9 posts tagged “eat to the beat”
I have been a pretty horrible blogger lately, so the tardiness of this post should come as no surprise. I should have started posting the submissions as I received them, of course, but I am a huge procrastinator. Plus, I have been a little busy transferring my site (I know, I feel like I talk about this *all* the time but I finally have my posts all moved so look for a move soon!). Sorry I haevn't been around and commented as much as I normally do, but I am hoping to get back to business here soon!
At any rate, this edition of Eat to the Beat is, like the ones before it, full of delicious eats and great beats. I'm always happy to see these posts as they come in. Everyone is so creative. So, I'll quit the babbling already and get to the round up. As a reminder, if you would like to participate in the next Eat to the Beat, just check out what you need to do. The deadline is the end of the year, so you have plenty of time.
I really love the creativity that comes out during this event, and Kelsey at Apple a Day kicks off EttB with a great song/dish connection. Kelsey makes this seriously gorgeous lemon crostada with fresh figs and goat cheese. I think those are 3 of my favorite ingredients on the planet. But, it's been seven years since Kelsey could find herself some fresh figs so when she finally found them, she had a euphopric moment--choosing the "Hallelujah" Chorus from Handel's Messiah as her Eat to the Beat music.
Perpetually creative participator Erika over at Bean's Bistro shares a cherry coca-cola jello salad for Eat to the Beat. Her cooking-with-coke was inspired by a song by Shiny Toy Guns song called "Jackie will Save Me" that goes "I think you're slipping/American coca cola/Sugar sweetness." So Erika slipped some coke into this cherry jello. For the record, I adore cherry and coke together. Whenever I buy a slurpee, it's half cherry, half coke. Just so you know.
My friend Cara, who runs Cara's Cravings, made some magic rice for this event. The magic? That's not actually rice you see--it's cauliflower! Cara used a food processor to make rice-sized pieces of cauliflower and then steamed it. Not surprisingly, Pilot's "Magic" was running through her head as she looked at the faux rice. Oh, oh, oh it's magic, you know! Never believe it's not so...
Mmm, I love cornbread and this cornbread salad made by Kayla at Central Cooking is such a fun, new way to use cornbread (besides just inhale it, which is what I typically do). Kayla used the song "Cornbread" by Dave Matthews Band as her backing track for this great side dish and also talk about how she and her husband connected through music - I alway love reading stories like that :)
Just the title of this cake is enough to make me drool. Dell, who runs Cooking and the City, brings to EttB a brown sugar chocolate cinnamon cake. You want a piece, don't you? I sure do! This cake was inspired by none other than the classic Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar" which is a favorite of mine. This cake started as a mistake because the top of it was cracked and Dell smartly covered it in chocolate to hide its imperfections. You can never go wrong covering anything in chocolate. That's a fact.
SilverMoon at Dragon Musings cooks with her kids on Cookie Day and makes these melt in your mouth (literally) vanilla meltaways. These cookies are based on Melting Moments (which I don't think I have ever tried!) and Shonen Knife's song "Cookie Day" (which I enjoy).
Stina at Eat Something is cracking me up with her entry of a "heffa-ed up" buttermilk pie. When you heffa something up, you create something nice and fatty (and delicious, of course). Stina's heffalicious version of this pie ties into her song choice of "Girls Love Pie" by Nasty.
Psychgrad, one half of the food duo behind Equal Opportunity Kitchen is feeling a lot like I have been with blogging lately--by the time I finally make a post, the food is already gone and becomes a little more difficult to recall. That's why Psychgrad chose the song "Yesterday" by Boyz II Men as she was remembering this ridiculously good looking peanut butter cup cake. I'm pretty sure I would remember that cake any day!
New EttB participant Joan, who runs FOODalogue uses the song always playing at everyone's local Italian eatery (or, at least mine!) "Mambo Italiano" as inspiration for this Spanish take on a classic Italian dish - pizza! This Spanish Tapas Rolled Pizza. The fact that this pizza has one of my favorite ingredients in it--chorizo--definitely has me singing!
Maria, a first generation Greek like myself who heads Kali Orexi, makes a really great spin on the classic avgolemono (egg lemon) soup by making asparagus and dill avgolemon soup. I love avgolemono, and I love asparagus, so this soup will definitely be made in my house sometime soon. Maria uses the song "Lemon" by U2 as inspiration for this lemony soup (and causes me to to be nostalgic and listen to U2 for a week straight). :)
Another fellow Greek (represent!) Peter at Kalofagas was probably doing some headbanging when you made this entry to tie AC/DC's "Back in Black" to his dish of Charred and Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Black Trumpet Emulsion. That's right, I said black trumpet mushrooms. And pork tenderloin. I said emulsion, too, in case you are keeping track. Ok but anyway, this is one of those recipes that I instantly starred in my reader to try. It just looks way to good not to.
Greek number 3 (what can I say? we run in circles, and apparently alphabetically), Ivy at Kopiaste, has managed to find a hilarious (and sort of trippy--go to her site to see the video) song called "The Biscuit Song." She decided to make biscuit cookies with some lovely homemade fig jam (my favorite). These cookies are so cute! The hole where the fig jam shows is fashioned from an ouzo bottle top. Gotta love that :)
When tomatoes are fresh and ripe in their peak season, there are few things better than them in my opinion. And, as you've also heard me say on this blog before, I'm a big fan of pesto--of many varieties, and on pretty much anything. So you know when Val of More Than Burnt Toast sent me her entry - an heirloom tomato salad with pesto vinaigrette - I was drooling up a storm. Those lovely tomatoes tie in perfectly with Val's song of choice, "Homegrown Tomatoes," by John Denver.
Lindsey, who runs Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings (and has very similar tastebuds to me, I have noticed over the last few months!) takes one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, The Monkees, and makes some monkee cake, loaded with bananas (of course) and raisins. I'm sure you remember the band The Monkees. Personally, I was always a Micky fan. You?
My friend Kate over at Paved with Good Intentions definitely went old school with this challenge, picking one of my favorite bands from middle school. Yeesh, I can't believe it's been that long. At any rate, I'm sure you all know the Gin Blossoms. Man, 90s rock and pop was SO good. And Kate has made a tribute to the band (and their love of drinking)with her Gin Blossom drink (made with rose flower water).
Newcomer Leslie from Pixiepine Palace shows us several ways she connects music and food in her kitchen. She says "music sets a mood and can even make food more delicious." Leslie talks about how she likes listening to internet radio for international dishes, to get a more authentic feel and making her own music compilations to listen to as she cooks.
Mollie at Reading, 'Riting, and Recipes takes a "Slow and Low" approach a la the Beastie Boys to grill some chicken leg quarters (my favorite!). Chicken seasoned with a dry rub and some great bbq sauce, cooked for a while over low heat are what make these incredibly moist and delicious.
Nuria, who always gives us lovely Spanish Recipes, cracks me up this time with her song reference. She chose Paul Anka's "Put Your Head on my Shoulder" because of the way this ocotopus head is resting on potatoes. Hehe. I don't even like octopus but this octopus in stew looks so good!
Anyone around my age remembers Adam Sandler's SNL skits and CDs where he would sing hilarious songs. Remember "Lunch Lady?" If you do, there's no doubt the first part that comes to your mind is the "sloppy joe, slop, sloppy joe, hey!" part. At least for me! Steph over at Steph's Kitchen uses that song as inspiration to make some homemade sloppy joes that look more extra fabulous than they do "extra sloppy."
Bridget runs The Way the Cookie Crumbles and her husband, like mine, likes writing songs. So, the song Bridget chose for this event was one written by her own husband in grad school called "Bustle." One of the lines from that song is "dripping red" which instantly made Bridget think of something bloody, and what is bloodier than red wine sauce dripping down dead animal? This pan seared steak with red wine sauce has me drooling up a storm.
Ben at What's Cooking? put boring ol' scrambled eggs aside, turned up his mariachi music, and created these gorgeous huevos a la mexicana for Mexican Independence Day. Just looking at those eggs with the beans and tortillas makes me want to whip up some huevos of my own right this minute.
This time around, I went with the Tori Amos song "Raspberry Swirl" and made some light vanilla raspberry swirl bread (after a few complications with other entries, of course). Oh sure, this is not kind of raspberry swirl Tori was talking about, but hey, it will still make you feel good. ;)
I've been so behind on my blogging lately, and even more behind on all the great blog events that have been happening. In fact, I was in bed the other day and when I should have been sleeping, I remembered that an Eat to the Beat deadline was approaching and I had no idea what to make. After just a minute or two, I remembered the song "Raspberry Swirl" by Tori Amos and decided that would definitely work. I love Tori Amos. I remember getting From the Choirgirl Hotel the day it came out and discussing it with one of my friends in high school. She liked "Raspberry Swirl" the best. I was hesitant. It was ok, but kind of...weird. But of course it grew on me, big time, and it's now one of my favorite songs on the album.
But anyway, back to Eat to the Beat. How had I not thought of this song before? I mean, it's not really about food (far from), but the title could easily be applied to food. It's definitely the easiest one I've thought of yet, and even easier to execute. Just think of something to stick a raspberry swirl in and be done with it. Right? Not so much.
See, my first idea was cheesecake bars which I ultimately should have just gone with. They would no doubt be tasty and the swirl would be striking against the white bars. But I had pretty much none of the ingredients for cheesecake bars, so I decided to make raspberry swirl blondies. In theory, these were a good idea (and tasty!) but in practice, not so much. First, as you know, blondies are golden in color. Second, I decided to mix some raspberry jam with a few tablespoons of batter which dulled the color way too much. And, while tasty, the blondies didn't look particularly pretty.
Then, I was home alone all weekend because Tom's friends were in town for a bachelor party. The weather was really awful and I was bored, so I decided to make something else raspberry swirled. A quickbread. This is ultimately what I will end up blogging below, but it wasn't really my first choice (err, at this point, even my second). Sort of for the same reasons as above--the swirl is not as striking. And, it's not terribly exciting or different from things I bake pretty much every Sunday--healthyish carbs to go with my eggs in my weekday breakfasts.
So then I thought, of course. Angel food cake. A relatively healthier dessert, a pretty white canvas to work with, and a flavor that raspberry would complement. So, I mashed some raspberries that I figured I would layer in the batter and went by Alton Brown's recipe. But, alas, I don't have a nice tube pan with a removeable bottom. What I have is a tube/bundt pan that doesn't have a tube that raises above the edges and also which apparently hates me. So, after all the whipping and the sifting and the slow dolloping into the pan (and even the use of a small ramekin to help prop my pan upside down to cool when it came out of the oven), I had the hardest time ever getting the damned cake out. It finally came out...but, well, not all of it. Part of it stuck in the pan, making a not very attractive angel food cake. And, I had some air pockets in the cake too. So, although it tasted good, it looked pretty awful. Sigh.
And that's when I decided that this Eat to the Beat was obviously not as easy as I had so naively imagined. And after my share of raspberry swirled items over the last few days, I decided to say screw it and post the quickbread. The funny thing is I always look at blog events to make something sort of sinful and that I wouldn't normally make, but here I am making a variation on something I tend to make all the time. But, oh well.
Light Vanilla Quickbread with Raspberry Swirl
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup plain, fat free yogurt
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup raspberry jam
Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat the egg with the sugar until pale and smooth. Add the yogurt, vanilla, and oil and beat until just incorporated.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in 2-3 additions until just incorporated (don't overmix!).
Put about 1/2 of the mixture into the loaf pan, spreading evenly. Stir the jam vigorously to loosen it a little and then spoon it over the batter, but leave some space around all sides of the loaf. Spoon the remaining batter over the jam. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/12 of the loaf): Calories: 177 / Fat: 5g / Carbs: 30g / Protein: 3g
We had more great entries for this round's Eat to the Beat! If you didn't get a chance to participate this time around, be sure to check out the guidelines and submit your entry for the next round-up in September. Many thanks to those who participated, and I hope to see entries from you and others for the next edition! If I missed your submission or you see any other problems, please let me know.
Now without further ado, I bring you the June round-up.
Val, who is definitely serving up More than Burnt Toast here, brings this gorgeous and no doubt incredibly delicious chocolate budino with ice cream to EttB. *drool* Val's inspiration was one of my favorite songstresses, Sarah McLachlan, and her song "Ice Cream." This pudding cake is made all the better with a big ol' scoop of cool, creamy goodness.
Núria takes some of my favorite ingredients and makes this irresistible Spanish tapas of quail egg on sobrassada toast. This may be tapas, but I would be content eating a couple of these for dinner. Núria also shares the story of when she was in Mallorca (eating lots of sobrassada sausage!) with her then-boyfriend, who ended up falling in love and marrying someone else. Like the Hermes House Band says, "Life is life!" But of course, for Núria, it ended well and that was a great experience for her, since she ended up later meeting her husband. And of course because she got to eat all the yummy sobrassada ;)
Ivy of Kopiaste takes the Fool's Garden song "Lemon Tree" to a whole new level with this tasty lemon marmalade. I have yet to make marmalade myself, but I think I may start with Ivy's recipe, as I love anything lemon flavored. With all those rinds and juice it has got to be really flavorful...and perfect on a scone :)
Although Albert Hammond claims "It Never Rains in Southern California," rain is exactly what prompted Susan, a favorite FoodBlogga of mine, to make this fresh cherry and peach upside-down cake. I have to agree that there is something great about baking a cake when it's raining outside. And I can take some thunderstorms if it means a piece of that!
"The first cut[let] is the deepest" kind of sounds like a Weird Al version of the famous song, doesn't it? Hehe. But, in this case, Mollie's mind just instantly went to that Cat Stevens (or possibly Sheryl Crow?) song when she started preparing these chicken cutlets for her delicious looking chicken parmesan. Mmm, this dish looks crispy and moist and cheesy and yum.
Peter, the Greek gourmand over at Kalofagas, definitely made me laugh with his entry. Though his dish ties in with Elton John's "Rocket Man" the song posted on his blog is a spoken word version by none other than William Shatner. I admit, I do have some Shatner in my music collection, vis-a-vis the Ben Fold's collaboration "Fear of Pop." But I digress; this rocket (or arugula) pesto on spaghetti looks so delicious. I love, love, love arugula. And you know already how I love pestos!
Rachel, the Crispy Cook, was "tempted by the fruit of another" much like the popular '80s band, Squeeze when she created this entry. "Tempted" is definitely one of my favorite '80s songs and mango is one of my favorite fruits, so I, too, would be tempted by this beautiful grilled cardamon-glazed mango! Grilled fruits are one of my favorite new things!
Erika from Bean's Bistro is definitely one of those ubercreative types. You can just tell by her EttB entries. This time, she makes "When Doves Cry" Cornish Hens with Port Sauce and Grapes. We all remember Prince's "When Doves Cry" (and, we will no doubt now have it in our heads for days) and this is a perfect tribute to the song, and to purple man himself. Cornish hens are kinda-sorta like doves and the stuffing is bold (like Prince's father?). And of course grapes are signature Prince-purple. NICE.
Stefany is not only joining EttB for a second time, but she is giving us 2 dishes yet again! And if that wasn't good enough, Stefany is channeling a good old fashioned 1980s hair band, Poison. Surely you remember the song "Every Rose Has its Thorn." Stefany picked up a couple bottles of rose nectar and was on her way to EttB goodness. And, since "every night has its dawn," Stefany gives us these buttery bites of goodness--Morning Rose Madeleines. Plus, she makes these great rose cupcakes. I'm not sure which one I'd rather have, so you can just ship one of each to me, Stefany. Thanks!
One of the reasons I love blogging events is that you learn all about new blogs, and Ben's was one of those blogs (though not from this event). His blog is full of amazing looking stuff, and this arroz moro is certainly no exception, considering my mouth dropped when I first viewed the picture. Ben enjoys salsa music and especially likes Cuban singer Cecelia Cruz. And of course Cuban music goes perfectly with that delicious Cuban dish!
Dear readers, I seriously cannot tell you how much I love key lime pie (okay, anything with lime). In fact, I'm sad to say I've never made my own, but after getting Erin's entry to this event, I definitely need to give this recipe a try. Erin's key lime pie goes hand in hand with a Kenny Chesney song of the same title. Like Erin, this makes me wish I were relaxing on the beach (eating at least 2 pieces of key lime pie).
Lindsey channeled the Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever" when she made these gorgeous, juicy strawberry anise scones. These yogurt scones have actually been on my (mile-long) "to try" list for a while and I think the addition of the anise sounds wonderful. And even better, though you wouldn't know it by looking at them, these scones are healthy, to boot.
Whenever Michelle at Big Black Dog sits on her porch sipping lemonade in the warm weather, the song "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini" pops into her head. By the way, is that even the title? I don't know. What I DO know is that this lemonade looks fabulous. I'm not sure which I like better in this pink lemonade--the cranberry juice or the lime. I am a sucker for -ades of all sorts and this one looks so good and refreshing!
Kate at Paved with Good Intentions used inspiration from the Eagles to make this really schmany dessert of champagne ice cream. You remember in Hotel California where there are mirrors on the ceiling and the champagne's on ice? Kate used Cava in place of champagne but, hey, I am all for adding any type of booze into my food, thanks. I can just see this with some chocolate covered strawberries (and, I'm not going to lie, I kept hearing this as "cham-PAHN-ya!" a la Christopher Walken in SNL).
Kelsey at Apple a Day ditches the apples for some berries and makes this gorgeous All-American Berry Bundt Cake. It's stuff like this that really makes me want specialty cake pans. Mmm. This cake sounds so good (I love ANY form of fruit dessert), and it fits in perfectly with the song Kelsey chose, which is "All American Girl" by Carrie Underwood. The red and blue berries and white cake are totally festive.
And here's my dish--chocolate milk cupcakes, inspired by Rufus Wainwright's "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk." I have never really been one for moderation, so anything that's "a little bit sweeter, a little bit fatter, and a little bit harmful for me" is right up my alley.
Do you ever take a bite out of a really sweet, really chocolatey, really decadent dessert and then only eat a few bites because it's "too rich?" I don't.
Those two words do not go together in my vocabulary. Desserts can never, ever be too rich for me. Sometimes when I'm eating the same thing as a person who proclaims it "too rich" I agree with him or her...you know, just so I don't look like a cow. But secretly I am thinking that I could easily polish it off. That maybe I could even finish my portion and the portion of the person who has proclaimed this "too rich."
So, due to my propensity for loving sweets and things that aren't terribly good for me a little too much, for this installment of Eat to the Beat I decided to go with Rufus Wainwright's "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" which is really all about wanting things that are bad for you...and maybe overindulging in them, too. I absolutely love Rufus Wainwright and in fact, almost picked this song for EttB #1, but saved it for this time around. If you want to participate in Eat to the Beat, the event that pairs music and food, please check out the details here. The deadline is June 30.
You can listen to "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" below, but here is a snippet of the lyrics.
Cigarettes and chocolate milk
These are just a couple of my cravings
Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me
If I should buy jellybeans
I have to eat them all in just one sitting
Everything it seems I like's a little bit sweeter, a little bit fatter, a little bit harmful for me
You will be happy to know that these cupcakes do not contain nicotine or ashes. But, given the mention of chocolate milk, I decided to make a milk cake with chocolate milk instead of regular milk. Talk about a little bit sweeter and fatter. And then I used chocolate milk in the chocolate frosting. And THEN, I topped these with sugary jelly beans. Too rich? No, no, no. You should have your cupcakes and your chocolate milk, too!
I could have handled the same amount of sugar the original cake recipe called for, despite the swap of chocolate milk for regular. But for the sake of "normal" people, I reduced the amount of sugar in the cupcakes (and use less sugar than I normally would in the frosting).
And while we are on the subject of rock and food, everyone should check out Cooking with Rockstars, which features videos by some great singers making/talking about some great food. Rufus is actually included, too.
Chocolate Milk Cupcakes (hold the cigarettes)
Makes 12 cupcakes
adapted from Nigella Lawson
1-1/4 cup flour
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup chocolate milk
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
2/3 cup superfine sugar (just pulse granulated a few times in your food processor if you don't have superfine)
Preheat the oven to 325 and grease a muffin tin.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave, just until the butter melts. Stir in the vanilla.
In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the milk mixture. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture with a spatula. Pour the batter into your muffin cups and bake about 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Chocolate Frosting
I didn't really measure ingredients for this, so this is my best guess. the thing about frosting is that you can always add things to it as you are mixing to make it taste better, give it a different consistency, etc. I actually ended up using too much milk in this so it was a little runny, but I already had a little too much frosting so I didn't feel like wasting more sugar. :)
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups powdered sugar
chocolate milk (probably around 1/4 cup, but maybe less)
Stir the cocoa powder into the melted butter and then add the vanilla. Alternately add the powdered sugar and a tablespoon or so of the milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Does making a blog post on a Friday night totally give away the fact that I lead an incredibly lame life? Probably. Is getting really excited about the National Spelling Bee that's currently on ESPN even worse? I don't know, but I don't care. I absolutely love watching it every year. At any rate, here is a quick post from the ol' Macbook as I'm watching the spelling bee and cracking up that one of the spellers thought "numnah" was actually "numbnuts." Hilarity!
First, a quick reminder that the next deadline for Eat to the Beat is a month from today, June 30. This is the event that asks you to pair some type of food or drink with an artist, song, etc. We had some great entries last time, so I am hoping to get some great participation this time around too!
Second, this is the easiest appetizer you will ever make. It uses 4 ingredients and there's a good chance you have them all in your kitchen right now. Okay, I admit I don't usually have premade phyllo cups in the freezer. But, they are a nice staple to have because you never know when you will want to make a last-minute appetizer and not have time to run to the store. These were, in fact, a last minute appetizer for the barbecue we decided to have with a couple friends on Memorial Day.
I was so lazy with these that I didn't even chop the basil prettily and did a quick chiffonade instead. But hey, these tasted great anyway. You can't go wrong with warm cheese, can you?
Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Phyllo Cups
Let a log of goat cheese soften to room temperature.
Drain and chop some sundried tomatoes. Mix them in with the softened goat cheese and add a little fresh ground pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the phyllo cups and bake at 350 till the cheese is warm and the phyllo cups are crisp.
Sprinkle over some fresh chopped basil and serve.
Thanks to the great response from my first Eat to the Beat blogging event as well as some feedback from readers, I am excited to bring the event back! As of now, I plan on making this a quarterly event. If I start getting a huge amount of response (which would be great!) I may seek out a cohost (so feel free to "apply" by shooting me an email). There are SO many great blogging events out there right now (in fact, I have 4 I want to participate in within the next week and I just don't think I will make most of them, sadly), that I thought quarterly deadlines might be better in terms of flexibility for bloggers.
This year's remaining deadlines are below. I will try to post the round-ups the week after the deadlines and, if you've sent me your submission by that deadline, it will be included in that particular round-up. If you send it after that date, I will just roll it over into the next round-up. Sound good?
2008 Deadlines:
Monday, June 30
Tuesday, September 30
Tuesday, December 30
So, here's a refresher course.
For EttB, please make and blog about a food or drink that somehow relates to a song, an album, a band, etc. Maybe you'll create a dish based on a song's literal lyrics about food. Perhaps you'll allude to a band's name in your creation (Smashing Pumpkin bread, anyone?). Maybe your favorite band is from Poland or your favorite song is about Chicago, and you want to blog about popular cuisine in those locations. Were you listening to a particular song as you were cooking or eating a specific dish? As long as you explain why the food/drink you have chosen to make reminds you of something musical, it works for this event. From "On Top of Spaghetti" to "The Spaghetti Incident;" from Pearl['s] Jam to "She Don't Use Jelly," the possibilities are endless.
In your entry (which you can post at ANY time), please mention this event and also include a link back to this URL. Then, email me at ellysaysopa [at] gmail [dot] com, and include your:
-name
-blog name and URL
-permanent link to your entry for this event
-where you live
-picture of your food or drink (as an attachment or as a URL within your email)
If you don't have a blog, no worries! Just send me an email with a picture of your food/drink and the story behind why you chose to make it.
I will send you a response email within 2-3 days of your submission. If you don't get it, that means I didn't get your submission. I try to check my spam as carefully as possible, but things sometimes slip through the cracks. So, email me again or leave me a comment here to make sure I get it.
I look forward to your submissions! Happy blogging, eating, and music-listening to all.
Wow. Can I just say how amazing (not to mention creative) food bloggers are? I was hesitant to host this event because I wasn't sure if it would appeal to enough people. Sure, *I* am a huge music buff, but I didn't realize how many other people were, too. I told my husband I would be happy with 7 or 8 entries to the event since it was my first time hosting one. Well, imagine my surprise when I tallied up my emails and had FIFTY-FOUR! And if that wasn't cool enough, there were practically no overlaps with food/music. There were so many wonderful, unique submissions to this event. I had entries from some of my favorite bloggers as well as some blogs I hadn't known about until this event. So now I have tons of new, great, blogs to keep tabs on and add to my Google Reader! Thank you all SO much for participating!
This begs the question of whether or not this should be a recurring event. What do you think? I have had a few people ask if I plan to keep this going, and I'm not sure. Originally, I planned on it being a one-time thing but after the great response and the emails asking if I plan to host again, I'm considering another Eat to the Beat. I think monthly might be too frequent, but maybe seasonally? Please tell me what you think in the form of a comment or an email.
And now, let's hit play and see all of your creative (and no doubt delicious) dishes. I wasn't sure in which order to present the entries, so I just went alphabetically, according to your blog title. If for some reason I missed you, or a link is wrong or something, please let me know. This took a while so by the end I may have been a little sloppy ;)
Aliy from AAMP'ED Up Cooking lives in Boston now, but being from Indiana, she ate a lot of fresh catfish growing up. Lyle Lovette's "Up in Indiana" brings back memories of life at home, so Aliy set out to make some catfish for this event. She wasn't able to find good catfish so she modified her idea to use salmon. This yummy looking ciabatta bread salmon is almost too pretty to eat! But, you should definitely eat it to experience the wonderful fruit flavors, including the lemon, lime and pineapple. Yum!
Amber, who lives in Indiana, makes one of her Delectable Delights with this explosive turtle cheesecake. Holy yum. I think I went into a euphoric shock upon seeing this. Her turtle cheesecake is based on the song "So Happy Together" by...the Turtles of course! Plus, cream cheese, caramel, chocolate and pecans really are so happy together, aren't they? And I think they would be even happier together in my tummy.
You will definitely have "Georgia on [your] Mind" for days after looking at Annie's gorgeous peach pound cake. Annie, another Hoosier, runs Annie's Eats. She makes this perfect treat with bits of peaches enveloped in moist, fluffy pound cake. In my opionion (which is obviously very important), you cannot go wrong with a pound cake. Thank you, Mr. Charles for popularizing the song so Annie could share this amazing looking pound cake with us.
Amy Sue, my fellow Vox neighbor in Wyoming, makes these delicious and comforting Italian mini meatloaves. Her inspiration for this dish is none other than the artist Meatloaf, and Amy listened to one of her favorite tracks, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" while crafting these cheesy bites of goodness.
Kelsey, gracious host of Apple a Day makes this really great looking banana cream pie with a pretzel crust. I love the combo of sweet and salty. Plus, I think I would love a pretzel crust on just about anything. Like a "Hollaback Girl" you will go B-A-N-A-N-A-S over this pie. Let me hear you say it!
Sathya, one half of the duo behind The Baker & the Curry Maker joins the event from Australia. She makes this beautiful and delicious looking blackcurrent nonbake cheesecake with a gingernut (gingersnap, to me) crust. Gingersnap crusts are my absolute favorite. Sathya's cheesecake creation goes along with the song "The Cheesecake Truck" by King Missle. I haven't heard that song before but if it's literal, I would love to be a passenger in said cheesecake truck.
Erika from Maine submits one of my favorite entries to this event, over at Bean's Bistro--evil little hell cakes (okay, they are chocolate chili cupcakes) based on the song "Hell" by The Squirrel Nut Zippers. And seriously, this song is going to be in my head for DAYS. Remember the part in the song where they sing "now the D and the A and the M and the N and the A and the T and the I-O-N?" Well, Erika did and she spelled it out on her cupcakes. I love it!
Delia, a Texan over at Because You Have to Eat, made these yummy Cheeseburgers in Paradise, based on the Jimmy Buffet song. She busts out the red meat for these burgers, instead of ground turkey, which I can definitely get behind. I love me some red meat, and cheese--and these have not one, but two kinds of cheese.
Wheeeeen the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amore! Everyone knows that great song, by Dean Martin, and Cara from Cara's Cravings used it as her inspiration to create this delicious looking pizza, which she made with a homemade crust! I really want to try that crust recipe. Not to mention the pizza. Eggplant, roasted yellow peppers, and big ol' dollops of goat cheese? Yes, please.
Sylwia, who is Polish but currently resides in Ireland, contributes two things for Eat to the Beat, related to two totally different songs. Thanks, Sylwia! On her blog Cudawianki (her nickname) in the Kitchen (Cudawianki Kuchenne), Sylwia makes these great looking fudge candies that are called "small cows" in Poland (I learn something new everyday!), an homage to the 50 Cent song "Candy Shop." Her second contribution was this seriously amazing sounding banana iced coffee, inspired by Damien Marley's song "One More Cup of Coffee." I think everyone would agree to one more cup of coffee if it looked that good!
Ally, who is always giving us a peek into her Culinary Infatuation, channels Widespread Panic and their song "Coconut" to make these delicious looking coconut blondies with toffee and chocolate. Make anything with toffee and I am in love already but toffee AND coconut? I'm totally in heaven. Too bad Ally lives in Georgia and can't just swing by to drop off a batch of these puppies.
Honestly, I think there are few things in this world that are tastier, simpler and more comforting than apple pie a la mode. I don't think it can get much better but Danielle from San Diego proves me wrong by adding some peanut butter dulce de leche to her individual no bake apple ice cream pies. She posts these cute little goodies on her site Dinner with Danielle, and she chose the Destiny's Child song aptly titled "Apple Pie a La Mode" to Eat to the Beat with.
Catherine, who hosts The Dish and lives in Arizona, makes these Simple Irresistible Banana and Butterscotch-Caramel Muffin Cakes. Whoa, that is one long title but each word is better than the one before it. Based on Robert Palmer's "Simply Irrestiable" (yes!), I definitely know I personally can't resist one of these muffin cakes. And, Catherine talks about the time she dressed up as a Robert Palmer girl and played air guitar. I mean, who that lived through that song hasn't done that?!
Giz and Psychgrad from Canada run Equal Opportunity Kitchen. Like Meatloaf the singer, it used to be that Psychgrad "would do anything for love but [wouldn't] do that." What's "that?" Well, eating meatloaf. Still, her mom Giz makes this lovely looking meatloaf. Okay so maybe Psychgrad isn't all that crazy about it, but I'll take a slice, Giz, especially since it's made with veal.
Susan the Food Blogga from sunny California, makes this ridiculously fresh and good looking kona kampachi with meyer lemon-thyme butter. Whoa whoa whoa. Butter with meyer lemon right in it? I would definitely buy that by the stick. As a child, Susan would drive her brothers nuts singing the song "Lemon Tree" by Peter, Paul & Mary but I bet they wouldn't be upset about it now since it inspired Susan to make this incredible looking dish.
Back in grad school, Mansi (who makes both Fun and Food) and her roommates would bake any time they were having a bad day. When they'd bake, they would sing "These are a Few of My Favorite Things." In view of those happy memories, Mansi makes a great looking batch of cranberry walnut scones that are healthy, to boot. Scones are definitely one of *my* favorite things!
Much like myself, Johanna (vegetarian heroine behind Green Gourmet Giraffe) is a big music buff who owns way too many CDs, but was still surprised to see at how few songs/bands actually mentioned food. I definitely think we should start a petition for more food related songs! She ended up picking My Friend the Chocolate Cake, a local band in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia as inspiration to make this beautiful chocolate spice gingerbread. Le yum! And what a great band name, that is. Like Johanna says, isn't ever chocolate cake a friend? Definitely to me!
Paula from Alabama and of Half Baked fame, whips up some beautiful banana-walnut pancakes. Paula was inspired by Jack Johnson's song "Banana Pancakes." I sure would love to wake up to these babies. The song is "meant to keep you from doing what you're supposed to do" but all I want to do now is scarf down some banana pancakes.
Clara from California and of I Heart Cuppycakes fame makes these absolutely beautiful Red Wine Chocolate Cupcakes. Yum. I am a self proclaimed wino (okay, and chocoholic), so these are right up my alley. What song goes with these cupcakes? "Red Red Wine," of course!
Joanna in the Kitchen presents these totally decadent but totally fresh-looking lemon parfaits. Mascarpone AND heavy cream? With a lot of lemon? I'll take two. Joanna envisions a huge lemon tree with lots of big and yellow lemons every time she years the song "Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden, so she makes this mouth-watering lemony dessert to go with the song.
Julie, my friend from Chicago, doesn't have a blog but she participated in the event anyway. She makes these delicious looking John "Meyer" lemon gnocchi from Food & Wine. Such a creative title and, Julie says, when John Mayer talks about "crawling toward the pillowcase" in "Your Body is a Wonderland" she likes to think is talking about the lovely pillows that are potato-gnocchi goodness." Me, too, Julie. Me, too :)
Peter, who lives in Toronto, ON, Canada is one of my favorite bloggers who happens to live in one of my favorite places. The gourmet behind Kalofagas--Pursuit of Delicious Foods busts out some music from Squeeze, the great English new wave band. Peter is "Pulling Mussels (from a Shell)" to make this ridiculously good looking dish of Mussles and Clams Riganato. I gotta say, I am not the world's biggest fan of mussels, but I will gladly chow down on a plate of this.
Kayte from Maryland, resident cook in Kayte's Kitchen, makes this lovely Custard Pie based on the Led Zepplin track "Custard Pie." I have to say, I have never had a custard pie before and now I'm wondering why the hell not?! This looks and sounds delicious. I definitely need to make my own soon.
Danielle, the Kitten in the Kitchen over in Brazil, makes brioche de patatas (potato brioche) to answer the question Xuxa poses in their song, "Who Wants Bread?" (answer: me) I have never had a potato brioche but I love potatoes, and brioche is one of my favorite kinds of bread, so I would no doubt fall in love with this and eat the whole loaf. When I was little, I actually had a Xuxa cassette tape, so this really brought back some memories for me.
Another favorite blogger of mine, Ivy over at Kopiaste is from my motherland (okay maybe not, but she is from my mother's land ;), Greece. She shares with us a hilarious Thomas the Train song about "chicken in the air" to listen to while we dine on her lovely Chicken Espinosa. I don't know which ingredient I like the most here--the walnuts, the honey, the orange liqueur. Don't make me choose! I want it all, including that amazing looking rice pilaf.
Cakelaw from Australia, who shares with us her Laws of the Kitchen makes another citrus-flavored chicken with this fantastic looking marmalade chicken based on the Beatles' tune "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." You remember the line--tangerine trees and marmalade skies. Marmalade chicken sounds tasty enough but blood orange marmalade chicken? Mmm. This is one dish I definitely plan on making soon.
Everybody's favorite Leftover Queen, Jenn, always makes the most delicious, fresh food and this is no exception. She makes several small plates (mezes/anitpasti/tapas) to share with friends, including egg-lemon dolmas, labneh and Middle Eastern meatballs with orzo. Jenn is big into bellydancing, so it's no surprise she likes the food native to regions where bellydancing is popular. She ties her small plates into the song "Desert Rose" by Sting and Cheb Mami, who is a big star in Algeria and much of the "bellydancing music" world.
Melissa from Made by Melissa bakes something my husband could easily eat 6 of. Melissa says her peanut butter cup dessert is rich and good for sharing, but we don't share desserts in *this* household. Her song choice to go with this gorgeous looking peanut butter cup is "Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundations. Although I must say, when that song gets stuck in my head, it tends to be the Save Ferris version (if anyone knows what I'm talking about...).
And I just have to add that Melissa's husband even made his own contribution to the event--a cheeseburger in paradise. Thanks, Nate!
Robin of Made with Love makes something perfectly reflective of her blog title; not to mention a great take on the Eat to the Beat theme. Rather than pick one specific song, Robin talks about how most songs have a common word in them besides the word "love," and it's "heart." She gives a lot of examples like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Unbreak my Heart." Robin takes heart healthy ingredients like salmon, oatmeal, red peppers and carrots and makes these great looking salmon cakes. In addition to being super delicious, these are super healthy so you can definitely "eat your heart out."
Melissa, who likes to share with us her Magic in the Kitchen in Virginia, takes a song from my second favorite Disney movie, Beauty & the Beast (my favorite is Little Mermaid, if you're wondering). Everyone remembers the scene where the dishes come to life and start singing "Be Our Guest," right? The song mentions many foods, but Melissa focused her attention on beef ragout. This one looks divine, with the thyme, burgandy and olives. I will gladly "tie a napkin 'round [my] neck" and dig right into this.
Danielle at Make No Little Meals from Rhode Island, makes one of my favorite kinds of cupcake--red velvet. Mmm. A take on Alana Myles's "Black Velvet," these red velvet cupcakes definitely have that "Southern style." If red velvet cupcakes weren't decadent enough with their usual cream cheese frosting, these babies are topped with a mascarpone frosting. Seriously, people. Stop it with the mascarpone...you are making me want to eat it by the tub!
Chris from Georgia who runs a favorite blog of mine, Mele Cotte, made me laugh with her entry of Shortbread Sandwich Cookies, based on the Cookie Monster's song "C is for Cookie" because my husband and I had been counting like The Count that same day. I guess we all had Sesame Street on the brain. I love shortbread and I love chocolate so put them together and yes, that "cookie is good enough for me!"
Geez, sometimes I wish I lived in Canada. Besides the fact that I love it there, there are so many great bloggers who would cook me dinner (I hope) and Bellini Valli from More than Burnt Toast would be one of the first stops on my dining circuit. She never ceases to impress me with her creative and delicious dishes, and this one for california rolls no exception. Valli says K.O.'s song "Crabbuckitt" is just one of those feel good songs that will have you snapping your fingers as you're eating this sushi. I wouldn't be snapping for too long, though, because you need those fingers to eat some california rolls!
Jessica from My Baking Heart is a native Texan who serves up this Tex-Mexy Frito Salad Annie, based on the song "Polk Salad Annie," performed by Elvis. I am more than happy to eat any kind of salad that has cheese, beans and sour cream in it! And I have a weakness for Fritos (doesn't everyone?!).
Lindsey contributes a dish that fits right into her blog's namesake, Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings. She makes a really delicious looking apple cranberry walnut muffin. I just love the combination. Her muffin is based on Ella Fitzgerald's "The Muffin Man." I think the Muffin Man would be pretty proud of Lindsey for this super fluffy and no doubt tasty muffin.
Pancakes remind Victoria of Oooh! Cake of diners. Me too! Everyone's favorite pancakes come from their local diner, don't they? I bet when Lisa Loeb was "waiting for someone to take her order" in her song "Falling in Love" she was going to order pancakes. And if she could, I bet she'd order these delicious looking polenta pancakes Victoria made.
PaniniKathy from San Diego makes this really amazing looking club panini and it totally screams California to me. Run on over to Panini Happy to check out the recipe the turkey mango double-decker club panini and then go out and buy your ingredients because if you're like me, you are going to want to make this. This club panini is based on 50 Cent's "In Da Club," but this double-decker panini is no "shorty!"
Kate, yet another Californian, from Paved with Good Intentions is one of those people you just know you'd get along with if you met in person. Kate and I tend to share a wavelength (and I've mentioned on my blog before that in my dream once, we actually shared an apartment complex) and this time was no different. I was *thisclose* to making an apple tart with cherry cream, gleaned from The Beatles song "Savoy Truffle." Well, Kate decided to use that same song to make some delicious looking chocolate cake truffles with orange marmalade (the marmalade is another reference to a Beatles song--"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!")
Holly, the PheMOMenon in Utah, is a huge Simon & Garfunkle fan. And why not?! Their song "Scarborough Fair" talks about "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" so she makes a Scarborough pot roast with those very herbs. I absolutely love rosemary and thyme together for beef stews and roasts. This dish just looks so comforting. Give me a plate of this and a glass of wine and I am one happy girl.
Ruth at Phoenix Feathers, also from Indiana, bakes this gorgeous "Kiss from a Rose" (you know it, the Seal song!) cheesecake. Those pretty swirls are made from peppermint and the crust is made from Oreos. Sign me up for a piece of that! She chose to make this because the colors of the cheesecake go with the song's references to roses (red) and snow (white). Nice idea and beautiful cheesecake, Ruth.
Stefany, my fellow Chicagoan and blogger behind Proceed with Caution, makes not one, but two entries using Deanna Carter's song "Strawberry Wine." She uses wine of the sparkling sort to make these extremely cute strawberry champagne truffles, which use both Prosecco and strawberry liqueur. Again, I say, bring on the booze! And she does! Look at that great strawberry bellini we get to wash down the truffles.
Ruth, head cook over at Ruth's Kitchen Experiments in Ireland, makes some healthy but no doubt tasty brownies based on the Snow Patrol song "Chocolate" (a song I just love, by the way). These Cook Yourself Thin Brownies are packed with lots of nutritional goodness including swede (which, for your information, I had to look up, hehe), carrot and almonds. And now that I know what swede is (yellow turnip, if you are like me and didn't know), I plan to make something with them.
I just love these devil's food cupcakes Kristen from California over at Something Sweet posted. On top of that you can just tell these taste so good. Too good. Maybe even sinful? That's the approach Kristen took with the event, using the Dixie Chicks' song "Sin Wagon" as a connection to these sinfully good cupcakes. Hopefully I don't eat too many of these and tip over that Sin Wagon! :P
Peter G. is my favorite Australian Greek and he runs Souvlaki for the Soul. Just for the ladies, he makes this decadent, gorgeous looking hot chocolate based on Hot Chocolate's song "You Sexy Thing" (yup, another one of those songs you will be singing for days now that you've seen this :) That hot chocolate surely is sexy, isn't it? Good chocolate, full fat milk, whipped cream, cocoa powder and a chocolate stirrer, to boot. I believe in miracles, so I expect I can drink a few of these with no adverse effect on my waistline.
Incredibly sweet blogger Núria from Barcelona, Spain always gives us some wonderful Spanish Recipes and this Clams Rice dish is yet another. On Sundays Núria was young, her family would traditionally eat paella and then, with full bellies, have a movie session. One of her favorite movies was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and she especially enjoyed the song during the barn sequence because of the music and the energy. This clams rice isn't exactly paella but it's close enough to spark memories for Núria!
Put the lime in the coconut and [eat] them both up...at least, that's what Steph of Steph's Kitchen decided to do when she made not one but two entries for this event based on the song "Put the Lime in the Coconut" by Harry Nilsson. First she makes great looking coconut shrimp and for dessert? Coconut lime cupcakes. The flavor combo is such a good one (obviously, that's why there is a whole song about it!).
Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite things, so when I saw this beautiful strawberry shortcake on Susan's blog, Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, it was love at first sight. Susan is from Florida, so I don't even want to tell you how NOT like that the strawberries in Chicago look right now. :) Susan's song choice to go with this lovely strawberry shortcake is none other than The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Helen from South Carolina runs Tartelette, another favorite blog of mine. I'm sure you know her. I don't know of too many people who can take yogurt and fruit and make it look this incredible, but Helen is one of them. This Feel Good All Around Fruit Salad with Blood Orange Syrup is packed with fresh fruit, creamy Greek yogurt, coconut and blood orange syrup. I would gladly make this my breakfast every day. Her inspiration is a song I hadn't heard but have been bopping around to now for a couple days, "Salade de Fruits" by Bourvil.
I've known for a while now that Lindsay (one half of Team Richey) and I have really similar taste in music (among other things). Turns out, we have a similar taste in shows (and food), too! Lindsey makes these mighty fine looking huevos rancheros based on a line from the RENT song "La Vie Boheme." To leather, to dildos [sorry, vox, do I need to make this "possibly inapproproate"?], to curry Vindaloo, to huevos rancheros and Maya Angelou!
Elizabeth, the Metro-Detroiter behind Ugg Smell Food makes one of my favorite kinds of ice cream--Rocky Road. Mmm. A typical 80's teenager, Elizabeth listened to Van Halen all the time, so this ice cream is based on their song "I'm Your Ice Cream Man." Unfortunately I do not yet have the means to make my own ice cream but as soon as I do, I am definitely trying this one out.
Do you ever wonder "Whatever Happened to Soy Bomb?" Well, the band the Eels do and so does Cindy, in Melbourne. Cindy is the vegetarian cook over at Where's the Beef? She shares with us these soy bombs, aka tofu balls. They look so cripsy and golden-fried and delicious. Even a carnivore like myself could definitely get behind these (and ask for more)!
Ashlee over at A Year in the Kitchen presents this beautiful (and, a bonus: light!) pineapple upside down cake. Ashlee resides in Indiana, but she uses the soundtrack from 50 First Dates as inspiration for an islandy-feeling dessert, since the movie takes place on Hawaii. I would love a slice (and I wouldn't even have to feel guilty about it).
I think there must be something in the blogosphere air, because I feel like I have been seeing stuffed cabbage everywhere lately, and it always looks so good. Pixie, who lives in the UK and runs You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto was going to submit a coconut cake to the event but it didn't turn out as she planned. Instead, she makes a really great looking stuffed cabbage with roasted vegetables and ties it into a song from the Andy Griffith Show, "Boil that Cabbage Down." I love the song connection almost as much as I love stuffed cabbage and roasted vegetables. :) Put them in one dish and you definitely have a winner.
And, lastly, my contribution, pecan pies. My mini pecan pies (and my first venture both into pecan pie and crust making) are based on the Golden Smog song "Pecan Pie." It's one of my favorite kinds of pies and I am glad this event (and my love for Jeff Tweedy) gave me the opportunity I was looking for to make them.
as I walk along and stumble
trains rumble in my head
as I breeze along and grumble
think about you instead
a piece of pecan pie
and you...that's all I want
just a piece of pecan pie
and all I want is you
just a little whipped cream
and honey, I'm on my way
with a piece of pecan pie...
You'd think since I came up with the whole Eat to the Beat event, I would have an idea from the start...and you'd be wrong. I pretty much gave up all my immediate (somewhat obvious) ideas in my original post and then I was left wondering what to create, myself. It's not that I don't ALWAYS listen to music, and I very often associate songs with certain events, cuisines, etc. But still, I was stumped (trying to find the *perfect* entry no doubt). I didn't really want to bake anything since I prefer cooking and I also don't need all the calories. But, it turns out there are way more songs about sugar and chocolate than there are about grilled chicken and asparagus.
One of my favorite bands is Wilco. Tom and I just saw them again last week and, as always, it was a great show. As a result, I've been on a bit of a Wilco kick lately so I tried really, really hard to come up with a song of theirs to use for this event. Well, I got nowhere. I was about to throw in the towel and make something else (a good entry, still, but I wasn't that excited about it), when it hit me. Golden Smog! Golden Smog is composed of members from various bands (including, depending on the time, Wilco, Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, The Replacements to name a few). I used to listen to Down by the Old Mainstream in college all the time (the album actually came out a couple years earlier, but I was late to the Golden Smog party). Anyhow, fast forward to my remembering the song "Pecan Pie," by Golden Smog (written and sung by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy) and you have...ta-da! My entry to Eat to the Beat. It helps that pecan pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts.
I adapted a recipe from Joy of Baking, based on what I had at home. I used light brown sugar and a mixture of corn syrup and molasses since I didn't have any Lyle's golden syrup (and figuring that extra molasses would give a little more oomph to the light brown sugar). This was delicious. So good. I love pecan pie and this is my first time making it. Actually, this is also my first time making a pie crust and this was a GOOD pie crust. Plus, so easy. I will never use a store-bought crust again.
I decided to make mini tarts and got 2 larger (maybe 4") and 4 smaller (maybe 2.5"?) tartlettes out of the crust dough. I did roll it slightly thinner than I would have for the pie, but it worked out well.
Pecan Pie
adapted from Joy of Baking
Pate Brisee (short crust pastry)
1.25 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1" pieces
1/8--1/4 cup ice water (I used about 1/4 cup)
Pecan Filling (this made a LOT of filling for my mini pans so if I were to do this again, I would probably make 2/3 of the recipe since it's fairly easy to alter)
1 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
2/3 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup (I used 1/2 cup corn syrup and 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp. unsulphered molasses)
1 Tbsp. rum or bourbon (I used bourbon)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 -- 2 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Maple Whipped Cream
1.5 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 cup heavy whipping cream
I also added a couple pinches of sugar
To make the crust:
Place the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Slowly add the water in a steady stream while pulsing, adding just enough so that when you pinch the dough, it holds together. Do not process more than 30 seconds.
Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather it into a ball. Flatten it into a disk, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes.
After that time, lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a 13" circle (if you are making a 9" pan) or a little bigger if you are making individual tarts/pies. Give the dough a quarter turn frequently, so it doesn't stick. Place the dough in a pie pan and brush off any extra flour and crimp the edges. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 350 and place your rack on the lower third of your oven.
To make the filling:
Heat the brown sugar, syrup, bourbon and butter in a saucepan until it boils. Remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly, until tepid. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl. Mix in the eggs, salt and cream to the syrup mixture.
Put the pecans over the pie crust (or divide evenly between your mini pans), and then pour the syrup over them. Bake for 45-50 minutes (or about 30-35 minutes for the mini pies) or until the filling has set and a toothpick inserted comes out clear. Place on a wire rack to cool.
To make the maple whipped cream:
Whip the cream and maple syrup until soft peaks form. Add a little sugar (if desired) and whip until a little stiffer.
Hey, you got a sweet tooth, and I remember
Ahhh, stand up on your feet
Hey, you got a sweet tooth and I remember
Sitting in the kitchen eating peanut butter
Eat to the beat!
~ Blondie
We're all familiar with the idea of food tasting as good as it looks. But what about food tasting as good as it sounds?
I love music as much as I love food, so combining the two for my first try at hosting a blog event was a given. I'm excited to present to you Eat to the Beat--my foray into hosting a blog event. I really hope that many of you will have the chance to participate!
For this event, please make and blog about a food or drink that somehow relates to a song, an album, a band, etc. Maybe you'll create a dish based on a song's literal lyrics about food. Perhaps you'll allude to a band's name in your creation (Smashing Pumpkin bread, anyone?). Maybe your favorite band is from Poland or your favorite song is about Chicago, and you want to blog about popular cuisine in those locations. Were you listening to a particular song as you were cooking or eating a specific dish? As long as you explain why the food/drink you have chosen to make reminds you of something musical, it works for this event. From "On Top of Spaghetti" to "The Spaghetti Incident;" from Pearl['s] Jam to "She Don't Use Jelly," the possibilities are endless.
Please post your entry on your blog by midnight on March 2nd. If you don't have a blog, no worries! Just send me an email with a picture of your food/drink and the story behind why you chose to make it. I will post your entry in the round-up, which I will do later that week.
In your entry, please mention this event and also include a link back to the URL. Then, email me at ellysaysopa [at] gmail [dot] com, and include your:
-name
-blog name and URL
-permanent link to your entry for this event
-location
-picture of your food or drink
I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the delicious and creative entries!
And a big thanks to my friend Annette for the lovely graphic for this event!
