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Tartine Bakery.  I went in April while in San Fransisco with my best friend.  I went again earlier this month while visiting Silicon Valley.  I own the cookbook.  I love it.  (well I love the bakery…some of the items in the cookbook are complicated and/or require making multiple items, which I don’t usually have time for).

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…the Hi Rise Bread Co?  It might be tough with all of the election excitement, but it was the post just prior to this!…well it turns out a few days later the bread makes excellent French Toast.  Especially when consumed for dinner.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, the key to super awesome french toast is to add vanilla extract and flour to the egg mixture (in addition to the usual milk, cinnamon, and sugar).  The vanilla helps with the flavoring and the flour thickens the mix and makes it more adhesive.  Then of course tossing chocolate chips (Ghiradelli are a personal fav) and powdered sugar on top doesn’t hurt either.

As a side note, I owe everyone a write-up of my NY trip a couple of weeks ago, hopefully sometime over the weekend/early next week!

In a word: Zoning. Or lack thereof.  There are hidden pockets of stores and restaurants all over the place in Cambridge.  Of course it’s awesome when you find one of these fantastic places hidden away, but at the same time it’s frustrating if you don’t own a car. 

For example, a friend called me up this morning and wanted to go Hi Rise Bread Co. for lunch.  He had found the place through a friend.  This place was tucked away in Cambridge and only 3 miles from my apartment, but not too close to public transportation.  Since 6 miles was a bit of a lengthy walk, I hijacked my roommate’s car (which is completely justified because he went on a 2-week business trip and left me a sinkful of his dishes) and drove off.  

It was DELICIOUS.  I had a grilled sandwich with chicken, harissa, olive spread and tomatoes.  Heaven between carbs (which is basically heaven wraped in heaven).  The sandwich was a bit on the pricey side for a random Cambridge bakery ($10)…but in all honesty, I did not eat again for 8 hours.  I also bought myself a chocolate brioche roll.  It was tasty, but not as good in my opinion.  The roll was a bit on the drier side. 

I would never have found this place if my friend didn’t recommend it.  Who else has places to recommend in Boston/Cambridge/suburbs?

When some people get stressed, they withdraw and hide away in a corner, others like to complain about how busy they.  Personally, I either run or bake.  Since I ran 6.5 miles yesterday, I figured tonight it was time to put some loaves in the oven (not my oven people, get your mind out of the gutter).

The chilly weather led me to buy cranberries yesterday.  That of course left me with a bag of cranberries in my fridge (really, I never buy cranberries except at Thanksgiving!)  After a quick kitchen inventory and recipe investigation, Cranberry-Orange-Nut Bread seemed like the perfect Fall recipe.  It also gave me an excuse to try out the mini-loaf pans I bought recently.

Cranberry-Orange-Nut-Bread

• 2 c. flour (I used 1 c. white and 1c. whole wheat)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/s tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. cranberries
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1/2 chopped nuts (I used pecans)
• 3/4 c. orange juice**

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and grease the pans
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together
3. Add the beaten egg, oil, orange zest and juice, stir
4. Mix in the cranberries and nuts
5. Pour into the pans and bake ~55 minutes (~30 minutes for the mini loaf pans)

I know you’re not supposed to cut bread while still warm…but it is delicious that way!

**Ok, I didn’t actually have 3/4 c of orange juice because I only had one orange and no juice in my apartment.  I was able to squeeze out approximately 1/2 cup of juice and then supplemented with 1/3 cup of milk and the recipe came out fine.

If you know me or have read the “About” section, you would know that I’m currently living in Boston, actually Cambridge, but that’s a minor detail.  What you may not know is that I went to Tufts for my undergrad degree and spent four years plus a couple of summers in the Boston area.

School has been amazing so far (I got to drive one of the T subway cars for one of my team projects!), but unfortunately I’ve had limited free time to cook, let alone eat out somewhere besides the Au Bon Pain or Cosi near campus (and the transition back to a student budget isn’t helping).

I have managed to hit up a few good places, but my *favorites* as an undergrad have been more difficult to visit.  I’ve been thinking about this for a little while now and there are actually a couple of reasons why I haven’t made a stronger effort to see some of these restaurants.  The first is pretty obvious; I’m busy and somewhat lazy.  Treking to Davis square to grab a sandwich just isn’t worth the effort sometimes and trying to get someone to come with isn’t the easiest thing either.

The second half of the reason relates more to nostalgia.  I have such fond memories of certain places during college, whether it be related to the actual food or just the experience.  To put it bluntly, I’m scared.  I’ve been scared to return to my old stomping grounds to discover change.  They places might be exactly the same, but I’m different.  What if something isn’t the way I remembered it?  Will that tarnish my beloved college memories?  I know it’s silly to think my memories will be altered, but the thought has crossed my mind.

Well I am happy to report one place was exactly like I remembered.  My friend Leah was in town from California and after grabbing dinner in Harvard Square, we couldn’t pass up the temptation of dessert at FInale.  Lead ordered the famed, Molten Chocolate Cake, while I went ahead and had the Boston Cream.  The dessert had yellow cake, vanilla Bavarian cream and chocolate ganache.  Additionally there were mini-chocolate whoopie pies on the side and cherry almond florentines served with vanilla ice cream.

Yes, I got so excited I took out my camera and looked like a tourist visiting Boston for the first time.

Overall, it was rich (I couldn’t finish!) and delicious.  I honestly have to say, my favorite part was the Florentine and vanilla ice cream.  It was the right about of salty and sweet, crunchiness and smoothness.  The Whoopie Pies were also really nice, although I think they could be better compared to high-end Oreos.  They had a bite to them and were rich in chocolate flavor.  The actual Boston Creme itself was not my favorite part of the dish.  The ganache and cream were fantastic and very light.  The cake wasn’t heavy, but dense.  I would have preferred a little bit lighter style.  The presentation was beautiful, although there could have been a bit more attention to detail.  The Whoopie Pies were a little uneven and the corner of the Boston Cream was a little sloppy.

In the end, I’m glad I was able visit an old favorite and not be disappointed.  I guess it’s time to dust off the food rolodex and hit up some other great places in Boston!  As always, suggestions are welcome (and appreciated!)