Strawberry Shortcakes

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Joey

My friend Hito has been crashing at our house for a bit after graduation while he is applying for jobs and figuring out in which city he is going to live. After finding out that he loves strawberries and has a major sweet tooth, I decided to finally try making hand pies from Melissa Gray’s All Cakes Considered. Disaster! The hand pies turned into a greasy mess. While they looked beautiful after frying, the grease-bombs were undercooked-dough a few millimeters in. I will have to try to figure out what went wrong as every recipe I’ve used from this book previously has turned out wonderfully.

To redeem myself from embarrassment, and use up the remaining pound of strawberries in my fridge, I made strawberry shortcakes. I made a half batch from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

This has to be my new favorite shortcake recipe. The cakes come out slightly craggily, almost cloud-like in appearance and have a a marvelous crust that gives to flaky, perfectly moist biscuit texture. They were a hit with Hito, and even Huey, who is mostly indifferent to dessert, enjoyed them. I will definitely make these again before the summer ends.

The search for a good burger: Beachside Café

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Joey

The search for a decent burger continued at Beachside Café. After waiting in a long line to order I placed an order for the portobello burger with added cheese and roasted red peppers. What arrived was a beautifully plated burger and generous side salad. And the order of chili fries we’d gotten on the side. I also sipped down their Jamaica lemonade, a lemonade mixed with hibiscus tea—very delicious. The fries and salad were both a highlight. The burger, while tasting good, was inadequate in several ways. The mushrooms were allowed to collect a large amount of liquid in the cooking process that soaked through the brioche buns. The buns, while beautiful, didn’t have the heft and density to stand up to the mushroom au jus. The portobello itself, while delicious, didn’t give the mouthfeel I seek when I seek a burger. The search will continue.

3/5

St. Patrick’s Day Brownies

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Joey

So St. Patrick’s Day came around and I felt it was a good excuse to bake something chocolate and green. I don’t normally use much mint flavoring in my cooking or baking, but how could I resist? I heavily modified some recipes I found in order to make this bad-boy rich fudge brownie with crème de menthe cream cheese layered, and then a semi-sweet chocolate ganache blanket on top. With a plated brownie in front of me I can smell the crème de menthe and the intense chocolate—this brownie requires a tall glass of milk.

Continue reading →

The search for a good burger: Calibur

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Joey

We went to Calibur for a burger today after a series of failures earlier today. The first restaurant we went to had changed their hours from their website’s posted hours. The second restaurant, just down the street made us wait in line for 10 minutes to order and then informed me that they were out of the only thing I’d wanted to eat from their menu. So, we took off to Calibur.

I ordered their house veggie burger with mushrooms, sautéed onions, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, and their special sauce. I also ordered their veggie oil fried French fries which comes with their strange house-ketchup that tastes and looks more like marinara than the condiment we love to dip fried food into. At least the fries themselves were crispy. I would have gone back and asked for a different sauce, but the establishment seems like they would have been petty and charged for a side sauce despite a single burger and fries coming out to $15 before tip at a fast-food counter-ordering restaurant. They actually have several signs harassing customers to pay $1 for refills on soda. It seems like it would be less hostile and petty to just say no refills and avoid expecting people to have cash to throw into the refill-jar.

After a brief wait the very friendly runner brought my burger and fries to our table. While it looked quite lovely upon arrival, their odd grain and rice based patty with random mushroom chunks and garbanzo beans can’t hold itself together. The patty is rather flavorless and the texture leaves much to be desired. It is very disappointing to get such an afterthought of a burger at an establishment that otherwise seems to pride itself on quality ingredients.
2/5 &#x1F951 &#x1F951

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Joey

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I’ve been ignoring this blog for a while. My apologies! Tonight I made my little ode to New Orleans, étouffée with some blackened vegetables and smokey mushrooms collards. And I didn’t forget the king cake. This was my first attempt at the étouffée and the king cake. Not feeling 100% with the results, but they did still satisfy some of my Fat Tuesday cravings.

I will try to work on the recipes more, so I can share them later.

Finally! Gougeres!

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Joey

After much frustration from a botched attempt, I was finally able to make gougères that weren’t a total embarrassment. Still not up to the beautiful standards of Tartine Bakery gougères, but a satisfactory simulation that can satisfy my need for airy, cheesey, peppery goodness without airfare.

Easter Dinner

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Joey

Today was early-Easter with the family. Too much food, but falling asleep will be easy after cheesy-potatoes and cheesecake and fresh-strawberry pie.

I contributed deviled eggs. I was not allowed to explore a new recipe, but instead required to pull out a tried combination of rosemary and capers.

The Deviled Eggs

my mom prepping dinner with my brother in the background

Cheesey Lunch

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Joey

Lunch was at Mission Cheese where I had the delicious Double Mushroom Rainbow sandwich:
Marieke Gouda, chanterelle & crimini mushrooms, with arugula citrus spread. Paired with a Izzie clementine sparkling soda.

It was very good, but the bread was a bit burnt in a few places. Overall quite satisfying.

Flight VX 0759