Plum Crunch

(please excuse the horrid picture!)

On Friday afternoon, while I was working VERY VERY hard, like I always do on Friday afternoons :), I came across this recipe for Plum Crunch in my Google Reader from Sing for your Supper. I immediately knew I had to make this. ASAP. As in, that night. I emailed Matt to see if he had time to pick up the ingredients I was missing, and thank goodness he works as hard as I do on Friday afternoons. I put this together while Matt made us dinner, and the smells that were coming out of the oven while this was baking were out of this world! I was a little worried because my plums weren't super ripe, but the baking pulled all of the flavor into those little suckers. These will definitly go into the dessert rotation. Perfect in ramekins for little personal crocks of yummy goodness. I didn't make any changes, so here you go:

Plum Crunch

from Sing for your Supper

Red Velvet Cupcakes

My sister, the hostess :)

For the past four years that Matt and I have been together, we have taken advantage of the long weekend that Memorial Day brings, and gone out of town for the weekend, to either Maine or Cape Cod. Since we had such a big event in the city this Memorial Day weekend, that wasn't possible. Which meant that we could attend my sister's big Memorial Day party for the first time in years! Her town has a parade that goes right by her house in the morning. Friends and family park their lawn chairs on the curb, and head to the backyard afterwards for water fights and a TON of food.

I wanted to bring something festive, and chose Red Velvet cupcakes. I have never made them before, but have read some rave reviews on my friend Courtney's blog, The Preppy Chef, for Paula Deen's version, and have wanted to try this recipe out for a while.

Matt's mom said that they were the best cupcakes that she has ever eaten in her life! Can't really get much better than that review. And I listened to my sister Danielle refuse a bite of hers to my sister Michelle, telling her that it was worth it to get her own, no matter how full she already was!

I thnk the best part of this particular recipe is the copious amount of icing that the recipe yields, as the icing is my favorite part of any cupcake, and the more that I can plop on top, the happier I am :) I did not make any changes to the original recipe, besides using about half of the amount of food coloring called for, because I ran out, so I will link you directly to Courtney's site:

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

from Paula Deen via The Preppy Chef

dinner with the Vances

We set our table with our new china for the first time!

This weekend one of my best friends (and my sister-in-law!) Erin, married her love, Joey, at a phenominal penthouse in the city. The weekend was amazing, filled with a TON of laughs and some sweet dance moves. The weekend started off with Matt and I hosting a dinner party for all of Matt's aunts that had traveled to town for the festivities. And naturally, I forgot to take ANY pictures of the food. I got a couple of good ones of the family and toasts being made though!


The beautiful Vance ladies (and Maya and I)

dinner party turned dance party!

toasting the bride and groom!

Vance Dinner Menu

Assorted cheeses and crackers

Cold spinach dip from Cooks.com (The only change I make is to use two packages of frozen spinach instead of one) with carrots

Brie and Carmelized Mushroom Mini Tarts from "For the Love of Cooking" (I made the musrooms the night before, then heated through and assembled for serving)

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives from Cooking This and That (I assembled everything the night before, just basted with the wine while cooking)

Almond Rice Pilaf from Paula Deen via foodnetwork.com

green salad

Roasted Vegetable Napoleons from epicurious.com (I omitted the potatoes and assembled the night before)

Lemon Cream Cheese Mousse Cake from Cooking This and That

Everything was delicious. This was the perfect spring menu for entertaining on a work night. Everything was able to be prepared beforehand. The day of, I just had to throw it all in the oven! I wish I had some pics, because everything was really great, but I just had to share these recipes!

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Christmas weekend was topped off with the last NY Giants game of the season. Even though it was sad that they stunk and that it was the last game of the year, we had a blast. We didn't get home until late the night before the game, and needed a quick tailgating dessert to bring with us. I found this recipe on Colleen's blog and it was a HUGE hit. They kind of reminded me of my favorite candy bar, an 100 grand, but instead of caramel, with peanut butter. YUM! So. good. And really easy, took me maybe a total of 30 minutes to make? I will link you straight to Cooking This and That, because I did not make any changes to Colleen's directions.

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

You know you have a winner of a recipe when your sister randomly exclaims on January 16th how awesome the cupcakes you made on Christmas were. She was right, you really can't compare boxed cupcakes to homemade ones. If you have the time, these are so worth it! I made these for the kids for Christmas, but they were definitely a hit with the adults as well. The recipe comes from a cookbook, Martha Stewart Cupcakes, that my sister and niece gave me at my cupcake themed bridal shower:

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes

3 cups cake flour (not self rising)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (I use regular salt for everything)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature (I messed up when I was separating the egg whites and yolks of the egss that I had brought to room temp, so I had to use yolks straight from the fridge and it was fine)

2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combines after each. Beat in vanilla.

Divide batter evenly among lines cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cucakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool, 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to two months, in airtight containers.

To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to three days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and, if desired, decorate with sprinkles before serving.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
5 large egg whites

1 cup plus 2 tablesppons sugar

pinch of salt

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer. Set over a pan of simmering water. Whish constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed in between fingertips).

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (testy by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

With mixer on medium low speed, add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla, switch to the paddle attachment (I forgot this step and continued with the whisk attachment- didn't seem to matter!), and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about two minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth.

Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to three days or freeze up to one month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with a paddle attachment on low speed until sxmooth again, about 5 minutes.

Optional- to tint buttercream (or royal icing), reserve some for toning down the color if necessary. Add gel-paste food color, a drop at a time (or use the toothpick or skewer to add food color a dab at a time) to the remaining buttercream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use the paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is acheived. Avoid using too much food color too soon, as the hue with intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing some reserved, untinted buttercream.

Super patient Matt helped me by making these adorable penguins for the tops of the cupcakes. He used Jordan almonds, and dipped them in melted chocolate. He used a ornage sprinkle for their noses and Swedish fish cut up for their feet- how freakin cute?! I bought special sugar at a baking shop in the city for the snow effect on the frosting, and candy canes for the North Pole signs.

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Another awesome recipe from My Kitchen Cafe. I have made many cheesecakes, as it is the easiest dessert to make gluten free for my mom. This one was delicious, had a unique lemony flavor to the cake, and the glaze make it look so Christmasy! I omitted the pomegranate seeds because, frankly, I don't get them. Are you supposed to eat them? I have tried eating them and they aren't good? Are you supposed to spit them out? Cause that would be a big pain. So since I don't understand their function, I ditched them!

Pomegranate Cheesecake (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

*Plan Ahead: the cheesecake needs to be chilled for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour (I used gluten free flour)

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (I omitted)

Topping:

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pomegranate Glaze:

1-16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (I omitted)

For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add egg; beat well. Beat in flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover one portion and set it aside. Remove the sides from a 10-inch springform pan and set aside. Spread first portion of dough on just the bottom of ungreased springform pan base, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto the sides of the sprinform pan to a height of 1-3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula, like an offset spatula, to spread dough.

For the filling: reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the flour on low speed until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Mix in sour cream and lemon peel. Then, using a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently fold in pomegranate seeds (if you use the electric mixer for this part, the seeds will burst and stain the filling with the juice - and it won't look as pretty). Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven. (It doesn't matter if the cheesecake cracks on top since it will have a sour cream topping.) For the topping: stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

For pomegranate glaze: in a medium saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (12 to 15 minutes). In a separate bowl, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving time.

When ready to serve, remove cheesecake and pomegranate glaze from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 16 servings.

Bottom crust baked, ready for filling

and ready for the oven!