Muffin Pan Popovers

Hi friends! Hope everyone had a great weekend! The weather here in the NY/NJ area is just AWFUL and makes you want to stay in bed and binge-watch Netflix all day. Although there’s not many times that I DON’T want to do that. Anyway I digress.

My husband made this kick ass muffin pan popovers. They are like little works of art. I’ve never had a popover before, and I have to say – my first experience got me hooked! They are so delicate and light – kind of similar to a croissant but not flaky. We ripped our popovers open and slathered some butter right in the middle. AH-MAZ-ING. They are best served right out of the oven. I had 4 of them in one sitting. FOUR. Not proud of it but I couldn’t help myself. They are so light and airy that I felt like I could allow myself to have a few =)

So, let’s get down to it.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

How To:

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Remove all of the racks from the oven except one arranged in the lower third position. Place a baking sheet in the oven while it heats.

2. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the butter into each well of a 12-well muffin pan; set aside.

3. Place the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Turn off the blender, add the flour, replace the lid, and blend until just smooth, about 30 seconds. Set the mixture aside in the blender.

4. Place the prepared muffin pan in the oven on the heated baking sheet and bake until the butter sizzles, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the muffin pan and the baking sheet from the oven. Pouring from the blender, fill the wells of the muffin pan halfway up with batter.

5. Return the muffin pan and baking sheet to the oven. Bake until the popovers are puffed and the tops are starting to brown, about 20 minutes. (Do not open the oven door during the baking time.) Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake until the popovers are golden brown all over, about 15 minutes more. (Do not open the oven door until the popovers have baked at least 35 minutes.)

6. Remove the muffin pan and baking sheet from the oven and place them on a wire rack. Remove the popovers from the pan and serve immediately.



The original recipe is from Chow.com (click here for original). Hope everyone stays dry!

Make These Mini Cupcakes, Gain Friends for LIFE

How cute is this?!?!? I made these beauties for a bake sale at work which benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Unfortunately, the bake sale was cancelled because of this damn snow storm! I brought them to work anyway so my coworkers could enjoy them! See how to make them below =)


Makes about 24 mini cupcakes. Recipe adapted from epicurious.com

You'll Need for Cupcakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 large egg
• Mini muffin pan
• Mini cupcake wrappers

How To Make Mini Cupcakes:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups with liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg and beat until just combined. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until just combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full, and bake until tops are pale golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in centers comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Invert cupcakes onto a rack and cool completely.

How To Make Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
I didn't use the frosting recipe from epicurious.com. Here's how I made mine, super easy!

• 3 cups of confectioner's sugar
• 3/4 stick of butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 1 drop of red food coloring
• Sixlets chocolate coated candies for the top of cupcake

Beat together butter and sugar. Add in vanilla extract. Add 2 tablespoons of milk at first and check consistency. If you want the frosting a little more spreadable, add another tablespoon. Mix in one drop of red food coloring to achieve the color I made above. Top with one chocolate coated candy or candy of your choice.

I think this particular frosting recipe is GREAT for piping. I don't usually pipe frosting for my cupcakes, simply because I was afraid I wasn't good at it. I gave it a whirl, and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Just one drop of food coloring gives you the most beautiful, light pink shade. My mom suggested topping them off with the turquoise candies, which was a great idea! 

Thanks for reading! Xo

Fried Risotto Cakes

Want to use that leftover risotto in a fun and tasty way?

Enter - RISOTTO CAKES!

My husband is always thinking up fun, new recipes and this one didn't disappoint! We had two risotto cakes each for lunch and they were the perfect snack on this snow day!

Here's what you'll need:

• Leftover risotto
• Flour
• Eggs
• Bread crumbs
• Oil to fry in (we used vegetable)

Step 1 - Take leftover risotto and roll in flour, egg and bread crumbs in that order as seen below:

Step 2 - In a nonstick skillet, fry risotto mixture in hot oil until golden brown.

Step 3 - Shove in mouth like a beast.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Thanks for reading!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake Recipe

Hi dolls! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. This year, my husband and I hosted Christmas Eve and it ROCKED. It was so nice to have both families together under one roof. For the special occasion, I wanted to make a really awesome dessert. My boss is an avid baker, so I knew she would have some fun ideas for me. She gave me this recipe, and said that she makes it for every holiday at her home. Her family BEGS for it! I took her word for it, and she wasn't wrong. This cake is absolutely delicious! My husband is not a big chocolate person, and even he couldn't get enough of this cake.

I made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe (outlined below). What made this cake extra special to me was the sprinkles. A co-worker gave them to me - they are from her family in Holland. They are the real deal, no joke chocolate sprinkles and they were the perfect topping for this cake! She said when she visits her family in Holland, they melt these sprinkles on top of bread for breakfast (OMG). Check out the pictures below, and the recipe from Hershey's. Enjoy!

What You'll Need
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1-2/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/3 cups water
1/2 cup finely crushed hard peppermint candy (optional - I didn't use)
Buttercream frosting (recipe follows)
Additional crushed hard peppermint candy (optional - I didn't use)
Sprinkles (not from the original recipe, I added these)

Directions for Cake - Hershey's Old Fashioned Cake Recipe

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl; beat on high speed of mixer 3 minutes. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder; add alternately with water to butter mixture, beating until blended. Add candy, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

4. Frost with buttercream frosting. Just before serving, garnish with peppermint candy, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

Buttercream Frosting (makes one bowl)

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.



Hope you guys have a great New Year's! Until next time .. xoxo

20 Unique Gifts Under $100! For the Baker, Chef or Food/Drink Lover on Your List!

Tired of seeing all the same boring crap on every website for the “food lover in your life?” Not here! I have a lot of bakers, chefs and food enthusiasts in my life, so I myself have been searching the internet high and low for the perfect gifts. I’ve compiled some that I thought were unique and interesting, and where to buy them. I tried to include different price ranges for everyone on your list. All gifts are $100 or less. Enjoy!

  Single Serve Stack Wines

Single Stack - $12.99

Set of 4 Stacks - $49.99

www.liquorama.net

Picnic Backpack for Two

$90

www.fancy.com

Muffin Top Baking Cups

$15

www.karmakiss.com

Berry Measuring Spoons

$4.99

www.worldmarket.com

NJ License Plate Cutting Board (available in other states)

$24

www.amazon.com

Zoku Ice Cream Maker Gift Set

$40.95

www.williams-sonoma.com

 Set of 6 - Hawaiian Salt Collection by Spice Lab

$34.95

www.cooking.com

Ice Cream Cone USB Drive

$11.99

www.aurabuy.com

Foot Network Magazine - 1 Year Subscription + Free Tote

$12.00

www.foodnetworkstore.com

Bodum Caffettiera Colored French Press, 8 C. - Assorted 

Originally $34.95, now $14.95

www.chefcentral.com

 Mackenzie Childs Teapot

$100

www.neimanmarcus.com

 Toaster Grilled Cheese Bag 

Dishwasher safe, can re-use one bag up to 50 times!

$9.99

www.uncommongoods.com

 Spiderman Apron

$19.99

www.retroplanet.com

  Pizzacraft - The Perfect Pizza Grilling Pizza Stone

$59.95

www.chefcentral.com

Alice in Wonderland Silver Flask

$25

ValleyGirlDesigns on Etsy.com

Nostalgia Electrics Retro Cookie Gun and Decorator

$19.99

www.bedbathandbeyond.com

kate spade new york Pearl Place Set of 2 Collection

$50 for set of two

www.macys.com 

Flavored Olive Oil Sampler Set (6 Bottles X 50ml Each)

$18

www.amazon.com

Mini Cupcake Spatulas

$3.49 each

www.cookincolor.com

Wilton Checkerboard Cake Pan Set

$15.99

www.wilton.com

Hope you guys got some good ideas from my list! And remember - always look for coupons or coupon codes online before purchasing. There are a lot of good deals during the holidays, so do a little research before buying. I also love the Retail Me Not app - it gives you coupons daily and tells you which stores are having sales. Happy shopping!

Making Pizza - Step by Step

How good does this look?! My husband and I were so proud when we finally sat down to devour it.

My father started making pizza from scratch a few years ago, and it never disappoints. He is so good at it, he has friends and family over specifically for pizza parties! And as you could imagine, no one ever goes home hungry. He shared his pizza dough and pizza sauce recipes with us, and the pizza came out awesome! Of course there is always room for improvement, but is homemade pizza ever really BAD?

My dad uses both recipes from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. For those who have never watched the show, it's actually a pretty fascinating concept. The chefs try hundreds of recipes in their test kitchen, to determine the best of the best - best mac & cheese recipe, best way to cook stew, the best bake ware, and so forth. As my mother would say "Why try a ton of different recipes to find the best one, when they've already done it for you?" So, this wonderful show spawned a couple of cookbooks, and my family uses them constantly!

Pizza Dough recipe (From America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
Makes about 2 pounds of dough, enough for 3 (12 inch) pizzas

4 1/4 cups bread flour
1 envelope instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups warm water

We knead ours in our Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook and it works wonderfully. Others use a food processor. You can of course knead by hand, but be prepared for it to take a while. And for your arms to hurt!

Pizza Sauce Recipe (From America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper

Classic Cheese Pizza - How to
1 pizza dough (above)
pizza sauce to liking (above)
12 ounces mozzarella shredded (3 cups)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
6 tablespoons torn fresh basil (we didn't add)

1. Heat up pizza or baking stone at 500 degrees (about 30 min). If you don't have one, I've seen people use a regular baking sheet as well.

2. Roll out pizza dough on a floured counter, and cut evenly into 3 pieces. Work with one piece, and cover the other 2 in plastic wrap. If you're only making one pizza, freeze the other two. They freeze well.

3. Shape and stretch the dough into a 12 inch round on parchment paper. Ours was NOT nice and round, just do the best you can. Add your sauce, cheeses, oil, as seen in our photos below. Make sure to leave some space for your crust.

4. Slide pizza and parchment paper onto pizza stone or baking sheet.

5. Bake 8-13 min, until crust edges are brown and until cheese is golden in spots.

6. Remove from oven, transfer pizza onto a cutting board and discard parchment paper.

7. Cut into slices.

8. Enjoy and make everyone jealous of your pizza!

Adding our pizza sauce and cheeses! I'll admit, I kinda overdid it with the cheese =)

Last time, we used parchment paper and it burned a little bit in our oven, yikes.

This time, we used the back of a baking sheet with some cornmeal.

The cornmeal helps slide the flimsy pizza onto the hot pizza stone. 

 My husband and I sitting on the floor, watching our pizza cook! 

We weren't sure how quickly our oven would cook, so we just sat and watched it =)

Ta DAAA!! We added some pepperoni to half our pizza. 

It came out delicious and we will be definitely trying it again. 

A few tips:

1. How long to leave the pizza in takes time to master, in my opinion. I thought the pizza was cooked well, whereas Greg thought it could have been cooked a little longer to crisp up the crust more. I guess it depends on your taste.

2. Getting a paddle peel (wooden paddle used to take pizza in and out of oven) might make sense if you are serious about making pizza. This was only our second time doing it ourselves, and could have definitely used one. As I mentioned before, it's kinda tough getting the raw dough into the oven since you can't really touch it without it ripping, folding, etc. 

3. Get creative with toppings! There are plenty of websites out there to get inspiration from - my dad has been on a bacon and pineapple pizza kick lately. It sounded disgusting when he first mentioned it, but now it's one of my favorites! You don't have to go crazy - add some pepperoni or try a white cheese pizza.

4. Experiment with different amounts of pizza sauce and cheese to get the mix just right. 

5. Practice rolling out your dough. This part doesn't come easy. We took a cooking class last year, and our instructor showed us how to make pasta dough (very similar). Getting the dough the right shape, thickness, consistency takes practice, so don't get discouraged. 

As we continue to improve our pizza making techniques, I will be sure to update you guys on any new tips and tricks we learn along the way. As always, thanks for reading!! 

Turkey Tacos - Easy Weekly Meal

What You'll Need:
1 pound ground turkey (we get the 93% lean)
A non-stick skillet
Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican shredded cheese
La Banderita Soft Tacos (we try to get the low carb ones - they taste the same!)
1 packet of Taco Seasoning mix
Hot sauce (optional)

*This makes about 8 tacos. We usually have 2 each and that's enough for us. We take half the ground turkey and freeze it (4 tacos for now, 4 tacos for another day after work). For four tacos, we use half a packet of taco seasoning, and cheese and hot sauce to our liking.


How to Make:
1. Heat up skillet on stove top. Press ground turkey in pan and flatten. Brown one side well then flip turkey over. Because we are using non-stick, we don't need any oil or butter in the pan.
2. Break up turkey into small taco-sized pieces using spatula or wooden spoon.
3. Add some water (about 1/2 cup) and taco seasoning, and reduce.
4. Add seasoned turkey into the soft tacos, add cheese and hot sauce, and roll up into taco shape.
5. EAT!

These tacos are SO easy. They are a great meal when you don't really feel like cooking. The turkey cooks pretty quickly and that's the only "cooking" part needed. Sometimes my husband makes his own taco mix vs. the pre-made mix. We like to heat up the soft tacos on the stove top or the microwave right before we put the turkey in - it keeps everything warm and helps to melt the cheese. You can definitely use a regular skillet vs. a non-stick, just make sure to add some oil to avoid sticking.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!