Let Them Eat Cupcakes

Cambridge’s Bastille Day celebration proved to have better food than the typical street festival. At this event - hot dogs, cotton candy and fried dough were replaced with Crème Brûlée, Macaroons, Paninis and pastries - served up by local french bistros and cafés. Although Holyoke Street would have by no means passed for the Champs-Élysées, its lively music and great food visibly made many local Parisans proud.
Sweet – Improper Bostonian’s 2009 winner of the Boston’s Best Cupcakes sold creamy Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Dark Chocolate cupcakes topped with butter cream frosting and decorated on-theme with red, white and blue sprinkles. Chez Henri took street food to the next level, with their version of vanilla bean Crème Brûlée - with sugar crusts being burnt to order. The dessert was the perfect combination of rich and creamy, with a thin and crunchy crust.

French or not - Bastille Day (July 14) is the perfect excuse to make your own Crème Brûlée. I am posting a copy of my favorite recipe to make at home. This recipe replaces the typical vanilla bean with fresh ginger, and is paired with a warm fruit compote. Bon appetit!!

Alfred Portale’s Ginger Crème Brûlée with Warm Plum and Raspberry Compote

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
4 6-ounce ramekins

Position a rack in the center of the over and preheat to 325 F. Place the ramekins in a large baking pan. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream and ginger to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Gradually whisk in the cream. Strain through a wire sieve into a bowl, and discard the ginger. Place the baking dish with the ramekins in the oven, and carefully ladle or pour the mixture into the ramekins. Using a teaspoon, skim off any foam on the surface of the custards.

Pour enough hot water into the baking pan to come ½ inch up the side of the ramekins. Bake until the custard sets firm (the centers will be slightly loose), 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the water bath and cool completely. Cover each Ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Warm Plum and Raspberry Compote

2 tablespoons butter
3 ripe dark-skinned black plums, pitted and cut into sixths
2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of the plums
¼ cup fresh orange juice
½ pint fresh raspberries

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat. Add the plums and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the plums begin to release their juices, 3-4 minutes. Add the orange juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the orange juice is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and fold in the raspberries.

To serve:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Position a broiler rack about 6 inches from the source of heat and preheat the broiler. Rub the brown sugar through a wire sieve to cover each custard with a dusting of sugar. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet and broil, watching carefully to avoid scorching, until the brown sugar has caramelized, 1-2 minutes. On a large plate, place a Crème Brûlée and a small dish of the compote.

'Chef's Table' at Olives

On Friday night Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I decided to join the tail end of Boston Restaurant Week and ended up at Olives in Charlestown, sans reservation. When we showed up, the restaurant was fully booked. Although after a little back and forth whispering, we decided to stay – we figured we could always elbow for a meal at the bar or have a drink and go someplace else for dinner. We were not expecting that the hostess would come over to us shortly to offer us the two best seats in the house – the 'Chef’s Table' .

At Olives, the 'Chef’s Table' is two seats at a counter that directly look into the kitchen. On the backside of the pasta station, these seats gave us a birds-eye view of Bobby making order after order of Sweet Pea Angnolotti, the new girl making countless orders of Seared Scallops (with Chef Joe Brenner very close by her side), and the rest of the action on the line.

After conversing with the line on their favorites, Mr. Charlestown Culinary started with the Beef Carpaccio (pictured below), which was served over a gorgonzola potato cake and mixed greens, topped with scallion aioli, balsamic drizzle, onions and shaved Parmesan cheese. My choice of the Sweet Pea Angnolotti was driven by being able to watch Bobby make my dish directly in front of me. For this dish, he cooked the stuffed fresh pasta in a butter broth, plated it on a Fontina cheese fondue, topped it with sauteed fava beans, peas and asparagus, then finished the dish with greens dressed in olive oil.
For our entrees, Mr. Charlestown Culinary chose the Wood Grilled Bass. The fish was served on horseradish whipped potatoes and finished with bacon, fennel, green beans and a lobster salad. From recommendation of the kitchen, I had the Seared Sea Scallops (pictured below), which were served with a spinach pesto cous cous, bacon, tomato-based sofrito and smoked paprika.

While we ate, Chef Brenner came over periodically to talk about everything from spring onions (‘Spring means no more turnips and carrots!’) to NCAA picks (sorry Chef about Gonzaga…) to Gordon Ramsay's show Hells Kitchen (completely staged) to Todd English’s visit to the Charlestown location (always visits the kitchen first) to the ribs on my blog (better than Red Bones). Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I couldn’t get enough. When our dessert was delivered (a flourless chocolate cake served with mango and sour cherry sauces), we were both slightly disappointed that our meal was coming to an end. Fortunately though, our server and the kitchen encouraged us to stay, which we did until the kitchen closed.

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do

Have a chocolate craving? Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I found your cure. On Valentine's Day, we followed up our meal at Casablanca's with a walk around Harvard Square and dessert at L.A. Burdick Chocolate Shop and Cafe.

Although crowded with couples, the experience was amazing. We both ordered their famous hot chocolate, which was amazingly rich and creamy. That alone, could have been dessert. But our eyes and stomach had their say and we ended up sharing a slice of their Linzer Torte. A combination of almond, hazelnut and raspberry - it paired phenomenally with our chocolate beverages.

Here's looking at you, kid.

For lunch yesterday, Mr. Charlestown Culinary and I went to Casablanca for lunch. Did we discover a non-stop jet to Morocco? Not quite... more like a restaurant in Cambridge's Harvard Square. The restaurant describes their menu as 'creative Mediterranean cuisine' and has dishes ranging from Turkish stew to North African cous cous.

We started our meal with fresh pitas and a creamy mushroom soup.

From there, Mr. Charlestown Culinary had the grilled Mahi-Mahi which was served on top of braised greens with a yogurt sauce and fried green tomatoes. On top of the grilled fish was a charmoula, a Moroccan marinade made from a mixture of herbs, garlic, lemon and spices.

For my entree, I got the Turkish Meze plate. The dish came with muhammara - a spicy dip made from red peppers, carrot salad with olives and feta and musabaha - a course hummus.

That's Amore!

Fresh Ricotta, homemade tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, red onions, ...

I wish I could call tonight's dinner my own creation, but alas, it is the Melanzane pie from Regina Pizza in Boston's North End.