Martha Stewart's Cakes!

Martha Stewart's Cakes
Our First-Ever Book of Bundts, Loaves, Layers, 

Coffee Cakes, and more
by the Editors of Martha Stewart Living
Trade Paperback, 352 pages

Martha came out with a book on cakes during the month of my birthday. I like to think this was planned. I was certainly excited!

She has done pies, cookies, cupcakes and wedding cakes, but this is the first book on cakes in general. The book has a wonderful array of cake styles and varieties, including:

Loaves

Bundts & Tubes

Coffee Cakes

Single Layers

Cheesecakes

Icebox

Cakes with Fruit

Layer Cakes

plus

Frosting and filling recipes, easy garnishes, 
and other finishing touches

Martha Stewart's Cakes is well laid out, easy to follow and has a full colour photo of each and every recipe. 

Chocolate Bundt Cake

From the back flap:

A one-stop resource for cakes—birthday, chocolate, coffee, Bundt, upside-down, loaf, and more. From pound cake and angel food (with many variations) to genoise and streusel-topped, from comfort classics like red velvet, six-layer coconut, rich chocolate, lemon meringue, and cheesecake to sophisticated grown-up fare including chiffon cakes and tortes with luscious fruits, these 150 recipes and color photographs cover techniques, decorating, and gifting ideas for every taste and occasion, whether no-fuss or fancy.

Maple Cake

Baking trends come and go, but cakes are timeless. From the editors and photographers of Martha Stewart Living, Cakes includes classics (German Chocolate, New York-Style Cheesecake), crowd-pleasers (Baked Alaska, Hummingbird), and cakes with unique, sophisticated flavors and embellishments (Pecan Torte with Lemon Curd, Saffron-Scented Pear Upside-Down Cake). Whether you need a birthday cake (for any age!), have bake-sale duty, want a travel-friendly coffee cake, or seek to impress at a dinner party or with a handmade gift, Martha Stewart's Cakes has more than 150 cakes plus ideas for decorating, gifting, and storing. Beautiful color photography that shows you just what you're aiming for and dozens of make-ahead tips make baking low-stress.

Pumpkin Layer Cake

 With 150 recipes in all, you will always have the perfect cake recipe for your occasions! 

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Save the Date: IAMLA's Annual Taste of Italy on October 12

We all know how great Italian food and wines are, and we have some great restaurants in Los Angeles, so a Taste of Italy festival in Los Angeles certainly sounds good! The 5th Annual Taste of Italy will be held on October 12, 2013, at beautiful, historic Pico House in downtown LA. The event benefits the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, which is planned to open in early 2014.

Participants include Di Stefano Cheese (who makes the best burrata in town), Bulgarini Gelato and GROM (my two favorite gelaterias), Trattoria Neapolis, Drago Centro, Il Grano, Fabio Viviani's Cafe Firenze, and more. The event also boasts 100+ Italian wines to be poured (see more participants listed here).

There will be live entertainment from Italian artists and "chanteuses".

The $55 general admission ticket gets you 6 food tickets and 4 beverage tickets (more tickets are available for purchase at the event). The $125 VIP ticket gets you VIP entrance (and red carpet photo), 6 food and 6 beverage tickets, a VIP gift bag, and 20% off your purchase at Gastromercato. Tickets can be purchased here.
PLUS, get $5 OFF your ticket purchase with code GOURMETPIGS.

Want to win VIP tickets for you and your friends? You can create a video of yourself singing Taste of Italy or the SoCal Italian American history for a shot to win (see more details here).

When: October 12, 2013. 5-10PM

Where: Pico House
424 N. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

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Ginger Pineapple Rum Punch

Ginger beer.

 






























































How do you guys feel about it? 

I don't think I could drink it straight up, just as a normal everyday drink. But mixed with some rum and pineapple juice? I'm down.

I had bought some at Trader Joe's out of curiosity and needed a reason to use them up. This cocktail seemed like the perfect opportunity. Use some kinda rum... the recipe calls for dark rum but I used Morgan's Spiced Rum which isn't a dark rum but it's what I had on hand, and it's probably why my cocktails are lighter in color than Dara's. Oh well, rummmmmmm. 




Ginger Pineapple Rum Punch
from Cookin Canuck

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup ginger beer
• 1 and 1/2 cups Jamaican dark rum
• 2 cups pineapple juice
• Ice

In a pitcher, combine lime juice, ginger beer, rum and pineapple juice. Stir well to combine.

Fill glasses with ice and pour in the punch.

If you prefer to make the punch in advance, mix together all of the ingredients except the ginger beer. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in the ginger beer immediately before serving. You can increase or decrease rum and/or pineapple juice as desired.


Printable Recipe

Depending how you like your drinks, you can add more or less pineapple juice or rum than the recipe calls for.

 






























































Fill er up with plenty of ice + this cocktail and you've got yourself a Friday night.


Peace, and bacon grease!

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Drago Centro's Latest Cocktail Menu and Bartender

Yes, there has been a lot of changes in the bar management at Dragon Centro, but the man in charge now has actually been there for a while. Jason Eisner came to work at Drago Centro because he was inspired and wanted to work with Jaymee Mandeville. Now he's taken his experience and designed a fun menu for Drago Centro.

He enhanced whiskey sour with apple nectar in the namesake Drago Sour (bourbon, fuji apple nectar, lemon, maple syrup, egg white, angostura - $10)

One of my favorites was the Italian Roots ($14) with cognac, ciaciaro amaro, demerara syrup, chocolate bitters, angostura, vanilla bourbon extract, fernet branca whipped cream

This is Jason's version of an adult root beer. It smells just like root beer and tastes like a less sweet, more complex version of root beer. And that fernet whipped cream? So much awesomeness.

Read more »

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Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins

It's Secret Recipe Club time again. One of my fave times of each month!

This month I was assigned to the blog, A Couple in the Kitchen. So many good recipes like their award-winning Sweet Chili and Coconut Corn Soup, which I was so tempted to make, and their Cider Sage Gravy would be perfect for the quickly-approaching fall season. But ultimately though I chose these rich and tasty potatoes. Because if you hadn't guessed by my name, I'm a potato freak! Plus I love the idea of using muffin pans for these individual gratins.

This recipe calls for gruyere cheese, which can be a bit pricey. You can substitute comte or beaufort - A French cheese.... or a more easily-accessible Swiss cheese. I loved the gruyere cheese in this potato dish. I made the mistake of only using one jumbo sized russet potato. Go ahead and use two large russet potatoes if you can... I would have liked more potatoes in my stacks. If you have a mandolin slicer (I've seen it spelled mandolin and mandoline, not sure what's correct), then use that to thinly slice the potatoes. I just used a knife but of course there were some inconsistencies in thickness. But we still loved and devoured these cheesy, creamy, crispy stacks.

Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins
from A Couple in the Kitchen

• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 6 ounces grated gruyere cheese
• 1 and 3/4 cups heavy cream
• 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the cups of a 12-muffin pan. 

Layer each cup with potato slice, topped with salt and white pepper, and gruyere cheese. Continue to layer like this until each muffin cup is full. Add two tablespoons of heavy cream to each muffin cup. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove the foil and top each stack with the parmesan cheese, dividing evenly. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Printable Recipe

I'll make these again and again. They're not a lot of work, but seem so fancy. Rich, filling, indulgent... exactly what food should be. These mini gratins will make a perfect side to any meal. But maybe keep the main course light  :)

Check out my past Secret Recipe Club posts. 




Peace, and bacon grease!

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Casual and Healthy Lunch at Twist Eatery

Twist Eatery recently opened in La Brea, serving breakfast, lunch and baked goods along with coffee.

The lunch menu is mostly healthy (although they do have a burger if you're so inclined).

I got the Salmon Bowl, with lentil, quinoa salad tossed in a pomegranate, vinaigrette served with moroccan spiced salmon and a citrus salsa ($14)

The salmon was nicely cooked, still moist, and the sauce and dressing were flavorful yet still light. I really liked this for a healthy yet still filling lunch.

Read more »

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September 28: Trattoria Neapolis One Year Anniversary Celebration (Pasadena, CA)

Trattoria Neapolis is one of my favorite places in Pasadena, both for food and drinks, and they're celebrating their one year anniversary next week! On Saturday September 28, starting at 7pm, the different rooms and balcony will turn into different tasting areas with food from Chef Bryant Wigger, wine, beers, distilleries, and Stumptown coffee. Since the menu is not posted on their website, I wanted to share it with you here!

Tickets are only $60 (advance purchase) and looks like it will be a great value! Plus $10 of each ticket purchase will be donated to Foothill Family Service. You can purchase the tickets in advance by calling (626) 792-3000.

Here's the menu and the list of wineries/breweries/distilleries!

TASTING MENU:

A few bite-sized versions of dishes will include:

Vitello Tonnato

Veal Tenderloin, Frisee, Caperberries, Grana Padano

& Ahi Tuna-Caper Aioli

Wood Grilled Baby Octopus

Crispy Potato Torta, Cerignola Olives & Lemon

Arancini

Crispy Lobster Arancini, Sweet Basil, Mozzarella

& Lemon Aioli

Barolo Risotto

Braised Oxtail, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

& Castelrosso Cheese

Rabbit

Rosemary, Roasted Garlic, Chestnut Farrotto

& Crostini Toscano

Tiramisu

Roasted Bartlett Pears, House Made Ladyfingers, Mascarpone,

Buttered Pecans, Pear Moscato Sorbetto

& Salted Caramel

Bombolini

Pumpkin Spiced Mini Italian Donuts, Limoncello & Pumpkin Crema,

& Candied Pecans

PARTICIPATING

VENDORS:                               

U.S. West Coast Wineries

Duckhorn Vineyards

Stags Leap Wine Cellars

Northstar Winery

Erath Winery

Antica Napa Valley

Rutherford Ranch

Stolpman Vineyards

Frog’s Leap Winery

Italian Wineries

Antinori

Tormaresca

Castello della Sala

Col de’ Salici

Donnafugata

Maculan

Villa Sandi

Cantele

Tenuta

Luisa

Suavia

Moretti Omero

Riseccoli

Tenuta Monteti

Tenuta Argentiera

Distillers & Spirits

Bourbon

Buffalo Trace

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark 46

Rye Whiskey

Templeton Old

Overholt

Knob Creek

Vodka

Tito’s

Scotch

Famous Grouse

Black Grouse

Single Malt Scotch

Auchentoshan Three Wood

Bowmore Islay

Limoncello

Limoncello Originale

Orangecello Blood Orange

Beer

Eagle Rock Brewery

Bootleggers Brewery

Telegraph Brewery

The Bruery

Coffee

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

WHEN:                  Saturday, September 28^th

                             7:00 p.m.

WHERE:                336 South Lake Avenue

Pasadena, California 91101

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