Can You Handle the Change??

After a lot of hard work and a limited amount of sleep I am happy to announce that West Chester's food resource website is almost ready for the public! Which means that this blog is moving to a new address. www.wcdish.com

I know change is hard. So don't worry, it will be the same only there will be more information to look at, restaurant listings to browse, fun pictures to click through and more!

It still needs some work but it is getting there. I will do my best to update both sites but my main focus will be wcdish.com ... so come on... let's go.

The Final Dish: I'll see you there!

Gold in the Mail

Many “best parts of my day” involve a light and sweet coffee from Dunkin Donuts. It just makes me very happy. Just imagine my excitement when I found a coupon book for many of my favorite treats from DD in the mail today.

I remember getting the coupon booklet in the mail last year. I kept it with me in the car at all times and handed out ones I wouldn’t use to other customers who were in line. I figured that I would make the customers day. I wasn’t thinking that it may not make the store owner's day, seeing as the customers would have happily paid full price for everything I gave them coupons for. But one out of two isn’t bad. Right?

Everyone in the surrounding zip codes should get the same thing in the mail… so don’t throw it away! It has great deals such as… two FREE coffees and a FREE hot chocolate. (Which, by the way, I recently saw that they have white hot chocolate that I was tempted to try but couldn’t bring myself to indulge in a non-chocolate hot chocolate so I passed. The coupon is good for any flavor though, so try it and let me know if it’s any good.)

Other discounts include a $1.29 Great One (which is their largest size coffee), $1.29 for a bagel with cream cheese, and $1.00 off a Dozen Donuts or 50 Munchkins.

Something new at Dunkin Donuts that is also exciting is the new Dunkin Donuts card. It acts as a gift card but you can also use it as a credit card. This is very helpful because many store locations only accept cash. Plus, if you decide to get a card and use it before January 31st you are automatically entered to win a variety of prizes including new cars and trips to Florida.

Check out the prize details at:
https://www.dunkindonuts.com/contests/UseItWinIt.aspx

The Final Dish: All of the stores in the area take the new DD card. So check them out today!

Intern-Made Pear Bars

And now for the recipe for my intern-made pear bars that I received at Christmas time. They are very yummy and go well with tea. Have your intern make some today! (You can' t steal mine.)

Here's the email/recipe:

Guess what Big ham? I found the magazine with the Pear-Cinnamon Streusel Squares. YAY! It's attached. Aren't I just the bestest little intern EVER!!!

-Intern

Pear-Cinnamon Streusel Squares
Let these bars cool for at least an hour before cutting so they’re nice and firm
Prep: 30 min. Bake: 30 min

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups quick-cooking rolled oats
¾ cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped, peeled, and cored pears or apples (canned pears drained ok)
¾ cup cinnamon-flavored baking pieces
Powdered Sugar Icing

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-ince baking pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the 2 cups flour, the rolled oats, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove 1 ½ cups of the crumbs; set aside.
2. Press remaining crumbs into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs and granulated sugar with whisk until smooth. Whisk in the 2 tablespoons flour, then the baking powder and salt. Stir in pears or apples and cinnamon pieces. Gently spread fruit mixture over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
4. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes more or until golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Drizzle with Powdered Sugar Icing. Makes 32

POWDERED SUGAR ICING: In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is of drizzling consistency. Makes ½ cup.

TO STORE: Cover and store bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Do not freeze.

Sugar Showdown 2007

Why, when we deny ourselves of something, we find we want it even more? Especially (in my case) sugar, chocolate and men.

I tried to "break up" with sugar ten times in one day last week. Ten times. It was a constant debate between my willpower and the power of holiday yummies.

For example, after one too many sugar cookies I said... "That's it. Enough! I don't need you sugar cookie." I would then remind myself why the sugar cookies are bad for me, feel oh-so superior and walk away and sit in another room.

And then I would sit. And I think about them sitting in their little Christmas tin. I wonder what they are doing. Then I think ... just one more. Why not? I mean they can't be THAT bad for me when they taste so good can they? It's a vicious cycle.

And then there is chocolate. I know better than to keep it in my apartment. But when I occasionally do have it around I'll take a little bit and savor a small bite and let it melt in my mouth as I recall the words of health professionals, "Don't totally deny yourself of chocolate... allow yourself to have a little bit so you don't feel deprived of it and eat more than you should." I convince myself that I'm satisfied from my little square of yumminess and I walk away.

And then I think about things... like, you know, chocolate and stuff. This is when I might make hot chocolate, the "lower calorie chocolate fix" and wish I just ate more actual chocolate. And so I do.

And men. Why is it that the good ones... the ones I should want (I'll compare these types to veggies) I can't find. While the bad ones... the ones I try to avoid or talk myself out of (male equivalent to sugar and chocolate) are the ones I can't stop thinking about? Hmmmm.

This brings me to my New Year's resolutions. I refuse to feel crappy about anything I eat after the fact. So I will allow myself the following: 1- One sugary thing a day. 2- As much chocolate I want, as to avoid eating large amounts later 3- Dates with only veggie men... ones that are good for me. 4- Workout enough to work off the chocolate I eat.

I have a few more resolutions that I will share later... I know, I know the suspense is killing you!

The Dish: I actually really do like vegetables... so this shouldn't be too hard.

In a Pickle

This weekend was Christmas for my family. Among the excitement of opening presents, game playing and cookie eating I found myself in a bit of a pickle. Not really… but there seemed to be a lot of pickle related happenings.


Pickle incident #1:

On my drive home I always pass through a town called Dillsburg, Pa. Usually this is an uneventful experience but this time a sign caught my eye as I passed through. "See you at the Pickle Drop at New Years!"

I love it. A town called Dillsburg has a huge pickle (I'm assuming a dill pickle) that drops at midnight to celebrate the coming of a New Year.

I did a bit a research online and found a photo of last year's giant pickle. Turns out it's more of a Mr. Pickle than an actual pickle. (See photo) I also learned that treats such as chocolate dipped pickles are available during the festivities. I still wasn’t sure of my plans for the New Year so this option was tempting.



Pickle incident #2:

As we were preparing for our family meal over the weekend my mother took a jar filled with pickle juice out of the refrigerator. I recognized the label. It was a pickle-less jar of "We're in a Pickle" Decadent Dill pickles from a small company in West Chester. I had brought her a few jars of these unique pickles not too long ago as a gift.

It turned out that she was out of the pickles but she loves the flavor so much that she saves the juice and then puts other pickles in it so it gets the same taste. I thought this was gross but I could understand. The pickles are fantastic. They are sweet and savory with a hint of cinnamon and garlic. Well, more than a hint… there are actually cinnamon sticks and a garlic clove right in the jar! Yum.

I love that my mother recognized good taste enough to go to these extremes. I just have to remember to bring her more jars of these delicious pickles next time I am home.

Pickle incident #3:



I saw this clip on TV on a the best of Television 2006 show. It's about a girl with pickle phobia. Crazy. I laughed when I watched it for many reasons, but mostly because I imagined inviting her to celebrate New Years with me in Dillsburg. Oh... that's funny.

As it turned out I decided not to make the drive to see a giant pickle drop for New Years, instead I joined some hometown friends for a party at the square downtown. Although the thought of chocolate dipped pickles was tempting, I chose to spend the time with good friends and family and a big plastic cup of cheap champagne. We said goodbye to 2006 while watching fireworks and dancing in the rain. Happy 2007!!!

The Final Dish: You seriously have to try these yummy pickles from We're in a Pickle at Produce Junction in West Chester or order online at wereinapickle.com. Gift baskets are available and other products include relish, hot sauces and more!

Who Are You Calling a Tart?

And here is the recipe for the Almond Tart that my friend made at the Christmas Party this year. It's perfect for dunking in hot stuff like coffee, tea or me.


Ingredients
1/2 cup raw almonds with skins, plus about 18 whole almonds for decorating
2/3 cup sugar, plus more for top
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks), softened, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg white, beaten

Baking dish: 9-inch tart fluted pan with removable bottom

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Blend the 1/2 cup nuts in a food processor (or a blender works, too - just need more patience) with the sugar until the mixture resembles coarse sand (if there are a few small chunks of nuts it's okay). Add the butter, vanilla and almond extracts, and the salt, and blend until creamy. Add the flour and continue to pulse to make a soft dough.

Put the dough in a 9-inch tart pan and spread it evenly with a spatula spoon (dip it in warm water if you need help smoothing the surface). Cover and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.

Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and prick the dough all over with a fork. Generously sprinkle sugar over the top of the dough. Toss the remaining whole almonds in egg white; press the nuts into the dough evenly around the edge of the pan. Bake until golden brown - about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool the bread in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tart ring and cut the shortbread into wedges, each with a nut. Cool completely. Or - cool in pan completely and present as 1 large cookie and cut as desired.

The Final Dish: If you are like me... and lack the time to actually make this at home... get a best friend who will do it for you.

For the Special Times in Your Life....

I had a bit of a sad day today. Whenever I have days like this I make myself feel better with a pedicure, hot chocolate or a glass of wine and listen to "sad" music. If that doesn't do it.... than a picture of some Eggs Benedict usually helps.

I had breakfast last weekend with a high school friend at Perkins. I heart breakfasts in general but the special menu insert set my heart on fire.

The top simply said "Eggs Benedict" followed by "For all the special times in your life. Like breakfast, lunch and dinner." This could have (and should have) been a direct quote from me... I just wasn't smart enough to think of it first.

Most who know me know that I judge restaurants based on their benedicts and in particular their hollandaise sauce. The menu went on to say that I should "Celebrate right now with one of our Eggs Benedict entrees. Each featuring two basted eggs served on a grilled English Muffin with our special delicious toppings. Served with your choice of a Mammoth Muffin or fresh seasonal fruit, plus your choice of hash browns or breakfast potatoes.

The menu temptations included Turkey Asparagus, Steak and Mushroom, Double Bacon, Classic and Country Cookin benedicts. I wasn't sure what I wanted to order but I was certain that I had to have this insert in my possession. I wanted to make bumper stickers out of it, or buttons, or t-shirts... or at least display it in my cubicle at work.

Somehow.. lost in the our catching up conversation that day, I forgot to ask if I could keep the insert before I left.

Flash-forward to today...

I struggled to walk in the door of my apartment in my flimsy pedicure flip-flops as I made my way to my stereo to put on some Counting Crows, Long December to wallow in my sadness. I lit some candles, fired up my tea pot and then checked my mail.

Among my bills was a large white envelope. I tore it open (I love surprise mail) and a picture of benedict peeked out at me. The insert! My friend had gone back to get it and then mailed it to me... just in time to turn my day around. Talk about good food karma.

The Final Dish: I realize Perkins is no gourmet establishment but big props go out to a place that has a special insert dedicated to an amazing dish (and leave a coffee pot on the table- awesome). Check it out at a Perkins near you. West Chester isn't lucky enough to have one but you can find one close to you at http://www.perkinsrestaurants.com/. Try your own benedict (pretend I said it now) for the special times in your life. Like Breakfast. Lunch. Or Dinner. Soo cool.

Nog-tastic

I slept on my sister's couch this year for Christmas. My family celebrates holidays a few days late so that my siblings can spend time with their in-laws on the actual day. As the only spouse-less one in the family I usually spend the actual holiday with my sister and her family.

It works out well. In addition to spending quality time with my sister, I get a stocking, I get a few gifts from Santa, I get candy in my stocking, we have really good egg nog, share an awesome breakfast in the morning and, most importantly, they have cable (The Food Network.)

I arrived on Christmas Eve to a dinner of tomato soup (that my sister doctors up with tarragon and cream mmmm) and grilled cheese. In my honor they swaped their usual American Cheese (the ONLY cheese I'll never eat) for cheddar. After dinner it was time to prepare for Santa's arrival.

This is a much more intense process than I remember as a child. Here's what had to be done:

1. Reindeer food had to be sprinkled outside. This was a mix of glitter and oats.
2. Blinking lights were to be posted on the door. It was like a homing device for Santa I suppose.
3. Rockets had to be fired into the air. These were plastic rockets that fired into the air with the help of an air pump. Again, this was to signal to Santa that this was the house to be.
4. Cookies were put on plates. I remembered this one.
5. Milk was poured into a glass. Standard.
6. Stockings were hung. Duh.
7. Letters were written to Santa. I would elaborate but they were top secret so I don't know what they said.
8. Reindeer candy was put out. I asked my nephew if I could have some (it was a mix of mints and caramels) and he informed me that it's reindeer food only and I could get sick.

After all of the preparations we read stories and tucked the kids into bed. My brother in law then announced that it was time to "get our jolly on." So I cozied up on the couch with my sister and her husband and we started our own preparations for Santa.

1. We poured some egg nog. Every year we have Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Nog. It's amazing how good it tastes, how bad it is for you and how drunk it gets you. The bottle reads: Blended whiskey, rum and brandy blended with fresh dairy cream make this a holiday favorite. Just add a little cinnamon and ground nutmeg to create a wonderful holiday cocktail!
2. Pour some egg nog. Oh wait... I already said that. I guess that was it then.

As our bodies warmed from the holiday buzz we stuffed stockings, swept up the reindeer glitter, took nibbles out of cookies, gulped down the milk and opened and disposed of secret letters. It was tough being Santa.

My sister and her husband soon went to bed and I happily watched The Food Network as I knit until I eventually got sleepy.

I awoke to the padding of feet running into the room. "Santa came! Did you hear him come in?"

"I didn't hear a thing." I told them, "But I'm a sound sleeper."

I couldn't tell them the truth... that I tune everyone out when I watch The Food Network. So if I large man dressed in red came in I would have easily missed him when the holiday celebrity episode was on.

As my nephew opened his gifts he almost got tears in his eyes and declared "All of my dreams came true! All of my dreams came true!"

I smiled to myself and agreed. "Mine did too Lukey... mine did too."

The Final Dish: What more could a girl ask for at Christmas than a super cool sister with super cool kids, really good egg nog, my own stocking and my fav television personalities? I totally got my jolly on.

Yummy Gifts for the Boss

Getting gifts for people at work is always tricky. How much do you spend? Do you give something to everyone? Do you even give anything? Do you give your boss a better present than say... your intern? I decided to make it easy this year and give everyone the same yummy thing. Well... ok, so I may have made my boss's gift a little nicer.

We have a "Gossip Free" policy at work. This means that if we hear others discussing something that isn't factual in the workplace we need to report it.

I was bothered by some recent workplace gossip so I scheduled a meeting to discuss it with my General Manager.

With a straight face I began to tell him that I was really offended by the things that I heard people saying. Things like "Santa isn't real" and "there's no such thing as Santa."

He looked me square in the eye and with an equally straight face said "That's simply not true. Santa is real. We'll have to put a stop to that won't we?"

I loved that he not only played along but he didn't fire me for wasting his time (or for wearing my dollar store Christmas antlers for three days in a row...handbook says no hats allowed.)

Just to play it safe I made sure I upgraded the Big Boss Man's (I call him that sometimes) gift for Christmas. I gave him extra peppermint sticks and a really nice mug.

My gift to everyone this year was hot chocolate. I felt this was appropriate because I love chocolate and I think everyone is hot. Here's how I did it...

I bought a bunch of white mugs and little plastic bags at the craft store. Then I filled each bag with:

4 scoops of premixed hot cocoa (would be nicer to make this from scratch but I'm a busy girl so premixed it was.)
2 scoops of cafe mocha mix
2 scoops of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1 scoop of white chocolate chips
1 big scoop of love

Then I tied up the bags, popped them in a mug and attached a card for each person. I garnished them with chocolate kisses or peppermint sticks and handed them out at work.

I signed most of the cards with my real name. But a few... the "non- believers" got a cocoa filled mug on their desk "from Santa." That's what they get for breaking company policy.

The Final Dish: Merry Yummy Christmas to EVERYONE!

Eating Christmas

This year's Christmas party proved to be a success. It's always great to spend time with hometown friends and share good food, drinks and laughs... and to make edible art projects.

I decided that this year's edible craft would be Christmas traincars. Everyone took part and medals were given to the winners. The catergories were decided after a few drinks... and they were. Best overall. Best use of twinkie. Most creative. And Best Creativity. Yes... this is funny.

All of the judging was done blindly. I drank and ate while all the contestants created their entries.

My good friend Danny and I judged. Here are the pics....

The winners were...

Best Overall: My Best Friend's Sister Jesse



Most Creative: Jesse's Boyfriend Eric- He made a spider (not a train but really creative)






Best Use of Twinkie: Husband of a high school friend Josh... he split the twinkie and re-enacted a scene from "Throw Mamma from the Train." Cool.




Best Creativity: My other bestest friend in the world "Sole Mate" who crafted a train on a bridge, complete with a water feature. She amazes me.




The only other train submitted/loser: My best friend's husband John. He lost.


My best friend made an amazing almond short bread. Soooo good. Recipe to be posted soon...

Final Dish: Oh what a jolly Christmas train my friends created. I think I have a crush on all of my friends and the food that they create.