Lunchtime Links for May 31st, 2010

• The Kitchn: Green tea mojito recipe.
• Serious Eats: Five ways to eat chocolate for breakfast. 
• Momofuku for 2: XO fried rice recipe.
• Lady Gaga: Info on the "Alejandro" video.
• The City: Recap from NYMag.  
   

Pitango Gelato: Quince Sorbet

 

I haven't had a chance to make it over to Pitango Gelato in DC yet, but I'm lucky enough to have them come to me- well, at least to the Bethesda Farmers Market on Sundays, haha.  I wasn't planning on buying any gelato, but after tasting a few samples, I picked up a container of the Local Pennsylvania Quince to take home.  

I actually didn't know what Quince was, besides vaguely thinking it was like a pear.  If you're like me, then here's some more info about the Quince in case you are curious.  This sorbet is super refreshing, a little sweet, a little tart- super delicious!   It's definitely a unique flavor that I wouldn't have thought to try, but I'm really glad I did- or rather, I'm glad the Pitango seller offered it to me, haha.  If you get a chance to a) try Pitango; and/or b) try Quince sorbet, definitely give it a shot!

Lunchtime Links for May 28th, 2010

• The Kitchn: Spring risotto recipes.
• Serious Eats: Avocados, for more than just Guacamole. 
• The Kitchn: Greek mac n' cheese recipe.
• Yum: Chocolate-covered Oreo cake recipe.
• Tasty Kitchen: Red curry coconut noodles.
  
  
  

Japanarama Review: Veggie-Fruit Juice Kit Kat

 

This Kit Kat definitely falls into the "WTF" category for a snack, that's for sure.  This one is based on a veggie-fruit juice made by Ito En in Japan.  Pretty much like a V-8, but based on carrots and apples vs. tomato juice.  

The good thing about all these Japan-only flavored Kit Kats is that they're relatively small (smaller than Kit Kats here at least), so when one's a Miss, I don't feel so bad about not finishing it.  You can probably tell where this review is going...

Bleecccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I knew it was a bad sign when the Kit Kats smelled like fruit-flavored cough syrup mixed with white chocolate.  Then I ate a bite, and it was just soooooooooooooooooooooooo bad, haha.  It's not even that I don't like veggie juices (granted, I don't LOVE them)- I've had this Japanese veggie juice before, and it's really not half bad.  This Kit Kat, however, definitely falls into the "try it ONCE" file for me.   And now that I have, I don't feel so bad that I threw out the remaining 3/4 of this container, haha.  Not that the majority of you would come across this particular Kit Kat, but if so- STAY AWAY! :o)

Lunchtime Links for May 27th, 2010

• Serious Eats: A look at the Mini Donut Factory gadget.
• The Kitchn: Lemon cream pie cupcake recipe. 
• The Kitchn: Strawberry-balsamic basil soda recipe.
• Real Housewives: Recap from NYMag.
• Pioneer Woman: Grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas.

Frosting Cupcakery - Chevy Chase, MD

 

REDiculous + Cookie MOMster

I had heard about Frosting from a while back, but didn't really hear too much about it being open until late April/early May.  I was in the area earlier in May and figured I'd go check it out. 

The store is tucked away in the newer section of Friendship Heights, along with a few restaurants, ice cream shops, and retail shops.  They are easy to get to from the metro, and the strorefront is really cute and easy to spot.  I really liked the interior of the store- it was v. welcoming and had cute little details throughout. 

I picked up the REDiculous and Cookie MOMster cupcakes, which are described on their site as: "REDiculous: red velvet bottom with vanilla cream cheese buttercream top", and "Cookie MOMster: chocolate bottom with almond Oreo buttercream top".  

First, the good: both of the cupcakes were a good size (not too small, not too big), with what I thought was a good frosting-to-cake ratio.   I liked both of the cakes, they were rich and yummy, pretty much what you'd hope for from a decent cupcake.

And now, the not-so-good:  You might notice from the photo that both cupcakes had crumbs on top - the REDiculous had crumbled red velvet cake, and the MOMster had Oreo cookie crumbles.  This is cute, in theory, but not so much in execution.  The red velvet cake crumbles especially were not good, because they had hardened and tasted like stale cake, pretty much.  I mean maybe right when they were made it would've been cool to have some extra cake on top of the frosting, but this was pretty off-putting in terms of texture for me.  Also, this is obviously a personal thing, but I REALLY don't like almond/almond paste in foods, and I didn't realize that the MOMster frosting contained almond flavor until I ate it.   Obviously since I don't like that, it was pretty much a guarantee that I wouldn't like the frosting on the MOMster, haha.  

Besides the not-so-good, I think it's a super-cute store and has a lot to offer in the Friendship Heights area.  They had a good coffee/drinks menu too which I'm sure is great for all of the people that live around there.  I wouldn't mind trying a few more of their cupcake options, but it won't be replacing Georgetown Cupcake in my heart anytime soon :o)

Lunchtime Links for May 26th, 2010

• Bakerella: Winnie the Pooh cakepops. 
• Serious Eats: Info and recipes for strawberries.
• Holy Crap: 100-layer lasagne.
• Metrocurean: Rainy-day bars. 
• Cakespy: Blondie-topped brownie recipe.