Soccer Fondant Mini Cake and Cupcakes

by penji1

soccer cupcakes

I had another friend call to cash in on her coupon from the wedding for baked goods.  It was her daughter Addy’s birthday and she wanted a soccer cake or cupcakes so I said why not both?  I think this is my favorite thing to do for birthdays, a mini cake for the birthday person and then cupcakes for all the birthday guests.  Addy likes white and/or vanilla cakes so I made a batch of French Vanilla cupcakes and added about a cup or so of white chocolate chips to them, then frosted them with green frosting and the Wilton tip for grass and then stuck a chocolate soccer ball on top of each one (which I found a Zurchers along with soccer cupcake liners).  I baked a 6″ round mini cake from the White Almond Sour Cream cake recipe, frosted it with the green frosting also then covered it in Duff’s green fondant (from Michaels), cut out the letters in white fondant and then topped it with a plastic soccer ball filled with gum (another Zurchers find!).  I think they came out pretty cute!  Happy Birthday Addy!

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

by penji1

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My daughter Courtney got married a couple of months ago and has discovered that she really doesn’t know how to cook very much so tonight we started what shall be referred to as “Cooking with Courtney” on the blog.  We’re going to try and get together once a week and cook something new side by side so that she can take one home with her and I can feed the other one to the hungry boys who live at my house too!  Tonight we attempted this Martha Stewart recipe which you can find on her website.  When we were finished, Courtney said “Well that was easy!” and it was.  I saved mine for dinner tonight since we finished cooking around 10 last night but Cort took hers home and she and Jaren ate it.  She texted me saying it was so good so there you have it, the first installment of “Cooking with Courtney” was a success!

4 (10″) flour tortillas

2 tablespoons canola oil (we used vegetable)

1 large onion, diced

1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 (15 oz each) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

12 ounces beer or 1 1/2 cups water

1 (10 oz) package frozen corn 4 scallions, thinly sliced plus more for garnish

8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (2 1/2 cups)

1  Preheat oven to 400.  Trim tortillas to fit a 9″ springform pan.  (We made Cort’s in the springform pan and then we did mine in the casserole dish pictured above.  It didn’t say to grease anything but next time I would spray the bottom of the springform pan with cooking spray and I probably should have sprayed my casserole dish as well.)

2  Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, jalapeno, garlic and cumin, season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 – 7 minutes.

3  Add beans and beer or water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium, simmer until liquid is almost evaporated, 8 – 10 minutes.  Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat.  Taste and adjust for seasoning.

4  Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Repeat 3 times, using 1 cup of cheese on top layer.  Bake until cheese melts, 20 – 25 minutes.  Remove side of pan; sprinkle with scallions.  To serve, slice into wedges.

Hot Chocolate Krispie Treats

by penji1

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Last minute Memorial Day barbeque last night.  My daughter Courtney called and said that she and her husband Jaren wanted to come over for a barbeque so we barbequed some steaks and made our favorite Cheesy Ranch Potatoes.  We cut up some watermelon and then I realized there were no treats!  The horror!  So I went to Pinterest and found this yummy looking recipe and threw these together at the last minute and they were delic!  The recipe comes from a blog called “Crazy for Crust”.

3 tablespoons butter

10 ounces marshmallows

2 packets powdered hot chocolate mix

6 cups Rice Krispies

1/2 cup Mallow Bits (didn’t have any of these)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1  Line a 9 x 13″ pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray.  Measure out cereal into a large bowl and set aside.

2  Place butter and marshmallows in a large, microwavable bowl.  Melt for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes on high, stirring every 30 seconds until they are melted.  (I like the way marshmallows melt on the stove better than in the microwave so that’s how I do it.)  Stir in the hot chocolate packets.  Stir in the cereal and pour into prepared pan.

3  Working quickly, spray your hands with cooking spray and carefully press treats into pan.  Sprinkle immediately with Mallow Bits and mini chocolate chips, pressing lightly to secure them to the top of the treats.  Let cool before cutting into squares.

Janson’s Birthday Baseball, Football and Basketball Cupcakes

by penji1

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After my daughter’s wedding, I gave coupons to all the people who helped us out which were good for one free baked good – cake, cookies, cupcakes, you name it and so my friend Teresa texted me to cash in on her coupon for some cupcakes for her son Janson’s birthday.  He likes sports, baseball in particular so I figured a variety of sports themed cupcakes would be good.  I made a regular batch of chocolate cupcakes although I did add chocolate chips to them and then frosted the baseball and basketball ones in my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting.  I dipped the baseball cupcakes in white decorating sugar and then made the red lines with Twizzlers Pull ‘N’ Peels.  I dipped the basketball cupcakes in orange decorating sugar and then made the black lines with thin black licorice.  For the footballs, I first frosted them with Nutella then dipped them in chocolate jimmies and then cut up white Airheads to make the football stitching.  I think they came out pretty cute!  Happy Birthday Janson!

College Graduation Chocolate Fondant Cake

by penji1

Alecia's graduation cake

Our friend Alecia graduated from UVU and got accepted to the U of U so her sister Whitney called and asked if we would make her a graduation cake.  We had visions of this looking like a mountain but it didn’t quite work out that way, it’s more of a very well defined plateau!  But we are still figuring it all out so we live and learn from each cake.  It’s a chocolate cake, a 6″ square and a 10″ square covered in Pettinice chocolate fondant.  The graduation cap is a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup topped with a square of chocolate and the diploma is white fondant.  Congratulations Alecia, we’re so proud of you!  You’re going to kill it at the U!

S’Mores Cake Pops

by penji1

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A neighbor called to ask if I could make treats for another neighbor’s future daughter in law’s wedding shower (did you follow that?) and of course I said yes then she told that the shower was going to be a camping shower and that all of the food was going to be on sticks!  So I told her I’d get back to her when I had a chance to think about it for a bit and then one day it hit me, S’Mores Cake Pops!  Camping, check!  On a stick, double check!  I was very proud of myself.  So anyways here they are in all their camping and stick glory!  I had some cake balls in the freezer from the last time that I made cake pops (go here for “Basic Cake Pops” recipe) then just dipped them in chocolate candy melts, sprinkled graham cracker crumbs over the freshly dipped pops and then topped with a mini marshmallow.  Ta Da!  Congrats to Eva and Mitch on your upcoming wedding!

Busiate with pesto alla Trapanese

by penji1

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And now the pasta!  We were close to a town called Trapani while in Sicily and this is their signature dish which I ordered probably 4 – 5 times while in Sicily.  It is delicious!  This recipe came close, perhaps as close as I’ll be able to get, it was pretty good.  I brought the pasta home with me from my favorite town in Sicily called Eriche, from a cute little bakery.  I’m sure you could use any pasta shape but this first time I wanted to make it for the fam with the pasta that they use.  I found the recipe on a blog called “Gourmantine’s Blog”.

250 grams Busiate or any other type pasta

50 grams almonds

4 ripe tomatoes

a good handful of fresh basil leaves, about 20

2 garlic cloves

40 grams Pecorino cheese (Parmesan)

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

1  If your almonds are with skin, start by peeling them.  To peel, blanch almonds by adding them to boiling water for 1 minute, drain and wash with cold water.  Dry with paper towels and most of the skins will come off immediately.  For the rest, taking 1 at a time, pinch the almond on the end and it will come off.

2  Next, toast the almonds for a few minutes in a non stick pan, this will bring out their aroma and sharpen the taste.  (I just toasted mine in the microwave for a few minutes, until they started to smell fragrant and turn lightly brown, keep an eye on them because they can burn easily and then your microwave will smell terrible!)

3  With a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with some salt, add almonds and basil and continue to crush till you are happy with the texture adding olive oil as needed, season with salt and pepper.  (I’ve been looking for a mortar and pestle for years and found this one in Eriche so I brought it home and christened it with this recipe!)

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4  To peel the tomatoes, make a shallow X on the bottom and dip them in boiling water for 30 – 60 seconds.  Then quickly take them out to a bowl of ice water to prevent further cooking.  Drain, peel, core, remove seeds and chop flesh.

5  Gently mix the tomatoes with the pesto and cheese.

6  Boil pasta until al dente and serve with fresh pesto alla Trapanese on top.

Balsamic Bruschetta

by penji1

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Next up, Bruschetta!  Oh, how I love the Bruschetta!  I found this version of the recipe on the All Recipes website and it was delicious.  There are other versions out there but this one seemed pretty close to what I was eating in Sicily and I ate a lot of it!

8 Roma or plum tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups of tomatoes)

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 loaf French bread, toasted and sliced (check out Costco because I found some great Italian bread there that was perfect for this)

In a bowl, toss together tomatoes, basil, cheese and garlic.  Mix in vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.  Let sit in fridge for 1 – 2 hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.  When ready to serve, place bread slices on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil.  Place under broiler for 1 – 2 minutes or until bread is just starting to brown and is slightly crispy.  Top with Bruschetta and serve.

Caprese Salad

by penji1

Italian dinner 001

I promised the fam that when I got home I would make them an Italian dinner with some of the things that I loved best while eating my way through Sicily so last night we gathered together and dined Italian style out on our deck in the beautiful Spring weather!  First up, Caprese Salad which I ate a lot of in both this form and in sandwiches.  They all seemed a little unsure of this one but they all tried it and all loved it even Courtney who is the pickiest among our family.  It’s super easy to make but I went to the Food Network site just to make sure I was doing it right.

3 vine ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4″ thick slices

1 pound fresh Mozzarella, cut into 1/4″ thick slices (I actually found fresh Mozzarella at Costco and bonus, it was already sliced!)

20 – 30 leaves (about 1 bunch) fresh basil (I found a fresh basil plant at Winco that you just keep in water and cut leaves off as you need them, smells so good!)

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

salt and pepper

Layer alternating slices of tomatoes and Mozzarella, adding a basil leaf between each (the basil leaves were so huge that I cut them up rather than put a whole leaf on each, didn’t want anyone freaked out by too much basil their first time around), on a large, shallow platter.  Drizzle the salad with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Eating My Way Through Europe

by penji1

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As mentioned previously, I just returned from a 5 week work trip in Sicily and London and I’m not going to lie to you all, I ate my way through both places and enjoyed every single minute and bite of it!  If you subscribe to my blog then you know what a foodie I am, I can’t think of anything at all about food that I don’t like except for not getting to eat as much of it as I would like.  I’m just going to share a few of my culinary experiences with you as we all might get sick if I show them all to you as I ate more than my fair share of pasta, pizza, pastries and gelato while in Sicily and fish and chips and pastries in London.  So up first is the best thing that I ate in Sicily which I can’t remember what it was called but basically you’re looking at a pile of cream puffs covered in chocolate and more cream and chocolate sprinkles or sugar or both and it was divine!  I wanted more and more and more!  This one came from a paticceria in a town called Monreale right across the square from the Monreale Cathedral which by the way was one of the most beautiful things that I’ve ever seen in my life so I guess it’s only fitting that I ate one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten in my life right near it!  I had one other one, that one was dark chocolate, from a paticceria in a darling little town called San Vito Lo Capo, both were to die for!  So if you’re ever in either of those two places, make sure you find this and have at least one for me and one for you and don’t forget to report back to me!

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Next up, in London, the famous store Harrods where I had the best Napolean I’ve ever eaten in my life and it was worth every bit of the 4 pounds it cost me.  I also had a dark chocolate walnut brownie with chocolate ganache which was super tasty too but the Napolean won my heart so much that on another trip into the city, I bought two more!  Also in the pastry case was this lovely cake called a “Devil’s Dog Cake” which reminded me of the Devil Dogs I used to eat as a kid (anyone else remember those?) which I also wanted to buy and sample but that seemed a bit extreme so I refrained.

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And finally my lunch from a little cafe called Gail’s that we found while walking towards the British Museum.  The first picture is a Brioche roll covered in bacon, mushrooms and caramelized onions, I cannot even begin to describe to you how delicious this was and then next to it is something that they called Chocolate Fondante which is also almost indescribable but I think it was a flourless chocolate cake.  It was cake like on the outside and then fudge like on the inside, insanely good!

So there is just a taste (get it, taste? ha!) of my eating adventures in Europe.  Stay tuned because this weekend I’m going to attempt to make one of the pasta dishes that I had in Sicily and fell in love with and ordered about five times I think, hopefully it will turn out ok.  See you then.