Restaurant Review: Von's Chicken

Von's Chicken - dinner on February 6, 2015, 4 stars on yelp

I’d never heard of Von’s Chicken before but when my friend Jenny suggested it as a place to meet for dinner last week and included an article that raved about them, I was sold. Yeah, it doesn’t take much. Von’s reminds me of Bon Chon Chicken. It’s set up like a cross between a fast food place and a casual restaurant. There were people ordering and picking up take out and others who opted for dine in. A server takes your order at your table but it looks like you can also order (presumably for takeout) at the counter. It took a little longer than I expected for our food to come out but I think I was comparing it (unfairly) to a place like Popeye’s or KFC where the chicken is already made and waiting to be served. Not so at Von’s as it appears they make it to order so it's similar to a sit-down restaurant in that regard.

At Von’s, similar to Bon Chon, you can order a combination of how many pieces and what kind as well as how you want it cooked. For this first visit, we kept it simple: a half order of crispy fried chicken (not to be confused with crunchy fried chicken) as a combination of drumsticks and wings plus we split an order of sweet potato fries.

The sweet potato fries came out first, hot and crisp. You know I’m a sucker for sweet potato fries so no complaints there. Our chicken came out a bit later and the half order was larger than I expected. For one person, it’s easily 2-3 meals. It came with a light glaze (you can order it mild or hot, I went with mild) that was a little sweet and a little spicy. I’m not normally a saucy/glaze-y person but this was hardly any glaze and was pretty tasty. I wouldn’t have minded more glaze. True to advertising, the crunchy chicken was nicely crunchy. In fact, I’m not so sure I’ll ever eat Popeye’s or KFC again if I can have Von’s Chicken instead. Never mind that I rarely eat fast food anyway so I’m not giving up much but this was pretty good fried chicken.

The price point is a bit higher than fast food and some casual restaurants: a half order of drumsticks and wings was $10.99 and the sweet potato fries at $4.99 came as a modest portion. Still, if you’re in the mood for deep fried food and a simple no-frills meal, this is a good option.

Coconut White Chocolate Butterscotch Blondies

Coconut White Chocolate Butterscotch Blondies - made February 7, 2015, adapted from Extreme Brownies by Connie Weiss (originally titled Bombin' Blondies)

Back with my one-track mind on trying out more brownie recipes from Extreme Brownies by Connie Weiss. I did make an effort to mix it up a little by going with a blondie recipe this time. Which then I had to modify to suit my tastes. I stuck to the main structure of the blondie’s foundations but instead of semisweet chocolate chips, I substituted white chocolate chips. And, because it pairs so well with anything brown sugar, I added butterscotch chips. The coconut I kept as is. Oh and I left off the chocolate drizzle. 

I don’t make blondies that often but when I do, I try to keep it purist. If the whole point of a blondie is to make a non-chocolate dessert, I don’t add (semisweet) chocolate chips or a chocolate drizzle. Otherwise I’d just make a regular chocolate fudge brownie.

In any case, my modifications worked pretty well. I loved the texture and brown sugar taste of the blondie bar itself. The coconut gives it additional texture and chewy moistness and the white chocolate and butterscotch chips complemented the blondie perfectly. Another fantastic recipe from Connie – this book is turning out to be a great investment and I’ve only made 4 recipes from it so far. Thumbing through it again for #5. Stay tuned.

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (1 pound 5 ounces) light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs, cold
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (15.5 ounces) bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place butter and brown sugar in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook over the lowest setting until the sugar and butter dissolve, whisking to combine. Don't let the butter get too hot or it'll separate. Pour the sugar mixture into a large mixing bowl. Let cool for several minutes. 
3. Whisk the eggs into the butter mixture, one at a time, whisking quickly after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract; scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Place the flour, salt and baking powder in a small mixing bowl; whisk together to combine. Add in thirds to the batter, stirring each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Add the coconut, butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips into the batter and pour batter evenly into prepared pan, smoothing the top with a small metal spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then lower the heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Linzer Hearts

Linzer Hearts - made February 8, 2015 from Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri

Last year I had done a mini series on treats you can make for Valentine’s Day, whether you make a dessert heart-shaped or add a heart or make it red velvet or just have some form of chocolate; it was Valentinesy enough. This year I didn’t have the time to focus on Hallmark’s Cupid’s holiday but I did manage to sneak in this recipe from Nick Malgieri’s Cookies Unlimited that I’d been meaning to try for awhile. (I’m always meaning to try recipes for awhile – so many recipes, so little time.)

pastry roller

I like and don’t like linzer cookies. I like the cookie part because I like the flavor and it’s really pretty with the bright red raspberry jam filling that marks a linzer cookie. But alas, I don’t like raspberry jam or jam in general so I don’t eat traditional linzer cookies from bakeries, available in a store or made by other people. But when I make my own, I can use any filling I want and that’s what I did with this recipe. Cookie butter! It’s been at least a few weeks since I’ve uttered those words but here I am spewing them again. Cookie butter!

But first, let’s talk about the cookies. For the nuts, I used a combination of toasted almonds and pecans, You can commit to one or the other but there’s nothing wrong with using both. Just toast them first to bring out the flavor and let them cool completely before grinding them up in the food processor. For this recipe, I highly recommend a food processor rather than a nut grinder as the food processor will grind the nuts more finely and that’s what you need for the linzer dough. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches and beat until just combined. Don’t add the dry ingredients all at once or your dough will be dry and crumbly and may not come together without a lot of beating.

As it was, my dough took a little extra mixing before the flour was absorbed enough. It didn’t make a cohesive dough but when I could squeeze handfuls of it together and it stayed together, it was good to go. Here’s a simple trick for working with this kind of dough. If you have a pastry roller, use it. If you don’t, I am here to enable you. This may be one baking gadget that’s worth the investment. I dumped the dough into a small cookie sheet and used the pastry roller to roll it into a smooth rectangle. Much, much easier than trying to coax it into submission with a rolling pin and the nature of the pastry roller meant I didn’t have to worry about the sides of the cookie sheet. In fact, the sides were an asset because they helped the dough remain a captive audience in the right shape.

Once the dough is rolled out nice and smooth, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two. When you’re ready to bake, while your oven is preheating, cut out the cookies. The hallmark of a linzer cookie, besides the jam that I eschewed, is the cutout on the top cookie so you can see the filling. My only concession to Valentine’s Day is I used a heart-shaped cut out. If you don’t want to bake the little cutouts, simply add them back to your dough scraps to reroll and cut out more cookies. You don’t need the linzer cookie cutter, just a round one with smooth or scalloped edges plus a little one for the cutout.

My only mistake was I should’ve used a large cookie sheet when I rolled out the dough. The small one I used didn’t allow me to roll out the dough as thinly as I should have or I would’ve run out of room. So my cookies, once sandwiched together, were a little, uh, hearty. That didn’t stop me from being generous with the filling because – you know – cookie butter. You can fill one of two ways: either simply spread the filling over the bottom, non-cutout cookie, mound a little more in the center, place the cutout cookie on top and press gently together, allowing the mounded center to rise up to fill the cutout space. Or you can spread a thin even layer on the bottom cookie, press the cutout cookie on top, heat some of the filling slightly and “fill in” the cutout  with the warm filling. The first method is easier, the second method probably gives you a smoother look. Either way, these cookies taste great. My prejudice against jam fillings aside, the cookie butter nicely complemented the cinnamon, nutty flavor of the cookies themselves. I skipped the traditional dusting of powdered sugar on the top cookie. That might make it look prettier but it adds unnecessary calories. You want to reserve your calorie budget for a generous helping of cookie butter filling. At least you do if you're me. Happy V-Day.

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces (about 1 cup) whole blanched almonds, finely ground in the food processor
1 cup cookie butter (Speculoos or Biscoff spread)
confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and spices; stir well to mix.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the butter and sugar until soft and light, about 5 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and beat in the almonds and the flour and spice mixture, one at a time.
3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap and chill the dough until it is firm, about an hour, or up to several days.
4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Cut the dough into three parts and refrigerate two of them. Place one third on a floured surface and flour it lightly. Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick. Use small fluted cookie cutters to cut the dough. Use a smaller cutter to cut a center in half of the cookies.
6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and arrange cookies evenly. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until a very pale golden color. Cool on the sheets on wire racks. When completely cool, dust the center-cut cookies lightly with powdered sugar.
7. Warm cookie butter slightly, 10-12 seconds in the microwave. Pipe in the center of the uncut cooled cookies and place a center-cut cookie on top. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Cupcakery Review: Cako

Cako - visited February 2, 2015

I first heard of Cako when I saw their little kiosk at my local shopping mall. It was set up in the center, a square formation of display cases showing cupcakes, regular size and mini. I didn't try it the one at the mall though as these days I only go shopping when I'm on a mission to find something and I didn't have time for cupcake dawdling. Gone are the days when I browse or do retail therapy. My wallet thanks me; my closet does not.

Anyway, last week I was in San Francisco for a conference and lo and behold, near my hotel was a Cako cupcake shop. I didn't even know they had an actual shop and for some reason only kept picturing them as mall kiosks.

Since I was there, I had to try it, right? The shop itself is rather small but cupcake shops don't need a lot of retail space. I would think they'd want more room for the kitchen so they can bake onsite and ensure fresh cupcakes daily. As a consumer, I know I would.

Although not very big, the display cases held a nice assortment of cupcakes. It's always hard to choose just one so I went for two. Ha. The first choice was easy - Samoa. Not only is it one of my favorite flavor combination (chocolate, vanilla, coconut and caramel - what's not to love?) but I have fond memories of the Samoa cupcake I'd had from Sift and was hoping for something similar.

I waffled over the second choice. It was a toss up between the Salted Caramel and the Snickers but the Snickers cupcake won: a chocolate cupcake topped with caramel buttercream, drizzled with caramel and topped with a chunk of Snickers.

There was a Maple Bacon cupcake but I've never been a believer in bacon in my desserts and am indifferent to bacon in general so that was easy to pass up. My bacon-lovin' friends just gave me the side eye, I know it.

The packaging on my two cupcakes was cute and exactly like the one from Minicakes by Tasha - both cupcakes anchored in a plastic shell that fit inside a cellophane bag, folded over and stickered with the cupcakery's logo. Cute.

I have to admit, when I bought the cupcakes, it was after dinner and I was full so I didn't actually eat them that night. If I'd been thinking properly, I shouldn't have bought them until the next day so they could be as fresh as possible but my Pavlovian response as soon as I saw the Cako shop was typical - must buy now.

So I did what was normal for me. Got up early the next morning, ran 4 miles in the hotel gym and had the Samoa cupcake for breakfast. It was good although I have to give the nod to Sift's Samoa cupcake as being better. The frosting from Sift that I raved about was better than Cako's and so was their cupcake. In fairness, that could be because I had the Cako one when it was technically "day old" but I still think Sift's was better.

Since even I tend not to eat 2 cupcakes for breakfast (I'd run only 4 miles after all, not 14), I waited even longer to try the Snickers one. It held up pretty well. I'm still not a frosting person so I ate mostly the cupcake. It was good but I think it was like something I could make. In a blind taste test, I'm not sure I could distinguish it from the chocolate cupcake from Crumbs Cookies n Cream mix. Which still makes it a good cupcake, just not one that would particularly stand out in the sea of cupcakes I've eaten and will likely continue to eat.

Each cupcake was $3.50 and Cako also offers mini cupcakes for $2 each so their pricing is in line with other cupcake shops. It always amazes me how many cupcake shops there are. Less amazing is I will likely try every one I come across.

Peanut Butter Cup Butterscotch Brownies

Peanut Butter Cup Butterscotch Brownies - made January 31, 2015, recipe adapted from Extreme Brownies by Connie Weis, originally called Connie's Today Show Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

If you think I have a one-track mind when it comes to baking and that track seems to be "brownies", you wouldn't be wrong. Truth is, whenever I get a new baking book, I'm like a kid with a new toy. I play with it often in its early days, captivated by new recipes I "have" to try.

So far, I've been 2 for 2 with good recipes from this book and I went for #3. The original recipe called for making the brownie batter, pushing the peanut butter cups into the batter so it would bake into the brownie and sprinkling the top with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.

I didn't have peanuts though but I did have mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's to use up and peanut butter chips so I decided I'd make the brownie batter then sprinkle all the add ins on top for maximum prettiness. For the most part it worked. The brownie base is very similar to the base I'd used for the Triple Chocolate Brownies and you know how well I thought those had turned out.

I dutifully sprinkled the mini peanut butter cups on top, followed by semisweet chocolate chips then what I thought were peanut butter chips. Only as I was sprinkling the last of the chips did I finally realize they didn't smell like peanut butter. Which shows there's nothing wrong with my nose as it turned out I was sprinkling butterscotch chips instead. Oops. There was no way to rectify the mistake so I decided to brazen it out and simply rename these as Peanut Butter Cup Butterscotch Brownies. Like I had meant to make that flavor combination all along. Sometimes you just have to bluff it.

Fortunately, when I brought these into work the next day, no one knew what they were originally supposed to be and the large plate disappeared in good order. So you can make these with peanut butter chips if you're a purist or throw in butterscotch chips if you want something a little different. Either way, the brownie base is moist and fudgy and the brownie itself is delicious.

1 12-ounce package miniature peanut butter cups (I used the pack from Trader Joe's)
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
4 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) 60% cacaro bittersweet chocolate chips
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) granulated sugar
1 1/2 packed cups (12 ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (6.8 ounces) bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips, your choice
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate chips in the top half of a double boiler set over hot water. Whisk until smooth and completely melted.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt; whisk until just combined. Add melted butter-chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Whisk in vanilla.
4. Add baking powder and flour and stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with a small metal spatula.
5. Sprinkle top evenly with peanut butter cups, butterscotch (or peanut butter) chips and semisweet chocolate chips. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Transfer pan to cooling rack and let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Bakery Review: la PanotiQ

La PanotiQ - visited on January 30, 2015

There’s a new bakery in town and you know I had to check it out. Or maybe I should call it a patisserie as it’s meant to be more high end. Not quite as high end as Alexander’s but definitely more fancy than Icing on the Cake. It’s called la Panotiq and appears to be part of a small chain. It’s definitely a welcome addition to the culinary lineup on Castro St in Mountain View. While Castro is known for its abundance of various cuisines, it’s been sadly lacking in the desserts arena. Two bakeries is still a bit lopsided compared to the number of restaurants but two is better than one is better than none.

I went to la Panotiq when I was killing time before meeting with my monthly dinner club for our second foray at Doppio Zero. When I walked in, I was greeted with a full display case of various dessert offerings. That already put them a cut above my first visit to Alexander’s Patisserie with its empty shelves.

There was a wide variety of desserts. I mean wide. From fruit tarts and caneles to macarons, cakes and cookies to tiramisu to cream puffs, cobblers, tarts and pies. So of course I had to take pictures of it all. Prices were slightly less than Alexander’s, not quite as homey as Icing on the Cake but somewhere in the middle.

The counter folks were very friendly and helpful, I must say. When I asked one person for a recommendation, she suggested the tiramisu. I’m not fond of creamy desserts so I filed that away for later and kept on perusing. She went to help someone else and another counter person later asked if I needed help. By that time I had narrowed my selections a bit and asked him for his recommendations. He also went with the tiramisu. Huh. That must be some good tiramisu, right? Especially considering the second person hadn’t heard what the first person had said. Either that or they’d been instructed to push the tiramisu. But I’m more trusting and think better of people than that so I let myself be persuaded to try the tiramisu. My friend Sun also recommended what looked like a chocolate covered hazelnut pastry ball called a chocolate tresor so that went into my box as well.

Since we were going to dinner and I would likely end up full from that, I restricted myself to just those 2 choices in the interests of being a grown up instead of a kid with a sweet tooth and no impulse control. It turned out to be a good decision as I didn’t have room after dinner to try dessert so I waited until the next day to sample my purchases.

My takeout box

The chocolate tresor turned out to be like a little cream puff filled with mousse and dipped in chocolate. Kind of like a Beard Papa cream puff but Beard Papa’s is a bit better. It could be because I ate it the following day but the pastry had become soggy due to the mousse filling. It wasn’t bad but mousse/custard desserts aren’t my favorite. I think I was expecting a filling more like fudge or a truffle than a mousse. My bad for not reading the description more closely.

Tiramisu

The tiramisu was a better choice. I’d made tiramisu from scratch once when I was in culinary school. And by scratch, I mean we even made the ladyfingers from scratch as I still remember piping out the soft batter for the ladyfingers. I don’t eat tiramisu very often because of my preference for non-custard desserts. I can’t say this was so amazing that I’ve developed a love for custard-creamy desserts but it was pretty good. If you like tiramisu at all, the one from la Panotiq is a good choice. The espresso and mascarpone combination was just right, not too heavy handed with the espresso soaking the ladyfingers but still enough to moisten the layer and have the espresso flavor shine through. It was complemented perfectly by the mascarpone layers as well. The counter people didn’t steer me wrong.

Given the wide array of desserts on offer at la Panotiq, this won’t be my last visit. Clearly, I have many more things to try and evaluate.