Two Years Strong and Going

I'm a few days late celebrating the two year anniversary of the launch of my beloved blog. Okay, six days to be exact, but much better late than never right? I'm kind of sad that life is often so busy and rushed that milestone dates often slip my mind until after the fact. But I suppose a blog anniversary isn't quite the milestone that a wedding anniversary or a loved one's birthday is, so this isn't quite a tragedy. But, I digress. What better way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other special event than with cupcakes? Devils food cupcakes with chocolate coffee buttercream..I made these cupcakes for the first time last year as part of an article for A Nice Cuppa. The recipe comes from the book 500 Cupcakes. The book lives up to the name, but to my disappointment, most of those 500 cupcake recipes are slight, sometimes very slight, variations on a basic recipes. After hitting the two year mark with my blog it makes me wonder what lies ahead. I hope that my blog will be here for many years to come, that my skills in the kitchen will continue to grow and grow. That I will be able to build party planning and catering business into everything I dream of. Only time will tell, but you my dear readers, I thank for the last two years with me, even during the slow times when it seemed that I may have disappeared. Devils Food Cupcakes 2 c self rising flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup brown sugar 2 sticks butter, softened 2 eggs seperated 3 1/2 oz semisweet choc, melted 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup milk Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 medium size muffin cups with paper liners. Sift flour & baking powder together in medium bowl, set aside. In bowl of mixer, cream together sugar and butter. Add egg yolks, beat well. Add melted chocolate & vanilla, mixing well. Add flour & milk alternately, beating well with each addition. Beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form and gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into cups filling 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from oven & cool 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan & cool on rack. Chocolate Coffee Buttercream 1 stick butter, softened 1 tbsp milk 3 1/2 oz semisweet choc, melted 1 tsp vanilla 2 c confectioners sugar, sifted 1 tsp hot coffee + 2 tbsp instant coffee granules Beat in milk until smooth. Stir in melted chocolate & vanilla. Beat in confectioners sugar until thick and creamy. Stir in cooled coffee mixture. Spread over cupcakes. Store unfrosted in airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. The original frosting recipe called for 3/4 c confectioners sugar, but the consistancy seemed a bit thin, and honestly I like a generous amount of frosting on my cupcakes. The cupcakes themselves were pretty good, but not as moist and dense and I like. And considering that I had to seperate the eggs, beat the egg whites then fold them in, I think next time I would opt to use another cupcake recipe.

Devilishly Good Eggs

This is in honor of my Dad. See today marks twenty wonderful years that he and I have spent together. Nope I didn't turn twenty today, (My birthday was last month, and I'm a few years older than our anniversary.) And no he didn't just enter my life twenty years ago, I've been blessed to have him by my side since birth. Those who know me, I mean really truly know me, know my whole life has been "a long story", one crazy chapter after another. Through all those crazy chapters Big Bad Dad is the one person who has always been there, living those crazy chapters right along with me. So in honor of our twenty year anniversary I whipped up a batch of one of his favorites...deviled eggs. Really, I should say one of our favorites. I credit my love of deviled eggs to the Big Bad Dad himself. I can make a dozen and between the two of us somehow they disappear within a few days. We have, what I find to be, an amusing and ongoing disagreement when it comes to deviled eggs though. I say sweet pickle cubes are a must in deviled eggs, but to quote his paraphrasing of Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry: "Nobody, but nobody puts pickles in deviled eggs." So for you deviled egg eaters out there I ask you, sweet pickles or no? Deviled Eggs 6 hard boiled eggs 3 Tbsp mayo 1 good squirt yellow mustard a splash vinegar salt and pepper to taste 1 Tbsp sweet pickle cubes (optional) How to hardboil eggs: Lay the eggs in the pan and add enough cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Set over high heat and bring just to the boil; remove from heat, cover the pan,and let sit exactly 17 minutes. When the time is up, transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice cubes and water. Chill for 2 minutes. Peel eggs and cut in halve lengthwise. Remove yolks and set whites aside. Using a fork mash yolks into until there are no lumps. Add mayo and mustard. Blend with fork until well combined and smooth. Add a splash of vinegar and salt and pepper to taste, and pickle cubes if using. Put yolk mixture into a re-sealable plastic bag, using scissors, snip a small corner off and pipe even amounts of yolk mixture into egg whites. Store deviled egg in refrigerator.