I recently met a friend for drinks at Parkside 23. Parkside 23 is a farm to table restaurant located on Pilgrim Place and North Avenue in Brookfield. We only went for the appetizers this time, but next time I am definitely trying one of their delectable sounding entrees. For starters we had the Roasted Beets, now I know not everyone is a beet fan, but these really were delicious. Served with greens, a Wisconsin chevre cheese (goat cheese), candied walnuts, and tossed with an apple cider vinaigrette. We could not get enough of this. I will say I am not a huge fan of corn, unless it’s on the cob. With that said, we tried the Creamed Corn, and oh my goodness, I have definitely changed my mind. It was a creamy blend of crisp corn, bacon, leeks and the part that put it over the edge for me was the poblano peppers it had in it. It gave it a great smoky flavor with just a little hint of heat. Last but definitely not least, we had Matt’s Macaroni, which was a delicious blend of Wisconsin cheeses, topped with a crunchy baked topping of panko bread crumbs and cheddar cheese. The creaminess of the cheese, mixed with the crunch of the bake topping was irresistible. There was an option to add bacon, and I know it’s shocking that we didn’t try that but I wanted to try it all on it’s own. Next time though, there will be bacon. There will definitely be a next time. The food was great, service was friendly and on Wednesday’s a bottle of wine is half off. How could you go wrong?
Monthly Archives: March 2014
The ‘Little bit of Everything’ Market
1If you were to drive by it, it looks like a little storefront corner shop, but when you step inside of Groppi’s Food Market, it’s a whole new world. Groppi’s Food Market is located on Russell Avenue just west of South Shore Drive in Bay View. When you first walk into the store you find a couple aisles of grocery items, they have a great assortment of the common groceries but the real treasure it what’s beyond. The first thing you come across is the bakery case, filled with cookies, cakes, cupcakes, morning buns, cinnamon rolls, various candies from local retailers and fresh brewed Valentino coffee. Right next to the bakery case is there sliced meat and panini counter. Their panini’s are made with the freshest ingredients and are definitely worth the trip to this store. Personal favorites: Prosciutto and Gouda, Smoked Turkey with a Cranberry mayo and Fig & Duck. One thing to note, they are a decent size, I usually get a half which is more than enough. Across the aisle from the panini counter is the cheese counter, stocked with a great variety of cheeses not found in all the grocery stores.
Here’s where the real surprise comes, there’s a short hallway after you pass the cheese counter, this leads you to a deli case and hot food case. With a plethora of salads and hot food items to go, it’s easy to pick up items for a picnic or BBQ by the lake. Right after the deli case you walk into a more open room filled with an assortment of wine, liquor, coolers of specialty beer, a small bar and their fresh meat case. The small storefront seems to be an endless wander as you go from room to room. You can sit and have a wine sampling at the bar or peruse the meat case for their specialty brats and sausages. In the summer you can sit out on their patio and enjoy your panini. I guarantee you will walk out of the store with so much more than you came in for.
I call it my ‘Little Bit of Everything’ market because I know that through the aisles, cases and shelves I can find so many unique items that can’t be found in your every day store. I often go to pick up a panini and a pastry, and then find a nice comfortable spot on the beach to relax and enjoy. It’s a fun place to go when you’re creating a meal or if you want the meal created for you. You can never go wrong supporting a local business, especially one as unique and fun as Groppi’s.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
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A long time ago my sister made a version of these cookies and I fell in love with them. While her recipe is a close guarded secret, I’m going to share my version of it.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsps Vanilla extract
1 egg
1 12-oz. bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Frosting:
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsps Vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
Equipment needed:
Mixer, bowls, measuring cups and spoons, mini muffin tins, spatulas, piping bag with Wilton 21 tip or Ziploc bag, #40 cookie scoop (optional)
Instructions:
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray the mini muffin tins with baking/cooking spray.
Step 2. Measure out all your ingredients. It helps to have everything already measured because it makes mixing everything up easier and helps to identify if you’re missing an ingredient before you get started.
Step 3. For the cookies: In large mixing bowl, cream butter with the granulated and brown sugar until fluffy.
Step 4. Add vanilla and egg; mix well.
Step 5. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix until incorporated.
Step 6. Add chocolate chips, mix well.
Step 7. Using a #40 cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough into mini muffin tins. Don’t have a #40 scoop? No problem, simply roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place them into mini muffin tins.
The tin on the left is hand-rolled, while the tin on the right is done using the 40 cookie scoop. Either way, these cookies will cook up perfectly.
Step 8. Bake cookies for 15 to 17 minutes until lightly golden around the edges and starting to sink a little in the middle. You want them to sink down a little bit, it makes it easier to pipe the frosting on them.
Step 9. Allow cookies to cool for about 5 minutes and then remove from tins onto a cooling rack.
Step 10. Time to make the frosting: In a clean mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Start the mixer on low so you don’t end up with the cloud of sugar. Mix until well combined.
Step 11. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and the vanilla; mix until combined.
Step 12. Add final 1 cup of powdered sugar and milk, mix until combined. Whip on high for about 30 seconds, this will make the frosting nice and light.
Step 13. Fill piping bag with frosting. Tip: If you don’t have a piping bag, a plastic Ziploc bag can be used as a substitute. Simply fill the Ziploc bag half full with frosting, squeeze it down to one of the ends of the bags and cutoff a small corner. It’s a ready-made pastry bag.
The cookie on the left has been piped with a Ziploc bag, the cookie on the right has been piped with a piping bag and Wilton 21 tip
Step 14. Decorate the tops of the cookies with sugar or sprinkles.
Step 15. Serve and enjoy!
Top 3 places to satisfy your sweet tooth
2I am a huge fan of dessert and all things sweet. What better way to kick off my blog than to tell you my three favorite places to satisfy your sweet tooth in the Milwaukee area:
#1 Le Reve Patisserie & Cafe located in downtown Wauwatosa on Harwood Ave. This is my go to place when I want a decadent dessert. The pastry case alone is a dream come true for any dessert lover. It’s such a cool place to relax and have coffee or wine, dessert and conversation with a good friend. My favorite, the Raspberry Dacquoise [French da-kwaz] is a beautiful combination of almond meringue macaroons filled with a buttery cream and fresh raspberries.
#2 Atomic Chocolate located on First Street just north of National Ave. inside Time Square Pizzeria at the Mobile Station (did you get all of that?!). This is my absolute favorite place for chocolates!! Sean is a creative genius (even says so on his business card). This is the place to be adventurous, he creates so many interesting and unique flavor combinations, you can’t go wrong. There are different flavors all the time so the saying is true “life is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you’re gonna get”. Some of my personal favorites: Cinnamon Balsamic, Port Wine and the BEST salted chocolate caramels on the planet.
#3 Le Duc’s Frozen Custard in Wales, just a short drive off of I-94 on Hwy 83 & 18. Being a Wisconsin girl, I love my frozen custard. The rich, creamy texture of the custard at Le Duc’s is tough to compete with. In fact they make it right there on site in what they call their “Mix plant”. My personal favorites: Black Cow (a blended Rootbeer float), the Dusty Roads sundae (Hot Fudge Sundae topped with malt powder) and a Caramel Sundae with Pecans. There is nothing better in the summer than sitting down by Pewaukee lake dipping your spoon into one of their delicious creations.
Whiskconsin 