Afternoon Quickie

Yes, yes, I said "quickie". Go on, go ahead and giggle like the 12 year olds you all really are at heart.

Ok, now get your mind out of the gutter and focus! My title refers to the quick and easy P-Dub recipe that I'll be talking about later in this post.

But first, I wanted to tell you all about this Food Writers' Panel I attended at Yale the other day. It was hosted by the Master of Berkeley College, and featured three fellow food bloggers who have done really well for themselves, out there in the world of food journalism.

Left to right: Monica Bhide, Andrea Nguyen, Kim Sunee

Two things are of paramount importance to Yalies - writing and food. Hence, the packed house!

I was really impressed with all three lovely ladies. They were so well-spoken and funny - I enjoyed everything they had to say, from how they got into food writing, to their feelings on being pigeon-holed as one type of writer. Their accomplishments could take up more than one post from me, so let me just say that all three have published books, appeared on various TV channels, including Food Network and Travel Channel. Plus, you may have seen their articles in a variety of popular food magazines. They go around the country giving talks like this one, and are all wonderful cooks in their own right. Check out the dishes they created for the Master's Tea.

Left to right: Saffron-almond cake by Andrea; Banana cake by Kim; Savory cheesecake with red pepper and tomatillo chutney by Monica (my FAV one of the three!)

You can look through Monica's recipes, and catch her at one of her appearances, by going to her blog A Life Of Spice. Kim will take you on an amazing culinary journey in her own blog. And if you love Asian food (and let's face it, most of us do!), check out Andrea's blog Viet World Kitchen.

So, dear readers, do I wish I had what they have? Hell. YES.

One of them said something that I know will stick with me forever. It's very simple, but really important for people striving to be good writers (emphasis on "good"). They said, "don't be fake, because readers will see through it soon enough, and that will ruin your credibility so fast that nothing will bring it back".

I actually think that's a good mantra for all our lives in general. Just don't be fake. Be true to yourselves. We all have something interesting to say and share with the world, so let's not pretend to be something we're not. It's the key to happiness I think - being content and confident with who we are.

Too bad I can't segue that satisfactorily into my recipe for today! The deadline to submit a P-Dub recipe for the next FFPW round-up is today, and I was desperately looking for a recipe I could throw together without running out to the store - not easy when you have a 3 month old to consider. Seriously, why do I feel like we have to pack a suitcase every time we take out this tiny wee thing? And I absolutely hate lugging around that infant car seat of his - weighs a ton! So luckily, Ree always has simple recipes that I can count on. This one, however, was one that she tried from her Tasty Kitchen contributers. More on what I thought about it a bit later.

Coffee-Toffee Bars (original recipe by nhsweetcherry and blogged by Ree, found here)

Makes 9 squares

Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp instant coffee powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup Heath Bar Toffee bits

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8" x 8" baking pan.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together for 2 mins till light and smooth.

3. Mix in the vanilla, coffee, baking powder, salt and flour till you have a soft dough. Pat it into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the chocolate and toffee over the top. Bake for 20 mins. Cool on a rack, then cut into squares and serve as is, with coffee ... or better yet, coffee ice-cream!

Verdict: These definitely had a lot of potential. I'll admit that they were pretty good on the first day, but didn't fare too well after a night in the fridge. Still, ice-cream covers a multitude of sins, and after nuking the bars for 15 secs in the microwave, they were almost back to normal. I was experimenting with the toppings, and made the mistake of adding in the pecans - take note: don't do that. These bars aren't that sweet to begin with, and the pecans simply take away more of the sweetness. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll be making these again, but they're perfect when it comes to putting together something in a hurry - just in time for the Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman deadline!