Times Top 5: Whoopie Pies and a Blood Orange CakeFrom The New York Times Dining Section 03.18.09

There's a lot of sweet in today's Times roundup. First up are whoopie pies. We've written about them before and even wondered if they'd be the new cupcake. Well, they're apparently sweeping the country. And Melissa Clark makes a cake that's a jazzier version of one of our favorites...

1. Stressed out? Have a whoopie pie. Once a regional specialty in Maine and Pennsylvania, whoopie pies are showing up in bakeries in Manhattan; shop owners claim they're comforting in troubled times.

2. A sophisticated cake with zero fuss. Melissa Clark loves cake stands, just like we do. She's also in the habit of making easy cakes that call for melted butter or oil and don't require a mixer. This one has olive oil and blood oranges, which sounds similar to this Lemon Olive Oil Cake that Faith made for her wedding.

3. Cauliflower with almonds, capers, and raisins. One chef wooed his future wife with this dish.

4. Fig-stuffed pork loin. Bittman shares a simple trick for making a pork roast more fabulous: stick a wooden spoon handle down the middle, then fill the cavity with figs. So easy and smart.

5. Ever eaten a mountain oyster? Hint: It's not shellfish. These little morsels are actually lamb and calf testicles, and they're the main event at the International Comstock Mountain Oyster Fry in Virginia City, Nevada.

Last Week's Top 5: Michelle Obama Wants Healthy Food for All

(Image: Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times)

things taste better when they have cute names. whoopie pie - it's even fun to say.

posted by red.door.read. on March 18th 2009 at 9:20am
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i wonder if anyone would go to the International Comstock Mountain Oyster Fry if they called it the "International Comstock Lamb and Calf Testicle Fry"...

posted by my*life*in*a*box on March 18th 2009 at 9:35am
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whoppie pies remind me of my mother. sadly i can't find her recipe (a realllly old one from maine).

posted by nenasadije on March 18th 2009 at 9:40am
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I was trying to get my dad to eat oysters the weekend before last at the Dead Frozen Guy Days festival near me. He just giggled. I have also attended the Testy Festy outside Missoula in the past.

posted by kmarie on March 18th 2009 at 9:41am
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yay maine! (that is all)

posted by FromTheFuture on March 18th 2009 at 11:10am
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Blast, now I really want a cupcake (since I don't think I could find whoopie pies).

And I hear mountain oysters are quite good. Dunno that I'd try them, but I've heard they're lovely.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on March 18th 2009 at 11:24am
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I grew up eating whoopie pies and have been begging my mom for the family recipe for years. I think the renaissance started several years ago when Ben & Jerry's put "Makin' Whoopie Pie" on the market.

posted by popcorn.for.dinner on March 18th 2009 at 11:42am
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I made them once from the America's Test Kitchen recipe and it is now a family favorite.

posted by mstina on March 18th 2009 at 4:45pm
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Baked in Red Hook Brooklyn makes them: http://bakednyc.com/page/cakes-and-treats/cookies/

posted by JenEvans86 on March 18th 2009 at 8:58pm
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I love the reference to Canada's Jos. Louis! Those were a favourite of my dad's and it was always such a treat to have them in the house! They're made by Vachon and have been around for 75 years http://www.vachon.com/Products.aspx

http://kitchengraffiti.blogspot.com/

posted by kitchengraffiti on March 19th 2009 at 3:27pm
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