Fun & Games: Sudoku On The Half-Shell

The Cape is known for its oysters. An incredible festival is held each fall to celebrate the Wellfleet oyster. In Dennis Port, we have the much celebrated, The Oyster Company restaurant (re-opening April 17th) where you can enjoy delicious Dennis Quivet Neck Oysters while listening to great live music. As a cook shop and restaurant supplier, we have just about every tool and accessory to make eating and serving oysters even more enjoyable. And now we are thrilled to present another unique, oyster-themed item that was created by a life-long Cape Cod summer resident. Sujiken: Sudoku on the Half Shell is the brainchild of George Heineman, an avid puzzler, college professor, and friend. George is one of those adorable (okay, George)--handsome, quick witted genius-fellas with a fantastic attitude, and he has helped me out of a jam or two when all else had hopelessly failed...like when my master's thesis was mistakenly erased, etc. Remarkably, he never makes me feel like an idiot, which I really appreciate. A Sudoku variation, Sujiken is played on a right-triangle arrangement in which numbers cannot repeat, even along the diagonal. It's almost as addictive and pleasure inducing as indulging in oysters-on-the-half shell, and three times as fun. We suggest pairing your Sujiken: Sudoku on the Half Shell book with a plate of oysters and a nice Sauvignon Blanc, or grab a beer (or two) and enjoy a few Sujiken puzzles while relaxing on the beach. We are thrilled to offer George's book for sale in our store and on our website (he is awesome to the 3rd power and is married to one of my favorite people!) And we wish him much success!!!

Bake Sale: The Story of Bunny Brownie Pop Cups

While tucking my little luv-bug into bed Saturday night, she informed me of the CCD Bake Sale which she was expected to bring brownies to the very NEXT morning. In the darkened room, I responded with a noise that could only be translated as, "Fat Chance."

#1. I gave up sugar for Lent, was hanging on by a thin thread, and I felt like an alcoholic being asked to brew a batch of beer.
#2. It was late, I was tired, and there was a Stephanie Plum novel with my name on it in the next room.
#3. Did I mention I haven't had sugar since Ash Wednesday, and I was beginning to fantasize about diving into a pool of Mike's Pastry's connoli cream filling, after holding my head under a waterfall of Ina Garten's chocolate ganache?

If you've never been to Mike's Pastry, add it to your foodie bucket list.

Then I heard her whimper and then moan, "I'll be so embarrassed if I don't bring anything."
Well, Stephanie Plum could NOT wait, so I resolved to get up early and promised not to lick even a tiny bit of Baker's One Bowl Brownie batter. When my eyes popped open Sunday morning, I had a problem: how was I to package the brownies for the bake sale? We were out of lollipop bags, and sandwich bags or cling wrap seemed too tacky. What to do?

Cold Drink Cups make great packaging for Bake Sale Goodies

I remembered our stash of 16 oz cold drink cups left over from our days selling Iced Mocha Lattes. That was my eureka moment: I would sit the brownies on top of Easter basket grass inside of the plastic cups, then slap on the lids! Packaging problem solved.

Lollipop Sticks make great stands for these Bunny Peep Brownies

At 7:03 am, I was dressed for church and in the check-out line with my Peeps, Green Iridescent Easter Grass, and butter. We still had lollipop sticks, so I decided to make the brownies into pops, so that the Bunny Peeps seemed to be sitting atop the grass.

Just feed a ribbon through the straw hole, knot, then cut out ears!

We knotted 6" wide pink sheer ribbon, fed it through the straw hole of the cup lid. We cut the ribbon so that it extended about 5" out of the top, and then with three snips, shaped it with scissors into bunny ears.

Thread ribbon through the cup lid straw hole to create bunny ears!

With 5 minutes left to bake, I took the brownies out and sat 4 pink chocolate candy melts onto each individual brownie. Using the Slice Solutions Brownie Pan by Chicago Metallic gives the brownies a bakery-fresh edge, helps them to bake evenly, and removal is too easy.

Use a Slice Solutions Brownie Pan to ensure perfect brownie edges.

I returned the pan to the oven to melt the chocolate, then took them out to affix Bunny Peeps to the melted chocolate. After letting them cool for about 10 minutes, we added the lollipop sticks. We let them cool completely before packing them into cups.

Ready for transporting to Sunday's Bake Sale!

They were such a mouthwateringly-cute sight, the kids were tempted to fight over them at the Bake Sale. Yes, I said "tempted", this is CCD class. Needless to say, they sold out before my little one could buy one for herself. Poor baby. Watch our demonstration video below: