Today is...National Cupcake Day!

Today is National Cupcake Day, and this is certainly one day that I will celebrate with great joy! I know so many of you will be celebrating this day with me...everyone loves cupcakes!

There are so many fantastic online resources from which to purchase cupcakes. I have heard fantastic things about Bangerang Bake Shop, for example, and they have a Bangerang Etsy shop as well as a Bangerang Bake Shop website. I understand that they were just featured on The Today Show, so it seems that the rave reviews are well-deserved!

If you are looking to make your cupcakes, here is a recipe from www.Epicurious.com that caught my eye. The tart lemon-y flavor appeals to me, and I would think that you could make these in a variety of berry combinations to create some amazing cupcakes!

(image from www.Epicurious.com, photo by: James Wojcik)

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes
Bon Appétit April 2008
Janet Taylor McCracken

Yield: Makes 12

Chef's Note: These gorgeous cupcakes have a sweet surprise inside: They're filled with a dollop of raspberry jam. Half of the cupcakes have a pale yellow lemon glaze; the rest are topped with a pink raspberry-lemon glaze.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, divided
4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
Fresh raspberries (for garnish)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in half of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.

Drop 1 rounded tablespoonful batter into each muffin liner. Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over. Cover with remaining batter, dividing equally.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack. Meanwhile, whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel in small bowl. Spoon half of icing over 6 cupcakes. Whisk 1 tablespoon raspberry jam into remaining icing. Spoon over remaining cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries.



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Today is National Bouilabaisse Day!

Yet another fantastically important Food Day to celebrate: National Bouilabaisse Day!

(image from www.tastethelanguage.net)

Bouilabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille. According to Wikipedia, Bouilabaisse is:

"...is a fish stock containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. There are at least three kinds of fish in a traditional bouillabaisse, typically scorpionfish (fr: rascasse); sea robin (fr: grondin); and European conger (fr: congre); and it can also include gilt-head bream (fr: dorade); turbot; monkfish (fr: lotte or baudroie); mullet; or silver hake (fr: merlan) It also usually includes shellfish and other seafood such as sea urchins (fr: oursins), mussels (fr: moules); small crabs (fr: etrilles); spider crab (fr: araignées de mer) or octopus. More expensive versions may add langoustine. Vegetables such as leeks, onions, tomatoes, celery and potatoes are boiled together with the broth and served with the fish. The broth is traditionally served with a rouille, a mayonnaise made of olive oil, garlic, saffron and cayenne pepper on grilled slices of bread. In Marseille, the broth is served first in a bowl containing the bread and rouille, with the seafood and vegetables served separately in another bowl or on a platter."

Sounds like a lot of work to me, yet utterly divine!

Here is a recipe for Bouilabaisse that I found on http://www.elise.com:

Bouillabaisse

Chef's Note: According to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. In Marseille, considered the mecca of bouillabaisse, they use at least seven, not counting the shellfish. The fish should be extremely fresh - caught and cooked the same day. If you cannot get extremely fresh fish, then the next best alternative is quick frozen - fish frozen the same day it was caught. Use as many different types of fish as you can, such as fillets of flounder, haddock, cod, perch, white fish, whiting, porgies, bluefish, bass - almost any combination. Count on at least three kinds to serve six.

Ingredients

Stew ingredients:

3 pounds of at least 3 different kinds of fish fillets, fresh or quick frozen (thaw first)
1/2 cup Olive oil
1-2 pounds of Oysters, clams, or mussels
1 cup cooked shrimp, crab, or lobster meat, or rock lobster tails
1 cup thinly sliced onions
4 Shallots, thinly sliced OR the white parts of 2 or 3 leeks, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large tomato, chopped, or 1/2 cup canned tomatoes
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2-inch slice of fennel or 1 teaspoon of fennel seed
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 whole cloves
Zest of half an orange
1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup clam juice or fish broth
2 Tbps lemon juice
2/3 cup white wine
Sliced French bread

Method

1 Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large (6-qt) saucepan. When it is hot, add onions and shallots (or leeks). Sauté for a minute, then add crushed garlic (more or less to taste), and sweet red pepper. Add tomato, celery, and fennel. Stir the vegetables into the oil with a wooden spoon until well coated. Then add another 1/4 cup of olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, cloves and the orange zest. Cook until the onion is soft and golden but not brown.

2 Cut fish fillets into 2-inch pieces. Add the pieces of fish and 2 cups of water to the vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add oysters, clams or mussels (though these may be omitted if desired) and shrimp, crab meat or lobster tails, cut into pieces or left whole.

3 Add saffron, salt, pepper. Add clam juice, lemon juice, and white wine. Bring to a simmer again and cook about 5 minutes longer.

4 At serving time taste and correct the seasoning of the broth, adding a little more salt or pepper if need be, and maybe a touch of lemon juice. Into each soup bowl place a thick slice of crusty French bread, plain or slightly toasted. Spoon the bouillabaisse over the bread. If desired, serve with Sauce Rouille. Serves 6.

Directions for Sauce Rouille:

1 Tbsp hot fish stock or clam broth.
2 cloves peeled garlic
1 small red hot pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soft white bread, pulled into bits
1/2 cup olive oil

Put hot fish stock or clam broth into the bottom of a blender. Add garlic and red hot pepper, salt and bread. Blend until very smooth. With the blender still running, add olive oil slowly and stop the blending as soon as the oil disappears.

At serving time pass Rouille in a little bowl along with the bouillabaisse. Each serving is about 1/2 a teaspoon that you stir into your soup. Use gingerly like Tabasco



Visit Jet-Chef.com to find a caterer, personal chef or restaurant that features bouilabaisse for your special meal or occasion!

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Today is...Ice Cream and Violins Day!?

Today is Ice Cream and Violins Day! I admit some confusion here, and my research really did not uncover any reason as to why the two would go together. Maybe someone thought that it would be a great idea to celebrate the two as one "super" holiday. Kind of like the genius that figured out how nicely chocolate and peanut butter can be celebrated together!

So, cue the violins, here is how I am going to celebrate Ice Cream and Violins Day! Direct from www.Epicurious.com....

(image from www.Epicurious.com, photo by: Pornchai Mittongtare)

Ice Cream Truffles!
Bon Appétit June 2004

Yield: Makes 24

Note: These adorable sweets are festive, fun — and so easy to make. Just be sure to freeze the scoops of ice cream overnight before dipping and coating them.

Ingredients:

1/2 pint (about) vanilla ice cream
1/2 pint (about) coffee ice cream
1/2 pint (about) chocolate ice cream
20 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups sliced almonds, toasted
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (about 5 ounces), lightly toasted
1 1/2 cups shelled natural pistachios, chopped

Preparation:

Line large rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Using 1 1/2-inch round ice cream scoop or round 1 tablespoon measuring spoon and working quickly, scoop out 8 round balls each of vanilla, coffee, and chocolate ice cream, placing ice cream on prepared baking sheet. Freeze ice cream overnight.

Combine chopped chocolate and vegetable oil in large metal bowl. Place bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Cool chocolate until barely lukewarm.

Place almonds, coconut, and pistachios in 3 separate medium bowls. Line 3 pie dishes or plates with waxed paper. Working with 1 vanilla ice cream ball at a time and working quickly, drop into lukewarm melted chocolate. Using fork, turn to coat and lift out chocolate-coated ball. Drop ball off fork into bowl with almonds, using hands to turn to coat. Place truffle in 1 prepared pie dish. Repeat with remaining vanilla ice cream balls, melted chocolate, and almonds; place in freezer. Repeat same procedure, dropping coffee ice cream balls into melted chocolate, then coconut, and dropping chocolate ice cream balls into melted chocolate, then pistachios. Freeze all ice cream truffles until firm, about 2 hours, then cover and keep frozen. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.)

Place 1 almond-coated ice cream truffle, 1 coconut-coated truffle, and 1 pistachio-coated truffle on each of 8 plates and serve.

I think that the beauty of this recipe is that you could put your own creativity in creating these ice cream truffles and finish them in a variety of delicious ways!



Visit Jet-Chef.com to find a caterer, personal chef or restaurant that features all kinds of amazing ice cream creations (with an orchestra of violins!) for your special meal or occasion!

Are you a caterer, personal chef or restaurant and want to be part of the Jet-Chef.com success? Log on to Jet-Chef.com and start your listing today for as little as $29.00/6 month membership! Contact us via email at info@imaiusa.com or call us toll-free at 1-877-774-1255.

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