I heart cupcakes

Sometimes, you just feel like a cupcake. Sometimes, I just feel like making them. I made these this morning. I used a boxed yellow cake mix, but homemade icing. I think it's okay to use a mix for the cake part or a mix for the frosting but not both.

Cupcakes on a pretty plate? That's a bucket of happy right there. 

I made some little ones and some big ones.

I use a pastry bag and a tip ... but just a knife works too.



Is there crack in the chicken patties?

I've discovered a new food ... which isn't really new at all but new to me. I've checked out a couple of markets down here (the Fitchburg/Leominster area) that I was referred to. Specifically, these market sell good meats and deli products. Both of these markets (Romano's and the Central Street Market)
sell chicken patties. These are raw chicken breasts, or are made of breast meat, and they are seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and sometimes peppers and onions.

Not much to look at here, but trust me, these little patties are filled with delicousness.

The first time I saw them was at Romano's and the guy beside me ordered five pounds of them. I asked him, "What's up with the chicken patties?" He told me that he'd always bought them but that particular weekend he was buying them for his in-laws, who were visiting from Maine. They brought them back home with them. He explained that you cook them on the grill or on the stove.
I bought four, two plain and two with peppers and onions.
These chicken patties are not very different from eating a pounded fillet of chicken with some seasoning. But they taste better for some reason. I cooked them in a skillet and served them on some fresh burger rolls I bought at a bakery. I put cheese on the ones Barry would eat and made some homemade mayonnaise. He loved them and so did I. They were moist and flavorful and very quick to make.
I bought more last week when I visited the Central Street Market. I noticed they had them in the case for $1 a piece. I said to the guy behind the counter, "I've never seen these anywhere before ... is this a local thing?" He told me they had always had them, they make them there and they sell out fast.
I'm pretty sure there is crack in the chicken patties. I cooked them tonight, again in the skillet and made some herbed mayonnaise to go with them. Barry (my boyfriend), ate his on buns and I ate mine plain. They were so freaking good. I wanted to eat about 10 more. I did not.
I made a kick-ass macaroni salad but the chicken patties cast a big shadow over the entire table.
I can't wait to have chicken patties again. Maybe I'll cook them on the grill this time. Barry said, while still eating his first one, "I love these. I'll have these again anytime."
And so, we shall.

Cake? Bar? Cookie? Pie? It's your birthday.

The plain cheesecake in all its glory.

When a friend or relative celebrates a birthday, I think it's important to offer a treat of some sort. I think birthday cakes are lovely, but I don't love cake; I love icing. I typically offer a cake, bar, cookie or pie to the celebrant. You can have a chocolate cake, a plate of cookies, some blonde brownies or perhaps a pecan pie. Gone are the days of just a big old cake with a few candles stuck in it. If that's what you want, fine. But it's your birthday, so I'll give you a choice.
Often folks want the cakes that they don't get to have very often ... well, the homemade version anyway. Many of my friends like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Others like red velvet, some like something more pedestrian, like a chocolate chip cookie.
For Barry's birthday, which is today, he asked for a cheesecake. I make a pretty standard cheesecake but pretty it up with caramel topping, ganache and chopped pecans. It has all the ingredients of a turtle confection only it sits on top of a creamy, sweet cheesecake. In the sugar and fat department, it's an overload. But the cheesecake feeds a crowd and it's very festive.
Here's the recipe for the cheesecake (which is chilling in the fridge right now) along with the ganache and the caramel topping.
This is a good recipe on its own, unadorned. But it would also be good with some fresh berries or even a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

The lovely cheesecake with a big pile of caramel.

And some chopped pecans ...

And some ganache. Delicious!

Crust:
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
11/2 graham cracker crumbs
Mix ingredients together and press into well greased 10 inch springform pan. Place in freezer.
Cake:
11/2 cups sugar
4 packages cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix the sugar with the cream cheese until well blended. Add the cream and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the flour, sour cream and vanilla. Mix well until filling is fluffy and blended. Pour into crust.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour, shut the oven off and leave the cake in the oven for 5 hours (yes, 5).
Remove from oven and chill at least 24 hours before serving.
Caramel topping:
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Melt the butter and the sugar in a heavy bottomed pan. Allow to simmer for about a minute and then add the cream. Allow the caramel to simmer for another minute, stirring well. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature. Stir it every 15 minutes or so so that it doesn't separate. It will continue to thicken.
(BTW: this is awesome on ice cream. But be careful .. you will just want to make it all the time to eat with a spoon, right out of the pan.)
Ganache:
Heat 1 cup heavy cream over medium high heat until bubbles form around the rim. Pour hot cream over 1 cup chocolate chips. Stir well until all of the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.
When the cake is cooled, spread the caramel on top. Chop 1 cup of pecans finely and sprinkle around the outside of the cake; the caramel will hold them in place. Make a design with the ganache on top of the caramel.
I put some of the ganache in a plastic bag and snip off one end. I make a few lines across the cake and then pull a knife through it to make a groovy design.

Did everyone have Jamaican food for breakfast?

My niece Dawn and her fiancee Shane. I heart them.

My only experience with Caribbean food is the food I've eaten on vacations to Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. It was very American-ized, perhaps flavored with the spices of the islands but nothing close to the real thing.
Last weekend, on Mother's Day, I was treated to breakfast at my niece's home in New Jersey. Dawn is engaged to marry Shane, a lovely man who enjoys cooking and hails from Jamaica. On the menu Sunday: peanut porridge, ackee and saltfish, callaloo, boiled dumplings and bananas. Shane also made a plate of sweet dumplings.
When we arrived, the table was set with pretty flowers and we were offered coffee, juice or a mimosa.

Jamaican breakfast: clockwise from left: sweet dumplings,
callaloo, peanut porridge, boiled dumplings
and banana, ackee and saltfish.

I took a plate with a little of everything. I loved the peanut porridge; think hot cereal like oatbran only really flavorful. I also enjoyed the callaloo, greens almost like kale, which is flavored with a soup mix. I didn't love the ackee and saltfish, I think because it was .... fish for breakfast or too salty, but that was just a matter of what one person likes to eat compared to another; my sister loves it.
 The boiled dumplings and banana were also good; very different from anything I've ever had. And the fluffy sweet dumplings were wonderful ... I could have eaten the whole plate, which I did not.
I come from a family of cooks and when we gather together, we always eat well. Shane officially joins our family on June 9, when he and Dawn are married. We happily anticipate his gifts from the kitchen.

Jamaican Peanut Porridge

1 cup raw peanuts
1 cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Water as needed, approx. 2 cups
Place the peanuts in a blender and process until almost smooth. Set aside.
Place 1 cup of water in a saucepan to boil; add salt.
Put the oatmeal in a blender and process until it becomes powder.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, peanuts and oatmeal in a bowl. Slowly pour water into the
bowl until the ingredients form a paste. Pour the liquid paste into the boiling water.
Stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on medium heat, but remove the cover periodically to keep it from boiling.
Cook for 12 minutes and lower the heat and add the vanilla, nutmeg and milks. Stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook 2 more minutes.
Allow porridge to cool slightly before serving.

A trifecta of trout

These trout all came from the same lake; caught by a neighbor yesterday.
 The top trout is a brown trout, the middle is a rainbow
 and the one on the bottom is a tiger trout.

The neighbor brought over a trio of trout this week: a brown trout, a rainbow and a tiger trout. I'm a big fan of trout, having grown up eating the fish my dad (and mom) caught regularly. My mother cooked them in bacon drippings in a cast iron skillet after rolling them in flour and cornmeal.
I cook them the same way, but I haven't perfected her method yet, in part because I don't get fresh fish often enough to practice.
I cooked two of what a friend called the "trifecta of trout" tonight. The fish was tender and delicious. I didn't add anything but some salt and pepper. The skin kind of came off when I took them out of the pan and one of them broke in half ... so they didn't look great, but they tasted delicious. Boyfriend Barry liked them enough but was put off by the bones. He doesn't like to have to work too hard at eating. A lot of people feel like that; lobster is too much work, etc. I don't mind the fuss, especially not when you are talking about fresh trout or lobster.
Mostly I loved the taste. There is nothing to compare to a fresh fish -- caught yesterday. We had a salad with warm goat cheese and some Brussel sprouts to go with it. But to be honest, I would have been fine with just the fish.
Also, who doesn't love a neighbor/friend/colleague that brings you food? It may be tomatoes from the garden or homemade cookies during the holidays, doesn't much matter. Who doesn't love food gifts?

rhubarbrhubarbrhubarb

I can't think of rhubarb without thinking of "rhubarbrhubarbrhubarb." That is what the actors in old time radio shows used to make the noise of a disgruntled crowd in the background. I learned that in a public speaking class a million years ago.
As a kid, we used to cut the stalks off of the bush and stick them in the sugar bowl to eat. I'm not sure I could do that now. Rhubarb has lovely flavor, but it is very tart.
While having coffee with a friend last week out on her deck, I noticed a very healthy rhubarb bush in her yard. When I asked her if she cooked with it, she said no and if I wanted it, she'd cut it for me. I went home with a big bagful. If you are lucky enough to be given rhubarb or if you buy it at the store and you have more than you need, you can chop it up and throw it in the freezer to use later.
I make a delicious rhubarb coffee cake. There's plenty of sugar in it to soften the tart rhubarb and a streusel topping that includes brown sugar. So, it's sweet and tart.

Rhubarb Crumb Bars are made with lots of butter and powdered sugar.

I also make rhubarb crumb bars which are a big pan of buttery goodness.
My boyfriend Barry often says he doesn't like rhubarb. The rhubarb cake I made tonight? It's missing three pieces already and I haven't had any ... neither have the dogs.

The stalks in the top picture yielded about 10 cups of rhubarb. What I didn't use got chopped into small pieces and put in the freezer for later. Each bag has two cups of rhubarb.

The crumb bars just before they went in the oven.