February Challenge - 2nd week

6 Feb - Twin Set

7 Feb - Tote

8 Feb - Yarn

9 Feb - clothes

10 Feb - pants

So far, so good. 18 days to go. 

Cupcake Emporium

Well, it only takes about five to six years for a food trend that's hot in the civilized world (you know, New York City, London, Los Angles, hell, even Atlanta), to make it to the Florida Gulf Coast. Cupcakes, apparently, have arrived. Late last fall two cupcake bakeries appeared on the scene within weeks of each other. Now, I've been reading about this trend and wondering, cupcakes? really? who cares? But apparently our little village has enough support to keep two cupcake bakeries in orders. So far.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Swirl

This past Saturday, I visited one, Cupcake Emporium. They had a small shop that seemed largely family run - a plus if you ask me. There were about eight cupcakes available including ones just being frosted that I could see over the counter. 
I purchased a carrot cake, a red velvet, and a chocolate cream cheese swirl (which probably has another name, but that was how it was described). For $8.25, the three seemed like a pretty good deal considering the size and the obvious attention that went into making the cake and the frosting. Ingredients aren't cheap people - who has baked lately and not noticed the prices of butter, cream cheese, etc.? 

Carrot Cake

I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, but the chocolate, cream cheese swirled cupcake was really lovely. The chocolate flavor was clear, but not overly done. The cream cheese swirl was a great contrast. The cream cheese frosting was good, but perhaps a bit to sweet for me. The Boy thinks it was too much frosting, but that's hard to imagine. Too much frosting? really? um.  
The carrot cake cupcakes had a subtle spice that wasn't overpowering. It was flavorful, and moist. The cream cheese frosting was a good complement. The best frosting/cake duo according to the Boy. 

Red Velvet

Red velvet cupcakes seem to be everywhere you turn these days. These cupcakes were so beautiful that I hated to have to eat it - though I only had a bit. The Boy seems to be Chief (Cupcake) Eater of late. He thought this was good, but too sweet in total.


One of the things I value most is locally-owned businesses. To me, they deserve our support and we do support them as a family and also in any way that I can through my job. Chains have their place, I suppose, but I'd much prefer local original stores, restaurants, shops, etc. We're really pretty fortunate that we have several locally-owned/operated shops in our part of town and the Cupcake Emporium is one of them - I look forward to going back again. 

Mac n Cheese

I've often been asked for my recipe for Mac n Cheese. I don't have one. I just make it and this is sort of ... how it goes. 

Melted Butter

Start with a roux. Melt butter over medium heat - usually about 3 Tablespoons. Add flour, about the same amount. Cook the flour for a bit so it doesn't taste like flour. Add milk or cream. How much, well, probably about 2 cups or so. Whisk the milk into the butter mixture slowly so it doesn't lump up. 

Roux

Stir frequently so the mixture will not burn. Once the mixture is thickened, take it off the heat and add cheese. I use a sharp cheddar, but sometimes I add other grated cheeses that I have on hand - the majority is still sharp cheddar because I want that flavor. Taste the mixture - see if it needs salt, and add some black pepper (a requirement to me in a good Mac n Cheese). 

Cheese sauce

While all this is taking place, cook the pasta. Anything with a hole in it is good and if the pasta is ridged - like a penne for example, all the better, more for the sauce to stick to. The way I measure the amount of pasta for a vessel is by taking the vessel I plan to bake the Mac n Cheese and pour in uncooked pasta to measure half full of the vessel. Then cook that amount of pasta. It will fit the vessel when the cream/cheese mixture is added. Drain the cooked pasta, add to the cheese mixture and then pour into vessel (that you've sprayed w/cooking spray - after measuring the pasta amount). Top with a bit more grated cheese. 
Cover with foil that has also been sprayed with cooking spray (so the cheese won't stick to the foil). Bake at 350˚for about 30 minutes. Uncover the pasta and then bake a few minutes more - until the cheese is bubbly. Let it rest for a few minutes and then serve. 

Small portion for the freezer

This is a great recipe for the freezer. You can make it all the way through and cool and freeze, or make it until it's added to the vessel for baking, cool, cover with cling film, then cover with heavy duty foil. Make a note on the foil to remove the cling film, replace foil and cook in a 350˚oven until cooked through, remove foil, etc. etc. 

Mac n Cheese

If this seems much more difficult than boxed mac n crap, well, you're wrong. Perhaps, it's best to try on the weekend first to give you the time you need to try something new, but it's not a complex thing and it will be part of a great meal later in the week. 
This is a decadent side for Spinach and Mushroom Quiche.

Super Bowl Menu - Super Bowl XLV

Sunday, February 6th - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers
Two teams that are legends in the NFL, but since American football is more like a girly sport now, I stopped watching years ago, I don't really care who is playing. This is all about the commercials - at least for me and MotH. I've already seen one on You Tube and it's so cute. The Boy, on the other hand, actually cares about this. Hopefully, this condition will cure itself over time. 

Lemon Pie Cookies

One of my favorite food holidays, Super Bowl Sunday is a great day to make dinner out of appetizers. I love to make appetizers, crackers, flavored nuts, and all sorts of small things. I can think of no other food holiday that sort of dictates that everything be smallish and bite-sized. 


Menu:
Salsa and Chips

Baked Stuffed Jalapenos

Baked Stuffed Jalapenos (new)
Buffalo Chicken Dip (new)
Spinach Dip with Hawaiian bread (Boy requested)
Apricot Jam Meatballs (new)
Lemon Pie Cookies (new)

Apricot Meatballs

Looking at all the "new" items is a bit daunting, but that's the way I like it. 

February Challenge - 1st week

2 Feb - boy's books

3 Feb - clothes

4 Feb - more clothes

5 Feb - magazines

Lemon Pie Cookies

Filled Cookies

Anything lemon is good to me and anything with cream cheese makes it even better so when I saw this recipe on 5 Ingredient Fix (one of my DVR shows - ie. shows you can fast forward through the parts you don't care about), I decided to make them. I wrote down the name of the recipe to print later. On reading the recipe while I was making the cookie dough, I noticed that there didn't seem to be the right ratio of sugar to flour, esp. if a cream cheese frosting was going to be used (it's actually a filling, but same diff) because cream cheese frostings are not typically very sweet. So I went to the comments section of the recipe online (should have done this the first time I looked at the recipe) and realized that on the show - part I fast forwarded through - Claire Robinson used 2 cups of sugar for cookies and 8 oz. of cream cheese for the filling (recipe on Food Network website calls for 1 cup and 4 oz. respectivley). So I adjusted the sugar to 1 2/3 c of confectioner's sugar and 8 oz of cream cheese for the filling.

I don't know what kind of lemons Food Network gets their people, but it took 2 lemons to get 2 Tbs of lemon juice? Really? Not for me - 1 lemon worked fine for juice, though two were needed for zest.  


Lemon Pie Cookies
adapted from Claire Robinson

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar, divided, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided 
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, 1 2/3 cups of the sugar and salt until smooth. Add all of the lemon juice and half of the zest. On a low speed, add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until just incorporated. Turn the cookie dough out onto a board and roll it into a log. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cubed rolls of dough

Remove log from the refrigerator and cut it into thin 1/4-inch thick discs. Arrange the discs on 2 silicone or parchment lined baking sheets, 1-inch apart, and bake until the edges are just golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile mix cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar lemon zest (1 Tbs.) and 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice.

Top half of the cookies with the cream cheese mixture and cover with another cookie to make a sandwich. Dust the top of the cookie sandwiches with confectioners' sugar.

Comments: How long will these keep? What's the best way to store them? I am getting so used to detailed blog recipes that a recipe like this is sort of, well, not up to par. Who writes these things, oh, and more importantly, who checks with the person presenting the recipe to see if they are the same? It's really a disservice to the recipe creator to not print what is shown on the show or intended by the recipe creator. 
All that said, these cookies are good. Really crispy, lemony, and not too sweet, but sweet enough. They are good sandwich cookies, but also great as a regular refrigerator cookie. These will stay in the rotation. 

Early Pearl, Soleil d'Or, and Yael

These are the daffs that are blooming in the garden this week. It's nice because that's the only color I've have going in the front right now. Here they are.

Early Pearl - 8 W-Y

January

1899 (historic)

White petals with citron cup, multiplies. 

Soleil d'Or - 8 Y-O

January; 10-12"

1770 (historic)

Yellow petals with yellow cups that turn orange.

Yael - one of my favorites.

Yael - 8 Y-W

January; 10-12"

Soft yellow cup, good form. Mild fragrance. 

Spinning continues...

Got to love Dork Tower.

www.dorktower.com

Jane Austen is spinning in her grave.

Enough said.*

* Thank you MotH! 

John Kovalic at www.dorktower.com

Recipe Wrap up - 4 February 2011

Yikes - this was one of those weeks where I had to filter out lots of recipes -- Sunday is the Super Bowl (Packers vs. Steelers) and the recipes for "party" food are abundant. That said, since I'm not into wings and reluctant to try too many strange dips, I may be surprisingly bereft of new items for this week. Well, Valentine's - the next food "holiday" -  is just around the corner. Let's see how we do. 
Peach Glazed Meatballs - From Coconut & Lime - These look interesting, but I might use apricot instead of peach. I like the sweet/savory aspect and as I have to make everything ahead of time (thank you crochet class), this should work well in the slow cooker (which I rarely use). 

Stuffed Jalapenos

Baked Stuffed Jalapenos - From Simply Recipes - I've never felt like making jalapeno poppers, but this recipe -- the one w/the cream cheese and jack cheese has gotten me over my hesitation and I know the MotH will like these -- perhaps the Boy will try as well. I can have them prepped and ready to bake when I get home.

Goat Cheese Mozzarella and Fresh Herb Foccacia - I've looked a foccacia after foccacia recipe, but this is the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in the bread world. I will have to get past my ridiculous fear of yeast and make this. Bakingobsession.com is wonderful.


Apple Pate de Fruit This site is so unbelievable beautiful, I'm not sure

Pate de Fruit

 what to do. I have always wanted to try to make Pate de Fruit, but ... it's rather daunting. That said, it's going on my list of things to do. Okay, beating this to death, so beautiful. 

Pork & Lemon Polpettine Meatballs - What's up w/me and meatballs? Serious Eats is a favorite site for food reading. They keep me up on the new and what's happening in the food world, but I am finding more and more often that they have astounding recipes -- like this one - can't wait.
Potato Skins - Finally a recipe that looks great. Thank you Kitchen Daily for a great idea. I may make a few adjustments - esp. since tomatoes are not ready yet, but what about sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe. I'll also make a note to make this in the summer when my own tomatoes are ready. 
So.over.wings. Bring on the game - I just want the commercials.