One last Spain post for my foodies…

I just wanted to share some of the food I DEVOURED in Spain for those of you who live to eat…

I promise I’ll be quick!

A simple lunch…

Followed by a decadent dinner…

Tomato and goat cheese salad

Beef carpaccio with sheep’s-milk cheese

Tuna carpaccio with pink peppercorn and dill

Filet mignon with foie

Vanilla bean panna cotta with black currants…

Me pre-FACESTUFF

Me in action!

Grilled calamari for another yummy lunch…

A little scampi party…

Tasty tapas…

That is all! I hope you salivated at least a little!

Next up: LONG overdue Nashville Trip posts!!!

Strawberry Butter Cream Birthday Cupcakes!!

I made Strawberry butter cream cupcakes.

With fresh farmer’s market strawberries that tasted like candy!!
They were so fragrant and sweet!

Some had Sprinkles, some were chocolate cake, some were vanilla cake, some had chocolate chips….All made with fresh strawberries and LOVE!!!

I went crazy…

Mmmmmmm…Strawberry butter cream is so scrumptious!!!

XXOO

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Buttermilk Pound Cake.

Dieter’s beware. This is the real deal knock-you-over-and-steal-your-purse kind of pound cake.

(Hi Tam, sorry about your purse)

This recipe is definitely not good for your body, but I swear on a pile of unicorn puppies that it is undoubtedly amazing for both your mouth and your soul.

UNICORN PUPPIES!!!!

I don’t know why I decided to try to master pound cake.
I never even think about pound cake until it’s being shoved under my nose at holiday dinners.
I mean, I liiiiiiiiike it. But it just seems so boring by itself.
Is this one of those moments where I’m supposed to value simplicity?
Let’s see about that…

I took the buttermilk pound cake recipe from Alton Brown’s recipe here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/buttermilk-pound-cake-recipe/index.html

I have made it a couple of times with varying results.

When I followed Alton’s recipe baking one hour at 375, the middle was still squishy but the top was browning far too quickly and I had to lower the temperature to 325 and bake another 15 minutes with aluminum foil over the pans.

NOT FUN.

I take it personally when things I make don’t turn out as expected.
(Mom, this is exactly the reason I don’t want to do this for a living, but I appreciate your continued support)

When I baked the pound cake in two loaf pans, I lowered the temp to 350 and added an extra 15 minutes and it came out perfectly, but when I tried a bundt cake or tube pan, the bottom was about 90% cooked.

Damn it.

Well, whatever. Baking is trial and error. It’s just that I don’t get this bad boy until my birthday…

(Again, Mom, thanks for the support!!)

So, for now I’m having to hand mix it all (I know…boo hoo) and it takes twice as long since Alton’s recipe is an exact science and you TOTALLY have to follow it to the letter (except for the baking temperature issue…I’m not sure about that…maybe my oven is messed up)

I’m stubborn, and I realize that I could just wait to try to master this when I have my magic stand mixer, but I just never listen to anyone.

Especially my inner voice.

This recipe is also different from Alton’s in that I took the liberty to add both a cup of mini semi-sweet morsels as well as two tablespoons of cinnamon!!!
SO MUCH FOR BORING. HELLO FANCY DELICIOUS!

(If you like your pound cake less cinnamony or chocolatey you can always half that amount, or omit it altogether, but I’d like to go on the record and state that I don’t think you should)

So here is the picture of the bundt pan about to head into the oven:

This turned out so-so. Almost perfect. But NOT PERFECT. But delicious. It got eaten.

Remember it is also important that all of your ingredients are room temperature. I don’t know why, other than Alton Brown says so. So do it.

It’s Science or something.

Oh!! Here is a gorgeous picture of one of the uber-successful loafs that were quickly devoured by loved ones:

This loaf was split between my Mom and Dad as well as my best friend Abigail and her wonderful family …And she FINALLY HAD HER BABY BABY!

If you don’t remember, she accompanied me on one of several of my journeys to Monell’s…

http://gimmeyummy.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/review-monells-germantown/

Is he not the most adorable little thing ever???????

Okay. Calm down ovaries. There is time left.

Back to the sweets…
So…look at that right there…I mean, why would you ever want less chocolate in anything?

Trust me. Make this.

REVIEW: Nestle Delicias Coconut Paletas

Last Summer while I was driving along the Northern California coastline with some friends we stopped and had the most DECADENT Coconut Paletas! Seriously. They made my eyeballs dance in their sockets.
I have had local Paletas that taste just as lovely, but have not had the same luck trying freezer section store-bought versions.
I’ve tried about 4 different kinds of store bought Coconut Popsicles/Fruitbars/Paletas this past summer and had zero success finding anything that could match the creamy deliciousness of my Big Sur Paletas experience.
Until Now! Hello Nestle Delicias!

Holy shit these are fantastic!
I have only found these at one specific grocery store around town and when I go I buy several boxes just in case they vanish.

They are sweet and creamy with real chunks of coconut throughout! So refreshing on a hot summer day!

And they are surprisingly low fat clocking in at 3 grams of fat per bar with 130 calories.
A perfect dieter’s dessert!
According to their website, Nestle Delicias Paletas comes in 6 other tantalizing flavors: Vanilla, Mango, Strawberry, Strawberries & Cream, Pineapple, and Tamanrind!!
I want all of them!
I’ll be looking hard for these other flavors so stay tuned!

In the mean time you can learn more at Nestle’s website: http://www.nestle-delicias.com/Paletas.aspx

Caramel Brownie Stonehenge

The guys in the kitchen really love the Host staff here at Sambuca and often treat us to little delightful creations such as the amazing and adorable Caramel Brownie Stonehenge we received on Saturday!

Look at all the love & creativity that went into that little gem of a dessert!
Thanks guys! It was fantastic!

Blackberry Cobbler

P1080367, originally uploaded by Jamie Susan.

This was a dessert feature we had last night at Sambuca and it may be the most delicious and comforting dessert I can remember ever eating in my life. (except for that cracked out delicious Apple Pie I freaked out over: http://gimmeyummy.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/holy-crap-best-pie-ever/ )
This Heavenly Blackberry Cobbler was made with local organic blackberries, pistachios and almond biscotti.
It was sweet, tart, crispy, crunchy, buttery and decadent in every way that I needed it to be.
Perfect with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!
Unfortunately I do not have the recipe but I am going to get it ASAP.
BELIEVE THAT!

Sambuca Restaurant: http://www.sambucarestaurant.com/

The Most Perfect Cookie

P1080187, originally uploaded by Jamie Susan.

I’ve been trying to perfect my chocolate chip cookie recipe for months now. I am happy to report that I’ve pretty much achieved cookie perfection. I follow the standard Tollhouse cookie recipe:
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=18476
tweaking it ever so slightly by adding more chocolate chips than the recipe calls for, adding dark chocolate chunks as well, using one egg, and one egg yolk, and by refrigerating the dough for 48 hours before baking.
Baking them for 15 minutes @ 350 degrees has yielded me a cookie that once slightly cooled, is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are also soft and perfect several days after baking!!

REVIEW: Starbucks ice cream aims to enslave us all.

This past week I’ve seen quite a few food blogs mention briefly the new flavors of ice cream launched by Starbucks and I knew I had to investigate.
Specifically with my mouth.
And more specifically the Caramel Macchiato flavor.
I’m not as big of an ice cream eater as I was in my younger years….not sure why…I just never really crave ice cream the way I did when I was a pothead teenager.
Go figure.
Anyway, in the last 5 years, when I did purchase ice cream for my personal consumption, it had been one of the two divine Starbucks flavors: Java chip or Chocolate Covered Almond.
The packaging looked like this:

And more importantly, right before it went into my mouth it looked like this:

And then one day ::POOF:: GONE.
I wanted it and couldn’t find it anywhere. **Insert pouty face**
That was over a year ago.
I have had to say goodbye to a lot of favorite foods over the years and assumed that perhaps no one had truly appreciated the most delicious ice cream to ever exist or it had simply priced itself out of the marketplace. (it was pretty pricey like most of Starbucks’ offerings)
And then I saw all these posts this week squawking about the NEW Starbucks ice cream and here we are. Full circle.
The first thing to mention is that the sizing has changed from a quart to a pint.
This is for me, a much welcomed change for a few reasons.
Firstly, I don’t keep junk in the house and a smaller size helps me get through with my craving and get rid of the evidence swiftly.
Secondly, I don’t recall how much the quart was, but a pint is $3.99 which is about the most I’m willing to spend on ice cream.
So I went to Publix, bought the pint, came home…..
Here you go:

I like the new packaging. It’s less fussy.
Under the hood we have a visible mixing of vanilla and coffee flavored ice cream which I expected since the package told me that’s what I should expect.

It also said there would be a caramel ribbon.
I’m a notorious lover of caramel ribbons.
But I never believe icecream cartons when they boast about how special and magical theirs is, as it’s usually a dissapointingly puny and boring ribbon.
I was wrong.
I dug my spoon into the frosty confection to pull out an overwhelming glob of gooey salty perfectly thick and rich caramel.
Holy Bananas it was good.
Like drop-to-your-knees-and-park-a-seat-on-the-kitchen-floor-while-your-tastebuds-sail-away-into-the-sugary-afternoon-sunset-good.
Just look at that globular hunk of caramel folded unassumingly under the fluffy ice cream!
LOOK AT IT! IT’S TAUNTING YOU WITH IT’S DELICIOUSNESS!

I don’t usually give ratings or grades on my blog, and I can only speak for this particular flavor, but I’ll go ahead and say that it would most definitely receive a grade of : 90 million, multiplied by the the universe, the sun, all the jealously in the world, added to infinity and then multiplied once more by cherubs and rainbows.
Go get some. NOW.

REVIEW: FAGE, will you go to the dance with me?

It is time for me to stop hogging the best kept secret in the world of healthy yet delicious sweet treats. I have been having a love affair with Greek yogurt for a good 8 months now and I have never been so happy with a healthy dessert. My love for sugar is no secret, but I seldom indulge because I’ve had to do the work before to shed the repercussions of said love and losing weight is far more frustrating and difficult than the process of gaining. (Ohhhhhh if it only worked the other way!)
Buyer beware: This is no syrupy sweet Yoplait nonsense. This is the creme de la creme of yogurts. This is yogurt for adults who respect and admire the craftsmanship and hardwork that goes into creating a food that can serve as breakfast, dessert, and a beneficial work out snack. ( and provides active cultures for our lovely lady parts!)
Please treat your Greek yogurt with the respect it deserves and do not stir (you’ll ruin the fluff!)
Gently fold in your fruit or granola or whatever. It actually says on the container “Please do not stir!”
This is serious business folks.
So, before I run off and marry my container of Greek yogurt, I will introduce you to my dearest love:
I give you FAGE Greek Yogurt!!!(pronounced fa-ye)   Get the kind with mix-ins and you will forget you ever cried into a half gallon of Edy’s double fudge brownie. (well maybe not. But you will be glad as hell that you listened to me. And so will your scale.) The consistency is amazingly rich and thick. Greek yogurt is not sweet, and by itself can be a bit sour, but seriously…add a tablespoon of honey and a handful of granola and your brain will be dancing. The Peach version is my favorite by leaps and bounds and has a mere 140 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, and 10 grams of protein. Just look at how perfectly fluffy and heavenly my spoonful of FAGE looked right before I crammed it down my gullet today at lunch!
Currently I can locate FAGE products at most organic markets in my area and also Harris Teeter. FAGE is of course not the only Greek yogurt on the market, but I’m no whore. I’m sticking by my man…..er…..brand.

Sweet Crepe

 

P1040234, originally uploaded by Jamie Susan.

This decadent Banana & Nutella filled sweet crepe topped with vanilla bean ice cream made me seriously consider a permanent relocation to San Francisco. Thank you Crepevine. And also, screw you Crepevine.

I’ll probably never get over this. I don’t know how to even craft the words to describe how delicious this was. It was unfair. Simply unfair.

http://www.crepevine.com/index.htm