Monday, March 28, 2011
Happy Monday from the Grammar Nazi!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Top of the mornin’ to ya and a Happy St. Patrick’s day to all from the Grammar Nazi!
No, not the Grammar Ninja, the Grammar Nazi! His Mom!
In honor of this great holiday, I’ve got a fabulous boozy dessert for you called an Irish Car Bomb cupcake which I found on a great site called the Brown Eyed Baker.
I know – all of you who’ve had this shot probably immediately thought, “Oh good Lord, gross.”, but this is a FABULOUS recipe. I would have never thought to put Guinness in a chocolate cupcake with Bailey’s frosting but, WOW…. These were great. I brought the excess to work today and got quite a few compliments and an empty plate to take back home.
I broke it into a two day event, baking the cupcakes Tuesday night so I wouldn’t be up late and tired and grouchy for St Paddy’s today. Cause no one likes a cranky redhead. Especially Mr. Andrew.
Yield: 24 cupcakes (although, I only got 20 since I’ve never been good with filling the liners half full)
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Bake Time: 17 minutes
For the Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey
For the Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
To Make the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.
Divide the batter among the cupcake liners (and try not to keep licking the spatula). Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
Finely 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, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth.
Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. It took a little bit longer than I though for the butter to melt, so I set my oven proof bowl on the warm burner to help it along. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
To Fill the Cupcakes:
The recipe calls for using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip) to cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down making a perfect hole in the middle of the cupcake. (I ended up just scooping it out with a knife since no one is going to see it under all the buttercream icing).
Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. Or use a spoon and drop it in.
To Make the Baileys Frosting:
Using a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. I actually broke out myWilton
In honor of this great holiday, I’ve got a fabulous boozy dessert for you called an Irish Car Bomb cupcake which I found on a great site called the Brown Eyed Baker.
I know – all of you who’ve had this shot probably immediately thought, “Oh good Lord, gross.”, but this is a FABULOUS recipe. I would have never thought to put Guinness in a chocolate cupcake with Bailey’s frosting but, WOW…. These were great. I brought the excess to work today and got quite a few compliments and an empty plate to take back home.
I broke it into a two day event, baking the cupcakes Tuesday night so I wouldn’t be up late and tired and grouchy for St Paddy’s today. Cause no one likes a cranky redhead. Especially Mr. Andrew.
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Bake Time: 17 minutes
For the Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey
For the Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
To Make the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.
Divide the batter among the cupcake liners (and try not to keep licking the spatula). Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
Finely 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, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth.
Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. It took a little bit longer than I though for the butter to melt, so I set my oven proof bowl on the warm burner to help it along. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
To Fill the Cupcakes:
The recipe calls for using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip) to cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down making a perfect hole in the middle of the cupcake. (I ended up just scooping it out with a knife since no one is going to see it under all the buttercream icing).
Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. Or use a spoon and drop it in.
To Make the Baileys Frosting:
Using a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. I actually broke out my
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
What a difference a year can make….
Well, it’s amazing how time flies, isn’t it? Almost one year ago today, I was attempting to zip up a wedding dress (wondering why in the hell I thought Mexican food was a good idea the night before) while a small boy in a beige suit ran circles around me and I was telling myself I was NOT going to vomit. Ahh, good times.
I first met Mr. Andrew (Jaxon’s name for him, although he adds several exaggerated syllables to his name, pronouncing it “ Mee-ster Ahnnnn-Dreeew”) on a little website called Match.com in August 2009.
For some reason, he asked me out. And agreed to go out with me again after meeting me. He even proposed the idea of marriage at the end of January and we were married March 6th, a mere seven months after meeting.
I’ve learned quite a bit in the whirlwind of the last year and a half. One of the most important things is it really is the little things in life that mean the most. Like surprising your fiancé with the wedding band she thought she wasn’t going to get for another year at the alter. All the big things that seemed to be important before that I constantly worried about aren’t really that important. The laundry and the dishes can wait until after we’ve assembled the latest Star Wars Lego set and I’ll never be able to make gravy like my mom can. Happy Anniversary Andrew!
Pan-Roasted Salmon with Soy-Ginger Glaze with Wild Rice
So another year older and wiser and I’ve got a fabulous recipe to post today that I found on FoodandWine.com. It tops out as one of Mr. Andrew’s favorite meals. It so easy it’s ridiculous and makes you look like a champ when you serve it.
Difficulty: So easy my 8 year old can do it
Servings: 2 -4, depending on your love of fish
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Four 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin on one side only
Freshly ground pepper
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Note: Depending on how “saucy” you like your fish, you might want to double the glaze. I find it works pretty well for 3 fillets but is a little skimpy for 4. Plus if you have extra glaze, you can always drizzle it over the wild rice. To make it…uh…healthier.
DIRECTIONS
Wild rice
Open box. Follow directions. Enjoy a glass of Pinot Grigio while waiting for the water to boil and nag your husband about taking out the trash. And don’t forget to preheat the oven. When the rice has about 10 to 15 minutes left, it’s time to start the fish!
Salmon
Preheat the oven to 350º. In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce and ginger and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the honey and mustard.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick oven proof skillet. (If you don’t have one, use a nonstick pan and a cookie sheet lined with foil to pop the salmon in the oven) Season the salmon with pepper and add it to the skillet, skin side up. Cook over medium high heat until golden and crusty, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Turn the salmon and spoon the ginger soy glaze on top. Transfer the skillet (or cookie sheet) and bake the salmon for 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Using a spatula (because you don’t want this beautiful fillet to break), transfer the salmon to plates and garnish with cilantro.
Add your homemade *cough, cough* wild rice and you’re done!
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