Restaurant review: Point Brugge Cafe

What happens when you mix a standing weekly dinner "party" with a two busy schedules and a lack of groceries?  A much-needed excuse to visit one of the hidden culinary gems of the Pittsburgh area: Point Brugge Cafe.  This tiny (and I do mean tiny) restaurant is tucked away on a residential street in Point Breeze.  So tucked away that I couldn't imagine just any ordinary restaurant doing regular business, but as I heard from friends and read in reviews before we went, this place manages to fill up every day.

My food partner in crime and I had been oohing and ahhing over the menu all day, so we were anxious to get our appetizers -- macaroni gratin and Brugge frites (twice cooked fries) with basil mayonaise.  Listen carefully because what I'm about to say is of national importance: this was the best macaroni I've ever had.  (It's a good sign that the cheeses used in this are featured in a mac and cheese recipe I have saved in the recipe abyss at home.)  Even the Shark, love of Easy Mac, said it was awesome.  The portion size is great to share or as a single entree.  And the frites were so crunchy (I am very anti-soggy fries).

For a main course, Laura got the Chaud Chevre salad with chicken, which she said was a delight with the warm goat cheese.  I ordered the small portion (a pound) of mussels in the garlic white wine sauce since PB is known for their mussels.  The sauce was flavorful but light enough that it didn't overpower the mussels.  Add crusty bread for sopping up the sauce?  Perfection.

Think we'd had enough food at this point?  Heck no.  Only we would ask for the dessert menu when our entrees arrived, so, as the waiter astutely put it, we "would know how much dinner to eat in order to save room for dessert."  Right on, brother, right on.  We got the vanilla ice cream with dark Belgian chocolate sauce with a chocolate biscuit on top.  Love at first sight with the mini metal pitcher of warmed chocolate!  A simple dessert with a chocolate sauce so rich we I was scraping the pitcher for the last bit of it.  Love love love.

Two side notes: Supposedly, this place has an awesome brunch, so I'll definitely be back for round two!  Second side note, which shouldn't really be a side note since it's well-advertised, but this place has a fantastic selection of beers and wine.  We didn't partake but if you're into that sort of thing, I'd check it out immediately.

Overall, a great experience, and an even greater bill.  All of this for $44.  Seriously.  And we ate a literal ton of food, so, win win!  The only tiny complaint I'd say about this place was that it was a bit (read: couldn't feel fingers/toes at some points) cold in the restaurant, but that could've been a fluke.  The service was fantastic and the restaurant was intimate and filled with amazing sights and smells everywhere you turned.  I highly recommend Point Brugge Cafe! 

Pear spice muffins

I know that most people think I'm crazy for what I'm about to say, but I love getting up early on a weekend to make a nice breakfast.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sleeping in as much as the next person.  But there is something about starting the day being productive and using your hands to create from scratch.  And when you finally get to sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor, it's that much better and hey, look at that!  It's only 9 o'clock and you have the whole day ahead of you!  (Note: Worry not, ye late sleepers, these can be made at any time of the day.)

This was yet another recipe saved and stashed in the abyss known as my recipe folder.  It comes from Nigella Lawson's book Nigella Express.  If you aren't familiar with Nigella Lawson, she's an English food writer turned home cook/domestic goddess (her words) with an uber relaxed approach to cooking and entertaining.  No pretentious ingredients and a focus on delicious food that appeals to the general public rather than food snobs.  If you recall, I actually made her version of a breakfast granola bar a while back and was very pleased with the result.  So much so, in fact, that I now have complete faith in her recipes and even made these muffins for the first time with the intention of delivering them to a group of hungry boys.  And my blind faith was only strengthened after making these muffins.  (Nigella is officially my new food personality crush, but don't worry, Ina, you'll always be #1.)

This muffin features pears, which in my mind are sadly underappreciated and underused in this country.  They have a similar taste and texture to apples and make a perfect baking ingredient in breads, muffins, and crisps.  After looking at the recipe, I knew the combination of pears and ground ginger would make my apartment smell like a dream, so I decided to add a little cinnamon and nutmeg to kick up the warm spice element of the muffins.  What resulted was a delicious and light (no butter here) muffin with a slightly sweet and crunchy topping, perfect for breakfast, an afternoon snack with tea, or a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  So good!


Pear Spice Muffins
(adapted from Nigella Lawson)
-makes 12 muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (about 2 medium) peeled and chopped pears, about 1/4" dice

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners (festive snowmen were today's pick).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, 1/2 of the brown sugar, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, oil, honey and eggs together and then fold this wet mixture into the dry ingredients until evenly incorporated (resist the urge to overmix!).  Fold in the pears and divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.  Don't worry if they're a bit full -- they will bake up to give the muffins beautiful crown tops.

Sprinkle each muffin cup with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove pan to a cooling rack for 15 minutes.  Pop muffins out of pan and let cool in their papers on the rack.

Serve warm alone or with a little butter (because when did butter ever not improve something?).  Nigella even suggests serving these with some sharp cheddar cheese.  Go for it!

Grilled peanut butter & banana sandwich

Ahh, so that's what the sun looks like!  As quickly as it appeared this weekend, it's going to disappear.  I think I saw every citizen of Pittsburgh out on runs, walks, or just wandering aimlessly and squinting in the direction of the sky in disbelief.  "Sun!  Old friend!"  But that's supposed to change today with the onset of a "wintry mix."  Listen, I love snow, but this dreaded "wintry mix" of which the meteorologists speak is not something I want to hear. "Wintry mix" is evil meteorologist code for "wet changing snow-like precipitation that isn't pretty in the least."  Just tell me it's rain already, don't get me excited for snow.  Thanks.

So, knowing that a mix was headed this way, I tried to get out of my apartment as much as possible -- did some outdoor shopping, made a muffin delivery (see tomorrow's post), and you know, celebrated the nice weather in the best way possible -- a movie.  But really, it was an evening flick, and a phenomenal one at that.  An Education. Do yourself a favor and go see it. Honestly, I wouldn't have even known about it had it not been for my friends' keen interest in all things entertainment (go you guys!).  

A nice Sunday night movie, but man, was my stomach growling when it was finished.  I headed home to a) get into sweatpants, b) make a quick dinner, and c) watch some glorious USA-Canada Olympic hockey.  But what to make... Ever have a time when you're so hungry but nothing quite sounds like it will satisfy you?  Then it hit me!   All I could think of was something I'd see Paula Deen make this week.  Sweet mother of all things good and delicious -- a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich dusted with cinnamon sugar.  [wipes drool off keyboard] Apparently it was a favorite of Elvis in his day, too.  Say what you will about that woman (she is sweet but a total nutter, to borrow the term from a dear friend), but she knows how to make comfort food better than anyone.

Something about this sandwich makes you feel like a kid again, but then you remember you're an adult and if you want peanut butter, banana and sugar for dinner, well then go right ahead!  It would make a great snack or even breakfast, too.

Grilled Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

-makes one unbelievably delicious sandwich... selfishly serving 1

1 medium banana, sliced into 1/2" rounds

Peanut butter of your choice

Butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat a skillet over low heat.  In a shallow plate, whisk together cinnamon and sugar; set aside.  Meanwhile, spread peanut butter on one side of two pieces of bread (don't be stingy, as the peanut butter will hold the banana in the sandwich).  Place sliced bananas on one peanut-buttered piece -- really pack them together.  

Sandwich pieces of bread together, butter one side of exposed bread and place that side of the sandwich down into the skillet.  Butter the exposed side of the sandwich carefully while the other cooks.  Flip when cooking side reaches the golden brown level you want (some like it darker, some lighter) and cook on remaining side.

Remove sandwich from pan and immediately place in sugar, flipping and dusting both sides with cinnamon sugar until evenly coated.  Cut in half, serve, and enjoy the crunch of the cinnamon sugary outside with the molten peanut butter and banana inside.  Oh, and try not to be too shocked when your plate looks this clean:

Double chocolate cookies

I realize this recipe is coming two days late for some of you, who gave up chocolate for Lent.  To you, I offer up my most sincere apologies and the suggestion to bookmark this recipe and save it for, oh, Easter afternoon perhaps.  And a few tasty alternatives:

-No chocolate?  Try ice cream sandwiches, upgraded Rice Krispie treats, or my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie.

-No sugary cereals or breakfast treats?  Try a quiche or healthy homemade granola.

-No meat?  For a satisfying lunch or dinner, try portobello lasagna and sweet potato lentil stew.

For those of you who did not forego chocolate for 40 days, I present to you the chocolate cousin of this cookie.  The chocolate chocolate cookie is oversized, chewy, and bursting with flavor.  The chocolate flavor of the cookie comes from a combination of melted milk chocolate and cocoa powder.  My number one professional taster, who is a not a fan of chocolate (self-professed), actually said it tasted like chocolate ice cream and he even wanted another one.  Gasp!  And then, of course, there are the chunks of milk chocolate stirred into the dough at the end.  And the cookie is so thin and chewy.  The key with this cookie is that it uses milk chocolate, a sweeter chocolate, instead of just straight unsweetened cocoa powder or super dark chocolate.

Really want a chocolate fix?  Try adding some white chocolate chips to the batter along with the milk chocolate chunks.  Or, to really put this over the top, melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler (or microwave) and put the melted chocolate into a resealable sandwich bag, snip off the corner, and drizzle chocolate stripes over finished cookies.  Oh my gosh... can I make the cookies again, please?  Okay, fine, you want the recipe.  I get it.

  

Double Chocolate Cookies
(from here)
-makes roughly 3 dozen large cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (8 oz.) good milk chocolate, 4 oz. chopped to melt, 4 oz. cut into 1/4 inch chunks
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325F.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and set aside.  Melt 4 ounces of chopped chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave (30 seconds at a time, stir, repeat).  Let cool slightly.

In large bowl of an electric mixer, put melted chocolate/butter mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix on medium speed until combined.  Add half of the cocoa flour mixture, mix on low, add remaining flour mixture, and mix until just combined.  With spatula, stir in chocolate chunks.

Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, drop 1 1/2" balls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart (these cookies spread!).  Bake until cookies are flat and the surfaces begin to crack, about 15 minutes.  Don't worry, the cookies will still be soft.  Let the cookies cool on the parchment paper on wire racks.  They can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Oh, and when you eat this cookie, it's mandatory that you stop whatever you are doing, close your eyes, and enjoy that cookie like it's the last you'll ever eat.  Until you get up, go to the kitchen, and get another, of course.

Olive oil bread

Last week during my snow-cation from work, I was loving all of the time I got to bake (and do exercise videos, of course).  But after 4 days of it, I was starting to run out of the necessities: butter, all-purpose flour, vanilla, etc.  Scouring my cookbooks and folders of loose recipes, I found something that I could make without any substitutions: olive oil bread.  Ingredients: water, dry yeast, bread flour (somehow I had this but no regular flour, hm), salt, olive oil, and cornmeal.  Easy easy easy.  But if there is one area of baking with which I haven't had much experience, it's bread-making without a doubt.  Something that's so readily available in a million different varieties at your neighborhood grocery store... would it be worth it?

Answer is yes, heck yes.  I'd read that once you taste homemade bread, you'll never want to buy bread again.  That, my friends, is a true story.  The thin crust on the outside of the loaf was so flaky and the tiniest bit crunchy.  The inside was fluffy and light and flavorful and good enough to just eat plain, though butter only improved the already-sublime experience.  Oh, and good luck cutting neat slices of it forever.  I started out that way but by the second day, I was just tearing off pieces of the bread to munch every time I passed it.  Yum.  And, with this being so easy (most of the time is spent letting the dough rise/rest), why not make it every week?


Olive oil bread
(adapted from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook)
-makes one 12-inch round loaf
**Time from start to cooling loaf of goodness: approximately 3.5 hours**

2 cups water, room temperature
4 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
2 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and plastic wrap
1 tablespoon salt
Cornmeal, for dusting

In the bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve yeast in water until dissolved.  Add flour and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are incorporated.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, between 1 hour and 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Add the salt and mix to combine on low speed.  Raise the speed to medium, and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (see below) but is still sticky, about 3 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead it for 1 minute, then transfer to a large lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Do not throw away the oiled plastic wrap!  Return the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Fold in the following order: fold the bottom third of the dough up, the top third down (like a tri-fold letter), and the right and left sides over, tapping the dough after each fold to release excess flour, and pressing down to seal (see below).  Flip the dough seam side down on the work surface, and cover with oiled plastic wrap to let dough rest for 15 minutes.

Dust a large wooden peel (I just used a large cutting board) with cornmeal -- be liberal, here!  Set aside.  Transfer dough to a clean work surface.  If dough is sticky, dust surface with flour.  To shape the dough, tightly tuck the edges under to form a nice smooth ball.  Transfer the dough round to the peel and drape with the oiled plastic wrap.  Let the dough rest until it's slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, place a baking stone on the bottom oven rack and preheat the oven to 450F.  When dough is ready, using a very sharp knife, make four slashes (forming a square) on top of the bread.  Slide the loaf onto the stone (one swift movement is best, don't be a wimp here).

Bake until the crust is darn golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.  With oven-mitted hands, remove crusty beautiful loaf of goodness to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.