Stoutamisu

Hello Reader,

First, I promise this will actually be the last post about food for a while. Second, I promise to keep it brief. And third, check out the pic below to understand why I just HAD to post this one.

This is Stoutamisu. 

 

Do you see why I needed to share?

Stoutamisu is like tiramisu but made with an oatmeal stout brewed in a local brewery, Four Peak. Whenever we go to Four Peaks I make sure to take a slice of this home - because I can't finish it in one sitting. It is rich and savory and sweet yet light and fluffy and just amazing! (I feel as if I am doing on of those, "Best Thing I Ever Ate" plugs on Food Network...perhaps I should cut back on my Food Network TV time.)

Anyways, it was a beautiful accompaniment to this long weekend.

Thanks for reading!

- Molly

CUPCAKES!!!!

Hello Reader,

I thought I would round out this week of blogs with just one more post about food; another dessert to be exact. 

CUPCAKES!!! (I am very proud to say I made these beauties you see below)

One thing I love about this area is the food selection. There's Greek, Italian, lots of Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Mediterranean, Indian, you name it there is a restaurant here to meet your request. But there are also food places that specialize in one particular food: popcorn, chocolate dipped fruit, ice cream sandwiches, etc. One of my favorites is Mind Over Batter which specializes in cupcakes, cakes, and cake pops. The cupcakes are my favorite!

Below are the first cupcakes we tried there and they were both unbelievably rich! The one on the left was mine, a caramel macchiato - it was like eating the espresso drink. I love sweets, but I could only consume half of this cupcake at once since it was so rich. I see that as a good thing, it was satisfying twice - satisfaction is the whole point of eating, right? The one on the right was a cookies 'n' cream cupcake that was basically a giant Oreo in cupcake form. Again, so good!

 

Below are two specialty cupcakes we picked up for St. Patrick's Day. The one of the left was mint chocolate with a Nabisco wafer for a gold coin and the one on the right was something with pistachios, almonds, and coconut (I think). Very festive and I always love anything combining chocolate and mint.

So all this cupcake eating inspired me to make my own and take on some intense recipes. I had never made cupcakes from scratch but I thought it would be fun to try. While watching Cupcake Wars one day I saw a baker make chocolate stout cupcakes with an Irish cream butter cream frosting. My first thought was how perfect it would be to make those for my boyfriend's birthday ... followed by the thought of how perfect his birthday was as an excuse to make them! In addition to the first pic on this post, you can see them below. I really think this picture deserves to be featured in a food magazine somewhere. Just sayin' ...

Per usual, I packaged some up to send back east by reusing the box from the other cupcakes. I packed them into boxes and wrote "THIS SIDE UP" all over them. According to mum, some illiterate individuals may have handled the box because the cupcakes were not pretty looking when they arrived in Maine - but the taste was there!

Next, I took on dark chocolate cupcakes with a salted caramel filling and a dark chocolate ganache frosting. They were unbelievably rich and wonderful! They are purposefully left at room temperature so the caramel stays ooey-gooey. I made a mini version for an office celebration and they went over very well.  Aren't they cute?

I also made a few regular sized ones for myself. On the one below I drizzled the caramel over the plate and topped it with a sprinkle of sea salt to be fancy. I am very proud to say this was the first time I made caramel and it was a success! (I didn't even have a candy thermometer.) These cupcakes were like eating a chocolate, caramel covered pretzel - delicious!

So that is my journey of cupcakes thus far in the southwest. I plan to continue the journey because it is quite delightful! I still haven't tried the original cupcake store around here, but I plan to eventually. Until then, the one down the road and my kitchen will continue to satisfy my sweet tooth!

Thanks for reading!

- Molly

Cinco de Mayo with Dana Carvey

Hello Reader,

I realize that this is a rather outdated post since Cinco de Mayo over two weeks ago, but better late than never! 

I thought I would embrace Cinco de Mayo more than ever before since I was now in the southwest. Well, I tried, but sort of failed. I few months ago I had purchase tickets to see Dana Carvey at a comedy club for May 5th, not thinking it was Cinco de Mayo - oops. But it was Dana Carvey, how was I suppose to pass that up?! I thought, perhaps I will have a margarita at happy hour before the show and that would be my way of celebrating Cinco de Mayo...well, the $8 lemon-coconut-thingy won over the $12 margarita....  

At the show I thought about getting nachos or tacos perhaps with a dos equis. But they didn't have dos equis and the burgers looked really good. So I had an iced tea and a maple bacon, BBQ burger with sweet potato fries - delicious. At this point in the evening, I failed in the drink and dinner Cinco de Mayo celebration, but I had one more plan to celebrate with dessert... 

...I was going to make piñata cookies!

Well, the show ran later than expected and I was tired and I didn't read the recipe in full - I had to refrigerate the dough over night - so, I didn't make them on Cinco de Mayo...it was more like Ocho De Mayo. Oops. They are a fun cookie I recommend making them, but plan accordingly since they are a little high maintenance. You can see the steps in my Piñata Cookies post!

So, Cinco de Mayo was not the fiesta I thought it would be - but who am I kidding, I'm not a fiesta kind of person. It was certainly the most memorably Cinco de Mayo, and perhaps the only time I have "celebrated" it. Not everyone can say they spent Cinco de Mayo with the one and only Dana Carvey. It was an amazing show! He did so many impressions: Church Lady, Obama, George Bush Sn., George W. Bush, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Schwarzenegger, Hans (or Franz, I always switch them), AND he sung the acoustic version of chopping broccoli. (If you do not know that song, see below.)

It was a great Cinco de Mayo!

Thanks for reading!

- M

Piñata Sugar Cookies

Hello All,

For Cinco de Mayo (which was more like Ocho de Mayo for me, you can read about why in my post titled, Cinco de Mayo with Dana Carvey) I made piñata cookies! They are super easy but also really high maintenance - you'll see. Mine did not turn out perfect (the stripes should be going the other direction and they should look like they have hooves, but it's the taste that counts, right?) See the steps below!

Step #1: Find a piñata shaped cookie cutter (this is the hardest part.)

Step #2: Make sugar cookie dough. I used store bought packages and added vanilla and almond extract to make it taste homemade with very little effort.  Then separate the dough into approximately seven different chunks. Color each ball of dough a different color. Pack the dough in layers in a plastic container lined with waxed paper or foil and leave in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. Remember to dye one dark purple or black for the feet and it should be the bottom or top layer in the stack of dough.

 

Step #3: Wait.

Step #4: Take the log of dough out of the fridge and remove the waxed paper or foil. Then cut thin slices to get the stripped pattern. Place on a baking sheet and bake according to your recipe's directions. I emphasized thin because I think that is where I went wrong with mine. I cut the cookies so thick that in the end, I only had five piñata cookies.....

 

Step #5: Once the cookies are done baking, cut the piñata shaped cookies (see above.) Make sure one in every three has the middle cut out as well (see below.) 

 

Step #6: Let the cookies almost finish cooling then break them apart. 

 

Step #7: Now it is time to assemble them! Mix together confectioners sugar and milk to make a sweet glue for the cookies to be stacked together with. I don't measure ingredients so start with a lot of sugar and a little amount of milk and when it looks like glue you did it! 

 

Step #8: Place a whole cookie down first and glue a cookie with the middle cut out on top. Fill with your favorite little candies (I went with M & M's).

 

Step #9: Top off the stack with another layer of the sweet glue and a whole cookie. No one will know about the candy inside! 

Step #10: Share with people who you know just love your baking - no matter how far away they are :-)

 

ENJOY!

Thanks for reading!

- M

Whoopie Pies!!!

Hello Reader,

Do you know what a whoopie pie is? A real one - not one of those not-so-cheap knock-offs at Starbucks. If not, I suggest reading up on the history of the whoopie pie and all it's controversy on the always enlightening, Wikipedia. Once you really know what I am talking about, please continue.

I have always enjoyed whoopie pies and I feel it is part of being from that neck of the woods. Since leaving Maine, I have had regular cravings for them and gone to great lengths to get them. I have brought them on planes, had them shipped, and had friends bring them out when they visit. I have never put in this much effort for dessert before. I have a colleague out here from Maine and we talk and reminis about whoopie pies constantly - it is a little ridiculous, but so is the fact that the southwest has not discovered a real whoopie pie.

   

http://www.wickedwhoopies.com

A few months ago I created a treasury list on my Etsy account titled "My Heart's in Maine" where I featured things that remind me of home: pine trees, snow, chickadees, the rocky coastline, light houses, blueberries, lobster, and, of course, whoopie pies. One women, who was featured, commented on my list and sent me a message stating how hard it must be to relocate to another corner of the country. She seemed downright appalled that I was forced into such a situation and said any time I needed a taste of home to let her know. I thought that was sweet of her (no pun intended.)

Well, about a month and a half ago I got another message from the women saying she was making whoopie pies and needed my address. After some niceties were exchanged several times ("oh you don't have to," "it's my pleasure," "I'll pay for shipping," "no you won't," yata, yata, yata...) I gave in and she sent me two homemade whoopie pies. It was great! I didn't take a picture of them to share because they honestly looked like two hockey pucks - it's  a rough trip from ME to AZ in the postal service system - but the taste was there and that is what counted for me!

This is one of favorite stories to share since moving out here. I think it is a typical Mainer thing to do; I don't know you, you don't know me, but I'm going to send you fattening food!

Thanks for reading!

- M

P.S. If anyone out there has a real Maine whoopie pie recipe, could you send it to me? Thanks!

Weather pt. I (of many more to come)

Hello All,

I used to believe that discussing the weather with someone meant you had nothing left to say to each other but state the obvious climate you are currently in.  However, I now believe weather to be a fun topic to compare and contrast between ME and AZ. I guess the funny thing about discussing the weather in AZ is that there is no weather in AZ. Everyday is sunny with a clear blue sky and the temperature is somewhere between warm and hot. On the rare occurrence there are a few clouds in the sky, people sort of freak out about it. Almost as if the chance of rain is a scary thing, like they might melt if touched by water...which is a little dramatic in my opinion. But even the weather forecasters overreact to cloud coverage. It seems for every cloud I see in the sky, the chance of rain percentage goes up about 15%. When I first got out here I remember listening to a women explain to her granddaughter that clouds in the sky does not mean it is raining but if you see a dark cloud in the distant you can tell if it will bring rain. It was very cute to observe.

So, why am I rambling on about rain?

Well, I got caught in the rain this past week! It was sort of amazing!!(I realize my excitement over the rain storm is slightly hypocritical since I just expressed how I thought freaking out about clouds was dramatic, but the storm was a big deal ... and notice I use "the" not "a"? That is because it was the one and only storm that happened in the valley recently.)

I think the saying, "When it rains it pours" was created out here, because it is so true! The storm came out of nowhere and was not in the forecast (which is not a big surprise). It was suddenly dark in the middle of the afternoon, then over the course of my brief five minute walk across campus the wind gusts kicked in and the rain went from droplets to buckets. Then the lightening and thunder started in, the wind was blowing the rain sideways - it was wild! It went from nice sunny day to hurricane in about 15 minutes. I am very glad I was only out in it for a few minutes. I found some pics from it here: http://watchusplaygames.com/tag/may-9/ 

My colleagues were all finding alternative routes home and even to their cars to avoid the rain. Traffic slowed on most roads because no one here really knows how to drive in the rain (or over standing water in general) because it is so rare. A friend of mine from Maine who teaches junior high in Phoenix says if there is rain when school is in session it is the equivalent to the first snow storm in Maine; all of her students will stop whatever they are doing and rush to the window to watch the sky fall!

It was so great to whip out my umbrella, which really impressed native Arizonians. "Why yes, I carry one with me at all times." I do this because I spent nearly 25 years in a place where the saying was, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute." I understand that drastic weather changes do not happen here often, but being prepared for them is one hard habit to break!

So, from "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute" to "when it rains it pours" just another difference from ME to AZ.

Thanks for reading!

- Molly

Lessons Learned in AZ

Hello All,

Since moving to AZ I have discovered a few ground rules that I live, more like swear by. There are three basic rules I follow. I understand they are mostly common sense, but it is amazing how my Mainer instict or my Arizonia naivete overrides what I thought I knew.  To anyone who visits, I recommend following these rules.

1.) Wear sunscreen - serious sunscreen. SPF 15 does NOT work, unless you put it on every five minutes but who could really afford going through that much sunscreen?! I got a sun burn walking to get a coffee from my office yesterday. It's a 10 minute walk round trip. My insanely pale, borderline translucent skin tone cannot handle the sun's intensity. So I have upped it to SPF 70. I think that should do. Whenever I remind myself to wear sunscreen, I think of the speech/song with Baz Luhrmann. If you are unfamiliar with it, please indulge in this clip of it below.

2.) Drink water - it's the desert, it's dry, hydrate! It seems obvious, but there have be many days over the past 8 months where I have gotten a headache because I have not had enough water. Sometimes it's hard to understand just how dry it is out here. The basic rules of eight cups of water a day is out the window here - I go through at least two bottles of water alone every time I workout. I always, always, always have water with me or at least something that can hold water. I have gotten over my germaphobic reaction to public water fountains because I rather contract some unusual disease than suffer severe dehydration - at least, that is how I currently feel; I'm sure if I end up with a unusual disease I will feel the exact opposite. Anyways, I have an irrational fear of being stranded "in the desert" without water during my commute from work to my apartment...those two location are only two miles apart, but my fear of not having water is constantly on my mind. So, always have water with you and make sure you drink it.

3.) Don't sit on metal benches - or just don't touch anything. My final rule is partially two rules in one. Avoid anything metal and just don't touch anything. I understand this is inevitable in some situations. I have lost balance on the bus or lightrail and grasp for the nearest pole to steady myself. I know that many children have licked it, and adults have picked their nose and sneezed all over it BUT I refuse to fall on my face in public. Instead, I make sure I always have hand sanitizer with me. But there are some situation where you can choose to avoid touching things like cacti, don't touch the spikes on them. And I've heard that those pretty pink flowers are poisonous too! Also, don't wear metal rimmed sunglasses because in triple digit temperatures they burn. Just like metal benches. Now, I do not know who's bright idea it was to put metal benches in a location where a good four months of the year are spent in triple digit temperatures, but they exist in abundance. So, don't sit on them.

And that sums up my rules for life in AZ.

Thanks for reading!

- M