Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

makes 1 loaf

recipe adapted from sophistimom

prep time: 20 min / cook time: 1 hr 20 min

INGREDIENTS

1 c unsalted butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 c sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

2 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325˚ F.

• Grease and flour one 9x5 loaf pan. Set aside.

• In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and ream cheese.

• Add sugar and mix until smooth.

• Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well until each is incorporated.

• Add vanilla extract and lemon zest.

• While ingredients are mixing, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

• Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

* Optional: After cooling, dust with confectioners' sugar or spread lemon curd on each slice.

** ADDIECAKES' NOTES **

• If making smaller loaves, be sure to adjust the baking time accordingly.

• To freeze, wrap pound cake tightly in plastic wrap. Pound cake can be kept for up to one month.

ADDIECAKES' DIFFICULTY RATING

ADDIECAKES' TASTE RATING

Two for Tahoe

There were a lot of "twos" on my last trip to Tahoe where I spent the 4th of July - I saw two nights of fireworks (one in King's Beach, and one near Reno), caught two fish (well, technically MFM caught one of them) and tried two new restaurants that are worth mentioning.

Both were recommendations from friends. First up is Burger Me! in Truckee - a place that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives a few months ago. Not that it needed it. This is a place that would do great all on its own, even without Guy Fieri's endorsement.

Located at the edge of quaint, rustic town Truckee - Burger Me! reminded me of a big garage, with chalkboards that doubled as menus, and a personality that matched its emphatic enthusiasm (everything on the menu had an exclamation point: Burger Me! Combo Me! Beer Me!).

But despite the high volume - the food is actually really good. They feature seasonal, locally sourced ingredients which really shines through. I went healthy with a turkey burger on a whole wheat bun (but really, who was I kidding?) which was juicy, hearty and flavorful. And MFM's "Truckee Trainwreck" was all kinds of delicious with turkey chili, cheddar cheese, onion rings AND a fried egg.

Next up is all-you-can-eat sushi spot Sushi Pier 2. (I believe there is a Sushi Pier 1, but friends recommended this location specifically). Yes, one might be a little suspicious of sushi in Nevada. Plus, with so many casinos offering all you can eat buffets, is this really worth the 15 minute-from-the-strip drive?

For surprisingly fresh, tasty, made-to-order sushi in massive amounts, yes! As someone who's been to more than their fair share of Asian seafood buffets where the sushi is mass-produced and sitting out on platters, it was a treat to order exactly what you want from a checklist.

The requisite rolls and nigiri are on there, as are some interesting things like quail egg shooters and a sushi "pizza" (basically deconstructed sushi with nori as a "crust"). The all-you-can-eat special also includes non-sushi items like chicken teriyaki and udon, and appetizers like gyoza and spicy mussels. Did I also mention that unlimited hand rolls are also included in this $21 per person for dinner price?

I've blogged before about how I'm a creature of habit, especially when it comes to annual Tahoe road trips, and fitting in two new places to an already packed eating schedule is definitely a challenge. But when it comes to good quality and ingredients (Burger Me!) and impressive selection and value (Sushi Pier 2) - these are two places that are definitely worth squeezing in.

SAMIWICH'S TASTE RATING

Lemon Mascarpone Cream Puffs

makes 12 cream puffs

recipe adapted from La Fuji Mama

prep time: 30 min / cook time: 22-25 min

CREAM PUFF INGREDIENTS

1 c water

1/2 c butter

1 c all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

LEMON MASCARPONE CREAM INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 c heavy whipping cream (10 oz)

3 tbsp sugar

1 c mascarpone (8 oz)

2/3 c lemon curd (5 oz)

CREAM PUFF INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400˚ F.

• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

* I skipped this step.

• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the water to a boil.

• Add butter.

• When the butter has melted, add the flour and salt mixture all at once and stir vigorously. Cook and stir until the mixture forms a ball that doesn't separate.

• Remove from the heat and cool slightly, about 1 minute.

• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each one until the dough is smooth.

• Drop heaping tablespoons of dough about 2" apart onto a greased baking sheet or transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a round tip and pipe circles about 2" in diameter and about 1" apart onto greased baking sheets.

• Bake the puffs for about 22-25 minutes until they are golden brown and puffy.

• Remove the cream puffs from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.

LEMON MASCARPONE CREAM INSTRUCTIONS

• In an electric mixer, beat the cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Place the bowl in the refrigerator.

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the mascarpone and the lemon curd until they are well blended.

• Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and gently fold it into the lemon curd mixture until it is smooth and incorporated.

* If you accidentally overwork the mixture it will look grainy or like it is separating. To fix the filling, just stir in about 1 tbsp of cream with a rubber spatula and stir just until the mixture has smoothed out again.

• Place the finished cream in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill slightly.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

• Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" round tip.

• Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the base of each puff and fill.

** ADDIECAKES' NOTES **

• I piped out the cream puffs onto parchment paper for easy clean up.

• To keep the sizes consistent, I draw 2" circles on the back side of the parchment paper.

• If you make smaller cream puffs, adjust the baking time accordingly.

ADDIECAKES' DIFFICULTY RATING

ADDIECAKES' TASTE RATING