I made the best Red Velvet Cupcakes ever

…well, almost. The very first Red Velvet cupcake I ever had was from the historic Reeve’s Bakery when it was located on G Street, near my old office building. Sadly, after serving the community for over 200 years, Reeve’s closed its doors on June 8, 2007. It was a sad day. I remember walking over to the bakery from across the street to purchase my last dozen Reeve’s cupcakes and a couple orders of their awesome home fries (they served breakfast and lunch too!). The lines for their cupcakes and pies were nearly out the door on that last day.

Reeve’s popularity extended beyond the District lines and well into the mouthwatering circles of suburbia. There were some days when my old next door neighbor used to come home from work with chocolate cupcakes and crispy fried chicken for his kids. On those days, I became one of his kids too.

I had a craving for some Red Velvet cupcakes this week, and although I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to replicate the tasty goodness of Reeve’s cupcakes, I figured it’d be fun to bake them myself anyway. I was a little worried that they would turn out too dry and dense, which is what happened the last time I made cupcakes (they were vanilla cupcakes). But these turned out amazingly good! Seriously. So good! So good that they’re pretty much gone now (I had 28 yesterday).

Here’s the recipe… you try eating just one… Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Today is not only love day, but Valina’s 18^th birthday! Little girlfriend is all grown up! To celebrate, we made her favorite—Funfetti Cake! So yummy! Happy Birthday Girlfriend! I luff you! :-)


Valentine's Day, cake, Tasting Journal

Dee’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Dee brought in a delicious pineapple upside down cake into the office last week. It was incredibly tasty and moist, and contained the perfect amount of sweetness. I’ve never made a pineapple upside down cake before. In fact, I don’t bake cakes too often. However, this is one that I’ve been meaning to give a try. I’m thinking that it might be my next baking project…

You’ll have to excuse the awful picture. I used my camera phone.

Dee's Pineapple Upside Cake

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Crazy for Coconut

Tonight I was in the mood for something with coconut so I decided to make myself some crispy coconut shrimp for dinner… and coconut oatmeal cookies for dessert. Both came out delicious and satisfying.

This was actually my first time making the coconut oatmeal cookies and I really love how well they came out. It wasn’t too sweet and the coconut was nice and subtle. I’m thinking next time I might throw in some milk chocolate chips for extra flavor.

Crispy coconut shrimp has always been a favorite of mine. I normally like to bake it, but I know some people who like to fry it. I think both ways come out tasty… but baking it is a little less messy, and of course a bit healthier as well (if you care about that sort of thing).

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Apple Crisp

Over the years I’ve experimented with various recipes for apple crisp. I love apples, and I find that apple crisp is much simpler to make than apple pie because you don’t have to fuss over any type of crust. Tonight, I decided to use the leftover apple slices that I had from my lunch, and whip together a quick little apple crisp dessert for my sister, Valina, and me. The recipe that I have here was adapted from a combination of different recipes that I’ve worked with in the past.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup quick oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup thinly sliced apples

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

3. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.

4. Take half of the mixture and pat it into the bottom of a baking dish.

5. Lay apple slices on top of the mixture and then sprinkle the other half of the mixture on top of the apple slices.

6. Drizzle two tablespoons of milk all over the top of the crumbs.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until apples are tender.

Serves 4

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Tips for Baking Perfect Cookies

I pride myself on my cookies… or at least I used to. My ego crumbled in my hands the other night however, when I decided to try out a different recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I chose Carole Water’s “Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies” from her book, Great Cookies. Mine, however, did not come out soft nor chewy, but more dense and cakey. I was very disappointed. I hadn’t come across cookie ailments in such a long time… I thought I had advanced past that…

After looking over the recipe, I noticed that the list of ingredients called for two eggs, while most others called for one (I normally use one). In Carole’s tips, she noted that doughs containing more egg will result in a cakey-textured cookie… AH HA! There was the answer to my problem… In addition, I also used less butter than the recipe called for (I ran out and was too lazy to run to the store). So much for being a cookie expert…

Here are some other helpful tips that Carole mentions for making great chocolate chip cookies:

1. Using vegetable shortening will not spread the cookies as much as butter.
2. Using a greater ratio of white sugar to brown sugar will produce crisper cookies.
3. Using fresh, soft brown sugar is essential to the quality of the cookie.
4. For a heartier cookie, use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar.
5. Flour must be measured accurately to ensure the quality and consistency of the dough.
6. For a thicker cookie, shape the dough balls in higher mounds.
7. Slightly underbaking the cookie will produce a softer, chewier texture.

See recipe for “Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies” HERE …

Walter, Carole. Great Cookies. New York: Clarkson/Potter, 2003.


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Valentine Day Cookies

I love baking cookies. I used to bake all the time, but lately I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even been able to step foot near a kitchen, let alone carve out time to bake. In honor of Valentine’s Day however, I decided to set aside some time to bake some cookies for Nick, and for my cousin Janine. I had to have them ready and shipped by Saturday (Nick lives in California, and Janine lives in NY) so that they’d be there in time for Valentine’s Day.

I made two different types of cookies: Oatmeal Raisin and White Chocolate Chip with Macadamia Nuts. I actually make Oatmeal Raisin cookies often. They’re one of Nick’s favorites. Here’s the recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. It’s a simple recipe. It always turns out perfect, and it’s not too sweet.

This was my first time making White Chocolate Chip cookies with Macadamia Nuts. I used eat these all the time; my mother would buy them from the little Mrs. Field’s cookie stand every time we went to the mall. This recipe was actually taken from Carole Walter's book, Great Cookies. Nick’s mom got me this book for Christmas, and I love it because it is full of wonderful baking tips and cookie secrets!

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
¾ cup of lightly packed brown sugar
½ cup of quick oatmeal
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 ¾ cup of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups of white chocolate chips
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

DIRECTIONS:
1. Position the shelves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place the brown sugar, oatmeal, and granulated sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process 2 ½ to 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to pulse. The oatmeal must be very finely ground.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, mix butter and corn syrup. Then add in oatmeal-sugar mixture.

5. Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat for 1 minute.

6. Then add in the remaining dry ingredients.

7. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

8. Drop 1 ½ -inch mounds of dough from the tip of the tablespoon on the to a greased cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart.

9. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Makes about 40 cookies

baking, cookies, recipes, Tasting Journal Recipes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Cookies are my specialty... oatmeal cookies were the first cookies I learned how to bake (well). I used to mix and match different recipes in an attempt to be creative… some of those experiments didn’t turn out so well, but a few actually led me to some great cookie ideas…

Nick asked me to make him some oatmeal cookies this weekend… this is a basic recipe that I found a few years ago from Epicurious.com… Normally I like adding chocolate chips or toffee chips in to the recipe, but this time I kept it simple, and only put in raisins…

INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ cup oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl.
3. Add in oats.
4. Add in flour, salt and baking soda.
5. Add in raisins.
6. Beat the mixture well.
7. Drop 1-1 ½ inch teaspoons on to a greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes.
9. Let cookies cook before lifting off with baking spatula.

Makes about 36 cookies.

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Katherine's Housewarming Party Recipes
See photos below. . .

Katherine's Mini Crab Cakes

INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup minced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, shells picked out
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 teaspoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Whisk mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and salt in bowl. Stir in 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs, celery, bell pepper and onion. Gently stir in crab. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
2. Transfer remaining bread crumbs to a large shallow dish and toss with parsley. Place a 25-inch-long piece of waxed paper on flat surface. Pack a level measuring tablespoon with crab mixture and drop onto breadcrumbs; gently turn to coat and shape into 1 1/2-inch cake. Place on waxed paper. Repeat.
3. Heat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly coat a large cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 8 to 10 crab cakes to skillet and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side, until golden. Transfer to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining oil and crab cakes.
4. Bake crab cakes 10 minutes, until heated through. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices and serve. Makes about 36 cakes.


Katherine's Green Beans

INGREDIENTS
1 pound frsh green beans with the ends pinched off
5 tbs balsalmic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano

DIRECTIONS
1. Saute green beans with olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add balsamic vinegar and oregano, while stirring ocassionally until tender as desired.


Madi's Empanadas

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
sofrito
Goya Sazon
1 handful of spanish olives
1/2 cup tomato sauce
empanada shells or pastry sheets
cooking oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix the ground beef, 4 tablespoons of sofrito, 1 packet of Goya Sazon, a handful of chopped spanish olives, and half a cup of tomato sauce in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat cooking oil in pan.
3. Cook meat in pan until meat is no longer pink (20 minutes or so).
4. Microwave empanada shells for 30 seconds (unless using pastry sheets).
5. Fill empanada shell with meat, fold over shell, and pinch with a fork.


Mrs. Jefferson's Brownies

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 squares unsweetened Ghirardelli chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chooped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease and 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking pan.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt.
3. In small bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, one at a time, until very light. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla.
4. At low speed, blend in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in nuts.
5. Turn into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 30 minutes.
6. Cool 10 minutes. With sharp knife, cut into squares. Let cool completely in pan.
Makes 16.

Click here to see food photos...

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