Expensive, Overrated and

kind of delicious.  While I was in NYC, Max Brenner was right outside the subway station.  How could I not stop in?!

 After reviewing the menu, I settled on a blended frozen chocolate drink.  Not bad, but not worth the $7+ for it.

Rick Bayless at the Airport

I've been traveling quite a bit for work these days.  Airport food food has come a long way.  I had breakfast at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill to go.  A little salty, still delicious.  Here's my egg and chorizo breakfast sandwich.  

Stop by gate B11 when you have a some time.

Tourist Trap

At Harry Potter's Wizarding World, if you have enough galleons, you can get all kinds of Hogsmeade goodies.
Have some refreshing pumpkin juice as you wait in line for rides:

Stop by the Three Broomsticks:

Have a seat and enjoy a frozen butter beer:

Afterwards, peek into Honeydukes

and chow down on a cauldron cake!

Made from Real Girl Scouts

First diet breaker of the weekend of decadence.  Delicious Thin Mint Ice Cream Cake.  What a great minty chocolately surprise.  

Gaaaar-Baaaaan-Zoe Snack

I cannot look at another salad. It's true. Thankfully, there are some very imaginative people out there that have created yummy and crunchy snack recipes for me to try. Today I made roasted rosemary garbanzo beans from the cookbook, "Cook Yourself Thin Faster: Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too." Yum!

I actually made two different versions, one where I removed the chickpea skins as the cookbook suggests and one where I left the skin on. Both had the same texture, I will leave the skin on in the future to save myself unnecessary work. Recipe 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 1/2 tsp. rosemary 1/4 tsp. salt 2 (15.5 oz.) cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss chickpeas in olive oil and salt mixture. Bake, shaking pans occasionally and rotating pans after 20 minutes, add rosemary and bake until chickpeas are browned and crisp, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A Dying Attraction

Went through a Drive-Thru convenience store in Ohio for the first time!! It's like a 7-11, where you never have to get out of your car.

Water Snob

New Yorkers really do think that everything NYC is the best. Here's a $4 bottle of NYC tap water:

Just Beachy Keen

Nothing like waking up to this view at Daytona Beach with a refreshing Tazo Tea in hand.

Taste of Chicago

We went to the Taste of Chicago for Sasha's birthday this year. There was one item that just blew my mind and that was the collard green egg rolls from C'est Si Bon. YUM! I wasn't expecting it to be good at all when I purchased it, but the filling was savory and the sweet/acidic/spicy dipping sauce complemented it perfectly.

SASHA SMASH!

Sasha is turning the big 1 next week and we're celebrating a little early.

I baked up Alton Brown's Carrot Cake recipe, namely because it didn't have raisins, walnuts, pineapple, coconut, tires, super glue and all the other stuff you don't want in cake. Here's the cake, it's a little busted because I forgot to the line the pan with parchment. I think I'll back off a little on the sugar next time, it is a little too sweet. Can't wait for Sasha to try it!

I ate a preview cupcake and YUM!!! Moist and crunchy.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients

Unsalted butter, for the pan
12 ounces, approximately 2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/3 cups
2 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup firmly packed
3 large eggs
6 ounces plain yogurt
6 ounces vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted, approximately 2 cups

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Yield: approximately 2 cups

A Glimpse into the Future

feels like a step back in time. I worked with our corporate chef today and it really gave me a sense of excitement. I was back in the kitchen with great guidance. Of course I picked up another cooking tip/trick. Make roasted garlic by "deep frying" it in oil at a low temperature for a long period of time. Yum!

Classic Cliche

When life gives you lemons:Make strawberry lemonade!
I had a giant bag of Costco lemons going bad in my refrigerator and strawberries tucked in the bag of the freezer. I looked up a quick recipe on the net.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 pint of frozen strawberries
1 1/2 cups lemon juice

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Add frozen strawberries. Puree with immersion blender. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

Enjoy!

Food Meets Science

at Flavorology. Rick and I went to Flavorology hosted by Bell Flavors. What a fun event! We got to see people push the boundaries with their creativity. Interesting flavors included a soy sauce blueberry yogurt. Here's one of the dishes we tried, behold the tiramisushi served with asian pear "ginger" and marizipan "wasabi."