Half-hearted Whole Food

My sister: slicing the pizza

 I have a love/hate relationship with Whole Foods. It’s overpriced and pretentious, but gosh darn it if they don’t have the prettiest food. Time was short when preparing for my grandmother’s birthday. So my and sister and I headed to Whole Foods (3 short blocks from Grandma’s house!) and had some fun.

I first put in our pizza order because they use a real food fired oven, so it takes a while to make it fresh. I got their whole wheat dough pizza topped with mozzarella, lemon, garlic, and artichokes. It was FANTASTIC.

Their desserts are hit and miss. The cakes are surprisingly cheap and beautiful, but one little measly macaroon is $2.00. I ended up getting a tiramisu cake and declined their offer to write “Happy Birthday” on it since there was already a design on it. This was also a big hit at the birthday dinner. My grandmother kept saying “Now, this- This is something special!”

I got a side of lemon garlic cooked broccoli rabe, but it left much to be desired. So we used some mustard greens I picked up to make a spicy salad.

Tiramisu (NC honey in the background)

LOVE

These are the things I think are worth the splurge at Whole Foods: making fresh almond or peanut butter with that nut butter pooping machine; any of their produce; a couple of individual bottles of local beer; their pizza (sorry, New Haven); the hot bar for a healthy, yummy lunch; Brown Cow cream top yogurt (just trust me.)

Folks waiting for meat

HATE

Things I avoid at Whole Foods (and you should, too): Seafood (I’ve always been disappointed); anything from the middle aisles unless it’s for a gift and it’s too late to shop on Amazon; deli and cheese (there are great local places that I’d rather support for the same products); handmade soaps (these are displayed everywhere, but are so overpriced. Buy them at your local farmer’s market.)

Be still, my tart

Note to self: assemble before drinking

I used my sister and brother-in-law as guinea pigs last Friday night. I made a dessert that could have either been really great or terrible. The strawberry basil tart video on the PBS website is a wonder in itself, but I just had to make it.

I created my own version of it. I needed time to cook a 3-course Chinese themed meal, so I took some short-cuts on the pastry. I used store-bought pastry dough, thus skipping the part when I'd put basil in the dough (but also, that didn't sound too tasty.) Using my sister's fresh chicken eggs gave the custard a nice richness. I infused my milk with basil and strained it. Then very carefully whisked my ingredients, but STILL had a slightly broken custard. It wasn't noticeable in the tart, but alone, I felt defeated.

This tart, I think, was a success. However, I think only the flavor really was successful. I didn't spend the time I wanted to on the presentation (and I was three glasses deep into a bottle of Champagne.) I'd make it again, but use a homemade almond infused dough and egg beaters to mix the custard to create a smoother consistency.

Dinner Tourist

My mom waiting to serve and dad taking photos

Thanksgiving was special this year because I got to visit my parents in my hometown with Tom. I hadn’t been home since I moved to CT two and a half years ago. I felt like a tourist, researching local breweries in Ashville and Boone and stopping in antique shops to buy Christmas gifts. It made for a memorable holiday; especially when we all sat down to eat.

 

My mother and I take pride in our Thanksgiving meal. We use the best ingredients- everything is homemade. Since Tom is a restaurant owner, I wanted everything to be perfect (which also resulted in a lengthier prep time). We used an apple cider glaze for our turkey and the gravy from the turkey came out a dark wine color as a result. It was perfectly cooked. The white meat was tender and moist and the dark meat was juicy and really flavorful.

While we cooked, we sipped Madeira and snacked on cheese from Caseus. I decided to mix it up a little when it came to our vegetable dish. I found a recipe for jerk spiced Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and chic peas. I first crisped up the veggies in a pan of oil, and then baked them at high heat with honey, butter, salt, and pepper. Then I sprinkled the spice mixture all over to give it that jerk flavor.

 

Our sweet potatoes were really small and skinny from the local farmers market. My mom meticulously peeled and scraped the baked potatoes, then put them in the food processor to make them nice and smooth.

The salad had a pomegranate seed dressed with very thinly sliced red onion over arugula with mandarin orange slices.

I found a recipe for homemade sweet yeast rolls that I had rising in a bowl while we cooked. Just before we started to set the table, I popped them in the oven, first coating them with heavy cream.  

 I made a pecan pie with a chocolate crust and my mom did a traditional pumpkin pie. When it was time for dessert, I made some whipped cream with sugar and vanilla.

Eye for a pie

Hot outta the oven!

It felt as if summer took forever to end, but fall is finally upon us. I’ve been raking leaves, making soup, and wearing scarves. Sunday Tom and I went apple and pumpkin pickin’! We had a great time and got a lot of apples. I had recently made a caramelized apple upside down cake, but was at a loss as to how to use these newly picked apples. Finally I thought, “Why get crazy? Just go classic!”

In the oven it goes!

So I made the quintessential apple pie. I whipped up a pie crust first. Then I put Tom to work peeling slicing the apples. I tossed the apples in cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and little vanilla. Then I filled my pie crust and poured a whisked egg over it. I used leftover pie dough to make a (sloppy) lattice on top. The lattice was brushed with butter and sprinkled with Sugar in the Raw (my new pastry staple!)

The pie (thank goodness!) came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. It’s not the prettiest of pies, but one taste and looks are no longer important. I cannot wait to make this again; it’s so simple and tasty. 

Here’s how I made my crust:

½ cup butter

Bringing the dog pumpkin pickin' and gettin' a lick!

2 tablespoons Crisco

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus 3 tablespoons for rolling)

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons iced water

 Mix flour and salt together. Dice butter and add to flour mixture along with the Crisco. Use a potato masher to get a crumbly texture. Then add the iced water and form into a ball. Flatten into a 5 in. disc and place in freezer for 10 minutes. While you wait, butter the pie pan. Roll out dough on a floured surface, keeping dough in a circle shape. Roll dough onto pin then unroll it onto the pie pan. Gently push dough into pan and crimp edges. You can either bake at 350 for 10 minutes or not (I like a soft lower crust, so I don’t pre-bake my crust.)

Please, sir, may I have s'mores

Last weekend my sister hosted some cousins of ours from France! I'd never met them, but we became fast friends. What better to bring people together (with a language barriar!) than food! Tom invited everyone to Caseus for their annual BBQ night.

They loved tasting Southern American food. It was all new to them. We had smoked brisket sandwiches, pulled pork burgers, ribs, cole slaw, sugary baked beans, and potato salad. We also had a flight of some local  beers and a bottle of wine from America. To top it all off, we all shared a mason jar filled with strawberry shortcake and a chocolate chip s'mores dessert served with a jar of milk (pictured.)

American cake

I got inspired to make this 4^th of July cake after seeing a picture of it online. I thought it looked so garish and delish at the same time. I had to make it!

I bought two boxes of vanilla cake mix and one box of red velvet cake mix. I added blue coloring to one of the white cake batters and used parchment papers to keep them from sticking. I made a quick summer icing by whipping together Cool Whip and sour cream.

It was a nice treat to eat after New Haven’s fireworks were canceled five minutes into the show before of rain. Cake and cocktails for everyone! USA! USA! USA!

Cake pop flop

Almond Joy cake pops

I’ve always loved admiring Molly Bakes Cupcakes’ cake pop photos, but never thought of making them myself. That all changed when Tom got me a cake pop pan for my birthday! I decided to make Almond Joy cake pops- my own invention. I toasted sliced almonds with sugar and butter, then smashed them into smaller bits. I combined brownie and chocolate cake mix to make a dense cake.

The cakes turned out great because of the great design of the pan (which can be found at Target.) However, my icing really pooped the bed! I make great ganache icing, but I have to dip the cake pops into a powered sugar icing to give them a smooth effect. I ended up using an entire bag of powered sugar in my pot of hot milk and butter, leaving me a hot pot of buttery milk. If I had two more bags of sugar, I probably could have pulled it off, but then I would have enough icing for 4 sheet cakes…

Cut to me finding an emergency container of whipped cream cheese icing. I mixed in some vanilla and coconut extract (I’m not a fan of shredded coconut.) I used a butter knife and my fingers to spread it on the pops. I felt ridiculous, but it looked okay after rolling the pops in the nuts.

I admitted to Tom that cake pops are something that needs to be practiced. And there's got to be a better way to make the sticks stay in the pops. What holds them in? Hope? I need to do more research...

Good merit for my carrot

Dig in!

My favorite part of carrot cake is the cream cheese frosting. So I thought what better dessert to make for Easter than carrot cheesecake? I made the crust out of candied pecans and graham crackers, which I mixed with butter and baked in my spring form pan for 15 minutes. The recipe calls for grated carrots cooked in butter and sugar. This part took the longest, as zesting a carrot is no easy task! Then I added ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to my cream cheese batter to give it that warm carrot cake taste.

As always, my cheesecake came out of the oven covered in cracks (anyone have a secret of how to avoid this?) I call them my 8.5 Richter scale fault lines! So I covered the top in a whipped cream cheese icing. Worked great, don't you think? 


I got to work with something I’ve never worked with before: marzipan! This almond paste is popular to make shapes with as it’s like play-doe in texture. I added red and yellow food coloring and molded the paste into little carrots. Then I dipped a knife into cocoa powder and made little marks on the carrots to make them look more real. Finally I added parsley leaves on top and, voila! I managed to make a beautiful carrot cheesecake to be enjoyed by Tom’s family (they loved it! Success!)

When life gives you lemons…

My grandmother's limoncello

Steps 1, 2, and (cheers!) 3 of limoncello

I tried my hand at limóncello recently and I had interesting results. My first batch was increditly bitter and my second perfectly sweet. After the first batch, I paid a visit to my grandmother. She was excited about my first effort at limóncello and pulled out a big bottle of her own that was dated 2007. It was a yellowish-amber color and tasted so smooth, I could barely detect alcohol. Soon she and my grandfather were unveiling copious amounts of homemade liqueurs and concoctions she’s made in the past and never enjoyed. Box by box, she revealed glass bottles filled with different colored and labeled liquids.


I never knew what a petit chimiste my grandmother was! We smelled or sipped some that weren’t labeled so identify them (what a hard job!) I learned most of the liqueurs were made for the purpose of ridding a cold. She said her mother, my great grandmother, would let her sip on a black currant or raspberry liqueur so when she awoke, all that ailed her would vanish. Today, we know that wouldn't work, but I’m happy to reap other “benefits” of these wonderful bottles. She only used organic fruit from her own garden and the youngest bottle is dated 5 years ago! The smoothness is unreal, no alcohol is detected until I felt warmth in the pit of my belly.

There are all sorts of limóncello to try. My first batch was half grapefruit, while my second was half navel oranges. I hear making it with just limes is spectacular and I can’t wait to try it. Cheers!

Chocolate by the bald man

Max Brenner loves himself. His face is literally everywhere in his chocolate themed restaurants. Their tag line is “Chocolate by the bald man,” and he has several of his chocolate meccas around the world. Tom and I went on a whim for brunch recently in their Boson location and it was quite an experience. Almost all items have chocolate in it somewhere, so you’re bound to get your fix.

A chocolate martini served with a "re-fill" and biscotti.
That is my "hug mug" of hot cocoa behind it. 

Other than the super slow service (understaffed), we had fun. There’s a mini chocolate shop in the front where there are unusual items and a chocolate bar where you can get everything from hot cocoa to a chocolate martini. Their cups for hot chocolate are called “hug mugs” because you’re suppose to “hug” your hands around it and smell the aromas as you drink it. Does it work? I’d say, yes!

Tom and I tried one of their many chocolate alcoholic drinks, a hot cocoa, an omelet, and onion rings served with a chocolate ranch sauce. The omelet could have been more seasoned and priced a little lower (no sides or toast), but the drink and onion rings were wonderful.

I got cobblered last night

I was inspired yesterday to make something fresh and fruity since the weather was beyond beautiful! Paula Deen's sons posted a light version of strawberry shortcake. I took that idea and made a light cobbler. It was 68 and sunny with a light breeze when I went to the grocery store for my ingredients.  I used strawberries, rhubarb, and McIntosh apples.

My kingdom for ice cream

The item that caught my interest in their recipe was the "reduced-fat buttermilk baking mix," which I took to be Heart Smart Bisquick. It's about half the calories and fat of regular Bisquick. I know you won't believe me until you try it, but I really can't tell a difference! What a revelation! Bisquick has many possibilities for recipes, including classic biscuits that are perfect for a Sunday brunch.

Any time I make a cobbler, I like to add spices. I added ginger and nutmeg to this one. I also added two tablespoons of vanilla and a bit of starch so it wouldn't fall apart. I baked a bottom crust into the pan first, then poured in my sliced fruit. I like to drop little mounds of Bisquick on top so it's not too bready (it WILL rise and be more like a cake if too much is used.) Then for a crumble top, I use quick oats, butter, flour, and brown sugar. Continually stir with a fork until lots of little crumbs form. Spread crumbs over the top of the cobbler then bake for about 45 minutes (time may vary depending on depth of pan.) Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Risqué flambé

My sister’s in-laws were in town from Texas for a few days so culinary tensions were high in our house, as were the expectations. We had just finished a lovely dinner of steaks grilled by Jeff with steamed green beans and sautéed asparagus when all of a sudden we realized there was nothing sweet at the end of the tunnel! Molly and I appreciate a good dessert, so we’ll usually have at least one on hand when guests are over. Without a moment to waste, I excused myself from the table and scoured the kitchen for ideas. Eureka! Molly had recently told me a story of a celebrity chef that held a dinner party. His dessert didn’t arrive or his dog ate it. I’m not clear on the details. Anyway, he made his go-to dessert when in crisis, which was flambéed bananas. This was my solution. It was perfect because we had bananas, brown sugar, and a cognac on hand. I whipped them up in no time at all and had Molly turn out the lights. I brought them in, set them alight, and graciously received my “ohs” and “ahs.” This was shortly followed by mention of diabetes and my homemade Grand Marnier whipped cream tasting too alcoholic (no such thing!) Nevertheless, the whole experience taught me a valuable lesson. When life hands you lemons, make Limoncello!

A mouthful of sin

My beau and I went raspberry picking at Bishop's Orchard in Guilford on Sunday after tasting some lovely wine at the picturesque Chamard Vineyards in Clinton. I put those raspberries to work in some dark chocolate muffins. Because I was making them a day ahead of their consumption, I added a bit more butter, which in turn made them taste like a mouthful of sin.

Nothing washes down sinful food like Trinity Farm's coffee milk that I buy every week at Wooster Square Farmer's Market. The unassuming box beside the bottle is the SoNo Baking Company vendor's custard tart that was rich and chocked full of specks of vanilla bean.