Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These are so yummy and great for a party! One batch makes about 72 mini-cupcakes. They can be made ahead and frozen until you're ready to frost.  It's actually easier to frost them when they're frozen and they will thaw very quickly. Keep the leftovers refrigerated. 

For the cupcakes: 

I converted this recipe to cake flour from all purpose, as the original called for.  And I always weigh my flour, especially when making cakes, so they're light and fluffy. If you don't have a scale, use 2 cups plus one heaping 1/4 cup of cake flour.

10.3 oz cake flour (I use King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour)

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

2 tbs. dutch process cocoa powder

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. red gel food coloring (or 2 tbs. regular liquid)

12 tbs. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I substituted organic evaporated cane juice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini cupcake pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. (Make sure you sift to get the clumps out of the cocoa!) 

In a large (4 cup) glass pyrex measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer to low speed. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, mix another 30 seconds. Repeat with the flour, buttermilk, then ending with the flour mixture, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add the food coloring and mix until well blended, making sure you scrape down the bowl very well and mix again so all the batter is red. 

Spoon 1 even tablespoon of batter into each mini cupcake well. Bake for 11 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

The cupcakes keep their "rise" only if you don't open the oven while baking, this can take some trial and error to know how long it will take in your oven. Mine takes exactly 11 minutes.  If your cupcakes sink, don't worry about it. The frosting will cover it up anyway! 

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz unsalted butter, softened

9 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz confectioners sugar  (2 3/4 cup)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and cheese until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add sugar in 3 batches, mixing until well blended and scraping the bowl as needed. 

Add vanilla and mix thoroughly. 

Refrigerate until ready to frost the cupcakes. 

Let the frosting sit at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading on each cupcake. You can also frost using a piping bag fitted with a large tip.

Stuffed French Toast

There are no words.... 

French Toast bread (Big Y sells their own brand of french toast bread, nice and thick!)

fresh strawberries, thinly sliced

cream cheese, slightly softened

eggs (usually about 1 egg per 2 slices of bread)

about 1 tablespoons milk per egg

splash of vanilla
pinch of cinnamon

real maple syrup

Heat a griddle to 350 degrees. (you can use a large non-stick skillet if you don't have a griddle).

Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Set aside

Using a paring knife, slice a pocket into the side of each piece of bread. It's ok if you tear the bread, it will stick back together with the egg mixture. 

Spread a tablespoon or two of cream cheese inside the bread. Stuff with sliced strawberries. 

Dip each piece of stuff bread into the egg mixture, let it soak in for a few seconds on each side. 

Rub griddle or skillet with butter to avoid sticking. Cook french toast until golden brown on each side and heated through. Some strawberries may soak through and burn a little, they're fine. 

Drizzle with real maple syrup

"Kofta" Mini-Burgers and Couscous Salad

This is so yummy, light, and easy! I made the mini-burgers with ground lamb for Jon last time, but I wasn't a fan. Next time, I'll make half using lamb and half using ground beef or ground turkey. The couscous salad makes a lot for just the 2 of us, but I like taking it for lunch after. Serve this meal with hummus and pitas. I also make tzatziki to serve with it also.

For the Kofta style mini-burgers

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

3 Tbs grated onion

3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 Tbs ground coriander (I couldn't find this and left it out)

1/2 Tbs cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pound ground lamb/beef/turkey

Mix all dry spices together. Add spice mixture and remainder of the ingredients to the ground meat. Mix together thoroughly. Shape into 16 mini-burgers. Grill, about 4 minutes per side for medium. 

For the couscous salad: 

10 ounces couscous

1 1/2 cups water

6 scallions or a large bunch of chives

4 Roma tomatoes (I used a pint of "mini-romas" and halved them)

1 hothouse cucumber. sliced into half moons
couple of handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

3 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs olive oil

crumbled feta cheese

Bring the water to a boil, add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork. Pour the hot couscous over the spinach to wilt it a pinch. Add the remainder of the veggies. Toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with feta. 

For the Tzatziki:

I don't really have "measurements" for this, just mixed everything together and added more to taste. I used an individual serving size container of Chobani plain Greek yogurt. I'll do my best but change the recipe for your taste. 

1 container plain Greek yogurt

about 1/3 cup shredded cucumber (peel, remove seeds if any, shred on box grater, and squeeze out liquid in a dishtowel)

couple cloves garlic, pressed and mashed

couple tablespoons olive oil

couple tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon of fresh dill (more or less to taste)

salt and pepper

Mix everything together and refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made a day ahead.

Grandpa's Favorite Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

As many of you know, my 93 year old Grandpa passed away last week. He loved homemade chocolate chip cookies.  He was legally blind and called these cookies "Jenny's bumpy cookies" because they are so full of chocolate chips.  So that Grandpa could have fresh cookies whenever he wanted, I would make the dough, scoop onto cookie sheets, and freeze for several hours. Then I toss the dough balls into freezer bags and bring to Grandma and Grandpa's house to keep in the freezer. Grandma could then bake a few cookies at a time for Grandpa to enjoy. I miss Grandpa so much and I will think of him every time I make these cookies! 

Grandpa

1 1/3 cup (6 1/3 oz) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (4 oz) packed dark brown sugar
6 Tbs. (2 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or use silicon/silpat baking mats.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop onto the baking sheets. (You can make them bigger or smaller, adjust cooking time accordingly.)  Bake, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 13 minutes until the centers are set and the edges just begin to lightly brown. Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 or so minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool. If you're baking the cookies from the freezer, they will take 12 to 14 minutes.

Makes 25 to 30 cookies, depending on the size.

Skillet Tamale Pie

This was surprisingly delicious and simple to make. I might add some corn next time, or maybe a little bit of cooked rice.  A great weeknight meal that will serve 4-6 people.

The recipe calls for a store-bought cornbread, but I had a box of Jiffy cornbread mix on hand already so I just made my own and crumbled it right in the pan after cooling slightly. For the canned chipotle chiles in adobo, ATK recommends the Embasa brand, which I was able to find at my local Big Y store. I just put the whole can of chiles in a mini-food processor and pureed. The recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon so to preserve the rest, I measured by teaspoon-sized portions onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and froze. Once solid, just peel the chili puree off the paper and pop into a freezer bag for use in future recipes.

10 ounces cornbread, crumbled (store bought or made fresh) about 2 1/2 cups

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese 

1 Tbs. canola (or vegetable) oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

2 16oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 10oz cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained, 1/3 cup juice reserved

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

S&P

Pre-heat oven to 450. Combine crumbled cornbread with 1 cup of the cheese and season with S&P. Set aside. 

Heat oil in a 12-inch, ovenproof skillet. Cook onion and chipotle until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until no longer pink, 5 minutes or so. Add beans, tomatoes, and reserved tomato juice and cook until thickened, another 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, the remaining cheese, and season the whole mixture with S&P. 

Sprinkle cornbread mixture over skillet. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with remaining fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top.

Quick Tomato Sauce

When Jon and I were dating, and Jon still had cable tv, I used to get early every Saturday morning and drive to his house just so we could watch Jaime Oliver on the Food Network. Sadly, we only have $5 cable now, so no more food network and no more Jaime Oliver on TV, that means stalking his website for recipes instead! I love how he describes and instructs on how to make things, so I'm leaving the recipe exactly how he posts it (minus the pasta instructions.) Click on the title of the recipe for a link to his website. I serve this pasta sauce with fresh pappardelle pasta.

extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
½–1 fresh red chili, halved, deseeded and finely sliced  (I just red pepper flakes instead)
a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
14.5 oz can san marzano whole tomatoes, chopped (with juice)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

pasta (preferably fresh pappardelle)

serves 2
Homemade pasta sauce is so easy, and you can sling it together in around the time it takes to open a jar and heat it up.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a good few lugs of olive oil. When the oil’s hot, add the garlic and chili and fry until lightly colored. Drop in most of the basil – stand back as it will crackle and spit in the oil – and then, after a few seconds, add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. You’ll end up with a chunky sauce – if you like it smoother, pass the sauce through a coarse sieve. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Stir the pasta into the warm sauce. If it’s a bit thick, add a few spoonfuls of the cooking water to loosen it up. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the reserved basil leaves and serve immediately.

Ultimate Banana Bread

I promise, this will be the BEST banana bread you've ever had. This is an America's Test Kitchen recipe (if you know me, you know I'm obsessed with ATK.)  I'm sharing the link as well because they provide some more detailed pictures and notes.

I always have frozen bananas in the freezer, I let them get overly black, peel, and thrown them in freezer bags. You can substitute 5 of the very ripe bananas in this recipe for 5 frozen bananas, just thaw in the fridge for a day or so ahead of time. I've also used a mix of a few frozen and a few  fresh, just microwave the fresh for a minute or so less than called for.  You will still need 1 fresh banana for the top if you use frozen. 

I haven't made any changes to this recipe, it really is perfect. I leave out the walnuts but I bet they would be great too. Typically, my bread takes 55-60 minutes, keep a close eye on it and check frequently with a wood skewer, there should be few to no crumbs on it.

The bread really is best the day it's baked because the crust is still crunchy and the inside so moist, but it will stay very moist for several days wrapped tightly, if it lasts that long! 

• 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 6 large very ripe bananas (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

2. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).

3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.

5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.