Tootsie Roll Cake

If I could go back in time and celebrate my 3rd birthday, this is the cake I want!  My sister-in-law, who clearly has more patience than anyone else on earth, gets all the credit for this labor of love.  My niece LOVES her some Tootsie Rolls...thus the inspiration for her birthday cake.

The outside is a combination of plain and chocolate fondant.  The inside is a chocolate jelly roll with caramel filling; a combination of Cool Whip, cream cheese and something caramel??  I learned that you need a special jelly roll  pan in order to bake a "roll" cake; it cannot be baked in a normal sheet pan.

She spent hours hand-forming the letters out of fondant; but the patience involved in the preparation is not the most difficult part. The hardest part is the moment when she has to cut into it and destroy the masterpiece!  Absolutely delicious. 

Can this be topped?

Fork Heart Knife

Fork Heart Knife had their final food sevice on Thursday 5/5.  It was my second trip and I feel lucky to have been able to partake in another one of their delicious meals.  They celebrated Cinco de Mayo and the Mexican fare was amazing.

Tortilla chips with mango salsa to begin (the guac was already gone).

Followed by Mexican street corn; sweet corn on the cob covered in mayonnaise and then rolled in cotija cheese(a crumbly goat cheese) and topped with paprika.  Yum!  Definitely something I will try to replicate.

The main course was fish tacos.  Grilled tilapia in two soft tortilla shells topped with more cotija and a cabbage slaw.  Excellent, although the picture does not do it justice. 

For dessert they served "crack" cookies; sugar cookies made with brown sugar and browned butter.  I failed to get a picture but they were by far some of the best cookies I've had.  They were topped with sugar and seemed to be lightly salted; the sweet/salty/cripsy exterior with the chewy interior was something that cannnot be explained without tasting it yourself.

I've followed ForkHeartKnife's blog for several months now and recipes are freely posted throughout its pages.  The cookie recipe is there...although you will have to hunt for it.  I think it's great that the owners have shared their gift and love of cooking with their community; their eat-in kitchen made such an impression in a very brief period of time.  Looking forward to what the future holds!



Topper's Pizza

A couple years ago I was visiting a friend in La Crosse, WI and we took a boat cruise up the Mississippi River.  On the cruise they served the most delicious cheesy bread I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.  Every once in a while I get a strong craving for that cheesy bread.



A couple weeks ago I was driving up Clifton Avenue and glanced to my left down Calhoun Street and did a swift double-take when I noticed a new pizza place in one of the old store fronts.  Topper's Pizza??  I had heard the name before and then it all clicked...this was the cheese bread place from Wisconsin! 

I had a chance to pay a visit last weekend and Topper's Pizza on Calhoun Street in Clifton took me back to my Wisconsin getaway of 2009. 

They had a special on a large 3-topping pizza and a small order of Topperstix for $15; which was plenty of food to split with a friend and have lunch for the next couple days.



1/2 eaten small order of plain Topperstix



Because I remembered the Topperstix so fondly I didn't have a strong recollection of the pizza.  On my recent trip I had mushroom and banana peppers on regular hand-tossed crust and it was delicious.  The sauce, cheese and "toppers" were evenly distributed; I prefer pizza that is not covered in cheese (that's what the cheese bread is for!) so this was right up my alley.  The toppings were very fresh and nothing appeared to have come from a can.  The crust was chewy yet fluffy and charred-crisp on an occasional edge to add some rustic flavor.

Topper's on Calhoun Street is the only location in Cincinnati (or Ohio for that matter) and offers a very clean and quaint(small) dine-in area with 2 high top tables and a nook with comfy chairs where you can watch TV while you eat or wait for your order.  Their menu also includes quesadillas, wings and grinders. 

With the fresh toppings, variety of choices and reasonably priced food, Topper's Pizza has found a balance between gourmet pizzeria and college pizza joint.  Check out their website, it's cool.