Cupcake Heaven

Winter. Growing up it meant boots and mittens, sleds and snowmen. In Memphis it means grey skies and rain, plunging temps followed by 60 degree days, and sometimes a little ice. In the span of one week I can go from sleeping with the windows open to freezing my fanny off. This week will be just that. So in honor of our 13 degree Thursday on its way, we are going to cupcake heaven. The most wonderful vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, iced in pink and dusted with pearl sugar. Add a hot chocolate if its in the 30's, cold milk if you see the 50's. Either way it really IS heaven.

Working at WS, I have tried the entire line of Sprinkles Cupcake mixes. They really are great if you are not a scratch baker. But, they really are expensive, about $14 for a mix that makes 12 and that doesn't include the frosting. Scratch is always better.

This is a good place to reinforce the quality of ingredients. Unsalted butter, kosher salt, Nielsen-Massey Vanilla, paste food coloring. No substitutes allowed, really. Why?

First, unsalted butter. The salt in salted butter ranges from 1.5% to 3%. If there is no standard, it is impossible to know how much you should add. Too much and yuck, too little and the depth isn't there. Use unsalted and add the salt yourself!

But add only Kosher Salt. Almost every baking recipe calls for salt, and it is critical to the depth of flavor. In a yeast recipe it helps slow the fermentation giving the bread a tighter gluten structure (I could use tighter "glutens" myself), and it helps deter the growth of bacteria and molds. Kosher salt has an interesting structure to it, almost like a pyramid which means it dissolves easily and is truly more flavorful than table salt. It is also additive free.

Nielsen-Massey Vanilla. This is Bourbon vanilla and these slender beans come from Madagascar. The flavor is unparalleled. I have had friends make my recipes and complain that it wasn't the same. The difference is always the vanilla. Yes, it is expensive, but so worth it, especially in buttercreams, meringues and sugar cookies. There is no comparison with the stuff in the grocery store. And if your bottle says imitation...well I wouldn't even turn the oven on. Tahitian vanilla is wonderful, but will lose its flavor when baked, use this delicate vanilla for pastry creams or ice creams.

Paste Food Coloring. Basically it is the liquid food coloring partially dehydrated. This means a small dab will give you very intense color. The best part is that companies like Wilton have a rainbow of colors to choose from, and they never seem to go bad. A great investment!  So now what?

We bake!  This is a basic yellow cake that everyone raves about.  The icing, well, I wish I had a specific recipe, but I really go by look, taste and texture. But I have given you a baseline.  Remember, only the best will do, take your time and give these to someone who is really special.

The Best Yellow Cake

2 1/4 cups flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 T butter Unsalted, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 t vanilla, only Madagascar vanilla here!

3 eggs, large

1 1/3 cups milk

Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.  Cream butter and sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.  Add part flour mixture and then milk alternating until all is combined.  

An ice cream scoop works great to fill cupcake cups.  Fill 24 to about 2/3 fill.  Bake at 350 for about 16 minutes.  They should look moist, but a tester should come out clean.  

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1 pound box confectioner's sugar

3 T milk (more or less to desired consistency) 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the butter and vanilla, add confectioner's sugar and milk until you have the consistency that you want.  Use all the sugar! You want the frosting to be soft and moist if you are hoping to get sprinkles to stick.  If you are just spreading it on, you can make it a little thicker.  Add food paste coloring with a toothpick, just a small glob at a time.  The color is very saturated so start slow and add it as you go! 

There you go.  The secret is out. The cupcakes you all love are right here.  Get in there and bake!!! 

What's for Dinner?

There's a loaded question. If I say chicken, everyone groans. If I say chicken Caesar salad or chicken fajitas, everyone is happy. It is all in the description. Mondays are one day that there is no practice, I generally don't work, so I have time to think things through. I spoke to a friend on Sunday when she was cooking dinner, steaks on the grill and baked potatoes. Sounded delicious. My problem is I like rib eyes. The most marbled, fattening steak out there. And my family is not really into baked potatoes, although I like them. So I decided to take the idea and modify it.
I went to Kroger, where I never shop. They have a huge store here and I was awed. In the meat department I found flat iron steak. I have never seen this at my regular market, but I have seen it many times on the Food Network and Top Chef. So I bought a flat iron. My plan was to make a chimichurri sauce with it. Which is basically Argentine pesto. I also bought a head of cauliflower for mock mashed potatoes. Always a salad. And beautiful strawberries and angel food for dessert. Yum. I get all the taste I want for a little better nutrition.
I started with recipes, and then, well you know, changed them.
Flat Iron with Chimichurri
8 cloves of garlic crushed (be sure to pull out that little green root inside of it)
1/2 cup of fresh Italian parsley
a squeeze of cilantro that I have on hand in a tube, but you could use a few Tablespoons of fresh
1/2 cup olive oil
4 Tablespoons of sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper
Blend it until it is fairly smooth.
I put a few Tablespoons all over the steak and put it in a Ziploc and chilled it until dinner time. Take it out about 15 minutes before you heat the grill.

Mock Mashed Potatoes
1 head cauliflower, cleaned and cut
2 Tablespoons butter
Salt and Pepper
Steam the cauliflower covered over a pan of boiling water. When it is cooked, toss into a food processor and blend until smooth. If needed, add a little of the cooking water to thin it out. Add the butter and salt and pepper. Combine well. This can be made ahead and reheated. I don't think it tastes like mashed potatoes, it tastes better! Very low in carbs, has some fiber and you keep its nutrients when you steam vs. boil it.
Heat the grill to high, and let the meat come to room temperature. It takes about 5 minutes a side for medium rare.
While the steaks are cooking, take about 1 Tablespoon butter in a small saucepan and heat until it just starts to brown, add your chimichurri sauce and cook for a minute or so. When the steaks are done, let them rest a few minutes before you slice. Top with the sauce, a side of mashed goodness. Finish with a salad. Delicious!

Bottega Favorita for Susie!

I justify cookbooks like other women justify shoes.  Do I really need it?  Do I have one similar that maybe is a little outdated, stained, lose binding?  When will I use it?  Is it worth it if I only cook one or two things out of it?  Of course it is very easy to say yes, yes, yes.  A cookbook to me is like a novel.  I read it, I go back to it, I flag pages, plan recipes, admire the photos.  So last Thursday I went to Williams Sonoma and met Frank Stitts.  His new cookbook is Bottega Favorita and I probably would have bought it even if I couldn't have it signed.  

He made the Capellini Gratin to taste, it was very yummy, and scented the store like an Italian trattoria!  He is a genuine man, very kind to the staff and the customers, and really makes some of those celebrity chefs look like oafs.  I was chatting with the staff before the signing and we were talking about my blog, so he signed my book appropriately enough, "To Susie, Here's to Cooking and Blogging.  Frank Stitts"  I  gave him my card, so perhaps he'll drop by the blog sometime!

I had browsed the book before, but I approach a cookbook like a novel.  Start at the beginning. I am one of those people who reads the forward and the acknowledgments. Go to the movies with me and you WILL watch the credits to the bitter end!  So I started at the beginning of Bottega. The forward is pretty long for a cookbook, but I dove in without looking at the author. By the time I finished, it is four pages, I wanted to go to Bottega and The Highlands and I wrote down the author, Warren St. John to read one of his books.  This is a forward that really comes from the heart.  This is a patron, a foodie, a fan and he also has the gift of prose.  I am anxious to find one of his books.  So, not even past the forward yet, I have to say that Frank's wife Pardis has the most beautiful coat on in the photo in the forward.  I am not a clothes hound, so if it catches my eye, it's got to be darling!

The rest of the book, is a cookbook.  Lots of photos, original recipes. One chapter is called Cin Cin! and Cheers! (say chin chin, Chantal taught me that when I was 5!)  and is full of cocktail recipes, including homemade limoncello.  They look refreshing and sadly for those who know me, they look like hives on ice.  I have an alcohol allergy that seems to appear in the presence of citrus.  But alas, I will try Harry's Bellini on a spring day to celebrate something great!  Just one.  

There are dozens of recipes  I found inspiring.  I never use bottled salad dressing,  I sort of wing it in the blender every night.  I like looking to see other formulas, and use them as a guidepost.  I realize most people read a recipe, follow it to the T, and consider it finished.  I read a recipe, alter it to fit my taste and ingredients, make it from there and then consider how I will do it next time! I think chefs and cookbook authors understand to some they are the authority and people expect the recipe to be perfect as is, to others (like me) they are making suggestions and planting ideas to foster creativity of the home cook.

My first Bottega recipe I tried was Bucatini with Clams, Pancetta, Hot Chili and Rapini.  My finished dish looked nothing like this recipe, but it was certainly the inspiration.  I love Bucatini.  It brings me back to this restaurant in Rome.  We toured the Vatican and Palatine Hill all day in a downpour.  All 26 of my family members came into this restaurant and they led us to the banquet room.  We had great food.  Christina had the biggest Calzone, I had this spicy bucatini, my mom had marinara sauce that was divine.  I looked all over Memphis for Bucatini, to no avail.  When I found it at the Italian market in Florida, I bought 5 packages.  I can't make it without spice, it just wouldn't be right.  So the Bucatini in this recipe did not change.  I opted for shrimp instead of clams for Christina.  My grocer doesn't carry rapini, so I went for Swiss Chard which I love.  There is no substitute for pancetta, it is one of my favorites, so I kept that.  

The recipe also called for 2 dried chiles.  That was a little vague for me.  I have bags of dried chiles from New Mexico, but I was unsure if it would give me the heat I needed.  I brought home a large quantity of dried seasoning from Italy.  Crushed red pepper, dehydrated garlic, carrots, onions.  It is very colorful.  I was a little afraid the peppers had lost their zip since it is a little old, but thankfully no.  There was just enough heat in a tablespoon of this.  It turned out to be the perfect meal for the flu.  Garlic, olive oil, hot peppers, lemon...this is the Italian cure for sickness.  Chicken soup? How boring! 

Bottega Spicy Bucatini Susie's Way

Olive oil

4 cloves of garlic

2 fat slices pancetta, chopped 

Heat...dried crushed red pepper (1 teaspoon) or dried Arrabbiata seasoning (1 Tbsp)

1 bunch of Swiss Chard, chopped, with a little of the stem

Shrimp, about 1/2-3/4 pound

3/4 cup white wine

1 pound Bucatini

2 T butter (I misread this and 2 T made a wonderful sauce!)

Juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

fresh Italian parsley

Heat the olive oil and brown the garlic cloves.  Add pancetta and chiles,and cook until the pancetta begins to get a little brown.  Add the chard and cover to wilt.  Remove the cover and add wine and shrimp.  

Meanwhile cook Bucatini in salted boiling water until al dente.  Do not discard all the pasta water.

When the shrimp is cooked through, remove from heat.  Add the Bucatini, butter, lemon juice and toss.  Add salt and pepper and parsley to taste.  Add a Tablespoon or two of the pasta water to any leftovers to keep them juicy for tomorrow!

A few notes.  Bucatini is hollow spaghetti, you need a sturdy pasta for this dish. The dried seasoning, chiles or whatever, soften when added early and the flavor is much better than adding dried red pepper at the end like you would on a pizza.  Bake it on the pizza sometime, big difference!  Finally, pasta water.  This is good stuff.  It's a little starchy and salty, but adds depth to a dish that needs liquid.  I always save a few tablespoons to add before I store the pasta dish as leftovers.  

So, a wonderful way to jump into a cookbook.  I feel better, and the dish was spicy and flavorful.  Sorry Pasquale that you weren't here, it was right up your alley!  I can hardly wait to hit the dessert chapter.....Zabaglione Meringue Cake, this one will be made exactly to Frank's specifications, I'm adventurous but not dumb!   Buon Appetito!

Buy the book at Amazon.com