Entenmann's Experiment

We had a unique little project going on in the Hamptons this weekend. Nate and Neil's friend Ben is a blogger in L.A. (as in a real blogger, peeps -- his blog gets read by thousands of people who don't know him!). Entemann's sent him a a baking kit and a gift card to try some of the recipes in their new cookbook.

We hit the supermarket on Friday evening to buy our ingredients...

A chapter in the book is called "Almost Homemade." We decided to make the Toffee Coffee Pie...grind up chocolate chip cookies for the crust, mix them with melted butter, and press into a pie plate.

Neil and Nate were dogsitting Molly's brother Oliver this weekend, so we had a kitchen full of canine crumb-seekers...

 The baked crust is sprinkled with toffee bits...

 Spread a pint of softened coffee ice cream on top, add more toffee bits, and freeze until firm.

It was a pretty tasty ending to our dinner of roast chicken, mushroom risotto and salad. (Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of dinner. These are all from Ben's camera.)

Next up was a chocolate and orange bread...

Also in production: cookie truffles. Grind chocolate chip cookies in a food processor and blend with softened cream cheese.

 Roll the cookie and cream cheese mixture into balls, chill and dip into melted chocolate.

While the cookie balls chilled, Ben started on the brownie bite cheesecakes.  We were having friends over for Neil's birthday, so I suggested making miniature cheesecakes instead of one big one. The complimentary muffin tin came in handy.

The cheesecake's crust is made of crumbled brownie bites...we didn't have a rolling pen, so Ben improvised. Unfortunately, the brownies stuck to the makeshift rolling pin...

 Plan B worked better.

 The cream cheese filling went into the blender...

 More brownie bits went into the poured filling.

 And, finally, a treat for Neil's birthday -- lemon meringue pie.

Whew! That's a lot of baking. So, how was it?

The orange chocolate loaf was the clear winner, though the cookie balls were a close second. (Personally, I prefer my friend Kevin's version with Oreos.) I'd put the coffee toffee pie in third place, though the crust was a bit hard. The lemon pie was way too tart for me, but Neil enjoyed it. We all had a bite or two of the cheesecakes and agreed they tasted exactly like what they were. We threw them in the trash.

Not sure I'll be repeating any of the recipes...frankly, if you're going to spend your calories on pre-fab baked goods, why not just enjoy them as they are and save yourself the time and messy cleanup?

Check out Ben's blog for his official report...

Just another walk to work...

Look what I saw on 51st Street on my way into work on Wednesday! Some of the larger cast members from the Christmas Spectacular needed a little fresh air before their morning performance...

Saturday Dinners

A few restaurant notes of late...went with Nate and Neil last night to the Breslin at the Ace Hotel before a birthday party. It wasn't on my radar, but Neil knew it was the same chef/owner as the Spotted Pig. As the NYT put it in its June 2010 review:

This is the Breslin on a Thursday night, a warm, crowded and vaguely British barroom off the lobby of the Ace Hotel: a bedlam of gastrotourists and scenemakers. It’s Hogwarts for hipsters.

...

Nowhere in New York right now is the fetish for pork fat and dairy flavor more on display. April Bloomfield, the chef and an owner, is exhausting gallbladders nightly.


Ha, I didn't read that until now, but I couldn't agree more! It was really rich, heavy food -- kind of like the Spotted Pig. How do these places stay open all year? I only like this kind of fat food in the winter...
Anyway, we had several appetizers, including the scottish egg, and some kind of fried lamb dippers. There were some amazing brussels sprouts, I believe with caramelized onions and pancetta (it's been almost two weeks, forgive me).

 I had the blood sausage with egg, but it was way too rich, and I could not finish it...

The boys both got the lamb burger, which they each loved -- even though Neil remembered after he'd ordered he's not particularly fond of lamb. Nevertheless, they'd heard it was a signature item, and it met/exceeded their expectations.

At the party, they had macarons instead of cake. Our friend Ryan told me macarons seem to be "the new cupcakes." Believe it or not, I went home and read the exact same thing in Time magazine! So funny. Neil and I polished off a half-dozen between us and probably could have eaten more if we hadn't been minding our manners. They were so good!!

Actually, the next day I made a point of stopping at a bakery in SoHo that was mentioned in the Time article (Francois Payard Bakery), but their macarons were not as good as the ones at the party. I think the secret is serving them slightly chilled...

At $2.50 a pop, this is probably something one should learn to make but (a) that seems like a disaster waiting to happen and (b) it's more fun to try all of the different flavors.

Moving on...last Saturday night was dinner at Olives. Meghan and Drew were in town! Drew surprised her with a weekend getaway and made plans so she could see all of her besties. How sweet is he?? I was in charge of making a reservation...naturally I consulted with Neil, who'd recommended Olives when he and Nate ate there several months ago.

Christine had the pork chop...

 Meghan had the chicken...

 Christine and me...

 Meghan and Sophie...

 Jim (Sophie's hubby, who did a killer job on wine duty) and Drew, plus our sweet waiter...

My scallops on a turnip cake. Interesting! Kind of like a potato cake, but a unique flavor. All in all, it was an outstanding meal! There were some great apps, including two killer pastas. FYI, they have a pasta tasting for $59/person that I'd love to do some other time.

 Loved this dessert! Perfect for a group -- a plate of cookies and small treats for sharing.

Afterwards, Sophie and Jim had to rush home to relieve their babysitter, but the four of us went for a nightcap. Meghan and I were twinsies, so we made Drew get our picture...

As I've said before, I continue to be so delighted with the number of friends who come into town and keep my social calendar full!

Giving Thanks

My gratitude list, Thanksgiving 2011. In no particular order:

1. My roommate, Kurt, who opened his home to a virtual stranger. In addition to keeping a roof over my head, introducing me to his friends, treating me to theater outings and being an amazing cook, he is also an adventurous eater. Case in point: this lamb stew I concocted and served over grits before I flew to Quincy for the holiday.

2. My mom, who helped to cultivate my love for cooking and culinary adventure, and who cooked several tasty meals for me while I was home. One of my favorites was this salmon salad, which she makes often with the barbecued salmon recipe I taught her.

3. Old friends and their new babies! It was pure joy to meet my friend Anna's daughter Sarah Page. What a gift that last Thanksgiving we celebrated Anna's wedding to Jim, and this year I got to meet their little girl. (I enjoyed holding her so much, I didn't even mind that she puked a little in my hair.)

4. Pop-in visitors. This is one of my favorite things about going home -- the unexpected visit, like Anna's dropping by with Page.

5. Family meals. We had several great meals over Thanksgiving, with blood relatives and friends who feel like family. (I would venture to say Uncle Howard is grateful himself my sister and I evolved from holy terrors behind the wheel of our go-cart to Visa-packing grown-ups who buy his dinner!)

6. High-quality meals are everywhere. We had a most impressive dinner at Mozaik in Tallahassee. I love marveling over the way food has changed since I was a child. My rabbit tagliatelle and Korean barbecue were both excellent. I would also like to note I was in fact able to purchase quinoa at the grocery store in Quincy for my wild rice pilaf. Who would have thought! Never underestimate your hometown Winn Dixie. (FYI, they also stock Manischevitz. We're strill trying to figure that one out.)

7. Cooking for friends. I had so much fun making a kick-ass pumpkin pecan cheesecake with candied pecans for Thanksgiving. It was a huge hit! Just as awesome as it looked on the cover of Southern Living. Too bad my own sister didn't get a slice. Looks like a remake is in order.

8. Trying new things. Leigh Ann and I shared a b.b. gun as kids but never really did much real shooting. Over Thanksgiving, cousin Ashley helped me try my hand at firing a pistol. 

Ready! Aim! Fire! Grateful for a year full of new discoveries in 2011 and excited to see what's in store for 2012.

It's always good to go back to Quincy and remember that matter how far I roam, there's no place like home.

Philly-licious

Last week I had to make a quick trip to Philadelphia to supervise a printing project. Even though I had to leave Penn Station at 6 a.m., it turned out to be a day well spent. We were able to correct an error that would not have gone over well with the big bosses.

Mission accomplished, I headed into the city for my first-ever real Philly cheese steak.

After some research, I went with Jim's. The men behind the counter were awesome! So personable and fun.

I went with the more authentic Cheez Whiz. My sandwich maker informed me he likes to go for a Provolone and Cheez Whiz combo. 

I really wanted to eat only half of it, but it was way too good for that! The guy at the register even asked if I needed a rubber band to hold my hair back while I chowed down. I think the cheese steak eating record at Jim's is around 12 or 15, so they probably would have kicked me out if I hadn't finished my one.

Tummy full, I strolled up the street through the historic district.

Checked out the Liberty Bell...my favorite part was the photographs of international leaders like Mandela and the Dalai Lama. So cool to know that the bell is a global icon of liberty, not just an American one.

Since my train didn't leave until 2 p.m., I had enough time for a quick tour of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted. 

On the train in and out, I enjoyed a glimpse of the "Rocky Steps" at the art museum and was amused I recognized them even though I've never actually seen that movie.

On a side note, those steps served as my very own "Look, kids -- there's Big Ben! Parliament!" moment, as a cabbie took me on a very bizarre incorrect route to the printer, despite the fact I'd helped him plug the address into his GPS.

He finally agreed to take me back to the train station and waive the charge...and the next cabbie actually once worked at the place! Proof that you can have a small town moment anywhere.

By the way -- next time, I am totally going for "double Whiz" on my cheese steak.

Shanghai Soup Dumplings

The best thing I ate in China in 2009 was an order of soup dumplings in Shanghai. It was one of my favorite parts of our trip...our friend James led us down a narrow street to a tiny restaurant he'd read had the best soup dumplings in the city.

Remembering the experience one day, I decided to google "best soup dumplings in New York," which led me to this place.

Not exactly off the beaten path, even though it's on a side street. However, I was doing a little holiday elf duty for someone in Chinatown, so it was easy to combine the errands.

Seeing the 1996 New York Times review posted in the window made me think I'd read about this place in Ruth Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires. (I just spent 20 minutes on Google trying to see if this was where the dinner with Punch Sulzberger took place -- I was fond of that chapter, since it reminds me of the time I got to sit by Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. at dinner when I worked for one of his television stations. I'm still sorry I turned down his invitation to fly from Huntsville to Florence on the company jet!)

Anyway, back to Joe's. I'm pretty sure the place stays packed, but it was about 4 p.m. on a Saturday, so I easily got a seat at one of the communal tables. The friendly couple seated next to me advised that the dumplings are listed as "buns" on the menu.

I polished mine off and enjoyed them, but they were definitely not on par with the ones I had in Shanghai. Those had a crispy bottom, which added a nice element of texture. Oh, well, definitely worth the trip, nonetheless.