Monthly Archives: September 2010

Mocha Marshmallow Cupcakes

Posted on September 29, 2010 | Leave a comment

It is amazing how many things I learn on Facebook.  For instance, today is National Coffee Day.  Instead of boring you with a picture of me in the kitchen with my Keurig or in line at Starbucks, I thought I’d spin this post a little bit differently.  Being the foo-foo coffee drinker that I am, my brew of choice is usually a mocha or some derivative of one.  I don’t think I’ve ever had straight black coffee in all my life and I don’t really plan to.

I do, however,  love eating and making cupcakes!  A few years ago, I had one of Sprinkles’ chocolate marshmallow cupcakes and loved it.   Naturally, I wanted to change it up a bit.  I thought that a mocha cupcake with the marshmallow filling would be wonderful.  The cake and frosting recipes are not my own, I pieced it together to create what I thought would be a yummy cupcake.  The Mocha Madness Cupcake comes from The Ultimate Cupcake Manual and the Marshmallow Frosting comes from Dozen Flours.

I served these at an Easter Brunch and they went over well.  They were really rich so everyone was happy.  They didn’t have an overly mocha taste in the cake but overall, it came together and was very decadent.  Even if you are not a big coffee fan and just a lover of good old chocolate, you would be very happy with these!

MOCHA MARSHMALLOW CUPCAKES

Ingredients For the Cupcakes:

6 TBS Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Salt

1 Egg

1/3 Cup Espresso, Chilled

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

2 TBS Vegetable Oil

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Filling:

1 Jar of Jet Puffed Marshmallow Fluff

For the Frosting:

2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

6 Large Marshmallows or 3/4 Cup Marshmallow Fluff

4 TBS Butter

1/4 Cup Whole Milk or Whipping Cream

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

1.  Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan with liners.

2.  Sift together the cocoa, flour, sugars, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

3.  Combine the espresso, buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth, then add to the dry mixture.

4.  Stir mixtures together until smooth and pour into cupcake liners.  (I fill mine about 2/3 full.)

5.  Bake for 18-20 mins, ovens will vary.  Cake will spring back to the touch.  Cool cupcakes in pan and then transfer to a wire rack.

6.  Fill a piping bag with the marshmallow fluff.  Insert tip into the top of the cupcake and fill.  Let stand while you make the frosting.

7.  To make the frosting, sift the sugar and cocoa powder together in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

8.  In a medium sauce pan, over low heat, add marshmallows (or fluff), butter and milk/cream.  Stir until melted, about 3 minutes.

9.  Remove pan from heat.

10.  Add the sugar/cocoa powder mixture and vanilla into the marshmallow mixture.  Stir until smooth, it should have a satin finish.

11.  Frost the cooled cupcakes with warm frosting and let sit.  (Note:  I prefer to dip the tops of the cupcakes into the frosting than use a frosting knife.)

12.  Once the frosting is set, I put a dollop of marshmallow fluff in the middle and garnish with a chocolate covered espresso bean.

Makes approximately a dozen cupcakes.

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Day Camp For Food Bloggers Hosted by Camp Blogaway

Posted on September 29, 2010 | 10 Comments

The idea for this blog has been floating in my head for over a year now.  Due to a crazy schedule and just not being able to devote the time to it that I would have liked, it got tossed to the back burner of life.  As ironic as it sounds, despite my son starting school and having a baby on the way, I have found some me-time.  Time to divulge in a passion of mine – food.  Hence, my life in food blogging has begun.  Over the past year I have done some recipe writing and taken pictures along the way, however, I did not want to jump into this blindly.  There are so many food blogs I love to read and look at – much to aspire to.  So, on one of my many web surfing trips, I came across the Camp Blogaway website and noticed that they were offering a day camp in Southern California, a ‘boot camp’ for food bloggers.  What a great way to get my feet wet and jump in, right?  Mr. Foodie was totally supportive of me attending – whether this is because he got a nice relaxing trip out of it or because he is really on board with my food blogging vision remains to be seen.  So we jumped in the car and headed to Baldwin.  Baldwin Park, that is…

I must admit, I was a little nervous at first.  I had no idea if the attendees were brand new to food blogging or if I was going to land in a sea of super experienced food bloggers.  I would say that there was a pretty good mix and that put me at ease quickly.  The agenda of the meeting was  jam-packed with a lot of informative speakers:

  • Food Photography and Lighting – Danny Jauregui from Food Bloggers Unite! gave an excellent talk about food photography and lighting, something I’ve been struggling with, despite having some background in photography (waaaaaayyyyy back when we were still using film!)  His talk was very straight forward and so insightful for me as a beginner, I can’t sing enough praises about how helpful this was for me.  Now, hopefully, I carry out his message successfully in my future food photos!
  • How Bloggers Score Great Gigs – This was a discussion presentation hosted by a panel of food bloggers and Brona Cosgrave, the VP of Lewis and Neale, a nationally recognized food PR agency.  Erika Kerekes from In Erika’s Kitchen and L.A. Cooking Examiner, Rachael Hutchings of La Fuji Mama, and Jennie Flake of Picky Palate all gave some insight on how to use your blog to score some great gigs and shared their experiences of several trips with us.  It’s helpful to know that food bloggers do not always get overlooked and are appreciated by many of the food companies out there.  Although I had not originally given thought to hosting contests, giveaways or even participating in any via my own blog, it definitely gave me something to think about.
  • The Cookbook Process – Kristine Kidd, food editor of Bon Appetit for two decades and a Williams Sonoma cookbook author, gave us the inside look at how to go about getting a cookbook published.  I think a lot of foodies dream about having their own cookbook and have the idea that it is the end-all, be-all.  Kristine gave a no-nonsense picture of the hard work and process involved in this path and I really think it was eye-opening for some.
  • Email Marketing – Kelly Flint from Constant Contact presented about getting your email newsletter going.  She made something daunting sound so simple and really took the guess work out of it for anyone who had no idea how to get a newsletter started and out to the masses.

Like any good foodie gathering, there was food.  An optional contest where attendees could bring a dish to share and be voted on was a good highlight in the afternoon.  The table was definitely crowded!  In a funny turn of events, everyone ran to the table with their cameras to photograph the dishes before tasting – only at a food blogger event, right?  I think I took a few elbows trying to sneak some pictures!  I’ve included some of my pictures in this post.  Although there were so many good dishes, my favorite was the Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars submitted by Kitchen Runway, which took 3rd place in the contest, I believe.  I don’t know if it is my chocoholic tendency or what but they were a simple, yummy bite of heaven and ridiculously good.  It was hard not to run home and try to make them right away – darn this gestational diabetes!

The event was hosted in the Viking showroom and really, who doesn’t love a good Viking product?  Speaking of products, there was swag.  I think everyone enjoys getting some swag.  On top of my bag-o-swag, I was lucky enough to win one of the drawings for a Viking gift basket.  I was pretty happy because there were a few things in there I really needed, now they are off my shopping list!

All in all, it was a great experience and gave me a lot to think about.  So much information to overload my foodie brain!  As I continue to plug away and build this blog, the information I gathered is going to be helpful every step of the way.  I am glad I went as I was merely getting my feet wet with this experience because it was really worth the time and money (a bargain, I might add!)  If you are a food blogger and have not attended something like this, I really encourage you to do so.  Patti Londre of  Worth the Whisk works really hard to put on a fabulous event and it is very obvious she cares about her food blogging community.  A big thank you to her and the sponsors for hosting such a great day!

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Turkey Lettuce Cups

Posted on September 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

I’ve been using this recipe for a long time, it is a go-to staple in our house as I seem to always have the ingredients on hand.  I used to use ground chicken primarily but have recently started doing it with turkey – either one is good.  However, I never use the ground turkey breast, something about it being so unnaturally white makes it very unappealing to me and I just do not care to cook with it.   I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes and that has put a little bit of a cramp in my eating style, so this has been a good meal for me.  This is super kid-friendly, simple to make and has great flavor.  We generally eat it as a main dish, but it makes a great appetizer as well.

TURKEY LETTUCE CUPS

Ingredients:

1-2 TBS Sesame Oil

1 Lb. Ground Turkey or Chicken

2 Tsp Cornstarch

3 TBS Soy Sauce

1 TBS Ginger, minced

1 Cup Water Chestnuts, chopped

1 TBS Hoisin Sauce

1 Head of Lettuce (preferably Bibb but Iceberg is pictured.)

Crunchy Chow Mein or Rice Noodles for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.  Separate lettuce leaves until you have little cups, set aside.

2.  Heat sesame oil over medium heat.

3.  Add ground turkey (or chicken) and cornstarch and brown.

4.  Add soy sauce, ginger, and hoisin sauce.  Mix thoroughly until there is a consistent brown color throughout.

5.  Stir in water chestnuts and continue to heat through about 2-3 more minutes.

6.  Assemble cups by putting a bit of the meat mixture on the lettuce cups and garnishing with the noodles, if desired.

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Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

Posted on September 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

I have recently seen several recipes for roasted balsamic red potatoes while perusing the world-wide web.  For some reason, the idea of doing something similar with sweet potatoes really sounded good to me.  I’m sure it helped that I had sweet potatoes on hand!  I was very pleased with the results and even Mr. Foodie liked them a lot, and he’s not normally a big sweet potato fan.  We ate these with roasted chicken and they were a great accompaniment.

Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 (Large) Sweet Potatoes, peeled and diced

1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1.5-2 TBS Dark Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Butter

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  On stove-top, heat the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar over medium heat.  Simmer until the mixture reduces and thickens a bit, probably around 4 minutes.

3.  Stir butter into the reduced vinegar until it melts.  Add potatoes.  Stir to coat.

4.  Put potatoes in an oiled lined roasting dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5.  Bake about 40-45 minutes, until chunks are fork tender.

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Harvest Salad

Posted on September 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

This is my modified version of an old Pampered Chef recipe that I have been using for years.  This is a great ‘meal’ salad and packed with flavor, perfect now that the Fall season is upon us.  It’s great for entertaining and I have used it many a time to make a meal for a new mother or friend in need.  I find that it’s easy to substitute with this basic recipe – chicken for turkey, a different type of nut or apple, a different type of lettuce, etc…  Enjoy!

HARVEST SALAD

Ingredients:

Dressing

2 medium-sized oranges (You will need these for zest and juice)

1/3 Cup of Mayonnaise

2 TBS  Stone Ground Mustard

1-2 Tsp Sugar (depending on your personal taste, I use 2)

1/4 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Course Ground Black Pepper

2 Small Garlic Cloves, Pressed

Salad

Romaine Lettuce (I generally use a pre-packaged bag of the hearts, about 6 oz.)

2 Cups of Cooked Chicken, diced (leftovers and rotisserie chicken work well)

3/4 Cup Diced Celery

2 Medium Gala Apples, washed and diced

1/2 Cup Red Onion, diced (optional)

1/2 Cup Sweetened Dried Cranberries

1/2 Cup Toasted Pecans

Orange segments and Croutons, both optional

Directions:

1.  For the dressing, zest orange, gathering about 2 Tsp.  Juice both oranges, you will need approximately a 1/2  Cup of juice.  (Note:  If you choose to use commercial orange juice, cut down/out the sugar.)  Combine zest, mayonnaise,  mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk until smooth.  Slowly stream in orange juice, whisking continuously.  Set aside.

2.  For the salad, place lettuce in the bottom of a bowl.  Layer remaining salad ingredients on top of the lettuce.

3.  Drizzle the salad with dressing and toss.  If desired, garnish with the orange slices and croutons.  Serve immediately.

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Grilled Broccoli

Posted on September 21, 2010 | 2 Comments

We like to BBQ quite a bit around these parts.  Mr. Foodie is partial to his charcoal grill and smoker and has sworn off the gas grill.  Recently, I decided to try grilling some broccoli – a vegetable we do not typically BBQ.  To my surprise, I really liked the results!  The grilling really gave the broccoli a nice texture, just enough crunch and just enough tenderness.  I definitely recommend trying it!

GRILLED BROCCOLI

Ingredients:

2 Small Heads of Broccoli, cut into florets and washed

Juice from 2 Lemons

1-2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed

3 TBS Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste, probably about a 1/2 Tsp of each

Asiago Cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.  Toss broccoli with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Let it sit 15-30 minutes.  (You can let it sit while you prepare anything else you might be BBQing.)

2.  Heat your grill and set aside an area for indirect cooking.

3.  Drain the liquid from the broccoli and put it on the grill.  Grill the broccoli for about 10-12 minutes, using indirect heat.  It will char a bit and still have a good bite to it.

4.  Remove the broccoli from the grill and sprinkle with the Asiago cheese before serving.

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Inaugural Post – Adobo

Posted on September 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

As a nod to my heritage and one of my favorite recipes, I have decided to go with Adobo as my inaugural post on this blog.  Adobo is a traditional Filipino meat dish, with a vinegar base.  Pork is pictured but this recipe can work for pork or chicken.  I generally use this recipe for pork and advise that if you choose to use chicken, avoid boneless skinless breast and use a bone-in chicken instead (whole or parts.)  I have heard of people using a meat substitute in adobo, however, I don’t know how well it would hold up with this particular recipe because this uses a long, stewing type of process.  We tend eat this over white rice but have used it for tacos as a sort of ‘fusion’ recipe.

ADOBO

Ingredients:

3 lb. Chicken or Pork

1/2 Cup Vinegar

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

3 Garlic Gloves, crushed

1/4 Tsp. Salt

1 TBS Peppercorns

1 Bay Leaf

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer on low until meat is tender – we usually let it stew for several hours, until the pork is tender enough for you to make chunks with a fork.


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