Blackberry Cobbler

Today was one of those days I really just needed to bake. 

I got to the dessert section of the Hunger Games Unofficial cookbook and blackberry cobbler was one of the first desserts I flipped to. Cobblers are super easy to make well and light on the ingredient list. 

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees to start and got my 8x8 pan/dish. I started with the filling for the cobbler and dissolved 2tbsp of cornstarch in a 1/4 cup of water. I mixed in a 1/2 cup of sugar and 1tsp of cinnamon along with 2tbsp of lemon juice and 4 cups of blackberries. I made sure the blackberries were coated well, put them in a pot and brought it to a boil while stirring occasionally.

While this was coming to a boil I made the topping. I mixed 1 cup of flour with 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1tsp of baking powder, and 1tsp of salt. Then I cut in 6tbsp of butter until the mixture was bread crumb-y, then added 1tsp of vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of boiling water. 

I finished the blackberry mixture, poured it into my baking pan, then scooped spoonfuls of the topping into the pan. I baked it for 30 minutes and it came out wonderfully golden brown and bubbly. 

A great, easy dessert that was quick to make and the perfect way to relax and calm myself down after a stressful morning.  

Valentine's Day (Pizza) Roses

For Valentine's Day I decided that I was going to make myself roses, Pizza roses that is! I saw a video on facebook and googled some recipes until I found something that I thought could work. 

I bought two tubes of pilsbury thin crust pizza dough that comes in tubes to start. I rolled out one tube of dough and cut in into strips of 2in x 12in. I lightly sauced the strips with some extra pasta sauce I had in the cupboard and after some experimentation I figured out that this is the perfect length to fit about 8 pepperoni slices in a row slightly overlapping on one edge of the dough. After the row of pepperoni I sprinkled on shredded mozzarella cheese and folded the dough length wise to create a pocket for all the toppings. I started down one end of the strip and gently rolled it to create a pinwheel bun shape that fits perfectly in the muffin pan.

Each tube of dough makes about 6 roses which is why I bought two tubes to make a nice dozen. 20 minutes later in the oven and these roses were cooked to perfection. 

They turned out really great and cheesy and once I got the hang of it, they were super easy to make. I would totally do it again. Crowd pleaser for sure and good as a treat to share.    

ROC - Village Bakery and Cafe

I am a kayak, hear me roar!!

That's right, I have decide that I am a strong independent woman that can go out to eat by myself!.. If only I had the money.. and time... small steps. The first of which being going out to lunch by myself and getting some work done aka editing photos. 

LOCATION: 5 STATE ST, PITTSFORD, NY 14534

I've come to village bakery several times before, on some occasions alone, and I decided that today I would head over and get myself a Croque Monsieur which happens to be one of the must try Rochester dishes on Julia's List! (I think it'll be alright for me to hit some of these places on my own; my time in Rochester is limited and Julia is much too far away at school to accompany me.) 

The Croque Monsieur at Village Bakery was on the list specifically and it is Ham and Gruyere on brioche with the house made bechamel and I added a poached egg on top for an extra $1 because poached egg. 

I will say to start that I'm quite awful at multitasking when one of those tasks is eating food. As I said before, I decided that today I would try to get some editing done while I was out so I had my trusty laptop Norman and I was editing and retouching some photos while I had my sandwich to eat. Needless to say, this sandwich was left neglected for quite some time and by the time that I decided to take a break and give it some attention it was no longer piping hot, my bad.. just keep this in mind when I voice my opinion of the food. 

Sandwiches come with a side of cape cod kettle chips, and a pickle, both of which I enjoy, so great start. The sandwich itself also did not disappoint. The poached egg however, was not runny, though there is a good chance that it cooked a little through while it sat on my sandwich. I was a little disappointed in that but it was still close, so not awful. The bread was a wonderful crispness, the a ham on the inside was a little dry, but the gruyere and the bechamel were incredible. The sauce moistened the ham well overall and gave the sandwich an incredible taste. I did catch hints of vinegar, likely from the poached egg, which was a little off putting but mixed in with the rest of the sandwich it was alright. Overall, a good sandwich, though nothing to rave about and not something I would say is a must have in rochester. Maybe if I ate it while it was still hot it would have a better chance. At room temp, it was average.

Candy Cookie Dough Oreo Pie!

That name is just everything you need in a pie isn't it? 

It was my friend Ben's birthday yesterday and I decided I was going to make him something to celebrate! He sent me this super easy recipe last summer and I think half jokingly said he wanted it. I've known Ben for a year and while he loves junk food, he's been in a healthy kick since we met and on average days tries to eat healthy and work out. We still manage to find days where we both want a slice of pizza or some creme brulee and treat ourselves, but everything in moderation! 

This was one of those cheat days! It's his birthday, he should eat a little of what he wants! 

This 'pie' if you want to call it that we super easy. I had a screenshot of the recipe he found and I sort of put my own twist on it. First it says to start off with one of those pre-made pie crust. At the grocery store I found one of those oreo cookie crusts and figured, if I was going to make this, an oreo crust was the way to go! Basically I took the oreo crust, then took a whole tube of that pre-made sugar cookie dough and pressed it into the crust as best I could. In hindsight I should've pre-baked the crust with some egg white to bind the crust better because it crumbled quite a bit when I pushed the cookie dough on top. The I just topped it with bite sized chocolate. The recipe calls for a cup of m&ms, two packs of twix bars chopped, and 6 or 7 mini reese's peanut butter cups. I can honestly say I measured nothing. I took a few of each of these candies (and I bought the bite sized bag of baby mini twix to make things easier on myself) and just pushed them into the raw dough until I thought it looked like enough. (Honestly I probably could've added more.) I baked it for about 40 minutes until the cookie dough looked nice and brown and then I took it out of the oven and let it cool. I honestly and not a huge chocolate lover and I went to Ben's and gave him the whole pie and declined when he wanted to give me a piece. It was his pie and I'm happy not to eat it. He was so happy that I made it and some of his friends and his older brother were coming over to take him out to dinner that night so he promised to share with them and not eat the whole pie by himself after dinner. He send me a picture of the pie after the cut into it and he seemed to enjoy it a bunch but I'm sure I'll get more feedback the next time I see him. It was a super fun, easy, not in the least bit healthy for you kinda dessert which was perfect for a birthday like this.   

ROC - Edibles!

This is the weekend of reunions because Julia was home and we finally had time to see each other again! (Kinda..) The holidays are a crazy busy season for everyone and because Julia's getting her masters it's hard to find time when she's free and back in Rochester. She was actually on her way back to school and was planning to leave tonight but decided to postpone going back and have dinner with me instead. She always makes me feel important :). 

SO, we knew we wanted to do dinner because Julia had work in the day, but the problem was that we didn't know where to go. I have my lists but by now a lot of them are cafe's which are nice for lunch or breakfast, or good places for snacks. Julia's also quite picky with food making picking a place harder. She looked at my list and narrowed it down to a few places that she figured she'd enjoy appetizers and salads from at best. I didn't like the idea of picking a place she didn't really enjoy but she was alright with the compromise and picked a place. We had the plan! Then of course I thought of Edibles. I know Julia fairly well, we've been friends for over 10 years now and I have ideas of what foods she likes and what she doesn't. Edibles would be a better choice. So she looked it up online and decided she agreed. This was the place! If only we had figured that out 12 hours before instead of going through all the other restaurants. Go us! 

Thus, we ended up at Edibles!

LOCATION: 704 UNIVERSITY AVE, ROCHESTER, NY 14607

Now, if you wanna look back, Sophia and I have made it here for lunch and it was great. A little light on portions and the service was a little awkward but nothing too bad and the food was good. At the time of lunch I knew it was a place Julia would like so I'm happy I got to go with her and this time experience dinner! 

Julia ordered herself a glass of wine (picking a random red that she choice based on price and name because that's her method) and I ordered the Winter Sangria which was a red wine, apricot brandy, cranberry juice, orange, apple, cinnamon stick, and ginger ale combination. The cinnamon was a great hint though the apricot slice was pure alcohol by the time I took a bite out of it. A great choice!

Because it was a red wine sangria I cut out the seafood selections from the menu and as my entree ordered the Beef Short Rib with a Wild Mushroom Risotto and Julia ordered the Pierogi Dinner which came with asparagus. Now, I'd had the pierogi for lunch when I was there and loved it, this time was no different for Julia and she was so happy to have found a restaurant with pierogi's on the dinner menu. My beef short rib was amazing. The flavor was clean and natural. The seasoning on it wasn't too overpowering and the gravy on it gave it a nice juicy texture. There was a wonderful crust on the top that sealed in flavor and moisture during the 6 hour braising processes and it balanced wonderfully with the cheesy, flavorful mushroom risotto. I managed to eat my whole plate and was stuffed by the end and Julia said she was a very comfortable full. A wonderful choice for us both and I'm happy I returned and brought her with me.