a food-obsessed fiend's year in review, may through august

May

My best friend and I traveled to New York City and Brooklyn to make a few pit stops at beloved bakeries and galleries. Below, I visited Brooklyn's Baked, a bakery whose baking book my friend had purchased for me at Christmas. Such amazing goodies!














And, of course, I brought back some sweet treats for B to sample, too.


















The most intense moment of the year was my serious dome chop, which had me soon sporting a fun pixie hairstyle.


















June

For my 24th birthday, my baking obsession only enhanced when I received the gift of an icy blue KitchenAid mixer. I was in pure shock and bliss!


















July

My dear grandmother is a silver fox, and in honor of her July 4th birthday, I created Silver Fox Strawberry Surprise Layered Cake. Nothing is better than taking advantage of the season's best fruit. I could live solely on strawberries.


















Being a coffee-aholic, the coffee-rubbed burgers I whipped up were probably one of the better combinations I have ever tasted. Who wouldn't love their beef caffeinated?












A year or so ago, one of my closest friends, Melissa, moved to the British Virgin Islands (sob, sob) to work at a travel magazine. Although miles and miles away from me, we managed to stay in constant communication. When she visited home this past summer, we decided to deepen our bond by getting matching tattoos. Both getting LO-VE, Philly-style, permantently inked in our skin, we will forever be linked. Hers follows Pop Art stylings, while my tattoo follows traditional stenciling, with a cupcake acting as the "O".


















I've always been a nerd to uncovering the workings of how things are made, especially those food-themed. This summer spun my fresh interest in touring nearby breweries, with Lancaster Brewing Company being my first stop.














Philadelphia-based food writers Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond released their book, Almost Meatless, this year. The duo satisfyingly sculpted, as the title assumes, health-conscious recipes that scale back our meaty intakes, without sacrificing the flavors we carnivorously crave. In promotions with the book and area food bloggers, I participated in their virtual potluck, bringing the deviled eggs.















August

I excuse myself anytime I become a complete spaz over a celebrity of the food world. I knew when attending the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival that Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes would be there, and I mentally prepared myself to play it cool prior to meeting him. Although not everyone in the baking business world receives quite a lucky break as Goldman has, but with a dream to one day own a bakery, who better to talk to then the king of Charm City Cakes, himself.

a food-obsessed fiend's year in review, january through april

January

Before I came along, this sad boy never experienced sushi. Now, over a year later, he is in love with the best food on the planet, and me, of course.



Our most favorite sushi eatery is Veekoo, where we prefer order far too many maki rolls. Our favorite? The Lovers Roll wrapped in soybean paper and stuffed with Fuji apples, cream cheese, cucumber, soft crab and smoked salmon.

February

B purchased an amazing sauce book at the beginning of the year, which helped spark a month of delish dishes crafted around interesting splashes of flavor. His first round, a smoked salmon pasta.



Valentine's night dinner of blue cheese and walnut-topped steak with baby zucchinis made great use of another recipe from the sauce book. I loved it so much, I continuously ask for a repeat.

I attended an exceptional wine tour of the Finger Lakes of New York with my best friend and her family. My favorite wine from the bajillion visited wineries was Montezuma's Cranberry Bog.


I had to courage to replicate my grandma's prized recipe for fastnacht doughnuts. Made heart-shaped doughy pockets in the process.

March

I've always been a fan of Jukebox Cafe, but for whatever reason, the end of the winter months began our obsession with grabbing brunch at the Boyertown eatery, probably once or twice a week. Below, their fresh strawberry-stuffed french toast.

My cousin married a great lady who has great taste in all things delicious, including connections to Bethlehem's best caterer, the Mint and Parsley Leaf Kitchen.

Being a complete mushy couple, we crafted our own whole-grain pizza, with a pretzel-based dough.
And then, as seen below, we both tried on my new pair of glasses, Ray Ban Wayfarers.


















April

Spring struck me with a baking stick, and although I was previously addicted, I may have went a bit overboard. However, I am sure all of my surrounding family and friends were pleased.

Below, top to bottom, morning glory muffins, mocha chip cupcakes, maple butter bacon cupcakes and peanut butter bomb diggity cupcakes. Also, in honor of the Easter holiday, I made peanut butter eggs with my cousins, and for my family's feast, German chocolate cake bird's nest cupcakes.

sampling the sweet-and-savory of top chef's jen carroll

It is an understatement to say I am fond of Top Chef.

As pathetic as it may sound, I look forward to Wednesday evenings most during the ongoing season, and if I am unavailable to watch the current episode that evening, I must go online to spoil my anticipation by peeking to see who was sent home.

There's an appealing flare to Bravo's hit series, but what is more appealing is when Philadelphia-based cheftestants premiere on the nationwide series. It would be almost unfair to not side with a homegrown star, especially if her cuisine easily screams on its own.

Jen Carroll, the Chef de Cuisine of 10 Arts of the Ritz-Carlton, sashayed her way through the competing contestants, proudly standing until the final four. Soon after Tom Colicchio and Padma politely gave the local chef the knife, her work's comforting kitchen decided to promote her exit off the show by offering a three-course tasting menu that embraced not only the best fall flavors, but also showcased the best of her on-air skills.

Off of an appetizer tasting menu boosting with ten selections, I choose the warm goat cheese salad (seen below), paired with cutesy cubes of baby red beets, frisee and orange confit. The creamy cheese, delicately fried into decent-sized rounds, melted so perfectly in my mouth, and was just an energizing entrance to Ms. Carroll's cuisine.

My dining partner, one of my closest friends who also shares my Top Chef obsession, selected the Kabocha squash soup (seen below) to begin her courses. Swirled with spiced pepitas, superb-tasting pureed squash and chunks of honey crisp apples, the soup paired sweet and spicy in the utmost class, and was almost too addicting to just sample a few slurps.

For the second course, I was torn between what protein to pick as my main dish. What I loved about the chef on television was her no-fear attitude toward cooking all forms of meat. (Yes, sometimes they weren't always successes, but I blame that on the stress of competing.) I opted for the her scallops (below), served with the most delicious truffle butter I have ever laid eyes on. The pieces of fish were prepared ideally, and with the sauce, a delicious duo was created.

The meat of the braised short rib (seen below) was light and tender, and the best texture of a beefy dish that I've ever chomped on. Served with a comforting side of baby veggies and mash potatoes, and a red wine sauce, this plate did home-cooking better than any mama could wish to perform. Of course, dessert is always the best part, and at 10 Arts they were sure not to fall short on their third course. The sweet potato cake, an upscale version of the holiday's best cake, was served with a mouth-watering cream cheese mousse and hazelnuts, and scoop of sweet potato sorbet. Gorgeous and light, I even tried to weasel a recipe from Carroll for this one!

The milk chocolate parfait breached borders because of its pairing with caramelized bananas. One of my favorite things in the world is combining chocolate with bananas, and this dessert platter did not fall short on doing just that, quite swimmingly.

it's amazing bread, he said.

We fell in love over bread.

The loaf—larger than my the width and height of my petite head, and baked in a building without electronic—was pumped with whole grains and coated with a powdery, delicate firm crust. Delicious and organic, the bread had travelled over five hours to get me to, and I gushed over every last bite.

Complications do come into this relationship's making, yet with such a profound love for things in a similar fashion, those things can eventually be forgotten, and last month, one year of our courting had been marked.

Before this, I had never met another who shared my (secret) love for wonderfully-made carbohydrates, and better yet, appreciated the artisan craft of breadmaking in such an intense nature as I did myself.

It comes back to that special, environmentally-friendly bakery that first sparked our interests to one another. The old-world, loaf-crafters of Hungry Ghost Bread of Northampton, Massachusetts (which I previously blogged about here) daily produces small doses of their inventory, in an amazing wood-burning brick oven.

Redefining ancient bread traditions into modernized masterpieces, the crew at HGB sculpt a multitude of flavors from simple French, potato, rye and local wheat, to thyme fougasse, semolina fennel, 8-grain pumped with chocolate (as seen above, that i'm chomping) and locavore flat breads made with local wheat, beets and squash.

As a special threat for my birthday this year, we traveled to New England together, to experience the bread jointly for the first time, rather than the various other times, we were enjoyed the loaves together, but just through words.

While, at some times, it seems far, far fetched, but our goal is to someday own a place like Hungry Ghost, taking what we love from their place and transforming them into something of our own.

holiday brunch bites at the jukebox

Hands down, my favorite early day eats are from the Jukebox Cafe of Boyertown, Pa. Retro-styled, family owned-and-operated, and low maintenance, the breakfast-and-lunch-only eatery has become a staple in my small town obviously for its simple, yet quirky mid-morning munchies.

While they boost on everything breakfast, from the usual fresh fruit-topped waffles and multi-ingredient omelets, they also encourage every season's best by offering an constantly changing supplement to their already established menu.

For my favorite fall-and-winter time of the year, they embrace all things pumpkin and peppermint, and of course, promote additional turkey-themed meals. The Holiday Benedict, seen above, a rendition of the beloved eggs benedict, is sculpted on two toasty rounds of cornbread, layered with chunks of November's popular bird, and dosed with perfectly-prepared eggs and hollandaise.

The Pumpkin Bread French Toast, seen below, is similar to their wide assortment of fruit-themed stuffed crispy toasts, is crafted around bread loaves they are prepared daily within the establishment, and then smeared with a cream-cheese filling that, with the ideal blending of cream cheese, ricotta, vanilla and cinnamon, it is apparent that a pumpkiny breakfast has never shined as bright as this platter.

Other must-haves of the Jukebox include: Hot Apple French Toast, made with slices of the season's finest apples, coated with cinnamon and baked to perfection and the Crab Benedict, similar to the turkey, but loaded with an addictive serving of amazing soft-shell.

give the gift of foodie prints

Food is permanently on my brain, which creates me to forever eat, drink, speak, squeal and gush over anything that's relatable to edibles. And, while some people wear their beaten hearts on their sleeves, I suggest it being better to wear the print of your last night's dinner proud-and-true on the outside of you.

Below, for the holiday season, I've compiled a handful of top-notch foodie pleasures, made locally and not so locally, to promote your adoration to eats, aplenty.

Dressing on the Side crafts cutesy limited-and-exclusive pen and ink designs from Arizona that, just like the one shown above, are ideal for those who are truly a foodie at heart. Being burger-obsessed, I gush at the above print, and could also sport any of her other designs, including the "Cupcakes are Cool" t-shirt and the "You Are What You Eat" with a pie slice symbolic of an "A".

Girlscantell is Philly-based and beautiful, inking attractive sketches on totes, coasters, oven mits, and much more. My favorite of her designs is her Kitchenaid mixer print, fully equipped with all the necessary attachments. Coming from a girl who welled up at the sight of her own icy blue Kitchenaid, it is a must-have for any baking space, and also, any item promoting it's fancy-schmancy machinery, is also a pleasured treasure to own.

Let's Get Healthy, a Josh Reames project, has sculpted screenprints that revolve around food, and furthermore, encourage the slow food movement. The Dinner Party t-shirt is a chaotic swirl of our kitchen's favorite cutlery, and comes printed on varying colors and sizes of v-necks. Also appealing is the store's "Ugly Organs" messenger bag that's durable and screams of good health. All funds raised from the shop's sales go to help to provide food, medical attention and education to children in the Philippines at the Gugma Child Development Center.

Mike Geno, another Philly-based artist, makes me proud by promoting his love for meat at large, especially his fascination with bacon. His bacon cards, which remind me of a statement a dear friend said to me recently ("you are the bacon to my cupcake"), are adorable and smile-creating, as are his various other meat paintings and pieces, such as other favorite, the heart-shaped "Bacon Love" print.

Sara Smedley is from PA Dutch Country and crafts textile prints on sturdy tableware and aprons. Her line of "butcher’s aprons" are partially inspired by what her grandfather wore when he cooked. Her modernized-looking kitchen companion is also sourced from a style similar to what Julia Child wore and quotes the French Chef saying, “It's a working apron, not a dainty thing. ‘Dainty’ doesn’t look professional in the kitchen.”

ChezSucreChez may not follow the print-based formality of this post, but it doesn't matter, because her monogrammed and cross-stitched pieces are excitingly adorable. Her Strawberry Sachet, popped with six lavender sewn berries inside, not only looks cutesy, but smells mighty fine, too. Also, she lives around my neck of the woods (Berks County, Pa), and I am quite pleased to have such a handsewn artist, locally.

cozy cuisine at coyote crossing

On a recent crisp evening, B and I briefly traveled to Conshohocken's Coyote Crossing where we were introduced and amazed by the cozy Mexican cuisine of Chef Carlos Melendez. Sculpting appropriate-sized portions with flawless amounts of spice, the chef's assorted menu of authentic tastes and textures was appealing and unforgettable, and easily became an eatery I'd plan to revisit time after time again.













Embracing the fall season, Coyote Crossing prepares two pumpkin puree cocktails that, coming from an obsessed squash lover, were top-notch. The pumpkin pie martini, rimmed with globs of honey and crusted with graham cracker crumbs, is a perfect desserty sip, which to me, could please my taste buds at any time of the day. The pumpkin margarita, which intrigued me because fruity-and-tequila are a well-known pair, but pumpkin-and-tequila? Something I had to try! Interesting enough, the taste was nicely balanced and light, and showcased why the eatery's margaritas are known as memorable.
The baby asparagus soup, blended with jalapenos and swirled with cream, was sophisticated and lightly spicy, offering B and I a highly enthusiastic introduction to Chef Melendez's handiwork.
The black bean soup served with sides of Mexican Chorizo, Ajo croutons and queso fresco that, when added within the creamy blend, pure pleasure was created.

The December salad constructed atop fluffy, fresh mixed field greens and layered with slices of pears and unseasonally-fresh strawberries, candied nuts and goat cheese, was tart and tasty. Drizzled with housemade balsamic vingrette, the salad course may have been something similar to what I've eaten before, but this time, it was done twice as good.


House made crepes pumped with Huitlacoche (Mexican corn truffles) dosed with a smokey poblano sauce were, most definitely, my favorite part of the meal. Huitlacoches, known as corn smut, are probably the best fungus I've ever allowed enter my mouth. The dainty gluttony of this plate has almost been indescribable, with the ideal matching of the velvet texture of the truffles with the sharp bite of the sauce, I could eat this combination every single night for the rest of my dear life.

The intermetzo was an icy mint-mulled mojito sorbet that pleasantly revealed any fullness that I had been so far experiencing. Delicate and light, the cocktail-inspired meal break was a scoop I could never forget.

The Tampiquena strip steak platter may have appeared a bit overwhelming, but the garlic marinated beef prepared additionally with adobo and herbs allowed me to receive my second wind of an appetite around the main course. Fresh and nicely zinged guacamole was also available with the dish, aside a roasted green tomatillo chicken enchilada, refried beans, and a decent side of sauteed poblanos with onions and cream.

Sculpted around one of the chili peppers that are the backbone of Mexican cooking, the Halibut Guajillo, dosed in a decent amount of the zesty, yet tangy sauce, defined what Chef Rick Bayless once said about the popular pepper: "These are workhorse chiles with a lot of dazzle."

The tres leches chocolate cake, decadent and comfortingly moist, would have any lactose intolerant sadling wishing for a second breath. Typically meshed with regular milk, cream and condensed milk, the triple dairy threat was dense and delicious, and was inescapable for me to have just one bite.
A dessert of flan seemed fitting to order in this establishment, but I would have been remiss if I hadn't after my ridiculously-sized mouthfuls. A sucker for sweets, the concluding silky caramel custard delightfully imbued with richness, was impressive and not overly sweet.

With such an overall positive experience at Coyote Crossing, I can't wait to see what Melendez cooks up next, but I would be just fine, if the Huitlacoche crepes stay on his menu forever.