Chocolate-Mint Cupcakes

Every year for my friend Sallie's birthday I make her a Crème de Menthe Cake (chocolate and mint is her favorite dessert combination). Tonight I decided to make a treat for her when she and her family were coming to dinner. I didn't want to make a cake though, so I opted for cupcakes. The topping for Creme de Menthe Cake is whipping cream, but that doesn't work well for cupcakes. So I came up with this recipe; it uses the base for the traditional cake, but the topping is completely different. This recipe is going on the cupcake rotation at our house!

Chocolate-Mint Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup creme de menthe
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Combine cake mix and next 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer until thoroughly combined. Scoop batter into lightly greased muffin cups.
2. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until done. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread each cupcake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
Peppermint oil is much stronger than peppermint extract, that's why you measure it in drops. Buy it at a cake-supply store, not the grocery store.
5 oz. semisweet chocolate squares or morsels
3 Tbsp. water
3 to 4 drops peppermint oil
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Melt chocolate and water in microwave at HIGH for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Stir until mixture becomes glossy; let cool to room temperature. Stir in peppermint oil.
2. Beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until spreading consistency is achieved.

Panzanella

This delectable salad features huge chunks of homemade croutons. It's one of my favorites, for sure, and is a breeze to make. In the summer, serve it as a cool main dish. The best thing about it is that it has all the components of a BLT (do you see a theme to my summer cooking?). Tonight our dear friends Sallie and Ed and their kids came for dinner. We had grilled steak, Blue Cheese Butter, Panzanella, Grilled Potato Salad (I have a new method for making this, which I'll share later this week), and fresh watermelon and cantaloupe. Yummy food and great fellowship—what could be better?

Panzanella
1 loaf crusty bread (I used rosemary sourdough from Whole Foods.)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tomato, cut into chunks
1 head green leaf lettuce
1/4 red onion, minced
8 bacon slices, chopped and cooked
Balsamic Vinaigrette

1. Cut bread into cubes. Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes or until cubes are toasted.
2. Combine tomatoes and lettuce in a serving bowl. Add in onion, bacon, and croutons. Drizzle with Balsamic Vinaigrette, tossing to coat.

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. country-style Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. honey
Salt
Pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup olive oil

1. Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine. Pour in olive oil, and shake to combine.

Oatmeal Cookie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

This idea for dessert for our Fourth of July party was a hit! Cookies are the easiest dessert to make, so I made two batches of my basic Oatmeal Cookies and then sandwiched them with vanilla ice cream. (The key is to underbake your cookies a bit so that they are flexible when you squeeze them together with the ice cream. I had planned to dip half of each cookie in milk chocolate ganache, but I ran out of time. There's always tomorrow…

Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 bag semisweet chocolate morsels or peanut butter morsels (I made a batch of each.)
Vanilla ice cream

1. Beat butter and next 2 ingredients until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Add in vanilla.
2. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined. Stir in morsels.
3. Scoop batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets with a medium-size scoop; bake at 350° for 11 minutes or until done. Cool completely on a wire rack. Place a scoop of ice cream between two cookies.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

One appetizer on our Fourth of July menu was Southwestern Egg Rolls. This is a simple recipe to make (as long as you are comfortable frying food) and is a hit with guests of all ages. I used leftover Citrus Black Beans combined with yellow rice and taco meat and then rolled the filling in egg roll wrappers (these are available in the produce section of the grocery store). You could also serve these as an dinner entrée.

Southwestern Egg Rolls
1 package yellow rice
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-oz.) package shredded Mexican cheese blend
Egg roll wrappers

1. Cook yellow rice according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, sauté ground beef until cooked and crumbled. Drain. Stir in 1 envelope lower-sodium taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cup water.
3. Combine rice, ground beef mixture, black beans, and cheese in a bowl. Place about 3 Tbsp. rice mixture in center of each egg roll wrapper; fold up bottom of wrapper, fold in sides, and then roll up. Use your finger to place a little water on the top corner of each egg roll wrapper to seal.
4. Pour peanut oil to the depth of 2 inches in a Dutch oven. Cook egg rolls, in batches, in hot oil until done. Drain on paper towels. Serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream, if desired.

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is Andy's favorite holiday and we have a party to celebrate it every year. It's super casual and a lot of fun! The menu doesn't vary much each year, because it's not the Fourth unless you grill! This year we had hamburgers, Caramelized Onion Dip with kettle chips, Layered Mexican Dip with Homemade Tortilla Chips, Southwestern Egg Rolls, Chopped Salad (without the blue cheese), watermelon, and Oatmeal Cookie Ice-Cream Sandwiches.

Tomato Pie

One of our favorite meals in the summer is Tomato Pie. This recipe is essentially like eating a BLT, minus the lettuce. Yum! In this case, the "B" stands for bacon and basil. If you've never tried tomato pie, you must! The key is ripe tomatoes, of course, so this is a summer-only dish. You can make your own piecrust, if you prefer, but refrigerated or frozen will work just as well. To avoid a soggy crust, it is essential to salt the tomatoes and let them drain on paper towels for about 30 minutes before assembling the pie. Don't be intimidated; this is very simple. Enjoy!

Tomato Pie
6 tomatoes
Kosher salt
Pepper (optional)
1 (9-inch) pie crust
8 bacon slices, chopped and cooked
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups fancy shredded Italian cheese blend

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut tomatoes into slices, and place slices on paper towels. Sprinkle tomatoes with kosher salt and, if desired, pepper. Let stand for 15 minutes; then flip the tomatoes, and sprinkle with a little more salt. Let stand 15 more minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place pie crust in pie plate; crimp edge of crust. Prick holes in crust with a fork; bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Layer half of tomato slices in prepared crust. Sprinkle with half of bacon and basil. Layer remaining half of tomatoes; sprinkle with remaining bacon.
4. Combine mayonnaise, shredded cheese, and remaining basil in a small bowl. Spread mixture over top of tomatoes.
5. Bake for 25 minutes.

Recipe Rewind: Cappuccino Brownies

I made a couple of batches of Cappuccino Brownies this week and thought I would remind you about the recipe. If you haven't tried them, you must. The cappuccino flavor is the perfect foil for the super-sweet buttercream frosting. Chocolate chips in the batter are a nice contrast to the cakey brownies.