Cupcakes in Philly, an Embarrassment of Riches

Cupcakes are everywhere. And we've rarely met a treat we didn't like, especially a pretty, nicely-portioned, eat-with-your-hands-but-not-like-a-barbarian-cake. Good thing Philly is well stocked with cupcake providers.....

We enjoyed this sixpack from Buttercream Philly Cupcake Truck. 
And were thrilled to learn that they will be opening an actual shop in August.  Stay tuned for details; we heard the location is Pennsport.

Buttercream Cupcake Truck's Selection

We had a lovely encounter with one half of the Cupcake Wonderland Team at South Street's New Market.    We sidled up after dinner, around 9pm just as the Market was closing down.  We chatted briefly with Nima, who was utterly charming, and even as the lights were shut off, he stayed to make sure we got the cupcakes we wanted.  He was terribly apologetic that he wasn't able to decorate the cupcakes properly--what with it being pitch dark by then, but he did scatter a few Spiderman oatmeal cookies on the cakes for some additional pizzazz.

A Cupcake Wonderland Cupcakes--Cupcake War Champions!

We're huge fans of Cookie Confidential--their push pops are a perfect pick me up.  The novelty packaging is great, and the small size of the cupcakes makes them ideal for, well, everything.

You can never go wrong with treats from Brown Betty.  With locations in Northern Liberties, and Liberty Place and a wide assortment of amusingly named cakes ("Company's Comin'" is a personal fave) these are always a hit.  They are generously portioned, so I'm a fan of cutting them in half.

Brown Betty Cupcakes

And no cupcake post would be complete without mentioning Flying Monkey.  Their lemon-filled cupcake puts me in a swoon.  Pistachio, too.

Flying Monkey's Bouquet (photographed by Albert Yee)

Which is YOUR favorite?

Vanilla Cupcakes, a Delicious Blank Canvas

  What would YOU add?

When the mercury rises, baking can be unappealing.   Sometimes it's necessary, however; birthdays, for example, really require a baked, iced creation.  My kids were considerately born in November and February, but I have a slew of nieces and nephews with August birthdays.   When we are all at the beach together, so I am often called upon to provide a celebratory cake.

But on those steamy days, minimal oven time is what the doctor ordered--so we go with cupcakes.   The casual way cupcakes are served and eaten is also more in keeping with the easy, breezy nature of summer entertaining, and they generally only require about 25 minutes in the oven.

We recently made a batch of vanilla cupcakes for a teen sleepover.  During a break between Nicholas Sparks films (I know, I know) the girls sought sustenance--doubtless they needed some legitimate sugar after all that saccharine.

This recipe is plain, yes, but delicious nonetheless.  And no one's stopping you from adding sprinkles, colored sugars, or fresh berries...

The Cakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2  cups sugar
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 TBSP vanilla
1 cup buttermilk (regular milk can be substituted but buttermilk gives better flavor)

Heat oven to 350.  Line 15 muffin cups with paper liners or grease thoroughly.

Mix all ingredients in large bowl with electric mixer til thoroughly blended and smooth.   Ladle into prepared  pans, filling each cupcake about 2/3 full.   Bake 20-25 mins til lightly browned on edges, and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely and ice as desired.

The Icing
1 stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners sugar (or more to achieve proper thickness and texture)
1 TBSP heavy cream (milk, half and half, or light cream can be used instead)
1 TBSP vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese til smooth.  Add sugar gradually til it achieves an appropriate consistency--slightly dry.  Add cream and vanilla to moisten and beat again til creamy. 

Sunday at the Farmers Market

Just got back from my regular Sunday foray to the Headhouse Farmers Market.  Love the fact that each week there's more on offer as the growing season progresses.

Last week I only bought two of these luscious early tomatoes--won't make that mistake again; seven in bag today!

Garlic Scapes....(the green top portion of a garlic plant)

Artichokes, what a gorgeous way to display them!

Onions...

Thought these were particularly robust radishes, but learned they were scarlet queen turnips...

And our favorite part, of course, the sweets:

Love Bar--look for future post on this very cool, local, socially conscious company.

And Zsa's Ice Cream--I downed the salted caramel cup so quickly that there was nothing for me to photograph--but have so far resisted the lemon buttermilk I brought back for my lucky husband.  He may not see it if he doesn't get home soon, though.  Look for future post on this artisanal producer as well...

What's your favorite Sunday food ritual?

A Night of Passion with Rocco & Adam (at Di Bruno's)

South Philly Sushi (actually it's proscuitto and smoky blue cheese, with a surprising membrillo paste center)

Many others have tried it, but it was my first night at a Di Bruno's after hours, private tasting.  I'm now smitten.  Our hosts for the evening, Rocco and Adam, talked us through the nuances of olive oil (virgin olive oil is a misnomer, it's actually the number of pressings that counts, they explained) and unfiltered first pressed oil tastes like nothing else. 

Imagine the smell of fresh cut grass.   Now convert that smell into a taste.   Wow.

The olive oil we tasted was buttery, peppery and smelled and tasted just like freshly mown grass.  Dress a salad with this stuff, some North African 'wet' salt from Di Bruno's (Rocco informed us that the higher moisture content in the salt results in a completely different crunch) and a few twists of fresh ground pepper and you're transported!

The evening kicked off with an invitation to dip in and try any of the appetizers in the store - my faves were the stuffed vine leaves and stuffed artichoke heads.

There was an abundance of olives in all shapes, colors and sizes. 



I had to hold back on the bread, which is driven in every morning fresh from a bakery in New York, or I knew I'd get too full, too fast!





Rocco's colleague, Adam, a former mixologist, and serious foodie, showed us how to make this appetizer in less than five minutes. 

Take some marinated west african pepadews (these little firecrackers are  akin to scotch bonnet peppers, but the pepadews mellow somewhat because they are pickled in sugar brine).  Mix up some fresh ricotta with cherry shiraz jam and stuff the peppers with this mixture.

Procure two bottles of fruit vinegar from Di Bruno's (they used mango and also strawberry, but there are plenty of other flavors to try.)  Arrange the mango on a square plate then pour a small circle of darker colored fruit vinegar in the middle of the plate.  Take a cocktail stick and drag stick out from the center of the plate to create this spider's web effect (see photo).  Splatter with a few drops of premium balsamic vinegar then arrange the stuffed pepadews around the edge of the plate. This creates a stunning melee of tastes - sweet, sour, sharp.....  A flavor explosion.

Subsequent tasting courses included:

1. A meat platter comprising jamon iberico (Spain's answer to proscuitto); melt in your mouth duck proscuitto and surryano ham (a play on serrano from Surry County Farm in Virginia);
2. A mustard tasting, featuring a black truffle dijon and a coarse grain.  This was paired with a plate of cold meats (cooked and thinly sliced kobe beef at $20 a lb and di Bruno's own house soppressata, cubed rather than sliced...) and a sensational cheese;

 None of us had much room for "dessert" - a decadent goat's cheese with a dusting of cinnamon and chocolate and nuts.  Now, as I write this, I wish I'd tried it!

I did walk away though with a quarter pound of pecans roasted in salt, cinnamon and chocolate powder.  These will grace my cheese plate tomorrow night.

This is a great night out for Philadelphia foodies. The cost is extremely reasonable - $200 for you and seven of your friends -but it's difficult not to go mad in the store exploring the exquisite gastronomic treats (I left the store with the pecans and two flavored fruit vinegars); others were less restrained.

For more information on Di Bruno's products and events such as this food tasting, stop by their website.

And if you have any last minute cancellations, we'll be happy to round out your octet.



Louisiana Seafood Boil

...my Louisiana Boil did not wind up looking like this.  But for good reason

I came across this recipe while looking for inspiration for seafood recipes.  I was leafing through the latest addition to my sizable collection of cookbooks by the British chef Jamie Oliver.  Aptly enough, the cookbook is called Jamie's America.  Jamie's Louisiana Seafood Boil leapt out at me -- it looked so dramatic on the page.

As I started to assemble the ingredients, I realized I'd have to dash to the store to buy a number of the spices, for example, fennel seeds are not normally something I keep to hand.  It was a pretty hefty list, which just went on and on (there were some 25 or so different ingredients), so to simplify matters (aka cheat) I grabbed a tin of Beck's Cajun Devil Dust which seemed to assemble a number of those self-same ingredients.  (I still went to get the fennel seed, however.)

I dutifully bought my crabs, jumbo - heads on - shrimp and thought I'd improvise and throw in a couple of little neck clams.

The ingredients looked great:

I even remembered a trick I'd learned from a Girls' Night Out at the Reading Terminal Market's cooking school, La Cucina, when Chef Bill demonstrated how to cut up corn on the cob effortlessly.  (Worth knowing this...take a heavy knife and cut as far into the cob as you can, then lift the knife and corn off your work surface, keep one hand on the handle and the other on top of the blunt side of the blade and thwack it down on your work surface.  Corn neatly falls into two pieces.  Cool or what?)

The recipe wasn't particularly tricky once you'd cleared the hurdle of your shopping list... 

You throw everything except the fresh seafood into a deep pan and boil fiercely so that the corn and red potatoes cook through.  Then 5 minutes before the end you drop in the seafood and once the seafood turns a pretty pink color then you know it's cooked nicely.

Mine turned out like this.

Doesn't look much like Jamie's does it.  Small problem.  The recipe didn't specify what type of crab to use.  I bought the only fresh crabs that the store had in stock this morning.  Didn't realize until I got home that the fishmonger had sold me SOFT SHELLS. 

There was nothing for it. 

I had to press on.

The end result tasted good...but did not look quite as beautiful as I'd hoped.  I also thought there was too much messing around with ingredients.  I thought this was supposed to be a quick and easy fireside boil.  Well this recipe wasn't.  Fennel seeds and allspice berries.  Harrrrumph.

So, instead of sharing Jamie's recipe, here's a link to a much simpler version shared by the Greater New Orleans Times newspaper.  Far less fuss, this one...

Lingune alla Vongole

June being seafood month, I scanned our old blogposts to see what seafood recipes we had posted.    I was shocked to see that I had not yet shared one of my ultimate go-to seafood dishes with you, dear readers.  I am referring to linguine alla vongole, or linguine with clam sauce, which is practically a signature dish of mine. 

So, without further ado, here it is:

Linguine alla Vongole (serves 4)

2 TBSP olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
4 cans minced clams, drained, juice reserved
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lb linguine

In large skillet, heat oil and add garlic, pepper flakes and salt.  Stir to release flavors, and add drained clams.  Saute and sear 1 minute.  Add clam juice and wine.  Stir and simmer 15 minutes (or longer).  Meanwhile, in boiling, salted water, cook pasta to al dente (1 minute less than the box suggests).  Drain thoroughly, and top with the pasta sauce, then cheese and parsley.

NOTE:  in summer, when we are near the beach and enjoy the availability of uber-fresh shellfish, I often purchase small clams to enhance this dish.  The most common name for these clams is "little necks", but I've also seen them referred to as "cockles" and "pasta necks".  Whatever you call them, you should scrub their exteriors to remove all sand and grit.  Then, about 5 minutes before serving, pour clams into sauce, cover and steam 5 minutes until clams have all opened.  Any clams that remain sealed should be discarded.

National Seafood Month: Glorious Oysters

June is National Seafood Month!  With that topic on the table--so to speak--our thoughts turn naturally to New Orleans, where seafood and particularly shellfish of every variety - shrimps, crawfish, crabs - all feature heavily in the local cuisine. 

As John Besh, the talented New Orleans master chef declares:  "Crawfish and long-grain rice cohabit in our swampy lowlands, and there's no better pairing on the plate," (My New Orleans: The Cookbook)  Besh, who is an inspirational writer, teaches us the intimate details of the New Orleans kitchen through a rambling collection of personal anecdotes and memory-laden recipes (think "Crab Season", "Creole Tomatoes" or "Feast Days"...)

Inspired by this best-selling cookbook we sought advice closer to hand from Philadelphia's answer to John Besh, Bill Beck at Beck's Cajun Cafe in Reading Terminal Market.

Soft shell Po Boy

Chef Bill features seafood on his menu daily (shrimp Po Boys; seafood gumbos, Creole Shrimp and jambalaya) and when the price is right adores cooking with his favorite seafood - the glorious oyster.

Chef Bill imports his oysters from the Gulf region - he just prefers the oysters there, observing however that most oysters are related to one of six strains of oysters.  He explains: "The types of oysters are delineated by the body of water from which they are fished, the salt and mineral balance in the water, the current...there's a whole science behind it!"

So how does he recommend we eat them?

1. Raw.  You can't beat this.

2. In soups - Chef Bill cooks up a stunning Oyster Bisque and Oyster Stew!

3. In cornbread stuffing or dressing as it's known in the South, recipe here

4. As a salad - chicken salad and fried oysters work together sooooo well. 

Beck's Chicken and Oyster Appetizer

5. Poached with a cream sauce

Want to try this last one at home?  It's pretty easy.   Shuck 12 oysters, reserving liquor.  Boil 1/4 cup of Cognac in small saucepan,  reduce heat to low, add 1 cup heavy cream, 2 TBSP reserved oyster liquor, salt and pepper.  Simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Add oysters, and cook 1-2 minutes.  DO NOT OVERCOOK.  The oysters will puff up, absorbing the delicious sauce as it reduces in the pan.  Top with chopped chives and fresh tarragon, and serve with crusty bread.

This is surely one of the simplest, sexiest and most sophisticated ways to eat oysters.

We're looking forward to sharing other seafood recipes this month as it's National Seafood Month.  If you have any easy suggestions for preparing seafood, then please send them our way so we can share with our readers.

Later this month we sit down with Chef Bill and get the inside scoop on how to cook a Crawfish Boil...