Tag Archives: Side Dishes

Cupcake Madness: Part Deux

28 Mar

I’ve had the craziest sweet tooth lately, I’ll post some ‘regular’ food soon, but for now it’s still Cupcake Madness! As promised here is cupcake #2 in my Sweet Six. I decided to try something a little different, so I combined some of my favorite ingredients to make these babies. Well, it was more like what I could make with ingredients I already had stocked in my fridge and pantry. So here they are:

Lemon & Cranberry Soda Cupcakes with Lemon-Lime Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from Bakerella’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Cook Time: About 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: Makes about 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients (Little Commentary Needed, Super Easy to Make)

Cake:

3 Cups of Self-Rising Flour – Sifted

1 cup of unsalted butter – this is 2 stick of butter, always at room temperature

2 Cups of Sugar

4 Eggs – at room temperature

1 Cup of Cranberry Soda – I used an Italian Sparkling Soda. Have another soda you love? Try it with Blood Orange Soda, or maybe Pink Lemonade, perhaps Strawberry. The sky’s the limit.

1 Teaspoon of Lemon Extract


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The Brick-Bringing an Eastern Market Favorite Home

21 Feb

Oh, Eastern Market, how I love thee.  No, really I do, it’s probably one of the best outdoor (and indoor) farmer’s markets in the area.  Problem is, it’s about a 30 – 45 minute drive from my house, and I won’t even begin to talk about parking.  If I could I would go every day, just to pick up some fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables from local farmers.  Maybe even eat a crepe, or stand in line at Market Lunch, on a Saturday morning. Well, if I could skip the line, in a VIP kind of way, I would totally do it.  However, I don’t see that happening anytime soon, so I’ll just wait like everyone else.

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The Elusive Tortilla–Mastering the Art of Tortilla Making

12 Feb

My Mother was an amazing cook.  She loved trying new recipes, and tasting new dishes.  Especially the Salvadorean cuisines my Father’s family cooked for her.  However, there was one food that she loved, but could never quite master.  That dish is what I affectionately call her elusive tortilla.    She was always on the hunt, trying to figure out how to make these little “flatbreads”. She bought presses, asked coworkers, badgered random people on the street, can you say embarrassing for me and my sister, but ultimately she never learned how to make tortillas.  So, I figured, I would pick up where she left off, besides going up to random people on the street, I also wanted to learn how to make these treats.

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30 Minute Sweet Potato Gratin

24 Jan

This is probably one of my favorite sides to make because it combines some of my favorite vegetables.  About two years ago, I found this great recipe for a potato and sweet potato gratin and thought it would be perfect for a potluck I was invited to.  Logistically, it turned out to be a nightmare.  First, potatoes turn a grayish-brown color (become oxidized) if they are not cooked right away (within 15-30 minutes) after being peeled.  Also, if you don’t cut the potatoes thinly then they will take forever to cook.  The gratin came out okay, but I’m a bit impatient and I knew I had to do something to cut down on the cooking time.  I came up with this recipe by accident because I ran out of potatoes, and just used what I had stocked in the fridge.  Did I mention it cooks in about 30-45 minutes?  That’s right, this dish is table ready in less than an hour.  Not too bad when you’re talking about a potato gratin.

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