Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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Cajun Sea Scallops, Cheddar Bacon Scones And Roasted Leg Of Lamb [This Week’s Weekend Eats]

Posted Apr 10, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Apr 10, 2012 at 01:33 PM

First, a confession: When it comes to food, I can as high-minded, snobbish and elitist as any semi-professional foodie.

I fight it. I’m not proud of it. But it’s true.

All too often, I’m infected with the strain of snooty food veneration that finds me eating looking down my nose at a plate while eating with my pinky in the air.

It’s not on purpose. It’s more a reaction to too many plates of mediocre, passionless food served over and over again like some kind of gastronomic chant.

I like great food made with good, simple ingredients. There, I said it.

But under no circumstances am I immune to the charms of a bunny shaped cake.

Which is just what I tripped over yesterday during our collection of Weekend Eats submissions from readers.

As proud parent Tom Jackson writes from Pasco County:

“[This is an] Easter Bunny visage in Duncan Hines yellow cake, butter cream frosting, festive colored sugar sprinkles. Ear cavities filled with malted milk ball robin’s eggs, the rest with jelly beans. Unremarkable except that the whole thing was conceived and executed (with the help of a cake mold) by our 12-year-old son, Christopher.

“Beyond arm’s-length supervision, no adults were involved in the baking and decorating of said cake.”

Congratulations, Christopher. Beyond the reward of not burning your house down - parents tend to frown on such events, despite your culinary talents - you also win this week’s Weekend Eats grand prize with your timely baked holiday goods:

It’s the book “Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My!” by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Looks like a fun book to get ideas from.

I expect you to have your own cake show on TV by this time next year, Christopher.

What was Christopher’s competition this week? See for yourself in this gallery. To read a description, click on each dish: