MSC: Coconut Cupcakes...or...Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

Yikes. I so don't eat coconut. No offense intended, Jennifer from Cinema Cupcakes, our recipe selector for the month! The look of it totally creeps me out, and I'm not a fan of the taste either. When I first saw this on the list for this month, I thought, well, there's one cupcake I'm skipping. I hope I don't get kicked out! Then, I re-thought the situation, and realized that maybe I could make some creative substitutions and still participate. Perhaps I could make something really awesome by being creative.

Apparently I forgot that I'm me and my creativity in the kitchen tends to lead to disasters of epic proportions. Like when my friend Erin and I were 10 and decided that chocolate water was an awesome idea. Hershey's natural cocoa powder plus water, it had to be awesome...or not. So after coming up with a grand plan to make a white cake cupcake and decorate it with shavings of white chocolate that looked like coconut, I realized that there was absolutely no way I had time for something so labor intensive this month...so I made Martha's Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting instead. Yum! I had an ulterior motive for making these - I plan to bake some yellow cupcakes for Baby's 2nd birthday next month, and I'm searching for the perfect recipe. This wasn't it.

Don't get me wrong, they were yummy, but I didn't love the consistency of the frosting, nor did I really love the cupcake itself. The cupcake was a little bland, actually. I was quite disappointed. I have a feeling I'll be sticking with the America's Test Kitchen baking book recipe that I've had before, though I haven't posted it in the past. It's definitely much more flavorful and moist than this cupcake. Sorry Martha, this was one wasn't a hit for me! But it was pretty...

Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop: What's in a Name...

This is my first time joining the all the wonderful who participate in Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop - I hope to make this a regular habit! Wish me luck!

This week, I picked the following prompt: What's in YOUR name? What does it mean? Why was it given to you?

Funny you should ask. My name is Elizabeth. That's my given name. It's the name my mother, for one reason or another, decided to give me upon my exciting birth. If I remember correctly, if I was a boy, I was going to be an Andrew.

But I wound up being an Elizabeth. A name destined to be shortened. How many Elizabeths do you know that actually go by the full name? How many toddlers can manage to spit that name out?

My sister, who's ten years older than me, decided on the day I was brought home from the hospital that I ought to be called Beth. The way the story is told, she called me Beth for the first month or so of my life. My mother didn't like the name Beth. Somehow, my mother came up with the nickname Betsy. They loved the name. Thought it was the cutest thing ever. I remember despising the name...pretty much all of my life.

Do I look like a Betsy? I don't think so..

In first grade, I told Miss Mayer, my teacher, that I didn't like the name Betsy. Didn't like it one bit. She suggested that I try the name Liz. It stuck. At least outside of my household, it stuck. My family never liked the name, and to this very day, they still call me Betsy. A name that makes me feel like one of two undesirable things: a cow or a six-year-old. Problem with Liz is that people tended to make up mean nicknames around the name - Lizard, Thin Lizzy (which was the total opposite of what I was), and so forth. I didn't really love that name either. Then again, whenever some of the mean kids in school learned that I'd once been called Betsy, the teasing grew to a feverish pitch, calling me Betsy the Cow (apparently there was a famous Betsy the Cow at some point) and Betsy-Wetsy, amongst other things.

It wasn't until college and then when I began my professional career that I returned to using the name my mother first gave me - Elizabeth. I like the name, for the most part. It sounds classy. It makes me think of Elizabeth Taylor, so in a way, it's a little glamorous feeling to me. Liz just doesn't quite feel like me, though I can't quite explain it. My husband and many of my longterm friends still call me Liz, and that's okay, I suppose - it's better than Betsy, that's for damn sure. I imagine I will spend the rest of my life going by all three of the names I've possessed throughout my twenty-nine years.

Funny story about the whole Betsy thing - I did a breast cancer walk with some friends of mine last year, and my husband came with us. He managed to chat up one of my friends, and told her, for whatever reason, that my family calls me Betsy. This wasn't really public knowledge with some of my friends, prior to that. It wasn't that I didn't want them to know, it was more that it just hadn't come up. One thing led to another, and she teased him about his having told a secret of mine. That drove me crazy, and I demanded he tell me what "secret" he told her. After much physical violence and silly threats from me, he confessed, and it became a big, silly thing to laugh about. I guess, in a way, I've come to terms with the name, but I still cringe a little when I hear my mother say it. I probably always will.

Needless to say, when my son was born, I agonized about naming him. I had spreadsheets full of names and the initials those names would lead to, along with possible nicknames. I didn't want him to teased for some silly nickname of his name, so he has a name that's pretty difficult to create a nickname for.

Want to join Mama Kat's writing workshop? Visit her blog, Mama Kat's Losin It, on Tuesdays to find several prompts to choose from. Pick the one that moves you, and post your prompt on Thursdays.

Yeasted Overnight Waffles

As you've probably noticed from my Menu Plan Monday posts, we have Brinner on Monday nights. Growing up, my mom would often make waffles for dinner or eggs and bacon, especially on nights where my dad was working and it was just the two of us. There's something especially comforting about having breakfast for dinner. It's the epitome of comfort food in my opinion. It's quite possibly Husband's favorite day of the week because he loves brinner so much.

On occasion, I get a wild hair that causes me to try a new recipe for brinner, but more often than not, I come right back to the recipes I know and love. This was one of those times. It's not that we disliked the recipe, it just didn't taste any different than the regular waffles that I make. And while having the batter all ready to go was kind of handy, it only takes a few moments to put the batter together in the first place, so I think I'll stick with my regular recipe for waffles.

Overnight Yeasted Waffles

adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Printer-friendly recipe

1 3/4 cups whole milk

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp instant yeast (but not dry active yeast)

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter is melted, about 4 minutes, then let cool off the heat until just slightly warm. Whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl, then gradually whisk in the warm milk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let refrigerate for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.

2. Heat the waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. When the waffle iron is hot, remove the batter from the refrigerator (the batter will be foamy and doubled in size) and whisk to recombine and deflate. Spread the appropriate amount of bater onto the waffle iron and cook until golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter, serving the waffles immediately or holding them in a 200-degree oven until all are cooked. You can place the waffles on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and cover them with a kitchen towel, in a 200-degree oven to keep them warm. When the final waffle is in the iron, remove the towel and allow the waffles to crisp for a few minutes.

** NOTE: Do not substitute lowfat or skim milk in this recipe - it will not work!

Beer and Brown Sugar Marinade

I like red meat. It just screams "dinner" to me. Chicken's okay, don't get me wrong, and I like fish, but for some reason they don't say "dinner" in quite the same way. I can't quite explain it, but there's something about having a hunk of steak for dinner that just feels good. As you all probably also know, I'm a big fan of teriyaki. Love it. My steak teriyaki is one of my favorite meals, both to eat and to prepare. When I spotted this recipe on Allrecipes.com, I couldn't skip over it, I had to print it out to try it. The only change I made was doubling the marinade ingredients, and it was definitely a super yummy meal, and quite easy to put together. So thank you, Craig Jones, wherever you are, for this one, it's awesome.

Beer and Brown Sugar Steak Marinade

adapted from Allrecipes.com, courtesy of Craig Jones

Printer-friendly recipe

2 16 oz beef sirloin steaks (I used thinly sliced NY Strip steaks, and they were awesome)

1/2 cup dark beer

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I used some of my own teriyaki sauce)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp seasoned salt (think Lawry's)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat grill, or grill pan on stove, for high heat.

2. Use a fork to poke holes all over the surface of the steaks, and place steaks in a large baking dish. In a bowl, mix together beer, teriyaki sauce, and brown sugar. Pour sauce over steaks, and let sit about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with half of the seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder; set aside for 10 minutes. Turn steaks over, sprinkle with remaining seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder, and continue to marinate for 10 more minutes.

3. Remove steaks from marinade. Pour marinade into small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for several minutes.

4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill steaks for 7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. During the last few minutes of grilling, baste steaks with boiled marinade to enhance the flavor and ensure juiciness.

Menu Plan Monday for January 11th

These past few days have been way busy in my kitchen, but not because of any cooking or baking - Husband has been attempting to install our new kitchen and dining room floor. It was apparently a bit more of a challenge than he anticipated, since it's not done yet, after three days of work, but at least I can use my stove again. Yay! Here's what's on the menu for this week...

Monday - Brinner - Best Buttermilk Pancakes (a new recipe!)

Tuesday - Honey Mustard Chicken

Wednesday - Spaghetti

Thursday - Beef Teriyaki

Friday - Honey Soy Glazed Chicken

Saturday - Brown Sugar Glazed Pork with Red Wine Sauce

Sunday - Pan Roasted Chicken with Onion and Ale Sauce (a new recipe!)

I've got several new recipes to post this week, including one that is definitely going to make it into my regular rotation - Beer and Brown Sugar Marinated Steaks. Keep your eyes peeled for that one, and don't forget, if you need menu inspiration, visit Org Junkie!

Plan B by Jonathan Tropper

I've been reading a lot of Jonathan Tropper lately. I'll admit it. I really enjoyed This is Where I Leave You so much that I've purchased his entire bibliography of works. I have not yet enjoyed one of them as much as This is Where I Leave You, however they all have been enjoyable in their own way, just not as amazingly perfect as that one book.

This was a perfect book for me to read, here at the start of my 29th year, the last year of my twenties. Plan B is the tale of four friends from college who are all now 29 or recently 30 and coming to grips with not being the person they thought they would be at 30. It caused me to ask myself a lot of questions -like who did I want to be when I was 30? Am I happy with the person I am here, on the verge of 30? I'm still pondering a lot of these questions.

As usual, the characters were very real and their dialogue was extremely well-written. I have a hard time understanding why no one has purchased this book to turn into a movie, it would make a good one, especially given some of the subject matter in the book - though I won't give it away.

I will definitely recommend this book, although I wouldn't call it a 5 Star book. It was definitely a good read. Next, I'm re-reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett for my book club, which I'm very much looking forward to.

Orange Honey Glazed Chicken

This was definitely a tasty recipe, though quite similar to the Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken I made not that long ago. This had its differences, from the lengthier prep time and cooking time, for instance. I also used boneless chicken breasts rather than bone-in, skin-on split breasts, but I think it worked out just as well this way. Husband definitely preferred the Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken recipe, but I thought this was quite good. It would make a good recipe for company, since all you do is take the chicken out to rest and finish off the glaze in order to put it on the table.

Even Baby finished every bite of this that we put in front of him, and he sure has gotten picky these days. I'd definitely say this met with his seal of approval.

Orange Honey Glazed Chicken

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Printer-friendly recipe

1 1/2 cups orange juice plus an additional 2 tablespoons
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (about 12 ounces each), ribs removed, trimmed of excess fat and skin (see note above)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons)


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk 1 1/2 cups orange juice, corn syrup, honey, mustard, vinegar, pepper flakes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper together in medium bowl. Place flour in pie plate, then season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Working with one chicken breast at a time, coat chicken with flour, patting off excess.

2. Heat oil in ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. (NOTE: Don't have an ovenproof skillet? Brown the chicken breasts and reduce the glaze as instructed, then transfer the chicken and glaze to a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and bake and don't wash the skillet. When the chicken is fully cooked, transfer it to a plate to rest and scrape the glaze back into the skillet to be reduced.) Add chicken breasts skin-side down; cook until well browned and most of fat has rendered from skin, 8 to 14 minutes. (If after 3 minutes you don't hear definite sizzling, increase heat to medium-high. If after 6 minutes chicken is darker than lightly browned, reduce heat slightly.) Turn chicken and lightly brown other side, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate.

3. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from pan. Add shallot and cook until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase heat to high and add cider mixture. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to 1 cup (heatproof spatula should leave slight trail when dragged through glaze), 6 to 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and tilt to one side so glaze pools in corner of pan. Using tongs, roll each chicken breast in pooled glaze to coat evenly and place skin-side down in skillet.

4. Transfer skillet to oven and bake chicken until thickest part of breasts registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 25 to 30 minutes, turning chicken skin-side up halfway through cooking. If the glaze looks dry during baking, add up to 2 tablespoons of juice to the pan. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 5 minutes. Return skillet to high heat (be careful, use an oven mitt - handle will be very hot) and cook glaze, stirring constantly, until thick and syrupy (heatproof spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice. Spoon 1 teaspoon glaze over each breast and serve, passing remaining glaze at table.

Double Fudge Cookies

As I mentioned before, I grew up loving Great American Cookie Company's cookies. In the last six months or so, they've disappeared from my local malls, and I've been left missing their cookies desperately. Last week, I attempted a chocolate chip cookie knock-off, but I had actually thought it was a knock-off of their double fudge cookies, which were my personal favorite. That's what happens when you really want something and you read (and print) a million recipes, and try to put something together that's missing an integral ingredient (namely cocoa powder). When I started to make these cookies, I re-read the ingredients I had written out three or four times to make sure I had it right this time.

If I do say so myself, these are some awesome cookies. Fudgy, just gooey enough, with a little bit of crunch around the edges and tons of chocolate flavor. Very, very tasty. And look, aren't they pretty? Husband helped out with this lovely shot of these cookies, and I must say, it's probably one of the best food photos I've taken thus far in my completely amateur food photography experience. I'm learning!

Anyway, do yourself a favor. Make these cookies tonight. Just make sure you've got lots of milk on hand, because this is definitely a cookie that requires some milk to go along with it.

Double Fudge Cookies (like at Great American Cookie Company)

Printer-friendly recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cups cocoa - dutched is better, but natural is OK too - I ran out of Dutched and used half of each

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or bittersweet or milk - whatever floats your boat)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy and pale yellow in color.

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together, and add slowly to batter. Mix well.

4. Add your chocolate chips and mix well.

5. Either scoop dough in heaping tablespoons or roll into large balls and place approximately 3 inches apart on a lightly greased (or Silpat'd) cookie sheet. Before you put them in the oven, flatten them with either your fingers or the bottom of a drinking glass, much like you would a sugar cookie. This ensures the big, mall cookie appearance.

4. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes. They will look underdone, I know, but they aren't. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for approximately 5-8 minutes, then move gently onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Menu Plan Monday for January 4th

Happy New Year to you all! I am excited about the new year, and I'm excited about this week's menu. Last week was nice and I'll be posting three new recipes I tried out this week, including a new Double Fudge cookie recipe (yum!), but I'm super excited to try a new recipe for brinner.

Monday: Yeasted Overnight Waffles (a new recipe - stay tuned!)

Tuesday: Chicken Teriyaki and Garlic Noodles

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Garlic Knots

Thursday: Skillet BBQ Chicken

Friday: Homemade Classic Pizza

Saturday: Honey Chicken Stir Fry (a new recipe - stay tuned!)

Sunday: Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry (a new recipe - stay tuned!)

So tell me, what are you making this week? Don't forget, Org Junkie has the market cornered on menu inspiration if you're in need of some. Happy menu planning!

Happy New Year!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunrise/ / CC BY 2.0

New Year's is always a little bittersweet for me. I hate taking down all the pretty Christmas decor and packing it away for next year. The house always looks so blah without the pretty, sparkly bells and lights and things. I'm not much of a decorator for Valentine's Day, but I did budge and buy two cute little things from Target recently to put up. All we have left to take down is our Christmas tree, and I'm a bit afraid of Baby's reaction to that. He's already quite miffed that many stores have taken down their Christmas decorations and that we've started to. If only I could explain it in a way that would make sense to his little 22-month-old brain.

The other thing that's bittersweet to me about New Year's is the whole concept of making resolutions. I've never really met anyone who stuck to their New Year's resolutions, and I've never been very good at making them myself. I've always been a very goal-oriented person, and I still am. If I make a goal, I usually try pretty darn hard to stick to it. But for some reason, New Year's resolutions just never quite work out for me. Maybe I'm too ambitious with them. Maybe I set my sights too high.

There's definitely some things I want to accomplish this year. I turn 30 next December, and that's got me mildly freaked out. Not hugely freaked out, because age really is just a number in my book, but I keep remembering a friend of mine that I grew up with having a total breakdown at a party in high school when she realized she was 15, because eek, that was halfway to 30. Part of me feels like I ought to be melting down about this milestone. Fact of the matter is, I think I've felt 30 for a long time. I had a ridiculously crazy period of years in my late teens and early twenties that got all of the wild and crazies out of my system. Then I felt old. Husband says he's felt old (i.e. 30) since we bought our first appliances, a washer and dryer, when we were 24.

I think the morale of the story here is that this is possibly a big year for me, and as such, I do want to accomplish some things. I'm going to call them my 2010 goals. Not resolutions. Goals. Maybe my brain likes this word better. And I'm not going to write 30 of them, as I'd originally intended (you know, a super cute 30 things to do before I'm 30), because that feels like a lot of things to do, and I'd really like at least a remote chance in hell that I might do all these things. I'm even going to try to figure out how to post these somewhere on my sidebar so I see them every day, so I don't manage to forget about them, as I have in the past.

So, here we go, my official 2010 goals are:

* Move to WordPress. I was going to buy www.typeamommy.com, but someone else owns it (and has for a year and has done absoutely NOTHING with it - ARGH!). So I have to come up with a new domain name (ideas anyone?), but I really want to do this. Peer pressure, I suppose.

* Get posted on Tastespotting or FoodGawker. I'm really avidly trying to improve my photo skills (check out my blog later this week for some double chocolate chip cookies - I'm definitely making strides in the photo department!)

* Purge my closet. I really need to do this. Not only of my clothes, but of all the other random things in my closet, like the bow bouquet that was made for me at my wedding shower.

* Do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred program at home, now that I've lost my personal trainer (boo, she's out of the training business and instead owns her own tea and spices shop) - I actually started this yesterday!

* Make Baby something non-food related. I'm planning to sew him a blanket for his birthday, with some serious help. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba, and Muno in particular, so I'm going to sew him a flannel blanket with Muno's face on it.

* Do NaNoWriMo in November. And try before then, too. I've wanted to do NaNoWriMo ever since I heard about it several years ago, and every year, I put it off. If I ever want to try to be a real writer, I need to give this a shot.

* Make a peanut butter pie for Husband. He watched a TV special about restaurants in my hometown, including Yoder's, an Amish restaurant known for their pies, and has been silently begging me to make one ever since. It's not my cup of tea, but sometimes it's nice to make things for other people. (Note: only sometimes.)

* Make bread from scratch. I make lots of cakes and cookies, but not much in the way of bread. I want to explore this year breadmaking, in part because of my totally kick-ass new mixer, but also because I really like bread.

* Read a classic I avoided in high school and/or college. I was thinking of The Great Gatsy, but I'm not 100% on it yet. I'm still racking my brain (and bookshelves) to see what classics I haven't read. I'd love to say I'll read them all, but seriously. There's probably a decent reason why I skipped most of them.

* Get into a non-plus size pants size. For real. I'm almost there. I know I can do it. And I know the cookies I bake don't necessarily help, but I've never been one to believe in starvation diets. Moderation is the key. Don't eat 10 cookies, eat 2. Sometimes I'm good at that, sometimes I'm not, but having sweets in the house keeps me sane. Take my chocolate fix away, and it's just not pretty what happens next.

* Make real tiramisu. Yes, another goal that benefits someone else. Yes, the tiramisu cake was ridiculously awesome, and I think I might just be sainted in Husband's eyes now as a result, but it's time to stare my baking fears in the eye and climb over them. Really, it can't be that hard now that I've made the tiramisu cake.

* And finally. Make another baby. I think it's about that time. Even my insurance is going to be on board with that this year. Part of me would love to just have Baby, by himself, because I adore him so much, but I know I want to have more than one child, and I know I don't want my children to be too far apart in age, so I guess the time has come to expand.

So, tell me, what about you? What are your goals for 2010?