Key Lime Cupcakes

Key Lime Pie is one of my favorite desserts, so when I volunteered to make cupcakes for a friend's birthday party I was happy to be reminded that she loves Key Lime too. So the search was on for a perfect recipe.

None of my trusted resources had a specific Key Lime Cupcake recipe, I had to improvise. I found this recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. I used only the cake part of the recipe and replaced the lemon zest and juice with key lime zest and juice. I tested one when they came out of the oven to determine how limey the frosting should be. The cake had a nice mild lime flavor, so I didn't have to hold back on the frosting.

I had toyed with the idea of doing a graham cracker crust on the bottom of the cupcakes, but instead decided to sprinkle the crumbs on top. The finishing touch was a slice of key lime dredged in bright white sparking sugar.

Quick-Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti

This is a perfect dish for those expecting a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes this summer. If, like me, you don't have a veggie garden, store bought tomatoes work well too. The ease and quickness of preparation make this perfect weeknight fare. The amazing aroma of the tomatoes roasting is an added perk.

I served this with warm crusty bread. Three out of four of my household loved this. Dylan didn't like the tomatoes cooked. He is really hard to please these days!

Quick-Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti

Serves 6

Cooking Light, June 2010

4 quarts water

1 T. kosher salt

12 oz. uncooked spaghetti

2 pints cherry tomatoes

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 T. red wine vinegar

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/8 t. crushed red pepper

1/4 C. chopped or torn fresh basil leaves

1/4 C. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

3/4 C. (3 oz.) crumbled semisoft goat cheese

Preheat oven to 450°

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 tablespoon salt and spaghetti to boiling water; cook 10 minutes or until spaghetti is al dente. Drain spaghetti in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Return spaghetti to pan; set aside, keep warm.

While spaghetti cooks, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper on a jelly roll pan, tossing well to coat. Bake tomato mixture at 450° for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and lightly charred in places.

Add tomatoes and any tomato juice to spaghetti in Dutch oven. Add 1/4 cup reserved cooking water to jelly roll pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; carefully pour water mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons oil into spaghetti mixture. Place Dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining reserved cooking water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until spaghetti mixture is moist, tossing frequently. Stir in basil and parsley. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

Seared Duck Breast with Cherries and Port Sauce

When I eat out at restaurants, there are dishes I never order because I can competently prepare them at home. Chicken, salmon, and steak come to mind. I usually indulge in a fish that is not readily available to me at the market, rack of lamb, or my absolute favorite, duck breasts with crispy, fatty, succulent skin.

After spotting beautiful fresh cherries at the grocery store I found this recipe and decided it was time to tackle the duck at home. Harris Teeter sells Culver duck breasts, they are nice and reasonably priced.

As for cooking the duck in my kitchen, it could not have been easier or messier. The fatty skin that I love so much makes quite a greasy disaster area on and around the stove top, but we could forget about that until we were finished eating.

The duck turned out well, the boys liked it. Surprisingly, Alex, who can sit and eat bowls full of fresh cherries, didn't like the sauce. He says he didn't like the cherries cooked or the shallots. Oh well, I did, but I think I prefer to eat duck breast at a restaurant where there is a staff to clean up the mess!

Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Onion Tart

Many of my regular readers (all four or five of you) have had this delicious tart before. I served it at my sister's bridal shower with Silver Palate's Beef Tenderloin. I have also made it for dinner guests, as it is one of my favorite summer meals. It pairs very well with beef, but I also enjoy it as a main course with a lightly dressed green salad on the the side.

I first discovered this recipe when I received Gourmet's Five Ingredients as a gift. It's on the cover and I couldn't resist. The combination of caramelized onions, goat cheese, and tomatoes is genius. It's very easy to prepare, just remember to use a pie crust shield, so the crust doesn't burn like mine did.

Celebrations!

A couple of weekends ago (yes, I'm way behind thanks to baseball and my new obsession with learning to parler français) we celebrated Sous Chef earning his Masters and my Mother-in-law's birthday. Perfect excuses for a fabulous bottle of bubbly and decadent cupcakes.

Oh my, these cupcakes were good. The Strawberry Buttercream was amazing. It would be delicious on white cake, chocolate cake, maybe even on a rice cake. The cupcake part of the equation wasn't half bad either.

Congratulations to my hubby for all the hard work he put in to earn his degree. He managed to get it done while working full time and being completely present for his family. What a guy!

Irish Trifle

Alex's third grade class recently wrapped up their social studies unit on Ireland. At the end of each unit a parent volunteer prepares a food from the region for the kids to sample. Lucky for them, Ireland's goodie was this trifle and not Corned Beef and Cabbage. Their teacher provided the recipe and I put it all together and delivered it to the classroom.

Irish Trifle

2 (12 oz) containers whipped topping, thawed

1 (5.9 oz) package vanilla instant pudding

1 angel food cake, cut into 1 inch pieces

Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

Prepare pudding according to package directions.

Layer ingredients as follows from bottom of trifle bowl to top; 1/3 of whipped topping, 1/2 of cake, 1/2 of pudding, fruit, 1/3 whipped topping, cake, pudding, fruit, remaining whipped topping.

My trifle bowl wasn't tall enough to add the last layer of Cool Whip, so it was dolloped on the individual servings. From what I hear, the kids loved it. I know Alex did, he would like me to make it again.

Thai Green Curry Shrimp

I now know, amazing Thai food is possible at home. The ease and deliciousness of this dish will have me thinking twice about ordering take out. I look forward to having this again with chicken, tofu, or fish.

The recipe is from the June 2010 issue of Cuisine at Home. I made one small change, I could not find bamboo shoots, so I cut up a medium sized onion and cooked it with the red pepper. I guessed the texture would be a close match, but I'm not sure that I've ever had a bamboo shoot. I used 4 tablespoons of curry paste, I found the spice to be milder than expected. Next time I will spice things up a bit more!

Thai Green Curry Shrimp

Serves 4

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)

4-5 T. Green Curry Paste

2 T. fish sauce

1 t. brown sugar

1 C. diced red bell pepper

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on

1 can bamboo shoots, drained (8 oz.)

1 C. frozen green peas, thawed

1/2 C. torn basil leaves

Jasmine rice

Lime wedges

Remove cream from the top of the coconut milk; heat over medium-high in a large sauté pan, stirring frequently until bubbles form on the surface, and it separates.

Add curry paste, stirring to combine. Cook until paste becomes very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Season with fish sauce and sugar; simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in bell pepper; cook until pepper begins to soften, 5 minutes. Add shrimp; cook until opaque and no longer pink, 3-4 minutes.

Add bamboo shoots, peas, and basil; cook just to heat shoots and peas through, 1 minute. Serve with Jasmine rice and lime wedges.

Chili-Rubbed Baby Back Ribs with Espresso Barbecue Sauce

Sous Chef got a new grill for his birthday, since our old one was slightly rusted out and the whole inside of it caught on fire last time we used it. The popular choice for the inaugural dinner was ribs. We had our neighbors over and dined al fresco. It was a fun night with good food and friends.

This is my go-to ribs recipe. I always follow the cooking instructions, but sometimes change the spices in the rub and use plain barbecue sauce. On this particular night, I followed the recipe as written. The rub provides a nice level of heat and the espresso in the sauce has a nice flavor. We had baked sweet potatoes and cole slaw with dried cranberries on the side.

Sous Chef gives the grill two thumbs up, he's excited about the increased cooking space and the more precise heat control. I'm excited that he's done with school and he'll be home more often to cook with it!

Pan Seared Salmon with Spinach and Shiitake

I found this tasty recipe in The Best of Fine Cooking publication, Fresh & Quick. It is full of lovely recipes that are healthy and quick to prepare. Surely, I will prepare many more of the dishes and let you know how they turn out.

It is great to find new ways to prepare salmon. This recipe did not disappoint. It is a perfect weeknight dish, yet elegant enough for guests. The kids loved the fish, Alex had seconds. They were troopers and tried the mushrooms and spinach, but were not as impressed as the adults.

Pan Seared Salmon with Spinach and Shiitake

Serves 4

3 1/2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium shallots, finely chopped

1/2 lb. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 C. heavy cream

1 t. chopped fresh thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 C. lightly packed baby spinach leaves

4 6 oz. boneless, skin-on Salmon fillets

3 T. fresh lemon juice

Heat 2 T. of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the cream, thyme, 1 t. of salt, and 1/8 t. of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the spinach until wilted. Transfer to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Clean the skillet and return it to the stove.

Heat the remaining 1 1/2 T. oil in the skillet over medium heat. Season the salmon fillets all over with salt and pepper. Arrange the salmon in the skillet, skin side up, in a single layer and cook, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through, 7 to 9 minutes total. Transfer the salmon to a large plate.

Mix the lemon juice with 1 T. water, add to the skillet, and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until just thickened, about 30 seconds. Drizzle the pan juices over the salmon and serve with the warm shiitake mixture.

Flat Iron Steak and Blue Cheese Scallion Drop Biscuits

Once again, the beautiful pictures on Smitten Kitchen inspired me to try another recipe posted on the site, Blue Cheese Scallion Drop Biscuits. Deb of Smitten Kitchen and most of the commenters felt the biscuits were breakfast fare, I immediately wanted to pair them with thinly sliced grilled steak and Dijon mustard.

I had planned on flank steak until I spotted the flat iron steak right next to it in the grocery store. Flat iron steak is thin like flank steak, but a lot less fatty. I marinated the meat in a trusty McCormick garlic and herb marinade and Sous Chef grilled it to perfection.

The biscuits were very easy to mix up and baked quickly. Hot out of the oven they were delicious. I made a little sandwich out of mine with the steak and mustard. My husband thought the blue cheese was a wee strong, the boys agreed. The next morning I had one for breakfast and realized they were correct. I will probably halve the cheese if I make these again.

Everyone loved the steak. I especially loved it with the mustard. A few weeks ago I was listening to a cooking show on the radio and a chef recommended Maille Dijon Mustard. I found some and it is fabulous. First I tried it on a ham sandwich and then with the steak, I'm hooked. Au revoir Grey Poupon.

Happy Birthday to the Sous Chef

The Sous Chef's birthday was last Friday, I'm a little behind on my posts. I thought I had every thing ready on Friday to make the cake, new deeper cake pans, an offset spatula, and food coloring to get creative with the frosting, then I discovered I had no flour sifter. I used to use a sieve, but I melted it making quinoa a few weeks ago. There was no time to run around town looking for a sifter, there were kids to pick up at school and dinner reservations to be ready for. The cake would have to wait until Saturday.

With a new sifter in hand I made a chocolate cake recipe recommended to me by my sister. The recipe says there will be enough batter for 3 8-inch round pans or 2 8-inch square pans, I used 2 9-inch rounds and though they baked for a bit longer, they turned out nicely. The height of the cake was perfect. For the frosting, I made an incredibly decadent Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I was slightly intimidated by this frosting, tempering and whipping up egg whites usually causes me to look at other recipes. But I went for it and it was pretty easy. The finished product is a rich, buttery, delicious frosting that is really easy to work with and a perfect companion to a moist and dense chocolate cake.

The birthday boy loved his cake, that of course is what's most important. Happy 35th Birthday to the best husband and Sous Chef a girl could have!

Open Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg

This light and delicious dinner is from the latest issue of Cooking Light. I knew the instant I saw the picture in the magazine that I had to try it! I'm so glad I did, not only was it delicious but so quick and easy. I served some roasted potatoes on the side. I halved small white creamer potatoes, tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 400° for about 40 minutes, turning twice while cooking.

The kids enjoyed the sandwiches, this dinner was a bigger hit than Kid's choice this week. Alex cleaned his plate, he loved the potatoes. I must have cooked them just right, because he's never been that excited about them before. He ate all of his and Dylan's.