Sarah | 20something cupcakes

Archive by Author

trio of creamy {spring} salads.

March 28, 2012 in Main Dishes, Salad Bar with 8 Comments

What’s better than a fabulous springtime brunch, kids?

A lovely springtime lunch!

These creamy salads are for lunchtime only. Nevermind the fact that I’ve been eating the leftovers for dinner all week long. Maybe even breakfast. Hey, there are eggs within this spread of deliciousness. Stranger things have happened.

It started when I was thinking about you. I thought – Easter’s coming, and maybe you’ll be having a ham. If you are, chances are you’ll have leftovers. And what better justice is there to do leftover ham other than a spicy-sweet Southern-style deviled ham salad?

And because everything is just that much better when served in a trio, I happily dreamed up not one but TWO more dreamy-creamy salads for this magical lunchtime affair.

Truffled. Egg. Salad. Oh, yes. This one’s a must. If you don’t already have your cabinets stocked with truffle oil and truffle salt, then this would be the perfect reason to do so. You know what ~~they~~ I say: A truffle-less kitchen is a loveless kitchen. Unless you don’t like truffle, but I’m pretty sure if you try it with eggs, you may be converted. They are a special duo, indeed.

Plus, if you’re lucky enough to be participating in an egg hunt, you’ll have plenty of leftover hard-boiled eggs to use. People do that, right? … make egg salad from leftover Easter eggs? Pretty sure that’s a thing.

And for all of the picky-folk out there who won’t touch egg salad or ham salad, we have a lovely lemony-tarragon chicken salad to round things out. It’s all about providing variety when you’re serving up a trio of salads like this – keep it in the family, but make them different enough to attract different taste-buds. I guarantee everyone will find at least one they’re crazy about.

spring coq au vin blanc.

March 26, 2012 in Food Matters Project with 10 Comments

This week’s recipe for The Food Matters Project is a twist on the traditional French dish, coq au vin – which means chicken braised in wine.

Yes, I’m a bit of a French food fanatic – so a recipe like this is right up my alley. It definitely falls on the rustic, French countryside area of the map, which might be my favorite place to be. For me, this type of French cooking equals plenty of good wine, crusty baguettes, and long, relaxed summer days.

Or in this case, spring days.

Though I will at some point be trying Bittman’s recipe in its original form, I couldn’t help myself from turning this into a spring vegetable-orgy. I usually describe my changes in words and link to the original recipe, but because I made so many changes, I wrote out my version for you below.

how-to: easy asparagus tart.

March 21, 2012 in Fabulously Simple, Sassy in the Kitchen, Starters with 6 Comments

Guys. I’ve got something super-awesome for you today!

And, it’s super-easy. I even made a video to prove it.

This asparagus tart is what I like to call a “back-pocket” recipe. You won’t ever need a recipe again after you’ve made it once – and after watching it on video, you probably won’t even need a recipe on your first shot!

Yep, you can pull this one out of your back-pocket anytime you need it. And when might that be, exactly? Well, to start – Easter. This would make an outstanding choice as an Easter hors d’oeuvre, because Easter happens to fall in the springtime, when asparagus is at its lovely peak. It would be equally perfect for brunch with the girls, or even a simple lunch with your better half and a bottle of your favorite white on a gorgeous spring day.

This tart is so impressive and pretty, and what’s even better than that? It tastes delicious, too. Did I mention it’s easy to make? This is a triple-double-win, peeps.

curried tomato soup + hard-boiled eggs.

March 19, 2012 in Food Matters Project, Healthy Eats, Main Dishes with 11 Comments

This recipe, at first glance, could potentially seem like a very strange idea.

When I read it through, however, I didn’t find it strange at all. I was excited by it. I’ve done curry in soup only once, with butternut squash, and it was pure heaven. I thought, curry with tomato soup? This is totally interesting. In my head, I imagined that the curry would add warmth and depth, and the tomato base would be fresh and bright. Coconut milk would add a silkiness, and I was obsessing over the idea of a hard-boiled egg garnish. That was something that, in my head, made complete sense with tomato soup. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?

Everything I imagined was correct, and then some. I am officially in love with this soup.

There are a lot of veggies happening inside, but you wouldn’t know it, because I puréed it into a magical existence. I can’t imagine not puréeing this soup, because when you do, it’s basically a curried tomato bisque. And who doesn’t love a good and creamy bisque?

lemon meringue cupcakes.

March 15, 2012 in Sweets + Treats with 7 Comments

Lemon meringue: It’s just one of those things. You’re either in, or you’re out.

You either like lemony-tart action happening in your desserts, or you don’t. Clearly, I’m into this sort of thing, as a lover of these lemon meringue tarts that I consider to be one of the greatest desserts ever created. But, as it turns out, there’s more to lemon meringue than just pies and tarts.

There’s lemon meringue in cupcake form! And it’s a total sock-rocker.

Spring just makes you want to run out and bake a lemon meringue cupcake or two, doesn’t it? As you can imagine, recipes for these types of cupcakes exist. Lots of them. There aren’t, however, any lemon meringue cupcake recipes that make sense – or should I say, there didn’t used to be … until now!

{Remember a couple of weeks ago when I got to talking about developing recipes that make sense? It’s kind of a new hobby of mine}

Here’s the thing: I’m not trying to have 6 egg yolks here and then 2 egg whites there and then 4 more egg yolks for this part of the recipes and then 4 egg whites over here – no, no, and no. This is not my idea of fun. If I’m making a recipe with three different components – lemon curd, cupcake batter, and meringue frosting – all of them involving eggs, I’d like them to add up to a whole number. And if.at.all.possible, I’d like to make jussssst enough curd and frosting to top the number of cupcakes I’m making.

Is that even possible? You wouldn’t think so, if you started to search this crazy world-wide-web we call the internet for a solution to this problem.

{the real deal} hummus.

March 12, 2012 in Food Matters Project, Healthy Eats, Starters with 13 Comments

Damn you, Mark Bittman.

I already can barely take the artificial taste of store-bought hummus – and now, it’ll be hard to go back to the homemade kind I used to be quite happy with…you know, the kind made with canned chickpeas.

{#foodmattersproblems}

This is what hummus is supposed to taste like. If you’re a hummus-lover, which I bet many of you are, you’ll be blown away by the difference in both flavor and texture that happens when you go that extra mile and cook your own chickpeas.

Only you don’t have to go an extra mile, really – as Mark proves in his instructions for cooking dried beans. To soak, or not to soak…that is the question. Most people, including myself, are turned off by the fact that dried beans require an overnight soak prior to cooking. Not because it’s hard to fill a bowl with water and beans, but because it requires planning ahead. Well, you’ll be thrilled to know that Mark says he’s done it every which way, and he doesn’t find the soaking to make a difference. Boom!

Let’s call it an extra couple of yards you’ve gotta go to do hummus the right way. No soaking overnight, just simmering a pot of beans for an hour or so. Next time, I might try this in my slow cooker – I’ve heard that’s a thing people do.

Totally. Worth. It.

asparagus with fried capers + poached eggs.

March 9, 2012 in Fabulously Simple, Weekend Brunch with 3 Comments

It’s time …

… to start thinking about … asparagus … !!!

You might have other, more exhilarating things to get your heart fluttering right now. Not a bad thing! I suppose I do, too – but as we know, it’s the edible things in life that get me weak in the knees.

The edible things, that grow from the ground, that allow us as people who enjoy food to truly get excited about putting good stuff into our bodies.

Ah, the power of a vegetable at its prime.

Or should I say, the power of a roasted vegetable at its prime. Because when you roast asparagus – like most other veggies – at a very high heat, something magical happens. I’m going to trust that you’ve done this before. Because I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about it ad nauseam. But – the real question remains: Have you ever topped said asparagus with fried capers? And perhaps more importantly – poached eggs?

Swoon.

There’s a lot of magic happening in this dish, and if you’re afraid of poaching eggs, well, then I triple-dog-dare you to try it. If you, too, go weak in the knees for a creamy egg yolk running over your toast, ridiculously-delicious roasted asparagus, hash browns, whatever – then you simply must learn how to poach an egg. Because more often than not, restaurants will undoubtedly screw this up, which leads me to throw a temper tantrum in my head because now my breakfast is ruined, and all I really wanted was a proper eggs Benedict and why must I suffer from an overcooked egg yolk that doesn’t. run. anywhere. ?

statement jewelry {on the cheap}.

March 6, 2012 in Fashion, Obsession Du Jour with 0 Comments

I have a new obsession, and if my bank account has to pay, then so do you. The good news is, you don’t have to pay a lot, because you can find some serious bargains on this site. The bad news is, you’ll probably want to buy, like, everything. Which adds up to – well, I haven’t done the math or anything, but I’m pretty sure it’s over our budget.

Is everyone out there aware of my penchant for shopping online? … Hi. I’m addicted. No bigs.

I have extremely limited time, so going on actual shopping trips is pretty much out of the question. I truly cannot remember the last time I did that. Online is fast and easy and I don’t have to try anything on in a store (mega-triple-insanity bonus points for this lazy lady). I can try it on when it comes to my house and send it back (read: send Daniel with the package to the UPS store, because he is the EFF-ing best) if I don’t like it. Which brings me to my next point: Free shipping and returns is crucial. It’s part of what has addicted me to places like this and this and it’s also why the door-people of my building who receive packages on my behalf think I’m a total nut.

The only downside with online shopping is that you have to plan in advance. Nothing to wear for tomorrow night’s event? Not happening online, unless you’re willing to pay some outrageous shipping charges, which clearly I am not, so … that’s that. Good thing I happen to be a planner, and even better that I happen to frequently discover sites like this one – my latest obsession, BaubleBar.

Inexpensive jewelry is a beautiful thing in that you can easily update what’s already going on in your wardrobe without spending a fortune. I happen to love statement pieces even moreso, because I’m not a person who wears a lot of jewelry, like, at all. My Cartier pretend-wedding ring and diamond studs and maybe the watch I spoke of above is all you’re getting during the week – but on the weekend, I like to throw on a little something. I’m a firm believer in the “less is more” philosophy in terms of clothing as well – for the most part, I dress simply. I’d rather wear a pair of great jeans, a simple white tee, sickening platforms, and one piece of bling and call it a day. Especially when I’m entertaining – there’s just no time for frills. There is, however, time for throwing on a killer necklace with an easy cotton dress. And truthfully, simple is what I feel sexiest in.

And inexpensive jewelry online? Well, it just makes sense. All that talk of trying on and returning if you’re not a fan? Not likely. It’s still a bonus to have free returns as an option, just in case what you’re seeing in person isn’t what you thought it’d be, but for the most part – it all fits! It’s a no-brainer for gift-giving, too.

Apparently, this new object of my affection has been all over the media, on the Today Show, People StyleWatch, etc. Where I’ve been hiding, I don’t know, but I’m so glad I stumbled on it via these earrings on Who What Wear this morning.

A run-down of what I’m loving + purchasing:

fluoro necklace, $38

SOLD! This was apparently seen on the Today Show. Hot pink/fuchsia is definitely big right now, and I like the simple shape of this. They have a similar necklace in a gorgeous, bright shade of blue, but I’ve been looking to satisfy my craving for something pink and this did it.

octagon initial bracelet, $50

SOLD! Couldn’t resist this. Bought it in this exact color combination – I’ve been loving this neon color for years now even though it’s just becoming popular, with the letter “D” for my Daniel. I’ll wear it on the same wrist as my chunky gold Michael Kors watch. Oh, and bonus points for coming in three different sizes – perhaps this one won’t slide off my freakishly small wrists.

monogram necklace, $72

This one comes in a lot of colors; I’m digging the orange – obsessing over everything tangerine right now, the turquoise, and the black. I think it’s a little pricey for what it is, and maybe a little bit too big, but I still love the idea.

tiramisù with homemade ladyfingers.

March 4, 2012 in Dinner Party Worthy, Sweets + Treats with 6 Comments

Welcome to the vat of creamy, coffee-filled delight that is tiramisu.

Layers of espresso-cream cheese-mascarpone filling, espresso-soaked homemade ladyfingers (which are really little sponge cakes), and a dusting of chocolate? Yes. Please.

Even though most people associate tiramisu with eating out, I think it was put on this Earth for at-home entertaining. It’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for a dinner party – especially a big group. And, your oven’s off-duty, meaning you’ve got room for lasagna! Which is another perfect recipe for feeding a crowd.

This particular recipe had a host of issues, but I hope it doesn’t stop you from trying it entirely; because it does have some great ideas, and I’ve adjusted the recipe to give you a better result. I actually intended to give you a video for this recipe, but since I couldn’t stand behind the original recipe as I’d made it in the video, I nixed it. Gotta keep it real!

chicken soup with meatballs + goat cheese toasts.

February 29, 2012 in Main Dishes with 0 Comments

The other day, I went to an event at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival that Alex Guarnaschelli was hosting.

I didn’t see her, but we were still there. Together…in spirit.

{Yes, I did drag my friends up and down the length of a very large white tent on the sand more times than I’d like to admit in an unsuccessful effort to find her}

You may also recall that I referenced her during a recent Q&A hosted by the lovely Lisa of a dinner party. You know, the one where I was asked who I’d invite over for dinner if I could ask anyone in the world, living or dead.

{It’s worth mentioning that Lisa featured Joy the Baker for her next Q&A. Me and Joy, doing the same interviews…NBD}

I’ve stalked out two dishes from South Florida restaurants Alex has referenced on the show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” I didn’t feel weird about it. At all. I was way too excited, in fact, to know that I was sitting in the same restaurants Alex had been at, ordering the same dishes.

Then, I learned that back in the day, Alex’s own mother used to edit cookbooks for the company I’m now working for. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.