Candy Corn Cupcakes

Happy Almost Halloween! For one of my classes yesterday we had a potluck. And since I have an overwhelming number of Halloween cupcake wrappers (and still do), I decided to make something festive. I've seen these around the web and decided to give my hand at it. I was originally going to make the cake from scratch, but after working all morning and studying for my midterm all afternoon, I opted with a box mix. This was seriously the first box mix I've used in ages. I was going to make my own frosting, at least. The frosting I chose was a Honey Buttercream, because I wanted to make these special. And since candy corn are infused with honey, I thought hey! Well, it was a disaster and it tasted like a pot of... butter. It was disgusting.

Luckily I had a container of vanilla frosting on hand, so I colored it, added some honey to that, and got these babies done! They went over well and were adorable.

But anyway, this isn't all this post is about. Because these are festive cupcakes and because all holidays need a little cupcake love I am giving away one copy of the cupcake cookbook "Cupcakes Year-Round". It has so many fabulous ideas of festive cupcakes to make, from Halloween spiders to cupcakes that resemble a beach!

If you want to win the copy of this book comment by November 4th and let me know what your favorite holiday or season is, and what you think the best cupcake would be for the occassion! I will pick the winner using a random number generator. Leave your email, so that if you win I can get in touch with you!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

I found Barefoot Contessa's recipe for her tomato soup at The Review Lady's blog (check my links on the side bar to see her blog). I've always loved Safeway's tomato basil soup, so I figured that this would only have to be better than that! The girls and I have been having biweekly potlucks, and this week it's my turn to bring the side dish. Because I love these flavors and it makes a lot, I decided it was the perfect opportunity. Though we haven't eaten yet, so I don't know how well it will go over, I did have a bowl of it for lunch and it was living up to my standards. I may run the immersion blender through it again - but the flavor is all there and all right!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Ingredients

3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut in half

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28-ounce) canned diced tomatoes, with their juice

4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 quart chicken stock

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

3. In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown.

4. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock.

5. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet.

6. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

7. Pass through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. Taste for seasonings.

So this is the final bowl of deliciousness. This was the first soup I've ever made and I deem it a success!

Naan & Curry

Indian food is one of the tastiest things ever and also one of the few things my picky boyfriend will eat when I cook. Actually, I lie, he's getting more adventurous. But I am confident that my curry will always win him over. This past week I bought a lot of chicken from Safeway because it's been on sale ($1.99 a pound), so I had to stock up as I usually do when the chicken is on sale. Now to decide what to cook with the other chicken I have... But I have a bit to decide because I still have leftover curry out the wazoo. Anyway, this isn't all about curry. I also decided to try my hand at some naan. The cooking method isn't the traditional way to make naan. I've made it on a grill before and it tasted delicious, but I didn't have the time today to set up the grill for the task. So I found a recipe that used the oven and I doctored it slightly. While my naan is definately puffier than the naan you'd find in an Indian restaurant, it still tasted the same and that boyfriend of mine at 5 of the 6 pieces.

Naan Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt, room temperature
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Recipe

1. Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it foams.

2. Blend in the warm milk, yogurt and melted margarine. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Pour in the yeast/milk mixture all at once and work it into the flour, using your hands. Continue mixing, adding flour or water as needed, until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl.

3. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 4 hours or until doubled in volume.

4. Preheat oven to 550 degrees F (285 degrees C) or your oven's highest setting and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Place a large pizza pan or iron griddle on the rack and preheat. Also preheat the broiler.

5. Punch the dough down and knead briefly. Divide into six pieces and shape them into balls. Place them on an oiled plate and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let balls rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Roll out and stretch each ball until it is about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide. Remove the pizza pan from the oven, brush with oil and place one of pieces of bread on it.

6. Bake at 550 degrees F (285 degrees C) for about 4 to 5 minutes until bread is puffed and has brown spots, then transfer to a wire rack, returning pizza pan to oven to keep hot. Place bread under broiler until 'charcoal' dots appear on the surface. Wrap finished bread in a towel while baking the remaining loaves. (If your pizza pan is big enough, try baking two loaves at the time.)

NOTES: I doctored the recipe by rubbing the naan with melted butter and garlic prior to putting it in the oven. While the taste wasn't extreme, there was a slight hint of garlic on the bread. Next time I think I'm going to add minced garlic to the actual dough.

Of course, I didn't just make naan like I mentioned already. I also made my foil proof curry that's done me right in the past. Oh man, I'm stuffed right now after eating this massive amount of food (served over Basmati rice). Yum, I can taste it again.

Curry Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast

2 lb. onions

1 lb. tomatoes

1 sq. inch ginger

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp. tumeric

2 tsp. coriander

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)

Salt to taste

4 tsp. cooking oil

Recipe

Saute finely diced onions, ginger and garlic on high heat, stirring constantly until light brown. Reduce heat to low, add finely diced tomatoes. Stir well, cook for 5-10 minutes. Add and stir in all spices in order above one at a time. Add 1 inch cubes of chicken. Cook 30-45 minutes on low/medium heat, stirring periodically.

Homemade Funfetti

I will not make cakes/cupcakes/anything really from the box. I find it to be too easy and without all the love thrown into the cake. My friend Stephanie's 21st birthday is tomorrow, and like I said yesterday I am going to be baking birthday cakes for everyone this year. Stephanie requested a funfetti cake and I just could not cave and buy the boxed mix. So instead I made a basic white cake and mixed in sprinkles. It's not even really worth leaving a recipe, because honestly any white cake will work for this recipe.



And I had a ton of fun decorating the cake! The frosting, I messed up a little, but hopefully it isn't too blatantly obvious (to the taste buds, not to the eyes).



Now I just need to figure out when I'm going to play in the kitchen next.














The cake itself!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Cheesecake isn't my favorite flavor. But it really is one of my favorite things to bake. How that makes sense, I really don't know. The first cheesecake I ever made was a pumpkin cheesecake, and ironically I enjoyed it, despite my HATING cheesecake and pumpkin pie. However, the taste of the pumpkin balanced out the taste of the cheese and the taste of the cheese balanced out the taste of the pumpkin. The reason I initially decided to try to bake the cheesecake was solely to challenge myself. I never imagined how much fun I would find cheesecakes to be.

I have also began the habit of making birthday cakes for my friends (be looking for a homemade funfetti cake either tomorrow or Wednesday). Eric's 21st birthday was yesterday and had requested me to bake him a "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake". I was a little nervous since I could only find one recipe (thank you allrecipes.com) and I really didn't want it to suck. I would have been so sad. But of course, once again, I have made a cheesecake Iwill eat! I actually think this is the best one I've had/made thus far. The cookie dough chunks in the cake are so good, oh my gosh, I'm literally eating a piece right now.

Now, the picture really sucks, but that's because I forgot to take a picture till most of the cake was gobbled up!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, diced
2 cups sour cream
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons white sugar

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Mix the chocolate wafer cookie crumbs with 2 tablespoons of the white sugar, and the melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 8 minutes.

3. To Make Cookie Dough: In a bowl beat 1/4 cup butter or margarine with the brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the white sugar. Stir in the water and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat in the flour and the semisweet chocolate chips. Stir until combined.

4. To Make Cheesecake: In a food processor or with a mixer beat 1 cup of the white sugar, and all the cream cheese. Add 1 cup of the sour cream, the eggs, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Mix well and pour into prepared crust.

5. Drop cookie dough in 2 tablespoon portions evenly over the top of the cake, pushing dough beneath the surface. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. Cake will jiggle slightly in center. Spread topping over hot cake. Let cake cool than chill in a refrigerator until cold, at least 4 hours.

6. To Make Topping: Mix the remaining 1 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and the 2 teaspoons white sugar until smooth. Spread over hot cake.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Santa Cruz is really warm during late August and September. It's absolutely beautiful outside, however, sometimes it can get a little unbearable during the day. Nighttimes of course are pleasant, but sometimes during the day hours I want to rip off my clothes and run naked through some pond. It's really just hot.

So since I moved into my new house I've been taking much advantage of the kitchen. I haven't taken pictures of the food I've cooked thus far, but I have been quite enjoying the gas stove and the fancy oven. And the kitchen is beautiful! There's stainless steal appliances, light wood cabinets, and granite counters. And since I'm obsessed with red kitchen supplies, I've decorated the kitchen with countless red items, my prized being my KitchenAid mixer.

This of course brings me to what I made today. Last year I bought myself the ice cream attachment for the mixer, but I hadn't made much of a use of it. So the other day I popped the bowl in the freezer and today I decided to make the mint chocolate chip ice cream, which I found via allrecipes.com. It tastes like something you could buy in the store - only better.

If anyone's reading this, do you have any flavors of ice cream you suggest I try?

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 cups 2% milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 drops green food coloring (optional)
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Recipe

1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract until the sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring.

2. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After about 10 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips. After the ice cream has thickened, about 30 minutes later, spoon into a container, and freeze for 2 hours.

Potato Breakfast

Living in the house I was in was sad. The kitchen was a room of vile. There was old food everywhere - molding food, stinky food, no where I wanted o be near. At first I felt the need to clean the kitchen, so I could use it. But it got to the point where I was so sick and tired of being the personal maid for 4 boys that I didn't know. So I stopped. And I also stopped cooking and began eating out a lot. Life was sad, those two months in filth. But finally I have moved into an amazing house with an amazing kitchen. The oven is so high-tech and I'm SO excited to use it!

However, this weekend I'm home visiting the parents. And lucky for me, they went to the farmers' market this past weekend. I decided to use the potatoes to make myself some breakfast. It isn't worth giving a recipe for, but if you're interested, it's onions, garlic, potatoes (yellow and purple), eggs, salt, pepper, and onion powder. It was all cooked together in a skillet for the first homemade breakfast I've eaten in two months!