Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Have you ever had one of those moments when you wish you understood the American culture better?

Okay, so maybe its just me.  Either way, the boyfriend wanted a taste of St Louis.  I have never been to St Louis, so I'm not entirely sure what the flavor of St Louis entails.  He handed me a piece of paper with a recipe on it.  It consisted of minimal ingredients and even more minimal instructors on how to prepare the infamous Ooey Gooey Butter Cake.

We had to cool down this cake before tasting it.  We also had to figure out a way to keep it out of the boyfriend's dog Cheever from eating it.  For Thanksgiving 2012, the boyfriend wanted to take a "pake" to his brother's.  A "pake" consists of a pie inside a cake.  He was in the middle of cooling the pie when he left it on top of the stove top.  Big mistake, Cheever ate half the pie by the time we got him to stop!  No "pake" for Thanksgiving to say the least. It was this instance that we decided to cool anything off the stove top.  We've gone to the lengths of putting things in a cabinet to cool and away from the dogs.

Though I have to admit, some of things might be better off not on my waistline.  Who am I kidding?!  A foodie has to find balance.  The balance for me is going to the gym 3-4 times a week to keep these challenges from appearing on my waist.

The results of the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake was tasty and to see the boyfriend weak at the knees over it was more than enough to see Cheever pout a bit.

Bravery..

Every once in awhile, I feel brave and want to completely experiment with something that isn't on my designated "ingredient" week or "recipe" week because I crave for something different.  With limited funds, going to a five-star restaurant is out, but it doesn't make my taste for something extravagant diminish, if anything, it makes me want to work harder towards achieving the goal.

At the same time, the more I pay for a meal, the more I feel somewhat disappointed.  I can't explain this well so I will try my best.

When my dad turned 70, he had the dream of eating at the French Laundry, like my brother and his wife did for their honeymoon.  The French Laundry is one of the top eateries in the San Francisco Bay Area, and also pricy...Instead of sending my dad to the French Laundry, my brother sent him to Bouchon, another Thomas Keller restaurant for a slightly lower price tag.

In any event, I was more in the mood to try going the Italian route on this particular test of mine.  I was also limited to what was in my fridge.

The results weren't French Laundry or Bouchon but close enough to gourmet quality that I will try to do again at some point.

I made fresh  Egg Yolk Ravioli (Uova da Raviolo) with Bacon-Sage Sauce Recipe

I guess the Remy in me said, "anyone can do this," was a bit too ambitious for this one, but nevertheless, its one I plan to do again.