Babycakes Vegan Brownies

So I’ve blogged about the bakery Babycakes NYC a few times like here and here. I love the bakery and was thrilled when the cookbook came out.  I don’t need vegan or gluten-free treats but I like the idea of experimenting with alternative forms of baking.  I recently bought a mini-muffin tin in order to bake mini cupcakes for a work party and  of course have been looking for opportunities to use it again.

Finding the ingredients wasn’t difficult.  My local health food store had everything. But alas I like to buy things in bulk so I headed to my beloved Bulk Barn to secure the various types of flours. I like buying in bulk because it makes these types of recipes more accessible.  A lot of these ingredients can cost about $8 per bag but if I buy in bulk I can buy just what I need for maybe $2.

I was pretty strict about following this recipe because I figured the slightest deviations could really screw things up.  The bulk store didn’t have the garbanzo/fava flour but they did have garbanzo flour and romano bean flour.  So I bought a bit of each and mixed them together!  This was before I remembered that I could have subbed in rice flour in the recipe.  I also used brewed coffee instead of water in the recipe.

The verdict: not bad!

Were these the best brownies ever? No, I really think a brownie benefits from butter like this recipe from the always buttery Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa.  They were definitely as good as your average good brownie though!  They were pretty reminiscent of those two-bite brownies everyone makes just less gooey.  Would I make them again? If I had the ingredients to use up, sure.  They are definitely a good substitute for traditional brownies if you’re avoiding gluten, dairy etc.

Babycakes Brownies

Ingredients

Makes about 5 dozen mini brownies.

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for pans
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo and fava bean flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot
• 1 cup unrefined sugar or 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee or hot water
• 2 cups vegan gluten-free chocolate chips, such as Tropical Source

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3 dozen mini-muffin pans with oil; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in coffee until it forms a batter. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Place 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup. Transfer muffin pans to oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before unmolding.

(Recipe from BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna)

Product Review: Das Lolli – Maple Bacon Lollipop

(Photo from ZOMG, Candy!)

It’s no secret that I love all things bacon.  If it contains bacon I’m usually sold.  So I was walking through Whole Foods the other day when I stumbled upon DAS Lollis. They had about 4 flavours of the lollipops on hand in really bright coloured packaging so my eyes were immediately drawn to them.  I scanned the flavours and were intrigued I mean salty caramel, orange pomegranate, lemon ginger and maple bacon…

MAPLE BACON? In a lollipop? Yuppers!  I grabbed one maple bacon (actually named MAN BAIT) and a lemon ginger (called Naughty Ginger).

First and foremost the mpale bacon tasted like maple.  That works.  I’m Canadian, I love maple syrup! But then the smokiness of the bacon kicks in and then you realize that there are actual pieces of bacon in the lollipop. HEAVEN.

Turns out the lollipops are “all natural” which is generally nice to see (whatever “all natural”) means.

I did some quick digging and DAS Foods sounds like a neat company.  It was started by Katie Das in Chicago in 2006.  The original idea was that the company would sell salts from around the world.  She then began making caramels and now also makes lollipops.  10% of the profits goes to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.  Not bad.  To find out more about the company click here.

I have yet to try the Naughty Ginger but will do so soon.  I’m also curious to see if Whole Foods carries the caramels as well… I’m a sucker for salted caramel.

But seriously, if you love bacon these lollipops will let you easily carry the taste that you love so much without leaving grease stains on your pants.

Coconut Rice Pudding (Vegan)

The other day I was home sick and needed something to eat for lunch.  My original plan was to venture downtown to get corn soup but as the morning progressed I started to get lazy.  I began rummaging through my fridge in hopes of finding something to consume when I found leftover brown rice.  My first thought was “OMG I want coconut rice pudding!”.  Seriously, that’s how my mind works.

For a few weeks I’ve been craving rice pudding, really since I returned from Paris after our fab dinner at Au Gout Dujor where my mom had rice pudding for dessert.  Plus I’ve always had the intention of making a brown rice pudding using coconut milk instead of regular milk since my stomach does not love large quantities of milk…making this recipe vegan which is always a bonus.

I didn’t really have a master recipe to work from but I did a lot of searching so I could see a few different recipes to get an idea of what happens when and how much of various things to add.  The closest I could come to the type of rice pudding I was after was this recipe.

I do not eat raisins so I chose dried apricots as my mixed in fruit and also mixed in some shredded coconut to give it an extra coconutty taste.  To sweeten I used a combination of evaporated cane sugar and agave nectar.  And since I had pomegranates in the fridge I figured why not add some to the pudding as a topping too.  Rice pudding is great because you can really customize it to make it your own using different mix-ins.

This was pretty much one of the most delicious things EVER. It was so warm, so creamy and just the epitome of comfort food.  If I had a fireplace I would have been curled up in front of it eating this pudding.

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup dried apricots
Evaporated cane sugar and/or Agave nectar (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded coconut
pomegranate seeds

Directions

Bring water to a boil, add rice and cook for about 30 minutes or until rice has lost moisture towards the bottom
add coconut milk, apricots, sweeteners, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and half the coconut and continue cooking and stirring until rice is super thick and creamy
Serve in bowls and top with remaining coconut and pomegranate seeds

My Swedish Feast: Swedish Meatballs

Truth be told one of my fave meals is the meatball plate at IKEA.  Yes, the quality of the food has fallen off in recent years but whenever I’m at IKEA (which happens quite often since I work within walking distance of one) I just HAVE to have the meatballs.  I think it’s because I rarely, if ever have Swedish food.  Who doesn’t want a plate of meatballs covered in craving with ligonberry jam to dip them in and potatoes to make it all right?  No one, that’s who.

I’ve had this recipe for Swedish meatballs in Cook’s Illustrated bookmarked for months.  I kind of forgot about it until I was flipping through the issue.  Of course I started CRAVING meatballs and just had to make it.

Believe it or not I made this on a weekday after work.  I thought it was going to be kind of masochistic of me but in the end it wasn’t.  The meatballs were pretty straightforward to make, the sauce was easy enough and I even made a cranberry relish to serve with the meatballs in place of ligonberry jam!  I know, ambitious!  As per the IKEA standard I served the meatballs with boiled potatoes too.

I want to eat this everyday.  I’m not even kidding.  It was that good.  And the sauce? DELICIOUS! It’s on the sweet side but oh so good.  The meatballs themselves were really moist thanks to the bread tip.  The one thing that I omitted (accidentally) was allspice.
Apparently the meatballs can be served over egg noodles.  I’m intrigued.  That will be for next time.

Swedish Meatballs

For the Meatballs

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 slice white bread, crusts removed and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 small onion, grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 ounces 85% lean ground beef
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

For the Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed from 1 lemon
• salt & fresh ground pepper

1. For the Meatballs: Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs.
2. Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles (oil should register 350 degrees on instant-read thermometer), 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.
3. For the Sauce: Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (browned bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.
4. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

(Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, January 2009)

On The Town: The Macallan Scotch Tasting

Last week I had the opportunity to attend my first Matchstick event which was a scotch tasting for the brand The Macallan.  Truth be told, I’m not a scotch drinker.  I’ve likely had it in some mixed drinks over the years but I’ve never been a scotch kind of gal.  But when I got the invite for this event I figured why not?

The event was held at ONE at the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville.  I hadn’t been there before but was curious to check out the space and taste some scotch.  When I arrived with my two buddies we were immediately offered some scotch.  I’ll admit my first sip stunned me. It was too big and too quick!  But I was not deterred.

We had a great host named Mark who took us through an interesting PowerPoint presentation that taught us about the history of the brand, how the scotch is made and then… tasting!

We were given four different years of The Macallan scotches to taste, a 12-year, a 15-year, an 18-year and a 21-year.   Two of them were aged in fine oak casks and two were aged in sherry oak casks from Spain, which accounts for the differences in colour (the darker ones are from sherry casks).  Perhaps my favourite part of the evening were the montages set to music corresponding to the year that the scotch was first aged.  Seriously, it may have been the highlight of my life.  I believe Sting and Rod Stewart were played.  Kind of amazing.

To me, alcohol is usually just alcohol but this tasting really taught me how to taste the different notes.  For example, toffee.  Yes, there are toffee notes!  I also learned that there is nothing wrong with adding a bit of water and/or ice to your scotch.  In fact, we saw a really cool demonstration where Mark made round ice cubes!

I really enjoyed the scotch tasting and thought it was a great experience.  My favourite ended up being the 18-year scotch which I later learned costs about $290.  What can I say, I have expensive tastes.  I definitely have a new appreciation for sctoch and totally look forward to being in a group of guys at a bar and ordering me some scotch.

At the end of the evening we even got our own little ambassador kits that contained small bottles of the 10 and 12-year varieties.  not bad!  I’m not sure when I’ll crack them open… waiting for a special day or perhaps a really crappy day… we’ll see!

For more information about The Macallan click here.

Also, here’s a quick survey that you can take!

On The Town: Treats in Paris

(treats from Gerard Mulot)

I ate a LOT of desserts in Paris.  When I saw “a LOT” I mean a whole whackload!  There were no rules about when I could have dessert, if a pastry caught my eye I went in for the kill.   I had eclairs, apple tarts, chausson aux pommes, chocolates – you name it, I tried it.  The primary focus of my dessert consumption while in Paris were macarons since it’s hard to find amazing ones in Toronto.
Macarons  seem to be everywhere in Paris at varying levels of deliciousness.  I fell in love with macarons either during my study abroad stint or maybe even before… I just know that I consumed my fair share of macarons while studying abroad.  Macarons are at the most basic level a cookie sandwich.  What separates them from an oreo is that the cookie part is made from almonds and egg whites and the centre is usually a rich ganache.  Macarons come in many flavours from traditional varities like chocolate or pistachio to some more extreme ones like passionfruit or rose petal.  This time around I made a list of a few popular/well rated macaron spots and decided to check them out.

Gerard Mulot
6, rue du Pas de la Mule (3rd), at rue des Tournelles
Tél: 01 42 78 52 17
Closed Monday

This came as a recommendation from the fabulous David Lebovitz.  It’s a bakery in the Marais with fabulous macarons.  I had the chestnut and the salted caramel and both were fantastic.  so fresh, the perfect crackle on the outside, the perfect softness on the inside… totally delicious and the flavours were fantastic.  I also tried some gellied fruit squares in mango and peach and they were like little bites of heaven.  The fruit flavours were so concentrated and so intense… absolutely amazing.  I also went back and had a Tarte au Citron (lemon tart – pictured above) and a Quiche Lorraine.  Both were also delicious but the macarons and the fruit squares really stole the show!

Laduree
16, rue Royale (8th)
Tél : 01 42 60 21 79

Laduree was my macaron spot when I did study abroad in Paris.  Yes it’s crowded, yes, it’s touristy – BUT they have such good eats!  So of course I had to pay a visit during this trip.  I opted for a pink grapefruit macaron and a praline macaron.  The pink grapefruit was kind of a wildcard pick… it sounded interesting and was actually pretty yummy.  The praline was one of my usual picks so I knew it would be delicious and it was.  I had to admit, waiting in that line at Laduree for macarons is likely not worth it.  Out of my stops for macarons this was my least favourite. Still delicious but others do it better and with less drama.

Pierre Herme
4, rue Cambon (1st)
185, rue Vaugirard (15th)
72, rue Bonaparte (6th)

I ended up at Pierre Herme on my final day of gluttony.  I had a lot of loose ends to tie up and ending up having treats from Poilane, Gerard Mulot AND Pierre Herme.  After reading so much about PH I knew I couldn’t leave Paris without a visit.  BEST.DECISION.EVER.  I decided to go all out at PH and order 4 different macarons: pistachio, salted caramel, passionfruit, and one called chuoac (i didn’t know what was in it but liked the name and was willing to gamble).  These were definitely the best macarons of the bunch.  PH really clinched it for me with the salted caramel.  Salted caramel tends to be one of my usual picks so I’ve had a lot but none like these.  It was like a caramel square was in my macaron.  So salty, so creamy, so amazing.  Turns out the chuoac was chocolate and some berries.  Who knew.

Side note: even McDonald’s has macarons.  I meant to try them but never got around to it.  Next time.

Squash and Chickpea Moroccan Stew with Couscous (Chez Omar Style)

Ever since my meal at Chez Omar in Paris I’ve been dreaming about couscous with vegetable stew.  So of course I spent a while trying to find something to replicate it.

The closest I came was this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen. Interestingly enough their quest for a couscous recipe was triggered by a visit to Chez Omar too. I’m telling you, that place is magical!

I made a ton of changes to this recipe to bring it closer to my Chez Omar experience and to account for things that I wasn’t particularly interested in.  I scrapped the olives, preserved lemons and all the garnishes.  I added sweet potato, carrots, zucchini and celery.  I forgot to buy saffron so I didn’t use it.  To spice things up I added some paprika and some cayenne pepper.

This might be my new favourite dish.  It’s a great way to eat a ton of vegetables and still having a filling meal.  I can tell already that this might be the type of thing I make every other week. Loved it!

Squash and Chickpea Moroccan Stew

Serves 6 to 8

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
4 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound butternut squash, large dice
3/4 pound red potatoes, large dice
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
Pinch saffron threads (optional)
1/2 preserved lemon, finely chopped
1 cup brined green olives
Steamed couscous, for serving
Fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, for garnish
Toasted slivered almonds, for garnish
Plain yogurt, for garnish
Hot sauce of your choice (for serving)

Heat butter and olive oil in a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add onion, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are aromatic and onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add squash and potatoes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir to coat, and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes and their juices, and saffron, if using. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until squash is fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in preserved lemon and olives. Serve over couscous garnished with cilantro, almonds, and yogurt.

(Recipe via Smitten Kitchen which is an adaptation of this recipe)

On The Town: 7 Days in Paris

I just got back from a fabulous week in Paris (France).  Paris isn’t new to me, I spent almost 6 months studying there while in university about 6 years ago.  It was time for another visit.  While living there on zero income I didn’t get to take full advantage of all the food the city has to offer so this time I did a bunch of research to figure out where I should eat.  My main sources were David Lebovtiz, Clotilde of Chocolat et Zucchini, Dorie Greenspan and Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks (she just came back from Paris!) – links to their blogs are at the end.  How did people travel before the interwebs and having fellow bloggers to learn from?  Did people just go around eating mediocre foods or did the rely on travel guides?  I can’t even imagine.  I ate well and paid very little attention to how much I was eating.  2 or 3 desserts a day was not unusual.  Enjoy and feel free to leave comments if you have any questions about these places or have anything to add! There will be a few more Paris posts so do check throughout the week…

Day 1

(Photo borrowed from Bridge and Tunnel Club)

Bistrot Victoires
6 rue de la Vrillière (1st)
noon-3pm, 7-11pm daily

This came as a pick from the NY Times and got high marks from Time Out Paris so I figured why not.  It’s none for decent food at low prices, sign me up! We got there and it was a cute spot and central enough to things, which is always nice.  I ordered the “entrecote” which was essentially steak that came with a flaming thyme sprig (ok) and fries all for the low price of 11,50!  The food was… ok.  You kind of get what you pay for.  It wasn’t the greatest cut of meat, it lacked a certain something… or as the French would say “je ne sais quoi” and the fries were aight.  I was hoping it would be cheap AND amazing so that we’d return but this one is definitely off the list.  NY Time picks were on probation for a minute after this one.

Day 2

Boulangerie Patisserie Beaumarchais

28, Blvd Beaumarchais (11th)
Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays

I heart David Lebovitz’ blog and had a bunch of picks from him on my Paris food list.  Luckily the place that he claims has the best croissants in Paris is down the street from my apartment.  I must say they are pretty darn good.    I had croissants from there every day of my stay (except Tuesday and Wednesday when they are closed).  They are buttery, flaky and just delicious.  They also have a bunch of other treats that looked delicious.  I only managed to make it through the pain au chocolat and chausson aux pommes… both wonderful.

Le Pain Quotidien
18, place du Marche St. Honore
75001 Paris

Ok, I know we have these in Canada and the U.S. but like many things they are just better in Europe!  The look is the same, lots of light wood, long communal tables, but the food is delish!  I had a tartine (open faced sandwich) with smoked salmon and avocado.  As garnishes it came with dill, lettuce, tomato, lemon and likely some other goodness.  The smoked salmon was pure buttery, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I kind of want to eat there all the time.  Also, the prices were right.  My tartine was 11,50 and I left super full.  They also have some great menus (soup + tartine + salad) for 10,50. Loved it.

(Photo via Hoosta Magazine)

Pink Flamingo
105, rue Vieille du Temple (3rd)
01 42 71 28 20
http://www.pinkflamingopizza.com/pink_marais/pink_flamingo.html
Tues-Sun 7-11

Ok, I know I swore of NY Times recos but we gave in and tried this place because we were tired and wanted takeout.  This place happened to be about a 5 minute walk from the apartment.  It’s a pizza place started by a New Yorker and a few other people.  The pizzas have fun names and have eclectic toppings like sag paneer, cuban pork, figs etc.  Totally fun! We had the La Dante (tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) and the La Marcello (arugula, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan) which were both good.  Not the best pizzas I’ve ever had but yummy nonetheless.

Day 3

(Photo via Fée Clopinette)

L’As du Fallafel
23, rue des Rosiers
33-1-42-71-53-72

So I’ve blogged before about this place and how it’s pretty much the best falafels EVER so of course it was on my to-do list.  This place did NOT disappoint. Sure, some things were different like there was a guy who would take your orders and money while you were in line so that the only thing you had to do at the window was present your ticket (I of course thought it was a scam, but it wasn’t).  Also I remember there being eggplant slices on top rather than dices and spread them throughout.  But all changes were for the better!  For 5 euros you get a huge falafel filled with total goodness… possibly the best 5 euros spent during my trip.  We went back a second time and ate inside.  Unlike on Sundays when it is PURE MADNESS it was super calm.  I had a falafel, fries and a Macabee (Israeli beer) and was in heaven.

(Photo via Mr. Lung)

Chez Omar
47,rue de Bretagne (3rd)
Phone:  01 42 72 36 26
Mon-Sun 12-11:30

Couscous is kind of a big thing in Paris.  Generally it’s made by Algerians or Moroccans who have a fairly significant presence in Paris.  I don’t remember having couscous when I lived in Paris but put it on my list for this trip.  This entire meal was jokes.  From the time we walked in the entire staff was calling us “cousins” (since they are African and we’re black) and were super friendly.  We ordered the couscous with merguez sausage and one with chicken.  You get a platter of couscous, a vegetable stew (with carrots, celery, chickpeas, potatoes etc.) and then whatever meat you order.  Um, kind of fantastic.  So flavourful and pure comfort food.  I have to figure out how to make that for sure.

Day 4

(Photo via iTaste)

Cafe des Musees
49 rue du Turenne (3rd)
01 42 72 96 17

So this night we were feeling lazy and wanted to have dinner in our ‘hood.  I didn’t have any ‘hood picks so I did a quick search and came up with this place.  We didn’t have a reservation so they told us we’d have to sit in the sous-sol (basement).  Um, okay.  Turns out the basement is GORGEOUS! Really spacious with really neat design.  The word on the street was that this place had great fries so we ordered the entrecote (steak) and fries.  The steak was great and came with a delicious sauce… might have been a bernaise but I can’t remember and the fries were indeed perfect.  I ate them embarrassingly quickly.  I also have to add that we had the most adorable waitress ever.

Day 5

(Photo via Au Gout Dujour)

Au Gout Dujour
12, rue Beaugrenelle
01 45 71 68 36

I LOVED THIS PLACE!  I’m not sure what it was but the whole experience but I had a lovely time and the food was great.  It’s a small spot in the 15th and from what I’ve read the chef bases his menu on what’s available in the markets so the menu changes frequently.  I had a roasted duck with ratatouille.  Now, I don’t ever order duck but something about duck just sounded right.  The flavours were amazing and blended together so perfectly.  For dessert I ordered a montblanc with chestnut cream and meringue.  I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing with every bite.  Our waitress was also pretty awesome here.  I could figure out most of the menu in French but then asked her if she spoke english.  Her response: what do i look like a french girl or something?  Loves it!  I’m a fan of cross-cultural sarcasm.  This place pretty much stole my heart.

Day 6

(Photo via iTaste)

La Briciola
14, Rue Normandie
01 42 77 34 10

This was another pick that I saw on David Lebovitz’ site and it was confirmed by the often fabulous Heidi Swanson at 101Cookbooks.  I know, pizza TWICE while in Paris? Alas, a girl cannot live by Steak Frites and Macarons alone!  This place is a great sit down restaurant which was probably a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment in the 3rd.  When we got there it was clear that it is totally a hotspot, the place was packed and everyone looked so happy eating their pizzas. I opted for a pizza with ham, mushrooms, olive, artichokes… and likely some other things too. The pizza was just the way I like it: thin crust with plenty of blisters.  The ingredients were very fresh and flavourful making for a great pizza.  For dessert we split the tiramisu three ways.  It was decent.  You could definitely taste the quality of the ingredients used (high… of course!).

Day 7

Le Pain Quotidien
18-20, rue de Archives
75004 Paris

We were tired.  It was late. I was out of local restaurant picks.  So we ended up back at LPQ.  This time I had the Madagascar Salad which included shrimp, mango, avocado, mixed lettuce, tomatoes, radishes and cucumbers with a crazy salsa type salad dressing.  Maybe it was my lack of vegetables recently but this was AMAZING.  It was many of my favourite foods in one bowl of goodness.  A decent way to end our time in Paris.  My favourite part of the meal was when a guy further down the table asked to share my bread basket.  WTF?  I let him… I admired him for even asking.

Places I wanted to visit but didn’t make it to…

There are only so many meals one can consume and only so many ways to conveniently plan to be in the right neighbourhood come lunch or dinner time.  Here are a few places that I wanted to try but didn’t get to:

Le Bar à Soupes (11th)
33, rue de Charonne
(33-1) 4357-5379
www.lebarasoupes.com

Rose Bakery (9th)
46 rue des Martyrs
01 42 82 12 80

Les Papilles (5th)
30, rue Gay-Lussac
01 43 25 20 79

A l’Etoile d’Or
30, rue Fontaine (9th)
Métro: Blanche
01 48 74 59 55

Berthillion
29-31 rue saint Louis en l’ile
75004 Paris

Top Picks

Au Gout Dujour – this place will be the place that i talk about for years when I remember this trip.
Chez Omar – The food was great at decent prices and the service was great!
La Briciola – Pizza in Paris? Totally worth skipping another night of cassoulet or steak frites.
L’As de Fallafel – Seriously, the best falafels I’ve had. Ever… and I’ve had a lot of falafels.

Resources

Here are some of the sites that I used to help make my picks:

David Lebovitz
Clotilde from Chocolate & Zucchini
Dorie Greenspan
Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks

Barefoot Bloggers: Blue Cheese Souffle

Yay!  I think I’m officially on track with my Barefoot Blogging. Hopefully this means that my hiatus is over.

This week’s pick comes courtesy of Summer of Sexy Apartment. I was a bit hesitant at first when I saw that she chose souffle.  I mean who choses souffle??  I was annoyed initially because it meant that I had to acquire a souffle dish.  This was a particularly sore point since I had bought one when I lived in NYC to make a souffle (once) and then gave it away before moving to Toronto.  Plus, I have issues with eggs and a souffle is basically baked egg.  BARF.

But I soldiered on.  I went to Dollarama and bought a 4-cup souffle dish (so I could halve the recipe) and decided to temporarily put my egg issues to the side.  This was not an easy task considering that the third egg I cracked had a double yolk. DOUBLE BARF.  But somehow I managed to make it through.

The end product was good.  I had read comments that this dish lacked flavour but I guess I used a flavourful blue chese because I did not have those issues.  It wasn’t terribly egg-y which worked for me.  The souffle didn’t reach great heights but it did rise enough.

Would I make this again? I probably not but I would pass along the recipe to souffle loving friends.  I’m not the best judge in how this stacks up to other souffle recipes but given that this is Barefoot Contessa/Ina Garten approved I’m sure it’s probably good.

Be sure to head over to Barefoot Bloggers to see what others had to say about this one.

BLUE CHEESE SOUFFLE

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup scalded milk
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 3 ounces good Roquefort cheese, chopped
• 5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter the inside of an 8-cup souffle dish (7 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don’t peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

Things I Want: Filio Teapot

(Photo from the MOMA Store)

Every once in a while a love to browse the MOMA Store’s website.  They alwsys have brilliantly designed pieces that actually seem functional and worthy of integrating into your day to day life.

I’m in LOVE with this teapot!  First of all it’s adorable!  Second it is so functional.  The design allows the water to really circulate around the tea leaves.  And who doesn’t love the candle at the bottom to keep the tea warm?  Seriously, there need to be more teapots with that feature.

This teapot doesn’t come cheap at $185 but it’s the perfect give for a tea lover (like me!).

Click Here for the full details and how to order.