Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

I've been poring over cookbooks all morning and afternoon searching for the perfect recipe to make with my brand new KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer.


My mom got it for me as a graduation gift. Oh, I graduated, did I mention that? I graduated! But enough of graduation - my stand mixer is pink! It's all pink and all pretty and all mine! I'm convinced it makes extra tasty treats.


Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
2. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla extract and egg.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Pour into lined cupcake pan, filling cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes almost clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the Bailey's Irish Cream and 1 cup confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Add the second cup of confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth.

Balsamic-Glazed Salmon

Ok I don't know where the picture went for this one. All I can say is that if you like balsamic vinegar and salmon, this was very tasty and so easy to make. I had mine with garlic naan (Whole Foods sells this already made) on the side. Yummm.


Balsamic-Glazed Salmon
Adapted from this recipe

1 salmon fillet
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp white wine
1/2 tsp honey
2 3/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Coat a small saucepan with non-stick cooking spray. Over medium heat, cook garlic, stirring, until soft, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. Mix in white wine, honey, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, about 3 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.
3. Arrange salmon fillet on the baking sheet and brush with the balsamic glaze.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Brush fillet with remaining glaze and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Yield: 1 serving

Tilapia Parmesan

Tilapia Parmesan

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp low-fat mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1/8 tsp dried Italian herbs
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
2 tilapia fillets

1. Preheat the broiler. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the first 9 ingredients. Set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the lined pan. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for another 2 minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover the tops with the Parmesan mixture. Return to the broiler for 2 minutes or until top is browned. Do not over cook.

Serves 1

Texas Sweet Tea

I've been drinking tea for years but it's funny because this is the first time I've ever tried to make iced tea. In the summer I love to drink sweet tea (I am Texan after all) but some places still don't serve it and if I ever fulfill my dream of moving to New York or London, I'll need to know how to make my own sweet tea. With that said, I made a quart of passion tea yesterday and today, I'm making sweet tea. The last time I went to Whole Foods, there was a sale on the house brand's organic black tea so I bought a box. A big box filled with 80 tea bags. Now, some days I'll drink two or three cups of tea but when I add these 80 tea bags to my collection of other teas, there's no way it will all get consumed. Enter: Texas sweet tea. This is probably not the real recipe (in fact, I'm sure it's not) but it's pretty tasty and I know I'll be drinking it for a long time.

I also get to reuse my glass jars that I save from lemonade and tea and that's always a plus in my book!



Texas Sweet Tea

1 quart (4 cups) filtered water
5 black tea bags
1/2 cup white sugar

1. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Let the tea bags sit for 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Remove tea bags, squeezing them as you go. Pour in the sugar and stir until dissolved. Let cool.
3. Pour into glass containers, lightly screw on lids, and place in the refrigerator until cold.

Makes about 1 quart