Vegan Chocolate Cake

Well, it's here.  As soon as the jack-o-lanterns have turned to mush and the poppy is off my lapel, it's Christmas season. Normally, this is where I up my butter intake to truly heroic levels, but I think I will try to limit my intake this year. That being said, I present to you below a  wicked chocolate cake recipe, and it's vegan!  No eggs, no butter (just a bit of canola oil), but yes, there's sugar and flour.  This is adapted from Mollie Katzen's children's cookbook Honest Pretzels.  It doesn't need icing, but if you add some buttercream,  Stella McCartney will hate you.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

In a glass 8 or 9 " square pan, mix together 

1 1/4 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup good cocoa

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

Make 4 dents in the mixture- 2 big, and 2 small.

Pour into the dents

 1 cup water 

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white vinegar

Mix until it's all smooth and combined.

Lick batter off of spatula shaped like a finger (optional).

Bake 30 minutes, cool in pan, and sprinkle with icing sugar.  Mmmmm.

FNGs in NYC

The Red Rooster, in Harlem.  And no, you don't need to be a girl to be a Friday Night Girl!

How have I not posted anything about my beloved Friday Night Girls before?

The Classy Drunk, Part I: Chateau du Tailhas

Jean-Luc's ancient vines. Merlot grapes,  Paul Giamatti was wrong!!

In the past 8 years, I have visited Champagne, in France (twice), the Chianti/Brunello region of Italy (three times), Napa Valley in California, and most recently,  we went back to France for Bordeaux.  Do you see a pattern here? It looks like I plan my vacations at the LCBO.

Air Canada to Paris

People watching from Les Deux Magots

I am about to make a controversial statement- one that may cause some of you to question my sanity:

I like Air Canada.  I'm sorry, but it's true. I've never had a problem with them that wasn't weather related, and they've never lost my luggage (I check only on the way home).  Yes, the flight attendants are as friendly as diner waitresses working the midnight shift, but as long as they bring me Diet Coke when I need it, I'm cool.  Frankly, I am not one to want to sing Happy Birthday to my fellow travelers anyway (sorry, West Jet). The planes are new, the TVs plentiful, and the food is, well, free.

When we flew to Paris last month, it was on old familiar AC 880, which we've taken several times before.  We got to the airport too early, of course.  No bags to check (truly, you don't need to check luggage.  I've done 2 weeks in Europe no problem, though I suspect traveling to a cold climate would pose problems, but why the hell would anyone want to do that?) All we had to endure was passing through security. I often get an extra pat down, or have my hands checked for explosives.  I think I am the Token White Lady, you know? The last time we were in the Bahamas, I got a pat down (rather, a feel up), from an eager lady that surely should have resulted in a marriage proposal.  She started at the top, worked her way down, then went back to the top! "Oh, we're going again!", I said jokingly, as she patted and squeezed (they're real, honey).  "She got further with you than I did this week", the BF sulked. But I digress...

Hotel Bars- Toronto and New York

Bemelmans Bar

You don't have to be a high class hooker to love a good hotel bar. Herewith, Lori's Rating System for a few places where drinks cost more than you ever imagined they could:


New York:

Bemelmans Bar, Carlyle Hotel

Drinks: I had the Champagne flight, and my friend had the Carlyle Punch, I believe. Very nice. The flight had a sparkling red, which you don't see every day.
Ambience: Low lights, great jazz, stunning decor. Lots of facelifts and fur coats, but that's half the fun of being there.
Free Munchies: Top notch.  Olives, too!
Restroom: Clean and classy, no attendant
Other: Bemelmans is a legendary New York establishment.  The interior, by, yes, Ludwig Bemelmans, is a standout, but the vibe was fun, not snobby or douchy. A great night out.

Champagne Bar at the Plaza

Drinks: I actually had one of my favourite drinks here.  The Imperial Plaza was outstanding, but for $26, it ought to be.
Ambience: It was the afternoon, so it was a mixed bag.  The crowd ranged from Eurotrash to Recent Lottery Winner.
Free Munchies: OK.  Popcorn heavy
Restroom: Very nice- upstairs, nice hand lotion.
Other: The last time I was there, they treated us like we were paying with food stamps when we didn't order a bottle, but the service was much better this time.

Toronto:

The Library Bar at the Royal York

Drinks: Excellent options available.  The Bay Area Daisy, from the Fairmont Classics list was amazing, but don't bother having it made with Patron, unless you want to spend $30 on a drink. Other drinks named for Canadian writers, so if you've always dreamed of sipping a Margaret Atwood Margarita, here's your chance.
Ambience: Elegant, not too loud. A library look, obviously. Suits and tourists.
Free Munchies: Very good, refilled often.
Restroom: Suitable to the location, if not exceptionally glamourous.
Other: This place is so much better than it was even a few years ago. Before the refurbishment, the drinks were hit and miss.  Now they are all hits. The Mediterranean dips and the crab cakes were really good as well, and they brought me a decadent piece of cake when they found out it was my birthday. You win my heart forever that way.

The Lobby Lounge at the Shangri La

Drinks: Very good, but I did get a glass of warm Champagne once, which is the saddest thing in the world. The drinks menus are little books, which is cute.
Ambience: Elegant, chill, and subtly perfumed.  Modern fireplace, comfortable chairs.  Easy place to spend a few hours nursing your insanely expensive drink. International and fashionable crowd.
Free Munchies: Can't remember, but Momofuku is next door, so just go eat there.
Restroom: Best in the downtown core.
Other: There's a grand piano in the lobby, and once when we were there, Chantal Kreviazuk sat down and played a bit.  That was cool!

I started going to hotel bars when there weren't too many other options in Toronto. Everything was either a club or a sports bar. I'm too old for the former, and too girly for the latter. Thankfully, there are some elegant bars in the city now, which I'll detail later. Of course, the historical aspects of these classic hotel bars also appeals to me.  When my life isn't a Seinfeld episode, I prefer it to be a Thin Man movie.

White Velvet Cutouts

White Velvet Cutouts. The Champagne of sugar cookies.

I can't even tell you how many batches of these cookies I have made.  I got the recipe from a Seventeen magazine when I was probably 13 years old.  I have been making them ever since.  They are great for so many reasons: they hold their shape when you bake them; they're a bit tart, thanks to the cream cheese; they're soft, but not too soft; the tangy glaze is a perfect counterpart to sweetness of the cookies.

I have been sort of off baked goods for a while now, but I am practically salivating on my keyboard just thinking about how delicious these cookies are. I have made them in dozens of shapes, for various functions- these champagne flutes were for our Christmas party last year.  

White Velvet Cutouts

1 cup butter, soft enough to mix, but not room temperature

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Cream the butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer if you have one, or just go at it with a wooden spoon, like I did as a kid.  Add the sugar, and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla, and mix well.  Stir in the flour.  

Separate the dough into 2 pieces, and flatten into discs, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least for 3 hours.  You want the dough to be really, really firm before you roll it out.  That's how you get well-defined shapes.

When ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle plenty of flour on your rolling surface, and remove one disc from the fridge to roll out.  The original recipe said to roll to 3/16th of an inch, so shoot for that if you want a lot of cookies.  Mine are usually a bit thicker.

Cut out shapes.  I have made lips, houses, sharks, Christmas trees, stars, doves, Texas, candy canes... you get the idea.

Transfer cutouts to an ungreased cookie sheet.  I often stick the cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes, if the dough has warmed up too much during the rolling process.

Bake until the edges are just slightly golden. The whiter these cookies stay, the better they taste.  The recipe says 8-10 minutes, but hang around your oven and check them frequently, and you'll learn how long to bake them in your oven.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Run your cookie sheet under cold water and dry before using it again. If you stick unbaked dough on a hot cookie sheet, the shapes will start to melt before they cook, and that ain't pretty.

Glaze:

1 cup icing sugar (or powdered sugar, or confectioners sugar; whatever they call it where you live)

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

food colouring, if you like

Mix up glaze, and spread on cooled cookies.  You may need to tinker with quantities to get the thickness you want.  Thinner is better.  This glaze is delicious, but it takes absolutely FOREVER to harden, so you need to store your finished cookies in one layer, or they'll all stick together.  Worth it, though!

Where I'll Be in NYC

Best. Drink. Ever.  Bar Hemingway, Paris (excuse the terrible phone photo.)

I'm heading to New York the first weekend in August.  I've gone at the end of the month a few times, for the US Open, and to say goodbye to my beloved Shea Stadium, but this is the first time I have gone in the dead of summer with no specific event planned.  Well, except for seeing Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig- can't wait for that.  I'm such a fatalist that I actually worry he'll fall off his platform shoes and hurt himself before I get there.  Keep it together for 4 more weeks, NPH!

I hope to have beautiful days that I can spend wandering aimlessly, but should the weather be lousy, I know where I'll be- PJ Clarke's.

I love old school, classic bars, but somehow I have never been to PJ's.  I've been to, among others, The 21 Club, Martin's Tavern in Georgetown, and in Paris, Hemingway's (currently closed), and Harry's New York Bar. I went to Harry's on a pilgrimage of sorts, because they invented my absolute favourite cocktail- the Sidecar.

PJ Clarke's looks promising since the first drink listed on the cocktail menu is the Patrick Joseph Clarke Sidecar. Any bar that loves My Drink that much deserves a visit.  What better place to ride out a humid, dreary afternoon than a dark bar?  To be honest, I think this is where I'll be rain or shine.

Just because:

Lori's Sidecar:

1 part Cognac (as good as you can afford)
1 part Cointreau (not Triple Sec, not Grand Marnier. Cointreau!)
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained (not from a bottle, not from concentrate!)

Dump into an ice-filled shaker, and shake until really cold. Pour into a nice coupe glass, or a Martini glass if that's all you have available. Sip, though you will be tempted to chug. If you chug, you will regret it. Or so I've been told ;)