Serendipity

This past week one of my favorite mother-daughter duos, Jeni and Caroline, were in the Big Apple. Luckily, they love food and fun as much as me, so we had a week full of just that. Our first stop was Serendipity, an institution in NYC. It's been around since 1954. It's always been on my list but I hadn't yet visited. Jeni and Caroline have always raved about it, so I was pretty excited for my first experience.

I would describe the decor as a little girl's dream playroom, with lots of colors and whimsical decorations.

A flying monkey made of grass? ok. It fit right in.

Serendipity has a massive dinner menu (literally) but what they're really known for is their over-the-top desserts.

That's, like, a whole chicken....in her bowl. But you can never have enough fried chicken.

I was in the mood for some comfort food and opted for the chicken pot pie.

I think someone who drops $1k on a sundae might need to re-evaluate their life, but I'm oh so fascinated by this. Maybe one day they'll let me test it out for the blog? Yeah?

 The moment we had been waiting for: dessert! We decided on the frozen hot chocolate and a sundae with hot fudge and caramel sauce. MMMMMM.

The frozen hot chocolate is the dessert they're best known for. I had expected it to taste basically like a milkshake. To my surprise, it actually tasted like hot chocolate....but frozen. Imagine that! (p.s. can you tell Caroline is also a blogger by all my shots with her camera in the background? ha)

I have to say the sundae was my favorite. I'm just a sucker for hot fudge. It was out of this world!

Look at all that drippy goodness.

So excited for Caroline to be coming to NYC for school this fall! You should all be too, because blog posts always get better when you have blogging friends around ;)

XO,

Lo

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Chocolatey Fiasco

I've been a dreadful blogger. Absent, inconsistent, and unworthy of your love. So I thought I'd make you a treat.

Much to my dismay my sweet gesture turned into a bit of fiasco. They aren't pretty but it is the thought that counts, right?

I was feeling a bit blue on Friday, so I scurried over to Anthropologie hoping to indulge in a little retail therapy. It turns out I found this gem of a chocolatier's cookbook written by the Mast Brothers, the makers of rich, dark chocolate perfectly packaged out of Brooklyn. 

I felt like I had hit a gold mine when I was flipping through this giant book filled with inspiring desserts countered with a truly inspiring story. 

It seemed to be the perfect way to extend the olive branch to my loyal readers.

My first bite left me standing there, nose crinkled and brow furrowed. Where did I go wrong?

So, I went into damage control. I melted up the rest of the dark chocolate and started dunking the caramels. Sprinkled them with sea salt. Popped them in the fridge.

This gave them redeeming qualities but not so much in the looks department.

 I really owe you all one for sticking by my side! I know you are getting weary with all of these food posts. Buckle up. I'm headed West next week and I may not return.

XO,
Bee

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Churros + Hot Chocolate

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about those few glorious months I spent "studying" in Madrid and gallivanting around Europe in good company. 

One of my favorite things about Spanish culture other than the stellar scenery, wild night life, handsome men were los dulces. Thankfully my amigos Caitlin and Wil shared the sentiment. 6 months in Spain, and 4 years later those sweet treats have made a home on my hips.  

I was feeling overly ambitious after yoga on Saturday morning. I thought I would give recreating churros con chocolate a go. Let's just say I was patting myself on the back for this one. They weren't quite up to par with Chocolatería San Ginés (a hot spot for churros and hot chocolate near Puerto del Sol), but they are a close second.

Brace yourselves folks. You will be drooling once you reach the bottom of this post.  

Is your mouth watering yet?

Zeeee recipe (Source Cooking Classy)….

Churros:
1/2 c. Milk
1/2 c. Water
3 tbsp. Butter diced
2 tsp Granulated sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 c. Flour
Vegetable oil, frying
Cinnamon + sugar, for dusting

Pour oil 1-2" deep in sauce pan and heat up to 350 degrees (it is important that it stays close to this temp for the best results).

In a sauce pan heat up the the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil. Take off heat immediately and add in vanilla extract and flour. Mix together pretty aggressively until the lumps are gone and the batter is nice and smooth.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a large open star tip. Pipe out 1" bites cutting with scissors and dropping into hot oil. When the bites are nice and golden, scoop out with skimmer and lay onto baking sheet covered with several paper towels. Make sure to keep your batches small so as not to change the temp of the oil too much.

Once the churro bites cool a bit toss them into the sugar cinnamon bowl and toss them around. Your sugar to cinnamon ratio is up to your discretion based on how cinamonny you like your churros.

Chocolate Sauce:
1 c. Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips
1 c. Heavy cream

Melt your chocolate down in the microwave. I do two 30 sec increments stirring in between. Then 15 sec increments stirring in between until it's good and melted. Heat your cream up in a sauce pan bringing to a boil. Add the chocolate to the sauce pan until you have a nice smooth sauce.

Drizzle or dunk away, whichever floats your boat.

XO,
Bee

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Splendid Ice Cream

On a whim my brother took me to Jenis Splendid Ice Creams upon my arrival to Nashville. Who really needs an excuse for ice cream? Not this gal.

The creamery is nestled on a hip little corner in East Nashville. You can't miss it as their is often a line of people patiently and eagerly awaiting a few moments of bliss. It is just that good. So good that we made two trips in one weekend. The first time I oh so conveniently forgot my camera or so I said. Guess we will have to circle round for part deux.

The ice cream itself is out of this world delicious. But the experience is just as wonderful with kitchy little names and an impressively knowledgable, cheerful staff.

Toppings are called gravel. If you ask me, I'd like a little bit ice cream with my gravel. I was licking the bowl begging for more. Pour on some sauce aka hot fudge. All the other goodies including sprinkles, whipped cream, nuts, etc are your accouterments. I took the sundae approach, both times, more bang for my buck!

Living within close range would be very dangerous. Thankfully there is a 3 hour cushion. I'll stop yammering on. Enjoy!

Next time I'll get one of these to go.

According to this little lady, the ice cream isn't terrible for you. I didn't dig too deep, but I'll take her word for it.

The gravel. Chocolate Blackout has changed my life.

Kat, Jared's girlfriend, is clearly healthier than us without all the accouterments.

Jared and I might be related as we ordered the exact same thing only mine is better because it has sprinkles. We went for the Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate (phenomenal) and The Buckeye State (chocolate peanut buttery goodness packed in a scoop). Our sauce was hot fudge. Gravel of choice, both nights, Chocolate Blackout. Topped with homemade whipped cream (I watched them make it) and sprinkles for myself.

Gone in a flash!

Yes, I am a child too. I shared my chalk with the little one. I wrote "Jared loves the Buckeyes" because he made such a big deal about ordering an ice cream called The Buckeye State. He is not in fact an Ohio State football fan no matter how much he loves chocolate and peanut butter. He requested a name change.

His mother and sisters apparently taught him to show his affections in strange ways. Sorry Kat.

Lucky for all of you, you don't actually have to go to Nashville to get Jeni's. You can order it online too! You can buy the ice cream, sauces, gravel, and sandwiches here. Could be a great Christmas gift if I do so say so myself!

I will be seeing you again Jeni's.

XO,
Bee

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