Posts Tagged ‘dessert’

Birthday Week Part 4: Fancy Food

I feel like all I did in Las Vegas was eat. I’m not complaining. Here’s our fancy birthday dinner in Bouchon, Thomas Keller’s French restaurant inside the Venetian.

This is what I got!! Excellent choice

This is what I got!! Excellent choice

It’s gnudi, which I thought would be like gnocchi, but SURPRISE it is even more delicious. Those are little bundles of pasta joy, filled with cheese and probably some other things, lovingly wrapped in a beautiful mushroom butter sauce.

This is Steven's

This is Steven’s

It was the pasta of the day! I forget what was in it because I was too busy concentrating on mine.

Also, dessert!!

YES BIRTHDAY BROWNIES

YES BIRTHDAY BROWNIES

BIRTHDAY STRAWBERRY SUNDAE!

BIRTHDAY STRAWBERRY SUNDAE!

We also had fancy tea at the Mandarin Oriental. I could try to describe to you what you’re looking at here, but I would fail:

Points for presentation

Points for presentation

The cone thing was a curry chicken salad with an Asian pear ball on top in some kind of sesame cone. It was kind of pretentious, but also delicious.

The desserts though

The desserts though

Oh yes. Give me all of this again.

Fancy Steven approves

Fancy Steven approves

"We're just going to have a snack"

“We’re just going to have a snack”

Just a snack

Just a snack

Next: ICE CREAM TASTING CHALLENGE
Previously: Cooking Class

Cookbooks: Extra Credit

Last weekend I knew I wanted to knock the book of ice cream recipes that came with our ice cream maker off my cookbook list. Every time I use the ice cream maker we have, I’m shocked by how easy it is.

This thing was not pricey, but is completely amazing. I recommend it 100%

This thing was not pricey, but is completely amazing. I recommend it 100%

I decided to make the cream cheese ice cream… but it was almost TOO easy, you know? With this thing, you mix the ingredients together in a bowl or whatever, then chill them for a few hours. Then take the bowl of the ice cream maker out of the freezer (where it lives), hook it up, pour the stuff in, and let it go for like 20 minutes. Then you have soft serve! You can then freeze for longer if you don’t like soft serve for some freakish reason. Or if, like me, you decide to make red velvet ice cream sandwiches!

Ice cream goes in a cake pan to firm up so that I can cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter

Ice cream goes in a cake pan to firm up so that I can cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter

After making up the cookie dough and chilling it in the fridge overnight, I rolled it out and cut out cookies with the biscuit cutter:

I thought this step would be the hardest, but it was way easy compared to rolling out pie crust (which I am of course a pro at)

I thought this step would be the hardest, but it was way easy compared to rolling out pie crust (which I am, of course, a pro at)

Then you chill those guys on the baking sheets for awhile and stick them in the oven. They don’t take long.

Cookies!! Wait till they get to room temperature before putting them in the freezer too

Cookies!! Wait till they get to room temperature before putting them in the freezer too

After everything has been frozen to satisfaction, it’s assembly time!! Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of this because I had to work fast so the ice cream didn’t melt. Using the same biscuit cutter, you just press out rounds of the ice cream sheet and smoosh them between two cookies. Then Steven was in charge of wrapping them in plastic wrap.

Now they are just waiting in our freezer!! Happy summer!

Now they are just waiting in our freezer!! Happy summer!

The cookbook project is now at 69% completion because I (well, Steven) got through The Ultimate Book of Cocktails the same day! He’s way better at mixology than me.

Planter's Punch: Steven version

Planter’s Punch: Steven version

According to the book, “This long, refreshing, old colonial drink originates from the sugar plantations that are dotted throughout the West Indian islands.”

1 measure/1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 measure/1.5 tbsp orange juice
2 measures/3 tbsp dark rum (we always use KRAKEN, because that name. And it’s delicious)
0.5 measure/2 tsp grenadine (Steven uses the juice from a can of maraschino cherries. Because we’re classy)
dash of bitters
soda water of lemonade, chilled

Steven is more of a gin fan (to me, it tastes like Fresca that hates you) so for himself he made this:

Horse's Neck!

Horse’s Neck!

Apparently: “The name derives from the shape of the lemon rind that hangs in the glass.”

1 lemon
2 measures/3 tbsp gin
dry ginger ale

Cut the entire rind from a lemon, spiral-fashion. Dangle it from the rim of a tall glass so that it hangs down inside. (I think Steven skipped this step because it was too annoying even though it is the whole point lol)
Add cracked ice and the gin, and then top up with ginger ale. You can also add a dash of bitters if the mood takes you (see? this book is awesome).

"Let me take a picture of your process"

“Let me take a picture of your process”

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