Communication today... and Twitter.

Not like I am encouraging a less intimate relationship with you or anything, but my twitter accounts are @peppereppep and @BRsCupcakes.

St. Louis, Missouri: Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard

Note to self: NEXT TIME FLYING THROUGH STL TO GO TO ILLINOIS, STOP HERE.

St. Louis, Missouri: Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard

'These concretes are so thick that the servers make a show out of holding the them upside-down with the spoon suspended in the mix without any danger of it (or the shake itself) sliding out of the cup.'

..."Not wanting to tie up the line I kicked it omakase style and the server surprised me with one of their most popular mixes, the Dutchman—vanilla custard blended with butterscotch, chocolate, and pecans. This was wobbly-knees good and, while it's probably not fair to compare frozen custard with soft serve, blew away any Blizzard or McFlurry that's ever crossed my lips." - article

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
6726 Chippewa, St. Louis, Missouri, 63109 (map)
314-481-2652

4224 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63111 (map)
314-352-7376

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

FX Photo

I think I love this new iPhone app (FX Photo Studio)


Cheesy, fantastic. Cheesetastic!!

p.s. I can't wait to watch Cupcake Wars tonight on the Food Network!!

SLO haiku

A SLO haiku:

Great weekend weather,

I loved each sunny moment.

Feeling my sunburn.

Pictures from the top of Bishop's Peak. Hiked it this weekend with my mom and David.

Other SLO highlights: Bali's x2 (both locations :), Firestone's (and seeing Kali there!), Creeky Tiki (my new favorite spot), live music, UFC fight, Aaron's graduation, wine tasting at Edna Valley winery, voicemails from Claytone, mini "things" and borrowed pajama pants, quality family time!!

I lovvvvveeeee going to SLOOoooOOOOOoooo

Wild Thyme Deli, Marina

So far I've had this job for five and a half months. Not once have I gone down to the cafeteria and spent money on lunch. I bring food from home and if I ever forget a lunch (hasn't happened yet), I can just walk home and grab something. Super convenient! Not only have I successfully avoided the cafeteria, but I've also only ordered lunch ONE time from a restaurant. About a month or two ago some coworkers got Thai take out. Helloooo! I love Thai food. You all know that though. (cough::pumpkincurry::cough)



Last week Tyler mentioned that he and Peter went to Wild Thyme Deli (445 Reservation Road) in Marina. I had looked into eating there with Kyle a while back, but we decided to go to Tico's Breakfast and Lunch instead. Nevertheless, I thought Wild Thyme's website was done beautifully and that their menu merited a visit (eventually).

Today was the day. I woke up, got ready for work, and when I opened the door - wait for it - sunshine and warmth! :) At 8 am! That's when I knew it was going to be a beautiful day. Tyler and I phoned Wild Thyme (831-884-2414) and ordered our sandwiches. I struggled between the Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich and Turkey, Swiss, & Avocado Sandwich.



In the end I went with the Curried Chicken Salad ($7) off the "Cold" menu, which came with chutney, red onions, and tomato on sliced 3 Seed Whole Wheat Roll (more like a sub!). Tyler picked off of their "Hot" menu. He ordered Wild Thyme's Own Marinated Tri-Tip ($7), which came with provolone, grilled onions, horseradish, mustard, lettuce, and tomato, served hot on a sourdough roll, with optional jalapenos.

We drove the back way into Marina, behind CSUMB, and picked up our subs from the deli. It was so nice inside and out their little shop... Lots of people were outside eating yummy sandwiches, enjoying the sunshine under umbrella tables. FYI they serve Peet's Coffee inside.



Madonna and Ratatat accompanied us during the drive... I longed to stay outdoors a little longer, but I was also eager to eat my sandwich! The curried chicken was SO DELICIOUS. The flavors reminded me of Top Ramen haha.... My sandwich was NOTICEABLY heavier than Tyler's was, almost like a brick! Definitely recommend it if you are a hungry hippo. I splashed some Tapatio on mine, obviously.



Maybe I'll abandon my paper bag lunches a little bit more often :)

Serendipity & Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

Who's seen the movie Serendipity?? So cutesy and romantic. Did you know that they have a restaurant called Serendipity 3 in Las Vegas? It's right in front of Caeser's Palace. (Yelp)

Katie, Andrew, and I went there on our last day in Vegas. Tyler had a coupon for a free Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, their specialty drink, if you ordered a certain amount of food. Between the three two of us, it was a great little treat on that hot day (Andrew only had one sip, Katie and I guzzled the rest down).

After decades of keeping their frrrozen hot chocolate recipe a secret, like Bush's Baked Beans, they released it to Oprah. Of course!

You'll need:

1/2 ounce of Chocolate (bittersweet, semisweet, milk - you choose)

2 t Hot Chocolate Mix

1 1/2 T Sugar

1 1/2 C Milk

3 C Ice

Whipped Cream

Chocolate Shavings

1. Chop the chocolate into teensy pieces, then use a double boiler to melt it.

2. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stir until melted.

3. Take it off the heat and SLOWLY add 1/2 cup of milk. Continue stirring and then - hardest part - let it sit and cool to room temp! Resist the urge to drink.

4. When it's cool, put the remaining cup of milk, the mixture you made above, and the ice into a blender. Blend it on a high speed and when it's all smooth and delicious looking, pour it into your favorite goblet. 

5. Top it with whipped cream and chocolate shavings!

If you decide to order one at the REAL restaurant you'll be indulging in a concoction that blends 20 different kinds of chocolate into an icy, rich cocoa flavor. 20 different kinds?? That's crazy!

Add 3 straws and it will look like the one we had...

While eating our food we looked over and saw a tiny man eating this ENORMOUS French Toast LOG. Look at the size of one of the eggs for comparison purposes. It was HUGE! $15 for bacon, sunny side up eggs, breakfast potatoes, fresh berries, whipped cream, and a foot long of French Toast!

And the guy ate the entire thing....

Katie and I split The Summer Bries ($16) - a turkey sandwich, served open-faced on a raisin pumpernickel bun with apples, cranberry mayo and brie. (LOTS of brie FYI). The sandwiches all come with a side of sweet potato fries.

Oreo Cupcake with Cookies and Cream Frosting

A few weeks ago I went camping and rafting with friends to celebrate a birthday.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring along cupcakes. The birthday boy was a fan of chocolate. Originally he asked for an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins - World Class Chocolate flavor. Well ice cream wouldn't have lasted too long at our campsite, waiting for us to raft down to it. And plus, I've got cupcake fever. Furthermore, there was a Boo Radley's Cupcakes idea floating in my head that centered around Oreos. Perfect timing.

Thus, the Scout Gets Into an Oreo Tire and Rolls Into Boo's Front Steps cupcake was born!

I'll share the frosting recipe with you:

2 sticks butter, room temp

2 #s powdered sugar (you won't need all of it, just to be safe)

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 T milk

10 crushed up oreo cookies, minus the cream insides (or more, if those are your faves)

Cream the butter for a little bit, about 2 minutes. Then start to add the powdered sugar a bit at a time. The slower the better! It will help avoid granularity (is that a word?). Then add the vanilla and milk. Add more powdered sugar to get it to the desired consistency. Now the fun part! Throw the crushed oreos into the mix and gently fold into the frosting.

This frosting is sweet. But perfectly cookies-and-cream-like ... you will love it. I'm keeping the oreo chocolate cake a secret, sorry!

Dutch Processed, finally!

Check out my 6 pound tub of dutch processed cocoa powder. I've been pining after this stuff since the baking bug bit me back in February. I tried to convince my mom to bring me back some legitimate dutch cocoa from her trip to Amsterdam. When she returned empty handed I decided to just go ahead and purchase some from cocoasphere.com - their prices are amazingly low. I made a nifty Excel spreadsheet and, after factoring in taxes and shipping, they sell it at the lowest cost per ounce. (Me <- geek). I didn't want to order a 20 lb. tub, so I went with the cheapest under 7 lb option... Guittard. I believe it is manufactured here in California. Dutch processed cocoa has 22 - 26 % cocoa butter (or something - I'm too lazy to Wikipedia right now, I feel like rambling without fact checking) whereas the American "natural" version has around 12%. That's a sizeable difference and I can already tell how much of a difference it has made in the various chocolate desserts I've made! One day I'll order Valrhona... one day.

Kerry's Visiting!

Attention all: Kerry is coming to visit me!! I can't wait until June 25th when she arrives! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!