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!