Valentine Desserts

Last week was Valentines Day and it is the perfect opportunity to make cute deserts. I made these chocolate cream-filled cupcakes for my Tuesday night Community Group. Chocolate... cream... you can’t go wrong! They are definitely a crowd pleaser. For my Wednesday night Community Group I made Red Velvet Cake balls, aren’t they perfectly Valentine-y? So cute! 

The next day, my friend, Jaimee, took a few to work and one of her co-workers liked them so much she asked to hire me to make them for her upcoming baby shower.  So I will be making 30 of these little bites of awesomeness for that! I love getting hired. :)

Here is the recipe:

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Cake:

2 cups sugar

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 oz. red food coloring

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vinegar

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter, softened

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 bag white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Pour batter into two 8" round greased and floured pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool.

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.  Mix thoroughly with cream cheese frosting. Roll mixture into balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Insert a toothpick into each cake ball and freeze.Melt the white chocolate and dip the cake balls. Sprinkle with sprinkles if desired.

Another thing I made last week was vanilla scones. We had them for one of our Downton Abbey movie nights. Scones seem kind of British sure, why not? These ones are very similar to Starbucks version, so if you like those, these will be right up your ally!

Vanilla Bean Scones

4 cups flour

1/2 cup vanilla sugar

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

10 Tbs. unsalted butter, cold, cut into small chunks

2 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2-4 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste

Scones:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Combine the flour, sugar, zest, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like crumbs. This usually takes about five minutes or so—don’t rush it! In a large bowl combine the cream, vanilla, and eggs. Beat to combine thoroughly. Dump the flour mixture into the bowl and stir, just until the flour is incorporated. Stirring too much will result in tough scones.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and kneed the dough gently four or five times then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into four pie shaped wedges. Place the scones on the baking stone or a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the racks midway through baking. The scones should be light brown on top. Let the scones cool on the sheets for 30 minutes, then paint with the glaze. A silicone basting brush is ideal for this job.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. You can adjust the consistency of the glaze to your liking. A thinner glaze will give just a shimmer of sugar to the outside.

Good ole' fashioned barn raising!

I have a great back yard space (for an apartment). It is about 12x14 feet and aside from the time that I had the roommate the turned it into a beer brewery, it has been completely under-utilized space. That, combined with the fact that several times a year I host events at my house with 20+ people, I decided that the back yard needed to be set up properly so we could use the space. So, I bought a gazebo and some patio furniture a few weeks ago but when it showed up in 8 huge boxes, I realized that there was no way I could put this together by myself. Since I haven't started my "rent-a-man" company yet. (my million dollar idea that I thought of way back then) I decided I needed to have a party - a "build Tamara's back yard party". I have to say, that was one of my best ideas yet!

I invited both of my community groups to come over after church to help me build everything. About 15 people came over and the back yard was done in about 3 hours. Other than making food for everyone, I didn't have to do anything, it was brilliant! This afternoon really was community in action. I am so thankful for such great friends! And here they are working hard while I "supervised".

And here is the finished product, well, semi-finished. I now have to buy a light to hang from the ceiling of the gazebo and some decore, I am thinking some candles and succulents and I am not sure what else but I am sure I will be inspired when I go to Pier One and World Market! When I sat on the couch when we were all done I noticed that there is a nice sized wall area where I could hang a sheet and use for an outdoor movie. Ooooh... the possibilities!

And here is the finished product.

The day time view:

And the night time view:

Since no entry is complete without a recipe, I will post the "Lemonies" that I made for dessert today. You have probably seen them on Pinterest, they are everywhere. They are the texture of a brownie but made with lemon. They are not quite as rich as traditional lemon bars, I really like them. They are kind of a refreshing dessert. 

Lemonies

Bars:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, softened

2 eggs

juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1Tbs.)

zest from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tsp.)

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbs. lemon juice

Directions:

Bars:

Grease and flour an 8x8 pan. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the softened butter. In another bowl whisk the eggs with the lemon juice and zest. Add to the larger bowl and mix well.

Pour into prepared 8x8 brownie pan. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. You can double the recipe and bake in a 9x13 pan for 30 minutes.

Remove and let cool, then glaze.

Glaze:

Stir together and pour onto cooled bars.

Garlic? Garlic!

My girlfriends and I have been having Downton Abbey marathons every Saturday night for the last month and a half or so. We are officially all caught up and have just started season three. It is so good, right? (I know that most of you are watching it!) We have been watching 3-4 episodes a night so I have been making dinner and setting out tea and biscuits and then we all cozy up with blankets and pillows and transport ourselves into England in the early 1900's. 
Last week I made spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. I've been keeping it pretty simple but both of these recipes turned out great. I got the sauce recipe from my friend, Tricia. I tweaked it a bit by adding red wine. Wine really adds good flavor to sauces. I use it all the time. The garlic bread is my mom's recipe, when you read the recipe you will be amazed at how much garlic is in there - five heads! Not five cloves... five heads! That is a lot of garlic! So if you are looking for a nice "comfort food" Italian dinner, look no further, my friends. Here are the recipes:

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 6 oz. cans tomato paste

1 16 oz. can tomato sauce

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 cup red wine (divided in half)

2 Tbs. sugar

1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried)

2 Tbs. chopped Italian flat leaf parsley (or 2 tsp. dried)

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp. oregano

1 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

a dash of red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (additional cheese for topping)

1 lb. Spaghetti, cooked Al Dente and tossed with Olive Oil

Directions:

In a large pot, cook sausage and ground beef. Remove meat from pot with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl. Set aside. Discard any grease in pot, but do not clean the pot. Add olive oil to the pot and sauté onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Add in the mushroom and cook until they soften and give up their juices. Pour in ½ cup of wine and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 1 1/2 minutes. 

Add in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and the rest of the wine. Stir in all of the spices. Add drained meat back into the pot. Simmer, covered for 1 ½ hours. After an hour, add the grated Parmesan. Stir to combine, then put the lid back on and allow it to simmer for another 30 minutes or so. Discard bay leaves before serving on top of spaghetti. Top with additional cheese if desired.

Rosemary Garlic Bread (makes 3 loaves)

5 whole garlic bulbs

2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 cup fresh minced rosemary

1 Tbs. chicken broth

9-9 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cups sugar

3 pkg. (6 3/4 tsp.) yeast

3 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup water

3/4 cup butter, divided

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Remove papery outer skin from garlic (do not peel or separate cloves). Cut top off garlic heads, leaving root end intact. Place cut side up in a small baking dish. Brush with oil, sprinkle with rosemary. Cover and bake at 425°F for 30-35 minutes or until soft. Cool for 10 minutes; squeeze softened garlic into bowl. Add broth and mash. In large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk, water and 1/2 cup butter to 120-130°F. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened.

Beat in egg and garlic paste until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Turn onto floured surface; knead about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into thirds. Divide each third into 3 pieces; shape and roll each into an 18" rope. Place three ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under.

Repeat with remaining dough. cover and let rise until double; about 30 minutes. Bake 350°F for 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter and garlic salt. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire rack and cool.

Year of the Snake

My Tuesday night Community Group celebrated Chinese New Year with a Chinese pot luck. I know we are a month early but we use any excuse to cook up a feast! Everyone brought their A game and we has tons of delicious food - fried rice, mu shu pork with rice pancakes, honey-cashew chicken, egg drop soup, and veggie stir fry. I made homemade fortune cookies. I have to say, I probably won't ever make them again. Fortune cookies are a pretty mediocre cookie and the homemade version is not any more spectacular. Because you have to fold them when they are hot out of the oven you have to bake the cookies one at a time! Talk about time consuming! They turned out kind of soft so they weren't really like a normal fortune cookie. Everyone liked them though. People suggested folding them in a different shape, such as rolling them into a tube and dipping them into chocolate for a new cookie. I think they would be pretty good that way. Here is the recipe if case you feel ambitious. 

Fortune Cookies

Ingredients: 4 egg whites 1/2 tsp. vanilla ¼ tsp. salt

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Write fortunes on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.

Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar and blend into the egg white mixture. 

Place 1 spoonful of the batter on a square of parchment paper and place on a cookie sheet. Use the spoon to move the batter into a round shape about 3 inches in diameter. Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Only make 1 at a time, because the cookies have to be really hot to form them and one they cool it is too late and they will crack. 

Bake for 6 minutes or until the cookie has turned a golden color 1/2 inch wide around the outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking prepare the other. 

Remove from oven and quickly remove the cookie from the parchment. (I tipped the parchment square upside down onto another square of parchment, and then I carefully peeled the parchment off of the cookie. 

Quickly place the fortune on the cookie and fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the cup and one on the outside. Place folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin to hold their shape until firm. 

So, this is the year of the snake. I don't know much about Chinese astrology but I looked up the year of the snake since we were going to be celebrating it and discovered that I was born in the year of the snake - 1977 makes me a Fire Snake. According to the great wisdom of the internet Fire Snakes can be a bit loud, speaking their minds and smothering you with their opinions. This does add a twist to her dynamic and vibrant character, as she is quite the extrovert. These Snakes have a great wisdom. They are intriguing communicators who leave you breathless after a conversation. Fire Snakes can change even the most obstinate mind with their powers of persuasion, convincing you their opinions or ideas are better than yours. This does make them a little self-centered, but you can’t say they aren’t driven for success.

Loud? Opinionated? Extroverted? Obstinate? I am not blind to my faults, but these aren't them! I really can't think of a less accurate description. Oh well, at any rate, this is my year! I have high expectations  Bring it on 2013!