A Tale of Two Tails: Madame Janette's Aruba

While in Aruba a few weeks ago, Shaun and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Though most nights of the trip consisted of indulgent dinners and desserts (and heck, even breakfast wasn't exactly the pinnacle of health), we saved our favorite island restaurant to celebrate our big day. The place? Madame Janette's, an outdoor restaurant that is nothing short of romantic, gorgeous and decadent to boot.

Dotted with twinkle lights and guitar players strumming, Madame Janette's is really all about the atmosphere. Though I will add a note that since it's outdoors and semi-enclosed, I suggest wearing light clothing and a bit of bug spray.

So many restaurants in Aruba can be a bit pricey and Madame Janette's is no exception. But since we typically dine on the cheap, we splurged in celebration our big 2 years and ordered the Surf & Turf. Yep, it was as good as it looks.

The filet was topped with an oversized pat of herb butter (an item that, in my opinion, could make just about anything better). This is probably more butter than I'd need to consume in a month, let alone atop one bitty portion of beef. But oh was it good. Laced with fresh herbs, the silky smooth butter melted right into the hot filet, making this quite possibly the most decadent piece of meat I've ever laid my palette on. Moving on to the real star of the meal, the lobster tail. A giant, tender piece of er...tail...it was served with clarified butter and that was all it needed to rocket to the top of my favorites list. I know, by this point I was well on my way to a premature coronary. With all of that butter, is it a surprise that we had no room left for dessert? Oh and I should also mention that this followed a giant appetizer of tempura rock shrimp doused in sweet & spicy sauce.

So there you have it. A round up of our big anniversary dinner. Though we've adopted the cook-at-home-more-eat-out-less philosophy since moving into our new place, it was fun to splurge on a special dinner for the two of us. And the fact that we get to spend our anniversary in the place we got married is just the cherry on top of a giant, already-iced cake.

Moka's Red Velvet Cake

A couple of weeks ago, Shaun and I embarked on the Cannon family vacation 2010, annually spent at our favorite spot in Aruba with my parents, sisters and family friends (and in case you didn't know, it was also the home of our 2008 beach wedding). Known for year-round fabulous weather, tradewinds, and signature slanted Divi trees, Aruba is also famous for its abundance of delectable restaurants. Though much of the week was spent swimming in blue water, laying under a palapa and cheering on Holland in the World Cup, we also found time to indulge in the local culinary delights that the island had to offer. I know what you're thinking, how did we manage to fit all of that in, day after day.

While I'll be telling you about my favorite local spots, there's something you should know about the Cannons. We love our dessert. So while last year we indulged in fried Oreo's at Smokey Joe's, this year, we stumbled upon a life-altering confection. Yup...I just said life-altering. The only thing sadder than having to wait another year to sunbathe on this One Happy Island is knowing that it's also another year before I get to have Moka's Red Velvet Cake again. It's that good. Multiple layers? Check. Ample sweet frosting? Check. Sprinkles? Check.

Located in the Paseo Harencia, an outdoor mall in the heart of Palm Beach (across from the Holiday Inn), Moka's is a small coffee shop offering gourmet coffees along with homemade desserts displayed in glass-topped cake stands. After all, is there anything else more inviting than beautifully displayed layer cakes?

Instead of the usual cream cheese frosting (of which I can never have enough), this red velvet confection was topped with standard vanilla buttercream, a refreshing and unexpected change from the typical red velvet. Oh, and the three layers of cake with buttercream filling between each didn't hurt either.

Moist and decadent to boot, this cake was even a bit pink and yellow at the edges, a sure sign of its imperfect, yet wonderfully homemade nature.

So there you have it. A pretty fabulous dessert that, admittedly, I may or may not have indulged in multiple times following nightly dinner. Have you ever had a cake or dessert that you just can't get out of your head? Share the goods!

Psst...itching for more Aruba-inspired fun? Check out Aruba tidbits here, here and here. And for more cake fun, try Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Pink Coconut Cupcakes, Baba Booey's Peanutastic Cupcake, Butter Lane Cupcakes, Key Lime in the Coconut Cupcakes, and Baked by Melissa's Mini Cupcakes.

Brunch at B Bar

There are few things in this world that I love more than brunch. Of course Shaun tops the list, but following him...let's just say that brunch is high on the list. So on a rainy Sunday morning I planned to meet my sister Kimberly for brunch at Clinton Street Baking Co. After catching a glimpse of their highly acclaimed blueberry pancakes on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, we thought it would be the perfect place for a rainy Sunday (and the perfect opportunity to see how my own Lemon Blueberry Pancakes measured up one-on-one).

Since the title of this article isn't Brunch at Clinton Street Baking Co., you're correct in assuming that we in fact never made it to brunch at Clinton after finding out that it was a stomach-turning 3 hour wait. Oh, and no, they don't take reservations.

Feeling defeated and with stomachs growling, we began a hunt for the nearest delicious brunch locale, not relishing braving the stormy weather on the Lower East Side, a neighborhood we were less than familiar with. To make matters worse, Kimberly was a little scared/turned off by Katz's Deli - not sure if it was the massive lines, the abundance of wood paneling or the wall of meats. So we made our way over to the Bowery and saw B Bar in the distance. Though I hadn't been there since my NYU Communications Department graduation party in '04, I have such fun memories of B Bar - the party, meeting my dad for dinner in college and mostly their juicy, cheese-covered burger served on an English muffin. Yum.

Anyhow, back to brunch. B Bar boasts a trendy yet relaxing vibe with reasonable prices and a serious outdoor patio. Greeting us the table was a little wooden cutting board with sliced banana bread. Though it gave my version a major run for its money, it was missing the super delish brown sugar crust on top. But I let it slide because the bread was moist perfection.

In addition to downing large amount of B Bar coffee, I went with my favorite unsweet brunch meal, Eggs Benedict. Served with jalapeno Hollandaise sauce and some of the best home fries I've tasted, this Eggs Benedict surpassed many others that came before it. I mean, doesn't it just look good enough to eat?

If you have the means, I highly recommend giving it a visit. But I want to know about your brunching habits. Do you go out or stay in? Do you go for sweet or savory? Dish on some of your favorites in the comments!