Kneadful Things

The Chocolate Room Revisited...

You want it, don't you.

You want the ooey-gooey, chocolate dripping, perfect texture cupcake. This is the BEST chocolate cupcake in the ENTIRE city. It's not the sticky sweet butter cream of Magnolia or Billy's, it's not the cooked cream frosting of Baked, it's a category all on it's own. It's similar to a ganache, but thicker. You want to bathe in it. It makes you want to make babies...it's that good. The cupcake is moist and rich without being overpowering....and paired with some gorilla coffee? Perfection. I have dreams about this cupcake. Vivid dreams. In fact...I am going to go get another one right now. (Even if I do only eat the frosting!)

Mama loves dairy....Blue Marble Ice Cream

Their address and my birthday are one in the same 420. I have a responsibility to like it. To represent a number that is oft only known as a holiday for illicit substances that make you desire dairy. And Cheetos.

So here I am. Drawn to an ice cream shop on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. A new Mecca of organic, sweet, dairy goodness. Blue Marble has only been open for around two months, but when I was in there regulars had already become consistent.

With their attention to the environment by using organic milk and bio-degradable serve ware, they are already a standout in a community rife with greenies. (Myself, included. GO SMALL FOOTPRINT!)  They happen to use my favorite grass-fed milk in their ice cream, Natural by Nature which has (in my humble, but country opinion) a more creamy, milky flavor than their grain-fed counterparts.

This all leads to a rich and creamy ultra-premium ice cream. At the shop, Tim and I enjoyed a scoop of their "culture", which is their sharp, yogurt ice cream, and almond-pistachio.

"Culture" was rich in a way the other "yogurt" chains like Pinkberry and Oko, are not. It has a far sharper flavor, not unlike that of Fage Greek yogurt. Though I had it straight up, I can imagine that it would be equally fantastic with a fruit or honey topping. The yogurt flavor is very intense and almost prickly in the way it hits your taste buds. A must for yogurt lovers.

The "almond-pistachio" flavor had a forward, amaretto flavor with a gentle pistachio finish. The pieces of nuts were enough to satisfy the desire for crunch, without making it difficult to scoop or eat. In fact, Tim had the Saturday night special "The Snowman" which is a small scoop on a larger scoop with eyes and a mouth. He felt like a kid again. (Though he insisted he ordered it because the baby telepathically told him to.) When in doubt? Blame the baby.

We enjoyed our ice cream so much that we sprung for a pint to take home. One pint of 1/2 ginger ice cream and 1/2 maple ice cream. Good separate, BETTER together. Neither of the flavors overpower one another, leaving you wanting more. It's like the best gingersnap you have ever had rolled in maple syrup. Yummm. This leaves me with a quandary, at Blue Marble, not only do they have gobs and gobs of wonderful helado, they also have several unique toppings like "balsamic vinegar" and "pure Vermont Maple syrup".  What is my quandary? What to try next, of course. I guess I'll just have to "ask the baby".

I went to a chain......it wasn't bad. Greetings from the Gluten Free Menu of the Outback.

The world is a wonky, wonky, place. I never used to go to chain restaurants, now that I know I have celiac's, I find myself looking for places with gluten free menus and/or options. That led me all the way to Australia, To the Outback.

I got all tingly upon the presentation of the gluten free menu. At first I thought it might be the booze, but no, it was in fact, excitement. There was a whole menu just for me. Yay.

For dinner I ordered the grilled vegetables and shrimp with a baked sweet potato.(It came with a heart-stopping amount of butter on it, which I promptly removed. Seriously, it was like an ice cream scoop of butter.) The shrimp, though slightly overdone was well-seasoned and paired with pineapple and other kebab related vegetables. I had forgotten how much I enjoy grilled pineapple. It really brings out the sweetness of the fruit and makes it very pretty to look at. Not as pretty as a pile of pasta, but oh well.

For dessert Tim and I shared the "Chocolate Thunder from Down Under" A flourless brownie topped with ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. It was enough for a class of first graders. Really excessive and equally wonderful. I wanted to roll around on the brownie. It was that good.

Can I mention that I often find myself out and about, having the richest fantasies about things like eating a hot pretzel or baking a pie. When I went to see "Waitress" I was salivating over the prospect of baking and serving/eating pies. I miss baking and trying new cookie recipes almost as much as I missed smoking when I quit. I bought chocolate and vanilla candles to try to curb the craving, that just made it worse. So I went back to my fresh cut grass scented soy candles. (A trifle bit odd for someone with nasty hayfever, but not as bad as the vegan I know that has a leather fetish.)

I have a bit of a gripe. I love keeping my home, I love crafting, and cooking, and organizing my shoe closet. So I thought I would add Martha Stewart to my TIVO list. Her show IS ONE GIGANOURMOUS COMMERCIAL. "Would you like to buy my crap from Michael's?" "Would you like to see my suburban that I clean with scotch brite?" Donny Deutch has nothing on this woman. She could plug a hole in a dike. No wonder she is a gajillionaire. There I have said my peace. Now I am going to Macy's to buy my Lancome to get my free gift with purchase and then I am headed to H&M to get some tee shirts. After that I may head to Whole Foods to get a snack.

Gluten Free Brownie at Starbucks? Bring it ON! Cocoa Bar.

It was really quite warm yesterday. Beautiful even. Made even better by the fact that I found a GLUTEN FREE brownie at Starbucks! Double Chocolate Ancho Chile brownie. Super chocolatey. It almost has the texture of a light meringue, but it is delicious. The heat is very gentle, so much more gentle than the way you scream at your mother. (She does remind you to wear a jacket when you are in your twenties.) It went really well with my favorite beverage on the planet, Venti Black Unsweet Iced Tea. Delightful. Regular brownies be darned! Momma's got a brand new brownie.

I have long been a fan of the Cocoa Bar in Brooklyn. I am a bigger fan now. They have compiled a list of everything they offer that is gluten-free. One offering? A chocolate hazelnut mousse cake with raspberry ganache. It's wonderful, it's as though nutella and smuckers met in NYC one evening and had a drunken soiree which resulted in a baby that makes out of wed-lock babies trendier than hollywood foreign adoptions with natural children named after literary canines. Beware, this flourless cake is DENSE. Tim had no problem powering through his portion, I , on the other hand found that just a little went a LONG way. The hazelnuts on the outside were toasted which made me especially happy. (we all know they taste way better that way). Thank heavens for small miracles like gluten free options at starbucks.

Scottadito Osteria Toscana

It's been forever since I've posted, I know, I know, but I have been REALLY busy. You see it's Pillbury Bake Off time, and I intend to win this year. (I would tell you what I am entering, but you could be treasonous! A POX ON ALL OF YOU!) So I will tell you about the lovely dinner I ate at Scottadito in Brooklyn It was a prix fix, which makes me very happy. Less choices mean less decisions for the interminably confused. (It's been a week of indesision for me, just ask my therapist) It was an especially difficult day for me today, what with the unseasonably warm weather and my choice of open-toed shoes. I thought to myself...."HOW IN THE HADES AM I SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE, I LOVE THEM ALL" Jimmy Choo, a one Mr Blahnik, in the end what do I go with on my first warm day? FREAKING TARGET SLIDES! What does that say about me? Hopefully nothing bad. What does the fact that I went nutty for a prix fix menu say about me? I am hoping frugal and fabulous. Which I guess is better than freaky and fungal. (Unless you are talkin' bout some truffles or penicillin, both wonderful features of nature, and one will help ya get over the clap!)

I started my meal with a mixed green salad with beets, vinaigrette, and ricotta salata. I love salad. Maybe I should have been born a rabbit, but as a child I ate rabbit frequently at my grandmothers, maybe I was just destined to be a cannibal, though I think my fear of people's nasties will keep me squarely away from my destiny. Oh well. Just when I was thinking about preparing my fava beans. (Damn, I don't like Chianti either!)

My second course was FUNGUS, you see I was RIGHT ALL ALONG, FUNKY AND FUNGAL, not FREAKY. Ravioli a Funghi. With a drizzle of truffle oil, creamy parmesean sauce, light little pillows of mushroomy goodness. Makes me want to go mushrooming, but knowing me I would end up with a psychadelic subject and end up dancing all nakey and things through Union Square, so at least no one would notice.

 

The main event was seared salmon on top of roasted potatoes along with broccoli. Buttery salmon lightly seasoned with herbs and black pepper. I must admit I didn't touch the potatoes or broccoli, but the salmon was perfectly done, rare and rich......perhaps I can go swimming in a lovely alaskan stream and get some later, or perhaps not. I am no Bear Grylls, I couldn't even kill a lobster for dinner. ALL MY PLANS OF WORLD DOMINATION ARE SCREWED! Now what I am I going to plan in my spare time? A knitting circle?

Maybe I'll win the bake off, then I can TAKE OVER THE WORLD, or at least get my sister to pick up the phone occasionally.

Big Up to B'klyn, Paninoteca 275 and Baked.

Ahh, the lure of Smith Street. After closing briefly for renovations, Panino'teca 275, re-opened to little fanfare from bloggers, but I was happy. They have a small, well-edited menu featuring, obviously panini's, salads, and a decent brunch. My dinner was very good, starting with a goat cheese salad topped with a garlic crustini and tossed in a maple vinaigrette. Though the dressing was a little sweet for my taste, overall, I was pleased. It was a simple mixed greens salad, nothing fancy, but nothing to scoff at. For my entree I chose a panzanella type soup of tomatoes and bread dumplings overflowing with basil and olive oil. It was very comforting and rich, and made you want to put your jammies on and be lulled to sleep by your Nonna.

Yesterday, was DOLLAR CUPCAKE DAY, PEOPLE! Baked in Red Hook, every monday offers their most delicious buttercream laden cakes of plenty for just a buck. So what do I do? I buy 6, to share, of course. 2 double chocolate, 1 malt chocolate, 1 vanilla, 1 vanilla/chocolate, 1 red velvet. What can you say about gorgeous, delicious, confectionary perfection? Eat Up. It is a cooked buttercream, which just makes it that much more creamy and wonderful. So go, get baked.

No, I of course do NOT recommend that you go out and eat 6 mini cupcakes. Balance and Nutrition, people. Do you know what I made for dinner last night? Well it wasn't burgers and fries. I'll just let you see for yourself.

Grimaldi's, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Return to the Chelsea Market.

New York is a city of overachievers. People here want to do the best, have the best, be the best, make the best. The ones that don't? Move to Florida. Why? It's simple. NY is expensive, and if you don't achieve in some form or fashion, you would end up in the projects.

I love the fact that NY achieves. I believe in achieving. What is the point of being mediocre? My grandmother taught me something very important at a very young age. Whatever you do, be it corporate executive or cashier, do it well. The simplest things should be done to the best of your ability. If it's my papers or my paprikash, I put everything into it. I am glad that even the pizzerias and ice creameries of NY share the same views towards achievement as the rest of my insane city.

How lucky am I that two of them are so insanely close to each other. Grimaldi's Pizzeria and The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Both of these restaurants are often crowded, with lines that wrap in front of each of their perspective entrances. The scores of people that have waited for these foods are not wrong. Grimaldi's and TBICF go out of their way to make your taste buds tingle. It's worth finding your way around DUMBO for these two restaurants, not to mention the awe-inspiring view of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

The word that comes to mind when you enter into the "hallowed ground" that is Grimaldi's is "goodfellas". From the Frank Sinatra mugshot, to the cheek and hand kissing, slick-haired owner. This place looks like somewhere you might find a revolver behind the water-closet ala' Godfather.

The menu is simple, pizza or calzone, cooked in a coal fired oven that fills the entire dining room with the smells of a campfire. The desire to build s'mores is inevitable until they bring you your very own ooey-gooey, crispy-crunchy, hand-made pie. No shortcuts here. The personally tossed and formed dough, the spread of freshly made mozzarella, the drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, the drop of the basil leaves, the chopped garlic. That is what makes this one of NY's best pizzas. It would be so easy to overeat here. Stopping at one or two slices seems impossible. I am amazed that I could. If it weren't for the promise of ice cream in the near future, I might have lost the battle. Thank heavens, I ate a salad before going to Grimaldi's.

The sauce is spicy-sweet, and spread thinly over the crisp crust. The aforementioned cheese, basil, and olive oil, the classic Naples combination, seems new and fresh on their pie. It's as if no one has ever put them together in this way before. The chopped fresh garlic, signature to NY pies, only adds more character to the pie. Gilding a lily? Perhaps, but sometimes the extra paint is extraordinary. I find myself held captive by its aroma. I wish that they bottled it as a men's cologne. Tim would be wearing it every day. Some people have oysters, New Yorkers have pizza. DUMBO has Grimaldi's.

After such a dinner, you would think I would go home and collapse into satisfied lump of happiness. No. I went to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory to share a scoop with my husband. We chose the ultra rich peach ice cream. It's light and smooth, overflowing with peach goodness. I might as well be sitting at a creamery in Savannah. It is so rich that you will find that one dip is plenty for two people.

Yesterday, Tim and I happened to be in Chelsea, and hungry for some roughage. But O' Delight of Delights, The green grocer inside the marketplace has a great, affordable, salad bar, with some of the best produce and cheese in town. I love salads, I love them even more when they are cheap and fresh.  Food is fuel, and the dense nutrients found in a well-prepared salad, more than fill you up. The dietary fiber alone will digest more slowly than simple carbohydrates, and leave you feeling fuller, longer. Eat a rainbow, and it's hard to go wrong.

Try the pineapple, it was splendid.

Planet Thailand, This is Me.

There is a world at the other side of Brooklyn. This world is darn near Queens. This world is Williamsburg. This section of Bkln has more hipsters per square capita, than anywhere else in the city. (Except for maybe, DUMBO.) Needless to say, there are tons of restaurants playing the latest EMO over loudspeakers shaped like robots, with plenty of people pushing $900 strollers and driving overpriced cars with bumper stickers that say things like "Nationwide Heathcare for Everyone" Oh the irony.  But if you can get past the throngs of people in $80 tee shirts, this really is a neat place.

One of the neat places is, Planet Thailand. It is a mammoth space with a sleek concrete bar and overflowing cup water fountain. There is only one hostess, but somehow, she gets it done. Tim and I got there at 8pm and only had to wait ten minutes.

There are essentially two menus, the main portion is filled with well-prepared Thai basics like papaya salad and noodles. The japanese side offers several types of maki, sashimi, and hibachi. There is a little something for everyone.

Tim ordered sliced garlic beef with vegetables. He loved it, but wished that it came out at the same time as my entree served a few minutes later. My hibachi vegetables were very good, but I too, wished they came at the same time for the evening. Though, I could drink the ginger dipping sauce.

The real fun was dessert. We ordered the ginger creme brulee. It was wonderful. Not like a gingerbread cookie. Just a simple ginger custard with caramelized sugar. Very simple, very good. Though it was topped with less than beautiful, and more than unnecessary strawberries. That was easily remedied. You should so go and get this dessert.

Onward and upward. This past week there has been a lot of attention paid in the media to something incredibly stupid. Tyra Bank's weight. She is healthy and beautiful, and shows women that it is ok to have curves. With the modeling that I have done I have seen what some of the women do to stay that absurdly stick thin. I have seen all the tricks of moving food around on the plate, or pretending it's overdone, or taking speed. I know I am shaped like a thirteen year old boy. And that's ok too. I am NOT naturally thin. I eat well, and sweets in moderation. I exercise and don't drink to excess. I allow myself to feel pleasure and try to help others enjoy their life. There is nothing more important than the stamp you leave on the world.

I am the one on the far left.

Villabate Pastry Shop.....The best cannoli ever!

What do you do when the rest of the world is dieting and you are trying to gain a few pounds? GO GET CANNOLI! And where do you go when you want a delicious cannoli? Villabate Pastry Shop in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, where the shop owners still Parle Italiano, and you can practically feel the Sicilian breeze. This gem on 18th avenue still does things the old fashioned way, by hand and with super fresh ingredients. Whether you want a fantastic napolean or fresh Italian bread, this is the place to go. There isn't anywhere in Manhattan that can touch it. Though it is all takeout only, the lines are often several people deep. For the amount of calories you are about to consume, I would suggest parking somewhere in the lower east side of Manhattan. You are going to want to eat everything.

And their cannoli? I would happily sit through an entire Yanni concert wearing nothing but toe socks and a smile if it meant that I could gobble up one of these delicious confections at the close. These are the things pregnant women beat their husbands up at 7 am for. They are creamy, crunchy, rich, and exploding with flavor. When you first take a bite, you notice the taste of ricotta and marscarpone, blended brilliantly with subtle vanilla and spice. It's texture is incredibly smooth, like the best gelato you have ever had, or a priceless fois gras. It is in itself a phenomenon. The shell is somewhere between delicate cookie and ice cream cone. sturdy yet light, a wonderful contrast to the creamy filling. I want to linger in the aroma of it, I want to bathe in it's richness and kiss it's creator. I think it could solve the Donald vs Rosie saga, just give each side a cannoli and watch the magic. I have many Italian bakeries that I love, but Villabate, has my heart. I Heart Villabate soo much. Go. Eat. Have a dozen cannoli. Or my husband's favorite, the rum horn.

The Minnow is Gone.....Brooklyn Burger Bar is now. Uncommon Goods

Upon returning from my Christmas holiday, I noticed a bright yellow awning where the black awning had been, this could only mean one thing....yet another restaurant swap. Where one restaurant goes away, another opens in it's place in what seems like minutes. You doubt that the owners have not so much as changed hands, but merely changed their minds. The Minnow on 7th avenue did just that, and only the awning and a few seats changed. It is now, The Brooklyn Burger Bar.

I started with a cosmopolitan that took slightly over ten minutes to prepare apparently, and Tim ordered a sprite. (There was a lack of iced tea on the menu....no, seriously, there was NO iced tea!)I ordered a veggie burger with sweet potato fries, (There weren't any non-deep fried sides on the menu) and Tim ordered the italian style burger with red bell peppers and mozzarella cheese. My veggie burger was the exact same as the burger served at the minnow, with one difference....a brioche bun. I personally prefer a sesame seed bun or ciabatta for a veggie burger, but what do I know?

Tim's burger had nearly as many toppings as meat and was overdone. He ordered his medium and it came out a dried well. (And given the wilted-ness of the lettuce on the side of my burger, I am pretty sure it was left to die in the hot window.) The only saving grace of this restaurant was the fact that the drink wasn't 10 dollars. (It was $7). Will I be going back? Nah....for my money....I like Hope and Anchor, plus they have drag queen karaoke.

On another note, my sister Emily cracked me up yesterday on the phone, and I want her to move to NYC....big favor??? Nahh, packing up and moving 500 miles can't be that big a deal. (I did it!)

We torment my grandmother. She likes it.

I would also like to give props to a site that I have fallen for....Uncommmon Goods. They sell just about anything strange....I like it.