Crumbs Bake Shop - Manhattan New York

When I found out hubby had to go to New York on business, I knew I just HAD to go with him...

To make sure he was gonna be ok. ;-)

And I knew I had to go to the Cupcake shops of all cupcake shops!

First up...

Crumbs Bake Shop.

We went to the one on Lex.

OMG... A had the Fudge Chocolate Chip...

And then she almost fell outta her chair.

I, of course, had the classic Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting (Vanilla/Vanilla).

Swoon!

Um... and I also had the Vanilla with Chocolate Frosting (Vanilla/Chocolate).

Now... I've been to the Crumbs in Bev Hills on more than one occasion and all I can say is...

Still good in L.A.

And just as good in NY

Barefoot Contessa - Chocolate Cupcakes with Espresso Frosting

What can I say...

My affair with Barefoot continues!

I can't even begin to tell you how yummy these turned out!

Made these for a party in my honor (celebrating the longest graduation in history!).

And since it was my party, I made what I wanted!

Everyone loved these, esp. hubby and BFF, both who love their coffee!

The Sour Cream & Buttermilk really give it a kick of moistness!

Yeah... I'd eat that just as it is...

Mixed this up and added it!

So, I went a lil crazy with the frosting...
Not only did I add coffee, but I also added Espresso powder.

Perfect! They're yum even without frosting!

Oh yeah... the frosting did call for Peanut Butter but I thought coffee and espresso would be better... ;-)

Happy Graduation to Me!!!

P.S. - I've been trying so many Barefoot Contessa recipes, I need a whole new/different blog for that!

Tonight, it was Tuscan Lemon Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes...

Both from Back to Basics and both deliciously fabulous!

AHA low fat, low cholesterol cookbook - oat bran muffins

"Meh..."

That's about all that can be said about these poor guys...

Unfortunately, these were NOBODY's favorite.

I, myself have never been a 'bran' gal.

But I thought these would be good for hubby, since we're working on lowering his cholesterol.

This recipe came from the American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, 3rd Edition: Delicious Recipes to Help Lower Your Cholesterol

Let's just say I'm still looking for the perfect Bran Muffin recipe.

Egg Whites only, of course!

These are just incredibly heavy and solid.

Having said that, tho...

The good thing is that they kept hubby full during surf sessions.

He'd grab one on his way out to the water and it kept him full for the hour
to hour and a half that he's out there!

I'd like to try these again with a recommendation from Sis-in-law,
who suggested adding a bit of Apple Sauce to give 'em some moisture.

Poor lil guys... so sad. I feel bad for them...

:-(

Banana Crunch Muffins - Barefoot Contessa

Barefoot Contessa's Banana Crunch Muffins

OMG... these came out sooooooooooooo good, where do I even begin?!

It's no secret that I personally think there is no Banana Nut Muffin like the Whole Foods Banana Nut Muffin.

It's pretty much killer and I'd eat it every day if I could (If I could NOT gain a thousand pounds and NOT have a heart attack...).

It was my very good friend J who told me to check out Barefoot Contessa, who she is totally into for Barefoot's yumminess and easiness...

and cause J has two little one's at home + a hubby, a dog and a seriously full-time job!

She told me to check it out so I immediately went over to Food Network and one of the first things I found was this Video for the Banana Crunch Muffins.

They are so easy to make!

Smooth like Buttah...

YUM! I'd eat that just like that...

I was looking for a creative & healthy alternative for hubby's diet.

We're still working on getting his Cholesterol down so I thought this would be good for him!

(ahem... minus the eggs and buttah...)

Topped the batter with more yummy granola-goodness.

Added Cinnamon on top, as I'd add Cinnamon to EVERYTHING, if I could...

Ding! Fresh outta the oven!

These were sooooo good straight out of the oven and for the few days (that they lasted) after.

Stored 'em in an air-tight container and they stayed moist and fresh!

YAY!!!!!

I'd absolutely make these again.

A note on Barefoot Contessa...

I've tried a few of her recipes now and they have ALL been wonderful and easy!

There are so many recipes on the FoodNetwork site as well as her Barefoot site.

Here's some of the things I've made that came out Killer!!!

Lemon Chicken with Croutons (this came out KILLER!!!, btw...)

Tequila Lime Chicken

Chicken Piccata

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Yay!!!

Martha Stewart's latest book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes by Martha Stewart Living Magazine is out now!!!

Flipped through this book at Costco the other day and there are some really cute cupcake ideas in there.

Given that I'm trying to be good these days, I didn't buy it.

But I wanted to! I can't imagine being a Cupcake Aficionado and not having this book!

What kind of Aficionado would that make me?! Not a very good one, I'd think...

Some of these ideas are on her site which is super helpful and they are organized in their own little section on her site.

I can't remember if this is in her new book but are these not the cutest ever!!!

Shark and Beach Cupcakes (from MarthaStewart.com):

amish friendship bread - day 10!!!

Day 10 is here!!! Time to bake!

Added 1 c. sugar, 1 c. milk & 1 c. flour... Mixed and separated -

1 c. into a ziplock - four times... (ie four ziplock bags contain 1 cup of mix!)

Meanwhile... buttered bread pan and coated with sugar/cinnamon mixture!

yum! you all know I LUV my cinnamon!

To remaining mix, added the stuff... eggs, cinnamon, oil, vanilla puddin' mix, etc...

Used my wooden spoon (and plastic bowl) to mix it all together!

Into the oven it went!

A big guy and a lil' guy!

This came out soooooo moist! I was a bit worried that it would be dense and heavy...

But it came out so good!

Gave the lil' guy to my lil' niece, along with her own starter bag and instructions...

and asked her to invite us in 10 days to taste what she's baked!

And kept big guy for us!

:)

tres leches cake

Tres Leches cake

This came out sooooooooooo good!!!!

Again, I know... not a cupcake.

But I'd been craving this recently (for some odd reason) so I decided to make it.

This recipe is super easy to follow.

Oh geez... FIVE eggs!

So, there aren't too many pics on this one as I was trying to work fast!

I wanted my eggs to stay light and fluffy...

Meanwhile, the milks...

Recipe calls for Rum, which we don't have, so I added Kahlua... I think it's even better!!!

Mmm...

Of the entire cake, this is all that was left!

2 pieces!

So, again... Thank God for the YouTubes (as my mom would call it...)

I learned:

• make sure eggs are room temp (I had no idea it would matter!)
• visually saw what 'soft peaks' look like vs. 'stiff peaks'
• learned to add sugar, etc once soft peaks have formed
  
  This video was really helpful:
  

as well as a video from Epicuriousdotcom (embedding disabled): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVcNDhwwFB8