Sometimes it's okay to cheat-in the kitchen

While I had every intention of making the most amazing from scratch cupcakes ever for Matt's birthday, it was getting late & I decided to reach for (gasp!) a mix. But they turned out great, so here is how to make Mint Chocolate Cupcakes quickly.

1 Dark chocolate cake mix
1 tsp mint extract
1 recipe Sprinkles Dark Chocolate icing
Ghiradelli Dark Chocolates with Mint
Mix the cake mix up according to directions. Add the mint extract to the cake mix. Bake according to directions. When cool frost with Sprinkles Dark Chocolate icing. Break the Chocolates into pieces & place one on each cupcake.

Now that you have spent less time in the kitchen you can hang out with your birthday girl or boy!

Spicy Steak & Corn Soft Tacos

I went to Safeway & they had top round steaks on sale for $1.49 a pound! I couldn't believe what a great deal, so I bought some with out even knowing what I was going to make. Matt & I are going to Cabo at the end of the month, we are so excited. So I decided to make us some Cabo worthy tacos, they were delicious.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium red onion, sliced

1/2 pound round steak, cut into 1/4-inch-thick, long narrow strips

3/4 cup frozen whole kernel corn, cooked according to package directions, drained

1 jalapeño chili, minced with seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder ( I have this amazing chipolte chili powder from Penzeys)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
flour tortillas

Grated cheddar cheese

Chopped fresh tomatoes

Sour cream

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plate. Add steak to skillet and stir until no longer pink, about 1 minute. Return onion to skillet. Add corn, jalapeño, cumin and chili powder and stir until heated through. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from heat and mix in cilantro. Transfer steak mixture to heated bowl and keep warm.
Warm tortilla, I do this in a metal pie pan, I make a stack of them put them in the oven at 350 5 minutes. Serve tortillas, steak mixture, cheese, tomatoes and sour cream separately, so you can assemble tacos at the table.

How to Sear Scallops

One of my girlfriends bought some scallops to make at home & she said that they didn't turn out. With scallops that can be tough because they are pricey. I think the toughest part about them is there is so much water in them that they can get liquidy in the pan. To avoid this dry them first on a paper towel & get your pan really hot.

1 pound sea scallops
1 Tablespoon oil or butter
salt and pepper
Dry the scallops with paper towels. Salt and pepper both sides.
Heat a large regular (not non-stick) pan for 2-3 minutes so it is quite hot. Add the oil or butter, and then the scallops. Don't let them touch each other. If your pan isn't big enough to do them all at once, keep the first batch under a piece of foil and do two batches.
Cook the scallops about 1½ minutes each side. They should have a golden crust on both ends, and the center should still look translucent. Turn with tongs.
Serve immediately. Serve with greens sauteed in garlic with a squeeze of lemon, with mushrooms in garlic and wine. (like they do at Olive & Ivy in Scottsdale)

Penne with Asparagus & Artichokes

This pasta sounds amazing to me, I love vegetables in my pasta. Pasta can be a great alternative to having a meat in the summer when it is hot. Plus pasta is just as good cold on those hot days!
4 teaspoons pine nuts
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
24 baby artichokes (about 2 pounds), outer leaves discarded, bottoms trimmed, artichokes quartered and rubbed with a lemon half
1 1/2 cups low-sodium nonfat chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 pound penne
3/4 cup frozen baby peas, thawed
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the pine nuts in a pie plate and bake for about 6 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate. Increase the oven temperature to 450°.
In a bowl, toss the asparagus with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Spread the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until browned, shifting the pan every 5 minutes so the asparagus cooks evenly.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the artichokes, cut side down, and cook over moderate heat until just golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice and garlic, cover and cook over low heat until the artichokes are just tender, about 8 minutes.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne until al dente. Drain the pasta well and return it to the pot. Add the asparagus, artichokes, peas, Parmesan and parsley and toss well. Transfer the pasta to warmed bowls; sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and serve.

Happy Birthday to my Matt

Today is Matt's birthday & at the risk of sounding totally cheesy, I love his birthday. We always have so much fun & I just love spoiling him. Matt loves dark chocolate & mint together. When I found this recipe for after eight mint cupcakes I knew it was perfect for his birthday!
Cake:
2½ oz dark chocolate
2/3 cup water
3½ oz butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp peppermint essence
1 cup self-raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup almond meal
Mousse:
11oz dark chocolate
1 tsp peppermint essence
1½ cup thickened cream
4 eggs, separated
4 tbsp superfine (caster) sugar


Decoration:
16 thin square after eight dinner mints
cocoa powder for dusting

Put the chocolate, essence and half the cream in a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate melted and it is a smooth mixture. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
While it is cooling beat the egg whites to soft peaks in a medium bowl. Then gradually add the sugar, a bit at a time, to the egg whites and beat till dissolved. In another small bowl beat the cream until thick. By now the chocolate mixture should have cooled. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork and stir into the chocolate mix. Next fold the cream into the chocolate mix. Now gently fold in the egg whites. Cover and refrigerate for several hours (overnight is good).
Preheat the oven to 330°F
Line a 12 cupcake pan, with cupcake papers. Take the 16 after dinner mints and cut shapes for the tops of the cakes (I have some tiny cookie cutters). Set the shapes aside. Coarsely cut up the off cuts - you need these, so don't go eating them.
Put the chocolate and water in a small saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the chocolate melts and it all combines. Using an electric beater, beat the butter, sugar, eggs and essence until smooth, light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and almond meal into this mixture. Add the chocolate mixture and the off-cuts of the mints. Stir until combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake tins. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, transfer cakes to a rack and cool. Fold up some collars for the cakes using foil. Lightly grease each collar - we used a very light spray of oil. Put collar around cake. (This will create a wall to hold the mousse in) Spoon mousse onto each of the cakes. Refrigerate for 4 or more hours. When ready to serve, gently remove the collars. Dust with cocoa powder. Put the chocolate cut-outs on top.
Serve with extra thick cream and/or ice-cream.

Sprinkle's Lemon Buttercream Icing

It turns out Sprinkle's cupcake recipes are hard to find, I will keep researching! The good news is I have lots of icing for you to try.
This is the lemon butter cream:

1 cup butter, softened
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 the juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Combine butter, sugar and salt and beat till well combined.
Add lemon juice and vanilla and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minute or until creamy.
*This picture is of my friend Jessica's darling daughter Sophie, digging into her 1st birthday cake, I love that she is wearing a bracelet, Sophie is truly Jessica's daughter!

Sprinkles! Dark Chocolate Icing

When I picked up a dozen cupcakes at Sprinkles for my family, I picked out the Vanilla, Red Velvet, Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate & Black & White. Susan Baca, my cousins mother in law is a cupcake connoisseur, so I was desperate to find some recipes for Sprinkle's cupcakes. Here is what I found:

10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 lb. unsalted butter, at room temp
1 lb. 8 oz. powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt and cool chocolate (until just slightly warm). (I like to melt chocolate in a double boiler over a medium low heat)

Beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add chocolate and mix until just incorporated.

*Don't over-whip and add too much air into the frosting. The consistency should be rich and dense, like ice cream!