Lamill Coffee, Harbor East

 If you feel like treating yourself to a swanky cup of coffee and some treats, look no further than Lamill Coffee, located in the new Four Seasons Hotel in Harbor East.  Be warned though, one look at the dessert counter, and your plans of getting a quick cup of coffee will be gone..... 

......because they make beignets.

I ordered a cup of coffee and my sister ordered a tea.  After a LONG wait (I am assuming they made the beignets fresh to order, so I forgive them hahaha), they brought out our treats, but I was a little annoyed that my coffee was in a mug and hers was in a to-go container - how does that make any sense?

Anyway, the drinks were great, but the real star of the show were the beignets (3 for around $4.50 with your choice of a lemon curd sauce or Valrhona chocolate sauce).  They were hot, covered in icing sugar and melted in my mouth like soft dough-y pillows dipped in an obscene amount of chocolate sauce.

We sat for a while in the coffee shop/bar area of Wit and Wisdom Tavern, and never felt any pressure to leave.  It's such a beautiful space, and a great place to go with a friend, a good book, a laptop etc.

And yes, there were 3 beignets and yes, sharing was tough :)

Bonjour French Bakery and Cafe, Mt. Washington

Bonjour French Bakery and Cafe in Mt. Washington is a special place.

Full size and fun size desserts! (pics from Bonjour's website)

It's a place to take out-of-town folks when you have time to sit and chat over a pastry and coffee.  It's a place you come with a friend to gab about life while sharing a small cake.  This is a place where you come to get a special breakfast.  AND on Thursday nights from 5-8PM, it's a place to get some crepes!  Check out their Facebook page for more information about their casual crepe night.

If I am just quickly stopping in, I'll grab an almond pastry to go.  What's not to love about a place that makes their croissants from scratch and fills it with a luxurious almond paste?  There have also been plenty of times when I come, sit down with a cup of coffee, and select one of their mouth-watering mini desserts.

As well as the delectable treats offered at the store, they also do catering for events.  Definitely check them out if you're interested in getting a Croquembouche for your wedding! 

 Croquembouche (pic taken from Bonjour's website)

One recent morning I decided to pop in for something savory.  I ordered a mocha latte ($3+) and a turkey and cheese croissant ($5) for breakfast.  This ended up being an expensive breakfast, yes, but wow was it a special one.

Yes, you are right, that IS a terrible picture of my breakfast

The mocha wasn't too sweet and since it was probably made with some type of French Roast bean, it was quite dark and smoky - I liked it a lot.  The warm (I asked for it to be heated) croissant sandwich was rich, buttery and flaky, and that was just the croissant!  I'm not sure what the cheese was, perhaps gruyere?  But it had gloriously melted over the turkey.  I have never been so full from a breakfast sandwich before!  I could tell that this croissant was made from scratch - it just seemed richer and, well, more calorie-ridden :)  It was great!

I can't say enough about this charming little cafe.  Oh wait, yes I can.

They make their own macarons.

Towson Town Center's Restaurants

I was invited* to Towson Town Center to take a "tour" of some of their major eateries: TGIF's, P.F. Chang's, Stoney River and The Cheesecake Factory.  Below are some of my thoughts on each place.


Also, Towson Town Center has been having some special events this month, including one on Saturday March 24th from 1-3PM: Cooking Demo and Wine-Pairing Seminar

• Local food and wine expert, Laurie Forster "The Wine Coach," will host a cooking demonstration and wine-pairing seminar.
• Seminars will be held at 1PM, 2PM and 3PM in the Level 1 Grand Court
• Seminars will include table-side sampling (SAMPLES!!!!!), fun raffles, giveaways and retailer offers.

Follow Towson Town on Facebook to keep up with more events.

P.F. Chang's
(Check out my last review of P.F.Chang's from 2009 here)

At P.F.Chang's we were given some items from their Happy Hour menu to try.  Their Happy Hour is Mon-Fri, 3-6pm.  The prices I have included in this section are from that menu.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps 

I hadn't been to a PFC in a while, so I have to admit that I was excited about trying the Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($6) again.  They are still so good.  The chicken concoction mixed with mushrooms and water chestnuts are good alone, but even better when made into a wrap with crisp lettuce.  Yes, of course you can make this at home, but if you're at the mall shopping - this is definitely a nice appetizer to order while sitting at the bar.

Talking about the bar, we tried two specialty cocktails, an Asian Pear Mojito ($6) and a PFX ($6).  The mojito tasted very similar to the regular, but with a slight hint of the pear.  It was nice and crisp.  The PFX is flavored with passionfruit and hardly tasted like there was any alcohol in it, though I am assuming that is a good and bad thing :)  It is supposed to be modeled after the cosmo.  I liked both!

 Crab Wontons

Dan was fan of their Crab Wontons ($5), which are made with a cream cheesy crab filling and served with a plus sauce.  He remarked on how much crab there was in the wontons, and how well they went with the sauce.  If you feel like something fried, and are tired of the ubiquitous eggroll, these might be the thing for you! 

Stoney River

Stoney River also introduced us to some items from their Happy Hour, which takes place from 4-7pm everyday.  There are some seriously good deals:

This menu is solid, especially because it  lasts until 7pm!  It would be so easy to come here for dinner and make a good meal out of these offerings, not to mention with some nice cheap cocktails!  For a drink, ask the bartender to make you a Lemon Iced Tea Cocktail, which is made with Bacardi Limon, lime, sour mix and some iced tea.  If you like Arnold Palmers, this is the drink for you. If you like tea (me), this is for you (me).

We tried and LOVED the Jack Daniel Whiskey Shrimp ($6).  It was so good and SO buttery.  The sauce is made with Jack Daniel's (obv.) and mustard and oh my the little slices of baguettes were just loaded with butter and the sauce and a jumbo shrimp.  Yes please!

We also tried the mountain of Bleu Cheese Chips ($6), and it really was a mountain (though it's hard to tell from this picture). Though blue cheese is not my favorite kind of cheese, once melted it has a mild flavor to it, so I surprisingly didn't mind this at all.  If you love blue cheese, it would be right up your alley, especially because the chips were perfectly crisp and salted. It would be nice if they had other flavors for the non blue cheese lovers.

The Crunchy Ahu Tuna Roll ($7) was also quite tasty, especially when dipped in the accompanying soy ginger sauce.  Sesame seeds and breadcrumbs give the roll its crunchiness.



TGI Friday's

Guinness Stout Milkshake from TGIF (sample size)

There are two new drinks for St. Patrick's Day: the Irish Rita (made with whiskey, sour apple, midori and margarita mix) and the Guinness Stout Milkshake (Guinness with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup).  Their Irish Rita was way too sour for my liking, but the Guinness Milkshake was surprisingly tasty, and I don't even like Guinness!

All in all, I am simply not a fan of this place.  The dishes were dirty, the food tasted unhealthy and it's really just not my kind of atmosphere for a restaurant.

Cheesecake Factory
(Check out my review of the Cheesecake Factory in 2008 here)

I am not going to lie, I tried bites of about 12-15 different types of cheesecakes.  This sounds amazing, but after a while I got a bit sick.  THAT'S A LOT OF DAIRY, YOU GUYS!!!!

My personal favorite from the Cheesecake Factory is the Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, but of all the ones I tried from that day, I really enjoyed:

• Vanilla Bean cheesecake (layers of vanilla bean cheesecake, vanilla mousse and whipped cream) 
• I liked the simplicity of this, plus it felt light because of the mousse.
• Godiva Chocolate cheesecake (Godiva chocolate cake + Godiva chocolate cheesecake + Chocolate mousse) 
• The addition of cake and mousse in this cheesecake took away the usual heaviness from a chocolate cheesecake.  I loved the rich and dark taste of the chocolate.  
• Dutch Caramel Apple Streusel Cheesecake, pictured (terribly) below (original cheesecake with a TON of baked apples and then topped with some delicious brown sugar walnut streusel topping)  
• I loved this because it was so different.  It tasted more like an apple pie with a little layer of cheesecake.  There's a lot more filling than you would think, which is what really made this cheesecake stand out for me.

The problem is that to get a slice of cheesecake, you have to deal with the outrageous wait for a table because that place is packed ALL THE TIME.  What is up with that?

SUMMARY
The mall is definitely not a place I visit very often, but it was fun to take a tour like this to see the food beyond the food court.  Overall, I loved Stoney River.  Their Happy Hour menu was fun, well-priced and enticing!  I would definitely go back there again! P.F. Chang's happy hour menu was also a great deal, and I especially liked their drinks.  There is no need for me to talk about the appeal of  The Cheesecake Factory, because it's already got that in spades.  TGI Fridays didn't do it for me at all, but you can't win them all!

* I was invited by Towson Town Center, but I was not asked to review, nor was I told what to write.  All opinions are my own (and Dan's!)

RECIPE: Homemade Chocolate "Apology" Syrup

It's been a while....I know.  What can I say?  I AM SO SO SO SORRY.  I've been really busy and really just focused on my marathon training.  I am sorry that my blog had to take a back seat :(

In order to make it up to you, I'm going to tell you about one of the best things I've ever made - homemade chocolate syrup.  MAKE IT NOW AND KEEP SOME ALWAYS IN YOUR FRIDGE.

SERIOUSLY.

Ditch that bottle of gross Hershey's syrup in the trash and just whip up some of this.  Use it on ice cream, OR if you are a runner and need a recovery aid - use this to make your Chocolate Milk!

Chocolate Syrup

Taken from Shop.Cook.Make

½ cup Cocoa Powder

1 cup Water

1 cup Sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

-Mix all ingredients, except vanilla, and cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly.

-Remove from the heat and add vanilla. Stir well. 

-Let it come to room temperature before putting it in the fridge. It'll thicken as it cools. 

While it's still hot, you can pour it over ice cream or cake. To make Chocolate Milk, mix 2 tbsp of the syrup with 8 ounces of milk. 

SO GOOD

SO GLORIOUS.

Simon's Bakery, Cockeysville

 

 Half of a Strawberry Party Cake (the other half was in my tummy)

Mr. Simon of Simon’s Bakery has been providing the Schurman family delectable treats for YEARS, so it is quite astounding that I have not written to the world about this great bakery!  Every Christmas there is ALWAYS a bag of Simon’s famous sugar cookies around my in-laws house to nibble on, and even though I prefer a soft cookie over Simon’s hard and crispy variety, I still love these.  I love that they come in different shapes every year, and I love that they are decorated with yummy sugar crystals that lightly add to the sweetness of the cookies.

But my favorite item from Simon’s Bakery are their party cakes (70/80 cents each...I don't remember :o/).  Party cakes are a larger version of petit fours – and they come in many different flavors, though the original has chocolate icing.  I LOVE the strawberry icing (pictured), but the lemon is a strong contender for my favorite as well.  The chocolate icing, which is reminiscent of Berger cookie icing, is Dan’s favorite.  I, however, find it a bit too sweet, which makes sense because that’s how I feel about Berger cookies as well (I KNOW, I KNOW).  The strawberry and the lemon icing highlight the layer of raspberry filling – and that’s what I care about!  You can order these in bulk as well!  In fact, I ordered some recently to serve as favors for a Bridal Shower I hosted.  You can also ask them to create petit fours as well, though you have to order a dozen of those at a time for $9.60/dozen. 

The bakery carries many other treats that you should check out.  Their hot cross buns during Lent are always a big hit, as are their Peach Cakes during the summer.  Just stop in and let your eyes and stomach guide you!!!!!

RECIPE: NO-BAKE Strawberry Icebox Cake

Any dessert that has strawberries + cream is always going to be a winner in my book (check out my Eton Mess) and so I had no doubts that I would love this dessert.  I was right!  

Not only was it delicious (very important!), but it was fun to make, required NO baking, and it looks really impressive!  If you think the graham crackers are an odd ingredient – stop!  After four hours in the fridge, they soften up to an almost thin cake-like consistency.  

 

I think this could be a great dessert for this July 4th weekend – get creative with blueberries and strawberries and you could have a flag cake!

No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake
adapted from here

1.5 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
2 cups whipping cream
4 tbsp confectioners sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
14.5oz box of ORIGINAL graham crackers (there will be leftovers)

Directions:

- With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and whip to combine.
- Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of your serving platter. This will serve as the “glue” for your graham crackers! 
- Lay down your graham crackers in whatever pattern you like.   (I lined 3 full crackers vertically, then one above it horizontally, using an extra piece to fill in the edge).
- Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped cream, and then a single layer of strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers.
- Spread the last of the whipped cream over the top and then decorate with a few more strawberries.
- Refrigerate for at least four hours, or until the crackers have softened completely.

RECIPE: Eton Mess

 Picture from here

As mentioned, this has now become my favorite dessert for the strawberry season.  I think it would be delicious with other berries as well, especially raspberries!!!!!!!!!  YUM! LOVE this. 

Eton Mess
adapted from here

1.5 lbs of strawberries, hulled and sliced into thick chunks
2 tsp of pomegranate juice
A few tablespoons of sugar
1 pint whipping cream
17 (or more – up to you!) Trader Joe's Vanilla Meringues, or any other smallish (2") meringues

Directions:
-    Toss the strawberries in the sugar and pomegranate juice and set them aside to macerate for at least one hour, up to eight hours.
-    Using your Kitchen Aid mixer (if you have one), whip the cream until it starts to thicken. You don't want to whip it until it is stiff (because then it will be butter!)--it should hold soft peaks when the whisk is lifted from the bowl.
-    Crush the meringues into a bowl (I crushed them in a freezer bag with a rolling pin), making sure to have some chunks and some fine powder.
-    Right before serving, fold the berries (with all their delicious juice) and meringue gently into the whipped cream with a few light strokes. You don't want to deflate the cream.
-    If you want to be fancy, you can serve it in bowls or pretty stemmed glasses, garnishing the top with a couple of reserved berries.  I just served it in one big bowl without any garnish – it looks messy and delicious!

Yogoya, Timonium

These frozen yogurt places are popping up all over the place - but I am not complaining!  For 49 cents an ounce, I can treat myself without the guilt!

Yogoya is the new yogurt place on the York Road corridor, close to the York and Timonium Road intersection.  Since I am not really a tart yogurt person, I normally go straight for the vanilla yogurt (yes, I am boring), but they offered such flavors as pomegranate, mango, and green apple, as well as a couple of others.  I topped my creamy vanilla yogurt with heath bar, oreos and strawberries.

It's hard not to compare it to the other new yogurt place, Tutti Frutti, which offers more flavors, labels their toppings and has more seating.  I wish Yogoya offered more sweet flavors, since their only choices were vanilla and coffee, but perhaps they will rotate their flavors soon. All in all, these things did not deter my experience as it was a delicious and refreshing one, and I can't wait to keep coming back during the summer!

Parfections, Cockeysville/Hunt Valley

 

There are a decent number of chocolatiers in the Timonium /Cockeysville /Hunt Valley York Road corridor.  It always surprises me, but I don't mind since they are all so close to my house!  Parfections is a new addition to the bunch, though I have a feeling they've been selling chocolates for a while and this is just their first store.  I do feel strange reviewing any other chocolatier in light of this review of my favorite, but I still think Parfections has a lot to offer.

First of all, they have some really interesting flavors to their truffles, as you will see below.   They also make beer-infused truffles with local Heavy Seas beers (12 for $21), seasonal flavor truffles, they sell chocolate bark (albeit for slightly outrageous prices: $9 for 1/2lb, given that bark is so easy to make) and lots of different kinds of chocolate dipped fruits (also $9 for 1/2lb) such as strawberries, mango, apricots, pears, peaches.

 

I ordered a box of 9 truffles ($16) and Dan and I selected the ones that caught our eye.  They have a LOT in stock - check here for a list of them. 

Here is what we got (the one missing is the white champagne truffle, but I forgot what else was in it, sorry!):

• Tropical Typhoon:
• Milk chocolate center combined with fresh mango and a hint of cayenne pepper rolled in toasted coconut.    
• This was a little too spicy for me.  
• Painkiller
•  Milk chocolate center with coconut milk, orange, pineapple, dark rum and nutmeg covered with milk chocolate and rolled in crushed banana chips.   
• Though a lot of the flavors were masked by the banana chips, I found this quite yummy! 
• Grand Marnier 
• Dark chocolate, Grand Marnier liqueur, orange juice and natural orange zest for the center, dipped into dark chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder.  
• Good, especially if you love Grand Marnier.
•  Mediterranean Madness 
• Dark chocolate combined with aged balsamic vinegar.  The center is dipped in dark chocolate. 
• Dan didn't taste the balsamic vinegar and I totally did, either way we both enjoyed it.
•  Port Wine & Cinnamon
•  Ruby port and cinnamon combination.   
• Liked this dark ganache, and I also liked it wasn't overwhelmingly cinnamon-y.  
• Chai Latte 
• Milk chocolate center combined with flavors of black tea, cloves, cardamom and vanilla bean, enrobed in milk chocolate.   
• I surprisingly didn't like this, which confuses me because normally it would have TOTALLY been right up my alley.  
• Chocolate Mousse 
• Dark chocolate inside and out with a hint of vanilla bean.   
• Great standard for dark chocolate lovers.

Cacao Lorenzo Chocolatier, Lutherville

Let's spend some time together to talk about my favorite chocolate in the history of the world - the chocolate from Cacao Lorenzo. 

It is straight up amazing and I am obsessed.  In fact, I've been obsessed for a while, which is a rarity for me.  Here's a review I wrote of the place back in 2005 on the review site "Judy's Book"  and it's actually quoted on Cacao Lorenzo's website as well!

Here it is:

October 23, 2005

Words cannot describe this chocolate.  To describe this chocolate would be an art. One cannot write what this chocolate is about without having music flow through the words.

Ahahahahah Ok I am done.  But in all honesty.  The bar has been raised.  This is by far the fanciest chocolate I have ever eaten, and I am not being facetious when I say I can picture the Mayans nodding approvingly.  The lovely owner makes all the chocolates himself and is very friendly and open about what he does.  The only drawback is that he doesn't sell individual chocolates so you must buy them in a box.  BUT YOU WILL LOVE THEM SO IT DOESN'T MATTER.

There is no need to sample here, this guy knows what he is doing.  He also makes a different special everyday.  On my birthday he made something called Frutti Fresco (or something like that) which was a small sliver of dark chocolate topped with some kind of milk chocolate paste, probably ganache, and then topped with two different berries.  INCREDIBLE.  I took the first bite and felt like I was transported to heavenly chocolate land where everything is good and delicious.  I would also like to mention that normally I don't like dark chocolate, but I loved his.  His regular box of chocolates has really unusual flavors that seem to work so wonderfully together.  One of the chocolates is called India which is made with a spice that we actually use in Indian cooking - and it's yummy!  Another is made with infused lavender and another is made with port soaked figs.  Who is this guy?  I think I need to be best friends with him because he amazes me.

Nakiya V.
Lutherville Timonium, MD

That’s right. I wrote that 5+ years ago and in that time I found out the guy was Larry McGlinchey, and he's the coolest and most awesome chocolatier ever, and yes, we're basically best friends :), I’ve discovered my love for dark chocolate, I’ve had the “India” chocolate as one of the favors for my wedding, and I am just as ridiculous hahahahahahaha.

And I still love these chocolates.

My favorite is definitely the Basque Square – port wine soaked figs, milk chocolate butter ganache, the Lavender Flower – lavender flower infused ganache, dark chocolate and the India - Spiced dark chocolate ganache.

If you want to impress a loved one this Valentine's Day (click here for specials), or literally ANY DAY - get them a box of these chocolates.

Tutti Frutti, Cockeysville

Yes, it's freezing outside and here I am talking about Tutti Frutti, the new frozen yogurt place in Cockeysville...but how can I not?  This place is awesome and we've been waiting for a place like this in the suburbs for a long time (sorry TCBY!).

They have so many yogurt flavors and so many toppings that it would be hard to have the same experience twice.  Their flavors and toppings are said to change all the time - in fact, they boast 40 yogurt flavors and 40 toppings that they can cycle through, keeping their most popular ones, of course. 

This is just a sampling of some of the flavors and toppings they offer, according to their website:

Creamy Yogurt: Peanut Butter, Taro, Cookies N Cream, Banana Pudding, Almond, Green Tea, Pistachio

Tart Yogurt: Acai Berry, Pomegranate, Pineapple, Papaya, Pina Colada, Passion Fruit, Kiwi

Toppings: Granola, Banana, Strawberries, Cookies, Chocolate Chips, Fruity Pebbles

For my first time I kept it simple and went with the basic vanilla, a bit of chocolate and topped with some oreos and toffee bits. I loved this combination!  Sooo simple and creamy!

I have heard that the strawberry and banana is one of the best flavors, so I can't wait to try that...but that seems more of a Spring/Summer flavor to me - especially topped with some fresh fruit, of which they have many :)

This is a self-serve place - so don't let that spell disaster for you! Their cups are very large and you will feel like you need to fill that entire thing up, but beware - your treat is weighed at 45cents an ounce, and that adds up fast!

I love the variety of this place.  I can see myself coming here often when the weather warms up a bit - you should think about it too!

Tutti Frutti

10128 York Road

Cockeysville, MD 21030

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Cake Talk

 

 Oh man I was so proud of my sister and I

Here are the pictures from the Martha Stewart cake I made (sorry for the repost) but doesn't it look delicious!?!?!?!  

I have to say the icing was really great, but the cake was much too dry.  I have a good friend that loves baking and she told me no matter how many times she's made her own cake from scratch, it's never been as good as one from a baking mix.  So she usually makes the cake from a baking mix and then makes the icing from scratch.  That sounds like something I could actually manage.

 We ate cake while we did puzzles!

Another friend of mine commented on my previous post letting me know that an easier chocolate cake recipe would be the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake.  The recipe DOES look much easier than Martha Stewart's.

4 different kinds of  Ravens-themed cupcakes, and then an extra 4 cupcakes for fun

Or I could just continue to get cupcakes from Icedgems Bakery and continue to be satisfied.  I mean, seriously, look at those cupcakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Trust me when I say they taste as good as they look.

RECIPE: Simple Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

(Why yes, that IS a Ravens lunch bag in the background hahaha)

I love banana bread.  I love that it's easy-peasy and allows me to use up fruit that I would have otherwise thrown away.  I love that it's called bread even though it's a cake.  I love that I can then also take said bread and add chocolate chips and STILL not call it a cake. 

What I also love is this recipe - it's simple (IT ONLY NEEDS ONE BOWL) and makes the house smell divine!

Yes, yes, I realize you are all trying to be good for the New Year - but it's BREAD, remember!  :)

Simple One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Adapted from here

Ingredients
    3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
    1/3 cup oil
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 egg, beaten
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    Pinch of salt
    1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
    2 handfuls chocolate chips

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in the oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
- Toss in the baking soda and salt and mix.
- Add the flour, mix.
- Add desired amount of chocolate chips, mix.  You will probably add more.
- Pour mixture into a greased 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for an hour, or whenever your knife comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and CONSUME

Recipe: Homemade Clif Nectar Bar

Back when I used to think Clif Bars were delicious treats rather than exercise fuel, I loved the one and only Dark Chocolate and Walnut Nectar Bar. 

But then all of a sudden I couldn't find them ANYWHERE, so I became super sad :( Then one day I found a recipe for it and FINALLY made it!!!!!

Homemade Clif Nectar Bar
Adapted from here
20 dates (any kind), pitted
1/2 cup walnuts
2oz semi sweet chocolate chips
2.5tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. Put walnuts in food processor and pulverize into small pieces.
2. Add the dates with the walnuts in the food processor, and combine until there are tiny pieces (remember, you don't want a paste, just crumbles)
3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave (or double boiler if you want to get fancy)
4. Add melted chocolate, cocoa and vanilla to the processor and blend
5. At this point, the mixture should be crumbly, but should stick together in a smooth ball
6. Put mixture into 8x8 brownie pan (no need to grease) and use your hands to press it down. 
7. Dust with cocoa powder to make it less sticky
8. Bake at 300 degrees for about 12 minutes
9.  Cool them in the pan and then cut them into pieces.

Very crumbly, and yes, it was very hard to take a pretty picture of this hahaha

Overall, it's reallllllllllllly yummy.  If you melted a Fruit and Nut Chocolate Bar and then crumbled it into pieces, it would taste like this. 

Debriefing:
I think they tasted much better the morning after, especially after working out. (Yes, that's right I am actually waking up early to work out, go me!) But this recipe definitely needs to be amended to avoid the crumbles.  I am assuming they would come out better if they were baked in a much smaller pan, so that it isn't such a thin layer.  Or perhaps they would be better if I rolled them into little balls?  Or perhaps the ingredients need to be adjusted.  The original recipe called for 20 dates, but all dates are not created equal - mine were especially small....so that could be another reason. 

Either way, these may not be pretty, but they are DARN tasty if you want a healthy (and super quick) treat, so I don't mind testing and re-testing :)  And even though this is somewhat of an imperfect recipe (the taste is great, the presentation not so much), I still wanted to share it because I thought maybe some of you expert Chefs out there can help me tweak it to achieve the perfect result!

Potbelly, Inner Harbor

There’s something comforting about consistent food, which is why I probably eat so often at Chipotle - because I know what I’m going to get. So even though I know there are plenty of local places around me that has chicken salad sandwiches, I was still in the mood for a Potbelly sandwich.  It’s good, it’s consistent, it has chunks of chicken, the bread is warm, and I like it.  Do I need another reason to go there?   

Well, their chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are hard to resist. And when you pair that with some of their ice cream for a gigantic chocolate chip ice cream sandwich - well, it may be hard to go back to work/class. Just warning you :)

Free Dessert TODAY (9/15) from 1-3PM

To celebrate the premiere of Top Chef: Just Desserts tonight on Bravo at 11pm, dessert places around the country are giving out some of their sweet treats for FREE today from 1-3pm. 

Here are the list of places in our area:

Charm City Cupcakes
326 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201
3215 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21218

Godiva - Harbor Place
200 East Pratt Street, Baltimore MD 21201

Patisserie Poupon
820 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore MD 21202

Puff's and Pastries
830 West 36th Street, Baltimore MD 21211

Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop
2919 O'Donnell Street, Baltimore MD 21224
696A Bel Air Road, Bel Air MD 21014
222 Albemarle Street, Baltimore MD 21202
118 Shawan Road, Cockeysville MD 21030


For a complete list, check it out here!  (Washington DCers - Firehook, Godiva, Patisserie Poupon and Red Velvet Cupcakery are part of it as well!)



Thanks, Jay, for the tip!

Recipe: Lychee Ice Cream!!!

 

I made ice cream!  Lychee ice cream!  Talk about an exotic first foray into the world of home made ice cream :)  There weren't that many recipes on lychee ice cream, so I decided to take one recipe and tweak it a little, which is actually a bit risky since I just mentioned, I've never made ice cream before hahaha.  But it turned out great! I have included the recipe and my changes in red.  

Lychee Ice Cream 

Adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups canned seedless lychees, drained & diced I actually only had a 20oz can of lychees, so I used that instead, and I thought it was PLENTY.  It came out to about 3/4 cup 
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk I used skim milk, which worked out fine
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks, beaten 
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice I really wanted more lychee flavor, so I nixed the lemon entirely and went with the juice of half a lime plus enough lychee syrup to equal 1/4 cup of liquid.  

  Directions:

1. Combine the cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan or double boiler; heat until warm and the sugar is completely dissolved. Add 1 cup of the cream mixture to the yolks while whisking lightly. Gradually pour the egg mixture back into the cream mixture while continuing to whisk lightly.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the back of your spoon is thinly coated, about 8 minutes. Do not allow to boil or the ice cream custard mixture will curdle.
3. Add the lychee and lemon juice and let it cool in the refrigetator overnight. I added the lime juice/lychee syrup and then put the custard in the fridge for only a couple of hours (I was too excited!).  I added the lychees near the end of the mixing process. 
4. Freeze in an electric or manual ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker you can put the ice cream custard in a bowl and put it in your freezer until frozen.

So there you have it.  I am not going to sit here and tell you to make all my changes, although I really do think the 20oz can of lychees are enough.  I added the raspberries for a pretty photo - but they turned out to be a really nice foil to the sweetness of the ice cream.  

Would I make this again?  Definitely! Just a word for the wise - the lychees are best when they are not entirely frozen, so wait about five minutes until the lychees are tender and chewy!

Enjoy!  I know I did :)

B&O American Brasserie

I was invited for a tasting of B&O American Brasserie's spring menu, and let me just tell you, it is a delight!  Their menu is so inviting, seriously, take a look.  From the list of their drinks, to the descriptions of the entrees - you know this place is something special, especially when they make their own cola (which is actually clear) and feature drinks with liquid smoke or lychee and ginger root juice!   

Also, this restaurant is just gorgeous!!!!! I immediately pictured power lunches, first dates and low-key happy hours taking place here (talking about happy hours, theirs is 4-7PM daily with $3 Beers, $3 House Wines and $5 Daily Cocktail).

To drink, I tried the Remedy ($10), which features vodka, Chartreuse, orange flower water, ginger syrup and orange juice.  In all honesty, I wasn't the biggest fan of this drink, which is more my fault - I don't like anything OJ + Vodka...and I thought the other flavors would stand out more, but they didn't as much as I needed them to.

We then moved onto appetizers, entrees and desserts.  It was a wonderful tasting and I tried many things, though small bites here and there and in all honesty, there are some items I tried where I do not feel right giving an opinion because I really didn't try enough of it.

So let me tell you my favorites: 

The Green Crunch ($11) - Asparagus, snow peas, green beans, peas, with chipotle goat cheese (there was none on mine), smoked almonds and ginger-chive dressing.  I LOVED this salad.  It was exactly as the title states - nice and crunchy!  It tastes really fresh and spring-like.  I loved the smoked almonds paired with the greens - a great touch.

The Market Flatbread ($9) was SO GOOD -- red bliss potato, smoked ricotta, egg and baby arugula.  I cannot get over how amazing this was. I would easily order this anytime I go here.  I just looooooooved the egg+potato combo. If you wanted a nice cheap dinner - go with this, it would be awesome. YUM.

Ricotta Gnocchi (Half $11, Full $19) - squash blossoms, braised lettuce and arugula pesto.  I love gnocchi, they have a special place in my heart, especially when amazing - and these fall right into place.  They aren't your typical gnocchi since they are made with ricotta and so they avoid that "gummy" texture that some have.  Felt like little heavenly cloudy pillows in my mouth.  Loved this.

Salt Cod Crusted Turbot ($24) - This was probably my favorite entree, the fish was just incredible - lovely and crisp on the outside and wonderful buttery and light on the inside.  Incredible.

Crispy Duck Confit ($23) - Sous Vide Breast, Chorizo and Cassoulet.  I was really excited to try this because this wouldn't be a meal I would usually order, and yet I was very happy with it!  If you like duck, you will love this meal, trust me, and the duck + cassoulet is just a wonderful combination.  The chorizo is a nice touch as well, as an extra.

Tasting dessert was a pleasure at B&O because all of them are made in-house!  I loved the meyer lemon bars with blueberry sorbet.

I also LOVED LOVED LOVED this dulce de leche tart with meringue.  This dessert was closest to me, and I can assure you I did the most damage to this, it was my favorite.  It would be the best to share - really rich and decadent.

There is no set dessert menu, so depending on when you go, you could have a completely different experience!  There is an ice cream maker on the premise, so they also whip up crazy combinations, some that we tried included: avocado (tasted like....avocados), adobo bacon (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not a fan), and caramelized banana (sign me up!)


Overall, this tasting was wonderful and really allowed me to find many items on this menu that I would love to come back for and bring Dan!!!!  I know he would love to try the gnocchi and turbot as well!!!!  I hope this review was helpful for you as well!!!! Let me know if you go there and what you get!



DISCLAIMER: Though this was a free tasting, I was not asked to write a positive review and felt no inclination to write anything which did not reflect my true opinion of B&O American Brasserie.