Birthday Eats

24 long years ago, on a dark and stormy September night, I was born. OK, so maybe I'm over-dramatizing a little bit, but point is, I just celebrated my 24th birthday! If you know me, I get VERY excited about my birthday. I mean, it is the best day of the year ;).

What did I do to make the most of my special day? Well, Ann Arbor is known for having many birthday deals (summarized on the "city wiki" here), so I tried to hit up as many of these as possible, summarized below:

Northside Grill: A cute little breakfast/lunch spot nearby to where I live, they give you a free entree on your birthday. So I started my day there with the Cajun Skillet - complete with spice and andouille sausage. A delicious way to clear my sinuses first thing in the morning!

Breakfast of a (24-year-old) champion.

Lab Lunch: OK, so obviously this is not a restaurant, but it was a happy surprise that Kate, one of the post-docs in lab, made me pumpkin squares complete with homemade ice cream! They were so delicious, I begged for the recipe to make and share (with permission, of course!). See below. The squares were so gooey and perfect with a buttery crust that I ate TWO portions for my lunch. Because that's what you do on your birthday.

The whole platter is for me, right?

Zingerman's, Iorio's, and Cupcake Station: After ducking out of lab early (it was my birthday), I headed over to get my 15% discount at Zingerman's deli - I got 2 loaves of bread, fresh mozzarella, and a couple of their delicious brownies all for $26! Then over to Iorio's for my free small gelato - this time I had Riesling sorbet + dark chocolate ginger. They don't go together, but they were amazing of course. Finally, I wrapped up by heading to get my free mini cupcake at Cupcake Station - red velvet of course. NOM!

Mani Osteria: To top off a delicious day, I went to my favorite Italian restaurant in A2 - Mani Osteria. Recently named one of Travel and Leisure's top Italian restaurants in the nation, I made sure to finish my favorite day of the year by eating some of my favorite pizza. Mario Batali even likes their food, and was spotted here a couple weeks ago! My choices? Rosemary and pistachio, and a clam pie. Other favorites include sausage and peppers (for a little spice), and balsamic and burrata (with fresh mozzarella on top). Hungry just thinking about it...

Pizza pizza, everywhere!

Pickled tomato app - VERY recommended!

...of course they sang to me...

To everyone who made my birthday fun (and delicious) - THANKS so much, I had a great time :). Couldn't ask for more.

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Pumpkin Squares
Adapted from Dr. Kate
Makes a 9 x 13 pan

Crust
1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter (or margarine)

Filling
3 cups (1 lb 14 oz) Libby's canned pumpkin pie mix (NOT just pumpkin)
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
5 oz evaporated milk

Topping
1 cup reserved cake mixed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (or margarine), softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all crust ingredients, reserving 1 cup of the dry cake mix for the topping. Press into greased 9 x 13 pan. Combine all filling ingredients with an electric mixer, blend until smooth. Pour over crust. Combine all topping ingredients, sprinkle over the filling.

Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Serve warm, with whipped cream or ice cream on top.

PB Espresso Brownies

My lab seems to have a lot going on lately! First, Juhi finishes her med school apps, warranting cupcakes. Next, Kate, the post-doc I've been learning some cool imaging techniques with, has her birthday! Which I did not find out about until the day before. Luckily, I had a chance to ask my favorite screening question ("what's your favorite ice cream flavor?"). The answer: chocolate and peanut butter!

One of my favorite (and easiest) chocolate desserts to make is Giada's espresso brownies. Essentially all you have to do is fancy up some boxed brownie mix and BOOM you have a delicious treat with that extra kick. I decided this time to kick it up 2 extra notches (a la Emeril) and incorporate peanut butter into the brownies AND frosting. I seemed to be on a candy streak (after the Andes for the cupcakes), so I bought some mini Reese's and chopped them into "chips" to throw into the batter.

After that, I had to find a recipe for peanut butter frosting (because there's never such a thing as too much peanut butter). I simply spread the buttercream on top of the brownies, threw them in the fridge, and brought them into lab the next day.

How'd they go over? Considering the fact I had to hide one brownie to bring home, I think the lab enjoyed them. Words such as "decadent", "rich", and "best thing ever" were used to describe these creations. I'm really glad they liked them - here's the recipe so you, too, can wow your favorite chocolate-peanut butter lover. Don't even wait for their birthday.

Don't like coffee? Don't worry - these have a very subtle coffee flavor, as the espresso actually serves to amp up the chocolate. Ina Garten has an episode about it, so it must be true.

Peanut butter-y chocolate-y espresso-y goodness.

Kate's Peanut Butter Espresso Brownies
Makes 16 big brownies

Brownies - inspired by Giada
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. espresso powder
1 box brownie mix with chocolate chips, preferably Ghiradelli
15 Reese's minis, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk together water, vegetable oil, eggs, and espresso powder. Mix in brownie mix until just combined. Stir in Reese's.

Transfer to greased 9x9 brownie pan, and cook 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Frost with peanut butter frosting once cooled, allow to set in fridge before serving.


Frosting - inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter (NOT all-natural)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk (or cream)

Combine butter and peanut butter, beat until fluffy and smooth. Incorporate vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly beat in powdered sugar (adjust quantity depending on desired sweetness). Add milk or cream, and beat till smooth. The frosting may be a bit soft, so allow some time to set before serving or frosting.

Maple-Frosted Carrot Cupcakes

So my friend Xixi sent me a gchat yesterday - "Andrew, I'm making cupcakes for my lab... I need an assist, would you be able to help?" My response: "Uhhh YES of course! Let's do it!" Apparently our last foray into baking for her lab (chocolate red wine cupcakes) was such a success that she had to follow it up with something equally as delicious! Though I have faith in Xixi's baking abilities, she needed a little cheerleading from me to take her cupcakes to the next level. Note - it was all her, I just measured and mixed a bit.

She sent me over the recipe we were making - a Smitten Kitchen carrot cupcake with a maple cream cheese frosting. Ummmm YUM. I'm actually not super into carrot cake but I was in a mood so I acquiesced to her demands. So begrudgingly. This is what transpired...

Dry ingredients expertly combined. Lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger - almost like a pumpkin creation!

Slowly add the dry to the wet ingredients, otherwise you'll make a mess when you try to stir it in!

I told you - CARROT cake.

All these carrots make it healthy ya? 

Whilst we were waiting - an orange-strawberry ginger beer cocktail.

The final product - sorry it turned out slightly blurry.

As with previous cupcake recipes, this frosting was TOO SWEET if you add the full 2 cups of powdered sugar - so again I cut it down to 3/4-1 cup. There's also already maple syrup in there, so take that into account when you consider your sweet tooth.

What's the cocktail, you ask? Simply muddle juice from half and orange and 4 strawberries with 3 oz. rum. then distribute amongst three glasses, and top off with ginger beer (my new favorite mixer). It's a refreshing summer drink with a kick!

So, Xixi, I hope your lab loves *our* cupcakes (though it can be our secret that I helped). I'm free to help baking again anytime!

Blueberry Baking Bonanza (Pt. 2)

And the blueberries kept rolling in! Now for the dramatic conclusion of my escapades in baking the berry of the blue variety (recall part 1).

Lemon Blueberry Cookies: I was in a giving mood, so I decided to make some cookies to bring into lab. In keeping with my lemon-blueberry theme, I found this delicious-sounding recipe for cookies. I also did a slight modification - though I love cheesecake, I decided to forego the cream cheese center, mostly for time concerns. If I did want to add it, though, I would have whipped 4 oz. cream cheese with about 1/4 cup sugar to make a more cheesecake-like filling. Still, the cookies turned out cakey and delicious (some of my labmates decided they were more like muffin tops), and they are so light you could eat 10 of them. Except they have 1 cup of butter. Figure that one out... In my experience, they also didn't spread very much in the pan, and for me took about 13-14 minutes to cook.

Blueberry Balsamic BBQ Sauce: OK, so not baking technically but still amazing. I love blueberries, and of course because I'm Italian love balsamic vinegar, so when this recipe combined them both I died. Then made it. Then died again. I am only slightly bitter that I had to buy 24 oz. of ketchup to use 3 Tbsp, because I'm definitely not into ketchup. I also added about 1/2 tsp of pepper just to spice things up a bit (see what I did there?). As with the tomato sauce on my last post, WAIT for the blueberries to cool before transferring to the blender. The only thing worse than tomatoes all over your kitchen is blueberries. That stuff doesn't come out.

Over pulled chicken, with sauteed veggies on the side - recipe to follow!

What would you eat this over? ANYTHING - chicken, sandwiches, however you like your BBQ sauce. Maybe even a pizza (though don't tell my ancestors).

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars: For our lab retreat up to Northern Michigan (more on that another time), I had to bring some more baked goods (especially since they have had a lot of the windfall of my baking streak, I couldn't stop now). I'm also really into using boxed cake/brownie mixes in new and exciting ways because a) it saves me a ton of time and b) it looks like it didn't. So now that I have divulged my secret, here's the recipe. The only thing I noticed was that the top was browning a bit before the center was set, so I would bake uncovered for 40 minutes (until the top is sufficiently browned), and then cover with foil for the last 15 minutes or so (until the cheesecake part is set).

About to go into the oven - attempting to be artistic with the "crumb topping".

Fortunately, these were a big hit - they taste like blueberry cheesecake on a poundcake vehicle. Make a double-batch they're so easy!

As for the rest of the blueberries? They'll be eaten the old-fashioned way, just as they are :).

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

When the undergrad in my lab, Juhi, was almost-but-not-quite done with her med school apps, I decided to entice her with a proposition: finish the apps, get a baked reward from yours truly. Apparently it worked because she finished them within a couple days. However, admittedly it took me a couple weeks to make good on my promise, but nevertheless I did NOT forget!

How did I decide what to make for the occasion? I simply asked Juhi what her favorite flavor of ice cream was, and went off of that. When she said "mint chocolate chip" I was super-excited because I love mint too! So this would not be an unenjoyable experience (though is baking ever?).

I immediately scoured the interwebs for recipes - cupcakes, brownies, cakes, cookies, I saw them all. But when I found a recipe for cupcakes with a mint oreo INSIDE, I was set. And cupcakes are easy to work with for a group (much moreso than a cake, where you have to cut and make a mess blah blah blah).

Of course, no cupcake is complete without a delicious frosting, and because I was cheating with the cupcake (see below), I had to bring it on the frosting. Of course no mint cupcake would be complete without a mint frosting, so I found a delicious mint buttercream to use. In general, I tend to think most frosting recipes are too sweet, so I usually start with 1/2-3/4 of the sugar in the recipe and add more as necessary.

The final result? You judge for yourself how minty fresh I got with it. Needless to say, Juhi loved them, though probably not enough to re-do her med school apps just to get another batch (all you have to do is ask!).

Mint on mint on mint.

Juhi's Mint Cupcakes

Cake (makes 24) - inspired by Half-Baked
1 devils food cake mix
24 mint oreos
Andes mints, for decoration

Frosting (makes 1 cup) - inspired by Cooking Whims
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 Tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
12-15 Andes mints, finely chopped
green food coloring

Follow directions on cake mix for the cupcakes. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins, only filling about halfway. In each cupcake, push an oreo into the center, being sure to cover them completely (and not eat too many of the extras!). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the frosting, whip butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and a couple drops of green food coloring and continue to whip until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once incorporated, fold in the chopped mints. Transfer to a Ziploc bag or pastry bag (if you're fancy).

Once the cupcakes have cooled, pipe frosting on using your chosen method, and top with an extra Andes mint. Refrigerate until set.

Blueberry Baking Bonanza (Pt. 1)

...the first in a two-part series about a boy who baked way too much.

It's been said: When life gives you 7 lbs of blueberries, you bake as much as possible.

OK so that's not an actual saying, but I definitely can say I lived that mantra since deciding to go to a U-Pick Blueberry Farm in Dexter recently. I've never gone blueberry picking before, but I have to say it's really fun and a good way to spend an hour or so on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. And after earning your blueberries, don't you have a right to eat as many baked goods with them as possible? Another instance where calories don't count.

So what delicious goodies did I make, and how can you do the same if you're so fortunate to hit the blueberry jackpot?

Blueberry Oatmeal Loaf: Using this recipe, it turned out a bit dry (probably from all the oats). Next time maybe I'd cut down on the oats or add a bit more oil. However, it was delicious to eat with my next act...

Fresh out of the oven!

Blueberry Sauce: Think cranberry sauce but with blueberries. All the recipes I found had cornstarch which a) I didn't own at the time and b) didn't think was needed to make a delicious sauce, so I had to combine Ina Garten's recipe with some of my tricks from making a killer cranberry sauce. Here's what I came up with:

Makes 1 1/2 cups
6 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar (I started with a bit less and added more as necessary)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla 

Combine blueberries and sugar in a large saucepan, add water, lemon juice, and spices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer until thickened (about 15-20 minutes). The blueberries should "pop" and the sauce begin to turn a deep purple. You know you're done when the sauce is thick enough so that you can run your finger down the back of your spoon without the sauce filling in - note that it will thicken a bit more as it cools. 

Take off heat, add vanilla, and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve over cakes, roasted turkey (a la cranberry sauce), or even in a cocktail (blueberry sauce + vodka).

Mmmm simmering down. Hard to be patient while this is happening.

Blueberry Pie: Duh I had to make this. However, it's not as simple as you'd think to find a good pie recipe. Everyone has their own rules of cornstarch, sugar, lemon, everything that I was slightly overwhelmed with the possibilities. When I found this recipe, though, and everyone was raving about it (even my hometown TV stations), I knew I had my winner. Fortunately, by this point I had acquired corn starch and pie crusts in anticipation of making pie. For the crust, admittedly I did cheat - I used Kroger's frozen ones that I baked following package directions. But I'm a grad student, so I'm allowed a little shortcut every now and then!

It's healthy because there are fresh blueberries. Ignore the sugar and carb content.

If I had to do it again, I think i would cut down on the lemon or vanilla - having both in there was a bit funny to me, so I'd play around with the ratio. Also it does get better the more you allow it to sit in the fridge, so I'd make it the day before an event (if you have self-control!). Having fresh blueberries mixed into the pie was a really good idea, and made me feel healthier in practically eating from the tin. Almost.

...what did I make next? Stay tuned for part 2, coming soon to an Internet near you.