# Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Cranberry Lime Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Recipe

Adapted from Paula Deen’s recipe. Makes 2 ½ dozen. If you prefer, use your favorite cupcake recipe and add in the cranberries and lime zest. Frost with lime buttercream frosting.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • A scant ½ cup whole buttermilk
  • 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon lime zest (2 limes)

  • Lime Buttercream:
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 Tablespoon lime zest ( 2 limes)
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pans with paper cups or foil liners.

In large bowl beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In small bowl combine milk and buttermilk.

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites at high speed with mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the cupcake batter. Gently stir in cranberries and lime zest until combined.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22-23 minutes or until done (toothpick inserted into certain of cupcakes should come out clean when done).

Remove from oven, allow to cool on rack 10 minutes, carefully remove cupcakes from muffin tins, allow to cool and frost.

Directions for Lime Buttercream:

In a large bowl, beat butter and lime zest at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and heavy cream. Beat well until fluffy and smooth.

download pdf version  dancing woman

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009 9:46:31 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions

Cranberry Lime Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream

Cupcake

Cupcake

Adapted from Paula Deen's recipe, these cupcakes offer a nice twist of flavors for fall and have become one of my personal favorites.

P.S. Why am I the only person who writes a food blog that can't photograph cupcakes? Arrrgh!


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Tuesday, September 29, 2009 4:23:49 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions
# Saturday, September 26, 2009

What if Dinosaurs didn't Roar????

Blabbersaurus!

Who is the last person that ever heard a dinosaur? Exactly! So why do we think they roar?

What if they quacked like a duck? Or squeeked like a mouse? Or blabbered?

Maybe some dinosaurs evolved to live with us and aren't extinct at all. Maybe they eat chocolate Teddy Grahams for breakfast and run around grabbing anything they can reach.

Sure, no one's seen a T Rex in some time, but did you ever look for a Blabbersaurus? I bet you've seen one, or may even have one living in house!!!!

Blabbersaurus are sly little creatures. When they don't want to be noticed, they don't make a sound. They diligently go about their business of exploration; quietly burying treasure in unsuspecting places...like the refridgerator, or the carpet, or in under the pillow in your bed.

Sometimes they wake you up suddenly from a dream! Blabbering loudly about it being time to wake up and then running out of the room before they can be indentified. "Blabber  Blabber  Blabber.  Get out of bed.  Blabber.  Blabber."

Blabbersauraus are messy eaters too.  And amazingly picky for being so small and unable to provide for themselves. Most like crackers and chocolate milk, and like to leave crumbs on the floor for other creatures that may stir in the night.

These dinosaurs can definitively detect color. They love bright colors and will decorate walls or floors if given the opporuntity. To a blabbersaurus, everything looks better with glue, glitter, paint, or kool aid on it.

While the blabbersaurus has no natural predators, it has developed a very sophisticated mechanism to conceal its indentity.

On rare occaision, when you catch the prehistoric creature running around, tearing up your house, filling your head with nonsense... the Blabbersaurus does the most unusual thing.

It stops. Right where it stands.  Looks at you. Smiles. And hits you with a hug and a kiss.

The hugs and kisses of a Blabbersaurus are intoxicating.

They make you forget everything you thought you saw.

All the destruction. All the noise.

And you go on...forgetting that you ever saw one of these little creatures in your house.





The Muse Gourmet


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Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:03:15 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions
# Thursday, September 24, 2009

Slow Cooker Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

Slow

At our house, fall means one thing...football.

If you are looking for an easy dinner that can simmer all day while you enjoy watching your favorite team, this is a touchdown!

P.S. Don't tell anyone, but it's good for you too.





The Muse Gourmet


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Thursday, September 24, 2009 2:57:24 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions

Slow Cooker Meaty Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

A busy weekend and no time to fuss over homemade spaghetti sauce was the inspiration for this slow cooker version. I wanted something that gave the taste of all day tinkering without the work. This is it. Perhaps my favorite spaghetti sauce yet. If you have an extra cinnamon stick or the rind from some parmesan cheese, toss it in the slow cooker with the sauce for added flavor. Serves 8-10

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sweet turkey sausage
  • 1 pound ground turkey (not the all white meat variety…it’s too dry)
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow or red pepper, chopped
  • 1 large sweet Vidalia onion, chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 heaping Tablespoons pre minced garlic)
  • 3 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes
  • 2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
  • 2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon each dried marjoram, thyme, oregano
  • 3 Tablespoons basil pesto
  • 1 teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper

Directions

In large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, cook ground turkey and turkey sausage (remove from casing) until no longer pink. A cast iron skillet is preferred as it gives the turkey a nice brown color. Drain meat when cooked.

In a large slow cooker (at least 5 qts), add all of the ingredients with the cooked meat. Mix well.

Cover. Cook on low for at least 8 hours.

Serve over hot spaghetti noodles. Note: If you are in a hurry, you can cook the sauce on high for 4 hours, but the flavors will not have as much of a chance to come through and the sauce will taste a bit bland.

download pdf version  dancing woman

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Thursday, September 24, 2009 2:48:55 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions
# Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Caramel Apples and Redwing, MN

Apples

Ahhh...

The autumn equinox. Nothing wakes me up like fall. I love it. The season energizes me. Fall is my spring.

I'm not sure if it's the balance between day and night, or the cooler weather, or memories of the seasons of the past that put me in good spirits, but I always find myself eagerly looking forward to what life will unfold in the year ahead.

When I was in college, I always took a pilgrimage on the the first day of fall and went for a drive to Redwing, Minnesota. I drove with the windows down and appreciated the natural beauty of the trees along the way. Redwing is known for its antiques and pottery. And...caramel apples (at least that's what I remember). I can't think of Redwing without thinking fondly of the caramel apples, crisp and fresh from the season harvest, generously covered in homemade caramel.

It's been years since I've had the pleasure of visiting Redwing, but the fond memories of the caramel apples has never left me. So today, on this first day of fall, I stopped at the local Whole Foods market to pick up the freshest, most delicious Macintosh apples I could find. By the way, if you've never baked with Macintosh apples, you're missing something. There's a reason Yankee Candle has a candle scent dedicated to this king of apples. The aroma when you're peeling the apples is absolutely intoxicating!

So as I write, the windows are open, fresh air is filling the house, and my crock pot is bubbling with apples, cinnamon and honey. And when I wake up, there will be a fresh batch of apple butter, all ready to enjoy of a piece of toast...or all by itself. It's just like a caramel apple without the stick. Hmmm...now I need to make a pilgrimage.





The Muse Gourmet


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Tuesday, September 22, 2009 10:34:07 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions

Caramel Apple Butter Recipe

Fill your home with the aroma of warm apples, cinnamon and honey on a windy fall day. Apple butter is similar to jam. Rich in color from the spices, it’s traditionally served on toast or pancakes but is great to mix in oatmeal for a healthy apple cinnamon flavor, in yogurt, or with ice cream instead of the artificially sweet toppings available at the market.

Ingredients

  • 5-6 pounds Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon grated orange rind
  • ½ - ¾ c honey
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)

Directions

Place apples in a large 5 qt slow cooker

Mix sugar, spices and grated orange rind in a medium bowl. Sprinkle over apples. Mix to coat evenly.

Drizzle honey over the top.

Cook on high, covered for 1 hour.

Reduce heat to low, cook another 10 hours, stirring occasionally if time permits.

Remove cover. Stir. Continue to cook for another hour on low. Stir in butter (optional). Turn heat off.

Use a handheld blender (the kind you use to make shakes) or whisk to smooth out the lumps. Macinstosh apples are pretty soft and there shouldn’t be a lot of chunks left after cooking, so very little mixing is required. If you use other baking apples (which you can), you will want to mix a little more. Allow to cool.P>

Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze.

download pdf version  dancing woman

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009 10:17:58 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)     #    Technorati Blog reactions Blog reactions

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