One Mama Jama of an Antipasto

 I got my first jellyfish sting on vacation. It hurt. I poured vinegar on it and I smelled like a salt and vinegar chip for the rest of the day. Did I mention I got stung when my husband whipped me off the tube and I flung across the water in the middle of the ocean? Did I also mention that due to being whipped across the jellyfish it stung me in four different spots on my body?  I am sure I mentioned that I slipped falling off the boat when it hit shore because I was trying to get off it so fast. I didn't mention that? After the jellyfish ordeal a drink was in order. I found these new diet Ocean Spray sparkling cranberry juices. They are the perfect low calorie mixer. I don't have a photo because I was too busy crying about my sting to take one. They come in four packs. They sell them in grape pomegranate and they also have a regular version too.

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is the last day cook everything in the house smorgasbord. This time I had some sous chefs and we went at it. Cora made some pork cutlets, Colleen made some grilled eggplant and I roasted some peppers and toasted some crostini. We threw that in with a salad and made one mama jama of an antipasto. It was delish. 

James wanted more......

This was just too cute to not be shared.

You should really take a stab at roasting your own peppers. They are 8000 times better then the packaged kind and are SO easy to do. You can roast them on your grill or right on your gas stove top. Turn fire on high and just place them on the grate. Once they start to blacken and blister flip to blacken and blister the other side. Do this until all sides are blackened, then put into a brown paper bag or  covered Tupperware container for 5-10 minutes. Next peel the black skin off the pepper and remove the stem. Store in a Ziploc bag or Tupperware container for up to three days. I like to store mine with 2-3 smashed cloves of garlic. Some people put olive oil but I am supposed to be dieting so we don't do that here. You can use the peppers on a sandwich, in sauces, rolled into baked chicken, on salads,  or layered into eggplant parm like I am tonight.



PS. I bought this ridiculously good apple fritter bread from Target. OMG, so good. I am waiting for it to stale up a bit so I can make some amazing french toast that you will drool over.

Ice Cream, Pie, Burgers, Butter and Other Super Healthy Stuff

I am severely depressed. I woke up this morning to no sun, no sand, no boat, jet ski, friends, fattening food, or free time. Reality is definitely a b*$@h.

I have a confession. I had an affair. I know I should not be blogging about this but it was so good I couldn't resist. I actually fell in love with two men on vacation. I could not help it. They wooed me. I still long for them. It was fun while it lasted Ben & Jerry.........I will miss your peanut buttery swirl, your gooey marshmallow drizzle, your caramely crunchy coated clusters.

Ice cream was not all that I cheated with this week. I gained four pounds on vacation. There was endless amounts of good food. There was a little vodka too, well, maybe a lot. All I know was there was lots of food and drink and no exercise. Unless you count resistance training from hanging on for dear life while my husband whipped across the sound at the speed of light.

One of the best things I had on vacation was a cheeseburger slider. I have to say I have never had such a delicious, juicy, flavorful burger. I had to know what Nick did to these guys to make them so good. I will not divulge his secrets but I will say it is much more simpler then you are thinking. I would just like to nationally recognize Nick for the best burger on the planet.  BRAVO my friend..

Of course I needed to make some kind of dessert or I would suffer withdrawals. I decided on an easy banana cream pie. Easy until I realized the only thing I had to whip my cream was an old school beater. You know the kind with the hand turn wheel that your great grandma used before the industrial revolution. Well, 35 minutes later(I guess this was exercise too) I had whipped cream for my pie. I got one of those shortbread crusts from the store, topped it with some melted chocolate and banana slices, vanilla pudding and the whipped cream. But what could we top it with??? Mikey and I tried several things but none would stand up to my visual needs. I mean jeez, you eat with your eyes first people! Then, it happened. Mike said the best thing he did all week......"I KNOW,  FROZEN TWIX!". I took the Twix from the freezer and crushed them up for one heck of a pie topping. I have realized on this vacation that I have some pretty amazing friends that have some pretty amazing culinary expertise.

I thought this pie would be my shining dessert star on this vacation. I ended up topping myself thanks to the Every Day with Rachael Ray mag. While browsing the magazine on the beach I came across a banana cigar recipe. About 2.5 hours after the pie I was peer pressured into concocting these guys.

They are wonton wrappers stuffed with Nutella and banana then bathed in a hot pan of butter and sugar. I felt like they needed a little sauce or something. My original thought was creme anglaise, but I was not about to whip that up at midnight after several cocktails. So, this time the culinary expertise came from the hubby. It made me so proud. He says, " why don't you just melt down some of the ice cream in the freezer"? I knew there was a reason we mesh so well! Dave loved them, he ended up eating more then his share of them.





Dave enjoying one of many sweet treats this week.



Michael never wanted to come home.




I did go running one morning. It is much better running with this as your backdrop.




Mikey, my bartender for the week.




Michael would live on the boat if he could. He wouldn't even get out when he was sea sick.




Nothing better then a second generation of best friends.




Does this need an explanation?




Another spot I ran by during my one moment of exercise.




One of my daily pix messages to Tracy.



We had so much fun on vacation that I cannot pack it all into one post.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<TO BE CONTINUED>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

BANANA CIGARS

From Everyday with Rachael Ray

adapted by Caaaaaaragh

8 egg roll wrappers

3 bananas sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

3 Tbsp Nutella ( or maybe a little more)

2 Tbsp melted butter( or way more)

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream, melted

With point of wrapper facing you, spread Nutella on wrapper and top with banana slices. Brush edges with butter and roll up like a burrito. Melt butter in a  nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place cigars in pan and sprinkle with sugar. Cook about four minutes a side. When you flip the cigar, sprinkle the other side with sugar. This will give it more of a caramelized flavor. Meanwhile, melt ice cream in microwave, about 30 seconds. To serve drizzle melted ice cream over the cigar.



She eats maybe 33 calories a day.

This has been a crazy week for me. I have started at a new store for work, began my Literature class in school, and was preparing for vacation. YIKES. So far, the new store has been awesome, lots of work, but awesome, and Hamlet has not been nearly as bad as I thought. Plus, there was some great things that happened this week:

I found a wicked good new snack.

I babysat the love of my life!

Broke the deck brush at the new store.

Which means a new shiny one.(I love cleaning supplies)

Went to the Farmer's Market with Mirry.

Put these in a food processor.

 and

Made "candy bar cookies"

And last but not least, I made birthday cupcakes for my mom. Let me give you some back story on my mom. She is the most active person I know. She maybe eats 33 calories a day and has done this since as far back as I can remember. I cooked dinner for her one day and she didn't like the steak because it "tasted too much like steak". She told my sister the other day that I never bake for them so I figured I would take time from this nutty week and bake her some birthday goodies. I never bake for her because she never eats. I am one of those people who bake because others love it. When you take the time to bake and someone doesn't swoon over it, it is a little disappointing. So, I called her up and asked what she wanted for her birthday cupcakes. Her exact words, "I don't want them to be sweet". UMM OK, isn't a cupcake sweet? Then she says, "I don't like peanut butter or pistachios". UMM OK, " How about like a cannoli cupcake then"? Her response, "no, I don't like cheese really". OK so for my great cupcake challenge I was to create a cupcake that had no cheese, peanut butter, pistachios and was not sweet. Immediately I knew I would do a whip cream frosting. Then, I decided on a cherry almond cupcake. She ended up loving them. She actually ate a whole cupcake! Of course that was after playing a game of croquet in the back yard, fishing, cooking, cleaning, and starting a fire in the fire pit. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

This week really took a lot out of me. I am so ready for vacation. CAN YOU TELL?

Cherry Almond Cupcakes

1/4 cup butter

4 egg whites

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

12 maraschino cherries halved

24 maraschino cherries with stems

1. Allow butter and egg whites to stand at room temperature for thirty minutes. Meanwhile, line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.( you can coat with non stick spray, but I don't like this choice). In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine buttermilk and cherry juice, set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each just until combined.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. For even cupcakes, be sure to use a measuring scoop. Press a cherry half into each batter in each cup.

4. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

WHIP CREAM FROSTING

one pint whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Pour cream into bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar and vanilla and beat on medium to high speed until stiff peaks form.

2. Using a pastry bag and a large star tip, pipe frosting on cupcakes.

3. Top cupcakes with one cherry.



Her Jack & Jill is a pig roast, that is awesome.

I have decided I have an undiagnosed mental illness. Any time I see anyone eating something or eat something myself I find myself trying to figure out how I can turn that item into a dessert. I spent a solid 15 minutes conjuring up recipes for Reese's Puffs while I sat at the breakfast table with my son. It happens with savory food as well but mostly with sweets. It goes something like this..........

" OH, peanut butter and crunch, I wonder if I could put those in a cookie? Would they hold the crunch once baked? Should it be a peanut butter base or sugar cookie base? What if I made a cereal bar with them and added banana? The banana would just turn to mush, OHHH, dried banana, that would work!" HMMM I wonder if I can add them to a cupcake? What if I blast them in the food processor and add the powder to the cake batter? Would it work just adding them whole?......." This happens about twelve times a day. I have a list of about 2300 different things I want to bake, and variations on all of 2300 of them. Anyway, this week was busy, busy, busy. I did manage to pull all sorts of stuff out of my garden and make one AMAZING salad.

 I picked the plum tomatoes, peppers, and basil from my garden. Roasted the peppers and tossed it all with some fresh mozzarella. Then infused some garlic into a little extra virgin olive oil, and made a balsamic glaze. This is one of those quick things you make that turns out ridiculously good and you realize you are amazing. Well, not you, me, but it could be you too.

Next up this week was the farmers market. I LOVE THE FARMERS MARKET!!! I cannot stress how excited I get for summer and farmers markets. This week I made Michael come with me. I had to bribe him with an ice cream cone from the best ice cream shop ever, little did he know I was going to get myself a cone anyway. Michael's picks at the market was a three pack of naked sugar cookies, and raspberry chocolate jam. This jam was so good. The chocolate complimented the raspberry perfectly. Not too sweet, not too chocolatey, not too raspberry, a perfect union of flavor. And it came with this cute little fabric, SOLD>>>

Next up this week is Verna's Jack and Jill. You remember Verna, she is the one who I made pose behind the creepy drunk guy who was passed out on the beach. Her Jack and Jill is a pig roast. That is awesome, I have awesome friends. I am the cupcake maker for the festivities. I have 30 pounds of strawberries in the freezer left over from my pick your own extravaganza, so, strawberry cupcakes it is. I have used this strawberry cupcake recipe twice now and it is awesome. I found it on a blog. Bloggers always have the best recipes. Usually they are really cool people who love to cook and share the awesome things they make. They are usually really pretty and funny too. Okay, so maybe I was trying to boost my self esteem there, but the cooking part is true.

Because I am an overachiever I could not make just one type of cupcake. I ended up with a beach cup"cake" made with an almond funfetti cake. The funfetti is easy, just throw some sprinkles in with your cake batter and they sort of blow up into bright colorful clouds in your cake. Verna has been going to the beach for the summer since she was three. She still goes every summer. She knows everyone there, they are like a little beach family. I wanted to do something special for her so I created a beach theme cake. Of course I added some Red Sox in because they are everyone's favorite. Well, my friends at least.

Strawberry Cupcakes

From annie's eats.

Printer-Friendly Version

Yield: 34 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2¼ cups sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
1 cup milk
2½ cups finely chopped fresh strawberries*

For the frosting:
1½ cups fresh strawberries (8 oz.), rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped*
4 large egg whites
1¼ cups sugar
3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For garnish:
Additional fresh strawberries*

*Note: I buy organic as much as possible regardless, but strawberries are one of the items where I really notice a huge difference in taste and color.  I recommend using organic berries if possible for best results.

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and egg white one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions alternating with the milk, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Gently fold in the chopped strawberries with a spatula.

Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling each about ¾-full.  Bake until light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool in the pans a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the strawberries in a food processor or blender.  Puree until completely smooth.  Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer** fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.  (The bowl should be cool to the touch.)

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (or longer – don’t worry, it will come together!)  Blend in the strawberry puree until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip with the frosting.  (I used a large, unlabeled star tip to frost these cupcakes.) Frost cooled cupcakes as desired, and garnish with fresh berries or berry slices.

**This can theoretically be made using a hand mixer, but will require even more time and a lot of arm strength.

Source: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

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...