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Priscilla Tsai
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Food News / free food / Priscilla Tsai Boston Cream Cupcake
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 3:46 PM
I snagged my free Boston Cream Cupcake from Something Classic Uptown this afternoon. The cupcake giveaway was part of Bravo's celebration of their premiere of Top Chef Just Desserts, which airs tonight.
Did you get yours? If not, it's too late now. The cupcake offer was only from 1 to 3 pm. Better luck next time!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Crazy king cake
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 11:43 AM
After spending five days in New Orleans, LA, eating my way through town, noshing on oysters, bbq shrimp, pralines, muffulettas and more, the only NOLA food I didn't get to sink my teeth into was the traditional Mardi Gras king cake. I guess they only have the green, purple and gold cake/bread during Mardi Gras time.
I've only had king cake once in my life, so I'm not even sure if I like it. The little plastic baby buried inside king cakes is kind of creepy. But if it's tasty, I'm willing to overlook the baby in my food.
To make my NOLA food experience complete, I came home and experimented making my own king cake from a recipe I found in a Southern Living Magazine cookbook. The cake isn't really a cake, but a yeasted dough that is similar to cinnamon buns. The dough is rolled out, smothered in softened butter, and dusted with cinnamon sugar before it's rolled up jelly-roll style and formed into a ring.
I only had green, pink, and rainbow sprinkles on hand, so I used those instead of the traditional colors. My crazy looking "cake" tasted pretty good fresh out of the oven and covered in icing, but it was not so tasty a few hours later when it was cold and hard.
So, experiment competed. Results: I probably wouldn't make it again.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Funfetti cupcakes with chocolate frosting
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Happy birthday, Carlton!
In honor of our CL editor Carlton Hargro's birthday tomorrow, I made some festive cupcakes to celebrate the occasion. Nothing says "birthday cupcake" like a classic vanilla cupcake with thick chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
To kick it up a notch, a good scoop of colorful sprinkles were added to the batter of these vanilla cupcakes give them their rainbow-speckled insides.
The base is the same Magnolia Bakery vanilla cupcake recipe as these cupcakes here, minus the lemon zest.
The chocolate frosting is a bit different because it isn't a simple buttercream. It's a slightly tangy frosting with lots of chocolate, and a bit of cream cheese, butter, and sour cream. And by a "bit," I mean a cup...
I'll admit I might have over-frosted these and loaded up the frosting a bit too much. But for the sake of presentation, I swirled the chocolate frosting up high. It looks prettier that way, no? I won't be offended if you want to cut it down a bit.
Find Carlton on Twitter @CarltonHargro and wish him a happy birthday!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Food News / free food / Priscilla Tsai A free bowl of noodles, anyone?
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 3:31 PM
The good people at Noodles & Company want to share some food with you.
I have two coupons for a free bowl of noodles, soup or salad at Noodles & Company to give away.
Just email me at priscilla.tsai@cln.com and tell me what your favorite Charlotte dessert is (this for foodie tour research purposes), along with your name and address. Make the subject line: "Noodles!" I'll pick two winners randomly.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Mouthful / Priscilla Tsai Pics from Taco Mac
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 5:36 PM
Taco Mac is officially now open to the public at Piedmont Town Center, down in SouthPark.
They've got big salads, an assortment of burgers, some pretty awesome chicken wings, and much more.
The Chili Poblano appetizer comes to the table accompanied by a carafe of salsa and a giant platter of fresh tortilla chips and wedges of soft tortilla. It was pretty hard to resist not eating the entire bowl of dip, which consists of warm melted queso mixed with poblano peppers, ground beef, and cilantro.
You can wash it all down with a beer ... just from the huge selection of beers they have. (Check out the pics below to see the rainbow of tap handles on the wall.)
With over 80 TVs (one being a 103-inch plasma), it's the perfect place to eat and watch a game.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Mocha cupcakes
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 11:49 AM
So this week's recipe is a mocha cupcake with coffee buttercream. Surprise! Another cupcake!
With a half cup of coffee and a few teaspoons of instant espresso in both the cake and frosting, these can pass as a breakfast food and take the place of your morning coffee.
I found this recipe floating around on food blogs recently. Garnering great reviews and looking very photogenic in all its foodie photo shoots, I thought I'd give these cupcakes a spin. The cake is chocolate and coffee flavored (duh, they are "mocha"), and the frosting is a basic buttercream flavored with vanilla and espresso.
I thought these cupcakes were only okay ... nothing spectacular. The cake wasn't as rich and dark chocolately as I had hoped, and the crumb was too loose – I like a dense cupcake with a tight crumb. These were more fluffy.
The frosting is whipped so that it's soft and deceptively light. As it melts on your tongue, you'll get a hit of some more coffee flavor.
Check it out for yourself.
I frosted the cupcakes three ways: rosettes dusted with cocoa, the traditional swirled top, and a flat-topped mound with sides rolled in chopped chocolate.
Read on for the recipe.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Mouthful / Smorgasbord / Priscilla Tsai New Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt now open in Carolina Place Mal
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Located in the food court at Carolina Place Mall, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt allows customers to self-serve multiple flavors of frozen yogurt from wall-mounted machines, and add customized toppings, similar to Yoforia. Also similar, they both charge 39 cents per ounce.
Orange Leaf offers both tart and non-tart flavors, which to me, seems more like the frozen yogurt of the TCBY variety in both flavor and texture.
Customers can choose a waffle cone in addition to the paper cup. A few of the more unique toppings include Asian jellos and waffle cone pieces.
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt
11025 Carolina Place Parkway
Pineville, NC 28134
(704) 839-1705
Friday, August 20, 2010
Priscilla Tsai Oil and Vinegar Potato Salad
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 4:26 PM
If you're looking for a simple side for a summer meal, try this Oil and Vinegar Potato Salad from Bon Appetit. It's a great summer dish because it's mayo-free and isn't fussy about what temperature you serve it at.
You'll only need 6 ingredients for this clean and flavorful dish. I think you'd be surprised how easy and tasty it is.
Oil and Vinegar Potato Salad
Courtesy of Bon Appetit
Makes 4 -6 servings
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 5 medium), unpeeled
1/4 red win vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian Parsley
Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Cool to just warm, 10 to 15 minutes; peel potatoes. Cut each potato in half, then cut into 1/3-inch slices.
Place warm potatoes in large bowl. Stir red wine vinegar and sugar in small bowl until sugar dissolves, then drizzle over potatoes. Toss to coat. Mix in onion slices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature.
Add olive oil and parsley to potatoes. Toss well and let marinate at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours at room temperature.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Creme brulee cheesecake cupcakes
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 3:50 PM
My cupcake hiatus is over. I just can't do it. It was cupcake craziness and I had decided to take a break from making any more baby cakes, but I really can't help myself anymore.
Inspired by the creme brulee cheesecake from Capital Grille, I created the dessert in cupcake form. The original dessert is a mini cheesecake with a crisp bruleed (French for "burned cream") top.
My cupcake version has a caramel cake base to reflect the caramel flavor of the brulee topping. For the cheesecake portion, I went with a cream cheese buttercream frosting. And for the crunch of the hard caramel bruleed layer, I wound spun sugar around the frosting to create a nest of caramelized sugar.
Working with spun sugar is a bit messy and complicated, but the results are beautiful.
So, as you can see, I'm still stuck on cupcakes. Are you? Do you think they are part of a dying fad? Is the cupcake bubble about to burst?
Some say whoopie pies are the new cupcake, others say doughnuts are the new cupcake. What do you think?
[poll id = "4"]
Read on for the recipe...
Friday, August 13, 2010
Smorgasbord / Priscilla Tsai Photos from Wow Factor Cakes' debut party
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 2:50 PM
I was wowed by the beautiful assortment of cakes and cake pops at Wow Factor Cake's debut party last night.
Walking into their cake shop, located on Central Avenue, was like walking into a Martha Stewart magazine. Shiny silver linens, hot pink flower arrangements, sparkles, and gorgeous displays of cake everywhere ... all for sampling!
The store does special order cakes, catering only (no storefront shop). Owner Amy Craparo designs gorgeous cakes that are not only stunning, I can honestly say they taste amazing as well. My favorite was probably her rendition of red velvet cake. I thought I died and went to heaven. Check out her beautiful creations and party pics:
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Checking in at Heist Brewery 1
NoDa brewpub offers good variety in its libations
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Banana pancakes with macadamia nut sauce 5
Topped with a creamy macadamia nut sauce and sprinkled with toasted macadamia nuts, these banana pancakes are definitely a good reason to get out of bed in the morning.
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Eat This: Poppy’s Bagel with Lox and Cream Cheese
