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Ginger Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

May 25, 2012

Ginger cupcakes with lemon buttercream are a sweet and simple Springtime treat.

For weeks I’ve been craving cake… so, enough talk and a little more action. I decided that since I had been to the farmer’s market and had eaten a relatively healthy lunch that cupcakes were definitely in order.

If I’m going to make cupcakes, more often than not I would go all in. Chocolate. The darker & richer the better… however since it is spring and this weekend marks the “un-official” start to summer I wanted to lighten it up a bit and do something a little different.

If you are anything like me, sometimes you forget all the little treasures you have stashed in your kitchen. I buy things that interest me and then put them away for when the mood strikes, but the unfortunate truth is that occasionally they are forgotten until I stumble upon them (usually when I’m looking for something else).

Well, the latest treasure to be unearthed was candied ginger. I thought it might make an interesting garnish for the cupcake and that was basically my jumping off point.
(well, that and my persistent sweet tooth…)

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If You’re Afraid of Butter, Use Cream…

May 22, 2012

The above is one of my favorite quotes from Julia Child, one of the gutsiest broads to ever hoist a meat cleaver. (and I use that term lovingly)

On August 15th of this year, Julia would have turned 100 years old and I’d like to think would still be cooking.
In the 100 days leading up to Julia’s birthday, the JC100 is celebrating this culinary powerhouse and her recipes. Each week, a new recipe is featured and this weeks offering was Coq au Vin… one of my all time favorites.

I remember watching Julia & Jacques and loved her candor and fearless approach to cooking. She made it seem fun and most importantly, possible. She had a way of walking her audience through a recipe that made complex dishes seem effortless and isn’t that all we really want? To feel like anything is possible?

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Dutch Puff Pancake – My Momma’s Recipe

May 11, 2012

My First Love.

Look at that gorgeous kid… and the baby isn’t bad either! That woman in the pic still makes the best dutch puff pancake in the Western Hemisphere.

The first love of my life: my Mom. As little girls, we often play “house” and pretend to be Mommies to our baby dolls and try to emulate our own mothers. As teenagers, we are less inclined to compare ourselves to our Moms. As adults we come full circle, realizing that “Mom” is a person just like we are who had worries and struggles, peacefulness and triumphs . Mine, like most, had to balance job and kids, errands, our activities, laundry, blah, blah, blah… and yet still found time to take us to movies or little excursions. We didn’t have much, but we didn’t know it. She made the most of what we did have and rarely did we feel like we had “gone without”.

One of my all-time favorite memories, which my Mom & I still giggle about to this day… Ok, this is going to date me a little, but you regular readers already know I turned 40 recently, so here we go:

Do you remember that show from the ’80’s, “V”?! It was about alien-lizards disguised as humans living on Earth. We LOVED this show. It sounds ridiculous, but it was the early ’80’s…
Well, one night we were in our Chevrolet Chevette hatchback (yes, a Chevette hatchback… named “Skeeter”, btw) and there were radio and television towers with flashing red lights on the road. They looked like they were so high up in the sky to me as a little kid… like they could have been lights on an alien spacecraft!

All of a sudden, my Mom hunches down over the steering wheel and starts saying “Oh no, they’re gonna get us!” Well, you can imagine our reaction! My brother & I started screeching & laughing like crazy and she just kept egging us on…

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Cheaper than Therapy…

April 25, 2012

Songwriters often say that they do their best work when they are going through something difficult in their lives. They channel those feelings and pour them into lyrics that move us to our very core.
I don’t write music… I sequester myself to the confines of my kitchen.

Being in the kitchen is cathartic for me, it always has been. Looking back, I’ve realized that it is one of the reasons I love baking.

It brings me comfort in times of sadness, calms me when I’m stressed or anxious, reassures me when I’ve had a particularly rough day.

Baking is my therapy and let’s face it… it’s cheaper than $150 dollars an hour and much tastier.

I find solace in the kitchen, the familiar smells and sounds, the warmth of the oven… being able to “shut off” my brain and do things on autopilot also brings a certain sense of comfort.

Once again, I find myself puttering about in the kitchen late at night when the rest of world is fast asleep.

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And the award goes to…

February 19, 2012

Picture it… Ohio, early 1980’s. A girl and her Momma, glued to the television watching movie stars walk the red carpet. We used to watch the Oscars as if it were a runway show during fashion week. I feigned interest in the actual awards part of the show, but to be perfectly honest I didn’t really care who won “Best Picture”. My Mom was letting me stay up past my bedtime and that was award enough for me.

I have friends who host elaborate Oscar parties and I must admit the thought of it has crossed my mind on more than a few occasions, but considering the size of my shoebox apartment it doesn’t seem to be an option this year.

However, just because I won’t be hosting a gathering doesn’t mean I can’t make some good party food…

I tried to keep it fairly simple, with options that could be served warm or at room temperature. These can also be transported fairly easily if you are a guest bringing a little something to the festivities.

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17th of May

May 17, 2011

These days my neighborhood is primarily Italian, but rewind a couple of decades and you’d see a very different picture. A few blocks over from where I live now used to be Scandinavian, specifically Norwegian. The streets used to be lined with Norwegian bakeries, stores, restaurants, etc. but unfortunately the majority of these have disappeared. However, all is not lost… every year there is a 17th of May parade, which is a national holiday in Norway marking the signing of their constitution and the best part (besides the food) are the people dressed in traditional clothing showing off their Norwegian pride.

photos courtesy of Keith Alexander

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