Friday, October 28, 2011

Food Photo Friday - Pumpkin Gooey Cake

Whoever came up with this cake is genius. The person who made this cake is more of a genius; because she knew what I was craving. I've been wanting pumpkin cheesecake for quite some time. What better way to eat it then to slap it on some yellow cake. I love this cake because it reminds me of the holidays (which are approaching very soon!) From what I know, the top of this cake consists of pumpkin puree and cream cheese. The bottom layer is yellow cake mix, eggs, and butter. Match made in dessert heaven. Thank you, Megan Dang!!

ALL GONE! =D

Happy eatings!! =)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Best Thing I Ever Ate: Burgers

I love the show "Best Thing I Ever Ate." I wish I could be like my favorite chefs and be featured on the show, but sadly I'm not.... BUT I CAN blog about it! =)  I've had burgers from famous burger joints like Five Guys, Mighty Fine, In-N-Out, Carl's JR. and Fat Burger. But these burgers cannot compare to one of the best burger joints in Austin, TX. Which place do you ask? HOPDODDY! Even the name is cool!

Hopdoddy Burgers
1400 S Congress Street Suite 190A
Austin, TX 78705
(Even has a free parking garage!!)

Their beef patties are made from hormone & antibiotic free moo cows and they grind their meat daily. Their buns are made from scratch and are baked more than once a day. Not only that, their fries are handcut from these amazing little potatoes called Kennebec potatoes. I've never had fries this good... Especially from handcut fries. They have the right amount of seasoning and crunch. Can't have soggy fries! 

The first time I went to Hopdoddy, my hubby and I got the Llano Poblano (beef patty, pepper jack cheese, roasted poblano chiles, apple-smoked bacon, and chipotle mayo) and the Peking Duck burger (one of the burger specials at the time). Have ya'll ever had peking duck? If you like it the Chinese way, you'll love it the Hopdoddy way! It was amazing tasty and the duck breast patty was so moist. I keep hoping the burger will make its way back to Hopdoddy. Hopefully SOON! =P

I went with my friends yesterday and had the original burger. I was kinda on a budget and didn't feel like getting anything too extravagant. I'm so glad I got the original burger bc it was way better than any other "original" burger I've had at other places. Don't get me wrong... I do love me some In-N-Out, but you can taste the love and attention that goes into the Hopdoddy burgers. 

My Original w/ Cheeeeeeeese
My Friend's Buffalo Bill w/ Fries
Chili Cheese Fries
Terlingua Burger making a cameo in the back ;]
SO much food. We pretty much gave up on the fries since there were 5 of us, 5 burgers and 3 orders of fries lol...

If you haven't tried Hopdoddy yet, I suggest you do so! There is some thing for everybody here. And if there's a line, it's worth the wait. The fresh, delicious burgers are to die for. You're gonna want to keep coming back after that first bite! =)

Happy Eatings!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Food Photo Friday - Homemade Lemon Madeleine Cookies

My honey has always been in love with these cookies. We used to buy them in the little packages at Starbucks (the sea shell shaped cookies) and he kept wanting me to make them at home. I finally found a recipe a couple months ago courteous of Food.com and have perfected my little lemon madeleine cookies. Maybe you can make some for your friends and family. They will surely enjoy them... All of mine do! =)

Recipe:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
10 tablespoons melted butter; slightly cooled

Lemon glaze: (I usually just eyeball the ingredients)
Approx. 2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 1 ratio of lemon juice to water (i.e.; 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water)
I just mix it until the glaze is slightly runny

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Step 1: Beat eggs and sugar together


Step 2: Add vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt and combine


Step 3: Add cup of flour and mix until combined

 
 It'll be really thick like this

Step 4: Drizzle butter in slowly while mixing


Step 5: Spray mini cupcake pans w/ cooking spray and dust with flour so the cookies don't stick to the pan


Step 6: Use a tablespoon measuring spoon and scoop in the madeleine mixture. I usually scoop just a bit shy of a tablespoon because the mixture will puff up

Bake for about 10 minutes, just until the edges are brown
Take the cookies out of the pans immediately so they can cool...
Leaving the cookies in the pan for too long will cause them to overcook and become hard.

Directions for the glaze:
Mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice and water until the glaze is slightly runny. You don't want the glaze to be too runny because it'll run right off the cookies


After the cookies have cooled a bit, dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and let the glaze set.


And voila! You come out with these lovely, delicious, little morsels of GOODNESS.
Hope y'all will enjoy these as much as I do;
The reactions from your family and friends will make you feel great.
But beware: once they taste them once, they'll keep wanting more and more! =)

Happy eatings!