Cupcakes ! Finally !

Well, I decided this weekend to bake. And, since we were sharing dinner with our dear friends/neighbors to watch The Final Four, I wanted to try out my new little cookbook 500 Cupcakes that I picked up in Kansas City.

And, although I said I would try and photograph my baking progress, I completely forgot and, so, all we have is the final product. I chose the classic chocolate cake and after looking at the pictures of THEIR cupcakes with the little DAB of frosting, decided I would make a batch of vanilla butter cream substituting almond extract for the lemon peel as well as a batch of chocolate "icing" they suggested which was really a form of ganache but with butter. I had no self-rising flour, which this book almost always uses, so I made the substitution, and it called for cocoa powder, as well as an extra teaspoon of baking powder. The batter itself tasted really yummy but the final cupcake was more like a genoise -- light but very, very dry. I prefer more of a real cake-like texture with a more chocolate flavor, too. The chocolate icing I let sit for some time, with an occasional whisking, so it would be firm enough to pipe. And the vanilla, I let rest before it was piped. Now, if you like really rich, divine, almondy buttercream icing, this is to die for !!! As was the chocolate. And I want my cupcake totally iced, not just a dab on top! Regardless, I'm going to try some other chocolate cucpake receipes from some of the other blogs, and I'll report back -- I KNOW there is a better one than this EVEN if it had to come out of a box. And hopefully I can remember to photograph the process!

The husband wants to cook something "fun" this coming weekend, so we shall see -- I imagine it will be some kind of fish from one of our many cooking magazines or gazillion cookbooks. I know it will be yum-o-licious if He cooks it!

A Quiet Weekend

We went to the lake last weekend (as always) and "there was no one home." In other words, our dear friends and neighbors on either side of us that are usually there for the weekend were gone, and the only other people on our .7 mile circle were the "regulars" who live there full time. So, it was a very quiet weekend -- which was fine for us -- we were tired, it was nasty and wet outside. What can we do . . . . . . . . . . but COOK !!! So, cook we did. Dinner Saturday night consisted of Sear-Roasted Haddock with Horseradish Aïoli & Lemon-Zest , cannellini beans sauteed with a little olive oil and garlic and then spinach tossed in, and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes with Lemon and Rosemary sprinkled with a little Parmesan on top. The fish (and I LOVE fish) was just okay. The husband liked it a lot, but the aioli was a little too sweet for me -- I'm assuming from the tomato paste concentrate used.  He wanted to know if there was something else we could use and I think we could just leave the tomato paste out of the receipe. We also used panko instead of fresh breadcrumbs which we like for the firmer crunch. The beans and spinach -- don't let those receipes fool you that say to saute the spinach and THEN add the beans. A little saute of the beans really gives them some flavor and softens them just a bit. But OMG, the tomatoes, which I have cooked many times -- they are just to die for !!! And, for a change, I made a full receipe (almost full - not quite FOUR pounds of tomatoes!), and let them cook a little longer to thicken them some. After they broiled for a couple minutes, I added a little shredded parma or asiago (whichever it was that I had) and continued to broil them -- absolutely divine. We had Italy on a plate (except for the fish !!!). And I had plenty of tomatoes left over, so when one of The Darling Stepdaughters came over for dinner last night, I put the tomatoes in a small skillet and let them simmer a while on the stove while everything else was prepared. To die for, AGAIN!!!

 

I haven't baked anything in a few weeks, so, as we go to the lake again tomorrow, I'm thinking I will bake. We're supposed to have pretty weather FOR A CHANGE -- rain ENOUGH -- and I'm dying for cupcakes! Speaking of cupcakes, we went to see The Stepson and The Fiance' in Kansas City on Easter weekend. And . . . . . . where did I HAVE to go but BABYCAKES . Oooh, la, la - yum-0-licious !!! I told those kids, I wasn't coming to Kansas City without a stop at KC's cupcakeateria !!! It was great fun! And the cupcakes were truly divine. I could have eaten my weight in the, which if I don't quit eating them I'll be one giant cupcake girl. I think MY favorites were between the cirtus ones (a lemon and an orange) and, of course, the quintessential red velvet with the cream cheese icing. Maybe THAT's what I'll make this weekend. Oh, and I guess I'll just have to get a pastry bag set for the lake to go with my new "lake Kitchenaid mixer." A girl's gotta have, what a girl's gotta have -- in order to COOK!!!

So, we'll see if I can remember in my advanced age to take pictures as I bake this weekend. Hopefully!

Until then!