Cupcakes that Make a Grown Man Cry

I made these cupcakes on Monday for my book club. I traded Jeff 4 cupcakes for his help with the icing and clean-up since I was on a tight schedule. I am pretty sure that there were tears in his eyes when he tasted the icing and he was most certainly crying when he ate a whole cupcake. As much as I feel they were my own creation I have to give credit to Paula Deen. You probably could have guessed that though - given that the frosting calls for a pound of cream cheese and a pound of sugar.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (seriously - this makes enough frosting for 569 cupcakes. I recommend planning to make another batch or halving the recipe.)

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.
Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

LYGWF

~DT

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

I am reading this book right now and it's pretty good! A light hearted, easy read. Full of recipes. None of which I have tried yet but definitley some I plan on trying. The chapters are titled things like "Mitch, He licked the Plate," and "Ethan, He Ate and Ran" or something like that. It's fun.

Let me know if you want me to mail you my copy when I am done.

LYGWF,

DT

Macon's Ham Biscuits

Kimmy's recipe. Fat makes 'em. DT has the exclusive.


1pkg. sister schubert yeast rolls
1/3 lb. smithfield country ham, shaved from deli
1/3-1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. light brown sugar

Heat butter and brown sugar in double boiler until caramel color and thick in texture. Slice entire top off rolls, set aside. (Best to do when cold, not room temp. or they will crumble). Place entire bottom part of rolls back into the pan and spread with butter and brown sugar mixture. Top with generous amount of shaved ham. Place tops back on the rolls. Spread the tops with butter and sugar mixture. Take a sharp knife and cut outline of each roll before freezing or baking. Cover and either freeze or bake. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes until top is golden brown. Pray before you eat them or do anything else!

Kimmy Gibbler

Filet Mignon

Filet Mignon is easily one of my top five favorite foods. It's up there somewhere between Strawberry Milkshakes and Fois Gras.

In the early days of dating Jeff, I decided to buy him some filet mignon for his birthday. I clearly couldn't cook it - I didn't even know how to cook chicken at the time. So, I found a recipe that I thought looked good from foodnetwork.com. I bought all the ingredients, printed out the recipe handed it to him and told him he would have the pleasure of cooking us some filet mignon for his birthday dinner. (How sweet of me!) I didn't exactly read the recipe to find out how involved it was at the time but it was this recipe that included wrapping the meat in bacon, making the sauce and he was making two other dishes as sides and it somehow turned into a very stressful affair. Probably because I wasn't any help at all. Somehow the filets came out perfect and all was well and delicious. Jeff has now mastered the technique (which is actually really simple) and this has become our standard way of cooking filets. I have only done this myself once but I've watched and helped enough that I know what I'm doing.

Here is the recipe! You may have already cooked meat/filets like this before - I know it's a common preperation for a filet in restaurants but it's so easy and wonderful I had to share. Jeff's notes are in italics.


Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) filet mignon steaks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bacon strips (I’ve deleted these, I think they don’t do anything and don’t get crispy enough.)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I use regular olive oil because of it’s higher smoke point and have been meaning to try clarified butter)
1 pound assorted mushrooms, such as shiitake, crimini, and chanterelle, stemmed and halved
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (I chop coarsely because it will burn otherwise)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cups Pinot Noir (I use about 1/2c of wine, 2c is way too much)
2 tablespoons prepared demi-glace (can substitute about 1/2c Beef Broth)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter


Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Season both sides of the filet mignon generously with salt and pepper. Wrap a piece of bacon around the sides of each steak and secure with butcher's twine. In a large heavy, ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Place the steaks in the hot pan and cook until well seared on 1 side, about 3 minutes. Turn the steaks over, there should be a nice crust on top. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary; give everything a good stir. I cook another 2 minutes for a good sear again adding garlic at end. Transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until the steaks are cooked medium-rare. I cook for 8-9 minutes due to additional 2 minutes on stove

Remove the steaks, mushrooms, and rosemary to a platter; cover to keep warm. I leave the mushrooms in the pan during this process Return the pan to the stove over medium-high heat. Deglaze with the wine, scraping up all the yummy bits in the bottom of the pan. Mix in the demi-glace, stirring to combine. Put the steaks and mushrooms back in the pan and coat in the pan sauce I keep the steaks out of the pan…To prevent over cooking they’ll still be warm. Finish with a couple of tablespoons of butter to make it rich. Put the steak and mushrooms on 2 serving plates and cut off the butcher's twine from the filets. Pour the wine sauce on top and garnish each plate with a roasted rosemary sprig.


Enjoy!

LYGWF
~DT

How To Cook Everything

A must-have cook book: Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything.

Buy your copy today. It is a godsend.

lygwf,

Comet

Firey Pomegranate

Ahoy and hello. Tonight I did some experimenting. Cabanna and I use to experiment in the kitchen and we came up with some delicious concoctions. This meal was a concoction, and it turned out great.

I read about a glaze or sauce, I can't really remember, that used Pom juice. I decided to create it from memory, and I have a bad memory, but it turned out great. I put this sauce over some grilled skanks though the recipe advertised putting it over a grilled flank steak. I served this with avacado/tomato/mozzarella salad. Delish. Here goes:

1 cup Pom juice
3 splashes low sodium soy sauce (maybe 2 tbs? 3tbs?)
a healthy squirt of honey
a dash of red pepper flakes
a dash of cayanne pepper (i like it hot)
quite a bit of basalmic vinegar (1/4 cup?)

I know those are the ingredients in the original recipe, I just am not sure of the quantities.

WISK all of this together so it is good and mixed. Bring to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer until the volume has halfed. Continue to reduce to desiered consistancy.

Drizzle (or pour) over some seared skanks and you have a delicious meal!

LYGWF,
Comet

Cheat's Pappardelle with Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangrattato

This is one I just loooove and you'll look like a better chef than you really are when you tell you're guests you're serving them a 'pangrattato.'

I've called this great dish, with its slap-you-round-the-face flavors, "cheat's pappardelle," as you can cheat by cutting your own pappardelle from ready-made fresh lasagne sheets. Pangrattato is a rich bread-crumb mixture originally used by poor people in Italy for giving their food extra flavor when they had no Parmesan cheese.

Serves:

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 5 big leeks, outer leaves trimmed back, washed
• Olive oil
• 3 good knobs butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
• A small wineglass white wine
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pint good-quality vegetable or chicken stock
• 12 slices ham, preferably Parma
• 2 (8-ounce) packages fresh lasagne sheets
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 2 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

For the Pangrattato:

• 1 small handful dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 ciabatta bread, preferably stale, cut into chunks
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Directions

Halve the leeks lengthways and cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices. Heat a wide saucepan, add a splash of oil and a knob of butter, and when you hear a gentle sizzling add the sliced garlic, thyme leaves and leeks. Move the leeks around so every piece gets coated. Pour in the wine, season with pepper and stir in the stock. Cover the leeks with the slices of Parma ham, place a lid on the pan and cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes. Once the leeks are tender, take the pan off the heat.

To make the pangrattato:

Whiz the mushrooms and bread with a pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic cloves and the rosemary and cook for a minute, then fry the bread crumbs in the oil until golden and crisp. Keep shaking the pan - don't let the bread crumbs catch on the bottom. Drain on paper towels, discard the rosemary and garlic and allow the bread crumbs to cool.

Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil. Lay the lasagne sheets on a clean working surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Place the sheets on top of each other and slice into 1/2-inch strips. Toss through your fingers to shake out the pappardelle, then cook in the boiling water 2 minutes or until al dente.

Remove the Parma ham from the saucepan, slice up and stir back into the leeks. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the Parmesan and the rest of the butter. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add the pasta to the leeks. Add a little of the cooking water if need be, to give you a silky, smooth sauce. Serve quickly, sprinkled with some pangrattato, extra Parmesan and any leftover thyme tips. Serve the rest of the pangrattato in a bowl on the side.

Bon apetit,

Cabanna

A Welcome Sign of Vodka's Decline

Below is a link to a WSJ article with an interesting take on the direction of cocktails:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124000672480430317.html

Vodka is cliche. While it is a versitile ingredient, it is overblown and overused. Thankfully vodka's dictatorship is coming to an end. Maybe vodka will step aside and let some other, less known, delicious hard liquors share the spotlight. Here's to diversity!

lygwf,

Comet

Mississippi Mud Cake

I am going to make this for Easter Sunday Dinner! I'll let you know how it goes.

Mississippi Mud Cake (Paula Deen Style)

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 bag miniature marshmallows

Icing:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

Combine the sugar, salt, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Bring the butter, oil, cocoa, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add to the flour mixture.

Beat together the eggs, baking soda, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to the chocolate mixture, mix well, and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the icing by melting the butter in the cocoa and milk over low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat.

Stir in the confectioners' sugar. Slowly mix in the nuts and the vanilla.

Take the cake from the oven, and when it cools a bit cover it with miniature marshmallows. Pour the warm icing over the cake and the marshmallows.

Cool the cake before serving.

YUMMY.

LYGWF,

DT

Recipe Album

I have this and I heart it. I'm always printing recipes out of emails, off the internet, etc.



It's just a binder that you can put all the printouts in. It stands up on it's own and then it flips closed all nice and neat (so Macon will like it too.)


Link to Umbra's website below.

http://www.umbra.com/ustore/product/330290/c040/portochef_recipe_album.html


LYGWF,

DT

Cook's Illustrated Login Information

My father is kind enough to share his login information with me to some awesome publications, one of which is Cook's Illustrated. I am kind enough to share it with you. Take advantage of this subscription - the recipes are to die for!

www.cooksillustrated.com
username: georgedavisjr@embarqmail.com
password: kathydavis

LYGWF,

Comet

Asparagus CAN be Bad for You

I prefer my asparagus dripping in butter and covered in cheese. Another gem from dear ol' Becky. A party favorite.

Asparagus Roll-ups
Easy, May Prepare Ahead, Freezes Well, Yield: 5 dozen

Preheat oven to 425

20 slices white bread, crusts removed—flatten bread with rolling pin
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
4 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled
1 egg
Dash tabasco
Dash worsterchire sauce
Dash lemon juice
20 fresh asparagus spears
1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine cheeses, egg, Tabasco, Worcestershire and lemon juice
Spread mixture on each slice of bread
Place one asparagus spear on each slice of bread and roll up
Dip in melted butter and cut into thirds (Can freeze at this point)
Place on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes
Serve hot

LYGWF,

DT

Becky's Breakfast Casserole

Use this to ease the pain of the morning after a night at the Steamer, or Dockhouse, or Pilot House. This is good for a pre-planned T.B.O. beacuse you can make it ahead of time, put it in the fridge overnight and when you can't stand to do anything else - pop this thing in the oven and you're done.

Becky's Breakfast Casserole

8 white bread slices, cut into cubes (Or a box of seasoned croutons)

1 lb bulk pork sausage, crumbled and cooked (Bacon works too - hot sausage is better)

1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

10 large eggs

2 cups milk (do not use low fat)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp. dry mustard

pepper

Grease 9 / 13 baking dish
Place bread in prepared dish
Top with sausage and cheese
Beat together eggs and next ingredients
Season with pepper. Pour over sausage mixture and chill overnight
Preheat oven 350 bake until puffed and center is set - about 50 minutes
Cut into squares and serve piping hot!

I personally like to add to the casserole so it's different every time. Sometimes I add Pete, sometimes spinach, random but delicious spices. Creativity is encouraged.

LYGWF,

DT

The Idea

Dearest Friends,

Last night as I was making Crab Melts (recipe below), I was called to start a forum for FJackie to communicate about food, drink, and boats. The driving force behind the idea of this blog is the ultimate goal: a world renound bar and restaurant called The Pilot House. Before we can go starting up a dining establishment, we need some good eats. This is the place to post recpies that you have tried, recipes from you mother (Fat, I know AB has some good ones), or concoctions you come up with yourself.

Now, to kick off this party, here is a recipe I have shared with some of you already, but it seems like a good place to start regardless.

The Crab Melt

1 cup crabmeat
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. flour
1/2 cup half/half or milk
1 cup shredded cheese, pepperjack, monterey jack, or the like
dash of cayane pepper, can substitute with paprika or old bay seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2 english muffins split in half
optional: texas pete

Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add flour to make a roux. Add cream/milk and heat until you have a sort of thick sauce. Not too think, but not thin either.
Add crab meat and some salt and pepper. Add optional Texas Pete. Fold the sauce into the crab meat gently so as not to let it all fall apart.
Place open-faced english muffins on baking sheet and top with crab mixture. Top with cheese. Sprinkle with cayane, paprika, or old bay.
Broil on high for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on the top.

Give it a try, let me know your thoughts or if you have suggestions on how to make this better!

LYGWF,
Comet