Pink Champagne Cupcakes

So I promised more baked goods, right?  Well here's a pretty simple, basic recipe for cupcakes that I have modified slightly to combine two of my absolute favorite things in the world: the color pink and champagne.  I started with this recipe for vanilla cupcakes by Ina Garten (everyone close to me knows that I ultimately aspire to be a combination of Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis, and Martha Stewart) and made modifications to change them into pink champagne cupcakes with pink champagne buttercream frosting.  This is also a tribute to my dear friend Megan Doumani who graduated from ASU this spring and had a delicious pink champagne cake for her grad party.  


Pink Champagne Cupcakes


Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour (for most cupcakes I choose to substitute cake flour for a more delicate final product)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup room temperature butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup pink champagne (the cheaper and sweeter, the better)
6 egg whites


Directions:

To start off this recipe (and most cupcake recipes in general) sift all of your dry ingredients together.  For this one, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

In separate, larger bowl, cream your room temperature butter and granulated sugar together.  I like to beat the butter and sugar for a while until it is lighter yellow in color and the sugar is completely incorporated with the butter.  Once this is complete, you will alternate adding the dry ingredients and the pink champagne to the butter/sugar mixture in about three different batches.  Some people choose to continue to use the hand mixer or a Kitchen Aid mixer because it is easy.  I prefer to hand mix my ingredients at this point with a spatula.  By using a spatula and mixing until JUST combined keeps the batter very tender and the resulting cupcakes light and soft.

The next step is to beat the egg whites in a separate bowl.  When separating your eggs be sure to keep all yolk and shell out of the whites.  Then beat the whites until stiff, glossy peaks form.  This will take a while but remain patient.  Also be careful not to over beat.  You will know you have over beaten the whites if they start to get watery and separate.

Once you have beaten your egg whites, use your spatula once again and add them to your pink base batter.  Carefully fold in so that you don't deflate the egg whites.  The resulting batter should be light and airy once you have incorporated all of the egg whites.

Fill cupcake pans about 2/3 full of your batter.  This recipe yields approximately 20 cupcakes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until a cake tester is inserted and comes out clean.

Here are my resulting cupcakes.  I used Andre Pink Sparkling Wine (because it comes out of California it cannot be called "champagne" officially...little known fact that for champagne to be real champagne it must be made from champagne grapes from the Champagne region of France).  If you really want the cupcakes to be pink, you may want to add a few drops of red food coloring to get your batter the appropriate color, depending on the champagne/wine you use.  It doesn't affect the flavor at all.


Pink Champagne Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 cups room temperature butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons pink champagne
Red food coloring (optional)

All buttercream recipes are pretty much the same.  Beat all of the ingredients together until well combined.  The consistency of your frosting is also dependent on the environment you are cooking in.  If it is dry you may have to add more liquid (champagne) to thin it out.  If it is too thin, you can add more powdered sugar.  Buttercream frostings are very forgiving so do not panic if the consistency seems off.

And here are my final cupcakes!  Because I do not have pastry bags and tips I simply put all of my frosting in a large ziploc bag and cut one of the corners off on the bottom.  I find that it works very well as a pastry bag in a pinch!


Enjoy!

Turkey Bolognese and Whole Wheat Penne

For my newest undertaking I wanted to try to take normal recipes and cut the calories to make healthier alternatives that still taste good.  I read that it was going to be cooler today (hah, only 85 degrees outside instead of 97) so I decided to make bolognese from scratch.  This recipe is based off of one by Giada De Laurentiis with some of my own additions.  I have made this recipe using ground beef mixed with ground pork before and it was delicious.  Now I am substituting the ground meat mix with lean ground turkey and eliminating the butter, olive oil, and salt as much as possible.  Hope you all enjoy!

First, begin with one medium yellow onion, quartered, three garlic cloves whole, seven stalks of celery, and one whole red bell pepper.  Cut all of the vegetables small enough to put in a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are somewhat of a pastey consistency.  If you find that the food processor isn't working very well, add a tablespoon or two of low sodium chicken stock to the processor.  Once you have all the vegetables processed, cut the whole tomatoes into quarters and process in the same manner.

Once you put all of the vegetables and tomatoes through the food processor it will look something like this.  Put everything in a deep sauce pan and turn the heat on to medium.  It may look a little strange but the sauce base already smells good.  

While the base is heating up, it's time to put the rest of the sauce ingredients in.  To the vegetables in the saucepan add a large can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste, a couple squeezes of ketchup, 1/4 cup of worchestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup of white vinegar.  After mixing these all in, add italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.  This part is subjective based on personal taste.  I prefer a more garlicky, less sweet sauce.  In an attempt to limit the amount of salt I used, I added more worchestershire and less ketchup.

Here is the sauce base with everything added except the meat.  Set this mixture to simmer while you prepare the meat.

While the red sauce is simmering, put your ground turkey in a non-stick pan that has been heated up to medium high.  Normally I would brown the meat using olive oil or butter but the non-stick pan eliminates the need for these.  While browning the meat be sure to season using fresh ground pepper and salt.  Drain any excess liquid/fat out of the pan.  Once completely cooked through, add the meat to the red sauce and cover and simmer for one and a half hours.

Here is the final product.  I used a high quality whole grain penne (Barilla brand at Safeway) and boiled it up in about ten minutes.  This recipe yields about a half gallon of sauce so I had a lot left over.  I divided the leftover sauce into 2 cup portions and put in plastic ziploc bags to put in the freezer. Whenever you want to use the sauce you can just microwave or boil the bags in water to reheat.  I personally think the leftover sauce tastes better than when it's fresh :)


Next time I make this sauce I want to add 1/2 cup of cabernet or syrah.  The chemical composition of the wine reacts with the chemical composition of the tomatoes in the sauce to release flavor components that you wouldn't normally taste.  I love adding wine to red spaghetti sauce.


Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like I had said before I was going to take on a baking project this week.  I was asking around for ideas and someone mentioned that there is nothing better than the perfect homemade chocolate chip cookie.  I have been baking for as long as I can remember and without trying to sound full of myself, I am a rather good baker.  However, chocolate chip cookies have always perplexed me.  I either burn the bottoms or don't cook them all the way through.  This challenge was perfect and I found about 7 different recipes to try.  Here is what I came up with for each recipe...

Recipe #1: The Good Looking One


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, MELTED
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg, ROOM TEMPERATURE
1 egg yolk, ROOM TEMPERATURE
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
-Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside
-In another bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour before baking.
-Measure out 1/4 cup of the dough at a time and form quickly into rough ball.  Put on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.
-Bake 15-17 minutes until edges are light brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  It was by far the most aesthetically pleasing.  I added 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar so the cookie would have the cracked top.  It isn't necessary but I like how it makes them look.  These cookies were medium in shape and thickness and crunchy all the way through once they set up.  The taste was okay.

Recipe #2: The Chewy One

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teapoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

-Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla, salt, and eggs until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough about 2 inches apart on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake 8-10 minutes until tops and edges are light brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  I don't really like how they look but they taste better than the first recipe and they set chewy and cakey in texture (less dense than the first).  The tops are light brown and the bottoms are dark brown.

Recipe #3: The Good Tasting One

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, ROOM TEMPERATURE

3.4oz instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

-Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the instant vanilla pudding mix and then beat in the vanilla and egg until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop cookies on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats by the rounded tablespoonful.

-Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are light brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  I have to admit that I was very skeptical of this recipe.  The pudding mix made the dough somewhat dry and the addition of only one egg resulted in a yellow-y looking dough.  I personally prefer a crunchy cookie.  This one tasted AMAZING.  While it's not much to look at it was crunchy and had a sort of caramelized taste to it.  Out of the 7 different recipes I tried, I liked this one the best.

Recipe #4: The Light One

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

-Sift the flour; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.  Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add to batter along with the salt.  Mix in the sifted flour just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop by large spoonful on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake for about 10 minutes until edges are light brown but centers are still soft and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  It is a medium sized, medium thickness cookie.  The thing that stood out the most to me about this one is that it is very light in color, both on top and on the bottom.  The person who originally asked me to do this project liked these the best and he likes soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe #5: The Phoebe Buffet Cookie

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups NESTLE TOLL HOUSE semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

-Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last. 

-Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake 9-11 minutes until cookies are golden brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  I call it the Phoebe Buffet cookie because of the episode of Friends where Monica is trying to figure out Phoebe's grandmother's recipe and it turns out to be the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips.  These cookies are darker brown but standard in taste and texture.  They tend to have less chocolate chips throughout but still a very good cookie.

Recipe #6: The San Francisco Treat

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups GHIRARDELLI semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

-Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop by the tablespoon onto ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake 9-11 minutes until cookies are golden brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  It is dark brown, large, thin, and crispy.  I like these almost as much as the third recipe, however it has less chocolate and the Ghirardelli chips are rather pricey.

Okay I know I said seven different recipes, but honestly, I am all baked out.  I can now make chocolate chip cookies blindly.  Sad.  However I am very glad I took this project on.  I learned a lot of good basic tips that will result in cookies you will love.

1. ALWAYS use room temperature eggs.  It makes a huge difference.

2. Invest in pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla.  It is very cheap at Costco where I got a large bottle for about $5.  You can also make your own using whole vanilla beans (can also be found at Costco) and a cheap 750ml bottle of vodka.

3. The butter temperature (cold, melted, room) makes a huge difference as well.  Pay attention.

4. Pack the brown sugar when it calls for it.

5. Use a 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar in your recipes if you want them to look a certain way.

6. Your oven temperature and time baking is very sensitive.  My oven runs hot and dry so I generally set it 10 degrees cooler than the recipe calls for.  I also tend to have to bake the cookies a minute less than it says.

I hope these recipes and tips help you out in your own chocolate chip cookie adventures.  If you want to skip the baking step, stop by my place within the next few days because I have about 20 dozen cookies I need to give away :)

Baking, baking, baking!

Okay so I am sitting around doing nothing and I thought I should add some kind of baking related posts.  I will definitely be baking something this upcoming week but here are the pictures of my most recent efforts.  The cupcakes on top are vanilla meringue cake with strawberry buttercream (cupcake recipe via Martha Stewart and frosting recipe via Sprinkles Cupcakes).  The cupcakes below are chocolate mint with peppermint buttercream (cupcake recipe via Martha Stewart and frosting recipe via me just eyeballing a standard buttercream with peppermint extract).  Both were delicious and the chocolate mint ones were amazing!


I can't wait to make something this upcoming week.  I may do Reese's peanut butter cup cookies, salted caramel cupcakes, a pear tart or maybe some kind of muffin (the fruit looks really good in the produce section this week).  With that said, au revoir for now and stay tuned for a delicious baking adventure!

Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs

I know my blog is titled Peace, Love, and Baked Goods.  I promise I will bake something soon! It's strange, I normally bake a lot more than I cook, but here is another recipe that you all should try out.  I made Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs for dinner tonight as my attempt at a summer-y dish now that it's getting back close to 100 degrees here in Tempe.  I love this recipe because it is relatively low in calories and is easily adjusted based on personal tastes.


Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs


Ingredients:
-Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce (I love using low sodium soy sauce and it is right next to the regular soy sauce in the store)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 large shallot
1 lime


-Kabobs
3 boneless chicken breasts
2 medium yellow onions
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 cans pineapple chunks
1 pint heirloom tomatoes (cherry, grape, etc.)
1 pound bacon (NOT thick cut bacon)


Directions:

First, start by cleaning the chicken.  I take the chicken out of the package, rinse it with water and dry with paper towels.  Then take a knife and carefully remove the excess fat off of each breast.  This step isn't necessary, I just prefer to remove the fat that I can.

Once you are done cleaning the chicken, cut it into cubes that are approximately 1 inch by 1 inch.  You can make the chicken pieces whatever size you want.  The main thing you want to pay attention to is that all the pieces are uniform.  With the chicken pieces being the same size it will take the same amount of time to cook them all.

Next, the marinade.  Like I said, I like this recipe because it is easy to change based on personal preferences.  The marinade I am making is somewhat Asian and tastes really good on chicken and shrimp.  For my marinade I put 1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper, 1/4 cup of pineapple juice, and the juice of one lime in a bowl.  After whisking all these together, roughly chop 3 garlic cloves and 1 large shallot and add to the marinade.  I have really started liking shallots lately.  The taste reminds me of a red onion except a little milder.  Once the marinade is complete, put all the chicken in a large plastic ziploc bag and pour all but 1 cup of the marinade over it.  Seal it and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

While the meat is marinading in the fridge, soak your skewers in about 1/2 inch of cold water.  This step will keep your skewers from burning, especially if you are cooking on an outdoor grill.

As I have said, this recipe is easily adaptable.  I chose to use bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and pineapple for my kabobs.  I personally do NOT like green peppers (don't ask me why, I just never really liked the taste) but I love red and orange peppers.  I also specifically chose canned pineapple chunks because I wanted to use the juice for the marinade.  Fresh pineapple works too but the canned is super convenient and just as good.  Finally, I really like using cherry tomatoes because they are less messy than cutting normal tomatoes and they work really well on the grill.  These heirloom tomatoes were on sale at the store and I am so excited to use them!

Just like the chicken, cut the bell peppers and onions down to the same size as your chicken pieces.  The tomatoes and pineapple are already the correct size so now you're ready to put the kabobs together.  Have all your ingredients close together for easy assembly.  You are going to wrap the pieces of chicken in bacon so for my kabobs I cut each slice of bacon in half with kitchen shears so it fit well.

Obviously it is pretty self explanatory.  Wrap the bacon tightly around the piece of chicken and thread onto the skewer.  Alternate using the remaining ingredients but be sure not to push each ingredient to closely together.  By keeping them moderately spaced apart you will ensure that everything is cooked completely.

Here are my completed kabobs.  On the first pan there are a few with just vegetables because I wanted to use as much of my ingredients as possible.  Be sure to throw away any extra ingredients (tomatoes, pineapple chunks, onions, etc.) because they may be contaminated with the raw chicken.

Using a brush, brush the original cup of marinade you set aside earlier to lightly coat the raw kabobs.  This will give the vegetables/pineapple a nice flavor once you cook it.

Finally, heat a grill pan to high heat and place the kabobs on once hot (you can also do this on an outdoor grill as well or even in your broiler).  Rotate to make sure that the chicken and bacon are cooked on all sides.  Once the juices run clear you know that the chicken is cooked through and you can take them off the grill pan.


I started with three chicken breasts and it made a total of 16 kabobs.  If I were to do it again I would definitely use one or one and a half chicken breasts to make less.  The final product is very good though so I will have plenty to share.  I also chose to serve these kabobs with rice pilaf on the side.  Because I didn't want to sit around and make rice, I cheated using a box of Rice a Roni (thanks for the suggestion, Mom).  Again, please use whatever vegetables or meat you would like using this recipe.  I have done it with shrimp, scallops, and beef on three different occasions and they all turned out fantastic.


Enjoy!

Guacamole, Chile con Queso, and Margaritas!

This post is a follow-up post from the one I made earlier today.  I spent all day making food for Cinco de Mayo and here are my recipes for sides.  I love them all very much and hope you all enjoy making and eating them as well!

Guacamole

I have been making guacamole from scratch for as long as I can remember.  I get really picky about it at restaurants and such and have never even dreamed of buying it premade at the grocery store.  With that said, I will do my best to write down my instructions so that they are easy to follow (I usually just sit down and make it blindly, adding different things depending on how it tastes)

Ingredients:

6 large California avocados (I say CA avocados because I feel like they taste the best and are the best consistency.  Mexican or South American avocados are fine, I just prefer the former)

1 large lime

2 small roma tomatoes

Kosher salt

Pepper

1 small shallot (can be substituted with half a small red onion)

2 cloves of garlic

Worchestershire sauce

1 tablespoon sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Take all 6 of your avocados and cut them in half, removing the pit and scooping the meat out of the skins.  I've found that the easiest way to do this is to cut the avocado in half, use a spoon to scoop the meat out, then using a large knife, hit the pit straight on, driving the knife deep into the pit.  Then twist the knife and the pit should pop right out.  It takes some practice but works really well.

Once you've scooped out all of the avocado halves, cut into large chunks and put into a bowl.  As soon as you get all of the avocado into a bowl, cut the lime in half and squeeze all the juice on the avocado.  This will keep it from turning brown.  

Next, the shallots and garlic.  I prefer shallots to red onions because they tend to be milder.  They're pretty easy to find in the produce section near onions and garlic. How much guacamole you make dictates how much shallot/onion you use.  I used 6 large avocados so I used 2 shallots.  Mince the shallots and garlic very finely and add them to the avocados.  The smaller the better unless you like a lot of raw onion flavor because they will not be cooked.  To the garlic, shallots and avocados, add 2 small roma tomatoes diced.  I remove the seeds and inner membranes from the tomatoes before I cut them so it doesn't make the guacamole too soupy.

Once everything is added, mash the avocado chunks with a fork.  I prefer my guacamole pretty chunky, so I don't mash it too much.  While you are doing this, add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate immediately.  I find that this guacamole tastes best if it sits in the fridge for at least an hour before you serve it.

Chile con Queso

This is possibly the least "homemade" thing I am making today but the people I am eating with wanted Chile con Queso so I am biting the "I don't use processed cheese products" bullet and making it anyway.  This recipe is super easy and can be changed so many different ways.

Ingredients:

1 package Velveeta cheese product

3/4 lb ground hamburger meat (I prefer 97/3 fat content)

8 oz. jar of salsa

Small can of bean-less chili

Directions:

First, brown the ground beef on medium heat in a deep saucepan.  Cube the Velveeta in large cubes and add to the beef.  Once these are combined, add the salsa and chili and stir until well combined.  That's pretty much it for this one.  Like I said, it is super easy but tends to be a crowd favorite.  I generally serve it with raw vegetables or tortilla chips.  

  

**Side note: I have made this dip using just Velveeta and salsa or just Velveeta and chopped up jalapenos and red peppers.  Basically, you can take the Velveeta and add as much or as little to it as you want.

Skinny Girl Margaritas

This is in honor of my good friend Erin Sims.  We love to watch trashy TV and drink together and this was a result of both.  For those of you who don't know, the Skinny Girl Margarita is featured in a ton of different TV shows, magazines, books, etc.  I miss and love you Erin Marie!

Ingredients:

1 bottle good quality tequila (I prefer silver patron, don julio, or 1800 silver)

3 limes

1 small bottle of orange liqueur (I prefer Cointreau but triple sec works fine)

Ice

Directions:

Make this drink in a highball or similar glass.  I make mine pretty big so you can adjust how you see fit.  First, take two lime wedges and squeeze all the juice over a glass filled with ice.  Then add 4 shots of tequila and 2 counts of Cointreau.  Stir and drink.  The point of this margarita is that it eliminates the sugary margarita mix in traditional margaritas (hence, "skinny").  I personally LOVE tequila so this is a nice, new way of drinking it.