Chocolate Cupcakes & PB Icing

Over spring break I made delicious chocolate cupcakes with peanut-butter icing! I used Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) recipe.  It was actually easy to follow. When making cupcakes it is very important to sift the dry ingredients in order to prevent lumps and heavy cake. You also need to remember to let the dairy products warm up to room temperature. If the dairy products are too cold you won't be able to mix your batter thoroughly.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I made chocolate-stout cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream icing. I used a recipe by Dave Lieberman which I found on FoodNetwork.com . I used one bottle of Guinness Extra Stout beer. The recipe does not instruct you to sift the dry ingredients, but I did anyway. I also let the dairy products warm up to room temperature. Make sure the stout is room temperature also. If you don't the cold beer will harden the butter when you add it to the mixture. Next time I attempt this recipe I may also let the beer go flat so the carbonation is not incorporated into the mixture. For the icing I used 3 cups of confectioners sugar and 5 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor. For a finishing touch I used a vegetable peeler to add shavings of Hersey's chocolate to the cupcakes. 

Pretty Popovers!

The other night I decided to tackle a more difficult recipe...and I rocked it! I used Alex Guarnaschelli's popover recipe. I followed her exact instructions, but used a little less salt. Her instructions tell you to warm the lightly greased muffin pan. I ended up doing this twice, because I warmed the pan too much the first time around and burned the butter. These popover were so delicious my grandma even asked me to make them again!

Easy Pizza!

The first meal I made when I came home for the semester was pizza! I had made it when I was at school (my camera died, so I didn't take a picture) and it was delicious. 

Ingredients:
2 fresh whole wheat pizza doughs (refrigerated section near cheeses)
2 tomatoes
2 green peppers
1 medium onion
Marinara Sauce 
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Powder
Dried basil and parsley 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease two baking sheets very well and stretch the dough to fit each pan. I recommend using a smaller size baking sheet for this type of dough. At school I have a small baking sheet (college style) and the crust came out perfect, but at home I used bigger sheets and the dough was a little thin.

I made first pizza with just tomatoes, ricotta cheese, garlic powder and herbs. The second pizza I started with my homemade sauce, peppers, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic powder and herbs. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. I put one on the top rack and the other on the bottom rack, switching them half way through.

Sweet & Sour!

Last night I made sweet & Sour pork chops with fried rice and teriyaki veggies! To marinate the pork I used Sunny Anderson's recipe, but used two 1 inch thick, bone-in pork chops. I grilled the pork chops on the stove using a heavy cast-iron grill pan for five minutes on each side over medium heat. This is not an easy task in a college kitchen because the ventilation is terrible, so I smoked out the first floor...oops!  For sides, I used Rice-a-roni fried rice and steam-able teriyaki veggies.