It's almost.......FALL!

That's right! Only 2 more days until the most glorious season of the year. The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are changing and the gourds are starting to show themselves at the farmers markets. This is such an inspiring time of year. Keep checking back for some fun fall-inspired recipes. Squash casserole, baked apple surprises and LOTS of soup.

Screw you humidity! Bring on the chilly air and changing leaves!

OMG Cupcakes Galore!

Cupcakes. I obsess over them. I adore them. It's a perfect little piece of heaven that is super versatile. I received a book of cupcake recipes for my birthday this year from Rotem. All I can say is BEST GIFT EVER. This book is amazing!



So, my plan is to work my way through the book and test my baking abilities. The first cupcake in the book is VeryBerry Cakes. I made a couple adjustments to the recipe because I was having trouble finding the fresh berries and I do not use frozen fruit. Just a personal preference, but I think it takes away from the flavor. If that's all you have, that's cool, but if you can, go out of your way and get the fresh stuff.

Here you go!

Berry Buttercake
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (I highly recommend Penzeys for this ingredient)
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. dried mixed berries or 1 c. fresh berries (I used diced strawberries)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
2/3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. self rising flour
1/4 c. milk

Sugared Fruit
5 oz. fresh blueberries
4 oz. fresh raspberries
1 egg white
3 tbsp. vanilla sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese
2 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. - 1 c. confectioners sugar

Prepare the sugared fruit by lightly brushing the berries with the egg white and rolling them in the sugar. Place on a parchment lined tray and leave out for about an hour.

Preheat the oven between 315-325 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with paper baking cups. Beat butter, vanilla, sugar and eggs in a small bowl until light and fluffy. stir in fruit and nuts, then sifted flour and milk. Divide mixture amoung baking cups and smooth the surface.

Now the tricky part. Depending on your oven, the baking times will vary. The recipe says to bake for 35 minutes. If you like burnt cupcakes, you do that. But I baked them for about 15-17 minutes. Maybe my oven is just boiling lava hot, but this baking time worked for me. When cakes are done baking, turn on a wire rack to cool.

Make cream cheese frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sifted powdered sugar.

Once cakes have cooled, decorate with frosting and sugared fruit. Eat. Enjoy. Share with friends because lets face it, it's not a good idea to eat all 12 by yourself.

Fennel Success!

My taste buds are now on the fennel bandwagon. A quick simple recipe with fennel, tomatoes and chicken have turned me into a believer. Check it out:

3 fennel stalks
1/2 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
1 leek
1 garlic clove
4 thinly sliced chicken breasts (2 average breasts sliced in half)
2 tbsp. tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. tarragon
Olive Oil
1 C. panko flakes
1 egg

Coat skillet with olive oil. Place on medium-low heat. Wisk egg in a small dish. Place panko flakes on a plate. Dredge chicken breasts through the egg and the panko to coat. Place chicken in heated pan. Cook chicken for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and put aside.



Chop onion, leeks, fennel, tomatoes and garlic. Add to warmed skillet. Add tomato sauce, salt, pepper, tarragon, and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until veggies become tender.



Return chicken to pan, cover and cook for approximately 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.



Let cool and enjoy!

Funky Fennel

There are very few things in the culinary world that I don't like. Among those few are grape leaves, capers, and more recently discovered, fennel. I stumbled upon a salad that had fennel in it and thought, "Why not!". Big mistake. I took one bite of my fennel, heirloom tomatoes and arugula and spit it out. Oh fennel, why do you even exist? But after almost adding Mr. F to my shit list, I reconsidered my decision. Why be so harsh? Why not try to go with the grain instead of against it? I might really like it if it were to be hidden in a glorious soup or au gratin concoction. So I started to do a little research and this is what I discovered:

Fennel, or Foeniculum vulgare, is used as a bulb vegetable and an aromatic herb that has a taste similar to anise. It also has many medicinal uses. It can be used to quiet the hiccups, break up kidney stones, help with nausea and aid digestion.

Interesting...maybe fennel isn't so bad after all.

Time to put down the shit list and get in the kitchen. I have some fennel to cook. While I work on that, why not tell me what foods/seasonings you hate so that maybe I can persuade you change your mind. I'm always up for a culinary challenge!

Perfectly Peacan-y Poultry

I like to think of poultry as a plain piece of paper that eagerly awaits a poignant chef to propose a perfectly palatable portion. Not really, but my shopping list this weekend is littered with the letter "P". Poultry, pecans, prosciutto, pickling cucumbers, peppers, etc. I just though I would keep with the theme.

First on the menu: Perfectly Pecan-y Poultry

You will need:
1/3 C. of honey
2 tbsp. of soy sauce
salt
pepper
3 chicken breast (skinless and boneless) about 1/2 in in thickness
1 1/2 C. of crushed pecans

What you do:
Heat the broiler. Whisk honey and soy sauce in a bowl. Lay the crushed pecans on a plate. Take the chicken breast and dip them in the honey-soy sauce mixture. Coat the chicken breast in pecans on both sides and lay on a lightly greased baking pan. Repeat with remainder of chicken breasts.

Place the chicken in the broiler for 2 minutes on each side. In the meantime, take the remainder of the honey-soy mixture and boil it in a small saucepan. Next, lower the temperature on the oven to 500 degrees. Take the chicken out of the broiler, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides and drizzle remaining sauce on the chicken. Place the chicken in the oven for about 6-7 minutes or until done.

Quick and yummy.

Will post more "P" inspired recipes later. :)

Daily Bread

I have a new found respect for bakers and bakeries. If I had to bake bread on a daily basis, I would jump off a bridge. It's hard work, I'm not going to sugar coat it. My Challah bread turned out horribly. I think it had something to do with the yeast not activating properly. I *will* try again. I will not let some flour and yeast get the best of me.

Please note the horrific finished product:


On a side note...I've been craving pecans. Must incorporate into dinner one night soon.

Easy Peasy BBQ Chicken

I use my crock pot a lot. Probably more than I should, but I love it. The 6+ hour cooking times brings out the most amazing flavors. Not to mention it's super easy. Anyone can use a crock pot. Even all those people that claim that they can't cook.

The easiest recipe that I make in the crock pot is my BBQ chicken. It's warm, spicy and just plain yummy. I use Trader Joe's All Natural BBQ Sauce, a little Sriracha, and some fresh ground pepper. Throw in some chicken (or pork) and your BBQ sauce, chili sauce and pepper to taste (there is no correct amount). Cook on low for about 4 hours. When the chicken is cooked through, take each piece out and shred it up. Place shredded chicken back into the crock pot. Add some extra BBQ sauce if needed and cook for another 2 hours.

No seriously, that's it. Serve on a toasted roll and there you go!