surprising continuity of flavor. The frosting was a simple but solid vanilla buttercream that was drizzled with chocolate sauce for an engaging visual effect.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can see the Cookie Dough cupcake, and yet another pour of Mainer Weisse, here!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-okOO_RL99Qk/UNIRBNBgfSI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/uDZEcob4Z4E/s1600/011+-+Kickass+Night+Shift.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-okOO_RL99Qk/UNIRBNBgfSI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/uDZEcob4Z4E/s320/011+-+Kickass+Night+Shift.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was so impressed with the moistness and heft of both cakes and frostings, as well as their rich, lingering flavors; I surprised myself by snacking on the free mini cupcakes throughout the night. There were more than enough to go around. Even with all that snacking, there were many cupcakes left when the festival started winding down. So, the Kickass folks let us take </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">boxes of cupcakes to go</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">! The offer even included the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">full</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-sized cupcakes we would have had to pay for earlier in the night. Behold my enviable to-go box; you will count 4 Spicy Chocolates and one Caramel Mochiatto, with a dramatic backdrop of the remaining Spicy Chocolates.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6zxkJCpFFZE/UNIRDLt-J5I/AAAAAAAAAlY/a1N7bVqCu20/s1600/012+-+actually+kickass+cupcakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6zxkJCpFFZE/UNIRDLt-J5I/AAAAAAAAAlY/a1N7bVqCu20/s320/012+-+actually+kickass+cupcakes.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These treats kept for days following the event, so the dessert wealth was indeed spread! I must thank Kickass Cupcakes for leaning from their past and churning out incredibly delicious new products, and to Night Shift for being a ray of (sour) light in a world of lagers, IPAs, and stouts</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, let's fast-forward a few days post-Fest. The to-go box had been emptied. <i>What was I going to do for dessert?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/index.html" target="_blank">Georgetown Cupcake</a> - the DC cupcakery that rose to fame on the Food Network - opened a Newbury Street store this past summer! I walked by during its opening weekend, and was mollified by a line that extended down and around the block; I decided to come back another time. The perfect opportunity arose last weekend. The warm, bright store was a beacon on a sleety, gray afternoon, and I decided a cupcake could commemorate just having finished my Christmas shopping.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As my eyes adjusted to the store's blinding pink and white decor, I noticed <i>the wall of cupcakes</i>.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-duaAAVZpRyw/UNIRGPdTVVI/AAAAAAAAAlg/3XcqIgtX2y4/s1600/017+-+GC+wall+of+cupcakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-duaAAVZpRyw/UNIRGPdTVVI/AAAAAAAAAlg/3XcqIgtX2y4/s320/017+-+GC+wall+of+cupcakes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Countless cupcakes are arranged on tiered display stands, with two or three varieties sharing each stand. Since Georgetown's available flavors change daily, each day's display is unique. I could barely take it all in. Each pert cake is coiffed with a perfect swirl of frosting, which in turn is topped with a decorative garnish or fondant form. Crushed peppermint candies and fondant snowflakes were two particularly festive toppers.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C3b3ELkmk-k/UNIRIHfdQaI/AAAAAAAAAlo/NNenrSslRbI/s1600/018+-+GC+cupcake+detail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C3b3ELkmk-k/UNIRIHfdQaI/AAAAAAAAAlo/NNenrSslRbI/s320/018+-+GC+cupcake+detail.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(If you, like me, are curious about the Chocolate Squared, it refers to chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. The Chocolate Cubed [not pictured] is chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The cupcakes weren't the only cute things I ogled at. Look at this adorable reindeer design on my cup of <b>hot chocolate</b>! The same design was also on stickers that decorated each bakery bag or box to go.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Iq3CzQ55MoA/UNIRKE5b5VI/AAAAAAAAAlw/GNMvBVKg12s/s1600/019+-+GC+deer+motif.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Iq3CzQ55MoA/UNIRKE5b5VI/AAAAAAAAAlw/GNMvBVKg12s/s320/019+-+GC+deer+motif.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Speaking of the hot chocolate - it was good, but not mind-blowing. The cocoa was nice and sweet, with a hint of mint and a slightly oily texture. That last characteristic reminded me of British chocolate. (I wonder which cocoa Georgetown uses...) I think I'd try a mocha next.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also got a <b>chocolate peppermint cupcake</b>. Here it is in Instagrammed glory...</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsaeslIEm8Q/UNIRMyz3KYI/AAAAAAAAAl4/Ac7Wui2Ig9o/s1600/020+-+GC+cupcake+closeup+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsaeslIEm8Q/UNIRMyz3KYI/AAAAAAAAAl4/Ac7Wui2Ig9o/s320/020+-+GC+cupcake+closeup+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...while this cleaner, minimalist image shows it one step from being eaten.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VXfTtqVlfsQ/UNIROvNvmBI/AAAAAAAAAmA/gOKCTRSAxBQ/s1600/021+-+GC+cupcake+closeup+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VXfTtqVlfsQ/UNIROvNvmBI/AAAAAAAAAmA/gOKCTRSAxBQ/s320/021+-+GC+cupcake+closeup+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cake had a </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">great</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> texture! It was super chewy for a non-fudgy baked good. It was also rather sturdy, not sinking under the weight of the dense chocolate mint frosting. Georgetown uses Valrhona chocolate in their baked goods, and the cake had Valrhona's signature bold flavor. It wasn't overwhelming, though, thanks to the cake's relative dryness. The frosting's consistency lay somewhere between buttercream and ganache. Its bold Valrhona flavor was spiked with a hint of mint. The peppermint candy dusting on top added crunch and a shiver of chilliness. Georgetown has a lot of tempting flavors to choose from, but this one would be worth choosing again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, Georgetown's a great deal. My cupcake was only $2.75! (Compare that to any [smaller and less tasty] cupcake from Sweet, a local chain of 4 stores, which costs $3.25.) The hot cocoa was a steal, too, at $1.85. I think Boston has a new place to go for good, affordable treats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~~~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you have a chance to try some of these excellent cupcakes in the near future! I, too, want to go back for more. What are some good flavors to try?</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-21759420979022563352012-12-11T08:13:00.000-08:002012-12-11T08:13:57.721-08:00Smitten with Blondies<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I AM SO BEHIND IN BLOGGING, AND IT IS MILDLY STRESSING ME OUT. Let's pretend that you've read all about:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.sportelloboston.com/" target="_blank">Sportello</a>'s fantastic whoopie pies,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a pie-making extravaganza at the <a href="http://www.cambridgeculinary.com/" target="_blank">Cambridge School of Culinary Arts</a>,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the pumpkin-y treats at <a href="http://cambridgebrewing.com/events/details/the-2012-great-pumpkin-festival/" target="_blank">CBC's Great Pumpkin Festival</a>, and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">desserts for Thanksgiving and tree-decorating.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that those are done, let's talk about rainy-day baking! Yep, today's weather provided the perfect excuse to stay indoors and make something cozy and delicious. I searched a favorite source for something easy, quick, and filling; needless to say, I found something I wanted to bake in less than a minute. Friends, meet<a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2006/11/blondies-for-a-blondie/" target="_blank"> <b>the Smitten Kitchen's blondies</b></a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blondies are, in some ways, more challenging than brownies. The dough is <i>so</i> basic that it could easily turn out bland, and the quality of your chocolate - if you're like me, you always cram your blondies full of chocolate chips - is significantly more exposed in that dough. I expected to save some experimentation toward the perfect blondie by going with Deb's selection. As you'll see, that expectation wasn't really met. Here is the recipe, with my commentary in italics.</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 stick butter, melted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C brown sugar. <i>Once you've used Whole Foods' light brown sugar, you can't go back to Domino's. I was pretty certain that this strong, molasses-y sugar was the key to a flavorful blondie dough.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 large egg</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 t vanilla</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a pinch of salt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C flour</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 C chocolate chips. <i>I used Whole Foods' organic semisweet chips, due to their past versatility in my (mom's) brownies.</i></span></li>
</ul>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8-inch pan. <i>The buttering wasn't enough; the finished product still stuck formidably to the pan. Use buttered parchment next time!</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar until smooth.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beat in the egg, and then add the vanilla and pinch of salt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bake for 20-25 minutes, keeping in mind that under-baking the dessert will yield more of a cookie-dough-like result. <i>I took the blondies out after 23 minutes, and they took hours to solidify. I wonder if the 25-30 minutes you usually see on brownie recipes would be a better timeframe here.</i></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I admired the blondies' smooth, porous surface as I waited for them to cool. They really reflect my kitchen's garish light.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8_XFd3rTZlQ/UMdaCe4AOyI/AAAAAAAAAkk/QeuaQG_TlIo/s1600/dessert+blog+-+blondie+surface.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8_XFd3rTZlQ/UMdaCe4AOyI/AAAAAAAAAkk/QeuaQG_TlIo/s320/dessert+blog+-+blondie+surface.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, behold them all cut up and ready to eat!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gpz1AmqXjko/UMdaJKPWTfI/AAAAAAAAAks/hlwfWw-JHb4/s1600/dessert+blog+-+blondies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gpz1AmqXjko/UMdaJKPWTfI/AAAAAAAAAks/hlwfWw-JHb4/s320/dessert+blog+-+blondies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't they look appetizing?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Looks aren't everything. These look much better than they taste or feel. Let's start with the texture. Even after hours of cooling, they were more gelatinous than cakelike, as if cookie dough had been slightly melted, (UPDATE: The next morning, after sitting overnight at room temperature, they're as dense and hard as a cold stick of butter.) Odd. Also, they're very oily, thanks to an actual stick of butter that's mixed into relatively little batter. Neither of those characteristics are bad per se, but they weren't what I wanted when I set out to make blondies. Also, they could be tastier. The brown sugar's robust flavor came through, thankfully, but it would have been much more enjoyable in a properly chewy, cake-like substance than it was in mush. The chocolate chips' flavor also came through, which, I realized, was not as good as I had anticipated. I've used Whole Foods chips before, but I always melted them - and never dealt with them intact, apart from the token handful enjoyed while mixing batter. They're rather waxy, and the cocoa seems really flat. These blondies really brought those qualities - or lack thereof, ha - to the forefront. I guess there's a reason I've increasingly used Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Valrhona chocolates when I need chips to stay chips. I'll know to use such brands in my next blondie foray. Forgetting <i>quality</i> for a moment, I managed to get the <i>quantity</i> of chocolate right. One cup of chips </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">guarantees this batter is nearly bursting with the stuff!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's going to take a while to get through these.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope I have better luck the next time I make blondies - <i>and</i> whenever I next turn to Smitten Kitchen. Speaking of which, did you know there's a <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/book/" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen <i>cookbook</i></a>? I haven't bought it yet, since I haven't come anywhere close to exhausting Deb's online repertoire. Also, I've never been able to perch bound cookbooks near work surfaces in a way that they stay open. Still, if any of you would like to gift me with said cookbook, I wouldn't say no. 'Tis the season, after all... ;-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lastly, I have a new social media obsession. I just started using Instagram! I've edited and posted many more photos than I would usually add to Facebook in the equivalent timeframe. You can probably tell that the above photo is from Instagram; follow <strong>@somuchdessert</strong> for more drool-worthy pics, as well as visual insights into your blogger's "real" life. Happy snapping!</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-91344261144294491762012-10-26T12:44:00.001-07:002012-10-26T12:44:08.357-07:00Frozen Vegan Delights<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am an omnivore who enjoys the wide variety of food options before her. I'm thankful I don't have any allergies, etc, that prevent my enjoyment of the world's edibles - though if I were allergic to, say, dairy, I just learned that I could still enjoy ice cream!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boston's Allston neighborhood has a wealth of eclectic foods, covering every possible ethnic and dietary niche. Several vegan establishments have popped up along the northern edge of Union Square, the most recent being <a href="http://www.fomuicecream.com/" target="_blank">FoMu Alternative Ice Cream</a>. I was initially apprehensive of vegan ice cream; after all, what non-cream substance could approximate...cream...in a way that was authentic to texture and taste? Fear not, fellow skeptics. You <i>can</i> tell there's something different about FoMu, but it's not a bad difference. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The texture is similar to a thick ice cream, though a tad more crystalline. Also</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, some frozen desserts made from non-dairy milks are even better than traditional ice cream, depending on the flavors involved. To illustrate that point, check out this</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Spiced Carrot Cake ice cream</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-loCIzyVdZAc/UIrnFZCdKwI/AAAAAAAAAj8/MTKuJ1hIYy8/s1600/Spiced+Carrot+Cake+ice+cream.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-loCIzyVdZAc/UIrnFZCdKwI/AAAAAAAAAj8/MTKuJ1hIYy8/s320/Spiced+Carrot+Cake+ice+cream.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FoMu uses almond and cashew butter as the foundation of this "cream". Add a wealth of spices; large crumbs from incredibly moist, veg-filled vegan carrot cake, and voila - you have a rich treat that is just bursting with flavor. The almond and cashew butters don't impart </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">too</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> much nuttiness, but they create an earthier, heartier-tasting base than dairy cream. Carrot cake is an inherently nutty dessert, so the filling complements the base well. The vegan cake is also exceptionally moist, since wetter oils or fruit/veg purees replace eggs as the usual wet cake ingredients - and more moisture always means more flavor in baking. As for the spices? Well, spices and nuts have gone together, better, and more consistently, than spices and dairy ever have. This treat is one of the best combination desserts I've seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <b>Mocha Bean smoothie</b> (shown here with <b>Maple Walnut ice cream</b> and a <b>vegan cinnamon bun</b>) is another example of nuts <i>adding</i> to the dessert experience.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LtAP4tdZhuU/UIrnEoed4CI/AAAAAAAAAj0/r0qlxMA2trg/s1600/FoMu+treats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LtAP4tdZhuU/UIrnEoed4CI/AAAAAAAAAj0/r0qlxMA2trg/s320/FoMu+treats.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This smoothie uses FoMu's espresso and chocolate ice creams, both of which have a soy base, and a milk of your choice - soy, rice, or almond. I've only had it with almond milk, since I find almonds' sweet nuttiness a good complement to coffee. Also, why be redundant by adding soy milk to soy ice cream? The resulting smoothie is a cool, creamy, and undeniably</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fresh</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> concoction with milky chocolate, gentle espresso, and mild almond flavors. I'd say that freshness is a distinguishing characteristic of soy, which I love. I only tried a spoonful of the Maple Walnut ice cream, but I was struck by its strong, authentic maple flavor and its use of</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">raw</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- as in,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NOT </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">toasted</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">walnuts. The cinnamon bun, on the other hand, was a waste. The pastry itself was stiff and airy, like a dried sponge. The glaze had an off-putting orange flavor, as if the zest flavoring it incorporated too much rind. FoMu should stick to their mock-dairy treats, and vegan</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">cakes, instead of attempting other pastries. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I highly recommend FoMu whenever you're feeling adventurous about ice cream. Also, it's the perfect thing to cap off a night whiled away at <a href="http://www.deepellum-boston.com/" target="_blank">Deep Ellum</a> or <a href="http://www.lonestar-boston.com/" target="_blank">Lone Star</a>!</span></div>
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Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-63939971678001809472012-10-14T17:36:00.000-07:002012-10-14T17:51:14.508-07:00Smitten with Brownies<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've sworn by my mom's Double Chocolate Brownie recipe for years. If we've ever been at a party together where guests bring food, you've probably had them. They have won renown, both in her circles and mine, for their bold chocolate flavor and dense, chewy texture. They're so good that I sometimes call them my Epic Brownies - if there has ever been a food that could anchor a great sweeping saga, it is these brownies. <i>I never thought I would want to bake a different brownie recipe...</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...until a few weeks ago.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love the <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen food blog</a>, and use it for specific recipes and general foodie inspiration. I ended up clicking through her "Bar Cookies or Blondies and Brownies" category one afternoon, which led me to <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/my-favorite-brownies/" target="_blank">this simply- yet effectively-titled post</a>. It looked easy enough to make, and if Deb has a favorite, well, I'm more likely to consider her's than a lot of people's. I did my best to ignore any qualms I had about cheating on my mom's recipe, and baked them that evening. The recipe as published on SK makes an 8x8-inch pan's worth of brownies; I prepared that amount for the initial test round, but I've doubled it since to accommodate a 13x9-inch pan. Yes. I've baked this recipe three times and counting. It's <i>that</i> good - and my friends and colleagues would agree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's the <b>Favorite Brownies</b> recipe with slight rewordings, and doubled ingredients to enable double the brownies. My commentary is in italics.</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">or broken. I used a combination of Ghirardelli chocolate and Baker's squares, since that's what was in my kitchen at the moment.</i></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 sticks unsalted butter, plus extra for pan</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 2/3 C granulated sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4 large eggs</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2 t vanilla extract</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/2 t table salt</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 1/3 C all-purpose flour</span></li>
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<li style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment, extending it up two sides. Butter the parchment, or spray it with a nonstick cooking spray. <i>The buttering is key - otherwise, the brownies will stick to the paper and you'll have a difficult time peeling them off.</i></span></li>
<li style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together. <i>The elevated bowl is unnecessary. Melt your butter and chocolate in a pot on the stovetop, stirring frequently so that the chocolate doesn't burn. Not only will this save you dishes, but it gives you enough room to mix in all following ingredients. My double boiler is NOT large enough for all the batter!</i></span></li>
<li style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, and then the vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour.</span></li>
<li style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Scrape the batter into the pan, and spread until it's even. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free. <i>27 minutes worked best for me.</i></span></li>
<li style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let the brownies cool before cutting into your desired size. <i>These take a LONG time to cool, most likely because they're so dense. Give yourself plenty of time if you're baking them to bring somewhere!</i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's take a quick look at the gorgeous, deep, dark batter...</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNursCvlnSA/UHtXHEQ0ArI/AAAAAAAAAjM/fiTwIDmDomo/s1600/SK+brownies%252C+batter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mNursCvlnSA/UHtXHEQ0ArI/AAAAAAAAAjM/fiTwIDmDomo/s320/SK+brownies%252C+batter.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...followed by the shiny, textured surface of the fresh-out-of-the-oven treats! I love when the top layer of a brownie or bar cookie peels slightly away from the batter; this does that in abundance.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7BPQPj7sv_s/UHtXL05DxKI/AAAAAAAAAjc/qesKK_NWhtQ/s1600/SK+brownies%252C+uncut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7BPQPj7sv_s/UHtXL05DxKI/AAAAAAAAAjc/qesKK_NWhtQ/s320/SK+brownies%252C+uncut.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lastly, behold the finished product! (Of course I put them in a Fortnum & Mason tin...but I wish I had chosen a better beer to join them.)</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XaNfHAiYksE/UHtXJuwooBI/AAAAAAAAAjU/FbMlzxVXu5s/s1600/SK+brownies%252C+cut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XaNfHAiYksE/UHtXJuwooBI/AAAAAAAAAjU/FbMlzxVXu5s/s320/SK+brownies%252C+cut.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These brownies are easily the densest, fudgiest brownies I've ever had. If there weren't the cup or so of flour, they probably <i>would</i> be fudge. You should treat them like fudge, too - they get a little soft when eaten warm or at room temperature, so keep them chilled until you're ready to dive in. Also, a small piece goes a long way! I was initially concerned about all that unsweetened chocolate resulting in a bitter brownie, but the ample amount of sugar takes care of that. They're surprisingly sweet! The chocolate really shines in this setting, with the sugar to temper the bitterness and the butter to warm it up. (If I were ever to try making these with a lesser-percent-cacao chocolate, I'd have to cut back on the sugar.) In a word, phenomenal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll still bake my mom's brownies. After all, the recipe's imprinted in my brain - I could go and make it in <i>your</i> kitchen, <i>right now</i>, if you wanted. And her brownies <i>are</i> beyond delicious! But if you're looking to be truly blown away by a baked good, or (dare I say it) smitten, I'd also want you to try Smitten Kitchen's.</span></div>
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Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-70471184171138584222012-09-21T07:10:00.000-07:002012-09-21T07:10:56.315-07:00Of Baked Goods and Beer<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of you know that I have a little obsession with craft beer. Fortunately for that, the past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of beer enjoyment and experimentation, with some baked goods on the side!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First up was my<i> favorite</i> <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/" target="_blank">BeerAdvocate</a> event, the <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/bbf/friday" target="_blank">Belgian Beer Fest's Night of the Funk</a> ! This event showcases extreme Belgian beers, with plenty of sour, funky, creatively flavored, and higher-ABV brews to try. Two-ounce pours ensure you can try a huge variety, and you walk away with improved knowledge of the various styles as well as a significantly longer cellar wish list! I won't go into my favorites here - let's just say that my in-media-Fest tasting notes are not as coherent as this blog - but I will share a stellar food item that helped us power through the night. Meet the <a href="http://wafflecabin.com/index.php" target="_blank">Waffle Cabin</a>'s <b>Belgian waffle</b>.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0SiP4-u7gck/UFx0D1SvosI/AAAAAAAAAiM/7KUt0qk8dpY/s1600/022+-+waffle+strategy+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0SiP4-u7gck/UFx0D1SvosI/AAAAAAAAAiM/7KUt0qk8dpY/s320/022+-+waffle+strategy+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Blurriness aside, you can get a sense of the waffle's heft, as well as a glimmer of the sweet glaze that coated it. The waffle itself is a dense, chewy masterpiece, with a pleasant vanilla taste. It's coated in a sticky, sugary glaze that must be freshly made - there's a graininess to it, as if all the sugar used to make it hasn't fully dissolved. (That occasional sweet crunch is so good!) You can really sink your teeth into this treat, and, strictly speaking, it doesn't need tinkering to be satisfying. But I'm me, and </span><a href="http://www.tazachocolate.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Taza Chocolate</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> was also on hand - so, Chocolate had to meet Waffle. It was a happy coincidence that Taza's Fest samples were cut to fit </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">perfectly</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in the waffle's grooves. The chocolate softened from the waffle's warmth and melted into each little reservoir. The samples were from Taza's aggressive Mexicano line; imagine high percents cacao, sans sweeteners, with a pronounced grainy texture owing to their stone-ground process. Flavors included </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">cinnamon, chipotle, ginger, orange, </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> salted almond</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I grabbed a square of each flavor for the waffle above. Let's hope I have an opportunity to do a more thorough review of Taza at some point; until then, suffice it to say that these items, combined, made for the best possible Fest food! Oh, along with Corey's pretzel necklaces, gummy worms, and...pepperoni.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fun did not end that night. You may recall a blurb on <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/08/dessert-dumps-are-going-to-become.html" target="_blank">post-ACBF fun at the Bocoup Loft</a>; we all met up there again for a bit of post-BBF/NotF fun the next week. Corey and Greg brought the beers, I brought the cookies. I've blogged about my <b>Valrhona triple-chocolate cookies</b> <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/02/consummate-chocolate-chip-cookie.html" target="_blank">previously</a>, so I won't repeat what I've already said. Just know that this third batch of them was <i>the</i> best yet, in terms of both personal satisfaction with the outcome <i>and</i> their rate of disappearance. (The entire batch lasted maybe an hour, max?) However, let's go over a few of the cookie/beer pairings. First up, we have the Alchemist Brewery's famous <b>Heady Topper</b>! It's been vying with Russian River's Plinys (both Elder and Younger) for <i>the best beer</i> on BeerAdvocate's ratings, and that clout has made it difficult to procure. We got lucky with a Vermonter in our midst. This double IPA has multilayered grassy notes and a long-lingering aftertaste. It's surprisingly light on the tongue for a double.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Russian River, the beloved Santa Rosa (CA) brewery whose groundbreaking IPAs and sours are sadly not distributed on the East Coast. I guess it took Sierra Nevada's partnership to get </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brux</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, a wild ale, out to us. This ale smells rather fresh and is vibrantly carbonated, with only a hint of sourness. I would have expected more from a brewery with an impeccable track record in sours, but that's not to say I wouldn't drink it again. Also, it looks like someone has nibbled a cookie...</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qQolPkSBZ5w/UFx0FliruOI/AAAAAAAAAic/yi-nyb87Q1c/s1600/025+-+cookies+and+Brux.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qQolPkSBZ5w/UFx0FliruOI/AAAAAAAAAic/yi-nyb87Q1c/s320/025+-+cookies+and+Brux.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Later brews included Jolly Pumpkin's </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bam Biere</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and Hill Farmstead Brewery's </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Arthur</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (both saisons), plus nightcaps of New England Brewing's </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">668</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (a Belgian strong pale ale) and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Elm City Pilsner</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. All in all, a great night!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But wait - there's more. Non-cookie foods were obtained outside the Loft. After a series of appetizers at Lucky's (and my first <b>Pumpkinhead</b> of the season - I guess it really is fall!), we stopped by <a href="http://www.sportelloboston.com/" target="_blank">Sportello</a>'s bakery counter. Sportello makes incredibly good, unique cupcakes. Here are our <b>strawberry cheesecake cupcakes</b>, readied for travel in upside-down cups. That travel config was fortunate, since I took my cupcake home and ate it the following day.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-trYH8nZ6PrA/UFx0H5NOGZI/AAAAAAAAAis/_xsdVi1DzW8/s1600/Sportello+cupcakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-trYH8nZ6PrA/UFx0H5NOGZI/AAAAAAAAAis/_xsdVi1DzW8/s320/Sportello+cupcakes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sportello "translates" cheesecake to cupcake in an interesting way. We have a graham cracker cake in place of crust, cream cheese frosting in place of actual cheesecake, and strawberry filling plus freeze-dried strawberry garnish in place of fruit topping. Here is the partially-consumed treat; look at that filling and the texture of the cake and frosting!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yhqz74zvT4U/UFx0G40pFsI/AAAAAAAAAik/QZ7qWJ4g4nE/s1600/030+-+SCC+interior.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yhqz74zvT4U/UFx0G40pFsI/AAAAAAAAAik/QZ7qWJ4g4nE/s320/030+-+SCC+interior.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The graham cracker base was really unique. Store-bought graham crackers are more like sawdust than cake, and their taste is forgettable. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> cake, full of brown sugar and cinnamon and butter, was moist and dense and flavorful. The strawberry filling, with fruit pieces and jam, added additional moisture and flavor. The cream cheese frosting was simply perfect! It was sweet and slightly tangy, with a dense, smooth, and even texture. If real cheesecake were anything like this frosting, I would be eating it all the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alas, after the beerdulgence (that's <i>beer indulgence</i>) the night before, I did <i>not</i> wash this cupcake down with yet another brew. Even I have my limits!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, which beer / baked good combination will be next? I'll take requests.</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-7224394661202863022012-09-16T15:53:00.000-07:002012-09-16T15:53:36.106-07:00Summer Restaurant Week 2012<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This busy August only left time for two Restaurant Week meals. I wasn't hugely impressed with this summer's restaurants, though my own "adventurous" ordering and a few RW-specific menu trends were probably to blame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Greg and I went to the locavore landmark <a href="http://www.henriettastable.com/" target="_blank">Henrietta's Table</a>, in Harvard Square's Charles Hotel, on Restaurant Week's first night. It was an easy decision once we saw they were offering their full menu; plus, for all the time I've spent in that hotel at either company parties or the minimalist bar Noir, I had yet to eat a full meal in one of its restaurants. They started the night off on a high note, with a full basket of artisan breads and plenty of butter. The bread lasted well into the first course, which was <b>corn chowder with crab and bacon</b>. I'm not a fan of corn chowder, but since I love the two meats within it I thought it was worth a try. I made a good decision - here, you can get a sense of the soup's heartiness, packed as full as possible with tender, shredded crabmeat and crispy, crumbled bacon. The corn was fully processed and melded seamlessly with the broth, so there were no unique kernels of the undesirable vegetable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Also, in case you're curious - the bread at left is a raisin almond loaf, and the drink incorporated house-infused grapefruit vodka, grapefruit juice, simple syrup, my beloved St. Germain, and sparkling wine. Fantastic!) I then had </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">salmon with peach salsa and mashed potatoes</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> for dinner. The salmon was tasty, but typical. The peach salsa was notably unpleasant, made of unripe fruit and <i>far</i> too many onions. The mashed potatoes were great, though - imagine fluffy, well-spiced mounds of Yukon Golds. I paired a bite of them with each forkful of salmon, leaving most of the salsa alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Henrietta's dessert menu offers all sorts of tempting delights, from pies of the day to seasonal fruit cobblers, plus locally-made ice cream and fresh cakes. It was the </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">s'mores skillet</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> that caught my eye, though, for its haute presentation of a campfire treat. Look at this gorgeous dessert!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mz-l3VOu2bE/UFZUeFPMSuI/AAAAAAAAAhY/YOPpdBeqUkY/s1600/023+-+HT+s%2527mores+skillet+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mz-l3VOu2bE/UFZUeFPMSuI/AAAAAAAAAhY/YOPpdBeqUkY/s320/023+-+HT+s%2527mores+skillet+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The base layer was a </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">very</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> dense chocolate mousse, made from Somerville's own <a href="http://www.tazachocolate.com/" target="_blank">Taza Chocolate</a>! It had that deep, intense taste and grainy texture I've come to associate with Taza, and let me tell you, those characteristics are even more remarkable and enjoyable when the chocolate is warm. Next was a fluffy layer of homemade marshmellow, burned slightly at the top for effect. Then, we had a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprig of mint, and two homemade graham crackers. The crackers nearly stole the show - soft and chewy, bursting with spices and brown sugar, they've made me think twice of eating a store-bought version. How did I eat this all, you ask?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By mixing it all together, of course! The mix achieved something I absolutely love about multi-part desserts - namely, that fusion of multiple tastes, textures, and temperatures, in a way that all characteristics remain distinct but help the others become even more remarkable. The whole was more than the sum of its parts. Well done, Henrietta! I would definitely go back to this restaurant, since there's so much of the menu that remains to be explored AND I just might need another skillet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Katie and I then closed out the Week with dinner at <a href="http://thebutchershopboston.com/" target="_blank">The Butcher Shop</a>. But first, we stopped at the <a href="http://www.beehiveboston.com/" target="_blank">Beehive</a> for the obligatory pre-dinner drink!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That is a </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vodka gimlet</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> made as I like them, with </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fresh</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> lime juice and a hint of simple syrup in place of the less-desirable Rose's. Delicious! Unfortunately, the following meal did not meet the gimlet's threshold of excellence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Corn chowder appetizers were <i>everywhere</i> this Restaurant Week! So, I avoided the Butcher Shop's offering in favor of a <b>beet salad with pumpernickel crostini and quail's eggs</b>. The salad disappointed in that it was mainly unadorned, cold beets; the two crostini were maybe a square inch apiece, and there was only one quail's egg. All my past experiences with beets were tastier than this. How boring. The meat in my entree, <b>pork belly with corn and beans</b>, was enjoyable when I was eating it, with its smooth, tender texture and robust bacon flavor. I believe the term "porkgasm" was employed at the restaurant...but I regretted the indulgence by the middle of the night. And here I rarely get sick from food! Then, I had <b>coffee creme caramel</b> for dessert. I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered it, and if I had known that a panna cotta-like substance would appear, I would have gone with the much more ordinary, but much more reliable, chocolate mousse. The creme had sweet honey notes up front, and finished with a strong taste of coffee that lingered for a while in the back of my throat. Still, all those unique flavors could not help the fact that I just. don't. like. panna. cotta. Its texture, somewhere between gelatin and cream, is a challenge to my senses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've heard the Butcher Shop's </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">regular</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> menu is worth experiencing, so I'd go back if the opportunity presents itself. Considering Barbara Lynch's track record in this city, I'm not going to write this place off just yet - but I'll definitely steer clear of that pork belly!</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-27920052817380869992012-08-10T14:36:00.001-07:002012-08-10T14:36:32.143-07:00Tips, Taps, Desserts<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've heard a <i>lot</i> about Brian Poe's cooking, thanks to friends who know him and his food. So, Jeff suggested we check out Poe's newest venture, <a href="http://thetiptaproom.com/" target="_blank">The Tip Tap Room</a>. What's in a name like that, you ask? Basically, meat (offered as <i>tips</i> from animals both everyday and exotic) and beer (flowing from the <i>taps</i>). As if meat and beer weren't enough, I was told they had good desserts. Never one to shirk dessert duty, we went. And an epic meal happened!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Disclaimer: This is going to sound like a lot of food, but even the main portions were all appetizer-size or slightly smaller. So, we got <i>little</i> tastes of <i>lots</i> of things!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The appetizers kicked things off right. Here is <b>rock shrimp fried in kataifi and nori noodles, served with cucumber salad in a sweet chili ginger sauce</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rock shrimp are small, sweet, and crisp. Their sweetness was a nice complement to the umami of the noodles wrapped around them. Those noodles were also crisp, but the sauce had softened them in places; so, there were a variety of textures in play. The sweet chili ginger sauce, with its fiery, tangy, and sugary notes, also played into the depth of the dish. I must confess, I forgot about the cucumber salad when I saw our next appetizer. Poe's take on</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">grilled figs, stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in pancetta</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, was another burst of varied but complementary flavors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sweet figs, tangy cheese, and salty pancetta were all soft delights. Burnt balsamic butter gave extra flavor to those pieces of pancetta that fell onto the plate! I liked having the balsamic flavor, often too vinegary for my taste, incorporated into something creamier. I could enjoy its unique taste without being overwhelmed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The main course (meat course?) came next. The item at left is a <b>yak burger with beer cheese and bacon</b>. The little bit of beer cheese I had - most of it ran off the burger - was tasty, and the bacon was distinctive thanks to Poe's "Beacon Hill" curing process. I'm glad I tried yak, but I don't think I'll get it again. Yak is really lean, and it had none of the moisture that I usually enjoy in medium-rare meat. It was still tender, though, and the burger nearly fell apart as I ate it. The flavor was earthier, grassier, and more <i>natural</i> than beef.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The burgundy (!!!) meat at right is an</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ostrich tip</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I hope its extraordinary appearance suggests how extraordinary it was to eat. The tip had marinated for a day prior, and was therefore succulent and tender. Ostrich is tougher than other birds, but the marinating softened it considerably. Some enjoyable chewiness remained, though! The flavor is unlike any other meat's. It's deep, and gamey, and doesn't need any salt or spices. Wow! I'd eat this again, and again, and...again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An epic meal, right? Just wait. Things were about to get crazy, which apparently happens when <i>your friend knows the chef</i> and <i>you advertise your love of desserts to said chef</i>. We had planned to share the bread pudding. That apparently wasn't enough for Chef Poe. He surprised us with...</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 DESSERTS.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My eyes grew wide as the staff brought them all out at once. Let's go through them in as much detail as I can muster; please excuse my spotty recall from this taste-bud overload!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't normally like this type of dessert, but the <b>bread pudding </b>was to die for! It was made of brioche pieces that had been mixed with blackberries and white chocolate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The bread was soft and chewy, but not too dry <i>or</i> soggy. (Most bread puddings I've had are one extreme or the other.) The brioche's pleasant vanilla flavor wasn't overwhelmed by the pudding's other parts. There were only a few berries throughout, which makes me think that berry juice or jam contributed most of the fruit flavor and color. The white chocolate worked well with the vanilla notes in the bread, and added a creamy consistency to the dessert that would have been missing otherwise. A dollop of whipped cream and a mint leaf served as garnishes. Then, the whole thing was drizzled in whiskey caramel. I love caramel, but dislike whiskey; fortunately, this sauce had much more of the former. It was a great sugary topper to a surprisingly complex dessert.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next up was a <b>lemon souffle with raspberry sauce</b>!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vDA4NLXaiZw/UCV9RQvNUaI/AAAAAAAAAgI/ucFng5VLN88/s1600/006+-+lemon+mousse.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vDA4NLXaiZw/UCV9RQvNUaI/AAAAAAAAAgI/ucFng5VLN88/s320/006+-+lemon+mousse.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I loved the pure fruit flavors in this dessert. Nothing was unnecessarily sweetened, so every bite was full of vibrant tang. The souffle was light as air, with so much flavor relative to its density. The raspberry sauce was a substantive anchor to the dish. A glaze reminiscent of thinned lemon curd was drizzled over it all, and a mint leaf plus streusel-like crumb topping were the finishing touches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've saved the best for last. This dessert wasn't on the menu, but I hope it gets there someday so everyone can try it! Behold a unique take on the brownie sundae, with <b>brownies in port sauce</b> in the foreground and a <b>chocolate pudding cup</b> in the background.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The brownies were your average dense, chocolatey baked goods, cut into small squares and positioned beautifully around the plate. They sat on small pools of a really strong port sauce, with aggressive raisin and alcohol notes, and were covered in stripes of chocolate frosting. Some strawberries added a fruity twist. I liked how many flavors there were in that small space, but the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">piece de resistance</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">was hiding in the pudding cup. Here's a closeup of the treats within.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFgQQfFbynQ/UCV9bIrwinI/AAAAAAAAAgY/zyd71vSlXqA/s1600/008+-+choc+pudding+detail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFgQQfFbynQ/UCV9bIrwinI/AAAAAAAAAgY/zyd71vSlXqA/s320/008+-+choc+pudding+detail.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First of all, what do we see here? Deliciously creamy Valrhona milk chocolate feves and white chocolate batons, whose virtues I have <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/02/consummate-chocolate-chip-cookie.html" target="_blank">previously extolled</a> in these pages. Smaller chocolate shavings across the percent-cacao spectrum. Light-as-air whipped cream. Crunchy caramelized sugar. So many different kinds of sweet! And secondly, what's hiding beneath? The chocolate pudding, mixed with some creamy alcohol - Kahlua, or Baileys. This is how I like my desserts turned "adult", with something that </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">itself</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is a liquid dessert. I absolutely loved this "desserts</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> within desserts </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic;">WITHIN DESSERTS</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">" approach.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think I've hit on something the Tip Tap Room does well, in both the sweet and savory realms - <i>multifaceted gastronomic delights</i> that give you <i>as much as possible</i> in every bite.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jeff and I got through <i>most</i> of what was before us. I felt guilty leaving some delicious bites behind, but I know I'll be back for more. Thanks, Chef Poe and the Tip Tap Room, for a really unique dining experience!</span></div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-36632992900862796142012-08-05T10:16:00.000-07:002012-08-05T10:16:22.255-07:00Dessert Dump, Summer 2012 Edition<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2011/07/dessert-dump-or-what-i-should-have.html" target="_blank">Dessert Dumps</a> are going to become a fixture of summer blogging. It takes much less time to photograph and eat a dessert than it does to write a post, so that I'm overflowing with bloggable desserts in no time but am less full of words for them. So, here's some "blogging lite" on select delicacies from June and July!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Drunken Dutch Delicacies</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you ever had <b>stroopwafels</b>? I hadn't heard of them until a happily hopped group of us stumbled up to the <a href="http://loft.bocoup.com/" target="_blank">Bocoup Loft</a> after the <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/acbf/" target="_blank">American Craft Beer Festival</a>, where a <a href="http://ripvanwafels.com/wafel/" target="_blank">stroopwafel manufacturer</a> had dropped by and left a boxful of product. This pizzelle-like Dutch treat, made of two <i>incredibly </i>thin cookie-sized waffles with caramel pressed between, is intended for enjoyment with a warm beverage - if you set the stroopwafel on a mug of steaming something, that warmth will soften the stroopwafel and melt the caramel, turning it into a gooey, chewy treat. Here is an image of stroopwafels in their ideal use case.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Alas, I was not so careful in my consumption. I snarfed mine rather quickly like it were any old cookie, as befits post-Fest fun and hunger, only pausing to say "yeah, this is good". However, I'd gladly give them a "proper" try. (Bocoupers, are there any left?!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Italian Finger Desserts</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another summer, another patio party at <a href="http://www.restaurantdante.com/" target="_blank">Dante</a>! This summery fete was a blast due to the company of fellow foodies, literal splashy decor (beach balls and kiddie pools filled with water), local media coverage (yours truly was "Spotted in Boston"!), and, of course, plenty of delicious eats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was impressed with the dessert pictured at left. It probably has an official Italian name, but I'm going to call it a</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">genoise cake ball</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. The two vanilla cake pieces were stuck together with amaretto cream, and the entire ball was then coated in amaretto chocolate and crushed almonds. Delicious and heady, the amaretto-chocolate combination was really winning. Genoise cake is usually so accommodating of creams, ganaches, and liqueurs. At right is an</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">eclair</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> filled with light peach custard and covered in an even lighter peach glaze. The chocolate dipping was sturdy and flavorful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>A Pre-Retreat Repast</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It takes four hours to drive from my company's headquarters to our retreat center in Maine. Our caravan of 10 turned it into a <i>day-long</i> excursion, enabling the purchasing of, er, "retreat supplies", a waterfront seafood lunch, and gluten-free desserts along the way! The dessert in question came from Portland, Maine's <a href="http://www.bambambakery.com/" target="_blank">Bam Bam Bakery</a>. I never would have guessed that my <b>peanut butter bar</b> was gluten-free, it was so full of the usual baked goodies <i>and then some</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The bar had a crumbly shortbread base that was then layered with fudge and marshmallow Fluff. Crisped rice that had been mixed into peanut butter came next, and chocolate chips topped it all off. Ooey, gooey goodness, and just as much of a treat as anything made with standard flour. I only wish I had more water on hand to wash it all down; that peanut butter / Fluff / fudge combination <i>really</i> sticks to your mouth!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Sunday Sugar...and Seafood</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you do when you go to the North End for a meal at <a href="http://www.dailycatch.com/northend.html" target="_blank">The Daily Catch</a>, only to find that they're closed for the next half-hour? Why, cross Hanover Street to <a href="http://www.mikespastry.com/" target="_blank">Mike's Pastry</a>, of course, and enjoy an appetizer of dessert! I was glad to revisit this favorite college haunt to try their newer cannoli flavors. When I was in school, the chocolate mousse cannoli was a big deal; now, though, you get an ice cream shop's worth of varieties! Here is my <b>Oreo cannoli</b>,<b> </b>minus a bite or two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mike's now crushes Oreo cookies and mixes them with standard ricotta cream cannoli filling. I'm not the hugest fan of ricotta cream - hence that mousse cannoli back in the day - but I absolutely loved it with the Oreos added. (I guess I need my cookies with cream, eh?) The Oreo filling was in a standard cannoli shell dusted with powdered sugar; the fun touch was that both ends were dipped in cookie crumbles! Yum. I didn't sample this</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">espresso cannoli</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - darn! - but I am told it was delicious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also, for the record - The Daily Catch has</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the. best. scallops.</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I have ever had!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for putting up with this blog's on-schedule Dump! Next up will be a <i>full </i>post on an unusual and interesting dinner, with desserts to match...</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-10472668106741273692012-07-18T19:29:00.000-07:002012-07-18T19:48:39.562-07:00A Whirlwind of NYC Food<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I still owe you the details on London's Afternoon Tea, but let's momentarily divert our attention to a <i>closer</i> metropolis and its plentiful food offerings!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Several of my college friends converged upon New York City this past weekend! Carr and I came from Boston; Linda traveled up from Philadelphia, and Mary and Steph already lived as close as you can get in Hoboken. This happy mini-reunion involved catching up, urban exploration, and - surprise, surprise - delicious food. Let's go through the many and varied eats of Saturday, July 14!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stop 1: Sugar Sweet Sunshine</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We had 30 minutes to kill before our lunch table would be ready. We were near a renowned cupcakery. We all like cupcakes. What did we do? Stop by <a href="http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/" target="_blank">Sugar Sweet Sunshine</a>, of course, and get cupcakes to go! Ok, those reasons may not qualify for SSS' top ten, but we felt they were more than valid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I really enjoyed my </span><a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2009/06/brooklyn-and-lower-east-side.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">last visit to SSS</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, so I was glad to return and introduce others to their delights. I left with the </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Goodie Goodie (dark chocolate cake with whipped peanut butter buttercream)</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and carried it back to lunch, then to the High Line, down the length of said park, and around Chelsea Market, until (a) it was a warm mess of a dessert with frosting smeared and melted all over the wax paper bag, and (b) I thought I might have room for it. Talk about a well-traveled dessert! Fortunately, it tasted much better than it looked at that point. The frosting was extremely light, like a whisper of what frosting usually is, with a very subtle and sweet peanut flavor. The chocolate cake had a stronger cocoa flavor, though it was a bit dry. I blame the heat!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stop 2: The Meatball Shop</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lunch at <a href="http://www.themeatballshop.com/" target="_blank">The Meatball Shop</a> was one of the best meals I've had year-to-date. The shop's premise is simple enough: take meatballs, drench them in sauce, and serve them with or over a side. What's astounding is <i>how impressively good</i> each component is, and how much you get! Take it all in with your eyes, and then imagine me taking it all in with my eyes <i>and</i> stomach..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I ordered the </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">classic beef meatballs with parmesan cream sauce over freshly-milled polenta</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. The meatballs were hearty and flavorful, consisting of all-natural beef mixed with prosciutto, ricotta cheese, and oregano. The sauce was thick and fragrant with tangy Parmesan cheese, much better than the average alfredo or cheese sauce. The polenta, a true food of the gods with its mashed-potato-meets-cornbread quality, was an ideal consistency - smooth and creamy, with occasional distinct cornmeal grains that gave it texture. As if that weren't enough, shaved cheese was sprinkled over the top of it all. Each bite was the very height of savory decadence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The deliciousness didn't end there! The presence of the aforementioned cupcakes-to-go did not prevent us from ordering the Shop's signature dessert. They offered customizable ice cream sandwiches, made from store-made ice cream and cookies. They even let you choose two different cookies for the "bread" of the sandwich! So, here is my <b>espresso ice cream with chocolate chip and brownie walnut cookies</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The ice cream was light, more like frozen milk than cream. I appreciated that after the heavy lunch, and it also let the bright espresso flavor assert itself rather than be overwhelmed by the cream. The brownie walnut cookie was moist, chewy, and chocolatey, with (fortunately) fewer nuts than expected; the chocolate chip cookie, though, was dry and forgettable. Now that I've tried the ice cream sandwich, I don't feel the need to repeat it; however, I would gladly re-indulge in a meatball lunch/dinner at the earliest opportunity!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stop 3: Blue Bottle Coffee</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We were quite thirsty after walking the length of <a href="http://www.thehighline.org/" target="_blank">The High Line</a>, so we found refreshment at <a href="http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/" target="_blank">Blue Bottle Coffee</a>. Their <b>cold-brew single origin iced coffee</b> was positively bursting with flavor! I detected the usual cocoa and caramel notes, as well as something fruitier and tangier that I couldn't quite place. Could it have something to do with bean terroir and roasting protocol? (Why didn't I ask the former barista among us?!)</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stop 4: Chelsea Market</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://chelseamarket.com/" target="_blank">Chelsea Market</a> is in a vast building under The High Line, right across the street from Blue Bottle. We naturally moved toward it. It's an indoor labyrinth filled with miniature shops (in store form, not stalls or carts) selling everything from pastries to lobster. Look at the pretty main hall, with its colorful lanterns!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We were still full from the Lower East Side's ballstravaganza; otherwise, I'm sure we would have indulged in a Market treat while there. Instead, I got a brownie to go from the </span><a href="http://www.fatwitch.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Fat Witch Bakery</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, I bought a brownie advertising an overrated musical. But it was the </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>mint chocolate</i> brownie</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">! And it proved its worth when I snacked on it two days later. As you can see, it's sprinkled with green sugar crystals. They added a nice, sweet crunch. Less visible are the equally green mint chips mixed throughout the brownie, but clustered more toward its bottom.They were soft and creamy, and their mint flavor thoroughly imbued the surrounding batter. The brownie reminded me of a cake bite, having the same fudgy texture as those little treats, but its chocolate wasn't as strong or mouth-coating as fudge. Even though my preferred chocolate threshold was unmet, I'd recommend this Witch for its texture and assertive, sweet mintiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At this point, we washed our cupcakes down with whatever coffee was left, and headed back to the East Village.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stop 5: Maharlika</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Believe it or not, it was nearly dinnertime! We chilled at <a href="http://yucabarnyc.com/" target="_blank">Yuca</a>, sipping on sangria for an hour or so...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...before moving on to </span><a href="http://maharlikanyc.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Maharlika</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, a modern Filipino restaurant. I was </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">SO</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> excited to try Flilipino cuisine after learning about the culture in college. We split appetizers of </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">chicharron</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">lechon kawali</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, flavorful pork rinds and belly, respectively. (To quote one thread of conversation: "You gotta love a culture that knows what to do with pork!") We also sipped on </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">calamansi juice</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, a refreshing beverage made from a citrus fruit native to the Philippines. Imagine a delicate juice subtly tasting of lime, lemon, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> orange, with just a hint of tartness and sweetness, and none of the usual citrus bitterness. It was the perfect summer drink! Then, I had the tender and flavorful </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">chicken adobo</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> for dinner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Plump pieces of chicken marinate in soy-based abodo sauce before being simmered in the same sauce and browned afterward. The chicken is served in </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">more</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> sauce, with steamed rice on the side. I enjoyed the soft, moist meat; the peppery, garlicky adobo flavor; and the fragrant white rice's soaking up the sauce. I got </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">busog</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> rather quickly, to use the restaurant's Tagalog word of the day. If only I could have taken leftovers home for the following night!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stop 6: Momofuku Milk Bar</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our walk toward nighttime birthday festivities took us past the East Village outpost of <a href="http://milkbarstore.com/" target="_blank">Momofuku Milk Bar</a>. I've been kind of obsessed with this bakery since I browsed their cookbook in a bookstore a while back, and wanted to bake or try most things from it. How did I satisfy a dessert dream while being too full for dessert? By getting something for later, of course. I enjoyed their <b>birthday cake truffles</b> the following day during the trip back to Boston. The truffles got smushed in transit, losing all photographic potential - so, here's a bakery shot from their press kit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The truffles were really cute. Imagine small, round cake bites, made from yellowy-brown cake and crushed rainbow sprinkles. Their exterior was coated in drier crumbs of the same cake, plus some intact sprinkles. Adorable! All other characteristics matched their cheerful appearance, bringing any number of childhood treats and moods to mind. The cake was moist and chewy, much denser than, say, a Funfetti cake. The sprinkles added another kind of chewy texture to the mix. Then, they were flavored </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to the max</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> with vanilla - and sugar. They were almost </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">too</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> sweet, which I could not have handled in a larger amount of truffles or an actual cake slice. Still, I loved that Milk Bar was able to pack </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">so much dessert</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> into a tiny package. It gave me enough of a taste of their wares that I wanted more! Maybe a Cereal Milk latte and candy bar pie from their Brooklyn flagship bakery...or, something <i>I</i> make when I finally buy that cookbook?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*cue unprecedented food coma here*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope you enjoyed that New York day in the life of a Boston foodie. Here's to my next trip - and whatever I sample next at any of the above establishments!</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-42274523334563462452012-06-27T18:17:00.000-07:002012-06-27T19:27:37.343-07:00When London Isn't Sweet...<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...it's fresh, and ripe, and bountiful, and meaty, and hearty. Or so I found when enjoying various pub meals and browsing an open-air market. Let's leave the desserts behind for a moment and focus on some savory delights.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First of all, I was eager to try a traditional <b>Sunday Roast</b>. A Roast usually includes one's choice of roasted meat, roasted potatoes and other veg, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy; all in all, it promised to be a satisfying meal that would fortify me for the busy days ahead. We repaired to <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/holly-bush-london" target="_blank">The Holly Bush</a>, tucked up a hilly side street in the gorgeous neighborhood of Hampstead, and settled in among the friendliest-imaginable set of fellow-diners, -drinkers, bartenders, and waitstaff. (Remind me to tell you, in detail, just <i>how wonderful</i> British pub culture is sometime...) The scene was set for enjoying the perfect Roast, but I couldn't go through with it. No upstanding comfort-food lover could settle for mere meat and veg when those things <i>could</i> be presented to them in...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...a POT PIE.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Behold, The Holly Bush's jaw-droppingly-good </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fish pie</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">! It was filled with salmon, whitefish, and spinach, and topped with spring onion mashed potatoes. The fish was fresh and flavorful, and the mashed potatoes were so thick and creamy and pungent and </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">just</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> browned enough that my taste buds could barely process it all, it was so tasty. Mixed greens served on the side in a light dressing balanced out the heaviness nicely, and a pint of Aspall cider washed it all down. I loved this meal so much that I had it a few days later, after exploring the nearby Heath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Later in the trip, I went to <a href="http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/" target="_blank">Borough Market</a> for their <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2012/06/londons-so-sweet.html" target="_blank">baked goods</a>. Surprisingly enough, I left equally impressed with their produce. I don't usually wax rhapsodic about <b>veg</b>, but I couldn't get over this colorful bounty!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just looking at these makes me want to eat a salad! (No, I'm not referring to the shredded lettuce that Brits put on sandwiches...) And here, an assortment of <b>mushrooms</b>, some of which I had never seen before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wandering among the different stalls made me think back to my 2010 </span><a href="http://revels.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Revels</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> show, which opened with Orlando Gibbons' </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cries of London.</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Each cast member was assigned a different "cry"; mine was a line or two about turnips. Here are Borough Market's <b>turnips</b>, photographed in homage to Revels. Aren't they pretty, so cheerfully white and purple? If only a chorus had been on hand to sing of the Market's other delights... </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-92ykq8oq3qU/T-uu2wTvfbI/AAAAAAAAAdA/pLRvwWNIfp0/s1600/Borough+Market+turnips.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-92ykq8oq3qU/T-uu2wTvfbI/AAAAAAAAAdA/pLRvwWNIfp0/s320/Borough+Market+turnips.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Look at all this <b>Turkish delight</b>! I'm not a fan, but anyone who is should check out this unmatched variety of flavors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lastly, what is a trip to London without <b>fish 'n' chips</b>? <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/rock-and-sole-plaice-london" target="_blank">Rock & Sole Plaice</a>'s fantastic rock, fried in plenty of seasoned batter, was a standout. Rock is a thick and chewy, yet light and fluffy, whitefish. It tastes like cod, but it has the most unique texture I have encountered in fish; if the prior description doesn't make sense, try imagining an <i>airy...steak</i>...of <i>fish</i>. Toothsome and tasty! The accompanying chips were a bit overwhelming, just massive hunks of taters that had been fried with minimal salt and no seasoning. Fortunately, plenty of ketchup and tartar sauce were on hand to add flavor and moisture. A true standout situated near Covent Garden, but away from the tourist crowds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, what should be on my my <i>next</i> London trip's eating list, in addition to repeats of the above?</span></div>
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</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-8748529213495081792012-06-18T19:34:00.000-07:002012-06-18T19:34:26.802-07:00London's So Sweet<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I recently spent 9 days in London, my favorite place in the world! The vacation - or "holiday", if I'm being a proper wannabe Brit - included numerous architectural and historical wonders, museums, gardens, and parks. But I'm here to tell you about the food.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Snacking Bars</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Marks & Spencer's <a href="http://www.marksandspencer.com/Simply-MS-Food-Wine/b/1753413031?ie=UTF8&intid=gnav_food-amp-wine_simply-m-amp-s" target="_blank">Simply Food stores</a> are ubiquitous, but that doesn't mean they sacrifice quality in their quantity. Far from it, in fact. These convenient stores sell surprisingly fresh grab-n-go eats, making them a favorite of lunch-eating professionals and tourists looking to nosh on the move. I'd get their apple beverage as part of breakfast every morning - imagine a drink somewhere between juice and cider, made from the island's sweet, refreshing Pink Lady apples - and a snacking bar whenever the hunger so moved me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One bar was the <b>flapjack with Belgian chocolate</b>. In America, a flapjack is a pancake. In Britain, it's an oat-based bar, with a texture somewhere between a granola bar and an oatmeal cookie, that's sweetened with honey or golden syrup. M&S' flapjack seemed a tad too soggy with fluid sweetener, and the flavor was...bland, at best. I missed the presence of cinnamon, and brown sugar's molasses notes; I guess the Brits don't really spice their oats. The chocolate chunks mixed throughout were tasty, but they didn't really blend with the oat mixture. Overall, I'd say the flapjack was forgettable. Maybe I would have had a different opinion if I weren't so set in my comparatively spicy American ways?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Millionaire Shortbread</b>, however, is a dream!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This king of bar cookies has 4 layers: a shortbread base, milk caramel, milk chocolate, and white chocolate drizzle. All textures and flavors are spot-on, and mix <i>so</i> well together that I can't really think of a better snack. The shortbread is buttery and flaky; the caramel tastes of sugar <i>and</i> salt; the milk chocolate bursts with cocoa and cream; and the white chocolate is smooth, essential vanilla. One bite gives you all those flavors, as well as crumbs, some crunch, and some melting in your mouth. It even <i>looks</i> beautiful!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qM18Ydgjieg/T9_gTJhuO_I/AAAAAAAAAck/KuDn-8tCgmc/s1600/Luxury+Shortbread.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qM18Ydgjieg/T9_gTJhuO_I/AAAAAAAAAck/KuDn-8tCgmc/s320/Luxury+Shortbread.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is one Oxford bakery's take on the bar. </span><a href="http://www.taylorsoxford.co.uk/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Taylors</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Luxury</i> Shortbread</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> differed from the M&S standard in two ways - the shortbread cookie was packed with brown sugar, and the caramel was more of a sugary, milky peanut butter. I also plan to mirror Taylor's ingenuity and make my own, though my ideal end product will more closely resemble M&S'! Until that happens, I have three Millionaire bars to tide me over.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chocolate Bars</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">British chocolate is formulated differently. Americans can't use vegetable oil in the product and legally label it chocolate; in Britain, that oil routinely replaces some fraction of cocoa butter. The resulting "chocolate" feels unusually smooth, if not a tad slippery, and has a slightly tangier taste. Another difference is how the chocolate is processed. Our candy bars primarily use <i>solid</i> chocolate, while our friends across the Pond enjoy aerating and rippling the confection into all sorts of unusual configurations. I have <b>Wispa</b> and <b>Ripple</b> bars on reserve for future enjoyment; I'm sure they'll be discussed in these pages soon!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Regional Pastries</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">England's many "shires" have retained distinct accents over the centuries; it's no surprise that their cuisines are similarly resistant and unique. I was fortunate enough to sample a regional pastry at the London Bridge neighborhood's <a href="http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/" target="_blank">Borough Market</a>! Here is one vendor's assortment of such treats. (And no, I don't think their name, The Flour Station, is mere coincidence. My theory, that any bakery named "Flour"-something <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-bakery-has-flour-in-its-name.html" target="_blank"><i>has</i> to be excellent</a>, remains uncontested.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eccles cake</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> was significantly tastier than <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2010/07/london-calling-buns-n-biscuits.html" target="_blank">last trip's Chelsea bun</a>. The top of the cake was crusted with turbinado sugar. The dough was flaky like a croissant at the edge, but it became fluffier and cake-like toward the center. The cake's sizable interior was filled with a mincemeat-style assortment of currants and candied citrus bits, all tossed in a buttery, spicy sauce. The overall effect was a very pleasant combination of sweet, spicy, and butter flavors, cased in that chewy and crunchy dough and sugar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also, in case you can't tell - these things are</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">huge</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, approximately a palm's width across! One cake became my lunch, and kept me full</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">well</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">past the half-life of the average Pret a Manger boxed sandwich.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jubilee Pastries</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign inspired many things across this happy land, including food items. Take <a href="http://www.harrods.com/content/misc/boutiques/hampers?icid=HP-FW-Main-Link-150612" target="_blank">Harrods' food halls</a>, for example. I didn't plan to enter Harrods, but their fanciful storefront displays drew me in. Not only had various couturiers designed elaborate crowns commemorating the Jubilee, letting one walk down Brompton Street in line with royal razzle-dazzle, but their food and party people had created festive, elaborate spreads, recalling everything from formal banquets to exuberant street parties, all in the space of a few shop windows. Oh, sure, I thought, why not go inside and see these items up close? I should have known I'd be leaving with a sweet treat! Behold, a donut from Harrods' bake shop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is no ordinary donut, though. It is a</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">chocolate raspberry <i>Jubilee</i> donut!</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The dough was sweet and chewy; the filling was syrupy, tasting of raspberries and cream. The donut was coated in a sugary vanilla glaze, topped with a dollop of hardened chocolate raspberry sauce, and dusted with edible red glitter! I'm assuming that last touch is what made it a Jubilee treat; the country as a whole seemed decked out in sparkles for the occasion. :-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lastly, I will leave you with some eye candy - or rather, eye cake? - from Oxford's <a href="http://www.the-cakeshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cake Shop</a>. Not only do we have the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radcliffe_Camera" target="_blank">Radcliffe Camera</a> rendered in cake and fondant...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...but several festive Jubilee desserts as well!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This last dessert depicts a traditional British street party. I love the miniature fondant cakes decorating the larger cake! I now know where to get a cake in Oxford, should I ever have such a need in such a place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Are you sugared out yet? I hope not; there is plenty still to come. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This sweets-focused post is one of three total London posts I have planned; stay tuned for articles on <b>savory delights</b> and <i>the</i> ultimate dessert indulgence, <b>afternoon tea!</b></span></div>
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-64446029349439069702012-05-15T15:40:00.002-07:002012-05-15T15:40:46.496-07:00Choco-Nutty Pies<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Don't hate on the made-up word!)</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My recent dessert orders have involved <b>chocolate</b> and <b>nuts</b>. My love of the chocolate / peanut <i>butter</i> combination is nothing new, but I tolerated <i>actual nuts</i> among sweeter ingredients, and in <i>several</i> desserts at that! I have my friends to thank for encouragement and like-minded ordering.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I started with <a href="http://www.notyouraveragejoes.com/" target="_blank">Not Your Average Joe's</a> <b>Peanut Butter Thing</b>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Long a temptation when I've been there for lunch, but too hard to justify at noon, I was glad to visit Joe's for </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">dinner</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> with some sweet-toothed friends and indulge in this monumental dessert. After all, it's impossible </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">not</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to indulge at Joe's. You start with ample helpings of their chewy bread and cheesy, peppery dipping oil, and before you know it, there are multiple Peanut Butter Things for the table following a tasty main course. This ice cream pie is an immense hunk of peanut butter ice cream, with chocolate chunks and peanuts mixed in. An Oreo crust supports the base and side of the pie, and scattered Oreo crumbs dust its top. The pie is served with a squirt of whipped cream, as well as ramekins of hot fudge and caramel sauce for you to drizzle over the cake or dunk bites at will. Here is a thoroughly drizzled slice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The ice cream tasted subtly of peanut butter, like a lightly-flavored vanilla. Good, but I prefer a more aggressive flavor a la JP Lick's. The chocolate chunks were a welcome addition - though there could have been more! - and I wouldn't have added peanuts to the ice cream, since frozen nuts acquire a strange texture. These points became irrelevant when eating at the pie as a whole. I loved the generous supply of rich fudge and sugary caramel. Both tasted like the best </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">classic</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> ice cream toppings - simple, perfect flavors, sans pretense of any kind. They coated the pie and softened the frozen edges. Soon, there was a host of textures in play: thick sauce, crumbly Oreos, crunchy chocolate and nuts, and soupy and solid ice cream. Delightful! The overall effect, of simple things combined into a greater whole, was extremely satisfying. Be prepared to share!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was at <a href="http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/menu" target="_blank">Fleming's</a> later that week, surprisingly eager for dessert after noshing on their delicious bar burger. We all decided to split a <b>Walnut Turtle Pie</b>. It's easily one of 2012's best dessert discoveries!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The pie's base is a chocolate crust. Imagine the standard buttery pie crust, with cocoa powder added; this crust had both butter and chocolate flavors. The main filling is gooey, chocolatey bliss that reminded me of an undercooked brownie. I think it had caramel mixed in, since there was something warmer, sweeter, and slightly creamy to complement the delectably rich chocolate. That filling is then topped with roasted candied walnuts, caramel, and a scattering of milk chocolate shavings. When nuts are prepared as these were, I can </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">almost</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> forget they're nuts; I actually liked the savory-sweet crunch they added, which paired marvelously with the sticky, flowing caramel. The chocolate bits, then, were the icing on the cake! Or the shaving on the pie, if that were an acceptable idiom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've been at Fleming's fairly regularly in the past few months, so here's hoping there will be another trip soon. Dessert mandatory, of course. And Joe's? Well, I'll push a little harder for a lunchtime Peanut Butter Thing if the opportunity presents itself.</span></div>
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-50854177833380611102012-04-21T14:25:00.002-07:002012-04-21T14:25:55.012-07:00I'm a TCHO Beta Taster!<div style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I fell in love with <a href="http://tcho.com/" target="_blank">TCHO</a> and their chocolates while <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2009/11/california-dessertin-chocolate-not-so.html" target="_blank">vacationing in San Francisco</a> a few years ago. Just think about it - a company founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who love food as well as technology, and want to make the best chocolate possible. The belief that chocolate, like wine, can reflect its source material's unique terroir as a result of thoughtful processing. Faith in loyal customers' palates and the proven results of iterative development processes. <i>What's not to love?</i> Since that vacation, I've kept the love alive with the occasional online order, in-person purchases at Starbucks and Cardullo's (back when those retailers carried Tcho, sigh), and now, most recently, helping to develop a forthcoming milk chocolate / coffee fusion bar! This project was called the <b>TchoJoe Beta</b>. (Joe for coffee, get it?) Us eager participants, in delightfully punny fashion, were <b>Beta Tasters!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, how did this Beta work? (FYI: I'm a project manager at a technology company, so please excuse any process-related nerd-outs.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">TCHO sent three shipments of Beta chocolates (0.4, 0.6, and 0.8), each with two distinct bars (A and B), over the course of two months. The bars were packaged in simplistic brown paper, with Tcho's logo and the specific Beta version printed on the outside. The individual bars were good-sized, only slightly smaller than a production TCHO bar, with six chocolate squares each. After receiving and tasting each shipment, Beta Tasters entered feedback on the bars online, responding to prompts and questions such as:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">General Tasting Notes (free text)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Flavors Noted (checkboxes)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How is the overall balance? (dropdown)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How is the finish? (dropdown)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rate this bar. (radio buttons)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Which bar did you prefer, A or B, and why? (dropdown, free text)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe the preferred bar in 5 words or less. (free text)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What would you name the preferred bar? (free text)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I appreciate the mix of reportable data points and individualized feedback, though I'm worried that my best and strongest commentary couldn't be conveyed via the predefined inputs. Oh, I should probably mention the tasting instructions. Each online feedback form reminded us of all that had to happen <i>pre</i>-documentation! And I quote:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"<b>Be prepared</b>: (1) Try not eat anything strongly seasoned or especially spicy before tasting. (2) Find a quiet, calm place. Reducing distractions so you can focus just on your palate is surprisingly beneficial to really tasting, instead of just eating. (3) Keep a glass of warm water nearby to cleanse your palate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Taste like a pro</b>: (1) Break off one square. (2) Place the chocolate in your mouth [duh]. (3) Try closing your eyes to reduce distractions and help focus your senses. (4) Chew just a few times, then let the chocolate melt and linger on your tongue. [Your stomach doesn't have any tastebuds!] (5) Recognize the different flavor notes appearing throughout the tasting process – beginning, middle, end, and aftertaste. (6) Take your time and don't move on to the next chocolate too quickly. (7) Have fun!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Like I said earlier, LOVE.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The times I set aside to do my tastings really did feel special. I've condensed my feedback on each iteration below, sharing my General Tasting Notes along with each shipment's comparison commentary.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IlgQq-NEZkQ/T5Mj19ZlssI/AAAAAAAAAaY/D0xV55r7LjE/s1600/TchoJoe+beta+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IlgQq-NEZkQ/T5Mj19ZlssI/AAAAAAAAAaY/D0xV55r7LjE/s320/TchoJoe+beta+1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.4 A</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm struck by how unusual the "milk" aspect of the milk chocolate is - it's surprisingly tart, like sour cream. This is well balanced by some sweet caramel notes, and the chocolate overall feels nice and smooth. The coffee's abrasive at first, though. It tastes burnt and smoky up front. It evened out through the tasting process, and mostly disappeared by the end.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.4 B</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a very subtle bar - delightfully smooth, creamy milk chocolate, with no particularly overwhelming flavors (caramel, sugar, etc). It would be a great canvas/background for a more robust flavor addition, but the coffee's not present enough for me. I notice a hint of roasted coffee taste at the end of the tasting cycle, but if I didn't know that was supposed to be coffee I probably would have guessed the flavor came from roasted hazelnuts or chestnuts.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.4 Comparison</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I preferred Version B. While I loved the milk chocolate formulation used in Version A, its overwhelming burnt coffee flavor really turned me off. So, I would rather snack on some B, as it is more balanced and is closer to the kind of coffee flavor I like. Want a suggestion? Take the chocolate from A, and incorporate B's coffee into it - only use three times as much coffee as you used in B.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- The Five Words: good, but playing it safe</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- The Name: Buzz</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.6A</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The milk chocolate is really great - it has some of the tanginess that I loved about version 0.4A, as if it were inspired by a nice, tart chocolate creme brulee. The coffee's better this time around, very robust and roasty up front (in a way that reminds me of a warm cup in front of a ski-lodge fire, mmm) but nowhere near burnt. The flavor changes a bit over time, getting a tad more bitter as the bar melts, and ending with a flat note I'm finding hard to describe, almost like the aroma of wet paper towels.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.6B</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This has a good-enough baseline milk chocolate, but it doesn't pique my interest/curiosity like other Tchocolates have. Also, the coffee is nearly nonexistent. Instead, I detect raisin notes as soon as the chocolate starts to melt, maybe with a hint of toasted nuts. The aftertaste is raisin-y, too.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.6 Comparison</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I preferred Version A. A is tasty up front, and remains (mostly) tasty as I eat it. It's complex, and therefore gets me thinking and paying really close attention. I still can't get over how full-bodied and unique the chocolate is. B is blah by comparison. The chocolate just seems average, and I don't like the flavor notes I manage to detect. (Disclaimer: this is the girl who can't stand oatmeal raisin cookies, and considers brownies with nuts a crime against humanity.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- The Five Words: eyebrows raised, eyes wide, smile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- The Name: Crema</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.8A</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The milk chocolate in version A, with its creamy tanginess, continues to be excellent - but the non-chocolate flavors of this version have changed, and not to my liking. The bar smells of raisins and figs - or rather, a compote containing those fruits - at first, and then tastes like something woody, bitter, and even a tad metallic. The aftertaste mellows out a bit, which I like, and makes me think of sweet port. But, where's the coffee? I miss the coffee, and am so confused.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.8B</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wasn't sure what to expect upon smelling version B's port-y aroma, but this bar came through for me! The milk chocolate has evolved from past Bs so that it more closely approximates A's consistent tanginess, but this seems a hint sweeter. Love! The coffee flavor is assertive at first bite but then calms down, with occasional flavor jolts causing me to perk up. There's a hint of roastedness about the coffee, but it's not overwhelming. The finish is smooth and sweet, almost like caramel.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.8 Comparison</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I preferred Version B. B is extremely close to being your TchoJoe bar. The coffee and chocolate flavors are well-balanced, and its consistency - both in terms of texture and taste - hasn't yet been matched.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- The Five Words: A solid caramel mocha. Yum!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- The Name: Crema (again. almost went with Jolt, but the name needs to convey mood as well as taste)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whew. That was a lot of chocolate...and a lot of fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I really enjoyed following the characteristics throughout the iterations - for example, how Version A's interestingly tangy milk chocolate remained a fixture of each A bar and finally asserted itself in the last B bar, as well as the progressive introduction of dried fruit notes in the later bars. I was continually surprised at the coffee flavor throughout these bars, since it was never as...accurate?...as I would have expected. Maybe since we were dealing with milk chocolate, instead of a higher-percent-cacao formulation, the chocolate makers didn't want to be as assertive or obvious with the coffee? Who knows. Overall, 0.6A and 0.8B were my favorites - the former, because of its standout milk chocolate and strong coffee; the latter, due to its near-perfect balance. I can't wait to see what characteristics made it through to the final product, which Beta Tasters will receive shortly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I mentioned above that each Beta bar had six squares. I only used two squares for each tasting, and have saved the remainders. My plan, once the ultimate TchoJoe arrives, is to do a <b>vertical tasting</b> of all the iterations alongside the production release. Stay tuned for a review of that endeavor!</span></div>
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</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-81400796762037352932012-04-21T11:39:00.001-07:002012-04-21T11:39:28.894-07:00Custom "Treats"<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This city dweller rarely gets to enjoy suburban bakery delights. So, I was excited to try custom cupcakes from Needham's <a href="http://www.treatcupcakebar.com/" target="_blank">Treat Cupcake Bar</a>, which a colleague brought into work for my boss' baby shower!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was instantly blown away by the cupcakes' appearance. They were all quite massive, and were topped in equally massive buttercream frosting bears! Here's a picture of a chocolate cupcake, followed by a close-up of its cheerful frosting friend.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9w9yVpGdFEc/T5L8ppgzG6I/AAAAAAAAAaQ/jfcvaP6o0mk/s1600/009+-+Treat+cupcake+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9w9yVpGdFEc/T5L8ppgzG6I/AAAAAAAAAaQ/jfcvaP6o0mk/s320/009+-+Treat+cupcake+2.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I couldn't wait to see whether their taste would live up to their decoration!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9lpYD_yiA4/T5L8nI25jHI/AAAAAAAAAaI/aPp6AwxHXBo/s1600/008+-+Treat+cupcake+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9lpYD_yiA4/T5L8nI25jHI/AAAAAAAAAaI/aPp6AwxHXBo/s320/008+-+Treat+cupcake+1.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We had four cake flavors to choose from: chocolate, vanilla, carrot, and red velvet. The cupcakes were so large that we cut them in pieces; as a result, I was able to sample the first three flavors. (I've never been a fan of red velvet.) The chocolate and vanilla cakes were definitely better than average! The chocolate cake was a rich dessert made possible with lots of bittersweet cocoa powder. The vanilla cake reminded me of pound cake, with its creamy, dense texture and strong buttery flavor. Both cakes were moist throughout, though their edges were a bit dry. The carrot cake, on the other hand, was not so noteworthy. I would have called it a bland spice cake with the occasional token piece of shredded carrot - nothing like the robust and hearty mash-up I look for in a proper carrot cake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The frosting, while beyond cute, tasted a bit...<i>off</i>. It was buttery to a fault, and I'm positive I could taste salt - maybe its base was salted butter? I think Treat took the concept of "buttercream" to an extreme that wasn't necessary. Its texture was light and airy, which was a relief considering the sheer amount of the stuff topping each cake! I couldn't imagine eating a denser version of this frosting, which probably would have been like chewing on a stick of butter. One big plus to the frosting's quantity is that no bite of cake had to go without; the optimal cake-frosting ratio, so often achieved by removing a cupcake's bottom half, required no custom engineering. Of course, I would have appreciated that more if I really enjoyed the frosting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wouldn't refuse an opportunity to have more Treats. After all, one look at their <a href="http://www.treatcupcakebar.com/pick-a-treat/" target="_blank">menu</a> will get anyone salivating, and seriously, they call their venture a <i>cupcake bar</i>! However, I'll know that not all cakes are created equal, and that less is more when it comes to their basic buttercream frosting.</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-24802666200489601352012-04-10T19:17:00.001-07:002012-04-11T04:10:38.986-07:00A New Hampshire Easter<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy belated Easter, friends! I thought I'd share a few treats from my holiday at home.</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To start, the Easter Bunny was very generous - again! - this year. I've <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2010/04/easter-treats.html" target="_blank">written before</a> about how I absolutely love the Easter color palette, <i>so</i> resplendent with whites and pastels and soft metallics. This close-up of my <b><i>Easter basket</i></b> should convince you, too, to love these spring shades. The candy, of course, is wonderful, sourced from the Midwest's beloved <b>Fannie May chocolatier</b>. (Once my family establishes a food tradition, it's hard to unseat it, even if it's been over 18 years since we lived where FM was readily available. Thank you, Internets!)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QcoJG4FHB1I/T4TnxFviG5I/AAAAAAAAAaA/JPP2-zZFVBM/s1600/eggs+for+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QcoJG4FHB1I/T4TnxFviG5I/AAAAAAAAAaA/JPP2-zZFVBM/s320/eggs+for+blog.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next up was the <b><i>Easter breakfast</i></b>. <b>Ina Garten's enthusiastically citrusy <a href="http://leitesculinaria.com/3013/recipes-barefoot-contessa-lemon-cake.html" target="_blank">lemon cake</a></b> made a repeat appearance, and I think this was its best year yet! I was nervous to bake it at first, since my parents just installed a new oven; while my mom testified to the oven's capabilities, already producing such classics as a chicken pot pie and from-scratch brownies without a hitch in its week of existence, I was afraid my contribution would go awry. Fortunately, it didn't. Why do I love this cake so?</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The recipe makes <b>two loaves</b>. So much dessert, indeed! This allows me to bring several breakfasts' worth of cake back to Boston, while leaving my family with the same.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It uses <b>the zest of eight lemons</b>. A citrus lover's dream.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It has <b>two lemon-sugar glazes</b>! The first is a warm sauce made of heated lemon juice and dissolved granulated sugar; it is poured over the cakes as soon as they are removed from their loaf pans. The sauce sinks into the porous loaves and infuses them with moist, tangy, citrusy joy. Then, once they have cooled, they are coated with the second glaze. This traditional decoration, of much confectioners' sugar mixed in significantly less lemon juice, covers the cakes' surfaces in solid white, almost like fondant. It has a bright, sweet, concentrated lemon flavor.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The overall effect is one of increasing lemon intensity. The base of the cake is light and fluffy, with a definite lemon presence from all that zest - but, it's still comparatively dainty, and perfect for tea. As you move up the cake, you encounter more of the sugared lemon juice; it makes the cake moister, chewier, and stronger. The very top of the cake is thoroughly soaked in the juice, and then crowned with the fondant-esque glaze for the most robust lemon experience yet. I always save the top bites for last, never tiring of their cheerful citrus zing. That flavor conquers anything else near your palate, even a cup of strongly-brewed <a href="http://www.fortnumandmason.com/p-5171-royal-blend-loose-leaf-tea.aspx" target="_blank">Royal Blend</a>!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2M1QFMBtjuo/T4TnoC53uqI/AAAAAAAAAZo/TlvSEowJsz8/s1600/005+-+Easter+lemon+bread.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2M1QFMBtjuo/T4TnoC53uqI/AAAAAAAAAZo/TlvSEowJsz8/s320/005+-+Easter+lemon+bread.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Never one to be still when there is an excuse for extravagant baking, I did not begin and end my Easter exploits with Ina. It was time to work on the <b style="font-style: italic;">Easter dessert</b>...with Joanne.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My family had fallen into a habit of ordering gourmet cakes from California bakeries as our holiday desserts, with Easter being the latest casualty (after Christmas succumbed to this ravishing <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2010/01/yule-love-this-log.html" target="_blank">buche de Noel</a>). My desire to bake, plus a fortuitous outing to Flour's Fort Point location, changed that for 2012. I ate a carrot cake cupcake at that Flour, loved it, and excitedly found the recipe for the equivalent cake in Flour's cookbook. It took hardly any effort to persuade my parents to let <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2011/05/carrot-cake-for-easter.html" target="_blank">Perfect Endings</a> lie, and grant me a mission in its place.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFLD26D7Yys/T4TnlaycGRI/AAAAAAAAAZg/1P3bF4tZw1g/s1600/001+-+carrot+cake+ingredients.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFLD26D7Yys/T4TnlaycGRI/AAAAAAAAAZg/1P3bF4tZw1g/s320/001+-+carrot+cake+ingredients.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What a mission it was! </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Carrot cakes</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> are always time-intensive, but Joanne's recipe - like any good kitchen challenge! - let me try and see new things. Here are some observations.</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The recipe asks for token amounts of spices. I added significantly more of each spice per usual custom, and the cake absorbed them without any trouble. Heck. I could have quadrupled the cinnamon and everything would have still turned out alright! I like a cake that can soak up so much flavor.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I used pre-chopped walnuts. <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2011/12/julie-makes-carrot-cake-or-finger-food.html" target="_blank">Enough said</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I left out the raisins (so gross!), and swapped in the equivalent volume of grated carrots. There's no such thing as too many carrots in a carrot cake.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You bake the entire cake in one 8" round cake pan. This pan is filled to the brim when you put it in the oven, and looks as though it might spill over while baking its (oddly lengthy) 1 hour and 20 minutes. Fortunately, no spillover occurred - though the final product was also level with the pan's rim.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The baked cake is probably the densest dessert I have ever made.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You split the cooled cake into two layers. Baked-good surgery, anyone?! It turns out that all you need to perform this invasive procedure are a quality bread knife, a steady hand, and careful rotation of the cake in question.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The frosting is a simple mix of cream cheese, butter, and confectioner's sugar. I believe the desired effect is barely-sweetened cream cheese; the ingredients' proportions definitely accomplish this, but I would have preferred a sweeter, more traditional frosting. If I want a cream cheese spread, I'll leave the butter and sugar to the side, and pick up a bagel instead of a cake. (It did taste much better with the cake than by itself, though.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The recipe suggests chilling the frosting for 2-3 hours before spreading it. I found that was entirely too much refrigeration; I had to let the frosting warm up for an hour or so post-chilling before it was comfortably usable.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The split and frosted cake ends up looking pretty close to a "normal" two-layer cake. I was pleasantly surprised! (And anyway, two "full" layers of this cake would have been too much, so I'm glad it passed as is.)</span></li>
</ul></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's a slice of the cake, followed by what was left after Easter dinner.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vI4CssL7mt4/T4TnrCD8e5I/AAAAAAAAAZw/cc3pBuZOPeo/s1600/006+-+Easter+cake+slice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vI4CssL7mt4/T4TnrCD8e5I/AAAAAAAAAZw/cc3pBuZOPeo/s320/006+-+Easter+cake+slice.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ifN82gtqEWU/T4TnuKR28zI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/2G1hUiz_oOM/s1600/007+-+Easter+carrot+cake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ifN82gtqEWU/T4TnuKR28zI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/2G1hUiz_oOM/s320/007+-+Easter+carrot+cake.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Like I mentioned above, the cake's density may be its most noteworthy characteristic. So much is crammed in that one (split) layer that what's normally considered a small-ish slice is actually rather filling. The same could be said about its flavors - in a single tiny bite, you can taste the freshness of the carrots, the roastiness of the toasted walnuts, the warmth of the brown sugar, and the depth of the extravagant spices. Those flavors, in all their variety and richness, remind me of the seasons, which may be why carrot cake always seems like a timely dessert. (Of course, we exploit the carrot content for Easter/spring.) The texture stands out, too - it's extremely gooey and moist thanks to canola oil and buttermilk, but still cake-like. My only complaint, or area of potential improvement, is the frosting. I'm glad it'll be easy enough to just add more confectioner's sugar to the mix next time, and maybe a hint of vanilla extract, too. Here's to yet another sweet success courtesy of Flour!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you want to see the actual recipe, I cannot recommend the Flour cookbook enough.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope you enjoyed a similarly delicious and fulfilling Easter! Are there any particular treats you'd rave about?</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-74298779237361244912012-04-01T12:43:00.000-07:002012-04-01T12:43:38.613-07:00Winter Restaurant Week 2012<div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I tried three new-to-me eateries this Restaurant Week!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Katie and I kicked off the festivities by going to <a href="http://www.tremont647.com/" target="_blank">Tremont 647</a>. I try to get to a different South End venue each time, and one look at the menu - the restaurant's full menu, in fact, made available as a RW deal - made the decision to come here easy. Once we arrived, we were instantly comfortable - the restaurant's windows were thrown open to let in the unexpectedly warm Boston spring air, and we got seated at a plush, high booth with diners on one side, and regulars of the bustling South End bar scene on the other. The food added to the cozy, funky vibe.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was the most indulgent comfort-food meal I have ever had. I started off with their <b>famous lobster mac</b>, receiving an entree-sized portion of my life's latest contender for best man 'n' cheese. The pasta was soft and chewy, with plenty of large, tender lobster chunks mixed in. The cheddar mornay sauce coating it all was heavenly - it had a consistently creamy, cheesy texture and sharp taste, but enough extra cheese was present so that each bite was positively dripping in the gooey stuff, with strands linking it back to the main dish. That entire dish was then covered in crumbled Ritz crackers! The look was unusual, but it worked quite well - buttery, salty crackers go well with cream and cheese. I then had a <b>grass-fed beef burger</b> for my entree, though I was so nearly full thanks to that cheesy appetizer that most of the burger came home. It was a pleasant hunk of beef, topped with cheddar cheese and bacon and served on a chewy brioche bun. I spread house-made ketchup and spicy "secret sauce" all over it, leaving only a little of each condiment left for the fries. I ate very few fries to save room for what was coming. I needed all the room I could get for Tremont 647's epically large and delicious dessert, a <b>brownie sundae</b> made of a <b>chocolate cherry brownie, popcorn ice cream, candied peanuts</b>, and plenty of <b>chocolate and caramel sauce</b>. Wow! The chocolate brownie was very dense and fudgy, and had large,<i> fresh</i> cherry pieces baked throughout. (No Maraschinos here, phew!) The ice cream tasted like Cracker Jacks, and that peanuts-and-caramel theme was reinforced by the toppings. There was plenty of sauce to swirl and coat each delicious brownie/ice-cream bite, so I really got to enjoy each aspect of this dessert over and over again. I like how a common dessert was taken up a notch with unique interpretations of traditional components - after all, have you ever seen cherries <i>in</i> a brownie as opposed to topping the sundae, or ice cream flavored like a snack whose texture and use case is so opposite from ice cream's? I hadn't. Tremont 647 gets a full endorsement for creativity...and, of course, taste.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MC7uJ1G8YQc/T3ircq9CyiI/AAAAAAAAAY4/bRtZIG9WWJs/s1600/017+-+Tremont+647+RW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MC7uJ1G8YQc/T3ircq9CyiI/AAAAAAAAAY4/bRtZIG9WWJs/s320/017+-+Tremont+647+RW.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">BONUS ROUND: We went to <a href="http://www.28degrees-boston.com/" target="_blank">28 Degrees</a> after, where we got to sample the bar's vodka offerings in...several ways. Katie has <a href="http://strugglingsingletwentysomething.blogspot.com/2012/03/attack-of-vodka-bottle.html" target="_blank">an amusing summary of that outing</a> available for your reading pleasure! Let's just say that we "enjoyed" multiple free drinks, this delicious bread pudding, and forthcoming dry-cleaning reimbursements.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aRrjdOS973E/T3irfVflI4I/AAAAAAAAAZA/21QAgC88ByU/s1600/019+-+28+Degrees+bread+pudding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aRrjdOS973E/T3irfVflI4I/AAAAAAAAAZA/21QAgC88ByU/s320/019+-+28+Degrees+bread+pudding.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://erbaluce-boston.com/" target="_blank">Erbaluce</a> is the very definition of a hidden gem. Tucked away in the Bay Village neighborhood, with an unassuming exterior, and surrounded by bigger and bolder offerings, it would be easy to pass by this little restaurant. I don't recommend doing that, though. Erbaluce has <i>the</i> freshest, most creative Italian food I've had in Boston, and a charming interior and friendly waitstaff to boot! The space is warm and snug, with a small terra cotta bar, minimally elegant but comfortable furnishings, and soft lighting augmented with plenty of candles. The feel is homey and intimate. The staff speak in gentle tones and serve with a smile. And oh, the food! Erbaluce prides itself on sourcing only local, organic ingredients for its dishes, and the fresh, pure taste of such ingredients really comes through in the cooking. They also abstain from butter and cream, letting oil and herbs bring out their ingredients' popping natural flavors. I loved everything about being there. So, what did <a href="http://startcontinue.com/community/" target="_blank">Greg</a> and I eat?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The bread course - a large, dense hunk of focaccia with oil and herbed bean paste for dipping - was sizable enough to be an appetizer. My "second" appetizer was three <b>wild boar and veal meatballs</b> <b>in a tomato parmesan sauce</b>. Wild boar is such a flavorful meat, and I love the tender mouthfeel of veal, so I thoroughly enjoyed these little nuggets. I'm pretty sure some oregano and other herbs were mixed in the meatballs, too, adding even more flavor depth. The tomato parmesan sauce was light and tangy, and plentiful enough to coat each bite of meat! <b>Homemade herbed fusilli pasta</b> - did I mention that Erbaluce makes all their pastas?! - <b>tossed in oil with butternut squash, tomato, basil, and parmesan</b> made for a stunning main course. The long, tightly twirled pasta was thick and chewy. Its herbed, doughy flavor was subtle, but still more noticeable than any other pasta flavor I've had. The vegetable accompaniments were cut small and served soft, and the whole dish was topped with a flurry of parmesan gratings, shavings, and flakes. Overall, the dish was hearty but not heavy, fresh, and tasty. I would use similar words to characterize my dessert, a <b>chocolate tortella in a phyllo dough shell topped with sour cherries and creme fraiche</b>. The phyllo dough was forgettable, with its dry flaky pieces confusing the dessert's otherwise smooth and pleasing texture. The tortella itself, though, was really interesting. Imagine a creamy, tangy, bittersweet chocolate mousse, that managed to be more fluid than a typical mousse but somehow denser as well. The creme fraiche dollop was cool, sweet by comparison, and refreshing, and provided a good canvas for the assertive sour fruit dropped on top. Those tart cherries were chewy and bursting with juice. Lastly, the whole thing was drizzled in a sour cherry sauce and potent wildflower honey. The honey reminded me of the most unusual and delicious honey I've ever tasted, from raspberry flowers in Napa Valley - though this must have been a locally-sourced equivalent.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgnqKeCB5jc/T3iriJBssfI/AAAAAAAAAZI/-u9fSbd9GP4/s1600/022+-+Erbaluce+RW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgnqKeCB5jc/T3iriJBssfI/AAAAAAAAAZI/-u9fSbd9GP4/s320/022+-+Erbaluce+RW.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I look forward to revisiting Erbaluce and sampling something off their regular menu...and maybe even stomaching my own </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mushroom honey flip</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> as opposed to stealing sips of Greg's!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">BONUS ROUND: We grabbed a drink at <a href="http://www.allstonsfinest.com/allstonsfinest/sunsetgrillandtap/sunsetgrill&tap.swf" target="_blank">Sunset</a> after, and while I enjoyed my Boulevard Tank 7 farmhouse ale, I was <i>more</i> excited to see <a href="http://www.whitebirchbrewing.com/home/" target="_blank">White Birch beers</a> on tap! I'll get some next time I'm there. Support New Hampshire microbrewing, friends, and order a pint of White Birch today!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chris and I decided late in the game to fit in a Restaurant Week dinner, at which point preexisting reservations prevented our first choices - so we settled on <a href="http://www.brasseriejoboston.com/" target="_blank">Brasserie Jo</a>, a French monstrosity in the Colonnade Hotel. I'm always eager to try French restaurants, because I hope I'll find <i>one, someday,</i> that helps me comprehend the world's obsession with French food. Jo, alas, was not that restaurant. The brasserie vibe that I usually love was attempted to tacky excess here, with tiled floors, harsh fluorescent lighting, and ten times as many clattering dishes/utensils to serve/eat any given course than you actually need. At least the courses weren't tacky or excessive, just average.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My appetizer was <b>gnocchi with beef cheek, Brussels sprouts, and mandarin oranges</b>. The gnocchi was stiff on the outside, but soft and gooey on the inside, almost like mashed potatoes. I loved the texture and taste of the gnocchi itself, but so much tarragon was used to season it that I was somewhat put off. The beef cheek was dry and tough, but the sprouts and orange slices tasted as expected. I had <b>coq au vin</b> for dinner, which was better <i>and</i> worse than past versions of this dish sampled elsewhere. The noodles were a definite improvement over the usual egg noodles one gets, reminding me of oh-so-tasty German spaetzle. The chicken, though, was dark and stringy, and the Burgundy sauce that I dolloped over it all was thick and gelatinous. So, not a winner - but less frustrating than the other options (lamb steak or barley risotto) would have been. Then, I ate the <b>molten chocolate cake with raspberry chocolate ice cream</b> for dessert. I know, I know, someone with dessert "cred" shouldn't be ordering that ubiquitous cake - but if you understood how non-Julie the alternatives were (banana crumble or cappuccino pot de creme), you would forgive me. I actually liked this dessert a lot! The molten item itself was like the best possible ice-cream-topping fudge encased in a thin layer of devil's-food cake. It was big, too, which this chocoholic appreciated. The ice cream was subtly berry-flavored, with a creamy milk chocolate base and semisweet chocolate chips taking center stage. A squirt of whipped cream topped it all off, and the sum total of these parts was rather suggestive of a brownie sundae. (Hmm, do I detect a theme in this RW's dessert orders?) This pleasant surprise was the best part of this final RW meal.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16sXdUlEN2o/T3irlcRoGHI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/UDkPDDkFe8I/s1600/024+-+Brasserie+Jo+RW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16sXdUlEN2o/T3irlcRoGHI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/UDkPDDkFe8I/s320/024+-+Brasserie+Jo+RW.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">BONUS ROUND: We had drinks at <a href="http://www.backbaysocialclub.com/" target="_blank">Back Bay Social Club</a> before, and I was <i>so </i>impressed with my libation that <i>it</i>, not any of the food, was "the find" of the night! The mix of vodka, ginger liqueur, honey, lemon, and champagne float was called the <b>Winter Social</b>, but its taste and refreshing quality screamed of summer. Here's hoping BBSC keeps it on the menu in the warm months, though it would have to be under a different name.</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wow, that was a lot of food...and drink! Here's to smaller, but no less delicious, meals as I readjust to normal eating. The desserts can stay huge, though. :-)</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-62448881274575652412012-03-10T15:58:00.000-08:002012-03-10T15:58:37.898-08:00Hang Me Anytime.<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.thegallowsboston.com/" target="_blank">The Gallows</a> may be my favorite South End restaurant - or, at least, it's the place I visit most frequently in that neighborhood. I dined there last week and realized that a blog post was long overdue! So, what do I love about it?</span><br />
<div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The decor!</b> Walls of rough-hewn, pale wooden planks contrast the smooth, dark stone bar and table surfaces. Mirrors line the walls and give the illusion of more space, and the airy, fully windowed bar area keeps you connected to the outside world. Dim orange light filters through fixtures of bark and twigs, or shines brightly through oversized glass globes suspended in artful clusters. The occasional macabre detail, like a taxidermied raven, adds subtle character to the bar.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The atmosphere!</b> All the bustle, clang, and chatter of a vibrant brasserie - my favorite kind of restaurant environment.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The drinks!</b> The Chupacabra (tequila, elderflower, etc) has been my friend for several months, and the other house cocktails cover a lot of bases. They're flavorful but not too strong, perfect for accompanying the lingering meals I have here. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i>The poutine!</i></b> I first tried this fries/gravy/curds phenomenon at The Gallows, and honestly, no other restaurant's can compare. The gravy is well-seasoned, and the curds are perfectly creamy. I usually go for the "out of control" variety, which adds surprise meats, vegetables, cheeses, and/or sauces to the standard poutine. A perfect must-share appetizer!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The other food</b> is pretty good, too. The poutine's considerable heft doesn't leave room for a full entree, so I'll split a small plate or two instead. Then, the small plates may change, but the course following them does not. You know I wouldn't be describing this restaurant experience in this space unless there were...</span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>An amazing dessert!</b> Which there is.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Gallows has only ever offered <i>one</i> dessert in all the times I've been there. I was hesitant to order it at first, because half its contents are things I don't like, and I couldn't imagine that the resulting mish-mash would be more than the sum of its parts. However, we went for it, and it has since become the dessert equivalent of their poutine - something you can't live without, that's best when shared. This <b>Fluffernutter Pie</b> is baked in an oversized ramekin, and has four layers:</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buttery, sugared mashed bananas at the base,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sweet peanut butter mousse,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gooey chocolate, usually thick like fudge but occasionally thin like syrup, and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Caramelized Marshmallow Fluff on top.</span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Its initial appearance is underwhelming, like over-burned creme brulee. However, all you have to do is dip your spoon through its soft layers to expose and taste the wonder within. This image shows the caramelized Fluff at right and the mish-mash / spoonful of glory at left.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sj0BEK38Bo8/T1vpfK69CPI/AAAAAAAAAYs/3IgNeOT6B24/s1600/Gallows+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sj0BEK38Bo8/T1vpfK69CPI/AAAAAAAAAYs/3IgNeOT6B24/s320/Gallows+blog.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Every bite contains </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">so</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> many interesting flavors, and the fact that it's all so warm and soggy allows an unusual degree of layer-mixing. The bananas aren't overwhelming - the sugar and butter do a lot to improve their flavor for this banana-hater! - and are actually a welcome (somewhat-) solid presence in an otherwise soupy delight. Then, I absolutely love the peanut butter and chocolate. There's a lot of peanut butter in the mousse, as evidenced by its strong nutty taste, but it's sweet and light enough to be dessert-like. The chocolate is robust and bittersweet, and flows happily throughout the ramekin. Occasional fudgy nuggets happen, too! Lastly, the Fluff is a fun way to literally top it all off. I'm not a fan of regular marshmallows, but this runny essence thereof seems like a good way to get some lip-smacking, mouth-coating vanilla sweetness into the mix. The caramelized "crust" doesn't have too different of a flavor, and the rest of the goo runs into every nook and cranny of the dessert like the chocolate. The overall effect is like an ice cream sundae without the ice cream, or the uncooked batter of an Elvis-inspired cake. What's not to love? I feel like a giddy little girl every time I eat it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There you have it! I look forward to "hanging" at the Gallows with this treat in the future; you should go and order it, too, or make plans to do so with me. :-)</span></div></div></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-478069322078857018.post-82936126323934386292012-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:002012-03-04T09:45:03.993-08:00Mac 'n' Cheese Tiki Room Throwdown Mintstravaganza<div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tony and I wanted to redo our brilliant <a href="http://somuchdessert.blogspot.com/2010/11/julie-and-tonys-pumpkin-bakestravaganza.html" target="_blank">Bakestravaganza</a> this winter, with a different theme. The pumpkin event had been a success, but it was time to try something new; fortunately, my suggestion of <i>chocolate mint desserts</i> also appealed to him. I found a plethora of inspiring recipes, from grasshopper brownies to peppermint hot fudge, with chocolate mint whoopie pies and several cookie varieties thrown in for good measure. I realized we'd need a day and then some to process all these items through the kitchen. A tall order...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">...until Tony had a better idea! Enter a reprise of a social foodie/tippler gathering that long precedes <i>any</i> Bakestravaganza: the <b>THROWDOWN</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I can't tell you how that word came to define this particular style of gathering, but I <i>will</i> share what a typical throwdown entails:</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Mac 'n' cheese</b> - the ultimate comfort food, infinitely variable in ingredients and execution. Spicy varieties, made that way either via assorted peppers or unusual hot sauces, are especially popular.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Tiki drinks</b> - back when the <a href="http://www.tikibartv.com/" target="_blank">Tiki Bar TV podcast</a> had regular episodes, we watched the episodes ad infinitum and made the corresponding beverages. Volcano bowls were even pilfered from the Hong Kong (or was it Kowloon?) to make Tiki throwdowns more "authentic", which are still used to this day - as is my Drinkbot impersonation. Current beverages are not so podcast-driven, but no less Tiki-inspired.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Dessert</b> - obviously. I usually have free reign here.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Electronica</b> - the boys love their techno, and they taught me to love it, too. If you haven't whipped up batter to a throbbing dubstep beat, you haven't lived. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Campy entertainment</b> - in this case, The Room! Oh, hi, Mark.</span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope this post's elaborate title now makes more sense. So, how did it go this time around? In a word, marvelously! T and Nick made two tasty mac 'n' cheeses, pictured below. Greg was Master of Cocktails as well as the creator of a tasty salmon appetizer. Tony provided the tunes. Randall came late, but his salsa and willingness to be krumped by yours truly made up for that. We all laughed at The Room. And I baked <b>chocolate mint chip cookies</b>! See, a little bit of the hoped-for Mintstravaganza happened after all.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iHNEruy1B-Q/T1Onf-CtROI/AAAAAAAAAYU/pOnCE89Qvno/s1600/003+-+throwdown+plate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iHNEruy1B-Q/T1Onf-CtROI/AAAAAAAAAYU/pOnCE89Qvno/s320/003+-+throwdown+plate.JPG" width="248" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-mint-chip-cookies/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">recipe</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">appealed to me for several reasons:</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It requires </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">nearly a cup of cocoa powder</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are no eggs to bind the dough together. Instead, you use </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">milk</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The mintiness comes from </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mint chips</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, as opposed to peppermint extract.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have re-copied it here, with my commentary in italics.</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 1/4 C flour</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 t baking powder</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/2 salt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2/3 C Dutch process cocoa - <i>Ghirardelli's cocoa always works well!</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/2 white sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/2 dark brown sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 1/2 t vanilla</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1/3 C milk</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 bag of mint chips - <i>I used 1.5 packages of Andes mints since I couldn't find any mint chips. I chopped the mints into fine pieces for inclusion in the cookies, which I have pictured here in my favorite dessert bowl! (The text inside the bowl reads "mint chocolate chip with cookie crumbles", referring to an ice cream flavor.)</i></span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OsuRfN0SBvE/T1OnlhN2VII/AAAAAAAAAYc/8oXK-K4gmJM/s1600/005+-+chopped+mints.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OsuRfN0SBvE/T1OnlhN2VII/AAAAAAAAAYc/8oXK-K4gmJM/s320/005+-+chopped+mints.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><ol><li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa together; set the mixture aside.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Beat the butter with an electric mixer until light, and add the sugars. Cream well. Add the vanilla, and beat until smooth. <i>I eliminated the butter-creaming step, creaming the sugars with the butter from the start.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture in two batches, with the milk added in between. Mix well. <i>The dough is sturdy, but not stiff.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stir in the mint chips.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let the dough chill for at least 15 minutes. <i>15 minutes was not enough. The dough was still warm and sticky when I took it out of the fridge. I would try chilling it for at least an hour, and the original cook even says that it can be made (and chilled) up to two days prior to baking. Such a wait would test my patience, but at least the dough would be easier to work with.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet, and bake for 14-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet once they're removed from the oven; they will set up at this point. <i>I fit 9 cookies on each sheet, making 18 cookies total - a far cry from the recipe's estimated output of 3 dozen treats. Perhaps I just scoop a larger cookie than most folks? The cookies are still gooey when they come out of the oven, but they do solidify quickly as they rest on the sheet.</i></span></li>
</ol><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love how these cookies turned out. First of all, they're so pretty! Note their deep chocolate color, with occasional bursts of bright minty green, and a rough, toothsome texture.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IGSwUPZdDDE/T1OnomrTvxI/AAAAAAAAAYk/7omY9OJSW1I/s1600/006+-+choc+mint+cookies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IGSwUPZdDDE/T1OnomrTvxI/AAAAAAAAAYk/7omY9OJSW1I/s320/006+-+choc+mint+cookies.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Secondly, they're really tasty! (I am not </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">alone in thinking this; the boys gobbled them up.) The chocolate dough is rather intense. I expect that's due to the liberal amount of unsweetened cocoa, hardly any "regular" sugar, and the dark brown sugar's bitter molasses tang. These are </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">not</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> sweet cookies. It's also a surprisingly moist dough, considering that we only have butter and a small amount of milk to make the cookies wet; each cookie left an oily imprint on the parchment paper, and they didn't dry out too much when left in the open. The Andes mints melted nicely, and ran like little veins throughout the baked dough. They even remained gooey after the cookies had a chance to cool! Their mintiness managed to infuse the batter overall, so every bite had the pleasing duet of chocolate and mint even if there were no delicious Andes pieces within. Lastly, they're so easy! You get something extremely delicious with minimal effort. I'll definitely be baking these again.</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, yeah. We threw down, and it was good! I can't wait for the next one. (I also can't wait to make those grasshopper brownies...)</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01637387151064061377noreply@blogger.com0