The Houndstooth Gourmet

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Lavender Moon Cupcakery- 116 South Royal Street In Old Town Alexandria

(Click photos to enlarge)

Are cupcakes the new black where you live? In the Washington DC area, cupcakes are the latest accesory-the culinary equivalent of the birkin bag. Goodbye boutique pizza, sianora sushi, and hamburger, who? While Washington DC’s Hello Cupcake opened to lines wrapped out the door and up the street, Tammy and Peter Durkin quietly began serving delicous cupcakes out of their Old Town store.

Beyond simple white lace curtains that line the windows of Lavender Moon Cupcakery are bold raspberry-striped walls, faux painted by a local artist. In two rooms, high ceilings don fixtures that range from utilitarian, bare light bulbs to soft crystal chandeliers purchased from Decorium Gift and Home on King Street. On the counter in back, buttercream-coiffed cupcakes perch upon cake pedestals behind a tall glass shield, while a brick fireplace across the small room suggests that perhaps, it once warmed a family home.

“We’ve been restoring the home for 4 months” said Tammy, wife of Peter Durkin, who also co-owns Chadwicks in Old Town. She added “we’re waiting for an armoire and hope to put a bar (across the front) so people can have a place eat their cupcakes”. In addition to cupcakes, plans are being made to serve organic teas, gelato and hot chocolate. Meanwhile they are looking into obtaining a license to serve food and install a kitchen. “It took 9 months for (Fontaine Caffe & Creperie) across the street to obtain a license”, noted Tammy.

As Lavender Moon Cupcakery evolves, Tammy hopes to increase sourcing local, organic ingredients. She needs to find an egg supplier that can handle the volume, and already uses Kingsbury Chocolate in their cupcakes. “Kingsbury’s Lavender Chocolate bars are used in the cupcakes we have today”, Tammy added, ”I’m going to be supplied with local lavender honey also”.

Lavender Moon Cupcakes are made twice daily in the kitchen at Chadwick’s. Today’s selection included Chocolate Lavender, Vanilla Lemon Curd, Mexican Chocolate Pudding Buttermilk Chocolate (Durkin uses buttermilk so the sweet cinnamon chocolate can act as a foil against the salt in the buttermilk), Devils Food filled with Peanut Butter Ganache, Passion Fruit Mousse Stuffed Pistachio Vanilla, Summer Peach Mint (made with fresh peaches from the farmers market bought early in the morning), Vanilla Vanilla, Chocolate Chocolate and Espresso Meringue.

In the interest of gastronomic journalism (read-a great excuse to indulge!), Frank and I bought 3 cupcakes and sampled two as soon as we got back home. The Vanilla Lemon Curd topped with a fresh raspberry had vanilla-flecked frosting swirled high, and thick lemony curd piped into moist vanilla cake. Devils Food filled with Peanut Butter Ganache was a delightful surprise with a flavor combination that reminded both of us of a treasured childhood treat–a Tastykake. Again, the frosting was creamy, topped with a dark brown, shiny ganache, and the chocolate cake was rich and moist.

The Mexican Chocolate Pudding Buttermilk Chocolate cupcake was thoroughly enjoyed with cup of coffee the next morning. It survived the night just fine in an airtight container. The Mexican Chocolate Pudding that filled the white cupcake was kissed with cinnamon and the cake was still held together with moisture.

Despite the modest and certainly understated opening of Lavender Moon Cupcakery, this store is selling thoughtful, creative and spot on delicious cupcakes-right out of the shoot. It is my belief that a faithful following will grow along with Peter and Tammy’s store.

Cupcakes sell for $3 a piece, a dozen for $30. They also sell “Tammy’s Teas” for $3, and sodas, juices and water for $2.

Lavender Moon Cupcakery

116 South Royal Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Telephone and Website TBD

Tags: cupcakes, restaurant, Alexandria by Ramona
17 Comments »

Corn Fritters With Corriander Cream and Basil Oil

Corn, glorious corn. It’s a good thing that it only comes around once a year because my cholesterol has to be up a few ticks what with all the butter that I love to slather on the kernels. After making these corn fritters, I’m out until I get to Toigo’s stand in Del Ray on Saturday.

I may get the shakes and hallucinate from the withdrawal. I’ll just have to white-knuckle it until I belly up to the corn crate. “Please sir, must have corn. Must have corn”.

God, I’m pathetic.

Anyhoo, in between wiping the butter schmear from my glistening cheeks, I like to think of more ways to prepare corn than Bubba knows how to cook shrimp. And so, here you go. Corn fritters. After a bit of googling, I put together this recipe which has a hint of lemon from coriander, and a bit of smoke from cumin. For garnish, I made a simple basil oil for sopping and sour cream for topping.

Corn Fritters

makes 8-10 fritters

Ingredients

Corn cut from 2 large cobs

1/2 small red bell pepper

1/2 small green bell pepper

1/2 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1 cup all purpose flour

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

several grinds freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon oil for sauteing, plus more for frying*

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Rough chop the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Place in a food processor and pulse until chopped fine. Wipe food processor out and add a handful of basil leaves. Using the pour spout, turn on the machine and add about 1/3 cup olive oil to make basil oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Process again briefly.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Sautee chopped onions, peppers and garlic for 5 minutes. Add butter and corn kernels. Continue to sautee for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until the corn begins to take on color and caramelize. Set the mixture aside and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin and nutmeg. Add egg and water. Stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add sauteed corn, onion, bell peppers and garlic.

Using a heavy skillet, add 1/2 inch of oil for frying. Turn heat on medium-high and heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Drop corn fritter batter (about 2 tablespoons per fritter) into the heated oil, allowing for 1 inch between them. Fry fritters on each side for 3-4 minutes, until browned.

Remove fritters to paper towels and allow excess oil to drain.

Serve with basil oil and sour cream, topped with a pinch of coriander.

*I used vegetable oil for frying, but you can use any oil with a high smoke point.

Tags: Recipe, corn by Ramona
11 Comments »

Pizza With Heirloom Tomato, Mozzarella And Basil

Last week when I visited the North King Street Market for the first time, I was delighted to find vendors that were new to me. Foremost was Greenstone Fields from Purceville, VA. Their selection of heirloom tomatoes was unique among the other wondeful vendors at my area’s farmers market. In particular, a large yellow and crimson “striped” tomato caught my eye as I envisioned it thinly sliced and spread over pizza dough, along with mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves.

The color palette was even more attractive when Frank and I assembled a couple of pizzas last weekend. The taste was even better. Frank put his knack for shaping the dough to work, while I sliced the tomatoes and cheese, and cut fresh basil from our container herb garden.

As usual, I took a short cut in making homemade pizza by buying premade pizza dough from a wonderful place called The Italian Store in Arlington, VA. While I’m not Sandra Lee-Semi Home Made usually, I do think that having a frozen dough in the freezer leaves room for last minute possibilities when it comes to making a pie, calzone or stromboli or….you get the picture. For around $2, a ball of dough makes 2-10 inch pizza pies. It’s an amazing value, let alone the convenience!

Now, there is no shortcut when it comes to pre-heating your oven with a pizza stone (or other heat-retaining stone) prior to baking your pies. The heat must be as high as your oven will go. Mine goes to 550 degrees, and I begin to heat the oven an hour before I expect to slide the first pie onto the stone.

By doing this, the oven temperature does not drop to any significant degree when I open the oven to put the pizza in the oven. The stone simply retains the heat that it has absorbed for the prior hour, allowing the crust to get a nice brown and a bit of char–and char=flavor.

Pizza with Heirloom Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil

makes 2-10 inch pizzas

Ingredients

Pizza dough-freshly made or pre-made, bought frozen from your favorite pizza shop

6-8 ounces mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 large tomato, sliced and placed on paper towels or dish towel to absorb excess water

10-15 basil leaves, shredded

kosher salt and pepper

olive oil

Parmesan Reggiano, grated

Cornmeal

All-Purpose Flour, enough to dust hands and surface

Directions

Cut pizza dough in half. Wrap half not being used in plastc wrap until you are ready to assemble your second pizza.

Lightly flour a preparation surface (I use a large wooden cutting board) and hands. Shape pizza dough into a 10-inch round (and if it isn’t perfectly round, that’s ok!). Transfer dough to a pizza peel that has been sprinkled lightly with cornmeal to prevent sticking when sliding the pie onto a pizza stone.

Generously salt and pepper the surface of the pizza dough. Arrange one layer of mozzarella slices, followed by tomato slices and shredded basil. Add a second layer of mozzarella slices.

Drizzle olive oil over the top of the pie and grate Parmesan Reggiano to taste.

Slide the pizza onto your pizza stone and bake for 8 minutes, or until crust is slightly blistered and the cheese is melted.

Makes 4-6 slices.

Repeat with second half of dough and ingredients. Load it up!

Tags: pizza, cheese, tomatoes, Recipe by Ramona
4 Comments »

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto. Let’s Call For A Round Up And Book Giveaway!

It’s hard to believe that all too soon, Labor Day will be upon us. Where does the time go? It seems like just last week I was geeking out over Bigg Riggs ramps, and spring onions were everywhere. The next think I knew, strawberries and cherries had come and gone and now I am now enjoying corn and tomatoes like there’s no tommorow, savoring each kernal and slice. Heck, I’m not even complaining about the near constant flossing!

The wonderful thing about summer markets is how the food can dictate what you eat. Spring onions call out for me to grill them along with a flank steak. Peppers and zuchinni conjur up a healthy pasta dish. Berries make me think of sweet and savory sauces and sorbets. Cherries turn into a crostada. Corn beckons a chowder, or to be simply cooked and kissed with butter and salt. But the undisputable darling of summer has to be the field tomato-red, green, yellow, striped and heirloom. There is no canned or frozen product that could come close to the taste and texture of a fresh, deeply earthy tomato. Who among us foodies hasn’t felt the immense dissappointment that comes with biting into a pale, tasteless wedge of something that should be ashamed to call itself a tomato? Talk about the winter blues!

Eat field tomatoes while the eating is good–and that time is right now.

Even better, let’s celebrate the tomato with a book give away! Submit you favorite fresh field(not canned or dried) tomato recipe/dish to me by Monday, September 22nd (by midnight, EST), the autumnal equinox and official end of summer. Your recipe can be a salad or entree, a hot dish or a cold dish. It would great if you told your readers where you bought your lovely ‘maters, what type they are and what inspired you to make your dish. Be sure that the tomato is the star of the dish. I will post all entries with a summary, photo, your name and a link to your post, and use Random.org to pick a winner.

The lucky You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato winner will recieve a copy of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon.

From Amazon-

Bouchon, chef Thomas Keller’s bistro cookbook, offers 180-plus recipes from his eponymous restaurants–there are two. Readers perusing the near-prosciutto-size book will be dazzled, first, by its great looks (there are many beautiful photos), then, perhaps, wonder why so many of its typically homey bistro dishes are so fussy to prepare. Why, for example, must the onions for onion soup be caramelized for five hours, or the muscles of a leg of lamb separated so that each can be cooked to an exact, presumably optimal, temperature.

They should, however, trust this justly celebrated chef, whose sometimes-painstaking refinements reflect a better way. Apart from the excellence of the dishes, the reason to own Bouchon is to discover the richness of Keller’s technical understanding. Readers learn, for example, not to baste chicken while it roasts, which creates skin-softening moisture, and to allow the base for crème caramel to sit before baking, thus permitting its flavors to deepen. Keller’s sensitivity to ingredients and their composition is profound; and he and his collaborators have presented it so deftly that one finds oneself engrossed again and again. Whether Keller is talking about vinaigrettes (in their balance of fat, acid, and saltines, the perfect sauce) vegetable glazing, or the creation of brown butter, his insights are fascinating.

The dishes cover a wide range of courses, and include the traditional–poule au pot, veal roast, pommes frites, and so on–and the “new,” such as Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables, Skate with Fennel-Onion Confit and Tapenade Sauce, and Grandma Sheila’s Cheesecake Tart with Huckleberries. All are, as the French might say, impeccable–and can be accomplished by anyone willing to take the time to do so. Like his cooking, Bouchon is a sui generis treat.

–Arthur Boehm

I own this book and have learned a great deal about technique and flavor. Thomas Keller spared nothing in this book. There is great attention to detail, and the photography is breathtaking. Best of all, the recipes are approachable and will make you look like a superstar!