Caprese Salad

I had seen caprese salad on TV, but was instroduced to its sexy seductive flavors this past year on Valnetine's Day, when Eric and I went out to an Italian Bakery to eat. What was plated for us was the most simple and divine of dishes. Simply put it is tomatoes, mozzerella cheese, basil and olive oil; however when it is all put together and allowed to marinate, when eaten it is genius on a plate. I made a version last night that combines all these memories and ingredients and feeds more than 1-2 people.

1 16 oz log of mozzerella cheese (label should read fresh and it is found in the deli department with the cheeses from all over the world), sliced and cubed into 1/4" squares
3-4 roma tomatoes, diced to the same size as the cheese
Olive oil
garlic
crushed basil herb mix in tube
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Place cheese and tomatoes in a bowl. Top with the basil mix (2-3 TBSLSPs), and garlic. Pour about 2-3 TBSLPs of the olive oil and vinegar, season, mix and let set 15-20 minutes minimum in fridge. Serves 4-6 people.

*side note: this salad can easily have 1/2 C black olives and chopped mushrooms added to it and be served over lettuce leaves. it would then feed about 2 more people.

Haddock Fish Picatta

4- 4oz haddock fish filets (cleaned and deboned)
1/4 C sliced black olives
1/4 C diced red bell pepper
1/4 C diced onion
1-2 garlic cloves minced
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Place fish onto pan, season with salt and pepper. Mix olives, garlic, onion, and bell pepper and sprinkle on top of fish. Drizzle with olive oil and broil on low for 10-15 minutes or until fish is flakey. Serves 3-4 people.

Reloaded Sweet Potatoes

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, washed
1-2 roasted peppers (mild to hot), seeded, and minced
1/4 Yogurt or sour cream
1/2 C shredded cheese of your choice
2 pats butter
salt and pepper to taste

With fork, poke potatoes 4-6 times in various places on skn. Cook potatoes in Microwave for 10-15 minutes until tender. Scoop out flesh but leave some in skin to give structure. Place in bowl with all other ingredients (1/4 C of the cheese). Spoon back into skins. Bake/broil for 4-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Jazzing up Cake

As many of you know I am getting married on October 13, 2012. It's one of the reasons I haven't been on here talking up food, but here I am again, letting you know I am still around and have some new tips for you when it comes to cake.

I have worked hard to save money during this whole process and with a budget of 2000, we, like most folks getting married went over budget...by 800 smackers. We saved a lot in the first place because of my networking skills and knowing how to talk folks into using what talents they have to help out with this huge event. My middle sister was one of those people. She has a talent for baking, and had agreed to bake around 100 cupcakes for my reception. We had picked out flavors and figured the cost to be at $80 for from scratch cake and frosting. A month back, due to circumstances beyond her control, my sister had to tell me she couldn't work her baking magic. I was in a panic, not only for her reason (it made me worry about her), but how was I going to find someone else to bake cakes? My Baby sister, who stays more calm than I do, said she would find someone.

Someone quoted her a price of well over 300 bucks! NOT including the tasting which was another $175! Are you kidding? $400 for 100 cupcakes? I then realized that this celebration isn't about the food or the cake. It is about our friends and family celebrating with Eric and I the next chapter of our life together. So, I decided that I can make my own cupcakes. I wrangled one of my bridesmaids, Karli, who has a talent for turning plain jane cupcakes from a mix into something wonderful and fun, and we got to experimenting (with baby sister Liz and Eric there for R&D). This led to several different combinations of winning flavors and I want to share those with you now. First will be the "recipes" for the two cakes we chose to make for my reception.

Supreme Orange Cupcakes:

1 box Orange cake mix (along with the egg and water called for)
1/3 apple sauce (to replace the oil called for in the cake)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding

filling:
1 small jar marmalade (orange)
1 brick cream cheese, softened
milk
1/2 C powdered sugar

Frosting:
1 stick butter (soft)
1 brick cream cheese (soft)
1 small box powdered sugar
1/4 tsp orange extract (liquor)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
milk

For the cake, follow all directions on how to mix, just replace oil with the applesauce and before mixing in wet ingredients, add the pudding. Make sure your cups are ready because the batter will get thick in a hurry due to the pudding. Bake in the oven. While they are baking, make the filling and the frosting by:
filling: mix the marmalade, cream cheese, and powderd sugar...add milk until it is less than thick (almost pourable), and easily put into a piping bag.
Frosting: cream butter and cream cheese, add powdered sugar and extracts. Mix until blended adding milk until frosting is right to be spread onto cooled cakes.
Cut a hole in center of each cake using a frosting tip (or specialized cupcake tip), fill with filling and frost on top. 

Espresso Chocolate-rasberry Cupcakes:

1 box chocolate cake mix (along with Egg and water called for)
1/3 C applesauce (to replace oil)
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 TBLSP espresso powder

filling:
1 small jar raspberry preserves
1 brick cream cheese
milk
1/2 C powdered sugar

Frosting:
1 stick butter
1 brick cream cheese
1 small box powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
milk
1/4 C cocoa or 1/2 chocolate chips melted

The process is the same as for the orange cupcakes...we are going to top the chocolate ones with sprinkles and the orange with orange curls. Each of these recipes makes 24 cupcakes!

Other combos:

Coconut cupcakes with chocolate filling (traditional frosting with toasted coconut)
Carrot cupcakes with spiced filling
Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter filling, topped with banana (or vice versa)
White cupcakes with blueberry filling and cream cheese frosting on top with lemon zest


Try them and make up some of your own. Just replace the puddings with a flavor that will mix in well...share away!