chocolate ganache cupcakes

Does the Barefoot Contessa ever let you down? I think not. I remember back last winter when I was sick in bed, all day, watching horrible daytime TV. But thankfully the Food Network saved the day! The Barefoot Contessa was on twice during the day! Thank goodness--I was feeling better already! So if you're sick in bed, remember the Barefoot Contessa is on not once, but twice in one day; midday then at dinnertime (I think it's still that way). Nothing like watching Ina to cheer you right up. She had made these gorgeous chocolate ganche cupcakes that were topped with bright candied violets. Of course she breezed through them with ease; they came out perfect, and then she topped them with stunning purple candied violets. I saved this recipe to create when I found candied violets. Never found them, don't even know where to look unless you go to a big city? Have you ever seen candied violets? So very pretty, and make the simplest of things like cupcakes into stunning little works of art. How fabulous is that? (I just LOVE when she says that).

chocolate ganache cupcakes
by barefoot contessa
print recipe

1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Candied violets, for decoration, optional

Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.
Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. Decorate with candied violets, if desired. Do not refrigerate. I decorated with toffee bits and coarse colored sugar sprinkles.

broiled prosecco-scallops w/ panko crumbs

We eat a lot of scallops here; seafood I never tire of. My local fishmonger is wonderful, patient (because I ask way too many questions) and always knows what's the best catch of the day. He has the best and biggest scallops, as well as the best lobster around. I'm a huge fan of the big scallops not so much of the bay scallops. Although bay scallops are perfect for a seafood sherry bisque. This broiled prosecco-scallop dish came about by the mere fact that I had no white wine in the house, nor any lemons!. And refusing to freeze the scallops because I just think they freeze awful unless you vac-seal them to perfection, I searched the cupboards for something to use. Not finding anything I remembered the bottles of champagne and prosecco I have stored in the garage for special occasions. Perfect! I knew instinctly champagne might be too bitter when cooked, but prosecco is perfect because of it's sweetness.
What a hit these were. I was shocked at how super moist the prosecco kept the scallops while broiling, as well as lending a gentle extra sweetness to the scallops. The best part was how easy and fast this was to throw together. A recipe keeper for sure. Keep this one in mind when you what to impress friends and haven't a lot of time.

cook notes: lemon will not go so well with this. you can try it, but it doesn't taste right and overpowers the sweetness of the prosecco. i love using panko crumbs because the stay nice and crispy. serve the remaining cold prosecco when serving this dish. PLEASE make sure you know your oven broiler well, as these are scallops and they cook fast! i think adding a pinch of tarrgon to the panko crumb mixture might be nice next time.

broiled prosecco-scallops w/ panko crumbs
print recipe

about 10 - 12 large scallops, washed, nibs removed
1/4 cup of cold prosecco (or so)

fresh chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

in a large (high heat) casserole dish spray the dish w/ olive oil or coat with butter. place scallops in a single layer not too close to each other. salt & pepper the scallops. then pour 1/4 cup or so of the ice cold prosecco over the scallops. let them soak all that goodness in for a few minutes. prepare crumb topping. most important: don't walk away from broiler when scallops are in there!

crumb topping:
about 3/4 to 1 cup of panko crumbs (more or less?)
1 stick of melted butter

combine both in a dish; season with a hint of salt & pepper; set aside.

Preheat oven broiler to 450/500 degrees. bake the scallops till just done maybe 4-5 minutes? recipe by dawn finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com. add on the panko crumb mixture and put back under broiler until panko crumb topping is nice and brown--maybe 2 minutes? watch it, it cooks quick

lobster salad w/ spicy adobo-mayo sauce

One last summer dish? I can't let go of summer food or summertime just yet. I have to close my pool up soon--my first pool I've owned. Can I tell you I have a love-hate relationship with it. They are one of the most expensive things to own and run. The equivalent of driving around in a convertible with the top down with bags of money in the back seat opened and flying out. But on the other hand, I love my pool; loved my nightly swims. All that hard work of cleaning it, vacuuming it, scrubbing the sides--you bet I was going to go swimmming daily. And now the seasons are changing and I will miss my swims, I will miss the morning skimming of the pool of the nights leaves, bugs and happy frogs swimming about in the pool. All of a sudden here in the NE it's colder (a lot colder) and so it's time to close it up. Sad. But I do get to look forward to fall. And every foodie knows that with fall comes MORE baking. So I'm looking forward to that. But before that happens I have a couple seafood summer dishes to share with you.
Living on cape cod there is lobster everywhere; one can get sick of it, so you need to be creative with it. So I've taken lobster salad and made it spicy and a few extra layers of flavor added in. It has chili peppers, adobo sauce, lime and cliantro in it; wonderful mix, beautiful layers of variating flavors.

lobster salad with spicy adobo-mayo sauce
print recipe

take a pound of cooked chilled lobster meat (tails & claws)
sprinkle the juice of one lime over lobster cover,set aside in fridge

for the sauce combine (in a non-reactive bowl)
about 2-3 TB of chili's in adobo sauce, chopped nice & fine
3-4 TB Hellmans mayonaise
1 ts lime juice
2 TB chopped fresh cilantro

Mix all together in a non reactive bowl (glass, ceramic, plastic), it's best to let the flavors mix a bit before serving. So chill covered in fridge for about half hour. recipe by dawn finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com When ready to serve, make sure you use toasted & buttered buns! Serve with lettuce. Garnish with more chopped fresh cilantro or fresh parsley.

Cook notes: the chili in adobo sauce is HOT. So be careful; use as much or as little as you like. I like my stuff hot so I used a good amount.

blue cheese burger and giveaway

Best things of summer:
hearing those familiar crickets cranking away all night long
the first bite of hot, greasy, deep fried seafood
waiting in line for your first ice cream at the local ice cream stand
putting on those old/broke down summer sandals again
that first time you go underwater and freeze, but it feels so good on your head
the first time you encounter your dear old friend 'humidity' again and curse at it
feeling that ceiling fan whirl above you & blow the breeze while you fall asleep
grilled hot dogs with as much condiments as possible
greasy hamburgers on crisp thick buttered buns....ahhh
Seems like all my summer memories are food based. I did do a lot of eating this summer. Didn't do much cooking as the summer was fairly hot. Pretty certain we broke a few heatwave records here on cape cod and boston areas. With that said I spent a lot of time swimming. It was nice to take a break from blogging, but I missed it so....so nice to be back. I missed you guys and I'm sorry if I didn't keep up with visiting your blogs; I will do my best to catch up and say HI again.

What are your favorite summer memories? Tell me and you'll be automatically entered into a giveaway I'm having. I'm giving away 3 of my ecookbooks. This is one hot lil cookbook that you'll not only want to dive right into and try the recipes, but it also has stories of why & how each recipe came about. I personally have two chapters in there, but there are other food bloggers that you may not know about and really should. Chefs and bloggers alike that have major talent when it comes to creating recipes from scratch. One of my good friends and publisher of the ecookbook 55 Knives is Nick at Macheesemo. He was generous to give me 3 to give away. When I asked if I could he instantly said 'how many?". What a good guy right? Maybe I should have said 12?
So all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment about your best summer memory, be it food or not. But in all honesty we want to hear about the food! Make sure your email and/or web page is present so I can get a hold of you if you are picked.
How about I do the drawing 2 weeks from today? Cool?

blue cheese burgers
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nothing more than a pound of 85% lean beef mixed with one pack of lipton onion soup mix and some fresh ground pepper. form into burgers, slip a pat of butter in the middle of the burger and close up. grill burgers till desired doneness. make sure to butter and grill the buns! serve with lettuce, sliced tomatoes and a HUGE dollup of blue cheese dressing.
makes 4 burgers