Sugar & Spice: Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes

A dear friend of mine is pregnant with her first child, a daughter and our circle of friends held a baby shower in her honor this past Sunday. I was in charge of picking the theme, developing the menu and preparing a few of the dishes.

The future-momma is thrilled to be having a girl -- she has always been a girly-girl (her wedding colors were baby pink and chocolate brown), so we chose "Sugar & Spice" as the theme for the day, incorporating her favorite colors and love of all-things frilly.

As I was brainstorming the theme, I created a collage of inspirational images that really helped us to visualize our theme. I usually have as much fun creating the brainstorm board as I do planning the final event!


The menu included lots of warming comfort food and just a touch of spice throughout, with things like a spicy arugula & fennel salad; baked mac & cheese with a touch of nutmeg and cayenne; spice-glazed baked ham, and a dessert bar featuring chocolate-dipped marshmallows, lemon cookies and chocolate-glazed gingerbread cupcakes.

We also offered hot spiced cider and hot tea, along with cinnamon sticks and pink rock candy stir sticks. Finally, each of the attendees recieved a bottle of cinamon sugar with a custom label as a party favor. All in all, it was a fun party and I think our friend really appreciated our efforts.

It was lots of fun to plan and prep for. I made the cider, salad, mac & cheese, marshmallow pops and the cupcakes. The cupcakes were an interesting experiment because I've never made a glaze frosting before. It was actually super easy to make and apply (just melt, dip and drip!). The gingerbread cake was also a new experiement. I based the recipes off of a version I found on Martha Stewart. The cake was moist and spicy and the frosting was rich and smooth...though its a very rich one-two punch. Next time I might try the cake with a cream cheese frosting. Or do the chocolate glaze with a yellow cupcake. But both recipes really are pretty outstanding.

That said, it was a pretty action packed weekend. In addition to all the cooking, I also had book club Saturday afternoon. My book club is always lots of fun but we usually end up enjoying alot more wine than we do intelligent discusion of the book. Between all the activities, I'm left feeling a little zapped today, but trying to rally as I have two nights of classes and then I'm off on a long-planned business trip for the balance of the week. But, once February arrives I'll be back in a comfortable routine. And hopefully much more blogging!

How about you guys....have you planned any fun parties recently? Did you come up with a theme or make any amazing treats? I'd love to hear about them!

Gingerbread Cupcakes
Adapted from recipes on MartaStewart.com
Makes about 20 regular size cupcakes

2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup tap water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 tsp. groung ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil and stir in baking soda. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl sift together flours, spices, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and brown sugar for a few minutes, until the mixture us fluffy and light. Beat in molasses until evenly combined. Then, add the flour and baking soda/water mixture in thirds, alternating back and fourth: flour, then water, then flour, then water, then flour, then water, just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Fill muffin tins two-thirds full with batter (these suckers really rise, so don't overfill!), then place cupcakes in the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle cupcake. Remove cupcakes to a rack to cool before decorating.

For the chocolate glaze icing, I recommend Martha Stewart's chocolate glaze recipe. It comes out beautifully and I didn't change a thing. For something less rich, try my cream cheese frosting.

Fast, easy lunches and other culinary adventures

The first few weeks of the new year have flown by. So far this year I've been skiing in Utah, started culinary school, and started adjusting to a new work schedule. Its been an interesting ride!

So far I'm absolutely loving culinary school...my chef is French and fabulous. Hilarious and wise. My classmates are diverse...ranging from longtime restaurant industry folks to lawyers, traders and other PR pros. So far, we've been doing knife skills, which means lots of slicing, chopping, and julienning, but not much else yet. Even so...I've absolutely loved every second so far.

In the next five weeks I hope to improve my knife skills (which are surprisingly crappy), learn how to bone and filet poultry and fish, learn sauces and compound butters and much more. And that's just the first half-quarter!

Of course, I big part of what I'm learning is about hygiene and professionalism, so I thought you'd like to see my uniform (you might also get a giggle). Between the outfit and my very serious looking knife kit, I'm already feeling like a real professional! Its all very exciting.

Of course, beyond the classes themselves, starting school has had an affect on the rest of my schedule. My employers and team are supportive and gracious and have allowed me to move to a 4-day work week (Thursdays are my homework days), and also work one additional day from home.

That means I'm spending more time at home during the week -- usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. While I enjoy working from home and I'm amazed how much more I can get done without the typical office interruptions, lunch has posed an interesting challenge. As someone who tends to over-complicate any meal, I've had to exercise restraint during workday lunchtime. Already though I think I've identified a short list of simply, healthful and delicious meal ideas that come together quickly so that I can get back to my laptop.

One of my favorite combinations includes an omelet and a small green salad. Omelets come together in minutes and make use of whatever vegetables and cheese happen to be in the fridge (in this case some leftover sliced mushrooms, goat cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil). To round out my lunch, I try to keep washed baby arugula in the house. This spicy green requires little dressing up to taste good. Generally I throw a handful of greens on my plate, sprinkle on some salt, pepper and cheese then top with a squirt of lemon juice and a spritz of olive oil from a mister. Easy, healthy and delicious.

As my school adventures continue, I'll try to showcase some additional weekday lunch ideas (which also make great quick and satisfying dinners), and I'd be thrilled to hear from you guys if you have any tasty recipes to offer up!

Easy Truffled Mushroom Omelet with Goat Cheese
Serves 1

1 Tbs. butter
2 eggs
1 tsp tap water
2-3 fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 Tbs. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 tsp. truffle oil for drizzling (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt butter and spread evenly around the pan. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a bowl. Add water and whisk until well mixed. Pour egg mixture into hot skillet and, using a heatproof rubber spatula, evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Use spatula to move the egg mixture around so that the liquid egg fills any holes in the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture set in the pan for about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, sprinkle mushrooms down the center of the omelet. When the egg mixture is set, use spatula to gently loosen the omelet away from the edge of the pan. Fold one side over the center of the omelet, then use spatula to continue folding until omelet is rolled in thirds. Gently dump from pan onto serving plate. Top with goat cheese, a drizzle of truffle oil (optional) and salt & pepper to taste. Serve with a salad and get back to work.