Spring is MIA

After a couple of weeks of spring like weather, sunshine and melting snow it's over. Little League practice will have to wait, as will any plans to work in the yard this weekend.  A storm blew in last night and covered everything up again.  Not enough to last long but enough to cover up the flower beds that were starting to emerge and the grassy areas.  Oh well. Here in the Sierra spring goes missing from time to time.  I hope it comes back really soon. 

Menu Planning Monday 3-22-2010

Monday -  It's a mystery still but looks to be left over Skillet Lasagna from Sunday night
Tuesday - Beef and Noodles this was my favorite dish growing up.  I try to make it like my Mom did but some things just get lost in translation.  Hers is better.  But I am craving it, so here it goes. Place a nice roast in the crock pot and let it slow cook all day...maybe add some salt and pepper around noon.  For the noodles: combine 1 beaten egg, 2 Tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough, about 1 cup.  Roll out the dough very thin on your counter.  Cover with a dish towel and let the noodles dry all day.  Remove the roast from the crock pot and shred it up, return to a pot on the stove and cover with the juices from the crock pot.  Add water if needed.  Bring to simmer.  Uncover the noodle dough, cut into 1 inch strips and add them to the simmering beef and broth.  Simmer until the noodles are cooked through.  Serve over mashed potatoes.  Yum.
I wish my Mom were here this week to make this for me.
Wednesday - Chicken Burgers  from Sunset Magazine
Thursday - Risotto with Peas, Asparagus tips and Bacon
Friday - French Dip Sandwiches with beef from the crock pot

Chocolate Cupcakes and Close Friends

About once every two months a group of six fabulous women get together to talk about local issues, politics, business, life and whatever.  The women are my friends and a complete cross section. We're all from different backgrounds and beliefs which makes for very colorful conversation.  I love it. When we gather we each bring something to share and the result is a mini feast.  Last night my contribution was this Chocolate 'Irish Car Bomb' Cupcakes from a Smitten Kitchen recipe. They are soooo good.  There are a few steps but totally worth it.

A terrific treat over which we solved the problems of the world....or tried too.

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes from Smitten Kitchen
While the Guinness in the cake gets mostly baked out, the Baileys is fresh and potent, so if you’re making this for people who don’t drink — ahem, nobody I know, but I hear such people exist — you’ll probably want to swap it with milk.
The Baileys frosting recipe makes a smallish amount of frosting — enough to just cover the cupcakes. Because they were so rich and this frosting so sweet, I felt it only needed a little. Double it if you want more of a towering effect.
Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes
For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Filling (Updated to double it, based on many commenters suggestions — thanks!)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)
Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)
Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
[This is a fantastic trick I picked up while working on the cupcakes article for Martha Stewart Living; the test kitchen chefs had found that when they added the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.]
When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.
Ice and decorate the cupcakes. [I used a star tip and made little "poofs" everywhere and sprinkled it with various colors of sanding sugar to keep it looking festive for New Years. I bet shaved dark and white chocolates would look gorgeous as well.]
Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)

Naturally Green

My son's 3rd grade teacher decided to celebrate St Patrick's Day yesterday by asking the students to bring in naturally green snacks. I thought this was a really terrific idea.  It gave the class a chance to think about real food and make a list of foods that were naturally green.  Then they each selected something and brought in enough to share.  Delicious idea.

Here are a few that they tried:  green apples, cucumbers, celery, green grapes, avocado, lettuce, snap peas, pickles.  

Celebrating St Patty's Day with Cupcakes

A friend was having a trunk show at her boutique on St Patrick's Day and wanted cupcakes. I thought the Mint Patty recipe from Foodtv Magazine looked perfect. They turned out exactly like the recipe/picture and taste delicious.  Just like a Thin Mint.  Yum. Try them you will not be disappointed. 

Menu Planning Monday 3-15-2010

Monday - Taco Soup
Tuesday - Beef Broccoli from Foodtv Magazine
Wednesday - St Patty's Day party with friends - we're taking a side dish - I think Hot Artichoke Dip and Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes from Smitten Kitchen
Thursday - Skillet Lasagna 
Friday - Baked Chicken with grilled asparagus (totally in season and excellent right now)
Saturday - Crab Feed Fundraiser for Rotary Club
Sunday - Crab Enchiladas if I can buy and bring home any leftover crab

What are you making this week and how do you decide?  When do you decide?  When do you shop?

Ebelskiver Pancakes for Breakfast

Some Saturday mornings call for something a little more special for breakfast.  This morning I made puffed pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.  Yum.  The pan and mix are from Williams Sonoma but you can make your own mix as needed and fill these little treasures with things like Lemon Curd, Strawberry Jam and Nutella.