Pi Pix

3.14.2010

Today we went out for Pi Day in Princeton. A celebration of math and science. I thought it was a wonderful way to get kids excited about it.

I read recently that between Molly's age now (almost 9) and the time they go to middle school, the interest that children show in math and science dramatically plummets. I am willing to support any local effort to show young people how cool it is!

Several local businesses had specials and displays to mark the occasion. McCaffrey's had apple pies and personal pizzas on sale for $3.14. They were supposed to have an employee look alike contest but, sadly, I didn't see anyone who was participating. There was a pie throwing contest in Palmer's Square and an Einstein look alike contest at the library. I was lucky enough to see one before we left. We took part in a really cool hands on exhibit and demonstration.

The kids loved this guy!

Molly was hungry and I was short on cash so we stopped in at The House of Cupcakes on Witherspoon while we made our way up the block to meet up with Chris at Small World. I'd been meaning to try this place out and they had a sign on the door that let me know I could use my debit card there.

Molly and I took our time looking at the nice selection of cupcakes. Their menu of baked goods consists mostly of tried and true classics such as German chocolate, Oreo and red velvet along with decadent surprises like marshmallow and chocolate truffle. A bottle of milk and a cupcake was less than $5 which is a steal in Princeton!

I was trying to steer Molly towards the Boston cream but she predictably went for the vanilla blast. I ended up with a bite of this bad boy and although I was still lamenting her final choice, I had to admit that the incredibly moist cake and fluffed silken layer of icing made a strong case. This was a seriously amazing cupcake. I didn't get one for myself because I was holding out for something else...

Twist was offering free Cherry Pi filling on top of their signature frozen yogurt today. (Some of you might remember that I love this place.) I was thrilled to see that they were participating in the festivities and I was anxious to support them. Chris and I shared Eurotart and vanilla mixed together and topped with warm cherry filling. It r-u-l-e-d.

You also had the option to partake in some "Genius Dust" for your frozen yogurt. We didn't partake but I thought the idea was adorable.

Despite the gloomy weather, we had a nice afternoon in Princeton. I always enjoy seeing a township come together to celebrate something special about their heritage. The local schools are having various craft shows and school plays. Farmers markets and festivals will be popping up all over the place. Spring is almost here.

Twist Yogurt

64 Nassau St

Princeton, NJ 08542

609-454-3057

The House of Cupcakes

30 Witherspoon St

Princeton, NJ 08542

609-924-0085

Thanksgiving Takeout

I figured I'd better write about this while it's still somewhat relevant! You get two posts today since the laptop ate my brotchen post yesterday.

For the second year in a row, I've relied on McCaffrey's, a local grocery chain, to supply me with a yummy alternative to turkey for Thanksgiving. So far, I haven't been sorry. They offer what is basically a vegetarian pot pie that is loaded with seitan and dressing. I usually order the smaller version which is $16.99 and I am able to pick it up that morning before they close. It's up to me to bake it and that usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half. I baste it with butter and stick it in a 375 degree oven. It also comes with gravy! Last year it was sort of bland but they improved their game plan this year because it was really awesome!

It's a good size too. I ate my fill of it for Thanksgiving and still had a ton of it leftover to share with some friends last night. It reheats really well in the oven.

I know it's difficult to imagine Thanksgiving without turkey. This is my 3rd turkeyless holiday and it's getting easier. Especially when there's usually so many delicious sides to choose from...

My mother-in-law always makes a dish of stuffing outside of the turkey. She also makes killer stuffed mushrooms that I will try to get the recipe for and post someday. They're seriously good. She actually made her own cranberry sauce too! Needless to say, she was busy! Top that plate off with some mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts and I had it going on! I didn't even have room for sweet potatoes. I had to eat some food off of my plate first! I was just as full and happy as the people who ate turkey.

We also repeated our pumpkin pie order from Cranbury Delights this year as well. I didn't get a picture of it before it got eaten up.

Click here for a listing of McCaffrey's locations. It really is a great place to shop.

Cranbury Delights

64 N Main Street

Cranbury, NJ 08512

609-409-6777

Salty Sweet Bliss

I think we've definitely got a little Trader Joe's Mania here in the Princeton area. I read a really cute article in U.S. 1 this past week that raved about the unique gourmet items and the amazing prices. She listed a few of her favorite items and one of the things she mentioned was sea salt brownies. Sea. Salt. Brownies.

I was absolutely consumed with a feverish desire to get my hands on some of these bad boys as soon as possible!!! I am not joking when I say that I thought about them all week! I had a small list of things I needed to pick up from TJ's and so I was able to justify a visit on Sunday night. My husband and kidlet accompanied me. I was afraid Chris would see right through my plan but the absolute pleasure we had in wandering up and down the aisles overshadowed everything. I picked up the items on my list and even scored one of the reusable shopping bags I'd been eyeing on several people throughout town. We went home and I heated up some hot water for tea. It was time...

The clan was ready to dig into these. Chris seemed much more satisfied with them than I did. I'm not saying they weren't good. They just weren't great. It was a good plan, the texture of the brownie was just not right. A bit too dry (in my humble opinion). It took a little while to recover from the slight let down. I have been so excited about the rise of salted sweets and I really hadn't experienced it to what I thought was the full potential. I had some salted chocolate covered caramels from a candy store in Georgia this summer and they were also a let down. I am still reeling from not being able to experience Henri Le Roux's CBS caramels while I was in Paris! The shopkeeper that carries them was on vacation! I was beginning to truly believe that the caramel curse would continue to haunt me!

Until....

I was cleaning some stuff off of my dining room table. I went to a baby shower yesterday while my husband took Molly to hang out at Silver Forge Farm for brunch. They were kind enough to bring me home some eggs and the reusable grocery bag that they brought it home in was still draped across the table. I picked it up and I noticed there was still something in it. I reached inside and pulled out a gold box.

I gasped! I knew exactly what it was!!! We were out with Shannon and Eliezer earlier this month in Princeton. We ate dessert at Bent Spoon (another story for another time) and afterwards, we were walking back to the cars. We passed by Thomas Sweet which is a few doors down on Palmer Square. This location sells chocolate while the Nassau Street location focuses more on ice cream. I was curious to see if they had any salted caramel offerings but they were closed. We started to walk away and the girl who was working came and unlocked the door and asked if we had any questions. I mentioned my quest and she invited me in to see their case. The did, indeed, offer dark chocolate covered caramels glistening with sea salt. I told her I would come back and purchase some when they were open. Shannon beat me to it. I was so excited! However, I'd already met my chocolate quota for the night so I decided to wait until today.

Once I got settled in from work this afternoon, I walked into the kitchen and picked up the shiny box. I slowly removed the lid and pushed aside the protective layer of tissue paper. The chocolates almost seemed to greet me and I smiled back. I plucked one of those gems right out and took a deep breath. The moment had arrived.

For a second, I thought I actually felt the earth move but it could have just been me swooning ever so slightly as I sunk my teeth through the chocolate shell and into the caramel. To my delight, the buttery sweetness was punctuated by flecks of salt. It was amazing. I don't know how I managed to eat only one. I am also quite proud of myself for sharing some with Chris.

For now, my search is over. Tommy has agreed to an open relationship so that I am able to experience the salty sweet seduction of others but I really cannot imagine it getting much better than this for now. I haven't really had the chance to explore NYC so we shall see. The holiday season is upon us and I've recently learned that Henri La Roux does mail order so I can actually purchase some CBS without airfare to France. I think I know what I am asking Santa to bring me for Christmas this year.

Thomas Sweet Chocolate

29 Palmer Square

Princeton, NJ 08542

Twist and Shout

My name is Avery and I'm addicted to Princeton's newest fro-yo experience.

I am imagining all of you saying Hi Avery! in unison like they do at NA meetings.

I don't know if we have a Pinkberry anywhere around here. I had some a little over two years ago in San Fran. I had no idea that I was participating in what has become a huge food trend. Frozen yogurt is experiencing a renaissance of sorts and I am pretty excited about it! It's definitely giving cupcakes some healthy competition! When I was a teenager in Huntsville, Alabama, my family used to drive over to this frozen yogurt place up the road at least once a week. I remember having a fondness for the strawberry flavor in a waffle cone. There was also a TCBY in the shopping center where my friends and I used to hang out and it was pretty popular. I used to date a guy who would take me there on a regular basis. We would share a banana split and take turns picking flavors and toppings. I'll never forget because one time he opted to put NERDS on top of chocolate frozen yogurt and it was absolutely disgusting.

I didn't even realize it when it was happening but frozen yogurt did eventually slip off of the radar. I blame Ben and Jerry for reminding us what we were missing. Ice cream got a lot more interesting in the past decade. Cool and creamy decadence that goes as far as to taste of birthday cake is merely a cold stone's throw away!

As they say, eventually what is old is new again and frozen yogurt is back in the game! Someone got smart and decided to bring it to Princeton and they have been massively successful. I've been several times in the past month! Twist is the name and they're coming on strong! The flavors are bolder and the options are endless. The atmosphere is bright, comfy and perfect for chilling out with some good friends on a hot day! I went with the usual suspects last week and we all had fun customizing our own fro-yo creations.

They try to keep it fresh by rotating flavors on a weekly basis. Some of the choices I've seen going in and out are green tea, mango, cookies and cream, cheesecake and even cake batter. They do have some staples such as vanilla, Ghirardelli chocolate (my fave!) and eurotart. The later has only 18 calories per ounce. It basically tastes like plain yogurt. They usually have about six flavors on tap. Once you move over to the toppings, it gets a little more interesting!

They have everything from fruit, nuts, flax seeds and Kashi cereal. If you want to be bad, they have a variety of crushed cookies and candies along with caramel, marshmallow and chocolate sauces. Here is the part where I remind you to watch your weight.... At Twist, you pay according to how much your fro-yo weighs so I try to keep it simple. A smaller cup of yogurt and some strawberries runs me around $4 and some change. It's usually enough for Molly and I to share.

It's a hot spot in the community right now. They lend their wall space to local artists and the owners even have doggie biscuits out in memory of their beloved pet that passed last year. Chowder appreciates the gesture and so do I. Another bonus is that they are open until 11. I am sure this must be a seasonal thing but it's nice! Sometimes it's late by the time we're done with dinner. I heard that there is another frozen yogurt place that will be opening up a few blocks away so we'll see how that turns out. They're really going to have to come out swinging if they want a piece of this pie.

Twist

84 Nassau Street

Princeton, NJ 08542

609-454-3057

For Sweet Teeth

It's difficult to time it right since Chris usually doesn't get off of work until late but after dinner at Cranbury Pizza, the perfect way to top off the evening is to cross the street and go to Cranbury Delights.

The shop is owned and operated by a lovely woman named Agnes. She was born and raised in Hungary and when she came over here to the United States, she brought all of her mad skills with her. Every time I go in, it's different. She has a nice selection of European chocolate and candy as well as her case full of homemade chocolate treats. That is not the half of it though. She also offers up to seven different flavors of homemade ice cream. I've tried several amazing varieties. If you are lucky enough to venture in when the amaretto flavor is on tap, I highly recommend asking for a sample. It knocked my socks off the first time I tried it!

Agi also offers other traditional European desserts from tiramisu to dobos cake. The later is a Hungarian specialty that has several layers of soft cake with mocha flavored cream and caramelized sugar wafers on top. Last September I ran inside of the shop looking for a dessert for Chris' birthday gathering. We were meeting some friends and I had just started my current job so I didn't have time to make anything. I walked over to the display case and saw a pie and a dobos cake. This thing was a show stopper. I was sure that it was totally out of my price range but I decided to ask about it anyways. My jaw almost hit the floor when she told me she only wanted $19.95 for it. I pulled myself together enough to say "Sold!" I carted it over to the dinner party and several people stopped me to inquire where I'd bought it.

If that doesn't take the cake, her pies very well might do the trick! For Thanksgiving last year, she turned into a pie making machine. I asked her later on how many she made and she said over 600. She sells many of her desserts by the slice. During a random visit, I had a piece of pumpkin pie and immediately placed an order for the holiday weekend. Let me say that I've had my fair share of pumpkin pie in the almost 32 years I've been alive. Agi's pie was to die for. I plan on making pies from Cranbury Delights part of our holiday tradition. I raved about it to my mother-in-law and when she finally tried it for herself, she agreed with me. Stop on in and I'm sure you'll agree with me too.

Cranbury Delights

64 N Main St
Cranbury, NJ 08512
(609) 409-6777

Molly's Birthday Party

I shamelessly stole the idea for a mashed potato bar from my friend Shannon's birthday a week ago. We were considering having Moe's cater the party like we did last year but we were trying to save a bit of money. Especially since we outsourced the cupcakes this year. A mashed potato bar is a cheap and easy way to bring on mass thrills. I peeled, boiled and mashed ten pounds of potatoes (whew!) and had sour cream, scallions (not as good as Shannon's) and a mixed cheese blend. I was lucky because the sour cream and cheese were leftover from Cinco de Mayo.

I decided to do sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes because I really just couldn't choose between them. The sweet potatoes were made with canned yams. The grocery store I went to did not have Bruce's so I went with a different brand. I strongly prefer Bruce's Yams if you can get them. These were meh. The garnishes for the sweet potatoes were brown sugar, coconut flakes, marshmallows and toasted pecans. It was a bigger hit with the adults than the kids. Especially my pregnant friend, Amy. Even as a kid, I didn't care for sweet potatoes. I love them now but the color put me off when I was younger.

The cupcakes are from Sugar and Sunshine bakery here in Plainsboro. If you have the itch, this is the place to scratch it. They have every kind of cupcake imaginable! Chocolate cake with strawberry icing, cinnamon, key lime, carrot cake and cookies w/cream. They actually make the cookies for the cookie and cream icing! We had "Pick your Nose" cups for lemonade.

The people are really friendly and the prices are quite reasonable. They even gave us coloring sheets for the party which helped to occupy the kids for quite a while!

I also had the girls decorate their own tea cups. We had a slight disaster with the sharpies and now my coffee table is covered in ink. We're going to be test driving the Magic Eraser today!

To top it off, all of the girls got cupcake favors. Michael's had a ton of cupcake themed stuff in their dollar section. I got the napkins, plates, ribbon, stamps and invites. The bigger cupcakes are made of paper and they have stickers inside. The smaller cupcakes have lipgloss. We had one baby attend the party so she got a rubber ducky.

Molly had a great time at her party. I had a lot of fun planning it but I am glad it's over until next year!

Sugar + Sunshine Bakery

6 Market Street

(Plainsboro Village Center)

Plainsboro, NJ 08536

609-936-3777

EDIT: The Magic Eraser worked! We were cautioned not to use it on wood but we tried everything else! The Eraser removed Sharpie from our coffee table. The finish seems a bit irritated but we're going to get some conditioning wipes from Method to soothe it.