Dessert Weekend

The entire weekend revolved around sweets. Friday we went on a bike ride down to Pix Patisserie for dessert fun. The ride was much shorter than I expected it to be. We locked our bikes up and sat at the counter after looking at all the sweets in the glass case. Ken quickly decided and ordered:

Big Cheryl's "Ghetto" Cake ~ A dense, moist cake with a touch of orange and rum, and filled with pastry cream and mixed berries. There's nothing "ghetto" about it except for the bad pronunciation of the French word "gâteau!"

Probably no surprise to anyone, it took me a lot longer to decide. I opted for two little things rather than one big one. I chose the cream puff, a delicate pastry filled with rich vanilla creme anglaise that was then dipped in dark chocolate. Yum. Ken ordered a glass of Taylor Fladgate 10 yr Tawny Port, which we shared and was incredible. I loved it so much that after we finished it, I picked a piece of chocolate in an attempt to taste that flavor again.

Ambrosia ~ Rosemary ganache and a port deduction nestle together in an octagon chocolate shell

But there was no comparison to that glass of port, which was amazing. I loved the creme puff and Ken loved his dessert, but the star of the evening was that simple little glass of port.

On Saturday, we met Adam & Emily at the REI tent sale and then went for breakfast at Manzana's, a place in the Pearl District where you can sit under umbrellas at tables on the sidewalk... watching people walk by while you drink bottomless mimosas for $5.50. Wow, what happy happy news. My breakfast consisted of a belgian waffle with fresh strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream and warmed maple syrup ($7.95) and a bejillion mimosas ($5.50). Ken's breakfast was also amazing -- probably one of the best omelettes I've ever tasted... chipotle chicken with avocado, monterey jack cheese and a whole bunch of great veggies ($8.50). Yum. Rachel would have loved it. Apparently this place is under the radar since they don't really advertise themselves as having weekend breakfasts... even this citysearch link doesn't show it. Nor does it say anywhere on the menu that their mimosas are bottomless. I guess this place and its secrets are just one of those little gems you just have to know about.

After breakfast, I went to the Decorette Shop to pick up those chocolate molds. They said via email that their selection was bigger than the 13 that they show on the website. What they didn't say over email was that the chocolate and candy molds took up the entire 2nd floor. They had squares, leaves, dinosaurs, dolphins... even molds that read "Iowa - The Wheat State" or something like that. Huh? I picked out 6 different types and bought 2 of each, some paint brushes for chocolate use, as well as two cookie cutters: a mini ice cream cone and a small easter chick. Wow. I went home and started tempering the 1.5 lbs of 70% dark chocolate I bought at trader joes for 3.49/lb. (I'll post on the chocolate making next, but suffice it to say I made a bunch).

Sunday I drank a giant rich mocha from the leftover chocolate the night before, packed up the little morsels and took them to our work barbecue held at Cameron Winery. What fun! I love their giovanni white wine, which I sipped as I got to taste all sorts of great food... grilled zucchini, smoked salmon, marinated lamb (made by the lady who used to own viande meats), greek salads, and desserts. Lots of desserts. The chocolate chip cookie bars were my favorite although I was happy to see my chocolates vanished in no time and got rave reviews. We left the barbecue and then went to Adam & Emily's for dessert -- she made a blackberry tart wrapped in puff pastry -- which I learned was super easy and sooooo good. Mom, I'll have to make one with peaches when I come home. Wow.

And so our dessert weekend came to an end. Sugar coma and all.