Margarita Cupcakes with Key Lime Frosting

My son and his fiance are coming over tomorrow for a joint birthday celebration. They are both cupcake lovers and Key lime lovers, so found this little cupcake recipe and made it for them. I think they will be pleased with the outcome! The cupcakes are much more of a white color than in the picture below (I think that the pink platter must have given them a more ruddy look). There are little green flecks in both the cakes and the icing from the lime zest. They are very fragrant when they are cooking too.

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From CUPCAKE FUN

Margarita Cupcakes
Ingredients

* 1 package (18.25 oz. white cake mix (no pudding in the mix)
* 1 can (10 oz.) frozen Margarita mix, thawed (undiluted)
* 3 egg whites
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest

Yield: Makes 24 cupcakes.
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line standard muffin pan with baking cups.
2. In large bowl, combine cake mix, Margarita mix, egg whites and vegetable oil using electric mixer.
3. Stir in lime zest; mix completely.
4. Fill prepared pans 2/3 full.
5. Bake 22-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan on cooling rack 5-8 minutes.
7. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely.
8. Frost cooled cupcakes with icing and garnish, if desired, with a strawberry and/or lime twist,

Key Lime Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients

* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
* 2 tablespoons key lime juice
* 1 teaspoon key lime zest or lemon zest
* 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar

Yield: Makes about 3 cups icing.
Directions

1. In large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese, juice and zest with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, one cup at a time; continue beating until light and fluffy.
3. If icing is too thin add additional confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.

Potatoes au-sinful!

I do not make really heavy dishes year ’round, but when a holiday or another special occassion hits I do not go lightly on the cream, butter or other culinary indulgences. I do not substitute good ingredients for low fat things on special dishes. I would rather have a smaller portion than have a larger portion and less quality.

Kaarenmarie at RN posted the following potato recipe. The recipe is a very, very, easy and basic recipe, but the pictures compelled me to post it and I am planning on making this recipe as soon as I have a good reason to make an indulgent dish! Enjoy!

Layer sliced potatoes in a pyrex baking dish.

In between layers, pour over heavy/whipping cream, salt and pepper (lots of pepper).

When you get to the top layer, pour in enough whipping cream to come close to the top of the dish.

Cover with tin foil and bake 350 for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on size of dish).

Uncover and bake until the top is slightly browned.

Look at the evidence of this dish’s simple elegance and deliciousness!

Lasagne Verdi al Forno

I have been searching for a nice variation to my lasagna recipe. Right now I make a pretty traditional lasagna, and my only fast and hard rule I have for any lasagna is that I use real Ricotta cheese — NO substitutes. Cottage Cheese may do in a pinch, but it is no match for Ricotta in consistency and in taste. The recipe below is one I found on Allrecipes. I modified it by taking out some chicken livers that go into the Ragu. I am an anti-liver cook and consumer. I know too much about the liver’s functions to feel good about consuming it. If you would like to have the recipe with the liver added you can find at THIS LINK. Bon Apetite!

PASTA

5 ounces spinach – rinsed, stemmed, and dried

2 eggs

5/8 cup semolina flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

RAGU

2 tablespoons butter

2 slices bacon, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 onion, diced

3 1/2 ounces lean ground pork

3 1/2 ounces lean ground beef

3 1/2 ounces minced ham

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup beef stock

salt and pepper to taste

3 1/2 ounces chicken livers, trimmed and chopped

BECHAMEL

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups warm milk

1 pinch salt

1 pinch ground nutmeg

CHEESE

1 2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 pint ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

1. For the pasta dough: Steam the spinach in a steamer or over boiling water until bright green, 2 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess moisture and process in a food processor to make a paste. Combine spinach with eggs, semolina, and salt and process until smooth. Stir in enough of the flour to make a smooth dough. Knead briefly, cover and set aside.
2. For the ragu: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute bacon, carrot, celery and onion until onion is translucent. Stir in ground pork, ground beef and minced ham, and cook until browned. Stir in tomato paste, oregano and beef stock. (Reserve the chicken livers for later.) Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
3. For the bechamel: While the ragu is simmering, combine 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to make a roux. Remove from heat, let rest one minute, then whisk in warm milk. Return to heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Season with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
4. To cook pasta: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. On a floured surface, divide pasta dough into three portions. Roll each portion out to a thin sheet. Have ready an ice water bath. Cook each sheet 3 minutes in the boiling water; remove from the boiling water and dip in the ice water; drain and dry on a clean, dry cloth.
5. To finish the ragu: Stir the chicken livers into the simmering sauce. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
7. To assemble lasagna: Place one pasta sheet in bottom of prepared baking dish. Spread one-third of the ragu, one-quarter of the bechamel, one-third of the ricotta, and one-quarter of the parmesan over the pasta. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining bechamel and parmesan and dot with butter.
8. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Blackberry Ice Cream

It’s that time of year again — time for ice cream and fun in the sun. We used to have an ice cream maker, but I got rid of it a while back. It was too small anyway, so we are going to have to replace it with a larger ice cream maker! This is the one recipe I am definitely trying during blackberry season. My Mother in Law’s old homestead place is over run with her mother’s blackberry vines. They are still growing on the property and I had some two years ago — they were phenomenal!

From Saveur (issue 12)

LINK

SERVES 6 – 8

Ice cream, in the old days, was just that: pure cream, beaten and frozen in a pot over ice or saltpeter. Times (and tastes) have changed—for the better, we think—with the addition of delicious fruits of the season. If you can’t find blackberries, raspberries or blueberries work just as well.

1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1 1⁄4 cup heavy cream
1 pint fresh blackberries
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon

1. Place milk in the top of a double boiler and bring just to a simmer over gently boiling water over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a mixing bowl. Lightly whisk 1/4 cup of the hot milk into egg mixture, then whisk egg mixture into remaining milk in top of double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.
3. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl; stir in 1 1/4 cups heavy cream; refrigerate until cold.
4. Combine blackberries, remaining sugar, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. (Add more sugar if berries are tart.) Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. Stir into cream base and pour into an ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer’s directions. If desired, just before mixture is set, add 1 cup halved fresh blackberries.

Robie’s Buttermilk Flapjacks

I eat a whole grain cereal nearly every morning for breakfast. I eat oatmeal, shredded wheat or something similar for the health benefits. When a long holiday weekend comes around though, like Memorial Day, I love to indulge in a nice family breakfast with something more interesting than oatmeal. Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and just eat a wonderful pancake breakfast! These flapjacks are tender, fluffy and yet crispy on the outside. When I make pancakes I often serve the family in shifts so that everyone gets a plate of flapjacks fresh off the griddle. Eat these as fresh as possible. Don’t forget to grab a glass of milk.

SERVES 4

Recipe from Saveur

LINK

The terms pancake and flapjack are used interchangeably; the “flap” in the name refers to the sound the cake makes when it lands in the skillet once it’s flipped. This recipe comes from Frank Elliott, the cook at Robie’s Country Store & Deli. To achieve the flapjacks’ signature crisp and browned edges, he cooks them one at a time in a hot, buttered nonstick skillet.

2 cups flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. fine salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 beaten eggs

1. Put flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and whisk to combine; set aside.

2. Whisk together buttermilk, butter, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk together until just combined to make a thick batter. (For tenderer flapjacks, don’t overmix the batter.)

3. Heat an 8″ nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. butter and heat until the butter’s foam subsides. Ladle in about 1⁄2 cup of the batter. Cook the flapjack, turning once, until deep golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a large plate; keep warm. Repeat process with additional butter and remaining batter to make 8 flapjacks in all. Serve hot, topped with butter and maple syrup and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #108