Cupcake Coma

While I have long heard of the fabled cupcake coma - a woozy exhaustion that is provoked by over indulgence in sugary sweet delight - I never believed it to be true. I love cupcakes, and I especially love the sweet sugary rush one gets from each soft bite. How could a cute dainty cake put one into a saccharine induced swoon? After four bakeshops and four large cupcakes lathered with heaping mounds of frosting, the cupcake coma came over me.

I was fortunate enough to be invited by the lovely TaraMetBlog to the Chevy-sponsored Best of Cupcakes Los Angeles Tour. Our small group of eager cupcake enthusiasts was chauffeured by Chevy around LA to the city’s finest cupcakeries. It was a cupcake throwdown.

First stop: Crumbs Bakeshop in Beverly Hills. Of the unbelievably large and imaginative cupcake flavor selection, I chose the Pistachio cupcake. The cake was moist and spongy with the perfect amount of frosting. The frosting was just sweet enough and coated with chopped pistachios. I am not a frosting fan and I generally avoid the stuff but I ate this cupcake in its entirety.

For bakeshop number two we walked down the street to the well-known Sprinkles. Here I tried the classic Red Velvet. I thought the cake was firm yet moist, but the frosting was thick and overly sweet. As far as frosting goes, these are the reasons I avoid it.

Destination three was SusieCakes in Brentwood. SusieCakes is known for its Strawberry cupcake, which Martha Stewart gushes over. I had to try the Strawberry, but I also could not pass up their seasonal Gingerbread cupcake. By now I was starting to understand the causes of the cupcake coma.

The Strawberry cupcake was amazing. The cake was flavorful, but the strawberry frosting was mind altering. In the most complementary way, it tasted like a cake version of a pink starburst.

The Gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting took the cake! It perfectly captured the season. With spicy and warm flavors slathered with a silky rich frosting, it was my favorite by far of the cupcake tour.

Last stop was Vanilla Bakeshop in Santa Monica. At this point I was quickly fading into sugary heaven and I needed something to captivate me. Vanilla Bakeshop did not meet the challenge. I gave the cupcakes a cursory glance and was quickly taken by the beautiful Key Lime Cupcake. Unfortunately it was cold, dry, and tasted like a refrigerator. It didn’t help that the staff (especially the manager) were rude and unwelcoming. With the exception of our last stop, this was one tasty tour.

By the end of the cupcake tour I was gorged on sweets and ready for a nap.

http://www.carolineoncrack.com/2009/12/15/best-of-la-cupcakes-tour-with-bloggers-and-chevy/

http://www.happygomarni.com/2009/12/scavenging-los-angeles-cupcakeries-in.html

http://www.tarametblog.com/2009/12/best-of-la-cupcakes-tour-with-chevy.html

Eat My Oatmeal Sandwich Cookie

I am a procrastinator. I put things off until the very very last possible minute. I cannot do things ahead of time, even if I have the time to do them. Instead, I get lost in tweets or become painfully distracted searching and listening to new music on iTunes. It really is a problem.

True to form, when it came time for the Eat My Blog charity bake sale last Saturday, I had put off buying my ingredients and making my cookies.

The day before the sale I had to prepare everything, and I did not start early. Instead I cleaned the kitchen, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, I hung out with R; suffice it to say I procrastinated. Finally when I was ready to start mid-day I had not left myself much time.

The rest of my day was wholly consumed in whipping, mixing, sifting and baking- and I mean my whole day! Ninety-five cookies, two big bowls of frosting, and 30 mistake cookies later, I somehow pulled together my Oatmeal Sandwich cookies. Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator. But why change my ways when I always manage to pull things together in the end?

The oatmeal cookies were crispy and sweet. The filling was satiny and light. A little hint of (divulging a secret here) almond extract made it taste almost like ice cream.

Eat My Blog was a great success. It was a bake sale offering home made sweet treats from LA food bloggers. When Cathy of Gastronomy Blog sent me a message that I could participate in this amazing event I was elated. I was happy to help a good cause, all proceeds benefiting the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, I was eager too meet so many LA food bloggers I have never met, and most of all I was excited to bake.

last one!

There was an amazing array of confections and everything sold out! Thanks again GastronomyBlog, DianaTakesABite, Deliciouscoma, and G-ma's Bakery for putting on a great event! I can’t wait for the next bake sale. This time hopefully I won’t wait until the last minute to bake and I can actually get a little sleep.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies:

½ pound butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

3 cups uncooked oats

Filling:

¾ cup confectioner sugar

1 stick butter, softened

½ cup vegetable shortening

1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup

1 jar marshmallow fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

* mix ingredients with electric mixer until combined and fluffy

December: Battle Fennel

I do not like licorice. I am, however, fond of fennel. Eaten raw it has a crispy sweet bite - the taste of anise permeates through the mouth. When roasted it is leathery and earthy, like sun dried tomatoes. An often-overlooked vegetable, fennel has an unmistakable flavor.

When Mel of BouchonFor2 and Leela of SheSimmers announced that December was Battle Fennel – part of their monthly Beet n’ Squash food fight- I knew I had to participate. This was my chance to bring fennel into my own kitchen and come up with something delicious.

In the spirit of the holidays, I used Battle Fennel to bring together the staff at my workplace. Working in a restaurant, you don’t often get to experiment or really have fun with your ingredients. There is a menu to follow, guests to cater to, and a job to be done. I used this opportunity to take a short break from routine and to get the place abuzz with the thought of fennel. A few people didn’t even know what fennel was. Together we tasted, we chopped, we whisked, and we learned.

I already had a general idea of how I wanted to prepare my fennel. I wanted to keep it simple and light. The fennel was kept raw for a fabulously unspoiled Fennel Salad with Fuyu Persimmons and Apple Cider Thyme Vinaigrette. Together the staff decided to add Caña De Oveja cheese to compliment the salad. This sheep’s milk cheese from Southeast Spain is creamy and lusciously soft with very pronounced citrus notes. Building up layers one by one, we fanned the paper thin slices of fennel, dressed the wedges of crunchy sweet persimmon, dotted it with the buttery cheese and sprinkled it with fresh thyme. The result was a salad of incredible depth. The flavors of licorice from the fennel, the hints of clove found through the persimmon, and the lemony tang of the cheese all combine to wash over the tongue in one succulent and flavorful bite. It is the perfect way to enjoy fennel.

Playing off of the flavors of licorice so strongly associated with fennel, I decided to make candied fennel. During the holidays there are candied fruits galore, so I thought what better holiday treat than a candied strip of fennel. And it works! I boiled the thin strips of fennel in simple syrup for five minutes. I laid the soaked fennel on a rack to dry. After a few minutes is was sticky and ready for coating. I rolled it in vanilla sugar and I left it to crystallize. The end result was fantastically sweet and toothsome, the most ordinary vegetable now transformed into a holiday treat.

Fennel & Persimmon Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette (adapted from Chicks with Knives ):

1 fennel bulb, cut in half and sliced paper thin

1 Fuyu persimmon, seeded and cut into wedges

less than .15lb Caña De Oveja cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar (or more to taste)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pear Tarte Tatin- So Good It Hurts

It was so good it hurt. A buttery, flaky crust with a thick sweet caramel coating. Lying in between these two decadent layers were toasty soft pears.

Recently, this blog has really inspired me to spend more time in my own kitchen and cook. I invited some friends over for dinner to enjoy a little Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving. I mean if it was so good the first time why not have it again, right? So that is what we did. There were no leftovers left to enjoy but I was able to whip up a simple Thanksgiving-inspired dinner.

For dinner we enjoyed turkey cutlets simply seasoned and sautéed. To accompany we had maple brown sugar yams and roasted balsamic brussel sprouts. The real star of the meal was the Pear Tarte Tatin for dessert.

You will have to get an early start for this dessert, but it is worth the wait. The end result includes textures and tastes that deceive and surprise you! Between the three of us this 9’ dessert hardly seemed like enough.

Cut.

Share.

Enjoy the sweet pleasure.

Ode to Joy (the Baker)

I have developed quite a fondness for Joy the Baker. From her sweet and candid stories to her mouth-wateringly beautiful pictures, Joy’s blog runs the gamut of ingredients often inspiring me in the kitchen.

Case in point: what can you do with a bunch of zucchini? Joy knows: make some pancakes. So that is exactly what I did. These zucchini pancakes were surprisingly simple to whip up. They make a great starter dish or a nice light dinner when you are just cooking for yourself.

Need something to tide your Thanksgiving guests over while the turkey is in the oven? Make some zucchini pancakes and your guests will thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving.