Category Archives: Desserts

Bungalow Before Baby

Posted on by
8

Tuesday night, Jay and I realized that Wed night would be our last night solo.  My mom is flying in tonight from Florida, and she will be here until Wyatt is born so we wanted to have a nice date night to celebrate the next chapter in our lives.  I chose Bungalow 44, a restaurant in Mill Valley I’ve been wanting to try out for a while.  I drooled over the menu before we finally chose an appetizer to start with, the Gnocchi with Gorgonzola and thyme.  It was the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi I have had the pleasure of eating.  I loved the seared texture and it had the perfect amount of Gorgonzola.

photo 1Jay and I, as usual, split a couple entrees.  First up was the Sky Hill Goat Cheese Ravioli.  I loved the little fried basil leaf on top, I wish they had a few more of those on there.  It was a good dish, but didn’t blow me away.  Maybe a different sauce would have complemented the ravioli better?  Jay makes the best sauce so I’m spoiled.

photo 3Next up was the Pork Shoulder Chop.  This was the best (and biggest) pork chop I’ve ever had!  It was incredibly juicy and packed full of flavor.  Jay is a huge steak guy, and said this was even better than steak.  The beans and bacon tasted great as well, but I think some of the beans were a touch undercooked.

photo 2A pregnant woman always needs dessert!  The server recommended the Sticky Toffee Cake with their vanilla ice cream.  It was incredible.  The warm cake had a heartier texture (probably because of the dates?) and had a wonderfully caramelized exterior.  The ice cream and the butterscotch sauce was the perfect compliment.  I could have eaten another one if it was put in front of me.

photo 4It was an amazing dinner!  Bungalow 44 has great food and service, and I hope to go back!  Next time I want to try their Kickin’ Fried Chicken.  What’s your favorite part of a meal… appetizer, entree or dessert?

Share

Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream

Posted on by
9

A couple weeks ago I splurged and bought a couple boxes of my favorite Girl Scout cookies, Tagalongs and Samoas.  For anyone who isn’t a cookie freak like me, Tagalongs (aka Peanut Butter Patties) are crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolaty coating.  Samoas (aka Caramel DeLites) are vanilla cookies coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut, and laced with chocolaty stripes.  After nibbling on them here and there, I had half about a half a box of each and decided to dust off my trusty ice cream maker.  The result… ice creamy goodness!

Girl Scout Ice Cream 019Samoa Tagalong Ice Cream
makes about 1 quart

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • A pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 8 Samoas, chopped
  • 8 Tagalongs, chopped

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add vanilla extract.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the heavy cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Gradually pour some of the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula (about 5 – 8 minutes).

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  During the last few minutes of churning, pour in the chopped cookies.

Girl Scout Ice Cream 015This makes a delicious ice cream!  If you have other cookies, please us those instead.  But I especially love the combo of chocolate, coconut, caramel and peanut butter.  What Girl Scout cookie combo would you put in your ice cream?

Share

Better Late than Never

Posted on by
5

My Thanksgiving post is basically a week late, I’m bad! My only excuse is that I am super busy. Plus, of course, I was starving by the time we ate so the pictures suck because I was in such a rush. Other than that, enjoy!

The first thing I made that day was Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie. It was hard not to dig in to it until after dinner!

All the sides turned out great! I doctored up the Stove Top with sautéed onions, celery, apples and sausage.

The Sweet Potato Soufflé is always one of my faves. I could eat the just the topping for my meal. Who doesn’t like sugary, fatty, nuts? ;)

This was my first time ever making fresh cranberry sauce, and I am glad I did. It was so easy, and was delicious. It was tangy and sweet. It went great with a bite of turkey and stuffing.

My plate! It includes all of the above plus turkey and mashed potatoes. I wish I had taken a picture of the whole turkey, doh. We roasted a turkey this year (last 2 years we fried). The turkey was good, but nothing is as good as fried. I think the fried turkey ruined me for life. I wasn’t too full after I ate this, but I was saving room for pie!  Oh… there was a salad too, but I didn’t eat it, hehe.

A couple hours after dinner, I cut myself a big slice of pie. It was hands down the best pecan pie I have ever made. It had the perfect amount of chocolate, and the bourbon gave it just a slight kick.

It was a delicious Thanksgiving! Here are all the recipes we used. What was your favorite part of your Thanksgiving meal? Mine was the Pecan Pie and the Sweet Potatoes…and the Stuffing :)

Share