Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

This is one of my all-time favorite desserts to make and I make the same exact way as on the Betty Crocker website.

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies: an Easter treat!

INGREDIENTS

Brownie Base

1

box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

Filling

1/3

cup butter, softened

1/3

cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/3

cups powdered sugar

1 1/2

teaspoons milk

Topping

3/4

cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 1Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make brownies as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• 2In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base.
• 3In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

The Long Overdue Review: Joe’s Crab Shack

So I went to Joe’s Crab Shack in Clifton, NJ on March 8^th. It was fantastic! (And not just because I had a serious craving for seafood.) When we got there the wait was just starting so it didn’t take very long to be seated at all. As this was our first time going we had to seriously take a look at the menu to figure out what we wanted to order. Now, I LOVE New Orleans style food, anything and everything Cajun/Creole is a HUGE hit with me. This being the case, I knew I wanted something with crawfish in it.

 

Let me take the opportunity here, while we were scratching our heads and pondering what to order, to talk about the service. The staff was fantastic; they were all very kind and helpful and truly seemed excited to be there. (As having worked in the restaurant business myself, I am fully aware that they were probably dying to get out of that place.) Our server gave us all the time we needed to make our decisions and gave very helpful guidance as to what we would like as well as giving suggestions about his own favorites. AND, as if this wasn’t already fantastic and happy service, when “Cupid Shuffle” sounded across the speakers, the staff dropped what they were doing and hurried out onto the main floor to actually do the Cupid Shuffle. They even encouraged the customers to dance with them.

 

Okay, enough about the servers, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Here is where we dig in and dine. I will say right now, I love wine. No, I really, really adore wine. But, the nature of this place really made me crave a nice draft beer, and they didn’t disappoint as I was able to order one of my favorites on tap (Heineken). Now for the food, when you go to Joe’s you get a steampot, no ifs, ands, or buts, about it. As a Cajun/Creole lover, I ordered the Orleans steampot. This spice-lover was not disappointed as it was BURSTING with flavor. The corn on the cob was cooked to perfection, and the andouille sausage was succulent and deliciously spiced. The flavor was like a party for my deprived taste buds. The shrimp were big, juicy, and plump. And of course, who could forget perhaps the best part, the amazing crawfish! This steampot truly satisfied my craving for crawfish and left my stomach and my taste buds incredibly appreciative.

 

To me this restaurant lived up to its hype. The service was fun, the food was delectable, and the atmosphere was so funky. Definitely plan on returning here, if you ever get the chance to go, please take the opportunity!

 

The Urban Table

The Urban Table serves American style food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is located at 40 Park Place Morristown, NJ 07960.

The restaurant has a fun and trendy vibe, a casual atmosphere, and moderate prices. One thing that I would complain about is the parking. Like many other places in Morristown, the restaurant has no parking lots, leaving you to pay for parking. Luckily, if there are many places to park on the street and there is a cheap garage right around the corner as well. Since I went for breakfast on a Sunday, I did not have trouble finding a spot. The servers here were friendly, but not bothersome. What surprised me most was no one server was in charge of any one table, rather all the servers working took care of all the tables. I think this is a really cool idea and a great way of spreading the work around so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

I will be specifically focusing on their breakfast menu which you can visit here:

Click to access UTMO-BFAST1.pdf

I’ve been to The Urban Table for breakfast twice and immensely enjoyed my meal both times.

First things first, the coffee was terrific and the mugs were ENORMOUS and a $2.50 with free refills I was quite pleased.

The first time I went, I got a UT Signature White Omelette. The omelette consists of egg (of course), tomato, spinach, asparagus, and goat cheese. The vegetables were fresh and complimented the creamy goat cheese nicely. The omelette was served with toast and home fried potatoes. For the toast you have a choice of white, wheat, or rye. The best part of the meal were the potatoes which were cooked to perfection. They were crispy without being too fried and the insides were soft and mushy. However the best part about them was the seasoning, which packed the potatoes full of flavor. I left the restaurant fully satisfied and stuffed, but what brought me back was the smell of what the table next to me ordered as I walked out.

The second time I went, I got the Urban Waffle Brulee, yes you heard me right, I said brulee. This scrumptious “dessert for breakfast dish” was contains a belgian waffle smothered in a berry hollandaise sauce finished off with a crispy brulee top. The waffle was crispy but not burnt, the berry hollandaise was thick and full of flavor. The hollandaise was also great because the banana was not overpowering. In many dishes I’ve had that include this yellow fruit, the banana becomes overwhelming and destroys any flavor from other ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised by their skill in using this ingredient. The brulee topping was the reason I ordered the dish, anyone who wants to cover my breakfast with a caramel-like, crispy coating may do so at any time. The brulee topping gave the waffle that extra kick and a bit more crunch.

After two fantastic experiences here I will be returning to this restaurant. Perhaps next time I will try dinner here!

Look for my next post on Joe’s Crab Shack in Clifton, NJ!

As a side note: As the camera on my phone was broken and I could not find the battery to my DSLR for the whole month of March, there will be no pictures for this and the next few reviews.

Red Velvet Cake Pops

For my first recipe post I decided it should be something really fun and easy to do. It doesn’t require a lot of attention to bake red velvet cake pops and anyone with an oven and about $10.00 can make them. It does however require a lot of time, it took me about two and a half hours to make them. So making cake pops is fun and easy, but it definitely is not something you can throw together real quickly.

midtermspm from Meghan Adkins on Vimeo.

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Cake Mix (I use Duncan Hines)

*If you use Duncan Hines Cake Mix you need:

1 1/4 cups of water

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

16 oz of cream cheese frosting (I use Betty Crocker)

Two 12 oz bags of White Chocolate Chips (I use Nestle Tollhouse)

When baking the cake simply follow the directions on the back of the cake mix box.

When the cake comes out of the oven let it cool for about 15 minutes and then crumble the whole cake up into a deep bowl. When the whole cake is crumbled mix in the can of icing and make sure you mix it well. Then you can roll the mixture into balls about the size of a meatball. Once you filled your cookie sheet with the cake pops put them in the fridge and let them get firm. When they are no longer mushy to the touch you can take them out, melt down your chocolate and dip each one in until they are all covered. Finally you can put them back in the fridge and once the chocolate coating is frozen you can eat and enjoy!

Make sure to store any leftovers in the fridge to avoid melting chocolate!

Coming Soon

Hey everybody!

I was on spring break this past week and I went out to a ton of restaurants. That means I’ll be writing a TON of reviews of these places in the next upcoming weeks, so look forward to a post for each one.

I will be writing reviews on:

The Urban Table in Morristown, NJ

Joe’s Crab Shack in Clifton, NJ

Spuntino’s Italian Tapas and Wine Bar in Clifton, NJ

Zinburger in Clifton, NJ (I know- I go to Clifton A LOT!!!)

Maison in NYC (56th and 6th)

and

Janina Bistro in Lebanon, NJ

So, as you can see I have a lot of reviews to write up, look for about one a week!

Eat With A Purpose

I decided to create a blog about food and restaurants because I love trying new food and telling people where to go out to eat to get the best meal. I even keep a list of restaurants in my phone so I can name a restaurant, where it is, and what style of food they serve, at the drop of a hat. 

Food is more than something that keeps you alive, food is an experience from start to finish. It’s a combination of tasting each ingredient and tasting them all combined together. 

As a child, I was incredibly picky about food and closed to trying new things. In short, I knew what I liked and I never strayed far from that. It all started when I was a freshman in college. I was forced to be more open to trying new things, especially if I wanted to make friends. Then, I started sleeping over my Aunt’s apartment in Weehawken. She always took me out to dinner and we always went somewhere new. She insisted that I try new foods that I would never have considered before.

Now, as a junior in college, there are tons of great and unusual restaurants I’ve gone to and I’ve even eaten food that I’m still not sure what it was made of. Since I enjoyed trying so many new foods in different styles I thought my adventures and journeys through restaurants may inspire others to do the same and even give them new places to spice up their lives.

I hope you guys enjoy!