So, Maybe, Caaaaaragh's Cupcakes??

I'm blogging when I should be writing a paper. Yesterday I went to a Red Sox game instead of writing a paper. Tonight I will be baking instead of writing a paper. I am considering skipping the beach tomorrow and actually writing my paper (sorry Verna). Chances are that I will be sunning myself tomorrow instead of writing a paper. Oh well, at least I'm writing, right?

I love going to Fenway. I love to hear Boston accents. I love Boston. I love the sausage and peppers and fresh squeezed lemonade. I love wooden seats that were built in 1911. I love hearing someone say "get your peanuts". I love little kids smiling ear to ear while they watch there favorite baseball team for the first time. I love the seventh inning stretch and Sweet Caroline, so good, so good..... Lets face it though, I love the sausage and peppers.

So do they...

Erica loves the popcorn tho......

Usually I go to Fenway with Brian and Kate. They have a special eating routine. It Always involves a sausage for Brian and a hot dog for Kate.(Brian would love this sausage comment) I go back and forth between team hot dog and team sausage. There is one spot on the eating routine that never deviates and that is Little Steve's. It's a pizza joint on the way back to the parking garage. They have giant slices of all varieties. My choice is three cheese. Mozzarella, feta, and ricotta. It is delicious. It has giant fluffy ricotta pillows and little melty, salty, feta bites throughout. If you are in Boston you should definitely check it out.

This time I wooed them into checking out a cupcake shop that I had seen on Food Network, Kick*ss Cupcakes. The GPS showed it was only four miles away from the garage so we took a trip. Well, four miles in Boston traffic at 5PM is a good hour. This is what happens when you deviate from the food routine. We finally made it to the store and I was more then happy to try out these cupcakes.

Being the food monster that I am I had already checked out the menu online and knew exactly what I would be ordering. I ordered an assortment, cookie dough, fluffernutter, pink lemonade, creme brulee, green monster, cinnamon chai pecan sticky, and of course vanilla and chocolate. They were delicious. I loved the creme brulee. Sometimes it is difficult to get the flavor of another dessert into a cupcake or cookie but they did an amazing job with this. It had that burnt sugar flavor, and the filling was also creamy and smooth. They really got it right with this one. They also had a green monster cupcake,  chocolate cupcake with a beer ganache center topped with Sam Adams Cream Stout frosting and cocoa nibs. I am not a beer fan but this was pretty good.

They even have "pupcakes", of course I got one for Chunk.

He LOVED it!

He was pretty sad when he found out I only got him one.

You can check out Kick*ss Cupcakes on the web http://www.kickasscupcakes.com/ .

This place has great cupcakes. After eating two, OK, three, I realized something, I make great cupcakes. Why am I not selling my cupcakes at $3 a pop? So, maybe, Caaaaragh's Cuuuupcakes will be opening in a town near you???????

And the love of my life, Austin

My education is greatly interfering with my baking. I think you all should email my professor and let him know he should make me exempt from these two papers. If you are successful I will bake for all of you, heck, I'll even ship it. My week ahead is a brief break to Fenway tomorrow, then more papers. I do have plans for a bake sale soon. You will be quite amazed at the details of it, but we'll save that for another post. ( you like how I just did a teaser there????) Instead of leaving you at home and longing for more. I will give you some hold me over, baked already this year, wish you were eating it now pictures.

These were Delicious, they literally tasted like a chocolate chip cookie. They smelled like them too!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
(brown sugar cupcake, stuffed with "cookie dough", topped with brown sugar butter cream

If you can't tell already, you will know soon, that I am addicted to smorifying things. Here is my cupcake result.





smores cupcakes
(graham cracker base, chocolate cake, meringue frosting)

Next up is Tracy's birthday cupcakes. Peanut butter stuffed banana cupcakes with milk chocolate butter cream. These could possibly be THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER BAKED!

These were part of Tracy's shower gift. Tracy and I are not a couple, but I could see how you might think this.......

These are strawberry cupcakes, with strawberry Swiss meringue butter cream. Each of these bad boys had hand piped birds, hand built toasted coconut nests, each with their own little eyes and beaks. Well, maybe I do love Tracy?

Going with the bird theme, Peeps cupcakes.........

Finally, my two favorite things that were baked this year................

Little Grace

and the love of my life, Austin. Not the big guy, he's in love with my bestie...

I don't fry my bacon shirtless, but I could see how that could be a problem.

I woke up this morning with the stinging realization that I am no longer 19, crap, I'm not even twenty something anymore. Two nights of solid drinking will bring someone of my age down! I had good intentions. I swore I would only have two drinks on Friday night. But then Tracy looked at me with that big ol' smile and I was weakened.

This is Tracy, she hasn't had a drink in ten months. We had several this weekend, including her choice, slippery nipples, or buttery nipples?? I get my nipples confused sometimes. We ended up staying out until 2AM. Our night included an awesome band, some really, I mean REALLY old people dancing (that should be banned in public) a half hour in the bathroom consoling Tracy's friend (she drank too many nipples), an excellent conversation about hot dogs, a "grab", and the best pizza I ever ate at 1:30AM after drinking all night long. I am very happy my friend is back on the grid!

The next big part of my weekend was Jenny's surprise I already knew about my surprise party party. Of course I was bringing food to the party and needed to get started asap or I was going to be late. It is still 9000 degrees here so I wanted something light and tasty. I decided on Greek cucumber cups. I love these things, think Greek salad minus the lettuce, all served up in an edible cucumber cup.

Of course the guys had been fishing that morning so we were sure to have a fish fry going on as well. I was given a very important lesson that day. NEVER FRY WITH YOUR SHIRT OFF!

Nick gave me a great example, "you know when you fry bacon in the morning before you put your shirt on". Typically I don't fry my bacon shirtless, but I could see how that could be a hazard. Colleen and I decided to fry everything in the house as well. We made deep fried Rice Krispie treats, they were pretty good. We took a stab at deep frying peanut butter stuffed pretzels, that was not a good idea. It was kind of like a choke special. We made one last attempt to deep fry. This was going to be our shining moment. We created a special sweet batter complete with sugar and cinnamon. We then created our moment, the sweet batter coated, deep fried, smores cookie. It was nothing short of devastating to see that marshmallow disintegrate in that oil. I guess we can't win all of our deep fry battles.

Greek Cucumber Cups

* 4 english cucumbers

*4 plum tomatoes, diced

* one bottle of pepperoncini, chopped

*8 oz. package of crumbled feta cheese

*Small red onion, chopped

*1 clove garlic, macerated

*1 stem fresh oregano, chopped

*juice from 3 ripe lemons

*1/4 cup red wine vinegar

*1 tablespoon Grey Poupon

*1 package Truvia

*salt and pepper

*3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

To make dressing, put Grey Poupon in a small plastic container, add vinegar and garlic then whisk to combine. Next, add Truvia, and lemon juice, whisk to combine. Next, slowly drizzle the olive oil in a small stream while continuously whisking the vinegar mixture. Season with salt and pepper and oregano. I make this dressing to taste, sometimes it needs more lemon juice depending on the ripeness of your lemons. I usually taste it, then season, then taste it, then season, then make my husband taste it. If you have left over dressing you can put it in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 days. For the cucumber cups, with a peeler, peel long strips off the outside of your cucumber, you want more flesh shown then skin. Then, cut you cucumbers into 1.5 inch chunks. With a melon baller, or teaspoon, dig out the middle of the chunks making sure to not go all the way through. Set cucumber aside. Chop the peperoncini, red onion, and tomato and combine with the feta cheese. Wait until you are ready to serve these to combine with the dressing. Then spoon dressed mixture into your cucumber cups.

"Sort of what I picture heaven like, bright, pretty, and lots of good things to eat"

It is oppressively hot outside! I'm not even sure the term oppressive can even explain this heat. When I got out of my car I thought for sure my pants were going to ignite into a fiery inferno. In an effort to assist you with your weekend plans,  I have uploaded the local five day forecast here:

There are few things that are helpful on a HOT day like this. If you are thinking of the pool, save yourself the time and take a warm bath instead. If you are thinking of the beach, save yourself the time and stand in a frying pan. The sand will be so hot you will burn your feet and ruin your entire day.

 Here are my picks for cooling off:

A GIANT iced tea. Starbucks trenta iced passion tea is a perfect choice for cooling off and this ginormous cup(30 oz.)will last you a year. More like a day, but maybe a year if you are frugal.

My second choice, A cool, crisp glass of Pinot Grigio. I recommend you throw some slices of peaches, nectarines, cherries, and grapes in, but still good without them. I also recommend you enjoy it with Vanessa's monkey, he is a solid drinking partner.

Third choice, frozen margaritas. Nikko and Erica are enjoying a $4.00 one at Chili's. I however would make my own, and add some watermelon, but we all can't be Martha Stewart.

Next up, some Pinkberry. I could live on Pinkberry. I know this is a BIG statement for an eater like me but,  with the amount of toppings and rotating flavors you really can have something different everyday. My choice is original flavor topped with honey drizzle, Fruity Pebbles, and Capn' Crunch. But,(sorry Professor Duffany for the But at the start of my sentence) if you are not trying to boost your stock in Weight Watchers they have all sorts of fresh fruits, nuts, granola, and non-sugary(is that a word?) cereals. They also have assorted candies and shaved chocolates. Pinkberry is kind of what I picture heaven like, bright, pretty, and lots of good things to eat.

Lastly, if you are like my best pal Chunk just cozy up in the AC(air conditioning, not Atlantic City) and sleep the heat away.


Hopefully you will all survive this mini heat wave and make it to the cooler temps of the weekend. Stay tuned for my weekend adventures, "Tracy's first night out" and "Jenny I got your birthday cupcakes".

WATERMELON MARGARITAS

via Cooking Light, adapted by yours truly

*2 teaspoons sugar

*1 lime wedge

*3 1/2 cups cubed seeded watermelon

*1/2 cup tequila(more like one cup if you are like me)

*2 tablespoons sugar

*watermelon flavored pop rocks(see recipe below)

*3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

*1 tablespoon Triple Sec

*crushed ice(or watermelon cubes, see below)

*lime wedges or watermelon cubes are optional.

Place 2 teaspoons sugar in a saucer .Rub the rims of 6 glasses with 1lime wedge; spin rim of each glass in sugar to coat.( I use pop rocks, I like to freak out the people I have over, it's kind of funny)Set prepared glasses aside. Combine melon and next four ingredients(through liquor) in blender; process until smooth. Fill each glass with 1/2 cup ice( or watermelon cubes). Add 1/2 cup margarita to each. Garnish with lime wedges or diced watermelon, if desired.

I used watermelon ice cubes here in place of the crushed iced. I think it adds more flavor and when your drink starts melting you are just upping the flavor profile instead of diluting it. To do this add chunks of watermelon to a food processor with some sugar (I used Truvia) and blend until smooth. Add this to ice cube trays and freeze overnight.

Opened the Door, Plucked a few Leaves.....

         After all of my hot dogs and sno cones this weekend I was craving something home made(semi-home made) fresh, and delicious. When I grabbed a clementine from the fridge this morning its only companions were assorted condiment bottles and of course, Bud Lights, so I knew a quick stop at the store would be necessary. I hit up one of my favorite spots, Whole Foods. I love this place, I could shop just the first two aisles and spend a million dollars. I knew time would be limited so I grabbed some of their premade eggplant cutlets and TONS of fresh veggies.

make sure you pinch the flowers off the top of your basil or it will stop growing

 I also grabbed some of these guys on the way inside my house. I sliced them and threw them in the oven with the eggplant for about 20 minutes.  While the baking was going on I warmed up some sauce I had in the freezer, and cooked up some whole wheat pasta. Something was missing, hmmmmmmmm???? Ah, yes, some fresh basil! Good thing It is summer and I am growing everything I can in my two square feet outside.  Opened the door, plucked a few leaves, and completed my dinner!  It was delish, even the kid liked it. Best of all, it was only NINE Weight Watchers points! .

    



Well, 10 because I feel the need to eat a salad with every meal.

    



Semi-home made Saucy Eggplant

*4 pre-made eggplant cutlets

*1/2 lb whole wheat penne

* 2 cups tomato sauce(I make mine but San Marzano is a great bottled choice)

*8 cherry tomatoes, sliced

*Parmesan cheese

*4 basil leaves, chiffonade

(chiffonade is a fancy term for stacking the leaves, rolling them, and slicing them into ribbons)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat sauce in a small saucepan.  Spray sheet pan with olive oil. Scatter tomatoes on pan around eggplant cutlets. Cook for ten minutes, flip eggplant and cook another ten on other side. While eggplant and tomatoes are cooking, boil pasta according to direction on box. When tomatoes are cooked sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. Once eggplant is complete top with a spoonful of sauce and 3-4 cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Serve with pasta. AND OF COURSE SALAD.

There are Creepy Things Down There!

I did absolutely no cooking this weekend. I attended a carnival, fireworks, two picnics, floated in a pool, and sat at the beach. Really, I had the weekend that people dream about.  My weekend of dreams started out with the annual town "extravaganza". This part of the weekend was not part of my dreams, but a certain 8 year old. I gave up a good three hours of pool time to attend this gathering of the delinquent townies. I did manage to eat my first of three sno cones this weekend. ( who doesn't love a sno cone) Someone else's dreams came true in the form of fried dough. Clearly, he has had enough of the "wait, I need to take a picture of that before you eat it" moments.  Finally, after 3 hours of carnival rides, slushies and fried dough, we got to hit up the pool.  This part of my weekend needs no words, please see below.

After the pool, the night went like this, wine for me, beer for him, brownie, hot dog, wine for me, beer for him. Throw in some good friends I haven't seen in ages, the cutest 4 1/2 lb. dog in the whole world, some great friends I saw three times last week, and one mediocre fireworks display.  

Sunday started early, well, early considering all the beer and wine the night before. Packed up a few coolers, water for me, of course beer for him, and we were off. Oh, I forgot the husbands special beach shirt. I have been trying for years now to take this shirt out of his wardrobe with no success. Maybe if I post his John Candy, Summer Rental photo on the Internet it will help.

 I love the beach, jet ski's, tubing, good friends, floating on a noodle in the water, and my tan! Yes, I did just say floating on a noodle in the water. I refuse to let me feet touch the bottom, there are creepy things down there. Well today, the creepy thing was on the beach. There was a, hmmm... how shall I put it, severely intoxicated man, that sounds good, severely intoxicated man on the beach. He tried to pay my friend to drive his jet ski. Then stumbled around the beach a bit until he decided to nap.  We decided to have a little fun with him.( See Verna behind him). This was a bit childish, but gosh darn it was it funny!!!

He was finally asked to leave by the police after a solid thirty minute nap.

Here is a good beach sandwich. Nice and light, easy to make, and keeps well in the cooler.

TBM Sandwiches

*Pesto sauce(you can get this bottled, make it fresh, or at the olive bar at Whole Foods)

*Plum tomatoes, sliced

*Roasted peppers( I roast my own, but the bottled kind works), sliced

*Ciabatta rolls

*Fresh mozzarella, sliced

Slice rolls in half. Spread about 1-2 tablespoons of pesto on one side of each  roll. Next, stack with tomatoes and mozzarella slices.  Top with about 3-4 slices of the roasted peppers.

I usually bring all the ingredients and prepare them at the beach but these will keep in a Ziploc bag in a cooler. Just be sure to have plenty of ice packs inside.

Variations

you can sub the pesto for fresh basil leaves.

you can drizzle some olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar on the sandwiches

you can use any tomato or bread you want

sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan cheese on them

sub pesto for roasted garlic

sub ciabatta for Italian bread.

The possibilities are endless.

Don't call it a comeback

I have absolutely no good reason for not posting in a year besides the fact that life just got in the way. After not posting for so long it just seemed silly to come back. THEN, I enrolled in college and was told I had to write in a journal nightly! I figure this is just as good as a journal and at least I get to talk about something of interest to me. Maybe professor Duffany will give me extra credit for my baked goods, if not, at least I'll be practicing some type of descriptive writing.

Tomorrow is Kate's birthday. Kate likes cupcakes, the Red Sox, Starbucks, and puppies, how could we NOT be friends?? Well, one of Kate's clients went ahead and bought her cupcakes from a store!! The nerve of some people! So my tradition of birthday cupcakes went out the window, and came back in as cookies. Ironically, Kate and I just made smores on our electric stoves on the same night, at two totally different locations(  a little WT I know so I have provided you this digital image to prove we are not). So birthday smores cookies it is!

I attempted these a different way then my traditional recipe. I saw a cookie show try them with Fluff in the middle and just a small chunk of Hershey's on top. They then sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top of that. This way ended up tasting better, the fluff was gooey and the crumbs added that extra texture that I was looking for. But MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS they were messy! I think I might have pulled a muscle in my thumb squeezing the scooper over and over and over again, trying to release that stupid fluff! So back to traditional.

What am I supposed to do with all these leftover marshmallows???? HMMMM, Rice Krispie treats? Great idea, but not enough Rice Krispies. OH, but wait, I have Fruity Pebbles!! Even better idea, but not enough of those either. Here is where my college education is paying off, I combined them for one amazing marshmallow treat! Genius, I know!

I had a giant bag of Reese's Pieces on hand too. Why, because I have giant bags of candy all over the house. I am single handedly keeping Weight Watchers in business. So, instead of finding my husband on the couch around midnight with that bag of Reese's and an Xbox controller, I made another cookie.

If you guessed I made Reese's Pieces cookies, you are amazing. They were actually better then the smores. Usually the things I do on a whim are better, I just have that kind of luck.

Well folks, whether you missed me or not you can thank Professor Duffany for my comeback, and LL Cool J for my catchy title. 



This has nothing to do with this post but it was in with my pics of Kate and seriously how funny does Brian look here?





 S"MORES COOKIES

From Make and Bake via Handle the Heat

* 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

*1 cup graham cracker crumbs

*1 teaspoon baking soda

*1 teaspoon salt

*pinch of cinnamon

*1 cup butter(2 sticks) at room temperature

*3/4 cup sugar

*3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*2 eggs

* 2 cups mini milk chocolate chips

*1 1/2 cups mini marshmellows

* 2 Hershey bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt and dash of cinnamon. With an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from oven. Push 3-4 marshmallows and a few pieces of Hershey bars into each cookie.( I drop a gazillion, hey, its better that way) Return the cookies to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes( I did 2) or until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temp for 3-4 days.