dea like pea ([info]banana_bandana) wrote in [info]food_porn,
@ 2008-01-06 17:39:00
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My sister's birthday is coming up, so I bought her some delicious pre-porn goodies. I was thinking about getting her some porcini powder too (or any suggestions for a delicious in vogue spice would be nice).

Black truffle oil, aged balsamic, pink sea salt, and dried tart cherries



Since moving to Michigan, I've become enamored with these tart cherries. I have an American Spoon tart cherry "spoonfruit" that makes a delicious crepe filling.

Also, ever have a serious let down? Where something looks so utterly delicious and you know that the place uses quality ingredients... but looks can be deceiving? I bought a cannoli from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, MI today to become totally utterly disappointed. They were filled on the spot! HOW COULD THEY GO WRONG?!



Seriously. Look at that thing. It looks delicious. It tasted like mushy watery cheese with over powering vanilla... and no sugar. NO SWEETNESS! The shell was more of the same. What the hell was this thing? A savory cannoli? I have never had such a huge pastry let down!

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[info]roadwarrior220
2008-01-06 10:51 pm UTC (link)
I tend to avoid the desserts at Zingerman's. Their meats, condiments, and cheeses are all awesome, but when a place even as good as Zingerman's defies its DNA by trying be more than one thing (and they're basically a deli), something ends up suffering.

I love their breads, meat, and cheeses, and the cherries around here are awesome.

I'm from Jackson. Do you live in Ann Arbor?

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[info]banana_bandana
2008-01-06 11:34 pm UTC (link)
I know.. but I really wanted something sweet! It was a total fail. I should've just gotten a babka or something.

I am as far east as you are west to Ann Arbor. I live in Detroit.

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[info]roadwarrior220
2008-01-06 11:40 pm UTC (link)
If you really want something sweet in Ann Arbor, the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is on Main Street downtown, right across from Palio. There's also some really good dessert places on University, near the art museum, and on State Street, near the State Theatre (which is now Urban Outfitters, but they left the marquis up).

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[info]geek_mentality
2008-01-07 12:43 am UTC (link)
The State Theater is still open- UO just occupies what I guess used to be the lobby. The entrance is to the right of UO, a very unassuming glass door and hallway.

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[info]roadwarrior220
2008-01-07 02:17 am UTC (link)
That tells me that I need to spend more time downtown.

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[info]museclio
2008-01-07 01:19 am UTC (link)
If they are ever selling the chocolate cherry bread, buy it. I miss that stuff so badly.

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[info]roadwarrior220
2008-01-07 02:18 am UTC (link)
That's such good stuff. I'm normally not a bread person, but there are some breads that change my mind. That's one of them.

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[info]wolfsilveroak
2008-01-07 05:13 am UTC (link)
I'm from Battle Creek. Heh. We go back to see my family every summer.

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[info]roadwarrior220
2008-01-07 05:58 am UTC (link)
Wow. It seems like everybody who's left Michigan has wound up on the east coast. I'll be going there myself (again--lived in Baltimore for a year and then moved back, though I have no idea why) sometime soon.

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[info]wolfsilveroak
2008-01-07 06:04 am UTC (link)
I was stationed at Camp Lejeune(Marines) so it was rather inevitable.}:P

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[info]obfuscate
2008-01-06 10:54 pm UTC (link)
Man, i just can't get behind the stuffed cannoli. They sound super great in theory but I haven't ever liked one.

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[info]ashosaurus
2008-01-06 11:15 pm UTC (link)
Ditto, I have NEVER liked one.

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[info]ninjalie
2008-01-07 10:46 am UTC (link)
me too!

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[info]zaydia
2008-01-06 11:05 pm UTC (link)
Congrats, you figured out that zingerman's is overrated. I worked there in HS... its absurd how much they upcharge.

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[info]banana_bandana
2008-01-06 11:32 pm UTC (link)
Indeed. But the company paid for the lunch, so I didn't cringe as much as I normally do.

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[info]lisasimpsonfan
2008-01-06 11:22 pm UTC (link)
For cannoli you have to go to the old neighborhoods with the little old men bent over from years of working in the factories. The old ladies with their cotton candy blue hair swirled on their heads know how to make a real cannoli. They will show you the joys of really good desserts and after dinner company. But watch out since they always have a grandson/nephew/cousin that they want you to meet.

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[info]banana_bandana
2008-01-06 11:40 pm UTC (link)
Sigh. I know. I haven't had a good cannoli since I left Chicago. I'm not sure why I bother. I bought the cannoli molds for the shells a long time ago, I just never got around to trying them out.

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[info]phopaux
2008-01-06 11:33 pm UTC (link)
I didn't know you could buy porcini powder. Do you know how much it costs? I use it all the time on pork tenderloins and just grind it myself.. I'd recommend doing that, and throwing it in a fancy tin.

Anyway, I'd love to be your sister for realz.

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[info]banana_bandana
2008-01-06 11:38 pm UTC (link)
Hahaha, I'd love to LIVE with my sister and eat all the tasty things she's been making recently. Alas, I have no time to do it myself, so I might as well support it!

It seems reasonable, about $10 for a quarter pound... http://prg.stores.yahoo.net/pomupo.html

How do you grind it? Spice/coffee grinder?

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[info]phopaux
2008-01-06 11:57 pm UTC (link)
Exactly, coffee grinder. Doesn't sound like there would be too big a price diff. tho since dried porcinis are ridiculously expensive as it is.

Anyway, you rock.. I know my brother appreciates my cooking for him, but he never got me a gift like that. He did buy me a sharpening steel for Xmas, but I think it was just so I'd be more efficient at making his meals ;)

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[info]wholuvsya
2008-01-06 11:51 pm UTC (link)
Could you call MY sister and tell her what you are getting YOUR sister for her birthday, because I sure would LOVE the gifts you got yours ;) I'm a Michigan girl and LOVE Michigan produce, especially the cherries and peaches *drool*

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[info]wicked_sassy
2008-01-07 12:37 am UTC (link)
ooh, i got that exact balsamic vinegar from my boss for the holidays. i work less than a mile from zingerman's. i like a lot of their stuff, but am surprised at how often they fail, too. :(

how much did you pay for the dried cherries? there's a little bulk food store in ann arbor called by the pound, on main street, and they have dried cherries for $7 a pound. (and dried blueberries for $14 a pound, but i haven't splurged on those yet...)

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[info]littlesable46
2008-01-07 12:46 am UTC (link)
That is a great balsamic vinegar. It's the only kind I use. I love Zingerman's, but I'm up in the northern part of Michigan, so I don't get to go often (so perhaps I've just gotten lucky when I have gone).

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shbarbra
2008-01-07 01:52 am UTC (link)
i hate it when that happens! there's a french bakery in my neighborhood that all the new york hipsters rave about, but i swear they're deluded because the eclairs taste like vanilla-flavored sponges and the cookies taste like freezer burn. :(
everything else looks magnificent though.

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[info]subarashiine
2008-01-07 01:55 am UTC (link)
YESSS which bakery are you talking about? I'm in NYC too.

Another overrated place- The Buttercup Bakeshop. The DRIEST cupcakes I've ever tasted, ugh...

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[info]dear__john
2008-01-07 02:06 am UTC (link)
For fucking real.

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[info]mimimimi_word
2008-01-07 02:08 am UTC (link)
There's a cupcake place like that in Seattle, called Cupcake Royale. Their cupcakes are like eating thick dust. And, people rave and go on and on about them. I just don't get it

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[info]vox8
2008-01-07 03:09 am UTC (link)
Do they have lots of frosting on top? Because for many people all they care about is frosting. The cake part can be Styrofoam but if you put a giant pile of buttercream, cream cheese or chocolate on top and people go ga ga.

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[info]mimimimi_word
2008-01-07 05:36 am UTC (link)
it's not piled on, but there is plenty of it. I'm not impressed by it either, it's grainy

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[info]ninjalie
2008-01-07 10:51 am UTC (link)
Yeah they have way too much frosting.

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[info]ninjalie
2008-01-07 10:51 am UTC (link)
Ive been to that place and they have some good cupe cake concepts and I'm not too disappointed by the cake, but they put way too much of their sickeningly sweet frosting on top. Yuck!

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[info]wolfsilveroak
2008-01-07 05:15 am UTC (link)
Ok now I'm homesick for dessert from Louie's in Marshall.

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[info]chaeri
2008-01-07 06:38 am UTC (link)
yea...cannolis aren't really that sweet. they are more spicy/cinnamony than sweet. anything else is wrong and revolting.

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[info]tranchante
2008-01-07 08:29 am UTC (link)
Ah black truffle oil... who knew olive oil and synthesized pig sex hormones could be so yummy? ;)

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[info]the_ladylark
2008-01-07 09:06 am UTC (link)
Ok, so something i've been wondering for a while...

Are 'tart cherries' cherries which are tart, or cherries which are meant to be used in baking tarts?

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[info]kepharel
2008-01-07 05:27 pm UTC (link)
Cherries which are tart. Michigan is the tart cherry capital of the world... they grow ridiculous amounts of cherries (exporting more than Washington state, last I heard) and have a Cherry Festival and stuff. The cherries are delicious. :) Having grown up on Michigan cherries, I have a hard time eating the really sweet ones from other places. (Of course, Michigan does grow many other varieties, but the tart ones are the ones I ate/used the most.)

To the OP: Oh, you have made me miss Michigan terribly! I'm from the Ann Arbor area, but my husband and I recently had to move to Oakland, CA. Bummer that the Zingerman's cannoli wasn't good... I usually <3 their stuff. One spice Zingerman's was pushing a while back was fennel pollen... might be worth a shot, if you're looking for something unique. The porcini powder would probably be more useful, though. :)

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