Food goodness

From: Brown Eyed Baker , who adapted it from Smitten Kitchen These are Guinness chocolate cupcakes with an Irish whiskey ganache filling, and Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream frosting.  BEB called these Irish Car Bomb cupcakes (after the same-named cocktail) and got totally flamed in her comments for the offensive name.  It looks like Smitten may have also called them car bomb cupcakes, but changed the name at some point, probably after protests.  So, call them what you want.  I took these to a St. Paddy's Day party last night and they were a big hit with the adults. For the Cupcakes : 1 cup Guinness stout 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature ¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups granulated sugar 1½ teaspoons baking soda ¾ teaspoons salt 2 eggs 2/3 cup sour cream For the Whiskey Ganache Filling : 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate 2/3 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (I used Jame

This recipe indicates that my transformation to someone who genuinely likes mushrooms is complete. Shocking, I know. Also, this is the kind of recipe I generally stay away from -- lots of steps, lots of components, two separate sauces -- but it's actually not a) super-messy and requiring many dishes to wash; b) very time-consuming; or c) fussy. This is all very simple and whole-food-ish. I'd recommend reading the original recipe the whole way through first, just to get an idea of what you're going to do, and then come back here and just follow the steps. And skip the gastrique, if you must, but definitely do NOT skip the garlic aioli; it's the best part. First make the aioli. With an immersion blender, puree: 1 clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped 1 whole egg–the fresher and organic-er the better ½ tsp salt 2 spins of the pepper mill juice of ½ lemon With the blender still going, start drizzling in olive oil , very slowly, until things start to

I requested my mom's recipe for the potato candy she made for my sibs and I to take to school on St. Patrick's Days of yore. When I say "potato candy," I mean candy shaped like a potato (really cute teeny potatoes). Turns out mom's recipe actually does use some potato which I like because I think it probably cuts some of the sweetness that the sugar-only recipes that I saw online. The cinnamon makes the little lumps look like little dirty potatoes and it keeps them from sticking together. My kid's going to take a box to her classmates tomorrow. I'm more excited than she is. I copied my mom's email below. She's a librarian so she characteristically references a thematically appropriate book. She's a school librarian so she suggests making it a hands on experience for the kids in the class. >> (recipe from an Adele Davis cookbook) Peel, quarter, steam, and mash 1 potato.  You will use 1/4 cup of this.        - 1/4 C. mashed potato

Alright, I'm gonna let you in on a secret. It's not so much a secret as something that I did that will royally irritate several family members. Last week when we went to get a few things my Nana wanted us to have from her house, I took her two recipe boxes. I figure no one else would really cook from them, and that if she were still lucid and making rational decisions, she'd have told me to take them. So, I have them, and when my Dad and I went through them, we found recipes from my great grandmothers, among the bunch. I'm super excited to work my way through these recipes. I started this weekend by making Hollandaise sauce. You can read the story of Eggs Benedict and Hollandaise on my blog , but here's the recipe, for archiving purposes. 4 egg yolks (save those whites, because you can use them to make angel food cake) 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 2 sticks butter 1/4 tsp. salt Cut each stick of butter into pieces. Beat egg yolks in top of double boiler until smooth with wood

This was tasty. I will make again very soon. Before the kids and I left for playgroup, I made the marinade, put the butterflied chicken breasts in it, made the tzatziki and put both containers in the fridge. K took care of broiling the chicken bc it was yoga night so I came home to leftovers and they tasted great reheated. Lots of flavor. From Annie's Eats , and before that, from  Elly Says Opa ! Yield: about 4-6 servings Ingredients For the tzatziki: 16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible) 1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced) 1 tsp. white wine vinegar Salt and pepper Squeeze of fresh lemon juice Extra virgin olive oil For the chicken: 4 cloves garlic, smashed Juice of 1 lemon 2 tsp. red wine vinegar 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt 1 tbsp. dried oregano Salt and pepper 1¼ lbs. chicken pieces (boneless, skinless chicken breast halves) To

I do declare, these are the fluffiest and most successful pancakes I have ever made! The chocolate chips are optional and the pancakes are delicious both ways; we did half and half last night. From Skinnytaste , with some variations. 1 cup unbleached white or white whole wheat flour [I did half whole wheat and half white whole wheat] 1 tsp baking powder [I took this down from 2 t] 1/4 tsp salt 1 large banana, ripe, mashed well 1 cup 1% milk [skim worked fine] 3 large egg whites 2 tsp oil 2 tsp vanilla [I upped this from 1 t] 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips [I used big chunks; the technique of placing them individually on the top of each pancake worked well] Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine milk, egg white, oil, vanilla and mashed bananas in another medium sized bowl and mix until smooth.  Combine wet ingredients with the dry and mix well with a wooden spoon until there are no more dry spots. Don't over-mix. Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat, spray wit