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Today’s lesson: tapioca.

tAfter what seemed like 5 years (but in actuality was almost 2 full months) of constant rain here in New York, the weather finally changed into the typical summer weather: hot and humid. Therefore, it became too hot to bake anything complicated. However my mom’s birthday is Saturday, and I told her to pick something (or a few somethings) that she wanted me to bake/make for her. She picked three things, taking the heat into consideration: the panna cotta with balsamic strawberries that I made last year,  a flourless chocolate cake (she hasn’t picked which one yet though) and… homemade tapioca pudding.

Okay so, I never made tapioca before. I don’t even like tapioca pudding, and also I wasn’t even quite sure what exactly ‘tapioca’ was. The other two desserts I have made, and they’re easy. And I figured tapioca pudding must be simple, because homemade pudding is one of the easiest things ever to make. But I read about how it takes an hour to cook on the stove, and needs constant stirring because of the danger of scorching the milk and I was dreading it a bit.

Then I made it.

And not only did it NOT take an hour, it was so easy I could’ve done it blindfolded.

Tapioca is:

… a flavorless, colorless, odorless starch extracted from the root of the plant species Manihot esculenta. This species, native to Brazil, is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava, bitter-cassava, manioc, “mandioca”, “aipim”, “macaxeira”, “manioca”, “boba”, “yuca” (not to be confused with yucca), “Sagudana” (literally, Sagu drops)–with local variation of “Sabudana”–and “kappa”. Tapioca is a staple food in some regions and is used worldwide as a thickening agent, principally in foods. Tapioca is gluten free, and nearly protein free. The commercial form of tapioca most familiar to many people is pearl tapioca.

The name tapioca is a word derived from tipi’óka, the name for this starch in Tupi[1] This Tupi word refers to the process by which the starch is made edible. However, as the word moved out of South America it came to refer to similar preparations made with other esculents.’Tapioca’ in Britain often refers to a rice pudding thickened with arrowroot, while in Asia the sap of the sago palm is often part of its preparation.

Pearl tapioca is similar to pearl sago, which is used in essentially the same ways. Consequently, tapioca may be called sago, and vice versa.

Basically, they’re hard little white balls that soften in water. Pretty cool to see, especially when they turn translucent during cooking. Not really cool enough for me to taste it though. I think tapioca pudding will be something I’ll make for others, but not eat.

The pudding turned out amazing, I’m told. And it was amazingly easy (as most puddings are). So here’s part one of my mom’s birthday treats: tapioca pudding. The recipe tells you it takes 40-60 minutes to thicken, and I didn’t find that to be the case. For some substitutions, check out my asterisks (*).

TAPIOCA PUDDING

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup tapioca pearls (I used large, you can use whatever you like I suppose)
  • 2 1/2 cups milk*
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs*
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

  1. Soak tapioca in 2 cups of water overnight in refrigerator in a 2-quart saucepan or double boiler.
  2. Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl until mixed. Drain water from tapioca. Add milk, sugar, salt and beaten eggs. Mix well.
  3. Cook on medium heat until thickened (like I mentioned above, the recipe says this will take 40-60 min, but it didn’t take me nearly that long), stirring constantly to avoid scorching the milk. When its ready, mixture should be thick and pearls should be translucent.
  4. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve warm or chilled, garnish with whipped cream, fruit or whatever you like.

*For a fat-free and cholesterol-free preparation, substitute skim milk for whole and 3 egg whites for the 2 eggs. For those who are lactose intolerant, lactose-free milk can also be used.

You can top this with literally almost anything. I used ground cinnamon and let people put their own whipped cream on it, but strawberries or berries, coconut or other spices could be used as well. I used parfait glasses and custard cups, but you could make it in one large bowl and serve from that as well.

The moral of today’s lesson: don’t be afraid to try new things in the kitchen. They’re rarely as difficult or time consuming as they seem. And don’t buy a mix when something is this easy!

Oh and by the way… after a brief respite, the never-ending NY rain is returning this week, aaaaand I changed my haircolor (again)- dark brown in the back, light blonde in the front:

And if you want that sweet Cupcake Rehab shirt, you can get one here. Awesome haircolor and my face not included.

Comments (9) ° Tagged: Posted 01 July 2009 §

Military Monday.

Posted by Flickr user tokyopop

The third Military Monday is here. Aren’t those cherry pie cupcakes awesome? Bet you never thought of that.

On a more somber note, here’s the list of the fallen for the week. I encourage you to look through the Military Monday archives if you don’t know what this is all about, and explore the past two entries.

Michael Francis Pedersen, 26, Army Sergeant, Apr 02, 2003 Flint, Michigan

Eric Allen Smith, 41, Army Chief Warrant Officer (CW3), Apr 02, 2003 Rochester, New York

Brian Edward Anderson, 26, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 02, 2003 Durham, North Carolina

Christian Daniel Gurtner, 19, Marine Private 1st Class, Apr 02, 2003 Ohio City, Ohio

Nathan Dennis White, 30, Navy Lieutenant, Apr 02, 2003 Mesa, Arizona

Wilbert Davis, 40, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 03, 2003 Tampa, Florida

Edward Jason Korn, 31, Army Captain, Apr 03, 2003 Savannah, Georgia

Nino Dugue Livaudais, 23, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 03, 2003 Syracuse, Utah

Ryan Patrick Long, 21, Army Specialist, Apr 03, 2003 Seaford, Delaware

Donald Samuel Oaks Jr., 20, Army Sergeant, Apr 03, 2003 Erie, Pennsylvania

Randall Scott Rehn, 36, Army Sergeant 1st Class, Apr 03, 2003 Longmont, Colorado

Russell Brian Rippetoe, 27, Army Captain, Apr 03, 2003 Avarda, Colorado

Todd James Robbins, 33, Army Sergeant, Apr 03, 2003 Pentwater, Michigan

Chad Eric Bales, 20, Marine Private 1st Class, Apr 03, 2003 Coahoma, Texas

Mark Asher Evnin, 21, Marine Corporal, Apr 03, 2003 Burlington, Vermont

Erik Hernandez Silva, 22, Marine Corporal, Apr 03, 2003 Chula Vista, California

Tristan Neil Aitken, 31, Army Captain, Apr 04, 2003 State College, Pennsylvania

Wilfred Davyrussell Bellard, 20, Army Private 1st Class, Apr 04, 2003 Lake Charles, Louisiana

Daniel Francis Cunningham Jr., 33, Army Specialist, Apr 04, 2003 Lewiston, Maine

Devon Demilo Jones, 19, Army Private, Apr 04, 2003 San Diego, California

Paul Ray Smith, 33, Army Sergeant 1st Class, Apr 04, 2003 Tampa, Florida

Travis Allen Ford, 30, Marine Captain, Apr 04, 2003 Ogallala, Nebraska

Bernard George Gooden, 22, Marine Corporal, Apr 04, 2003 Mt. Vernon, New York

Brian Michael McPhillips, 25, Marine 1st Lieutenant, Apr 04, 2003 Pembroke, Massachusetts

Duane Roy Rios, 25, Marine Sergeant, Apr 04, 2003 Hammond, Indiana

Benjamin Wilson Sammis, 29, Marine Captain, Apr 04, 2003 Rehobeth, Massachusetts

Stevon Alexander Booker, 34, Army Staff Sergeant, Apr 05, 2003 Apollo, Pennsylvania

Larry Kenyatta Brown, 22, Army Specialist, Apr 05, 2003 Jackson, Mississippi

Comments (0) ° Tagged: Posted 29 June 2009 §

Good dog!

I’ve been getting a lot of feedback/comments on my homemade doggie treats lately. But the best endorsement I can get is this: Indy adored those Snickerpoodles so much, its almost indecent. He went insane everytime he saw the container they were in, and when he wouldn’t eat his food all you’d have to do is crumble one up on top of it and it’d be gone in seconds flat. Not that he exactly turned up his nose at the pupcakes… as you can see here. But anyway I’ve been getting a lot of comments on them, and I decided to try something new.

By the way, I’ll be donating some pupcakes or homemade dog biscuits to be raffled off (along with a dog blanket handmade by Yoyo at Topstitch) at the 2nd annual Just For Fun Dog Show this September 12th in Seaford on Long Island. If you’re an Etsy seller who creates canine clothes/collars/etc or if you own a dot com pet supply shop and you’re interested in donating something, please let me know. I plan on creating a basket filled with the ‘cakes/cookies and the blanket so I’ll have room for other things. If you’re a blog owner who’s crafty or if you just want to donate something, feel free to also let me know via e·mail. And I’d appreciate it if you could spread the word!

So I found a recipe at the White On Rice Couple blog, but adjusted it and changed it a bit to meet my needs & use what I had on hand, so I renamed it, since its not the same exact biscuit, and actually… its really pretty different. Also, you may need to add more flour/cornmeal or water when making it. I made a wetter dough and just made rough shapes of bones, but if you desire a firmer dough for cutting out shapes with a cutter you can do that as well. The blueberries aren’t necessary either. I didn’t let mine get too dark brown (although the second batch did come out darker than the first) mainly because my recipe isn’t exactly like that on White On Rice Couple so I wasn’t sure if it would just burn or get dark. But feel free to experiment and let me know how they work out for you. You can use wheat germ instead of a cup of flour or the cornmeal as well, or add other things your dog likes, like apple or carrot.

Making your dog homemade treats is fun and saves money, but please, before adding anything, if you aren’t 100% positive if its okay for dogs to eat, ask your vet. Especially if you have an older dog or one on medications for certain diseases or digestive problems or a dog under 6 months.

GOOD DOGGIE! BLUEBERRY FLAX SEED DOG BISCUITS

First you gotta get:

  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 3-4 teaspoons whole Flax Seed (optional)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup water

Then you have to:

  1. Combine wheat flour, ground flax seeds, cornmeal, salt, brown sugar, and whole flax seed in mixing bowl. Stir in eggs and vegetable oil.
  2. Mix blueberries in, and then add water in.
  3. Mix to form a firm dough that is smooth and workable (or you can keep the dough wet and form balls using a spoon or mold it into bone shapes as I did). Adjust by adding a little extra flour or water as required.
  4. Roll the dough out to 1/2″ (1.2cm) thick (if making firm dough). Cut out biscuits using a bone-shaped cutter 3″x1.5″ (7.5×3.7cm). or whatever cutter you like. Place the biscuits on sheet pans lined with baking paper, or well greased. Or, if making wetter dough, just plop palmfuls of dough on pan and mold into desired shape, be it cookie-like circles, bones, hearts, whatever. You can also use some more flax seeds* to decorate if you wish, or, omit them from the dough and just use them on top.
  5. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for approx. 40 minutes or until biscuits are browned and, more importantly, rock-hard. Let biscuits cool, then store in a covered container five to six feet off the floor (guess why!). Use as needed to reward your four-legged friends.

Taste test results: Two paws up!

Obviously, these were a hit. Be sure to feed them to a dog in an area where they won’t stain anything valuable- blueberries are notorious for leaving behind stubborn stains. But any self-respecting dog won’t drop a bit of biscuit, let alone blueberry.

Store these in the fridge, because flax seed oil can go bad quickly. I doubt they’ll last that long though. And yes, the small amount of brown sugar in these is okay for them to eat. Never feed a dog sugar substitutes- here’s a handy list of foods to avoid from the ASPCA.

*You may see whole flax seeds in your dogs, uh, *cough* poop. That’s fine and normal. The ground flax seed is excellent for them and so is the seed, but sometimes they go undigested. Flax seed not only adds fiber to your dogs’ diet, but also flax seed oil (which comes out when flax seeds are ground) can improve the coat and skin of pets. Also, the lignans contained in flax seed oil may have anti-cancer benefits. The blueberries are also excellent, providing antioxidants but should only be used if FRESH. Blueberries are found in many organic dog treats and food products, and are an exception to the rule of “no fruits for dogs” along with apples. Never feed a dog grapes or raisins, though, they can cause stomach upset, diarrhea and vomiting.

By the way, if you’re into those newfangled social networking sites- don’t forget to add Cupcake Rehab as a friend on MySpace, follow me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!

Comments (0) ° Tagged: Posted 28 June 2009 §

Military Monday.

I decided to try and make Military Monday something relateable to my site. So I thought patriotic, or red, white and blue cupcakes would be an interesting idea. Each week it’ll be a different cupcake, and they won’t be made by me. I’ll find them on the internet and give credit where its due. If I can’t find a cupcake or pastry, then I’ll do patriotic food, etc. If you have any that you’d like me to share, I’ll be happy to. Simply send me an e·mail with your patriotic sweets or treats and I’ll gladly post them on a future Military Monday post.

Posted on Flickr by nushuz is kinda busy / Sherry White

So again, today on Military Monday, I ask you all to remember those serving our country in Iraq/Afghanistan/etc and also, those who’ve died doing so. I’ll take a tip from Yoyo and list some each week.

Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, Marine Major, Mar 21, 2003 Waterville, Maine

Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, Marine Captain, Mar 21, 2003 Bloomington, Illinois

Therrel Shane Childers, 30, Marine 2nd Lieutenant, Mar 21, 2003 Harrison Co., Mississippi

Jose Antonio Gutierrez, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 21, 2003 Guatemala City, Guatemala

Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, Marine Corporal, Mar 21, 2003 Houston, Texas

Kendall Damon Waters-Bey, 29, Marine Staff Sergeant, Mar 21, 2003 Baltimore, Maryland

Brandon Scott Tobler, 19, Army Reserve Specialist, Mar 22, 2003 Portland, Oregon

Eric James Orlowski, 26, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 22, 2003 Buffalo, New York

Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, Navy Lieutenant, Mar 22, 2003 La Mesa, California

Jamaal Rashard Addison, 22, Army Specialist, Mar 23, 2003 Roswell, Georgia

Edward John Anguiano, 24, Army Specialist, Mar 23, 2003 Brownsville, Texas

George Edward Buggs, 31, Army Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Barnwell, South Carolina

Robert John Dowdy, 38, Army Master Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Cleveland, Ohio

Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, Army Private, Mar 23, 2003 El Paso, Texas

Howard Johnson II, 21, Army Private 1st Class, Mar 23, 2003 Mobile, Alabama

James Michael Kiehl, 22, Army Specialist, Mar 23, 2003 Comfort, Texas

Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, Army Chief Warrant Officer, Mar 23, 2003 Amarillo, Texas

Lori Ann Piestewa, 23, Army Private 1st Class, Mar 23, 2003 Tuba City, Arizona

Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, Army Captain, Mar 23, 2003 Easton, Pennsylvania

Brandon Ulysses Sloan, 19, Army Private, Mar 23, 2003 Cleveland, Ohio

Donald Ralph Walters, 33, Army Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Kansas City, Missouri

Michael Edward Bitz, 31, Marine Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Ventura, California

Brian Rory Buesing, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Cedar Key, Florida

Tamario Demetrice Burkett, 21, Marine Private 1st Class, Mar 23, 2003 Buffalo, New York

Kemaphoom “Ahn” Chanawongse, 22, Marine Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Waterford, Connecticut

Donald John Cline Jr., 21, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Sparks, Nevada

David Keith Fribley, 26, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Lee, Florida

Jose Angel Garibay, 21, Marine Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Orange, California

Jonathan Lee Gifford, 30, Marine Private, Mar 23, 2003 Macon, Illinois

Jorge Alonso Gonzalez, 20, Marine Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Los Angeles, California

Nicolas Michael Hodson, 22, Marine Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Smithville, Missouri

Nolen Ryan Hutchings, 19, Marine Private, Mar 23, 2003 Boiling Springs, South Carolina

Phillip Andrew Jordan, 42, Marine Staff Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Brazoria, Texas

Patrick Ray Nixon, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Nashville, Tennessee

Frederick Eben Pokorney Jr., 31, Marine 2nd Lieutenant, Mar 23, 2003 Nye, Nevada

Brendon Curtis Reiss, 23, Marine Sergeant, Mar 23, 2003 Casper, Wyoming

Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, Marine Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 San Diego, California

Thomas Jonathan Slocum, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Adams, Colorado

Michael Jason Williams, 31, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 23, 2003 Yuma, Arizona

Gregory Paul Sanders, 19, Army Specialist, Mar 24, 2003 Hobart, Indiana

Thomas Alan Blair, 24, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 24, 2003 Wagoner, Oklahoma

Evan Tyler James, 20, Marine Corporal, Mar 24, 2003 Hancock, Illinois

Bradley Steven Korthaus, 28, Marine Sergeant, Mar 24, 2003 Scott, Iowa

Gregory Lewis Stone, 40, Air National Guard Major, Mar 25, 2003 Boise, Idaho

Michael Vann Johnson Jr., 25, Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Cl., Mar 25, 2003 Little Rock, Arkansas

Kevin Gerard Nave, 36, Marine Major, Mar 26, 2003 Union Lake, Michigan

Francisco Abraham Martinez-Flores, 21, Marine Private 1st Class, Mar 27, 2003 Los Angeles, California

Donald Charles May Jr., 31, Marine Staff Sergeant, Mar 27, 2003 Richmond, Virginia

Joseph Menusa, 33, Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Mar 27, 2003 San Jose, California

Patrick Terence O’Day, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 27, 2003 Sonoma, California

Robert Marcus Rodriguez, 21, Marine Corporal, Mar 27, 2003 Queens, New York

Jesus Alberto Suarez del Solar, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 27, 2003 Escondido, California

Roderic Antoine Solomon, 32, Army Sergeant, Mar 28, 2003 Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fernando Padilla-Ramirez, 26, Marine Sergeant, Mar 28, 2003 San Luis, Arizona

Michael Russell Creighton-Weldon, 20, Army Private 1st Class, Mar 29, 2003 Palm Bay, Florida

Michael Edward Curtin, 23, Army Corporal, Mar 29, 2003 Howell, New Jersey

Diego Fernando Rincon, 19, Army Private 1st Class, Mar 29, 2003 Conyers, Georgia

Eugene Williams, 24, Army Sergeant, Mar 29, 2003 Highland, New York

William Wayne White, 24, Marine Lance Corporal, Mar 29, 2003 Brooklyn, New York

James Wilford Cawley, 41, Marine Reserve Staff Sergeant, Mar 29, 2003 Roy, Utah

Aaron Joseph Contreras, 31, Marine Captain, Mar 30, 2003 Sherwood, Oregon

Michael Vernon Lalush, 23, Marine Sergeant, Mar 30, 2003 Troutville, Virginia

Brian Daniel McGinnis, 23, Marine Sergeant, Mar 30, 2003 St. George, Delaware

Brandon Jacob Rowe, 20, Army Specialist, Mar 31, 2003 Roscoe, Illinois

William Andrew Jeffries, 39, Army National Guard Specialist, Mar 31, 2003 Evansville, Indiana

Jacob Lee Butler, 24, Army Sergeant, Apr 01, 2003 Wellsville, Kansas

Joseph Basil Maglione III, 22, Marine Lance Corporal, Apr 01, 2003 Lansdale, Pennsylvania

James Francis Adamouski, 29, Army Captain, Apr 02, 2003 Springfield, Virginia

Matthew George Boule, 22, Army Specialist, Apr 02, 2003 Dracut, Massachusetts

George Andrew Fernandez, 36, Army Master Sergeant, Apr 02, 2003 El Paso, Texas

Erik Anders Halvorsen, 40, Army Chief Warrant Officer (CW4), Apr 02, 2003 Bennington, Vermont

Scott Jamar, 32, Army Chief Warrant Officer (CW2), Apr 02, 2003 Granbury, Texas

Comments (2) ° Tagged: Posted 22 June 2009 §

Get sconed. Or, chocolate chip scones, part deux.

I’m a huge advocate of getting sconed.

Getting sconed basically means realizing the wondrousness of scones, and then eating said scones until your stomach pops or you want to throw up. Last year I made really good chocolate chip scones, and told all about my love for scones with chippery of chocolate. Even though that recipe was good, and I’ve made it a lot since then, I’m always on the search for a new and improved, and really perfect scone recipe. This one came close. Flaky and delicious, with a better consistency than the other recipe. What’s the difference? My other recipe calls for lemon peel, this one does not. The other recipe uses a glaze of milk/sugar, this one uses an egg/vanilla/cream wash on top. Anywho, I found this recipe at the King Arthur Flour website, so big ups to my homies over there (I really don’t have any homies over there, but they make awesome flour). I also made scones for Thanksgiving, cranberry-orange ones. I don’t like cranberry, so I didn’t eat them, but I’m told they were pretty perfect, so if you’re into that then check those out too. From what I can tell/heard they’re a lot like these in terms of flake and texture. Back to the topic at hand…

For you uninitiated out there who are asking, “What is a scone?” and didn’t read my last scone entry last year… well  here’s an explanation thanks to Joyofbaking.com:

“There are two ways to pronounce scone; “Skon” and “Skoan”.  Scones are believed to have originated in Scotland and are closely related to the griddle baked flatbread, known as bannock.   They were first made with oats, shaped into a large round, scored into four to six triangles, and cooked on a griddle either over an open fire or on top of the stove.

The origin of the name ’scone’ is just as unclear as where it came from.  Some say the name comes from where the Kings of Scotland were crowned, the Stone (Scone) of Destiny.  Others believe the name is derived from the Dutch word “schoonbrot” meaning fine white bread or from the German word “sconbrot” meaning ‘fine or beautiful bread’.  Still others say it comes from the Gaelic ’sgonn’ a shapeless mass or large mouthful.

This small cake is a quick bread, similar to an American biscuit, made of wheat flour (white or wholemeal), sugar, baking powder/baking soda, butter, milk (whole, half and half, light cream, heavy cream, buttermilk, yogurt, etc.), and sometimes eggs.  This produces a soft and sticky dough that has the ratio one part liquid to three parts wheat flour.   It needs to be baked in a moderate to hot oven so the dough sets quickly thereby producing a light scone with a light to golden brown floury top and bottom with white sides.  The texture of the interior of the scone should be light and soft, and white in color.”

There are raisin scones, blueberry scones, regular scones… I could go on forever. They’re like muffins in that you could really make any kind of scone and they’d be delicious. Traditionally scones are eaten with tea. And according to a website I found, there is indeed a proper way to eat a scone:

The correct manner in which one eats a scone is the same manner in which one eats a dinner roll. Simply break off a bite size only piece, place it on your plate and then apply, with your bread and butter knife, the jam and cream. A fork is not used to eat a scone.

But I say, eat ‘em while you’re sitting at home watching the latest ‘Nurse Jackie’ episode, I don’t care! Scones are delicious and from here on out, I am going to try and stop the stereotyping of them. SCONES ARE NOT JUST FOR TEA. So here we go… sconery abounds!

CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

Ingredients & materials to get you sconed:

  • 2 ½ cups (9 ounces) flour (the website obviously recommends King Arthur Unbleached Pastry Flour or Mellow Pastry Blend (9 3/8 ounces), but I used regular all-purpose)
  • heaping ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
  • ¾ cup (6 ounces) cream–half and half, light, heavy, or whipping (you can also use regular milk with good results)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups to 2 cups (9 to 12 ounces) chocolate chips
  • coarse white sparkling sugar or demerara sugar, for topping

Directions down the path of sconery:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a baking sheet.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder till thoroughly combined. Add the butter, working it in until the mixture is unevenly crumbly.
  3. Whisk together the cream , eggs, and vanilla. Set aside 2 tablespoons, and add the rest to the dry ingredients, along with the chocolate chips. Mix to form a moist dough.
  4. Transfer the sticky dough to a heavily floured rolling mat or other work surface. Gently pat and round it into an 8″ circle. Brush the dough with the reserved egg/cream mixture, and sprinkle heavily with coarse sugar.
  5. Dip a 2″ round cutter in flour, and use it to cut out a total of 16 scones; you’ll have to gather the scraps and reshape the dough once. Space the scones evenly on the prepared pan.
  6. Bake the scones for 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm. If not serving immediately or within a couple of hours, store in an airtight container. To reheat, wrap loosely in aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes. Yield: 16 to 18 3″ scones (depending on the amount of chips you use).
  7. Variation: Make cute little bite-sized (1 ¾”) scones by using a 1 ½” cutter. Reduce the oven time to about 13 minutes, baking until scones are a light golden brown. Yield: about 40 to 45 scones, depending on the amount of chips you use.

‘K, so I used mini chocolate chips, about a cup and a half, maybe a cup and ¾. I like my scones room temperature, so I don’t like to heat them up to eat them. But do as you wish in that department, chickadees.

*Note: this entire entry was written with an English accent, FYI.

Comments (2) ° Tagged: Posted 20 June 2009 §

Violet Beauregarde’s big blueberry muffins.

You all remember Violet Beauregarde, don’t you? The spoiled little gum-chewing brat from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (and the ensuing Tim Burton remake with the delicious Johnny Depp?) who ate the gum that wasn’t quite ready and turned into a giant blueberry, and the Oompa Loompa’s wrote a song about her? I think she’d have enjoyed these. Well, probably not actually, seeing as how they aren’t gum or gum-like at all. But the girl turned into a freakin’ blueberry… she needs to have a muffin named after her.

These are huge ass blueberry muffins, topped with a streusel-y topping. Me and Streusel don’t have a very good relationship, so mine probably didn’t come out as good as it should’ve, but I’m told they taste fantastic. You don’t have to top them with this topping, or any, if you don’t want to.

Singing the following song while baking and eating them is not required, but recommended.

Listen close,and listen hard, the tale of Violet Beauregarde.
This dreadful girl she sees no wrong…
Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing all day
long.

Chewing, chewing all day long
Chewing, chewing all day long
Chewing, chewing all day long

She goes on chewing till at last, her chewing muscles grow so
fast,
And for her face a giant chin, sticks out just like a violin…

Chewing, chewing all day long
Chewing, chewing all day long
Chewing, chewing all day long

For years and years she chew away,
her jaws get stronger every day.
And with one great tremendous chew…
they bite poor girl’s tongue in two.
And that is why we try so hard, to save
Miss Violet Beauregarde

Chewing, chewing all day long
Chewing, chewing all day long
Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing all day
long.

The recipe can be doubled or even tripled if you like. More about that after the recipe.

VIOLET BEAUREGARDE’S BIG BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Muffin ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾cup white sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Streusel topping ingredients:

  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup butter, cubed
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
  2. Combine 1 ½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
  3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together ½ cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, ¼ cup butter, and 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
  4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

This recipe makes 12 muffins, if you want huge muffins, are using large-size muffin tins or need more than a dozen, then be sure to double it. Like I mentioned above, it could even be tripled or quadrupled, depending on how many muffins you need, or what kind of pans you’re using.

Comments (2) ° Tagged: Posted 16 June 2009 §

Military Monday & “The winner is…”

I have a few things I’d like to discuss today, but first lets get down to business about who won the giveaway. Lemme just say, wow guys! Thanks to everyone who entered, some of your comments were very funny and we liked reading them. Picking a winner was tough, but the contest officially ended at 12 midnight on Saturday and yes, we did indeed pick a winner. The winner is… *drum roll* Courtney from Courtney’s Sweets! Congratulations, Courtney, enjoy your tumblers. And again a big thank you to Sourpuss Clothing for helping me out with the giveaway. Go buy lots of stuff from them, kthx. And for those of you who didn’t win, I’m sorry, you still rock, and just to let you know in September I’ll be doing a HUGE giveaway for Cupcake Rehab’s 2 year birthday with lots of prizes… so stay tuned!

Now onto something a bit more serious. My dear friend Yoyo over at topstitch.org does something called Military Monday. Here’s an explanation, in her words:

HOLA AMIGOS,

I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN MILITARY MONDAY TO YOU AGAIN INCASE YOU MISSED IT ON TWITTER SINCE I YAP ON THERE WAY TOO MUCH LOL.

WHEN I ADDED CARSON DALY ON TWITTER I NOTICED HE STARTED DOING MILITARY MONDAY, I DECIDED I WANTED TO DO THE SAME.

SINCE MEMORIAL DAY, I LIST (IN 2POST’S) 100 SOLDIERS THAT DIED IN IRAQ SINCE THE FIRST ONE.
THEY DO SO MUCH FOR US AND IT’S THE LEAST I COULD DO. THEY NEED TO BE HONORED AND REMEMBERED EVERY DAY.

I KNOW YOU ALL ASKED WHAT YOU COULD DO. IF YOU WANT TO DO WHAT I AM DOING (YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE FROM MINE) OR IF YOU WANT TO THINK UP SOMETHING ELSE TO DO.

I REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU ALL JOINED ME IN DOING THIS EVERY MONDAY. IT’S ONCE A WEEK AND IT WOULD MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME BUT PLEASE DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO.  I DON’T WANT TO GUILT ANYBODY INTO ANYTHING AND I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND IF YOU DON’T WANT TO.

THANKS GUYS. HAVE A GREAT EVENING!!

So I of course said I would do Military Monday as well! And here to kick off my first Military Monday post are Arwyn & Indy, showing their patriotism (and Indy has a special message for everyone)…

Arwyn loves her country!

Rescue pets know this is true just as much as soldiers do!

I’d like all of you to visit Faces of the Fallen: Iraq & Afghanistan Casualties and read through the listings. Click on as many soldiers as you can, read about them. I think you’ll find that you’ll be reminded of someone you know, a brother, sister, cousin… an old high school friend. You’ll think of your son or daughter, husband or wife. It will upset you, it will hit close to home. And it should. We should never let a day go by that we don’t think of these people, never let a day go by that we don’t get upset about this war, we should never ever become jaded and passive and allow this to just happen without having a reaction.

As someone who knows a Marine who’s served twice in Iraq, I know what his wife feels when he leaves to do his duty. I know what she feels, but I can’t imagine how she feels.

The war is not a video game, a Lifetime television series or a movie. It is real, its happening every day and its tearing families apart. The least we can do is honor those who were brave enough to die in service to our country.

Thank you for reading, and congratulations again to Courtney!

Comments (3) ° Tagged: , Posted 15 June 2009 §

Cupcake cocktails… & a GIVEAWAY!

Hearing: Foxboro Hottubs - “Mother Mary”

**** COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED, THE CONTEST IS OVER! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ENTERING AND A WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY, JUNE 15TH! ****

Before I start I just want to repeat that Cupcake Rehab now has a Facebook page! So if you’re on the book of faces, and you read this site, then please go & become a fan! Okay now back to business…

I’m sure in these times of what I call ‘haute couture cupcakes’ that we’ve all heard of or seen cupcakes made with alcohol, or cupcakes deemed ‘cocktail cupcakes.’ There are Margarita cupcakes, White Russian cupcakes… hell there are even ones made with wine (yeah- for real, Google it). But this recipe I’m posting here today, although it does contain alcohol, is not a cupcake recipe, its an actual cocktail recipe, and its called… ‘The Cupcake.’ It’s very hot out, and I couldn’t bring myself to bake a cupcake. But drink a cold one, sure. I can do that!


“Cocktails” to me are from a totally different era. There was a time when men would come home from work and have a cocktail, not crack open a can of Bud. Or at dinner parties; people would serve Martini’s and Manhattan’s. It wasn’t a “drinking to get drunk” kind of time back then. It wasn’t like now (when most assholes go out with all intentions of getting sloppy and acting stupid). In the spirit of the cocktail and the retro vibe it gives, these super cool retro tumblers are from the amazingly awesome Sourpuss Clothing, and you too can win your VERY OWN SET (details below the recipe).

Anyway apparently this sweet little drink originated at a conference in Dallas, Texas. I don’t know how true that is, because I’m the kinda girl who orders a Sam Adams or Harp if I’m in a drinking mood, and I’ve never heard of anyone order this anywhere, anytime (then again I’m pretty damn far from Texas). But when you combine cupcakes and cocktails I have to believe good things happen, so of course I tried it.

By the way- the cocktail turned 203 this past May! Happy birthday cocktails!

THE CUPCAKE

Quantities for one drink:

  • ½ Cup Seagram’s® Vanilla Vodka
  • ½ Cup Sprite® Soda

Blending Instructions:

  1. Fill a glass half full with cubed ice.
  2. Pour in ½ cup of Seagram’s vanilla vodka (or other vanilla vodka).
  3. Pour in ½ cup of Sprite from ½ a foot above glass (helps make it mix better).
  4. Stir for 10 seconds, and serve.

Enjoy your cupcake *wink*

Now lets get down to business. You want those tumblers, right? Who wouldn’t- they’re the bees knees. Calyn at Sourpuss Clothing was nice enough to tell me that whoever wins this little giveaway of mine will get their own set of these, on the house! These 13 oz. beauties retail for $24.00 on the website and you have a chance here to win them. Thats pretty sweet. So here’s what you have to do to win:

Go to the Sourpuss Clothing website and find your FAVORITE item they sell in the KITCHEN section. Then tell me why its your favorite here in my comments and be sure to post a link as well, i.e., “I love the Werewolf cutting board because I have a weird sense of humor and the thought of me cutting carrots & chopping onions on a bloody werewolf claw makes me laugh.” Make it interesting, because I’ll choose the winner at random based on who made me laugh the most or who’s comment was the cutest or some kind of nonsense like that, and it’ll be me and Jay who make the final decision (because he’s totally impartial and will more than likely not know a single one of you, whereas I probably will). And PLEASE- when commenting, make sure you leave your e·mail address! I’m not sure if I have it set to be mandatory, but I need that to contact you if you win. Anyway, once it’s decided, then I’ll e·mail you and ask you for your info, then when you give me your address and such I’ll send it to Calyn and you’ll recieve your tumbler set ASAP! This contest will only be a week long, so get your entries in quick as little bunnies, because next Saturday, June 13 at 12 a.m. Eastern time, it will be over. Finito. Donesky.

GOOD LUCK GUYS!

Oh, P.S.- I know you love the fact that I put this in the “no-bake” category.

Comments (9) ° Tagged: , Posted 06 June 2009 §

Shrimp Stir-fry.

One of my favorite foods is Asian. I love Chinese food, be it greasy take-out Chinese or fancy sit down Chinese, and I love Japanese stir-fry & Teriyaki. Not too big on Thai or Korean, but I digress. Stir-fry is also the easiest thing to make at home. As long as you have soy sauce, ginger (either powdered, candied or gingerroot that you grate yourself could be used), garlic and some rice and veggies- you have a meal.

The original recipe that I used for this particular meal is for beef stir-fry, but I wanted to use shrimp (which is again one of my favorites), so I amended it a bit (if you decide to use chicken or beef, cook it in the skillet with some oil before you make the veggies, then put it in a bowl and cover it to keep it warm… shrimp cooks really fast so the directions are different). But like I’ve said before, you can use anything: chicken, beef, shrimp or even tofu I suppose. Its totally open to interpretation. You can use any rice you like also. Brown rice, jasmine rice, white rice… whatever! Any vegetables you have can be used, I used carrots, onion and broccoli but you can throw in peas, snap peas, water chestnuts, anything you like. You see how versatile it is? It’s the perfect meal for nights when you have tons of stuff in the house but no clue what to make.

SHRIMP STIR-FRY

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined and preferably tail-off
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 medium heads broccoli, or one frozen 16 oz. bag broccoli cuts or florets
  • 2 tbsp. grated gingerroot, or 2 tsp. ground ginger

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, cornstarch, dark brown sugar, garlic and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir fry for 5 minutes then add carrots and broccoli (cut into florets, or just cuts if using fresh) along with ½ cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
  3. Add shrimp to skillet along with ginger and soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil,  and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Make sure shrimp is opaque and pink, if so, then its  done. Serve hot over rice or noodles.

And there ya go. A quick, filling and delicious meal you can make with everything and the kitchen sink! Those shrimp look amazing, don’t they? Don’t you want to reach into your monitor and grab one? Yeah. I know. If only Willy Wonka’s attempt at sending food through the TV was feasible. Then you could indeed grab some of this yummy stir-fry. But thats okay, I’m sure the Big Mac you’re eating is really good, too.

Yeah, messy plating job in exhibit A, but dude, seriously- this ain’t Bon Appetit.

And uh, don’t forget to become a fan of Cupcake Rehab on Facebook! What are you waiting for? I said go become a fan!

Comments (3) ° Tagged: Posted 01 June 2009 §

Tomayto, tomahto, let’s call the whole thing risotto!

Before I start, I just want to let everyone know that Cupcake Rehab has a new Facebook page! So go become a fan if you have Facebook. And if you don’t have a Facebook, don’t worry! There are other ways to keep up with Cupcake Rehab, just click here and see.

Okay now on to the recipe. Risotto is one of my all-time favorite recipes. Its filling, easy and always has a bit of a “wow” factor. I think thats because most people never make it at home, or if they do its one of those box mixes from Whole Foods. Its almost always a restaurant dish to people. It intimidates them like crazy. Well not me. I have three other risotto recipes in my archives and love every single one. I think risotto is acutally easier than a lot of other dishes, and so versatile. You can add basically any vegetable, any meat, any seafood. Its a wonder-dish!

But here’s a new one for me: Tomato risotto with parmesan & fresh basil. Delicious sounding, even better tasting. Thanks to Last Night’s Dinner for the recipe. I changed it a bit to suit me, but the recipe is her’s. Mangia!

TOMATO RISOTTO WITH PARMESAN & FRESH BASIL

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons EVOO (I just really wanted to write that- I hope you all know that means extra virgin olive oil)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 cups Arborio rice
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 cup GOOD QUALITY pasta sauce
  • 4-5 cups chicken broth
  • about 6 large basil leaves, chopped (less if you like less basil, more if you’re a basil fanatic)
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Melt butter into olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, heat the broth in a saucepan of its own until its hot, but not bubbling. Add onion and a pinch of salt to butter and olive oil and cook a few minutes until softened. Add the rice and stir well to coat with the butter/olive oil mixture. Allow to cook a few minutes more until the rice begins to become translucent. Add wine and continue to stir, allowing most of the liquid to absorb. Stir in pasta sauce and half of the chicken broth and again allow to cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
  2. Continue adding the remaining broth a cup or so at a time, stirring fairly continuously, and allow the liquid to cook into the risotto. What you want is for the risotto to be creamy and the texture of the grains of rice to be firm but not crunchy or hard. Taste frequently as the rice cooks so you can test the texture of the rice, and also add more salt as needed. You may not need all the broth, but if you happen to need more liquid you can add a cup or two of water.
  3. Once the risotto is creamy and al dente, yet not mushy, turn off the heat and gently stir in the basil. Add a bit of freshly grated Parmagiano Reggiano and stir that in immediately before serving.

I like to serve my risotto in a bowl with a slice of chunky artisan bread, like an olive oil ciabatta. Like the original recipe, a fantastic addition to this would be big fat hunks of fresh mozzarella, stirred in while its still hot. And people- there is nothing, NOTHING, like using fresh basil. I clipped some off of my basil plant for this, if you don’t have a basil plant of your own then go buy some fresh basil. Basil, basil, basil!

I made this for dinner and then made some spiced sugar bomboloni for dessert. Awesomely awesome.

Also, I never use metal spoons to stir anything I make that has tomatoes or tomato sauce. My mother told me years ago that the metal can react with the acid in tomatoes and make a not so nice result. Always use wooden or silicone. And NEVER leave a metal serving spoon sitting in a hot pot of sauce you want to continue eating from. Just a little tip from me to you.

Comments (7) ° Tagged: Posted 31 May 2009 §

Bom-bom-bom, bom-bom-boloni…

During the duration of the making and eating of these fried balls of yum I came to the conclusion that ‘bomboloni’ is an incredibly fun thing to say. I also came to the conclusion that bomboloni is mother-effing scrumptious.

“What the hell is bomboloni?” you may ask. Well, you uneducated fool, bomboloni is a fried dough snack popular in Italy, Tuscany to be exact (and uh, sorry for calling you a fool, I was just kidding). Its kind of like a beignet (I made those a few months ago, click here to see), or zeppole. They’re more like donut holes, or “Munchkins” from Dunkin’ Donuts, than actual doughnuts. You can fill them with chocolate cream, or pastry cream,  or even jam. You could drizzle them with melted chocolate and powdered sugar, or dip half of them in a glaze of some sort. You could also probably have them plain. However not all bomboloni is sweet- some can be filled with cheeses and such (just like beignets can be filled with meat and cheese). But I prefer the sweet kind of fried dough, myself. So these particular bomboloni’s are not covered in powdered sugar, oh no. They are spiced sugar bomboloni’s; coated in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger.

This is a piece I like to call ‘Bomboloni Bowls.’

I cut this recipe out of Blueprint magazine from the November/December 2007 issue.  Sadly, Blueprint is now closed, but you’re lucky I saved this recipe, because you can now be cool enough to have found a recipe for a dessert called ‘bomboloni’ as well.

SPICED SUGAR BOMBOLONI

Ingredients:

Makes 25 doughnuts

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 4 envelopes plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

  1. Heat 1 cup water and the butter in a small saucepan until butter melts. Set aside to cool.
  2. Combine milk and yeast in a large bowl; whisk to dissolve yeast. Add eggs. Do not mix.
  3. Add flour, sugar, and salt in that order. Do not mix.
  4. Add the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
  5. Wrap bowl tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
  6. Place dough on floured surface and gently roll out to about 1 inch thick. Cut out circles of dough with a 2-inch round cutter. Place on a well-floured, parchment-lined baking sheet.
  7. Heat at least 3 ½ inches of oil in a pot until 325 degrees. Fry bomboloni in batches, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Remove, and drain on paper towels.
  8. Dredge in spiced in sugar. To make the sugar, combine 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon allspice, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg in a small bowl.

Serve these babies with some espresso and you’re good to go.

Mine did not turn out completely round, like little balls, but I don’t think there’s really a shape qualification for these anyway. The spiced-sugar is ah-mah-zing, but I did some with powdered sugar too, because I’m a sucker for a zeppole-style taste, as you can see below. I omitted the cloves from the sugar mix because I don’t like the taste of cloves. Reminds me of the dentist.

Just a tip: make sure they’re cooked all the way through. You don’t want a messy, uncooked middle. They’re going to get pretty dark on the outside before they’re totally done. Just don’t burn them. If they aren’t cooking through properly, your oil isn’t hot enough or deep enough.

I also think it made way more than 25. But I rolled my dough thinner than 1 inch, so duh.

Comments (7) ° Tagged: Posted 27 May 2009 §

Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Apple Strudel.

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I don’t like apple strudel, to be quite honest. I like apples, but this goes back to my weird idiosyncracy of not liking fruit in certain ways. I like fresh orange juice but don’t like eating oranges. I like apples, but won’t eat apple pie or strudel. I like bananas in muffins and smoothies, but refuse to eat an actual banana. Yes- I am aware that I’m a freak. I know it, and I embrace it. In the words of John Lennon:

“I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know… I’m just one of those people.”

Yeah.

Anyway I have issues with eating desserts that incorporate real fruit. But thats my problem, not yours. And since I’m the only one around here with such an issue, it was insisted that I create this strudel in the exact form the Daring Baker’s presented it. Apple Strudel is big around here. I was going to do a chocolate one, maybe one with chocolate and a cannoli type filling, but my life was threatened so I made the apple one. I, perhaps, will make a chocolate one at some point down the road… but until then here’s my entry for the May Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Apple Strudel.

‘Kay, so I cheated a bit and folded and rolled my dough into a smaller piece, then cut it and made mini strudels from those pieces. I made about 12-14 in total, but they varied from the size of my hand to two or three that were the length of about half my forearm. The dough was a freakin’ pain in my ass to work with*, and I had a lot of holes and rips. Thats how I came up with my idea of folding it into pieces and making mini-strudels. The filling was easy, of course, its just apples, cinnamon, sugar and rum. But all in all they came out fairly good. Some better than others. And yes, I made quite a few little strudels and they were all a hit with whomever tasted them. Thanks again, Daring Baker’s! You never let me down with your recipes.

I used Golden Delicious & Granny Smith apples..

*For you lazy cooks out there, have no fear. You can use Phyllo dough instead of making your own. Sure, maybe its not exactly the same, but it works. The entire point of the challenge this month was making the dough, but if I made it again or had to make it quick, I’d definitely go for the pre-made stuff. Much easier! Yeah I know, purists probably want to hang me right now. But seriously. Its 2009 & I run a website called ‘Cupcake Rehab.’ I’m not anal about this stuff. I say, if you need to use a shortcut, use it. But if you have time and patience, try the homemade. I bet with practice it’d be fairly easy to do. If you have the kind of space and time to practice making studel dough, that is.

And again, I always say “This time I should take pictures of myself during the process, actually making it…” and then the time comes and I either get too wrapped up in it, or there’s no one around to take the picture, or my hands get covered in flour… you get the idea.

Recipe can be found if you … Continue Reading »

Comments (6) ° Tagged: Posted 27 May 2009 §

Happy Birthday Funfetti- no thanks to Pillsbury.

No offense Pillsbury, you served me well for many years… came in handy when I wanted to make a quick sheet cake at midnight during my college years and kept my sugar levels up through many class birthday parties as a child, but I don’t really “do” box cake mixes anymore. Sure, occasionally I’ll use one and mix it with other things to enhance a recipe, but I just don’t make cupcakes or cake with canned frosting or boxes anymore. Don’t get me wrong- there nothing bad about them, and they taste fine. But its more fun to make it from scratch, plus its so easy why would you even bother with a powdered cake mix with all those preservatives?

A few years ago I made Jay a cake in the shape of a gun for his birthday. It was awesome, but by no means professional. I used Funfetti cake mix because he adores Funfetti. Well that was the last time I made a cake from a mix, so poor Jay doesn’t get Funfetti anymore. So… when I happened upon this recipe for homemade Funfetti cupcakes at I ♥ Cuppycakes, I was super excited. Clara adapted the recipe from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski, so I’m giving credit where credit is due on both accounts.

Here we have homemade Funfetti cupcakes… just for Jay’s 28th birthday! Happy Birthday Jay!

FUNFETTI CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¼ cups  flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
  3. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low. Then add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture.
  5. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full.
  6. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

I topped these with fish toppers because Jay’s been really big into fishing lately and I thought it was funny.

The verdict? Awesome. Everyone loved them and Jay said they were the best ever and the frosting was scrumtrilescent. Okay he didn’t really say that, Will Ferrell said that when he was doing James Lipton on SNL. Whatever. They were scrumtrilescent.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Comments (9) ° Tagged: Posted 23 May 2009 §

I adopted… a blogger!

Thanks to Dine & Dish and the Adopt-a-Blogger program, I am now considered a “mentor” of sorts, and I have “adopted” a newbie blogger!

(yeah I know… I can’t believe anyone thinks I’m a “mentor” either…)

The idea is the pair up an experienced blogger with a new blogger, and have the experienced blogger “mentor” the “newbie” for three months, and then at the end of the three months we post about what we’ve learned, etc. I thought it was a great opportunity to not only make a new foodie friend but also to help someone, if I could at all.

Now not to toot my own horn but I’ve been around the ‘net for a good 10 years now (yeah, I’m old), my first website was created way back then and my first blog was created 7 years ago. While my food blog here is fairly new (almost 2 years old), I’ve had experience with blogging for ages and have been doing so in a private or public way pretty consistently since then. I have written the HTML for entire websites without the help of Dreamweaver or Front Page and created the graphics myself, in addition to the installation of CGI and PHP programs was totally done by me and me alone. Plus I’ve been around the food blog block once or twice now, and I see the way things go (and have had my share of not onlyfood disasters but also website disasters- like posts that mysteriously disappear or computers that restart in the middle of an unsaved post? Yeah, been there done that). Now while I don’t think that makes me an expert by any means, but I figured if I could help someone  and show them the ropes, so to speak, then why the hell not?

So we’ve both been pretty busy lately ( I’ve been doing graphic design out the butt and well, keep reading and you’ll see why she was busy)… so its a bit late but better late then never! On that note, I’d like to introduce to you all… my “newbie” (I am not saying this in an offensive way, by the way)- Amanda from Is This Thing On?

*waves* Hi, Amanda!

Amanda and I have a lot in common. If we’re any indication, Kristen at Dine and Dish did an excellent job with the pairings. We both love broccoli, baking & dying our hair a lot, and, well, pretty much we’re both awesome. Amanda is a smarty-pants who recently graduated with a Master’s degree and hopes to teach English composition; and I think thats fantastic. Anyone who loves English rocks in my book considering I proof-read  e·mails and correct the grammar of most people I encounter in everyday conversation. Yeah, thats right, my blogger’s smarter than yours!

So look out, blog-world, there’s a new tag team in town!

Comments (6) ° Tagged: Posted 12 May 2009 §

Slumber Party Potatoes.

A couple of months ago I was sick, and stuck in bed for a week, and during that time I read about 700 books. One of these books was Diane Mott Davidson’s Prime Cut. Its a culinary mystery book, with recipes intertwined with each chapter. One of the recipes was something called ‘Slumber Party Potatoes’ and even though I was so sick I could only ingest soup, it sounded so incredibly good I almost became delirious.

A few changes: I used a bag of frozen broccoli cuts, because thats what I had. I prefer to cook my broccoli in a pan with a little butter or oil so thats  how I prepared it for this. I did not use chicken broth granules either, I had regular chicken broth but I didn’t bother to use it.

SLUMBER PARTY POTATOES

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 4 large baking potatoes
  • 2 T. (¼ stick) butter
  • 3 T. all-purpose flour
  • 1 T. chicken broth granules
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
  • 1 pound fresh broccoli, trimmed of stems and separated into florets, lightly steamed
  • 1 pound bacon, cooked until crisp, drained and chopped

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Scrub and prick the potatoes in 3 or 4 places with a fork. Bake them for about 1 hour, or until flaky.
  3. While the potatoes are baking, melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Stir in the flour; cook and stir just until the flour bubbles, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth granules, stir, and then gently whisk in the milk. Heat and stir constantly over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until it melts, 2 or 3 minutes.
  4. Split each of the hot potatoes in half and place them on a platter. Place the steamed broccoli florets and chopped bacon into bowls. Pour the cheese sauce into a large gravy boat. Diners serve themselves assembly-line style, ending with the cheese sauce.

OH. MY. GOD. So good. So good you won’t be able to move after having one… or uh *cough* three.

I doubled the cheese sauce recipe so I could serve more, and it worked just fine.

Comments (9) ° Tagged: Posted 07 May 2009 §