Deepika Eats Carbondale: Peanut Butter Cups!

In my hometown of Carbondale, IL, there is this sorta too nice for Carbondale restaurant called Global Gourmet. Dimly lit with a international swanky vibe, this has become our go-to dessert and drinks place every time there is a birthday or someone comes to visit. Now that I have become an out of towner, I dream of this place as it has something I have yet to find anywhere else. The adult version of a peanut cup. Seriously.

That being said, don't judge me as I admit I came here three times in the 9 days that I was home this Christmas. Aleza and I ran there for a drink on Christmas Eve. Seriously, the best bellinis ever. Then us four girls (Aleza and I as well as the current Carbondalites Colleen and Danie) went for dessert one night. And on my last night in town, I went there for my goodbye to Danie and you know, dessert round dos.

Global Gourmet: Round 1

Met there the night after Christmas for some post Christmas chat, drinks and of course, peanut butter cups. .Seriously, I can not STRESS how amazing these are.

Basically, they are peanut butter mousse with a shell of chocolate ganache and a sweet strawberry for garnish. Yum.

Colleen and Aleza decided to come a little out of the comfort zone and order a peanut butter cup AND a piece of rasperry Chocolate cake. Which I have to say, was delicious. A nice blend of tart and sweet

After eating dessert, Colleen decided to order an appetizer of Spinanch and Artichoke dip. Delicious as always. Global serves theirs with chips and I tend to prefer toasted bread. However, after eating an entire peanut butter cup (yep, not sharing), it was a nice lighter alternate.

Oh my adorable Lez :)

I love these two so much...wish we all lived in the same town again!

Global Gourmet: Round Two

The day before I left, I had to get in some quality time with my Danie. On the phone, driving around town, trying to pick a spot, we just decided, alright, fine, Global again. I mean, there is really no such thing as too much dessert. Atleast not in my mind!

Of course, again we got a peanut butter ball. But we decided to share one and get a slice of cheesecake as well. I LOVE cheesecake. Seriously. Danielle really loves it too and if we aren't at Global, it is usually what we both order.

Someone could not wait to eat while photos were being taken...

That someone is Danielle...

Hi again you delicious thing! Get into my belly!

If you are ever in Carbondale, please try Global Gourmet. It's located in the town square, which is one of the prettiest parts of the Dale. The inside is dark and romantic. In the back, is a great patio area lit with twinkling lights. It's a little magical.

Happy Eating!
Deepika

Sweetest Birthday Gift

For those of you who don't know, when I was 22, I moved to New York and lived there for 2 1/2 years. A crazy, exhausting but absolutely enthralling time in my life. I so miss it there sometimes, especially around the holidays. My heart hurts for the cool crispy winter air of the city, the sight of yellow cabs everywhere, of endless noise and massive waves of people. I could seriously go on and on and on...
And of course, this should go without saying, but I miss the food. I am sort of  a sucker for the unknown so I loved finding those little hole in the wall places that celebrities would not be spotted at. However, there are some places that just scream "New York!" and you have to try them while you live there.

One of those places is Magonlia Bakery. Originally downtown on Bleeker Street, a second location was opened uptown due to the popularity.  Even though it opened up in 1996, lines still are around the block just to get a cupcake. Seriously. A legend in its own right, Magnolia Bakery is a must have treat for a visitor and can become quite a habit for those who call themselves New Yorkers. It's a place I refuse to dream about anymore because it's so delicious and cupcakes (tied with cheesecake) are my favorite dessert and it's hard to find a cupcake better than one from Magnolia Bakery.

 Fast forward to  Christmas a few weeks ago. One of my best friend's, Colleen, who totally gets my unwavering love for New York and cupcakes, surprised me with this for my birthday:

True story. I was and still am so excited. Not only is it an awesome cookbook but it's a piece of New York at a time where I am craving it so.

Please expect tons of posts from this book! Thanks Col! What a sweet present!

P.S. For those of you who don't know my Colleen, check out her blog here! It's full of fashion and paper and babies...including my favorite little girl Eloise! :) Who is about to be one years old on Saturday! Happy Birthday Eloise Anne!

 Me and Eloise...love her!

Foodie Friday: Baked Mac and Cheese

The ultimate comfort food. Can I get a heck yeah!?

Andrea and I are both big fans of cheese. It is rare that we run out of cheese in our house. (When we do ... I panic!) Our first foodie Friday in our house, we made homemade mac and cheese. At the time, I had been wanting to make homemade macaroni and cheese for ages. And I mean ages. I love my Kraft mac and cheese but there is something to be said about that baked homemade taste. And I have a tendency to want to order mac and cheese at fancy restaurants (or any restaurant or eatery really) if I see it on the menu. I mean it's delicious so why not right?

Last Thursday, when I was contemplating dinner and I mentioned Mac and Cheese, Andie squealed and screamed, "Foodie Friday!" And so... Baked and Mac lives again!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese (Adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

Ingredients:
8 oz (rough estimate) of macaroni noodles
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of flour
1 1/2 cups of skim milk
1 3/4 cups of heavy whipping cream
a dash of nutmeg
a dash of paprika
1 small shallot minced
about a teaspoon of spicy mustard
CHEESE:
Fontina
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Garlic cheese by Beemmaster (I am seriously OBSESSED)

Topping: (Optional)
2 tbsp of butter
breadcrumbs (amount is your decision)

Directions to yumminess:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Warm water to a boil in a pot and then add noodles. Cook til almost completely cooked but still a bit al dente. Melt butter in saucepan on low heat. Add flour and whisk for about 3 minutes or until blended. Add shallots, coating them in butter/flour mixture. Then slowly add milk and cream while stirring. Add spices and simmer.


Dice or crumble up the cheese and after sauce has simmered for 5 minutes, add to sauce! Remember to save a little for later.

After cheese has melted and it feels cheesy enough for you, add the cheese to your pan of noodles and mix til all the noodles are coated. Add the cheese crumbles you saved.

Optional step:
If add breadcrumbs, melt butter via microwave or stove top. Then add breadcrumbs and mix. After you have add the cheesy sauce and extra cheese to your noodles, top with breadcrumbs. 


Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the noodles/breadcrumbs are slightly brown.


Enjoy! We had ours with a delicious garlic kale salad Andie whipped up.


This is a wonderful stay-in Friday night meal perfect for watching a sweet romantic comedy... like "While You Were Sleeping." Which is what we did.

Happy Eating!
Deepika


P.S. Leftovers the next day are still delicious. Tip: Sprinkle some fresh cheese crumbles onto the noodles before you nuke them in the microwave. Trust me. 

My Apologies

So...I was super excited about writing this blog. I've talked about it since I've moved to Austin (ask Aleza). So I finally start it and then now I'm doing a horrible job updating it. It's not for lack of material, trust me. In fact, I have a ton of pictures on my phone from all my food related endeavors. (I sincerely apologize to anyone who ever eats with me. Those who have know to wait til I've taken a picture and bugged them about what their dish is before taking a bite.) However, my follow through has been a little horrible. I'm not exactly sure why but I haven't been making this blog the priority I have wanted to. But that changes...right now!

So dear readers, I apologize. For those of you keep coming back, my lovely friends, I promise to do better. So I hope you will keep reading and cooking and eating and enjoying.

Happy Eating!
Deepika