I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like. Of course, there are those cookie occasions when like turns to love, and a dozen or so cookies just vanish in a matter of minutes. The florentines (Clarine’s Florentines) included in the February Foodzie Box were sublime; definitely love at first bite.

Florentines aren’t cookies in the traditional sense. They are made of sliced almonds, butter, honey, sugar and cream. Then, they are baked until they form a brown brittle. Clarine’s takes it a luscious step further by coating the bottom of the rounds in bittersweet chocolate.

Mail-order food can be tricky, especially baked goods, which is why I’m so glad these aren’t your average cookies. I guess that’s why they’re not cookies after all. They’re florentines, cookies’ cousins who’ve been to college, traveled abroad and landed a dream job in their twenties. Oh, to be a florentine. Oh, to be Clarine.

We call them “snow cones” back home (in Alexandria, LA), but they call them “snow balls” down here. The irony is that neither is in the shape of a cone or a ball. They are both just Styrofoam cups filled with syrupy snow. I don’t care what they’re called, because I just call them delicious.

Our place is Robear’s Snowballs in Harahan. Take that, Droopy’s!

On a business trip to Atlanta a few weeks ago, I went to dinner with my friends, Dave and Molly. I plan to blog about the dinner next week (we ate at Bacchanalia), but for now, I want to share with you the doughnuts you see above from Sublime Doughnuts in Atlanta. Unfortunately, at post time, the Sublime Web site was down, so you’ll have to settle for a Yelp link instead. If heaven is a place on Earth, that place was inside this bakery box filled with twelve of the most ecclectic doughnut flavors I could have ever imagined. Before we dive into the dough, however, let’s think outside the box.

Sublime Doughnuts maintains a low profile in a strip mall just down the road from the massive Turner Complex that sits on I-75. I don’t know Atlanta very well, but I think the doughnut shop was very near the Georgia Institute of Technology which explained it’s collegial feel. I didn’t get a picture of the exterior, but if I remember correctly, there’s just a sign on the facade that spells, D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T-S, in big red basic letters. In other words, it’s easy to miss.

I walked in, and told the tattooed guy behind the counter that a friend had recommended the place, and that I wanted a dozen doughnuts to go. He grabbed a box, and asked which flavors I wanted. I had no idea, so he proceeded to walk me through what seemed to 20 or 30 flavors. I don’t think there were that many, but they had so many good ones, that I kept thinking, “Yep. Gotta try that one. Yep. Gotta try that one, too.” But, I was limited to a dozen, so I had to choose carefully.

Thank God the place wasn’t busy, and the guy helping me seemed to have the patience of Job, because after he told me every flavor, we started over as I began to make my selection.

Hello, Blake Makers and Happy Thanksgiving! We’ve got lots of food in the oven. Desserts are done. We’re having mini chocolate chip pecan pies (below), and pumpkin banana mousse tart (you’ll see that a little bit later). The turkey’s cooking. The dressing’s done. The plethora of casseroles are done.

Fill your bellies today. Gobble. Gobble.

Can you believe this cake is peanut/dairy/egg/nut free? I always thought (what I’m calling) “allergy aware” food would taste a lot like sugar-free food, horrible. Well, maybe not horrible, but no where near as gooey-yummy as the real stuff. This stuff made me a believer. You should try this stuff.

Curious? Wondering who makes it? Want some? Go to BlakeBakes.com (today only) for a free sample.

Hello, Blake Makers. Before we jump into the fudgy bliss pictured below, allow me to talk about the photo itself. This post marks the debut of the first picture taken in my nifty, DIY light box. Thanks to my buddy Michael, I was able to build my box in about 30 minutes (and for less than $50).

I’ve still got some tweaking to do, both with my lights and with my camera’s settings, but so far I’m pretty pleased. Now, I can take food pics at midnight if I want. Yay! Let’s talk about this fudge.

I knew it was going to be good when licked the pot I cooked it in clean. It was more than a little dangerous as the pot was hot. Seriously, the remaining fudge was just this side of molten. I burned my lips a little, but was numb in a happy coma so I didn’t feel a thing. The pot looked like it had been scrubbed in hot, soapy water when I was done with it. Yum.

I’ve tried to make fudge before, and ended up with a watery, chocolate soup. Now that I think about it, I haven’t attempted fudge since college (I wonder if Patrick remembers that debacle?). My mom makes amazing fudge, and knowing that I could never top hers, I rarely try. I’m not sure what makes her’s so good. Maybe because she’s a great cook, or because she calls it “Fantasy Fudge.”

No matter. This stuff is good enough to have me sneaking cubes of it at least six times a day. It can’t stay in our house for another day, so the people in my office will be really happy tomorrow!

The Recipe

Melt 1 stick of butter in a medium sauce pan. Add 5 oz. evaporated milk and 3 cups of sugar. Stir constantly and bring to a rolling boil. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, and add 7 oz. marshmallow fluff, 12 oz. bag of semisweet chocolate morsels, and 1 tblsp. of vanilla. This recipe also called for 1/2 oz. of praline liquor and 1 cup of chopped pecans. We couldn’t find any praline liquor, but decided to add the pecans.

After you’ve mixed everything together, pour it into a 9 x 9 pan lined with foil. It will (should) be thick. Good luck! I hope you don’t end up with chocolate soup!

This recipe is from The Encyclopedia Cajun & Creole Cuisine by John Folse.

Hello, Blake Makers. Gustav has come and gone, and we survived. Well, we lost the fence in our backyard, but we’re not complaining. We were going home to Alexandria, Louisiana for the long weekend, but our little holiday quickly turned into a week-long evacuation. 

At first, it looked like Gustav was going to slam right into New Orleans, but right at the end, it jogged a little West, and hit Baton Rouge (and eventually Alexandria). People started going a little crazy in Central Louisiana, but as they were preparing (panicking), I ate pie.

Lea’s Lunchroom is in Lecompte, Louisiana which is about 20 minutes outside of Alexandria.

They are known for their pies, and I’ve always wanted to eat there (like literally all my life). I needed to get away, and get my mind off the storm.

Pie’s good at that. 

It was lunchtime, and I was hungry, so I started with a plate of red beans and rice.

They were alright, but I think mine are better (two words, Blue Runner). To be honest, I just got the beans to justify eating a ton of pie. I guess I was right to feel a little embarassed, because the waitress looked at me funny when I ordered three slices.

From where I was sitting, I could see the glass case filled with pies – there had to have been at least 50 in the case.

Most of them were topped with gobs of tanned mounds of meringue. I browsed the list at my table, and chose banana cream (pictured above), coconut cream, and pecan.

Let’s take the banana and coconut at the same time since they were essentially the same pie.

Both had too much meringue, and their custards didn’t taste homemade. They didn’t have much flavor, or at least the kind of flavor I like. The banana contained large, awkward slices of the fruit, and the coconut was sprinkled with toasted flakes.

The pecan pie, however, was a horse of a different color. Its flavors were dark and deep and sticky – just like I like it.

The pecans weren’t whole, but chunky (I hate it when they’re minced). I’d go back to Lea’s just for another slice of this pecan bliss.

I actually bought a whole pecan pie to bring home, and ride out the storm with.

I bought the pie on Saturday. By Monday, it was history.

I don’t like to ruminate on these storms. They come. They go. We move on. But I just had to share a little glimpse of what we woke up to the day after Gustav came ashore.

At first glance, you may think you’re looking at just another picture of watermelon slices, but look closely and you’ll see those aren’t watermelons seeds. In fact, that’s not watermelon at all (at least not the way Mother Nature intended it). I’m sorry, but if Ma Nature doesn’t want me fooling with her bounty, then she should make sure it’s sweet. There’s nothing worse than waiting all day for a melon to chill, only to find concealed inside, pithy, grainy meat with no flavor.

I love watermelon, and all its juicy, ruby-red succulence. I have vivid memories of sizzling, hot summer fish fries in the country with my family where at the end of the fried feast, they’d bring out the watermelons. They were huge and ice cold (indeed, they were so cold they’d burn your hands if you held them too long). We always sliced ours first in half, then into quarters lengthwise. When you’d get your portion, it’d take up your whole lap.

I would always eat mine like my dad. With a fork and knife, he’d start at the top, and make one horizontal slice across the entire length of his portion. Then, in quick, vertical chops, he’d create ten or so perfectly geometric, three-dimensional triangles. Next, he’d sprinkle on a little salt, and delicately eat each segment.

Those melons from my childhood always seemed to be incredibly sweet, but since I’ve grown up, they’ve been hit or miss. I do my share of thumping and shaking and smelling, but I haven’t figured it out. How do you pick a sweet watermelon? Maybe you can’t. Maybe that’s just one more thing we can blame on global warming.

Last week, I decided enough was enough. I installed a few of those twisted energy-efficient light bulbs, and considered buying a Prius. I was going to make a difference, so when life gave me flavorless watermelon, I made watermelon sorbet.

I’m not sure if it was in retaliation over the melon, or the global warming thing, but I jerked open my knife drawer and yanked out my ice cream scoop. Five minutes later, the meat from the ‘lemon’ was piled into my blender. After a quick blitz, it was through a strainer and into a large metal bowl.

I measured out 5 cups of the melon water. In a small saucepan, I melted 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of the watermelon juice over low heat. Next, I zested and juiced 1 small lime. I mixed everything together with a good pinch of salt, and threw it in the fridge for the afternoon (I tossed the melon halves into the freezer).

When the watermelon slurry was nice and cold, I poured it into my ice cream maker. About half-an-hour later, we had slush. I poured it into the frozen rinds, and placed them back in the freezer. The next morning, I put them in the fridge to soften slightly.

After a few hours, they were still frozen, but soft enough to slice. I dotted on a few mini-chocolate chips, and ta-dah! I had created sweet watermelon slices, complete with seeds and all.

It was so good – perfectly refreshing, very melony and quite clever (if I do say so myself). Of course, I can’t take all the credit. My Gourmet Cookbook (Watermelon Sorbet with Chocolate Seeds) got me a good 80% of the way, but I didn’t follow the recipe exactly.

Take that Mother Nature! Take that flavorless watermelon dealers! Take that global warming! From now on, when you buy a watermelon that tastes more like water than melon, use this little trick. I’m always looking out for my Blake Makers. Never fear.

Carmella Lanni-Giardina, is the female half of The Food Duo, a blog started in March 2008 with her husband, Carlo. While growing up in New York City, her South Carolinian mother was the baker of her family with her specialties involving traditional Low Country and Southern desserts with fruit and/or nuts. Now, that her mom has retired from work and baking, Carmella has stepped up to become the baker for her now larger family, often experimenting and making treats for everyone to enjoy – many being sugar-free variations.

I have to admit that when I first saw Paula Deen on TV a few years ago, she annoyed the heck out of me. She was hosting a Food Network BBQ challenge, and Carlo and I couldn’t believe how country she was with what I had deemed a maniacal laugh. I couldn’t even watch the whole show.

Then, one day a few months later, I decided to give her another chance by watching her cooking show. She was awesome, even reminding me of my aunt, Gertrude, with her sassy humour. Watching her put dishes together was like watching my grandma, aunts and mom (all of who are from the Charleston, SC area, while Paula’s from Savannah, GA) cook in the kitchen. Maybe it was the Southern gentle approach and charmful gentileness. I don’t know, but I quickly became a fan.

With it being the Memorial Day weekend and our plans going bust, my mom suggested we have a bit of an indoor barbecue the next couple days. I wanted to make a few desserts, and some a cobbler came to mind. I was going to go for a blackberry one, but peach sounded more appropriate. I actually hadn’t had peach cobbler since my mom made one a few years back.

So back to Paula. I found her recipe on the Food Network site, and just had to try it. I was sure it would be good, but this was another recipe where I got to test it against mom’s (She’s one helluva baker).

As usual, variations were done so we all could enjoy it. I used 2 cups of fresh white peaches, and 2 cups of fresh yellow peaches. I replaced the sugar with Splenda Baking Blend.

I also made self-rising flour (see recipe after cobbler), since I only had unbleached all-purpose flour. I also incorporated cinnamon into the peach mixture, and sprinkles some on top before placing the cobbler in the oven.

While it was baking, I must say our home smelled DEEEEEEEEEEEEE-VINE. Yes, it’s THAT good that I had to go the Deee-Lite route with the description. Carlo and I couldn’t wait to cut, well spoon, into it. When we did, it tasted even better than its smelled. After our few bites, Carlo called my mom who was over in about 5 minutes to try not one, but TWO pieces. Then, someone mentioned ice cream, and we ran out to get some vanilla “no sugar added” ice cream.

After Carlo grilled up some burgers and hot dogs, Carlo managed to squeeze in some more cobbler with ice cream. He said they were delicious together. Mom and I were stuffed. So we passed on dessert. However, I did have a bite for breakfast!

Here’s the recipe below. You can also check it out by clicking here.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Ground cinnamon, optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
4. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Here is the recipe I used to make self-rising flour that I found on About.com: All-purpose flour + Salt + Baking powder.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Using a dry measure, measure the desired amount of flour into a separate container.
2. For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

3. Mix to combine.

TIPS:

1. You can use self-rising flour in yeast bread recipes, but you’ll need to omit the salt.
2. If you use self-rising flour as a substitute for all-purpose flour in a quick bread, omit salt and baking powder.

Carrie began baking cookies on her own at the tender age of ten. Her passion for baking has only grown from there. She is a newly wed quickly approaching her first anniversary and has recently started her own photography business. Although Carrie loves baking both savory and sweet, sweet treats are definitely her specialty.

Visit Carrie’s blog.

For my first submission as a Blake Baker, I decided to use a recipe all my own. Maybe show off my cookie baking skills a bit? This cookie is just divine, even better than I thought it would be. Watch out though! They are rich!

Ingredients:

• 1C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 C granulated sugar (I use organic/F-T)*
• 1/2 C light brown sugar
• 1 Tbs pure vanilla extract (I use organic/F-T)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 scant tsp salt (I use fine sea salt)
• 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur organic)
• 1 C white chocolate chips
• 1 C unsweetened coconut flakes (I use organic)

1/2 C dried cranberries, a.k.a. craisins (I use organic)

Getting Ready: Preheat oven to 350°F, and line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

The Recipe:

1. Using a stand or a hand mixer, mix the butter and eggs together. The mixture will be chunky. That’s fine. Add both the sugars and mix until ingredients are combined.
2. Add the baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Mix at a medium speed.
3. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time mixing just until combined after each 1/2 cup. (This means you will add flour then mix 5 times.) This helps ensure that the flour is mixed in and also prevents it from flying all over the place as you mix, since you are only adding a bit at a time. The dough will be very thick at this point.
4. Mix in coconut flakes. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips (by hand or on very low speed).

Drop by spoonful onto lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350° F for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies begin show a light golden brown color. Cool on a rack then transfer to an air tight container to store. Enjoy by the handful with your beverage of choice!

Tip: Cookies will stay moist longer if stored with a piece of bread.

*On Using Organic/Fair-Trade Sugar: The sugar I buy has rather large granules and is brownish in color. If I am going to bake with it, I run it through my blender first. This creates a smaller granule and a fluffier cookie. (After running it through the blender, it will turn white and resemble the granulated sugar many of us are used to.)