Dessert

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So Much More Than Cake!

Oliver's Bakery sign with sunset

(Photo from Oliver’s website: http://oliversbakery.com/)

One of the businesses that I truly wish we had in our town is a bakery; sadly, the one that was here closed before we even moved here.  Regardless of our town’s bakery-having-or-not status, we make a point to stop at Oliver’s when we visit Kenosha- and for good reason.  I was initially introduced to Oliver’s goodness via my wife’s recommendation.  While their doughnuts are some of the best quality I have had, they offer a robust selection for those sweet options, as well.  It is the perfect place to visit if you are looking for the classics, but also if you want to consider something less common (they have custard filled, but also are purveyors of a tasty peanut butter and jelly doughnut).  I’ve had several doughnuts, and they are always fresh and flavorful.

Oliver’s is more than just exceptional doughnuts.  We’re also fans of their muffins- there’s a similarly delicious wide selection here also.  I’ve had Kringle from a few different vendors, and I can write with certainty that theirs is also among the best.  Particularly, they have plenty of filling (some other Kringles are rather light on this… and someone should not have to think to discern a Kringle filling or flavor!  Certainly not a problem here- delicious!)

Our recent visit was on a Friday, and we were surprised to note that they also had fried fish and shrimp.  While fish fry in Wisconsin is definitely not a surprise, availability at a bakery definitely was.  While we were there selecting our purchases, several customers came in to pick up both fish and shrimp. Upon noting this to my wife’s parents, we were told that an uncle was known to have driven for hours to get their fish fry.  Oliver’s website (corroborated by my wife’s parents) notes that this has been available for quite a while.  I will have to give it a try next time we are in on a Friday.

In addition to our typical doughnut purchase, we decided to try one of their pies in the refrigerator case- a pecan pie.  It truly was an excellent choice.  The crust was flaky, and the filling was a perfect sweet complement to the nuttiness of the pecans- without being too sweet (an issue I notice quite often with an average pecan pie).  We certainly will be buying one (and more!) again.

If you’re in Kenosha, make sure to stop by Oliver’s. And don’t forget the coupon!

 

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I Heart Food

Valentine's Day Meal (from Food and Wine)

Valentine’s Day Meal (from Food and Wine)

No matter your Valentine’s Day plans– with family, friends, a significant other, or yourself, there is plenty of love for delicious food to go around.  There are plenty of rich main courses (duck!) or decadent (self-made!) desserts.  Chocolate. Is. Essential.  (Calorie-counting is not allowed.)  Enjoy a February 14th full of flavor!!

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The Great Pumpkin!

Happy Thanksgiving! There is never a bad time to be thankful and enjoy food (even if you aren’t in the U.S. for this specific holiday)!  If you have not yet had your fill of Turkey Day delicacies, perhaps some pumpkin will tantalize… and not that stuff in the can, either:

(via http://www.marthastewart.com/1089860/diy-pumpkin-pur%C3%A9e#1089860)

Hmm… a pseudo-pumpkin is filling our store shelves?

I grew the sugar pumpkin variety this year to a fair level of success.  I may have to expand to the additional variety he mentions, as well!  I have used pumpkin as a base for a risotto- it can be so much more than dessert… the recipes abound (for slow cookers and more.)  And who can forget the not-quite-so-unexpected bonus of toasted pumpkin seeds- sweet or savory? (After saving some to plant for next year, of course.)  I enjoyed ours fresh from the oven with a little salt.  (Parchment paper was a good tip to keep them from sticking/burning and to cut the fat.)

Enjoy!

 

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Oh Cannoli!

Chow Ciao logo

 

 

 

Chef Fabio shows us a fan-selected favorite: how to make homemade ricotta into quick cannoli filling.  (Perhaps the perfect dessert for an Italian Easter brunch – with p!&$ed off eggs?)  It is easy to adjust the ricotta for flavor variety and is perfect for the recipe.

(I’m also a fan of the cannoli in the dessert case at Tenuta’s in Kenosha.)

What are your Easter favorites?

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Cocoa, Stat!

Almost there- midway through February.  While the winter weather still hasn’t broken (we are getting warnings about water lines to homes freezing in the area!- due to extended cold), we can have some hot cocoa to warm ourselves up in the meantime.  But perhaps we can do a little better– or a lot better than Brand X Powdery Cocoa mix, and make it ourselves!  It’s easy to put little twists on cocoa to make it unique- mint, marshmallows, caramel, spice… and so on!

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(Vegan) Marshmallows

Dandies Marshmallows

Dandies (Vegan) Marshmallows (Photo from website)

I found these marshmallows not because I am a vegan, but rather, my wife needed to find an option to bring for a church gathering.  We also brought some of these to a party hosted by some of our friends, one of whom is a vegetarian.  My wife did some research online and looked for what was available, since we didn’t really have many ideas about what options were out there.  She looked into recipes (somewhat time consuming, and we didn’t really have the right materials/equipment) as well as options and this stood out as one of the few vegan-friendly options.  We were able to find some at Whole Foods, but weren’t able to find them at our local co-op.

In comparison to typical store-sold marshmallows, they are a little more firm (but not much), but most importantly, they are quite delicious!  My wife also thought they had a nicer (more vanilla) flavor, and they passed the S’mores test at the campfire.  They browned well, paired well with grahams and chocolate, and got melty, though they didn’t puff up quite as much.  Overall, they greatly exceeded what I thought a vegan marshmallow would be and were a welcome equivalent (my wife, I think, liked them even a bit better than ‘regular’ marshmallows!)   Our friends agreed that they were tasty also.   I would certainly get them again and recommend them to anyone looking for a vegan (or non-vegan) marshmallow!