Neo Griot: fruit

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I'm Baccck!!!!

You can't keep a good griot down! It's been a rough 2014 with lots going on. I've been trying to keep in the kitschen but, it's been hard to document my work. There's been some successes and some flops. I've learned, laughed and eaten with those I love and that's the most important thing. Most recently I organized a meeting of the minds. I had me sweetie over (yes, I've got one of those now) to meet my PaPa. Now, if you follow my life, you know that my PaPa is a big deal around these parts. So I thought I'd give the occasion the sweetness it deserved with a new cake recipe. Since my PaPa loves strawberries so much I decided to try this upside down strawberry cake recipe.

The cake was simple enough.... but it called for making a strawberry syrup reduction and a meringue. Ya'll know I'm not a fan of egg whites but, with the help of my kitchen aid mixer and some creme of tartar I made it through. Check out the process!

Step 1: Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar in the bottom of your cake pan.

Scatter sliced strawberries on top.

Ok... this doesn't look too pretty right now.

But just wait until I add the strawberry syrup reduction and the meringue!

I whipped those egg whites into shape!

Ta-da! I added some peaks for good measure.

You'll be happy to know the cake turned out swell and the meeting of the minds went well. I was the most awkward one there of course! PaPa and my sweetie talked about dude things and bonded over baseball. My gramps made a few quips at my expense per usual and we all had a laugh. Then my sweetie and I took a bike ride around town and had a beer! Here is his beer face.

Also recently a new tap room opened up in the area. It's called Null, and it's brought to you by the makers of Civilized spirits and Jolly Pumpkin beer. They also have some North Peak selections on tap. The soft opening came up as a suggested post on Facebook oddly enough. I called two of my bro friends and asked them to join me. What's more hip than cool people having craft beer and cocktails as a new cool place on a Wednesday night? The only acceptable answer is the North Pole!

CHALKBOARD MENU! Check out all those selections!

Using barrels as camouflage for your taps? Why didn't I think of that!

Bro drinking a brew! He likes his hops.

Chips on deck! They have a special curry blend and it is ah-mah-zing.

Infused spirits for the wolf pack!

All in all it was a nice night out. I think I'll definitely be making another trip to Null to get my drink on.

posted under beer, booze, cake, dessert, fruit, sweet, travel | 0 Comments

The Fruits of Summer Lovin'

Has everyone created their summer playlist yet? Mine has been on repeat for the past month. I love making playlist... when a new song comes on I always think, "I LOVE that song!" And then I remember that's why I put it on the playlist. Here's the track list for this years Summer Funtime 2012:

Nobody- Eliza Doolittle
Radio Song- Esperanza Spalding f/ Algebra
My Thing- Estelle f/ Janelle Monae
Stuff- Nikka Costa
Gonna Get Over You- Sara Barreilles
Comeback Kid- Sleigh Bells
Darling- Kids These Days
Summer Scent- Kids These Days
Play the Guitar- B.o.B f/ Andre 3000
Breaking Down- Florence & the Machine
Children- V.V. Brown
No Make-Up- Kendrick Lamar
You Called Me- Mayer Hawthorne

I'm still tweaking it and I might swap out a few. I also think I'm gonna round it up to a nice 15 songs total. But, it's been doing my ears well so far! What are you listening to?

It was my very dear friend Mosaic Geek's birthday this past weekend and she joined me in the 3 decades old club. I wanted to do something nice for her so I got into the kitchen and went to work. This small gesture was a win/win situation all around because it allowed me to knock off 2 things on my 2012 Summer Bucket list!

2012 Summer Bucket List Check: Make some ice cream!!!!
I know I've said before there's always room for ice cream but summer time holds a special ice cream enjoyment quality that's unique in its own right. It's also a time I like to visit the Washtenaw Dairy in Ann Arbor, MI. I love this place. I especially love their lemon custard ice cream. It reminds me of when I was a wee griot and my grandma would take me to this other ice cream stand for lemon soft serve. I know ice cream & soft serve are two separate things but it's the creamy lemon flavor that becomes a mufti-sensory memory. So I decided to make myself some lemon ice cream at home. I came across a nice egg-less recipe for lemon ginger ice cream online at We All Scream. This lovely lady has tons of ILLUSTRATED ice cream recipes. So I know I'll be going back to test out some more. She's also got a great basic recipe for experimenting in making your own flavors.

Flavor inspirations..... getting to the root of it!

Milk, cream, lemon zest, ginger for an ice cream base.

Strain and discard that pith!

Add the eggs-less base to a lil' cream cheese... just a hint of flavor.

I chilled the mixture in the fridge over night and churned the the next morning.

Of course where's there's ice cream there must be cake! I wanted to practice shaping/cutting cake to I made what I called 'Ode to Strawberry Cheesecake Cake.' I took my favorite yellow cake recipe as a base and instead of putting it into 8 inch rounds I poured it into a 11x13 rectangular pan. The plan was to cut it into a 3 layer mini-cake.

Layer cake baked in a pan....

Lazy ladies strawberry cream cheese frosting: strawberry jam (homemade by the youts), cream cheese, splash of vanilla and powdered sugar.

When cutting cake step 1 is always: Freeze cake! Then get out a serrated knife and get down to bizness.

Two halfs became four quarters.

Spread the love between those 3 layers.

Crumb coat & set it in the freezer to firm up for smooth icing later on.

I did a top coat and "dusted" it with graham cracker crumbs on the bottom and top.

2012 Summer Bucket List Check: Have a picnic!!!!

The final product was taken to Ann Arbor for an impromptu (i.e. under 24 hrs notice) picnic....I love my friends and I love that they love to indulge my whims. I sent out a group email and the whole thing turned into a day long marathon of fun! I brought a pasta salad and some chilled corn soup to add to the savory side of things. My friends brought lemonade, cherries, cheese, crackers, homemade salas, chips... We had lots of food and it was great low stress fun.

The birthday girl was a little shy... but she couldn't resist taking a peak at that cake!

Afterwards a group of walked around downtown Ann Arbor... stopped for coffee... walked some more... had coke slushies @ 7-11... walked to my friend's house drank some beers on his porch... ordered pizza... went for a night cap at a new to me bar called The Last Word. It was whiskey appreciation night and they had 1oz pours for like $2 each. Can anyone say whiskey flights are fun?! I can! Isn't it great when a little effort and a few friends can turn into a lot of fun! What kind of fun and mischief will you get up to this summer?

posted under cake, fruit, ice cream, music, summer | 0 Comments

Do Rite By Me!

I'm on a donut kick. I've been dreaming of donuts on a daily basis. What kinds of donuts can I make. What flavor pairings to use. On, and on, and on... As I wrote last time, I wanted to make my at home version of one of those awesome gourmet fancy pants expensive donuts made by the people at Do Rite in Chicago. Need a reminder? It was a buttermilk donut with lemon glaze and pistachios. I used the lemon donut recipe I found at Barbra Bakes. The Oprah magazine recipe I used last time wasn't as dense as I'd like. So I switched it up a bit.

Here's the secret ingredient.

Instead of buttermilk these donuts get their tang from Greek yogurt.

A little lemon zest easily ups the zing anti!

It looks curdled but that's ok.

Baked to a tan.... and just coolin'

While the donuts cooled on the rack I stirred up some glaze and prepped the pistachios.

A handful of pistachios goes a long way.

Confectioner's sugar mixed + lemon juice = glaze

Sometimes I need a do rite, do rite...donut (donut).

Initial testers found these donuts to be not too sweet with a nice crumb. The donut was not too sweet thanks to the yogurt. The icing gave just enough sweetness. The pistachios added their own distinct flavor along with a crunch. We'll see how Momma Griot likes them tonight!

posted under donuts, fruit | 0 Comments

Doh! Nuts!

Last month... or I think it was last month's O Magazine had a recipe for baked strawberry donuts in it. Of course if the Mighty O recommended this treat I had to make it. So I pulled out my donut pan and got to work. I did tweak it a bit. The recipe included a strawberry glaze but I wanted something more decadent so I made a chocolate glaze.

The donut recipe itself was pretty simple.

2c flour
1c sugar
1tsp. baking soda
1tsp. kosher salt
1c veggie oil
3/4c buttermilk
1tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1tsp. vinegar
1/2c strawberries, finely chopped

Preheat the over at 375, oil your donut pan with PAM/spray oil. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and whisk together. In another bowl stir together wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring slowly until just combined.

Look at this happy trio. They just wanna come together as one!

Fold in the strawberries and divide into your donut pan. Bake approx. 12 min. Makes 2 dozen donuts.

Adding the strawberries....

Golden brown... warm to the touch and delicious!

The recipe for the glaze was a little confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and milk whisked together. Once donuts are cool dip them into the glaze and set on a cooling rack to set.

Dippin' donuts....

Lined up and almost ready for consumption.

Gnomes love to nom!

Overall these donuts were delicious. I gave some to family and friends and got great reviews. The mighty O was right once again! The one thing that kinda bothered me is how light and fluffy they were. I know you're thinking, "But Neo Griot... isn't that a good thing?!" Not in my opinion. I like a nice moist dense donut. Like the kind you get at the county fair. So I'm going to try and play with the flour/baking soda ratio to get the weight I like. Also, next time I think I'll try a new flavor combo. Inspired by my recent trip to Do Rite in Chicago I might add some lemon zest to the donut batter, make a lemon glaze, and top with toasted pistachios!

Peek-A-Boo! Eye see you.

posted under chocolate, donuts, fruit | 0 Comments

Donuts!

Hey ya'll... It's fall one, of my favorite times of the year. Being from the Midwest I find fall to be a beautiful time with all the colors of the trees and the bounty of apples available. Add in a nice crisp autumnal breeze and I'm ready to snuggle up with a book and cup of warm cider in a hot second. I have been able to do that a few times this season already! I also love the flavors of fall... with them in mind I decided to break out the donut pan I bought months ago and put it to use. I borrowed a recipe from my favorite TV cook Rachael Ray (Ray Ray as I love to call her) and made some donuts with fresh apples! I used honey crisps because they're my favorite after granny smith.

The basic ingredients for the donuts (flour not pictured).

You mix the eggs and sugars before adding the vanilla and oil. (I sadly had to use imitation vanilla because my staff of the good stuff ran out... I will be making a trip to TJ Maxx stat to restock).

Next add in some shredded apples for that fall flavor.

Spray the advertised "nonstick" donut pan thoroughly and measure out the batter.

Add a wee bit of milk to the caramels to help the melt without burning.

Or alternatively you could make a glaze with powdered sugar, milk, and caramel flavoring. But the caramels were on special for $1/bag and I don't own any imitation caramel flavoring so I went the cheap and easy route.

Prepare your icing space 'cause it's gonna get good and messy.

One had on my camera and the other one's icing a donut!

Caramel apple donuts=gooey goodness!

Some of the donuts I also added a bit of chocolate to as well. I just melted some chocolate chips put them in a boughetto piping bag (i.e. a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off) and drizzled away. They were all so pretty I had to share. I boxed up four and took them through airport security to hand deliver them to a friend in D.C. She was graciously allowing my to crash on her couch and I just couldn't come empty handed.

posted under dessert, donuts, fall, fruit | 0 Comments

Quick! Bread!

Nobody likes to see a couple of bananas go bad. Nobody. Recently my mom bought a bunch of the perfect fruit (i.e. bananas) for my nephew to snack on. I do not like real bananas. I do love artificial banana flavor (see: Now N Laters, Slurpees, & Laffy Taffy). However, the idea of bananas has grown so appealing to me that I'm trying to learn to love them. Reasons why I should love bananas:

* totally portable
*high in potassium
*can be eaten with peanut butter
*go well in smoothies

So when I saw that pair of bananas getting brown spots I decided to put them to good use. While I don't subscribe to any magazines, (let us mourn the slow death of print media), I do frequent Barnes & Noble and read through a few while drinking the smallest drip coffee available. Why buy the magazine when you can get the coffee for almost free? And a month or so ago Food Network's magazine had a section with an infinitely adaptable quick bread recipe. I loved the idea of being able to tweak the ingredients according to my mood and pantry so I broke down and bought the magazine. Over all the recipe was simple and the results were very satisfying.