One of my favorite Bakeries

At first the name Puppy Dog Tails doesn't sound so bad. But when it refers to food, it can leave a weird impression. Don't ask me why this name stuck, but Puppy Dog Tails are to die for, and can be found at one of Minneapolis' local bakeries, Isles Bun and Coffee. I also tried the nasty looking carmel pecan roll pictured on their homepage during my last visit. Boy did I feel happy, satisfied, and sick afterwards. A welcomed roller coaster of feelings.

Chocolate Orange Pudding

Don't be intimidated. This is one of the easiest dessert recipes ever! You can do it! All you need is a few simple ingredients and you'll be all set to impress.

3 C. 2% milk
1/3 C. cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. orange extract

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the milk, the cornstarch, and the salt. Whisk together until smooth. This is the thickening agent that will be used later. Now in a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups of milk, the chocolate chips, cocoa, and sugar. Stir this over medium-high heat until the chocolate melts and the mixture begins to barely bubble. Once you've reached this stage, pour in the cornstarch mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and continuously whisk for the next 3-4 minutes. You'll start to feel the change in consistency pretty quickly, so you may need to remove from the heat earlier. Once thickened, remove from the heat, continuing to whisk so that it helps being the cool-down process. Whisk in the extract. You may wish to strain this to remove any clumps, but that's optional. Pour into serving cups (usually 4 servings), cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to cool. The plastic wrap is key if you don't want to create a thick skin on the pudding - make sure the plastic covers the surface.

One of my new favorite ingredients - high quality cocoa powder from Penzy's

I used parchment to cover - let's just say plastic wrap is the way to go. This didn't work out to well from keeping the skin from forming. But I ate it anyways!

Fajitas!

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 or 3, split/butterflied)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. cumin
Salt and Pepper
2-3 large poblano peppers
1 red bell pepper, cut in half and seeded
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks (optional)
tortillas
salsa
Monterey jack cheese, shredded
cilantro

Mix the chili powder, coriander, garlic powder, cayenne, cumin, and salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts with the dry mixture and set aside.

Over high heat, place the poblano peppers, red pepper, onion, and carrots on the grill. Let these begin to char, rotating every 5 minutes until tender -- approximately 15 minutes total. Remove from the grill. Place poblano peppers in a paper bag and allow to cool 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the poblanos from the bag and carefully remove the skins. Then remove the stem and seeds. Slice into strips along with the red pepper and onion. Wrap the poblanos, red pepper, onion, and carrots in tinfoil. Set aside so you can begin cooking the chicken.

Over medium-high heat, place the chicken breasts on the grill, and cook roughly 5 minutes on each side until no longer pink. Remove from the grill and allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve sliced chicken with the grill vegetables on a tortilla and top with salsa, cheese, and cilantro.

New York City!

Drinks at our hotel bar - the W

I've been working on this post for some time now -- there's so much to share about my trip to New York, that it's intimidated me for months. But I've come to the realization that this blog is about food, so rather than share the sightseeing details along withe the food, I'm going to get straight to business!

So why New York? Well, it was to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday. Funny it took this long get there being the foodie that I am. I'm so glad we went, and I'm thirsting to go back for more. New York is a food lover's haven!

My initial thoughts about this trip were that it was going to be about sightseeing - after all, New York is where everything started. But quickly I realized that New York is not just about history; it's about entertainment, culture, and food!!! We of course acted like true tourists by visiting the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Ground Zero, Broadway, etc., but I was sure to do my homework and search out some great restaurants and dives. Here's the rundown of what we ate. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The GOOD.

Colicchio & Sons

I mean the GOOD. Have you heard of Tom Colicchio? Have you heard of Top Chef? He's the main judge on the Bravo show (the bald guy). He know's his stuff. My very favorite part of the trip was our dining experience at his restaurant - Colicchio & Sons. This was our big night out, and so we enjoyed the Prix Fixe menu for $78. The food, the ambiance, and the service were all worth it.

This was a little taster. I can't remember what they call these - "amuse bouche" or something. But this was a delicious soup.

Here's the ambiance of the main dining room. The cherry blossoms were amazingly beautiful.

First Courses: 

Slow-cooked farm egg, early Spring peas and Parmesean

Greenmarket greens, fine herbs and sherry vinaigrette

Peekytoe crab fondue with spring pea soup and ham

Second Courses:

Carolina soft-shell crab with ramps and pancetta

Butter-poached halibut, spring onion, macadamia nut and fava bean ravioli

Main Courses:

I can't remember this one...

Braised short rib, charred onion angnolotti and celery root

Roasted and braised Berkshire pork, morels fiddlehead ferns and rhubarb

Desserts:

Doughnuts with sorbets

Tangerine and almond bread pudding - out of this world!

Bonus: Madelines

Banana chocolate-chip muffin

The GOOD cont'd

Ayza Chocolate Bar

This little neighborhood restaurant was tiny - if it weren't for the outside seating, there'd probably only be about 10 tables. As you can imagine, this restaurant focuses on chocolate and wine, but they have a few appetizers to go along with the adventure.

Crispy baby shrimp dumplings

White truffle pizza - knocked my socks off!

Jaques Torres chocolate sampling: passion fruit, pistachio, cappuccino, and another I can't recall. A bit overrated in our opinion.

My pick: Italian Bomba Tartufo

Chocolate ice cream, chocolate shell, raspberries, etc. Num!

Warm chocolate molten cake. You can't go wrong with this. Ever.

The BAD/OK

Almond pastry from a shop off of broadway - it was definitely a marzipan based dessert and not breakfast!

Cheese pizza from a place called Ray's - but we're still not sure if it was the famous Ray's that we read about

An everything bagel from a side street shop off Broadway. Eh. Not so good. Makes me wonder what the rating was on the door.

Lindy's famous cheesecake (we were dumb tourists - good cheesecake, but not the best, and way overpriced)

Red Velvet Cake - also from Lindy's

Chocolate Cannoli from a side street market

The UGLY

Have you seen the show Restaurant Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey? This place should have been on it. The fact that the restaurant was nearly empty should have given it away, but they also had terrible service (we got an attitude from the server when we all just had water), and the food was bland. We were so happy that we didn't get sick. The side of meatballs we ordered almost made us vomit.

Gnocchi - was this on special because it was the oldest?

Penne a la vodka - was the better of the two dishes, but still nothing to write home about. Olive Garden's rendition would have been night and day compared to this.

Sweet Treat - Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

This yummy little gem isn't mine. I can't take credit, but if you like chocolate and pistachio, this biscotti is a little bit of heaven. You'll need a bit of patience when it comes to cracking the pistachios, but it's well worth it.

Credit: Gina's Skinny Recipes

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti Recipe

Strawberries and Cream Muffins

The other weekend I went to a local farmers market and bought some locally grown strawberries. Unfortunately when I got home, they didn't taste near what I expected for homegrown. So when something like this happens with produce, the next best thing is to bake with it! Here is my first stab at Strawberries and Cream muffins. Don't worry, they're not too bad for you - especially since I modified my Blueberry muffin recipe and substituted milk for buttermilk. I wish I could say I tried one of these before I gave them away, but the family has said good things so far!

1-1/2 C. All-purpose flour

1/2 C. sugar

1/4 C. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 C. milk

1 C. fresh strawberries, cut into itty-bitty pieces

4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

Gather 3 mid-sized bowls and whisk together the dry ingredients in the first bowl: the flour, sugars, salt, and baking powder. Next, combine the wet ingredients in the second bowl: the oil, egg, vanilla, and milk. Last, combine the cream cheese topping mixture in the last bowl. Whisk the cream cheese, sugar, and milk until smooth. Set aside.

Quickly combine the flour mixture, the wet mixture, and the strawberries. Stir about 5 times until just moistened. Scoop the batter into paper-lined baking cups and fill about two-thirds full. Next, place a heaping tablespoon full of the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter. Using a toothpick, poke around the batter so that the cream cheese mixture begins to soak in. Sprinkle with the sparkling sugar and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 5 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 10-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Cupcake On the Go

This last weekend I stopped by Cupcake On the Go, the food truck version of the Cupcake restaurant and bakery. I sampled 4 different delights, and they were indeed delightful. Clockwise from top left: Trademark (yellow cake with chocolate mousse), Chocolate Pistachio, Razz-Ma-Tazz, and Chai Tea Caramel. My favorite was the Chocolate Pistachio, but they were all pretty amazing. The one thing that gets me with cupcakes is a hankering for more cake and less frosting, but at least the frosting on these cupcakes is light and airy -- no heavy sugar frosting here. Another cool bit about Cupcake On the Go is that they were recently on cupcake wars on the Food Network and took second place - that's where the Chai Tea cupcake came from. One thing that's got me a little hung up though is the naming conventions on some of their cupcakes...let's just say they didn't scream politically correct to me.

You'll have to check them out when you're in downtown Minneapolis next time or at their brick-and-mortar building in Southeast Minneapolis.