Let the #CookBookTrials Begin ...

New year, new blog post series. Last year was #ArtistTherapy, which I thoroughly enjoyed scribing. But, this year, I realized upon looking at my overflowing bookcases that I have a lot of books (yes) but also many cookbooks. Cookbooks I've been gifted as a food blogger, purchased, and/or sent for review. I have previously done posts/giveaways for Herbivoracious and Easy Chinese Food Recipes. Now though, I want to actually take the time to make the recipes from the cookbooks lining my shelves to discover new go-to recipes that I will hopefully fall in love with.

So, starting in February I will pick one cookbook I have that I have rarely, if ever, used and try several recipes. I will report back to you on them and more than likely post successes/failures on Instagram as well. At the end of each month (or very beginning of the next) I will note how progress went and the ease of use (good for people on the go or many lengthy recipes). And in terms of some cookbooks they may have a theme like Ellie Krieger's Comfort Food Fix (a healthy spin on comfort food) or the Mom's 100 Meals.

So that's the challenge I've made for myself this year. And I look forward to letting you know how that goes.

2014 Year in Review of NYC's Dessert Offerings

The new year is in full swing and so my bakery reviews of local confections is due as well. I have to say in looking it over I hadn't ventured to as many places. Maybe I was eating "healthier" or maybe I was baking at home more. But that doesn't mean that sweets weren't had and I wouldn't take the time to tell you the good, bad, and the unfortunate.

Here goes...

Ivy Bakery - Formally a storefront in SoHo Daniellan now offers her wonderful desserts in Brooklyn at Root Hill Cafe.

Highlights: Everything gooie! The red velvet gooie has a blood red color and good texture just like a bar. The butter gooie is still my fave of the batch. The green tea pie is quite good as Daniellan's crusts are fantastically flaky and tasty. Dunno if she uses high-class butter or lard but whatever it is keep doing it Daniellan!

Dominique Ansel - I tried Ansel's stuff before the whole rat debacle happened. So I feel somewhat comfortable noting what I did enjoy.

Highlights: The magic souffle. The orange in the brioche "shell" had a nice tang but the chocolate mousse inside is the star of the show. The mousse was wet like an undercooked bread pudding it holds semi-firm and is dense and delicious and not too chocolatey or dark chocolate flavored. However it's pretty costly (and small) at $7. Also finally tried the Cronut (Milk & Honey edition)! The FauxNuts have NOTHING on this one. Perfect consistency with the interior being very much like a nice chewy croissant and the exterior perfectly fried like a doughnut so it has a nice crunch. And the cream inside was tasty, sweet, and drizzly through the flaky layers. The inside of the cream was a bit oily so it ran, but it was good. However, I dunno if this is wait in line for hours good.

Red Rooster - Marcus Samuelsson's restaurant was a place I visited on several occasions this year for restaurant week and press dinners. Usually the desserts do not blow me away, however...

Highlights: ... the sweet potato filled doughnuts were perfection. Screw munchkins, get these light and lightly sugared tasty rounds coupled with a nice frothy sweet potato cream that oozes out when squishing your doughnut so it fills your mouth with tastiness. A sweet cream was served as a dollop on the side.

Silk Cakes - Ever since Silk Cakes opened up in Forest Hills (not far from my place in Queens) I have made a point to go on walks with a friend just to stop by their bakery and reward myself post-walk with milk cakes and/or cupcakes!

Highlights: Yuzu cake (kind of citrusy with lemony/limey) with green tea buttercream and green tea truffle in the middle. The cake was solid texture, nice subtle green tea flavors in the truffle and frosting. And the frosting was perfect, super smooth, best when room temperature (not when cold) and is like velvety perfection but filling (hence the name Silk Cakes). Can I say it again? I LOVE the frosting. I also tried the chocolate cupcake with semi-sweet chocolate truffle inside and green tea icing on top. I am addicted to this icing. So good and smooth.

Another addiction? Their milk cakes! The cinnamon milk cake which was reminiscent of a cinnamon roll. It's on the light and airy inside with the right amount of a sweet brown sugar/cinnamon swirl. Much better than a dense Cinnabon roll I tell you. By years end I had tried ALL the milk cakes from the cinnamon to banana, to green tea w/ blueberries and adore them all fantastic with tea. And again, a nice post-walk treat for yourself.

Trois Pommes - This patisserie is now closed.

Lowlights: A friend said she enjoyed their red velvet twinkie and it was fine. It had a solidred velvet balance and taste and the filling is nice, not too much could actually use more on the chocolate/red velvet side since there's so much cake and is light in cream cheese taste.

Cafe Glechik - The owners have Ukranian ancestry and displayed some of their hometown food at Village Voice's annual Choice Eats event last year.

Highlights: I pretty much repeatedly passed this booth for their Napoleon Cake. It was one of those eyes are bigger than your stomach scenarios. I wish I could've eaten more of that massive phyllo & vanilla cream layered goodness. Light, yet filling. Sweet yet not overwhelming. Fantastic.

Hill Country BBQ - I go for the brisket and the green bean casserole but Hill Country is known for their award-winning desserts.

Highlights: A friend shared some banana pudding and chocolate nut pudding. When having the pudding you must have it with the cookies that goes with them. The chocolate comes with chocolate wafers and the banana with Nilla wafers. If you're a fan of banana then the banana chunks in the pudding will be nice and creamy. However, this has to be eaten relatively quickly as the banana tends to lose water and this makes the overall pudding consistency a bit less solid so that you'll be dealing with chunky bits versus watery surroundings. The chocolate was HEAVY but delicious with the nuts, milk chocolate pudding and the cookies inside. Would recommend sharing the chocolate, the banana I could eat alone.

Old Fashioned Doughnuts - While their storefront has closed down this place popped up at the LIC and/or Astoria Fleas over the summer.

Highlights: Joining in on the FauxNut craze OFD's version was the Cream Croughnut. To me it was one of the better fake Cronuts I have had. It's more croissant like on the interior and is baked not fried. It's not dry like the Crumbnut and not too hard yet sweet unlike Trois Pommes version. It is quite soft and there's a lot of cream so it can get messy with the powdered sugar on top. But a very good find if you don't want something fried.

Sweet Muse - This is a new pop up available for purchase online. They specialize in brownies and I got to partake at LIC Flea last summer.

Highlights: I tried their cashew and caramel fudge brownie. It's a large brownie and the caramel had hardened but was still gooey and worked well with the overall brownie. You know I am all about the texture for brownies/blondies and this one had that dense quality I enjoy. Owner Laura Siner offers a wide range of flavors to choose from. There are also inspirational messages packed with the brownie in a mini ziplock.

Two Little Red Hens - This place may be known for their pies but their cupcakes are also very, very good.

Highlights: The chocolate and peanut butter cupcake, chocolate cake that was perfectly moist reminding me of a homemade Duncan Hines texture with peanut butter inside as filling and a fantastically smooth and creamy icing of chocolate and PB swirl.

That is not to be out shined by the pumpkin spice cupcake with pumpkin apricot spice frosting. Wonderful! Red Hens cupcakes can give Sugar Sweet Sunshine a run for the money in terms of the quality of the cake. The frosting was nice, not too thick or buttercream like and I like the added sweetness alternative from the apricot in the spice frosting. Well done. Large size, wish they had a more "regular sized cupcake." But very good.

Kicky's Kitchen - Is the cupcake dead? Not in NYC apparently. New pop up I tried at Madison Square Eats last summer.

Highlights: The pina colada caketail (cupcake with alcohol). Kicky's thing is making cupcakes out of cocktails! And this entails a cake with pineapple and coconut liquer (and some shredded coconut), and buttercream with a rum floater. It is not heavily alcoholic and you'll enjoy the tropical taste. It was fluffy and a reasonable sized cupcake. The cake itself was springy and the buttercream thick and sweet. I tried a taste of the car bomb (had chocolate stout in the cake) which tasted way more alcoholic than the pina colada.

Macaron Parlour - This place is one of my favorite bakeries and makes the best range of French macarons that I've had as far as I'm concerned. But I am open for others trying to persuade me otherwise.

Highlights: I retasted the Giggity macaron, which is a chocolate macaron with chocolate, caramel and peanut filling. Kinda reminiscent of a Snickers in macaron form. Fan-tastic. But would I expect anything less from Macaron Parlour? I think not.

Molly's Cupcakes & Milk & Cookies Bakery - See my May 26th cupcake crawl post for info on these. They were by far the best things on the crawl.

Chloe Doughy - While this isn't a bakery Chloe Doughy does warrant noting. I won a sample of this dough from the NYC Bake Sale raffle. Basically you sign up for Chloe Doughy and get two doughs (one new flavor for the month and the staple of chocolate chip). I'd recommend this as a cool gift to someone who enjoys baking. Like moi!

Highlights: The chocolate chip was divine. While the process of making it is reminiscent of Duncan Hines it is also distinct in the taste, quality of chocolate, and the fantastic smell. It's a standard chocolate chip that stands out as well and the dough held up well after 2 weeks in the fridge.

The lemon lavendar seemed to dry out a bit after two weeks and this may be because it's more a shortbread type cookie. Instructions say to add sparkling sugar and whipped lemon icing. The dough is fragrant like sorbet and the lemon in the cookie is quite light which is why the lemon icing may be necessary for taste. And to me the subtlety of the shortbread alone was enough to have me wanting more.

Sprinkles - You may know them as the place where you can get cupcakes via ATM. They have branched out form California to the fancy areas of Manhattan.

Highlights: Had the mini lemon cupcake with lemon icing and an unnecessary candy disk on top of the cupcake. The lemon flavor comes through mainly in the whipped icing, nice and frothy, and is subtle in the cake itself but definitely there. I'd get again, but a bit pricey for the mini size at $2. Would prefer it to be $1.50 at most, but then again I was in the UES.

La Toulousaine - I don't have a lot in terms of bakeries in Morningside Heights. I had stumbled upon this place and decided, what the heck?

Lowlights: I tried the pistachio and regular "madeleine's." (Notice the quotes.) They were massive and taste less like a traditional madeleine than a kind of pound cake in madeleine form. Mind you madeleine's are buttery cake but this was not the same. The pistachio was not that pistachio. Not bad but not like the formal madeleine. This is definitely not your typical patisserie. For that I'd suggest going elsewhere.

Le Maison du Macaron - I've been here before and being in the Chelsea area they don't only have French macarons but many freshly made goodies available every day.

Highlights: The key Lime Pie macaron definitely has the essence of key lime pie down. Key lime in the filling, green cookie with graham cracker crumble sprinkled on it. Good stuff. Had it twice. 

Vendome Macaron Bar - I'll admit to being a bit biased because the second time I went to their booth (or tent) at Smorgasburg the vendor got a bit testy. Could've been the heat but still...customer service.

Highlights/Lowlights: Their Reese's peanut butter macaron does taste like a Reese's peanut butter cup. Win! The claim to fame for Vendome is dying their macarons and the orange cookie captures the peanut butter and the chocolate ganache filling is tasty. I later had the salted caramel (light blue cookie) good but this one was not memorable. Their nutella macaron was okay as well. I had to freeze it after it was melting so may not have gotten the best of it as the nutella overwhelmed in the chilled/hardened filling.

Treat House - This place is known for varied rice krispy treats. And that's pretty much it.

Lowlights: For me a rice krispy treat is pretty darn simple to make. Add some more bits into it and it may not be spectacular but fine. I had a chocolate pretzel rice krispy treat that was very chocolatey with a chocolate frosting and flavorless pretzel. Chocolate chips were included in the rice krispy and it was aight. I also had the salted caramel which was fine but I'm also a rice krispy purist. And for $2 each they are small for what you get (and could easily make at home) but service is nice and they keep well.

Levain Bakery - This is the big a** cookie place. Cookies the size of your head I tell you!

Highlights: On a splurge I got the pumpkin loaf, deliciously cinnamony, moist. The perfect quality for bread with a nice crisp crust. I am also quite happy because they gave me the "butt" of the loaf so I got a hefty piece. :-)

Kitchenette Uptown - I used to go here more since it's near my job but the lack of scones in the morning (they make 6 a day) and the increasing prices for watered down cider have me going less and less.

Lowlights: Their cakes and desserts are said to be made fresh everyday. I had their red velvet cupcake and I am sorry to say people that it is not true red velvet! While it's a moist cake with creamy icing (that is also not cream cheese). The red velvet has no chocolate flavor, is closer to pink than red in color. So save your pennies if you have a red velvet fix and get something else. Now their big-as-your-hand cookies, namely PB was very good.

Epicerie Boulud - The director of my company brought two pies in from this fancy place. That means she loves us.

Highlights/Lowlights: The chocolate pecan pie was dense, super sweet, and very good. It's definitely a sinful and good dessert. The dark chocolate is so rich and wonderful...

The apple crumb pie however was dry. If you want some good apple crumb I suggest Little Pie Company's sour cream apple. Boulud's apple crumbs were a bit on the dry side and apple inside is fine and cinnamony but nothing overly special.

Third Times the Charm at #CookieTakedown

This is what my cousin said to me a couple times on our way to the 2014 Sunday edition of the Brooklyn Cookie Takedown I was not wholly optimistic. For me, baking is somewhat therapeutic. I couldn't imagine baking full-time as some of the love would be chipped away. Whereas writing is a passion, and something I consider work, baking is a hobby. And like any hobby why the heck not make over 200 cookies for people to consume and judge at the annual Cookie Takedown? Matt Timms organizes the slew of Takedowns that goes on, and not just in Brooklyn. The cookie version is the only one I've dared to enter because of my love for baking.

I found I was pretty uninspired for cookies. Wanting to do something different, and without chocolate, like in previous years. 2012 was maple cookie with a candied almond. 2013 brought a toasty coco-lime shortbread. This year...I was blank for a bit.

In the end I knew I wanted to try shortbread and perfect what I did last year in a way. Shortbread is a good try for several reasons. One of which is that it is so full of butter that it freezes well and is easy to roll so moisture and texture can retain if you make dough ahead of time.

But what to add to said shortbread? Who the heck knows? Time flew. Thanksgiving came and went. And I figured "The hell?!" I'll do shortbread dipped in chocolate with homemade caramel swirled on top. Perhaps there'll be a slew of chocolate items like the year prior. Perhaps there'd be a lot of caramel or bourbon items as well. I dunno. All I knew was that even though I was going through some personal issues and was not wholly invested that I'd make the best damn cookie I could.

Some things I learned in re-trying my hand at shortbread.

1. Use the BEST butter you can. And that meant Kerrygold Unsalted. Being part of the Kerrygold Food Blogger Network I knew I could utilize some coupons and found the texture and quality to be enhanced than with that of butter available in my local stores.

2. Confectioners over Granulated. Sugar matters when it comes to shortbread. Shortbread needs to be smooth and crisp, but buttery and not too sweet. Which is why it's important to have a good balance in that taste when you're adding items onto it. Don't just add stuff to shortbread! It has to work on all levels. So confectioners tones down the sweetness to not overpower while also being so fine that it works in the dough itself to get that crispness you want.

3. Watch. Your. Shortbread. I moved into a new place and so have a much more powerful oven. Which means I had to nurse and guard my shortbread until it turned a slight toasty on the bottom edges. Once that happens and the top is somewhat firm take it out and slip onto your wracks to cool and then seal up tight.

So I made all the cookies on Friday. And then it was time to melt the chocolate (use a pan!) and dip said cookies into chocolate. What did I find though after 2 hours of waiting for chocolate to set in my hot a** apartment? That I need to set these things in the fridge because my apartment was not having it. This meant the 200+ cookies I had spread throughout my small NYC apartment in Queens needed to go into my fridge in shifts over the course of another 2 hours so I could stack them up.

Sunday morning, right before heading out to Brooklyn, I made caramel complete with more butter, (light) brown sugar, heavy cream, and kosher salt. After making the caramel I put it into a squeeze bottle and wrapped that up in foil to retain the heat in the hopes it was not too cold out (since my apartment was Hades) to freeze the caramel and rushed off to the Takedown.

Well, after 3 years of doing this I was having fun. Eating the other participants' cookies. Friend and Takedown Queen (Ice Cream Champene) Daisy Bow was my table buddy and had my fave cookie of the day her Darth Tater potato chip shortbread with chocolate drizzle. Sooo good.

The judges tasted. One of them co-owner of Baked Renato Poliafito and a previous Takedown judge from Schnack. So, at the end of the competition you get up on stage, introduce yourself and your cookie and wait to hear the verdict. The judges choice came first and they announced the two Honorary mentions. Then came third place.

At this point one is hopeful to hear their name but not expecting it and by the time the second place was called I was waiting to hear whom I'd be congratulating for the first place prize while sweating under the Bell House lights on stage and smiling due to a sugar high and since you're being watched by many, many people.

And then, someone, Renato of Baked, calls #19 Chocolate dipped & caramel tipped shortbread and your mouth drops open and you stagger back into your friends Daisy and Emily in shock at having your name called. Then you, or I, walk slowly to gain your prizes and smile really big and goofily and when the mic is placed in front of you say "I've been in this competition three times and this is the first time I won. Yay!" And then you get a bunch of congratulations from many people with genuine smiles and must figure out how to carry a Kitchenaid mixer home from Brooklyn to Queens with your cousin.

Afterwards you eat Thai food for dinner to try and cancel out the sugar. :-)

So yay! Bridesmaid turned bride at the latest Brooklyn Cookie Takedown after a rough couple weeks and worrying about what I was making knowing I made something people enjoyed--even having Matt Timms dad Pete strike up convo about how much he liked my shortbread and the best he's had was by his wife who is English and they, you know, invented shortbread--can be enough. I really do simply like to feed people and have them enjoy it. But winning a Kitchenaid mixer and Baked cookbook is pretty damn awesome too.

Happy Baking peeps!

If I did a Cupcake/Dessert Crawl in NYC, this is how it'd go...

Back in May I wrote about a cupcake crawl my friend Kim and I went on that was ... lackluster, let me be honest, it was lackluster. I kind of had a field day on Twitter in October when people keep suggesting Magnolia Bakery in terms of the must go to bakery in NYC. As in this is the "must" bakery to get for friends outside of the city. It has the "best' cupcakes. That is when I shook my head and tsk tsk tsk'd, my friends. There is so much more to NYC than Magnolia, but thanks for that Sex in the City. 

I'm not saying Magnolia is bad. Food, like art, is a subjective thing. What I am saying is that there's a whole lot out there, especially in a place as large and populous as NYC. So I'd suggest broadening your horizons in terms of the cupcake offerings here and what you may have heard is the "best" when in fact there are hidden gems throughout NYC. Many I have yet to try myself and many I have had the pleasure of consuming. So, if I did a cupcake/dessert crawl here's where I'd lead my group. And also, you're welcome.

• First Stop: Silk Cakes (Queens, LES): I adore the Asian-inspired cupcakes and delectables offered at this bakery. The yuzu cupcake with green tea truffle and smooth as silk (see what I did there?) icing is my favorite thing there along with the new limited edition pumpkin roll and their variety of milk cakes. It's such a treat to have them available in Queens.
• Next up, Fay Da Bakery (Queens, Chinatown): I'm a fan of sponge cakes, there's a pillow-like quality to them that is really good but also pretty dangerous because it means you can consume them like crazy. Fay Da offers not only cupcakes, but cake rolls, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and some savory items as well as every day bread along with tea. They're a solid chain and you can rest up, eat up, and simply relax.
• After that is, Sugar Sweet Sunshine (LES): They have the pumpkin cupcake year-round so that was my biggest positive with Triple S. But there's also the friendly staff, the steady good taste of their cupcakes, along with their offering of puddings and trifles that adds to the sugar overload. And perhaps because it's a one -off with no other locations makes it even more of a treat because you know there's only one Triple S.
• And then, Lady M Confections (UES, Midtown West): This is the high-roller stop for some light and creamy crepe cake! This is also the place to feel pretty darn fancy whilst hoarding your dollars to have cake and drink tea with a pinky up.
• Penultimate stop, Ivy Bakery (now available at Root Hill Cafe in Brooklyn): Cupcakes, scones, and butter gooies? Yes, please. Daniellan's homemade goods have a new home in Brooklyn, which is great because I missed her SoHo location. So now there's a sit-down place to get your cupcakes and gooies and some coffee in a warm spot this winter and beyond.
• All aboard, last stop! Butter & Scotch (Brooklyn): I'm so glad Allison and Keavy are opening up their dessert/cocktail location next year. I can get my alcohol and my pies in one spot. Fantastic! I'm sure the spot, once open to the public, will be a cool, comfortable place for you to enjoy your sweets and lounge around over drinks post-dinner, lunch, or just cause.

So there you have it. Some you may have heard of, some not. But all are delicious and this is from a name you can trust. :-)

Wine & Cheese Pairing w/ @KerrygoldUSA

On Wednesday night over a dozen bloggers in the New York City area convened at a food blogger's paradise in midtown: Sur La Table.

Kerrygold USA hosted a wine and cheese pairing as a treat to those in the Kerrygold Food Blogger Network. I have to say that Kerrygold has been quite generous to us food bloggers being a consistent sponsor for Pie Party Live and also hosting regular events and contests to win their coveted cheeses and butters. Anyone who bakes/cooks with Kerrygold knows that their product is top notch. Their butter especially when it comes to making crusts and oh-so-crisp cookies. There's a quality to Kerrygold's butter especially that transcends whatever you get on sale and really does bring up your dessert and savory game when added to any recipe. So invest in the product.

Terlato Wines and Rutherford Hill in Napa Valley supplied the perfect complements to the various cheeses Kerrygold supplied with tastes that helped enhance rather than overpower.

On display were several Kerrygold favorites such as Skellig, Dubliner, Cashel Blue, and Dubliner with Irish Stout that was sweeter than the singular Dubliner and was so delectable it didn't need wine. We continued to eat the crumbles with our fingers before and during the pairing.

Apricot Shallot Chutney and water crackers were displayed as a precursor to our formal pairing. We got to chat and in the case of some of us we caught up! It was so nice to see many of the other local food bloggers whom I haven't seen since Pie Party or even before.

And then things got started with us bloggers being educated by a representative of Terlato Wines about tasting the Dubliner with Irish Stout and a nice Chardonnay and even the Skellig and Merlot and the proper balance of tastes coming together to enhance sweetness or saltiness rather than the liquid overwhelming a lighter cheese. This guidance was helpful and made the event that much lighter fare for us to know what to do in the case of taking a good wine and fine cheese and hosting our own event to have our guests enjoy the spread.

Kerrygold and Sur La Table were also generous enough to serve appetizers from Chef Gamoran and staff such as Bacon-wrapped Dates stuffed with Cashel blue cheese. One of the Sur La Table staff suggested having this with the Merlot and the subdued Merlot and the natural sweetness of the dates mixed in a really fine way.

There were Kerrygold Irish Mac and Cheese Bites that were buttery, crunchy, cheesy (in a good way) with parmigiano-reggiano and Kerrygold Aged Reserve, Swiss, and Dubliner. In addition to Sriracha Glazed Chicken Skewers in a salsa verde that was hot but the heat didn't linger too long on your tongue. And another addiction were the cranberry tarts with a crust made from the go-to Kerrygold unsalted butter to get that fine crispness and sweetness that you can eat a couple dozen. I tried.

In the end there was more wine, additional bites for snacking--and we did snack--as well as goody bags for those in attendance with more generosity from Kerrygold in providing various cheeses, butters, and their cookbook so we can attempt to make these fantastic & filling dishes in our own homes.

Thanks again Megan and everyone at Kerrygold, Chef Gamoran and staff and everyone at Sur La Table for making us feel welcoming and stuffing us with such deliciousness I didn't want to leave. With cookbook in hand I know what my plans will be this weekend.