New Cupcake Adventure

Well, I am now obsessed with a new hobby; decorating cupcakes and I am super excited about it. There I was chasing Ahnnie thru Lowes while Tim was looking at garage organizers (super fun), when I saw this book called "Hello, Cupcake" and thought it looked easy enough to do and decided to order it and another book by the same author called "What's New Cupcake?" from Amazon, where they were five bucks cheaper and I had a gift card so....back to the cupcakes.

Flower Cupcake: This one is simply made by cutting mini marshmallows on a diagonal and then dipping the sticky side into colored sugars. Then you put them in rows around the top of the cupcake once it's been frosted. They were very easy to make, but time consuming and each one takes 22 marshmallows each. You can imagine how gross my cooking scissors were after, but they are so pretty.

Mermaid Cupcake: (Don't know why this pic is turned) I have convinced two mothers to let me do cupcakes for their kids' birthday parties so that I can practice and one requested a Little Mermaid theme. I used blue and white frosting for the water, crushed graham crackers for the sand and the mermaid is a teddy graham stuck in the cake with a green Airhead for a tail. The sun is a candy fruit slice and her bikini top is flower shaped candy confetti.

Pirate Cupcake: For the other mother's pirate themed party, I made this cake with a red Airhead bandanna (did you know you can microwave these to make them more pliable), a jelly bean nose, Cheerio ears, and an eye patch made from a Tootsie Roll Midge. His stubble is chocolate sprinkles. and his eye is a chocolate chip turned upside down.

I hope to try even more recipes from these two books, as well as ideas from online. There is a baby shower coming up in one group, I wonder who I talk to...

Strawberry Shortcake French Toast

For our Valentine's Day dinner this year, we decided to try a new recipe instead of going out to a fancy restaurant, and we both love breakfast, so I found this great french toast recipe in the April 2010 edition of Food Network magazine. It is very easy to make and uses a different type of bread that makes it extra special. I served it with bacon, and hash browns.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. sugar plus 3 Tbsp.
• pinch of salt
• 3 cups sliced strawberries
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 3 English muffins

1. Ahead of time, combine 3 Tbsp. sugar and lemon zest in bowl. Sprinkle 3/4 of it over strawberries and mix, then allow to set for a few hours. (This helps release the juice and creates a nice syrup and the strawberries get softer which was good b/c they were not too ripe to begin with)

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, 1 tsp. sugar, and salt in shallow bowl. Working in batches, dip english muffing halves and allow to soak for 5 mins.

3. Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of butter in large non-stick skillet. Fry english muffins for 2-3mins on each side, then transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 mins, until they begin to puff up.

4. Remove from oven and plate. Layer bottom of english muffin, strawberries, a sprinkling of leftover lemon-sugar mixture, top of english muffin, and whipped cream. Drizzle with honey or syrup if desired.

REALITY: I would RECOMMEND this great breakfast recipe for any meal. It was a big hit and the english muffins made it different in a good way. I may even try using lemon-sugar in other recipes, b/c the taste of those two ingredients together is subtle, yet satisfying. Now to use the leftover zested lemon in something...

Copy Cat Chick-fil-a Sandwiches

We love Chick-fil-a, so when I found this recipe in the July/Aug edition of Food Network Magazine, I knew I wanted to test it out. I had never "fried" anything at home before for fear of having a house smell like grease afterwards, or worse, burning the house down! But this recipe gave me a new found love for frying and was pretty simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (makes 4 servings)
• salt and pepper to season
• 1 tsp. paprika
• peanut oil for frying 9 (I used veggie)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. malted milk powder
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1. Cut the breasts in half horizontally to make 4 thin cutlets. Lay piece between plastic wrap and pound to 1/8 inch think with mallet or heavy skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.

2. Heat about 2 inches of oil in skillet until reaches 325 degrees. (You can use a candy thermo. or toss some flour into the oil and if it sizzles, it's ready) Meanwhile, whisk egg, milk, and 2 Tbsp. water in a baking dish. Whisk both flours, malted milk powder, confect. sugar, baking soda, dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. paprika and a tsp. each of salt and pepper in another dish.

3. Working in batches of two, dip the chicken in the egg mixture, and coat both sides. Dredge in flour mixture and shake off any excess. Fry chicken in hot oil until golden brown, about 4 mins. Drain on paper towels. Serve on hamburger buns with pickles and any other toppings you like.

REALITY: I would RECOMMEND giving this recipe a try and was happy that the house didn't smell like grease until...the husband decided to try making onion rings with the leftover batter. Then the house reeked for awhile. Our sandwiches weren't too crispy, so if you like a thicker crust, I would suggest coating them thickly.

Valentine's Day Cake Pops

This very unique idea came to me via my mom, who sent me this book she found at Target called "Cake Pops" by Bakerella. I had just recently heard of "cake balls" and this book uses the same technique, but puts them on sticks to add to that cuteness factor. They are very easy to make and the possibilities are endless. I kept this batch small and simple since it was my first one and for Ahnika's class of 4 kids.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix, any flavor
• 1 tub of frosting, any flavor
• 32 oz. candy coating

"Accessories":

• 48 lollipop sticks
• wax paper
• Styrofoam blocks
• candy bags
• edible markers

The supplies listed above are for a full size cake that makes approx. 48 pops. I made eleven pops from 1/4 of a cake and then froze the other 3/4 for later.

1. Bake the cake in a 9 X 13 inch pan as directed on box. Let cool completely

2. Crumble cake into large bowl until fine. You don't want large chunks and your hands or a fork work well. (Watch out for side and top pieces that sometimes get a little chewier than the middle of the cake)

3. Add 3/4 container of frosting and combine with a large spoon until you can't see the frosting anymore and cake is moist. (I would suggest adding half and then mixing in a little at a time. I only used 3T for 11 pops and they were a little wetter than I would've liked)

4. Roll mixture into 1 1/2" round balls and place on wax paper. Freeze for 15 mins. Remove from freezer and use 1 1/2" heart shaped cookie cutter to shape them. Place back in freezer for 15 mins.

5. Melt candy coating according to package directions. Working in small batches, dip 1/2" of lollipop stick into the chocolate and gently press it no more than 1/2 way into the bottom of the heart. Carefully dip heart, now on stick, and coat, taping excess off.

6. Insert stick into styrofoam to dry. (I used an old shoe box with holes in it)

7. Write messages on using edible marker. Store in bags, or air tight container at room temperature.

I think the kids, and teachers, will like them. I know I did. And yes, I did write something raunchy on one of them and gave it to my husband. Come on, it's Valentine's Day!