It's Spring at Huckleberry

Everyone knows I'm gay for Huckleberry. Today I ate this. A Lemon Kumquot Cake. I died. It's good.

Botanica Bakery Blows my Mind

Every once in a while a store-bought cookie comes along that is so yummy that I must eat an entire bag.  Tate's Chocolate Chip is one such cookie. Botanica Bakery's Fennel Pollen is another. WTF? You are probably saying. Fennel Pollen has no place in a cookie. Well, that is true unless you are Sondra Wells, the Chief Indulgence Officer of said company.  She decided to do a genius, girly mash-up between herbs and butter, between spices and sugar.



Woah!!! Weird!!! And yet so delicious. I tried all flavors (below), and the Fennel Pollen was my #1. Following close behind was Cardamom and then Cinnamon Basil. They go together really well! I am telling you it's weird but wonderful!



But the goodness doesn't stop at the w&w flavor combos. There are also only like 5 ingredients in each cookie. Yes, two are butter and sugar but guess what? They are organic! And, 5 ingredients?? That's holy awesomeness right there. They are like homemade but you didn't have to get the kitchen messy. Get these today - The Dish wholly endorses them.

Bling in Your Cereal

When my bud Nathaniel told me he was casting Cheerio's in 18k gold, I was not surprised.  This comes from a man with a history of blinged out junk food collaborations.  Last year he had a gallery show comprised of oversized photos of Swedish fish.  But I was surprised when I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming about the beautiful O's strung from a simple chain.  I really, really want one. Nat is a candy jewelry Einstein. Sweet and Gold. What more could a lady want? Except more than one.

Sneak Peek! Bake Out!

Joy the Baker and I baked out earlier this week... could a new series and a budding friendship be on the horizon? Bounce over to her blog to check out the full story.  Here's a pretty pic she took.

Science Cookies. Gross but kinda Cute.

Yes, these are mouse cookies with ears growing on their backs. Here for more geek.

Ladurée @ Colette

Ladurée as a mini-corner IN colette at the moment. Gah! To be in Paris.

West Village Breakfast

I forgot that one of the little pleasures of living in the West Village is banana pudding for breakfast. It's not debated that it's the best from Magnolia. Sneak back into bed with a little bowl-full. It even goes with freshly brushed teeth.

Vanilla Bake Shop

I found an elegant bakery on Wilshire yesterday afternoon while running a few errands. Vanilla divides attention between wedding cakes, cupcakes, delicate sweets and seasonal treats.  I was at first drawn in by the ornately decorated cupcakes.  Upon closer inspection, I was wowed by the flavors, which change daily.  I spotted key lime, pumpkin and mocha chocolate, which were specials as well as black & white, red velvet and "mom's birthday cake".




I was mesmerized by the ice box shots.



But in the end, I tried a macaron. I had pistachio, lemon, strawberry and chocolate from which to choose and I opted for the strawberry.



It really wasn't great - the cookies were overdone and thus crumbly and hallowed out and there was a baking powder aftertaste but the overall flavor was nice and based on the overall cuteness of the shop and the brisk cupcake business they were doing, I'd give it another shot - at least to try a strawberries and cream cupcake - you know, for comparison.

Best No-Gear Dessert

Moving never goes 100% smoothly, but The Dish’s Dish arrived in Malibu on Thursday September 24 (having packed up the office two days before) and still hasn’t been visited by the moving truck! There’s no office furniture, no living room set-up and, not to mention, no cooking gear!

But sitting on the floor and eating take out didn’t stop me from building a sweet ending to a few dinners. Behold, the oven-made s’more! Unless you’re going to have ice cream, most other desserts require some sort of utensil - whether it’s a pie dish or a brownie pan or ramekins. All you need for this treat is tin foil, graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate – all of which can be purchased at the corner store. Simply craft your s’more as you would while camping but worry about roasting the marshmallow first. Then, bundle the package into tin foil and heat in the oven at 350º for 15 minutes. Violá!  A dessert so ooey, gooey good, I’ll be eating it even after the furniture arrives!

Stuffed Wha?

What the.... I left NYC less than a week ago and things seem to be going bonkers. What is this stuffed cannoli place in the LES??? Sacrilege or worth the pilgrimage?

Porno

Swweeeet. I snapped this shot at Yasuda on my 21st birthday and still get a little tingly every time I take a peek.

Yogurtland in NYC

Last week in LA, my buddy turned me on to Yogurtland. It's a newfangled yogurt chain a la Pinkberry and Red Mango but this one is self serve. That's right, you pull your own yogurt. You also have about 10-20 flavors from which to choose and about that many toppings - that you also do yourself. Hence, my green tea, taro, strawberry combination each flavor with its own topping. Ahhhh...

Freezer at MILK

Oooooo and the freezer deserves a reveal. Homemade drumsticks and mint chocolate chipwiches!

Shake Shack Sweet Corn Custard

Yesterday was sweet corn frozen custard day at Shake Shack.  It's the second one I've tried and it's officially my favorite thus far. At first the corn was too subtle for me to taste but as I ate and ate, the flavor began to rise.  It was indeed subtle but defined itself in the after taste - a pleasant surprise. I am still holding out for dark and stormy flavor and watermelon tomato... but sweet corn is a serious contender!

I'm Melting

Today in the 90 degree weather I was fortunate to come across shake shack before I melted. They've got an excellent line up of daily custard flavors for August. Monday is salted caramel day. It was quite delicious... But I will taste them all and then decide.

Skipping Stones, Sweden Edition

Something familiar? In honor of my last week helping out at Appelfabriken, I decided to treat family and guests to our signature DISH Skipping Stones. These little wafers pack a punch with espresso, cinnamon and black pepper. Looking good on the dessert table, huh?

Rhubarb Coconut Crumble

A rhubarb coconut crumble might just be the perfect dessert to mix things up this 4th... I know it is here in Sweden. Simply mix 4 cups of chopped rhubarb with 2 tbsps potato starch and 1/3 cup sugar. Pour the dusted fruit into a springform pan lined with parchment paper. In a food processor mix 4 tbsps butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 2/3 cup coconut shavings and 1/3 cup agave. Give it a whirl for 10-20 seconds. Cover the rhubarb with the buttery coconuttty crumble and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. I added granola to my serving at the last minute. Voilà!

La Divina

I was caught off guard by the quality of La Divina gelato.  We'd read in a local paper that it had won best gelato/ice cream in New Orleans several years in a row.  But being from New York, skepticism is always the name of the game, huh?  Well, right off the bat there was something I really liked about Divina - the 2 oz bamino size for $2.  Everyone wins! It's the amount of gelato that you need.  And it's adorable.  Taylor went for the créme brûlè; I opted for the blueberry basil.  We could not decide which was better.



His was creamy, eggy and luxurious.  Bits of crunchy sugar were swirled throughout.  Mine was summery and rich.  The basil mixed with blueberry created an entirely new flavor sensation.  You must go and try for yourself.  Or, if you've been, what's your favorite flavor?

Sucre

Sucre is New Orleans' super sweet, super sexy patisserie.  While one part of the city heavily nods to France of yore, Sucre is a shout out to the sleek, nouveau patisseries of today's Paris like Pierre Hermé.  You can't go wrong with macarons here.



They've got the classic flavors and stray from them; just as they do with their gelato.  Try the coconut basil.  Or go for a filled cupcake.  Check out the key lime on the left.



I should have known that both Oprah and Paula Dean have put in their endorsements!

Chocolate Chips

This delightful tweet popped up in my feed this morning. Good news!