Tennessee Barbecue - The Tastiest Treat I Have Ever Eaten in a Trailer

Ok folks, I admit it, I've been neglecting you. BUT I have an excuse. With the hustle and bustle of big exams, the start of busy season and traveling for work, I haven't had much time to cook or bake (let alone write about it).

Have no fear though, I have been spending some quality time with my Diners Drive-ins and Dives map in Tennessee, which means drool-inducing reviews.

Before I get into my review of a fabulous restaurant near our client location, I have some photo souvenirs and anecdotes to go along with my travels:

The Jack Daniels Distillery - Lynchburg, TN

I know this isn't a picture of food.. but this was such a quaint little place.

 Traveling for business has its ups and downs; for me, exploring new places and cultures, regardless of  their seemingly ordinary exterior, is always a welcome adventure. On the flip-side of that, the road can sometimes prove to be a lonely place; and although I enjoyed touring Nashville and Lynchburg solo, I would have enjoyed the company of one of my country-loving friends, or even the Not so Civil Engineer (in a pinch).

Lynchburg (home of Jack Daniels) is steeped in history and was overall a pretty nice place to visit; the people were friendly and the air smelled like the world's largest loaf of sourdough bread was being baked under the sun (seriously, everywhere you went smelled like bubbling bread dough, my kind of place).

I always assumed Jack was one of those drinks that was made in giant factories all over the US, but it is actually only distilled in Lynchburg and is made with surprising care. The tour opened my eyes a bit, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is traveling through middle Tennessee (plus, it's free and if you're already in middle Tennessee, what do you have to lose?).

I bought a cookbook from a restaurant in Lynchburg that has been open since 1911. It's chock full of down-home cookin' and even has a recipe for hushpuppies. I will be sharing that recipe with y'all soon. (also, if I don't leave here soon, I'm going to pull a Gweneth Paltrow and come home sounding like I grew up on collard greens and grits... y'all.)

One more sidetrack: something I found in a liquor emporium here

Note two things: 1) that this is legit moonshine in a mason jar and 2) that it's a ridiculous $25

 Trailer Temptations: Prater's Barbecue (Morrison. TN)

I'm going to give this restaurant 8.5/10 for three reasons:

1. They make everything from scratch (and for a little place on the side of a highway, that's pretty damn impressive).
2.  I could pull the bones straight out of my ribs. With no effort. and the meat was like barbecue heaven.
3.  They have homemade barbecue sauce on the tables that I was dipping my warm, homemade bun in. (Read that sentence again and tell me you wouldn't give anything an 8.5 that made you do that).

I had a half-rack of ribs, homemade potato salad and green beans with an unsweetened tea. Total price $10 including tip.

Fine dining can have its fine china. If Styrofoam and paper plates hold this kind of greatness, I'm with them all the way.

Please note the immense lack of meat on these bones (the ones in the picture, not mine. I've got plenty). The meat just fell off. Heaven.

If they served up the hushpuppies from Burk's in SC, I would move in and never leave. I think that a barbecue coma is an excellent way to go out.

Some more things that I found cool in TN:

Teeny packets of lemon juice everywhere (and now in my purse..). They have them for sweet tea, but they're so darn practical for water. Canada needs to get these asap.

No, you're not dreaming. This is actually an all-you-can-eat-freaking-KFC. It's $8 including a drink. And I don't know that because I went.. maybe.

Love from the volunteer state (whatever that means),

BBC

Berlin Air Cake with Pink Blood Oranges and White Chocolate Orange Whipped Cream

It's like German Pavlova Cake!

This cake has been staring at me from my bedside table for over a month now; it (or something like it) was the cover model for the 2010 LCBO Holiday Food & Drink Magazine. I honestly had little intention of making it, until I saw some fabulous pink blood oranges at the grocery store and got inspired.

Well, I hadn't read the recipe at all, and only had the image of the cake in my mind, so I assumed that it had three things: oranges, white chocolate and whipped cream. I was almost sortof right; it has peaches (close), no white chocolate at all (but in fact, almonds) and has lots of whipped cream (1 for 3). When I got home I was a little dismayed that I had guessed wrong, but then realized that maybe I would like my plan better (so I really was right.. right?).

Pink Navel/Blood Oranges! Sweet (literally)!

Anyway, the cake was fabulous; light, airy and rich all at the same time and paired perfectly with tangy fruit and fluffy white chocolate whipped cream. It would be great for any dinner party, but especially great for a summery outdoor one or a bridal/baby shower (pink oranges and lots of white, fab).  I'm not entirely sure why this particular cake was on the cover of the Holiday Food & Drink, but it apparently served my purposes - no complaints here.

There are a few limitations to this dessert: it can not be prepared far in advance, and is not easily transportable. The cakes themselves can be prepared a few hours ahead, but can not be covered, and it has to be assembled fairly close to serving. Please imagine me trying to get three cakes, that can't be covered or stacked, from my apartment to my car with no help but a small child to push the elevator button for me (and thank goodness for that).

Berlin Air Cake a la BBC  - Ingredients from lcbo.com, instructions by me!
(yes, I know that's French and not German, but I'm a rebel).

6 eggs, separated
¾ cup (175 mL) unsalted butter
1¾ cups (425 mL) granulated sugar, divided -
1¾ cups (425 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
½ cup (125 mL) milk
¾ tsp (4 mL) pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp (1 mL) cream of tartar - or 1/4 tsp lemon juice
¾ cup (175 mL) sliced almonds  - or none at all (because I forgot to purchase)
4 or 5 blood oranges (or peaches, or pink blood oranges, or whatever you like), peeled and sliced nicely (rind from two for the whipped cream)
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons of whipping cream
1/3 cup white chocolate chips (good ones)

Preheat the oven to 325 F and prepare three nine-inch round pans. The recipe suggests all springform pans, but I happened to have one springform and two regular cake pans, so that's what I used (honestly, who has three 9-inch springform pans just lying around their kitchen). I greased the springform pan with shortening (not butter!) and it worked great; however, I used parchment paper on the regular pans and it worked even better. The parchment creates a little bit more of a crinkled look on the cakes (which I like) and they come out perfectly. If you would like a bit more of a refined look, I suggest using a parchment round on the bottom of the pan, and a good greasing on the sides.

I know this is an after picture, but it really shows the wonderful messiness of the cakes.

Separate the eggs while (or before) you cream the butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar for 5 minutes on medium high (so it's light and fluffy). Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) in a bowl with a whisk and stir the milk and vanilla together in a separate measuring cup or bowl.

I used brown sugar (I ran out of white.. shhh), so yours should look lighter than this

Add the egg yolks one at a time to the butter mixture, stirring in between. Once you have added all of the yolks, alternate between guiding 1/3 of the dry ingredients and pouring 1/2 of the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl (finishing with the last third of dry), mixing in between. Sidenote: I'm not sure what this process does, other than not getting flour everywhere, but the cakes turned out great, so I'm not fighting it.

Divide the batter between the pans and spread it as best you can; I really like the rough, haphazard look of these cakes, so if you can help it, leave a few flaws here and there.

 My springform pan cake.. messy is the new beautiful

If you only have one bowl for your mixer (like me) or one set of beaters for your hand mixer, give everything a wash and rinse it with cold water at the end (so that your bowl isn't warm). Dry it all really well. Pour the egg whites into the bowl and add the cream of tartar or lemon juice. Whip, starting on medium and working up to high when it won't splash you, until you have soft peaks (the eggs form a nice curl when you pull the stationary beaters out of the mass). Then, with the machine or hand mixer still on, slowly add the remaining one cup of sugar (this takes skill if you are doing this alone with a hand mixer. hats off to you). Continue to mix until the eggs are stiff (the peak stands straight up if you dip the beater and flip it upside down) and the meringue feels smooth, not granular when rubbed between your thumb and forefinger.

Spread each cake with one third of the meringue and make it look as nice as you can/want. Sprinkle the tops with sliced almonds here if you want. Pop the cakes in the oven for 30 minutes and rotate them halfway through.

mmmm.. oven shot!

When you remove the cakes, let them cool in the pans for a bit and then pull them out in the parchment paper to cool on racks. (Removing them is much easier when they are fully cooled).

I'm going to say it again just in case you think you're smarter than me and the Food & Drink chefs: these cakes can't keep for more than half a day, and will wilt like crazy if you cover them. Don't play god here people.

For the whipped cream:

This tasty treat is a winner, I am definitely keeping this one in my arsenal for later. Melt the white chocolate and 4 tablespoons of cream over a double boiler (or in the microwave for 45 seconds like me). Add the orange rind and let it cool to room temperature (ish).

Whip the cream until you have stiff peaks, slowly add the chocolate with the beaters running and let it whip for a minute more.

Put this on everything.

It looks good like this, no? Well it gets better!

To assemble the cake (right before or up to 30 minutes before serving - I think), pick the best cake round and set it aside for the top. Spread a layer of cream over the bottom round and arrange half your fruit on top. Place the second layer on top and repeat. Then add the top layer and try some artistic licence in the middle of the cake.

Best news of all: it doesn't keep that well, so you have to eat all of it.  I'm certain you will.

So tell me, have you ever seen something at the grocery store that inspired you to cook a dish?

Love,

-BBC

I just want to reach out and snatch that dollup of cream with my finger. Don't you?

A Return Trip to FABbrica! (and a very happy new year!)

I tried to get a snap of him spinning it in the air. But alas, my iphone photo skills need to be improved.

A few nights ago, the Not So Civil Engineer and I decided to head back to the Shops at Don Mills for some Italian food therapy and I have to admit that I was more excited about this than I was about New Year's Eve (more on that to come). My sheer love of Fabbrica and of Mark McEwen (regardless of the fact that he nixed the Truffle Club Sandwich at Bymark, which I am still a little upset about) had me buzzing for the whole day - and not in vain. It was fabulous. There are few things that make me happier than fresh pasta and ragu (rabbit ragu no less!).

Fabbrica
9/10 - The only qualm I have about this establishment is that the main dining room is a little crowded. Other than that, if given the choice, I would eat there until I couldn't fit out the door.

The service here is very good and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly (although I have to admit, they were friendlier when we were with my parents, which is fairly common). I really like the fact that you can easily watch the chefs and cook work and that the head chef will take the time to explain pizza making to eager engineers (I was too nervous to go and talk to him).

As well, for a chef like Mark McEwen to open a restaurant that has kids and families filing in at the same rate as couples and groups of grown-up friends says a lot. This speaks to the value of the food; although there are a lot of "haute" qualities to the place, the food is reasonable and accessible to a wide range of incomes (ahem, first year grads like us) - this makes me happy and full. My one criticism, like I said above, is that the main dining room is a little crowded, you almost feel like you have to listen in on the other patrons conversations because you're actually in the middle of them - but you can't win them all.

I haven't worked myself up to bringing the big camera to restaurants yet, so please excuse the quality.

 1st Course: Mushroom and Gorgonzola Torta Crostini

I love bread. There, I said it. If you tried to put me on a low-carb diet, I would probably dig my way to Italy in less than a week out of fear of starvation (they have pasta there too, you know).

Crostini is toasted bread with delicious things on it. Wait, fresh, chewy bread, toasted with delicious things on it. You can't lose.

In this case, wild mushrooms and Gorgonzola cheese (which sometimes I don't like, but here it was delicious). The pairing of the creamy cheese and earthy mushrooms worked really well for me; however, they were a little messy (thank goodness this wasn't a first date and that the Not So Civil Engineer is well aware of my messiness).

1.5st Course: Pickles!

Ok. So it's fuzzy. I was in a rush to eat the pickles. Someday you'll understand.

One of the things that I like most about Fabbrica is the fact that they do a lot of things that other restaurants outsource. The control they have over important (but small) aspects of their menu makes a big difference to food lovers like me. They cure their own meats! They make their own mustard to go with the meats that they cure themselves. And they makes their own pickles. These three things combined make for a great starter; house-cured meat, mustard and pickles (not so great for your breath, but great for your soul).

We didn't get meat with our pickles this time around and we almost regretted it (until the end of the meal when we were so full that we couldn't move). I highly recommend if you go with a group of people (or a hungry twosome) that you try the salumi selection (and tell me about it so I can be jealous).

Main Course: Prosciutto e Arugula Pizza and Braised Rabbit Pappardelle




Read: The best pasta I have had on this side of the Atlantic Ocean

Once upon a time, I had Wild Boar Pappardelle in Florence that made me weep tomato sauce tears of joy. The depth of flavour and richness of the sauce on this pasta is as close as I think I could get to that little restaurant in Tuscany. I'm not sure what else to say about it. Wonderful.

My picture of the pizza was so blurry that I am embarrassed to put it up on here. But I will say this: house-cured prosciutto, rich tomato sauce, and the chewiest, crispiest dough you have tasted outside of italy. This is why I can't eat pizza pizza people - I feel like I'm cheating on Scarlet Johannsen (or someone else you find beautiful) with a hobbit (no offense).

Dessert - Doughnuts (which I will be replicating as soon as I can flash up the deep fryer I got for Christmas).

The Not So Civil Engineer has dreams of being a hand -model. He finally snuck them in to the only photo I had of the doughnuts. Touche sir.

These are not your average $0.75 chocolate-glazed snack. My best guess is that they are filled with a frozen custard cream, dipped in batter, deep fried and coated in cinnamon and sugar. They are crispy, fluffy and creamy all at once AND you dip them into an orange white chocolate sauce (that we may or may not have finished with our spoons).

More on this to come.

Overall, I'm sure you can tell that I love this place and will hopefully be a frequent visitor. Check it out if you haven't already and let me know what you think!

Happy New Years everyone, I wish you all the best in 2011 and hope that you are happy, healthy and not too hungover when you read this post.

Cheers,

 BBC