‘Tis the season…
…Now let me at that discounted candy.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Things I’m Looking Forward To
1. 50% off Easter candy
Clearly I’ve broken into some before its gone on sale. I’m just going to eat more then.
2. The new season of Doctor Who
If you need me this Summer, watching this is what I’ll be doing.
3. The Royal Wedding
I’m setting my alarm for 4am so I can watch the complete coverage. You don’t believe me? Must not know me.
4. Making this cake again
I haven’t had a reason to make this in the past month and it’s starting to dig at me. Is it someone’s birthday? Would you mind a 1/2 eaten cake in the mail?
5. The Philly Marathon
I’m sure at some point this will turn to nerves but right now I’m just excited by the thought of running another marathon.
What are you looking forward to?
The Providence Plate Lickers Club’s First Outing
My favorite thing about Rhode Island is that it’s small. Like, super small. And the people are terrific, too. Setting up a local blogger’s dinner was a no brainer and after talking the talk for a while Erin, Becky, Lauren and I finally all got together at Garden Grille. I met Erin the week before my marathon for coffee, and Becky at the Healthy Living Summit and in DC for the National Marathon. Lauren and I had never met despite running the same half marathon and full marathon and living 2 miles from each other. Crazy, huh? Like I said, super small. 
I ordered the cauliflower steak mostly because I wanted to see what the heck it was. This actually turned out to be really good! I was sure that that garlic white bean puree was actual potatoes. Even after eating it I wasn’t sure exactly everything in there, which I like because if I knew exactly how to make it I wouldn’t want to order it again.
After dinner we went right next door to Wildflour to have dessert and talk more. Fact: It’s impossible to say no to a trip to Wildflour.
This time I tried the vegan/gluten-free pound cake that was staring me down. Normally I’m not a huge fan of cakey desserts but this one was just moist enough; the chocolate frosting didn’t even seem necessary(though it definitely didn’t hurt). Plus, ordering THE dessert twice in one week would have felt like overkill.
It’s always nice meeting other bloggers, especially when it’s to eat and not run. Can’t wait to do it again!
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pineapple Rings
As weird as it sounds, I don’t really like fruit. In fact, I’d rather have vegetables like roasted brussel sprouts for a snack instead of an apple. That’s just how my taste buds are. But I’m a sucker for a sale and had to buy a whole pineapple for $2.50 over the weekend since it was half off. But what to do? I’ve always been intrigued by the brown sugar cinnamon pineapple Whole Foods sells in prepared food and decided to try that. Fruit + more sugar? You really can’t go wrong.
Not only is this delicious, but it has an incredible depth of flavor for something that has just 3 ingredients and takes minutes to make. You could even make this for a party and grill it over the Summer, but it’s fine cold, too. Maybe I’ll start turning around to fruit(maybe…).
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pineapple Rings
Ingredients:
- 1 whole pineapple*
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar or turbinado sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*You could also use canned pineapple. In that case, make sure to drain off all the excess liquid before using/
Cut off the ends and side of the pineapple so that just the edible parts remain.
Cut the pineapple into 1/2 inch rings all the way through. Cut out the firm core of each ring with a sharp knife(alternatively, you could switch the order of these two steps; I just didn’t have a knife long enough that would work).
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss the pineapple with the sugar until all of the rings have been evenly coated. Plate and serve or refrigerate until eating.
This is a great refreshing snack. I wouldn’t quite call it a dessert because it doesn’t have chocolate, but I guess in some circles it could pass as a dessert, too.
The Wannabe Chef Grows Up(Just A Little)
If you follow me on Twitter then you’ve probably heard this already because I’m a bit of a blabbermouth. Bear with me while I tell the whole story.
This past weekend I went home to interview for a Summer internship at a restaurant near my house. The restaurant, an Italian Trattoria, focuses on locally sourced food, making everything in-house, and using the ingredients to their fullest. I had eaten there several times over the past few years and knew I loved what they made.
As soon as I arrived I got to see the ins and outs of the restaurant—the kitchen, the walk-in, the pantry, curing meats—and then it was time to work. I started by learning how to roll garganelli pasta(all the pasta is made in house and frozen). After that I worked with the salad and pizza station manager making lemon-thyme dressing and then putting out all the salads during service with odd jobs in between. After only 6 hours of cooking I probably learned as much as I ever have food blogging.
This is what garganelli pasta looks like(taken from Wikipedia). To make it, you roll the dough into thin sheets, cut it into 2×2 squares, roll the dough around a dowel diagonally and press it on a rigid surface so that it will stick to itself. Who knew?
At the end of the night we mutually agreed that this internship felt like a good fit for me; I enjoyed learning so much in a professional kitchen and the staff appreciated an extra set of hands. The fun thing about this internship is that the restaurant does a lot between prep work to service to pastries and I’ll have the opportunity to dabble in each.
How will this change the blog? Well, probably not too much, if at all. Obviously I’m not there to take pictures of the restaurant or what I make there but just to learn. That being said, I’ll probably bring a lot of what I learn home and will definitely be influenced and inspired by the dishes. Maybe I’ll even start a new segment called Secrets Of A Restaurant Wannabe Chef a la Anne Burrell(did you know chefs don’t wear their own pants in the kitchen? More on that some other time).
In case you were wondering, yes, we wear a hat during service and this is what it looks like. Black is slimming, which is good because Italian food is not.
If there are any burning questions left I’d be happy to answer them.
The Best Dessert Money Can Buy
I’m actually really hard to please when it comes to store-bought desserts. I often think “I could make that” or “I’ve had better” whenever I get a pastry from a bakery—or worse—a prepackaged dessert(Trust me, I know I’m impossible to shop for). But this dessert I would buy and buy again. It’s just that good.
The first time I saw the raw chocolate ganache at Wildflour, I wasn’t even that interested in it; the raw cheesecake was what I was actually there for. But after talking to the friendly staff, one woman said this was “heavenly” and another her “vice”. I was intrigued so I went for it.
I’ve never looked back.
Simply put, this is the greatest. It’s soft and smooth yet firm at the same time. It just melts in your mouth and has just the right balance of sweetness and bitterness for a chocolate dessert. It’s not really a “ganache” but there’s no other words to describe this except for amazing.
As for the recipe… I have no clue. I assume I would have to kill somebody who works there to get it(and even that’s barely stopping me from trying). My guess is that the ingredients and preparation are very similar to my raw vegan truffles except with a slightly different proportion and poured into a torte mold. There’s also a slight crunch to the bottom of this which makes me think coconut palm sugar is used as a sweetener. The top is finished off with a dusting of cocoa powder.
If you live near Providence I would recommend coming to try this. Also, if you live near Manhattan or Kennebunkport I would recommend coming to try this. It’s the best dessert money can buy and probably will be until I can figure out that damn recipe.
Oh, and don’t think that you’ll have the willpower to just eat half. You won’t.
The Elephant Walk In Boston
Today is a special day if you’re from Boston; it’s Patriot’s Day, also known as Marathon Monday. Growing up I always looked forward to having this one day off from school and watching the marathon coverage on every network station. Now that I don’t live in Boston, it makes me sad that I have to go to school and miss all that. But yesterday I was there with some excellent company and excellent food.
I met Matt and his family at The Elephant Walk on Beacon St. for a Sunday brunch. Matt is running the marathon today as his 8th or 9th marathon; he’s just that awesome. He also has a very cute baby who turned one yesterday(happy birthday, Holden!) so we just had to go out and eat grown-up food to celebrate. The great thing about The Elephant Walk was that the menu had lots of gluten-free(me) and vegan(him and his wife) options for us to choose from; eating out with food restrictions sometimes makes it hard to find something on the menu to eat but here we were all struggling to narrow it down to one option.
I got the prix fixe menu which started with a fresh fruit plate. It was a little plain but the pineapple was especially delicious and a good fresh way to start.
For the second course, I tried the S’ngao Mouan described as “Cambodian chicken soup with chicken breast, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, basil and scallion.” I had never had Cambodian food before but really liked how most of the flavors were drawn from citrus and herbs. This tasted especially light and refreshing with Thai basil which has an almost minty tone to it.
For an entrée I chose Poulet a la Citronelle “sliced chicken breasts sauteed with lemongrass, onion, red bell pepper and scallion, sprinkled with freshly roasted crushed peanuts.” This dish has a much richer flavor than the soup but was very good. The peanuts added a strong punch of flavor and the sauce was great, too.
I would definitely eat at The Elephant Walk again, or even any other Cambodian restaurant. I’m very intrigued by their flavors and food after trying them once.
And congrats to Matt and all the other Boston Marathon runners! Go ahead and eat a brownie sundae from J.P. Licks today for me.
Sweet Beet Hummus
This recipe would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. Or for a Pepto-Bismol themed brunch. After the last hummus recipe I wanted something that didn’t quite have the same overpowering savory taste of olives and garlic that instead would be suited for Springtime. This is definitely the kind of hummus I’d plop on a salad and eat with vegetables since the flavor is so light. It’ll definitely draw eyes with a color like that.
Sweet Beet Hummus
Ingredients:
- 2 cups chickpeas
- 1/2 cup beets, loosely cut
- 1/2 Tablespoon vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ~2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons honey
Pour the chickpeas into the food processor.
Add in the beets, honey, and salt and begin to blend. While blending, slowly pour in the vinegar and olive oil until the hummus becomes smooth and runny.
I’m not sure if it can cure nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, or diarrhea, but if you’re eating hummus to begin with that’s a pretty good start towards your health.
Honey Cashew Butter
I’ve probably said this before but I could spend all too much money on something like a fancy nut butter. Even plain almond butter or cashew butter runs a mean price tag when it’s so easy to make at home. I picked up a pound of cashews for $5 from the bulk bin and managed to make 18oz of “gourmet” cashew butter with a few ingredients on hand. I’ll never look back at store-bought again.
Honey Cashew Butter
Ingredients:
- 4 cups cashews, raw or roasted
- 3 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons neutral oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Add the cashews to a food processor and start blending on high.
When the cashew butter starts to form a dough ball, add in the honey, salt, and oil and continue processing. Stop sooner for a thicker consistency or blend longer for a smooth and runny cashew butter.
I like my cashew butter a little chunky so I didn’t puree it too much and it came out perfect. On a spoon it almost taste like cookie dough. This could be dangerous.
