Chick Cupcakes

source: Martha Stewart

Tools and Materials
20 Vanilla Cupcakes
Buttercream Frosting
4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 piece (10 inches) black licorice lace, cut into 40 (1/3-inch) pieces
20 whole almonds
140 red candy-coated licorice pastels (about 1/3 cup), or pieces of snipped red licorice laces

Step 1
Bake cupcakes and cool completely. When turned upside-down, each cupcake becomes the body of a chick. Spread buttercream frosting on a cupcake to anchor it to the serving plate while you are working. Use a small offset spatula to coat the sides thickly with frosting, and then mound more on top to create a dome shape.

Step 2
Press toasted shredded coconut into the frosting -- it stands in for fuzzy feathers. Hold the plate at an angle while applying the coconut so the excess falls back into the bowl.

Step 3
Place eyes (made from snipped black licorice laces) on chicks using tweezers. Use a whole almond for the beak and red licorice for the feet and comb; both can be pushed into the frosting by hand.

Champagne Sangria

I think this is the first cocktail on the blog, but since celebrating the last day of 2008 and ringing in the new year may be on your agenda tonight, I thought it was appropriate. Here's a twist on the traditional champagne toast that I found on The Today Show's Website to try at your New Year's Eve Party!

Recipe by: Giada De Laurentis

Champagne sangria
• 1 (750 ml) bottle Prosecco or French champagne, chilled
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 cups Mint Simple Syrup, recipe follows
• 1 lemon, zested and thinly sliced
• 1 lime, zested and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 5 fresh mint sprigs
• Crushed ice

Mint simple syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup packed mint leaves

Happy New Year!

Lemon and Dill Popcorn

This is a recipe I made for some family members this year at Christmas. It's a tangy twist on savory popcorn. Some gourmet popcorn recipes are too sweet to me, but this one is both salty and interesting due to the addition of dill and lemon zest.

The recipe calls for 10 cups of popped corn - and while it sounds like a lot - you may want to make two batches. TIP: make 10 cups of popped corn by popping 1/2 cup of kernels.


Ingredients:
-10 cups popped corn
-2 tablespoons melted butter
-1 tablespoons dill
-2 tablespoons lemon zest
- salt to taste


Steps:

1. Make 10 cups of popped corn. NOTE: I think popcorn recipes are best made with an air popper or you can even use a heavy skillet if you don't have an air popper. Just add oil to the pan (about 3 or 4 tablespoons), add the kernels, and pop over medium heat.

2. While the corn is popping, zest roughly two lemons for 2 tablespoons of zest. Also, finely chop the dill.

3. Melt butter and set aside. When popcorn is done popping, spread in thin layer on parchment paper and pour melted butter over corn. Mix well.

4. Sprinkle lemon zest and dill evenly over popcorn.

5. Salt to taste.

Yum!

Kristy

Easy Popcorn Balls

The other day my husband and I were attending a Christmas lunch party at the lab that we work in, but we had our interviews for medical school that morning, too! We had no time to go home across town in Miami and grab whatever it was we'd be taking to the party, so we had to figure out something to take that could easily sit in the car during the interview and during errands and wouldn't go bad or melt! Lo and behold... popcorn balls! I made a few changes to a normal recipe to accomodate our tastes and what we had at home. They were a perfect non-super sweet addition to the dessert table and you can always make them as big or as small as the party would call for. This recipe makes about a dozen medium-sized balls.



Easy Popcorn Balls

2 regular sized bags of Kettle Popcorn
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. sugar
Dash of salt

Prepare popcorn in microwave as directed, being careful not to overcook. Meanwhile, mix together corn syrup, sugar, and salt in a medium sized pan and heat & stir on low. Add 1-1/2 to 2 bags of popcorn to pan and gently fold popcorn in the sweet mixture with a rubber spatula, being careful not to break the popcorn. Continue folding until all sugar is dissolved and popcorn is well-coated. Rub butter on the palms and fingers of your hands and form popcorn into balls and set on your platter. Let cool.


Enjoy!

Vanilla Icing

The Holiday season is in full swing... and sooner or later you're going to need some icing for those cookies of yours that you're going to let the kids (or husband :) ) sprinkle! This recipe for vanilla icing is a modified version from my buttercream icing. It's less butter and more milk, and makes in a smaller amount so you can double it as needed for however many cookies you are making. We made almost 5 dozen large cookies, though, and this recipe was more than enough to cover them all!

Vanilla Icing
1/4 c. soft or melted margarine
1 t. vanilla
4 T. milk
2 c. powdered/confectioners sugar

In medium size bowl combine all ingredients. Mix by hand until butter chunks are smaller, then mix with mixer to smooth out (no longer than 30sec. to 1min.). Add milk as needed to thin the icing, or sugar to thicken it.

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Spice Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

My husband and I are alike in SO many ways, there wouldn't be enough days in the year to count them! The ONE thing we differ on?... Dessert. In every way, shape, and form. He likes fruity desserts, I think dessert is only dessert if it has chocolate as an ingredient. :) Recently when I made our first Thanksgiving meal together, I really wanted a dessert that we would both enjoy. I came across a recipe for a Spice Cake, but didn't have the specific type of pan it required. So I did a little bit of creating and came up with an Apple Cider version that can be cooked in any regular cake pan. It isn't an overwhelming sweet taste, but has a very holiday scent and taste and would be great as an alternative to all the extra-sweet desserts at the table (which I equally love, too!). Try it for your next holiday meal this season!

Cake Ingredients:
2-1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/4c. cornstarch
4t. baking powder
1/2t. salt
2t. ground ginger
1t. ground cinnamon
1/2t. ground nutmeg
1/2t. ground allspice
1/2t. ground cloves
1c. apple cider
3 large eggs
2t. vanilla
1c. unsalted butter, softened
2c. dark brown sugar

Cinnamon Glaze ingredients:
1/2c. sugar
1/4c. buttermilk
1/4t. baking soda
2t. corn syrup
1/4t. vanilla
1/4c. margarine
1/4t. cinnamon

For cake: Preheat to 350. Grease and lightly flour a metal 9 x 13" pan (or two 8" cake pans). Whisk dry ingredients and spices in large bowl. Mix milk, eggs, and vanilla extract in seperate bowl. Beat softened butter into dry ingredients on medium. Add milk mixture and beat on low until smooth. Add the sugar and beat about 30 seconds. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake until toothpick in center comes out clean or about 40minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.

For glaze: Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to rolling boil over low heat. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top cake with glaze and serve warm. (To get an even distribution over cake, use the back of a regular spoon to spread.)

Enjoy!
Brittany

Pumpkin Seeds

So although this might come a little late for some... others may enjoy the festiveness of a pumpkin well into the fall and Thanksgiving holiday! I wanted to let everyone know of a family tradition in my family... cooking pumpkin seeds!

It's very simple... after you've gutted your pumpkin (for Halloween, Pumpkin Pie, whatever purpose you so choose) seperate the seeds from all the gooey mess and rinse them off with water and blot dry. Lay them out on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Salt lightly. Put in the oven on 350degrees and bake for 5 minutes. Eat warm!!