Biaggi's

Sunday was a shopping day, or at least an attempted shopping day. After a visit to both the Waterloo outlets and Eastview mall, I only walked away with a sweater. Still no closer to getting our Halloween costumes together.

Anyway, anytime we find ourselves in the Victor vicinity (what's our vector, Victor?) we home in on Bellini's. Something about all the big box stores must create a craving for semi-fancy, heavily Americanized chain Italian. Apparently this is not a desire just limited to myself. Besides Bellini's, there is Biaggi's and an Olive Garden (the grandmother of this food genre) within a 2 block radius of the Eastview mall. Perhaps this flood on the market could explain why there were dumpsters in front of Bellini's, surrounded by caution tape and various bits of disassembled metal. Apparantly Bellini's is now out of business. Or doing a serious remodel. Or something. Anyway, not open to us. (Benucci's in the Pittsford Plaza, which also fills the same purpose, is also in a remodel. Is this the start of a horrific trend?).

This left us no further recourse but to try Biaggi's Casual Italian Eatery, which appears to be the more chain-y, jacked up on Cheesecake Factory/Las Vegas/Disney architecture juice. (You know what? I'm gonna start calling that the Cheesecake Factor. Feel free to spread the phrase into your everyday parlance). Despite the imposing 15 foot ceilings, the food was pretty decent. I would have preferred a pannini, but that just wasn't in the cards (or the menu). Strangely, most of their dishes come with cream sauce. Even chicken parmesan and lasagna. But thankfully, you can ask to switch to marinara for something more traditional/non-crazy.

The soup special (mushroom barley) was very good, though 5 or 6 bucks, which is even more extortive when they ask you if you want soup or salad after you order your entree, such that it sounds as if you have a choice between the two included in the cost of your entree. I didn't fall for it but I don't appreciate when places do it either. The soft drinks were also almost 3 dollars. I can put away a lot of Diet Coke in the course of a meal, but the amount of Diet Coke necessary to make a $3 price tag justifiable equals the entire volume of Biaggi's itself. Flooded up to its faux stucco vaulted ceilings.

The Boy had the chicken parmesan (substituting marinara for cream sauce) as is his long-established Italian dining custom. Bonus points for the spring of actual, fresh basil on the top. I mixed it up with Penne Sardi. Penne in a too-thin sun dried tomato cream sauce (surprise, surprise) with chicken, onions, and mushrooms. Topped with bread crumbs. Kind of a casserole, but better. I was pleased, but not overwhelmed. The onions were cut too large and I really wanted more mushrooms. But the penne was cooked well (as was the Boy's angel hair) and there was lots of chicken. So even though our minds weren't blown, and it was a little on the pricey side, we did leave decadently full and slumberous. Just the condition you want to be in when going shopping.

Feliz Cumpleano, John!

I have been obsessed with the idea of chocolate stout cake for weeks. I can't seem to shake it out of my head -- not too chocolatey, and perfectly moist. And since today is John's birthday, I can't think of anyone who would appreciate beer in birthday cake form more.

This is a luscious photo from Annie's Eats recipe for Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. They've been on my to-do list for awhile. (And they still are, John, so don't expect to see them at your party tonight).

Chocolate stout cake with Bailey's ganache filling and frosting (probably should sneak some Jameson's in there to be perfectly legit). Talk about the right way to amp up the celebration factor!

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

It is most definitely soup season. And though I haven't started making daily visits to Panera yet, I have started to make a superlong list of soup recipes to try. Ginger carrot, cashew chili, African peanut stew, sausage bean chowder, broccoli cheddar ale, etc., etc.

Also on my to-do list (because I love, love, love to-do lists) was to make my own pumpkin puree. Why should Libbys, Libbys, Libbys think they know everything around this time of year? You roast a pumpkin, like any kind of squash, and then you puree the insides. Done and done. Look for sugar pumpkins (smaller than a jack-o-lantern, but bigger than those little tabletop centerpieces). It should be easy to figure out the right size because it's all that will fit on most pans. When in doubt, ask for ones used for baking pies. Halve the pumpkin with a great big knife. Don't worry about the stem, it can stay. Clean out the gunk and the seeds (don't forget you can roast the seeds later). Place the two halves cut-side down on the pan. Roast on high heat (400 or more) for 20 minutes or so. Just keep an eye on it and you can see when the outside starts to look leathery and brown like a basktball. You'll also start to smell a lovely pumpkin fragrance. Fall is up in your kitchen!

So once the pumpkin's cool (or not if you're like me and enjoy charred fingertips) you can just peel off the skin, with the stem, and pop all the good parts in your food processor. Blend until baby food. Now you've got pumpkin puree to do whatever you please.

As for me, I used this recipe as the basis to make pumpkin black bean soup. Yes, I know it's Rachel Ray but so many other recipes had sherry and cream and ham hocks and a bunch of other stuff I wasn't into. My approach was sweat some onions and garlic, add Rohrbach's Oktoberfest beer, dump in some black beans (and black bean puree) and the pumpkin puree, then thin it down with chicken stock. Spice it up with cumin, cinnamon, Adobo, etc.

We did a lot of finagling with our soup to try to keep in thinner and we used green bell peppers with the onions to start, and then added serranos instead of chipotles later. Why? Because that's what the pepper lady at the Farmers Market had that we liked. We also added in some hickory smoked bacon because we were using it that night for another dish. And what could possibly be wrong with adding a little bacon? Am I right? I thought so.

Compost Cookies

Confession Time: For the past three weeks or so, the Boy and I keep buying break and bake chocolate chip cookies. I'm blaming him because if I was the culprit I would have been mixing all the ingredients together to make my own dough and eating that with the wooden spoon. Breaking and baking is a little too boring (unless your stove isn't working and you figure out that you can break and semi-saute in a pan or break and microwave). Anyway, it's a disturbingly bad habit we've found ourselves in, but it has done much to really elevate in my mind what is great about the chocolate chip cookie (coupled occasionally with Ben and Jerry's Fair Trade Vanilla ice cream).

So when I saw the compost cookie at Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, all my cookielust got stirred up to full tilt. Sugar Plum says the cookie was dominated by butterscotch, which is a little sad. Because the thing has POTATO CHIPS in it. Genius! And pretzels, and coffee, and just awesomeness.

Since we're going to NYC for Halloween, this has just become the requisite sweet treat stop! I've just got to talk someone else into getting the Crack Pie (Brady? I know you're down for that!) and the Caramel Apple soft serve...

Chocolate Tasting at Hedonist

Those of you not scared away by the freezing temperatures should venture to South Ave on Saturday for a chocolate tasting at Hedonist.

K-ster and I were able to taste this dark chocolate truffle collection, designed by Hedonist's intern Cody Whaley, at a beer and chocolate pairing at Tap and Mallet Wednesday. So I can say with authority that the collection is amazing! My favorite is probably the cardamom but the imperial stout was so smooth you could imagine eating an entire box no problem! And typically I'm very averse to anise but that truffle had a nice spice that made me question my anti-anise stance immediately. They were all phenomenal (especially with the beers expertly paired by the Tap staff). And the ginger truffle (with Pop Rocks -- how awesome?!?) wasn't at the tasting so I definitely can't wait to visit and try that one myself.

I personally love how it's dark chocolate, which tends to be the ladies' favorite, but these truffles aren't overly sweet at all. Something for people (i.e. guys) who get sick over too many Snickers fun sizes. They're super sophisticated and I'm excited for Cody, for the Hedonist, and for Rochester to have such a talented chocolatier!

All about Macouns

Macoun apples have been a regular Farmers Market must-have for us this past month or so, since they work for both baking and snacking. The Boy's mother also had to get a few on their recent visit, but when I mentioned them to my mom at a farmer's stand in South Carolina last week, she'd never heard of them. Down there it was all about the Honey Crisps. Considering that Honey Crisp sounds like a cereal and macoun sounds like...I don't know what since no one pronounces it correctly (ma-cown).

So the explanation for this is the Macouns were created in upstate NY! Yay Cornell mad scientists! They're a hybrid of Macintosh and Jersey Black (which I've never heard of but which sound hilarious). If you'd like to learn even more about my favorite workday snack, check out this huge run-down on the Grub Street blog feature: "Farm to Restaurant."

Cutting Down on Food Waste

Because I have 4 pears that I simply forgot we owned last week, and a half of a loaf of bread that will be molding any minute, and I'm sure you do too:

Planet Green's 50 Ways to Never Waste Food Again.

Storing the edges of onions and peppers and corn cobs for vegetable broth sounds good. Not so sure about fruit leather. I definitely need to figure out the whole canning thing, but simply using the freezer more often has already saved a lot.

Best of Rochester

Time to vote for City Newspaper's Best of Rochester 2009.

Share your love for your favorite Roch restaurants, bars, venues, shows, parks, personalities, bartenders, and politicians.

Attention Beer Geeks

October of course also means Oktober. And for those of you who've been waiting patiently for beer's most celebrated month -- there are a few events you want to put on the calendar.

Today marks the start of the Sample NY Beer Festival in Canandaigua. Suspiciously held at the New York Wine and Culinary Center. So don't let German beers take all the credit -- give some love to NY State craft beers.

Tap and Mallet is also putting together a Beer Advocate evening. Beer Advocate is the most amazingly dense website of beer conoisseurship the world has ever seen. Some of the website's contributors will be there and Oktoberfest brews will be discounted! Go and speak the language of beerlove: Saturday October 17th starting at 5.

Feeling Autumnal

Ladies and Gentlemen: it is time to get down with Fall.

After much rain, high winds, and 40 degree mornings, even a stalwart Champion of Summer like myself cannot deny the reality we are all presented with: It is Fall. We must bundle up and begin to cope -- preferably with Pumpkin Spice Lattes and apple pies!

Here are a few of my favorite fall recipes floating around the blogosphere this week:

Cauliflower Soup from The Dabble.

Polenta Sandwich with Greens and Cheese from Serious Eats. (Man, I have much love for polenta, along with her sister Grits, and I can never figure out a way to use them. I can see frying them on a griddle and putting some portabellos in there too. Or the old Thanksgiving Leftover scenario).

Mushroom Risotto from What's Gaby Cooking. (speaking of mushrooms...)

Caramel Corn Doughnuts from Playing with Fire and Water. (despite not loving caramel corn or doughnuts, these look fantastic. I think it's the close proximity to my fall favorite -- caramel apples).

Time for a crunchy-leafy walk to Stever's for caramel apples. Or a trip to Hilton for the Apple Fest this weekend!