Let Them Eat Cake! - 7/30/2009

Cake class at Durham Tech just wrapped up this week and it's time I update on the wide and varied cakes I've been making.



My PI had a birthday a couple weeks ago, so I had to find out some more about him for his cake. I heard he liked surfing and had transient obsessions with Goldfish crackers. So from that I came up with this surf-day cake. The cake was vanilla with a chocolate buttercream. The sand for the beach was a combination of brown sugar and confectioners' sugar with a touch of white sprinkles. The surfboard to the side was made of gumpaste. I felt the Duke D came out nicely, but the trade-off was that my goldfish were a little rough. I think this cake was my most creative in decoration of the entire class and it went over well at our birthday get-together.


Last week was how to build multi-layered cakes (>3 layers). There are some architectural features that are involved in this process, such as stabilizing the layers with extra pieces of cardboard and vertical supports through lower layers. Most people in the class made cupcake-shaped cakes. I chose instead to make hydrangeas in a basket. The hardest part is determining when you're done when trimming up the cake. I would have definitely cut mine down too much if I didn't have input from my classmates. The cake was chocolate with a touch of mint. The filling was mint chocolate chip and the flowers were vanilla buttercream. Even though this cake was twice as tall as usual, almost all of it went in one day when I brought it into lab.


My labmates loved the chocolate cake from the previous week so much, that this past week I decided to use the same recipe (scroll down for the cake recipes), except I mixed raspberry jam into the cake. For the filling I used the previous week's chocolate buttercream and mixed in some more raspberry jam and some pine nuts for a nice, soft crunch. Then I frosted the cake in vanilla buttercream. Our summer undergraduate student is leaving this week, so I decorated the cake with DNA sequence tracings as a farewell. As promised, below are the cake recipes as well as my basic buttercream recipe that can be retooled any number of ways:

Vanilla Cake - makes 3x9" round cakes

2 cups cake flour
1.75 cups + 1.5 tsp all purpose flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter
3 cups granulated sugar
0.75 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (from ~7 eggs)
1.5 cups milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pans with nonstick cooking spray, line bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Sift together flours, baking powder and salt. Combine butter and sugar in a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the vanilla. Set mixer on low and gradually add the egg whites. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk in two batches beginning with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition and beat just until everything is mixed together. Divide batter between pans and bake about one hour or until a tester comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool about 20 minutes then remove from pans. Wrap and store.

Chocolate Cake - makes 3x9" round cakes

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1.25 cups + 2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1.25 cups strong coffee

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pans with nonstick cooking spray, line bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and extracts. In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Set mixer on low, add eggs one at a time. Alternately add the sour cream mixture and the flour mixture starting and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the sides of bowl down between additions. Slowly add the coffee. Scrape down the bowl, and beat thoroughly until combined. Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake about an hour or until the toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool about 20 minutes, then remove from pans. Wrap and store.

Basic Buttercream - makes 2.75 cups

1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
16 oz powdered sugar
3-5 tbsp milk

Beat the first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with 3 tbsp milk (1 tbsp at a time), beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Beat in up to 2 tbsp of additional milk for desired consistency.

42nd Street Oyster Bar - 7/30/2009

One of the first restaurants I tried when I visited the Triangle area over a year ago was the 42nd Street Oyster Bar on Jones Street in Raleigh. My mom heard about it somewhere and I've since grown to adore this restaurant. Before we even get to the food, let me describe the restaurant itself. There are three seating options: 1) a normal table, 2) a table at the full bar, or 3) at the oyster bar. If you want freshly steamed oysters, shrimp or mussels, you have to sit at the bar. Normally this would mean parties greater than 3 have some trouble talking since they're sitting linearly, but 42nd Street has a solution: booths that butt up to the bar. There's live music at night Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant can get a little full, but it's definitely worth it.


The first item you receive, often before you place your drink order, are these delectable hush puppies. The puppies come piping hot and have a slightly oniony taste to them. The sauce on the side is actually just straight-up butter, but the extra addition of fat is the perfect complement to the fluffy/crunchy puppies. They key is not filling up on the endless baskets of these fried treats.


As expected of an oyster house, the main attraction are the oysters. You can get them raw or, as above, steamed to varying degrees of doneness (Dad liked his medium-rare to make them slightly more solid). The oyster quality does not seem to change during non-r-containing months and none of the oysters leave you feeling cheated because they are too small. Most normal people will probably like the half-peck size, which is about 15 or so oysters. I was not familiar with the peck increment of measure, so I thought I would offer what advice I could. They also have fully steamed oysters with various toppings (including Rockefeller) and freshly prepared oyster stew. At the oyster bar, you can watch the stew prepared by a chef who cares for his creations as if they were newborn children.


My favorite dish to get is the seared ahi tuna special. The tuna is seared perfectly (mostly cold and ruby red on the inside while just barely warm on the outside) with sesame seeds and two sauces, one ginger- and the other wasabi-based. The sauces pack some great flavor but do not overwhelm tasting the delicate tuna. On the side, I picked rice, cooked with clam juice, and the cole slaw. I must mention that this slaw is the one that awakened my taste buds to eating slaw again. It is a perfect balance of creamy, sweet, vinegary, and crunchy. Another side I've had are the mashed potatoes which are some of the creamiest I've ever tasted (undoubtedly because they use cream and butter).

For those who prefer their seafood fully cooked, they have many other options including fried (with some very good calamari) and steamed. One special that I want to try next time I go is the cioppino, seafood cooked in a tomato sauce. 42nd Street clearly draws a good crowd, but I'm amazed at how few people know about it in my area of Durham, so take the trip to the capital for a great seafood experience.

Ted's Montana Grill - 7/29/2009

I love trying new meats. I like to live my life like Noah from the Bible, except I'm eating two of every animal. When I found out I had the chance to try bison, I was chomping at the bit. We went to Ted's Montana Grill, where they have a giant bison's head hung on the wall to ward off vegetarians. I ordered a bison burger with Monterrey jack cheese, onions and mushrooms. The menu is chiefly devoted to burgers, available in beef or bison, and chicken sandwiches. The bison meat itself is actually lighter and almost fluffy compared to a beef burger. It was still a little greasy as all burgers should be, but it didn't form a ball in my stomach afterwards. The only drawback to the burger was the fact that the toppings absolutely refused to stay on the bun. It was all very tasty, but just architecturally unsound.


I'm not normally a grilled chicken sandwich eater, but I may make an exception for this one. The chicken has some potent seasoning on it that actually gives it some flavor. That and it was very moist and there was more chicken than bread. On the side were some monstrous onion rings that fulfilled that occasional need I have to consume fried food. All in all, Ted's was a good experience for us carnivores, especially since I managed to add another animal to my growing list consumable critters.

Local Yogurt - 7/29/2009

I heard about the opening of a new ice cream store and, like a good ice cream fanatic, had to try it.


The store is called Local Yogurt. They serve actual frozen yogurt (aka "frogurt" but never "froyo"). Most frozen yogurt is just light ice cream but the original flavor at Local Yogurt has a wonderfully tangy taste to it, like real yogurt. Who'd have thought? They have 3 other flavors that they rotate regularly which are not as tart but definitely delicious. I've seen blueberry, chocolate, peanut butter, butter pecan, and others so far. My first time I had peanut butter frogurt with potato chips. This time around, pictured above, was original flavor with blackberries and cubed mochi (a glutenous rice substance that is like gummi that does not freeze up in the yogurt. They have beaucoups of other toppings too, including Fruity Pebbles, many different fruits, chocolate curls, and candy bars. Of all of the ice cream markets that already exist (gelato eaten with small spoons, Dairy Queen eaten by the bucketful, Cold Stone eaten after some massaging), Local Yogurt is already carving out a niche for itself with a unique idea and a product that won't impact your waistline as severely as most of its competitors.

Homemade Pizzas - 7/29/2009

I always forget how easy it is to make your own pizza at home. If you are willing to outsource the dough making (as we did here with the help of Trader Joe's), making a pizza is too simple not to do on a regular basis.


We started with two pre-made doughs - one normal, one whole wheat. My best piece of advice for making pizza at home is to let your dough warm to room temperature. It becomes more pliable and does not resist you as much when it has had a chance to warm a bit. After stretching the doughs sufficiently, we placed them on greased cookie sheets and then added toppings.

Right: tikka masala sauce with pulled pork, sliced onions, goat cheese,and dried cranberries

Left: korma sauce with sauteed mushrooms, fresh tomato, goat cheese, garlic, cilantro, and chopped hazelnuts

I wish I could say I came up with these flavor schemes, but the credit must go to another who's culinary creativity surpasses/complements my own. The pork pizza was very nice, especially on the whole-wheat crust. But my hands down favorite was the korma pizza because the flavors on it melded together to a satisfying whole. It's not very often that I can say I'm completely satisfied with a dish I've made. It's either too salty, or needs some more spices, or slightly overdone, or many various and asunder issues. But this pizza was delicious and I don't know of one thing I would do to change the flavors on it. So the lesson here is you never know how much you can surprise yourself, even when making a shortcut dinner such as this one. Pizza is a wonderful way to show off your creativity because you have any number of toppings to add in an infinite number of combinations. And, if all else fails, there's nothing wrong with your everyday, run-of-the-mill ham and pineapple.

Fiesta Grill - 7/29/2009

In the middle of nowhere on highway 54 between Chapel Hill and Carrboro lies un restaurante increible. While it can take some time to get there, Fiesta Grill has an expansive selection of Mexican dishes, both typical fare and dishes that are more esoteric to us gringos. But fear not! The family who owns the restaurant is friendly, helpful and speedy for all of their customers. The restaurant itself has a no-frills decoration scheme, but that is only because they spend so much time making their food so good.


One of the weekend specials is a ceviche taco. We decided to give it a try in addition to our freshly made tortilla chips (very thickly made, meaning they're sturdy enough to support just about anything you throw at them). In addition to the marinated gamish of seafood was tomatoes, onions and avocado. Underneath this mass was a crispy taco shell. We ended up using the chips to eat most of the ceviche. This appetizer was not overly complex and was all about the fresh flavors of all of the ingredients. Try not to fill up on appetizers, though, because the real gut busters of the meal are still to come.



For our main courses we had a bean and cheese burrito, covered in sauce, and a combination platter of one enchilada (mostly hidden in the sauce) and one pork tamal. Briefly, the tamal is pork and a spicy tomato sauce of some sort encased in a corn-based flour and cooked in corn husks. The result is tender and subtly corny, but still packing the punch of the filling. The combo came with some rice and refried beans. All of the food was very good and highly filling. If the burrito does not look like it could fill you up, you can get it stuffed with nearly everything but the kitchen sink. We saw a nearby customer order a monstrous burrito and eat about one-quarter of it.


After finishing our meal, we had some general questions about some of the items we had seen on the menu. After asking what menudo was (tripe soup, pretty much), we asked what the two beverages were moving around inside of two large dispensers. Instead of merely telling us, the owner gave us a free, small taste of each. One which was a light beige color was horchata, a rice drink flavored with vanilla and cinnamon. This sounds like some saccharine concoction from the local coffee house, but it had been thinned down to be a refreshing beverage. The flavors were all present, but you did not feel disgusting after drinking it. The second drink was called jamaica, made from hibiscus. This drink was a little sweeter and more floral, but it also reminded me of candied apple to a small degree. Both of these drinks together fall under the category of aguas frescas (cool waters), drinks made from various grains or fruits originating from Mexico. Based on the quality of the food and the amazing friendliness of the staff (and the size of the exhaustive menu), I will definitely be going back to this restaurant, which has become my new favorite Mexican eatery.

Bahn's - 7/28/2009

I've tried Bahn's on 9th Street in Durham previously and found their rice vermicelli to be a little mediocre, but I was convinced to go on a Wednesday or a Saturday to try their vegetarian combo. I don't usually eat vegetarian because meat is too delicious, but this combo changed my mind on the taste of tofu. The dish comes with tofu in a black bean sauce that is a bit salty, but nicely flavored. The tofu cooks up nice and lightly fluffy. On the side is some ridiculously (in a good way) glutenous rice with some crushed peanuts on top and you either get a fresh spring roll (Saturdays) or broccoli and bok choy (Wednesdays). As a whole, the meal was well balanced and filling, but I still felt healthy enough to get a shake from a place a few doors down the street. I think this combo dish is one of Bahn's main draws because at least half of the people in the restaurant ordered it. So for vegetarians and carnivores alike, give the vegetarian combo a shot and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

One Fish, Two Fish, White Fish, Pink Fish - 7/28/2009

Something was very fishy last week. Turns out it was my kitchen.


A stop to Whole Foods found me staking out the seafood display. Whenever I'm in front of these types of cases, I get the urge to choose one of the foods without any real plan for what I'm going to do. This time it was a nice piece of cod. After some searching, I decided to use this recipe from Bon Appetit (December 2008). It's pretty much cod covered in a mushroom topping flavored with white wine, lemon zest and Parmesan. I subbed out the chanterelles (since they are so hard to find) with a combination of baby bellas and sliced button mushrooms. I don't often consider mushrooms with fish. In fact, I usually picture mushrooms on steaks and burgers. But this mushroom "ragout" added some earthiness to this surf dish, but was brightened by the touches of lemon and white wine. And leftovers made for good lunches all week long.


As a side, I had some eggplant from my CSA last week, so I made a very easy dish: roasted eggplant slices. You slice up your eggplant crosswise, then toss it in oil, salt, pepper, and whatever spices you want to use (I chose thyme). Then spread it out on a greased baking sheet and bake it at 450 degrees for about a half hour until it is tender but not starting to brown or crisp up. The great part about this dish is you don't have to worry about salting the eggplant and letting it sit for a while to remove the bitterness. The roasting does all that for you by caramelizing some of the sugars in this purple veggie. This method also works great with cauliflower. Just be warned: you will need a lot of vegetables for this for two reasons. First, they cook down in size greatly. Second, they go extremely fast, even with those who do not care for vegetables. So give it a shot with your fussy eaters of any age.


The other fish I saw at Whole Foods was this salmon crusted with nuts. I had some feta and cherry tomatoes from my CSA, so I made a side Greek salad (pitted kalamata olives, sliced seedless cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, and feta) with a buttermilk-scallion-cilantro dressing. This was a quick-fix dinner because I just baked the salmon until it was just cooked through and served it with the salad. The great thing about pre-treated fish is that all you have to do is cook it. It is cheating, to a degree, but everyone needs to cut some corners every once in a while. Plus, by cooking at home I'm still saving the time and calories of going out to a restaurant. So why not eat simply when you just don't have the time to crust or marinate your meat yourself before cooking it.

Made in Manhattan - 7/12/2009

As I mentioned in the last post, I took a trip this weekend to NYC. I was only in town for a couple days, but there was a great deal of eating to be done.


After getting our stuff settled into our Pod (a decently cheap, but very nice and cozy place to stay on E 51st St. between 2nd and 3rd Ave., we hoofed it over to Chinatown to go to Joe's Shanghai Restaurant. If you've seen any of the dumplings filled with soup that I've posted here (usually from No. 1 Panda), these are another example. The dumplings had a pork filling and a wonderfully meaty soup (the website explains how to eat them if you need a tutorial). They served the dumplings with a ginger-infused vinegar that, when used sparingly, added to the experience of eating the dumpling.




While we did feel a little full after the dumplings, who could pass up the opportunity to enjoy some more Chinese food? We had some moo shu pork, which is always great with the slight plummy taste from the plum sauce. I ordered the lion's head. I've attempted to make this myself and it definitely did not turn out this good. The meatballs were wonderfully savory and lightly packed. The outer sauce is difficult to explain because it was so dark, salty and earthy. The sauce brought a full-bodied quality to the meatballs that could not be beat. Joe's was a great restaurant that is worth the wait and the hurried service because it is so gosh-darn good.


Two good tips while you are traveling around NYC are to keep your eye open for food on the go. There are innumerable food vendors roaming the streets, including hot dog carts, roasted nuts and ice cream. We found a farmers' market with everything from fresh cheeses to produce to kittens (to adopt, not to eat). Just down the street was a street fair with lots of food, crafts and various odds and ends. We had roasted corn with honey butter sauce (very excellent, seen above, though the holder's identity has been blocked out to protect his innocence), falafel and chicken souvlaki. While it was great to go down the 5-6 blocks of the fair, be sure to ask about prices first if they are not overtly advertised. I ended up paying $10 for the decent but not-worth-the-price falafel.


On most of my trips, I do my best to find a cuisine that represents the area I'm visiting. For this trip, I vowed to find a black and white cookie (among other items that just did not fit our time or stomachs). While strolling through the city, we spied Crumbs. The shop sells cookies, cupcakes and full cakes of all sorts. Among them were this "candy cookie" with M&M-like candies (very good) and my two-toned wonder which hit every criterion I remembered for this baked good. It was thick, cakey (in fact, it appears it was baked and then the bottom was frosted for the full, flat face), and the creamy icings were a wonderful duo of vanilla and chocolate. The next time you're in the Big Apple, be sure to try all of these recommendations as part of your NYC experience.

Star-Spangled Cake & Mad Hatter - 7/12/2009

This week had some preparation for a weekend trip (see next post), so this post is a little shorter than some of the other epic entries, but it's still delicious nonetheless.


Early in the week, I had the chance to go to Mad Hatter for brunch. I opted for their Cuban, seen above. It is a very non-traditional take on the usual pressed sandwich. Instead of a relatively thin compilation, the Mad Hatter take is piled high with thickly sliced pork and a slightly spicy sauce on top, all on a thick, chewy bread (not Cuban bread, but still very good). On the side is a cold pasta with bell peppers and tomatoes. Not pictured is a "Mostess cupcake" in the style of the Hostess chocolate cupcakes with the curly-cue of white frosting and white cream filling. I was surprised to find the cupcake very dry, making the whole experience a little disappointing. I've had their cake before, and it was pretty good, especially after an overnight chill in the fridge. I will definitely go back to Mad Hatter, but I will be a little more wary of the desserts.


The cake theme of the week was Fourth of July, despite the fact that the holiday has passed. I decided on some All-American flavors - vanilla spice cake with an apple butter filling - similar to what you find in apple pie. I will admit to save time I used a box cake mix, but I did throw pretty much every spice I could think of into the batter (including, but not limited to, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves). The cake was moist and a little more airy than is good for frosting, but luckily this week we were also working with fondant. Fondant is like a frosting dough. You can buy it from stores like Michael's and roll it out on a cornstarched surface. Then you drape it on top of your cake, smooth it out and cut away the excess. I can easily see fondant being a great way to save a cake that does not look like it will be presentation-worthy by itself. Most people liked the slightly chewy quality it brought to the cake. As a final note, the stars on top are made of gum paste, which when set to dry turns almost inedibly solid after a couple days (but they sure look good).

4th of July & Buttercream Flowers - 7/5/2009

Happy Independence Day, everyone! I hope everyone had a filling and safe 4th of July. I realized this year it's strange that on one of the days near the peak of the summer heat, we spend the day cooking in front of a grill and lighting fireworks. It seems we like to celebrate the birth of our nation by sweating all day long. Anyways, here's what I whipped up for a small gathering of my classmates.


As a simple appetizer, I made Muhammara. Instead of a perennial dip like spinach-artichoke or hummus, I chose the road less travelled which happens to run through Syria, the birthplace of this dip. It's primary constituents are roasted red peppers and walnuts with some cumin as the primary spice. The overall consistency is more like a thick paste, but it can be thinned down if need be. Not only is the dip easy, it's just different flavors that I think take your taste buds by surprise. So ditch the old dips and slip your chip into this tip and you'll be licking your lips.


I did not manage to take individual pictures of the main course and side items, but everything worth mentioning is on my plate (go figure). I like to run my parties as potlucks so I'm not left doing all of the cooking. This also prevents me from going overboard and preparing too much food for the occasion. So the main items to focus on are the burger and the cornbread. The pork burgers feature an apricot-chipotle mayonnaise that really livened up its flavor. The mayo has a sweetness balanced by a subtle, smokey heat that helps to counter the fattiness of the mayonnaise. If you prefer your pork well-done, be sure to not overcook it so that it becomes to dry. Not even mayonnaise can save it then.

These burgers met with critical acclaim, but the biggest smash of the main course was the cornbread. A little birdie gave me the idea, which I thought was absolutely genius: corn dog bread. Who doesn't love a corn dog? But who needs to go through the hassle of skewering and frying all those wieners when you can merely slip them into your favorite cornbread recipe? I love to keep everything a surprise, and this side item pretends to be normal cornbread until you cut into it. Then it's Crouching Hot Dog, Hidden Deliciousness comes to the forefront. I had to stop myself from eating the entire pan's-worth because it had all of my favorite elements of corn dogs, only in smaller pieces. I would definitely recommend this very simple twist on a fair food classic for pretty much any excuse you can find to make it. July 4th? Yes. Birthday? Sure. Monday? Why not?


Since the grill was already heated up, why not a grilled dessert. The great thing about fibrous fruits like pineapple and stonefruit is that they hold up well on a grill. Grill marks look great on almost everything, and they help to caramelize the sugars in the fruit. Plus warm pineapple puts cold pineapple to shame. On top of this great base is drizzled a diluted Nutella sauce, then dollops of a vanilla-infused mascarpone. You can also throw on some toasted hazelnuts to really finish it all off. Giada may not look it, but she knows her way around a dessert.


My favorite dessert, though, is this watermelon sorbet. I took Alton Brown's recipe and infused it with some Martha Stewart inspiration. While making the sorbet, I remembered some flavors she used on some fresh watermelon a few years back, so I dropped the vodka (I don't know why you'd really need it anyways since it would drop the melting temperature) and added some honey and a healthy dose of freshly grated ginger. The ginger kick helped give the watermelon a surprising bite so that it wasn't just sweet melon with more sugar then frozen. I attempted a nice display in a watermelon rind, but my scooping does need a little work. Presentation not withstanding, this sorbet was the runaway hit for our desserts without being too overbearing.


On a different note, cake class this week was how to make frosting flowers. Pictured above are a plain, simple swirl, a daffodil (my best was still not very realistic), a rose, a sunflower, and a hyacinth with leaves. My favorite were the hyacinth since they were the easiest to make, yet the most amazing to look at. The lesson learned for this class was you really need the right equipment (i.e. piping tips) to make just the right shapes for each of the flowers. The wrong size tip can make the difference of making a flower that looks like a nice representation of nature using frosting versus one that could be a flower placed on top of the cupcake. For those, like me, who care almost equally about flavor as about decoration, the cupcakes this week were from Shelly Kaldunski's book, Cupcakes. Half were gingerbread (with fresh ginger) and half were mocha, and all were topped with a vanilla-white chocolate buttercream. I thought they tasted good, and apparently my lab did too because they disappeared in less than 24 hours. Sweet.