My other favorite NY food blog, Lunch Studio, was the inspiration for this Metro Market impluse purchase. Anna’s Ginger Thins are delicate and spicy.
Thanks for the idea.
The greatest form of flattery
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Tag Archives: dessert
Birthday Dinner, part 2
And it’s not even my birthday yet! (here is part one)
So here is the deal with the pie. Every year on the husband’s birthday, the husband’s mother bakes him a banana cream pie. Nothing fancy. Literally it is the same pie recipe she’s been making for him for the past 30+ years. It very well might have come from an issue of Redbook or the back of a Jello Pudding package. And the husband wouldn’t have it any other way. Within the last couple of years my birthday also made it to the “birthday pie” list. Now I get a pie on my birthday! Or the day before, which is fine by me. This is coconut cream pie (recipe from Martha, according to the MIL). A coconut filling layered beneath fresh whipped cream. Toasted coconut and shaved chocolate to top it off. Plus, a homemade crust that looks like a REAL crust (unlike some crusts I’ve known). Plus plus, I also received the pie plate that the pie arrived in as a gift. Beautiful stoneware from Crate & Barrel.
And, because we couldn’t just have pie for early dinner/late lunch/whatever it is you have when you eat at 2:30 in the afternoon, the husband made one of his (and my) favorite dishes that he pulls out for guests: gnocchi al romano. Rich cheeses, eggs and milk, magically/scientifically combined with semolina flour then baked/broiled to perfection. The 16 words I just used to describe the dish doesn’t do the actual cooking process any justice. Just keep in mind that on more than one occasion, when cooking this dish, has the husband hurled out expletives and thrown a few pans around the kitchen. It’s intense. But the results are sooo good. In the background of the photo below you can see the ragu bolognese sharing the plate, another specialty he’s prepared on occasion (the pics of the bolognese didn’t come out, but picture this).
San Diego Dinner
Yeah, so I’m kind of going backwards on the posting. Here is another meal from San Diego. Team meals are super fun for me. We stay in a hotel that has a kitchenette in each room, which is pretty crucial as we are all careful with what we are eating during a race weekend. We are a couple of blocks from a major supermarket, and we tend to go there once or twice a day. For dinner we gather in a hotel room/cottage/outdoor patio/etc. and we all bring something to the party. On the first night my hotel-mates and I made pasta salad to go along with the chicken we were barbecuing. (Sorry, no pic)
The next night was pasta night. “Jody, you’re cooking tonight” was the command from a certain rower, much to Jody’s surprise. As a Seattle firefighter she has the experience of cooking for large numbers. It was just pasta, but a lot of pasta.
At Jody’s request we went to the store bought and some supermarket-style brownies. These were extra-special because they were topped with chocolate icing. My teammates got into the spirit of this food blog I’ve been keeping and recommended that we “plate” this next one special.
Click here to see the lucky coxswain who got to take a bite. I suggested she replace the existing strawberry with a clean one, but she refused. Crazy girl.
Let me apologize again for the fuzzy pics. The lighting in the room was nil and I really dislike the look of the flash (see pasta pic above). I have to figure that one out. If you have tips/suggestions, please let me know.
mmmm … pâtisserie …
These photos are here to make you wish you could enjoy a chocolate eclair right now.
Cute Cookies
As you can tell from previous posts, I have a soft spot in my heart for cookies. Especially those from Italian maker Ambrosetti. Whatever the season or holiday, there is a cookie for it. I found these at MM, which I will be bringing into work tomorrow, to celebrate the (near) end of my jury duty stint. More on that to come. Back to the cookies. These are fun, festive and always tasty. Yes, I am bringing them to work, but the husband and I couldn’t help but give one a try. Don’t worry, co-workers, my hands were clean before I handled these for the three-minute photo shoot. No animals were harmed during the making of this blog post.
Like they read my mind … a pink bunny!
I could see how this yellow chickadee could be just a weird blob if you stare at it long enough.
Plus … Easter eggs:
How sweet it is!
Spring has (almost) sprung
It is beginning to smell like spring around here. We’ve got our rhodies beginning to bloom in the front yard, and we’ve cut some of the hyacinths that recently blossomed in our yard as well.
What better dish to celebrate spring than Pasta Primavera?
The husband treated us with this light pasta dish for dinner tonight. Whole-wheat rotini tossed with olive oil, peppers, broccoli and garlic.
I had a splitting headache, from what I believe was missing my coffee/caffeine fix this morning. So I stopped by the MM for a short latte and came home with dessert, a chocolate-dipped macaroon.
MWC from MM
Mexican wedding cakes from MM. Rich, dense and buttery.
Cupcake Mania
Cupcakes have been on my mind lately, especially since my trial-run of the Banana Cupcake recipe (hint: if you want to be super-popular at the office, go with chocolate. People look at you funny when you say ‘banana cupcake with amaretto buttercream”).
I watched with fascination this past weekend an episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” where he went head to head with a cupcake baker/rocker from LA. I was disappointed with the outcome, mainly because sometimes I think Bobby is a boob and I appreciate a good cupcake baker. Especially in HD. The rocker made a moist, decadent Red Velvet cupcake with sky-high cream cheese frosting. I felt cavities forming just watching. I also felt the drool dribbling out of the corner of my mouth as I watched. Mmmmmm …. frosting ….
The other cupcake news to inform you of is this recent article from MSN.com about the best cupcakes in the country. Sure, they mention the CR. And I’m happy and all, but I would love to try some of these other treats, liks the Fluffer Nutter from “Cake Fetish” and the Fat Elvis from “Saint Cupcake”. What is that commandment again? Thou shalt not covet another man’s cupcake.
And for a little dessert … a girl scout cookie story
As I was making noodles for lunch today I stood in the kitchen and watched the husband go into the freezer and take some Thin Mints from an already opened box. The only box of Thin Mints I have. Then, he closed the box and put them back in the freezer.
What the frak?
They’re in the FREEZER so we can save them for LATER. That’s what everyone says. Buy a lot of cookies. Support the Girl Scouts. They freeze really well. You can enjoy them a month from now.
Noticing my shock, the husband replied that he would have had some All Abouts but since I hid them he went for the Thin Mints. Nevermind that he also said the night before, “Out of sight, out of mind” and that having the All Abouts hidden would assist in getting his cycling training plan back in motion. He told me to hide them, then punished me by digging into the reserves.
So, I unhid the All Abouts (simply in the pantry/cupboard, on a lower shelf) so that he would stop eating my Thin Mints. Too little too late, though. I tell ya. You just can’t win.
One of the last All Abouts:
