I Need Apple Pie Right Now

No, I am not preggers. But the mention of Perry’s (below) jostled what is left of my memory and I remembered eating a bitchin’ piece of apple pie there. I also like the mile-high version at Sammy’s Bar B Que and the fried apple turnover at Goff’s. Et tu, Dishers? Spill it.

Duck: Incoming Cupcakes

This chick’s name is Pamela Jenkins. In Las Vegas she is known as the Cupcake Queen. Pamela was born in Jacksboro, Texas. According to her website, she “studied in New York City, Spain, Argentina, and has traveled the globe. She is a total “foodie,” loving to visit the culinary establishments of Vegas.” Riveting. She ended up in Vegas as the executive assistant to the CEO of the Golden Nugget casino. One day she was sitting in her office reading a story in the newspaper about a woman who was selling cupcakes. In January 2006 she quit said job and opened The Cupcakery in Vegas. She sold 275,000 frickin’ cupcakes (at $2.75 a pop) in one year. This summer, The Cupcakery will open a location in The Shops at Starwood in Frisco. You’ll be interested to know that when Jenkins is not spending time creating new cupcake recipes, she spends time with her three dogs Josephine, Tora, and Calypso, riding horses, and doing Bikram Yoga. You’ll also be interested to know that in my spare time I write about former executive assistants who turn into millionaires by selling cupcakes. I want my mommy.

$1M Cookies Worth the Effort

Last week, in a fit of baking-nerdness, I cut out the recipe for the Pillsbury Bake-Off $1 million winner—Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies—from the DMN’s Taste section. This weekend, I tested it out. Despite my utter lack of technique and  bastardization of the cookie-forming process, the end result was not half bad. I am a cookie monster and easy prey for any and all homemade treats, but my husband schlepped the cookies to his Saturday night poker game, where they apparently went over as well as they did in my kitchen.

I Love Pimento Cheese

Yesterday, I mentioned that I ate a pimento cheese sandwich. The wrap in question was made by Two Sisters Catering. They make a lovely pimento cheese. So does Corner Market on Greenville. We all know Highland Park Pharmacy makes one and I love to eat their grilled version, the Palm Beach, but I think the atmosphere adds to the actual taste of the sandwich. Central Market does a fine version during Hatch chile season and Whole Foods always has a mixed cheese version in their cold case. I love to dip potato chips, celery, tostadas, and my fingers into a good ol’ bowl of pimento cheese. I’ve been known to melt it on a burger or a baked potato. (Yuck, I’m going all Paula Dean on you, sorry. Next thing you know I’ll be doing shots of butter and snorting lines of sugar.) Anywhoo, I make the best pimento cheese and will not share my recipe until Pillsbury pays me $1 million. (Hello, Pillsbury? I use more than SIX ingredients. The number is 214-939-3636.) Do you love it? Share your recipe or restaurant. I want it now.

I’m a Pillsbury Bake-Off Slacker

OK, I know the Pillsbury Bake-Off was held in Dallas this week and I know I am a reporter in the food business and I should have been there. I could not make myself go. But DMN’s Michael Granberry did and he reports that the winner took home $1 million for her recipe for double-delight peanut butter cookies. Note to chefs: she used SIX ingredients. Hmm.

Update: Whoopsie, so did “Our Own” TG, she’s a frisky little baker herself.

The Easter Bunny Is Almost Here

Still haven’t bought any Easter treats for this weekend? Well, as long as you pop into Celebrity Bakery for some iced bunny sugar cookies, cupcakes, or petit fours, your kids won’t be disappointed. (And we all know how you hate to disappoint your children.)

Show Some Luv

So I’m sitting here, enjoying my grande nonfat latté from Starbucks with a deliciously crunchy chocolate chunk biscotti from dunkluv in Grapevine. Owners Sara and Matty McLain quit their day jobs to start this biz, and boy I am glad they did. The biscotti has just the right texture—love that loud crunch in your head when you bit into it—and it can stand up to any hot beverage. Other flavors include cranberry walnut, lemon, honey, and almond, and the couple will customize packaging for a special occasion like a wedding. Luv it!

Sweet Tart

The one thing I miss about Easter is getting an Easter basket. (Mom, are you reading this? I know I’m all grown up, but still.) Well, if you don’t want to create your own, Tart Pastry Boutique will do the hard work for you, filling your favorite baskets with delights such as candy, iced Easter shortbread, Rice Krispie treats, and tea cookies. So pretty! Your kids may not appreciate it, but it could make a lovely hostess gift—or a great Easter present for your thirtysomething daughter. IJS.

Foodie On A Mission, Part 7

Ohmigod. Broccolini rabe, ricotta, oven-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella pie at Pizzaria Delfina. Sadly, due to the unique atmospheric conditions in San Francisco, this crust can not be made in Dallas. Like bagels in NYC, the chemical reactions involved in baking just can’t be replicated.

Foodie On A Mission, Part 5

Tartine Bakery. Great cookbook and greater pressed sandwiches. Shook their heads “NO” when they saw my camera. All of those James Beard nominations must have gone to their heads.

Villa-O O-pens To-day

Dallas, we finally have an organic pastaria. I really shouldn’t be so smug, I should be glad there is a new restaurant that isn’t slinging dressed up steak or fish. So, with the joy of a potentially brilliant plate of Italian food in my future, I announce  Villa-O the newest concept from Robert Colombo (Trece and The Club) è aperto in the old Samba Room spot on Travis. The menu takes its cues from Italy’s Isle of Capri and is “full of innovative twists on Italian classics.” Seasonal organic produce! Free-range meats and “jet-fresh” seafood! (Not touching it.) All pasta is handmade daily using organic, imported semolina flour. There’s a wood-burning oven for breads and Neapolitan-style pizzas. And—semolina durum roll please—water is purified and gassed through an in-house water system. Plus, and this is where Villa-O differs from most of Dallas’ other Italian joints, the chef providing “the culinary direction”,Vincenzo Indelicato, is Italian! I say prego, let’s all give it a try and report back. Capice?

Cookies In Time For Love

Who doesn’t love iced cookies? We do and so does Dunia Borga of La Duni Latin Café and Aló. She has created some lovely hearted shaped cookies just in time for Valentine’s Day and they’ll be available at both La Duni locations and Alo.

Lady Needs Chocolate Cake, STAT

(And she isn’t even preggers.) A dedicated Disher is “trying to find a bakery with a “killer” chocolate cake.” That’s a little harder than it sounds. Sometimes when I’m in the mood for CC, I head to Stein’s Bakery for their old-fashioned sugary version. However, seeing as I’m a single dog mother, I don’t tend to by whole cakes, I get my dessert fixes at restaurants. Like Truluck’s or (warning: loud groovy music) Hibiscus–they both have dangerously deadly CCs. Hell, Ain’t No Mo! Butter Cakes does the trick as well. This lady is desperate y’all. Get busy.

Tart Has Room to Party

While we’re on the subject of bakeries, I had dinner last week (Kavala: amazing) with the cousin of the owners of Tart Bakery on Lovers Lane. As reported here, they’ve expanded north and opened up a space at the Shops at Legacy in Plano. In addition to carrying the same tasty treats made famous at the mother ship, my friend relayed that the suburban outpost also has a party room, perfect for bridal/baby showers or any other baked goods-friendly occasion.

Re: Congrats to Society Bakery

Not to diminish the excellence of Society Bakery’s cupcakes, but I think Ellen should have tried the Ding Dong cake. It’s a masterpiece—way better than the Hostess confection that inspired it. Anyone up for a late-afternoon sugar run?

Best Buns: Garden Bakery

If you’ve never been to a Chinese bakery, put it on your list. I’ve been going to the Garden Bakery in Richardson for about eight years, and always leave the place a little happier. Stopping by on a Saturday morning, or after work, there’s just a comfort food aspect to it. These aren’t steamed buns (or dumplings, get those up the street at Jeng Chi), but rather baked bread with different types of fillings. It’s a sweeter type of bread, each in it’s own plastic bag. The first one I ever tried was the red bean bun, and it’s still my favorite. They’ve also got mung bean, curry beef, bbq pork, and various creams/custards. Everything’s around a $1, and it’s cash only. On your way out, stop next door at Boba Latte for some bubble tea. Or even better, eat at First Chinese BBQ (also next door and cash only) and head to the bakery for dessert.

Baking Bread, Devils on Horseback, Fearing’s, Stephan Pyles…

Updates from over the break:

-Baked bread using mom’s hippie bread book. Hippie’s know their bread.

-Made Devils on Horseback, which despite initial weird looks from a mostly Catholic family, got rave reviews. (If you’re ever in NYC, and want to eat at a restaurant in an alley, try the Devils at Freemans.)

-Attempted Mark Bittman’s “Easiest and Best French Bread” recipe using a food processor. The result was not easy or best. At the end of the day, all I had was a busted Cuisinart (with smoke pouring forth), and crappy dough that wouldn’t rise. So maybe I should have read the previous page that calls for a large enough machine…. I’ll still take a copy of his new Vegetarian book.

-Had drinks with a friend who ate at Fearing’s and Stephan Pyles within a week of each other (he says work was buying). In short, this is how it went:

Went to Fearing’s on a not-so-busy night. I’ve had better service at Black Eyed Pea. Food wasn’t nearly as impressive as the price. Pyles was the opposite. It was packed, the Cowboy Ribeye was fantastic, and the service was the best I’ve ever had.

You can guess where he’ll be going next time. I’ve seen mixed reviews of Fearing’s elsewhere, too. I haven’t been to either…yet.