Archive for September 2010

Sweet Cece’s Frozen Yogurt and Treats

Adorable

In my book, Sweet Tree Yogurt has won for best fro-yo in the area, but Sweet Cece’s definitely wins for best dressed.

The other night I met up with some girlfriends for a yogurt fix, and we couldn’t have picked a better spot for our gab fest than Sweet Cece’s. The decor is a mix of Anthropologie style and candy shop, with a lot of pink thrown in for good measure.

One difference in this shop (besides the wildly adorable decor), is if you want to sample any yogurt flavor an employee has to get it for you. No going crazy at the machines trying out every flavor with your own small paper cup allowed. Although I understand the protocol and underlying reasons, that’s a bummer for a flavor junkie like me.

Maybe to compensate for the free sample restrictions, they have the largest selection of toppings out of the four area frozen yogurt places. It’s the first place I’ve seen with small cheesecake bites. Yum.

I was chose cake batter yogurt topped with some candy bar pieces, snow caps, and a few strawberries (makes it healthy, ha!). It was decent, and the cute couch we were sprawled on made it that much more enjoyable.

Sweet Cece’s Frozen Yogurt and Treats
256 Dogwood Blvd.
Flowood, MS 39208
Phone 601-919-0999
http://sweetceces.com

Sweet Tree Yogurt

My addiction

True to my latest addiction, I’ve hit three out of the four frozen yogurt establishments previous mentioned within the last two weeks.

Heading north on I-55 to Lake Harbour, I ventured into a brand new part of town (new to me) and met some friends at Sweet Tree Yogurt on Saturday.  Sweet Tree occupies a small space in a strip mall, with a bench lining one wall and cute tables topped with vases of fresh flowers. We visited in the middle of the afternoon and it was packed!

Thank goodness for sample cups, because we were overwhelmed with the yogurt choices. At any of these self-serve yogurt shops, this is how it works:

1. Start by tasting the yogurt before making your final decision, ask for a sample cup at the register or a staff person will get the sample for you.
2. Grab a cup near the yogurt machines and fill to your hearts desire. Be careful because it can come out fast and the cup is much bigger than you think it is.
3. Go to town on the toppings bar and throw on whatever you like, or be a purist and skip the toppings altogether.
4. The cup is weighed at the registered and you pay by the ounce.

Around here the average price is $0.45 per ounce, and my cups have been around $3-$3.50. You can easily rack up a high yogurt bill if you fill the cup to the brim or put on a lot of toppings.

Pictured above is a mixed palate of flavors from Sweet Tree Yogurt: German chocolate, white chocolate mousse, cheesecake, blueberry trifle, chocolate, and peanut butter. There’s a few strawberries and Reese Peanut Butter cup pieces sprinkled on for good measure.

I love the flavors of fro-yo more than the vast selection of toppings (clearly). And after visiting Berry Berry Good, Sweet Tree, and Sweet Cece’s, I believe Sweet Tree has the best tasting yogurt flavors and the highest number to choose from. Sadly it’s also the farthest away from our apartment, but is certainly worth the trip.

Sweet Tree Yogurt
772 Lake Harbour Suite 5
Ridgeland, MS 39157
Phone 601-707-5491

http://www.sweettreeyogurt.com

Baby Cakes

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

The other day a couple of co-workers and I hosted a baby shower for a friend from work.

It was one of the most fun baby showers I’ve been to, in my humble unbiased opinion. We had mimosas, good food, no baby games, and were entertained by the expecting couple opening up their gifts.

The best part (besides dessert), were the funny looks the father-to-be was making while unwrapping the new and unknown baby products. I imagine he was thinking, “What the hell’s a Boppy, and why do we need this?”. He’ll find out, all in due time.

It was a pleasure to be able to celebrate my super cute pregnant friend with co-workers on a Sunday afternoon. The cheesecakes didn’t hurt either.

Mini Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
12 Oreo cookies (or cookie of your choice, vanilla wafer, gingersnap, etc.)
Decorate with: crushed up cookies for the tops, fruit pie filling, or leave plain

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and insert foil cupcake liners into a muffin tin. Place a cookie in the bottom of each liner.

To make the cheesecake filling, whip together the sugar and soft cream cheese. Add in the vanilla and eggs, mix thoroughly. Pour the filling on top of the cookie, until it reaches near the top of the pan. Sprinkle with desired topping or leave plain.

Bake for 15 minutes or until just set and not quite jiggly. These are best after being refrigerated overnight.

For a print-friendly version, click the Print & PDF button below. For more recipes check out my Recipe page.

Good Eats in Philadelphia

Smokey chicken enchiladas

As previously mentioned in this post, the past couple months has been full of great meals. So much food, so little time to blog.

Once a year, I meet up with two of my best friends from college for our Annual Soul Sister Reunion. In August we descended upon Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, not Mississippi) and literally ate our way from Atlantic City to the heart of Philly.

There are countless reasons I love those girls, but to top it off they are also wonderful dining companions. We laughed, talked, lingered and most importantly, chose different dishes to share among ourselves so we could taste as much as possible. It was one of the best reunions ever.

I highly recommend going to any of the restaurants below. If you actually happen to be in, or go to Philly, please , please be sure to try to eat at Radicchio Cafe and Honey’s Sit-N-Eat. You won’t be disappointed. Go, eat, and thank me later.

Radicchio Cafe is nestled on a corner near Old City, serving up luscious Italian food. It’s an intimate spot filled with cozy candle lit tables, and you can bring your own bottle of wine. We had a lovely salad with Gorgonzola, pears, and spiced walnuts, a seafood mixed grill platter, and decadent lobster ravioli. Between courses we dove into a bowl of crusty bread dipped in olive oil, and finished with cappuccinos, a cannoli, and hazelnut ice cream. Sadly, the light was dim and none of my photos turned out well.

Omelet with a potato latke

Brunch maybe my favorite meal of the day, and Honey’s Sit-N-Eat serves up one of the best I’ve ever had. They use farm fresh eggs, organic ingredients whenever possible, homemade jam, real butter, and made from scratch baked goods. I could eat there daily, if I lived in Philly that might happen. I had a fluffy omelet full of turkey sausage, spinach, mozzarella, and tomatoes with a potato latke and biscuit on the side. My stomach was at capacity by this period in the weekend, or else I would have splurged for a slice of Jewish apple cake.

I may have come back to Jackson a couple pounds heavier, but it was worth every bite.

• Dos Segundos Cantina (Mexican)
  www.cantinadossegundos.com
• Hannah G’s (brunch)
  www.hannahgs.com
• Radicchio Cafe (Italian)
  www.radicchio-cafe.com 

  

• Di Bruno Bros (gourmet grocery store)
  www.dibruno.com
• Rustica (pizza)
  www.rusticaphilly.com
• Honey’s Sit-N-Eat (brunch)
  www.honeys-restaurant.com

  
  

• Cafe Ole (Middle Eastern coffee shop)

Running Bug

I’ve been bit by the running bug.

Or maybe I’m just a tad delusional from lack of sleep. Well, lack of sleep can’t be the reason since I’m still getting an average of eight hours of sleep at night.

Either way, it’s the third week week I’ve gotten up at 6:30 a.m. every day to go run or walk. The weirdest part is the newly acquired surplus of energy, despite getting up an hour earlier. I thought I would crash and burn, (although that might happen in the near future), but surprisingly my body hasn’t had to fight off sleepiness during the day anymore.

I may be prematurely enthusiastic about becoming an early riser (early for me), but I’m going to do my best to stick with it. Not only do I get my blood pumping, the extra time allows me the added benefits of fixing a better breakfast, time to pack lunch, and a few moments talking to Ben in coherent sentences.

The only slight disadvantage is taking double showers in one day; not good for the hair or probably skin for that matter.

Right now I’m toying with the idea of committing to a half marathon, which would be a new challenge since the farthest race distance I’ve done thus far is a 10k (6.2 miles). The Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras marathon and half marathon makes running look like a party!