Bakery Review: Isabel's Bakery

Isabel's Bakery - visited February 2, 2019

I still have so many posts to catch up on. And hopefully I will now be able to as I wrap up my last days at my full-time job. Did I mention I was retiring? Or trying to. Or semi-retiring. It’s a bit muddled right now. But I will have several glorious weeks of full-time do-nothing-ness coming up. Not that I’ll do nothing, of course. But I won’t be working! 

So I’m hoping that means I’ll have time to be able to do something more with my blog. What exactly, I don’t know. I’m losing interest in blogging about the same ol’ same ol’ and I’m sure people are losing interest in reading about it as well. Problem is, I’m not sure what direction to take next. Truthfully, I need/want to lose 20 pounds. I’ve lost 8 already. But to turn this into a weightloss blog seems like a hard 180-degree turn, not left or right but rather upside down and inside out. I mean, hello, the past 9 and a half years of blogging about sugar, butter and flour but now let’s talk about working out 4 hours a day and drinking Skinnyfit tea? Okay, maybe I won’t go quite that drastic.

For now, let’s talk about Isabel’s Bakery, a local bakery in Sparks, NV that I visited about 8 pounds ago.  I was still in my phase of ferreting out local bakeries to try in my neighborhood (have car, will drive to any yelp-rated bakery). I visited on a Saturday afternoon. Like many places in Reno, I could easily find parking and while the bakery had a fair number of customers, there were no ridiculous crowds like they have in the Bay Area. I got in line and, while I waited for my turn, snapped pictures of every showcased dessert I could see, which is par for my course.

A couple was seated at one of the café tables with one of the bakery workers, perhaps even the owner. They were doing a wedding cake tasting so now I know Isabel’s does wedding cakes. As I perused the display cases, I noticed a yummy-looking slice of layered marble cake individually packaged that had a sign saying it was 50% off as a “Saturday special”. I’m always up for a bargain so that was one of my purchases.

My other splurge was a mini red velvet cake that wasn’t quite so mini but wasn’t so huge that I couldn’t finish it in a sitting or three. They had mini lemon cakes in the same size and I waffled a bit between the two but ended up choosing the red velvet.

I tried both cakes when I got home. That day’s lesson: when a bakery offers something 50% off, it’s typically because it’s “day old”. I should’ve remembered that. Not that there’s anything wrong with day old (most of the time) but if I’m trying a place for the first time and only make two purchases, I shouldn’t have one of those purchases be a day-old piece of cake as it’s unlikely that’ll be the bakery’s best offering on which to base a first impression. 

If properly packaged, day-old cakes can be just as good as freshly made. But proper packaging means tightly wrapping all exposed areas of the cake with plastic wrap and, if the climate is cool enough, not putting it in the refrigerator. Air and refrigeration are a cake’s enemy (wrapped in the freezer is fine but not the fridge). They dry the cake out easily so even a well-made, freshly-baked cake can dry out the same day it's made if left exposed to air. Which is what happened to this cake. And that was a shame because the few bites I could find that hadn’t been exposed to air (meaning I scraped aside the outer parts of the cake slice to find the unexposed bits) were quite good, tasty and moist. But the slice wasn’t large enough to yield that much unexposed cake so I didn’t get more than a few bites before I had to toss the rest. Penny-wise of 50% off became pound-foolish of wasted cake. Lesson learned.

I did better with the red velvet cake. The main downside is it was covered in so much frosting that I had to peel away most of it to get to the cake. At least it was “so much frosting” to me because I’m not a frosting person. The upside is once the frosting was pushed aside, the actual cake itself was much smaller and I didn’t feel as piggish eating it in two sittings. Winner. The red velvet was also good and had a great cakey texture. I could probably bake something like it myself, however immodest that sounds, but I may not be able to make a better one and I’ve certainly made worse ones.

Overall, I’d like to go back to Isabel’s Bakery and try more of the delicious-looking offerings. And I’d stay away from 50% off bargains. Spend for full-price. It’s worth it.

The Motherlode Layered Cookie Bars

The Motherlode Layered Cookie Bars - made April 1, 2019 from Picky Palate

This is one of the rare things I’ve baked since I moved. I just haven’t been in the mood to bake lately. Which sounds odd but there you have it.

But once I broke out my stand mixer, I was committed. For one thing, this has four layers. Three of those layers are made from scratch. You essentially make two complete cookie doughs for 2 of the layers, cheat on one layer by using pre-mixed cookie dough and throw together a very simple layer for the fourth one.

I haven’t bought sugar cookie dough in years. Maybe decades. And since my hiatus, it appears that they don’t sell them in logs anymore that you slice and bake but in flat packages where the cookie dough is already portioned. Which is fine if you want to bake individual cookies. I needed them for the bottom layer so I rolled each individual cookie into an even thickness and patched a package’s worth of cookie dough into a single layer.

For the chocolate cookie layer, I only made a half recipe. The original recipe says to just use half so I figure it was just as well to only make a half recipe in the first place. Turns out I was half – haha – right. The dough is a bit stiff and doesn’t roll out like a sugar cookie dough. Instead I had to dollop it over the sugar cookie layer and spread it around but it doesn’t take kindly to being spread. So instead of a smooth even layer, I had patches, thick in some places, thin in others plus some mocking gaps that told me I should’ve just made the original recipe so I wouldn’t run out of dough to cover the gaps.

The third layer was supposed to be a peanut butter layer. You know my indifference to peanut butter so I thought it would be better so substitute Nutella for the peanut butter and make as is. Hmm, not sure that was a good idea either as the Nutella stiffened up when the egg was added and didn’t spread smoothly either.

By the fourth layer, when I was wondering if I was a baking idiot, I had learned my lesson and made the chocolate chip cookie layer as is, ensuring I had plenty of dough to form the top layer as the overall blanket layer.

Also by the fourth layer, my baking pan was heavy. As anticipated, baking time took longer than the original recipe said and I did end up covering the top loosely with foil to prevent it from getting too brown.

When all was said and done, after all that effort, I wanted to be able to say these bars were amazing and well worth investing all the mixing time and ingredients. Umm, well, they were good. But my Nutella experiment didn’t work very well. For some seriously weird reason, I could almost taste peanut butter in the cookie. My layers weren’t distinct enough, the Nutella layer blended in too well with the chocolate layer, the flavor of the chocolate layer overwhelmed the other layers, I couldn’t even taste the sugar cookie layer and this seemed more like a brookie – a brownie layer and a chocolate chip cookie layer. It was good but not sure I’d go to the trouble again.

Layer 1: Sugar Cookie

1 roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Press sugar cookie dough into bottom into an even layer.

Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie (use only half for the layer, reserve the other half to make cookies)
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well-combined.
2. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chocolate chips. Layer 1/2 the recipe over the sugar cookie layer, pressing gently into an even layer.

Layer 3: Nutella Cookie
1 cup creamy hazelnut spread
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Press over chocolate cookie dough into an even layer.

Layer 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie (recipe makes double what you'll need)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until just combined. 
2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. 
3. Spread half the dough over the peanut butter layer into an even layer.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of dough is mostly cooked through. Edges will be brown. Lightly cover the top with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.
5. Let cookies cool completely. Let out of pan with edges of foil. Drizzle top with 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips if desired.

Restaurant Review: Bardot Brasserie, Las Vegas, NV

Bardot Brasserie - dinner on June 22, 2018

Another dreadfully late catch up of when coworker friends and I went to Bardot Brasserie in Las Vegas, a Michael Mina restaurant at the Aria.

As any foodie can expect, a Michael Mina restaurant is about elegant surroundings, beautifully prepared food with creative touches, and pride of presentation. And, to be honest, some pricy menu items. You don't go to Bardot Brasserie to save money.

I am somewhat hopelessly middle class. And while I enjoy food as much as the next person, or perhaps even a little more, unless it's dessert, I don't tend to be that snobby when it comes to "real food".

Onion Soup Gratinee $18

Don't get me wrong, I love a beautifully prepared and delicious meal. And I don't mind paying for it. Bonus points for the higher end restaurants where it isn't just about what goes from your fork to your mouth but also the experience of dining, not just eating.

Bardot Brasserie has that in spades. From the muted lighting, the soft murmur of its patrons and staff engaging in conversation (sharp contrast to the relentlessly cheerful noise of Hash House a Go Go) to the service and attentiveness of the wait staff and the cruise-ship-like offer of a roaming restaurant photographer taking pictures of the diners which they could purchase in glossy elegance, Bardot Brasserie was all about the experience.

Flat Iron Steak $49

Not to say that the food wasn't good because it was. I'm sorry that I can't remember what everyone ordered but I listed what I could remember. Pictures don't do the dishes justice. Presentation was everything and no thoughtful touch was left undone.

Moules Marinieres $19

Not sure I could dine like this every day. Actually, I know I couldn't. For one thing, my wallet couldn't stand it. I'm also not a formal every day kind of diner either. But it's good to mix up the experience once in awhile.

I'm glad we went and I'm glad I got to experience it. Michael Mina knows how to do elegance.

Apple Tarte Tatin $15

D'Anjou Pear and Almond Cake $13

Le Fromage $19

Restaurant Review: Hash House A Go Go, Las Vegas, NV

Hash House A Go Go - lunch on June 22, 2018

Before you even think about going to a Hash House A Gogo, you better make sure you go when you're hungry. Preferably starving. The restaurant is so popular that, even in Las Vegas, with its plethora of good restaurants, they'll help you with sharpening your appetite by being crowded when you get there and having you wait for at least half an hour or more for a table.

At least that was our experience when my coworkers and I went there for lunch during an offsite trip last summer. (Yes, I'm very behind and chronologically inconsistent when I'm blogging foodie excursions.)

We went to the Hash House at The Linq which is on the Strip in Vegas, as so many things are. The place was crowded and it took awhile for all of us to get a table.

Chicken & Waffles $21.99

I love brunch food so Hash House a Go Go is exactly my kind of place. Except, if you don't want to gain 5 pounds just walking in the door. The portions are massive. Not just "big" but, like everything else in Vegas, they don't do subtle.

Tractor Driver Combo $14.99

I got a pancake bigger than my head. No joke. See the hand below for scale on how big the actual pancake was. The eggs and sausages that came with it looked anemic next to the single pancake. You don't need more than one. Unless you plan to eat for the next 7 weeks like a bear hibernating for winter.

Like most things in Vegas, a city that doesn't entertain the concept of "moderation", this is great once in awhile. Not sure I could eat like this more than once or twice a year but it was fun to be there with my coworkers and we had fun as Hash House is also noisy and not the place to be stuffy or demure.

Waffles

One of the Hashes

I ate the proteins but couldn't manage more than 1/3 of the pancake. And even that was probably too much.

Cupcakes from Nadia Cakes

Cupcakes from Nadia Cakes - received August 1, 2018 via Goldbelly

I am frightfully remiss in not blogging this sooner, especially since - no lie - these were likely the best mail order cupcakes I've ever had.

Well, I only had one of the twelve and shared the rest with my coworkers (I was on a blasted diet at the time) but the one I did have was freaking delicious. My coworkers were equally enthusiastic about the rest so I can only assume the other 11 (which I still think longingly of months later) were also amazing.

My college roommate Caroline sent these to me for my birthday. I'd gotten cupcakes through the mail before and, like those others, these were beautifully presented and packaged, each cupcake securely in its own cavity, packed snugly in an insulated shipping box.

Except one of the lemon cupcakes that had its topper of frosting slide half off, the rest came demurely pristine for the most part, despite being shipped in the summer heat and likely not handled with the reverence that was their due.

As you can tell from the pictures, they were super cute. A little too much frosting for me but still, cute is cute. I also appreciated the variety of flavors as well as the different looks to each flavor.

Did I mention they were freaking delicious? Seriously, probably one of the best if not the best mail order cupcakes I've ever gotten. Probably because they arrived still moist with perfect cakey texture and great flavor. Major thumbs up for Nadia Cakes.