Cupcake Wars

I was watching Cupcake Wars this weekend and got inspired. I love making cupcakes but I wanted to try something different. I only had a yellow cake mix in the house (I didn't want to make one from scratch - it was late in the day and since it was a test, well, I just wanted to see how it worked first). I took the mix and added one pkg. of lemon pudding/pie filling mix which I also had. Instead of using all water, I used half water and half fresh lemon juice. I was craving lemon cupcakes. Now what goes good with lemon - I started thinking about some strawberry lemonade I had a week ago and though, why not put a strawberry in the batter before baking them. When they came out of the oven, they felt heavier than a normal cupcake but looked intact. I decided to make a lemon glaze (powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, water and a tiny bit of oil for shine) - once cooled, I dipped them in the glaze, let them set up and dipped again so they had two coatings. Bottom line - they were very good and pretty too - it's something unexpected when you bite into a cupcake to find a cooked strawberry but the combination works!

Black Cherry Mojitios

I made these yesterday and they were really good and different, a twist on the typical Mojito. This is the recipe but you can tweak it to your taste - I found it a bit sweet so I just added more lime juice and it was perfect.

Bag of frozen pitted black cherries (I used a 12 oz. bag)
2 cups of crushed ice, plus extra to serve (you can also use regular ice if you have a really heavy duty, good blender)
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 cup lite citrus rum (Bacardi Limon is a good choice ... you could also replace with a citrus vodka if you don't like rum)
1 2/3 cups Lime Simple Syrup (recipe below)
Lime wedges for garnish

Place the frozen cherries, crushed ice, mint leaves, lime juice, rum and lime simple syrup in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into chilled tall glasses and top with more crushed ice. Garnish with lime wedges (you could also garnish with a mint leaf or a black cherry)

Lime Simple Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Zest from 3 limes
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and lime zest over med. heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes stirring occasionaly until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes and then strain and store until ready to use.

Lemon Blossoms

I had to post this recipe as I love anything lemon - these are easy, though time consuming since it makes so many, but they are great. Good idea for anyone that needs to take something to a group function ...

Lemon Blossoms

Ingredients
• 18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
• 3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
Glaze:
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel. Keep repeating till you’ve used all the batter (should make about 48).
To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.
With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids. They can also be frozen.

Oil Spill effects

It's been a while since I posted and I know I'm remiss. Anyway, I want to mention something that is probably happening across the country but especially here in the southeast. Riggins Crab House has recently changed their menu and may even change their name. It's unfortunate that a great place known for Gulf crabs is now thinking about the day that may come where they will no longer be able to serve them. The owner of Riggins has added meats and grilled specialties, hoping to get a new following not based on crabs and other Gulf seafood specialites. Riggins is still a great restaurant and still serves crab and will as long as they can. Hopefully nothing will change but he's preparing, just in case. Very sad situation.

Station House

I was talking to Mom today and she reminded me about my blog - thing is, I haven't written anything in a while. First of all, I still haven't felt the best. It started with the stomach flu and next it went into a bad head cold, which I'm just now getting over. So eating and food haven't been on my mind that much.

However, tonight we went to one of our favorite places - The Station House in Lantana. I have to mention one of my favorite cocktails is made here by Steve, the bartender. It's not on the menu but it's a concoction he does and it's good - very refreshing. A Pear-tini. I love having that with their French bread and butter. Who needs a meal after that. But we do - we generally split a dinner there as there's plenty to eat. Tonight we split the stuffed lobster tails, garlic mashed potatoes and salad. Great little spot and the only place I know of locally that truly does have fresh, flown-in-from-Maine-daily lobster. It's never frozen. I've gotten so I don't care to eat lobster boiled fresh. Don't know why but it's just something I don't do any longer. Tonight was the first time in ages I've even had lobster but since they were the tails and stuffed, it was all good. We were gonna head to the Ice Cream Club on the beach afterwards but we were stuffed (no pun intended :-) Besides I have two desserts waiting here at home - a Pina Colada Cake and some Berry Peach Crisp - yes, even feeling poorly, I somehow manage to have desserts around the house.

I haven't blogged in a while - two reasons. One, I have had a stomach virus and haven't felt like eating much of anything, let alone talk about it. Two, I sometimes think I'm just writing to myself and maybe I am so whether anyone is actually reading this or it's a daily diary, it is what it is.

Yesterday was the first day in a week that I started to feel normal again so we went out to eat somewhere where we hadn't gone for dinner, only breakfasts. The Ritz-Carlton's Temple Orange restaurant. The food was very good. I had their fetticine bolognese, something I am pretty particular about (the last good dish of this I had out was at a hole in the wall restaurant around Mt. Dora, FL) - very unexpected but wonderful. Anyway, the Ritz's version was really good too and the portion was enough so that I could bring some home. The Temple Orange is a cute restaurant but as for evening ambience, it leaves a little something to be desired - it's a great setting for breakfast and lunch though. Maybe it's because it just wasn't crowded, people were mostly sitting outside. They told me they will be opening a fine dining restaurant in the fall at the Ritz. My husband was happy because they had Colorado lamb chops. I guess I should backtrack a bit to tell you that I enjoyed a very good cocktail before dinner - akin to a Bellini. It was vodka, champagne and some peach nectar - very good and refreshing. My husband had his usual Dirty Martini.

A little about the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. They did a very big renovation a couple of years ago and it is beautiful. Someone said they spent $65 million on it - it's classic and casual - lots of whites, silvers and golds with seashells everywhere. The lounge/bar area is cute but one would think after all the renovation, they would add more seating to the actual bar. It still has only 5 bar stools and that's just not enough for a "bar fly" :-) They do have a cute little sitting area though with tables and chairs and a bar bites menu for something lighter. We might try eating there next time as the little menu looked good to.

Bonefish Grill

Bonefish grill has been around a while and I've always wanted to try it - I got the opportunity over the weekend and I'd like to give it a big thumbs up. I always figured it to be a good restaurant chain (I'm not big on chains but this is among one of the better ones). Thing is, you have to get there early and/or go on a Sunday when they open as they are always packed. Another reason I haven't gone till now; it's always crowded. So we got there early and sat down at a nice booth by the window but within 20 minutes, there wasn't a seat to be had and there was already a wait. I see why. The food is good and very fresh - it smelled wonderful upon going in like herbs and a wood burning oven. They have a great variety of fish and since I eat mostly seafood, this is right up my alley.

I got the special - the wild shrimp Pad Thai and it was excellent. But was very tempted to get the Arctic Charr done on a cedar plank. My husband got the Tokyo style Ahi Tuna with jasmine rice and Asian veggies. The dessert special looked great (Jamaican coconut pie) but I still had those cupcakes at home :-) Oh and lest I forget, I loved the Bonefish Martini which I started with - vodka, cranberry juice and Prosecco (Italian champagne). The price was right for all of this too. We will definitely go back here.