A Safe Return, Too Much Fun And Iced Lemon Cookies


Yes, I have returned from the big city and I have to say that I enjoyed myself soooo much.  I really loved Washington D.C.  I ate at some really cool restaurants, saw some amazingly beautiful sights, toured way too many museums and had Air Force One fly right over my head. It was a lovely getaway from the daily life of kids and stress.  Very relaxing and stress free.  The husband and I really needed that.  Bad.  Anyways, the hugs and kisses didn’t last long and than it was back to life as we know it.  It was a heart breaker though after returning and my 3 year old daughter said to me “Mommy, can you go away again for a long time and I’ll go stay with Grandma?”.  Yah, you bet my eyes were filled with tears after that one.  She had no idea how much I missed her.  I was so glad to be home and it was a straight punch in the gut. Innocent as her sweet little heart is..Kids!  You gotta love them!

My next post I will be telling you about all the fun places we ate at, because I had some amazing suggestions from my lovely food blogging friends, and every last one of them were exactly as they described.  Only one bad experience and that one we should have known better.  I’ll keep you on your toes for that one.  
So, I couldn’t wait to get back in the kitchen.  I was having baking withdrawls for sure.  My husband thought I was such a dork.  I had so many new ideas pop into my head while I was away, and I couldn’t wait to get back and try them out!  So the first one are these decedent Iced Lemon Cookies.  Yum.  Yes I know I have a million lemon posts on my blog.  I just can’t get enough of it.  Especially in the summer.  I crave lemon.  So these definitely hit the spot.  They are a spin on the classic sugar cookie with a burst of lemon.  Yum, yum, yum.  I’m sure every last one will be devoured before tomorrow morning! 
Iced Lemon Cookies
recipe by Stephanie
For the cookies:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 egg
For the icing:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons milk
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Add egg.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients until well combined.
4. Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scooper, scoop the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or until firm.  
5. Take out and cook 12 at a time at 350 degrees for 11-15 minutes or just until set.  Do not overbake. Let cool on wire racks.
6. In a small bowl mix the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and milk until creamy.  Top cookies with the icing.  
I just wanted to say thanks to Noor from Ya Salam Cooking and Dawn from Vanilla sugar for giving me the Brilliante Weblog award.  What a way to make my day!  I’ll pass this along very soon!  :)

Baked on August 11, 2008 | Recipe Card: blogging award, cookies, lemon | 19 Bites 

BBQ Chicken, Awards and My Mother

My brain is a complete blank right now.  I can’t seem to form coherent sentences, but I will keep trying for the sake of this post!  I made these Barbecue Chicken Wingettes the other night and we were definitely licking our fingers clean.  Very delicious.  And whenever you can get all messy and use your hands is always a fun change.  My daughter loved smearing the sauce all over her hands and licking it right off.  I think she ate more sauce than actual chicken.  The recipe called for “drumettes“, but I could only find chicken labeled as “wingettes“.  If you ask me it looks exactly the same, but I may be wrong.  Nevertheless, this dish was a hit and I will definitely be making it again!  I got the recipe here.  Thank you Martha Stewart!

Brown Sugar Barbeque Chicken Drumettes
adapted from Martha Stewart (I scaled it down)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
course salt and black pepper
2 pounds chicken drumettes, patted dry
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together ketchup, sugar, worcestershire, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.  Set aside 1/2 cup for tossing raw chicken; use rest for baked chicken.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Place drumettes on baking sheets and toss with 1/2 cup sauce.
4. Bake chicken until opaque throughout, 20-25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.  Toss baked drumettes with a little more sauce and serve the remaining sauce on the side.
And now, a big thank you to Holly over at Phemomenom for giving me the Yummy Blog Award!  You definitely made my day and I would love to pass it on to a few of my favorite food blogs!
First is Prudy from Prudence Pennywise.  As she states on her blog..scandalously good food on a budget.  My kind of girl.  I’m always looking to cook on a budget.  I’ve not mastered this art yet, but I love her tips and especially her recipes.  
Second Joy from Joy the Baker.  Joy cooks from the heart, and I love her writing as much as her recipes.  When I read her blog, I get a smile on my face and I usually end up laughing.  Her recipes are amazing, and I don’t think there is one recipe that I’m not dying to try!
And lastly, Dawn from Vanilla Sugar.  I’m new to Dawn’s blog, but I have enjoyed it so much since discovering it.  Her recipes are right up my alley and I love reading her food reviews.  
Thanks again Holly, and make sure you check out these blogs, if you haven’t already, you won’t be disappointed!
And one more final note, my dear sweet Mother recently started a French Linen business called My French Table.  She has some amazing French Imported tablecloths, aprons, kitchen hand towels and napkins.  They are really beautiful!  Make sure you check it out!  That is my sweet daughter with her Grandma, (My Mom), getting ready to bake away!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Baked on July 25, 2008 | Recipe Card: blogging award, chicken, main dishes | 10 Bites 

Buttery Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream and Awards!

I’ve been trying to come up with more and more of my own recipes.  I realized that it’s probably not the best idea to post all of the recipes out of the cookbooks that I haven’t actually written myself.  So I’ve been trying to get my brain thinking and I’ve been experimenting and trying to become a more creative artist in the kitchen.  Hopefully that all works out…it’s coming slowly though.  So, I just found these cute muffin cups that I wanted to use, and I was trying to create a half pound cake half cupcake recipe.  I had the recipe all on paper hoping it would all work out. My daughter helped me get the batter made and as I’m scooping it into the muffin cups I realize that I only added half the butter as I intended.  They turned out beautifully despite the mistake. Extremely buttery and moist.  The perfect cupcake.  I must not have had my baking “mojo” properly connected because another mistake of filling the muffin cups too full ended up as huge mess in my oven.  But they were salvaged.  These cupcakes were perfect.  I topped them off with a creamy chocolate buttercream frosting.  Delicious!  

Buttery Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream
recipe by Stephanie
makes 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (or you could use almond or lemon)
For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (or half and half or milk)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a mixer, beat butter until creamy.  Add milk.  Add eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated.  Slowly add the dry ingredients until well mixed.  Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Batter should be fluffy and creamy.
2. Line muffin tin with muffin cups.  Fill the cups only 1/2 full with batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in muffin tin.  Transfer to wire rack to frost.
3. For the frosting, in a mixer cream the butter.  Add the cocoa and mix thoroughly.  Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cup at a time, alternating with the cream until consistency is fluffy and creamy.  Frost on cooled cupcakes.

I felt so honored when I received not 1 but 2 Yummy Blog Awards! One from my good friend Jenny at Picky Palate and the second one from the lovely Leslie at The Hungry Housewife. Thanks girls! It made my day and made me feel very special! I’ve met some of the nicest people here in Foodie Land. I love seeing the creativity that comes from the blogs I love and it inspires me to do better! So now I want to pass this great award on to 5 other great Food Blogs. I could choose so many, but here are the glorious blogs I chose:

Holly at Phemomenom: Holly bakes so many wonderful treats, I really wish I lived next door. I could easily make everything on her blog and die a happy girl.  She is not afraid of a little flour and sugar, and I love that about her blog!
Lindsey at Cafe Johnsonia: I would hope that someday she does open her own cafe, because I would be a loyal customer!  Everything that Lindsey makes seems so fresh, healthy and delicious!  I love pulling up her blog nearly everyday and finding a new and delicious post and my mouth waters every time!
Lori at Recipe Girl: Lori’s blog is outstanding.  I love seeing her new posts and the bounty of recipes she has on hand!  She always has something new and delicious waiting for me when I turn on my computer!
Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen: Kalyn is all about healthy, and so when I look at her blog, it inspires me to be more healthy in my cooking.  It is easy to get so many wonderful ideas to lighten up your diet!  Something I need for sure…
Emiline at Sugarplum:  Emiline is truly original.  She creates all of her own recipes and it is truly an inspiration!  Her recipes are all mouthwatering.  I’ve made a few and they were all completely delicious!  

Make sure you check out these great blogs and be inspired!

Baked on July 8, 2008 | Recipe Card: Dessert, blogging award, cupcakes | 22 Bites 

A Blogging Award And Peanut Butter Cups

I was stunned when I pulled up one of my favorite blogs, My Kitchen Cafe, and noticed that Melanie had given me a blogging award, Blogging With A Purpose!  It made me feel so good that someone actually likes this silly blog!  I put so much time and energy into this blog and it makes me feel so good to have positive feedback, so thanks Melanie.  I too, love Melanie’s blog, it is just my style of cooking and everything always looks and sounds so tasty!  I actually made her Peanut Butter Cups last week and they were exquisite!  So creamy and delicious!  It’s my turn to 5 more fabulous blogs that I love for the same award, Blogging With A Purpose:

Kevin at Closet Cooking: It seems as though Kevin lives in his kitchen, almost a new tasty post every day or close to it.  He tries things that I haven’t even dreamt of, but it inspires me to expand my horizons and try new things.  His pictures are perfect and every recipe looks beautiful!
Patsyk at Family, Friends, and Food:  I love this blog because it is right up my alley.  I love her recipes and I relate to her food, if that makes sense.  She is always so nice with her comments and I just adore her blog!
Melody at My Sweet & Saucy: I just found Melody’s blog not to long ago, but I am now addicted. She is perfectly talented in the art of baking, and she inspires me with her beautiful cakes and treats.  
Patricia at Technicolor Kitchen: Patricia has a very beautiful blog with great pictures and great recipes.  She bakes and cooks things that I wouldn’t normally think of, but when I see her photo’s, it opens my eyes to new things and makes me want to give all of her recipes a try!
Jenny at Picky Palate: What can I say, Jenny has true talent in the kitchen.  She creates beautiful recipes, all of which I would like to try, and it inspires me to create my own dishes. It’s so fun to see what she’ll create next!  
Award winners, here’s what you can do if you would like to nominate any other blogs:
1. Nominate 5 blogs which haven’t had this award before.
2. Each of the blogs must have a purpose
3. The nominated blogs should link back to this page.
4. The logo from the award can be put on their blog and link back to this blog!
Thanks again Melanie, and now onto the Peanut Butter Cups!
I saw this recipe on Melanie’s blog I knew immediately that I had to make them and very soon.  So I did.  And they were so delicious!  I liked that the peanut butter was mixed in with the chocolate, it made it so creamy and absolutely divine!  
Solid Peanut Butter Cups
12 oz. melted chocolate (I used 9 ounces semi-sweet squares and 3 ounces white chocolate squares)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Melt chocolate according to package directions, taking care not to overheat.  To the melted chocolate, add the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla.  Mix well.  Spoon or pipe chocolate mixture into small baking cups.  Refrigerate until set.  Enjoy!

Baked on April 21, 2008 | Recipe Card: Dessert, blogging award, candy | 26 Bites