Caroline Makes Muffins

By now I am sure many of you have seen the wonderful website Ming Makes Cupcakes (and if you haven’t, check it out right now).

I love the layout, the simple, straightforward food styling and the to-the-point recipes. It has become one of my favorite blogs to drool over when 4pm hits and the only thing I can think about are snacks.

I am not a big cupcake-baker at home (Andy is not a fan and we always have about a million cupcakes left over) but, I do make a lot of muffins. This weekend I made some adjustments to my favorite Banana Muffin recipie and was quite pleased with the results.

I thought I would share it with you Ming-style along with some photos of her own creations below.

Photos from Ming Makes Cupcakes. From left: Cupcake #29; Cupcake #23; Cupcake #28; Cupcake #13

And now, the recipe for my Banana Date Muffins (photo at top of post).

Banana Date Muffins (adapted from here)

3 or 4 mashed bananas

1/2 c. olive oil

1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. sour cream

1 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 c. slivered almonds (toasted)

dried pitted dates

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. With an electric mixer, mix the wet ingredients until smooth and creamy. Sift in the first three dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Fold in spices.

Spoon batter into greased cupcake-tins, filling halfway. Place one whole pitted date in the center of each cupcake and cover with remaining batter to about three-quarters full. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and bake about 20-25 minutes until done.

Glam Cherry Glam

Ladies and gentleman, I will hereby be taking the rest of the week off of work in order to comb the streets on Manhattan searching for free ice cream.

In honor of their Poppy brand, handbag icon Coach has conspired with Van Leeuwen (one of the best in the ice cream biz) on a limited edition flavor called Glam Cherry.

The blend of tree-ripened Morello cherries with Michael Cluizel chocolate flakes (mmmmmm!) sounds nothing short of amazing. A Van Leeuwen truck tricked out with Poppy ads will giving out scoops of this heavenly concoction away for free this week at Coach stores!

Photo snapped by Christiane at DwellStudio who was lucky enough to spot a truck!  I’m not sure exactly how to track these babies down but you could start by checking out Van Leeuwen on Facebook or Twitter.

Tastes Good: Turkish Granola

Granola is one of my favorite foods and so easy to make!

I just made some to take to the beach this weekend.

Every time I make my granola, I like to change up the flavors to fit the season (or whatever is in the cupboard).

With apricots, dates and sesame seeds, I named this batch Turkish Granola. I am sharing my super-secret recipe with you below. I hope you like it!

Turkish Granola (adapted from The Candle Cafe Cookbook)

1 cup steel cut oats 

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup slivered almonds

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 T. sesame seeds (toasted)

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup oil

1 T. vanilla extract

1/4 t. sea salt

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. ground cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine above ingredients in large bowl. Spread out on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Transfer to a bowl and add 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup dried apricots, 1/4 cup dried & pitted dates, 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut.

Tastes Good: Asia Dogs

I recently developed a mild obsession with the Asia Dog stand that sets up at the Brooklyn Flea each weekend. Asian fusion hot dogs. What could be better?

Recently I signed up to follow their every move on Facebook and now I am definitely attending the all-you-can-eat Asia Dog happy hour sponsored by Tasting Table at Trophy Bar next week.

Why am I so obsessed you ask? Just look at these photos. They’re amazingly delicious.

Photo courtesy of Me So Hungry. Beef, chicken & veggie options available. See you at the Flea this weekend, right?

Good Enough To Eat

I didn’t have a formal post planned for today but I couldn’t resist sharing these beautiful illustrations by illustrator Sarah Rutherford for the new Frankies Sputino Cookbook.

As I have already mentioned here on the blog. Frankies is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in New York.

I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when I found out they were releasing a cookbook with many of the dishes featured on their delicious menus (including the recipe for their amazing French Toast!).

The book is a beautifully packaged piece of work but Rutherford’s illustrations really make it shine.

All of Rutherford’s illustrations for the cookbook are currently on view at Cafe Pedlar on Court St. (also owned by the Franks) and will allegedly be available for purchase sometime soon. I can’t wait, I’ve definitely got my eye on a few of them.

Congratulations to Frankies on the cookbook! I can’t wait to make my first dish from it.

All illustrations by Sarah Rutherford. Frankies cookbook available for purchase on Amazon.

When Alice Comes To Dinner

Growing up, I have inherited my mother’s admiration for Alice Waters. On a recent summer evening, a few friends decided to throw together an impromptu summer dinner party with recipes from Alice’s latest cookbook.

The dinner was simple, artful and delicious. I generally find us to be pretty good cooks but that night, we felt like superstars (though maybe that was the booze talking).

We started the evening with a sharp violet Blue Moon cocktail and drank Sea-Fog Sauvignon Blanc from The Grade Cellars in Napa. Definitely two libations to put on your list!

I recently happened upon the work of Cynthia Warren, a designer who has done many menu collaborations for Chez Panisse. She has a great, rustic typographic style.

Don’t you just love these elegant menus? I am pairing them with some of the photos from our almost as elegant meal.

I suppose us girls can dream, can’t we?

Tastes Good: Berry Tea Sorbet

Since making three different batches of ice cream during the first week with my new ice cream maker, my new gadget has been collecting dust on the shelf.

I had to take time to actually eat all of the ice cream before making any more (which wasn’t too difficult for me).

Craving something fresh (and a bit lighter), this weekend I decided to try and churn up a little sorbet. I found a recipe online that combined juicy blackberries with black tea and was intrigued. The final result was so good, I had to share it with you here. Just look at that incredible color!

Berry Tea Sorbet

(Adapted from this recipe. My version has a variety of berries, less sugar and a chunkier texture because I like it that way.)

1 bag frozen black raspberries

1 pint fresh blackberries

2 cups brewed Earl Grey tea (I made mine strong)

1 cup sugar

Directions

1.) Puree fresh and frozen berries in a blender or food processor until smooth. 2.) Pour into bowl and whisk in tea and sugar. 3.) Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or up to one day. 4.) Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. 5.) Transfer to freezer and freeze until firm 6.) Serve with fresh berries and a bit of mint or, better yet, homemade whipped cream!

Tastes Good: Atlanta

I’m back from a fabulous weekend in Atlanta!

Upon our arrival our hostess said her goal was for us to never want to look at food again by the time we left.

So we ate. And ate.

Atlanta is quite a culinary city. Restaurant tables spill onto the streets almost year-round because of the warm weather and are almost always filled with people eating or imbibing, it’s my kind of town.

A big stop on the list for me was The Woodfire Grill, a restaurant helmed by Kevin Gillespe of Top Chef fame. The restaurant was lovely and the food was simple, straightforward and amazingly good!

Other stops included Sun in My Belly, the Sweet Auburn Curb Market (and a piece of  baklava from The Greek); sipping cocktails at Sauced; brunch at Ria’s Bluebird followed (very) shortly after by beers and malt vinegar popcorn at The Porter Beer Bar and those are just some of the highlights.

It’s true, I never want to look at food again. Well, until tomorrow probably…

Top Row: Fried green tomato sandwich at Sun in My Belly; Bacon and eggs at Sweet Auburn Market; Beer at Porter’s. Middle Row: The Blue Moon at Sauced; Appetizer and dessert at Woodfire Grill. Bottom Row: Entrée at Woodfire Grill; Scrambled eggs and bacon at Sun in My Belly; Funny new beverage “Whynatte” spotted on the shelf.

Tastes Good: Buttermilk Channel

My parents visited from Michigan this past weekend and their one request for the trip was to visit some of my sister’s & my favorite spots in our neighborhood.

This resulted in a decadent weekend of eating (which is never a problem in our family) at the many great restaurants in the neighborhood. One of our first stops was, of course, Buttermilk Channel.

When you love a restaurant as much as we do this one, you become quite attached to certain items on their menu (the fried chicken and waffles of course).

On this trip, we decided to explore some dishes we hadn’t tried before. This resulted in the discovery of their delicious ribs appetizer.

A perfect proportion of four sweet and tangy ribs piled on a plate with a creamy, tart coleslaw (I really love a well-made coleslaw).

The dish epitomized the restaurant’s m.o. which is serving down-to-earth American standards taken to a new level with extra polish and refinement that is entirely delicious.

Next up, I’ve got to try their brunch!

Photos from left: Black Book; Brownstoner; Buttermilk Channel website

Tastes Good: Roberta’s

Brooklyn has been experiencing something of a gourmet pizza renaissance of late and let me tell you, this is a very very good thing.

Last weekend I ventured over to Bushwick with some girlfriends to eat at Roberta’s (one of the Brooklyn pizzeria trifecta with Motorino and Saraghina) and we were not disappointed.

Of the many criteria I take into account when judging the experience at a normal restaurant, one thing and one thing matters alone when judging a pizzeria: the Margherita pie.

At Roberta’s the Margherita is excellent. In fact, I think it may find its way into the echelon of foods that I will not share (and I am a big food sharer). While this fact alone is reason to bring me back again and again, it also doesn’t hurt that the restaurant is lovely, the staff is awesome and they serve their beer in jam jars.

If my little review isn’t reason enough to convince you, check out this wonderful, sexy pizza video from the Roberta’s blog (yes, I just used sexy and pizza in the same sentence), you’ll be on your way to the L train in a heartbeat.