Thursday, January 12, 2012

First Batch of the New Year!

Oh how I love a good cupcake!


Who doesn't??  With their perfect portions sizes (I mean, in terms of one little cupcake versus a whole slab of cake or something), the ratio of frosting to cake and of course the decorations!

I'm sorry to all the other baked goods out there; cupcakes, are without a doubt my favorite!

That's why, the other day, when I looked at the calendar and realized we were already more than a week into 2012 and I hadn't baked a single cupcake, I dropped what I was doing (I really wasn't doing much, to be honest) and headed straight for the kitchen.

To make up for lost baking hours, I decided that instead of doing one or two large batches of cupcakes, I would do four half batches and get more variety.

The day before I had gone into town with my husband; he wanted to see the silent film, The Artist, and I wanted to shop!  It was definitely a good day for both of us... He loved the movie and I got 8 or 9 different styles of cupcake holders, in addition to the new cookie cutters and food color I also bought!

Anyway, I started my process by picking up my four (new!) cupcake holders.



 Then of course, I choose the cupcakes I would make...

Chocolate with Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting
Red Velvet with Hot Pink Buttercream Frosting
"Better Than Sex Cake" Cupcakes
Electric Blue "Yellow" Cake with Classic Buttercream Frosting

For the Chocolate and Red Velvet I used a simple chocolate cupcake recipe like the "Super Easy, Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes" recipe from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/ and divided it in half.

The first half stayed the plain chocolate...


And with the second half I just added red food coloring. (You do not even want to know how many fights I've had with my husband about how to make red velvet cake...)


I also added a Hershey Kiss to two of them, just to see how they came out... (Honestly, I didn't think it really added anything to the cupcake).

Then I made a basic yellow cake recipe, like the one found at Joy of Baking, and divided that one in half.

The first stayed the basic yellow cake...


While the other was dyed Electric Blue (I love how regular blue just isn't as cool anymore..)...



I baked them all off and then made the Buttercream Frosting.


Butter Cream Frosting Recipe
3 sticks butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1/2 cap-full vanilla extract

Beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy, about 2 mins.  Add powdered sugar a little at a time (1/2 to 1 cup), scrapping sides as needed, until all the powdered sugar is incorporated.  Add the vanilla at the end.


For the frosting(s), I made the the recipe above and divided it into thirds.

For the Chocolate Chip Frosting, I added one cup of chocolate chip and folded it in with a spatula..


For the Hot Pink Frosting, I used Wilton's Pink Food Coloring and added the amount I wanted..


And then I kept one bowl Classic Buttercream.


As for the "Better Than Sex Cake" cupcakes, here is what I did:

"Better Than Sex Cake" Topping
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple
1 cup sugar
vanilla pudding mix
whipped cream
walnuts
coconut

In a saucepan, bring to a boil the pineapple (with its juices) and the sugar.  Let cool slightly

Make the vanilla pudding as per directions on the box.

When the cupcakes come out of the oven, pierce each one a few times with a fork.

Spoon a little of the pineapple syrup on top of the cupcake (try to keep it from running over the sides), then spoon a little of the pudding on top of that and spread it as smooth as possible.  Put a bit of the whipped cream on top, I "spread" my whipped cream on just a little with the back of a spoon.  Add the walnuts and coconuts on top!

I kept my cupcakes in the fridge afterward, just so they would keep longer, but after everything firms up, they are fine and room temp.

Makes enought topping for 1 dozen cupcakes (with plenty of pudding left over!)

And the finished product!!


Well, I'm certainly satistified with my final products.. as were my family members when I finally let them have some.. They only had to wait long enough for me to take the pictures! There might be something wrong with it, but I get this weird satification when I withhold my delicious looking treats from my sister... even if it is for just a few minutes!

The Castroville Cafe


One of the few advantages about living in a small town are the local diners and restaurants.  One of disadvantages is when your town doesn't really have that and you have to go to the next town over.

Lucky for me, that town is only a few minutes away and the restaurant in mind is so worth it!

My first ever visit to the Castroville Cafe was about 8 years ago during Final Exams' week at my high school.  A friend's mom took us out to eat during a long break between exams.

I had not really spent much time in Castroville, what with San Antonio only a few more miles down the highway, what was the point of sticking around the four (now five) stop light town that was exactly like the town I was trying to escape... Anyway, we pulled up to the restaurant, which to me looked more like someone's house; which I think is exactly what it use to be.

It was the first time I had crepes and I was hooked!

For the next few years, I had tried to find the restaurant, but I couldn't remember where it was or what it was called; even though, "Castroville Cafe" isn't exactly a hard name to remember.

Finally last year, my mom and grandma and I were out doing something, I can't even remember that (I'm starting to think I have a terrible memory) and I saw it!

We pulled into the small and weirdly setup "parking lot"; it's basically a gravel driveway where everyone tries to squeeze their SUV's and pick-up trucks around a giant tree growing right in the middle.

I got the Rueben with a pasta salad and Tomato-Basil soup.  I can't remember what they got; I might not even have known, I was way too busy eating all my lunch!  Needless to say, they were hooked just like me.  Especially my grandma.

That brings me to now...

The other day, my husband, my grandma and I made our way our over to Castroville Cafe (yay!) and we were not disappointed.

I got the Rueben again (I'm nothing if not loyal to a good sandwich) and the chicken tortilla soup (it wasn't nearly as good as I remember the Tomato-Basil being, but it wasn't bad either). 


My husband, who is going through a serious obsession with all things bacon, got the roast beef club (with, you guessed it, bacon!), the chicken and dumplings soup and a Caesar salad.


And finally, my grandma, who weighs in at about 90lbs got the chicken salad on a crossiant and a cup of the chicken and dumplings soup.

All and all, it was a great meal!  I just hope it's not another year before I get to eat there again!

The Castroville Cafe is open Monday-Friday and Sundays: 11am-2pm
Located at: 309 Lafayette St, Castroville, TX 78009
Phone: 830-538-3400

-Rhianna

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Road Trippin’ On a Long Weekend

Friday was the mid-season return of one of the best shows on television: the CW’s Supernatural.

It is one of my favorite shows for many reasons (and no, it’s not because the two main characters are gorgeous...it helps of course, but that is not the only reason).

One of the things I love most about the show is the Car. A 1967 Chevy Impala… my dream car… Every time I watch Supernatural I get this urge to jump in my own car (a not-nearly-as-awesome-as-an-Impala, Chrysler Sebring) and go on a road trip… that and hunt monsters… But since I was trained in classic French cooking and not monster hunting, I will have to stick with just the road trips..

That being said, I’ve come up with the following few places that I am going to force, I mean, persuade, my dear husband to go with me to in the next few months.

This list is going to consist of South Texan attractions; because when you live in a small town in the Texas Hill Country even going to the next town over can be considered a “road trip”.

Number 1:  The Salt Lick, Austin

18300 FM 1826
Driftwood, Texas 78619
Hours: Open every day 11am to 10pm
Phone: 512-858-4959

BBQ


Number 2:  Tip Top, San Antonio

2814 Fredericksburg Road  
San Antonio, TX 78201
210-732-0191
Hours: Monday-Closed
Tues to Sat-11am to 8pm
Sunday-11am to 7pm

Diner

  Picture Source: http://www.momandwife.com/

Number 3: Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery, Tarpley

11804 FM 470
Tarpley, TX 78883
830-562-3727
HOURS: FRIDAY & SATURDAY: 11-4 and 5-9
SUNDAY: 10-11:30 and 12-2 

Burgers, etc.

 Picture Source: http://www.jurnii.com/

Number 4: Bun 'N' Barrel, San Antonio

1150 Austin Hwy.
San Antonio, Texas  78209
(210) 828-2829
OPEN EVERY DAY: 11:00 AM TO 9:00 PM

Diner Style


Number 5: OST Restaurant, Bandera

305 Main Street
Bandera, Texas 78003
Hours: Monday 8a-8p




Tuesday 8a-9p




American

Number 6: Kerby Lane, Austin

3704 Kerby Lane
Austin, Texas
512-415-1436
Hours: 24 Hours

Diner


Number 7: Cocoamoda, Calvert

518 S. Main St.
Calvert, TX 77837
979-364-2190

HOURS:
Monday - Tuesday 11:00AM - 5:00PM (Chocolate & Beverages only)
Wednesday - Friday 11:00AM - 10:00PM
Saturday 9:00AM - 10:00PM
Sunday 9:00AM - 5:00PM

French Bistro

 Picture Source: http://www.flickr.com/

 Until I get the opportunity to get out on the road myself, I guess I will just have to crank up Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son" and practice my monster hunting knife skills... I mean, just regular culinary knife skills... yeah, that's it...

-Rhianna

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Cake Pops: Take 1

Well the first experiment of 2012 turned out to be... unsuccessful...

I have been wanting to try my hand at the current trend in the baking world: Cake Pops; so for Christmas, my grandma gave me and my sister really cool Cake Pops pans; unfortunately when I tried to make the Cake Pops, they did not resemble anything close to what Cake Pops should look like...

For my first attempt I decided to cheat a little and use a cake mix instead of my own recipe.. I know what you're thinking, "That's culinary blasphemy!" but in this situation, for practicing purposes, I decided go the route of "Semi-Homemade" a la Sandra Lee; after all I was testing the technique of Cake Pops making, not my ability to bake a cake...

Anyway...  Here's what I did:

First I gathered all my ingredients:

The French vanilla cake mix, white chocolate chips, Wilton's pink food color, French vanilla pudding mix, and of course of the cake pops pan. (not pictured: pop sticks, sprinkles, and cooking spray)


In the mixer, I put both the cake mix & the pudding mix.  When you add the pudding mix to the other dry mix (or ingredients, if you are making the batter from scratch) it makes a more dense cake.


Next you add the eggs, add an extra egg than whatever mix or recipe you are following.


If your recipe or mix calls for water, add milk instead & just use half.


The vegetable oil goes in next.

Beat until smooth, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.  Scraping sides.


Add the food color.  I chose pink to contract with the white chocolate coating.  Plus I had sprinkles that would look cool with the pink cake!


Spray the pans.


Pour in the batter to the bottom pan.  This is where I made my first mistake. According to the directions I was following, you are suppose to use the WHOLE batch of batter; next time I will just use half.


Place the top pan on top of the bottom d secure that locks. By this point in my experiment, I could tell by the batter dripping over the sides, that they was not going to work.  But I was already invested.


After I let them bake for 25 minutes, I pulled my Cake Pops out...


Yeah, they didn't make it.


They did taste good however!


Well, that was my first try at these little buggers...I guess it's back to square one!

-Rhianna

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012: A New Year, A New Blog

It's that time of year again!  Resolution time.  Everyone has at least one, and everyone usually forgets about it before the Valentine's chocolates are in stores.  I've been guilty of it myself once..or twice.. ok! every January.  But this year is different.. maybe.. hopefully.. It will be!  

As part of my "New Year's Resolution" I am going to maintain a blog!  I know what you're probably thinking.. "Oh thank the good Lord, I can finally know what her thoughts on everything are!"  Well, you are in luck!  

I hope to use this blog throughout the year to record my experiences, successes, and yes, even failures, while I travel through my own culinary world, and I hope that you (if there is actually anyone reading this) enjoy what you see!

For my inaugural post I am going to list my goals for this year.  Things I want to try to make, bake or decorate, and so on.

10 Things I Want to Master 

  1. French Macaroons
  2. A Three Tiered Cake
  3. Petite Fours
  4. Have a clam bake
  5. Come up with health alternatives to “comfort food”
  6. Spaghetti Carbonara
  7. Wood-fire Grilling
  8. A “Julia Child” dish
  9. Cake Pops
  10. Truffles
Happy New Year!

-Rhianna