Daring ~February 2009 Challenge~Chocolate Valentino Cake

I've always wanted to make a flourless chocolate cake. It's on my list of baked goods that I want to try. That list also contains things like Portuguese sweet bread, an pan, and a 16-layer cake.

So even though February is my most swamped month of this semester, I decided to go for the challenge. Plus I had almost all the ingredients in my house and have to start using up all my food before I graduate. I decided to use my Trader Joe's bittersweet chocolate "pound plus" bar, and a handful of Dove dark chocolate Promises. Mike and I are trying to be healthier this year, so my lucky panelists and lab group got to partake in the Valentino cake.
I was planning on just making a flavored whipped topping, but when Mike decided that he wanted us to make ice cream in a bag for one of our "date nights" I said, hmmmm...why don't we do a joint long-distance Daring Bakers date night. I'll make the cake and he'll make the ice cream.
But really, Mike wanted me to make ice cream in a bag, while he could use a gadget to make ice cream at his house. Mike's ice cream adventure with the "ice cream making ball". A couple of years ago one of my friends gave me this gadget that you can make ice cream in by tossing the ball and rolling it around. You fill the inner core with the ice cream mixture, and the outer layer with ice.
So here's the pictures from the date:
Valentino cake (a.k.a. chocolate flourless cake, since I did not make it in the shape of a heart).Mike's ice creamMy labmates all liked the chocolate cake and thought that they had the texture of a heavy brownie. I thought it was a bit too rich and chocolately. I LOVE dark chocolate, but I think that the cake would have been better if I had mixed milk chocolate with the bittersweet chocolate. Maybe 1/4 milk chocolate, and 3/4 bittersweet chocolate. I guess I should have paid more attention to the recipe when it said that the cake will taste "exactly like the chocolate you use."

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

If you want the recipe, here's a link to it.

Silvercreek "Appy Hour"

At lunch today a few of my labmates and I started talking about Silvercreek in Urbana.
A few weeks ago (when Mike was still here, we went with a few friends to "Appy Hour" (Appetizer Hour) on a Friday after seeing Lisa's post.

I started the meal off with my current favorite drink Moscato D’Asti which is a sparkling wine that tastes like grape juice. It's super sweet and has those hints of lychee flavor. If you've ever had moscato wine and Asti Spumante, and like both of them, you'll like these syrupy sweet wine.

We then decided to splurge and ordered a ton of food because everything was half-off during "Appy Hour." Here's a link to Silvercreek's appetizer menu. The prices on the online menu are full-priced, so just imagine, a huge burger for $4.50. On a side note, for the price (and taste) this burger definitely beats out The Office's burger and Crane Alley's burger.
Buggati Burger - $9 (1/2 off $4.50)
Duesenburger Topped with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Roasted Garlic Cloves, and Gorgonzola Cheese

Shrimp and Calamari with Sweet Thai-Chile Sauce- $10(1/2 off $5.00)

Chicken Drummies 4 for $3; 8 for $6; 12 for $9 (1/2 off you do the math)
Choice Between Ranch, Bleu Cheese, Barbeque, or Spicy

Grilled Chicken Quesadilla with Chipotle-Ranch Dressing - $7(1/2 off $3.50)

Pommes Frittes with Garlic Aioli - $4 (1/2 off $2)

My favorite was the shrimp and calamari salad. but douse any fried food with sweet thai chili sauce and most likely I'll like it. The fries are good, but I enjoy "bowling alley" fries with the extra crispy batter to them. Mike's favorite was the buggati burger by far. Think about it, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, garlic, and beef, what meatatarian would say "no" to that? Mike would have been full just eating the burger and none of the other appetizers.

The quesadillas were my least favorite, but this could have been due to the fact that I was stuffed and it was the last item that showed up at our table. We did take it home and it tasted great as a cold breakfast.

If you are planning on visiting Silvercreek for "Appy Hour" show up early because it gets crowded really quick.

Thanks Lisa, for posting about "Appy Hour" at Silvercreek.

Silvercreek
402 N Race St
Urbana, IL 61801
217-328-3402

Product Reviews

I am a snacker. I am also a food scientist....and surrounded by fellow food scientists who like to eat. I take pleasure in leisurely walking down the aisles at grocery stores and purchasing new products that are out on the market.

Here's some of the new products I've tasted this past few weeks.

Erika brought these back from Trader Joe's in Chicago. I was really intrigued and excited when she brought in these "Cookies with Perks" which are coffee cookies with chocolate chips. I took one bite and couldn't finish it. It was not a crowd-pleaser in our lab. The cookies had savory notes to it and almost had a meaty quality (I think it's because it was quite salty). Blah. So my advice, do not waste your money on these cookies. Instead, buy the mini chocolate chip cookie tub...now those cookies are addicting.

Moving on to Beer chips. I'm not a fan of potato chips. Give me Cheetos, Doritos, or Fritos before potato chips. But something about these beer chips makes me really like them. Maybe it's the kettle-cooked texture of the chips, or the slightly sweet taste to the chips, or maybe I'm just stressed and these potato chips satisfy my need for something fatty, salty, and crunchy. I don't even like drinking beer, but I like the taste of these chips.

So Monday is over. Only four more days of this panel. The dumb moment of the day was when I tried to convince the computer tech guy that whirling noises were coming from the computer. I had him almost convinced that it was the computer, until we both realized it was the fridge. So Erika, if you're reading this in India, the computer is fine. Anyways, it's okay the computer guy thinks I'm a little off, he's actually from Hawaii and my sister's high school classmate. What a small world!

The second week; my Crock Pot Meal

The second week of my panel is over! Whoo-hoo! With the help of my two awesome undergraduate assistants, I'm ahead of schedule! That means in my "free time" I can edit my journal article and thesis drafts which have been on my desk for weeks. I am starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Oh and what is this light? Graduation!!!!

Let's not forget that the husband also helped and labeled over 5,000 cups prior to the panel. As he has said numerous times, yeah, it's not fair that I am getting a PhD and he gets nothing for being my lab grunt and reading over my thesis drafts. He's way smarter than me, so smart that he was wise enough not to go to grad school. I love you Mike! He's back in Hawaii working longer hours at work than me. He works 6-7 days a week and has been pulling 12-hour shifts. With the time difference and our hectic schedules, we were lucky to have a phone date and celebrate Valentine's Day by playing online Scrabble. For now I have my "temporary husband" Aaron taking care of me. (I'm allowed to say this because Mike knows Aaron and is comfortable with our long-distance marriage.) He makes sure that I am eating, brings me beer chips (when I'm stressed, I am a chip binge-eater), and goes on lunch food runs with Erika.
So here's the crock pot meal that was waiting for me at home on Wednesday.
Recipe:
2 large chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes-Mexican flavor(?)
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can of pinto beans (drained)
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. water (I would have omitted it, so it wasn't so soupy)
1 T. kosher salt (add more to taste)
1.5 t. cumin
1/2 t. Mexican chili
1 T garlic powder
1 chicken bouillon cube

Instructions: Throw everything in a crock pot. Turn the heat on to low, let it cook for 8+ hours. I let mine cook for about 12 hours. Stir and fix up the flavors to taste. Shred the chicken with a fork. Serve and eat.

For my first crock pot meal, it was not bad. It took less than five minutes to prep, and it was nice to have a meal waiting for me at home. I even threw the chicken breasts in frozen. If I were to make it again, I'd also add some chopped onions and chipotles or something to add heat to the dish.

Frozen dinners. blah! Hello crock pot meals!

This past week in review

I survived the first week of my sensory panel. Whew! My basic day consists of waking up at 7:00am, arriving at lab by 8:30am, leaving the lab at about 8pm. I go home and eat dinner while vegging out watching television shows (Mondays-"Heroes", Tuesday-"Leverage", Wednesday-"Lie to Me" and "Top Chef", Thursday-"Burn Notice", Friday-"Psych"). I shower, do a little bit more work, and then go to sleep. Then it's wake up at 7am again, and the cycle continues. I guess this is what it must feel like to have a "real job."

Highlight of the week: Aaron walks into the lab carrying a crock pot with cans of food in it. He tells me, "throw everything in the crockpot, add chicken, turn it on in morning before you go to school, and when you go home you'll have dinner waiting for you."





I'm salivating at the thought of walking into an apartment that smells like yummy food after a 11-hour day at the lab.
Aaron, if you're reading this, I *heart* you!

I guess he felt sorry for me because I told him I'm too tired at the end of the day and have been eating a grapefruit for dinner and random stuff in my fridge that I can zap in the microwave. The other night it was rice and kimchee, the night before it was rice, kim chee, and korean nori.
I've lost that "food spark" and am not really excited to eat anymore. I am, however, excited that an 18lb bag of grapefruit is only $5 at Meijer. That's about 18 dinners! (just kidding...well sort of).

And Chou, I did try your super food challenge, but I did not get to post it by your deadline. I'll write more about it later. I tried to batter it with those new jumbo rice krispies, but it didn't come out. I ended up making a french toast battered in the rice krispies and topped it with avocado.