Brian's Big Birthday with Cheese

It was my good friend Brian's birthday. He just turned 30, a few years ago. Plus or minus a decade. or six. I kid! I kid! He's looking pretty good for his tender age.

He was gracious enough to ask a few of us out to celebrate his special day at Cleveland's own

Melt in Lakewood. And we only had to wait about an hour. Not too shabby compared to my last wait of over 2 hours.! Our waiter was dressed as Max from Where the Wild Things Are, because we were celebrating on Halloween! He was a big hit with a table full of artsy-types.

Check out the delicious vittles. I had the Kindergarden (just straight up sharp cheddar on white), with yummy soy glazed snap peas. And the birthday boy had Mama's Meatloaf Sandwich (meatloaf, muenster, garlic mashed potatoes). AND we partook in the Pumpkin Pie martini. Not usually my handbag as it was a bit sweet, but it was good enough to order a second round.

If you haven't been to Melt, and you live in Cleveland, then you are missing out! This month they are featuring the most amazing New Bomb Turkey. Oh boy I can't wait to tucker up into one of those.

ewwww

howdy all! it's been forever, i know. it's been a busy summer with work and outside projects and all. if you haven't heard, my brother and sister-in-law just had a son. so that makes me an aunt. he's a cute little nugget. i think we'll keep him.

so, what does this have to do with food?

i just HAD to take a picture of part of my sister-in-law's dinner after her labor.

check it.

how's this for appetizing? ew.

All this...and I'm still single?

My Cleveland foodies bf's got together to cook up some vittles. Half the fun is making the lists and rewriting the lists, and talking about the food, and talking some more about the food. This time Joey, Dev and I did most of the brainstorming via text.

Cause we are geeks.

Geeks who can cook!

So, what was on the menu? Lamb Kabobs with Veggies, Roasted Brussel's Sprouts with BACON, big green salad, mom's green potato salad (YUM), grilled pineapple, throw-it-all-in-cookies (this was last minute, i just felt wrong not baking something), BLT sliders (that's right that's TWO, TWO things with BACON), home made scrumptious hummus and sun tea with blackberries. And more drinky drinks than I care to talk about on a blog my coworkers maybe reading. So, enough talk...let's get to the pics!

And as you can see, it's very hard to be a beagle in my house. It was so exhausting to stare down all the pieces of bacon from people.

Walnut and Almond Rum Cake

Oh my oh my. This humble looking little cake is sooo good.

I almost didn't post the recipe, to keep this one for myself! But, I can't claim to have invented it, as a friend gave it to me. And, it's perfect the way it is, so I haven't even doctored it, except for the order of ingredients, and the temperature. Thank you! (you know who you are.)

This cake, I feel, will be in heavy rotation in my baking bag o' tricks. It's easy, and so delicious.

I made it in honor of Mart's visit this week, but I'm not sure it's gonna make it to Monday. No worries Martinez, I have plenty of ingredients to whip up another one.

Walnut and Almond Rum Cake

130g unsalted butter, very soft

260g granulated white sugar

5 large eggs

120 g ground almonds

120 finely chopped walnuts

6 tablespoons dark rum

80 g all-purpose flour

extra rum to soak the cake (to taste)

Preheat oven to 390 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 9" springform pan.

1. Whip butter in mixer adding sugar, beat till fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Then, mix in the almonds, walnuts, 6 tbls of rum. After all is mixed thoroughly, gently fold in the flour.

2. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 30 minutes, check cake with wooden skewer, if skewer comes out dry, your cake is ready. If not, put back in for another 5 minutes.

3. Allow cake to cool for 45 minutes before taking out of tin.

4. If you like, poke cake with toothpick a few times and sprinkle on some more dark rum!

It's SO good. I promise.

Other ideas:

Before serving, and after the rum on top of the cake has dried, sprinkle on some confectioner's sugar.

For decoration, add nuts on top...but wait about 20 minutes into the baking time, otherwise the nuts sink into the cake. You have to work quickly, as to not let the cake stop baking in the middle of it's allotted time.

Bubble Tea and Weird Dried Things: Toronto's Chinatown

If you go to Spadina Avenue in downtown Toronto, you can visit one of the best Chinatown's in North America. I was visiting just after Chinese New Year, which was a bummer to miss. But it didn't stop me from guzzling 4 bubble teas in a 36 hour period. I was warned by the chicks at the Kiehl's Shop on Queen Street to stay away from the "white people's" shops and get the real deal. Unfortunately I didn't know what that meant exactly. But I enjoyed the tapioca filled drinks nonetheless.

There is always so many interesting things to look at and observe in a Chinatown. I've only got a small sampling of what I saw here. Check out the crazy foodstuffs in bins displayed right out on the street, many unidentifiable to the typical western person. However, even a few Asian folks were bewildered by the sluglike vegetable below (marked with the do not touch sign)...we all took guesses as to what it was, but never got to the bottom of it. And of course, I didn't see anyone touch with their bare hands, but many 'poked' at it with the spoon. I wish I would have bought one to take to work for Mystery Food Friday.

Toronto's St Lawrence Market

A few weekends ago 

I scooted on up to the neighbors up north..

Ontario, Canada for a little foodie fun in Toronto. 

First stop, St.Lawrence Market!

I was really impressed with the presentation and sheer amount of all the fresh fruits and veggies...

A stop at the Carousel Bakery for the famous Peameal Bacon Sandwich is a must. Peameal is like Canadian Bacon. Emeril featured the Bakery it on his show and the traffic around it was nuts! They have a signed letter from him proudly displayed. You just ordered up at the counter...and dressed it up yourself. I tried 2 different kinds of mustard. One was so wonderfully hot it brought tears to me eyes. I regret not buying it at the neighboring stand, it was made by some Polish dudes, so you know it was good.

And then...the bakery...oh boy. I ate, I'm embarrassed to say...2 chocolate almond crossiants as big as my head. They were the best thing I have ever wrapped my lips around. Good GAWD. I had a picture of those, but I ate that too...so here are other treats spotted in the basement bakeries.

Stay tuned for other notes from my  trip! I can't wait to return.

Red Berry and Tapioca Parfait

I've been experimenting with tapioca lately, since it's pure starch, its not the best thing for the supermodel body goals I have, but a when a heart wants comfort...starch and sugar are pretty durn comfortables.

Ingredients:

1/2 c tapioca pearls (i recommend getting them at an asian market, it's about a 1/3 of the price, and you'll have many sizes and colors to choose from)

2 1/2 c 2% milk (i think this is rich enough, but you can use heavier)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c white granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla (use the real deal, it's worth it, next time I may use actual vanilla seeds)

fresh or frozen raspberries
sour cherry syrup

coarse granulated sugar (if you dont use if often, a couple of packets of Sugar In the Raw will work too)

Directions:

Soak tapioca in 2 cups of water overnight in a 2 quart saucepan, overnight, in the fridge. Drain water. Add milk, salt, sugar and eggs. Mix well.

Cook on medium heat until thickened, about 20 minutes, you must stir constantly to avoid scorching the milk! Pearls will get translucent. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool.

Layer fruit and pudding. I put the cherry syrup at the bottom of this very shallow dish, I recommend putting it on top if you are going to use something like a champagne flute, you don't want all that sweet syrup left for the end. Sprinkle a little coarse sugar on top for sparkle...if you have some fresh mint..a little green sprig would make a nice touch and constrast in color.

Happy Birthday at the Happy Dog

This past weekend was one of my bestest pals Joey's (the birthday boy and his hottie squeeze are shown to the left) birthday...and we celebrated with some of the BEST FRIGGIN HAWT DAWGS to ever pass through these lips since I left Chi-town many years ago.

When your in C-Town, stop by the Happy Dog at 5801 Detroit Rd. The place is a little bit Rock-n-Roll and a whole lotta fun with pinball machines and/or live music. 

The menu is brilliant..a crazy long list of topping options for your 1/4 lb hot dog and tater tots. 

Feast your eyes on these beauties... I will try and remember the toppings.

Tater tots with Tillamook Cheddar and BACON.

Ken's Dog with Onion Creation. WHoooBoy!

My pretty. Brown whole grain mustard, sauteed onion and blue cheese slaw. shut the hell on up outa here.

And Devan's Dog, I can't remember all the details, but I was jealous of her cucumbers.

Memories of Tico Breakfast...

I was just reminicing about my trip to Costa Rica with the bff's...and of the most delectable breakfast to ever pass these lips...the Tico Breakfast. I love a little buffet on my plate...a little o' dis and a little o' dat.

Fried Egg or Scrambled as pictured (i prefer fried, cause the yolk is most delish to sop up with the tortilla or rice and beans)

Flour Tortillas

Black Beans and Rice

couple of slices of avocado

fried plantains

Tico Cheese (a bit like the Indian Paneer)

oranges

coffee, coffee, coffee

freshly squeezed juice, er perhaps a mimosa?

HAWT SAUCE

The pineapple did not come with this dish..Chaz had ordered it as a side, and let me tell ya, the pineapple in Costa Rica was so friggin delish it makes my mouth water just thinking about it...and I just had a root canal a few hours ago. The best way to describe it is..imagine the most tender juicy pineapple ever, and coat it in honey and warm tickly sunshine...and that's what Costa Rican pineapple tastes like.

I had this breakfast EVERY LOVIN 'DAY, except for the one day I had the Tropical Pancakes. I wish I'da had the Tico Breakfast!

NOTE: what is a TICO? In Costa Rica a native or resident is called a "Tico". So in the U.S. we call a resident an "American" and in Spain we called natives "Spaniards" or in Poland the residents are called "Poles" or in Polish "Polak"...so in Costa Rica...they call themselves "Ticos".

Homemade Fritos, Danger! Danger!

It's been forever since I've posted...I have lots and lots of food experiences to share, including my trip to Costa Rica. I just need to get back to it! Today's experiment involved a little danger and corn tortillas. They are pretty tasty, like a lighter, less greasy version of a Frito. I ate a few and then tossed them, 'cause I really got to knock off the junk food.

I caught something on the Food Network about making homemade chips, and seeing as how I'm a little bored, and seeing as how I prefer to TALK about losing weight instead of putting on my running shoes...I peered into the fridge and yanked out some leftover tortillas from an enchalada making marathon I had last weekend.

Easy-peasy instructions...

take stack of corn tortillas and cut into quarters...

heat up vegetable oil until it looks about right...

throw in a chip to test..should sizzle and scoot about.

Stare at the amazing way they puff up like a little pillow.

Turn when lightly brown..which is pretty darn quick by the way...seconds! take out and drain on paper toweling and sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with a 3-4 chips at a time.

Ignore the fact the kitchen is full of smoke until the smoke alarm by the front door goes off. Open sliding glass door. Turn off the heat when that goes off. Turn on kitchen ceiling fan.

Put coat on.

Remember that your boyfriend told you to get a fire extinguisher. Twice.

Peach and Plum Upside Down Cake, Happy Birthday Julia!

I love my cast iron pan! I had a rough week on the day job making greeting cards (oh the excitement!) and a drawer-full of stone fruit ready to kick-it...so I hit the kitchen for a project to relax.

This is sooo easy...and the genius of baking in cast iron... is that the cake basically 'steams' from the juices of the fruit below it. It's all so simple... butter, caramelized sugar, fruit and spice.

Ingredients:

about 5-6 ripes plums and/or peaches. washed, pitted, and sliced into 8ths. keep the skins on! it's good for ya.

3/4 c unsalted butter

3/4 c light brown sugar

1 c cake flour (not self rising)

1 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 c buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon dark rum (or rum flavoring)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 nutmeg nut

Directions:

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until the sugar mixture is bubbly, about 2 minutes. Arrange fruit slices in the skillet in a pretty pattern and continue to cook for 2 minutes, or until the sugar mixture turns an amber color. Watch this! So easy to burn and stink up the whole house with burned sugar. Sprinkle on about 1 tsp of the cinnamon and grate about half of the nutmeg nut. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover loosely with lid. (The mixture will continue to cook even though the heat is off.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, remaining cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the remaining 1/2 cup butter and the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Really, it's gonna look like it's not mixed...just let it go...less is more! It will make the cake tender if you baby it at this point. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, mixing at low speed after each addition until just combined. Stir in the vanilla and rum.

Spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple slices in the skillet. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool the cake in the skillet on a wire rack for 4 minutes only. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and, wearing oven mitts and working quickly, invert the cake onto a cake plate, keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together. Carefully lift the skillet off cake and replace any fruit stuck to the bottom of the skillet, if necessary. Viola! and fun to flip!

Some may add some ice cream, whipped cream, or other such dairy non-sense. I recommend pouring a little more rum over it and a big cuppa black coffee.

Peach Pie Love

Just pulled this baby from the oven...i friggin love peaches.

Using Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe for crust. Filled with local ohio peaches.

Pie filling: About 10 medium peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced into similar-sized pieces.

1 packet oetker vanilla sugar

1/8 c white sugar

1/4 cup white flour, sifted

1/2 nutmeg nut

1/2 lemon's juice

1/2 lemon's rind

about a 3/4 tsp cinnamon

follow recipe for dough. you can find in any of martha's baking books, and online!

i like to sprinkle coarse sugar on top for sparkle

bake at 400 for about 50 minutes.

wish it hadn't cracked...better luck next time. smells like heaven.

Bake Sale Treats!

A few of the cupcakes I made for the United Way Bakesale at work. Black forest, chocolate with vanilla, and vanilla/vanilla. The shot of the Lemon Cupcakes is out of focus. I really have to buck up and get a new camera!

Also, Oreo Truffles! First time I made them... inspired by the lovely Hannah Higgins' annual truffle and buckeye making.

They are so easy-breasy. Write me for the recipe.

Grilled Red Plums

I had a bag of red plums that was not gonna make it another day. Dinner! Very simple; halve the plums, coat with a little olive oil, then sprinkle on nutmeg and cinnamon. I bet some vanilla sugar would have really put it over the top, given it a little caramel crunch, but I've had enough sugar this weekend. Slap on the grill for 5 minutes and viola!

These are really very ripe, so they stuck a little and got a little sloppy. The color got so vibrant, this beautiful pinky-red, and the smell is SICK. So yummy.

To those that love ice cream (eh) I bet this would be good with it.

Why the olive oil? To help them not stick, and we'll I feel like I got a little talkin' to from Rocco over at Morta Di Fame (http://www.mortadifame.blogspot.com/) for questioning olive oil in dessert making.

15 pounds of frosting...

This is what 10 pounds of buttercream frosting looks like...the 5 other pounds are still in the mixer. i think i'm gonna need a bigger container.

Suuuuugar.

Trail Mix Cookies (aka, let's-see-what-happens-cookies)

Here's last evening's throw-everything-into-the-bowl and see-what-happens-cookies. Basically adapting the Toll House Recipe. They ain't half bad. Semi-sweet chips, almonds, pecans, dried currants, dried strawberries (um. yum!) and spice is key; fresh nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and I threw in a little black pepper.

I used a 1:1 ratio of shortening to butter, i think next time I'll try 1:2, more butter, less shortening. But the shortening does give them a little more tender texture so I wouldn't take it out completely.

Oh! and I threw in a few spoonfuls of oat bran. To kid myself on calling them healthy.

As my very funny friend said, "as lame Cookie-Monster would say...'cookies are a sometimes treat"

Pickle Success!

I gave the pickling of the cucumbers another try this week...and they turned out tasty and delicious, crispy and nutritious. (Nice and garlicky, I don't understand food without garlic.)

Recipe posted earlier, but using regular picking cucumbers!

Fourth of July Cupcakes

Butter-Almond Cupcakes with Butter-Almond Frosting, topped with Blueberries, Raspberries and Strawberry Stars

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself with these.