Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I hosted a BBQ/pool party for the 4th of July and wanted to serve a festive looking and tasty dessert. The whoopie pie craze is on so I decided to try making red velvet with cream cheese filling. I could top them with red, white and blue sprinkles. 

I found this recipe online posted by Brown Eyed Baker that seemed perfect:

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Makes about 2 dozen whoopie pies

For the pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk

For the cream cheese filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening and both sugars on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and the red food coloring and beat until just blended.

4. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk to the batter and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and remaining ½ cup buttermilk and beat until completely combined.

5. Using a spoon (or a cookie scoop, which is what I used), drop a tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

6. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling. In the bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high; beat until creamy and smooth, about 4 minutes.

7. To assemble: Spread or pipe the filling onto the flat side of one cake. Top it with another cake, flat-side down. Repeat with the rest of the cakes and filling.

Storing: Whoopie pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Because these are moist, you may leave the container top slightly open. If you need to stack layers, place a piece of wax paper between layers.

They looked AMAZING! However, mine didn't taste very good. The filling was great, but the cakes didn't taste sweet enough. I determined that I had a blonde moment, and forgot to add the 1 c. of granulated sugar! ALL THAT WORK! We ate most of them anyway but, this is a lesson in checking, and double-checking your ingredients for accuracy. I'll surely try them again soon. ;-) Whoopie!

Ravio ... sagna?

Makin' Ravioli? Or not?

I've been wanting to make homemade ravioli ever since it was a challenge on Master Chef. Can't beat the texture and taste of fresh pasta.

I don't have a pasta maker, but my Sis told me I could by fresh pasta sheets at a DeFalco's Italian Deli & Market. Great! I bought the pasta sheets and laid them out to start assembling the ravioli. Just as I turned my back to prep the filling, my "assistant" cut the pasta sheets into individual little squares! OMG! Breathe, OK, we'll make it work. Since I had leftover ground turkey and mushroom bolognese sauce I decided to do a spinach and cheese filling with ricotta and Italian 6-cheese blend, seasoned with garlic and a little cayenne pepper. Yum!

Here's where it all goes to heck: the pasta sheets were already cooked to al dente! I noticed they seemed rigid so I soaked them in warm water first and they did soften up, so I thought all was well. Far from it! As I attempted to crimp the edges, egg wash and all, the pasta just crumbled! It was horrifying. Now what?

To save this dish, I put 1 layer of pasta squares (lol) in the bottom of a baking dish then proceeded to dolop filling on each. I repeated until the pasta and filling were gone; got about 5 layers. I poured the bolognese over it all and baked it covered at 350º for 30 mins. Then covered the top with cheese and put it in at 425º until it was melted.

I gotta' say, this was quite definitely the best lasagna I've had! Mistakes WILL happen. Just roll with it and make it something spectacular!

Dad's Blueberry Refrigerator Cheesecake

Who doesn't LOVE Cheesecake? Our Dad used to make the best no-bake cheesecake on the planet! I have never seen the recipe written down, but do remember peeking over the counter every time he made it. (I loved to lick the sweetened condensed milk can!)

I recently attempted to reproduce Dad's recipe from what I could remember as a little girl and it brought tears to my eyes! It had the same wonderful lemony-cheesecake flavor and brought back so many great memories. This is the stuff!

Dad's Blueberry Refrigerator Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 packages honey graham crackers (35 squares)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:
2 blocks cream cheese*
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 sm. envelope lemon instant pudding
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
1 can blueberry pie topping**

1. Crush graham crackers to a crumb consistency.
2. Add melted butter and cinnamon to the graham cracker crumbs and mix well.
3. Press into the bottom of a rectangular baking dish or two pie pans.
4. Bake crust at 350º for 6 minutes; allow to cool completely.
5. Beat cream cheese and vanilla on high until whipped; appx. 5 minutes.
6. Add sweetened condensed milk, pudding and milk and continue beating until well mixed.
7. Pour filling onto the graham cracker crust and smooth until even.
8. Refrigerate for 15 mins.
9. Pour blueberry topping onto cheesecake and carefully spread evenly.
10. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

* You can substitute for Neufchatel cheese for low-cal.
**Also great with cherry topping.

Miss B's 1/2 hour Skillet Chili

I recently mistook an aluminum foil-wrapped package of steaks for ground turkey so my whole dinner idea was scrapped! After a quick look through the refrigerator and pantry, it hit me ... turkey black bean chili! And it came together in less than one hour with 1/2 hour total cooking time! Here's how I did it:

Miss B's 1/2 hour Skillet Chili
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 c. chopped white onions
1 can chopped tomatoes, *chili flavored, with juice
1 can chopped tomatoes, *jalapeno flavored, with juice
1 can black beans, drained
1 sm. can fire roasted green chiles, chopped
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 minced jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
few dashes cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 bottle beer (Blue Moon, or any darker beer, or any meat stock)

* If you can't find the flavored chopped tomatoes, just use plain but increase the chili powder to 2 Tbs. and add 1 tsp. garlic salt. Should do the trick!

1. In a large cast iron skillet on med/high heat, add the ground turkey, chopped onions, chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper and cayenne. Sautee, chopping the turkey down until it's browned (appx. 5 minutes).
2. Once browned, add all remaining ingredients into the skillet and mix well.
3. Reduce heat to med/low and simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 1/2 hour (or more, just keep an eye on liquid level). If you notice the liquid evaporating too quickly, add more beer! (or stock)
4. Serve! Suggestions: in a big bowl with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese. Also great over white rice. ENJOY!

This recipe is so versatile you could add any of your favorite ingredients. Try corn nibblets, chopped green or red peppers, chopped celery, chopped carrots, substitute ground turkey for ground beef or other chopped meat, substitute black beans for kidney beans, etc ... there are so many possibilities with this chili, just have fun with it!

Cupcake Ice Cream Cone Disaster

My friend Sheri was having a birthday and I wanted to make her something special. I heard that you could cook cupcakes in sugar cones and, when frosted, they look just like ice cream cones. How cute!

So, I prepared a package of Betty Crocker "Funfetti"cupcake batter and carefully filled each sugar cone. They were placed in the oven to bake as directed. About half-way through the cooking time, I peeked in the oven to see how they were doing and I was horrified! I had filled the cones nearly to the top and the batter began spilling over, like little, active volcanos! The hot batter literally melted the cones and made a huge mess. Not good! Here's the before photo - LOL! (I do admit, these were still really tasty despite their appearance.)

Luckilly I had another box of cake mix so I started over, but this time I only filled the cones 2/3 full. They cooked nicely this time, however, they seemed a little "flat." I got the idea to cook a separate batch of "tops" by filling a muffin tin 1/4 full. Using a dab of frosting, I adhered a "top" onto each cone and frosted each one. They turned out awesome; just like ice cream cones! Most importantly, Sheri loved them! Here's the after photo ... much better.

Let my mistakes here be your masterpieces. Hope you try making these sometime - just don't overfill!

Bacon ... on the grill?

My sister had a little get-together and we planned to make rib eye steaks with bacon-wrapped asparagus. Since my boyfriend is the "master griller" he decided it would be a good idea to pre-cook the bacon a bit before wrapping the asparagus -- on the grill! (Don't try this at home!) The project started out ok until bacon grease began dripping onto the coals. It quickly caught fire and engulfed the grill in flames about 4 feet high! (If you're ever trying to light a bonfire for fireplace, just use bacon!) Once we got the fire under control the bacon was charred and black; hillarious! After that experiment gone bad, we decided to broil the bacon-wrapped asparagus in the oven instead and it turned out fantastic! DO try this at home ... maybe with a drizzle of hollandaise sauce - YUM!

Really Old Bread

What To Do With Old Bread

When your stuck with lots of leftover bread that's accumulated over a few weeks (sliced, loaves, buns, waffles, cornbread) here's a great way to use them up. Make bread pudding! It's really versitile, you can go sweet with rasins, fruits, cinnamon and nuts, savory with meats, cheese, vegetables and garlic, or a combination such as bacon pineapple or turkey cranberry. Basic bread pudding is really just the vehicle for whatever flavors you want to give it. Get creative!

I had a half-eaten loaf of French bread and a few end pieces of whole grain sandwich bread stuffed in the back of the refregerator for a few weeks. I try not to be wasteful so I decided to make a sweet bread pudding to use it up. I used a recipe and made sure I had the basic ingredients (eggs, milk and sugar - check!). I also found some apricot preserves and pecans so that became my flavoring. I was on my way.

After it came together, the bread pudding baked for about 55 minutes. When it came out of the oven, it had a crunchy top and tasted amazing! Here's the recipe I used, but you can use pretty much whatever you have available for the style and flavorings. Enjoy this recipe. It would make a great breakfast or brunch dish, or have it for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!

Apricot Pecan Bread Pudding
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
4 C. Bread, cubed or torn into 1" pieces (French or mixed breads)
4 Eggs
2 C. Milk
1/2 C. Sugar
3 Tbs. Apricot Preserves
1/2 C. plus 1/4 C. Pecans, chopped
1 Tsp. Nutmeg, ground
1 Tsp. Cinnamon, ground
1/2 Tsp. Clove, ground
Apricot Icing
1/2 C. Cream Cheese Frosting (or homemade frosting)
1 Tbs. Apricot Preserves
1/4 C. Heavy Cream (or milk)
METHOD
Bread Pudding:
Pre-heat oven to 350. Place bread cubes into a cassarole dish and set in oven. In a bowl, wisk together eggs, milk, sugar, apricot preserves, 1/2 C. pecans, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove until well combined. Remove cassarole dish from oven and pour liquid mixture over the bread cubes, saturating each one well. Place into oven and bake, uncovered for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 mins.
Icing:
Mix together all ingredients until well combined. Drizzle over top of bread pudding, and sprinkle with additional chopped pecans. Serve warm.
NOTES
Substitutions
Apricot Preserves: Orange Marmalade, Raspberry Preserves
Pecans: Walnuts, Almonds, Cashews