Ace of Cakes

Usually I don't watch TV. If I do, it's either the Caps game or whatever my siblings happen to be watching. However, this weekend I am at a friend's house, and she is a Food Network junkie. We've been watching different programs, and she was kind enough to instruct me on which ones are the best. She likes Dinner: Impossible, the one with the lady who makes Italian food, and, of course, Ace of Cakes. 

For those who don't know, Ace of Cakes is about a cake decorating company. They decorate cakes for special events. I think it's the coolest thing to come along on TV since... hockey? I only saw one episode, but I think this is going to be my new obsession. 

I'm so jealous of what they do on Ace of Cakes. It combines two of my favorite things: baking and art. It really is art what they do. Would you be able to make a little fireman holding a ring on top of a cake for someone who wants to ask his girlfriend to marry him? I wish I could. I can barely make a cake look presentable if it involves frosting. I am a pretty good baker, but I just can't figure out how to frost a cake properly. I always end up getting crumbs in the frosting. Maybe I should go apprentice to Charm City Cakes, the place where they shoot the show.. they're based in Baltimore! (Another good reason to go there: Chef Duff, the head of the company, has a cute 14 year old nephew who helps out sometimes!!) 

For those who are interested: Charm City Cakes, their website. I'd suggest going through the gallery- their cakes are AMAZING! 

(For the opposite effect, check this out- CakeWrecks. These are how your cake ISN'T supposed to turn out!)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

The first thing I have to tell you before I begin the story is that I've never liked Brussels sprouts. They are green and nasty and stinky. Every time we had Brussels sprouts, I would never eat them. Even smelling them made me shudder. I think this behavior encouraged my siblings to hate them as well. Hence, we almost never had Brussels sprouts in my house. Our sprout-free lives ended, however, when we started getting the veggie box from South Mountain Veggies.

We received Brussels sprouts, and we had to eat them. My mom usually just boiled them, and we would always complain, so she tried something different. She roasted them with garlic and olive oil and then sprinkled them with balsamic vinegar. The result? I liked them! I don't know about my siblings, but I thought they were wonderful. The sprouts almost caramelized- they were crispy on the outside and melted on the inside. They were sweet and soft with only a hint of the original stinky Brussels sprout flavor. Taken with a piece of garlic and a splash of balsamic, I think they were probably the most delicious vegetable I'd eaten in a long time.

For those who have picky teens or just don't like Brussels sprouts, try roasting them. I can almost guarantee you will like them. Try it- I dare you. You may be surprised.

Strange Carrots...

So I was going to write about an amazing eclair I had today... and then I had dinner. We had stir-fry with tofu, kale, broccoli, and pea-pods steamed with ginger and vegetable broth, and smothered with Trader Joe's General Tso's Sauce. Delish and perfectly commonplace in my house except for one thing- the carrots. They were purple with orange centers. Ok... not commonplace AT ALL.

Backstory: we get most of our vegetables from South Mountain Veggies, which is basically a home delivery service that brings the fruits and veggies right to your door every week. They are organic and as local as possible. The catch: they choose what goes in the box every week, so you can end up with some unique stuff that you may need to look up online... hence the carrots.

When my mom first saw the carrots, she was like "Skinny beets? Carrot/ beet hybrids? Small rutabagas?", so she consulted the email list of what we were getting. Turns out they were carrots. When she cut them open, they were bright orange on the inside with a purple skin. "Hmmm... ok, they taste fine. Let's put them in the stir-fry and see what the kids think!" We were a bit surprised. I thought they were beets at first. When I tasted them, they were sweeter than normal carrots with a little sharpness. They really do taste like a carrot-beet hybrid.

We got a bit curious, so we decided to look up heirloom carrots online. We came up with dragon carrots- an heirloom carrot with a purple skin and orange inside. They're amazing to eat and beautiful to look at. Since they came in the box, they're local. Maybe they're going to start showing up at farmers markets... I hope so!

Here's a picture of them. They're not ours, my picture wouldn't upload. Credit: http://oldvegiepatch1972.googlepages.com/carrot.html

Freshly Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

How I love them! There's nothing quite like biting into a warm cookie and having the chocolate chips melt. Amazing. At my house we use the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe that comes in on the back of the chocolate chip bag. It's classic and always comes out right (unless you burn the cookies!). However, under different conditions they will come out differently.

If you follow the recipe and use butter, it will come out better than if you substitute. For baking, there is no substitute for butter. Yes, at my house we sometimes use margarine because we keep kosher and there' the whole not mixing meat and milk thing... but that's only out of necessity. If you can use butter, you should. I've noticed that different kinds of butter make a slightly different cookie. I don't know why, but some brands just make them come out fluffier and softer, rather than crisp. It's rather strange.

You can make variations of this cookie very easily- substitute dark or milk chocolate chips, thrown in a different kind of nut or no nuts at all- it's up to you. We always use the semi-sweet chips and walnuts. I personally think they'd be really good with hazelnuts, but others in my family don't agree. Either way, these cookies are basically unbeatable.

If you don't belive me, try them yourself. They're easy and delicious. Right now I'm munching on one and listening to DC101. I don't think it could get any better than this.

Why You Shouldn't Go to Trader Joe's On a Holiday Weekend (But Why You Should Go to Trader Joe's)

It was MOBBED!!! The line went all the way around the store. I think there were more people waiting in line than people shopping, and the shoppers couldn't get anywhere because of the line. I should have taken a picture but I didn't have my camera... it was surreal. Kudos to the cashiers, they were moving FAST.

I'm probably the only teenager in America who enjoys grocery shopping. Trader Joe's just makes me happy. It's so bright and colorful and the murals are nice to look at. The food is also really good. Yes, a lot of it is prepared, but it's good prepared food. I basically live off their mini pizzas for breakfast. They may be processed, but they're sooooo delicious. I also like that a lot of the TJ's food is organic. It just makes me feel better, even though organic isn't necessarily better for the environment or for you. I do like that they carry free-range "happy" meat though. That definitely makes me feel better, as I think that animals deserve to be out and about even if the are being raised for slaughter. I think this is because I horseback ride and I deal with horses running in pastures on a fairly regular basis... it makes me happy to watch them.

If you live in DC, you should definitely try TJ's. There's one in Georgetown and one in Bethesda. My family mostly goes to the Gtown one, and I've noticed a lot of college/ young 20's age people shopping there. Makes me feel hip... it's also a good way to scope out what's in fashion, and what all the hipsters are wearing. Funnily enough, I always wonder about the hipsters because it seems to me they're all wannabe foodies, just like me! Maybe I should ask them about their food preferences... they'll probably just lecture me about Starbucks.

I know that I've done two posts today, but I felt I needed to because I love talking about Trader Joes. :D Oh yeah, if anyone feels like leaving a comment, feel free. I welcome comments... they make me feel like someone is actually reading this.

Dr. Martens (This IS food related)

If you happen meet me and look at my feet, you'll probably see I'm wearing Doc Martens. Mine are red, 14 hole laceups. I've had them 2 years and I'm thinking about getting another pair, so I was bopping around on the DM website. I was reading the FAQ's and I came across that DM's are good for restaurant work because they have good support and stand up to a lot. It also said that they might break down a little in places with grease. I've heard good things about them in the restaurant industry. I think I'm going to do some research about DMs in restaurants, because most of the top chefs you hear about wear clogs. I think clogs are way less comfortable than DM's, but that's just my opinion. Plus, DM's are way more stylish than clogs.

In case you're wondering: http://www.drmartens.com/ and http://www.dmusastore.com/

Caps Game Food

Living in DC, I'm a HUGE Capitals hockey fan... our only winning team, etc. In case you're wondering, the Caps won!!! 5-3 versus the Philadelphia Flyers! TAKE THAT!!! Ok, calming down now, and going to the real topic- the food at the Verizon Center.

1. It's way overpriced.
2. It's basically all fast food- Papa Johns, BBQ...
3. The ice cream SUCKS. Why would you WANT to eat Dippin' Dots?
4. The beer is supposedly really bad (No, I don't drink, but my parents are beer snobs and they hate Bud, so... passing on the opinion). 
   

However, if you are looking for something to chow down on while watching an extremely good hockey team do their thing, you probably can't go wrong. There's something about greasy, crunchy, yummy food that's perfect for sports. It's like eating a hot dog at a baseball game- how can you not?

My personal favorite is the chicken fingers and fries with honey mustard. It's classic, it's not too fried, and there's honey mustard. What more could you want? After all, you need sustenance to scream down the few Flyers fans and of course yell hysterically when the Caps score.

For afters, if you haven't already partaken in the overpriced soft-serve or the horrible Dippin' Dots (do you really want to eat freeze dried ice cream?), there's a Hagen Daas right next to the Verizon center. It makes an even sweeter end to an already sweet victory.

Tapioca Pudding

This may surprise some people, but until yesterday I'd never had tapioca pudding. Only now do I realize how much of a catastrophe this actually is. Tapioca pudding= fluffy, sweet, vanilla-y, pudding-y yummy deliciousness. And it's easy to make, always a plus when you're craving something sweet and dessert like but you don't have the time or energy to bake. It literally takes about 10 minutes to make, and all you have to do is follow the directions on the box. You can eat it as soon as it finishes cooking, because it tastes amazing hot or cold. The texture is lumpy but a good lumpy- the lumps are smooth like rice pudding. It's springy to bite into and then melts. It tastes like vanilla and sugar and tapioca pudding. Comfort food times 10.

Now one question remains... what the heck is tapioca??? I still haven't found out.

Challah: The Good and the Bad

So there's one thing you should know about me if you're going to get my perspective on food- I'm Jewish. This means I've been exposed to interesting foods that have potentially set my health back by about 10 years. For example, matzoh ball soup made with real chicken stock and schmaltz. YUM!! However, there are some  Jewish foods that are not bad for you. One of them is challah, the traditional braided bread we eat on the Sabbath, or Shabbat. Now, there are two types of challah- the good kind and the bad kind, aka homemade and storebought. I know that sounds cliche and generalized, but really, there's a huge difference. Lets break it down:

Storebought

• Very dry, with a very regular-bread flavor. Always needs salt.
  
• The crust is thick, crumbles horribly and is impossible to rip properly. It is also usually either dull (no egg-wash) or overly shiny.It can also be super squishy like a bread roll.
  
• The bread part tends to be stringy when you rip it, and light with no substance. If you squish it, you will end up with a tiny ball.
  
•  Yes, I've had some passable store-bought challahs, but they just really don't stand up to the real thing.

The Real Thing aka Homemade

•   Depending on the recipe, the flavor can range from cinnamon-y and fragrant to sweet to savory.
• The crust is moist and thin but still strong. It is usually shiny from egg wash that is brushed over it before it goes in the oven. It is soft but not squishy- you can tap it with your knuckles and it won't go in. It is rippable as well, always a plus in my house. We're a "tear" family. 
• The bread part is soft and dense but still airy. If you squish it, it just shrinks a little. Most importantly- it is MOIST. 
• Each person has different recipes that they use- I've had ones with cinnamon and nutmeg, ones that use squash and saffron, and ones that use bread flour. 
• Note- I have had some pretty bad homemade challah, but in my book it didn't count because it was made with a bread machine. The challah turned out really tough and... store bought tasting. Homemade MEANS homemade- you're supposed to make it with your own two hands. That's why mixes don't count. 

This is just my opinion. Maybe I'm a food snob and you think your store bought challah is the best. Maybe you make yours with a bread machine, or a mix (even though I've never seen that before...). Maybe you've never had challah- if you haven't, find a Jewish friend and try theirs first. It's probably better than what you get at your local bakery. Trust me.

An Overview

Hi! If you've happened upon this blog, it probably means you had to do a lot of digging or cruising the Internet to find it. To make it worth your effort, I'll tell you a little bit about what's going to happen on this blog.

• My opinions about restaurants and food in the DC area, from the viewpoint of a teen for other teens as well as any DC restaurant goer. 
• What's going on in my family's kitchen- recipes that we're trying, how we eat, etc. 
• What real teens like to eat and what they think of food. 
• Organic farming, going local, farmer's markets... all that oh-so-modern green stuff my generation is obsessed with. 
• Potentially some recipes and what I'm cooking as well as any food I happen to be investigating or eating at the time.
  

Now... if you don't feel like reading, don't. If you like food, read on. If you are looking for something that could potentially be interesting, that's fine too. It's all good.