I think John had a very happy 24th birthday with these cupcakes (inspired by this Smitten Kitchen recipe)!
Ingredients:
1 c. Brooklyn Chocolate Stout
2 sticks softened, unsalted butter
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1.5 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 c. sour cream (PLEASE....not low fat....just....no)
8 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1/4 c. corn syrup
2/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 shot. irish whiskey
4 c. powdered sugar
1 stick softened, unsalted butter
1 shot Bailey's
1 shot heavy whipping cream (or...more Bailey's!)
Directions:
Bring stout and 2 sticks butter to a boil. Let cool
Shift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and sour cream. Add to cooled stout/butter mixture. On low speed, whip together dry and wet ingredients until just combined. Mix rest of the way by hand.
Fill 2 lined cupcake sheets 2/3 the way with batter. Bake for 27 minutes on 350, or until done. Let cool.
After cooled, remove center of cupcake with an apple corer or round cookie cutter.
For Ganache:
Melt unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler. Add corn syrup while on the heat. Remove from heat and add heavy cream and whiskey. Beat until smooth. Chill until the consistency of Play-Doh, then fill cupcakes.
For Frosting:
Beat butter until fluffy and white. Slowly add sugar, until the consistency of toothpaste. Add cream and Bailey's, whipping until combined. Add more liquid or sugar, depending on desired consistency.
Frost cupcakes.
Pass out.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
48 Hour Vegetarian
Yup....I was accidentally a vegetarian for about 48 hours, and I ate pretty damn well! The highlights:
Breakfast: #1 irish oatmeal, almond milk, almond butter, dried cranberries, raw honey and cinnamon. I die.
Breakfast #2: goats milk yogurt, berry medley, blueberry museli
Lunch #1: salad with sesame sauteed tofu and Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing (my fave-sies)
Lunch #2: smoothie of almond milk, frozen berries, apple, orange, and cranberries.
Dinner #1: mojito, chips, salsa, guac, and garden veggie fajitas with salsa verde and creme fraiche
Dinner #2: hummus, pita, merlot, farfalle with butter and basil, salad, and William Sonoma's vermouth chicken
Oops, that last one doesn't count. It doesn't matter though. If you can get your hands on the William Sonoma Chicken Cookbook, PLEASE make the vermouth chicken recipe. Except, please do NOT sauté that chicken in 3 tbsp. of butter. That is just way too much....1 tbsp. was fine for me!
Breakfast: #1 irish oatmeal, almond milk, almond butter, dried cranberries, raw honey and cinnamon. I die.
Breakfast #2: goats milk yogurt, berry medley, blueberry museli
Lunch #1: salad with sesame sauteed tofu and Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing (my fave-sies)
Lunch #2: smoothie of almond milk, frozen berries, apple, orange, and cranberries.
Dinner #1: mojito, chips, salsa, guac, and garden veggie fajitas with salsa verde and creme fraiche
Dinner #2: hummus, pita, merlot, farfalle with butter and basil, salad, and William Sonoma's vermouth chicken
Oops, that last one doesn't count. It doesn't matter though. If you can get your hands on the William Sonoma Chicken Cookbook, PLEASE make the vermouth chicken recipe. Except, please do NOT sauté that chicken in 3 tbsp. of butter. That is just way too much....1 tbsp. was fine for me!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Chicken Noodle Soup II
Well, it's that time of year again. The time of year when John says "Will you make me some chicken noodle soup sometime?", which translates to "I'm turning around and going back to the grocery store so we can get the ingredients for you to make chicken noodle soup ASAP." My life is tough.
I usually go with the more Italian herbs. This time, though, I wanted a little bit of a lighter taste, so I went with French herbs and lemongrass. I live life on the edge.
So here's the recipe for the most recent batch of Chicken Noodle Soup. It should be noted that I'm BS-ing 80% of this recipe...and really it's just whatever I grab and however much of it I grab. My middle name is "Risk-taker".
Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 boxes of Swanson's Organic Chicken Stock (I believe this is the top rated America's Test Kitchen stock?)
6 c. water
1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed
4 celery stalks, halved and sliced
3 carrots, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 c. dry egg noodles (or a mixture of whatever sort of noddles you like...we used the "grab bag" selection at John's house, which included various sizes of penne and egg
Salt
Pepper
3 tbsp of herb, including tarragon, dills, lavender, thyme, parsley
1 bay leaf
1 stalk of lemongrass
Directions:
1) Bring chicken stock and water to a boil with the bay leaf and lemon grass stalk. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Turn off. Add chicken and herbs, salt and pepper and simmer on low.
2) Meanwhile, sautee over medium heat celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in butter and olive oil until very, very soft.
3) Add veggies and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes.
This soup is always best the next day!
I usually go with the more Italian herbs. This time, though, I wanted a little bit of a lighter taste, so I went with French herbs and lemongrass. I live life on the edge.
So here's the recipe for the most recent batch of Chicken Noodle Soup. It should be noted that I'm BS-ing 80% of this recipe...and really it's just whatever I grab and however much of it I grab. My middle name is "Risk-taker".
Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 boxes of Swanson's Organic Chicken Stock (I believe this is the top rated America's Test Kitchen stock?)
6 c. water
1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed
4 celery stalks, halved and sliced
3 carrots, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 c. dry egg noodles (or a mixture of whatever sort of noddles you like...we used the "grab bag" selection at John's house, which included various sizes of penne and egg
Salt
Pepper
3 tbsp of herb, including tarragon, dills, lavender, thyme, parsley
1 bay leaf
1 stalk of lemongrass
Directions:
1) Bring chicken stock and water to a boil with the bay leaf and lemon grass stalk. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Turn off. Add chicken and herbs, salt and pepper and simmer on low.
2) Meanwhile, sautee over medium heat celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in butter and olive oil until very, very soft.
3) Add veggies and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes.
This soup is always best the next day!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Spiced Cranberry and Grand Marnier Torte
Merry Christmas! Today is the 2 year anniversary of my blog! AND the anniversary of me attempting to make this torte again. I saw this torte on the Bon Appetit website and FELL IN LOVE... unfortunately, my love was unrequited last year as the torte melted hours before we served it and forced my family to lie to me on Christmas Day (they're so nice, but I know that it sucked...see sucky recipe blog post here)
HOWEVER! I will not allow this torte to defeat me! I decided to change the frozen filling to a pastry cream this year, and followed the directions a little more carefully. I made a few changes, and so decided to put it up on my blog!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 9 oz. package of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp. sugar
7 tbsp. melted butter
Pastry Cream (I doubled this recipe):
2 1/2 c. whole milk
Zest of 1 orange
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
5 tbsp + 1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. Grand Marnier (**ps-I discovered that an airplane sized bottle of Grand Marnier is about 6-7 tsp.)
Topping:
1/2 c. port
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 c. fresh/frozen and thawed cranberries
White Chocolate Curls (**I used a bar of Ghirardelli White Chocolate at ROOM TEMP...cold makes it extremely difficult to curl)
Directions:
To Do The Night Before
Topping:
1) Whisk port and cornstarch in a skillet (no heat) to blend.
2) Add sugar, honey, and spices then bring to a boil.
3) Add half of cranberries, cooking until the mixture comes to a boil.
4) Immediately remove from heat and add remaining cranberries.
5) Allow to come to room temperature, then chill over night.
To Do the Morning of (at least 2 hours before assembly):
Pastry Cream:
1) Warm milk and zest over medium-low heat until steaming.
2) Meanwhile, whisk yolks, sugar, flour, and cornstarch until smooth.
3) Once milk steams, add half of milk-zest mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
4) Transfer egg yolk mixture back into the rest of the milk mixture, whisking constantly.
5) Increase heat to medium-high, and whisk cream until thick (coating the back of a spoon).
6) Remove from heat and whisk vigorously to prevent clumping.
7) Stir in vanilla and Grand Mariner.
8) Allow to come to room temperature, then chill until firm before assembly.
To Do Before Assembly (at least 1 hour):
Crust:
1) Blend wafers, chocolate chips, and sugar until fine.
2) Add melted butter and blend until wet crumbs form.
3) Transfer all but 1/2 c. of crust mixture into a pan with high sides and a removable bottom, pressing firmly to form crust.
4) Chill or freeze until firm.
Assembly:
1) Remove crust from pan.
2) Fill crust with pastry cream.
3) Top with reserved crust mixture.
4) Top with cranberry topping.
5) Top with white chocolate curls.
Merry Christmas!
HOWEVER! I will not allow this torte to defeat me! I decided to change the frozen filling to a pastry cream this year, and followed the directions a little more carefully. I made a few changes, and so decided to put it up on my blog!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 9 oz. package of Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp. sugar
7 tbsp. melted butter
Pastry Cream (I doubled this recipe):
2 1/2 c. whole milk
Zest of 1 orange
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
5 tbsp + 1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. Grand Marnier (**ps-I discovered that an airplane sized bottle of Grand Marnier is about 6-7 tsp.)
Topping:
1/2 c. port
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 c. fresh/frozen and thawed cranberries
White Chocolate Curls (**I used a bar of Ghirardelli White Chocolate at ROOM TEMP...cold makes it extremely difficult to curl)
Directions:
To Do The Night Before
Topping:
1) Whisk port and cornstarch in a skillet (no heat) to blend.
2) Add sugar, honey, and spices then bring to a boil.
3) Add half of cranberries, cooking until the mixture comes to a boil.
4) Immediately remove from heat and add remaining cranberries.
5) Allow to come to room temperature, then chill over night.
To Do the Morning of (at least 2 hours before assembly):
Pastry Cream:
1) Warm milk and zest over medium-low heat until steaming.
2) Meanwhile, whisk yolks, sugar, flour, and cornstarch until smooth.
3) Once milk steams, add half of milk-zest mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
4) Transfer egg yolk mixture back into the rest of the milk mixture, whisking constantly.
5) Increase heat to medium-high, and whisk cream until thick (coating the back of a spoon).
6) Remove from heat and whisk vigorously to prevent clumping.
7) Stir in vanilla and Grand Mariner.
8) Allow to come to room temperature, then chill until firm before assembly.
To Do Before Assembly (at least 1 hour):
Crust:
1) Blend wafers, chocolate chips, and sugar until fine.
2) Add melted butter and blend until wet crumbs form.
3) Transfer all but 1/2 c. of crust mixture into a pan with high sides and a removable bottom, pressing firmly to form crust.
4) Chill or freeze until firm.
Assembly:
1) Remove crust from pan.
2) Fill crust with pastry cream.
3) Top with reserved crust mixture.
4) Top with cranberry topping.
5) Top with white chocolate curls.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas Hot Chocolate
**Warning: this hot chocolate is NOT super sweet. Personally, I can't handle super sugary hot chocolate. This recipe was an attempt at recreating my mom's hot chocolate. It failed, but it was still pretty damn good! Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
16 oz. milk (we used almond milk)
10 tsp. Twining's drinking chocolate
1/8 tsp. cardammon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 shot Rumpleminze (or other peppermint schnapps)
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. Stevia (**I like Stevia better than sugar for the whipped cream since it dissolves so nicely)
Directions:
1) Heat milk on low until steaming (about 5 minutes)
2) Whisk in chocolate, then spices.
3) Turn heat off, and add Rumpleminze
4) In a jar (pint size or larger), combine cream and Stevia. Secure lid and shake vigorously until the cream stiffens like whipped cream.
5) Divide hot chocolate into mugs and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
6) Sprinkle with cinnamon, chocolate or peppermint shavings, or just leave as is!
7) Pass out from happiness!
Ingredients:
16 oz. milk (we used almond milk)
10 tsp. Twining's drinking chocolate
1/8 tsp. cardammon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 shot Rumpleminze (or other peppermint schnapps)
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. Stevia (**I like Stevia better than sugar for the whipped cream since it dissolves so nicely)
Directions:
1) Heat milk on low until steaming (about 5 minutes)
2) Whisk in chocolate, then spices.
3) Turn heat off, and add Rumpleminze
4) In a jar (pint size or larger), combine cream and Stevia. Secure lid and shake vigorously until the cream stiffens like whipped cream.
5) Divide hot chocolate into mugs and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
6) Sprinkle with cinnamon, chocolate or peppermint shavings, or just leave as is!
7) Pass out from happiness!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Happy 100th Post to Me!
This is my 100th post! I cannot believe it! And it's so appropriately timed, since I started this blog almost precisely 2 years ago AND this recipe is worth, at least, 100 bucks!
Homemade Pasta with Roasted Garlic, Onion, and Mushroom Marsala Sauce
1. Mom and I made the following homemade pasta recipe. I would suggest 4x the olive oil, a 1-3 ratio of whole wheat to white flour, and about 3-4 tbsp. of water.
2. Roast 1 quartered onion and 1 bulb of garlic until soft and golden brown.
3. Saute onion and garlic in 1 c. white wine, 1 c. chicken stock, and 1/2 c. marsala.
4. Add chopped mushrooms and reduce until desired consistency.
5. Remove lid and blend with an immersion blender (NOTE: This was my first time using an immersion blender AND I NEEEEEEEEED ONE! I felt like an Iron Chef).
6. Serve on top of your yummy, homemade noodles (we did fettucini) with shaved pecorino-romano, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper!
7. Get seconds.
8. And thirds.
9. Refill wine glass...and maybe get just one more serving. Seriously, this was SO good!
Homemade Pasta with Roasted Garlic, Onion, and Mushroom Marsala Sauce
1. Mom and I made the following homemade pasta recipe. I would suggest 4x the olive oil, a 1-3 ratio of whole wheat to white flour, and about 3-4 tbsp. of water.
2. Roast 1 quartered onion and 1 bulb of garlic until soft and golden brown.
3. Saute onion and garlic in 1 c. white wine, 1 c. chicken stock, and 1/2 c. marsala.
4. Add chopped mushrooms and reduce until desired consistency.
5. Remove lid and blend with an immersion blender (NOTE: This was my first time using an immersion blender AND I NEEEEEEEEED ONE! I felt like an Iron Chef).
6. Serve on top of your yummy, homemade noodles (we did fettucini) with shaved pecorino-romano, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper!
7. Get seconds.
8. And thirds.
9. Refill wine glass...and maybe get just one more serving. Seriously, this was SO good!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Mommy Katie: Home For The Holidays: Butterball Turkey Fryer by ...
Mommy Katie: Home For The Holidays: Butterball Turkey Fryer by ...: "When I think of Butterball, I think of Holiday dinners! When I think of Masterbuilt, I think of quality smokers, fryers, and grills. So wh..."
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