The Jealous Crumpet

A sweet little blog


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Day 3: Beignet Cafe #dinehsv

Beignet CafeThis week I’ve been participating in a food blog tour to kick off Huntsville’s Restaurant Week. Fellow bloggers and I visited three restaurants and got the inside scoop about what specials they would be offering from August 12th until the 21st.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, but what a sweet end it was. The last day of the food tour found us at Beignet Cafe. I recently went on a trip to New Orleans, so I came into Beignet Cafe wondering if they could match the culinary delights I’d experience in The Big Easy and boy did they ever. The food was equal, if not superior, to the Cajun cuisine I’d experienced several weeks earlier.12The restaurant itself is really cute, with simple, but cheery decor. Live flowers adorn every table and french signage gives the cafe an authentic NOLA feel. 9Of course, we started the proper way with sugar laden, warm and oh so wonderful beignets and full cups of Café du Monde, chicory coffee. At this point it had started raining, but that only added to the comforting effect of our soft pastry starter.

I did not made a good wardrobe choice that morning and was wear a black shirt, which was covered in sugar after my first bite. It was worth it! 2All of the bloggers order different dishes so we could try lots of items. I started with a cup of gumbo. It was excellent, with pieces of chicken, seafood, vegetables and the perfect level of spices.1For my entrée I had the Dirty Grits, which were covered in chunks of andouille sausage and chicken, cooked in Cajun seasoning. It was a perfect comfort food, spicy, but pleasant with creamy grits and savory toppings.5There was also a gorgeous Strawberry Feta Salad topped with blackened chicken and balsamic vinaigrette.6The Egg Bake with fresh fruits looked delicious, but I forgot to sample that. It seemed like a hit though. You could get three varieties of Egg Bakes: Veggie, Classic or Meat.

I might not have eaten the Egg Bake, but I did get a photograph of it. You know you have your priorities out of order when it is more important for you to photograph you meal than eat it. #photographerproblems

I might not have eaten the Egg Bake, but I did get a photograph of it. You know you have your priorities out of order when it is more important to photograph of a meal than eat it. (eye roll) #photographerproblems

We were all quite content, but owner Denise had one more surprise for us: Tres Leche Bread Pudding. One word: Heavenly.

I always wondered why Southerners loved bread pudding so much, because honestly bread pudding kind of sounds unappetizing. The first time I heard about it I envisioned chocolate Jello on top of Wonder bread. Yuck! But this Yankee admits she was wrong (again) and that Tres Leche Bread Pudding is delicious and decadent. Bread PuddingThank-you to Denise and the wonderful staff at Beignet Cafe for hosting us bloggers on this last day of the blog tour!!7And thank-you to the CBV for inviting me to the 2016 Food Blog Tour. As usually it was a great experience.8Make sure you check out my fellow bloggers posts about Beignet Cafe.

Katie Actually: http://www.katieactually.com/beignet-cafe/

Sweet T Makes Three: http://www.sweettmakesthree.com/places-to-eat-in-huntsville-alabama/

Rocket City Mom: http://www.rocketcitymom.com/huntsvilles-beignet-cafe/
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Frushi {Fruit + Sushi}

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I was 16 years old the first time I ate sushi. My friend Mandy had a car and with our new-found freedom we did what any rebellious teenagers would do and started experimenting with eating new foods.  I know, super hardcore.  Each weekend we would eat at a different restaurant and one weekend we found ourselves at Bubba’s Sushi Bar.  I have doubts about its authenticity (it was called Bubba’s), but it was Alabama and we had limited options.

We confidently told the waitress that we were here to eat sushi, but that confidence quickly dwindled when the waitress brought us a long list of sushi options and a little red pencil to place our order.  The list was overwhelming with words like and we were confused about how the portion sizes, surely it wasn’t $3.25 for 1 tiny roll.  We muddled through the order, selecting a couple of options that seemed safe.  We tried to watch other people to see how the whole sushi experience worked, but no one in our vicinity seemed to be eating sushi.  Despite being a “sushi bar” Bubba’s also sold burgers and barbecue, which was much more palatable to the North Alabama population.feature2

When our sushi arrived we realized we were out of our element and had no idea how to eat it.  There were all these neatly wrapped rolls, which we expected, but there was also thin, pink slices of some foreign.. vegetable.. maybe a fruit, a strange, green dollop of something, and an inexplicable, tiny, empty bowl.  Mandy and I re-consulted the menu, trying to decipher the various elements and figure out how to eat it.  We decided that the green blob MUST be avocado, like a guacamole for your roll.  I thankfully only tasted a little, but for anyone that has ever gotten a little heavy-handed with the wasabi a little can go a long way.

“That’s NOT avocado,” I choked, as the tears filled my eyes and my sinuses sprang open.Untitled-1

 

 

We finally admitted defeat and asked the waitress how to eat sushi.  She kindly explained each element, and showed us how to mix the soy sauce (THAT’S what the little bowl is for).  Now I eat sushi all the time and it seems ridiculous that I didn’t know how to eat it then.feature4

 

Here is a very lovely recipe for dessert sushi, frushi.  It’s a nice, fresh dessert, perfect for the spring.  The rice has cocoanut milk and is lightly sweetened.  I found it delicious just on its own.  Recipe Below.feature3

 

Fruit Sushi

1 cup uncooked sushi or other short-grain rice

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup coconut milk

¼ teaspoon salt

Thinly sliced fresh fruit (suggested: kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries)

¾ cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

 

1. Bring 1 ¼ cups water and rice to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until water is almost absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 15 minutes.

2. Place rice in a large bowl; add sugar, coconut milk, and salt. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

3. Divide rice into 20 equal portions; shape each portion into an oval. Top with fruit. In a small bowl, stir together yogurt and honey. Serve as a dipping sauce with the sushi.

Can be made ahead. Just cover and chill until ready to serve.feature5

As always enjoy and bon appétit!

 


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Frosting Cupcakes: The Lineup

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I’ve been framed!

So the plan was to learn how to frost a cupcake.  I had never done it before, but in my complete naiveté I thought it be the easiest thing in the world… I was wrong.

The first thing I did was go out and buy the frosting paraphernalia: small frosting tips, triangle-shaped bags, little plastic cuffs to keep the tips on the bags, etc.  The second thing I did was watch YouTube videos about how to frost a cupcake.  On the very first video the instructor says, “Don’t bother buying the small frosting tips, as they are rubbish.”  Of course, I had already purchased the small frosting tips.  Not the most promising start but I pressed on.frostingI watch several videos of professional bakers effortlessly frosting cupcakes and assumed I too would be an expert.  If they could frost a cupcake in ten seconds the looked like a greek sculpture, I surely cup frost a cupcake in 30 seconds that was half decent.  So I started with a naked cupcake, fully expecting baking greatness to flow from the frosting bag.

1Y2B5016With my frosting bag placed over the nude cupcake, I gently squeezed  the bag and waited for the frosting to spring out and create a masterpiece, but nothing happening.  It was a pretty sturdy butter cream frosting, so I squeezed a bit harder, and still nothing.  So I furiously squeezed, bursting the bag, and catapulting  frosting across my kitchen and self.  Despite the butter cream explosion not one speck of frosting landed on the cupcake.  I hadn’t bought many frosting bags, so I had to duct tape the bag together.

1Y2B5033At this point I got a glass of wine and sat down to watch a couple for YouTube videos.  With my duct-tapped frosting bag, 8 or 9 frosting videos under my belt and a slight wine buzz I felt ready to give frosting a second attempt.  I’ll admit that though I managed to get frosting to come out the of tip, rather than the side of the bag, my first few cupcakes were terrible.   I have included photographic evidence of my progression.

1Y2B5024I then practiced with each tip (the small tips ARE rubbish) until I was pretty satisfied.  I intended to have sleek-looking videos to show how to frost the cakes, but there was far too much swearing, tears and wine drinking to be acceptable for the general population.  Here are some stills of the start of the cupcakes with various tips instead.

1Y2B5123In the end I had 4 distantly different looking cupcakes, which I was perfectly happy with.  It retrospect the wine may have helped with my satisfaction level.  About an hour after I finished the cupcakes I also noticed that I had managed to get large amounts of frosting on the back of my head.  Not really sure how, just one of the many joys of baking.

1Y2B5092The recipe for the butter cream frosting is very simple, but probably shouldn’t be consumed if you have trouble with sugar as it has 6 cups of sugar in it.

1Y2B5043Butter Cream Frosting

2 cups (1 lb) unsalted butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Spread or pipe onto cake.

Enjoy!!!1Y2B5052