Seeing Red

Moist and Delicious Red Velvet Cupcakes for Emily's Birthday

I am far, far away from my home and in St. Louis directing a charming holiday comedy called My Three Angels. It's been a fast and furious rehearsal process full of wonderful discoveries and challenges. I am extremely lucky to have this opportunity to work in such a great city with such talented people. Among them is a lovely actor named Emily. She is portraying the role of the ingenue, Marie-Louise, a stubborn and romantically-minded young woman in love with a good-looking douche bag. On one of the first nights of rehearsal, Emily told us that her birthday was today. When I asked her favorite variety of cupcake, she replied without missing a beat: "Red velvet." My mom had been raving about some Red Velvet Cupcakes she had whipped up a few months ago, so I took this as the perfect opportunity to get myself back into the kitchen and try out the recipe. I made a couple of changes to my mom's recipe based on what was on hand in Dan's kitchen. They came out great. Fingers crossed that Emily will like eating this birthday surprise as much as we liked baking them!

Ingredients

- 2 1/2 c. flour

- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp. red food coloring
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 c. room temperature buttermilk
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 Tsp. vanilla, divided
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 c. or so of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin tins with 24 paper liners and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In another bowl combine vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, 1 Tbsp. vanilla, food coloring, and vinegar. Blend until thoroughly combined with a hand mixer. Batter should be smooth, thick, and bright red. In two of three batches, add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture. Blend thoroughly after each addition. Using a tablespoon, fill each cupcake liner with batter to 2/3 of the way full.

Bake cupcakes in oven for about 20-30 minutes until they are cooked through and slightly raised. Remove from oven and cool in pan for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

In the meantime, go ahead . . . taste the batter. You know you want to.

When the cupcakes have cooled completely prepare the cream cheese frosting. Blend together room temperature butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add remaining Tbsp. of vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar to the mixture about a cup at a time and blend after each addition until the frosting has reached the desired consistency. Carefully frost each cupcake with a butter knife or off-set spatula. Yum. Enjoy eating and sharing these tasty little treats!

Sweet Pea Serenade

Fast and Fabulous Creamy Pea and Potato Soup with Ham and Cheese Paninis
Surely I have sung the praises of soup before, but what the heck . . . here I go again. I just freakin' love soup and sandwiches for dinner. They're fast, inexpensive to make, and offer nearly infinite possibilities of ingredients to throw in a pot and shove between two slices of toasted bread. My panini press/griddle/grill is one of my favorite extravagant kitchen appliances. Is it necessary? No. It's not like a great set of knives or a food processor. But, it sure allows for a lot of kitchen creativity. I whipped this dinner up in less than a half hour. I made sandwiches for two, but the soup easily made enough for four with leftovers. Try it out for a quick and yummy weeknight family dinner!

Ingredients
- 4 slices crusty sourdough bread
- 4 slices Black Forest Ham
- 4 slices of your favorite cheese (I had Swiss with mine, my sweetie prefers cheddar)
- olive oil
- fresh ground pepper
- 1 qt. chicken broth
- 6 oz. smokey bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, dinced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- leaves from 5 springs fresh thyme
- 8 oz. frozen peas
- 1 medium russet potato, washed and diced into 1" pieces
- 8 oz. cream cheese cut into 2" pieces
- salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a medium sized heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until bacon is cooked through and begins to crisp. Remove bacon from pot with a slotted spoon, reserving fat in the pot, and allow it to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Add diced onion to bacon drippings and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add garlic. Cook for 1-2 additional minute, stirring to combine, until garlic becomes fragrant. Add potatoes, thyme, and chicken broth and turn heat up to high to bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, cover and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

While the potato mixture simmers, prepare the paninis. Heat the panini press to high heat and brush one side of each slice of bread with a little olive oil. With the oiled side down, stack each sandwich with a slice of cheese, two pieces of ham, a couple grinds of fresh pepper, the remaining slice of cheese, and top it with a slice of bread with its oiled side up. Place paninis on press and grill for about 5 minutes until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted. 

Once the soup has simmered, add peas, and cook for an additional 2 minutes for peas to heat through. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender or blend in batches in a regular blender. Blend until smooth. Return to low heat and add cream cheese, whisking until soup is smooth. Add cooked bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls with sandwiches.

You Put Peanut Butter In My Chocolate!!!!

Chocolate Peanut Buttercup Cakes With Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Surely I have sung the praises of the glorious combination of chocolate and peanut butter before . . . but, if not, here I go again. Seriously . . . are there two flavors better suited for each other? Rich creamy peanut butter with just a hint of salt offsetting the silky bittersweetness of chocolate. Yum. Although the amount of baking I do might suggest otherwise, I'm really not all that crazy about sweets. Give me salty, crunchy snacks any day. For dessert? I love fresh berries. Although heavy, decadent desserts are beautiful to behold and fun to make . . . I just don't crave them. The exception might be some combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Lately, I've been experimenting with cupcakes, the perfect sweet treat for people that don't like to overdo it on sweets.

Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. Greek-style yogurt
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 c. flour
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 1 c. cocoa powder
- 2 c. powdered sugar (or more)
- 1 c. creamy peanut butter
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 18 miniature peanut butter cups, unwrapped

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTERCUP CAKES
Prepare muffin tins by lining with cupcake liners or lightly greasing and then flouring. Set aside and preheat oven to 325˚F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar with an electric or stand mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. With the mixer running, add half of the flour mixture then the yogurt, then the other half of the flour mixture. Blend until smooth, but don't over mix.

Spoon batter into prepared tins, filling each cup to about two-thirds full. Bake about twenty minutes. Remove from oven and carefully press an unwrapped peanut butter cup candy into the center of each cupcake. Continue baking for 5-10 minutes until cupcakes are springy around the melty peanut butter cup. Let cool in cups for about five minutes before carefully removing from tins. Cool completely on rack before frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
In a medium bowl blend together cream cheese and peanut butter with a stand or hand mixer. Slowly add powdered sugar a cup at a time until the frosting is at the right consistency. It will be thick and sticky, a bit candy-like. Frost cupcakes when cooled completely. Store in a airtight container. Yum!

Celebrate . . . With Cake!

Dave Got His Sh** Together Chocolate Raspberry Sour Cream Cake
My pal Dave is great. He's funny, sweet, an excellent drummer, and one heck of a charming guy. Due to his abundance of great qualities, naturally we give him a lot of shit. But sometimes, we give him cake. Last fall he was all prepared to perform his senior drumming recital, basically the capstone of his undergraduate studies and the LAST thing for him to achieve in order to graduate. The date was set, the invitations sent out, and the promise of a taco reception loomed in the horizon. When it all came down to it, however, Dave didn't feel ready. He was particularly nervous about his complicated marimba piece and decided to postpone the recital until the first weekend of Winter Term. This, in the long run, worked out much better. His girlfriend from Michigan was able to fly out and attend, he felt confident about his work, and an enthusiastic audience was eager to lend their support. I asked him if he would like a cake and champagne toast to celebrate post-show and post-taco feast. Dave agreed and requested "a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting." Done. I put this recipe together in honor of Dave and his achievement. And also because even the best moments can be made better with cake.

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1 c. sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1 c. hot coffee
- 1 c. raspberry jam
- fresh raspberries
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 c. or more powdered sugar

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM CAKE
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Lightly grease and flour three 8" round cake pans. Set aside. In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together granulated sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, melt 6 Tbsp. butter in the hot coffee. In another small bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla. Using the stand mixer, beat half of the sour cream mixture into the dry ingredients at low speed. When thoroughly combined, add coffee mixture and blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the remaining sour cream mixture and blend thoroughly.

Pour batter evenly distributed into the prepared cake pans. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, rotating pans half way through baking until cakes are springy to the touch. Let cakes cook in pans for about 10 minutes before turning out on a write rack to cool completely.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
With an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese, stick of butter, and 1 tsp of vanilla. Add powdered sugar slowly, then blend until fluffy and well combined.

When cake is completely cooled set one layer at the center of serving plate or bottom part of a cake dome. Spread half the raspberry jam on top of the cake. Top with the second layer then spread remaining raspberry jam on top of that layer. Top second layer with remaining cake round. Frost the top and sides of cake with an even layer of cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate before serving. (Cake can be made and stored in refrigerator the day before.) Before serving top with fresh raspberries. Slice and toast to life! Congratulations Dave! You did a fantastic job . . . even on the marimba!

Leftover Makeover: Day 1

Cranberry Sauce Cheesecake Tart
The "holiday season" is here and now we look forward to a month and a half of rich dinners, decadent desserts, ugly sweater parties, and food food food. The wonderful thing about holiday cooking is bringing family and friends together to share meals and memories. It's all very warm and fuzzy. The problem, however, is that cooking for large numbers often leads to day after day of turkey sandwiches or cookies for breakfast. The next three blogs will focus on reinventing the leftovers into something new. First things first: cranberries. You can't have a Thanksgiving meal without a gleaming bowl of jewel colored cranberries- the relish of choice over a slice of roast poultry. Year after year, however, no matter how many Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches I make, I always seem to dump a good portion of excess cranberry sauce down the garbage disposal. The solution seemed simple- some sort of dessert. This one also makes use of the leftover gingersnaps I had from my pumpkin pie crust. Enjoy after a plateful of reheated turkey and potatoes!

Ingredients
- 1 c. crushed ginger snaps
- 3/4 c. flour, divided
- 1/2 c. sugar, divided
- 1/3 c. melted butter
- 1 c. cranberry sauce
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. In a medium bowl, combine ginger snaps, melted butter, 1/4 c. sugar, and 1/4 c. flour. Mix ingredients together gently until well combined. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9" fluted tart pan using fingers. make sure mixture is spread evenly on the bottom of the pan. Place pan in the oven and bake about 10 minutes to set crust. Remove from oven and allow to cool before filling.

Turn oven down to 325˚ F. In a medium bowel combine 1/4 c. sugar and cream cheese and whip together with an electric hand mixer. Add vanilla and egg, blend until well combined. Add cranberries and flour and blend until well incorporated. Pour cranberry mixture into pre-baked crust. Do not overfill. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes until filling is set. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Makin' Whoopie . . . Pies That Is

Richard Bradley's Pumpkin Wookie Pies
Baking is the best therapy. Sometimes I find that it is in the moments where my mind is caught in the tempest of stress that the Divine Muses of Baked Goods visit and offer temporary safe harbor from life's occasional emotional storm clouds. I was just having a weird day. Perhaps it was the whole "Falling Back" time change the night before, but something was off. Everyone seemed weird. There was weird energy in the air all around and I just felt like crawling back into bed and calling "reset" on the entire day. On my drive back from the office, suddenly inspiration struck in the form of a pumpkin and cream cheese combination. I quick pit stop at the ol' Trader Joe's and I found solace in the rituals of creaming together sugar and butter. The house smelled delicious, comforting. Later, I brought some of the fresh Whoopie Pies out to be enjoyed by the public. After sharing a delicious meal with friends, I offered up dessert. "What are those?" Emily asked with excitement, eyes wide with anticipation. When I answered, "Pumpkin Whoopie Pies," Richard Bradley looked at me quizzically and asked, "What's a Wookie Pie?" I liked the name so much I promised to name the recipe for him. So . . . here we go: Richard Bradley's Wookie Pies. They are a super-moist mouthful and definitely met the approval of all who enjoyed them. Emily sat there, smile on her face, half eaten pie in her hand, and sighed, "I don't want it to end." Indeed.

Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature, divided
- 3 tsp. vanilla, divided
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3 c. flour
- 1 1/2 c. almond meal
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2 c. (or more) powdered sugar

COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together pumpkin, 1 stick butter, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tsp. vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and blend into mixture until batter is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until ingredients are combined thoroughly. Slowly add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture about a cup at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Add spices to batter.

Spoon 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto a parchment or silicon pad lined baking sheet, spaced out evenly. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until cookies are a little puffy and cooked through. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Continue baking cookies in batches until batter is used up.

CREAM CHEESE FILLING
In a large bowl, beat together 1 stick room temperature butter, cream cheese, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly add powdered sugar on a low speed until blended and the filling is at the desired consistency. Spread a generous dollop (2-3 Tbsp.) of the filling onto the flat side of a completely cooled cookie. Top with a second cookie and press together slightly to adhere. Store cookies in an airtight container. Eat with friends!

Super Spooky Halloween Fun

Pumpkin Spice Sour Cream Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Trick or treat! My announcement to my students that Friday's class would require wearing Halloween costumes to engage in a Fall-term Acting I tradition I have deemed "Super Spooky Halloween Fun" was met with a variety of responses. While several students were less than thrilled at the prospect of donning Halloween-themed attire two days before the actual holiday, their attitudes shifted when I promised a baked "treat" as part of the festivities. Pumpkin-themed baked good abound this time of year . . . and with good reason! The familiar orange gourd-like squash yields a flavorful and moist texture to cakes and cookies. I hope you enjoy this spicy, rum-spiked treat throughout the autumn season.

Ingredients
- 2 c. sugar
- 2 1/2 c. butter, room temperature, divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
- 2 c. flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 Tbsp. vanilla, divided
- 2 Tbsp. dark rum
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 2 Tbsp. cinnamon, divided
- 2 tsp. fresh nutmeg
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- Halloween candies for decoration

PUMPKIN SPICE SOUR CREAM CUPCAKES
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line two muffin tins with paper-liners and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream 1 1/2 sticks of butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Blend in pumpkin. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add baking soda, cardamom, 1 Tbsp. cinnamon, and nutmeg and blend until thoroughly mixed together. Add eggs, one at a time, alternating with 1/2 c. additions of flour. Blend thoroughly after each addition. Blend in sour cream, rum, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla until combined.

Spoon prepared batter into paper cupcake liners. Fill each cup to about two-thirds full. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Test cupcakes for doneness and remove from oven. Let cool on a rack completely before frosting. Bake cupcakes in batches and continue process until all the batter has been baked into tasty treats!

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
In a large bowl blend together cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. vanilla, 1 Tbsp, cinnamon, and 1 stick butter with an electric hand mixer. Blend until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add more cinnamon to taste, if desired. Frost each baked and cooled cupcake with a generous amount of frosting and decorate with Halloween candies. Enjoy this spooky and tasty seasonal treat!

Mac-Brownies

Double-Double Toil and Black Magic Brownies

Can I just say I'm SO excited to be directing an outdoor production of Shakespeare's ominous "Scottish Play" this summer? Well . . . in case you were wondering . . . I AM! Tomorrow is our first cast read-through and as per usual, I think events such as these are always better with food. With wild aspirations, I had planned a theme menu derived from the play's concept (set in a down-and-dirty 1920s New Orleans locale rather than cold and dreary Scotland) complete with jambalya, gumbo, and pralines. Time and other obligations, however, got between me and this ambitious banquet for 18. (I'll deliver for the cast party though . . . I promise.) While I'm fairly certain free pizza and sodas will satisfy the appetites of the cast of (mostly) starving college students, I did want to make special treat just for them. Taking stock of the fridge and pantry, I found an abundance of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and crème fraîche. Ahhh . . . sweet inspiration. I decided to make a baked-homage to the play's themes of light and darkness in the form of a dense, chewy brownie with a tangy cream filling. Double, double, toil and yum.

Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter
- 2 c. granulated sugar
- 1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla, divided
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 3/4 c. flour, divided
- 1/2 c. crème fraîche
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 c. chocolate chips
- 1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly spray a silicon or muffin tin and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and granulated sugar over medium heat. Stir frequently to keep sugar from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. Remove from heat. Whisk in cocoa powder until incorporated. Add eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla and whisk into mixture until batter is smooth. Add salt, baking powder, and 1 1/2 c. flour and whisk to combine. Set aside. In a small bowl combine crème fraîche, 1/4 c. flour, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, 1 tsp. vanilla, and egg yolk. Stir to combine.


Fill each muffin cup halfway with brownie batter. With the back of a teaspoon, make a small indentation in the center of each brownie dollop then fill with about a tea spoon full of crème fraîche mixture. Top each crème fraîche layer with a small dollop of brownie batter. Bake in oven about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven. Cool brownie cups in the pan for about ten minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely. Eat with milk . . . or witches. Whichever you prefer.

Recipe yields about 18 brownie cups.