Cake Pops!

So, my brother is getting married May 15th! Ohmygoodness, I'm excited. He's marrying a gorgeous Zooey Deschanel look-alike. I have no idea how he landed such a good-looking woman. At least I will have cute nieces and nephews (=

I hosted a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law on Sunday. We made cake pops. Super trendy, super cute, and SUPER easy.



















How to make the pops:
1. Bake a cake (from scratch, out of a box, football shaped, round, lumpy. Doesn't matter as long as it is a cake).
2. Crumble the cooled cake into a bowl and mix with half a can of frosting (or 1/2 cup of homemade frosting...I dare you :-p).
3. Roll the mixture into small balls (approx 50 balls).
4. Freeze the balls for at least one hour (get your mind of the gutter my friend).
5. Melt chocolate/white chocolate in a double boiler, put sticks in the balls, and dip in melted chocolate. Coat with sprinkles. (Find lollipop sticks at Michaels/craft stores...OR go to Starbucks and get free wooden stir-sticks. I personally enjoy free things)
6. Let chocolate harden by placing the bottom of the stick in a shallow cup or bowl.

For the shower we made 2 different pops. #1: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a semi-sweet chocolate coating and #2 red velvet cake with vanilla frosting and a white chocolate coating. I think it would be fun to experiment with different combinations of flavors and colors. Perhaps: carrot cake, German chocolate with coconut, lemon, dulce-de-leche, pistachio...the possibilities are endless.

If you wish to color the outer shell, use white chocolate and a concentrated icing/chocolate dye. DO NOT use food coloring, as it will ruin the chocolate. The concentrated oil-based Wilton colors can be found at Michaels.

A fellow bridesmaid, Rachel Ruelas and I created the adorable pink flower tree's with Styrofoam from Michaels. We made rosette's out of crepe paper, and glued them to the tree. We shoved the pops into the trees, and refilled them during the event.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I love red velvet (-:















Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

BTW: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

Avocado Fries with Chipotle Aioli

My amazing boyfriend Ben moved to Mississippi 1 year ago. His one big complaint about Mississippi is not the weather, not the bugs, not the fact that I now live across the county...his biggest complaint is: the terrible avocados. Since I plan on moving to Mississippi in less than a year, I figured I should prepare myself by eating as much avocado as humanly possible so as to somehow make myself tired of one of the most delicious fruit on the planet before moving. The plan hasn't worked yet...I'll keep you posted on when it does.
















So, tonight's super easy and simple avocado fry recipe is this:

Ingredients:
Canola oil for frying
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper (white pepper preferred, but black works just fine)
1 -1 1/2 cups beer (add until desired consistency)
1 1/4 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 firm-ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-in. wedges

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan, heat 1 1/2 inches of oil until it reaches about 375°.
Meanwhile, mix flour, egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk in beer. Set beer-batter aside. Pour Panko into a shallow plate.
Dip avocado slices in the beer-batter, then coat with Panko.
Fry a quarter of the avocado slices at a time until deep golden brown, approx. 60 seconds. Transfer slices to a plate lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and paprika to taste.
















Chipotle Aioli (for dipping):
6 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. cumin
4 tsp. fresh lime juice

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

I chose to make the Chipotle Aioli from scratch. I made home-made mayonnaise instead of store-bought mayonnaise.
Whisk 1 egg yolk and 1 Tbsp. white vinegar until well-mixed. Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit, (which means you've got an emulsion on your hands). Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (but just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant (albeit thin) stream. Once half of the oil is in add the rest of the lemon juice mixture. Continue whisking until all of the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours then refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Thai Green Curry!!

Katy Heatherington (my amazing 4'11" Korean friend from Fresno) came to visit me this weekend! She came here to SLO things down a bit :-p

My favorite ethnic food thus far in my journey is Thai food. Katy loves curry, and we decided to attempt to make green curry.

We started our search for Thai ingredients at the SLO Oriental market (1255 Monterey St).

The market is small, but offers a wide variety of Oriental goods from countries including but not limited to: Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan.

My favorite find of the market: lemongrass!!!

Lemongrass is native of India, but it is commonly used in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. I've just recently come to realize how incredibly fragrant and flavorful the grass is.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, cut in 8 wedges

1 green bell pepper, cut in 8 wedges

1 stalk lemongrass, white bulb only

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh ginger

3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste (purchased from an oriental market of sorts)

2 Kaffir lime leaves (I used Bok Choy instead...I’m a college student on a budget)

1 (13.5 ounce) can bamboo shoots

3 cups unsweetened coconut milk, 2 (13.5 ounce) cans

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch strips

Salt

1 lime, juiced

Fresh Thai basil leaves

Fresh cilantro leaves

Lime wedges, for garnish

Directions:

Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. Saute the onion and green peppers for 3 minutes to soften. Split the piece of lemongrass down the middle and whack it with the flat side of a knife to open the flavor. Add the lemongrass, ginger, curry paste and lime leaves to the skillet and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk. Lay the chicken pieces in the mixture to poach; add a pinch of salt. Stir together and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to let it boil as the coconut milk can easily separate. Squeeze in the lime juice and shower with basil and cilantro; serve in dinner bowls with lime wedges.