Posted By Noah on February 19, 2010
Courtesy of yumsugar.com
Cake Ingredients
1 cup root beer schnapps
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned style root beer (like A&W or Dads)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Root Beer Glaze
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup root beer
3 Tbs. root beer schnapps*
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
*for a more kid friendly version, replace schnapps with more root beer
You will also need some extra root beer schnapps (1 Tbs. per cupcake)
Or for the kiddies use root beer (again 1 Tbs. per cupcake)
You will also need some basic Vanilla buttercream ( there are many recipes online to try )
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- In a bowl, mix together root beer schnapps, root beer, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, mix until smooth
- Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Mix with hand mixer on low, while slowly pouring in root beer mixture.
- Mix until smooth and lump free.
- Pour into lined cupcake pan. (Use foil cupcake liners to avoid “leakage” later.) Fill nearly to the top, you may think its over-filled, but it puffs up perfectly this way. Don’t be tempted to use more than 24 cupcake cups… trust me. Smiling
- Bake for 15- 20 minutes, until golden brown and cake springs back when touched.
- While cupcakes are baking, prepare your butter cream and root beer glaze. For glaze, put all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a wisk until smooth and lump free.
- To assemble, start by letting cupcakes cool, still in the pan.
- While still slightly warm, pour 1 Tbs. of root beer schnapps over each cupcake. Pour on slowly to allow schnapps ( or regular root beer for the kiddies) to soak in.
- Once the schnapps has soaked in and let sit for a few minutes, pour a couple tablespoons of glaze over each cupcake.
- When the glaze sets up a bit and isn’t too runny, put a “scoop” of buttercream atop each. For an added touch, you can even place a root beer barrel candy on each one.
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes
Category: Dessert, Recipes |
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Posted By Noah on February 16, 2010
For Valentine’s Day this year I made truffles and filled chocolates for Nora. This involved working with white and dark Callebaut chocolate, and Valrhona dark chocolate. In the past I’d done any chocolate work with either tollhouse chocolate chips or something comparable (professional chocolatiers can cringe away now). I can unequivocally say that there is no comparison. The Callebaut and Valrhona both melt very smoothly and evenly, and they both temper nicely. The tollhouse chocolate chips seemed prone to seizing and do not melt evenly. I did however find that Ghirardelli chocolate chips did not fall prey to those problems and were OK to work with. The Valrhona is definitely wonderful, but unless you have an extremely sensitive palate then it seems like the Callebaut gets you the most bang for the buck. It lacks the bite that the Valrhona has, so if you crave that then you’re on the hook for the more expensive stuff. If you don’t mind a less bitter chocolate then it’s well worth it.
Category: Random Stuff |
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Posted By Noah on February 16, 2010
Gambler’s Chili
by Lauren Ray
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork tenderloin, cubed
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
14 oz. Swanson chicken broth
10 oz can or bottle of green salsa
2 1/2 cups diced green chiles
Spice Mix Ingredients:
3 tsp garlic (minced or mashed)
2 ½ Tbsp chicken base (bouillon)
1 tsp celery salt
1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp cumin
3 Tbsp diced jalapeno pepper
1 Tbsp dried cilantro (Pendries powder or 3 Tbsp fresh finely chopped)
1 Tbsp green chili powder
*Tabasco (green)
*Salt Salt to taste
Cook additional 15-20 minutes
Instructions:
1. Brown pork and drain
2. Add onion & chicken broth, then simmer 1 hour, stirring often to avoid sticking
3. Add spice mix and green chili salsa, then simmer 1 hour
4. Add diced green chiles, then add salt and tabasco to taste
5. Simmer another hour and serve.
Preparation time: about 1/2 hour
Cooking time: 3 hours
Makes: 2 1/2 quarts
Serves: about 10
Category: Main Dishes, Recipes |
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Posted By Noah on February 15, 2010
I’m trying a new diet I just made up that I am tentatively dubbing the 215 diet. As I have little to no willpower when it comes to food, I’ve picked February 15th as the optimal time to begin a diet. Between Valentine’s Day and Easter you’ve got 7 weeks of no holidays involving candy. In my book that makes this the optimal time to start living better. I don’t know that this will help with willpower issues too terribly much, but we’ll see. In the mean time this will, if nothing else, be an interesting experiment.
Category: Diet & Health |
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Posted By Noah on December 16, 2009
- makes 24 -
Ingredients
For the mayonnaise:
1 whole egg (see safety note above)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
1 big pinch fennel pollen or 1/2 teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup neutral tasting vegetable oil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the cauliflower:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 head of orange or white cauliflower broken down into small bite-sized florets (make sure you have at least 30 or so)
1 big pinch saffron crushed into 1 tablespoon boiling water
Salt
For the chickpeas:
Juice of 4 mandarin oranges
zest of 1 mandarin orange2 cup cooked chickpeas (should be soft, not al dente!)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 clove minced garlic
Salt
To complete the dish:
1 rustic baguette cut into 24 thin slices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
24 parsley leaves
24 tiny strips of lemon zest
Flaky sea salt
Procedure
- Combine the egg, lemon juice, mustard, parsley, fennel and salt in your blender jar. With the motor running on low speed, drizzle in the two oils through the hole in the top. Start slowly until you see it begin to emulsify. Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice.
- Set a large skillet over high heat. When it is very hot, add the olive oil, cauliflower, and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until some good caramelization (browning) is happening. Add the saffron and continue to cook until tender. If necessary, you can add a tablespoon or two of water and cover to soften a bit more. Taste and adjust salt.
- In a small saucepan, simmer the mandarin juice and zest until it is reduced by half. Add the chickpeas, smoked paprika, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Simmer until the sauce is reduced to a glaze on the chickpeas. Taste and adjust the smoked paprika and salt. They should have an intense flavor.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet, brush lightly with olive oil, and toast in the oven until lightly browned but not overly crisp.
- To serve, allow the baguette slices to cool. Brush each with a teaspoon of the mayonnaise. Top with 1 floret of cauliflower and a small spoonful of chickpeas, then 1 parsley leaf, a strip of lemon zest, and a few grains of flaky sea salt.
Category: Recipes, Vegetarian |
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