Category Archives: Sweets

Bailey’s Sweet Shop

by Sarah

After a particularly grueling week, I wanted to surprise Cary with a few sweets.  I work in Lebanon and wanted to pick up a few things on my way home, so a quick Google search led me to Bailey’s Sweet Shop.  I walked in approximately 30 minutes before they closed.  I was immediately grateful for how nice they were.  They had about 4 flavors of cupcakes.  The owner apologized that they didn’t have more because they had been so busy that day.  However, she immediately let me know that she had red velvet cupcakes in the back that she could ice quickly and even let me choose between buttercream and cream cheese icing.  In the end, I took home red velvet, apple, carrot cake, banana pudding and strawberry.

The red velvet with buttercream icing.

The strawberry cupcake had chunks of strawberries in the cake, which was a bit of a surprise.  Normally, I don’t like strawberry cake, but this was delicious.

The apple cupcake was decorated with a walnut.  It had actual apple pie filling in the cupcake, which was a tasty addition.

The carrot cake cupcake was decorated with a pecan.  It was full of pecan pieces and carrot bits, very scrumptious.

Apparently, in all the excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the banana pudding cupcake.  It was decorated with vanilla wafers and filled with banana pudding.  I highly recommend it! If anything it speaks to how good the cupcake actually was, because it did not stick around our house very long.

All of the cupcakes tasted fantastic.  One really nice quality was they were not so large that you had to unhinge your jaw to eat them (or use a fork).   They reminded me of cupcakes I made with my mom as a kid, just deliciously dressed up!

Bailey's Sweet Shop on Urbanspoon

Sweetwise Cake Decorating Class

by Sarah

Recently, I bought a Groupon for a buttercream cake decorating class at Sweetwise.  I am no artist and cake decorating has always seemed tough.  This class really made several things that I thought difficult very easy, like the basics of icing a cake.  Who knew a crumb coat was so important?

The class included simple buttercream flowers, fondant flowers (those sad purple things in the picture), leaves, shells and piping.  It was all-inclusive, so I got to bring home all the tips.  All around it was a very fun time!

Merridee’s Bread Basket

by Sarah

On a recent Saturday, we ventured to Merridee’s Breadbasket in Franklin, TN.  Merridee’s serves breakfast until 10:30 am and begins serving lunch at 11:00 am.  We arrived at 10:50am and they were still taking breakfast orders.  We were in the mood for lunch, so decided to try a few pastry appetizers while we waited.

Cary decided to try a pecan sticky bun.  The bun had an almost praline-like topping with a nice, light but also chewy dough.  It was absolutely delicious.

I opted for a raisin cinnamon roll with a light icing on top.  Like Cary’s sticky bun, the dough was light and chewy. Many times cinnamon rolls have an overwhelming amount of cinnamon.  This was not the case here.  I was pleasantly surprised by the light cinnamon flavor.  They had these packaged to take home.  I was very tempted.

The small side salad was a mixture of fresh greens, carrots and cheese with homemade croutons.  With the salad, you get a half piece of the famous Viking bread.  The Viking bread is a really unique whole grain bread.  Many times I feel like whole grain breads are gritty with hard grains that hurt my teeth.  The Viking bread contains soft grains that accent the soft bread well.

The chicken salad was a mix of chicken, mayonnaise and celery on white bread bread.  In my opinion, it was just a bit of a disappointment.  I’m southern a believe that chicken salad should contain pecans and some sort of fruit.  I’m sure people really like it, but it just wasn’t for me.

 

Merridee’s reuben came with a homemade thousand island dressing and was on the bakery’s delicious Viking bread.  While the corned beef of the inside had been sliced, it was nearly falling apart tender and luckily had a good bit of cheese to hold things together.  With the thick dressing to dip the sandwich in, as well as the substantial bread that was chock full of various seeds and grains, this turned out to be a top-notch reuben.

 

In our opinion,  Merridee’s Breadbasket is true to their name.  The thing they do the best are baked goods.  The breads and pastries were excellent.  We took home several of their dessert bars, a loaf of Viking Bread and a loaf of French Bread.  We used the French Bread to make French toast and made cinnamon toast with the Viking bread.

Merridee's Breadbasket on Urbanspoon

Wandering Wednesday: Magnolia Bakery in NYC

by Sarah

While we were in NYC, we thought we would stop by the Magnolia Bakery and try a few cupcakes.  The nice thing about the cupcakes, is that they were simple and reminded us of the cupcakes we used to make with our moms.  Many times I think cupcake companies try to hard, making sickly sweet concoctions with piles on thick icing.  Not the case at The Magnolia Bakery.

From top left to right, we tried a chocolate cupcake with white icing in the center, basically an upscale version of a Ding Dong. It was very good.  The red velvet cupcake was a bit of a disappointment.  The cake had a nice flavor, but the icing had almost none.  After much discussion, we think they may have left out the salt in the icing.

On the bottom left is a yellow cupcake with chocolate icing.  This was my favorite.  It was very simple and reminded me of the cupcakes I used to make with my mom.  The carrot cake cupcake was a bit spicy and had a nice, not too sweet cream cheese icing.  The very traditional chocolate with vanilla icing was Cary’s favorite for the same reason that I liked the yellow cupcakes.

The Magnolia Bakery was wonderful and if you are in the area it is a great stop!

Magnolia Bakery on Urbanspoon

Shake Shack

by Cary

We’re never one’s to turn down good comfort food, even when we’re in the middle of quite possibly the greatest food city in the world, New York City.  After a long day (really a morning) in the American Museum of Natural History, you probably won’t feel much like fine dining, or for that matter someplace where you don’t really know what to expect.  The need for something simple and relaxing led us to taking advantage of a nearby Shake Shack.

The burger is, quite simply, almost burger perfection.  The meat mixture is extremely juicy, while the patties are griddled to a nice crust and topped with very fresh toppings.  The Double ShackBurger, which I tried, was a two patty mess that was very similar to the Double-Double “Animal-Style” I tried at In-N-Out on a trip out west.  There’s not anything fancy about it, but something fancy would just mess it up.

Sarah tried the regular cheeseburger.  It was similar to the the Double Shackburger, except it had no sauce and was only a single patty.  It was moist and the bun was excellent.

The fries are of the crinkle cut variety and are fried to a crispy finish, which is a nice change from most crinkle cuts, which end up either hard as a rock or gooey and flaccid.  I tried the cheese fries, which ended up just being too much, as the cheese was a little rubbery and tasted a little artificial.

The Shack also specializes in frozen custard, which can best be described as ice cream on steroids.  Or maybe extra rich ice cream.  Or maybe solid heavy cream, I don’t know, let’s just say it’s rich, heavy, decadent, and you definitely don’t have to order a large.  My “concrete” as it’s called, featured almonds, brownie bits, marshmallows, and other toppings that were almost overwhelming.  In fact, I was only able to finish about half of it, but it’s was a very tasty half.

Who could go to a place called the Shake Shack and not try a shake?  The black and white milkshake was a perfect blend of chocolate and vanilla.  It has a very nice light chocolate flavor.   Why can’t we have one of these in Nashville?

Shake Shack
366 Columbus Ave.
New York, NY 10024

Shake Shack (UWS) on Urbanspoon

Banana Pudding Festival

by Sarah

Cary and I get excited about food related festivals, and by golly there are lots of great ones in the Tennessee area.  The Moonpie and RC Cola festival, Cornbread Festival, Biscuit Festival and Greek Festival are just a few that pop into my mind.

We are super excited about the first Banana Pudding Festival on October 2nd in Centerville, TN for several reasons, other than the obvious love for nanner pudding.  The festival was started by twelve Red Cross volunteers who wanted to raise funds for people who had experienced natural disasters.  In the middle of planning, the Nashville experienced the worst flooding in many years.

At the Banana Pudding Festival there will be a banana pudding cook-off, crafts, and a “Puddin’ Path” where you get samples of banana pudding!  Sounds like an awesome time for a great cause!

Wandering Wednesday: Beth Marie’s Ice Cream Parlor

by Sarah

After dinner one night in Denton, TX, I decided to stop by Beth Marie’s Ice Cream Parlor.  Located on the square in Denton, TX, the decor is everything you would expect in an ice cream parlor, complete with bar stools and a checkered floor.

The ice cream is served in a frosted cup.  After a long time, I finally decided on Texas Doctor, Dr. Pepper ice cream with candied pecans.  The ice cream was creamy and delicious.  My only regret is that I couldn’t try all the flavors!

Beth Marie’s Ice Cream Parlor
117 W Hickory Street
Denton, TX 76201

Beth Marie's Old Fashioned Ice Cream on Urbanspoon

Fiddle Cakes

by Sarah

One Saturday morning, in the middle of preparing breakfast, our power went out.  It was a perfect excuse to go try a new place for breakfast.  After a little discussion, we decided to try Fiddle Cakes, a little bakery off 8th Avenue.  We walked into the restaurant at the awkward transition between breakfast and lunch.  We were interested in the quiche but alas, it was gone!  So, we decided to try their scones and egg sandwich.

The ham and cheese scone was filled with bits of ham and cheddar cheese.  It had a nice biscuit-like quality that is expected of a good savory scone.  It was just a bit dry, but then again, we’re late sleepers.

The Brie and fig scone was delicious.  You can’t tell from the picture, but there is a huge chunk of Brie in the middle of the scone.  I never thought about Brie in a scone, but now I want to try this at home.  The mild cheese complemented the sweet fig nicely.

The breakfast sandwich feature onions, green peppers and cheddar cheese mixed with an egg on a biscuit.  The biscuit was a little crispier than I generally like, but it perfectly balanced the softness of the egg.

Fiddle Cakes also specializes in vegan and gluten free menu items.   There were several luncheon items that looked delicious, like the Vanderbilt panini with roasted red peppers, spinach, feta cheese and black olives.  We will have to go back and try them out!

FiddleCakes
2206 8th Ave South
Nashville, TN 37204

FiddleCakes on Urbanspoon

Amish Market at the Mill

by Sarah

While we were wandering around in Nolensville, we decided to stop at the Nolensville Feed Mill.

The big sign that said “Bread, Pies and Cakes” just pulled us right in.

When we walked in the door, we were immediately impressed with the variety of foods that they carried.  They had Noble Springs Diary Goat Cheese, Hatcher Family Dairy Milk, Yoder Brothers Meats, farm fresh eggs, a variety of jams and jellies, fresh baked breads including sourdough, wheat, and rosemary garlic bread.  We were very excited about the eggs and the variety of meats.  Our CSA ends in November and we are hooked on farm fresh eggs and the meats from Yoder Farms.  It’s nice to know there will be a place we can continue to feed our addiction.

Cary had the “The Mill” sandwich filled with Troyer cheese and both turkey and corned beef. Disregard the large bite that was taken out of the sandwich.  Most of the time I can get a picture of the food before Cary tries it, but the sandwich was just too good.

You can also buy meat by the pound.  We were very excited to find out it is cheaper than either Publix or Kroger, about $5.99 (variable).

The chicken salad was full of tender chicken, pecans, celery, and dried cranberries.  They also offered a chicken salad with grapes in lieu of cranberries.  I tried both and opted for the cranberry version.  It was served on the homemade sourdough bread, which was incredibly soft, with lettuce and tomatoes.

We were delighted to find Sprecher Gourmet Sodas.  They had cream soda, root beer, lo-cal root beer, cherry cola, orange dream and ginger ale.

While we were there, Young Republic performed one last song that quickly turned into three because the audience begged.  They were great.  Look them up on Myspace or iTunes.

There was a variety of  Mrs. Armstrong’s Fried Pies.  This is the peach.  Don’t let the picture fool you.  It was delicious.  They also have cherry, apricot, chocolate, apple and coconut. We tried several varieties throughout the week. They had buttery, flakey crusts and just plain good fruit filling.

They have a variety of sweets.  While we were there, we tried the banana nut bread, which was fantastic.  We brought home miniature chocolate chess and chess pies.  If baked goods aren’t your thing, they also had Pied Piper ice cream.

Some friends of our suggested we bring the caramel puffcorn home.  They said it was addictive like crack…  and boy howdy, were they right (not that I know anything about crack).  It was sweet, light and crispy.

We really can’t say enough about The Mill.  It was open, airy, clean and organized.   Not only did they sell many great food products, we also had fun wandering through their collection of antiques for sale.  When we left Cary said that he had finally found a great sandwich place in Nashville.

Amish Market at the Mill
7280 Nolensville Rd
Nolensville, TN 37135

Amish Market At The Mill on Urbanspoon

Banana Pudding

by Sarah

School starts next week and I needed some comfort food.  I saw this recipe for banana pudding at Bakerella and it definitely fit the bill.  I was particularly intrigued by the addition of sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream to the pudding portion.  Previously when I have made banana pudding, the pudding layer has just been vanilla pudding.

I always try to lighten the calorie content of any recipe.  I modified several of the ingredients from the original recipe.  Here is what I used:

  • 1 can of fat-free Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • 1 package instant sugar free vanilla pudding
  • 2 cups Cool Whip
  • 1 box of vanilla wafers
  • 4 medium bananas

Mix the sweetened condensed milk with the water. Add the pudding and stir well.  Refrigerate the mixture for 5 minutes.

Gently fold in the Cool Whip.

Now for the assembly.  Start with 1/3 of the pudding mixture as the bottom layer.  Then a layer of wafers.  Add the bananas and another 1/3 of the pudding mixture.

Repeat.  End with the last 1/3 of the pudding.

I topped the pudding with Cool Whip.  This made an excellent dessert.  The condensed milk and cool whip in the pudding layer really enhanced the texture of the dish.  I am also embarrassed to say this was an excellent breakfast as well.