dessert

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15 Minutes to Yum

February 15, 2012 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 14 comments

Could it be possible Nutella jars look even more beautiful in black and white? Could I possibly have any more work this week? Did you have a good Valentine’s Day?

This week has been absolutely insane with conference calls and new projects. Yay! But, it does get overwhelming to sort of always have to adjust to a new schedule. By the time work and running were done at 7:00 last night, the last thing I wanted to do was to cook. I did want to make something a little sweet and decadent for Valentine’s Day though. Once again I garnered inspiration from my Philadelphia cream cheese cook book (Thanks, Mom!), grabbing a savory recipe and turning it into my own sweet creation.

It involved three ingredients.

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls

4 ounces cream or Neufchatel cheese

As much Nutella as you like

Preheat the oven to 350.

Roll out the crescent roll dough into two rectangles on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Top one of the layers of dough with cubed cream cheese and dollops of Nutella. Honey and cinnamon would also probably be good.

Fold the second layer of dough on top of the first, and push corners down to seal the fillings in.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Remove the dough from the oven once it is golden brown on the outside. Set aside to cool, the cut into desired servings. Be sure to heat any leftovers before serving so to achieve the below gooey consistency.

The dough ended up light, flaky, and buttery, and the sweet Nutella was cut by the creamy, more savory cheese. I love desserts with cream cheese or any sort of cheese. (Check out Emily’s Palmiers. I am making these ASAP!)

The end result is not too sweet and made for a dessert that appeals to lots of palates. It also makes an indulgent breakfast with an espresso. Smile

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the long weekend already. What’s your best trick for getting through an exhausting week?

Tags: breakfast, dessert, Nutella, recipe

You have to go here.

February 10, 2012 in cocktail, Food, Restaurants, wine by traveleatlove | 14 comments

Where, you might be asking? Darryl’s Corner Kitchen and Bar! I can’t believe I have been missing out on this incredible gem in the South End. I first heard about Darryl’s at the Spoonful of Ginger event at the MFA last year. Their fried catfish was crispy and light, and the woman serving was sweet and welcoming. Yet, somehow, with all of the restaurants in Boston, we never got there.

On Wednesday night, we were texting back and forth trying to figure out where to go on a date before I headed to NJ for four days. I was tired from another long-ish run and a crazy work day, and I didn’t want to go anywhere super fancy. I should tell you that, as much as I like a really nice high-end restaurant, I don’t like eating anywhere super fancy where it’s so quiet everyone looks at you if you drop your fork or something. I like a good level of noise and a feeling of comfort in a restaurant, so when I was browsing through Open Table, I was looking for casual with great food. Darryl’s popped up as having openings, so I checked out the menu. I instantly knew it was the perfect spot for the night.

We were instantly pleased when we walked into the warm, cozy restaurant and saw a jazz band setting up. Darryl’s is dimly lit and has its own unique style, a mix of classic jazz bar meets South End modern.

Our entertainment for the evening turned out to be Phillip Young and Friends, and they set the mood nicely.

I found myself dancing a little in my seat throughout the meal. The music was perfect; we could chat over it. The musicians were super talented, and they looked like they were having a blast.

I kicked off the night with one of Darryl’s specialty cocktails, of which there are many. The “Kind of Blue” featured Cold River Blueberry Vodka, pomegranate juice, and Triple Sec. It was both sweet and tart and actually reminded me of a Sweettart candy. I loved it.

Ordering dinner has never been so difficult. I wanted so many items from all parts of the menu, but I finally went with the first thing I set my eyes on, crispy cheese grits with beans, greens, and tomato gravy.

My husband had the fried chicken with sweet potato fries and mac and cheese, and we shared a side of cole slaw because I love cabbage and mayonnaise.

Once the food was put in front of us, we stopped chatting and enjoyed the music and the heavenly bites put in front of us. Each bite of crispy grits got doused in a tangy tomato sauce and topped with perfectly made greens. I also snagged multiple sweet potato fries which were lightly sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Oh, and the mac and cheese? Total, complete cheesy comfort food. This is the place to be after a week of running.

When our server returned to clear our plates, we did not even need to see the dessert menu to know that we wanted the red velvet cake. Our dining neighbors on both sides ordered it, and we were those people, you know, the ones staring at other people’s food.

The cake was the perfect portion, was nice and cold the way I love cake to be, and was layered with slightly sweet cream cheese frosting. I am in love with this cake.

The service at Darryl’s was so friendly and warm; they were busy, and our server had most of the room. She totally took it in stride, smiled the whole time, apologized for any wait, which wasn’t long, and just made the experience fun.

We loved the food, the people, and the buzz about this restaurant. It was the kind of place that makes you smile ear-to-ear, the kind of place you want to linger.

We might go back next week.

Happy Friday! I am blogging from NJ this weekend while my hubs works the Boat Show in Boston.

What are you up to this weekend?

Tags: Boston, cake, cocktails, dessert, Food, Restaurants, wine

My Kind of Dessert

January 12, 2012 in Food by traveleatlove | 9 comments

I love a dessert that requires no flour, baking soda or powder, pre-heated ovens, or even baking. Through my time poking around Pinterest, I have found dozens of recipes for everything from cocktails to dessert to healthy meals in between. I kept coming across Chubby Hubby truffles, and since they are the perfect marriage of salty and sweet, I decided to combine the Chubby Hubby idea with the haystacks I made as a child (peanut butter, chocolate, chow mein noodles, and sometimes butterscotch chips) and made chocolate peanut butter pretzel stacks.

I started by crushing a cup and a half of pretzels. Crushing things after a long day is fun, so this was one of my favorite parts. I set aside the pretzels while I got to work on the main part of the dessert, the peanut butter mixture.

It contained:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons light brown sugar. . . after my last baking snafu I finally bought some!

3 teaspoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon softened butter

a pinch of salt

Once the peanut butter mixture was whipped up, I folded the crushed pretzels in and then made little stacks out of the pretzel peanut butter mixture.

I let these chill in the fridge for a few hours and then added the final touch, a dollop of melted chocolate on each stack.

Once chilled, these were a delightful two bite treat. They don’t look like or contain as much chocolate as the traditional Chubby Hubby truffles, and I didn’t intend them to. I just really liked the flavor combination. And my not chubby hubby did as well! I think he preferred me calling them something different, to be honest. Winking smile