A Mountain Man in the Kitchen!

My baby brother is here!

So I put him to work in the kitchen where he promptly cut his finger with my new knife. Oops. He's making dinner for his lady friend tomorrow (ooh lala!) so I helped him pick out a recipe, hit up the grocery store and prep the ingredients (read: I told him what to make, threw it all in the shopping cart, and did 95% of the prep work myself). I went with my dependable Tortellini with Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms. It's a straight forward one dish meal that's always a crow pleaser. You don't have to worry about coordinating the timing of sides which is always a plus. It's the first meal I cooked when we had Mr. Lawyer's parents over and my parents. Never fails! We also made a garlic-parmesan butter for some fancy bread we picked up.

Best Big Sister EVER!

Special Feature!

Shout out to Lizho from One Awkward Year who sent us this super fun cutting board in the shape of Pennsylvania as a wedding gift. It has a heart over Philadelphia that you can sort of see in this picture if you look closely. I put it to use five minutes after unwrapping it. It looked fabulous covered in butternut squash!

Yay kitchen toys!

Kitchen Blasphemy

My lovely friend Jackie threw a little birthday dinner for Mr. Lawyer the other weekend. Kielbasa and pierogies made an appearance on the Mr. Lawyer-centric menu. She found a pickle cupcake recipe for me to try out. Now I must admit that I was skeptical. While I was making them I felt like I was committing kitchen blasphemy. Pickle cupcakes? So wrong.

I was so sick and stuffy that I couldn't actually taste them but I have it on the authority of three adults and a two year old that they were very good! They decided that "savory muffin" was a better way to describe them than cupcakes. We served them up with some vanilla ice cream.

It's about to get real...

It was certainly a kitchen adventure!

Savory Dill Pickle Muffins 

(A Jackie Find! from the cupcakeproject.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup dill pickle juice (the liquid from the pickle jar)
1/3 cup finely chopped dill pickles
Directions:
1. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, dill, salt, and onion powder in a medium-sized bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs and sour cream until blended.
4. Alternately fold in flour mixture and pickle juice, beginning and ending with the flour.
5. Fold in the chopped pickles.
6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
7. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean.

Corn Pudding!

Mr. Lawyer's family has a delicious holiday tradition: corn pudding! Now I must admit when I spent my first Thanksgiving with his family and he was explaining it to me I was a bit skeptical. I think he used the words "mushy". I am happy to say that I'm a fan of corn pudding! It is a little mushy but it's also delicious!

Please admire the pretty vintage Forest Green plate (1951-1959) bought at an antique festival for a steal. It's in gorgeous condition with no visible scratching.

Corn Pudding

(from the kitchen of Mrs. T!)

Ingredients:
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 stick butter, melted
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9- by 9-inch baking pan or a 2 quart casserole dish.
2. Mix together the corn, Jiffy, sour cream and butter in a large bowl. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Delicious on served on top of some turkey chili!

I've got the blues!

We are busy, busy, busy! Yesterday we had Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower for dinner....that was it. While Mr. Lawyer was away this past weekend I lived off spinach & cheese ravioli, week old stromboli from my bridal shower, and a bag of trail mix. Last night I went to bed at 8 and netted 10 hours of wondrous sleep, three cheers for summer camp exhaustion! So tonight I was ready to cook. No special recipes tonights: frozen veggies, mexican chicken, and some delicious saffron jasmine rice (a shower gift from the Mother Unit and Grandma Claire, thank you!). I did create a wonderful blue blue "tablescape" for our dinner. There were five different hues of Fiesta blue: Lapis, Peacock, Cobalt, Periwinkle, and Turquoise. 

 The saffron rice really popped against the blue!

I first had Buffalo Cauliflower at Ms. Jackie's house. It was delicious!

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

(from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
22 oz (6 1/2 cups) cauliflower florets
3/4 cup Franks Hot Sauce
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly spray a large non-stick baking sheet with oil.
2. Combine the water, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well combined.
3. Coat the cauliflower pieces with the flour mixture and place on the baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes.
4. While the cauliflower is baking, combine the hot sauce and butter in a small bowl.
5. Pour the hot sauce mixture over the baked cauliflower and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing.

The Boy Cooks!

We've entered the summer season which means I cook very little. I'm exhausted from camp, it's hot, and we're at the shore almost every weekend. I'll make a big batch of something simple, like veggie pasta, leave it in the fridge and announce it's time to fend for yourself!

Sauteed Summer Veggie Pasta

FEND FOR YOURSELF!!!

Luckily Mr. Lawyer did not have to work last Friday so I asked him to surprise me with dinner. While I was off wrangling small children Mr. Lawyer was slaving away in the kitchen to make one heck of a delicious dinner. When I was presented with a divine looking fish fillet I was a little worried. Mr. Lawyer had gone out fishing that morning and I was worried he was trying to poison me with a fish from the Wissahickon Creek. He assured me the fish was purchased from Whole Foods. The original recipe called for walleye which he swapped out for tilapia. The crunch of the pretzels combined with the spiciness of the mustard was perfect. It's definitely a keeper recipe. The Lemonade Butter for the corn was a bit of a let down so feel free to skip it in favor of the traditional butter/salt/pepper.

Pretzel-Crusted Walleye with "Lemonade Butter" Sweet Corn

(From his Field & Stream Magazine)

Ingredients:
4 walleye fillets, about 6 oz. each (He used tilapia)
1/2 stick butter
Zest of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
Scant teaspoon sugar
About 2 cups broken pretzels
1⁄2 cup spicy brown mustard
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
4 ears sweet corn
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Make the lemonade butter: Let the butter sit at room temperature until it’s soft. Transfer to a small bowl and add the lemon zest, juice, and sugar, as well as salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until combined. Transfer the butter to a length of plastic wrap and form it into a cylinder, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Pulse the pretzels in a food processor until they’re the consistency of breadcrumbs. They might be uneven, but that’s O.K.; bigger shards will add crunch. Transfer the pretzels to a plate and salt and pepper generously, stirring with a fork.
3. Set the fillets on another plate and brush both sides of the fish with the mustard. Place the fillets, one at a time, in the pretzel crumbs, pressing down lightly to help the crumbs adhere. Flip to coat the other side, then transfer to a sheet of parchment or wax paper.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. In the meantime, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, use a spatula to carefully transfer the walleye fillets to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until done.
5. While the fish is cooking, add the corn to the boiling water. Boil for about 4 minutes, or slightly longer if the corn is less than perfectly fresh.
6. To serve, place the fish beside the hot corn on a plate. Top each ear of corn with a chunk of the lemonade butter and serve immediately. Serves 4

Key Lime Pie

Kitchen guest time! Except not actually in my kitchen. I have had this pie several times now and Mrs. T made it in front of me this weekend at the shore. The boys love this pie because it's all tart and citrusy but it's still sweet enough for the girls. It's super quick and easy to make.

Fun Fact: I have a stuffed manatee named Key Lime.

Key Lime Pie

(From Mrs. T)

Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

Baby Cake!

Eeeeek! So exciting! My friend asked me to do a "gender reveal cake" for their second baby. The doctor seals the information and ultrasound in an envelope so even the parents don't know. I received the envelope, dyed the cake either pink/purple or blue, and covered it up with chocolate frosting to prevent peeking. Then the parents had a little cake cutting party with their family and then gender of baby #2 is revealed!

Which one will it be?!

It's a boy!!

The batter was so pretty!

Notes and observations: the crumbs! I made the cake at my friend's house and was so worried about blue crumbs or batter hiding some where and giving it away. A couple of times crumbs got in the frosting and I was all "noooooooooo!!". I also resisted licking the batter because I didn't want to stain my lips or teeth, it was so hard. Also the outside of the cake turned a hideous green-brown-yellow color and I was worried. When I cut the top off the cake to layer them I could see that the inside was perfectly blue but it was still a stressful moment when I took the ugly looking cake out of the oven.

Congratulations! I was so excited to be part of this baby announcement!

The Tale of Two Hurricanes

I'm not going to lie: we have gone through an embarrassing amount of rum this weekend and the hurricane isn't even over. We've killed half a bottle of Kraken Rum (my fav), two-thirds of Gosling's Black Seal Rum, and half of Barcardi 151. Not to mention I'm almost out of juice for mixing. Mr. Lawyer started to drink orange juice this morning (straight out of the jug by the way, gross.) and I quickly admonished him. That juice is for mixing and now I'm almost out of mixing juice. Now he can't have his yummy Lapu Lapu drinks. Lesson learned.

This is what a well stocked storm fridge looks like:

Milk, several bottles of Ommegang, Simple Syrup/Grenadine/Key Lime Juice/Dirty Martini Mix, Multiple Ginger Beers, three types of juice (Orange, Pineapple, and Passion Fruit), and Sweet & Sour Mix. Plus there's a full wine rack in the apartment.

In addition to the Lapu Lapu and Dark & Stormy cocktails we've tried out some Hurricane recipes. Now I'm sure that professionally made Hurricane's are delicous. The two we made were totally drinkable but I'd rather make a Lapu Lapu than a Hurricane. The first, made with passion fruit, was very sweet. The second, a slushy beverage, was not as sweet but the ice got in the way (plus it separated). I would definitely omit the blender part and just serve it over ice.

Hurricane #1

(Pinterest find!)

Ingredients:

1 ounces light rum

1 ounces dark rum

2 ounces passion fruit juice

1 ounce orange juice

Juice of half a lime

1 tablespoon simple syrup

1 tablespoon grenadine

Orange slice and cherry for garnish

Directions:

1. Squeeze juice from half a lime into a cocktail shaker over ice.

2. Pour the remaning ingredients into the cocktail shaker.

3. Shake, shake, shake!

4. Strain into a hurrican glass.

5. Garnish with a cherry and orange slice.

You can see the ice separating from the alcohol.

Hurricane #2

Frozen Hurricane, N'Awlins Style!

(recommended by my friend Nyk, a Tulane graduate) 

Ingredients:

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce dark rum

1 ounce Bacardi 151

3 ounces orange juice

3 ounces pineapple juice

1/2 ounce grenadine

2.5 cups ice

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into a blender.

2. Add ice and blend until slushy.

3. Pour into a tall high-ball or large margarita glass.

Oreo Cupcakes!

Before I got sick and died Friday night, which has subsequently ruined my weekend and Monday, I went over to Jackie's to bake some cupcakes with her. We decided on Oreo Cupcakes. I must admit that I have been spoiled by my homemade cupcake. All I could think about when I ate one was "this tastes like cake mix". But they were so easy and tasted fine, if you're not a cupcake snob, it's totally worth keeping the recipe for school parties. We used white cake mix so it wasn't too chocolately and I loved adding the cookie in the bottom! The frosting was a bit of a mess. It was too runny (we should have chilled it) and we didn't crush up the cookies enough and they kept getting stuck in our cake decorating tips!

Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 package Oreo Cookies, regular size
1 package Mini Oreo Cookies, for decoration (optional)
1 package chocolate or white cake mix (mix according to directions on box)
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cupcake liners
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix packaged cake mix according to directions (do not bake). Line cupcake tins with liner, place a regular size Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner. Take 1/2 of remaining cookies and chop coarsely and add to cake mix. Fill the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 minutes (or according to box directions). While cupcakes are baking make the frosting.
2. Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, then add powdered sugar slowly until blended well. Chop remaining regular-sized Oreos very fine. Add to frosting. After cupcakes have cooled frost and decorate with Mini Oreos.

A Kitchen Guest!

Welcome to my very first guest post! My mom shares lots of yummy recipes with me and I don't always have the time to try them out so she's here to pick up the slack! Also, I don't have two huge basil plants in my backyard to make yummy drinks. Or, like Mr. Lawyer, she thinks I'm slacking in the food/blogging category and this is a big hint for me to stop eating the chili from the freezer and cook something new.

The Mother Unit and I after a day on the winery/brewery trail

From the Mother Unit:
Happiness is sharing recipes with your daughter, especially after she decreed (as a teen) that she was never going to learn to cook. She just wanted to eat out all the time. Welcome to the real world of bills and budgets. It’s fun that we have developed a mutual interest in recipes involving alcohol. For me, it’s now flavor versus effect.

Here’s a recipe I tried as I had some strawberry flavored vodka. I’ve muddled up a lot of things in my life but never strawberries with simple syrup. My effort was to process the daylights out of the two of them, ending up with a red sludge. With my handy cocktail shaker (thanks for the gift kids) I put the sludge in with the basil and the vodka. So, my effort was murky and sweeter than I would like. I think if it had been straight up vodka that would have cut the sugary taste. The basil added a nice taste to the background. I have two huge basil bushes in the new garden. Time to experiment more with it.

Strawberry Fields

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients: 

3 parts strawberry vodka
2 parts strawberry puree (or 3 strawberries muddled with simple syrup)
1 part fresh lemon juice
1 part simple syrup (or agave nectar)
Basil Leaves
Directions:
1. Muddle strawberries and basil (to taste) with lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add 1 part simple syrup (or agave nectar) to cocktail shaker.
3. Shake with ice & strain into a chilled martini glass.

Um, did my mother just call me an alcoholic?!

Super Sauce

Tonight Miss Amanda came over and we had a super fancy meal of spaghetti and yummy sourdough! We pumped up our on sale jar of sauce with some sauteed turkey, onions, green peppers and a heaping of cayenne pepper. It's a quick and semi-healthy way to bulk up some sauce. One day I'll make some fancy homemade sauce....one day...

Around the World Part II!

I sense that May will not be a good food month. We have so many social obligations and dates out that my poor kitchen might get dusty! Plus I'm trying to extra be healthy when we are home so there are lots of salads! For example after our eat-fest last weekend in Syracuse we came home and had dinner out with friends Sunday to celebrate our engagement. Monday I wanted to detox and I made a huge salad and served it with Grandma's homemade applesauce. Tuesday Mr. Lawyer took me out to Rose Tattoo for an early anniversary dinner, Wednesday Amanda came over and we made mussels, tonight is Brad's graduation dinner, Friday will probably be a salad night, and then Saturday is a baseball game and Sunday is Mother Day's Brunch. Yikes!

I told them to smile and this is what I get. *sighs*

Do you remember when Amanda and I started doing our "Eating Around the World?" It seems we're much better about eating out than cooking it ourselves! Plus with both of our busy schedules planning a meal has been a disaster. Last night we finally got back on track! Way back in November we did Zorba's and made some greek food. A little bit ago we went to the Belgium Cafe (one of our favorite places!) and had some delicious mussels. Last night we finally got to make some! Mr. Lawyer and I had made these once in Syracuse with our friend Dave and they were super simple. Plus mussels are surprisingly cheap. This recipe highlights the mussels and is not as intricate as the Belgium Cafe's mussels. They have some crazy and amazing flavor combinations. One of my favorites is their Bloody Mary Mussels which you can only get for brunch. Next up: Thai! Because we already went out for it!

Mariniere Mussel Pot

(From Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded (make sure to pick out any broken or open ones!)
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup dry white wine, or Belgian beer
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
1. Place mussels in a large pot. Add 1 1/2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. With water boiling, steam for 3 minutes. 

2. Add wine and bay leaf. Steam for 3 minutes longer. 

3. Add onion and celery, and steam until all the mussels open, about 1 minute longer. Remove from heat, and add butter; toss until butter melts. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Around the World!

Amanda and I have started a new adventure, we're going to start eating and cooking our way around the world! Each month we are going to pick a different country/culture/region and find a restaurant that specializes in that food. After eating at the restaurant we schedule a second date to attempt make a dish inspired by our restaurant visit. The only rule is if we have eaten that type of food before, we have to try a new dish. For example: when we go to a Thai restaurant I am not allowed to order Pad Thai because it's my favorite and I've had it a bazillion times.
For November we decided on Greek and went to Zorba's in Fairmount.  We got a sampler platter of various dips (delicious!), a sampler of charcoal grilled meats (mostly good, not a huge lamb fan), and a stuffed eggplant dish (yummy!). We decided to recreate the eggplant dish, called Imam Bayildi on our own. We did not do a very good job. Our dish was fine but it felt like it was lacking a certain layer of flavors. The feta cheese was a life saver and added a nice pop of flavor. Oh well, in the very least Mr. Lawyer and I have had many veggies this week! We've had two vegetarian dishes, eggs and veggies, and veggies with fish. Oh so healthy!

Imam Bayildi

Ingredients:
2 medium to large eggplants
1 large onion (white or yellow)
4 garlic cloves
Olive oil (for sautéing)
5-6 tomatoes
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoons white sugar
1 can of pureed tomatoes
1-2 T tomato paste (to thicken sauce if needed)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Feta for sprinkling
Directions:
1. Chop onion and sauté in large pan until transluscent. Add garlic to pan for an additional minute or so. Remove onion and garlic from pan and add to bowl of chopped tomatoes.
2. Take both eggplants and slice down middle, scoop out a little of the flesh to make them easier to stuff.
3. In a bowl mix tomato puree, lemon juice and sugar.
4. Put eggplants skin down back into large sauté pan. Stuff with tomato, onions and garlic. Pour the tomato puree/lemon/sugar mixture on top.
5. Cover pan w/ lid and simmer on top of stove for 45 minutes.
6. After 45 minutes, remove lid and let simmer for an additional 15 minutes until eggplant is extremely tender. Add tomato paste if you’d like sauce to be thicker.
7. Before serving, sprinkle with feta!

Holy Moley! That's a lot of eggplant. 

Early Thanksgiving!

I did not make this recipe but I was lucky enough to consume it for both dessert and breakfast. It's marvelous and I'm keeping the recipe for future use. Last night we had early Thanksgiving with Mr. Lawyer's family and everything was amazingly delicious. From one Thanksgiving to another...I sense that I will not be cooking this week. A big shout out to Mrs. T for a ton of yummy food, thank you! We were also sent home with this:

Is this not the most glorious tupperware container of food you have ever seen?! There were also rolls and dessert which brings us to the recipe. These cupcakes were divine. Nice pumpkin flavor, maple frosting (right?!) and a heath bar crunch. All the elements were good on their own but when you got a bite of all three....oh my. It was even better for breakfast.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

(made by Mrs. T, adapted from Ina Garten) 

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Maple Frosting Ingredients:
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Natural Maple Flavor
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

5. Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.

Some like it Spicy!

You need to make this dish. It's hard to have a favorite but this might be a favorite. I use to make huge batches all the time in Syracuse and then eat it all week. It's delicious. I had Mr. Lawyer over one time and he ate it politely and then told me that he wasn't a huge fan of peanut sauces so I had held off on making it on Philly....which is why I had Amanda over tonight because she appreciates peanut sauces! (and brings me crescent rolls and cookies) Then lo and behold Mr. Lawyer marches through the door, grabs a plate and devours it! He has now decided that this batch wasn't as peanut-y or that he might now like peanut sauces. Silly boys. Anyway, peanut sauce, spiciness, and shrimp! All on noodles! What's not to be in love with?
Recipe notes: I always double the sauce because if you save some, the noodles so it all up. I also keep the sauce and noodles separate for leftover purposes so I don't run into that soaked up all the sauce noodle problem. Watch your jalapenos! The first time I made this it was hot hot hot! Which is good because I'm kind of a glutton for punishment when it comes to things like this but not everyone likes having to take a drink or bite of roll in between ever forkful. Speaking of which Pillsbury Crescent Rolls go amazingly well with this dish. It must be the texture but I highly recommend them. I also like to use pre-cooked shrimp (medium size) because it's less gross than raw shrimp and I normally just add the whole bag of frozen shrimp because life is more fun with shrimp.

Linguine with Spicy Shrimp Sauce

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
8 oz linguine
12 oz shrimp (de-tailed)
2 red peppers
3 scallions
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons sesame oil (I always use 2)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I always use low sodium)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Directions:
1. Prepare pasta according to directions.
2. Cut peppers into bite sized pieces (for less spice, seed the jalapeno)
3. Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan, cover and simmer on low heat (stirring occasionally) until shrimp is cooked.

Chef Amanda!

It's been Chicken Pasta Salad for breakfast and Amanda's lasagna for dinner (and then leftover lasagna). I don't have the recipe but she made homemade sauce and use real lasagna noodles (not the no bake) and it was delicious!

Cheesy goodness!

From the Bakery of Jenni and Amanda!

I must start this post with two disclaimers:

1. Amanda and I are awesome.

2. I've never been a huge traditional cake fan which is why the Mother Unit always made me cheesecakes for my birthday and Melissa always made me flour-less chocolate tortes.

That being said this was a pretty good cake recipe and the frosting was banging. I also picked up a cake decorating kit for 6.99 at HomeGoods which was the best decision ever.  Even if I never touch it again the amusement it provided for us last night was well worth 7 bucks. Oh, third disclaimer.

3. Amanda and I have never really decorated a cake before...but we do watch Food Network!

Hershey’s Chocolate Cake

(From the Mother Unit who, given the name, got it from Hershey)

Ingredients: 
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 batch "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)
Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be super thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost .
"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

To see how our amazing cake came to be, follow the link for a photo story!

Veggies, Veggies Everywhere!

Friday night Amanda and I expertly fed three ravenous boys (Kevin, Woody and Kam) appetizers, dinner and a kick butt Phillies dessert. Apps were simple garlic and smoked mozzarella crostinis which disappeared before I got a good picture. We continued the trend of amazing one dish meals with another recipe from Giada (which made a ton, definitely cut the recipe in half for smaller groups). We did add two links of hot italian sausage (crumbled and browned) to the dish in fear that the boys would revolt due to the large amount of veggies but this dish would still be amazing and filling without it. The veggies were so good that I would make them and eat them straight out of the oven. You must splurge on the herbs de Provence and the smoked mozzarella cheese. The cheese adds a wonderful flavor and tastes like campfire (in an amazing wonderful way!).

Baked Penne with Roasted Veggies

(Giada, Food Network)

Ingredients:
2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cremini mushrooms, halved (I used a box of pre-sliced mushrooms)
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon dried herbs de Provence (or Italian Herbs)
1 pound penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed (I strongly dislike frozen peas in things so this was vetoed)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander.
4. In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables,marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes (ours only took 10ish minutes so keep an eye on it). 

Getting our veggie on!

SU and Birthdays and a Dinner Party oh my!

Happy Dinner Party/Birthday Amanda/Go SU! We certainly had lots to celebrate Friday night. For my birthday I couldn't decide which cupcakes to make: Irish or S'mores? Obviously I went with the Irish ones and had to wait for an opportunity to make the S'more ones...enter Amanda's birthday! They were a bit messy to eat but they certainly tasted like a S'more.

Ingredient/Technical Difficulties: Marshmallow Fluff is harder to find around here then I thought. The local stores had all sorts of peanut butter, jam and jellies but no fluff! Just as I was mentally preparing to make it from scratch Mr. Lawyer found some Ricemallow Fluff from Whole Foods. It tasted fine, a bit sweeter maybe but it did not hold it's shape which posed a problem with making the garnish. It oozed all over the place and didn't harden up. I charred up some mini marshmallows which worked wonderfully and looked more visually pleasing (you can see both toppings in the photo). I would recommend using fluff for the filling but going the normal marshmallow route for the topping. Either way prepare for a mess, I was very angry at marshmallows while making these (who on earth would ever make something so sticky and messy!! Grrr...). However I thought that the toasted marshmallow on top added some of the best flavor, nothing like nice toasty caramelized sugar to zing up a cupcake. Also, Cupcake Corer.  Best five dollars I ever spent.

S'more Cupcakes

(Bon Appétit Magazine)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 packet)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup plus one 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme (Or 7oz of marshmallows)
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
12 1-inch pieces broken graham crackers (for garnish)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in vanilla. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture. Divide batter among muffin cups.
2. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center come out clean, about 22 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool completely.

3. Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream just to boil in small saucepan; pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute; stir until smooth. Cool ganache until lukewarm.
4. Core cupcakes with a  cupcake corer, apple corer, spoon, etc. Spoon 3/4 cup marshmallow creme into resealable plastic bag, pushing into 1 bottom corner. Cut 1/2 inch off corner. Pipe into holes in cupcakes. Spread 2 teaspoons ganache over each cupcake.

5. Preheat broiler. Coat rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Spoon dollops of marshmallow creme on sheet (or marshmallows!). Broil until slightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon dollop of charred creme over each cupcake; garnish with piece of graham cracker.

Poorly behaving Ricemallow Fluff and well behaved but messy mini marshmallows.

Final Product? Amazing.

There's a bunch more so I will use a super obnoxious page break. Read on for the rest of our goodies!