Chatham, Pasta Salad, Giveaway

I'm on vacation in Cape Cod this week but couldn't miss the 1 year anniversary of my blog! So while I'm laying on the beach in good old Chatham Mass I figured I'd check in and show you some of my favorite things in this area.

If you get the chance to visit Cape Cod, you'll definitely get a taste of New England-and maybe even get to see a Kennedy. One of my favorite spots is the porch of the Chatham Bars Inn, see photo as exhibit A:They make a pretty tasty Manhattan and they give you some *free* bar snacks while you drink. Best deal in a wicked expensive town.

Other favorite spots include Buffy's for ice cream and raspberry lime ricky's. Buffy is a nickname for Elizabeth AND a vampire slayer but I've never been able to get anyone to call me Buffy. Guess I'll have to stick with Spike.

Finally, the Candy Manor. I usually stay away from places where yuppies let their polo clad youngsters run amuck but the fudge and turtles are so good I can't stay away.
So I am giving away some candy treats from the candy manor- New England style (like Boston Baked Beans, salt water taffy, etc). To enter, just leave a comment with your favorite vacation spot. I'll choose a winner Monday morning when I'm forced back into the real world.

Oh, and check out this sundried tomato pasta salad for the Barefoot Bloggers. I loved this one, miles beyond your run of the mill pasta salad. Full flavor and sundried tomatoes in the dressing and in the salad. I added some smoked mozz for an extra kapow. Sorry for the crappy iphone photo...

Cat of Delta Whiskey chose this weeks recipe and you can find it Here.

Katharine Hepburn Brownies with Guiness Ice Cream

I'm on vacation this week (check back later this week for a related giveaway) but made these brownies before I left. Half of these brownies were used for brownie sundaes with Guinness milk chocolate ice cream and hot fudge sauce:
The rest were consumed after my car broke down. Made me feel better.

I wasn't sure about the chocolate/cinnamon of the brownies with Guinness ice cream but that actually paired really well. I loved the coffee and cinnamon in the brownies. It added just the right amount of spice and sweetness to the ice cream. The ice cream is great but does have a strong Guinness flavor- so if you love the beer, you'll love the ice cream. That recipe comes from David Lebovitz and you can find it here.
Love the story behind these brownies- and they live up to the endearing story.

Stop back later in the week for a fab pasta salad and a Giveaway! Please go and make these brownies and be sure to add the cinnamon, you can find it at Surviving Oz - Lisa designed the new TWD logo!

Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla. It can taste like nothing or be absolutely perfect. I'm guilty of using vanilla as a mild insult a little too often.
"How's so and sos new girlfriend?"
"I mean she's fine, just a little vanilla"

Okay, that's a little mean but I have difficulty getting along with new people. I'm from Boston and generally distrustful of new people. Enough about my personality flaws. Really, I like vanilla. I don't really like chucks of things in my ice cream- no candy, cookie dough, fudge swirls. I mean, I don't not like those kinds of ice cream- I just prefer straight up coffee or black raspberry ice cream. So this week's recipe for Sweet Melissa Sundays had me interested.
Could brown sugar really make a big difference in the flavor of vanilla ice cream? yes. This ice cream was creamy and smooth, even after a few days in the freezer which is not always true for the homemade stuff. A little hot fudge drizzled over the top...

Karen's Cookies Cakes & More will have the recipes. Come back later in the week for a giveaway!

The Fridge

I came upon this photo essay of pictures of people's refrigerators while strolling the internet during conference calls. Some of them are funny and a little scary (can you find the snake?). My friends tend to make fun of my fridge because I do so much cooking and baking but my fridge is usually pretty empty. I tend to shop a few times a week so I only buy what I need at the time (How european of me!). Plus if it isn't in the fridge, I can't eat it...waistline control.

So in the spirit of Cribs, you know but without the Crystal, here is my fridge:
Yep, that it consists of several kinds of beer, butter, soy milk, water and that's some ice cream in the bottom right waiting to get churned. What more could one need? So what does your fridge look like???

Dulce de Leche Perfect Party Cake

It may not be THE entire perfect party cake, but this is A pretty perfect party cake. This weekend we had a birthday celebration for my older brother and I knew that this week's TWD recipe wasn't quite what he would want. So I turned to Sky High Cakes for a cake recipe. I started making the dulce de leche cake but the cake layers turned out horribly! Rubbery and flat. erg, arg! It was supposed to be an almost sponge cake that you then put a rum syrup on and then the dulce de leche frosting.When the cake failed, I decided to go back to this week's TWD recipe and make the white cake. Then I made a Kahlua syrup for the layers and finally the dulce de leche frosting from SHC to finish it. The frosting takes FOREVER to make, but if you use store bought dulce de leche it would be a snap (See below for quick version of recipe).

When I realized this cake was pretty much white on white (and served with brown sugar vanilla ice cream, also white), I made a little salted caramel sauce for the top. Unfortunately, that was gone before I got out my camera.

Dorie's cake was super light and fluffy- a perfect white cake. The frosting was also a light whipped cream so you didn't get that usual "I feel sick" after you eat two pieces. Wait, you guys always eat two pieces, right? And the extra caramel sauce for the top really made this one, as evidence by the fact that it is gone.

Thanks to Carol of mix, mix… stir, stir for saving me from cake disaster by choosing the recipe this week. You'll find the cake recipe on her blog.

Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream Frosting
1/3 cup dulce de leche (homemade or store bought)
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

Place stand mixer bowl and whip attachment in the fridge to cool about an hour before making the frosting.

Place dulce de leche and cream in the mixer bowl and turn mixer on low to combine. Turn mixer to high and whip until stiff peaks for. Spread on cake and store cake in fridge until ready to eat.

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

For this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays, Megan of My Baking Adventures picked this chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and tart dried cherries. These cookies are quick to get together but require some fridge time (which any good cookie does). I baked up half the recipe and left the second half in the freezer for another day.

The dough of these cookies is amazing. Honestly, I liked the dough better than the baked cookie which means having a log of it in the freezer is dangerous. The baked cookies were good but I didn't achieve the deep chocolate flavor I was expecting.

Something about these cookies told me they would be a good treat for Trueblood watching. Next time I head over to my friends to watch the next episode, these are coming with me. Here's a little taste of Trueblood S2 for you (me):


Head over to Melissa's blog for this weeks recipe. I just started next week's recipe, brown sugar vanilla ice cream...unreal.

White Chocolate Pineapple Coconut Stack

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was an impressive Pineapple Dacquoise. Layers of meringue, pineapple, and white chocolate ganache. I was excited to make this, however the weather was not cooperating. The Boston area has been incredibly rainy and humid for the last week which I knew would impact meringue making. Meringues need dry air otherwise the texture comes out all wrong.

So not only am I not making meringues, I can't mow my lawn or get any long rides in because it is always raining out. Worst June weather ever. The current forecast is three days of rain followed by two days of thunderstorms. hurray! Okay, I'm done complaining (for) now.

So instead I made a mini napoleon style version of this recipe. I cut and baked off small rectangles of puff pastry. Then layered the white chocolate ganache, broiled pineapple, and toasted coconut.
The result was a nice tropical flavored dessert perfect for escaping a rainy Sunday stuck in doors. I wasn't sure about the white chocolate in the recipe before starting baking. However, it is the piece that ties the dessert together- changing it from being another pina colada style dessert into a more elevated, elegant taste. I have to admit, baking off some store bought puff pastry made this one pretty easy too. The only down side to using the puff pastry is that you have to eat right after you make it otherwise it gets a bit soggy. Not a problem because as soon as I snapped a couple of pictures, I was digging in.

I love making fancy looking desserts in a single portion just for me. Sure it may be indulgent, but this is just what I need. Andrea of Andrea In The Kitchen picked this recipe and her blog will have Dorie's meringue version (I'll probably be trying it again if/once we get some dry weather).