Dawn Patrol

Lately on Fridays I've been getting up with the birds of Boston for Friday morning Spin! class with Elise at Healthworks.  There is no better way to kick off the weekend than with a brisk walk through Copley and an awesome workout that wraps up by 7AM.  Dawn Patrol, in full force!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sunday Funday at Coppa - South End

It's a rare weekend that the hubs and I have no plans on the books and then actually feel like going out anyway.  Last Sunday that's exactly what happened, so we decided to go on a little Sunday Funday adventure.  It turned out to be a different type of fun than we were going for, but I'll share that story in a minute.  First, the good food stuff.

Coppa is on Shawmut Ave in the South End and has Italian 'tapas.'  Some of our friends had gone and raved, so we thought it would be a fun spot for an early dinner.  We arrived around 4PM, and ended up getting drinks and splitting a flatbread.  Jake had a "Man-Tini" which came deconstructed, so he got to pour his preferred parts of champagne and orange juice into a manly mug.

I just had a glass of my favorite wine, Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  We split the Parma Pizza; tomato, mozzarella, arugula and Proscuitto di Parma.  It was delicious, and I loved that there was so much arugula on top.  You can never have too much of that!  It was pretty small, but a great size for sharing a snack.

We enjoyed our snack and wrapped things up in about an hour.  Not bad!  Now, the funny/ironic/not-funny-at-the-time story of our Sunday Funday adventure...

4PM - arrive at Coppa and find it shockingly packed.  Host tells us we made it for the end of brunch, and walks us to two seats at a tiny bar near the restrooms and kitchen.  She tells us we had great window seats, but really I got a window seat and Jake's face was about 10" away from a brick wall.  Kind of funny and we laughed it off.

4:05PM - we consider leaving because we were in the mood for dinner, but decide to at least have a snack and a drink to figure out our next steps.

5:00PM - we pay and head out, pleased with the food and ready for a walk over to the North End.

5:45PM - Arrive at Bricco, one of our North End favorites.  Shockingly NOT packed at prime dinner time on a Sunday.  Host has about 10 empty tables to seat us at, chooses one that is NO JOKE 2" away from another table that has six older folks sitting at it, having a nice family dinner. It was as if we were late joining the family party.  

5:50PM - Now I'm aggravated b/c all I want is a nice dinner and this is two bad seats in a row.  Frustrated that despite the lack of people filling the restaurant, the host found it appropriate to sit us at a family party, I tell Jake that I want to leave.

5:51PM - Our waiter sees us getting up, and says "If this menu isn't what you were looking for, we have a great pizza shop across the street." 

5:52PM - Now smoke is blowing out of my ears and daggers are shooting out of my eyes and I respond "We love this menu.  We don't love being sat with a family that is not ours when there are 10 other empty tables the host could have picked."  Waiter:  "You can sit at a different table...." Me: "Nope, we're leaving. Thanks."  (not my best moment but we were ready to spend some cash on a nice meal, what the heck!  And the insulting menu comment really ticked me off.)

6:00PM - We stroll into Bacco down the street figuring that you can't go wrong there.  We get a decent table, waiter comes up immediately for a drink and app order, woohoo!

6:10PM - Our bruschetta arrives, delicious, we're happy.

6:30PM - Bruschetta is long gone.  Waiter is too.

6:45PM - We wave down the waiter, frustrated yet again, and ask for our check.  He happily gives it to us.  No, you're not missing anything, we were never offered dinner.  Grrrrrreat. 

7:00PM - We stroll into Bova's.  Bova's saves the day with Jake's favorite cinnamon stick, my favorite chocolate covered cannoli, and both of our favorites, a mini lobster tail.  Sweets cure all.

7:10PM - Walking toward home down Salem Street, Lulu's is open.  (I. LOVE. Lulus. So much so that we named our cat after it. Anyway.)  Pop in and get a carrot cake cupcake for me, peanut butter for Jake.  Pure bliss has returned.

So that, my sweets, is the recap of our Sunday Funday.  Not fun the whole time, but a good story at least.  Have you ever had any similar days!?

L.A. Burdick Chocolate - Back Bay

Today I am so excited to share one of my recent finds in Back Bay - the L.A. Burdick Chocolate shop on Clarendon Street!  I've walked by this place a million times and always thought it was a weird little tourist stop or something (no reason to think that, it was just in my head)...I was completely wrong, this place is exceptional.  If you're local, you may recognize the unique facade that differentiates this little shop from pretty much everything else in the neighborhood.

Famous for premium confections and bonbons, one of the signature items at L.A. Burdick are their little chocolate mice; they don't use molds to make these!  I will definitely be back to purchase a box of mice as my next hostess gift, they are just too cute.

The shop isn't too big, which keeps the inside cozy and cafe-like.  There are aisles of chocolate goods to buy, as well as a small dining section with tables to sit and enjoy a coffee and a snack at.   I would definitely choose this spot for an afternoon of reading over Starbucks! 

We had just come from brunch at the Met on Newbury Street (which was also great, by the way!), so didn't have much room to taste lots of sweets, but we did get a little range of tastes by trying a Mocha, a Caramel Latte and three French Macarons in Raspberry, Coffee and Peach. 

The macarons were great, tasted just as we would have expected them to and I couldn't help but admire the perfect "feet" on all of them.  The caramel latte was phenomenal, I think because they use a house-made caramel that was so buttery and delicious.  The real winner, though, was the mocha.  Jake requested a milk chocolate mocha (you can choose milk, dark, or white chocolate), and we both were absolutely blown away.  It was like drinking pure liquid chocolate with a hint of espresso.  It was much closer to a hot chocolate than a typical mocha coffee drink, but we were certainly not disappointed.  This is the official description of the mocha:  Milk chocolate mixed with steamed milk and poured into a double shot of espresso, finished with a foam and grated spice ball. 

One of the best parts of the shop is the variety of chocolate goods you can purchase, in addition to the typical truffles you would expect.  They had everything from chocolate powder, chocolate bars and chips, to cocoa pods and chocolate cigars.  I was in awe and was very serious when I said I will be going here for my next hostess gift!

We were both very happy with our little stop in to L.A. Burdick, and will be back soon!

New Flour Bakery in Back Bay

On Valentines morning, my team and I had to be in the office by 7:15AM for a 7:30 call that went until just before 10.  Needless to say, it was not the most romantic way to start the day, but the morning was saved by a post-call trip to the new Flour Bakery on Clarendon Street in the Back Bay!  My colleague wanted to pick up some desserts for her hunnie, so three of us took a little walk to help her pick them out.

A huge fan of the Flour Bakery in Fort Point, I couldn't wait to see the new location.  It's right behind the Back Bay T station, close to where the Hard Rock Cafe used to be.  I immediately fell in love with the decor; neutral wood, white and stainless steel made for a modern, yet comfortable space for enjoying breakfast, lunch or dessert.

The selection seemed a bit smaller than Fort Point, though that could have been due to less display space.  It was crowded and I didn't want to be too obnoxious taking forever with pictures and questions, but I did have enough time to fawn over the cases filled with sweets, especially these pastel-filled oreos, and giant tubs of ready-to-bake cookie dough.

My favorite find in the cafe (besides all of the sweets) was their unique artwork.  There was a large chalkboard that greeted customers, shared some weather facts and wished everyone a festive Happy Valentine's Day.  On the back walls, I found awesome framed images of little bubble people with funny sayings.  The best was two cute little people captioned with "Your perfume makes me gag."  We all know what that's like!  Too funny.

While I hadn't planned on getting anything to eat in preparation for a big dinner later that night, I just couldn't pass up trying the breakfast sandwich.  It was HUGE- egg, bacon, cheese, arugula, tomatoes and spicy dijon on a big, fat, chewy bun.  The dijon was way too spicy for me, I hadn't breathed that clearly in ages, but despite watery eyes from the spice, this sandwich was one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches ever.  It was fresh and filling, in fact I didn't eat again until dinner that evening.

Flour is one of my favorite bakeries in the city (accompanied by Lulu's and Bova's), and the new location did not disappoint.  I'm thrilled (and scared for my waistline) that it is so close to work!  If you're a fellow Flour-lover, what are you favorite things there?  Let me know in the comments below.

Blizzard Breakfast

Today is one of the best snowdays ever.  Starting around 11AM yesterday, Boston has been literally buried in snow.  The T (subway & bus system) is completely closed, and there's even a driving ban in the state- no driving at all unless you're essential personel.  Craziness!  Being snowed in called for a warm, comforting brunch, so B-hubs and I tag-teamed it to make these...

Bacon egg scramble-stuffed popovers!  Ahhhhh heaven.  I did the popovers, Jake did the egg scramble.  Popovers are one of my favorite things to bake.  They are a quick, 4-ingredient carb-y bun that is good with any meal, but we usually do them for breakfast.  They remind us of Jordan Pond up in Maine, which is the first place we tried popovers a few years back.  My in-laws gifted a popover pan to us, and we've been hooked ever since.

So far we've been in all day, enjoying brunch, blankets and catching up on episodes of Modern Family (I almost cried laughing at Lily's snarky comments from two weeks ago, does somebody need a WAMMM-bulance?!) This afternoon will probably bring us outside to check out how beautiful Boston looks under two feet of snow, then tonight we'll put on the snow pants and ski goggles and hike down to TD Garden for the Bruins game.  Faithful season ticket holders we are!

Here are some pictures from the blizzard so far.  For everyone in the area, I hope you are safe and warm!  For those who want to make some popovers, the recipe is at the bottom of this post.

7PM - Outside of Corner Tavern on Mass Ave (which was completely packed, by the way!) 

Quiet night on the roads

Looking out the window when I woke up

Happy weekend, all!

BostonSweetie's Popover Recipe - makes 6:

Need:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 tsp of salt

Do:

• Preheat oven to 450F
• Grease a popover pan, 6 custard cups, or 6 cups in a muffin tin
• Gently beat the two eggs in a medium bowl - don't overbeat!  Then add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth.
• Fill each cup about half way, evenly distributing the batter between the 6 cups
• Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 and bake for another 20 minutes. 

Notes:

Don't open the oven while these are baking- they pop up with the steam and you don't want to mess up the temperature in the oven while they're trying to rise and pop.

Today was the first time I used a cup of almond milk instead of skim milk.  We switched milk types on the first of the year, and don't keep cow's milk in the house anymore.  They still tasted great, but definitely didn't rise/pop as much as they do with cow milk.

The great thing about popovers is that they are airy in the center and perfect for filling with anything!  This morning we filled them with butter and a scramble of eggs, bacon, peppers and onions.  We also love mixing butter and jam, or cream cheese and jam.

Enjoy!

The Best Cupcake Ever

I have a confession.  I call myself a "Sweetie" (rather than a foodie), and up until this week, I have never had a Crumbs cupcake.  I don't know how it never happened...it just didn't.

Until this week, that is!  I woke up and was having a bad morning.  It was day 3 of a mild, lingering headache, and one of the cats puked on my Ugg boot.  I was running late and dying for coffee and was basically a huge grump.  I was cutting through the back way of the Pru hoping to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee, and on my way, saw this...

It was like I found Oz!  All of a sudden my grouchiness just melted away and I circled the booth grinning like a schoolgirl at 8:30 in the morning.  As I browsed the selection of massive cupcakes, I spotted my breakfast- Caramel Latte Cupcake.

I picked up three of these chocolate cake, espresso cream-filled, caramel and white chocolate-topped hunks of heaven and headed to the office.  My team and I started off what I coined as "Happy happy fat fat day" on the right foot (even though poor Steph could only eat the frosting, forgot to look for a gluten-free option!) with lots of sugar.  After a few bites in, I was in love...and after a few more bites when I found the espresso cream filling, I was obsessed.  This truly was the best cupcake I've EVER had, and I am psyched and scared that Crumbs is now just right across the street from my office.

What's your favorite Crumbs flavor?  I'll need a list for next time!

PS - how cute are these cake pops?  They're like cake push-up pops...Must grab one next time!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday, Sweets.  Hope the week is off to a good start.  My work week sure didn't start off great, but thankfully I was one of the 30-something lucky ones to get a ticket to Ride! tonight so I spun off my frustrations and am now sitting on the couch feeling pretty great.

Keeping the happy thoughts alive, I thought I'd share a weekend recap.  I shared a few of these on Instagram this weekend; you can follow me there @staceycl.

First up- sundaes from Cabot's in Newton!  One thing Boston is lacking is a place to get a really good, old-fashioned, classic Sundae.  And no, don't tell me Emack & Bolio's, that place stinks- bad ice cream, worse service and the grossest hot fudge I've ever had in my life.  And I love chocolate.  The real deal is at Cabot's.  I got a frozen yogurt sundae with hot fudge and butterscotch, and the hubs got a peanut butter thing.  I know we're on a health kick, but everyone needs a treat now and then, right?! All in moderation. 

Lulu the Sous Chef, love my kitty :)

Copley Square on a rainy saturday morning was quiet and peaceful.

Saturday afternoon visit with my sweet Grampy.  He's living with Alzheimer's and hasn't been doing too well lately, but we were lucky to have a really great visit with him.  Instead of being quiet and sleepy like usual, he was in a great mood, and though not fully aware of who we were or where he was, his true personality was there, for the first time since he went into the nursing home!  He was cracking jokes, making faces, and was just so sweet.  We felt blessed to have a nice afternoon with him. 

Rainy date night out, took this in front of Woodward at the Ames Hotel.  It was our first time eating there, and we had a great meal.  The charcuterie is excellent, and I got the lamb shank with veggies and herb gnocchi for dinner which was delicious.  I would definitely recommend it. 

Sunday night football food.  Despite spending a lot of my day doing work (boooooo), I took some time to make us a healthier version of a football classic for dinner- buffalo chicken lettuce wraps with homemade blue cheese dressing, both from Skinnytaste.  Check out the recipe here.

That's it for tonight, have a good week, sweets!

Brooklyn Brewery Food Experiment Tour: Cake in Boston

When my friend Neil (aka Chef Diesel) wrote and told me about Brooklyn Brewery's cake competition, I knew I had robe a part of it. No rules, just bake the best cake you can and go out for some fun. I love fun! And cake ;)

The competition was this past Sunday, and it was a blast. My sous chef (husband, haha) and I went for a "cake tasting" theme and brought wine cake bites; Chocolate Pinot Noir and White Riesling. Each had wine flavored buttercream to match. It took a full week of recipe testing and tweaking to get them right but in the end the testing paid off and I brought some pretty tasty little cakes if I do say so myself. Lots of the folks that stopped by the table seemed to love them and came back for seconds and thirds, and I got asked quite a few times if I have a bakery and if I take orders. (No storefront yet, but yes I do take orders!)

White Riesling Cake Bites

Chocolate Pinot Noir Cake Bites

We were Team #1! (sadly didn't win #1, hah!)

Sadly my little cake bites weren't deemed a winner, and neither were the prize-worthy Kahlua Cakes of Neil or the Chocolate Stout Cake Cookies with a Kick by my friend Jamie. Next year we really need to get the masses out to vote for us. The people who recruited tons of friends to show up won the fan-voted prizes by a landslide, but we're over it.. ;) Seriously though, it was a great and I'm so glad I participated.

Chef Diesel

Jamie & Jon

Sous Chef! 

I wasn't being a good blogger and didn't even check out all the tables because I was having fun chatting with everyone that came to mine, but some of the other cakes I saw at the event were:

• Goat cheese cheesecakes with cherry port savory topping (these won the grand prize. I really liked it!) 
• Cheesecake with ritz crackers? (another winner.. Didn't taste these) 
• Some sort of spam pineapple cake (no way would I ever eat spam...J tried one and thought it was bacon. I think he liked it) 
• Sangria cake (didn't try) 
• Tequila Sunrise cake (wasn't a fan) 
• Banana Cake (didn't try) 

The Food Experiment Tour goes nationwide with different themes in each city. If you're not in Boston, checkout their site because the tour could be heading your way! I heard that next years theme for Boston will be something savory, so my thinking cap is on. How can BostonSweetie go savory... I will find a way! I was being selfish and only took pictures of my own table, so those are here. Sorry for the poor quality, it was insanely dark in there! If youre dying for more, check out more at the Food Experiment's Flickr site, they came out great. Last thing- if anyone is interested in the recipe for the wine cakes, let me know in the comments below and I'll be happy to post. BostonSweetie, over and out.

Pimm's Cup Cupcakes!

One of my favorite gifts I've received was given to me twice, separately by two different friends: copies of a cookbook called "Booze Cakes."  it's a cute little book packed with recipes for sweets that are inspired by popular "adult beverages" or are traditionally made with spirits.  I think my annual Carbomb Cupcakes are what's inspired the purchase by both friends, as I love the idea of bringing cocktail favors into dessert.  My favorite recipe in the book is for chocolate merlot cake bites, but I will save that for another time.  Today I want to share a recipe that I made up myself for Cupcake Camp 2012, inspired by my Booze Cakes book- Pimm's Cup mini cupcakes.  Cupcake Camp was a blast and I will be sharing a recap soon!

A Pimm's Cup is a traditional and refreshing spring/summer cocktail that mixes Pimm's #1 licqueur with lemonade and or ginger ale, and is topped with a variety of garnishes, usually mint and cucumber.  I am excited to share my dessert version- Pimm's Cake with Pink Lemonade buttercream and a minted, candied cucumber garnish.   The finished product is a nice nod to the classic drink, with a little twist thanks to the pink lemonade flavor.  The candied cucumbers are definitely different, but worth a try.  They'd also be great in a cucumber martini!

If any of you attended Cupcake Camp and tried one, let me know what you think below!  And if you want to try these yourself, here are the recipes:

Pimm's  Cake
1 c. Pimms licquor
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
.5 tsp kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter
.5 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs


1) Pre-heat oven to 350.
2)  Pour put 1 cup of Pimm's and set aside.
3)  In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set this aside too :)
4)  Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
5)  Add one egg to the bowl, mix well, and then add the other egg and mix well
6)  With the mixer on low, add in 1/3 cup of Pimm's, mix then add 1/3 of the flour mixture and combine.
7)  Repeat step 6 two more times until all Pimm's and flour are incorporated.
8)  Beat all together for one more minute.
9) Line mini cupcake tin with liners and use a teaspoon to fill the liners with batter about 2/3 full
10) Bake!  Mine were perfect at 9 minutes.


Pink Lemonade Buttercream
7 tbsp. frozen pink lemonade (thawed)
4 cups confectioner's sugar
2 sticks of butter
3 drops red food coloring (you can adjust this or leave it out depending on the color frosting you would like)


1) Cream butter in mixing bowl until smooth.
2). Add confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  I added 1 or 2 tablespoons of the pink lemonade with each cup of sugar until it was used up, and the red food coloring at the end.


Minted, Candied Cucumbers  (my take on the recipe shared by the Cupcake Project)
1 cucumber
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint


1) Slice cucumbers into thin rounds and cut into quarters.
2) Use a wide pan at least 2" deep and pour in the water and sugar.
3) Heat on medium high and stir until sugar is fully dissolved.
4) Add the cucumbers in a single layer and reduce heat to medium-low.  Most pan sizes require this be done in two batches to keep the cucumbers from overlapping.  Cook each batch for 20 minutes.
5) While the cukes are poaching, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
6) When the 20 minute cook time is complete, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cucumbers to the parchment-lined cookie sheet, again in a single layer.
7) Place the cookie sheet in a 180 degree oven for 2 hours to dehydrate.
8) Finished candied cucumbers will be a bit sticky.  Peel off from the parchment paper and garnish your cupcakes!