Pumpkin Spice Latte

I think there is a cult-like devotion towards the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. I don't understand it. Don't get me wrong - I love coffee. I love Starbucks. I love lattes. I love pumpkin pie, nutmeg, and cinnamon. You'd think I'd be the perfect candidate for this spicy fall treat, right? But alas, I think the pumpkin spice latte (affectionately known as the "PSL" by fans), is horrible. I don't know why. I tried to give it another shot last year, but I could only swallow about 1/4 of my drink. I had to throw the rest away. Sad, isn't it? I'm looking forward to Peppermint Mocha season, which starts after Thanksgiving.

I've been cheating

I wanted to separate my food posts from my non-food posts, so I created a separate food blog. (Specifically, it's a baking blog). It's at www.marthabaking.blogspot.com. No, my name isn't Martha, but I'm trying to focus on Martha Stewart recipes.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Cake Love

There's a VERY popular bakery / cake shop in the DC area called Cake Love. I've tried a couple of their cakes, and they're not bad, but they're not even close to being the best I've ever had. Their cupcakes are downright terrible. The cake is super dry, and the buttercream frosting is unmemorable. The last time I tried one of their cupcakes, I couldn't even finish it.

I really don't understand why this place is so popular. I can only imagine that people buy their cupcakes because of the owner's biography (he's a former government attorney) rather than the quality of his baked goods.

If you're in a cupcake mood, I highly recommend these pina colada cupcakes. They're fun, festive, and addictive. I made them as dessert for a tiki party I hosted last weekend. I got the recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, Good Things Catered. I made them tiki-themed by decorating them with colorful umbrellas, but you could also decorate them with straws.




Pina Colada Cupcakes Wearing Party Hats

Ingredients
2 1/4 c. sifted cake flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
2 large eggs
1/2 c. fresh or canned pineapple, diced and patted dry
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
Splash of dark rum (I used Meyer's)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped vanilla frosting
1/2 bag of unsweetened coconut flakes (you can also use shredded coconut)
Maraschino cherries, drained and dried

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with baking cups.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine rum and coconut milk in small bowl, mix to combine and set aside. Place sugar and oil in mixer and mix until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and coconut milk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla and fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap the pans once on counter top to remove air bubbles. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. When cupcakes are completely cool, frost with whipped vanilla frosting (this acts like a glue for the coconut) and roll tops in coconut flakes. Top each with a cherry. Serve with paper umbrellas for a fun presentation!

I adore avocados

We often cook simple Mexican food at home, especially quesadillas, because they're so tasty and easy to cook up for weeknight meals. I refer to quesadillas as "Mexican grilled-cheese sandwiches," which I think is a pretty accurate description. You can mix and match all sorts of different ingredients, depending on what you have in your fridge or pantry.

Lately I've been buying avocados from Trader Joe's, because they're very reasonably priced, but they only sell them in packs of four. I love avocados, and this veritable glut has forced me to branch out beyond my standard guacamole recipe. Last week, I decided to change things up a little bit and make an avocado and tomato salad to accompany a new quesadilla recipe. I totally winged both recipes, but they turned out really well. These are definitely "keepers" in our house.

The Judge's Avocado-Tomato Salad
1 semi-ripe avocado, cut into large chunks
1 tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1-2 TBSP cilantro (to taste)
juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 chopped jalepeno pepper OR a few dashes of habenero pepper hot sauce (I like Melinda's brand)
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended. Serve with tortillas, chips, or anything else!








Smoked Gouda and Caramelized Onion Quesadillas
(adapted from an Epicurious recipe)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups grated smoked Gouda cheese
6 10-inch-diameter flour tortillas

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, brown sugar and vinegar; sauté until onion is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle cheese over half of each tortilla, dividing equally. Sprinkle sautéed onion over cheese. Season with pepper. Fold other half of each tortilla over cheese mixture.

Brush heavy large skillet with some additional melted butter or oil. Place over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook quesadillas just until brown spots appear, brushing skillet with butter or oil between batches, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Transfer quesadillas to heavy large baking sheet.

Bake until tortillas are golden and cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Pasta Puttanesca

I am a registered carb-o-holic, so I'm always looking for new pasta recipes. This recipe for pasta puttanesca is a triple-threat: delicious, easy, and healthy! It's one of my favorite weeknight meals. I like to serve it with a mixed green salad and some crusty Italian bread. Oh, and a glass of red wine, of course!

Pasta Puttanesca
(Adapted from a recipe by Ellie Krieger)

8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup pitted chopped Kalamata olives (you can substitute other olives)
2 tablespoons chopped capers
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably "no salt added"
3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmaggiano Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the basil, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine. Top with grated cheese.

New format

I changed the format/style of my blog, because the old format was doing some weird things with my photos. This is one of the few styles that didn't crop all of my Shutterfly pictures, so I'm sticking with it for now. I don't know what Blogger has against Shutterfly, but they are not happy with each other right now.

The rednecks among us

A couple of weeks ago, the hubz and I decided to check out our local county fair. Funnel cakes, fried Oreos, and Ferris wheels, oh my! What better way to spend a warm summer afternoon?

Our county has a moderate-sized farming community (although much of our farmland has been taken over by urban/suburban development in recent years). I've been to a few agricultural fairs in my time, so I was expecting to see some rabbits, goats, and maybe a few cows. However, I was not prepared for the racing pigs. Yes, I said RACING PIGS. Piglets, to be exact. (There were also racing ducks and racing baby goats, which were adorable.) In case you're wondering how they convinced the pigs to run around a track, I can answer your question with one word: CHEETOS. Genius, right? I mean, I know plenty of PEOPLE who would run around a 20-yard track for a handful of Cheetos.

To further support the redneck element, I should also mention that the pigs were named after NASCAR drivers.... Dale Earnhardt Jr., Richard Petty, etc. (Sorry, those are the only two NASCAR names I know offhand, and the only reason I know Petty is because I always confuse him with the singer, Tom Petty. I guess I don't have much redneck cred.)

Anyway, here are some photos of the pigs:



Coming around the bend, it's Earnhardt, then Petty, then... whoever!

Snarfing down some post-race Cheetos. Mmmm tasty!

And here's a photo of the racing ducks:




I know what you're thinking. Racing pigs, racing ducks, you've seen it all before. You want to see something new! Something exciting! Something that literally makes your jaw drop and your eyes bug out of your head. Well, my friends, I think I have what you're looking for. You will never guess what else I found at my local county fair.

A toilet decorating contest. Yes, you read that correctly. There was a contest to DECORATE TOILETS. And you know what's even more shocking? Some of the toilets were actually pretty darn cool. (Can I get some of my redneck cred back now?) See for yourself....




You can clearly see the SpongeBob toilet in the background, but my favorites were the two politically-themed toilets in the front. What a brilliant analogy. Let's take a closer look, shall we?



The toilet bowl says "Privy to Change," with money flushing down the drain. It's brilliant! Brilliant, I tell you!

I guess this is what they mean when they say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"

The Great Chocolate Cookie Experiment of 2008

I recently read an article in the NY Times about their search for the "best" chocolate chip cookie. Anytime you put the words "best," "chocolate," and "cookie" together in the same sentence, you immediately have my attention. The food writers at the Times concocted their own version of the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, which they finalized after trying several different variations. I am a confirmed cookie-a-holic, so when I saw this recipe, I was all over it.

If you know me, you know that I don't do anything half-assed when it comes to cookies. So, I decided I needed to conduct my own cookie experiment. In addition to the NY Times cookie, I needed a "control" cookie to serve as a comparison. What could be better than the tried-and-true Nestle Toll House cookie? Voila, a cookie experiment was born.

After compiling all of the ingredients, I woke up on Sunday morning and headed to my kitchen. One of the main differences between the two recpies is that the NYT cookie requires you to make the cookie dough in advance, and then refrigerate it for 24-72 hours before baking (36 hours is ideal). The Toll House cookie can be baked immediately, so I started with that. Everything went well, until I took the cookies out of the oven. They were oddly flat. They had spread way too much in the oven. They tasted good, but they had a very fragile, crumbly texture. I've made these cookies before, and I never had this problem in the past. What gives? After consulting with the internet, it seems like my butter was too soft. (The recipe says "softened butter." What else was I supposed to do??) For the second half of the batch, I lined the cookie sheets with parchment paper, which helped alleviate the spreading problem. But I still had two dozen crumbly, weird-looking (but tasty) cookies. So much for taking them into the office to share with my co-workers. Hubz suggested that we eat them crumbled over vanilla ice cream. I saved a dozen of the normal-looking cookies for my taste test.

(Yummy balls of cookie dough; Oddly-shaped Nestle Toll House cookies)

I also prepared the dough for the NYT cookie on Sunday morning, but I had to wait until Monday night to bake them. Unlike the Toll House cookies, this batch baked perfectly.

MMMMM COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, momentary lapse of reason.

After personally eating a dozen cookies from these two batches, I decided it was too dangerous to keep them all around the house, so I brought two huge containers of cookies into work. I asked my co-workers to vote on their favorite cookie. They were willing to make the sacrifice to help with my scientific research.

Based on the results of my double-blind controlled research, I have concluded that the the New York Times cookie wins the Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment of 2008! Take that, Nestle Toll House! Personally, I think these are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten. Refrigerating the dough does something magical to its chemical composition. Using dark chocolate and sprinkling the cookies with sea salt puts them over the top.

Here's the winning recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html

Published: July 9, 2008
Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

A sure-fire crowd pleaser

This is possibly the funniest video ever. If this doesn't make you laugh, then I've got nothing. Two words: narcoleptic dachshund.




I know this is "filler," but my next blog post will detail the Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment of 2008, complete with photos and recipes, so it's taking me some time to put it together.

Public bathing

I live in an urban area - technically, it's a suburb, but it's an urban "up-and-coming" suburb. There's a town square that has been developed with shops, restaurants, bars, a couple of movie theaters, and a green area. In the middle of the town square, there's a large courtyard with an equally large fountain. This fountain sits directly in front of a long row of shops and restaurants that have outdoor seating. In a perfect world, it would be a nice, relaxing place to sit and do some people-watching.

Kids love fountains. I get that. They're drawn to the splashing water like moths to a flame. When I was a kid, I'm sure my parents had to grab me and stop me from jumping into a few fountains. But they did stop me. My parents never dressed me up in a swim suit, grabbed a few water noodles and beach towels, drove downtown, and encouraged me to splash around in the public wishing well. Because that would have been wrong. And very, very tacky.

So I'm baffled why local parents have decided that the public fountain downtown is a swimming pool/playground for their kids. Every weekend during nice weather, this fountain is full of kids dressed in swimsuits, splashing and running around. It's one thing if you let your kid indulge himself *once* and let him splash around, or maybe just get his feet wet. But to actually premeditate it, dress your kid up in a swim suit, and take him there for the sole purpose of playing in the fountain? And even worse, sometimes the ADULTS also dress up in swim suits, so they can splash around, too. No no no no no! What ever happened to kiddie pools and backyard sprinklers? Or even community swimming pools? (I know we have several around here.) I know I shouldn't take this sort of thing personally, but every time I see it, it pings my tacky meter. Maybe I'll understand it when I have kids.


(photos courtesy of the New York Times)