Beachy Birthday

I was lucky enough to have my husband for 2 full days on the weekend following my birthday. He normally has to work either Saturday or Sunday but I guess he really does love me because he took both days off.

Every summer we drive to the coast of Maine and wander around beaches, parks, little towns, and have such a grand time. We always pack a lunch but have dinner some place along the way.

This year we stopped in Wiscasset to look around in the shops, Damariscotta to check out the Maine Cloth Diaper Company, and settled in at Pemaquid Beach for a few hours.

Every year we pack the same sandwich for our lunch. A pressed grilled veggie sandwich on ciabatta bread. We both love this. I also pack fruit, this time it was cherries and we stopped for a box of native strawberries along the way.

After a few hours at Pemaquid we sort of reversed our way along the coast and stopped in Boothbay. This is where we had dinner, at 93 Townsend. Very yummy and we created some fun memories there too. Boothbay is great for people watching. There is a mixture of locals, lobstermen, and tourists...always entertaining.

Pressed Sandwiches

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield: Two Sandwiches

Pesto

1/4 cup olive oil

1 big clove garlic, minced

S&P

1 small zucchini, cut into long slices

1 small summer squash, cut into long slices

1 small eggplant, cut into long slices

1 red pepper, roasted and skin removed

Fresh Mozzarella

Cibatta Bread

Heat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Combine olive oil and garlic. Brush each side of the squash and eggplant with the olive oil and then season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender. Chill.

Remove some of the bread inards and fill with pesto, sliced mozzarella, and cold veggies. Add the other piece of bread, wrap in plastic wrap, tie with butcher twine and press overnight.

Rock a Bye Bellini

Now that the news is out about my growing belly, I can blog about these crazy food cravings and hunger.

All I want is fruit. And he loves it. He will kick and shove and nudge anytime I eat a piece of fruit. Especially watermelon, cherries, and pears. Luckily I love fruit and it is a great time of year to have fresh fruit.

For my birthday I was given the book, "Margarita Mama: Mocktails for the Mom-to-Be". (Thank you MM for the recommendation!!) I absolutely adore this little book and made my first mocktail last night; Rock a Bye Bellini.

It did just the trick for me. I made it at 8:00 just as I was settling down for the night. I put it in a champagne flute. And sipped it with my feet up. I will definitely make this one again!!


Rock a Bye Bellini
Source: Margarita Mamas
Yield: One

5 slices of frozen peaches
6 oz. ginger ale

Blend the peaches in a blender or food processor until pureed. Transfer to glass and stir in ginger ale. Delish.

30th Birthday Cake and Announcement

I have a couple things to admit.

1. I just turned 30. I'm not freaked out. I don't feel old. I don't think I look old. I'm OK with this.

2. You may have noticed that the postings on this blog are down to a bare minimum. For that, I'm sorry. You know how life sometimes gets in the way of things? Well life is very exciting at 179. I am going to have a little boy at the end of October. We had an ultrasound last week and saw fingers, toes, heart, brain, etc. He is growing and kicking!

As you may know I like to make my own birthday cake. I have a list of cakes that I want to make but need a good excuse. I narrowed it down to this one cake, Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha Mascarpone. But then...I read the reviews. People didn't like the frosting. They said it didn't match the cake. It didn't look like the picture. It was too light. I chose to make this cake anyway. I felt like if I didn't I would always wonder what the frosting was like.

I am so glad I made this. The cake is amazing. Very moist. Very flavorful. The frosting was awesome as well. It was almost like you made the filling for tiramisu with a mocha flavoring. I have my last piece in my lunchbox to share with my lovely friend Tina at lunch today.

Fabulous.

Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha Mascarpone Frosting

Source: Bon Appetit

Yield: 8-10 servings

2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (packed) brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water

Frosting
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 8-ounce containers chilled mascarpone cheese

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Generously butter two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch-high sides; dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. NOTE: Grease the hell out of the pans. I thought I had done enough but had to piece the cake back together after it stuck to the pan.

Sift 2 cups cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition. Gradually add hot espresso-water mixture, beating just until smooth.

Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Run small knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto racks; lift pans off cakes and remove parchment. Place wire rack atop each cake; invert again so top side is up. Cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap each cake in plastic and store at room temperature.

Sift cocoa powder into large bowl; add espresso powder. Bring 1 cup cream to boil in small saucepan. Slowly pour cream over cocoa mixture, whisking until cocoa is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup cream and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled.

Add mascarpone to chilled cocoa mixture. Using electric mixer, beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until mixture is thick and medium-firm peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 2 minutes (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).

Using pastry brush, brush off crumbs from cakes. Place 1 cake layer, top side up, on platter. Spoon 1 3/4 cups frosting in dollops over top of cake. Using offset spatula, spread frosting to edges. Top with second cake layer, top side up, pressing to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill 10 minutes. Using offset spatula, spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, swirling decoratively. Top with chocolate curls, if desired. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving.

Rainbow Bright Slaw!

We had a BBQ over Memorial weekend and I wanted to make a nice healthy slaw that Seth would love. He hates mayonnaise and he doesn't like cold potatoes and we had macaroni salad last week. I remembered having this really nice and bright slaw at a potluck lunch at my old job. I checked out the coworkers blog and found the recipe!

I looove this and plan on making it often. On her blog she referred to it as Asian Slaw but I'm naming my version Rainbow Slaw. I love all the colors...that means lots of vitamins and lots of flavors. I am listing her original recipe but I made a few changes and omissions and plan on playing around the the recipe each time I try it. Seth suggested slicing a bit of jalapeno into the slaw.

Oh. And I love the ginger flavor. Excellent!


P.S. Even my brother ate this!

Rainbow Slaw
Source: Keeley Kitchen Kapers
Yield: 4-6 servings

1 package of shredded cabbage (or shred your own)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, julienned into match-size pieces
1 celery stalk, sliced paper thin
1/2 red onion, in paper thin slivers (or 4-5 scallions, chopped)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (or peanut halves)
1 T freshly grated ginger (grated, not minced- use a microplaner for best results)
1.5 T canola oil
2 T white balsamic vinegar (can use regular vinegar but add a teaspoon of sugar if you do)
Optional: minced cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix the oil, vinegar, and ginger- set aside.
2. Mix all the veggies together. Add salt and pepper.
3. Pour on liquid and toss thoroughly.

Cleaning Out!

I decided to clean out my spice cupboard. I was never able to find what I needed. And often times I would go to the store to buy a spice, dried herb, or extract only to find a month later that I already had it.

Here is a treasure! I'm not sure how old this is but I'm guessing over 12 years old. I think my mother bought this.


I found doubles and triples of many items including; cumin (3), garlic salt (2), crushed red pepper (2), Cajun seasoning (2), ground ginger (2), Bell's seasoning (2).

And things that I will never ever use. Like steak seasoning.

Then there were things that were as hard as a rock...and they were meant to be shakeable. Like rimmers for drinks, seasoning for popcorn, and general seasonings.


Trash, trash, and more trash!

A nice wipe down of the shelving.

Gorgeous!

Everything is nice and neat now. It is easy to find things. All my bulk herbs I get from the healthy food store are in one big plastic bag. I'm loving this!

Peppermint Frosted Brownies

Need a chocolate fix fast? I mean...CHOCOLATE. Like the kind of fix that will put you in a sugar induced coma for a few hours? Oh, that's what you need? Make these!

These were super duper rich. I added the peppermint buttercream just because I had a craving for it. I made regular buttercream and flavored it with peppermint and added some red food coloring. Easy as can be!

The recipe for the brownies is also really easy. They come together very quick. My main tip for these...make sure you bake them long enough. Mine were too gooey in the middle.

Chocolate Brownies
Source: Food Network
Yield: 1-2 dozen depending on how big you cut them.

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs
1 cup cocoa
1 cup flour

Set oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan.

Combine sugar, butter, salt. Whisk in eggs. Stir in cocoa and flour. Transfer to pan bake 30 min.

Easy peasy.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

I've been learning a lot about buttercreams. I always thought buttercream was just your simple icing of powdered sugar, butter, milk or cream, and vanilla. Which is great. But I learned today that there are French buttercreams (made by pouring a sugary syrup at softball stage over egg yolks), there are Italian or Swiss buttercreams (similar to the French but using egg whites) and even German buttercreams which use pastry cream.

I've made a faux Swiss buttercream and last year for my birthday I made a real Swiss buttercream. This week I made a lemon Swiss buttercream and it is amazing.

I've had lemon cupcakes on my list of things to make for about six months. Finally I decided I was going to make a batch. The cake part has a fantastic crumb. Light, lemony, perfect. Then I made the frosting. It seemed not as hard as it did the first I made Swiss buttercream. It is a little scary after you add the butter to the meringue and it looks like a mess. It gets better. I swear. Give it time. Let it do its thing.

I didn't have lemon extract in the house so I used fresh lemon juice in both the cupcakes and the frosting. Worked out just fine. Be sure to use the lemon zest because it adds quite a bit of the lemon flavor.

Have fun with these!!

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Source: Humble Gourmand

Yield: One dozen

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest in large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and much lighter in color. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. In a third, small bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon extract.
Add the eggs one at a time to the mixer, making sure to fully incorporate the first egg before adding the second. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in the following order: add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, 1/2 of the wet, another third of the dry, the rest of the wet, and the rest of the dry. Mix until just combined and finish with a spatula.

Bake in the top third of the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before topping with the lemon buttercream.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
7 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
½ c. water
1 lb. unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp. lemon extract
Yellow food coloring (optional)

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed. Add sugar, corn syrup, and water to a pot and swirl or mix with a spoon so that the sugar has the consistency of wet sand and all of the granules are moistened.
Cook the sugar on high to 235F. At this stage, which candymakers call the soft ball stage, most of the moisture gets cooked out of the sugar. Immediately add the cooked sugar to the egg whites, which should be foamy at this point. Turn the mixer speed to high and whip the meringue to a medium peak. Add the butter in small clumps (about 1½” cubes) and whip until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, and holds together. Add the lemon extract and food coloring if using and whip to combine.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk

I like to say thank you with a sweet treat. A friend of mine recently did me a favor and to say thank you I gave her a plate of these delightful little cookies.

These cookies are awesome for a variety of reasons.

1. They come together super quickly.
2. The texture is fantastic. Nice and soft.
3. A perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate
4. They are the perfect size.

And they come from Martha Stewart so you know they are good. Right??!


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Source: Martha Stewart
Yield: 3 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanut butter
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat peanut butter, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two large baking sheets. Bake until golden, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Sweet Cheeks Guac

This is my own version of guacamole. It is chunky, flavorful, and versatile. I like to scoop it with chips but I also like to put it on my veggie burger. It is great in a burrito and the last time I served it I used it as a side with chips next to Cajun shrimp.

You can make this to your liking. My sister likes hers extra limey. I like mine with extra cumin. You could also had some hot sauce or chopped jalapeno for a bit of heat. I'm guessing on the measurements for the recipe below. I usually eyeball it and taste here and there. I'll do my best!


Sweet Cheeks Guac
Source: ME!
Yield: 2 servings

1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 T olive oil
Juice of half a lime
4-5 shakes cumin
Salt
5 sprigs cilantro, torn

Cube the avocado and mash slightly leaving large chunks. Add the onion and chopped tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Stir. Add cumin and salt. Add cilantro last so it is nice and fresh.

Humming Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

I do enjoy all the new concoctions of flavored cupcakes going around. However, you'll find that I mostly stick with the basics. I suppose the pink lemonade cupcakes were a bit wild for me. To me, the simplicity of a vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing is perfection.

The recipe for these cupcakes came from Joy the Baker who posted the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I adore these sweet little cupcakes. They were a cinch to make and oh so delicious.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing
Source: Joy the Baker and Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
a scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
pinch of salt
3 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and butter in a large bowl. Using a hand held mixer beat on a slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side or the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth. For just a few minutes. Don’t bother overmixing.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing evenly between 12 cups. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating half way through or until lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

2 cups powdered sugar

5 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 T milk
1/4 t vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar together in a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer to low. Combine milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. When you reach the desired consistency, frost the cooled cupcakes.