Peanut Butter and Julie

Cake and Cookies for a Future Guitar Hero

After my last bruschetta post, which I now realize was posted over a week ago--I have had absolutely no time for blogging/tweeting/facebooking since then, I received what I thought was a very funny comment from one of my friends, Karen (Karen, by the way, also has a blog, Karen Cooks, with oodles of mouthwatering recipes.)  Her comment was:

"Whaa???  No cute little cupcakes, no decorated sugar cookies, no cakes, muffins, breads... OMG I don't know if I can handle bruschetta coming from Julie!  LOL"

This struck me as being funny because as I was posting the bruschetta recipe, I realized how out of place it was, especially among my posts from the past few months.  I almost didn't post it at all--it just felt so....unsweet.  Cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes....bruschetta?  ♪ One of these things is not like the other! ♫ 

My first two hundred or so posts were really a mixed bag of recipes, offering a steady rotation of sweet and savory alike.  Lately, however, I've been gravitating towards the sugar bin.  This is partially due to my friend Stephanie and her seemingly never-ending stream of baby showers.  Yes, the same Stephanie of Baby Onesie Cookie and Jenna Fischer Cake hook-up fame.  She's kind of becoming a special guest star on my blog.  If I actually made any money off of this thing, I'd probably owe her 10% for inspiration.

Anyhow, Steph just had her second baby boy last month, and she is already hosting showers for other moms-to-be, currently at a rate of one per week.  As I've noted in the past, although I'm not a big fan of attending baby showers, I am more than willing to deliver the treats for the party (and then promptly leave.)  I'm not saying that to be mean, it's just that with no kids I would likely flunk Baby Shower 101, and all of the games that go with it.  Providing the food is my contribution.

The shower that Steph threw this past week had a "Rock Star" theme, so I made sugar cookies in the shape of musical notes and guitars along with an electric guitar cake.  Such a fun project!  The surface of the cake was piped using a small open-star tip, which can become a little bit back-breaking, but it always looks very nice at the end.  For the "platter", I just bought a square piece of wood at Lowe's, which I covered with a musically-themed fabric.  Actually, I had Eric do this part.  Staple guns scare me.

The toughest part of the entire project was transporting a buttercream-covered cake in almost triple-digit Las Vegas heat.  As soon as I get into the car, I blast the air conditioner, which eventually ends up giving me one of those horrible warm weather cold.  I'm sure that Ace of Cakes has a handy refrigerated van for these types of predicaments.

So there you have it, Karen!  A very Julie-esque sweet post.  Sorry to tell you this, but my next post is savory.  I just made a really yummy pulled pork recipe this weekend, and it would be criminal not to share!

Grilled Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

Up until yesterday, I thought that Memorial Day weekend occurs next weekend, not this weekend.  Obviously, we don't have much planned--which is fine with me.  I'm not really a fan of packing up the car and hitting the road or jumping on a plane at the very same instant that every other family in America does the same thing.  All of a sudden, a three hour drive to the beach/mountains/national park turns into an eight hour stressed-out crawl.  By the time that you arrive at your destination, you have listened to your "special vacation mix CD" at least five times, you are sick and tired of your travel companions, and all that you can think about is your return trip home in two days (along with every other family in America.)  Attractions are more crowded.  Prices are inflated.  Sounds like a great vacation!  Piece of advice: STAY HOME. 

Now I know that this isn't an option for some people--those that have a special event to attend or a family member to visit--but for others, I have found off-holiday travel to be so much more enjoyable.  Fewer crowds+less travel hassles+lower costs=happy Julie.  Happy Julie=Happy Eric.  So you see?  It works out for all parties involved.

Even when we stay in Las Vegas over major holiday weekends, we tend to stick pretty close to home.  It seems like the entire state of California arrives on Friday night, judging from the stream of headlights coming from the west on I-15.  You can only imagine how crowded the Strip becomes, and normal activities like parking your car can take five times as long.  When we do go out, our strategy is to stick to the peripheral or "locals" restaurants, or we'll just staying home and grill.

This time of year in Las Vegas is perfect for grilling.  Although the temperatures occasionally reach triple digits during the day, the evenings are still bearable enough to stand over hot coals without feeling like you are inside of a furnace.  I came home from the grocery store yesterday armed with one of those really fresh, chewy La Brea whole wheat baguettes, fresh corn, and tomatoes.  My original idea was to serve everything separately, but I ended up putting them all together for this smoky bruschetta recipe.  This is an easy and healthy dish to serve for parties, and it makes quite a bit.  I was sooo glad that I had some left over for lunch today!  Here are a few extra tips for this simple summery snack:

• If the weather isn't right for outdoor grilling, you can certainly prepare this recipe indoors.  Grill the tomatoes and onion on an indoor grill-pan set over medium heat.  To "char" the corn, set it under your oven broiler, rotating occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
• The corn and tomato topping will keep for 3 days, covered and refrigerated.
• In addition to being a yummy topping for bruschetta, the topping can be used as a condiment for burgers, a filling for omelets, or use it in place of salsa to accompany tortilla chips.
• If you like a little bit of extra heat in your food, add a seeded and minced jalapeno to the topping.  You can also grill the jalapeno along with the other vegetables and then seed, mince, and add it to the bowl.

Grilled Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch thick rings

2 ears sweet corn, husks removed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 vine-ripened tomatoes

1 baguette, sliced on a diagonal

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon lime juice

Heat a grill over medium heat.  Brush the onion slices and corn with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place the onions, corn, and tomatoes on the grill.  Grill until the onions and corn are charred and the tomato skins are blistered, 10-12 minutes. 

Transfer the vegetables to a foil-lined baking sheet at let cool.  Brush the baguette slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill the bread until slightly charred, about 2 minutes on each side. 

Core the tomatoes and cut them in half horizontally.  Spoon out the juices and seeds.  Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place them in a medium bowl.  Cut the corn kernels from the cobs, and add them to the tomatoes.  Chop the onion, and add it to the tomatoes.  Mix in the garlic, paprika, cumin, and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper, and serve with the grilled baguette slices.

Mixed Berry Brown Sugar Tea Cake

Yesterday, Eric and I went to brunch with my good friend Melia, who I don't get to see often enough.  Brunch is one of those events that I love the idea of: a leisurely Sunday meal filled with champagne-based fruit drinks and plate after plate of hearty foods.  When most Sunday's roll around, however, taking 2+ hours out of my schedule-followed by the obligatory post-brunch nap-just doesn't make sense.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good at the whole "lazy Sunday" thing (Eric would be happy to verify this), and I tend to keep busy trying to get though my to-do list as opposed to just relaxing and enjoying the day.  If I did this, my mind would just be racing with all of the things that I need to accomplish anyhow.  Blame it on my type A personality.

I made an exception to my rule yesterday for three reasons.  First of all, I wanted to catch up with Melia, who has a much more exciting weekend social life than I do (her Facebook photos prove this), and brunch is a much better option for catching up than some noisy Vegas club.  Second, I dragged myself to the early Sunday morning Bikram yoga class, earning my right to a plate full of carbs.  Finally, I had been hearing about the fantastic brunch that Chef Kerry Simon serves at his eponymous restaurant, located at the uber-trendy Palms Place.  Being a huge fan of Chef Simon's signature upscale comfort food, I just had to check it out.

Boy did I pick an exciting day to disrupt my schedule and go to brunch!  No, there were none of the usual Simon celebrity sightings, although there were a few tattooed suspects hidden under hats and shades congregated in the corner. The excitement wasn't even due to the phenomenal menu, which featured everything from Frosted-Flake Crusted Brioche French Toast to custom-blended organic smoothies.  Thisexcitement occurred when, not ten minutes into brunch, we heard a very loud "pop" followed by the sound of shattered glass. 

My first reaction of course was that two servers had collided mid-restaurant as a result of being distracted by the eye candy lounging at the adjacent Palms Place pool.  Not so.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw thousands of shards of glass raining down onto the pool area from the above condo tower.  It seemed like an endless stream, and I half expected to see a person come down with it (clearly, I have been watching way too much C.S.I. Las Vegas.)  The tourist sitting next to us promptly snapped a photo.  Really??

Three injured sunbathers, two drained pools, and one stretcher later, we learned that one of the glass balcony panes had "somehow" smashed.  These are fairly thick panes.  One can only imagine the story that goes along with this.  Thank goodness that there were no serious injuries, just a few cuts and several dozen displaced sunbathers.  It sure did cause a buzz among the brunch crowd though.  You see, in Vegas, we don't just talk the "never a dull moment" talk, we walk the walk too.  Anything to draw a crowd.

Other than this obvious occurrence, the only downside to brunch was the fact that I couldn't possibly sample everything that I wanted to try (which was pretty much everything that was offered.)  One of these items was a moist-looking berry tea cake, which passed by me in a wicker basket on its way to another table.  I couldn't really tell which berry it was, but I didn't ask because I knew that it would end up on a plate in front of me, and I just. couldn't. eat. another. bite.   I vowed to give it a try upon my next visit, but until then, I tried to create a version of my own, featuring a mix of three berries in a rich brown sugar-based batter.  Enjoying a piece at home might not offer the excitement of brunch at Simon, but I think I've had my fill of shattered glass rain showers for awhile :)  Here are my extra tips for making this triple-berry tea cake:

• I tend to use orange zest in recipes, only because I prefer the flavor to lemon zest, but lemon zest would work just as well in this recipe.
• Instead of using yogurt in the recipe, you can use sour cream or buttermilk.  You can use low-fat varieties, but I wouldn't recommend fat-free.  You need at least a little bit of the fat to keep the cake moist.
• This cake will keep, tightly wrapped at room temperature, for about 3 days.  You can also wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap after it cools and freeze it for up to 3 weeks. 
• If you want to enjoy the cake over a period of time, pre-slice it and then wrap and freeze the cake.  Remove one slice at a time and thaw at room temperature or reheat it in the oven. 
• This cake would also be great cut into cubes and layered as part of a trifle.

Mixed Berry Brown Sugar Tea Cake

Makes one large loaf (9X5 inches)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup packed golden brown sugar

Zest from one orange

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup yogurt

2 cups mixed fresh berries (such as raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees.  Spray a 9X5-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Beat in the orange zest.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in the vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture to the batter in two additions, alternating with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour.  Gently fold in the mixed berries, breaking them up as little as possible.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean, 50-60 minutes.  Let the cake cool in the pan set on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.  Carefully invert the cake onto the rack and turn it right side up.  Cool the cake completely, slice, and serve.

Vegas Uncork'd and Payard's Decadent Chocolate Cookies

This past weekend, thousands of foodies descended upon the Las Vegas Strip in search of beautifully plated amuse bouche-sized morsels, created by the best chefs in the world.  This culinary pilgrimage was due to Vegas Uncork'd, an annual 72 hour food and wine extravaganza, which is presented by Bon Appetit magazine.  If you happen to be considering a trip to Vegas next year, and you're the type of person who plans your vacations around the food (guilty), you should strongly consider coming to this event.  It seems to get bigger and better every year, and I doubt that you'll be disappointed. 

This year marked the event's 3rd anniversary, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend some of the events on behalf of Foodbuzz.com (thanks, Foodbuzz!)  Armed with my very first media pass and my camera (I felt pretty important), I ate my way through some of the weekend's many events, rubbing shoulders with everyone from Tom Colicchio to Bobby Flay.  Well, I didn't really "rub shoulders" with them.  I did more of a deer-in-headlights stop and stare from three feet away.  I really wanted to tell Tom C.that it was a huge mistake to not have selected Carla as the winner of last season's Top Chef, but I didn't think that would go over very well, so I didn't.

While I only attended a handful of events, some participants seemed to attend just about everything. This basically meant that they did nonstop eating and drinking from the time that they touched down at McCarran Airport to the time that they collapsed into the cab after checkout--likely in a foie gras-induced coma.  For me, this feat would have been physically impossible, so I stuck with a few choice events that sounded the most delicious intriguing.

The first event that I attended was the one that most people attended, The Grand Tasting at the newly renovated Caesar's Palace pool.  For $150, guests were able to sample dishes from a star-studded list of chefs:  Robuchon, Flay, Savoy, Boulud, Ducasse, Batali, Colicchio, English, Mina, Simon, Pellegrini, Payard, Ogden...perhaps you've heard of a few?  The chefs were all there too, well not Batali, but his shoes were (see left).  In between posing for photos, the chefs were all doing what they do best, and in some cases even plating and serving food.  How many people can say that they were handed a hollowed out coconut filled with a spicy mixture of shrimp and shaved vegetables by the Throwdown king himself (a.k.a Bobby Flay)?

Because I was armed with my handy media pass, Eric and I were allowed to enter the tasting a bit early, beating the crowds by about 15 minutes.  After that, I knew that photo opportunities would be nearly impossible, not to mention sampling without being bumped into a few times.  It was really difficult to decide where to start, especially when all of these world-famous restaurant signs are staring at you, just beckoning you to come and sample their cuisine.

Somehow, we made it through the entire event in just over two hours. Because it is very difficult to sample every offering, Eric and I traded off, even skipping a few places that weren't so appealing.  Of all the places that I tried, my favorites dished were a tender lamb chop with curry sauce from Wazuzu (Encore Resort), the perfectly seasoned short ribs from Craftsteak, corn salsa-top sliders from BLT Burger, and the artichoke and black truffle soup, served with a rich brioche, from Guy Savoy (photo below).  This soup sells for something like $65 a bowl at the restaurant (yes, one bowl), so I relished in every sip.

I also had the opportunity to attend some other events during the weekend.  One was a Vegas-style culinary challenge between the chefs of the MGM and Caesars Palace. Cat Cora of Iron Chef fame as the emcee, and Barabara Fairchild, editor of Bon Appetit  magazine served as one of the judges.  There was an All-Star Interactive Lunch, during which you could assist celebrity chefs such as Paul Bartolotta and Daniel Boulud in preparing your meal.  I thought that this was a particularly unique experience well worth the price of admission.  Then of course there was the obligatory Vegas-esque event, the Celebrity Chef Blackjack Tournament.  As I said, there were many other events that I didn't have the chance to attend--you would probably need to clone yourself to attend them all--but I definitely attended enough to get my fill.

I don't like to do a post without offering at least one tasty recipe to go with it.  This is first and foremost a recipe blog, after all.  When we entered the Grand Tasting, we were handed booklets, which provided information about the various Uncork'd events as well as about 70 pages of recipes from the participating chefs themselves (nice touch, huh?)  I thought that it would be fun to try one of these esteemed recipes and share it with my readers.

Hmmm.....but which recipe should I choose?  With so many mouthwatering options, I thought that the selection process alone would be both difficult and time-consuming.  Not so much.  When I took both the economic and feasibility factors of the recipes into consideration, I was really only left with a handful of options.  This meant that I had eliminated all of the recipes that contained one or more of the following ingredients: truffles, truffle oil, truffle juice (what?), Kobe beef, Wagyu beef, duck, Berkshire pork belly, sweetbreads, mountain caviar, and of course foie gras.  From the remaining batch, I got rid of anything with scallops (I'm allergic), aioli (just call it what it is folks--gourmet mayonnaise), or foam.  I finally decided on what ended up being a surprisingly simple, but oh-so-rewarding cookie recipe from the famous pastry chef Francois Payard.  In addition to his New York establishments, Chef Payard owns Payard Patisserie and Bistro at Caesars's Palace in Las Vegas.  These chocolatey cookies are quite rich, despite the lack of butter, cream, egg yolks, or any of the other usual suspects.  Bon Appetit! 

Francois Payard's Decadent Chocolate Cookies

Makes about 12 large cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 cups confectioner's sugar

Pinch of salt

2 3/4 cups toasted walnuts, chopped

4 large egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar, salt, and walnuts.  Mix on low speed for 1 minute.

With the mixer running, slowly add the egg whites and the vanilla.  Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes until the mixture has slightly thickened.  Do not overmix, or the egg whites will thicken too much.

Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop, scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets.  Scoop 6 sheet, spacing about 3-inches apart.  Put the cookies in the oven and lower the temperature to 320F degrees.  Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until small thin cracks appear on the surface of the cookies.  Pull the parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Remove the cookies from the paper, and store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Margaritas for Everyone: Cookies and Cocktails

I'm going to do something very uncharacteristic.  I'm going to keep my blog post relatively short and sweet.  So for those of you who have come to know and love my long-winded stories about why I made what I made that day, I'm sorry.  For those of you who read these stories and wondered "What on earth does this have to do with her recipe?", you're welcome.  Consider this my gift to you.

My reason for skipping my usual ten paragraph preamble is that I am tardy with my posting.  I would completely miss the Cinco de Mayo holiday (those of you on the east coast are probably already into your second margaritas as I type) if I rambled on forever and checked my grammar.  Let's face it, the cookie recipe is probably of no use to you for any of tonight's festivities, but at least the margarita recipe is about as easy as it gets (tasty too.)  Save the cookie recipe for your first summer barbecue.

These fun margarita-shaped sugar cookies are something that everyone can partake in--and still drive home safely.  The margaritas themselves?  Not so much.  These are potent, so people, pace yourselves.  You don't want someone posting pictures of you doing the post-margarita Mexican Hat Dance all over your Facebook page, do you?  I don't know, maybe you do.  Regardless, have a great, guacamole-filled night.  Ole! Here are a few extra tips for this duo of Cinco de Mayo creations:

• When making the cookies, if the dough has become too soft during the rolling and shaping process, chill the cookie sheet for 15 minutes prior to baking.  This will ensure that the cookies retain their shape throughout the baking process.
• If you want to give the cookies an extra "margarita" touch, replace the orange zest in the cookie dough with lime zest.
• I purchased my cookie cutter from Sugarcraft.com for about $2.00, but if you don't have a cookie cutter, then you could always make a pattern out of waxed or parchment paper and trace it.
• Feel free to play around with the juice ratios in the margarita recipe.  You can also add a few sprigs of mint to the pitcher, if desired.
• The margarita mix can be refrigerated overnight.

Margaritas for Everyone: Cookies and Cocktails

For the margarita cookies (makes about 24)

1 recipe sugar cookie dough

Margarita glass cookie cutters

Royal icing in white and green

Coarse sugar

Gumdrop candies shaped like fruit slices

Roll, cut, and bake the margarita glass cookies according to the sugar cookie dough recipe on this other post.  Color half of the royal icing green (unless of course you are making mango margaritas!)  Leave the rest of the royal icing white.  Pipe the green icing around the top of the "glass," leaving a small strip at the top.  Pipe the white icing around the "stem."  After the piping has dried, thin both icing colors with lemon juice and flood the interiors of the outlines with the colors.  After the icing has dried (let it set for at least an hour), pipe white icing onto the top strip at the top of the glass.  Dip the top of the glass in coarse sugar, so that it looks like salt around the rim.  If the gumdrop fruit slices are thick, trim them lengthwise.  Pipe some royal icing onto the glass, and adhere the "lime" to the glass.  Allow to dry for at least one hour, preferably several hours, so that the lime sticks.

Pomegranate-Orange Margaritas

Serves 8-10

1 liter tequila (recommend Patron)

2 cups Cointreau or Triple Sec

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup lime juice

In a large glass pitcher, combine the tequila, Cointreau, pomegranate juice, orange juice, and lime juice.  Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, and add about 1 cup of the margarita mix; shake well.  Strain into a cocktail glass and serve.  Repeat with the rest of the mix.