My Little Moka Pot

The latest in my favorite kitchen tools: the Bialetti Moka Pot. After my formerly awesome Cuisinart coffee pot began taking 4+ hours to make a pot of coffee, I decided to invest in this $20 stovetop coffee maker that is wildly popular in Europe and elsewhere. Filled with espresso, it makes 10 oz and is the perfect pot for my weekday morning cup of joe. And since treating myself to a "fru fru" coffee drink at Starbucks is a) cost-prohibitive now that I'm no longer employed and b) more effort than it's worth with a toddler, I splurged on the Bialette Cappuccino and Latte set - complete with a milk frother - and a 3-pack of vanilla Torani Syrup on Amazon. While it's not considered to be a true espresso maker, every morning is a treat with a vanilla latte better than anything I can get at Starbucks (and I used to work there).

While I love, love, love this little pot that's perfect for my little kitchen, the one thing I'm still searching for is the perfect espresso bean. I'm trying to avoid the temptation to buy Illy coffee because I fear it will be an expensive habit to break. So I have tried Lavazza Espresso and Trader Joe's Espresso - both okay but not the best I can do, I'm sure. Tomorrow I'll be opening a pack of Lavazza's Crema e Aroma espresso beans (another deal on Amazon)... I almost can't wait to wake up in the morning, just to see if my wish for the perfect bean has been answered. To be continued...

Sweet Potato Salad

I never thought it could happen to me: my almost-one-year old son is a picky eater. The weird thing is as picky as he is, he is also quite the gourmand. He's not into baby food or "plain" food - he doesn't and never has eaten what he's "supposed" to eat. Take, for instance, that in his short little life he's begged for jambalaya, gobbled up veggie frittata, and loves nearly all mexican food. But if I put peaches (from my defunct peach cobbler) or (heaven forbid) carrots in front of him they're immediately thrown on the floor after one bite (which is also spit out). We grew out of pureed foods in one week and went right to quesadillas when he was only six months old. So in order to get this guy to eat healthy, if at all, I need to make those veggies flavorful and preferably, hidden.

Case Study 1: after he refused oven roasted sweet potato fries (um, YUM), I decided to try creating a sweet potato salad with those fries. I searched for a recipe on-line but didn't have all the ingredients to make any that I found so... I improvised. I roasted a red pepper on an open flame, finely minced some shallots, and whipped up a tangy mustard dressing to bring it all together, served room temp and topped with fresh parsley and parmesan. And surprise, it was a hit with both my boys.

Sweet Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS:

3 peeled, chopped sweet potatoes

1 red bell pepper

1 T minced shallot

2 T champagne vinegar (or any other vinegar, but this is a lighter, sweeter vinegar)

1 T grainy or Dijon mustard

2 T good quality extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan or Romano cheese

Fresh Parsley

(*note, all measurements are approximates as I didn't use any measuring utensils - season to taste!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat over to 425 degrees or start the grill. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper - layer on a baking sheet for roasting or, alternatively, lay directly on grill. Roast until tender, about 25 minutes. While potatoes are cooking, place red pepper over an open flame - either on the grill or stove top - and roast until skin is blackened, turning frequently. Once pepper is sufficiently roasted, place in bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10-15 minutes - this will steam the pepper, making it easier to peel off the skin - and gently peel. Once peeled, deseed the pepper and chop. Add to medium sized bowl, along with potatoes. Whisk together shallot, vinegar, and mustard - slowly add olive oil while briskly whisking to create an emulsion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently toss dressing with potatoes and peppers. Top with shredded Parmesan and chopped parsley. If you can hold off, let it sit at room temperature for while so the flavors can meld. But if you can't resist and must eat it immediately then... Enjoy!

The Perfect Bridal Shower Cupcake

Recently I hosted a bridal shower for a dear friend of mine. I wanted the shower to be similar to afternoon tea, complete with dainty finger foods and champagne (note: no one drank the tea). I'm not normally a huge fan of cake but based on the ghastly reaction I received from my Maid of Honor when she asked what kind of cake I wanted at my own shower and I responded with "fruit tart," I wanted to be sure we had a cake in some form. Apparently this is appropriate "shower etiquette." So I set out to find The Perfect Bridal Shower Cupcake. And I think I found it... but not on the first try.

About the time I began planning the event (for a bride who is an event planner, no less) my mother gave me a cupcake cookbook with pictures to die for. After salivating over each page, I decided on the most girly and yet indulgent looking cupcake: the Frou Frou cupcake. The surprise is that it doesn't have chocolate - I dare say a staple among the female species and sure-fire winner- but instead is a delicate raspberry-coconut cake covered in coconut cream cheese frosting and topped with toasted coconut and raspberries.

Thankfully I planned to make the cakes ahead of time, "just in case," and freeze them unfrosted if they turned out well. I'm not sure if it was the suffocating heat and humidity that day or a mistake along the way, but the cakes didn't rise at all and looked and tasted more like a dense fruit cobbler. The husband found them to be buttery-rich and very tasty, but they weren't exactly what I was going for. So I headed back to the store for more ingredients and "just in case," I picked up a couple boxes of Trader Joe's Vanilla Cake mix with madagascar bourbon vanilla flavor.

Running short on time and energy with my almost-one year old in tow, I decided to cheat n use the cake mix, and adding raspberries and coconut to the batter. OH MY GAWD. Perfectly light and fluffy cakes, and the bourbon vanilla bean was a fantastic flavor addition and one I'm not sure if I could recreate on my own without some pricey ingredients. And then there was frosting. When I do eat cake I generally avoid the frosting but this homemade cake paint was To. Die. For. All together the constructed cupcake was a hit and friends are still talking about it... but shhh... they don't know it came from a mix!

So I'm including the original recipe from Cupcakes by Pamela Clark. Perhaps you'll have better luck with Frou Frou than I did, but if not, there's always T.J.'s cake mix!

Frou Frou Cupcakes

• 1 stick butter softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup Self-rising Flour

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• 5 oz frozen raspberries

Cream cheese frosting

• 5 T butter softened

• 12 oz cream cheese softened

• 2 tsp coconut extract

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• Decorations

• 1 cup flaked coconut, toasted

• 15 fresh raspberries halved

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350 degrees. Line 6 hole texas or 12 hole standard muffin pan with paper cups.

2. Beat butter, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

3. Stir in sifted flour, coconut, cream and frozen raspberries. Divide mixture among cases, smooth surface.

4. Bake large cakes about 30 minutes, small cakes about 20 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

5. Make cream cheese frosting.

6. Remove paper from cake, spread cake sides with frosting

7. Roll sides in coconut and then spread frosting on top surface and top with raspberries.

Cream cheese frosting:

Beat buttter, cream cheese and essence in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar.

Fruit Crisp: Lost Cause or Ripe for Perfection?

Last night I attempted to make a fresh fruit crisp with peaches and blueberries. Most crisp recipes are generally the same - they involve brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, oats and a little lemon juice - and this was no exception. Because it's summer and I don't want to heat up my whole house, I baked in my little toaster over at 450 until the top was brown and the peaches were soft. Thinking I'd finally made a good crisp, I dug in... only to find a half inch of liquid at the bottom of my dish. Absolute disappointment.

This is not the first time this has happened, and I know I'm not the only one it's happened to but... WHY?? I've set out to find the answer, preferably before I go apple picking this weekend an have a bounty of apples to make crisps. Is this a lost cause - should I switch to a more involved cobbler - or is the art of making a crisp ripe for perfection?

All suggestions on the matter are welcome... So far I have had two suggested possibilities: one being not enough butter, the other being a need for cornstarch. Thoughts?

Link to Serious Eats post