Al Dente

KitchenMaus Plays with Unicorns

Now, I want to make one thing clear--I am not into unicorns. It's not that I have anything against them, it's just that I haven't really given much thought to them since I was 8 or 9. But, when the opportunity came along to test a unicorn-themed cake pan, I said, "Bring it on!" You see this pan, by Zanda Panda, is unlike anything else out there, and not because of the unicorns.

Zanda Panda's specialty molds are made of heavy-duty silicone and feature extremely detailed artwork that you can showcase on cakes, candies, Jell-O, crafts, and more. In fact, there's so much you can do with the molds, it's hard to choose where to start! First off, I went the easiest route, and just made a basic bundt cake in the unicorn mold.

Let me tell you, the unicorn pan is one big mold. It takes two boxes of cake mix to fill it up, making it terrific for parties, where you want to have more than enough cake to go around, but maybe don't want to make two whole cakes. The cake I made baked for 1 hour 20 minutes and came out evenly browned and lovely. I didn't decorate it, except with powdered sugar, and decided there were probably better ways to make use of the decorative nature of this pan.

Next, I decided I wanted to make an ice-cream cake, featuring a chocolate outer shell that would really show off the unicorn design. I didn't want to go to the trouble of actual tempering, or use the chocolatey-coating recipe on their website, so I did what's called a quick temper, and it worked out great. After painting on the chocolate and chilling the mold briefly, I filled it with layers of ice cream (coffee and vanilla-caramel in this case) and brownies. I then froze it until solid.

The real adventure began when it was time to unmold my unicorn creation! I will admit to it being pretty scary--I was afraid of cracking the chocolate or just generally destroying the whole thing. Turns out that if you slowly pull away the mold all the way around, just to loosen it, and then pull it off, inverting the mold in the process, then...voila! Beautiful cake! To make the presentation extra magical (we're talking unicorns, after all), I painted the chocolate with several shades of lustre dust. Seriously, by this time, I was pretty darn impressed with myself! Check out the photos on the right to see the different stages. Top-to-bottom: 1) unmolded, undecorated cake; 2) decorated cake; 3) unicorn closeup; 4) cut cake; 5) delicious slice of cake.

Now we have lots of dessert to eat at home, but I'm still interested in trying the mold again and doing a marzipan outer layer and filling it with cake and frosting, as Zanda Panda suggests with their no-bake-backwards-cake concept. It would be really beautiful to do this and paint it with bright, carousel colors! I'm also interested in their idea to make cookies with a cake mold. And, how about a mammoth dome of glistening Jell-O?!

If you're interested in making your own unicorn cake, here are a few tips:

• If you're going to make an ice-cream cake with a chocolate shell, keep the decorating to a minimum. The lustre dust will bead up on the chocolate since it will perspire once out of the freezer.
• The chocolate coating should be fairly thin. Mine was quite thick, and you can see how much it cracked when I cut it.
• If you want a cake that will cut smoothly, skip the chocolate and try rolled fondant or marzipan instead. Plus, you can make the fondant and marzipan fun colors.
• Make sure to loosen the mold all around before pulling it off. Just pull the silicone straight out, and work your way around. Then slowly invert the pan, revealing the cake. You may want a second pair of hands, or at least some moral support.

If you've used this pan, or purchase it and make something amazing, add your photos to our flickr pool so we can admire your creation and be impressed with your baking skill! And, if you have any tips, add a comment!

--KitchenMaus

Game-Night Fun for the Snack-Obsessed

Thanks to Candy Addict, I think I may have just found my perfect trivia game! Check out these trivia categories for Eat It!:

• Snack Attack
• Cookies
• Ice Cream and Desserts
• Candy
• Chocolate

Now, I have no head for general trivia. Dates? History? Geography? My mind is a blank. Yes, I went to school (a lot), but I was never good at tests and certainly haven't retained much from back in the day. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to stay one week ahead of my son on his homework (when he gets to that age) just so he doesn't think I'm a complete idiot.

But somehow with food (especially sweets), my mind is an iron trap. I can probably tell you what we had for dinner at a restaurant in Scotland in 1989. Don't ask me how. Or why. Definitely not why.

In any event, I expect to pick up Eat It! pretty soon here and indulge myself (and my friends and family) in visions of sugarplums. Before playing, I'll definitely take Candy Addict's recommendation to stock up on snacks for game night. I'm hungry just thinking about it!

Check out Candy Addict's full Eat It! game review.

--KitchenMaus

But Will You End Up with a Drunken Dollar?

Folks sometimes say you can’t get anything for a dollar anymore, but, as shown in this video from Howcast, you can use a dollar to open a beer can. Your dollar may get a little sticky from the overflow (it seems to take a bit of jimmying, which can lead to foaming up, as well as taking serious folding skills), but I’m sure you’ll still be able to spend the dollar to buy more beer if needed. Of course, then you wouldn’t have the dollar anymore to open the beer. Now, there’s a conundrum.

--A.J. Rathbun

The Wednesday Wrap: Food News to Go

The Queen of Riblets: "Velvet Hammer" Julia Stewart, CEO of Applebee's and IHOP, talks about rehabilitating her chain restaurants. "'Don't get me started on the mozzarella stick,' she said." [NY Times]

Potluck: Portland Style: Can "meatless, wheat- and dairy-free" food be "lip-smacking good"? Apparently. [The Oregonian]

Anything But Plain: It's a dog-days-of-summer taste test to find the best supermarket vanilla ice cream.  [The Boston Globe]

Southern Living: Dwight Garner has three short-and-sweet "Stray Questions" for Matt and Ted Lee. [Paper Cuts]

Supersize Spirits: Finally, some good news. Cocktails are getting bigger! [The Kansas City Star]

Let's Do Breakfast: Breakfast is making a comeback in restaurants across Los Angeles. [LA Times]

RNC Eats: Staffers, supporters (and the occasional protester) will find plenty of good eats in Minneapolis-St. Paul during the 2008 Republican National Convention. [Chow]

Cheers to You!: Jessica Simpson joins forces with Dallas' Stampede Brewing Co. as the face of Stampede Light Plus, a vitamin-filled beer for people with an "active lifestyle." [E!]

Bruni Beat: It's two stars ("very good") for the East Village trattoria, Perbacco. [NY Times]

--BTP

Cheeseburger in a Can, and Other Bachelor Treats

Too tired to fry up hamburger meat for dinner? Want 50 slices of bacon ASAP? Thanks to Gizmodo's "Ten Gadgets For Guys Who Hate To Cook (But Love to Eat)," you can find such gems as Cheeseburger in a Can, a tin of pre-cooked bacon, a steak toaster, an automated donut-maker, and a portable microwave (it plugs into your car's cigarette lighter, natch).

--AndreaLeigh

The Scotch Egg: Sphere of Goodness...or Heart-Attack-on-a-Plate?

It all makes sense. I mean, if you're going to have eggs and sausage, why not put them together? Thus, the Scotch Egg. According to Wikipedia, this delicacy was invented in London in 1738 by department store Fortnum & Mason. And, don't be fooled, this isn't a breakfast dish, but a picnic food to be eaten cold, alongside salads and pickles. You'll also find them at pubs in the US, and, apparently on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair! And, by the way, it's not too late to sample them--the fair's just a few days away, so buy your plane tickets now!

This photo, from chotda on flickr, actually looks pretty good, but Scotch Eggs I've had in the past have often been a true heart-attack-on-a-plate. One restaurant must have misread the recipe and put the entire pound of sausage around just one egg. Yikes. Here's chotda's nicely-proportioned version (made with Panko, for lightness!):

If the mere idea of sausage-encased eggs has got your taste buds tap dancing, you might want chotda's recipe:

Scotch Eggs

Ingredients:
6 hard-boiled eggs, well chilled
1 pound good-quality sausage meat
1/2 cup flour
1-2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup Panko
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. Peel eggs. Divide sausage into six portions.
2. Roll each egg in flour. Press and shape a portion of the sausage around each egg.
3. Dip sausage-wrapped eggs into beaten egg and roll in panko.
4. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Cook each egg for 4-5 minutes (longer if shallow frying--constantly turn the eggs around for best results) or until sausage is cooked and browned.

--KitchenMaus

Even Rock Stars Can Cook

As both a foodie and a writer about food, I was pretty excited when my friend Rob Diament sent me a link to Im Cooked, the foodie equivalent of You Tube. A "web community for video recipe sharing," it's a one-stop shop for hours of cooking fun. Rob, of the UK band Temposhark, may be more at home singing on his award-winning music video, but also proves rock stars can cook on his own cooking video:

Check out his video for a demonstration of Risotto Al Funghi, and browse Im Cooked for more fun in the kitchen.

Already showing off your cheffing on Im Cooked? Add a comment so we can check out your video!

--KitchenMaus

Weekend Recipe: Rosemary-Garlic Pecans

It’s the preseason, which means you should be polishing up on your sporty snacks to get ready for the real thing. These mighty munchables are from Debbie Moose’s Fan Fare: A Playbook of Great Recipes for Tailgating or Watching the Game at Home, a book packed with football fan favorites (or soon to be favorites). These savory pecans provide a perfect first play on your buffet. Debbie also provides an “Extra Point,” which will help a ton with planning purposes: “You can make these up to one week in advance.”

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups pecan halves or whole almonds

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

2. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in the rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Place the pecans in a large bowl, then pour the butter mixture over the pecans and toss to coat the nuts thoroughly.

3. Spread the pecans in a single layer on a rimmed nonstick baking sheet (or coat a regular baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray). Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times, until the pecans are crisp and fragrant but not dark.

4. Let the nuts cool completely on the baking sheet, then store in an airtight container.

--A.J. Rathbun

Almost Edible Photo: Penne Arrabiata

It’s almost lunch time and so, again, I’m entranced by a lovely photo (from flickr) that’s making my stomach curse me (in stomach language). This beautifully basic penne Arrabiata reminds me of one I had in Arezzo, a great mid-sized Italian town. Here’s a recipe for Arrabiata from Epicurean.com--I’d add a bit more red pepper flakes if it was me, though. Arrabiate does mean “angry” after all.

--A.J. Rathbun

KitchenMaus Want Cookie...er, Cupcake

Cookie Monster cupcakes! These are the cutest things I've seen all week! Photo from princess_of_llyr over on Flickr. Check out her photostream--she's got some great pics of candy, fruit, and other tasty delights!

Om nom nom nom...

--KitchenMaus