weekend recap

Since I hardly ever have the house to myself, I took the rare opportunity this weekend to go for broke and host a full-blown dinner party for 6 of my good friends.

I've always had a soft spot for a piping pot of steamed mussels. Last fall I took AnnaD to my favorite neighborhood spot, Flatbush Farm and Bar(n) where we split a giant bowl of the delicious bi-valves. The spicy, garlicy broth was mouth-on-fire addictive--after finishing off a second helping of crusty bread to sop up the broth, I picked up the bowl and drank the remnants like leftover milk in a cereal bowl. These fiery mussels turned that soft spot into a gooey puddle. Ever since that last bite, I've been chasing that taste.

So AnnaD and I decided to kick off the dinner party with our own version. After picking up all our produce (and also snacking on a giant kosher dog) at Soulard, I took my first trip to Bob's Seafood. An institution in St. Louis, Bob's was our mecca for mussels. Having never bought or cooked my own mussels before, I thought I should head to the pros. They were super helpful and the price was unbelievable.

N&R brought a giant fresh market salad and Lucia brought the crustiest of breads for us to soak up our broth. We rounded out the meal with un-fried onion rings, chicken kebabs, and steamed green beans. For the evening's entertainment, Myles brought his dog, Moses.

For dessert I indulged my friends by making homemade cinnamon ice cream, a favorite flavor of our group. I served it in some cream puffs I had stocked in my freezer for no fuss profiteroles!

Though the mussels could have been a little bit heavier on the garlic (I've since adjusted the recipe to follow) I felt it was a successful first attempt at striving for mussel perfection. I even converted a non-shellfish lover to enjoying them!

Steamy Mussels a la Lauralou

(make 4 lbs mussels, or enough for 6 large portions)

3 T E.V. olive oil

6 cloves garlic, smashed or chopped

2 shallots, minced

2.5 cups dry white wine

2 sprigs fresh thyme

3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

**When you bring home mussels from the store, make sure to discard any that have opened before cooking--these are already dead and should not be eaten!

Sautee garlic and shallots in olive oil until translucent. Pour in wine and heat to boiling. Add thyme and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add cleaned and de-sanded mussels to pot and cover to steam for 10 minutes or until all mussels are fully opened. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a good hunk of crusty bread.

roasted tomato soup

It's rainy and chilly here--the perfect weather for a steamy bowl of rustic tomato soup. A while back I came across this recipe from Tyler Florence (hello lover) and have since made it a staple of my soup arsenal. The only work you have to do is a little chunky chopping of tomatoes and onions. Other than that, the hardest part is waiting for everything to soften up and burst in the oven! I even melted some parmesean on top of crusty bread for a nice toast point.

The perfect chilly evening supper.

happy earth day

To celebrate this fine earth of ours, I thought I'd share a few pictures of the beautiful flowers growing outside of my front door. I've also included a few pictures of some of the flowers I bought last weekend at Soulard Farmer's Market. Sometimes fresh flowers just make everything better.

And to those fellow FCI CPA0208 chefs, I wish you an especially Happy Earth Day!

beets, beets, and more beets!

Over the last year, I've had a growing obsession with beets. I was a supremely picky eater when I was a child, so, not surprisingly, I never tried beets until 2 years ago. And now I can't get enough. I blend them up in my smoothies, eat them just plain roasted, or smothered with goat cheese in a rustic salad. But now that AnnaD sent me the link to this website (http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/) I can't wait to add desserts to that list!

#31: the flourless beet chocolate cupcakes.


Can't wait to see what these taste like! Yum.

weekend kitchening

This past weekend I was a busy little bee making all kinds of special treats for parties. I was commissioned to provide desserts for a bridal shower and for a tea ceremony party. Despite having to work through my days off, everyone on the receiving end of my pastries was a happy camper, which is the reason I chose this career in the first place!

Check out some of my creations:

[flower petal cupcakes]

[rich chocolate cake w/ ganache and pecans]

the greatest dessert you will ever eat.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Them's fightin' words." But trust me...it's a fact.

Back in pastry school, we spent a week learning the ins and outs of pate a choux, or cream puff dough. While cream puff dough is a vehicle for some tasty delights like the giant chocolate-covered cream puffs my parents used to take me to get on The Hill as a child, it also lends itself to some of the most cumbersome confections out there (yes, eclairs and croquembouche, I'm talking about you). But where this luscious dough finds it true calling is in the circular shape of the Paris-Brest cake. Piped in a wheel shape, the cake was created to commemorate the bicycle race from Paris to Brest, hence the name. It's filled with a hazelnut mousse-like cream filling that coats your mouth with a luxurious smattering of nutty goodness. Honestly, it's dessert heaven.

So, naturally, the Paris-Brest has become my new birthday tradition. Back in January, my friend, Francina, was sweet enough to make one of these little guys for a belated-birthday/farewell party I was having before I was dragged away from Brooklyn. AnnaD was there to witness, firsthand, the awesome goodness of the Paris-Brest. It was love at first bite for AnnaD, and last week I continued the tradition by making her a Paris-Brest of her own.

Dessert nirvana was found by all.

As Chef Jurgen always says: "Mmm. Delish."

delish.

[poster from ikea]


Welcome fellow munchers!



Here you are. You've stumbled across my little blog of yummy goodness. For much of my years, and increasingly so since graduating pastry school, I've been obsessed with eating, shopping, talking, and cooking all things food. Ever since my dad set me and my sisters loose with coupons in the grocery store in hopes of collecting his shopping list in record time, I've been hooked on the culinary world.


Stick around, and soon enough you, too, will be coming back for seconds, thirds, and s'mores!