Stalker!

Rick and I drove to Baltimore today and somehow ended up near Charm City Cakes, where they film Ace of Cakes! The windows are covered up with black plastic, very shrouded in mystery. We sat around in the car in the rain watching the place, hoping something would happen. Just when my patience had gotten thin, someone emerged from the building with a HUGE cake (half the size of my body) that was covered in a garbage bag for protection from the rain. Cool.

The Many Shades of Beer

After class we were invited to try beer that was brewed by another class. It tasted decent for beer. They had quite the collection of different beers. Chef Name Unknown explained that the varying spectrum of beer colors was due to how long the barley had been heated. The principle of coloration was similar to caramelization of roux (flour + fat).

I also learned how to "sample" spirits. Because of the obscenely high alcohol content in spirits, you don't really take sips or shots, otherwise by the time you were finished sampling, you would be wasted. The proper way is to take a coffee stirrer straw, dispense a drop into your palm and rub your two hands together and take a big ole whiff. I would imagine it is very similar to smelling perfume.

How much more French can you get

than French toast? I talked Stephanie into making French toast nibblers. How cute are these?

I also made shrimp toast with Koren, which is simply cut up shrimp coated in an egg mixture with herbs (chives, shallots, and garlic), black pepper, and salt pressed into bread, coated again in the batter and fried.

La Creperie!

I made crepes in class today. Croutons may be a labor of love, but crepes are a labor of selfless, caring, delicate love. It is all about the crepe. Ragazzo made some whipped butter (I mean, over whipped cream) and I bruinoised (cutting into teeny tiny cubes) some strawberries.

After letting the batter rest in the refrigerator for an hour we were ready to rock! Tip: use a non-stick pan and non-stick spray. They were delicious!!!

Here's the not-so-sexy picture of the amazing melt-in-your mouth crepes!

Coronary Croutons

"Croutons are a labor of love," White Al. I made croutons again today. What he didn't mention is that there is an obscene amount of oil and butter that go into the creation of croutons. I made a quart of croutons today and this squeeze bottle was full when I started and that was a full stick of butter before I started. Ack!

Here are the croutons absorbing all that oily goodness:

What I believe in.

I don't think I am always the best at everything, but I do have principles. Recently since I have joined the ranks of the restaurants and calvary of cooks, I have allowed some of my principles to slip. I am going back to the basics and standing up for what I believe in and not fear any repercussions for doing what I think is the right thing.

Meating a Vegetarian's Demands

We're a bar that's part of a steakhouse. So, we had a vegetarian come in today and order a Malaysian tofu. WTF is a Malaysian tofu?
Pan seared Tofu and sauteed asparagus with basil oil, Malaysian sauce with asparagus tempura. Chef Michael defined for us that, "the dish has to satisfy, that means making the vegetarian feel full," to be successful.

Volcano Sushi?

Not to be outdone by Taco Bell's Volcano Taco, Sushi-Go-Round has the Volcano Sushi. Crunchy surimi bits intertwined with red roe atop a deep fried piece of sushi.

Ding ding. I think the Volcano Taco wins this round.

10 lbs later!

I went to Hello Cupcake! and Buzz Bakery today and tried out their cupcakes. I was rather disappointed in Hello Cupcake. The cake wasn't very tasty, a bit dry and not very flavorful. The icing was not special. Here's their root beer cupcake. Cute straw!


Buzz Bakery was AWESOME! I ate their amazing Buzz Bumble Bee cupcake. The flavor of the cake was intense and there was a chocolate flavored syrup that was injected into the cupcake. It is by far my favorite cupcake that I have had since I've been back to the DC area. I also LOVE their decor. It's so cute and inviting. Definitely a spot I would recommend.


The Washingtonian has posted a video on how to make the cupcakes here. They also have the recipe, which I've posted below:

Buzz Bakery’s Bumble Bee Cupcakes

Makes 26 cupcakes.

Vanilla Chiffon Cake
10 ounces butter
2½ cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ cups sour cream
11¼ ounces cake flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Combine butter and sugar in a the bowl of a mixer and beat until softened and creamed (about 15 minutes). Slowly add the eggs and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate thoroughly. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix batter until it is combined. Divide evenly into a lined cupcake pan.

American Buttercream Frosting
1 pound softened butter
2 pounds sifted powdered sugar
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat for approximately 15 minutes on high speed. Scrape down sides of the bowl and incorporate. Slowly add milk and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

Chocolate Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
9 ounces heavy cream
5¼ ounces cocoa powder

Bring sugar, water, and cream to a boil. Turn off heat and add sifted cocoa powder. Strain and chill.

Assembly
When the cupcakes are finished baking and cool, use a paring knife to hollow out the center of the cupcake. Keep the top piece. Fill the center of the cupcake with chocolate sauce and replace the “lid.” Frost with buttercream.

Eastern Market

Rick and I went to a farmer's market tucked behind Capitol Hill today before he made an appearance in our class. Eastern Market is one of the oldest markets in DC. It was a really nice market, the fruit looked gorgeous and mouthwatering. There was a stand that sold the most delicious looking hummus. There was also an extensive arts and crafts section as well as a flea market section. Here's a picture of a "lemonade stand" right outside the market:

Rick attended class and helped me make Clams Casino. It was the first time I worked with clams and getting them open. They're different from oysters in that they should be opened from the front end rather than the hinge point. After the clams were cooked, Chef Lipford said that I should have also loosened the meat from the bottom of the shell so that it would slide right out.

Final Destination

Cafe Atlantico was the last restaurant I went to for restaurant week. They actually extended their restaurant week menu an extra week. Rick and I sampled the dishes listed below. They actually served the braised beef with mashed potatoes. It was an excellent meal, I really enjoyed all the flavors. Unfortunately, after dinner before we left, I started to feel nauseous and the rest of my night did not go as well as the beginning. Of course you know food is good when it tastes good coming back up as it did going down (eww!). I didn't take any pictures, but I assure you the dishes were beautifully put together.

APPETIZERS

Heirloom Tomato Salad - watermelon, Cotija cheese, sherry dressing
Dominican Conch Fritters - jicama-avocado raviolis, passion fruit oil

ENTREES
Braised Beef Short Ribs
grilled eggplant, squash
or
Salmon, Veracruz Style
tomatoes, olives, onions, and capers
fresh lime and avocado

DESSERT

Warm Chocolate Cake
warm chocolate cake, banana
or
Passion fruit Sorbet

Awful Falafal

I went to Georgetown Cupcakes (again!) and grabbed a falafal sandwich with Megan across the street at Quick Pita. The falafal was dry and there was so much sauce that it was dripping out of the foil. Ehh...will not be returning for the falafal.

What can 50 cents buy in the DC area?

Audrey and I went to a Neisha, a Thai restaurant in Tysons Corner today and it was yummy! I ordered the red curry beef (my normal Thai fare). It arrived on a huge plate, with the ingredients plated in a starfish pattern swimming in the delicious red curry sauce. Aside from the chunks of pineapple that I wasn't a fan of, it was pretty good spooned atop rice. Ah yes, the rice...it was the tiniest ice cream scoop of rice I ever did see and was engulfed immediately. So, this is what 50 cents will buy you in the DC metro: