And then...

…I baked a cake. (More soon.)

Summer Drinks Tasting At Finale, Coolidge Corner

You won't usually find me trekking all the way over to Coolidge Corner, but when I was invited to a complimentary cocktail and dessert pairing at the Coolidge Corner location of Finale, I made an exception. I mean, desserts plus cocktails -- that's not something I say no to!

Luckily, Emily was going too, so she offered to drive over. We walked into Finale to find five cocktails and five small desserts at each place setting.

We were soon joined by the rest of our table mates, including Daisy, and after we had a few minutes to catch up with each other, the tasting began.

Finale's Executive Pastry Chef Nicole Coady led us through the dessert aspect of the tasting, while Horizon Beverage's Tim Murphy took us through the cocktails. Nicole explained that she would set up a pairing by tasting the dessert first and then figuring out what complemented it while Tim would do just the opposite. Different people have different priorities, right?

We started with the tropical sunset cocktail and a crustless mini cheesecake. The cocktail was made with X-Rated Fusion Liqueur (a mixture of French vodka, blood orange, mango, and passionfruit), pineapple juice, raspberry puree, and a splash of soda water. A sip of this went perfectly with the ultralight, ultra-creamy cheesecake.

The cheesecake was made with Mexican vanilla and had a light, almost fluffy texture. I prefer that kind of texture over a dense texture, so I really enjoyed this cheesecake.

Next up was the more risky wild berry mojito and the lemon tart. I call the mojito risky because it was made with cava rather than rum, which was then combined with a mixed berry puree, crushed mint leaves, peach schnapps, and a splash of Sprite. Some people found this cocktail bitter. I wouldn't say I found it bitter, but I could taste the Sprite, and that made it a little unpleasant to me. I'm not sure why... because I do like Sprite. Maybe I just didn't want to taste it in my cocktail.

The lemon tart, on the other hand, was simply luscious. Nicole explained how she always uses the best, freshest ingredients for the best final result. So her tart shells are made with a European-style butter that gives way to a rich, sweet tart shell. The lemon curd in the tart shell is made with fresh lemon juice and was rich and velvety.

The third pairing incorporated the cocktail I was most looking forward to: a St. Germain sparkler and creme brulee. If you haven't heard of St. Germain yet, then you haven't been reading my blog because I profess my love for it all the time! In the sparkler, the elderflower liqueur was paired with a moscato, a sweet dessert wine. Because St. Germain is already syrupy and sweet (so sweet it can replace simple syrup in most drinks), pairing it with the sweet wine almost took the sweetness level over the top. I still really liked the drink though.

However, I didn't love the creme brulee. Something about the texture was just not right to me. I thought it should be a bit smoother, but that could just be personal preference. Nicole talked about how the brulee part is a bruleed thin layer of sugar. When she emphasized how thin that layer of sugar should be, it brought me back to my days of torching creme brulee at Flour. It took some practice to get that thin layer of sugar without burning the cream.

Moving on to even sweeter and now chocolatey territory, we found the chocolate bliss cocktail and tiramisu awaiting our attention. The chocolate bliss cocktail was beyond decadent. My first sip made me think I was drinking really rich chocolate milk. After a bite of tiramisu, I took another sip of the cocktail and found it to be exuding boozy flavors, making it less chocolate milk-like and more boozy chocolate adult drink-like. The cocktail was made with Godiva Caramel, Godiva Dark, Creme de Cacao, Finale Chocolate Ganache, and vanilla gelato. Oh yeah, it was that good.

The tiramisu had layers of mascarpone mousse (Nicole, thankfully, does not allow fillers like cream cheese in her tiramisu) and coffee-soaked ladyfingers topped with Valrhona cocoa powder. Go big or go home, right? The cocoa powder adds chocolate flavor and also a necessary bit of bitterness to balance the sweetness of the delicate pastry. Most tiramisu I've had in the past has been soggy, and I was pleasantly surprised at the stable layers of Finale's tiramisu.

We made it to the last pairing to find an espresso martini, made with Svedka vodka (the No. 3 vodka behind Grey Goose and Absolut), Godiva Dark, Kahlua, and, of course, espresso. The espresso martini was delicious on its own, with strong coffee notes, but became a bit too bitter after a bite of the chocolate decadence. Tim mentioned that the cocktail was intentionally made without vanilla vodka to keep the bitternes in the drink; I think I would have liked it better with the vanilla vodka.

The chocolate decadence was the one dessert on the plate I had been eagerly eyeing since the moment we arrived. It is a fudgy, flourless, truffle-like cake with a hint of coffee. I remember trying it for the first time at the first Taste of Cambridge I ever attended back in 2006. The cake can be purchased from the case but is not on Finale's plated dessert menu. It was such a treat to see it on our plates that night. The cake is so rich that I could only take very small bites of it, but I loved every bite.

Does any of this sound appealing to you? If so, make sure you make a reservation for one of Finale's remaining two summer drinks tastings.

Summer Drinks Tasting

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

or

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Finale Coolidge Corner

6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.

$19.95 per person

Farewell Tour: The Upper Crust Pizzeria

Today is it…moving day! In some ways, it feels like this entire month flew by. In other ways, it felt like the big move would never get here.  Either way, I'm excited for the new beginnings in our new home!

Last night, we had our last meal together in our old apartment. We decided on something that would be incredibly easy to eat, and something that we were both craving – pizza! We settled on the Upper Crust Pizzeria, even though I’ve boycotted for over a year for ethical reasons. I know, I know, I’m a bit of a hypocrite but I couldn’t leave Beacon Hill without one last pizza from the one place that got me through law school and post-law school life.

Again, ordering was easy because we knew exactly what we wanted - half cheese and half Harvard Street (tomato, mozzarella, basil and garlic). 

We also were both badly craving some greens so we also split a garden salad with chicken.

Again, I'm definitely looking forward to leftover salad and pizza for lunch today!

Well, it has been a whirlwind and I've been loving this farewell tour.  That being said, the blog may be quiet for a bit until we get settled in but I'll be back in action in no time.  Thanks again to everyone for all of the love and support during this big transition!

Upper Crust Pizzeria has multiple locations in Massachusetts and nationwide.  The Beacon Hill location is at 20 Charles Street, Boston, MA.

Whim Dinner at Smolak Farms with Andy Husbands of Tremont 647

When Gilt City popped up a while back with a feature of Whim dinner at Smolak Farms I was immediately excited.  Nick grew up about 5 minutes from the farm, and me only about 15, so we were excited to see what Smolak was up to.  Upon further review, the Whim dinners are held every Wednesday night at Smolak farms during the summer months and each dinner was going to feature a different chef from some amazing Boston and Cambridge restaurants.  We selected the July 27th date not only because Andy Husbands from Tremont 647 was the chef for the evening, a place we have been wanting to try but have not made it yet, but the date is also Nick's birthday - perfect!

So off we were in our Zipcar to the north shore in perfect weather for an outdoor meal.  Traffic was easy so we made it in about a half hour.  We arrived at the farm, turned down the dirt road and were greeted by large fields, apple trees and a beautiful pond.  We parked our car and were directed down a small path lit with tea lights in small white bags  and tiki torches all along the apple orchard.  

Not a bad walk to dinner

The walk to the tent just confirmed we were in for a treat for dinner.  After we crested the small hill we saw the tent set among the trees.

Tented Dinner

The tables were set for groups of about 16, and we were seated in the center of a long table with a very friendly group from Virginia who made us laugh numerous times throughout the night.  When we sat, there was a large bread basket with some yummy rolls to tide us over before dinner.  Each place setting had a different piece of china, the table runner was a burlap material and raffia tied the silverware roll-up, all of which added to the rustic farm-like experience.

Bread!

After settling in with some wine, the dinner began!  The first course was a Massachusetts striper sashimi on cucumbers with a delicious sauce made with peppers, lime juice and sugar.  The striper was so fresh - it was literally caught that morning.  Having never had or thought to have a striper sashimi I was curious to see how it would taste and it was amazing!  The citrus in the sauce just set off the flavors of the fish so well.  Along with the fish was a great pork dumpling.  I thought that it may have too much roll on the outside, but it was so delicious and really did not overpower the pork held snugly within. 

First Course

In between course, Chef Husbands got up and spoke to the crowd about the meal but first let us know that a portion of the proceeds went to Share Strength - a charity with the aim to end childhood hunger by 2015.  It was nice to know this great evening was benefiting a fantastic cause. 

Centerpiece with Queen Ann's Lace and other wildflowers and Lettuce!

Our main course was BBQ ribs with a secret sweet glaze, collard greens, corn bread and a "Jersey" corn mixture with chipotle.  Now, being next to a group of Virginians we were curious to see how these ribs from New England would hold up. 

BBQ

During Chef Husbands speech he told us that these ribs actually won in a world champion BBQ contest, even against some skeptical Texans!  These ribs were amazing!  They were seriously some of the best I have had - sweet and delicious and literally fell off the bone.  I actually lost my knife after the first course, and did not even need to ask for another because the meat was so tender.  The corn and the corn bread were both great.  The bread was so moist and the chipotle corn was tasty and had a good kick.  The best thing on this plate surprised me - the collard greens!  I normally do not care for them, but these were out of this world.  They were cooked in brown sugar, cider vinegar, and chili flakes and a whole bunch of other goodness like bits of pork.  I basically could have had a huge bowl of these and been just fine!

Tent at night

As you can see, the atmosphere only improved as the evening wore on - plenty of twinkle lights, great music and drinks just added to the great food!  Finally, for dessert we had butter cake, and this was unlike anything I have had before.  The cake basically consisted of an obscene amount of butter, and the batter was put into the cake pan and then topped with a cream cheese mixture prior to being put in the oven.  Talk about amazing richness!  This was sweet buttery goodness that was not thick or heavy at all.  The cake was topped off with fresh currants, raspberries and some blueberry jam all from Smolak Farms.  It really was a great way to top off the meal.

Dessert!

Great food and drink throughout the night made for such a fun night!  It was something completely different than our typical norm.  Eating out in the tent on the farm on a perfect summer night really was just fun and a great way to celebrate Nick's birthday.  They were having hay rides but they were not starting for a bit so we ended up heading back to the city and missed out on the ride - another time, I hope.  We will have to head back to Smolak Farms soon because we did not have a chance to really explore the farm and everything it had to offer.  (Nick says we need to go back for their apple cider donuts.  Yes please!)

One thing I do know: I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of these types of dinner at other local farms because this one has been so successful.  The caliber of chefs cooking for each dinner is impressive and even though there are only a few left, they are basically sold out.  If they aren't you should buy tickets soon - you won't be disappointed.

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms With Feta

As soon as I saw fried zucchini blossoms in the July issue of Bon Appetit, I was determined to make them. Nature and timing seemed to be working against me though because I couldn't find zucchini blossoms at the farmers market for a few weeks. One time I saw the empty bin where they should have been -- but that was as close as I got to finding the blossoms until my most recent trip to the Central Square Farmers Market.

I caught a glimpse of orange peeking out of a bin at one of the farm stands and ran right over to ask if what I was looking at were zucchini blossoms. The vendor informed me they were pumpkin blossoms and that they were basically the same thing. I was mildly disappointed that I hadn't found zucchini blossoms, but if pumpkin blossoms were pretty much the same thing, I figured they would work just as well. I bought a dozen for $4 and spent the rest of the day dreaming about frying them up.

Back at home, I went through and snipped the stamens out of each one -- which is really a more frustrating task than it needs to be. I ended up tearing some of the blossoms in the process. Luckily that doesn't matter because you can basically "glue" them back together with the batter.

I followed the recipe in Bon Appetit but only made a half batch and made one small change: I stuffed my  pumpkin blossoms with small pieces of feta cheese. I figured they were already fried, so I might as well take them over the top with the addition of cheese! You can leave them unstuffed or just stuff half of them if you like.

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms With Feta (adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2011)

Ingredients

Vegetable oil (for frying)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces chilled club soda
12 small pieces feta (small rectangular strips fit best inside the blossoms)
12 pumpkin (or zucchini) blossoms, stamens removed
Sea salt

Preparation

In a Dutch oven, heat 1 to 2 inches oil to 350 degrees.

Combine flour and salt in a small bowl, and whisk in the club soda just until combined. (Do not mix too much or you'll deflate the batter. We're going for a light batter.)

Place a piece of feta inside each blossom, and gently twist the top of the blossom.

Start with three or four blossoms. One at a time, dredge each blossom in the batter, making sure to keep the blossom closed, and carefully place it in the oil. (If you're not stuffing the blossoms, just dredge them and let the tops spread open.)

Fry three or four blossoms at a time, about 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

Transfer the blossoms to a plate lined with paper towels, and sprinkle them with sea salt.

Repeat with remaining blossoms.

Serve hot.

These crispy, salty blossoms would make a perfect appetizer or summer snack.

Is there anything you keep searching for but keep missing out on at the farmers market?

Zucchini Kale Lasagna

It's bound to happen at one point this summer.  You get a rediculously large zucchini and wonder what you're going to do with it.  Or, perhaps you grab it right up and think immediately of zucchini bread or zucchini lasagna.

I'm sure you can guess which camp I fell into?  :)  Layers of zucchini alternating with a ricotta and kale mixture, smothered in a tasty marinara sauce, this lasagna was a delicious twist on tradition!!

Zucchini & Kale Lasagna
Recipe by Shannon
Serves 4

I had leftover zucchini and a bit of filling, so I made some rollatini with the extra components.  A tablespoon or two spread along a zucchini slab, rolled up and put in a small casserole with some sauce and baked along with the lasagna!

1 huge zucchini (or 2 regular-sized ones)
1 head of kale (use however much you'll enjoy), washed and destemmed
olive oil
1 lg clove garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
8oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t dried oregano
1/2t dried basil
dash of red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
Your favorite sauce (I used jarred)
Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil, for topping

Preheat the oven to 375deg.

Cut off the ends of the zucchini and slice lengthwise into ~1/4" thick slabs (a mandoline would be nice to use here, if you have it, but I just used a chef's knife).  Cover 1-2 cookie sheets with paper towels and lay zucchini in a single layer over them.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and set aside.

Heat 1-2T extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Roughly chop kale and add to heated oil.  Saute for ~5min or so.  You can also add a splash of water (carefully!!) and cover it with a lid to steam the kale a bit and get it to cook a bit quicker.  Add garlic and continue to cook until all the kale has started to wilt.  Remove from heat and set aside.

For the filling, add ricotta, egg and spices (garlic powder, oregano, basil) to a large bowl.  Mix well, then add the cooled kale mixture and mix again. Set aside until you're ready to assemble the lasagna (can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until you're ready to use).

Check on your zucchini, you should see large beads of water on the zucchini as the salt draws out some moisture. Blot it with a paper towel to remove this moisture before preparing the lasagna.

In a 9" sq pan, add enough sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.  Start layering zucchini, followed by kale/ricotta, then sauce.  Repeat until you've reached the top of your baking dish or used up your zucchini/filling.  Bake, covered in foil, for 35min.  Remove foil, top with your desired amount of Parmesan cheese and broil 5-10min, until cheese has melted nicely and its bubbling around the edges.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10min before trying to cut.  Top with fresh basil when serving!

How do you like your lasagna?

The Glass Castle - a Memoir by Jeannette Walls

When I was on vacation in Greece, my friend E recommended The Glass Castle - a Memoir by Jeannette Walls to me.  It was something she read on the plane ride home from her honeymoon, and she was about to start the author's second novel while in Greece.  With such a high recommendation, I was intrigued, and after reading up on it I decided to download it and give it a go.  Only a few pages in, I was hooked. 

Buy Me! source - Amazon.com

The story opens with Jeannette Walls as a three year old cooking for herself in the family trailer out in the western portion of the country and ending up in the hospital.  From there, her parents take her and her siblings on a wild "adventure" that crosses multiple states and areas - from California to New Mexico to Nevada.  Each time they only stay put for a short period of time.  Having only a small amount of money, they live on next to nothing with very few possessions.  For any number of reasons - running away from bills or the police - they pick up and move onto the next place.  In the beginning, when the children are younger, it really does seem like a fun adventure.  Their parents are fun and interesting to be with.  They always felt like they were in the middle of a fantasy, with the promise of the Glass House that their father designed.  

However, as they get older they begin to face the reality that maybe their parents are not so much fun, and that life for them is perhaps not that normal.  After some final circumstances in the southwest, the family moves to West Virginia to a small town in Appalachia where the author's father grew up, and they remained there through high school, living in a "house" where they didn't have indoor plumbing and had to bury their garbage in the back yard.  

This story was fascinating.  To think this is how a family actually lived their lives was amazing.  Even with such a crazy home life, all of the children were extremely smart, having been home schooled by their parents.  Watching them succeed and grow up in the face of such odd adversity was interesting and made for an absorbing read.  

Whale Watching

I never claimed to be a wildlife photographer, but for my first official Humpback whale photo shoot, I'd say I did a respectable job. This wasn't your standard vessel fleet launching from the tourist ridden harbor docks. This wasn't a time slotted tour where advanced purchase of tickets were required. This was a Saturday morning adventure with friends seeking a glimpse of some of the oceans largest mammals. (P.S. If you click only one photo to enlarge make it the one above - you can see the blowhole to the left.)We set out from an eerily calm inlet off the backside of Nauset Beach. It was low tide but luckily not too low to venture through the sandbar ridden channel. The inlet which stretches between the towns of Orleans and Eastham leads out into none other than the vast Atlantic Ocean. Only - we didn't have to venture very far into its vastness to spot a pod of Humpback Whales (we estimated about 12 - 14 different individual whales) who were swimming just off shore.Seeing these mammals in person is completely breathtaking and truly exhilarating. One of those times where the camera (and all my cropping and zooming) can't even begin to do the experience justice. The whales came really close to the us. I'm talking within a few arms lengths / a tiny stones throw close. Did I mention we are on a 23 foot recreational motorboat? It's an adrenaline rush to say the least. You never know just where they are going to pop up next to you! These playful Humpback whales are just as curious about us, as we are about them. (Okay, so maybe you learned that on a fourth grade field trip) but it's still something you need to remind yourself when they approach your tiny (in comparison) boat in epically close proximity. These guys are the real deal, identified with names by the varying patterns and markings on their tale flukes and everything. I only wish we saw them breech up close. Now that would have been the money shot. (Maybe next year...) I'll leave you with some scenery shots from the boat ride in and the views back on dry land. Not that I need an excuse, but simply because it's Cape Cod in the summertime and it's beautiful. And it's where I grew up. I'm much better at these still life scenery shots than I am at capturing those whales. I hope you enjoyed them all the same. Happy Thursday!

Giveaway: Eversave Boston Voucher For Tommy Doyle's

Happy Thursday, guys! I have another great giveaway for you from Eversave Boston!

Eversave is currently running a save where you pay $15 for $30 worth of food at Tommy Doyle's, and you can win one of those save vouchers here, so you can keep your $15 in your pocket and still enjoy $30 worth of food at Tommy Doyle's!

Tommy Doyle's has three locations -- Harvard Square, Kendall Square, and Hyannis -- and features Irish favorites like shepherd's pie and corned beef and cabbage.

If you'd like to win a save to use at Tommy Doyle's, please leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Irish dish. (Also let me know which save location you want if you win.)

For another chance to win, please tweet “I want to win a free Save to Tommy Doyle’s from @DeliciousDish and @EversaveBOS!” and leave another comment letting me know you tweeted.

You have until Friday, July 29, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. EST to enter to win.

Don't forget to follow Eversave on Twitter and like them on Facebook!

Farewell Tour: Billy Tse's

My favorite Chinese delivery place is surprisingly in the North End.  My friend Kim first introduced me to Billy Tse's when she used to live in the North End and we used to order it at her apartment.  When I discovered that they delivered to Beacon Hill, Billy Tse's became our regular Chinese take-out spot.  Bret and I often ordered from them on Friday evenings when we'd have a date night in with Chinese food, wine and a movie. 

Last night, Bret and I decided to continue our farewell tour with one last order from Billy Tse's.  Bret and I both had really long days and still had more packing to do.  By the time dinner arrived, we were both ready to take a break for Chinese food for dinner.  The best thing about this meal was that Bret and I didn't even need to consult each other on the order.  Although we've tried a lot of different items on their menu, we have three favorite dishes and we both knew these dishes would be ordered for this "last meal".

First up, the pork fried rice.  While roast pork fried rice isn't exactly the most unique dish, I love that Billy Tse's tastes fresh and is filled with lots of bean sprouts!  Plus, you can actually taste the pork instead of the usual cloyingly sweet chopped boneless spareribs that are usually found in pork fried rice.

Our second dish is always the spicy family-style bean curd.  I credit this dish as finally convincing Bret that tofu is a fantastic ingredient to cook with and eat.  Since then, he has been eating my own tofu creations without a second glance! 

Our final dish is the crispy aromatic Yu-shin chicken.  When we first ordered this dish, I was nervous that it would be too sweet but I love the fried batter and sticky sweet sauce surrounding this chicken.

Of course, the best thing about Chinese food are all the leftovers and we both knew we'd have plenty for lunch (and then some) the next day. 

I'll definitely be missing Billy Tse's once we move, but I'm looking forward to discovering our new go-to Chinese delivery place in our new neighborhood!

Billy Tse's is located at 240 Commercial Street, Boston, MA.