Cupcakes with toasted coconut & almonds

...because sometimes, you need to make 24 cupcakes at the end of the day.

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

Cake flour (or box of cake mix)

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup canola oil

3 large eggs

coconut

almonds

For the Icing:

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3-4 tablespoons milk (add for your desired consistency)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup cocoa powder

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly brown coconut & almonds for 4-7 minutes.

Blend cake mix together and pour into cupcake pans.

Combine in large bowl, with mixer at low speed, confectioners sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy. Add cocoa mix and beat until combined. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.

*Makes 24 cupcakes

bon appetit

Biscotti Regina

* Recipe adapted from Sopranos family cookbook

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk

2 cups unhulled sesame seeds

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 pound ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp grated orange zest

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two large baking sheets.

Pour the milk into a shallow bowl. Spread the sesame seeds on a piece of wax paper. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, beat in the butter a little at a time.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients until well blended.

Pinch off a piece of dough the size of a golf ball and shape it into a log of 2 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch thick.

Dip the log in the milk, then roll it in the sesame seeds. Place on a prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Continue wit the remaining dough, placing the cookies about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until well browned. Let cook on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

bon appetito.

Blueberry Tart with Walnut Crust

*Make ahead tip: Refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Ingredients:

For Crust:

1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon canola oik

pinch of salt

For Filling:

8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 cups fresh blueberries

Recipe:

To prepare crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Coarsely chop walnuts in food processor. Add graham cracker crumbs and process until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.

Whisk egg white in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the crumb mixture, butter, oil, and salt; toss to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9-inch removable-bottom pan. Set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly darker around the edges, about 8 minutes. Let stand to cool.

To prepare filling: Beat cream cheese, sour cream and 1/4 cup maple syrup in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. When the crust is cool, spread the filling evenly into it, being careful not to break up the delicate crust. Arrange blueberries on the filling, pressing lightly so they set in. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup over the berries. Chill for at least 1 hour to firm up.

buon appetito.

You say potata, I say Frittata!

I've never made a Frittata before. Truth is, it's basically making an omelet and throwing it in the oven to bake for a few minutes. We made a few changes to this recipe though, we added some bacon (duh) and took away the garlic ( we weren't sure well it would go with the fresh rosemary).

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound baby potatoes

1 small onion

3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

4 strips of crispy bacon, chopped

Recipe:

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in medium heat-proof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the potatoes and onions to the skillet and season with rosemary and salt and pepper, to taste. Raise the heat a little and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Turn the potato/onion mixture over and cook for 5 minutes more. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the egg mixture to the skillet and move them around and under the potatoes to settle them. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until golden on top, about 10 to 12 minutes. Scatter the cheese on top, turn the oven off and let sit for another couple of minutes.

Remove from oven and serve HOT. Because nobody likes cold eggs!

Enjoy!

Love,

Us.

Four-Cheese Pizza

Only a few things make an apartment smell as good as homemade pizza. The dough, the spices, the cheese. So good.

Now we've made pizza before, but this time we thought "how about 4-cheese?". The truth is, we had a lot of cold-cuts left over from the week.

Ingredients:

1 package of pizza dough

5 tablespoons of ricotta

6 slices of provolone cheese

6 slices of Munster cheese

3 hand fulls of shredded mozzarella cheese

4 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tbs salt

2 tbs pepper

sprinkling of oregano

2 tbs of olive oil

Recipe:

Coat large baking pan with olive oil. Spread pizza dough over pan. Gently spread ricotta cheese on top of the pizza. You should only have a thin layer of ricotta on the pizza. Place provolone, Munster and mozzarella cheese on top of the ricotta spread. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano on top.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

enjoy!

love,

us

Rooftop Pancake Bar

I'm lucky enough to know what it's like to have a rooftop in NYC, but adding a pancake bar to that...I think I know what our weekend plans are going to be. Check out more pictures here.

Peanut Butter-Hazelnut Brownies

I didn't know what I was craving for dessert tonight. So I typed "dessert" into the search box of the food network website. A few things came up; the basic cupcake, a few poundcake recipes. But then, THIS came up. And I really don't have a problem with putting nutella on anything. Try it out!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

Dash salt

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter ( or chunky, depending on your preference)

1/2 cup nutella

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 12-inch glass baking dish.

Melt the butter over low heat; when melted remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, and mix well.

Mix the peanut butter and chocolate spread in a small microwave-proof bowl, and heat in the microwave until it reaches a runny consistency. Stir the mixture into the batter; then pour it into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

love,

us