ok my faithful followers...as you might have noticed I'm havin some problems with the app. some of my labels are out of order and I wasnt able to put pics in the post I wrote. I had to post them in a separate post ...so annoying..hopefully Ill be able to figure this stuff out and whip this blog into shape..keep your fingers crossed for me :)
Monday, September 19, 2011
Its monday peeps!
You know what that means...time to recap the weekends food adventures. This saturday was my 2nd cousin Alana's Batmitzvah. She did so well up there behind the podium.
My cousin threw one hell of a party for her daughter. You could tell that alot of work went into it. They used the club house at my uncles community in connecticut. The room was huge and had a big dance floor. Now on to the the food, after all I dont blog about umbrellas or dollhouses.
When we arrived to the clubhouse there was a small table set up with a variety of appetizers, Artichoke dip with crackers, bruschetta with crostini, and an assortment of antipasto. Mozzerella with tomato,rilled zuchini, olives, marinated mushrooms, pigs in a blanket, swedish meatballs and some kind of quiche. (still trying to figure out what it was. If I cant identify it, it doesnt get eaten)
As I put an assortment of finger foods together for myself, my cousins son Blake poked me in the back. Nearly scared the the living daylights out of me actually. I spun around and looked down at this wide-eyed little boy waving at me with one hand and in the other hand he had a paper plate with a slice of pizza on it.
I said "wow what a great idea, they got pizza for the kids", but secretly in my head I was saying "wow, wish I had a slice" lol. I turned back to the appetizer table and next to me I spied a woman with a green salad on a paper plate. I asked her where she got it and she pointed towards another door. I ventured off to find me some salad. On the way out, my moms cousin kenny says to me "did you see the pizza truck" and points in the same direction that I was going to search for salad.
I thought to myself, "victory is mine...pizza!"
when i walked outside I saw this massive antique green truck. the passengers side turned into a traveling wood burning brick oven. How frickin neat is that.
Big Green Truck is a catering service based in New Haven, Connecticut and they do pizza parties from the back of an antique truck, in essence a mobile pizzeria. What a great idea! They pull up to the party location, turn the wooden side panels of the truck into tables, heat up the wood fired pizza oven, and start bangin out pizzas.
They make pizzas with a wide variety of toppings, both traditional and gourmet, and take special requests also. They serve the pizzas and a traditional green salad with balsamic vinaigrette buffet style on tables. I had a chance to try pizza with fresh mozzerella, basil and tomato, a white pizza with broccoli on it, and one with carmelized onions, mushrooms and artichokes. That was my favorite. I saw many different varieties come out of that oven. One that seemed to be a big hit was a pizza with mashed potatoes and bacon. I'm a vegetarian so I passed on that one, but I thought it was hysterical to be serving a bacon pizza at a Batmitzvah..lol..
After all of the guests ate pizza and danced, a buffet style dinner was served. There were four choices. Chicken picata(um..yea..I passed on the whole bird thing), eggplant parmesan,pasta with chunky red sauce, and grilled haricot vert (thats fancy talk for string beans). Althouth alot of people enjoyed the eggplant, I felt the breading was too thick. I dont even think
they fried it. It seemed like it was baked off in the oven and as a result the breading was mushy and actually slid right off the eggplant. The flavors were there, but the texture was a bit off-putting. The pasta was really good. It had a nice spicy kick to it. The string beans were grilled. They needed salt as far as Im concerned. Anyone who knows me, knows Im a big fan of salt and pepper. dont be afraid of a little S and P people...use it! They are the two most important and easily accessable items in any kitchen. Dont be afraid to seaason your food people!
After the guests had their fill of pizza and dinner the Big green Truck served a variety of gelatos and ice creams for dessert. The truck also has a cappuccino machine, which provided both regular and decaf espressos and cappuccinos towards the end of the party. I had a cappucino and it was really good. All in all in my un-professional professional opinion the pizza truck was the coolest thing at the party. I mean who doesnt love pizza, unfortunately for us New Yorkers they do not do parties outside of connecticut. But feel free to check out the link Ive included because the Big Green Truck is so super cool and just may inspire you to go get some think crust pizza tonight. Ive included some pictures which will post in the entry after this one for you guys...hope you enjoy.
Off for now bees and bears!
You know what that means...time to recap the weekends food adventures. This saturday was my 2nd cousin Alana's Batmitzvah. She did so well up there behind the podium.
My cousin threw one hell of a party for her daughter. You could tell that alot of work went into it. They used the club house at my uncles community in connecticut. The room was huge and had a big dance floor. Now on to the the food, after all I dont blog about umbrellas or dollhouses.
When we arrived to the clubhouse there was a small table set up with a variety of appetizers, Artichoke dip with crackers, bruschetta with crostini, and an assortment of antipasto. Mozzerella with tomato,rilled zuchini, olives, marinated mushrooms, pigs in a blanket, swedish meatballs and some kind of quiche. (still trying to figure out what it was. If I cant identify it, it doesnt get eaten)
As I put an assortment of finger foods together for myself, my cousins son Blake poked me in the back. Nearly scared the the living daylights out of me actually. I spun around and looked down at this wide-eyed little boy waving at me with one hand and in the other hand he had a paper plate with a slice of pizza on it.
I said "wow what a great idea, they got pizza for the kids", but secretly in my head I was saying "wow, wish I had a slice" lol. I turned back to the appetizer table and next to me I spied a woman with a green salad on a paper plate. I asked her where she got it and she pointed towards another door. I ventured off to find me some salad. On the way out, my moms cousin kenny says to me "did you see the pizza truck" and points in the same direction that I was going to search for salad.
I thought to myself, "victory is mine...pizza!"
when i walked outside I saw this massive antique green truck. the passengers side turned into a traveling wood burning brick oven. How frickin neat is that.
Big Green Truck is a catering service based in New Haven, Connecticut and they do pizza parties from the back of an antique truck, in essence a mobile pizzeria. What a great idea! They pull up to the party location, turn the wooden side panels of the truck into tables, heat up the wood fired pizza oven, and start bangin out pizzas.
They make pizzas with a wide variety of toppings, both traditional and gourmet, and take special requests also. They serve the pizzas and a traditional green salad with balsamic vinaigrette buffet style on tables. I had a chance to try pizza with fresh mozzerella, basil and tomato, a white pizza with broccoli on it, and one with carmelized onions, mushrooms and artichokes. That was my favorite. I saw many different varieties come out of that oven. One that seemed to be a big hit was a pizza with mashed potatoes and bacon. I'm a vegetarian so I passed on that one, but I thought it was hysterical to be serving a bacon pizza at a Batmitzvah..lol..
After all of the guests ate pizza and danced, a buffet style dinner was served. There were four choices. Chicken picata(um..yea..I passed on the whole bird thing), eggplant parmesan,pasta with chunky red sauce, and grilled haricot vert (thats fancy talk for string beans). Althouth alot of people enjoyed the eggplant, I felt the breading was too thick. I dont even think
they fried it. It seemed like it was baked off in the oven and as a result the breading was mushy and actually slid right off the eggplant. The flavors were there, but the texture was a bit off-putting. The pasta was really good. It had a nice spicy kick to it. The string beans were grilled. They needed salt as far as Im concerned. Anyone who knows me, knows Im a big fan of salt and pepper. dont be afraid of a little S and P people...use it! They are the two most important and easily accessable items in any kitchen. Dont be afraid to seaason your food people!
After the guests had their fill of pizza and dinner the Big green Truck served a variety of gelatos and ice creams for dessert. The truck also has a cappuccino machine, which provided both regular and decaf espressos and cappuccinos towards the end of the party. I had a cappucino and it was really good. All in all in my un-professional professional opinion the pizza truck was the coolest thing at the party. I mean who doesnt love pizza, unfortunately for us New Yorkers they do not do parties outside of connecticut. But feel free to check out the link Ive included because the Big Green Truck is so super cool and just may inspire you to go get some think crust pizza tonight. Ive included some pictures which will post in the entry after this one for you guys...hope you enjoy.
Off for now bees and bears!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
my 2nd cousins BatMitzvah
Hello boys and girls...
I'm anticipating this weekend to be a very big food weekend for me. Most family events are and its futile to even attempt some semblance of a healthy diet lol. I still haven't grasped the concept of the "healthy lifestyle".
It always feels like a diet even though I have developed some good habits. I still have the cheating mentality. I should think of it as "indulging". Who am I kidding its really over-indulging. Anyway, the bright side is I will definitely have a whole lot of things to blog about, even pictures.
While I love writing about my own recipes, I love it when I get to review other good eats. Anywhoooo...tonight's recipe is something that my coworker has been requesting for 2 weeks now. None other than the most delicious carrot cake to grace your palette. When I think of carrot cake, it brings me back to the diner where visions of thick layers of cream cheese frosting lay in between layers of yummy cake with the classic carrot made out of orange and green frosting on top. Ahh...good times lol. Although I have many fond memories of diner deserts...I have discovered the joy of hunting for those recipes and making them my own. In my search for carrot cake I came across a recipe for a tropical carrot cake. One that includes the addition of pineapple and coconut. It produces one of the moistest cakes you will ever have. That's of course if you like those flavors. I'm a pina colada girl so I knew that I was going to dig this flavor profile.
The moistest carrot cake ever
2cups all purpose flour
2tbs baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 3/4 cups grated carrots
8 oz crushed pineapple
3/4 cups walnuts
1 cup of flaked coconut
Preheat your oven to 325degrees. Sift your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. You must sift. I know it seems tedious but its worth it. In a separate bowl mix your sugar,oil,and eggs. Beat in the flour mixture alternating between we and dry. Stir in carrots, pineapple, coconut and walnuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.
For those that feel the need for cream cheese frosting I'm including a recipe for a basic cream cheese frosting. I must emphasize that you can use any cream cheese frosting you like. Keep in mind this is a dense moist cake and good on its own. However, the technique you use is more important than anything else. Your butter must be room temperature and your cream cheese must be cold. If your cream cheese is warm and you over beat it the proteins will breakdown and it won't have the appropriate structure. In other words your going to have a cream cheese mess that will be too thin.
Cream cheese frosting
1 stick of room temp butter
2 bars of cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp good vanilla
Put your room temperature in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add your cream cheese in chunks. Add your vanilla and sugar. Beat until combined. Do not overwork the cream cheese.
Well bees and bears...I hope you try this out. I just know you will love it! I'm off for now.
Ta!
I'm anticipating this weekend to be a very big food weekend for me. Most family events are and its futile to even attempt some semblance of a healthy diet lol. I still haven't grasped the concept of the "healthy lifestyle".
It always feels like a diet even though I have developed some good habits. I still have the cheating mentality. I should think of it as "indulging". Who am I kidding its really over-indulging. Anyway, the bright side is I will definitely have a whole lot of things to blog about, even pictures.
While I love writing about my own recipes, I love it when I get to review other good eats. Anywhoooo...tonight's recipe is something that my coworker has been requesting for 2 weeks now. None other than the most delicious carrot cake to grace your palette. When I think of carrot cake, it brings me back to the diner where visions of thick layers of cream cheese frosting lay in between layers of yummy cake with the classic carrot made out of orange and green frosting on top. Ahh...good times lol. Although I have many fond memories of diner deserts...I have discovered the joy of hunting for those recipes and making them my own. In my search for carrot cake I came across a recipe for a tropical carrot cake. One that includes the addition of pineapple and coconut. It produces one of the moistest cakes you will ever have. That's of course if you like those flavors. I'm a pina colada girl so I knew that I was going to dig this flavor profile.
The moistest carrot cake ever
2cups all purpose flour
2tbs baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 3/4 cups grated carrots
8 oz crushed pineapple
3/4 cups walnuts
1 cup of flaked coconut
Preheat your oven to 325degrees. Sift your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. You must sift. I know it seems tedious but its worth it. In a separate bowl mix your sugar,oil,and eggs. Beat in the flour mixture alternating between we and dry. Stir in carrots, pineapple, coconut and walnuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.
For those that feel the need for cream cheese frosting I'm including a recipe for a basic cream cheese frosting. I must emphasize that you can use any cream cheese frosting you like. Keep in mind this is a dense moist cake and good on its own. However, the technique you use is more important than anything else. Your butter must be room temperature and your cream cheese must be cold. If your cream cheese is warm and you over beat it the proteins will breakdown and it won't have the appropriate structure. In other words your going to have a cream cheese mess that will be too thin.
Cream cheese frosting
1 stick of room temp butter
2 bars of cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp good vanilla
Put your room temperature in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add your cream cheese in chunks. Add your vanilla and sugar. Beat until combined. Do not overwork the cream cheese.
Well bees and bears...I hope you try this out. I just know you will love it! I'm off for now.
Ta!
Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4
Friday, September 16, 2011
just practicing posting pics
Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)