Baked in Brooklyn is one of those New York bakeries I’ve been dying to get to. Unfortunately, I haven’t made it there yet, and now that we have relocated to the Left Coast, who knows when I’ll get to go back to the Big Apple!

Yesterday, I was surprised by mail-order Baked brownies not because of the knock at the door where this box of chocolatey goodness was waiting for me, but because I happened to look at our bank account that morning where I saw the purchase my husband had made. I tried to keep this from him, but failed miserably. He’s very good at seeing through my ridiculous attempts at being deceptive.

Either way, it was such a wonderful surprise! This particular Sweet & Salty brownie has been featured on  The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Salty Goodness on the Food Network. Ready for my review of this “famous” brownie?

While the name suggests it’s a mixture of salty and sweet, I found that it was mostly sweet and rich. It was a good brownie. I also realized these weren’t fresh out of the Baked ovens so I expected them to not be mind boggling to begin with. Did I say it was a good brownie? A really good brownie? Well it was, but if I’m being perfectly honest… not necessarily the best brownie I ever ate. But wait…

In an effort to preserve this box of six rather large brownies until my Mom and sister come to visit on Wednesday, I decided to throw the box in the fridge last night. I also put one brownie in the freezer for extra preservation in case the others go bad. Go bad? What am I saying? I mean in case they get eaten… by me… the Sweets Fiend!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right! O-M-G! This is the best freakin’ brownie ever! Why the change of heart you ask? These brownies are so moist and fudgey. I ate one straight from the fridge in all of it’s cool, chocolatey awesomeness. Seriously good. I’ve never had a brownie straight from the fridge, but I’m never going back to those subpar warm ones. (I’ll probably get hate mail for that jab.)

This is the best brownie I’ve ever had. Chilled, of course.

Thanks to my amazing husband for making my chocolate fantasies come true. You are the best!

Order your very own brownies here. Next, I’d like the Baker’s Choice box!

Recently, my husband and I decided to try Cafe 222 a couple blocks from our new place. Little did we know it was featured on an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate where Bobby Flay raved about the Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast.

We arrived around 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon last Saturday. Had to wait about 10 minutes or so. It’s a small place so you’ll have to wait, but had a super friendly and helpful staff. While we waited, I started looking over the menu only to see a TON of things I wanted try!

My husband ordered the “famous” Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast, but really wasn’t impressed. I think he said, “Bobby Flay doesn’t know what he’s talking about…” or something similar. Maybe it was an off day for the french toast, but it was gone before I even could ask for a bite! I guess it wasn’t that bad.

I settled on Eggs Italia, but soon called the server back to order a Sweet Corn Waffle as well. My, oh my, was that ever a good decision. While the Eggs Italia were tasty, it was far too much food for me. I would have preferred the dish sans bread and potatoes. There was nothing really special about them. The eggs were scrambled with goat cheese, tomatoes and pesto. Quite tasty.

Now, let’s talk about that waffle. It was so very good. Basically, a cornbread waffle. Yep, that’s right. I drizzled just a little syrup over it as I munched away, and I my mouth was quite pleased. I would most definitely get that again.

Overall, we liked this place. It’s fun with mostly outdoor seating, and it’s very affordable for being a downtown San Diego restaurant. We’d try it again. Good for breakfast if you are in the area.

Yesterday, while exploring downtown San Diego, we stumbled up Heavenly Cupcake. Mind you this was right after we just finished Pinkberry. Now, I approached the cupcakes with caution, knowing that it would take all my will power to resist their charms and advances. I believe I could have resisted had I been alone, but Dustin was while me. As soon as he saw the Vanilla Caramel, he was in cupcake lust. Naturally, if he gets one, I have to try one too, right?

Let me just say, I am a HUGE fan of chocolate and orange together, and this Orange Chip Cupcake did not disappoint. The cupcake itself (sans icing) was so moist and tasty all on it’s own. The icing only enhanced the flavors adding a richness. I haven’t been eating sugar much lately so I took it easy on the icing. Even so, I was in a major sugar coma by the last bite! YUM!

We even got a Pupcake for Bonsai!

Heavenly Cupcake (Get it? Topped with little halos.) is located at 518 6th Avenue between Island Avenue & Market Street.

Many other flavors look and sound so good. Can’t wait to try them all. Good thing we live here now. I would hate to have to eat all of them at once!

I love cabbage. It’s cheap. It’s healthy. It’s versatile.

I’ve been making this recipe for months now. It’s so quick and easy. This has become one of my favorite ways to eat cabbage! Thanks, Martha Stewart Living Magazine, January 2010.

It’s such an elegant way to serve cabbage. Slice a few lemon wedges for guests to squeeze over the finished dish. Would be fabulous served with a whole roasted chicken. Maybe add another veggie side or a fresh spring salad. Yum!

You can find the recipe for Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Olive Oil and Lemon here.

The only addition I made to mine was to use McCormick’s Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder. It’s the perfect combination of seasonings for this lovely, mild vegetable.

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How will you be spending your holiday weekend? Are you making yummy food?

I’ll be spending the weekend with my family and trying out these recipes for Sunday Breakfast. Updates to follow!

Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

Zucchini and Green Chili Breakfast Casserole

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Happy Easter Easter/Passover Everyone! Have a great weekend…

I adore avocados! Don’t you? So creamy and fresh. I love them sliced with a dash of lime or lemon juice and a little salt & pepper. Simply delicious!

I also love them on a crostini. Here I’ve topped my crostinis with a little sour cream, homemade salsa verde, diced avocado and cilantro with a squeeze of lime juice. The flavors are so lovely together. The creaminess of the avocado and sour cream with the crunchy toasted baguette slice… heaven!

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Have a great spring weekend! I’ll be up to even more spring cleaning… so far, I’ve deep cleaned and organized the kitchen, rearranged and updated our bedroom and home office, and made two trips to drop off donations, maybe one more in our weekend outlook. Feels good to purge!

I had never made a pot pie before. As much as I love the comforting idea of a pot pie, it seems they have to be super fattening to be tasty. Not so! This healthier version is a nice comforting winter treat.

I’d come across a recipe in a recent Health magazine for a Chicken Pot Pie filled with leftover roasted root vegetables. Of course, I didn’t have what I needed. Not to mention, the chicken I prepared turned out to be bad (as in make-you-sick bad). At this point I was so frustrated and completely snowed in. We’d already walked to the grocery store a mile away… twice. I wasn’t about to trek out in two feet of snow…again!

Discouraged that my first pot pie would be less-than-perfect… I finished it anyway. I hate to waste food. To my complete surprise, this Yummy Veggie Pot Pie turned out to be absolute perfection! With every bite, I turned to my chef husband with such pride and satisfaction waiting for his stamp of approval. Even he loved it!

Yummy Veggie Pot Pie

WHAT I USED

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed, cut to fit dish(es) (I used about 1/3 of one sheet)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% Lactaid milk
2 – 3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup roasted zucchini, cut into small cubes
1 cup roasted parsnips, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 fresh sage leaves
1 large egg white, beaten

WHAT I DID

1. Place cubed zucchini and parsnips on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with kosher salt & pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tender. Depends on size of your cubes. Once veggies are done, raise over temp to 425 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, cook butter and oil in medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add flour, cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Continue whisking while adding milk in a slow stream; bring mixture to a simmer. Add thyme Simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.

3. Remove thyme sprigs. Stir in next 5 ingredients (through pepper). Spoon mixture into ovenproof dish. Take thawed puff pastry from fridge and cut piece to fit your dish. Work quickly, minimizing handling of pastry. Press pastry to outer edge of dish to seal. Place 2 sage leaves on top. Brush with egg white.

4. Bake pot pie on a baking sheet in center of oven for 17-19 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot!

*Our puff pastry was a little underdone on the inside so you might bake a little longer, but keep an eye on it. You don’t want it to burn!

**I used a dish to yield 2 larger servings. I did not have individual dishes. This would make 3-4 1-cup servings if you have individual dishes.

Printer-friendly version of Yummy Veggie Pot Pie!

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is! Can’t wait to make this again. Feel free to use any combination of veggies. This would be great with so many varieties. Winter squash might be nice. Mmm…

Happy Weekend everyone!

This is one of my favorite meals. It’s incredibly easy, but so elegant and tasty. What more could you ask for? I have to thank my husband for introducing this recipe to me. He made it for me once or twice, and I was hooked!

Is this a galette or tart? We’ll call it a galette. Sounds fancier!What is so great about this recipe is that you could substitute an vast array of ingredients for the filling. All sorts of vegetables would be so lovely nestled in this rustic galette. I cannot say that I have tried any other combos in this galette since I’m totally in love with the tomatoes!

Rustic Tomato Galette
2 Meal Portions / 4 Side Portions

WHAT I USED

1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, or homemade
2-3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices, seeds removed
Small handful of fresh herbs, basil or thyme are personal favorites
1/4 cup Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise for brushing
McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder

WHAT I DID

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

3. Place pie crust on baking sheet. Store-bought is easier since there is no rolling involved.

4. Brush the pie crust with some of the mayonnaise.  Season with kosher salt, pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning grinder.

5. Working from the center of crust, begin placing your tomato slices in layers. Season each layer with kosher salt, pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning grinder as well as some of your herbs. If you love basil, use more. This is up to your tastes. It will add lovely flavor, don’t be shy!

6. Continue layering tomatoes and seasoning until you’ve used up your slices. Season with kosher salt, pepper, Italian Herb Seasoning grinder and remaining herbs.

7. To close up your galette, start by folding the two sides onto tomato mound. Press into the mound gently, try not to tear the dough. Next, fold up the front and back pieces. You can simply fold it up, or try to overlay the pieces to make a nice design. It doesn’t matter, it will taste great either way! Try to close it completely, but if you have too much filling, don’t worry. It’s just as lovely and tasty if it doesn’t cover your entire tomato mound.

8. Brush a good amount of mayonnaise over the entire galette. If you’ve got an opening, brush onto tomatoes as well. Be sure to get into all the cracks and folds. This will add flavor and give your galette a glistening brown appearance. Season with kosher salt, pepper and Italian Herb Seasoning grinder.

9. Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating once during cooking. Juices will run from the bottom, but no worries. Allow to rest and cool for 15-20 minutes. You can slice and serve from the baking sheet or carefully place entire galette onto a lovely platter.

This makes two nice dinner portions or four side portions.

Want to print this recipe? Click here.

Have a great weekend!

I have really been craving soup these past couple weeks. Maybe it’s all the snow we’ve been getting and chilly temperatures! I happen to love butternut squash. What better to use it for than a soup?

I found this recipe from Bon Apetit, but realized I didn’t have all the ingredients, nor did I want to use heavy cream or milk. I did however have similar ingredients (i.e. sub parsnips for carrots, celery root for celery). While I was unsure of how this would turn out with the substitutions and my own spin, I decided to press on. Boy, am I glad I did. This soup turned out to be amazing!

Butternut Squash & Roasted Garlic Soup

WHAT I USED:

2 heads of garlic, tops removed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup peeled, chopped parsnips
1/2 cup peeled, chopped celery root
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

light sour cream for garnish

WHAT I DID:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place each head of garlic on it’s own foil sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly. Bake about 40 minutes, or until tender. Cool in foil.

2. Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, parsnips and celery. Cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir mixture so it does not brown. Add squash, broth and 2 tablespoons sage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 25 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. While soup is simmering, unwrap peeled garlic. Squeeze into a small bowl, discarding papery skins. Mash garlic with a fork into a smooth paste.

4. Stir garlic into soup. Using a hand blender, puree soup until smooth. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.

5. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with a dollop of light sour cream, remaining sage ( if desired ) and a little kosher salt and black pepper.

** Soup can be frozen ( without sour cream ) up to 4 weeks. Freeze in individual portions for quick meals. Thaw in refrigerator. Reheat on the stove over medium low heat.

This is a fabulous soup perfect for a simple meal at home or a night of entertaining. A perfect first course! Serve with bruscetta for dipping or your favorite yummy bread. Garnish with a dollop of light sour cream to counter the sweetness of the squash. Yum!!

I’ve never used celery root before, but it worked very nicely with the meal. It seemed to be milder than celery to me. Maybe it just married perfectly with the flavors so I didn’t notice. It was easy to work with and a nice substitution. Don’t be afraid to try new ingredients. You might be surprised!

Helpful Link:
How To Roast Garlic

Recently, I tried making my own pizza dough from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. It turned out so nicely that I have made it several times since! It’s so rewarding making things like this from scratch. I simply make a batch and freeze half to use at another time. It’s worth the little effort to have something fresh and tasty. Here is a similar recipe to the one in the book. Frozen Pizza Dough.

For this Margherita Pizza, I use one container of Domino’s Marinara sauce (we had one leftover), fresh mozzarella slices and fresh basil leaves. First, I roll the dough out. I like mine on the thinner side. Sprinkle cornmeal on your cookie sheet. Place rolled dough onto sheet. Brush with olive oil, top with marinara, mozzarella slices, basil leaves and salt & pepper. I also grated a little asiago (or any hard cheese) I had in my drawer, just to add a little more flavor. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Throw a few more basil leaves on top and enjoy!

If you don’t want to make your own dough, buy some to use. You could also make your own pizza sauce. I just haven’t gotten around to perfecting that. Might be next on my list of things to learn.

This is such a tasty dinner. It has become a staple in our home. Try it! There are so many combinations of flavors out there. I favor simplicity, but these would be super tasty with meats if that’s your thing.

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We’re enduring a record-breaking snowstorm here in the Baltimore-D.C. area. Will post updates of the snow! It’s just lovely.
Have a warm and happy weekend!

While in El Paso, we went to this sushi place called “The Sushi Place” which specializes in a Mexican Roll, among other tasty off-beat rolls. My favorites were the The Dragon Roll and The Sushi Place Roll. You’ll find the descriptions below the photos. Can’t wait to visit again for this tasty sushi! If you’re in El Paso, try it!

The Dragon Roll :: Shrimp Tempura, carrot and cucumber, covered with eel, avocado, masago and eel sauce. Isn’t it lovely? So colorful.

The Mexican Roll :: Manchego cheese, avocado, surimi, seasoned jalapenos and tampico paste. Covered with chicken breast. SMOTHERED in Sriracha Sauce!

**WARNING** MAY CAUSE TEARY EYES AND SEARED TASTE BUDS **

The Sushi Place Roll :: (tempura) Cream cheese, avocado, crab, shrimp, furikake, chives and seasoned jalapenos covered with eel and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Don’t be afraid of sushi! It simply means “wrapped in rice”. Doesn’t have to be raw. You can always find some interesting (fully cooked!) rolls out there. Have a great weekend!