Visiting a Food Network Featured Restaurant!

with Missy Tippens

Earlier this summer, I was watching an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate. It was the Pizza episode. And they mentioned a pizza place in Atlanta. So I texted my son, who stayed in Atlanta this summer to work, and asked if he'd ever eaten there. He said, "Umm, yes. That's right next door to me."

:)

Soooo, very excited that he lives nearby, I decided I had to eat there sometime this summer. We took the opportunity on Monday before going to the Giants vs Braves baseball game, where we got to see my nephew, Buster Posy, who plays for the Giants.

First, two of my kids got dressed in their spirit wear, prepared to support their cousin! :)

Then we walked two doors down to Antico Napolitana Pizza. To read about it on Food Network, click here.

Once inside, we decided to get two pizzas for five of us--me, my three kids plus my son's fiancee (hubby couldn't be there). We ordered their most popular pizza, the one featured on the show: San Gennaro. And also ordered the Margherita pizza.

While we waited, we watched them cook in one of the three pizza ovens that hit 900 degrees.

The dough room was empty. They must prep in the morning, because their website says they serve until they run out of dough!

Before long, we had our pizzas! Here's what was left after we tore into the San Genarro. It had sauce made of San Marzano tomatoes, which is what I love to buy for my spaghetti sauce. Very sweet and rich. And was also topped by roasted sausage, Italian bufala mozzarella, sweet cipolline onions, and AMAZING sweet and spicy peppers. On the Food Network show, Aaron Sanchez called them dolche piccante peppers.

Here's your pizza tip for the day: Aaron also mentioned that they put cheese on the pizza before the sauce to keep the crust from getting soggy.

Ooey, gooey cheese!! The best thing ever.

Here's our second pizza. The Margherita, with San Marzanos, garlic, basil, and bufala. I read an article about the owner, and it said he flies in 500-600 cases of cheese from Italy each week.

Both pizzas were outstanding. With two hungry men (not to mention three hungry gals!), we cleaned the trays except for a few bits of crust. :)

Then we headed on to the game to watch Buster (my husband's sister's son) play!

While warming up. Photo taken by my father-in-law's cousin, James Cannon.

Here's my oldest son, his fiancee and my in-laws, who got us the tickets.

A gorgeous (yet terribly hot and humid) Atlanta evening.

We had so much fun getting to see Buster hit a home run!

Afterward, we got to go deep into the stadium, outside the locker room, to wait with other family and friends to greet the players as they headed toward the team buses.

We hadn't seen Buster since a family wedding in January, so it was great to have a few minutes to catch up.

Next week, I'll show you my pizza making skills. Unfortunately, I made the pizza before eating at Antico. But maybe I'll get a chance to try my hand again before then. :)

www.missytippens.com (Please drop by to sign up for my emailed quarterly newsletter!)

Cajun Fried Mac-and-Cheese

I'm gonna call this "Southern" because why wouldn't it be???

First, this is easy because it starts with Lindi Peterson's Mac and Cheese recipe HERE ONLY ADD 1/4 CUP RED HOT SAUCE PER BATCH!!!

The red hot sauce gives it the zing my family, and Dave's family and everyone who tries it loves! We loved Lindi's recipe, but we wanted a bit of heat and that 1/4 cup works perfectly.

Okay, so make enough to have leftovers. And then refrigerate those leftovers.

Using about 1/4 cup or a little less, scoop cold mac-and-cheese and press each scant 1/4 cup into patties. When all patties are made, prepare the breading:

Beat 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons water in a bowl.

In another bowl combine about 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon granulated garlic, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and 2 teaspoons salt.

Dip cold, hand pressed patties into egg, then press into bread crumbs, coating thoroughly. Set on foil covered tray.

Once all are dipped and crumbed, refrigerate. I did this a day ahead and left them in the fridge with no harm done!

Heat fryer to 400°. Fry 3 or 4 at a time per basket (depending on size of fryer) until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Now my buddy Lisa (you all remember Lisa, four cute kids, fought cancer and won, and one of my beloveds!!! "The Lawman's Second Chance" was dedicated and devoted to Lisa) made a dipping sauce for these because I was nice enough to send a plate of them over to her house...

She poured Sweet Baby Ray's Chipotle sauce into a bowl. (start with 1/2 cup or so), then she added a dash or two of red hot sauce.

Lisa LIKES SPICEY THINGS!!!!

They loved this sauce for dipping!

But honestly, all on their own??? These deep fried mac-and-cheese was a huge hit. What a great side dish or appetizer!

And then there was this!!!!!

Hello, Moon! The night before a Blue Moon, was this pretty celestial wanderer...

And remember my little rhubarb plants I transplanted last year? Well, they grew up!!! Hello, friends? And with all the rain we've had this year, everything looks spring-lush and not mid-summer brown. Amazing what water can do!

I'm finishing up a sweet Love Inspired novel this week, the second book in my new "Grace Haven" series, and I love it!

I still have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming, because when you're living your dream, it sure feels unreal!

Back to mac-and-cheese: If you don't have a deep fryer, you can pan fry these delicious morsels in a frying pan on the stove-top. Don't let lack of a deep fryer keep you from trying this!

Chocolate Dipped Fruit

So I'm still on this dark chocolate binge - you know to make sure I have enough chromium to combat that sweet tooth.

Lately it's been so hot, I have no interest in cooking. Up here in the northeast, most of us don't have central air. We have room air conditioners in certain rooms. In my case, that's the bedroom. So when it's 89 in my kitchen without the stove on, there's not much incentive to turn it on.  I just want something quick that I can take up and eat in the AC.

Fruit works. 

Fruit and chocolate work even better.

I was wandering the aisles of the supermarket looking for inspiration. Everywhere I looked there was chocolate-covered something. Acai and blueberries. Pomegranate seeds. Nuts. 

There was also a lovely fresh pineapple.

That inspired me. 

I grabbed an apple and an orange too. I was tempted to try a grapefruit, but decided to wait and see how the others came out.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. I'll just add in that it was ridiculously easy. I used my wok on top of a big Le Creuset ceramic pot. You can see how quickly it melted the chocolate.

I'll admit, the pineapple was my favorite - that amazing taste combination of tart and bittersweet. But the orange was surprisingly tasty too. A friend gave me raves on the apple.

I'm inpired to try it with some dried fruits too - apricots maybe.  I did try it with organic, unsweetened coconut. Happiness.

So what do you think? I thought it might be a lot of work, but it was incredibly easy and fast.

One tip: you'll probably have to keep the chocolate warm because the cold fruit made it start to thicken while I was dipping it. The taste didn't change, but the later pieces weren't as smooth.

More NYC Eats - The Counter

RWA 2015 was outstanding in so many ways. One of them being that we were in one of the largest cities in the world, with some of the greatest restaurants in the world. Like this one.

Welcome to The Counter, a great little burger joint in the heart of Times Square.

At The Counter, you can order one of their specialty burgers or build your own. At first I was tempted to build my own. But I could do that anywhere. Time to live dangerously and order the house specialty. In this case, it was called a Counter Burger.

I had already dug in before I remembered to take a picture.

Sharp provolone cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and onion strings piled on top of a 1/3 lb. burger and served on a brioche bun with sun dried tomato sauce. 

The only thing that could make it better was a side of sweet potato fries served with chipotle mayo.

When I ordered the fries, I was planning to share. However, it seems that everyone else at the table has ordered their own. 

And you notice how my burger was cut in half? I thought there was no was I'd be able to eat the whole thing.

Boy, was I wrong.

And those fries? I ate every single one of them, too.

Good thing this was the day of the Harlequin party so I could boogie off all those calories.

Yes, this was one of those unforgettable meals. One I'm not sure I even want to try to recreate at home. Because if I did, I'd eat nothing but. And let's face it, a girl can't boogie for three hours straight every night of the week.

What's your most unforgettable meal? 

German Chocolate Cake

I can't believe it's August already!!! Where have the last six months gone???

In case you don't recognize that cry, it's the anguished disbelief of a writer with a September 1st deadline.

Yes, September 1st.

But in spite of my LOOMING deadline, I do have a life! One of the things that popped up a week or so ago is an invitation to be a featured baker at a local fundraiser in November.

What does that mean? It means I get to share a "Showcase Dessert!" Which also means I've been spending some time going through some of my favorite recipes - I need to choose one this week, so I can submit the recipe and practice, practice, practice making it.

MY FAMILY IS THRILLED!!!!!

This German Chocolate Cake is one of my favorite recipes, and one I'm considering for the showcase. I shared it here at the cafe a couple years ago, but it's just as good as it ever was. What do you think? Should this recipe be in the running?

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Ghiradelli 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup water

1 2/3 cup cake flour (Swan's Down, Wondra or Soft as Silk)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, separated
2/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk

Coconut Frosting - recipe follows

Making a cake from scratch is a worthwhile skill to learn. It isn't hard, but it does take time and care.

The results, however, are worth every minute you spend :)

If you've ever watched a cooking show on television, you know how the cooks always have their ingredients pre-measured before they start cooking. Don't they make it look easy?

Well, we're going to do the same thing - it's prep time!

Let's take this step-by-step:

1) Bring the butter to room temperature in the mixing bowl.

2) Melt the chocolate with 1/3 cup water - I use the microwave. Thirty seconds is usually enough. Stir until it's nice and smooth.

3) Measure the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium size bowl. Stir to combine.

4) If you don't have buttermilk, make sour milk by combining 1 teaspoon lemon juice with your 2/3 cup milk. Let sit for five minutes.

5) Prepare your cake pans. I grease them with coconut oil, then lay a piece of parchment paper on the bottom.

6) Separate your 3 eggs. Put the yolks in a small dish, and reserve the whites.

7)Preheat your oven to 350°.

Now that the preliminaries are done, it's time to start making the cake.

Cream the butter for 30 seconds, and then gradually add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.

Beat in the melted chocolate.

Add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately, about 1/3 of each at a time, beating well after each addition.

Now comes the part that makes a lot more dishes to wash.... You need to beat the egg whites.

In case you don't know this, egg whites and fat of any kind don't mix, so you need to use clean beaters and a clean bowl to beat them.

Transfer your cake batter to a large bowl, and wash your mixer's bowl and beaters. 

(The reason my mixer looks so strange is because it's a Bosch. Don't laugh. I can make six loaves of bread at a time with this puppy! He's a workhorse. Makes great smoothies, too, with his blender attachment.)

Now that your mixer is clean, beat those egg whites until stiff peaks form. 

Fold the egg whites into your cake batter, and then pour the batter into the pans.

Bake in a 350° oven for 30-35 minutes.

If you want a refresher on the method for making a cake from scratch, there's another version - a different birthday and a different cake - here.

After the cake is baked, and while it's cooling, it's time to make the frosting. This is what makes this a German Chocolate Cake!

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

or, if you don't have Pecans - just Coconut Frosting

Ingredients:

1 egg

2/3 cup evaporated milk (a 5 1/3-ounce can)

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

dash salt

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan, beat the egg slightly. Add the milk, sugar, butter and salt. Over medium-low heat, stir until the butter is melted. Cook and stir for twelve minutes more, or until the frosting is thickened and bubbly. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool thoroughly.

This is enough frosting for the tops of two 9-inch layers, or one 9"x13" pan.

We've all seen commercial German Chocolate Cakes with rich, brown frosting. Well, mine always turns out this lovely yellow color. Maybe I could add food coloring, or cook it differently so the sugar browns somewhat...but it tastes so good, I hate to mess with it.

Frost the top of one cake layer, put the second layer on and use the rest of the frosting on it. Don't frost the sides of the cake - German Chocolate Cakes don't have frosting on the side.

But, you know, this cake is so rich, you won't miss that extra frosting at all.

And it's so tasty, I wasn't able to get a picture without parts missing!

New members of the family

Hello, everybody!! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I was panicking a little because I haven't taken pictures of anything... not even the awesome cheesy-dill buns we made yesterday or the baked ham and swiss honey mustard roll ups or the fresh cherry smoothies with dark chocolate drizzle. Mostly because my camera needs to be charged and after the vacation the charger has gone missing... but also because I'm on another deadline and all my brain cells go there.
                                                                  Except....

 

When a friend says they have a batch of abandoned kittens they couldn't care for and one had already passed away.

I mean, what is a person to do? We certainly have the man power for holding and snuggling.

We have the hands for gently cleaning them with a wet cloth.

Wait... there are FIVE??

But then again, I have six kids. We outnumber the kittens!

But what about the dog?? His breed is historically used to chase rats. He does seem overly interested in these small, squeaky things. But so far, he hasn't tried to snag one out of our hands.

But don't they need to eat every few hours? I'll take the night shift, since I'm up until the wee smalls but what about the day time?  I guess since we homeschool year round, we can adjust out schedule a little bit until they're not so needy. We'll call it an experiment in animal husbandry. LOL

So, that's my post! A snapshot of what's happening here in the land of "Sure We Can!" and "Why Not?"

I used to worry about getting blood clots so I set a timer to get up and walk every fifteen minutes. I'm happy to report that no timer was needed this week. I had these little guys to get me out of my chair.

 

I hope your week is filled with cuteness and snuggles! Until next time!!

 

My newest release: Only Through Love.

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