Tickled Pinkberry

Years ago I kept hearing all this hype about Pinkberry - a frozen yogurt shop whose product inspired something akin to a cult following on the west coast. It has since expanded into a chain making its way all the way over into Asia. While I have visited their web site, got their freaky song stuck in my head, and mapped out locations to visit from LA to NYC (in case I ever had time), I had not yet had the pleasure of tasting the stuff. That changed today.

My assistant manager and I had spent the morning visiting grocery stores in Marina del Rey, CA taking note of prices and product assortments (only on the west coast could you seriously sell pancake mix for $10), and we needed a break. Luckily, there was a little Pinkberry shop nearby.

Calling the place a shop is generous - it was more like an a broom closet where an anime bomb went off with crazy colors and bright happy patterns assailing you from the narrow walls. After tasting a sample, we both settled on the original Pinkberry flavor (which is neither pink nor does it taste much like berries). The also had pomegranate and green tea flavors, but we'll save those for another time.

I had mine topped with white chocolate shavings and Cap'n Crunch cereal. The taste was more tangy and yogurty than standard frozen yogurt. It was incredibly thick, just rich enough to be satifying without making you feel like a fat horse after eating a cup of it. It also melted very little in the 10 minutes between when we picked them up, transported them to our noon meeting and started devouring them, which concerns me just a bit - but it is supposedly all natural . . . .

I can't say it changed my life or turned me into a zealot, but if all frozen yogurt tasted this good, I would certainly eat it more often.

Memphis Gravy Biscuit Overkill

A note to the food operaters at the Memphis Airport: except for a few
pockets of France and rural Quebec, putting sausage gravy over a
biscuit already stuffed with sausage is generally considered to be
excessive.

Giving out the Brownies before they expire - Palmer House Brownies

In Bon Apetit, I found this recipe for brownies based on the one used at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago:

http://www.recipezaar.com/palmer-house-brownies-364846

I made them on Sunday and J the BF and I have been nibbling on them all week. After doing some research, I found that brownies last about 5 days if you keep them in the fridge. With the 5 days up and my needing to make room for my neighbor to use my fridge for overflow in anticipation of her Kentucky Derby Party, I decided to bring them in to work. I doubt my co-workers mind eating last weekend's brownies.

Why should writing about food be harder than eating it (plus a bonus of oven roasted broccoli)

I am expecting myself to change that, at least for my own sake, in short order. Meanwhile, try this treatment for Broccoli which is so much better than steaming that crap - if you eat as much broccoli as I do, you'll love this:

1) Take 2 broccoli crowns - cut them into even mini-spears with florets
2) Preheat an oven to 400 Degrees F
3) Place broccoli in 9X11 baking pan - drizzle with extra-vigin olive oil
4) Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt, a dash of crushed red pepper and 2 crushed cloves of garlic - toss with a set of tongs to coat
5) Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until slightly tender, tossing occasionally

Voila! Never eat mushy boring broccoli again!

Tasting some low-country in the northland - BBQ Shrimp and Grits

I don't know if I had ever actually eaten BBQ shrimp and grits, but the idea always sounded great. I've spent tons of time in the low-country of South Carolina and coastal Georgia, but if I ever got my hands on some fresh shrimp, they were usually steamed and served from a steel pail with some lemon, cocktail sauce and not a thing more.

I searched high and low for some decent old-fashion grits (good luck finding those in Minneapolis) and finally found something that could work hiding out in the baking section of the local store. I also made the BBQ sauce from scratch - trust me, do this the day before unless you have some extra time on your hands.

As for the result - hoo-weee! This will be making a return appearance on my table. Who knew F&W could do 'down-home'?

Barbecued Shrimp Recipe

Cheese Grits Recipe

Both courtesy of Food and Wine.