A sweet end to Christmas dinner

I always like to make a special dessert for Christmas dinner, and this year I was feeling confident so I decided to bake one of my German grandmother's famous cakes: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, or, by American standards, Black Forest Cake.

First of all, the recipe I have is in German, which makes it a little harder than your average recipe. Secondly, my grandmother's handwriting is extremely hard to read. But, the most difficult aspect of all when making this cake is that the recipe is, in fact, no recipe at all. It is the bare minimum of a recipe: a list of the ingredients and how much one needs of each item.

Needless to say, it was an interesting day in the kitchen at my house. Two cakes later, and I had enough cake to make a three-layer cake.



It all worked out for the best though, thankfully, and I was able to present a beautiful Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte to my family for Christmas. Although it was a little dryer than I would have liked, my mom said it tasted just like my grandmother's, and that says it all.

Everyone loves cheesecake...right?

My mom recently had a Christmas party for her friends from work, and guess who was recruited to help with the food?

Well my main responsibility was desserts, so I decided to make one of my personal favorites, cheesecake. I didn't make my usual recipe, however. This time I wanted to make cheesecake bites, even though my mom wanted me to make a pumpkin spice cheesecake.

I decided to please both of us and went ahead and made cheesecake bites in three different flavors, one of which was pumpkin. The other two flavors I decided on were chocolate with an Oreo crust and raspberry swirl with a graham cracker crust.

I used a base recipe that I found online, which I will provide, and just separated it into thirds before creating each flavor. I bought a pack of disposable cake pans (it conveniently came with three pans) that were short in height. After they finished baking I simply cut the cakes into tiny, bite-size squares. Although the squares weren't as pretty as I wanted them to be, the flavor definitely made up for it.



Cheesecake Bites (base adapted from Peggy Epstein's contribution to ehow.com)

6 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

6 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

Mix all of these ingredients together and you have your base to work with.

For the pumpkin flavor I used about half of a 15 0z can of pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves. I just mixed it all into the cheesecake base with my mixer. For the crust I ground a sleeve of graham crackers in my food processor and added about 4-6 Tbsp. of melted butter, and a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar.

For the raspberry swirl, all I added to the base was about 1/2 tsp. vanilla. For the crust, I once again used my food processor to grind up a sleeve of graham crackers, but this time all I added was the melted butter. For the raspberry sauce I pureed a package of fresh raspberries and strained it through a sieve to collect the seeds. After I poured the cheesecake batter into the crust, I poured the raspberry sauce on top in straight lines across the cake and used a toothpick to create a swirl effect.

Lastly, for the chocolate cheesecake I melted 6 oz of chocolate chips and 2 Tbsp. of butter in a double-boiler and used my mixer to incorporate it into the batter. The tip here is to take a little of the batter and mix it in with the chocolate before you add it to the rest of the batter. This way it cools the chocolate down a little bit before you mix it in. For the crust I ground up about half of a package of Oreos and added melted butter to that as well.

I then cooked the cakes in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Another key thing to remember is that after the cakes bake, you need to let them cool in the OFF oven, with the door cracked open for another 20 minutes. This prevents the cheesecake from cracking on the top. This is a necessity when making ANY kind of cheesecake, not just bites.

After cooling in the refrigerator overnight, voila! I had a delicious and easy to eat dessert perfect for a party.

Gyro Grill

Apparently Ocala's cultural identity is expanding...somewhat.

I noticed, recently, that we now have a Mediterranean restaurant out on Highway 200 just past Airport Road in the Jasmine Plaza. The Gyro Grill serves up affordable Turkish and Greek food including gyros (of course), Falafel, Spanakopita, stuffed grape leaves, baklava, etc.


I heard that there is a Gyro Grill in The Paddock Mall now too, but I haven't seen it for myself so I cannot be 100 percent certain that it is still there, or ever was for that matter.

Anyways, the food is pretty tasty and inexpensive, and is definitely worth a trip out to that side of town.

I tried a gyro, stuffed grape leaves, Falafel, Hummus, Tabouli and a tamarind flavored Turkish soda. All of the food was good, but the Tabouli was by far the best part of the meal. It was probably the best Tabouli I have ever had; it was fresh and garlicky and everything that the wheat dish should be.



The part that I didn't really care for was the soda. I have never been a fan of tamarind, which I have tried before in Mexican products, like Jarritos sodas, and this Turkish soda did not change my mind. It left a strange metallic aftertaste in my mouth after every sip and actually made me thirstier as I drank it.

I was kind of bothered by the fact that the eatery sold canned sodas. I think that fountain drinks make a huge difference in a restaurant's credibility and appeal, plus they save the owner money in the long run.

So, here is my advice to you: visit the Gyro Grill and eat whatever you want, I am sure it will be great, but don't go in expecting a cold fountain soda, and avoid the Turkish soda at all costs if you are wary of tamarind.

New restaurant alert!

So, I don't know how I missed this, but there is a new restaurant downtown and it is already open!

The restaurant, Filet and Fin, was opened by Chef Daniel, who has a catering service and once operated a French restaurant downtown in the bottom floor of the Ocala National Bank Building. That restaurant, closed mysteriously earlier this year after being open only a few months.

Seems to me that this chef is full of mystery. However, I am excited by the menu of Filet and Fin and can't wait to try it! A full review will be posted soon.

A link to the new eatery:

http://www.cdcateringocala.com/

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. Sugar
6 tsp. cinnamon

• Heat oven to 400 degrees
• Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, shortening and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
• Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into balls. Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon, and roll the balls in the mixture until coated. Place about two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake until set, eight to 10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

The verdict is out

I have to say that, unfortunately, the fruit pizza did not live up to its description.

While the instructions had microwave and oven cooking directions, and I knew that the oven would produce crispier results, I decided to test the method most people would probably use: the microwave. Plus, unless you are using a toaster oven, it would be a HUGE waste of energy to heat up an oven to 400 degrees to cook this little hockey puck of a pizza.

Even though the packaging comes with one of those little crisping trays to use in the microwave, it did not crisp-up by any means. The crust was sloppy and lifeless in my hand.

I have to say that the "pizza" would have been much better if the crust was crisper, actually the crust had the best flavor. The strawberry pieces tasted like, well, frozen strawberries and some pink yogurt concoction was used to glue the fruit and granola to the crust.

I would like to try cooking the new Eggo concoction in the oven, as well as try the other flavor before I totally rule it out, but for now I would have to say that you won't be missing out if you pass this one up.

Fruit pizza?

I was researching new food products on the internet today when I came across this little wonder.

At first, I thought the idea of a "Real Fruit Pizza" Eggo waffle sounded weird, but the more I thought about it, and read about it, the more appealing it became. It is described as a cinnamon and maple flavored crust topped with a combination of fruit and toasted granola. There are currently two varieties: strawberry and mixed berry.

Even though the description sounds tasty, I still have a few reservations and questions about the product. For instance, is it a waffle, or just a waffle-like crust? And how do you cook the darn thing?

I guess these are questions that can only be answered by trying the fruit pizza, which I will be looking for the next time I go to a grocery store. Check back to see how the new Eggo product fared.

Let the baking begin

Rolling out dough for pie crust. Store bought crust just isn't the same, but it is nice when you are feeling lazy.

The two in the back are sweet potato, and the one in the front is pecan pie.

Great American Coffee Roasters

The new coffee place downtown, Great American Coffee Roasters, really is great.

From the outside of the building, located downtown on South Magnolia, right before the S-curve, you would never guess this place would have some of the best coffee in town, but it does.

The coffee shop, which just opened on Monday, is the brainchild of a local couple who have an obvious love for coffee. The coffee they serve is roasted daily in a huge roasting machine that is taller than I am. This is the only place in Ocala, as far as I know, where the coffee is roasted so frequently.

The coffee is really good, and the prices are substantially lower than other coffee places downtown. Cough, Starbucks, cough cough. A large iced coffee is only $2. McDonald's can't even beat that price.

Actually, the coffee tastes better than what they serve at Starbucks. I find that their coffee is often bitter. And, I don't mean strong. I love strong coffee. Something is just off about the brew at Starbucks.

Great American Coffee Roasters also has a large variety of teas, both hot and cold, smoothies, ice cream and Italian soda: all things I love, especially Italian soda.

Just like other coffee places, you can also buy the coffee and tea in bulk to take home. If the coffee was roasted just days earlier, it is sold at a discounted rate. These people are serious about freshness.

Usually I don't care for sweet coffee drinks, but I tried a white mocha cappuccino, and it was delicious. And although the outside looks less than inviting, the inside is really cute and comfortable. I was impressed to learn that the owners completely revamped and constructed the inside on their own.

I am really excited about this place, and considering it is on my way to school, I will probably become a regular pretty quickly. I have to urge you to break from your usual Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts routine and support a local business. Trust me, you won't regret it.

More fuel for my addiction

About a month or two ago, I noticed that a new coffee place was being put in near my house, on my route to school. Ever since, I have been anxiously waiting for it to open.

This morning, on my way to class, I noticed it is finally open for business. While I have to work today, waahh, and won't have time to try it, I will definitely be checking it out tomorrow as soon as I get out of class.

Check back tomorrow to see how it went.

Just a small gathering

Thanksgiving is only three days away, and I can barely wait.

This year, most of my family is MIA, so I will only be cooking for a handful of people. While many people would probably be thankful for this, I am not. Now, I have to choose things to cut from my menu of grand proportions.

Choosing just one type of pie to make is just unacceptable. And even though it will probably end up being extreme, and too much dessert, I am still going to make both sweet potato and pecan pie. Although I make sweet potato pie every year, I rarely make pecan pie, and this year I am craving it.

If I have to end up giving pie away I will, because I want at least one or two pieces of both kinds.

The dessert is not the only thing that will have to be scaled back though. Instead of a whole turkey, I have decided to just roast turkey thighs and possibly breasts. Considering that one of the four guests coming to my petty Thanksgiving dinner is a vegan, a whole turkey for only three people would be ridiculous.

Also, traditionally I try, despite my mom's disapproval, to make as many sides as possible. But this year I will have to narrow it down to just a few, and probably at least one that contains no meat or dairy.

Though it is disappointing, I need to keep in mind that it could be worse, and that some people, for various reasons, aren't even having a Thanksgiving at all. After talking to my brother, who is currently deployed in Afghanistan, I actually felt a little bit guilty about my greedy ways.

Even though this Thanksgiving will be scaled back, I want next year's dinner to steal the show. My brother and I have planned to make the holidays next year, when he gets back, the best ever, and that makes this holiday being small just fine with me.

Mmmm cupcakes

A chain restaurant I can stomach...occasionally

It is not often that I am fond of a chain restaurant. Although I have never worked in one, I have heard stories about what goes on in those kitchens: bagged soups and sauces heated up in steam wells, microwaved entrees and frozen vegetables. Not yummy.

Plus, usually the food tastes, and often looks, like cardboard: a sign that the rumors are true.

Now, I don't know what goes on in the kitchen at Harry's Seafood, Bar, and Grille, but what comes out is actually pretty good. And on a day like today, when I am so hungry I don't even care what I eat anymore, it seemed pretty appetizing.

Granted, there is only really one palette of flavors at the restaurant (creole, spicy, seafood), but if you are in the mood for it, it works.



Today, I had a cup of shrimp bisque and a garden salad with balsamic dressing. My mom, who was nice enough to take me out to lunch (hi mom!), had the crab cakes, which she always has (Love you!).

I learned to make lobster bisque years back at a restaurant I worked at, and I developed a taste for the sharp taste and creamy consistency of the soup.

Harry's did a good job with the shrimp bisque, and it had that sharp, spicy element that I love. The salad was nothing exciting, but still, what you would expect from a garden salad? I would have liked a little bigger of a portion though.



The crab cakes were good, and tasted like the last time I ate them there. Consistency is a huge factor in the success of a restaurant and is probably the key factor in why people gravitate to chain restaurants: familiarity=comfort.

I definitely could not eat at Harry's more than once or twice a year, but it worked today, and for that I am thankful.

Country Days cuisine

I love fairs and festivals of all kinds, but particularly events like the Ocali Country Days Festival that took place over the weekend at Silver River State Park in Ocala.

I get a kick out of seeing how people in times long before ours lived. And mostly, I love to eat the food at such events.

This weekend was my first visit to Ocali Country Days, and it was much like I expected; similar to an event in Orlando called Pioneer Days. I enjoyed learning and seeing how Florida settlers lived in the 1800s.

My only critique is there should have been more food from the Cracker days.

I ate a lot of different things while I was there, and probably the most authentic thing was the one item I didn't even pay for. A reenactor used a pit filled with coals and a cast-iron dutch oven to bake buttermilk biscuits.

Wow. Those biscuits were one of the best things I have ever eaten, honestly. They were steaming hot and so soft they were falling apart. Topped with fresh, hand-churned butter, I couldn't stop stealing samples. The reenactor said that at one event they topped them with local honey; I didn't think the biscuits could possibly be any better until he told us that.

I am definitely trying out this unique cooking method on my next camping trip, hopefully in a couple of weeks.

Other than that, I had sugar cane (yum), fresh lemonade, kettle corn, funnel cake and baked goods from a boyscout bake sale (only because I felt bad for the boys because they weren't selling much).



The funnel cake was really good, and was prepared in cast iron skillets: something I had never seen before.

Although there wasn't as much food as I had hoped for, I still walked away happy, with my sweet tooth fulfilled for the day and enough sugar cane to keep it that way.

Hillbilly Tea

I never would have associated drinking tea with backwoods country folk.

Well, maybe super sweet iced-tea, but not "artisan", organic, free-trade tea.

Leave it up to Kentucky to change my mind.

Right in the middle of downtown Louisville is a cafe called "Hillbilly Tea". Obviously, the place is famous for its selection of tea, both hot and cold. But Hillbilly Tea also serves breakfast on the weekends, lunch and dinner.

I found the restaurant during a bout of intense research into the local food culture in the city, and I wouldn't let it go. Every day, I bothered my friends about eating there. I don't think they were ever against the idea, but I am sure I annoyed the hell out of them talking about it.

Unfortunately, we only had an hour lunch break to visit the restaurant.

Although I would have liked to try the iced tea, which they had three varieties of, the day we visited was cold so I stuck to hot "gunpowder" matcha green tea. It came out in a mason jar, steaming hot. It took at least 10 minutes for it to cool down before I even tasted it. I like the mason jar thing; it is cute and allows for a huge portion.

Honestly, I have to say, it wasn't the best tea I have ever had. I was expecting, maybe foolishly, something extraordinary, and what I got was just plain old green tea. I regret not trying something else.

The lunch is served a-la-cart and the menu changes periodically.


I had the lunch special of the day, which was a "box lunch" of a chicken pot-pie, a small salad of bibb lettuce and pumpkin soup. The presentation was clever; the three items were served in a flat wooden crate.

Both the pot-pie and the soup were really good. The salad, I could have passed on. The dressing was some kind of weird corn salsa that just didn't really go with the lettuce.

My friend, Raven, tried the bison steak that was served with two small segments of grilled corn, and au jus. The portions are very small. I think we realized too late that you were supposed to order a couple items to make up a meal. My lunch was a fair enough portion, but the steak was tiny.



I really wish we had more time in Hillbilly Tea: time to sit and enjoy my tea, after it finally cooled off, time to eat several different dishes and time for dessert. The menu is full of unique items like roadkill stew, fried frog legs and Earl Grey scented chocolate cake.

After such anticipation, I let myself down by not sampling more of what Hillbilly Tea had to offer. If only I was in Louisville on my own time....

To check out Hillbilly Tea on your own you can visit their website (or fly to Louisville)

http://www.hillbillytea.com/hillbillyteacom.html

Feeling social

So, honestly, I have been avoiding this post because my pictures for this restaurant did not turn out. Although I feel that words cannot do this place justice, I will attempt to write visually enough to compensate.

While in Louisville, I ate at so many different places it is difficult to take the time to write about each one, even if it is only somewhat in-depth.

However, I visited so many special and memorable places that I feel it is almost my duty to talk about them: places like 732 Social.


The local restaurant serves organic food and wine, and locally grown/raised food whenever possible. The food is prepared in a rustic, French style and the menu changes with the season.

What really drew me into 732 Social, however, was not the food.

While dining at another restaurant, I asked the waiter where I NEEDED to visit while in town. He told me that the drinks at 732 Social were amazing and made like cocktails used to be. In other words, the drinks were old-school, and I was interested.

He was definitely right. Drinks like the "Long Stem Rose", a mixture of brut champagne, Peychaud, orange, grapefruit and peach bitters, rose water, sugar cubes, St. Germain elderflower liqueur and lemon zest, really are reminiscent of an earlier time.

While the drinks brought me to the restaurant, the food made me want to come back.

The menu I sampled was made up of fall flavors and hearty textures.

I had Tasmanian Ocean Trout that was baked in parchment paper with preserved lemon, heirloom carrots, fingerling potatoes and salsify.

Salsify is the root of a purple-flowering plant sometimes called "oyster plant" and has a very unique flavor. While some people say that it tastes like oysters, hence the nickname, I have to disagree. The vegetable has a sweet component to it; I think it almost tastes like a more savory and less intense fennel flavor.

Basically, the flavor is hard to describe, but it worked perfectly with the dish.

The trout was some of the best fish I have ever eaten. I want to say it is in the top five fish I have ever eaten. Baking fish in parchment, and even foil, leaves it so moist and tender that you barely have to chew it.

It was delicious.

I also tried the the "Mac-n-Cheese". Although I usually don't like when people re-invent macaroni and cheese (I am a stickler for the classic Old South recipe) this was an exception. Made with cavatapi macaroni, which has a unique spiral shape, bechamel sauce and rock shrimp, this rendition of the classic did not offend me.

The pasta was a huge portion, especially by French restaurant standards; it was served browned and buttery, overflowing from a large souffle dish. The flavors blended perfectly and actually created an umami flavor. Thinking about the small amount I tasted is making me crave the dish right now; it was that good.

The only let-down of the whole meal was, unfortunately, the dessert. My sweet tooth was definitely not satisfied by the red velvet and carrot layered cake that was available that night.

Visually, the cake was delicious. I was staring at the damn thing the whole night. Precise layers of red and cinnamon-laced brown layered perfectly between ribbons of cream cheese icing called to me from across the restaurant.

But my taste buds did not agree with my eyes. The cake ended up having a weird coating of crushed peanut butter cups, which I did not feel married well with the rich flavors of the cake. Also, the red velvet cake suffocated my mouth with its dry and crumbly texture. While the layers of carrot cake were tasty, the other components drowned the one good tasting element out.

I can forgive one night of bad dessert, however, with food and drinks as good as I tried that evening at 732 Social. Along with a unique atmosphere, open kitchen and friendly service, the night was fantastic.

I can definitely say that if I am ever in Louisville again, I will be back.

I think my cholesterol levels just increased...

The second day of eating in Louisville turned out to be a much more pleasing experience than my first night in the city. Although my breakfast was less than wonderful (a protein bar and a cup of coffee), things got better as the day progressed.

Considering I was in Louisville for a college journalism convention, and not just to sample the cuisine, I ended up doing quite a bit of food tasting.

I only had an hour between sessions for lunch on the second day, so I was thankful to find somewhere close to the hotel with good food. The Bluegrass Brewing Company, BBC, is a Louisville original and has three locations across the city, including one just a block away from The Galt House, where the convention was held.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to try the beer at BBC, considering it was at 1 p.m., but I'm sure that it would have been worth a tipsy afternoon. The company actually makes its own beer at the original location.

What I did have that afternoon, however, was delicious. Being in Louisville, I had to try an original local recipe, the Hot Brown. The sandwich, originally created in 1926 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, has been a staple in the city for over sixty years.

The dish is an open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and tomato lathered in a cheese sauce. When I asked the waiter about the dish he responded with "do you like cholesterol?". It is definitely not something I would eat regularly, but it was a delicious splurge.

I also tried a soft pretzel with BBC's homemade beer cheese. The beer cheese had a subtle flavor at first and finished with the strong taste and aroma of beer. It was awesome.

For dinner, I ate at 732 Social, another local restaurant. That meal, however, deserves its own post.

Desperation and free dessert

The first meal after a long day of traveling is usually satisfying no matter what it is.

That is probably why, I did not mind eating at The Old Spaghetti Factory my first night in Louisville, Ky. Now, the food wasn't bad or anything, but rarely will you find me eating at a chain restaurant. Plus, I was with a group of half-starved journalism students, so I definitely was not about to complain about it.

First, we tried cheese garlic bread and artichoke and spinach "dip". The garlic bread was good, but you can't really mess that up. The "dip", on the other hand, was a big disappointment.

I love artichoke and spinach dip, when it is done right and is gooey and cheesy. This, however, was like soup. Chunks of artichoke, spinach, and, oddly, shrimp drowning in a watery cheese sauce is not exactly appetizing.

The salad was also mediocre. I regretted not getting the Caesar once I saw that it had tomatoes on it and the house salad didn't. This place was getting stranger by the minute.

For my main course I had a sampler of four pasta sauces served with spaghetti called "Pot Pourri": marinara, clam, meat and their signature sauce Mizithra (a Greek take on macaroni and cheese).

All were edible, besides the clam sauce. I love clams and seafood pasta, but the clam sauce was just too fishy tasting. Something really has to be bad if I won't eat it. Like I said, the three other sauces were OK, but nothing special. I, sadly, would have rather eaten pasta at Olive Garden.

The best part of the meal, in typical fashion, was the dessert. And it was free. The complimentary treat was a scoop of Spumoni flavored ice cream, which is a combination of cherry, chocolate and pistachio flavors. I have always liked Spumoni, so I was happy.

All in all, the meal was pretty average, and what one would expect from a chain. I wouldn't recommend The Old Spaghetti Factory to anyone, but I also wouldn't completely dismiss it.

"Come Dine With Me"

So, I love this show! Not as good as the German version, of course :), but still, I LOVE IT!

German beer and Florida Gators football

What could be better than beer and football?

German beer and Florida Gators football.

In Gainesville, on University Avenue there is a little place called Stubbies and Steins, where the imported beer flows like water.

The restaurant, named after the nicknames for a mug of beer in Australia and Germany, offers hundreds of import beers from around the globe as well as German food.

On any given day, besides Sundays and Mondays when they are closed, there are 15-20 beers on tap as well as endless bottled options from countries like England, Ireland, Australia, Germany and Belgium.

In all honesty, the beer menu can be a little daunting at first. This is where the benefit of a helpful and knowledgeable staff plays in; the servers and bartenders really know what they are talking about when it comes to beer.

Guests can also drink alcoholic ciders and wines, as well as non-alcoholic drinks. But ironically, the restaurant does not have a liquor license, which means you'll have to get that Jack and Coke elsewhere. This can actually be a good thing, because at Stubbies you know you won't have to deal with wasted college students ordering rounds of Jagerbombs.

And although the beer is obviously the biggest incentive to visit, the food is delicious too. Nothing compares to hot, Belgian "Pommes Frites", or French fries. And bratwurst doesn't go to badly with beer either. :)

So next time you are looking to try some REALLY good beer, or German food, I definitely recommend Stubbies and Steins. You won't be disappointed.

Brussels and bacon

Tried a new dish tonight, that came out well, so I decided to share it. This recipe came from Real Simple Magazine.

Ravioli with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

1 lb cheese ravioli (fresh or frozen)
6 slices bacon
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped (I used walnuts)
1/2 lb Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
Grated Parmesan, for serving

• Cook the ravioli according to the package directions
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and break into pieces when cool.
• Wipe out the skillet and heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the pecans and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, 2-4 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 3-4 minutes more; stir in the vinegar. Add the bacon and toss to combine.
• Serve the Brussels sprouts mixture over the ravioli, drizzle with the remaining oil, and top with Parmesan, if desired.

I threw this together with a salad of mixed greens, tomatoes and marinated butter beans and cheesy garlic bread. This was super easy to prepare, and only took about 20 minutes. I would definitely recommend this dish for someone who has to come home and cook after work.

Chip off the old block

Chocolate chip cookies. They are often left out of conversations about American cuisine but have truly become just as American as apple pie and baseball. Americans like food that is simple and can be eaten on the go, and if a cookie doesn't fulfill this definition than I don't know what does.

In my family, we have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that everyone swears by. The cookies are super-moist and flavorful. Even though I like the recipe, I prefer my cookies slightly chewier. At the risk of being ex-communicated by my family, I have experimented with various recipes over the years.

The most recent recipe I tried was out of one of my favorite magazines: Saveur. Actually, the recipe is originally from the recently revamped New York Times Cookbook, and Saveur featured a small excerpt on the cookbook that was originally published in 1961.

Anyways, back to the cookies. Called "Flat and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies", these sweets were more like the cookies I crave. With shaved bittersweet chocolate instead of chocolate chips and the addition of ground walnuts, I feel like these are the old-school version of the classic recipe.

I used half bittersweet and half semi-sweet chocolate, because that's all I had on hand, and reduced the sugar. They turned out deliciously. I recommend that if you, too, are searching for the best chocolate chip cookie recipes that you give this one a try.

The Essential New York Times Cookbook's "Flat and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies"

2 cups flour
1 scant Tbsp. kosher salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups sugar
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. finely shaved bittersweet chocolate
8 oz. finely ground walnuts

• Whisk flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl beat sugars and butter with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time; beat in vanilla. Add reserved flour mixture, chocolate and nuts; mixed until just combined; chill.
• Heat oven 325 degrees. Divide dough into 1-Tbsp. portions; roll into balls, and transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets spaced 3" apart, and flatten. Bake until set, about 15 minutes.

Hint- Listen to the part about 3" spaces between the cookies. These things get big.

The harvest season

With October just days away, the fall season is beginning to show its presence in just about every aspect of life.

My favorite thing about fall? Well obviously, the food.

The flavors associated with fall cannot be mistaken. Warming, flavorful dishes full of spices just scream fall. Pumpkins, squash, cinnamon, currants, sweet potatoes, game, root vegetables, cranberries, turkey and herbs have all created a special niche in the harvest season.

When I start seeing pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING I get excited about the months to come. Pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin lattes (yum!), pumpkin donuts-I just can't get enough of the stuff.

Weirdly enough, I actually prefer sweet potato pie to pumpkin, but I wouldn't turn down a slice of either. Sweet potato pie is actually one of my favorite things to make. Flaky homemade crust and a simple mixture of sweet potatoes, sugar and buttermilk is so uncomplicated but so delicious.

Fall also signifies the beginning of a time where I cook more than any other time of year. During fall and Christmastime I am like a whirlwind in the kitchen, baking more sweets than anyone could ever eat. I would suggest, if you are trying to lose weight, to stay away from October-December.

Visions of sugarplums (and pumpkins, roasts, turkey, fennel, cinnamon...) are filling my head.

Butterbeer and Bertie-Botts

For Harry Potter fans, I am sure it would be exciting to experience how Harry and his friends live in the books, including eating like them. When creators at Universal designed the new exhibit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, this is one thing they kept in mind.

Although I am not a Harry Potter fanatic, after receiving a press pass to the new attraction, I, too, was interested. I can’t say that I am familiar with what the characters in the series eat, but I was willing to find out.

The new attraction at Universal Studios opened in July and has attracted fans of the series from all over the world. Hogsmeade, the town out of the story, comes to life in the middle of Florida.

The creators wanted it to be so authentic that they only have certain food and drinks available, and Coke products are not among them. Apparently, they thought that since Coke wasn’t available in the real Hogsmeade, or anywhere else in the books, that it shouldn’t be for sale in the theme park.

I found this ironic, considering that Bud Light was on tap, but I get what they are trying to accomplish and it is a cool idea.

The first Hogsmeade delicacy I tasted was Butterbeer. The drink, which the young wizards drink in the series, was unfamiliar to me, but apparently well known with fans. It was sold two ways: frozen and slushy-like or cold and frothy like a beer. I tried both kinds and although I wasn’t a huge fan of either, I preferred the icy one.

It is not the flavor that I didn’t like; the “beer” tasted like cream soda flavored with a strong spike of butterscotch. I actually liked the flavor. What I didn’t like was the sugar content.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was 11 in the morning, but I could not handle the intense sweetness of the drink. It seriously tasted like it had the sugar content of two sodas. I only drank about half of my Butterbeer and guiltily threw it away.

The second drink I sampled was much better. Also straight out of the novels, the pumpkin juice tasted like liquid pie. Strangely enough, I felt like it tasted more like apple pie than pumpkin. I had the Pumpkin Fizz, which was the juice mixed with soda water, and it was surprisingly refreshing.

For lunch I visited the Three Broomsticks, a restaurant that is also directly from the pages of Harry Potter. The group I was with decided on sharing “the Feast” so I went along with the flow, although the place serves a variety of British inspired fare such as Cornish pasties, fish and chips and shepherd’s pie.

The feast was a meal of ribs, roasted chicken, corn on the cob, mixed vegetables and roasted potatoes all served with a salad. The salad wasn’t anything to write home about, and was soaked with oily dressing. Actually, come to think of it, it reminded me of a second-rate olive garden salad. But, I was hungry so it worked at the time.

I always love corn on the cob, so I definitely enjoyed that part of the meal, but other than that the ribs were the only thing memorable. The ribs were really good; the meat actually fell of the bones. I was shocked that a theme park restaurant had quality barbeque ribs.

For dessert, I wanted to try something from Honeydukes Sweetshop, another namesake from the series. The lines were ridiculous though, and the shop was so crowded I could barely even look at the candy let alone choose some to try. I was actually disappointed that they didn’t have more choices of unique and wizardly candies.

Honeydukes had Bertie-Botts Every Flavour Beans (the one thing I am actually familiar with from the books), chocolate frogs and cauldrons and Fizzing Whizzies candies that tickle your tongue. I know that the jellybeans are available in stores and I just couldn’t handle a solid chocolate frog that day, so I left empty handed.

All in all, I find the idea of keeping so strictly with the theme, especially with the food, appealing. I feel like it makes it that much more magical. But honestly, I think that there needs to be more creativity and more options and hopefully new ideas will be developed.

I would definitely visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter again, and maybe I’ll give Butterbeer another chance.

Endless Baskets Edie Gourmet Fromagerie

Prima Donna cheese with apple and strawberry compotes, pepperoncini and a mixed green salad

Another view of the above dish

Tuna Nicoise on Ciabatta bread with mixed green salad and olives

French Baguette with ham, salami and a variety of cheeses with salad and a wonderfully appetizing olive pit. (Sorry, I was hungry)

A step in the right direction

In big cities, quirky, one-of-a-kind eateries are not uncommon. In Ocala, however, finding an interesting and original place to grab a bite to eat can be quite the challenge.

I often write food reviews for my college newspaper and I try to think out of the box and try relatively unheard of restaurants. I just feel like many Americans, especially in more rural areas, have been sucked into a trap of chain restaurants and low-quality food.

So in my quest to find somewhere worth reviewing, I remembered a small place I had once seen downtown, Endless Baskets Edie Gourmet Fromagerie. I recalled that this place sold gift baskets as well as specialty and gourmet food products including imported cheeses, so I stopped in to check it out.

I was pleased to see that lunch was available and vowed to come back and try it out.

Since my first encounter with the “Fromagerie” I have been back on two separate occasions for lunch. Fromagerie is the French term for a cheese shop, and although calling Endless Baskets a Fromagerie might be a bit of a stretch, it is what the owner originally set out to create.

According to the owner, she once dreamed of selling a large variety of cheeses on a daily basis, but the clientele for such a place just doesn’t exist in Ocala.

The restaurant ended up being a mix of a European style café and a gourmet gift shop. The café aspect is what immediately caught, and held, my attention. Growing up half-German and shuttling back and forth between countries gave me a taste for good cuisine early on in life, and little cafés hold a special place in my heart.

Although the place isn’t an exact representation of a café or restaurant one would find in Europe, it’s about as close as Ocala is going to get. With only four or five small tables, and fresh air wafting through the open door, it has the laid back feeling reminiscent of a place you would run across in Paris or Florence.

There were obviously aspects that were more American in nature, like plastic silverware and kitschy “café” decorations, but the overall idea is there.

One thing I particularly liked was that the drinks, even sodas, are served in glass bottles and that Italian orange and lemon infused mineral water, San Pellegrino Aranciata and Limonata, are available. My favorite, coffee, is also available.

The menu, also reminiscent of a French eatery, changes daily, and has about five different choices varying from soup, salads, sandwiches and other specialties. I really like this style of menu; it’s constantly changing and full of surprises.

On my first visit, I sampled escarole and sausage stew, Boudin sausage with a soft pretzel and artisan cheese with a croissant. Both the cheese and the sausage dishes came with a salad of fresh greens and fruit compotes.

My favorite part of the whole meal had to be the salad. It was tossed in a light vinaigrette and had little black olives scattered throughout it. It was the perfect complement to the Prima Donna cheese, which had a flavor profile that was buttery and nutty.

And I love soft pretzels and sausage, so that dish was an obvious hit with me. I especially liked that it was served with a mushroom pate, mustard and little gherkins. The flavors married perfectly.

The owner makes everything fresh and everything herself, including the fruit compotes that are served with just about everything. I am impressed with her ability to serve a a different menu everyday with so little in the way of customers. I would love to see that food order.

The meal was finished off sweetly, with a dark chocolate covered macaroon. The dark chocolate was infused with orange, and it had just enough of a citrus flavor to make the taste of coconut really pop.

My second experience at Endless Baskets was even better than the first. This time around, I decided to see what the sandwiches were all about.

I sampled both a Tuna Nicoise sandwich on Ciabatta bread and a baguette with a variety of cheeses and meats stuffed inside. Once again, these dishes came with the delicious salad. Both sandwiches were very good, and satisfying, so much that one half of either sandwich would have been enough.

The best part of the meal that day, however, was by far the soup. Chicken soup often ends up bland and unappealing, but the chicken and vegetable stew served that day gave the soup a new name.

What was so special about this particular soup? Among the vegetables simmering alongside the chicken in the broth, were chunks of sweet potato. This addition was something I never would have thought of myself, but it really added something special to the soup. The tiny pop of sweet that crept up at the end of each bite gave it a whole new dimension.

This restaurant will definitely become one of my lunchtime favorites in Ocala. There are many aspects of Endless Baskets Edie Gourmet Fromagerie that I find irresistible, and I am excited to see what menus are produced in the future. Also, it might be a good place to stock up on Christmas presents that just about anyone would be grateful to receive.

Tea-rrific

So I figured since I blogged about my love of coffee already and forgot to include his sidekick, tea, that maybe I shouldn't ignore the poor fella.

Although on most days I would choose coffee over tea, it definitely has its place. Most of that decision probably has to do with a lack of sleep anyways.

Tea, glorious tea. The many ways you present yourself keep me forever interested, which can be a hard thing to accomplish. Black tea with lemon? Sure. Earl Grey with cream? Bring it on. Chai tea? The more exotic the better.

Lately, I have had a "tea fetish" for somewhat out of the ordinary varieties. First came my affair with green tea, more particularly Matcha powder. This powder form of green tea is used in Japanese tea ceremonies and in about a thousand other things in Japan.

I love the versatility of Matcha. Not only does it make fabulous hot and cold tea and lattes, but it can be added to just about anything to give it a subtle green tea flavor and beautiful color.

I was first introduced to this delicious, and somewhat expensive variety of tea quite a few years ago, but somehow it faded out of my life until I recently rediscovered it. Now that we have been reunited, I will never let it out of my sight again. :)

My latest love affair, however, originates from another country entirely: Thailand. I fell quickly for the richly sweet, orange-colored, milk-laced tea called Cha yem. I first encountered the tea in a Thai restaurant and I just couldn't get enough.

Cha yem is extremely addicting, which is evident by the fact that people in Thailand actually walk around sipping this stuff out of a plastic bag: dialysis for tea addicts.

Seriously though, Thai tea is like the crack of non-alcoholic drinks. I am so in love with this stuff I find myself trying inhale the scent of the tea from the empty glass after I finish my drink. If you haven't tried it I definitely recommend you go down to the closest Thai restaurant and order the tea either hot or cold; both ways are satisfying. Be forewarned though, you might be visiting that restaurant a lot more often now.

I became so enamored with this stuff that I ended up ordering the real deal, straight from Thailand. Now I can brew my own Cha yem at home whenever I get the craving. Life is sweet: literally.

So, whether it is good old fashioned southern-style and sweet, or Oolong straight out of China, hot or cold, I am always up for a glass of tea.

Cream and sugar please

So I was going to write a review of a small downtown restaurant that I visited once last week and again today, but life happened.

Today was bi-polar; it started off badly, turned into a lovely afternoon and eventually, once again, turned sour.

Any day that starts off without coffee is doomed from the start. I am a true representation of a coffee addict. I don't even feel like the caffeine really affects me anymore unless I am dead-tired. I just LOVE coffee; I can't get enough of a cup of warm, strong coffee laced with swirls of fresh cream and sugar.

Just thinking about it makes me want a cup right now, and it is almost midnight.

I just had the realization that perhaps today went badly because I only had one cup of the sweet, sweet nectar.

No, probably not. And I probably shouldn't fuel my already ridiculous addiction.

From the archives

A few years ago on my mom's birthday I presented her with a surprise dessert.

In the weeds

So last night I had a dream. I often have dreams where the past merges with the future and makes a reality that only exists in my mind.

I haven't worked in a restaurant in over two years now but it is like my mind is wired to think that I still spend most of my time in the kitchen. I ALWAYS have dreams that I am in the middle of the dinner rush of the century, cooking on the line.

The dream last night was a mixture of two restaurants that I spent some time in; the dish I was preparing was pomegranate roasted duck breast, but the kitchen I was cooking it in was not the one that, in reality, served it.

The dream was so real I could almost feel the heat of the gas burners as I rushed in to to save a co-worker that had fallen behind, or was "in the weeds" as we call it. There were dirty pans scattered all over the place, and food was everywhere: my nightmare. Thank god I woke up shortly after this realization.

I almost feel like these dreams are my subconscious's way of trying to tell me where I belong. Am I insane to miss the long hours, the rush of cooking twelve things at once and the feeling of relief at midnight when the night is over?

Maybe some people are just meant for that kind of life. Some of us thrive off of high-intensity situations and keep coming back for more.

But just as I start thinking like this I remember that it is Friday night and I don't have to work, and the reasons I left restaurants start flooding back.