Toaster pastry experiment #2, still not what I’m looking for. These turned out like mini fruit pies and not pop tarts. The crust is perfectly flaky and quite tasty, but too flaky and brittle for this purpose. Also, too much dough-to-filling ratio. And the dough puffed too high, much like in the baking of an apple pie.

I used a pate sucre dough recipe and strawberry jam–3″ biscuit cutter-too small.

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I spent last weekend dining out on Clement Street: curry eggplant from Burma Superstar, and the special of the night, pork spare ribs from Q.

We hit Burma Superstar as soon as it opened at 5pm to avoid the dreaded long line, but the strict time planning was soo worth it. The eggplant was spicy, but not too hot. I took home the extras, but nibbled on the leftovers all night long. Lance had the sesame chicken, which was slightly too sweet for me, but perfectly lightly battered and not oily or sticky.

I had planned to have the mac & cheese at Q, but when I saw pork spareribs as the special for the night, I couldn’t resist–I’ve been on a pork kick lately. While the ribs were good, they weren’t the very best I’ve ever had–they were tender, but not quite as soft as I’d like. But I did like the fact that the bbq sauce was tangy & smoky and not overly sweet.  The garlic fries are tasty too, and quite filling.

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The Broccoli Rabe was on sale and since I’ve been hitting the doughnuts pretty hard, figured it was time to add more greens into the diet.

- Half 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes.
- Boil 1 pound whole wheat pasta for 6-8 minutes in salted, boiling water. Remove when still al dente.
- Blanche greens for about 1 min in boiling water. Shock in cold water, drain, set aside.
- In frying pan sauté 2 cloves garlic and ½ white onion in about ¼ cup olive oil until translucent. Add 1 cup chicken or veggie stock to pan. Let cook about 1 minute until stock is heated. Then add pasta, 1 tsp butter and salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss in broccoli rabe and cook for another minute or two.
- Turn off heat, add tomatoes and about ¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese.

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Playing around with a recipe for chocolate/Nutella toaster pastries, this one was too rich and too sweet. This is the recipe, mostly notes so I can change sugar/cocoa amounts.
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 c + 1 Tbl butter
1/3 c cocoa powder
1/3 c granulated sugar
2 - 3 Tbls ice water
Nutella
450 degrees  7-8 minutes

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Having recently arrived in SF from the land of Dunkin Donuts (1) I have to admit that I suffered from mediocre (at best) doughnut fatigue. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the large number of independent doughnut shops in the city that bake on the premises.

As a result I’m eating (and very much enjoying) more sweet, fried pastries than my 5’2” frame can probably handle. Then again, if I eat them while walking through the city the calories don’t count, right?

Here’s my snack today: chocolate cake w/chocolate icing from All Star Donuts on Clement St. I’d rate about an 8 out of 10. The icing was fresh, but the doughnut was slightly too dry for my liking, not stale, just not overly moist. From what I’ve read these are good, but not the best in the city–keep in mind, I’m working my way up from tasteless, shortening-laden, stale bricks.

I plan on sampling at least one doughnut each week from varying locations. I’ll try to keep it to one a week, but that’s a promise I simply can’t make.

(1) I find it fitting and amusing that the DD, with their crappy ‘dounuts’ chose Rachael Ray as their spokesperson.

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For those who consider cheese a food group of its own there’s a new destination in Providence–Farmstead Lunch in Downcity. It’s from the same folks who own Farmstead and La Laiterie in Wayland Square.

(Photo: Farmstead Lunch)

They offer a selection of sandwiches, salads, tortas, cured meats, cheeses and baked goods and the entire menu is 100% American made artisanal food. It’s located down the block from last year’s Craftland. Alas, I left Providence for San Francisco before they opened, but it’s on the itinerary the next time I’m back in town.

Farmstead Lunch
225A Westminster Street
Providence, Rhode Island, 02903
www.farmsteadinc.com

hours: Tuesday-Saturday, from 10am-7pm

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I made cherry limeade cupcakes for cupcakecamp.

The recipe for the cupcake is here, as noted in the post I use all butter and no shortening. That’s the only difference to my recipe, oh, and I don’t add nuts. Then frost.

Buttercream Frosting 
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter
3 tablespoons lime juice (fresh)
zest of one lime

In mixer, combine sugar and butter on low speed until blended. Then increase speed and beat for for a few more minutes until smooth
Add lime juice and zest and mix until creamy. I use an Ateco #823 pastry tip to frost.

Edited to add: I injected this batch with lime Jello. To do, bake cupcakes as directed and let cool. Then poke holes in cake and inject warm jello into the cupcake. Put in fridge and let cool before frosting. Photos of process here.

There were hundreds of cupcakes today–some pics up on flickr. Now I must sit down and digest!

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