Food We Would Like, Or Do Like, to Make

[HustleMe15]

So while I was over on my other blog working away, I realized there was no food section in here. You guys do eat, right? We do a lot of eating out around town since neither of us is Chef Ramsey in the kitchen, but we do all right. I thought it would be cool to start a thread with some things that we like to make, or saw and would like to make, and wouldn't mind sharing the recipe. So it's just an idea. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, we all stave!

 

[HustleMe15]

Mudslide Cupcakes



I'm a cupcake freak!! I LOVE cupcakes. My Guilty Pleasure. And this one seems really guilty. lol.

Mudslide Cupcakes
Servings: approximately 20 cupcakes


Ingredients
For the cupcakes:

3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup strong cold coffee
3/4 cup Kahlua

For the Kahlua buttercream:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups (or more, if needed) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons Kahlua
3 tablespoons hot coffee

For the Bailey’s buttercream:
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, shaved in curls

Instructions

1. For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare your cupcake pan with your desired liners.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.

3. Add the granulated sugar to the eggs with the mixer running and continue to whisk, at medium-high speed, until the mixture is thick, stiff, and glossy. Transfer the egg white mixture to another bowl, and clean out your standing mixer bowl thoroughly.

4. In your clean mixer bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

5. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda.

7. With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the flour mixture, coffee, and Kahlua alternately, ending with the flour mixture.

8. Stop the mixer, and gently fold in the egg whites into the batter using a rubber spatula, until well-combined.

9. Fill each prepared cupcake liner about two-thirds full.

10. Bake the cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

11. For the Kahlua buttercream: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until smooth.

12. Add the cocoa powder, Kahlua, and coffee, adding more powdered sugar if necessary. Set aside.

13. For the Bailey’s buttercream: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or another bowl if you are getting tired of cleaning your mixer bowl out….), combine the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.

14. Add the vanilla extract and Bailey’s Irish Cream, mixing well until combined.

15. Pipe the buttercream (description of how-to above) onto the cupcakes and garnish with chocolate curls.

 

[W!nston]

Great idea for a thread. I'll add some of my guilty pleasures later but right now I want to comment on the name of your 'Mudslide Cupcakes'.

The term 'mudslide' has a humorous connotation for me. Have you ever felt you needed to fart so you let it rip only to find out it wasn't a fart? That's what we call a 'mudslide' )

But I do love chocolate cake and the cupcake pictured looks delicious!

 

[HustleMe15]

Bailey’s irish cream brownies



Yes, and I'm also a bit of chocoholic.

PREP: 10 MINS COOK: 30 MINS TOTAL: 40 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant coffee powder (optional)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
heaping 1/3 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly spritz with cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, instant coffee powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.

Place chocolate and butter in a large microwave-proof bowl and melt in 30 second spurts, stirring in between each interval until completely melted. Set aside to cool a bit. (Alternatively, melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan set over low heat, stirring frequently until melted. Set aside to cool.)

Once the chocolate mixture is warm (not hot!), add eggs one at a time, whisking constantly to incorporate. Whisk vigorously for about 10 seconds to incorporate fully. Add sugar, vanilla, and Bailey's and whisk until combined. Add the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, folding until just combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to smooth out the top. Bake at for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool, and dust with powdered sugar if desired.

 

[HustleMe15]

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate Float



For Decorating the Cups, optional:
¼ cup (2oz) chopped chocolate, any kind, then melted
3 tablespoons chopped peanuts

For the Floats:
2 cups (500ml) milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour)
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, I used Hershey's
A heaping ¼ cup (2oz/ 50g) milk chocolate, finely chopped, I used chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (1oz/ 25g) semisweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped, I used semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup (2oz) smooth peanut butter

Vanilla ice cream, for serving, at least one scoop per cup

Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish, optional

Chocolate syrup, for garnish, optional

3 peanut butter cups like Reese's, for garnish, optional

For Decorating the Cups:
Pour the melted chocolate in a small rimmed plate that fits your cup and the chopped peanuts in another.

Turning the cup upside down, dip the rim into the chocolate, moving and twisting it around to make sure its well coated. Alternatively, use a clean paintbrush dedicated for kitchen use, to paint the chocolate around the rim of the cup.

Dip the chocolate covered rim into the peanuts. If needed, gently press the peanuts with your fingers to adhere. Chill the cups in the fridge or freezer to set.

For the Floats:
Take a tablespoon or two of the milk, and whisk it with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the remaining milk, cocoa powder, chocolates and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Heat the mixture, whisking constantly but gently, until the chocolate and peanut butter are completely melted and the mixture is steaming, about 5-8 minutes. Do not let it come to a boil. The mixture should be completely smooth and silky without little bits and dots of chocolate.

Pour in the cornstarch mixture and whisk together. Continue to heat while constantly whisking until the mixture thickens slightly, about 1 minute.
Place one scoop (or more if preferred) of vanilla ice cream in each cup, then pour the hot chocolate mixture over it. The ice cream will float up.

Garnish with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a peanut cup, if desired.
Serving right away.

 

[subbrew]

Looks tasty! Thanks for the post.

 

[Stonecold]

HustleMe15
thank you so much for the Bailey’s irish cream brownies, I have a question though, I would like to ad at least a 1/2 cup of Baileys instead of 1/3 so do I just lower the amount of milk for the increase of Baileys?

 

[HustleMe15]

HustleMe15
thank you so much for the Bailey’s irish cream brownies, I have a question though, I would like to ad at least a 1/2 cup of Baileys instead of 1/3 so do I just lower the amount of milk for the increase of Baileys?

Oh, ya got me on that one! I would assume that since you're keeping the same amount of liquid in total that you would be save, especially since it's also such a low amount of change. I haven't done that, so I wouldn't know what to expect. But may have to give that a try too!

Best of luck to ya. And glad you like the brownies.

 

[anarren]

Tonight's lazy weeknight dinner was:
Whole wheat penne
.5 lb (226g) frozen mixed seafood [octopus, mussels, squid, etc.] - thawed
Diced onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Cayenne
Herbes de Provence

Cook pasta almost all the way, then drain and toss into a sautee pan with everything else, plus salt+pepper (spices to taste). Cook about 45 seconds until the seafood's done.

Top with Parmesan and serve for a healthy dinner! (Add a glass of white wine for best results ;-) )

 

[anarren]

Also, I drink. Tonight's concoction I call "Barbie Debe Morir":

1 shot mezcal
1 shot tequila reposado
1 shot Cynar
2 drops rhubarb bitters.

 

[tonka]

HustleMe15
thank you so much for the Bailey’s irish cream brownies, I have a question though, I would like to ad at least a 1/2 cup of Baileys instead of 1/3 so do I just lower the amount of milk for the increase of Baileys?

Stonecold.
If you're a fan of Bailys, Costco has a private label version. Kirkland Irish Cream. The woman who runs the liquor department at my store told me that Baily's makes it for them. 1.75 liters for $16. That's a bargain.

 

[Dendood]

In the category of 'would like to make', I would love to develop the skill to make a great loaf of Artisan bread. There are certain magical things in the world... Pasta in Italy, a good deep dish Pizza in Chicago... and French bread. I can't begin to describe the absolute pleasure it was to eat something as humble and basic as it was to eat bread in France. I've often wondered if it is even possible to recreate the experience a thousand miles away from a good French Patisserie? Is it the water? The flour? The romantic atmosphere of being in a foreign country?

I've tried making it here. And the irony is the closest I got was my very first loaf. For some reason everything worked. The bread had a beautiful ear. The loaf crackled as it cooled. Large pockets of air. It was delicious. After that, nada.

French bread is as basic a recipe as bread making can get: flour, water, yeast, salt and a pinch of sugar. There is the magic and mystery of getting that initial shot of steam going. But do the French actually use steam as it seems necessary in American ovens???

I would love to have the craft and skill of making a great brioche... croissants...but a simple loaf, perfectly made, with butter. Coffee. That would be one of life's greatest, simplest pleasures. If there are any chefs, or French nationals with the skills to pull it off, I'd gladly pay for information on learning the ins and outs of making great bread.

In Chicago, for a brief period of time, there was a great, no spectacular food store in the trendy downtown area near Navy Pier called Fox and Obel. They hired a first class pastry chef for their bread and desert department. It didn't take me quite back to France but the bread was awesome and damned close. When I retire, I'd like to devote a portion of my daily life to baking French breads.

To that end, when my partner and I finally buy that new house, the only thing I will care about will be my painting studio and the kitchen. Forget marble counters and the double wide stainless steel door refrigerators. I want a steam injection oven.

If anyone wants to talk bread I'm game. And I can share the recipe recommended by King Arthur...

Thanks for listening.

 

[mssmoker]

Now I'm cooking this... :-

Anon URL