Shortbreads with White Chocolate and Raspberry Jam

I saw these on Joy of Baking and thought they'd be super yummy---and they were!

I've never used a cookie cutter before so this was a first for me, and I had a lot of fun. Just be sure to refrigerate the cookie dough so it's easier to work with.

The finished product. I thought they'd taste like the Knott's Berry Farm cookies but they're much less dense and more flaky. Also, the jam I used wasn't as sweet as the Knott's jam. The white chocolate was much more subtle than I thought.

I made mini cookies for the kids with the leftover batter. You can't tell from this picture but they're tiny and perfect size for their little hands!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes!

I've been baking (and eating!) a lot of cupcakes lately. Some from online recipes but mostly from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

I really need to work on my frosting skills... (which are lacking) hee hee...

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. As you can see, I'm horrible at frosting, so I made pineapple flowers and topped the cupcakes with them...

Much better!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting... I wasn't a big fan of the frosting

Marble Cupcakes (These were yummy!)

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting (It tastes a lot better than it looks...)

And now for the store-bought cupcakes:
From Gigi's Cupcakes in Napa... now closed. This is actually a picture from a couple of years ago... =P I wish I could frost like this. Somebody teach me!

From Sift in Napa. Guess what flavor it is! Give up? Samoa! Like the Girl Scout Cookies.

And more to come next time...

The Winner!

Comment #7, you are the winner! "My name is Jane Lee and I just ate a couple bites of pita pit's philly pita. It was blah. I'd rather eat a bacon bar of chocolate." Congrats! What is Pita Pit's?

=) Facebook me your address and I'll send your loot to you.

Thanks everyone for participating. I'll be sure to have another giveaway!

WINGS WINGS WINGS!

Garlic Ginger Honey Wings aka "Asian Wings"

Sriracha Honey Wings aka "Spicy Wings"

After reading Cindy's post about wings... I've been craving them. So, naturally, I made some. I did make some changes to the recipes. For the Asian wings, I pretty much stuck to the recipe but I baked at 375 so that I could bake both types together. I did cut down on the amount of honey but just by a teensy bit.

For the Spicy wings, I cut down on the butter by like 2 tbsp and added a little less sriracha. Also, I used lemon instead of lime because I was too lazy to go to the market and we have a lemon tree in the backyard. Lastly, instead of deep frying, after dredging, I stuck the wings in the oven at 375 until they were nice and crispy. Oh, I also added salt and pepper to the flour. I think it'd be good with a little cayenne in the flour too.

The Asian wings will cook faster so just watch the oven and take them out to glaze after about 40 minutes or so.

Enjoy alone or with rice! Alone sounds sad... like you're eating alone. =(

Blueberries and Cream Cupcakes... thanks Martha!

So far, everything I've made by Martha Stewart has been really yummy and these cupcakes are no exception. The recipe makes 30 regular sized cupcakes... which is a lot. So, I cut the recipe in half and made a few changes (like the amount and type of sugar) to make 14 regular-sized cupcakes. And no, they're not muffins.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup AP Flour
3/4 cup Cake Flour (it says sifted, but I was lazy...)
1/2 T Baking Powder
1/4 t Salt
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, Room temp.
1/2 cup White Sugar (The actual recipe calls for 1 3/4 cup Sugar for 30 cupcakes, in case you want to stick to the original recipe)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs, Room temp.
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/2 and 1/8 cup of Milk, Room temp.
2 cups Fresh Blueberries, plus more for garnish

Whipped Cream Topping:
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Confectioner's Sugar
(This makes a lot of topping. You can halve this and still have plenty) Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Whip in the sugar. (I used a little less than 1/4 cup)

Preheat to 350. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) Use a mixer to mix the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with 2 additions of milk. Fold in the blueberries.

Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 of the way and bake about 25 minutes, rotating halfway. Remove from oven and decorate with whipped cream and garnish with extra blueberries.

If you don't add the topping, the cupcakes are yummy in the morning as a quick breakfast.

My First Giveaway!

RULES POSTED AT THE END OF THIS POST! =)
_________

This is my first giveaway! I'm really excited! I don't know why...

I really thought about what I should give away and decided that since I'm living in Napa, why not something Napa themed? Well, I wasn't about to ship bottles or cases of wine, so then I decided to pick some things representative of Napa...

At first, I felt nervous about doing a giveaway. I asked Andrew, "What if no one enters?" Then he said, "Then you can keep everything." Oh. "What if no one likes the things I picked?" "Then you can keep everything." Oh. I like this giveaway!!! (And I hope you do too... but if not, MORE FOR ME!!!)

1. The first item in this giveaway is from The Tyler Florence Shop in downtown Napa. It's a rub that can be used to season chicken or veggies, or whatever, before roasting. I haven't tried it before, but it says right on it, "THIS IS MY FAVORITE SEASONING FOR ANYTHING & EVERYTHING." Even fish? Even fruit? Even toast? Even socks? Even dog food Tyler? HMM?? Ok, got a little carried away there.

2. I saw this bar of chocolate and thought it was "Napa-ish" because they have all sorts of yummy and interesting food here. I haven't tried this flavor, but I have tried her black Hawaiian salt + burnt caramel dark chocolate and it was pretty tasty. Let me know how this is, whoever wins.

3. They sell this soap at a lot of markets in Napa. It's made here and it's really cute because if you look at the back,

they're named after the different wines. They also put ingredients grown locally in Napa into their soaps, cool huh? This particular one smells really fruity and slightly citrus-y. There are also scents like, "Cabernet Soapignon" and "Soapignon Blanc" where they put the actual wine into the soap.

4. Lastly, this isn't Napa-themed, but it is in a way because I eat it like everyday... in Napa. So... it's... in someway related to Napa? Haha. Anyway, this is like crack and I love it. I like it with toast but I imagine it'd be good on a croissant or bagel or a spoon, or on your finger, or squirted directly into your mouth... drooool!

So there you have it! You can put some almond butter on your bacon chocolate, sprinkle it with rub, and eat it while you bathe.

RULES:
To enter, just leave a comment with:
1. Your name, or else how would I know who you are?
2. The last thing you ate. YUM.

You can enter once a day to better your chances (An idea I got from Cindy!) until... umm... hm... uhhh...how long do they usually give these things? I guess Saturday the 5th! And I'll announce the winner on Sunday the 6th! (If I'm not feeling lazy... hee hee) GOOD BYE! I mean, GOOD LUCK!

Update: Life (food) in Napa

Instead of updating on what I've been doing in Napa, I've decided to update on what I've been eating in Napa. All of these photos have been taken by my phone, so sorry if they're not the best quality!

Let's start with these donuts from Boon Fly Cafe. Super cute and tiny as you can see by the comparison with the fork. They're coated in cinnamon and sugar and come with a chocolate dipping sauce. The texture is interesting--more dense than a regular donut.

This meal is working backwards. This was my main course--chicken and waffles. Malt waffles with honey butter to be more precise. I took a bite of the waffle before I took a picture. The waffles were super yummy and the chicken was really crispy. Better than Roscoes? Don't ask me, I'm biased and am not a real fan of Roscoe's. *gasp*

Also from Boon Fly cafe, was this appetizer. I started eating it before I took a picture. Oops! It's a dungeness crab cake with avocado, grapefruit, hearts of palm, wild arugula, and meyer lemon aioli. Hands down the best part of the whole meal. So yummyyy. Drool.

This amazing (and spicy!) taco is from C Casa. It was a special, so they don't have it on their regular menu. This place has the best gourmet tacos. They also have this awesome crab salad. So Fresh! This taco happens to be duck, spinach, and blood oranges with red onions and lots of jalapenos. They also have buffalo, prawns, crab, steak, and others.

This small feast is from Pica Pica, Venezuelan food. I got two arepas (did not finish either... wah)--one pabellon which is shredded beef, sweet plantains, black beans, and queso fresco. The one on the top left is pelu'a which is shredded beef with cheddar cheese. They had garlic yucca fries that day, so I ordered a side of that and got some pica'chup (not pictured) and another sauce to dip.

Next, these are my FAVORITE cookies. (Annie the Baker.) They are super doughy and chewy and oh so good. Pictured are (from L to R) Tuxedo Macadamia, Cocoa Loco, and Peanut Butter Extreme! (Yes, the name of the cookie really does have an exclamation point behind it.) She comes to farmer's markets during the spring and summer, but seeing as we're in the middle of winter, I got these at Napa Style in Yountville.

Okay, this will be my last food picture of the day. This is from Michael Chiarello's Napa Style Paninoteca. I went to Bottega for my birthday a few years ago, and it was good, but this was BETTER. I got the Giana which is roasted garlic and rosemary salami, speck, proscuitto, fontina cheese, basil aioli, arugula, and sun-dried tomato on a baguette. It comes with a vegetable giardiniera. Above that is potato soup. Can I just say, this is the best sandwich I've ever eaten? Really. Truly.

Okay, that is all for today. =) I am now 75 lbs heavier and hope you are 75% hungrier. Until next time, bye!