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I seem to be in the habit of coming home at 2 am and having to get up early in the morning.  Usually it involves having to go to class, but a week ago Sunday, I was actually excited to get up at 7:30 am (which might be a first this semester).

The reason?  I had signed up for a “Thanksgiving Desserts” cooking class at the Williams-Sonoma downtown.  The menu included spiced pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese frosting, cranberry cheesecake with a chocolate-cinnamon crust, molasses gingerbread cake with cinnamon whipped cream and bourbon pecan pie with buttermilk whipped cream.  I’m not a huge cheesecake (usually too heavy) or pecan pie (usually too sweet) fan, but the other two choices seemed liked winners.

It was a bit pricey ($50) for the session, but I figured we were paying for supplies.  It turned out that this was actually just a lecture by the pastry chef at the Harvard Club….I was slightly disappointed.  They also served us samples of each dessert, at 9:30 am on Sunday morning.  I did not expect to be sampling pecan pie that early.

Overall, the class was useful, but in the future, no thanks.  I would much prefer to spend a bit more money and actually cook instead of listen to someone that early on a Sunday.  I learned a few helpful hits for making pie crust and also the differences between the three main types of vanilla (Tahitian, Mexican and Madagascar).

The food was delicious, even if it were my breakfast.  I think I was most surprised the pecan pie was my favorite dish (followed by the molasses cake).  The pie called for bourbon (already a winner) but also used brown rice syrup, which is less sweet than the corn syrup traditionally used.  Thus, it produced a toned down pie.  The buttermilk whipped cream was also a winner because the tartness also helped mask the sweetness.

On the other end, I was most disappointed by the spiced pumpkin layer cake.  I was very excited for this recipe, but was not pleased to see it included (canned?!) pineapple and sweetened flaked coconut (not a huge fan).  It was ok, but not great.

In the end, none of the recipes will be making it to my family’s Thanksgiving table.  Then again, we usually make enough food to feed our entire family (~12 ppl) twice.  I know that seems crazy, but we celebrate again on Friday every year.  I’m looking forward to celebrating because, while this sounds corny, we have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Florida isn’t all old people (just mostly).  It is however, filled with copious amounts of Publix.  I’ve seriously never seen so many grocery stores in a 5 mile radius.  It was mind boggling.  Are there THAT many people in Florida and are they THAT desperate a giant grocery store to be situated in every strip mall (also something Florida seems to be a fan of)?

Grocery stores aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the food I ate while there this past weekend.  The first night I was there, my friend and I hit up the Jupiter Italian festival.  Since I am half Italian, I do have high standards on my food.  After walking through the fair (twice) we settled on a booth set up by Joseph’s Classic Market. The lasagna was decent, nothing to really shout from the rooftops about though, as was the eggplant bread.  The absolute home run of the meal was the Prosciutto Bread….drool.  It was bits of meat twisted throughout a sweeter bread which was served piping hot.  It reminded me (almost) of what my family refers to as “garbage bread,” which is basically Italian meats and cheese baked into bread.  I can see how this place would do well in Florida, it is similar to a NY style deli, but with more prepared foods and grocery items.

The second night, I was a bit more skeptical on where we were having dinner.  My friend brought me to a strip mall (see above comment) restaurant that he had been to previously.  I ordered red snapper with a squash and macadamia nut crust.  It was very fresh and surprisingly not overly heavy.  The mashed potatoes were a bit questionable though, so they went untouched.

After dinner we returned to the Italian Festival for zeppole!  They had sold out the night prior and I was determined to get some.  It’s not the easiest thing to find fresh and hot, so I had to take advantage of the festival.  I’m glad I did because we snagged the last two bags.  They were great (not the best I’ve ever had), but still good and I think I ended up wearing most of the powdered sugar.

Overall my trip to Florida was excellent.  Lots of sleep, lots of sun (maybe a bit more sunscreen would have been a good idea) and lots of food!  I’m glad my friend bought a condo, I will be going back soon (need to escape this Boston winter!).

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!)

Sorry accounting, but this is definitely the best thing I’ve seen all day:

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And we ate and ate.   And when it was all over, we ate again.

The occasion?  My sister was hitched last weekend in an all-out affair.  To give you an idea of what it was like, my family is half-Italian, part Irish and lives on Long Island…in other words; we know how to throw a party.

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