Cake for Hire

Some people have suggested that I sell my baked goods. Here's the problem, (I've said it before, but I'll say it again) I'm a great baker but a lousy decorator. For instance, would you pay for this cake?

Good picture of lettering (made with mini chocolate chips)

Good picture of frosting

The above cake was chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. To make the cake a little richer, I added some instant coffee. It gave it a coffee undertone but didn't turn it into a mocha cake. The frosting was a little thick so I thinned it out with a bit more milk. The kid graduating said it was the best cake ever! High praise from a true connoisseur.

Here's a cake that I did not decorate. It was from a local bakery and was served at a party held to watch the last episode of Lost. I like how they did the frosting flames and splashing water. The cake was your basic chocolate with white icing. The taste was just okay, but isn't it nicely decorated?

I think there is a market for my cupcakes, cookies and muffins since those baked goods require little to no artistic talent to make them look appetizing.

Burst of Lime Ginger Cake

This cake was made for my friend's belated birthday celebration on Oscar night. Since I usually provide dessert for our Oscar party, the birthday girl requested this cake from her KitchenAid mixer cookbook, which is vastly different from the one that came with my mixer. Her book has color pictures, more recipes and brand name ingredients.

Pretty as a picture.

This cake wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was good. It had a lighter texture than gingerbread, but was still pretty dense. It had a heavy molasses taste that contrasted nicely with the sweet lime and cream cheese filling. Delicious with pumpkin spice coffee!

I forgot to post my Oscar picks for this year before the telecast, but I'm happy to report that I won the Oscar pool for the third year straight with 15/24 right.

Yummy Gifts

Two of my favorite Christmas gifts are food and drink. Pictured below is a sample of the edible goodies I got this year: coffee and Hickory Farms gift sets.

Can you spot the two Christmas ornaments not hanging from the tree?

Banana Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I love coffee cake. How can you not if you like coffee? I wanted to make a coffee cake and decided to try this recipe because I had bananas on hand. It turned out good, but I'll reduce the sugar next time since it was a little too sweet.

I used the streusel recipe from my usual sour cream coffee cake, which calls for brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. I made about double what the linked recipe calls for because it seemed scant.

Pretty and delicious.

One Walnut

One Walnut

One Walnut Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44114

216-575-1111

Lunch; June 9, 2008

Party of Two

Lobster Nachos with Guacamole, Lobster, Chips and Sweet Soy

Prosciutto Tart with Caramelized Onions, Spinach & Fresh Mozzarella
with Mixed Green Salad




Risotto with English Peas, Pine Nuts and Parmesan with Grilled Chicken




"Berries in the Snow"
White Chocolate Mousse with Berries and Fresh Mint


Mint Green Tea Crème Brûlée (background)

The last time my lunching companion and I were at One Walnut, we had a three course dinner with wine pairings that blew us away. Their sommelier really knows his/her stuff. However, this time, neither of us had alcoholic beverages and still had a fantastic three course meal.

The lobster nachos weren't new to us since the topping (without the chip underneath) was an amuse-bouche on our previous visit. The chips tasted like flour tortilla chips or some other light delicate crisp. The ingredients were a great combination that managed to keep their distinctiveness.

I added chicken to the risotto (food rut broken!) on the server's suggestion-- she suggested it because I was worried that the risotto wouldn't be filling. I LOVE risotto and this was perfectly al dente. The taste was good and got better when I stirred the dark sauce around the outside of the dish (sweet soy again?) into the rice. But, the whole thing was nearly ruined by the garnish of greens that you can see on top of the chicken in the picture. They were extremely bitter and smelled a bit foul when warm. I think the kitchen may have forgotten the chicken (before it reached the table) because the greens were both under and over the chicken. Once I removed them I really enjoyed the entree. The nuts and peas were slightly crunchy and really complimented the toothiness of the risotto.

If my lunching companion wouldn't have ordered the tart, I would have since I'm a sucker for anything with prosciutto, cheese and/or spinach. The bite I had was delicious. The flavors were strong but the flaky crust held its own. It looks like a piece of pizza in the picture but it was very pretty in person.

I've had a lot of yummy desserts lately, but since white chocolate mousse is one of my most favorite desserts, this one wins for best dessert I've eaten recently. The berries were so fresh and the mousse rivaled the one served in my all time favorite dessert (which might still be found at The Drake Hotel in Chicago.)

I didn't try the crème brûlée because I don't care for it. It's one of the very few desserts I refuse unlike French silk or banana cream pies, which I'll eat but don't prefer. It looked nice...

After lunch we went across the street to the newly relocated Phoenix Coffee where I had a great vanilla latte.

Brew Matters

Phoenix Coffee is having a seminar at their roastery this Monday called Brew Matters that will show how one type of coffee can be brewed five different ways. There is some inside dirt on the Phoenix employee blog.
A couple pals and I will be there. If it's half as good as the last event we attended at the roastery, it'll be smashing!
And how cute is their ad in response to Starbucks closing to retrain their staff?

Coffee with a cause

October is Fair Trade month at Phoenix Coffee. They had a great coffee tasting this past Monday and they're holding smaller tastings every Friday throughout the month at their stores. As a special bonus, if you attend four tastings or the tasting the other day and two more tastings, you get a free pound of coffee. And the tastings are also free. Who gives away free stuff for attending free events? That's crazy!

At the tasting at the Roastery we met Sarah, the owner, who was very cool. She was wearing a shirt that said, "I *heart* Fair Trade," and I'm guessing she got the transfer here.

I just had a great cup of coffee

I love coffee. Really, check my profile.

As much as I hate to admit it, coffee affects me. I don't get jittery or sleepless, but it causes my heart to race so I try not to drink too much. It's tough because, well, I love coffee!

And most decaf is disgusting. It tastes and smells like chemicals or plastic. Or Old Spice.

But, I do like Swiss wash decaffeinated coffee like they serve at Tommy's. And the other day at Zagara's I found a coffee that looked too good not to try.

Newman's Special Decaf from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. It's organic, fair-trade and water process decaffeinated. There's so much good on the label that I thought it was going to taste gross. But, it was bright, crisp and yummy.

It was weird to have a great cup of coffee without the bad feeling. I won't give up the real stuff, but I'm glad I found an alternative to my usual Kona.

Fireplace

Ooh look, a fire! I love coffee.