Updated Pittsburgh Eatery Map

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I've edited my "Places to Eat and Buy Food in Pittsburgh" map. I've added some new places I like and removed some places that closed or changed hands. Remember, this list is personal, not comprehensive.

I leave for Paris tomorrow! We have tons of plans. Here are a few definite ones: We're having lunch at Le Jules Verne and dinners at Le Violon D'Ingres and L'Entredgeu (among other places). We're going to the Salon du Chocolat. We're going to some markets, cookware and serveware stores, and cookbook stores. We're going to Poilane, Pierre Herme, Sadaharu Aoki, Berthillon, Eric Kayser, and however many bakeries/chocolate stores I can cram in.

I'm planning to spend a good chunk of time just walking around. It's supposed to rain, but I don't really mind.

I've behind in the blogging- I have some funny stories about making restaurant reservations in French, and pictures of quiche lorraine, Peter Reinhart's cinnamon rolls, and two kinds of pumpkin muffins.

I will try and take plenty of pictures. See you when i'm back from Paris.

Sour Cream Fudge Cake w/ Peanut Butter Frosting

What makes a good birthday cake?

When I was a kid, I didn’t want a fancy, elaborate layer cake. I wanted a cake with Gumby on it. I wanted my mother to make the same lemon and german chocolate cake recipes over and over again. I ogled grocery store cakes adorned with neon-colored sugar roses and ballerinas, and I obsessed over a Cinderella cake complete with tired looking buttercream pumpkins and delicate figurines.

The mid-twenties birthday lacks the magic of a childhood birthday. In fact, if you live alone and far from home, birthdays can seem quite selfish. Casual mention your own birthday at work or in public can be misinterpreted as a scheme for free food, swag, and personal validation. Consequently, you get in the habit of either hiding your birth date, or telling anyone who will listen that you want NO gifts, NO parties, and certainly NO cake.

I rarely get cake these days. I’ve had my share of practically non-existent birthdays- the sort of birthday where you’re too busy reheating leftovers and rushing out the door for a five hour rehearsal to think about cakes and singing.

A good birthday cake doesn’t have to look or taste good (though it’s certainly a bonus if it does). In my opinion, birthday cake success is dependent on how, where, when, and with whom the cake is eaten. I asked a number of my friends to recall their favorite birthday cakes, and most of them said the majority of their cakes had been "average." So what makes an average cake spectacular?

My friend Anusha said: I like when it's something that is special for me...I love oreos, so an oreo anything cake is AWESOME. I also like when there's some deep tradition in it-like we got the same cake for YEARS for my sister's birthday."

My friend Peter said while he was on the Atkins Diet, his wife made him a cake out of frozen blueberries and cream. It wasn't exactly a cake, but it was "so completely insane" that he loved it.

One of my best friends turned 25 last week, and since he is worth celebrating I made him a cake. I picked out this Sour Cream Fudge Cake with Peanut Butter frosting from The Cake Book because it looked simple and good. We lit candles, sang, and ate huge, sprinkle-topped slices from the pan. The frosting consistency was a little strange, but nobody noticed.

For me, a good cake should rekindle memories of candles, singing, tradition, family, friends, and childhood wishes. It should reflect its recipient, and be given with the best intentions. I’ll turn a blind eye to stray eggshells, neon-colored frosting, or lopsided layers if a friend takes the time to make me a cake.

Sour Cream Fudge Cake
adapted from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup hot water

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

3. Put the chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl from the pot and set aside to cool until tepid.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium high speed until well blended and light. At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract until blended. Add the chocolate in two additions, mixing until blended. At low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream in 2 additions and mixing until blended. Add the hot water 1/3 at a time, mixing until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, stir the batter a few times to ensure it is blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

5. Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.

6. Frost the top of the cake with peanut butter frosting. Serve the cake from the pan, cutting it into squares and sprinkling with sugared peanuts (or chocolate sprinkles). Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural or low sugar.)
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup whole milk

1. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter and butter at medium speed until well blended and smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and mix until blended. At low speed, gradually add the confectioners' sugar in 3 additions, alternating it with the milk in 2 additions. Beat at low speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

2. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate.

Buttermilk Pumpkin Pie

I tried another pie recipe from The Modern Baker. It calls for chopped pecans, which I omitted for budgetary reasons. The crust was something of a disaster; I made two batches and the first was too wet to work with. Next time i'll be more watchful when adding the egg/water mixture.

This pie is relatively light- it uses 6 tbsp of butter in the crust as opposed to 9-16 (and I never use the whole batch) and buttermilk instead of cream or condensed/evaporated milk.

The recipe was for a 10 or 11 inch tart (I can't remember), but I only had a 9.5 inch tart pan. Luckily, the pan was large enough to accommodate the filling.

The pie was pretty good, but I prefer the Butternut Squash Pie I made earlier in the month.

With all the work and vacation planning, I've been a little behind in blogging. Rest assured that i'll give you more recipes soon!

Spiced Apple and Sour Cream Muffins

These muffins from Kate Zuckerman's The Sweet Life did not last two hours at work. I almost wish i'd saved an extra one for myself. The recipe says to divide the batter evenly among 12 molds, but the batter yielded enough for 14-16. Kate has also made a note of this on her website.

The muffins were tender, nicely-spiced, and studded with moist chunks of sauteed golden delicious apples. The apples I picked up at the Oakland Farmer's Market were fantastic and held their shape well.

I'm trying to ease up on the baking before my trip. Paris in less than two weeks! Here's a map of places/eateries that piqued my interest. I have pages and pages of suggestions from friends/guidebooks/blogs, and i'm trying to narrow them down. I'll be leaving in plenty of unscheduled time too. When I vacation, my favorite thing to do is just walk around and look at things.


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Sour Cream-Apple Pie

With some teeth-gnashing and trepidation, I've been trying the Carnegie Library's copy of Nick Malgieri's The Modern Baker. This new cookbook focuses on time saving tools and techniques geared towards busy home bakers. Malgieri is an accomplished chef and cookbook author, so I had really high hopes for his latest (given its conceptual similarity to The Weekend Baker).

I've had trouble with some of the recipes, and i'm not sure why. It could be my oven, my technique, or my interpretation of the directions. It could be the writing, the layout, or the original test conditions. It could be the weather. Anyway, here are some of my notes:

The small typeface is hard to read. Granted, I prop my cookbook a few feet away and glance at it periodically, but this is the first time i've misread measurements while cooking.

So far, i've only tried the Raisin Spice Squares, the Irish Soda Muffins, and the Sour Cream-Apple Pie. The raisin squares needed extra baking time, and they weren't to my taste. They had a brownie-like texture, which was distracting given that they don't have chocolate in them. I found the raisin and molasses flavor overwhelming.

The Irish Soda Muffins were quick to assemble, but plain-tasting (I omitted the optional caraway). They'd be nice spread with jam, since they're not too sweet.

The Apple-Sour Cream Pie was phenomenal, despite some technical difficulties. My crust drooped over the edge of the pan on one side, and the streusel sank deep into the custard (which overflowed slightly). The bottom didn't brown as well as I would have liked, probably because it was frozen when I assembled the pie.

Luckily, the finished pie sliced perfectly and everyone loved it. The crust was really interesting- the edges were crunchy, but the bottom was spongy and cake-like. It was a nice complement to the apples and sour cream custard.

I am very curious to hear if any of you have tried recipes from the book and whether or not you've had success. I'm going to try a few more- i'll let you know how it goes. I'm reminded of the experience I had with the Tartine cookbook, where no recipe I tried turned out the way it was supposed to...

I'm going try some more recipes, probably pies for now since the first one was encouraging. This blogger had some positive experiences with the cakes, and has posted some photos.

Butternut Squash Pie

This weekend, I decided to try David Lebovitz's recipe for Butternut Squash Pie. I bought a large butternut squash in the Strip District and defrosted a big chunk of leftover tart dough.

I really love the Rich Shortcrust Pastry Dough from this post. Even when rolled very thin, it stays flaky, delicate, and crisp. The base recipe is intended for savory tarts, but you can add 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar for sweet ones.

My tart shells were quite shallow; I ended up with enough filling for one 9-inch tart, three 4-inch tarts, and six 4oz ramekins (the original recipe is for one 10-inch pie). I baked the ramekins in a water bath until they were mostly set but slightly wobbly in the middle. They turned out well, though they'd be better with some whipped cream, ice cream, streusel, or sugared nuts sprinkled on top.

I'm not sure I prefer butternut squash pie to pumpkin pie, but it's certainly delicious and fall-appropriate. Like Lebovitz, I prefer this pie chilled (but i've always had an affinity for cold pumpkin pie).

Fall is my favorite season, and i've definitely caught the fall baking bug. You'll be seeing an assortment of apple and pumpkin desserts very soon...

Butternut Squash Pie
adapted from David Lebovitz's Room for Dessert
makes one 10-inch pie

2 pounds butternut squash (for about 2 cups pulp)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extrct
1 tbsp brandy
one 10-inch prebaked pie crust

1. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and rub generously with butter.

2. Slice the squash in half lengthwise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and fibers from the cavity. Place the halves cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, until tender and fully cooked.

3. While the squash is baking, mix together the cream, milk, eggs, sugar, spices, salt, vanilla, and brandy.

4. When the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and turn the oven down to 375F. Scoop out the squash pulp and add to the other ingredients. Mix until smooth in a food processor or blender.

5. Pour the warm filling into the pre-baked pie shell and bake for 30-35 minutes, until just barely set in the center. (I poured the filling through a strainer).

Whoopie Pies

I think whoopie pies are rather whimsical. There's something about the fluffy marshmallow filling and bendy, cakelike cookies that makes me wish I liked eating them more than I do. Generally, I make whoopie pies because they elicit ecstatic reactions from other people. Especially if you coat them in sprinkles.

This recipe isn't difficult, but you can get wildly different results if you're not careful with ingredient temperatures. The cookie dough and filling are easiest to make when the butter is quite soft. I think room temperature buttermilk would be optimal as well. Cold butter will make the filling lumpy and the cookies less uniformly shaped.

Three-bite Whoopie Pies
adapted from Abigail Johnson Dodge's The Weekend Baker

For the chocolate wafers:
2 cups (255g) all purpose flour
2/3 cup (57g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
12 tbsp (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (340g) granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the vanilla filling:
12 tbsp (170g) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups (177g) marshmallow fluff (not creme)
3/4 cup (85g) confectioners' sugar
2 oz (57g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla etract
1/4 tsp table salt

1. To make the chocolate wafers, position an oven rack on the middle rung. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well blended. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed until well blended. Pour in about 2/3 of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until blended. The mixture will look sandy, with small pebbles of dough. Add the buttermilk and continue mixing just until blended. Pour in the remaining flour mixture and mix just until blended.

3. Using a small scoop or 2 tbsp, drop 2 tbsp mounds of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time until the mounds are puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 11 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookies from the sheet onto a rack and let cool completely.

4. Prepare the filling while the chocolate wafers are baking. Combine the butter, marshmallow, confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until well blended and smooth.

5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the filling aside until the chocolate wafers are ready to be assembled. If the filling is very soft, refrigerate it, stirring frequently, until it's firm enough to hold its shape.

6. To assemble the pies, arrange half of the cooled wafers, flat side up, on a work surface. Mound about 1.5 tbsp of the filling in the center of each. Top with the remaining wafers and press gently on top until the filling spreads just to the edges. Refrigerate until the filling is firm, about 1 hour, or until ready to serve. The assembled pies will keep in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for 3 months.

David Lebovitz's Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I saw this photo, I knew I had to make these cookies. I did a quick Google search for "David Lebovitz's Chocolate Chip Cookies" and found the recipe on Heidi Swanson's blog. It's originally from Lebovitz's The Great Book of Chocolate.

I really like this recipe; it has a good ratio of nuts and chocolate to dough. I took care to use good quality semisweet chocolate and toast the heck out of the walnuts, and I found that the cookies can have a variety of different textures depending on how you bake them.

I shaped half of the dough with a tablespoon scoop. I rolled the remaining dough into a log, chilled it thoroughly, and sliced it into rounds. I think I prefer the slice-and-bake method; the finished cookies were visually striking and crispy. The scooped cookies were substantial, chunky, and a little softer in the middle. Baking time will also affect the texture.

I'm going to make these again with pecans instead of walnuts. I really couldn't be happier with how they turned out!

Crepes with Nutella

I can never make sense of crepe-making instructions. They say things like "pour the batter into the pan, rotating the pan so a thin layer coats the entire bottom." If you've never made a crepe, it can be hard to picture this process. You might try and execute it, only to find that your pan is too hot, your batter is the wrong consistency, and you haven't poured enough to coat the whole pan.

I also notice that people tend to be very opinionated about crepes. In your effort to learn more, you might ask a friend for advice. They might insist that you buy an expensive, "authentic" crepe pan or (heaven forbid) one of these. They will probably have a strong opinion on how long to cook the crepe, and how brown it should be (if at all).

I think crepe technique is best observed and practiced, not read. Try a few batter recipes until you find one you like and can execute it consistently. I'm partial to David Lebovitz's Buckwheat Crepes. I cook them in a flimsy skillet that cost less than $10, using technical cues from Jacques Pepin and my old catering boss. Since i'm usually cooking for one, I like to make all of the crepes and store them in the freezer for later filling/reheating.

This is one of those moments i'd love to be able to make a video.

How do you cook your crepes?

The Week in Review

1) I went to the Strip District and bought some vegetables, including a squash that I roasted with garlic, olive oil, sage, salt, and pepper. I also bought a delicious sesame-semolina baguette from Mediterra.



2) I made the Espresso Swirl Brownies from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies. Do not ignore the step that says to chill them for at least two hours. At room temperature they were a squishy, under-baked mess. Assuming they were ruined, I threw all but one into the garbage. The next morning, the chilled brownie was perfectly edible. That's what I get for trying to bake brownies when I have to rush out the door. They could've used 5-10 more minutes in the oven.

3) I booked tickets to Paris. My aunt and I are going October 26-November 2. Our itinerary is pretty flexible, but i'm pretty sure we'll be visiting the Salon du Chocolat.

I've been digging through books and websites trying to figure out all the places I want to visit/eat! Poilâne, Sadaharu Aoki, Pierre Herme, DOT (vintage kitchenware), Eric Kayser, Du Pain et des Idees, Grom, John-Charles Rochoux, Blé Sucré, pretty much anywhere mentioned on David Lebovitz and Dorie Greenspan's blogs.

In addition to planning, I will also be running and saving money like crazy...