Happy 4th of July!!

July 4th has always been a favorite holiday of mine.  We get to celebrate our country, and we get to eat food.  As a kid, we always went to Auntie Regina's house and had a party, ate tons of great food, and swam in the pool.  It was an all-day event that I always loved.  Since Auntie Regina moved to a house that doesn't have a pool, we've all been creating new traditions.  For the past few years, Scott and I have always gone down to the beach and visited with his dad's family at their beach house.  It's always a fun time.  This year, we have two invitations, and we are trying to do both.  Because of the impending hurricane (tropical storm?), all parties have been moved to July 5th, but it gave me a chance to try out a new cupcake recipe!  I hope all of our friends and family love my new creation!

Happy 4th of July Cupcakes!

I love using my King Arthur Flour cookbook for baking.  I love the recipes and they have never steered me wrong.  For today's cupcake, I decided that an easy White Cake recipe would be the best.  I had never made this cake before, but I have to tell you:  It is awesome!  For the frosting, I used my go-to buttercream recipe.  

The Cake:

Elegant White Cake (from the King Arthur Flour Cookbook)

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

5 large egg whites

2 3/4 cups flour

1 cup milk

Cream together the butter, shortening, baking powder, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat until everything is fluffy and light, about 5 minutes (From when everything first comes together, to the end of 5 minutes, the batter really transforms!)

Add in the egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix well.  Add 1/2 the milk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour.  Mix and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.

Scoop the batter into lined cupcake tins.  I made 24 cupcakes with this batter, and had just a tiny bit left over (not really enough for even 1 more cupcake).  Be very careful not to overflow the tins.  They should really only be about 2/3 full of batter.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 350* oven that has been preheated.  Remove when baked, and cool on a rack.  Once cool to the touch, transfer the cupcakes out of the tins and onto the racks to continue cooling.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Frosting:

Easy Buttercream (From the King Arthur Flour Cookbook)

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1/8 tsp salt

6 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Beat together the butter, shortening, and salt until fluffy.  Add in about 3 cups of the confectioners' sugar and beat slowly until well blended.  Add about 1/4 cup of the milk and the vanilla and beat again until fluffy.

Continue mixing the remaining sugar and milk until they are fully incorporated and the frosting is light and fluffy.  Note:  I did not use all of the milk.  I just kept adding the remaining 1/4 cup a little at a time until it was the desired consistency.

~~~~~~~~~~

For today's cupcakes, I needed 3 colors of frosting.  

Split the frosting as evenly as possible into 3 bowls.  Color the frostings to your choosing (clearly, for the 4th of July, I used red, white, and blue).  I used 30 drops each of red and blue food coloring.  NOTE:  The liquid food coloring, which I used, can make the frosting a lot less stiff.  So keep that in mind and add in a little extra confectioners' sugar if necessary).

Put the three colors of frosting into 3 separate piping bags (I used the clear disposable kind).  Don't fill them up all the way, as they will make a big mess.  Snip the tip of the bags, about 1/2".  Put the 3 bags together into one large piping bag (I used a 16" piping bag), already fit with a star tip.  Evenly squeeze the frosting down to the tip of the piping bag and use either paper towel or wax paper to pipe a design and make sure the three colors come out evenly.

About halfway through, I did need to refill the bag.  If this also happens to you, just fold down the big piping bag, and open the smaller bags to refill with frosting.  Squeeze down to the tip, and repeat the frosting process!!

ENJOY!!

Happy Day!

Today is March 18. Yesterday was St Patrick's day tomorrow is St Joseph's day.

While I am not at all Irish but I am very Italian, I ironically found myself only baking/cooking for St Partick's day this year.

I made an amazing Boiled Dinner.  This was not only my first time making a corned beef dinner, but I also took it a step further and made it in the pressure cooker.  Once again, it came delicious.  Here's what I did:

• In the pressure cooker, place the corned beef with the fattiest side facing up, pour in a bottle of Guinness, enough water to cover the top of the meat, and the seasoning packet (I used about a 2.5 lb piece of meat).
• Secure on the lid, and place the pot on the stove on high-heat.
• When the pop comes up to pressure, lower the heat to as low as it can go while maintaining the pressure.  Let the pot sit like this for 50 minutes.
• At the end of the 50 minutes, let the pot depressurize naturally by removing it from the heat and waiting patiently for the pressure to come down (this takes about 15 minutes).
• Once the pot is depressurized, remove the lid, and transfer the corned beef to a cutting board, wrap it in foil, and cover it with a towel to keep in the heat.  This allows the juices to redistribute through the meat.
• Pour out about half of the liquid from the pot, and add in the vegetables (I used potatoes, carrots, onion, and cabbage).
• Secure the lid back on, move it again to high heat, and as soon as it comes up to pressure, lower the heat again and maintain pressure for 6 minutes.  
• Slice the meat against the grain, and place everything in your serving platter!

My first attempt at a Boiled Dinner - SUCCESS!!

SO easy!  And from start to finish (including any prep time), this only took 2 hours!  If I had cooked this in a regular pot, I would have been in the kitchen for probably closer to 4 hours.  (Note:  The package on the corned beef said to cook the meat for 50 minutes for each pound of meat.  This means that I would have had to boil my piece of meat for 125 minutes, never mind the time to get up to a boil, and then the cooking time of the vegetables, which would have probably been about 20 minutes).  Pressure Cookers are awesome!

Serve with some mustard, and you've got yourself a feast!!

I also made an amazing (if I do say so myself) Irish Soda Bread.  I haven't made it in years, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results.  It's an incredibly easy recipe that my mom got from a friend of hers long ago, and I haven't made it any other way.

Irish Soda Bread, made from scratch, sliced, and ready to be eaten!!

So now that St. Patrick's day is over, and the non-Irish in me has celebrated, it's time to make some Zeppole and celebrate St. Joseph's Day!!!

Homemade Zeppole that I made a few years ago....It's time for another batch!!

Enjoy!!!

Make Way for the Red, White, & Blue!!

It's been almost a week since Independence Day, but I've been a very busy girl.  However, I couldn't NOT share this cake!!

My first attempt at a Flag Cake!

I got the idea from Pinterest, and knew that the 4th of July would be the perfect time to make it!  For a first attempt, I think it came out pretty good!  Here's what I did:


The Cake:
I took a shortcut and used white cake mix.  Yep.  I bought whatever kind was on sale (I think it was Pillsbury with pudding in the mix and I made it will whole eggs).  I used 2 cake mixes, and split it between 3 cakes, one of which was died red, another blue.

Red, White, and Blue cakes - ready to be baked!

Cool the cakes, and then slice the red and the white cakes in half.  Take 1 half of the red, and 1 half of the white, and cut a circle out of the middle (I used a cleaned empty tomato can).  Also cut out a circle from the blue cake (1 to 2 rounds, depending on the thickness).

  

Next, start layering.  I used a "Fine White Frosting" recipe.


Stack a Red Cake, Frosting, White Cake, and then a Red cake with the hole and the white cake with the hole.  Frost the whole thing (yes, it will be awkward).

One layer of Red and One layer of White, both with  frosting!

The Red and White layers on top, both wit the holes!  Frosted and ready to go!

Next, take the blue circle, and fit it into the hole!

The blue cake, fitted into the hole!  Ready for frosting!

Next, completely frost the entire cake, and get ready to decorate!!  I decorated with strawberries and blueberries.  I wanted to pipe in a fun design, but unfortunately all my tips are packed away and my jimmy-rigged disposable tip in a sandwich baggie failed me!  But here is the finished product!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Enjoy!!

Leftovers!!!

I am not a fan of leftovers.  I find that on most occasions, re-heated food is awful (with a few exceptions).  However, I do like taking my leftovers and making something new with it....QUICHE!

I find that I really only make quiche at Easter time.  There's something about ham and cheese quiche that just makes me happy.  I make it different almost every year and it's one of the very few things that I can cook and improvise and not have it come out awful.  

This year's quiche is Ham and Broccoli....Here's what I did:

The Ingredients

-Leftover ham (I used about 5-6 slices and cubed it up)

-Cheese (whatever kind you have/like.  I had some basket cheese, so I cubed up some of that)

-1 box frozen chopped broccoli, defrosted

-Onion (as much as you want, I used 1/4 of a massive onion)

-Garlic (once again, as much as you want)

-4 eggs, beaten, with a splash of milk (more, depending on the size you're making)

-Pie Crust

The Method to my Madness

-Chop the onion and saute it in a little bit of olive oil

-Add in the garlic and the defrosted broccoli

-Add in some salt and pepper (not too much salt - the ham is salty enough)

-Add in the chopped ham

Onion, Garlic, Broccoli, and Ham

-Line a pie plate with the pie crust (if you're feeling ambition, go ahead and make your own.  I bought the rolls of pie crust - thank you Pillsbury!!)

-Put all of the broccoli and ham mixture into the crust

-Put the cheese in on top and mix in it with a fork (I think that chunks of cheese works better than shredded cheese)

 

On the Left:  Basket Cheese!  On the Right:  Everything in the pie crust

-Pour the Beaten eggs/milk over the mixture and mix it in, making sure to mix everything in well

-Fold the crust over for a "rustic" look - or make a real crust if you're up to it...

-Bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes

The Finished Product

 The key to a good quiche is using whatever you want - Potatoes are great in quiche (make sure you pre-cook them so they're not hard when you try to eat it).  I would have used potatoes today, but I didn't have any....


Have fun and ENJOY!!


Points:  7 points per slice - 8 slices per pie

Easter Dinner

This year we celebrated Easter at my mom's house.  There were 14 of us this year and I'd say that we had a really nice time.


Instead of my mom cooking the majority of all the food and everyone just coming to eat, we split up the responsibility this year and everyone made 1 dish each.


Mom:  Ham and Turkey and Stuffing (The turkey and stuffing was made for those who don't like ham)
Me:  Green Beans (I made them with caramelized onion and almonds - they were SO good, and I forgot to take a pictures of them!!!) and Sweet Bread
Auntie Regina:  Broccoli Casserole
Auntie Annette:  Roasted Potatoes
Dad:  Antipasto deli rolls
Carolyn:  Pickled Peppers
Nonni:  Rice Pie
Mom & Erin:  Egg biscuits and a Pagoda (A bit of deliciousness consisting of flaky pastry, boiled cream, chocolate cream, whipped cream, raspberry filling, and peaches - with cherries on top! - I had never tried a Pagoda, or even heard of one before, but my Mother in law's contribution was very well received!!)

A Pagoda from Pastryland Bakery in Smithfield, RI

I totally overdid it with the sweat bread....But I'm sure it won't go to waste!!

The 13 sweet breads that I decided to make for Sunday.  12 mini's and 1 extra large - Some with hard boiled eggs!!  Everyone got to take home a mini!!

All in all, it was another delicious holiday.  There was much less food than usual (can you believe that that list is LESS food than usual?) but we were able to enjoy what we were eating instead of stuffing ourselves with too many choices and not enjoying anything.

Sweet Bread!!!

You know it's almost Easter when the Sweet Bread recipe comes out.  I'm actually quite early in baking my first batch this year.  I normally don't start baking Sweet Bread until at least Friday before Easter.  This year, I'm on top of things!  Every year for the past 2-3 years, we have sent a bread out to Florida to my Father in Law.  This year I was determined to get him some bread BEFORE Easter, rather than after.

I also decided that while I blogged about Sweet Bread last year, I would actually share the recipe with you this year!!!  Enjoy!!

The Recipe

1 cup milk (I always use 2%)

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 packets yeast (either Active Dry or Instant - it really doesn't matter.  If you have bulk Yeast instead of packets, use 5 teaspoons here)

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup luke-warm water

6 eggs

1 tsp salt

10 cups flour

The Method

• Melt the milk, butter and 2 cups of sugar in a sauce pan and let cool completely (I usually cool it for a little while and then stick it in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes)
• While cooling the milk/butter/sugar mixture, mix together the water, 1 Tbsp sugar and yeast.  Let sit and activate
• Beat the eggs and add in the activated Yeast and cooled milk/butter/sugar mixture
• Add in the flour and salt (I usually mix in 9 cups and the once mixed together, use the last cup (plus a little more, if needed) while kneading the dough)
• Dump the dough mixture onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 5-10 minutes)
• Transfer the kneaded dough into an oiled bowl and cover in oil.  Let rise to double in bulk (about 2-3 hours)
• Dump the risen dough onto a flour surface and cut into sections (I usually cut into 3 uneven pieces, one for a small loaf pan, one for a large loaf pan, and one for a tube pan).  Braid each section and transfer to greased pans
• Let the dough rise in the greased pans until they have doubled again (about 1 hour)
• Bake at 275*F for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  10 minutes before removing from the oven, put an egg-wash on each loaf to brown the tops (I always put the timer on for 45 minutes, test and then go from there....)

Pictures of the whole process are below!  This is the most delicious Sweet Bread recipe you'll ever make!  It's really delicious.  Cutting and eating it while it's hot is so good, and toasting it and putting some butter on top is a great option, too!!!

ENJOY!!

  

From left to right:  milk/butter/sugar mixture, water/sugar/yeast mixture, flour/salt

The Yeast makes the dough rise!  The activated yeast (this is shown in a 4-cup measuring cup, fyi)

The kneaded dough, covered in oil in a bowl (this is a giant salad bowl, and after 2 1/2 hours of rising, the dough was expanded to the top lip of the bowl!)

A section of the dough, braided and ready to be put into one of the pans!

Braided, and ready to rise!  These rose for another hour before going into the oven

The final result!

Happy Valentine's Day

I'll admit.  The only thing I like about Valentine's Day is the day after - when all the candy goes on sale.  I've never been big on the holiday - it's really just a Hallmark and Hersey's holiday.  My husband bought me a beautiful card and we went out to dinner.  That was enough for me.  We had a couple of Gift Certificates so we went to Legal Seafood in Warwick (I've been wanting to try one of the locations in Boston, but we made reservations late).

It was a fun night.  I ordered the Crab Cake Combo (They have the BEST crab cakes, and it comes with shrimp and scallops) and Scott got the Surf and Turf (Filet Mignon and Lobster).  It was totally worth half of my Weight Watchers Allowance Points.

Crab Cake with Scallops, Shrimp and Fresh Greens

Surf and Turf - Filet Mignon and Lobster with Mashed Potatoes (And coleslaw, which isn't in the picture)

A husband who's ready to eat! (He brought the bib home...)

Practically Perfect

For those of you who really know me, you know that my very best favorite movie of ALL time is Mary Poppins.  I started watching this when I was young and haven't stopped.  There's something about the magic of the movie that captures me all the time.  As children, my sister and I used to go to my grandmother's house a few times a week (Nonni Day) and we used to watch either Mary Poppins and/or The Sound of Music.  As soon as Mary Poppins went on, we would dance around the coffee table to the overture and I'm pretty sure we could recite the movie word for word.  I even convinced my husband one year to dress up with me for Halloween...

To this day, I still feel like a kid when I watch the movie (I own it, and yes, I'll watch it on TV even if there are commercials).  


For Christmas, my husband bought me tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway.  I had been wanting to see it for a while, and was so excited.  We went on Saturday to see it (which was perfect timing, as my sister's 30th birthday was the next day and we were able to celebrate with her).  


So what did I think of the play?  I liked it but was extremely disappointed at the same time.  Confused?  Yes, so was I.  I think that if I had not been so obsessed with the movie, I would have enjoyed the show more.  There were a lot of difference between the show and the movie that I hadn't been expecting and I couldn't help but sit in my seat and make the comparisons.


Some differences:


In the movie, you have Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.  OK, OK, I realize they can't be in the Broadway show.  But I couldn't help compare those two main characters.  The woman who played Mary Poppins undoubtedly had a great voice, but I was surprised at how cold she played the character.  Bert was great, but while he is originally from England, his cockney accent was just a little TOO good (hahaha).


In the movie, you have Mrs. Brill and Ellen, the cook and housemaid, respectively.  In the show you have Mrs. Brill and Robertson Aye, the cook and very awkward, weird, face making butler who seems to just take up space on the stage.  I still don't understand his role.


In the movie, you have Jane and Michael, who are not bad children, but seem to give their nannies a run for their money.  In the show, the children are portrayed as really bad and naughty children, who scream and yell and throw a lot of tantrums.  I found it very surprising (although the kids did do a great job).


In the movie, you have a story line.  You truly understand why they have the adventures they have and it all makes sense.  In the show, I found myself confused as to why they were doing certain outings, why naked statues were coming to life and why Mrs. Corey was giving out "conversations."


There was no animated sequence, there was no laughing on the ceiling and there was blatant magic being performed on the stage (whereas in the movie, you know she's magic, but it seems a little more subtle - she doesn't actually raise her arms, wiggle her fingers and fly things around the room, does she??  I feel like the movie gives you that feeling - did that actually happen?  Or was it their imagination?).  Some of the songs are different and there are a number of songs that aren't in the movie at all.


However, with all of these differences, I enjoyed the show.  It was entertaining and the singing and dancing was definitely great.  The Step-In-Time sequence was definitely great.


When we got home, I did a little more research about the movie and the show.  I learned that Pamela Travers (the author of the Mary Poppins series) really didn't like the movie, and when she was approached about the show, she put certain stipulations in place.  Apparently she felt that the Walt Disney movie did no justice to her books, was overall disappointed with how they portrayed certain characters, hated the animated sequence, etc etc etc).  If you have the 40th anniversary DVD, the second disc has a lot of footage and even some recordings of her meetings with the movie makers.  It helped to put the play into perspective for me.


So....At the end of the day, I did enjoy the show.  I really did (even though it may not sound that way).  But it will never replace the magic of the movie, or how much I love it.  :o)

Stuffed Mushrooms

One Christmas, I decided that I was going to make Stuffed Mushrooms.  Since then, I've been asked to bring it to Christmas Eve every year.  I figured I'd share the recipe!

The Recipe:

3 containers of button mushrooms

1 medium onion

2 sticks butter

2 sleeves ritz crackers, crushed

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Parmesan cheese

The Method:

Cut the stems out of the mushrooms and save them for later use.  Hollow out the mushrooms (I remove all the gills).  Chop up the mushroom stems and the onion (a small dice).  Saute these in the melted butter until the onions become translucent.  Add in the crushed ritz crackers and mix in thoroughly.

At this point, add in a small amount of salt, the pepper, and garlic powder.  Add in 1-2 palm-fulls of the Parmesan cheese and mix well.  Taste the mixture and add in more salt, if needed (you shouldn't need too much, as the cheese is pretty salty).

Stuff the mushrooms, ensuring to mound the stuffing in each mushroom.  Put all the mushrooms on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350* for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

ENJOY!!

Homemade Toffee (AKA Christmas Crack)

I've tried to make homemade toffee a number of times, and while it has had varying results, nothing has been as good as the recipe I'm currently using (Thanks to Tricia at work).  I remember the first time I made it, I didn't caramelize the sugar/butter enough at the beginning, so the toffee was super soft and had to be refrigerated.  Other toffees I've made have been better, but nothing in comparison.


Now - you may ask yourself, Why "Christmas Crack?"  Well....Once you start eating it, you can't stop, it's so addicting!!!


Homemade Toffee, aka Christmas Crack

• 1 sleeve saltine crackers (I always use salted crackers)
• 2 sticks butter (I always use unsalted butter)
• 1 cup brown sugar (I always use light brown sugar)
• ~1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 12-16 oz chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400*.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and lay out saltines on the cookie sheet, all in one layer.

Melt the butter and sugar on the stovetop and bring to a boil.  Boil for 3 minutes and stir continuously (at the end of 3 minutes, the butter/sugar should look almost fluffy).

Take the butter/sugar off the heat and add the vanilla.  Stir to incorporate the vanilla and then pour the mixture over the saltines.  Spread the mixture over the saltines evenly.  Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 3-5 minutes - it should be bubbly when you take it out.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and put back in the oven for an additional 2 minutes.  Remove the toffee from the oven and spread the melted chocolate chips over all of the toffee.

At this point, you have some options.

1. You can leave it just as it is.  Pop the sheet into the fridge overnight (or at least for a few hours) and then take it out and break it all up.
2. Depending on the kind of chocolate that you spread out over the toffee, you can add some toppings (FYI - I usually use a mixture of milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chips).
1. Heath Bar Bits
2. Chopped Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds
3. Crushed Candy Canes (I used this when I used White Chocolate and it was a hit)

Now, ENJOY!!!

Christmas Crack with Heath Bar Bits on top.