Confessions of Love

One surefire way to know you've hit the jackpot with a new recipe is when people taste it and all they can say to you is, "I love you." Any compliments or praise are always accepted when you have spent time creating tasty concocations, but when all anyone can utter from in the midst of their taste bud bliss is those three magic words, you know you have really done something right.
This happened to me last Saturday when I whipped up a batch of cupcakes with a recipe I had ripped out of Bon Appetit 4 months ago and have carrying in my calendar ever since. This cupcake batter is created with butter, sugar and lemons which is always a sign that you're onto something divine then it has you slip a little pocket of jam right in the center for a surprise that is sure to delight. The recipe calls for raspberry jam; however, despite the fact that there are cases of delicious jams created by lovely sister, there was no raspberry. I searched through jars of blueberry mint, strawberry with drambue, peach and finally decided that plum would be most complimentary to this delicious buttery confection. And I must say when people ask you, "What kind of cupcakes are those?" and you can respond with, "Why they're Lemon-Plum," you just sound like a classy cat. So without further ado...

Lemon-Plum Cupcakes
Beat together until fluffy
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp lemon peel
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.
Mix in 3/4 cup of flour
1 tsp baking powder
Then add 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl lemon juice
Mix in another 1/2 cup flour

Drop 1 Tablespoon of batter into 12 muffin cups. Drop 1 teaspoon of jam on top (I used plum but get creative with whatever you have). Cover with remaining batter. Bake at 350 for about 23 minutes.
When cool, frost. I used jarred frosting due to time constraints but any will do. Below was the one listed in Bon Appetit.
Beat together
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbl lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp lemon peel... They recommend doing this on 6 cupcakes then adding 1 Tbl jam to the others. Pretty fancy and they sure look lovely..
However, in this case, the taste alone will make these a smashing success!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Part 2

An old time favorite: Italian Meatball Cookies

Chocolate, Spicy, Coffee Deliciousness, not to mention the batch makes a ton and they freeze really well!!

Mix together
1 cup of milk
1 cup of shortening
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Add 3 cups of flour
5 tsp of baking powder
1 Tbl of cinnamon
1 Tbl of nutmeg
3/4 cup of cocoa
Slowly add 2 more cups of flour followed by 1 cup of nuts (preferably walnuts) and 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes.

Frosting
3 cup of confectionery sugar
3 Tbls of cocoa
1/4 cup softened butter
2 Tbl hot coffee
1 tsp vanilla
Blend together

Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch

If you hear the word paw paw and immediately think it is some nonsensical fairy tale food or a child's name for a papaya, you are not alone.. but you are wrong. Many only know of paw paws from the old children's song, Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch.  Although unheard of by many, paw paws do exist and grow right down the street from me in good old Rochester, NY, which was how I ended up with some paw paws in my possession. When my neighbor left a bag of paw paws hanging on my doorstep, I was not quite sure what to do with them. With a quick Google search, I learned many interesting factoids about paw paws: they are native to North America; they are sometimes called the West Virginia banana; they are Ohio's native state fruit; and there are all sorts of Paw Paw festivals! I also found recipes for pies, breads, muffins, puddings and even wines using paw paws. Who knew?
So I set out to make a Paw Paw Pie
Paw paws start out green and turn yellow and then brown as they ripen. They are actually best when they outside looks like a brown rotten banana oddly enough.

Inside they have beautiful yellow flesh that tastes very sweet and similar to a banana. They also have little black seeds which can be a bugger to take out. But persist on, it is worth it!

Once you have peeled the paw paw and removed the seeds you are ready to make yourself a pie.
I used a graham cracker crust in mine but you can make a regular pastry crust as well.

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 3 egg yolks, 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of pureed paw paws. Cook slowly until thickened about 5-10 minutes. I added 1/2 cup of toasted coconut here to add a tropical flavor (this step is optional) Pour custard into your pie crust.
Take egg whites, 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar, 3 Tbl of sugar and beat into a meringue. When peaks form pour meringue on top of the paw paw custard. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until peaks are browned.

Flavored Whipped Cream

I'm not sure if any of you have noticed that there is now such a thing as liquor infused whipped cream in a can... crazy? delicious? ingenious? This product comes in a variety of flavors as well.. chocolate, cherry, vanilla. At a recent visit to the Rehab lounge, I had the opportunity to try this new product. Now one would think that combining delicious whipped cream and liquour would make for a fabulous combo, perfect for topping coffee, fruit, white Russians..etc. however, this was not the case.
Now the story does not end here... a bad experience with canned whipped cream has never held me back and as a wise woman once said, "Why buy whipped cream when it is So easy to make!" So I did what any intelligent woman would do.. made my own.

In my fabulous mixer, I combined 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 Tbl of sugar and 2 Tbl of Kahlua. Mix until peaks form.
Serve this over strawberries with optional shortcake on the bottom.

Result- Perfection.

Rhubarb Into Spring

I never ate rhubarb until about three years ago, but once I crossed over to the tart side their was no going back. Since food is the main thing on my mind most of the time, nothing signals spring to me like some fresh rhubarb and asparagus. At the public market last weekend, I happened across a nice young father and his son selling rhubarb so I bought and out of my little bundle of seven rhubarb stalks created two new delicious recipes.

Rhubarb Round One
Apple Rhubarb Crisp
This recipe was inspired by a Monica's Pies customer who upon seeing our Strawberry Rhubarb pie...

Man: Do you have Apple Rhubarb Pie?
Me: Apple-Rhubarb Pie? Never heard of such a thing?
Man: Never heard of it?? OH MY!! It is the most delicious kind of pie ever!!
Me: Hmmm I'll have to try it sometime.

And I did! Now this is not a popular combo because the seasonality of rhubarb is spring and apples is fall... However with the modren technology of today, a combination is possible. Per example: Last fall, I had rhubarb in my freezer from spring and used it to make an apple rhubarb pie for a birthday party... Smashing success!
This weekend, I bought fresh rhubarb and wintered over apples (not prime for eatin but perfect for baking) and created this crisp because I was too lazy to make a crust.

In a bowl combine, 3 sliced apples, 3 chopped stalks of rhubarb, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/8 tsp of nutmeg, 1/2 an orange juiced. Put in the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan. In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of butter and 2/3 cup of flour. Combine with a fork until crumbly. Add 1/3 cup of oatmeal. Sprinkle over fruit mixture.
Pop into a 350 oven. Bake for the amount of time it takes to drink a beer on your friend's porch (Approx. 45 min.) Come home and remove from oven. I served this with a dollop of creme fraiche on top. It would also be fab with ice cream or whipped cream or just plain.

Side note... If you don't eat it all for dessert, this is amazing heated up the next day for breakfast with a cup of coffee.

Rhubarb Round 2
Pork Tenderloin with Rhubarb Chutney
Chop 2 cloves of garlic. Combine with 1 Tbl of olive oil, 1 Tbl of rice vinegar and 2 Tbl of cumin. Massage into your pork tenderloin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes or until temperature is 165. (I know you all have made pork tenderloin before!)

Now for the new exciting part... Rhubarb Chutney!!
In a small saucepan, combine 1/3 cup of sugar, 3 Tbl of balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp of ground coriander, 1 tsp of cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of chopped rhubarb, 2 chopped green onions, some craisins if you desire ( I only had a few so put what I had. It would be great either way). Simmer about 5 minutes or until rhubarb is cooked. Remove from heat and let cool.

When tenderloin is done, slice and top with chutney. I served this with a side of steamed asparagus and a Dry Riesling from Dr. Konstantin Frank's. Perfection.

Lemon Curd Two Ways

This week I made homemade lemon curd for the use of one dessert and in turn created another with the leftovers. It was even so good that I ate some with just a spoon!! This easy little sauce is a lovely start to many amazing things.

Lemon Curd
With a mixer combine 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of sugar. Mix for about 5 minutes or until fluffy and doubled in size. Add 2 Tbl. of freshly grated lemon zest and 1/3 cup of lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed). Place mixture in a double boiler and cook for about 15 minutes or until nice and thick. Stir occassionally as it cooks. Stir in 6 Tbl. of butter.

Now for the fun part....
Way #1: The original intent for this lemon curd was to put between the layers of a carrot cake... Now you may be thinking lemon, carrot, say what?? But let me just say when this carrot cake featuring fresh ginger with lemon curd between the layers topped with thick maple cream cheese frosting was served at Johnnys it was a hit. In the words of Sky, "This cake is so good I want to have sex with it." Enough said.

Way #2: In a clear glass, layer graham cracker crumbs, lemon curd, creime fraiche, fruit- I used raspberry sauce leftover from a cheesecake but you could also put some fresh fruit in here-raspberries or blueberries... Divine. Quick. Simple. Do It.

it's tshirt tiiiiiiiime.

when I was little our neighbor (sue schwingel) used to make these for us in the fall and for christmas. she deliver a little plate full of desserts and these were, pardon my french, da shiiiiit. I remembered them out of the blue the other day and found them online. I made a batch tonight -- they taste so f-ing a-maz-ing but I have some edits that I'll make for next time (I'll tell you when you're older**).

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Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

Yield: 24 bars

For the Brownie Base:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Toppings:
1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows
1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter (don’t use natural peanut butter)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan.

2. For the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

**you definitely need to remember to get MINI marshmallows and not the biggies. I got a bag of bigs and they didn't spread out well and they were glopping all over the place when I was trying to layer the delicious rice krispie treat part on top of them. I'm not sure if the mini marshballs will help with the glopping but it couldn't hurt. the marshmallow WILL mixed in with the rice krispie part if you get the big ones though (not that it's really a bad thing. it all goes to the same place, ha! HA! ha!).

also -- make more of the rice krispie topping (step #6). I'm going to try to increase this amount by about a third next time. there was a lot of it but not enough to spread it evenly to the edges, and therefore there's more marshmallow popping up when the rice krispie part is the best part. next time I'll try 2 cups of choc. chips, 1.5 cups of p.b., 2 tbsp. of butter, and 2 cups of rice krispies. if you have leftover krispies then YOU'RE WELCOME!

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/10/05/marshmallow-crunch-brownie-bars/

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so either way, this recipe is ballerrrrrrrrrrrr. I'll make it for friendsgiving. that's how much I love you. I suggest you make it anyways.

also, if you don't go to the gym, you don't look good. if you don't tan, you're pale. and if you don't do laundry...you ain't got no clothes.