Updated: Chocolate Guinness, Whiskey & Bailey's Cupcakes, phew!

Okay! You might remember a post about these cupcakes from last year: Cupcakes: March 28, 2011.  It's hard to believe how far I've come with my recipes and techniques, it's been interesting to go back to some old recipes and try again.  Bare with me folks, I'm hoarding my tried, true, tested, & approved recipes for the long awaited cookbook! But not everything is mine,  here's the original location for this cupcake recipe: Smitten Kitchen. Anyway! I find it's so fun to try older recipes again and see how much I can improve them. Uh, success?! These cupcakes were already a success but a few tweaks with ganache and general baking practice they came out even better!

I've finally figured out the sufficient amount of batter to put in cupcake liners.  Sometimes I use a ladle but mostly I  pipe it into liners.

The recipe calls for 1-2 tsp. of whiskey in the ganache...I went with 4, okay a little over 4.  Let's just say I wasn't careful.

Time to core the cupcakes...oh darn, time to sample!  There are several ways you can core a cupcake, my favorite is with a melon baller.

It took a few hours for the ganache to cool and harden enough where it wouldn't melt the cupcake.  I used a different kind of chocolate - more cocoa butter - so it took a little longer to solidify.  I pipe the ganache (or any filling) when it comes to the center of cupcakes.  Much, much easier!

Almost there!  Time to make the bailey's frosting.  To balance out the flavor and to add moisture to the frosting, I used a little whipping cream when it got a little stiff.  Taste test to see if the Bailey's is too intense or just right.

I piped just enough to cover the ganache center as this is a very rich cupcake!  Plus, it was for St. Patrick's Day so I went for the 3-leaf clover - which is the actual kind of clover unless you happen to turn over a 4-leaf - if so and you meet a leprechaun, give him my name and number!
Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie, kinda-sorta

Happy post-St. Patrick's Day! How's that headache treating you my fine non-Irish friends? Let's just get this out of the way, not everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day...and we all know it the moment you reached for the Advil this morning. I'm just saying...
On another note, it was so hard not to make Corned Beef and Cabbage with Mashed Potatoes last night! Still, I decided to come up with a solution to our Corned Beef Blues...Veggie Shepherd's Pie. What a terrible thing to do to Shepherd's Pie I know, but it was actually quite yummy! 
Considering the lack of meaty-goodness in the pie I decided to have a crust for this recipe. Simple, store brand pie crust will do. 
Mold crust to a pie plate - the size of your choice but I went with a 9". Bake at 375deg. for about 12 minutes, just to get the crust to start to brown - this will prevent your crust from becoming a soggy mess under your veggies and taters. 
First, steam up some bite-size veggies of your choice although I recommend broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts and peas. Cook until al dente - meaning, still crunchy but not rock hard.
Chop up one large yellow onion and crush 3-4 cloves of garlic and saute in some butter until translucent.
Meanwhile, don't [and I meant don't] purchase any other potatoes besides red-skin. The flavor is absolutely necessary for this dish and leaving the skins on provides you with some good vitamins! Rinse about 6-7 medium sized taters, remove any unwanted blemishes and cut up into decent sizes before boiling in a large pot - cutting up potatoes will help them to cook faster in the boiling water. Boil until you can easily stick a knife or fork into a large piece. Drain and get ready to mash!
Add your al-dente veggies to the onion and garlic mixture and pour in a Shepherd's Pie Mix. Sometimes you can find Lipton/Knorr's brand in your grocery store in the International aisle, but don't count on it [If you can't find it, or don't want to order it, try using some mushroom gravy to get the same effect]. Only mix with about 250ml of water and pour over veggies and simmer until thickened. Add a squirt or two of ketchup, mix and pour into the crust.

It tastes better than it looks...

Mash your potatoes with a variety of combinations: butter, milk, cream cheese, sour cream, more garlic, parmesan, s/p, etc. Or, with just some butter and milk. However you like your mashed potatoes. Cover the veggie mixture and place in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes and Enjoy! 

Tonight: Mixed greens with goat cheese, cherries and lemon-mustard vinaigrette