Snickers + Cupcakes = Happiness

Okay! Here's something I've been working on , after several hours of watching Cupcake Wars [CW], I've been inspired to create cupcakes with a filling and frosting!  The SH loves Snickers and we once again had a potluck, so I took these! Simply, the cupcakes are chocolate - not from a box - filling is homemade caramel, frosting is peanut buttercream with caramel drizzle and peanuts on top.

Here's a little peak at the bowl I was using for the day.  My grandmother also loved to cook and I am blessed to have some of her kitchen items! Here's one of my favorite mixing bowls, even if it's not my biggest.

Of course, with watching CW I've also been picking up some techniques and tips.  I decided to pick up a couple of dispensing tools and for this recipe I decided to try the batter dispenser.  No good. The batter was entirely too thick for this container, it probably would've worked if there was pressure from the top of the container?

See? Try using this chocolate cake recipe from an earlier post. I'm still working on my recipe, I think I've got it.  Next, for the homemade caramel I used my Betty Crocker recipe.  It's important if you've never made caramel before to make this your priority, you don't want to be confused around a large pot of boiling sugar! 
After the cupcakes and caramel have cooled, cut out a small center of the cupcakes with an apple corer, small paring knife or cupcake corer.  Fill with some caramel:

For the peanut buttercream, you can follow this recipe [you can follow the whole recipe if you like!]. Generously pipe the icing over the caramel in any style you want, but the mini-swirls really add a nice look.

Drizzle with caramel and add some chopped peanuts to complete the look.  I have to say, these cupcakes were really delicious, the peanut butter frosting was actually pretty light, well, decadent and light - it's possible. Pick your favorite candy bar and make it into a cupcake, it's easier than you think! Enjoy!

Banana Crunch Muffins

It's Father's Day! A happy and relaxing day to all the dad's out there, heres to my crazy for bananas, can't say no to a muffin, Dad!  Among the cookbooks I got for my birthday was the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten.  If you don't know her, shame on you, you should.  She has a lovely tv show on the Food Network, Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics and several cookbooks - all of which are wonderful. 
I woke up way too early this past Saturday and decided to crack open the above cookbook. What's better Saturday morning than freshly baked anything, not to mention Banana Crunch Muffins?! Needless to say, my SH wasn't far behind me once I put the first batch in the oven.
We buy bananas every week so, they aren't hard to come by in this house, but...the real trick is getting them ripe enough for bread concoctions.  Since we buy bananas so often, we occasionally have one or two left by the end of the week that start to look a little sad.  I toss them into the freezer and I'm sure to always have a few on hand to make some banana something-or-other.  So don't worry if your bananas look like this...

that's perfect! You need three bananas at two different ripeness' for this recipe. The one on the far left is from the current week bananas (for the chopped banana) and the two on the right are slowly defrosting from our freezer (for the mashed banana).  These are the perfect consistency for mashing.  You don't need anything fancy to mash your bananas, simply use a potato masher.  Start working on the flour mixture, I have to recommend King Arthur brand flour. So far, I've found that it's really the best for scones and homemade breads.  Here's the great thing about this recipe, it's so easy! Sifting the flour can easily be done by adding all of the dry ingredients and mixing gently with a wire wisk, fold the dry ingredients over itself and everything will mix just fine.  Don't have a paddle attachment to a stand mixer...don't have a stand mixer? Not to worry, you can easily do the mixing for this recipe by hand. 
I used my own homemade granola for this recipe but if you have a favorite box brand, use it! 

You can see here my preferred storage for dry ingredients I use all the time [granola, coconut, flour, sugar, etc.] while I love the transparent containers, I think I'll go with glass when these need to be replaced, they have lost their luster with a few scratches here  and tend to retain smell a bit.  As discussed in the Lemondrop Cupcake entry, I have been looking for new ways to dispense my batter into cupcake/muffin pans.  I found a winner:

This is an Oxo Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop and it's perfect for thick and regular batters.  It's improving my speed with filling the cups and keeping messed to a minimum. Sortive. I did use the back of a spoon to evenly distribute the batter, but don't spend too much time on this, it's just to make sure your muffins have a nice rounded top.  Don't forget the spatula too, you'll want to scrap the sides of your bowl [gently] to get as many muffins as possible!

I filled the cups almost completely full, just like Ina told me to, and the results were great! Nice big tops, which I think are SH's favorite, with plenty of room for the coconut and granola topping to go as the batter expands during cooking.  I left out the banana chips only because I didn't have them on hand, although, I think it would've added too much crunch for our liking.  I always suggest that you set the time for at least [5] minutes less than what the recipe calls for, you can always stick them back in if the toothpick doesn't come out clean but you can't undo a burnt muffin! I believe mine only took 20 minutes, although I didn't make a note in my cookbook, oops!

We really enjoyed these muffins right out of the oven, but they kept for several days in an airtight container - cool completely before storing.  We had so many that I/we shared with friends and co-workers alike, they were well received.  Next time you're going to have a brunch, overnight company or a saturday morning! consider making these, you won't be disappointed.

I've been maximizing on my birthday presents recently, trying them out for various things.  This cupcake tree really does well with both dainty cupcakes and serious muffins! Not to mention a great facility for photographing my creations.  You haven't seen the last of this kitchen accessory. Enjoy!

Lemondrop Cupcakes

I love lemon.  It's absolutely one of my favorite ingredients. Give me lemon with my chicken, booze, shrimp, water, and now cupcakes!  We had a few potlucks last weekend so I had an opportunity to make a few new cupcakes for the masses.  First we're going to talk about the Lemondrop Cupcakes which were semi-homemade.  

Betty Crocker Cake Mix with homemade frosting - this is the way to go if you're in a hurry to make a dessert, buy a good mix and make your own frosting. There's nothing worse than frosting from a can, really guys, not good stuff.  So, go ahead and make the cupcakes, let them cool.  While your cupcakes are cooling, make some frosting. Start with a plain buttercream - like this one, but omit the whipping cream, use milk if needed.  

Start with the base and slowly add confectioners sugar, when you've added half, add freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Slowly add remaining confectioner's sugar, do a quick taste and decide if you need more lemon [start with 1-2 Tbls].  

Garnish the cupcakes with yellow crystals, lemon rind or candied lemon pieces [see above].  To "candy" lemon, slice a lemon into 1/8-1/4", roll in sugar.  Spray a pan with non-stick spray, heat pan and place lemons in the pan and cook for about 6-8 minutes, flipping once. Absolutely don't let them burn! You're looking for the lemons to glaze over and turn a slightly darker yellow.  

Roll the lemon slices back in some sugar and cut to an appropriate size for the cupcake. Serve & Enjoy! 

Guess what?!

I'm going to CULINARY SCHOOL!  Yup! A little while ago I applied to a local university to their Food Service/Culinary Arts program and I got accepted.  Here's to another degree on the wall and an adventure into a fresh and exciting career!  I plan to continue posting on my cooking creations at home but in addition you'll be inundated with my progress in school - the success and failures, hopefully no one has to spray me with a fire extinguisher...
I plan to make it out with both my eyebrows, refined skills and direction!
Wish me luck! 

Under Construction

Hello everyone! Just to let you know, "ali can cook" is under construction. I'm actually considering switching to another provider, I'm open to suggestions!

So, don't be alarmed if the page looks a little disorganized and weird.

We hope to be up and running again soon, until then, keep cooking & enjoy!

Birthday Dinner

How could I forget my birthday dinner! I've been going full force ahead since Memorial Day I didn't realize I forgot to highlight my birthday weekend of deliciousness.
Being a foodie and all, it just didn't suit to have anyone else make my birthday dinner, I knew what I wanted and how I wanted it done.  I've had ribs for my birthday since I was about 10, no need to break tradition now.  We got ribs from the Meat House applied a Bone Suckin' Sauce Rub and tossed them in the slow-cooker with a little water for about 8 hours.  I drained the fat & water and slathered the ribs in Stubs BBQ Sauce - my favorite is Hickory Bourbon but we went with Original this year.  You just let the flavors mix for about 40-60 minutes in the slow-cooker, turn off or keep warm until serving.
Being a Jersey Girl and all, I wanted sweet corn from a farm stand - I've never found corn in NE as good as Jersey Corn.  So! Here's the way to fix that, boil corn in a large pot with about 1-2 Tbsp. of sugar.  It adds a nice sweet taste without over-doing it - this kind of corn doesn't need butter or s/p btw. Next! Baked, Re-Stuffed Potatoes with crumbled bacon, cheese and chives - not to mention the sour cream, s/p and seasonings in the potato.
Next I needed some homemade mac-n-cheese - well maybe this was over the top in the starch department but so worth it!  This is a personal recipe and absolutely going in the cookbook, doesn't it just look incredible? I baked them in my square pan - which is insane to clean btw - but worth it for portion sizes!

The Sweet Husband made me a cake from Cooks Illustrated recipe that was really good! Simple and delicious, good job honey!

The weekend was filled with yummies, even a fried turkey.  Also an amazing Lemon Cake! Needless to say we ate salad for the week after...

Boys Will Be Boys!

Boys will certainly be boys!  I was thrilled to photograph William and Henry at the beach last week, we've had some wonky weather so I was very happy to see the sun come out for our session.
It didn't take long for William to start taking in the beach but Henry was a little less than excited with the idea of a camera in his face!  When photographing children it takes a degree [or two] of patience and flexibility.  You need to expect that they will be shy, fast and sometimes downright pouty!  Luckily, most kids when they pout, it's still pure gold. Here's a little [somewhat large] sneak peak, there are so many adorable shots to choose from I had a hard time narrowing it down:

Despite everything, I am very happy with the results.  These two brothers were such a joy to photograph and so beautiful!  Off to finished the rest of the photos and get them loaded on to www.alicerichessnow.com for the client! I hope they are pleased! 

The Sandwich Series: "Divine" Vegan Burgers

I know, from Bacon to Vegan? As a foodie and culinary artist, I just can't discriminate.  So here it is, the Sweet Husband and I were doing our regular grocery shopping when we came across a food demo for Divine Burgers.  The SH is not one to pass up free food...it's like a field trip when we visit Costco/BJs... But, I have to say they smelled delicious and I was so surprised at the label:

Check that out! About a year ago I would have lived on these.  Now, I have no other reason other than the fact that SH and I going back to meat only once a week.  They aren't super cheap, for only [4] patties you'll probably spend about $7.99.  You can find them in the freezer section, most likely with the other health, allergy conscious foods.  
I baked these in our small toaster oven - all four - and kept the sandwich construction minimal.  These Vegan Burgers absolutely stand on their own.  They have a little mexican feel to them so they are recognizable to your taste buds.  Think about serving them to your kids, make it a Mexican Fiesta, skip the ground beef and go with these, they may have no idea you're sneaking healthy between their favorite bread.  If you remember, we had a less than desirable experience with making our own bean burgers...ick, I shudder to think about the experience.  Well, let me tell you, $7.99 is okay for me, I'm sure I'll learn how to make a better bean burger, but for now these will certainly do! 

If you prefer to go check this burger out before you buy it, head over to Divine Cafe in NH.  
They are so filling, in a good way, you won't walk away stripped of flavor, substance or nutrition.

The burgers have a sliced tomato or two, organic butter lettuce, freshly baked bread, and a little mayo, no cheese here! Another sandwich that just doesn't need it! We paired our sandwiches up with some homemade guacamole and chips we hand on hand.  It was a "California" afternoon - made me think of Ellen! Enjoy!