strawberry jam filled mini lemon cupcakes

we spent jason's birthday in boston as part of our new england vacation (oh, i haven't talked about that yet? watch for it soon.), so his birthday kind of got skipped at home. as soon as the laundry was done and most of our suitcases unpacked, i set out to make a cake. or some version of a cake. i wanted something more than a simple vanilla cake with chocolate frosting but something that wasn't too complicated. something i could whip up in an evening. something that isn't too rich or dense, but rather light and reminds me of summer.

i turned to martha. but to be honest, i was skeptical. she still hasn't totally proved herself to me yet in the cake department. she's either been a big hit or a big miss. this time i narrowed it down to two choices: chai cupcakes or strawberry jam filled cupcakes. i was not at all surprised when jason chose jam. especially when he realized they would be filled with homemade jam.

but i made some modifications. i opted for minis instead of full sized cupcakes. the original recipe calls for orange zest & juice in the cake and the icing but i opted for lemon (because i think it goes better with strawberry than orange and because i didn't have an orange in the house).

the key to making minis from a recipe that originally made full size cupcakes is to cut the baking time in at least half. everything else can stay the same. the recipe said to bake the full size cakes for 25-30 minutes. i started testing my minis after 10 minutes and after 12 they were perfectly cooked. i usually get twice as many mini cupcakes as full size cupcakes too.

the sweetness from the strawberry jam and the tartness from the lemon glaze balance each other out perfectly. it's the perfect snack. or breakfast treat.

i dare you to eat just one!

strawberry jam filled mini lemon cupcakes
adapted from strawberry jam tea cakes in martha stewart's cupcakes
1 hour (includes bake time), makes 24 mini cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (i prefer aluminum free, if you can find it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
zest from half a lemon
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup milk
~1/2 cup jam, more or less depending how much you want in each

1. preheat the oven to 350. grease 2 mini muffin pans.
2. mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. in a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until incorporated.
4. alternate adding the milk and flour mixture to the butter & sugar until fully incorporated.
5. in a separate bowl, mix the egg whites to soft peaks, about 5 minutes.
6. fold the egg whites into the batter.
7. spoon about a tablespoon of batter into each muffin tin. place about 1/2 teaspoon jam into the middle of each muffin. try to keep the jam in the middle of the tin, so it doesn't seep out the sides when baked. top each cupcake with another tablespoon of batter.
8. bake 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. cool in the pan until cool enough to handle. remove from tin and finish cooling on a wire rack. while they're cooling, make the lemon glaze.

3/4 cup confectioners sugar
zest of half a lemon
juice of half a lemon

1. mix the sugar, juice, and zest together until smooth.
2. when the cupcakes are cool, dip the tops into the glaze, allow the excess to drip off, and let dry on a cooling rack. store the glazed cupcakes in a sealed container.
   

bread & butter refrigerator pickles

i was super excited last saturday when i saw these beauties at the public market for $1.

it's finally cucumber season. and with cucumber season comes pickles. only i couldn't decide which ones to make. traditional dill? bread & butter? super garlic dill? sweet? they all sounded good so the decision came down to one thing: jason. after 2 seconds of thought he decided bread & butter all the way. there's no way i was going to can my first round of pickles. i needed a good refrigerator recipe. lucky for me, smitten kitchen made some last month from her farmer's market cukes (hey, how'd she get cucumbers a month before me?!)

with recipe in hand, i set out to cut up the cukes & onion. stupidly, i used the slicing blade for my food processor to whiz through all six cukes and 2 small onions in 2 minutes. smart because it only took a couple minutes. stupid because they came out way way way too thin. next time i'll take the extra couple minutes to hand slice the cukes into thicker slices.

once the cucumbers and onions are sliced, pickles couldn't be easier. mix them up with some salt in a large bowl. cover with ice and let sit about 2 hours.

when the cukes & onions have about 15 minutes left to sit, start making the pickling liquid. it's a simple sweetened and spiced up (turmeric, mustard, coriander and celery seed) vinegar mixture. bring it to a boil and remove from heat.

drain the cucumbers and onion (don't rinse) and add to the liquid. stir thoroughly and place into a quart jar. refrigerate. we let them sit in the refrigerator over night before eating like crazy. if you make them in the morning, i'm sure you could have some for the night's dinner.

...and i never realized tumeric is the big flavor difference between these and sweet/dill pickles (and adds the characteristic yellow color). interesting. never would have guessed that.

easy bread & butter refrigerator pickles
get the recipe at smitten kitchen

homemade mint extract

i had high hopes for this. i mean, really high. i imagined cups of mint extract, so much that i couldn't give it away, and already had plans for some of it. i imagined finally finding a use for the mint taking over my back patio.

mint extract is just like vanilla extract or any other infusion: soak in vodka for a long time in a dark place. strain. use. same process to make limoncello too (but that will have to wait until next summer).

a couple weeks ago i got started with a small batch. most recipes i read online said 1 pound of mint leaves to 4 cups of vodka. i definitely didn't want to make a whole four cups the first time, so i settled on 1 cup vodka to 1/4 pound mint. i sent jason off to buy some cheap vodka (there's really no use wasting the good stuff on this) while i figured out what kind of mint to use.

selecting the mint was the hardest part. none, not a single one, of the recipes i found said peppermint or spearmint or anything besides "mint." since i have an overabundance of both, i set out to make one batch of peppermint and one of spearmint. so i started cutting. and cutting. and stripping leaves off. and cutting down some more. a quarter of a pound of mint sounds like a lot. it is, but i didn't realize really how much until i finally had about 30 stems cut and stripped.

by now jason was back with the vodka, so i set to packing both sets of mint leaves in pint mason jars. if this sounds easy, it really wasn't. the mint leaves were packed as tightly as possible, leaving just enough room for the vodka to trickle through. i added a cup to each jar, closed it up, and set it on my windowsill to do its thing.

and then i waited. and waited. a full four weeks. every few days i'd give the jars a shake and flip them over. the leaves slowly changed from a bright green to a brown-green and didn't look out of the ordinary (nothing growing or changing weird colors), so i kept waiting and flipping until it was finally time.

i imagined the burst of mint when the jars were opened. i imagined it smelling so strong i'd have to avert my nose. i opened slowly and carefully. and nothing. neither jar really smelled like anything. bummer. but i was still optimistic.

spearmint (L) and peppermint (R) after their soak

until i started straining it. the leaves were fine - not slimy or gross - but the vodka just didn't smell all that minty. still, i forged ahead, straining both jars, using my hands to squeeze the vodka out of the wilted leaves.

right about now is when i knew i was defeated. visions of more mint ice cream. gone. mint candy. gone. mint brownies. gone. all i had left were two cups of green brown vodka. the peppermint had a slightly minty aftertaste and the spearmint just tasted like weeds. weed flavored vodka. gross. and down the sink it went.

strained spearmint (L) & peppermint (R)

now i'm right back to where i started. i have pounds of spearmint & peppermint growing in my backyard. what can i do with it? i can only eat so much mint chocolate ice cream and drink so many mojitos. any ideas?

brooklyn & little italy

though i've been to new york a number of times, i've never walked across the brooklyn bridge or really ventured out into any of the boroughs besides manhattan. so this time we spent most of the morning walking through the financial district and made it over the bridge into brooklyn. it was a beautiful day, but hot hot hot. lucky for me, lunch (and ice cream) was waiting on the other side.

jason checked out a few restaurants before we left rochester and decided we should check out grimaldi's or pete's downtown. we made it down towards both a little bit before noon and there was already a line at least a block long waiting for grimaldi's to open. there's no way we were waiting for that so we walked down to pete's downtown which was closed for a private party. bummer. we gawked through the windows at the pizza next door at ignazio's and decided to give it a whirl, especially since we hadn't had any pizza yet since coming to the city. we had a short, ten minute wait before we were seated and promptly ordered classes of fresh, homemade lemonade. it was probably the best lemonade i've ever had. ever. and while jason would have liked even less sugar, i thought it was perfectly tart.

and then there was the pizza. ah, but really, it's hard to find bad pizza in new york (i'm sure it's there, but i've yet to find it). another patron recommended the smoked chicken, so we had a basic margherita with smoked chicken on half. jason really liked the chicken, i didn't care for it so much, too much smoke. but the pizza was great.

since it was in the mid nineties, we made sure to save enough room for ice cream i spotted as soon as we made it to brooklyn. after lunch we walked across the street to the brooklyn ice cream factory. jason had chocolate and i had peaches and cream. his chocolate was good, but if i hadn't known mine was peaches and cream, i never would have guessed it. the pieces of peach were almost unnoticeable and it definitely didn't taste like peach either. what a disappointment.

after poking around the park, checking out the manhattan skyline, and watching the garbage barge go by, we made our way back across the bridge, walked through chinatown, and made it to little italy in time for dinner.

we walked all the way up mulberry street, through the menus and tourists, and sat in a park on the corner of mulberry and spring streets to escape the heat a bit. until i noticed this place - rice to riches - across the street. who knew rice pudding was so popular? not this girl. it definitely seems like an odd commodity. people were pouring out of there with small bowls of pudding (and eating them on the bench next to me), so they must be doing something right.

after marveling at the thought of mailing rice pudding to someone as a gift, we headed back down mulberry street to pick a place for dinner. and this is where i should have known better. little italy is one place i always always always look up restaurant reviews and have a couple in mind before i go. but not this time. this time i was too busy getting other things ready before we left that it slipped my mind. and jason, to no fault of his own, didn't realize how bad little italy can be if you don't do a bit of research ahead of time. case in point: positano.

we walked by, scoping out the strip - who's eating there? are they all tourists? what are they eating? does it look good? who has food left on their plate? are people eating the bread? - and settled on positano. it looked good on the outside - food looked good, good mix of new yorkers and tourists, and people were eating their food. so we sit. and we order. yes, we'll try the sangria, especially since it's still close to 90 outside. that's when we should have left - my sangria was red wine with canned fruit cocktail. really?! but we already ordered. so we waited for the food.

jason had pasta with vodka sauce. not bad, but not the best. i had veal stuffed with mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil with pasta in a marsala sauce. one of my favorites. my veal was stuffed with breadcrumbs and breadcrumbs only. not a combination of bread and the others. not even a hint of mozz or prosciutto or basil. nothing. but soggy bread. but the pasta was good, right? not unless you like salt pasta. the only flavor was salt. it was awful. and at $30-something a plate, i'd expect way more from these guys. i learned my lesson again: always research before you go.

central park, chelsea market, and the best chocolate chip cookie

a couple weekends ago, i had to go to new york for work, so jason and i decided to make a weekend of it. we walked through central park...

and ended up on this bench. i hope if i have a bench dedicated to me, it's for the same reason.

we walked north through the park to the reservoir and cut west to 86th street. since we didn't have a map, we were more north than i expected, and walked about 10 blocks south to Levain. after i saw sugar plum's post, i knew i had to try their cookies.

it wasn't until we ordered and pulled up a stool to eat at the counter that i realized this was the bakery that beat bobby flay in the chocolate chip cookie throwdown! their cookies are no joke.

we knew the cookies were huge, but didn't realize how massive they are until we sat down either. one cookie can easily feed two people.

we got two cookies - a chocolate chip with walnut and chocolate cookie with peanut butter chips. served warm from the oven, the inside was still a gooey, chewy mess, while the outside had a nice, crunchy crust. the chocolate chip was perfect, while the chocolate peanut butter was a bit too raw inside and could have used another 30 seconds or more to bake.

after we gorged ourselves on cookies the plan was to head over to chelsea market for dinner. but by the time we got there, neither one of us was hungry enough for dinner. but walking through the heat and humidity definitely warranted a popsicle, a people's pop, that is.

two of the four flavors were sold out already - raspberry mint and something i can't remember - so i chose the raspberry basil over the strawberry rhubarb. and it was amazing. there were chunks of actual fruit, not just juice. the couple sitting in the window next to us had the raspberry and went back for strawberry. i don't blame them one bit.

we walked around the market for an hour or so, stopping in the fruit company to buy some spices that aren't as easy to locate at home.

and worked up an appetite for a piece of foccacia from amy's bread for our dinner.

after a long day of walking and snacking, we headed to the top of the rock to watch the sunset. too bad it was so humid and hazy, so the view wasn't nearly as great as it could have been.

kinda bruschetta dip

yes, it's too early for garden fresh tomatoes in new york. but it's not too early for garden fresh tomatoes in oklahoma.

see, my mother in law (hi barb!) flew in last weekend, just in time for the fourth festivities.

before she got out of the car, she had a present for me. she hand carried about half a dozen fresh picked tomatoes from tulsa, through detriot, and into rochester. otherwise they would have went to waste.

they sat on the counter for a solid day while i debated what to make. salsa? nah, not in the mood. pasta sauce? too much work. freeze them? can them? stuff them? nothing sounded all that exciting until it hit me.



i'm not a huge fan of straight up raw tomatoes. my mother eats them with salt sprinkled on them. for me, i need something more.

when i was a teenager, i remember my dad making a pseudo bruschetta dip for crusty italian bread. i remember the two of us dunking bread, tomato juices running down our arms to our elbows. i had only one glitch: dad's in ireland - dodging sheep with his car and swapping our humid 95+ degree days for a cool 60 degrees - so i'd have to wing this one on my own.



it's a very close cousin to bruschetta. where bruschetta tends to have big, chunky pieces of tomato and is relatively dry, this dip is wet and the tomatoes are pretty crushed. whatever you do, don't skip the salt. it really brings out the flavor of the tomatoes. the basil is definitely optional and it's surprising how much the taste changes when you add it.

kinda bruschetta dip
15 minutes, makes 2 cups

4 medium-large fresh from the garden tomatoes
~1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 gloves garlic, finely minced
8-10 basil leaves, finely minced
good glug - about a tablespoon - of olive oil

1. finely dice the tomatoes. place a good scoop in the palm of your hand and lightly squeeze out some of the liquid. don't get it all out, but get most of it. you don't want tomato soup. repeat with the rest of the tomato.
2. mix the salt into the tomato and let it sit while mincing the garlic and basil.
3. mix in the garlic, basil, and olive oil.
4. enjoy with crusty bread.
   

vegetable orzo soup

peas. glorious, fresh, sweet as can be, spring peas. the first crop from this year's garden.

and since jason was getting a cold (who gets sick in the summer!?) i threw together a simple vegetable soup.

...a soup that's really a variation of a chicken orzo soup i made last winter. and it makes a great soup base to add really whatever vegetables you like.

while some of my peas came out picture perfect, others weren't so lucky. lucky for me, they all tasted great.

the only, ever so slight bummer about this soup - it doesn't make the best left over. the orzo really soaks up the soup broth, so the next day it's thick, more like a warm orzo pasta than a soup.

vegetable orzo soup
inspired by rachel ray's toasted orzo chicken soup and gimme some oven's basil, chicken, and orzo soup
1 hour start to finish, serves 4

olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 cup peas
1 cup corn
1 cup orzo (or any small soup pasta)
8-10 basil leaves (more or less to taste), thinly siced
salt & pepper

1. in a dutch oven (or heavy bottomed stock pot), coat the bottom with olive oil and place over medium heat. add the onion and garlic, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. add the celery and carrots, stir, season with salt & pepper, and saute an additional 5 minutes.
3. add the chicken stock and bay leaves. bring up to a simmer, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. add the peas, corn, and orzo pasta. boil long enough to cook the orzo (however long the box says it needs to cook).
5. stir in the basil and serve.

sweet chicken & red onion kebabs

since we missed cinco de mayo for a party this year, we decided to celebrate cinco de julio instead. and served up this chicken kebab as the main dish. to serve 8 people, i made two and a half times this recipe and had plenty leftover.

the original rachael ray recipe also had quartered plums threaded onto the skewer with the chicken and onion. i tried the plums last summer. they were ok and not really worth it for me. if you love grilled fruit, go for it. i bet peaches (when they're finally in season in august, i can't wait!!) would be good too.

sweet chicken & red onion kebabs
adapted from everyday with rachael ray
2 hours start to finish (includes 30 minutes to marinate), serves 4

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apricot jam/jelly/preserves/whatever your store carries
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite size pieces
2 red onions, quartered

1. make the marinade by whisking the oil, preserves, vinegar, and soy sauce together. in a large zip top bag, add the chicken and the marinade. massage the chicken to make sure each piece is coated. place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
2. remove the chicken from the marinade and alternating with onion pieces, skewer them.
3. grill over medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes.

pasta with chicken, cream, and tomatoes

i'm weird about only eating certain foods in certain times of the year. i like my food to match the season. when it's one of those dark, bone chilling cold february days, the last thing i want for dinner is a big, cold, crunchy salad. not only are the vegetables not in season, but who wants to eat a cold dinner in the middle of winter?! same goes for summer. i don't want a nice, warm, comforting bowl of pasta when it's a sticky, humid 90 degrees out in july. more than anything, i surprised myself when i made this back in june.

it was one of those nights where the both of us came home late for work, are dog tired, and we have nothing but milk and yogurt in the refrigerator. luckily we had a renegade chicken breast stuck in the back door of the freezer and i always keep a can of crushed tomatoes on hand, just for nights like this.

canned crushed - diced work well too - tomatoes make a super easy sauce that can be jazzed up any way you like. don't like the cream? skip it. you'd rather have more garlic? go for it, because you can never really have too much garlic. skip the chicken if you'd like. want more vegetables? add grated carrot and/or zucchini. the carrot adds an ever so slight sweetness and you won't realize you're eating those or the zucchini.

and i think this is the first time ever i've eaten pasta outside.

pasta with chicken, cream, and tomatoes
45 minutes start to finish, serves 4

1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
1 chicken breast, sliced thin
1/2 pound penne pasta
1/2 cup half & half
8-10 basil leaves, thinly sliced

1. while preparing the sauce, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
2. coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and place it over medium heat. add the onion and garlic and saute until transparent, about 8 minutes.
3. add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt & pepper. bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low.
4. add the chicken and stir, making sure the pieces aren't stuck to each other. continue to simmer the sauce an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened.
5. mix in the half & half and basil. stir in the pasta and serve.

mushroom paninis

i love love love mushrooms. and garlic. and cheese. put them all into a sandwich and i'm yours.

i'll be honest, i thought this one was going to be a flop. "there's no way the mushrooms are going to stay in the sandwich. they're all going to ooze out the side" was the thought i had as i pressed down on the top of my george foreman grill to grill these suckers. but it worked. there were a few strays that got pushed out and i ate with a fork. i was really careful to make a mound of mushrooms in the middle of my sandwich before i pressed it and that may have been enough to keep it together. regardless, it was an easy, delicious dinner. i bet it'd be really great with whole portabello caps too.

mushroom paninis
30 minutes start to finish, serves 2

olive oil
12 ounces white mushrooms (or whatever kind you prefer), chopped into bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon butter
garlic basil mayo (or regular mayo, if you prefer, but the garlic really makes it)
~4 ounces provolone cheese, sliced (4 slices of cheese, total)
2 hard rolls, split

1. coat the bottom of a saute pan over medium heat with olive oil. add the mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. add the garlic, season with salt & pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 8 more minutes. when you add the garlic, preheat your panini press or george foreman grill, so it will be hot when the mushrooms are ready.
2. spread each roll with garlic basil mayo and place a slice of cheese on each side. add the cooked mushrooms.
3. using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the roll with olive oil and place in your press/grill. brush the top of the roll with olive oil and close the press/grill. grill about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melty.
   

jason's egg sandwich experiment

below is the second installment from jason, my taste tester, who - since his macaroni and cheese success in april (which is still the most popular post on this blog) - has decided cooking isn't really too hard. he has occasional food projects, just like me, that he wants to share too.

here's his method for breakfast sandwiches. his method, his thoughts, and this time, his photos.

On Sunday I decided with the leftover bagels that I would try making egg and cheese bagel sandwiches for Kate and I. Normally when I cook it I just make scrambled eggs and put them on with cheese on top. The problem with normal scrambled eggs is that they all just fall off the sandwich when you eat it. I thought about how it must be done in the restaurant. Probably when you go to McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts they just microwave or oven cook eggs in molds. I wonder if I can replicate that in the frying pan? Normally I would search online for a technique but as it was a Sunday morning I was hungry and not in the mood for sitting at a computer, so I just guessed and tried it out.



On the first attempt I used a donut cutter as the "mold" and a half tablespoon of butter that I melted and spread over the sides with a silicone brush. I scrambled two eggs with salt and pepper and let it sit while the pan heat up on medium-low heat. I thought with the egg being so thick I would need to cook it slow to keep it from burning. Kate suggested I put a top over the pan as well to trap in some of the heat, which I did. It took a long time to cook and I was afraid of it burning but as this was a kitchen trial I just left it alone until the top appeared to be set.

I used too much egg and it was hard to pop out of the mold, perhaps because it was thick, or perhaps because the butter didn't work well. I had to use a knife to sort of cut it out. The bottom wasn't burnt but it was a medium brown -- a little toasty. It won't win any medals for appearance but it tasted just fine and never broke apart and fell out of the sandwich, so I will call it a medium success.

I figured for the second sandwich I would use non-stick spray instead of butter and a single egg. The amount of egg was much better this time; the egg didn't stick to the mold and with it not being so thick it cooked better without having a toasted bottom.

bean burritos

there's something about mexican food that always seems exciting to me when i'm eating it in a restaurant but is very mundane when i have it at home. over the last year or so, i've been trying to change it up a bit from the usual brown meat, add spices, roll in tortilla mode. this week i thought, why not make it meatless again?

i'm a list maker. i'm one of those who every sunday afternoon plans out five meals to have during the week, making my list, checking what's in the pantry as i go. and then i shop sunday, once a week, to minimize the chance i'll run in for one small item, and leave with an arm full of stuff i don't really need.

you can imagine my disappointment when i opened up the pantry, slid out the drawer, and realized i had none, not a single, lone can, of black beans. it seems like just yesterday when they were on sale and i bought 12 cans to stock up. (really, that was last december.) luckily, while i was knee deep in pico, rice, and sauteing onions and garlic, jason reminded me we had a lone can of kidney beans, so why not use them? lucky for me they were a perfect swap for the black beans.

bean burritos
1 hr (includes making the salsa & rice), serves 4

martha's pico (or store bought salsa, but it definitely won't be the same as making it yourself)
cilantro lime rice
olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon butter
1 15 ounce can kidney (or black) beans
~1/2 cup chicken stock or water
4 large tortillas
~1/2 cup shredded cheddar, monterrey jack, or taco blend cheese
1 avocado, sliced

1. make the salsa first so it can sit while you're preparing the rest of the burritos.
2. mix the cilantro and lime juice for the rice. start cooking the rice. you can toss it with the cilantro lime mixture right before you assemble the burritos.
3. over medium heat, coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil. add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
4. add the cumin and chili powder and mix well. let cook a minute or two and add the butter. mix well and cook until melted.
5. add the black beans and chicken stock to the pan and mix well. bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low, and simmer about 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
6. finish the rice by mixing the cilantro lime mixture with the rice.
7. assemble the burritos. in the middle of the tortilla, layer the ingredients in whatever order you like - rice, beans, cheese, pico de gallo, avocado. roll up and enjoy!