Pancakes

Gridlin'

Delicious stack of pancakes

I was in the mood for pancakes this morning. Well, I was actually in the mood for pancakes from the Inn on Coventry, but I wanted to stay home. I used the KitchenAid recipe with a few substitutions. 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of self-rising flour that I'm trying to use up, 1 teaspoon of baking powder because of the flour substitution and no salt because of the flour substitution. I used canola oil because melted shortening sounded gross. It really only took about 45 seconds of actual mixing to make the batter.

I've always been good at the cooking of pancakes and the first was just as tasty as the last. I guess I don't need Aunt Jemima Complete. Maybe I'll make waffles next time with the mystery waffle iron in my kitchen.

I'm Your Man

I watched Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man the other day. Mr. Cohen is best known for his version of Hallelujah, which might itself be better known as sung by Rufus Wainwright (from Shrek) or Jeff Buckley. I was familiar with the songs in this movie since they popped up on my late beloved Launchcast station. His songs are great, but I have to admit I prefer them as interpreted by other people.

Here's an example of his singing style.




This is the version of "Tonight Will Be Fine" that was on the DVD as performed by Teddy Thompson.




The movie itself was good. It was partly a biography and partly a documentary about a tribute concert. It's worth a viewing and the soundtrack is definitely worth a listen.

Happy Birthday!

Special Birthday Cake with Vanilla Italian Buttercream Frosting

The yellow cake recipe comes from on old cookbook that was compiled by a local church in the 1960's(?) and is a family favorite. The frosting is Warren Brown's recipe and was my first meringue-based frosting. Pouring hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites is a little scary but was easier done than anticipated. I made the cake for my dad's 60th birthday.

Easter Desserts

For Easter dinner at my grandparents' house I made an Apricot-Coconut Cake with a whipped cream and sour cream frosting. Some people don't like coconut (2 people, it turns out) so I only put coconut on half of the cake.



When I took the first few pictures, I thought the toasted coconut looked like hair so I made a face out of jellybeans.





Here are some pictures of the sliced cake. The filling between the layers is apricot preserves.

With coconut

Without coconut

The day before Easter, I helped one of my friends make a Coconut Cake with cream chese frosting and topped with untoasted coconut.

My grandmother made some Mexican bread pudding or Capirotada. Her version is made with raisins and pecans.

All the desserts were delicious!

Dewey's Pizza

Dewey's Pizza
18516 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107
216-228-2299
Dinner; April 12, 2009
Party of Two

Candied Walnut and Grape Salad

Half Socrates Revenge and half Wild Mushroom pizza

Even though I've been to the Dewey's on the eastside for both eat-in and take away many many times, I've never taken pictures or written a review of the place. I guess I had to go to the westside location to get the job done.

Dewey's has some of the best pizza around. Both locations have windows where you can watch the dough being tossed and the rest of the pizza making taking place. In fact, both stores have a similar look to them. Comfy, bright and cheery.

You can't really tell from the picture I took, but the crust is thin like a New York pizzeria. It's that magic blend of crispy and chewy and a perfect base for the white or red sauce and lots of toppings. Our pizza had a boatload of toppings. The pies never want for toppings, but this was a little ridiculous in a good way.

You can order any pizza as a half with any other pizza regardless of whether one has red sauce and one has white sauce. I always get at least half a Wild Mushroom pizza unless I'm ordering with someone who hates the smell of garlic. I prefer the white sauce, but the red sauce is good too.

I've had most, if not all, of their salads, which are truly phenomenal. The candied walnut and grape is one that I've ordered frequently. Diner 2 has a walnut allergy so we got them on the side. I ate them all.

The menu always includes a seasonal salad and pizza. I hope they bring back their strawberry and macadamia nut salad because that was killer.

I don't like to get negative in my reviews, but I will say that I was sorely disappointed with my westside Dewey's experience because they did not have my beloved Barq's Red Cream Soda on tap. They have Mr. Pibb on the westside! Who prefers Mr. Pibb? I told the waitress, "That's why Cleveland Heights is better."

Bloodsuckers!

On taxday from 10 AM - 6 PM at the Powerhouse, the Red Cross is holding their 12th annual Bloodsuckers Buffet. It's one of their biggest blood drives, and their goal this year is 300 pints.

But donating is only a small part of the reason to go. Everyone who attempts to give blood gets a goodie bag filled with all sorts of fun stuff. Okay, it's mostly coupons and bumper stickers. And a t-shirt! Also a pen! There are door prizes where I've won anything from cds to tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The buffet part of the event is always good, and they even have the Lorna Doones and Oreos you get at most drives.

I'm already signed up to try to donate in the early afternoon. They take walk-in donors, but you can make an appointment at the American Red Cross website. If you see a gal with a couple phlebotomists inspecting her arms for a good vein, it's probably me.

Pecan Cake

I wanted to make a dessert for St. Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. I flipped through some recipes I cut out of Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living magazines and found this one for Pecan Cake with Rum Frosting.

This cake wasn't the one I was looking for, but I came across it first and it sounded so good. I know the second picture sucks, but this was the best of the individual piece pictures I took and I wanted to show a view of the actual cake since I kept the cake in the pan for transport and serving. I stuck to the recipe as written with the exception of dyeing the frosting green to be festive and having to bake it slightly longer than suggested. It must have been the glass pan's fault it took extra time.