Nueve de Mayo Fiesta

Around here we actually celebrate Nueve de Mayo which is a much bigger celebration than Cinco de Mayo. You can read all about it here.

Margarita & Sangria Cookies
Recipe makes 18 cookies for each


Margarita Cookies:
3/4 cup unsalted Butter, room temp
1 cup Sugar
1 large Egg
1 T Tequila
1 T Triple Sec
1/4 t Lime Oil
zest and juice from 1 Lime
1 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Salt
3 cups AP Flour
Green food coloring


Sangria Cookies:
3/4 cup unsalted Butter, room temp
1 cup Sugar
1 large Egg
1 t minced Lemon Peel
1 t minced Orange Peel
3 t Blood Orange Juice (plain orange juice can be substituted)
4 T Red Wine
1 T Triple Sec
1 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Salt
3- 1/2 cups AP Flour
Burgundy food coloring

For Sangria cookies- reconstitute the minced lemon and orange by putting into a small cup and adding blood orange juice and red wine. Mix together and let sit for 15 minutes so the zest can absorb the liquids.

To make cookies: Soften butter in mixer. Scrape bowl and add sugar until creamed. About 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down sides well and make sure butter, sugar mixture is fluffy. Add egg until incorporated. Add tequila, triple sec, lime oil, juice and zest (or if making Sangria cookies add reconstituted zest and Triple Sec). Scrape bowl, add baking powder and salt. Over lowest setting gently fold in flour. Add food coloring a little at a time until you achieve desired color. Remove from bowl wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Have silpat or parchment paper sheet pans ready. Roll the dough to a 1/4" to 3/8" thickness. If you work quickly, then the dough should stay firm for cutting. Cut into shapes and place 2-inches apart on the prepared sheet pans until edges just begin to turn golden with a light golden brown bottom about 9- 12minutes. Be careful not to overbake as you don't want the cookies to turn brown at all. I kept the dough in the fridge while I waited for a batch to finish baking. Allow to cool on pans for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire cake rack to cool.

To make the fruit, I used a large shot glass (appropriately enough) to create rounds then used my pastry cutter to slice them in half. I baked them along with the glass shaped cookies. Once they were cooled from the oven, I actually flipped them over and decorated the flat side (that they baked on).

Liquor Glaze:
1- 3 oz package Lime Jello (for Margarita) or Orange Jello (for Sangria)
1/2 cup Triple Sec
1/2 cup Tequila (for Margarita) or 1/2 cup Red Wine (for Sangria)

In medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, dissolve Jello in the 1 cup mixture of liquors. Whisking over high heat bring to a boil. Continue whisking and allow the mixture to reduce for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes whisking every now and then to be sure that everything is dissolved well. Let cool. Make sure cookies are on a wire rack or a nonstick surface. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the cookies (both the glass and fruit sections) with the glaze. I was able to get 3 coatings on all of the cookies using this glaze. You'll want to work quickly but gently so as to not break cookies but to finish before the glaze begins to solidify. Discard any glaze that begins to resemble a Jello consistency.

Liquor Icing:
* this is enough icing for all 3 dozen cookies. Halve the recipe if only making one kind of cookie.
3 cups Confectioner's Sugar
5 T Triple Sec
3 T Corn Syrup
Optional for lining rims: 1/4 cup fine flaked Sea Salt mixed with 1/4 cup fine granulated Sugar

Using the paddle attachment (not a whisk), mix together the sugar, triple sec and corn syrup in that order until just creamy over low setting. The frosting will be very sticky so I recommend using a disposable pastry bag to line the cookies. To begin, I cut a small hole and decorated the fruit cookies first. I lined the semicircle then created the triangle wedges. I then cut a large hole in the pastry bag to create the rim for the top of the glass. I immediately dipped the iced rim in the sea salt/ sugar mixture. I then put a small dollop of the icing on one side and affixed the fruit. Be sure to push down gently so the fruit will harden to the cookies.


Coming Clean:
So did you actually look up May 9th?? Didja, didja? Yeah, about that. My company was lame enough to sponsor a Fiesta May 9th rather than the Friday before Cinco de Mayo. And I was just too damn lazy to get these cookies done and get this post up by May 5th. In my defense, that weekend is my Anniversary and we are Cinco de Mayo fanatics cause I love Mexican so much. Ok, I love Mexican food and margaritas. Clarified. I'd love to claim I was too busy whooping it up to be bothered with getting these babies up but alas I'm old. And hubby is out of town. Again. But work is having a fiesta so I made these and also entered my grandma's world famous dip into our Salsa & Dip competition. I'm too emberrassed to post that recipe.

The cookies are great of course. I really liked the Sangria which smelled so much like actual Sangrias while baking that I may have indulged in the real thing. Just a little. I tested the waters with the glaze and ended up cooking the margarita glaze too long. I tried to use it anyway and some of the cookies got a weird milky pattern when they cooled. Lesson learned. And needless to say, they were all a huge hit at work. I think my cupcake addiction could easily turn into a cookie one!

And the Bribing shall Commence!

Now I know you all love me. At least you all SAY you love me.
Here's just the opportunity you have been waiting for to prove it to me.
Go vote for my Caramel Cardamom Cupcakes (aka Brown Sugar Ménage à Trois Cupcakes) in the Royal foodie Joust.

I mean isn't it about time a cupcake reigned supreme?!?!
You know you wanna. Come on, all the kids are doing it.
Did I mention I put out?
Go vote here.
And then let me know in the comments how you prefer payment. Small unmarked bills, cupcakes, or just the satisfaction of knowing how much it means to me to finally be popular. Sorta. Yeah. Did I mention I put out?!?!

HomeGrown Gourmet Roundup- Yee HAW!!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to contribute this month and celebrated the International Year of the Potato. I think you'll find a rather varied offering of the spud from your fine fellow food bloggers! Be sure to check out the other roundups if you haven't had a chance yet. The very cool Bean’s Bistro started all the fun with sandwiches, and the Homegrown Gourmet event has featured soups, pies/tarts, stews, quick breads and breakfast.

But now, on to the Homegrown Gourmet Potato Show~

You can find some St. Louis style potatoes from me in my previous post. Let's start things off with Toasted Mashed Potato Balls:


Michelle from Big Black Dogs put together some much more sophisticated potatoes than your host this month. Check out her beautiful Pot-a-Leines!


Meghan at Joy through Cooking took the high road with sweet potatoes and put together a healthier version of the Pittsburgh Salad.

I'm wondering how my friend Laurie feels about this??

Katie at KBK Bakery ramped up the flavor on a Louisville tradition called The Hot Brown. She even made her own potato bread so be sure to check it out!


Ben over at What's Cooking went all native and decided the best thing to go with potatoes is beer, of course. Man after my heart that one Who wouldn't love Beer Potato Salad~ It's a barbeque in one dish, right?!?!


Erika of Beantown Bistro, Homegrown Gourmet's very own fine founder. She got bold and messy and submitted our only candy potato treat look at her pimping the Maine plate~ Maine Needhams:


Psychgrad from the Equal Opportunity Kitchen went with her favorite from R's hometown, the admittedly unhealthy but fun indulgence Scalloped Hashbrown.


Kate from Paved with Good Intentions, lied to her readers and gave us one more food post- Thanks Kate! Despite needing to pack and lacking her usual kitchen items she pulled off a Southwestern Sausage Au Gratin.


Culinography, our lovely host last month, got all sappy talking about comfort food and her mom. I love ya fellow carb lover! Check out her Dad’s Ham and Potatoes:


I couldn't help myself and in my usual food blog stalking I found~ People who did not enter Homegrown but should have! I didn't want to use anyone's images as they didn't actually enter this roundup but if you'd like me to include an image with the link please email me and I'll edit the post to include them~

Cooking and Booking made some Smashed Potatoes

What Smells So Good's Mom made rich decadent Vichyssoise

Canela y Comino made the prettiest pizza I've evah seen Genzano Potato Pizza

Ok already~ you probably want to know who I chose as the winner right? Well...

.....

.....

.....



Not only did she elevate a local classic... I mean COME ON~ she put mashed potatoes on potato bread for pete's sake!! She STOLE her mother's cookbook to make the potato bread. But she worked back karma points by using bacon and eggs from a local farm. How could I possible resist this perfect Hangover remedy? Congratulations Katie! Can't wait to see what theme you pick for the next Homegrown Gourmet.

Homegrown Gourmet Potatoes~ St. Louis style

I didn't want to putz out this month, especially since I came up with the ingredient. So I pulled together something fairly simple but honest to St. Louis I think. The city where we love to bread and deep fry everything it seems. What?? Ravioli isn't fattening enough for you? How about some Toasted Ravioli?? totally love them We've destroyed Italian, why not ruin Asian cooking as well? How about crab with some cream cheese in a wonton wrapper, uhmmmm anybody else see where this is going? DEEP FRIED! We call it Crab Rangoon and uhm yes I love it too she says sheepishly

To go really local I would have loved some heirloom potatoes from a local farm but the Farmers' Markets that I go to around here don't open their doors til May. Insert image of Tempered Woman shaking her fist at damn May! So instead I caved and went to a local chain supermarket and found these:


I'm a big believer in compromise lie but don't usually like to shop at cheap discount supermarkets another lie. So when I do, I try to do my share and seek out the organic or more local products that they offer first truth this entire post. I was thrilled to find out that Shop 'n Save is now offering their own Organic line of products. Now I realize these are probably far from ideal organic but if I'm forced to choose between this and something non-organic but cheaper, I like putting my dollar where my values are. Hopefully encouraging through spending, ya know?


Probably the most controversial item in St. Louis. Yes, cheese. Cause we roll like that. Few things will cause tempers to flare faster in St. Louis than a debate on pizza. And for the record I prefer thin pizza, you'd almost think I came from St. Louis And the biggest cause of this discourse? Provel cheese. Another weird St. Louis concoction. How do we come up with this stuff I have no idea. I don't personally have deep seated personal hatred for the cheese like most other foodies with a more respectable blog that reside here. It's not a personal favorite but it does melt well and I like it crumbled on salad. Sue me.

Now~ I have a storied past with mashed potatoes. This is probably the one food item I have the most dear memories of. Once again proving I'm far from gourmand, I know. But I don't think I could live without mashed potatoes. My birthday dinner request as a kid? Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The first time I felt like the real chef of the family? My little sister would request MY mashed potatoes after school cause I added cut up ham, celery and cheese (I was in the 7th grade and oh so PROUD!). In high school, I was known for being the freak who ordered nachos with mashed potatoes. Yep, slathered them all over my nachos then covered everything with salsa. My first truly gourmet Valentine's Day meal for my boyfriend (I thought anyway)? Orange juice marinated grilled salmon and wasabi infused mashed potatoes. Like I said, we have history the mashed potato and I...

I've had something like my St. Louis potato inspired creation at a local St. Louis pub but they were called Coniques~ probably because Potato Balls sounds less refined. We absolutely loved them so I figured I'd try to create them at home. I am not quite so refined so from henceforth~ Potato Balls it is!



Toasted Mashed Potatoes
makes 24 Potato Balls, ice cream scoop size

2- 1/2 lbs. Russet Potatoes
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/4 cup Butter
.5lb. Provel Cheese, grated or crumbled
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups AP Flour
1/2 cup Buttermilk (for wash)
2 Eggs (for egg wash)
2 cups Bread Crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs for this)
Oil for fryer (Crisco BABY!! Just kidding- I actually used Peanut Oil)

Boil potatoes with skins on for 40 minutes. Allow them to cool still in water. I let them rest for an hour. Drain. Remove skins and discard, reserving potato flesh in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of buttermilk and butter and mash. Make sure they are completely devoid of lumps and then mix in the crumbled cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Using ice cream scoop, form the potato balls and place on parchment paper lined pan. Cover and freeze the potato balls overnight.

Set up 3 separate bowls with one containing the flour, one with the eggs and buttermilk wash, one with the bread crumbs. Using your left hand, coat the potato balls in flour, then using your right hand dredge the potato balls in the egg wash and then use your left hand again to coat them in the breadcrumbs. This keeps your fingers from becoming a pasty mess. Place them on a sheet pan while you wait for oil to heat. Have oven set for 200 degrees and a flat cookie sheet ready. Deep fry the potato balls at 400 degree setting for 3 minutes, making sure that each of the potato balls don't overlap in the basket. I fried 4 of them at a time. The potato balls will be a nice golden brown when done. Allow the potato balls to cool on paper towels and wipe off excess oil. Put on cookie sheet and put in oven so they stay warm while you fry the next round.



Coming Clean
Granted I'm only 12 years old but I giggled inside each and every time I typed "Potato Balls." I may have used the term more than necessary but I'm sophisticated like that. Just wanted to keep it real and honest for my peeps. Cause here in St Louis we have big deep fried balls, thankyouverymuch. If you didn't giggle, just go back and reread the recipe replacing the words "the potato" with "your." Ok, glad to get THAT out of my system.

These were great, but let's be honest. You weren't even wondering just a little bit about that. You were too busy thinking about all the other great things that could go in to those balls, snicker weren't you? When I make these again I'll definitely use a sharp cheddar/ provel mix. I liked the melty gooey provel but they needed some sharp tang in there. I'd also like to try and make these in a smaller size but no one wants to hear about me and my oversized balls, do ya? I did in fact eat these with a salad mix of baby romaine. They were perfect that way and I felt better, like it was all healthy because I was eating a salad. Sad, right? I don't care. My balls and me are just fine on our own, thanks.

How come you taste so good...

Just a warning: this post is highly inappropriate for most normal human beings. I appear to be in some weird raunchy mood of sorts and it's all Brown Sugar's fault.



So I have a new mission in life. Well, my blogging life that is. And it's to score a Royal Foodie Joust title. Her highness, The Leftover Queen has this amazing foodie event every month that I've always enjoyed from afar. Although this month she is off getting married (sucker!) and left the reigns to some crazy Mexican guy that you may have heard of... just kidding Ben! SO not kidding about the marriage thing tho.

The challenge this month was to create something with three ingredients chosen by Michelle who scored her own title in April for her Coconut-Yellowtail Lollipops with Spicy Lime Dipping Trio. I think it's kind of funny that the Daring Bakers are making Cheesecake lollipops and I'm talking about Michelle's fish balls. heh
So anyway, Michelle got to choose this month's challenge ingredients. The Ménage à Trois for May is Mango, Cardamom and Brown Sugar:

Well I could have kissed Michelle for these ingredients. right. on. the. lips. Maybe even slipped her a little tongue. Now I'm no stranger to cardamom. It's my secret ingredient in apple dumplings and carrot cake. I heart me some cardamom. And I love mango too. I mean, how many people do you know who has a great-aunt in Montana who shares her Curried Chicken with Mango recipe?? But I figured most others would probably highlight those ingredients in some way and treat the third like a step-sister. I knew right away when this challenge was announced which ingredient I wanted to be the real star. I mean COME ON, WHO can resist the Rolling Stones?!?!


And this is why I truly believe food blogging is so far superior to cookbooks. How many cookbooks do you know that give you the opportunity to enjoy some Rolling Stones while reading a recipe? and ridiculously long diatribe to boot... *ahem* Ok, truth be told, I've been itching to celebrate brown sugar in a cupcake. I wanted to really use it in several different ways to show off how diverse this ingredient can be and how it can shine through as a major player even when paired up with some other major stars.


I give you Caramel Cardamom Cashew Mango Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream but that's too much talking for these sexy things. So as I prefer to think of them...



Brown Sugar Ménage à Trois Cupcakes
makes 18 cupcakes which happens to be divisible by 3, hmmmmm

for the Cake:
1 cup and 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed (1 -1/2 cups total)
1 cup Mango Nectar/ Juice
1/2 cup unsalted Butter, room temp
2 large Eggs, room temp
1/2 cup Yogurt solids (squeezed through cheesecloth to remove excess moisture, can substitute Sour Cream)
1 Mango, peeled and chopped very finely (I got approx. just over 1 cup of fruit)
1 t Vanilla
1- 1/2 cups Flour
2 t Baking Powder
1- 1/2 t Baking Soda
1 t Salt
1- 1/2 t ground Cardamom
2/3 cup roasted unsalted Cashews, ground (I ground the cashews down in the food processor, just slightly larger than a nutmeal texture)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. In small saucepan, bring Mango nectar to a boil then reduce to simmer. Let the juice reduce to 1/2 cup. In medium sized heavy bottom saucepan, heat 1 cup brown sugar over medium-low heat. Brown sugar will begin to liquefy and caramelize. Stir to allow all of the sugar to liquefy. As soon as this is done, gently add mango nectar to brown sugar a small amount at a time and quickly whisk in. The mixture will bubble up, so be careful to only add small amounts of the juice and quickly incorporate to reduce crystallization. When all of the juice is incorporated allow the mixture to continue simmer for an additional minute while slowly stirring. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In mixer with paddle attachment, cream 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and eggs over low setting. Bring up speed to medium for just a minute to allow mixture to take on whipped appearance. On low setting add yogurt and then add chopped mango.

In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Add to wet mixture slowly while continuing to mix on low speed. Add ground cashews until just incorporated.

Caramel syrup should be cooled to the point of a thick preserves like texture. With mixer running on low speed slowly add syrup to cake batter. Allow the syrup to ribbon into the batter. Do not overmix, you want to stop when syrup is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and allow to mix one more minute on low.

Prepare a cupcake tin with liners. Pour batter into prepared tins 3/4 full. Do not overfill (like I did the first time, heh) as these will rise. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. I baked 6 cupcakes at a time and 25 minutes was perfect every time. Be careful not to overbake. Cool completely before removing from the cupcake tin to a wire rack as these cupcakes are very delicate. Approx. 10 minutes. Patience is a virtue or something...

for the Glaze:
2 cups Mango Nectar
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 T Cardamom Seeds (whole, not grounded)

In heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk together ingredients until sugar is well incorporated. Heat to a boil while whisking over high heat. Reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat without mixing. Allow to reduce for 25- 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Strain through cheesecloth and wire mesh into a bowl to remove cardamom seeds. Once cupcakes are cooled, use cake piercing tool to gently poke three holes in each cupcake. Glaze tops with pastry brush. I gave each cupcake two good coatings with glaze. There will still be about 1/3 of glaze left which I used to candy the mango slices.

for the Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
4 large Egg Whites
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 t fine Salt
1/4 t Cream of Tartar
1 cup unsalted Butter*, at room temperature, cut into tablespoon pieces
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/2 t ground Cardamom

In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes too hot to touch comfortably, 7 to 10 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to mixer bowl and mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high speed until the egg whites hold a stiff peak, about 8 minutes. Add the butter, one or two pieces at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated. Add vanilla and cardamom. Use at room temperature.

*this frosting really benefits from using a high quality butter. You can really taste the butter and the creamy good European variety is best in this recipe. So go ahead and splurge for the frosting.

for the Candied Mango:
1 Mango- peeled and cut into thin slices
Reserved Glaze from above

Turn oven down to 200 degrees when cupcakes are done baking. Place mango slices onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper spaced apart so they are not touching. Using pastry brush, give each slice a thin coating of glaze. Let mango slices bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, flip slices over and brush each with another thin coat of glaze. Let bake for another hour. Repeat for each side for a total of 4 hours and glazing each side twice. Once removed from the oven allow to cool slightly then shape as desired. I just twisted and worked them free style. Cool completely (best if overnight).

for the Brown Sugar Brickle:
*this is just a repeat of the caramel used in the cupcakes
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Mango Nectar
1/3 cup roasted unsalted Cashews, ground (same as above also)

In small saucepan, bring Mango nectar to a boil then reduce to simmer. Let the juice reduce to 1/2 cup. In medium sized heavy bottom saucepan, heat 1 cup brown sugar over medium-low heat. Brown sugar will begin to liquefy and caramelize. Stir to allow all of the sugar to liquefy. As soon as this is done, gently add mango nectar to brown sugar a small amount at a time and quickly whisk in. The mixture will bubble up, so be careful to only add small amounts of the juice and quickly incorporate to reduce crystallization. When all of the juice is incorporated allow the mixture to continue simmer for an additional minute while slowly stirring. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Use cooking spray to coat silicone mat or small tupperware tray. *cough* shameless plug for Ben *cough* Spread caramel mixture out to 1/4 inch thickness. Press ground cashews into top and allow to cool in refrigerator for at least 1 hour (I let them sit overnight). I used the round end of a large decorating tip to cut circles out for the cupcakes. Then I decided some of the cupcakes shouldn't have to conform to the same rules as others and used funky shapes. Cause some of us like our brown sugar with a little funk... or we just really like our brown sugar on the big side, ahem...






Coming Clean
Come on now~ sing along with me!
Brown Sugar! How come you taste so good? Brown Sugar! Just like a cupcake should...
Definitely catchy, am I right?? Anyone else realize that this post managed to make a leap from fish balls to a brown sugar ménage à trois? If this post doesn't win me some major pervert search engine points I don't know what will.

Also, for those of you really keeping score... YES. I spent an entire day and practically every kitchen tool I own in making these cupcakes. I may have been just a tad wee bit obsessive on this one. I'll admit it. But it got to be such fun using these ingredients every which way I could and I wanted the final cupcake to look sophisticated and elegant. Befitting the ingredients I think. I thought the candied mango looked like little Chihuly glass decorations sitting on top. Now that I look at the pictures they sort of look like bacon~ but trust me they looked like glass artwork in person. They turned out to be Monkey's favorite part of the cupcake they were so good. Really sweet chewy mango with a touch of spiciness from the cardamom. I like teasing the tops of cupcakes with a hint about what is inside and this one just seemed to work out well. I also used a bit more salt in the cupcake than I normally do but I knew I could get away with it to bounce off the cashews in the cake.

Overall, these cupcakes were absolutely perfect. I wouldn't have changed a thing for once. The cupcake was incredibly moist and delicate thanks to the fruit inside. The cupcake was nutty and paired well with the light frothy frosting. You've got caramelized brown sugar, cashew nuttiness, mango fruitiness and cardamom spiciness. An amazing balance in one cupcake. And look at them! You know you wanna call them Foxy Brown~ am I right??

On a final note~ let's call this last paragraph a *LOVE LETTER* to you dear reader. You know you love yourself some Brown Sugar and you know how much I love you as well? Am I right?? So how do I put this delicately so as not to scare you off with my forwardness. I think it's time you show your commitment to this relationship. Yes, yes... that's right. I'm asking you to vote for me in the May Royal Foodie Joust. Let just put it out there shall we? I'm not above buying your love. Shameless, I know. But that's me...


And you get serenaded TWICE in one post. Could I prove my love any more than that? I think NOT.

MiniPost

Cardinal Rule 101 of blogging- try to keep people on your site or direct traffic to your site to ramp up your visitor counts.
Lucky for you all I couldn't give a bleschmeckity romp about rules or site stats...

GO HERE NOW

Go vote for you favorite minis so they can win prizes. Mmmmmm, minis. Who doesn't love to eat minis? Food, not babies. you sicko. Geesh.
*Kthanksbuhbyenow...

Bossy Muffins

That Ina Garten is such a 'ho. She has really made the rounds on the itnernetz. First I saw her getting all adapted by Smitten Kitchen. Ok, maybe it's not her but that Yogurt Loaf that is the real culprit. Since the VERY same day it's making an appearance at Sass & Veracity. So I know when I'm being hit upside the head with a loaf pan~ if two of my favoritest food bloggers are making it, well I'm in. Yes, I cave to peer pressure and yes, I would in fact jump off a cliff if Deb and Kelly told me to. k? are we done now?

Bossy was coming to visit, you may have heard something about it? I decided I wasn't stressing myself out enough and needed to make something for her Highness, ehhhrrr, Georgia. Everyone who has hosted her mentions her early morning sneakout so I figured I'd make the loaf as muffins instead and she could take one on the run. Also, the recipe as posted by Smitten Kitchen included a list of some ideas for ways in which to adapt the recipe. I of course am a sucker for experimentation~ so it sucked me right in.


Blood Orange Cranberry Muffins
made 1 dozen XL muffins

2 cups + 2 T AP Flour
2 t Baking Powder
1 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt
1 cup Plain Yogurt
1 cup + 1 T Sugar
3 extra-large Eggs
2 t dehydrated Orange Peel
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 cups Cranberries, halved (I used frozen, thawed and rinsed well)
3/4 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 + 1/3 cup Blood Orange Juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan with liners and spray insides with cooking spray.

Sift together 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a separate bowl. In Mixer bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, orange zest, vanilla, oil and 1/2 cup blood orange juice. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the cranberries and chocolate chip with the remaining 2tablespoons of flour to coat evenly. Fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup blood orange juice and remaining tablespoon of sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the muffins are done, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the muffins are still warm, use a pastry brush to brush the blood orange-sugar mixture over the muffins and allow it to soak in. Cool.






Coming Clean
I like oversized muffins, so I used a larger than average muffin tin and the larger liners for these. You could just as easily use a regular sized muffin pan or just make the loaf. These were really great- absolutely loved the yogurt~ citrus pairing. And cranberries and blood orange go together so divinely. It's like they truly love each other and just make out hot-n-heavy in the oven. The blood orange could have been a much more intense flavor though~ I should have reduced the juice. Next time I make these, I'll try reducing 2 cups of juice down to the 1/2 cup to get a stronger flavor. I threw the chocolate chips in for Monkey of course, and she much appreciated them. If I was making these again just for me I think I'd love to try nuts instead, probably pecans. But then again I'm irrational and change my mind at the drop of a hat cause it's my God given right as a woman and maybe I'd just ADD pecans and KEEP the chocolate chips too. How you like them muffins!?!

Sorry, I'm still feeling feisty from Georgia's visit. Oh? Did I forget to mention it? Right, back to the muffins. I will also probably wrap these up after glazing them and stick them in the fridge overnight. They needed the time in the fridge for their true moistness to come through. I've actually already got another adaptation in the works. There were some dark chocolate covered blueberries on the end cap of the Trader Joe's checkout just taunting me~ "Buy us! You know you wanna! Just cave already!" So I bought them just to shut them the f* up. I'm thinking those little bastards will taste divine in a lime version of above. Whatcha think? Any other ideas out there? I mean for the recipe, keep your "how about some professional help" comments to yourself. thankyouverymuch.

Hot Tamale!

We interrupt our normal programming (and chicken tamale post) for a Bossy lovefest.
The Hot Tamale Georgia Getz was in St. Louis!
Confession time. I really look forward to reading Bossy's posts and the trip has seemed like a fun time. I could just imagine how much fun it would be~ ROAD TRIP! But and it’s a big butt I'm a total introvert and had totally talked myself out of going to the St. Louis Bossy night. I wanted to go but was jittery about being around a bunch of "real bloggers” and having to explain a bazillion times who I was "Hi Tempered Woman. No, no, I'm just a food blogger." And then I had this really weird dream where I was helping someone else decorate The Chocolate Bar with streamers and stuff (I know, wtf?) and we had 15 minutes before Bossy shows up and I look down and realize I'm still in my pj's. So I try to walk home (I know, wtf?) but it's suddenly one drama after another and there is a whole bridge sequence where I've got to cross but there are security guards (of course I had been drinking, silly question). Suffice it to say, my subconscious was not jiving on the eminent Bossy festivities.

And then something happened to change my mind. Bossy needed somewhere to stay at the last minute. Her planned host had some last minute craziness and I couldn't just leave Bossy out in the cold. So this is what I emailed her:
Consider me your last resort. I'm cheaper than a hotel room but my house is on the market right now so not exactly the posh surroundings befitting you~ more like meager accommodations. Altho I can offer a wireless connection. And 2 needy dogs.
I would honestly love to take care of you~ but it's a far cry from the bed and breakfast you deserve. Altho I do make a damn good cupcake.
And then I waited. And fretted. And freaked out a little inside. What the hell was I doing?!?! Part of me hoped she'd find someone else cause I’d just be a disappointing dorky host but part of me was so excited at the idea of meeting her and hanging out. And then I panicked cause how was I supposed to stay anonymous if I'm all hanging out with Bossy and OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHE FINDS OUT I'M REPUBLICAN?!?!
And then I got this email:
hey, excellent - i'd love to crash there... sorry about the last minute thing...see you soon!


Well of course the bathroom scrubbing commenced and I was too busy freaking out about making the house smell like antiseptic to worry about anything else. The house had a showing from 2-3 the day she was due to arrive. Which gave me exactly one hour to take a shower and try to look presentable before she showed up at 4:00. When Bossy finally arrived I was so unbearably nervous that I think I spoke a million blabbering words in a matter of minutes. Poor Bossy couldn’t get a breath in. I think about it now and she probably pegged me as a raving lunatic.


I was too embarrassed to bring my dorky little Olympus to the shindig since I knew everyone else would be packing heavy artillery. I was not wrong. But I kind of wish I had brought my camera just so I could take a picture of all the huge honkin cameras that were on the table at one time. Instead I will gleefully steal photos from other bloggers that were there.


I stole this photo from her. The night went way too fast. I do not relish meeting new people. I have to do it a lot because we move often and TOBAC is a total social whore. But I must also admit that I’m incredibly picky when it comes to friends. I only have a few because I can’t stand wasting time with people I don’t genuinely enjoy being around. I know, I know, it sounds incredibly snobby but I’ve got to be honest, I don’t meet a lot of people I genuinely like. I can’t stand taking myself or life too seriously, I cuss like a trucker who use to be in the Marines, I say really f*ed up stuff about my kid, dogs and hubby, I’m always embarrassing myself by screwing up what I want to say and I end up saying the most inappropriate things. So I get it, I’m a hard person to take so I know it’s me that makes it hard to find people I can relate to. Well with that said… everyone was unfreaking believably cool. Like I could hang out with these women all the time. They were incredibly beautiful, funny as hell, not a pretentious one in the bunch. Yet they were all interesting amazing women who were doing incredible things with their lives and managing to capture it all in words on their blogs. And did I mention funny? Like hysterical, my stomach still hurts funny.


Picture stolen from her. The only other Republican in the whole bunch. Yes, we did in fact talk about politics, and education, and nerdy stuff. But we also talked about tattoos, breast milk, boxed wine, and funny names. Ya know, to balance things out. Cause we are classy ladies like that.


Picture stolen from her. I totally freaked out when Angela from fluidpudding showed up. I had no idea she was coming and I totally stalk her blog cause she is such an amazing writer. The girl had a handy dandy notebook to catch everything. And now I can't remember the name of some hot musicican/ actor that everybody was drooling about. But Angela will know!


Picture stolen from her. I didn't get a chance to let Raquita know I totally stalk her blog too and enjoy reading about her life and how much I lurve pics of her gorgeous daughters. There were all of these great conversations all going on at the same time. But I kind of liked just catching these really odd sentences when our side was suddenly quiet. The takeaways? Everybody is in love with Barack O'Boyfriend but me and MP. Everybody watches way too much TV. Everybody loves them some mojitoes and Lindeman's Framboise. And Camembert Delice spread on spiced nuts tastes like frosted heaven. MMmmmmm


Yes, Bossy is really that gorgeous in real life. She’s tall and you would totally think she was a model if you saw her just walking down the street. Very laid back and thoughtful. Incredibly gracious. Insert gushing adjectives ad nasaeum here. Some Bossy trivia highlight from the evening: The woman has the longest damn arms known to man. She can take a group photo like nobody's business. But even better. Georgia’s middle name is Tangerine! How great is that?!?!

It was an amazing night of amazing women like her, and her, and her and her and her. Whew! sorry peeps, inside joke

But the best part of the evening was talking my best drinking bud into going out with me- my sister who doesn't have a blog and had to work the next day. Funny thing is~ she's the writer in the family. So I insisted she come and then when we were getting into my car to head out, turns out my car's back seat is so covered in dog hair from the boys that she had to drive. HA! Love ya sis.

Did I mention that I'm selling my house right now? Did I mention that we've sold most of our "stuff" to make moving easier? So don't freak out, but poor Bossy had to sleep here:


I wish she could have stayed another day. I found out her daughter is the same age as mine and you’ll get a chance to see how amazing miniBossy is in the near future. I didn’t really get a chance to hang out much with just her and I could have kept her up all night with yakking. I regret not mentioning about a gazillion things. I didn't get a chance to tell her she should be listening to Martin Sexton and the Stereophics cause they are the best friends for ears evah. I didn't get a chance to tell her how her and her daughter should be upset over the Veronica Mars cancellation and watch the first 2 seasons on DVD over and over again just like me and monkey. I didn't get a chance to compare crazy familiy histories with her. Or show her my artwork from back in the days when I was kinda cool. Most importantly I didn't get a chance to tell her that I think her trip is incredible and I love jumping to all of the sites for the people she meets and getting a chance to read her trip through all of their blogs. It's an amazing thing, don't ya think?

But I knew she was exhausted and didn’t want to impose on her since she’d be up early to do her infamous sneakout in the middle of the God awful early morning. So I made her promise to take a muffin (to be posted tomorrow) before she left and let her get to bed at a decent hour. I totally suck don’t I? I totally should have plopped my fat ass on the bed and kept her up all night and we’d be bonded as sisters forever. Le sigh. But that’s me, they broke the dork mold when I was created. And let's face it, I'm nowhere as cool as her other amazing hosts, so perhaps it turned out for the best. I may have survived the Bossy experience without saying something incredibly innapropriate for once. Maybe. Did I mention the 3 bottles of wine?



Here's hoping that the last leg of the tour is just as amazing as our evening was. And a big smooch to all of the incredible women I met last night. MMwuuaahhh!

Event Reminders

Just a reminder that the Homegrown Gourmet deadline is approaching and this weekend would be a perfect time to whip up some Potato Cupcakes...ehhrrr... I mean your favorite local spud creation. And I just realized that I said the deadline was Wednesday the 22nd but that would be kind of difficult since Earth Day is freaking Tuesday!
I overwhelm you with my competence, no? So the deadline is still Wednesday April twenty-thththirrrrddddd. Did you catch that? 4/23/2008 which falls on a WEDNESDAY. Which of course isn't half as clever as making the deadline Earth Day but whatever.

And since you'll be in the kitchen anyways, don't forget to impress and honor your friends with some Earth Day inspired cupcakes since the Cupcake Hero theme is just that. Show me some organic love people!

Sunday is for Brunch...and pity parties

So this is me, waving the white flag. The world has beaten me down and I give up. Enough.
This post and Peace pie goes out to:

* The snarky woman whose cell phone number is just one digit off from mine and her charming 3 year old who keeps calling my cell phone and leaving messages or hanging up. You were nice enough the first time I called and gave you a heads up. But when I called you back and tried to kindly let you know I understand but I've since received 20 MORE phone calls from her child, she just f'in hung up on me.

* My baby sister who is pissed that I took my mom and her husband out for a nice swanky dinner and didn't invite her. Even though you know they were over here for an entire Saturday helping me fix things around the house since it is on the market and my hubby is gone. Even though mom's hubby was on his knees for several hours fixing carpet that *your dog* tore up in my basement. Even though I can't afford to also buy you a $50 dinner and you couldn't afford it either.

* My puppy who decided to repay me for taking my mom and her husband out for a nice dinner and not taking him by tearing up the carpet that we spent several hours fixing last weekend. Into shreds. Beyond repair. Did I mention that I took him on a 4 mile walk that day to try and work out that puppy cuteness? AND bought him a big @$$ bone to chew on.

So, where on this planet is the most peaceful place I can think of to evoke calm feelings? Why the Mediterranean region of course! Huh? oh, not so much. Yeah, this is actually what I had on hand. Hopefully there is peace in using up my veggie drawer. I made 2 but halved the recipe below. I gave the 2nd quiche to a neighbor whose hubby has diabetes so he can never eat my cupcakes. Oh yeah, the karma should be kicking in any moment now. I find the quiche especially delightful with a crocodile tears reduction sauce.



Peace of Quiche Pie~ Mediterranean style
1 prepared savory 9" pie crust (you can make your own, I'm in no mood)

4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Sunchokes/ Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed with veggie sponge and sliced very thin
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup baby spinach, cut chiffonade style
1 cup feta crumbled
2 t Tuscan Sunset seasoning
1 t salt
fresh cracked pepper, little or lot depending upon preference

Prebake pie crust with foil lining and weights for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes. Place the pie crust on a sheet pan in case filling overflows.

In bowl, whisk together eggs and heavy cream. Add additional ingredients and combine so everything is well coated. I like to use a slotted spoon to then make sure all of the heavy ingredients go in first then pour remaining egg mixture over the top. Bake for 35 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.





Coming Clean
I really enjoyed the crunch of the sunchokes playing off the silky blah blah blah.
I'm going back to bed. And pretending that my taxes are already done.