Butterfinger Fudge

When my BFF Wendy and I were in Pittsburgh recently, we met some wonderful people. It's a good-sized city, but it definitely has a small-town friendliness.

We were welcomed everywhere we went, even at Mike Feinberg's bustling souvenir shop pre-Steelers game. If you think we take football seriously here in Ann Arbor, truly, you ain't seen nothin' - these folks had already started their party, in full regalia, on Saturday afternoon before Sunday's game! But still, despite the hectic atmosphere, the employees took the time to talk about the local lingo a bit, and to give us brunch recommendations. They were so, so nice to us!

But the most extraordinary welcome we received was at Grand Brew, a small coffee shop that we found while driving around looking for mom-'n'-pop places to support for dinner. We saw this sign, and immediately followed the arrow to the local eateries and taverns. We ate a nice dinner of mini burgers and pierogi, then meandered across the street to the ice cream shop we'd passed while touring the neighborhood.

Except our plans were thwarted when we found the shop closed.

A few doors away, though, Grand Brew was open. There was a sign in the window proclaiming that we could find both coffee and chocolate there ... well, that was all the invitation we needed!

Howard Todd, who introduced himself as "Todd," was behind the counter serving the customers ahead of us. That gave us time to peruse the beautiful array of pastries, cookies, and other treats. Wendy chose the Pecan Turtle Fudge, rich with caramel; I had planned to get an enormous chocolate whoopie pie, but then we chose a vanilla one for balance.

We sat and enjoyed our sugar rush, and Todd came over to bring us the last little strip from the batch of fudge, laden with dippings of caramel. He talked with us briefly before the next flurry of activity, proudly showing us an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette which featured his astounding string of working 4-1/2 years without a day off. Today will be the 1193rd consecutive day that he's worked; he greets and serves customers at Grand Brew every single day, including holidays and weekends.

As we read, ate, chitchatted, and expressed awe and respect for such dedication to a work ethic, I - of course! - brought out my camera. After all, I take pictures of everything I eat. And that prompted conversation about AnnArbor.com, Food Floozie, the necessity of having a passion in and for life, and sharing our mutual enthusiasm for good food with others.

At that, Todd brought another gift to Wendy and me - a cannoli. As he told us with a broad smile, "This is the reason I married my wife." Patty DiFiore Todd is from an Italian family, and has worked as a caterer in addition to running the ice cream shop two doors away that we nearly went to instead of visiting Grand Brew. The shell of the cannoli was thicker than most, which are often so fragile that they shatter at the first bite. In addition to this, the filling was made with mascarpone, making it lusciously rich.

Todd showered us with still further bounty: he brought us a rich Caramel Latte Macchiato, a Spiced Chai Tea Latte that was deliciously reminiscent of gingerbread with a special secret spice blend, a glazed cinnamon roll so tender - without the ever-so-slight crust found on the surfaces of most rolls - that it was almost like cotton candy when torn apart, and an espresso with just a hint of amaretto. Todd beamed as he bestowed these gifts upon us, filled with pride to show off the fabulous goodies.

And I'm not ashamed to tell you that Wendy and I ate, drank and relished every sip and bite!

Butterfinger Fudge

This is not actual old-fashioned fudge, made with a candy thermometer and lots of monitoring. But it's a reasonable facscimile, and really good! It's also an easy and fast-to-prepare recipe for busy holiday celebrations, for last-minute warning about guests or bake sales, or simply for satisfying a craving. (I'd have made chocolate caramel fudge in honor of my new friend Todd, but there was no caramel frosting to be found while shopping on the day I prepared this.)

1 10-ounce package peanut butter chips
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 16-ounce container chocolate fudge frosting
1 ounce Butterfinger candy bar, crushed (half of a full-sized bar)

Line an 8x7" pan with foil, extending the foil over the sides of the pan, and grease the foil. (If you don't have one, an 8"x8" pan will be fine; the fudge just won't be as tall. I have an odd-sized dish that I found at a thrift shop.)

In a small saucepan, melt together the peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and frosting over low heat, stirring constantly. Once melted and completely smooth, pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the crushed Butterfinger over the top, then refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.

Remove the fudge and the foil from the pan; pull the sides of the foil down to expose the fudge. Trim 1/2" from the edges, then cut into squares.

Makes about 20 pieces.

Chocolate-Glazed Orange Cake

Surprisingly, given his penchant for fame and marketing, the gift shop at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh has virtually no merchandise bearing the man's face, name, signature, or any other connection.

When my BFF Wendy and I were there recently, we found many books, some posters, a lot of kitsch, and very cute "Wonder Woman" and "Super Girl" make-up mirrors (now Wendy's and mine, respectively) in honor of the current featured exhibit: "Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross". But nothing in the shop screamed "Andy Warhol" ... very strange. They kinda missed the point, didn't they ...?


I happen to love Andy Warhol, and spent a weekend in Chicago 20+ years ago with my then-husband specifically to see an exhibit at the Art Institute. That the artistic design of everyday products was respected and elevated to the level of "fine art," and that our modern surroundings - such as grocery store aisles, where I practically live - were deemed as worthy of documenting as landscapes in past times, is an attitude I esteem. That Warhol also threw some irony and humor into the mix ... well, that only makes him more intriguing. The man was fascinating.

At the gift shop, the most representative item I could find to commemorate my having finally found my way to this long-elusive site was a set of "Desserts" note cards. These not only feature Warhol's own sketches of treats, but they also offer recipes for the pictured items ... oh, this was clearly a souvenir meant for me!

I didn't need to make strawberry ice cream or a frozen pink lemonade - it's cold out. But an orange cake? Simple, fragrant, rich, seductively moist ... a slice of this cake is perfect with coffee or tea or cocoa.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, because that's what I do. Warhol took Campbell's soup cans and made them his own; I did the same thing with this cake.

Andy Warhol himself once stated: "Food is my great extravagance." How could I not love the man?

Chocolate-Glazed Orange Cake
(adapted from a recipe developed by Stephen Bruce of Serendipity 3)

Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
zest of 2 oranges
1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from the 2 oranges you zested)
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8" round cake pan, line the bottom with foil, then grease the foil.

In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, zest and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes until very light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one. Beat in the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. On low speed, slowly beat in the orange juice and buttermilk.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Remove the cake from the pan; remove foil from bottom of cake, flip over so the top is up, and let cool completely.

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Melt the chocolate chips and cream together; stir until smooth, then spread over the top of the cake. Let the glaze set for 30 minutes before cutting the cake.

Makes 8 servings.

Primanti Bros. Sandwich

My BFF, Wendy, and I went on one of our infamous "Thelma and Louise"-style adventures recently, spending the weekend in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh?!?!?

Yes, absolutely - Pittsburgh! It's a fabulous food town, like Chicago, serving unbelievably generous portions of great dishes. And the people are wonderfully friendly, maintaining a small-town neighborly demeanor in a large city. We were welcomed everywhere we went, and enjoyed ourselves immensely while seeing new sights and making new friends.

I was supposed to stop in Pittsburgh last year, on my way to a graduation in Philadelphia; but due to circumstances beyond my control, the trip was cancelled. But then I didn't get to see The Andy Warhol Museum, and I didn't get to eat at the famous restaurant that my friend Ellen - a Pittsburgh native - had recommended.

So, in need of diversion and an opportunity to discuss life and love in great depth during a 10-hour round trip, Wendy and I went to visit a city neither of us had been to in so long that we're not entirely sure whether we'd ever been there before at all.

We set out early in the morning, and arrived just in time for lunch - how perfect! We meandered towards The Strip - a neighborhood with fabulous restaurants and amazing food stores of all types - and staked our place in line at Primanti Bros., an institution since 1933.

The line moved well, as this is not a place to linger at. You order quickly, your food is brought quickly, you eat quickly, you relinquish your seat to the next customer. We sat at the counter, watched Michigan score a touchdown against Michigan State as we soaked up the atmosphere, and then the ham-and-cheese sandwich we were planning to split arrived in front of us.

The schtick at Primanti Bros. is that the cole slaw and the fries aren't served alongside your sandwich: they're stuffed right into it. And this behemoth cost only $6.49 - a Frugal Floozie Friday option, at $5 or less per person, even when I'm away from home!

When the sandwich is placed before you, it is impossible to simply pick it up and start eating. Not only do you first have to assess the situation to determine how to position your hands to keep from having 83% of the filling fall out onto your lap when you take a bite; but you also have to simply stare in disbelief at how huge it is, and how odd it is to see the side dishes crammed into the main portion of your lunch.

Remarkably, Wendy and I managed to get good grips on our food and to eat without having everything ooze out. It sounds like a very strange combination, but I have to say that this mixture really works! The cole slaw was neither too tart nor too sweet, and complemented the saltiness of the ham quite well. The french fries were an ideal pairing with the ham and the cheese. The variety of flavors and textures really united, rather than being disparate and disjointed; these ingredients weren't just thrown together for novelty's sake, but truly formed a whole.

So once we got home, I decided to make my own Primanti-style sandwich because there was really no way to adequately describe the experience of it to Jeremy. He was duly impressed when I presented my creation (pictured at the top of the post); he's a brave eater and will try virtually anything I ask him to. And, needless to say, he loved it!

I have fabulous memories of Pittsburgh; Wendy and I had an exceptional, wonderful trip! And any time I need a refresher, I'll simply make one of these sandwiches and think of how much fun we had on our adventure.

Primanti Bros. Sandwich

1-1/2 cups frozen french fries
4 1" thick slices of soft white Italian-style bread
generous schmears of brown mustard
4 slices American cheese
8 slices salami or other lunch meat
1 cup sweet cole slaw

Prepare french fries according to package directions.

Meanwhile, lay the bread onto the countertop. Schmear each slice with mustard, then place 2 bread slices mustard-side up onto dinner plates.

Place 2 slices of cheese onto each slice of bread, and top the cheese with 4 slices of salami. Place 1/2-cup cole slaw onto each sandwich, then divide the french fries and place half onto each sandwich. Top the sandwiches with the remaining slices of bread, mustard-side down.

Makes 2 sandwiches, feeding 2-4.