Frosty S'more Cups

Thanks to us hosting Small Group again, I have a reason to bake! Although, I have to admit that my baking and cooking adventures have continued despite my lacking of posts here. Because of that, I may change my format here a bit. You see, like I said, I've been baking and cooking plenty. But taking pictures...not so much. And updating blogs. Ugh, Don't even remind me.

But back to the S'more cups..delicious. Though billed as a "summer treat" with the crazy weather we have been having, it still feels like it's summer around here despite that we are almost into October. So these were still the perfect, frosty treat that makes the memories of summer linger, just a little bit longer. One note: I didn't have a mini cheesecake pan so I opted to use muffin cups/wrappers instead. It still worked out great though for the next time, I may just look for a specialized tin, just for the sake of it :o)

Frosty S'more Cups
by EasyBaked

INGREDIENTS:

• 18 graham cracker squares (9 sheets or about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/3 c. butter
• 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. whipping cream
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• 1 1/2 c. cold milk
• 1 box (4 servings, 3.9 oz)instant chocolate pudding
• 1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip (thawed in fridge)
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (as topping)

DIRECTIONS

• Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs.
• Melt butter and add to graham crackers, mixing until well combined to make crust.
• Prepare pan by placing disks into the bottom of each cup.
• Evenly divide crust mixture into all 12 cups, saving about 1/4 cup to use as topping later. (I used a Mini Tart Shaper to press crumbs firmly into the bottom of each cup).
• Place milk chocolate chips and whipping cream into a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
• Spoon chocolate into a zip top bag, cut a tip off and evenly pipe chocolate into the center of each cup, on top of the crust.
• Divide Marshmallows among cups.
  Mix cold milk with pudding on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in 1/2 of the Cool Whip container (the rest will be used as topping). 
• Spoon filling into a large zip top bag (and ZIP it or you might have a mess!)  Clip a corner off and pipe pudding into each cup evenly.  Try to pipe it in between the marshmallows so that the whole cup is filled.  I did have a little left over (which was really tasty straight out of the bag!) 
• Use a knife to smooth the tops level with the top of the pan. 
• Freeze for at least a couple of hours. 
• Allow the pan to warm just a bit before popping each dessert cup out.  Poke a finger up through the hole in the bottom of the pan and grab that s’mores cup by its crust.  Remove the disk from the bottom and you are ready to add topping.  
• For topping, I just piped a little bit of the left over Cool Whip on each dessert using a decorating tip.  Then I sprinkled the remaining crust and mini chocolate chips on top. 
• Serve cold right away– or put them in a sealed container and freeze until you are ready to serve.
   

Apple Dumplings

When fall is in the air, the oven begs to be used. Which is especially good when you have a fridge full of some of autumn's finest..apples!

Lucky me, we've always have a willing bunch of taste testers in our small group. And this recipe was calling from Pinterest, the fridge, the oven....I was sold. And so was everyone else. Definitely a keeper in my book. The only "problem" is that you need ramekins for every serving. Not that I am ever searching for a reason to buy kitchen utensils... :o)

Apple Dumplings
recipe by Midwest Living

• 5 medium cooking apples, peeled and sliced (5 cups)
• 3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1/2 cup dark-colored corn syrup
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 recipe Pastry for Double-Crust Pie

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the apples and apple cider. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 to 7 minutes or until just tender.
2. Stir in the corn syrup, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Combine the melted butter or margarine and the cornstarch. Stir into mixture in saucepan.
3. Cook and stir the mixture over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
4. Prepare pastry. Roll out 2/3 of the pastry to form a 15-inch square. Cut into four 7-inch circles. Ease pastry circles into four 10-ounce custard cups or baking dishes. Do not trim edges. Roll out remaining pastry to an 11-inch square. Cut into four 5-inch circles for top crusts.
5. Fill each pastry-lined dish with 1/4 of the hot apple mixture. Top with remaining crust, cutting slits for steam to escape. Fold extra pastry under bottom crust and seal. Flute edges.
6. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until crusts are golden. Cool slightly on wire rack. Serve the dumplings warm. Makes 4 servings.

Marmalade Restaurant

This past Friday, my dad drove to Chicago to spend the day with Jeremiah and myself (Unfortunately Brad was working). Another unfortunately, Jeremiah was crankier than...well, I don't even know what to compare it to. In the moment, we thought it was a teething issue but since then we've come to discover that he was fighting off some virus that he picked up somewhere.

My breakfast dates, neither ready for a picture

Nonetheless, we packed up the car and decided that we would try to go out for breakfast anyway since Jeremiah is normally much better when he is out and about than when we try to keep him at home. And really, what's a visit with my dad without trying something new?

So after browsing through Chicago Magazine's Best Breakfast Places, we decided to try out Marmalade. One of the draws of this place is that it was started by a former chef of m. henry which we fell in love with earlier in the year.

 

And I, for one, am so glad that we did. I mean really, they had me at "Nutella". I tried the Dolce Vita; Nutella filled crêpes with fresh seasonal fruit, drizzled with chocolate syrup, topped with hazelnut cream, and sprinkled with mixed nuts. I could have done without the nectarines or whatever one of the fruits was in there. It wasn't quite ripe yet hence the indistinguishable taste and it changed the whole texture a bit since it was harder than the strawberries and bananas that were already in it. But those nuts! Loved their crunchy addition to the plate. 

I have to admit, I forget what my dad ordered. I know that he was between the Artichoke Omelette and one of their specials for the day and I'm fairly certain he went for the special. He also substituted fruit for the original side.

 

We also ordered some sausage from the kids menu because, despite the same amount of pieces on both the adult and children's menu, it was a dollar cheaper to order it from the kids. And since it was mainly to supplement our meals for Jeremiah I figured it was okay. The sausage was pretty good though too. Something I would be willing to order again.

I'm happy to report that Jeremiah did well the entire time and also made a friend towards the end, another baby in a high chair behind him that wanted to share his spoon.

Homemade Granola

Earlier this year, we were responsible for bringing snack to our small group, a responsibility that I look forward to to say the least. Anyway, I knew that one of the girls in our group did not care for sweets and also didn't eat gluten. It took some proding but I finally found out what her guilty pleasure was...granola.

And who knew that granola was so easy to make! Especially after seeing how much it can sell for in the grocery stores, this was definitely something I knew that I could do on at least a semi regular basis. So easy, so tasty, and definitely capable of variation. Success!

Granola
by Alton Brown


3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Directions

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. 

• In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
• Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

 

Cupcake Crawl 2012!

This past weekend, Courtney took one last trip to Chicago  as her year here in the states to raise support was coming to an end. She wanted to spend one last time with her Chicago gang before jetting away to Costa Rica.

So as I racked my brain to what we could do for our one on one time (Jeremiah's crankiness and eventual sickness had thwarted some plans the night before), it hit me....a Cupcake Crawl!

You see, the couple of times that she has been here, especially as of late, her and I have gone on a couple of cupcake escapades, usually in the name of free, fancy cupcakes.

And then a couple of those cupcakes made it back to Michigan, the most notable a Key Lime Cupcake from more.

But during her last visit I told her that when she came back for her "Goodbye Tour", we had to go to Sprinkles so that she could taste the ultimate S'more cupcake.

So Saturday morning, I googled, and yelped, plotted, and contemplated...and then there were 7. Yes, 7 bakeries that we were going to hit up.

A cupcake from each to be enjoyed and tasted later on that day. And so our journey began. We came across bachelor/bachelorette parties, parking woes, anxiously awaiting friends, whispers of "sizzling", tiny morsels of goodness, and gigantic mouthfuls of sweetness.

And then we raced back home to finish out the day. Courtney went on to each a brunch style lunch and relax in the park. I did some things around the apartment, hung out with my brother and sister-in-law during an impromptu visit and waited for the "festivities" to begin.

Not only did Courtney and I sit down for the "tastings" but Brad, Catie, Jacob, Tony, Angela, and JoAnna joined in on the fun as well.

As expected, there was a couple duds, though only one cupcake got a clear "thumbs down" from everyone (the Coconut Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery). But the funny thing was that there was no clear "winner". The two favorites were the Drumstick from Swirlz and the Chocolate Cheesecake from Twisted Baker (though it was definitely not a winner in everyone's book, in fact it was one of Courtney and my least favorite).

But the rest definitely stood their ground. The S'more I think will always be a top contender for me, and people were also impressed with More's blueberry cupcake, to hugeness of Crumbs PB Cup cupcake, and the peppermint/chocolate concoction of SugarBliss. Why yes, I do believe we've found a new tradition.

Chocolate PB Cake

This past Sunday was Jacob's birthday, but since he wasn't going to be in town, we decided to "celebrate" a little early.

I made a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and crumb coat, chocolate frosting then a chocolate ganache poured over the top. Followed by some chocolate chips for the bottom border and pb balls nested in piped ganache. So rich, so decadent, so good...Too bad I didn't take more time to take pictures in better lighting.

m. henry

Yes! My dad and Barb finally made it to Chicago for a day trip! My favorite tradition of course is trying out new restaurants and this time we traveled up to the northside to "chow for now" at m. henry.

Jeremiah trying out his menu options...literally

Tony and Angela beat us there and just so happened to walk in at the right now to secure a table for us right away despite the large amount of people who were gathering behind them. And luckily, we were able to get there before they gave the table away.

The decor and storefront was charming, as if the restaurant itself should be in France. But what impressed me more was that the waitress, without asking, brought Jeremiah a small bowl of cut bananas, strawberries, and candied cranberries. Granted, he isn't able to eat finger foods yet but the gesture was much appreciated anyway.

Rustic peasant quiche & mixed field greens

The menu was tempting. I think all of use had at least two menu options that we were debating on up to the last minute. And with the exception of my dad and Brad trading dishes (My dad's eyes lit up at the large amount of fresh mixed greens on the plate and Brad was surprised by the size of the quiche), everyone was very pleased with what they ordered (with Brad and my dad at no exception, both were very pleased with what they ended up with). Another win? The fresh squeezed orange juice. You know, the kind that transports you to a Florida orchard and tastes like you just bit into a freshly picked, ripe orange? Yep, it was that good.

fannie's killer fried egg sandwich

Unfortunately, not all the photos came out but I hope you get the gist. It was delicious and one that we would definitely recommend to others.

raspberry & rhubarb blisscakes with vanilla marscapone cream