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Celebrate the 4th of July So Sweetly With These Treats

Every party needs dessert. This summer, keep your guests engaged long after the grill is cooled off with some choice sweets. Transform a cupcake into a 4th of July tribute with Martha Stewart's Flag Cupcakes. Start with some patriotic cupcake wrappers to bake your treats in. Choose chocolate or vanilla cakes and top them off with some Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. This frosting is absolutely delicious and very simple, calling for sugar, egg whites, butter and vanilla extract. Top your cupcakes (you can have the kids help) and then turn them into flags with fun decorations. I like to use blueberries for stars, while Martha uses blue buttercream. Red licorice sticks are perfect for the stripes. This is a simple, fun, kid-friendly recipe that you can even freeze if you want to make ahead of time. If you want to make your dessert table stand out, set the cupcakes up in one of these fancy dessert stands. 

For the adults, strawberry shortcake trifle is a cool summer favorite. I like to make mine with strawberries and blueberries for that Memorial Day touch. Paula Deen's recipe on Food Network is my favorite - the custard is made with cream cheese, condensed milk and whipped topping - delicious! The glaze calls for sugar, strawberry Jell-O, water, fresh strawberries (and blueberries, if you choose). 

To assemble, start with a layer of angel food cake, followed by a layer of glaze, then a layer of custard. Layer this way until your bowl is full, and watch your guests enjoy. I guarantee you won't have any leftovers from this part of the meal!

Hungarian Delight - Cream Puffs

After exhausting the Greek and Italian dessert options, I remembered another sweet treat that I'd always loved as a kid - cream puffs. What I didn't know was their ethnicity - Italians often tried to adopt the recipe, but their Hungarian background is the real thing.  Touted as similar to French profiteroles, cream puffs are light enough to enjoy without feeling like you ate something too decadent.

What I like about them is the option to fill with either traditional whipped cream filling, or vanilla ice cream. The ice cream is a unique option but you have to eat them faster than if they were just filled with cream, so keep that in mind. 

To make, you need water, butter, salt, flour, eggs, heavy cream, and semi sweet chocolate. It's a fairly easy recipe to make. The trick is to get them out of the oven at the right moment, when they're just starting to brown and they're puffy overall. 

A pastry bag is the easiest way to fill a mini, but if you're creating a regular size puff, simply cut the top off and insert the filling, then cap it. Drizzle chocolate over and serve!

Who said only Italians can make the best desserts?

Italian Delight - Tiramisu

All this talk about Greek sweets got me thinking about my own Italian background, and I have to admit - we have the best desserts. I know French desserts are lovely too, but you can't beat Italian sweets. From gelato to biscotti to tiramisu, an Italian finish to a meal is guaranteed to satisfy your worst sweet cravings. 

For a different recipe, I tried this tiramisu courtesy of FoodNetwork.com. You need: 6 egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone cheese, espresso, dark rum, ladyfngers, and bittersweet chocolate shavings. 

With your electric mixer, beat your egg yolks and sugar, adding in the cheese and finally a tablespoon of espresso (I'm usually pretty generous with the espresso, but that's your choice). Dip your ladyfingers into a mix of the remaining espresso and rum (quick dips or they'll fall apart) and place them at the bottom of your baking dish. Layer the mascarpone mixture, then another layer of ladyfingers and a final layer of mascarpone. Garnish with shavings, cover and chill. Bellissimo!

My Big Fat Greek Baklava

A friend of mine attended a Greek wedding recently and returned with some great stories about the culture. Growing up Italian, I love learning about other traditions - and I love learning about the food that other cultures enjoy. And of course, being a Greek wedding, she told me about the delicious baklava. Of course, my mouth watered. I've always loved this treat but never tried to make it before, so I set out to remedy that.

I went to Emeril for advice, and ended up using his recipe. It's really a very simple dish, calling for a pound of phyllo, walnuts, cinnamon, salt and butter for the dough and filling. The syrup is a combination of sugar, honey, water, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves and cardamom. When you lay out the first layer of phyllo, make sure they fit your baking dish. I had to trim mine to make them fit. Make sure if you leave them out you cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel while you're getting everything else ready. 

Once your filling is mixed (nuts, cinnamon and salt, and you can use your food processor to chop the nuts), brush your phyllo with melted butter and begin layering the nut mixture on the sheets, continuing until you've used all your sheets. Bake for about 40 minutes, then drizzle your syrup over the finished product. Perfection!

Grand Uses for Summer Grapes

Grapes are one of my favorite snacking fruits, simply for their refreshing taste and texture and the ease of packing them up for any trip. But after doing some research, I realized I was letting quite a few opportunities to use grapes in my cooking pass.  

The Food Network has a great video on how to use grapes in creative, unique dishes; for instance, Smooth White Grape Gazpacho. Only five ingredients and simple to make, this recipe is perfect for a light summer evening meal. Seedless white grapes, soy milk, slivered almonds, scallions, and lime are all you need in addition to your blender or food processor. 

And you can add grapes to just about anything to spice up a dish with some sweet. For instance, next time you barbecue, try chicken and grape skewers. Or mix some seedless green or red grapes into your chicken salad. Add to a seafood dish such as swordfish or sole for a distinct flavor. I just discovered a lovely recipe for Brandied Chicken Curry with Grapes, a dish I'm making for a graduation party this weekend. 

Grapes are such a versatile fruit, you can use them in any type of dish, from your appetizers to your desserts. Check out this easy recipe for Warm Grape Cake if you're looking for a different type of summer treat. Spend some time with these recipes and don't be shy about using grapes - I guarantee you'll have a whole new level of respect for this grand fruit!

Mom's Apple Pie

I debated about making a fancy dessert to go with Mother’s Day dinner, but when I really thought about it, my earliest and happiest memories with my mom were all about baking apples pies. We would clean off the kitchen table, line all the ingredients up, and I would watch my mom chop all the apples. She would wear her apron, and I would wear my little matching one, and wait anxiously for when I would get to toss the apples with all the ingredients and pat them gently into the pie crust. We would snack on the extra apples she would always cut as we worked. 

 

Once the pie was safely in the oven, the house would smell like cinnamon and vanilla and everything home. And that first piece? Amazing, with ice cream or whipped cream.

 

So I think I’ll make Mom an apple pie. Nothing fancy, just the way I remember it, with Cortland apples from my favorite orchard. The only difference is I’ll use organic sugar so it’s healthier for both of us.

Click on the video to see a chef from www.foodwishes.com demonstrate the best way to do apple pie filling. 

What’s your favorite memory with your mom? Give it back to her on Mother’s Day. She’ll be thrilled that you remembered. 

Good Luck Baked Right In - Traditional New Orleans King Cake

Since I’m a born and raised New Englander, I’m fascinated with the traditions surrounding New Orleans food, because they are so different from the ones I’m used to.

 

The King Cake especially struck my fancy. Technically, it’s a frosted cinnamon cake, sometimes with filling. But the novelty of it is delightful. The cake contains a plastic baby, and the person who finds the baby receives good luck and also brings the King Cake to the next King Cake party. Some cakes have a coin or some other trinket, but my friends always had the plastic baby, so that’s what I’m putting in mine. 

 

There’s a whole story behind the tradition, which dates back to 12th century France. Read more about it here.

Die-hard New Orleaners only have the cake leading up to Mardi Gras, but since I’m going to make one myself for a New Orleans-themed party I’m planning, I can justify making one out of season. 

The recipe is straightforward, but leave some time for the dough to rise. You might get an arm workout kneading the dough until it’s smooth, but it’s worth it. The traditional shape is an oval, but I’ve seen them shaped into a straight rope; whatever your preference. Emeril Lagasse offers another variation here. 

If you want to add a cream cheese filling, check this recipe out. Most importantly, be generous with the sugar crystals, and don’t forget to put the baby in before baking! 

It's Not Coffee Break Without Coffee Cake

 

There’s nothing like a coffee cake to top off coffee week, especially right before the weekend. Our featured biscotti this week is great for a quick snack, but lingering over a moist piece of sour cream banana coffee cake with a nice cup of joe and the Sunday Times is taking perfect to a new level. 

 

The Real Simple recipe uses 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter, 3 eggs, 2 ripe bananas, 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda. All ingredients you probably have on hand, so no need to head out in your pajamas.

Get your Bundt pan and electric mixer out for this one.

If sour cream and bananas aren’t your style, Paula Deen has a great Ultimate Coffee Cake made with dinner rolls, butterscotch pudding mix, pecans, butter and brown sugar -- it’s a dangerously delicious weekend treat, a bit like a southern Monkey Bread. This recipe needs to rise overnight, so plan accordingly.

 

If you’re just looking for a regular cinnamon flavored coffee cake, check out this traditional recipe, which has a low fat alternative. 

A Little Something To Go With That Coffee: Hazelnut Biscotti

No matter how good that cup of coffee is, you need an accompanying treat. Otherwise, it’s just not a coffee break. So how about that old favorite, the biscotti?

Today’s biscotti is not like the biscotti of years ago, the kind my mother would buy in a package at the grocery store. The cookies were one flavor, and unless you dunked them, they were pretty, well, blah. Now you can get any flavor imaginable, any way you like them -- almost too many choices.   

I prefer some flavor, but I also don’t want my coffee overpowered. Martha Stewart has a nice recipe for a hazelnut biscotti that’s relatively simple to make. Along with a good electric mixer, you need 1 1/2 cups shelled hazelnuts, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds, 1 tablespoon grated orange zest, a taste of salt, 3 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Cook hazelnuts at 350 degrees until the skins blister (about 15 minutes). When cool, remove skins. In the mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, anise seeds, zest, and salt. Beat together eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, and mix until a sticky dough is formed. Work in nuts.   Click here to see what’s next and find out how to get your biscotti looking as pretty as the ones in the coffee shop. And brew a good cup while you’re waiting for them to come out of the oven. 

The chicken or the egg? How about both? Easter Cupcakes!

My mother always said dessert was the best part of dinner. I remember meals as a kid when she would lean over and say, quietly of course, “Don’t finish your meal. Leave room for dessert.” A mantra I still live by today, so I’m starting Easter week recipes with dessert first. These Food Network chick and egg cupcakes are too adorable to pass up, so I’m breaking out my artsy self to try these. Don’t worry, they look more complicated than they are.

To make, you need:

1 vanilla cupcake

About 1/3 cup White Fluff Frosting

Green coconut grass

6 small candied malt balls (2 yellow, 2 pink, 2 white)

1 yellow chick peep

white Airhead candy

 The cupcakes are pretty basic (full recipe here); it's the decorating that will take time. Once they’re baked, frost with fluff frosting. Add your circle of coconut grass (shredded coconut and food coloring) on top. Place malted eggs on top of the grass and add your peep onto the center of the grass. Cut the white Airhead into a 1/2 oval shape; trim one side so it has a cracked egg jagged edge. Place egg next to chick.

I know, it seems like a lot of work, but seriously -- these are the cutest cupcakes ever made, at least for Easter. You may not even want to eat them, but you should get over that. Remember, dessert is the best part. Save room for two -- it’s a special day.