Mediterranean Lamb Burgers With Balsamic Caramelized Onions & Feta

Looks like a pretty plain burger, ehh? Well, don’t be deceived! That plain look isn’t the fault of the burger, just me as the one who photographed it hehe. Over a week ago, I made these for the first time. We absolutely loved the burger, but I absolutely hated the photos I took of it. So I asked on my Facebook page if the wonderful people who have my page liked trusted me enough to have me post the recipe even though the photos stunk. The answer was an overwhelming yes, that they trusted me enough even if the photos were bad. I was actually kind of touched to be honest.. But…. I just couldn’t do it. I mean, the photos really really stunk. So, I made the burgers again. Nobody minded hehe. They are truly yummy. And I tried the pictures again. Guess what? They sucked too. I am not capable of taking a good burger photo, it seems. I’m posting it anyway because these burgers deserve to be seen… to be eaten… quite possibly to be revered and worshiped on the alter of burgerness. Or something. Sorry. I had a moment there.

Seriously though, these are really really good. Add a few more reallys in there for good measure. Then git to cookin’. You want these. You really do. Don’t let the photo fool you. These are meaty, flavorful, tangy from the onions, a bit of a salty kick from the feta and creaminess from the cheese on top. You could dress these with tomatoes, ketchup, etc etc but they really don’t need anything. The meat is flavorful enough on its own and the onions just put it over the top.

Also, I did these in a grill pan indoors but feel free to grill them on the bbq.

                     Mediterranean Lamb Burgers With Balsamic Caramelized Onions & Feta Cheese

• Burgers-
• 2 lbs ground lamb
• 1 egg yolk
• 6 to 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons Wish Bone brand Mediterranean Italian Dressing
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• choice of cheese for topping burger (I used Havarti)
• Sriracha if desired for some heat (that’s what you see running off of mine there )
• 6 burger buns
• Balsamic Caramelized Onions-
• 4 medium onions, sliced thinly into half moons
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• salt, to taste

1. Get your burgers put together first because they will need to chill- In a large bowl, combine all the burger ingredients except the lamb and feta. Mix well. Put the lamb and feta on top and using your hands, lightly mix everything together. Don’t overwork the meat or you’ll have tough burgers in the end (and smushed cheese).
2. Shape the meat into 6 patties. Again, don’t overwork it but make sure they are firmly together. Put on a plate, cover and chill while you make the onions. These are fairly soft burgers due to the dressing in them so they need to chill some to firm up. Do NOT skip that or you’ll end up with a crumbled mess when you try to cook them.
3. While the burgers chill, make your onions- in a large pan, heat your oil and butter. Add in the thinly sliced onions and turn the heat to low and cover the pan. Let the onions cook over low heat until they are totally soft and transparent.
4. Turn the heat up to barely medium and uncover the pan. Stirring frequently, cook the onions until they are a deep golden brown. Don’t rush this by turning up the heat. The process will take at least 25 minutes or so, probably longer.
5. When they are nicely browned, pour in the balsamic vinegar and the brown sugar. Stir well to combine. Turn the heat back down to low and cook the onion mix, stirring frequently, until about 3/4′s of the vinegar is evaporated.
6. For the burgers- Heat a good frying pan, preferably a cast iron grill pan, over medium high heat until it is almost smoking hot. Do NOT attempt this if all you have is a non stick pan. They can release toxic fumes if heated too high. If that’s all you have, just heat the pan for a minute over medium heat.
7. Carefully lay your burgers in the pan (only three at a time for an average sized pan). They will spit and sputter all over so be careful not to burn yourself. Cook over medium high heat to desired doneness, about 130 degrees internal temp for medium rare, 145 for medium. I absolutely refuse to put a temp for medium well or well done. Just eat a shoe :-p
8. To serve, simply put a burger on a bun, top with a scoop of the onions and some cheese. Eat. Love me forever. Set up a burger alter. Cry because I am incapable of taking burger photos that do this justice.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

You know that saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”? Well, life was spitting lemon juice at me every time I tried to make this dessert lol. My original idea was to make mini meringue shells and fill them with the cheesecake mixture and berries. But after three tries to make mini meringue shells and failing each time (meringue too runny, cooked meringues not cooked enough yada yada yada) I then went to just two large meringue shells, figuring I could make something like This amazing dessert. But then I undercooked THOSE a touch and when I went to get them off of the baking sheet, they crumbled. Very tasty crumbles, but crumbles nonetheless. So there went the idea of a two layered pavlova sort of dessert. So what did I do? I made lemonade. No, no, not really. Chocolate meringue lemonade? EWWW. I know I can be a bit out there at times, but not THAT much. Proverbial lemonade, people.

So what is the proverbial lemonade? A trifle. As I stood there ready to either cry or beat on a wall because this would be the third mess up (and I have made meringues many many times before. I have NO idea what my issue was this time.) for this idea. But as I stood trying not to sob, the thought popped into my head… make it into a trifle. So…ummmm… I did. Every once in a while I listen to that voice. Usually it gets me in trouble, like that whole incident with Wal Mart and wearing the underwear on my head or the time I…well, never mind.

I have to admit; the trifle idea is a pretty good one. Is it as pretty as having all of this as elegant little meringue shells would have been? No. Do I care? No. I’m more of a rustic type of a gal anyway. More importantly though- will YOU or those you’re feeding care? Oh, hell no. This is creamy from the cheesecake filling, chewy/crisp form the meringue, tart/sweet form the berries and then creamy again from the whipped cream. All in all, while I hate the eggs I wasted getting to this point, I’m quite pleased with the end result. This makes a lot so is perfect for that Summer cookout while berries are in season or great for a large family dinner.

As usual… you know the drill. Get to cookin’.

Double Chocolate Berry Meringue Trifle

• Meringue-
• 8 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cheesecake filling-
• 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese, room temp
• 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temp
• 2 egg yolks (optional- they add richness but aren’t necessary if the idea of raw eggs skeeves you out)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Berries-
• 5 cups mixed berries or berries of choice (I used a mix of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) rinsed and patted dry
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves, melted and cooled slightly (I like using preserves in many desserts instead os sugar because you get some sweetness but it’s not overpowering plus the berries tend to release less juice using jam or preserves so no liquidy mess)
• Whipped Cream-
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Make your meringue- Preheat oven to 225 degrees and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on it, add your egg whites, vanilla and cream of tarter. Beat on medium speed until foamy. Turn speed up to high, gradually add your sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Don’t panic if it seems to be taking forever. Some days when I make meringue, it gets to peak quickly. Other times, it may take like 5 minutes. It all depends on the temp of the kitchen, the humidity, the temp of the eggs, etc.
3. When you have stiff peaks, take the bowl off of the stand and gently fold in your cocoa powder. Don’t mix vigorously or you’ll deflate your whites. When mixed, spread half of the mixture into a circle on each prepared pan.
4. Cook at 225 for about one hour or until the meringue is cooked throughout (don’t be afraid to stick a knife in there and check; you’ll just be crumbling these up anyway so pretty isn’t imperative. ) and lightly browned. Turn oven off and let meringues sit in the oven for about another hour or until completely cool.
5. Meanwhile, make your filling- In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone and cream cheese. Beat at medium speed until light and creamy. Add in the sugar (and egg yolks if using) and beat well. Add in the cream and vanilla extract and beat well, until mixture is smooth and creamy. On low speed, beat in the cocoa powder.  If you did NOT use the egg yolks, you may need to add a tablespoon or two more of cream to get this to a more spoonable consistency. Cover and put in the fridge until ready to put together the dessert.
6. Make your berries-  in a medium bowl (shush… bowls aren’t that hard to wash ), combine the berries and the preserves. Gently fold together trying not to mush up the berries. Take about a cup of berries and set aside for the top of the dessert.
7. Make your whipped cream- In a large bowl, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside or refrigerate if not using right away.
8. To put together- Crumble up one of the cooled meringues at the bottom of a large serving or trifle bowl. On top of that, layer half of the chilled chocolate mixture. On top of that, spread half of the berries. Repeat layering, then top with the whipped cream. Top the cream with the reserves berries. Cover and chill if not serving this immediately and store leftovers in the fridge.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

Cajun Fried Fish Po’ Boys

Whoa. I just passed over into “Long Recipe Name Land”, didn’t I? But I had to!!! Honest injun, ma! Fried Fish Po’ Boy sounds b…o…r…i…n…g… and while the fried green tomatoes added kicks the name up a notch, you really really NEEDED to know about the homemade lemon herb tartar sauce (on a side note, am I the only one who was thoroughly confused as a kid by tartar sauce and tartar on ones teeth? I was convinced that you got bad teeth because you ate tartar sauce. Please tell me I wasn’t alone in my idiocy *hears crickets, dies of embarrassment*) because it’s really what sends this sandwich over the edge from “I saw 5000 po’ boys on google” to “Oh! Where did I see that one po’ boy that had that amazing tartar sauce!? Oh yeah, it was on From Cupcakes To Caviar!”. It is creamy and tangy and a bit zesty from the lemon and the red pepper with a wonderful herbed flavor from…well, the herbs. Duhhhh, mannnn.

I would have liked to use catfish on this because I love catfish but catfish costs as much as a mortgage payment anymore if you’re in a landlocked state so I used Tilapia. Feel free to use whatever mild white fish you like in this. Any of them will work. This is extremely easy. Just get your tartar sauce made at least an hour ahead of time to give the flavors time to blend and taste it to make sure it to your families liking. Get your prep work done (veggies ready to go on the sandwiches, side dishes ready etc) and all that will be left is frying the fish and the tomatoes, letting everyone put their sandwiches together and chowing down.

You know the drill… get to cookin’!!

                                  Cajun Fried Fish Po’ Boy With Fried Green Tomatoes & Lemon Herb Tartar Sauce

• 3 lbs of your favorite white fish fillets
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups cornmeal (white or yellow; up to you)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (use a GOOD brand like McCormicks; the cheaper brands are mostly salt. If you have to use a cheaper brand, omit the salt in this)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 green to slightly pink tomatoes, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 cup good mayo
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish or to taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill weed or 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh (I actually prefer dried in this; the flavor works better plus you don’t have that leafy texture since this isn’t something cooked)
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives (do NOT use dried; dried chives are a waste of money) or sub fresh green onions but the flavor will be stronger
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce
• salt to taste
• 6 hoagie buns or sub rolls
• sliced sweet onion
• lettuce

1. Make your tartar sauce- In a small bowl ( a cereal bowl is big enough) combine mayo, pickle relish, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, one tablespoon lemon zest, dill weed, chives, red pepper or hot sauce and salt. Stir well to mix, taste for seasoning then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal,  and the next 7 ingredients (up through the cayenne).
3. In another bowl, combine the eggs and cold water.
4. In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat your oil to between 335 and 350 degrees. As it’s getting to temp, bread your fish. Dip first in the egg mixture, shaking off the excess, then dip into the flour/cornmeal mixture. Gently lay the fish, about 3 to 4 at a time depending on size, being careful not to crowd the pan, into the hot oil.
5. Let cook until golden brown on one side, about 3 to 4 minutes then flip. Let the other side brown well then remove from pan and lay onto a paper towel lined plate. Unless your fish is exceedingly thick, letting it get nicely golden brown on each side will be enough to get it cooked through without overcooking it. Cook all the fish, then do the same procedure with the sliced green tomatoes. With the tomatoes however all you need to do is get them brown. No worry about actually getting them cooked.
6. Lay everything out- fish, tomatoes, tartar sauce, rolls and garnishes and let everyone put together their own po’ boys.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

Berry Peachy Sangria

Someday we will actually get Summer weather here. Is it just here that has had extremely strange weather? I know I brought this up before but man, it’s freaky! Kentucky in June should NOT have rain and temps in the low 70′s. We should be sweltering even with the A/C on and lying buck naked in swimming pools while drinking fun drinks…. ummm, not public pools, people. And no, not me. I don’t want to scar psyches for life.

BUT…! I’m preparing for Summer. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge alcohol person. Been there, done that in my younger wilder days. But I do like some softer hard drinks. Honest, that really does make sense. That means I’ll drink a wine cooler type thing or regular wine. Sometimes I even have the hard stuff but not often because I end up a giggling fool within two sips. With the softer stuff, it takes at least 4 sips.

One thing I love is Sangria. I remember drinking the bottled cheap stuff in my younger days and it was even pretty good. But I decided I wanted to play with something homemade and made with white wine rather than red. This took about 90 seconds to throw together and I’m kind of proud of it since it DID take 90 seconds and it was all done on a whim. The Peach Schnapps adds a bit of bite but you can’t taste it as alcohol per se just a peachy flavor so be careful. Then the sweet sparkling wine and the Sprite and the fruit… well, suffice it to say that this comes together nicely. It can pack a punch though if you’re not a drinker so like I said, be ready. This has a full bottle of wine plus a cup of schnapps but all you taste is a wonderful peach taste.

You know the drill. Get to cookin’…erhmmm, pouring.

Berry Peach Sangria

• 1 750 ml bottle of Moscato wine (you could use a white zin if you prefer- just don’t use a dry wine or this will be too tart)
• 1 cup peach schnapps
• 1 can peach nectar (can be found in the grocery store in the ethnic aisle usually)
• 3 cups Sprite or 7-up
• 1 cup frozen peaches
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries

1. Drop your frozen fruit down into the bottom of your pitcher. Pour the peach nectar over, then the schnapps, Then slowly pour in the wine and follow up with the soda. Give it all a gentle stir. You can serve immediately or refrigerate it to let the flavors blend. I suggest letting it sit. It was good right after being made but it was outstanding an hour later when it blended.
2. See how easy that was? I just added this direction because I felt stupid only having one direction up.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Whoopie Pies

I have mentioned more than once that generally speaking, I don’t care for peanut butter. never have, never will. Strangely, while five of my six kids like peanut butter, one of my sons has never liked it either. That is so weird to me! You don’t think of food liking as being in any way genetic, but with six kids, I have learned that they really do seem to be in some cases. That same son hated bananas for many years. His father, whom he hadn’t lived with since an extremely young age, also hated bananas. Go figure.

But every once in a while, I get a strange (strange because well… I don’t LIKE pb so it’s akin to a rabid vegetarian suddenly craving steak tartare) craving for something peanut buttery. Usually I just have a peanut butter sandwich and that’s that; I’m done for 6 months or so. But today I was working on a blog post anyway. It was supposed to be chocolate whoopie pies with chocolate filling (I hear some of you sobbing out there because I changed it lol) but the peanut butter and jelly sandwich craving hit (twice a year, like clockwork ) and my 4 watt mental light bulb went off and I thought to myself “self ( I call myself self when I’m not calling myself somewhat obscene names), why not make a peanut butter filling for these instead?! The you can use that bag of mini reeses cups you bought and never ate!” Then I had another flash of brilliance and decided to add some raspberry jam in them pies. Raspberry goes well in PB&J sandwiches and it definitely goes well with chocolate so… voila, Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Whoopie Pies were born. Well, born in my household anyway. I’m sure that at some point they were born somewhere else already lol.

I then congratulated myself for being a genius, made myself a cup of tea and had some chocolate as a reward for being so brilliant and got started. The end result is pretty yummy if I do say so myself. Mind you, my whoopie pies aren’t flat and tiny like most. Why you ask? Because I’m lazy. It was much easier to put the cookie batter in my muffin top pan than to spoon out each individual cookie and make sure it was shaped nicely. The benefits of this is that you also get these cool crispy edges as well as some HUGE arse whoopie pies hehe. But I will write the directions as written in the cookbook (aptly called “Whoopie Pies” by Sarah Billingsly). Just know that you CAN do these in a muffin top pan too. You’ll just get less but bigger pies and they will be thicker.

You know the drill… get to cookin’!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Whoopie Pies

• Whoopie Pie-
• 1 2/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temp
• 4 tablespoon shortening, room temp
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• Peanut Butter Filling-
• 3/4 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• about 1/3 cup raspberry jam (or whatever flavor you prefer)
• 1 2.5 ounce bag mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (find at the check out lanes in the grocery store), each cup cut in half

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt onto a large piece of waxed paper.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (can use a hand mixer if you need to),  beat the butter, brown sugar and shortening on low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on low speed just until combined. Turn off and scrape down the bowl again. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until combined. Add the remainder of the flour and milk and again, beat on low until just combined.
5. Spoon batter, about a tablespoon at a time, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees or until the cookies spring back when touched gently. Let them cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
6. Make your filling- In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter and butter. Beat at medium speed until smooth & creamy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat on low until combined, then turn the mixer up to medium and continue beating until it is creamy and fluffy looking.
7. Fold in the chopped reeses cups.
8. Spread a good sized dollop of the peanut butter filling on the flat side of half of the cooled cookies. Top with another good sized dollop of jam. Top each cookie with another of the unfilled cookies, flat side inwards. Magically, your cookies are no longer just cookies, but are now Whoopie Pies. Enjoy!!

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

Mascarpone lemon Cheesecake & Berry Parfaits

Wow, that recipe name was a mouthful. But I wanted to get the gist of it across. I could have just said cheesecake parfaits but beyond the fact that that sounds completely boring, it doesn’t talk about the mascarpone and we all know that mascarpone creates a totally different cheesecake and mouth feel (hehehehe… I said mouth feel…{insert Beavis and Butthead voice here } yes, I am really 12 years old ) than plain cream cheese so it needed mentioning. And of course you see the berries but you can’t SEE the lemon so I had to mention it too lol.

Other bloggers know how difficult it can be to come up with a name for something you’ve made if it doesn’t already have one. I have seen some that are so ridiculously long that it turns me off of even wanting to make the dish. Fictitious example- “Lamb Burgers With a Garlic Emu testicle Aioli, Caramelized And Bruleed Llama Toenails And  Sauteed Red peppers Served On A Tapioca Flour Spelt Bun On A Bed Of Spicy Arugala”. If you read recipes, you KNOW what I’m talking about there. Then on the other extreme you have ones that give you no idea of what it is. You’ll see a photo that obviously has a handful of different components but all it will say is “Llama Rice”. But…but…but…WAIT!!! I see what looks like pine nuts there and sparrow wings and dried fruit and and and isn’t that a brioche it’s resting in???

Thus why I tried to be somewhat concise here. Because Mascarpone No Bake Lemon Cheesecake With a Graham Cracker Crumble, Lemon Curd And Berries made me cringe as a title. And Lemon Cheesecake doesn’t do this justice.

I was quite proud of this when I tried the final dessert. I had already tried a bit 75 spoonsful of each separate part and they were all fantastic. I could and possibly do eat lemon curd as my dessert just off the spoon. I may have made a double batch for this dessert just so that I would have a lot of leftovers hehe. The cheesecake filling was simple yet tasted rich and creamy. The graham cracker crumble was a wonderful sweet textural counterpoint to the creaminess of the dessert. And the berries?? Well, they’re berries… in season…with raspberry jam. What else can I say?

This comes together easily but it is a little time consuming as you are layering it all. It also makes enough for 12 servings so either make this for a large gathering (think cookout, pot luck or picnic) or cut it in half. Whatever you do, enjoy and… git to cookin’.

Mascarpone Lemon Cheesecake & Berry Parfaits

• Cheesecake-
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temp
• 1 8 ounce package mascarpone cheese, room temp
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Lemon Curd-
• My recipe for lemon curd is here
• Graham Cracker Crumble
• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• Berries-
• 3 pints mixed berries (I used raspberries and blueberries)
• 3 tablespoons raspberry jam (GOOD QUALITY)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

1. Make your lemon curd first so that it can chill. When made, cover bowl and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
2. Make the cheesecake which couldn’t be easier as this is no bake. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese. Beat at medium high speed with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Pour in the condensed milk and beat until mixture is again smooth and creamy
3. Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat at low speed just until combined. Pour mixture into a tupperware-ish bowl and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
4. Make your berries- In a medium bowl, combine the berries (make sure to pick off all the pesky leftover stems). Add in the jam (melt it a little and cool it if it is a very thick jam. You don’t want to have to stir so hard to mix that you crush all the berries) and stir to combine. Again, refrigerate for about 2 hours to give the flavors time to meld.
5. Make your graham cracker crumble- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with foil.
6. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
7. Mix in the melted butter into the crumbs and stir well until is is all combined.
8. Pour crumbs onto baking pan and bake at 350 for ten minutes or until the crumbs look dry and lightly toasted, stirring once halfway through cooking. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
9. When the other ingredients have chilled, get out 12 4 ounce glasses (4 ounce canning jars work well if you don’t have a lot of glasses and they come in handy with the current trend towards desserts in jars plus it makes them portable if taking them out of the house)
10. Layer the ingredients in whatever order strikes your fancy. I did it with cheesecake filling, crumbs, lemon curd, berries and then repeated one time.
11. Chill parfaits until serving time.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

Berries & Cream Chocolate Eclairs

I like to lie to myself sometimes. I lie and tell myself that yes, I really Do look good with a muffin top in my jeans and I am the only one around who can totally rock that style. Then I sob hysterically and smack myself around for lying.

I lie and tell myself that I will be just fine with only 3 hours of sleep because I stayed up late watching reruns of Cold Case (gosh, I love that show). Then I look in the mirror the next morning and wonder who had to have rubbed purplish black makeup all under my eyes while I slept and why my wrinkles suddenly look deeper. Then I sob hysterically and smack myself around for lying.

I lie and tell myself that rereading The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis for the 15th time counts as deep reading because she has well researched information on the history of the state of California in it amidst all the love scenes and dramatic romance. Then I get sad when I realize how few functioning brain cells I have left because I continue to read books like that. Then I sob hysterically and smack myself around for lying.

I lie and say that eating Brachs Fruity Gummis for dinner is perfectly all right because I am 48 years old and am allowed to make decisions like that. Then I wake up the next morning and try to stuff myself into a pair of jeans that has magically grown too small. Then I sob hysterically and smack myself around for lying. And the cycle begins all over again.

I also lie when I eat desserts like this and tell myself that because it tastes so light, it MUST be low calorie and quite possibly as good for me as say, a lean chicken breast and a green salad. I lie and ignore the eggs, the cream, the chocolate, the more cream etc etc etc. Then I sob hysterically…and well, you get the point.

I lie a lot. But only to myself. Well, maybe also to my kids when I say that I ate all the chocolate when I know it’s just well hidden.

But sometimes lies are totally worth it. And if lying lets me eat one or eight of these eclairs, I’m all for a life lived lying. The pastry cream alone is worth a lie or two…or three…or fifty. Add in the puffy pasty outside and the thick sour cream chocolate icing and you’ll be willing to lie too. But I take no responsibility for your morals when it comes to chocolate. It’s all on you.

You will probably end up with leftover pastry cream and frosting. I promise… you won’t mind. Take it and layer it in parfait glasses and make somebody happy. It’s an easy way to let little kids enjoy this dessert without the mess of them trying to eat an eclair.

You know the drill. Get to cookin’.

Berries & Cream Chocolate Eclairs

• Choux pastry-
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• Pastry Cream-
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries and blackberries. Use your favorite)
• Chocolate Sour Cream Icing-
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup sour cream

1. Make your pastry cream-
2. In a medium (preferably non-stick) saucepan, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Stir in the milk until you have a smooth mixture. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil and thickens. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
3. Beat a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks to temper them, stirring it constantly. Then slowly pour the hot yolk mixture into the pot of the hot milk, stirring constantly.
4. Cook over medium low heat until mixture again thickens up and coats the back of the spoon. Don’t let it come to a boil; it could separate.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Put into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled. Meanwhile, make your eclairs.
6. For the eclairs-
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a large baking sheet.
8. In the same medium saucepan from earlier (washed of course) heat the butter, salt and water over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Pour in the flour all at once. Stir vigorously until mixture comes together and leaves the side of the pan in a ball.
9. Add in the eggs, one by one, stirring well after each one, until smooth.
10. Let the mixture cool slightly, then drop large spoonsful of it into the prepared pan, shaping into a roughly rounded rectangular shape.
11. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until the eclairs look lightly browned and dry. Take them out and cut a small slit in the side of each, then put them back into the oven and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. The cut helps the inside dry out.
12. Take out and cool on the pan for about 15 minutes. Then cut them in half and carefully pull out the doughy insides of each one.
13. Get your pastry cream out to finish preparing it. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until it forms fairly stiff peaks. Stir about a quarter cup of it into the pastry cream to lighten it up, then fold in the rest of the cream until no white streaks remain.
14. For the icing, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments at 60% power until you can stir it freely and it is totally melted. Stir in the sour cream. If it thickens up too much to spread after the cold sour cream hits it, microwave it again, 15 seconds at a time, at 60% power, until it is smooth and glossy.
15. To put the eclairs together-
16. Fold the berries into the prepared pastry cream. Spoon about 1/3 of a cup of the pastry cream (more or less as desired but know if you use more, you will NOT be able to pick these bad boys up without a mess lol)  into the bottom half of each eclair then put the top half on top of that. Then spread each eclair with a good dollop of frosting.
17. If not serving immediately, these need to be refrigerated but I strongly suggest NOT doing final prep on them until just about ready to serve as the eclairs will get soggy otherwise.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

Mounds Bar Brownies With Coconut Buttercream

Respiratory illnesses suck. Just sayin’. I am one of those people who doesn’t get a mere cold. Oh nooooooo… my body is as ornery as my personality. I get the sniffles and we know to have 911 on standby for when I start coughing up bits and pieces of a lung or twelve. Thus why I have been gone almost 2 weeks. It takes time to piece back together a lung. And I’ve never been good at puzzles. I tried yesterday and I am pretty sure that my lung is NOT supposed to be on the bottom of my foot. But that’s ok. It tickled. I kinda liked it.

It’s been a LONGGGGGG 2 weeks. This may have effected more than lungs and sinuses. Oh hell, who am I kidding. I’m acting no weirder than normal.

Seriously though, sorry I was gone so long. I’m more or less on the mend now. Still coughing like crazy and still need meds to breathe at night but good otherwise. Definitely ready to get back to work.

And I started out way over the line on the decadence side. Gee. imagine that huh? Me? Making naughty foods instead of quinoa salads?

These brownies are yummy. Yummy may be an understatement. They kind of cross the line over into “OMG, I am gonna need to work out for 3 hours if I eat one of these!” territory. The brownie part of these is barely adapted from Ina Gartens Outrageous brownie recipe. I simply more or less cut it in half (changed it a touch but like I said, barely). Then I shoved some fun size Mounds bars and semisweet chocolate chips into the batter before baking. THEN to add insult to injury, I topped it off with a creamy coconut buttercream. But wait! Order right now and pay just ONE shipping and handling!

Sorry. I was having an infomercial moment. As I was saying… then, I covered it all with a rich thick chocolate ganache. Then (how many times can I say then for one recipe?) I coated THAT with some crunchy toasted coconut. So what do we have here? Thick, chewy, chocolatey, mounds bars, buttercream, ganache, more coconut. I think I may have broken some laws somewhere with this one.

You know the drill. Get to cookin’.

                                      Mounds Bar Brownies With A Creamy Coconut Buttercream

• Brownies-
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 12 ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 fun size Mounds Bars
• Buttercream-
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1/2 cup cream of coconut (found with the mixers in the drink aisle)
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 2 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream (more or less as needed to get desired thickness of buttercream)
• Ganache-
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1cup heavy cream
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup toasted coconut for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper then butter the paper.
2. In a large glass (or other microwave safe) bowl, place the unsweetened chocolate, the butter and the 8 ounces semisweet chocolate. Microwave on 70% power for 2 minutes. Stir well, then microwave on 70% power for 30 second increments, stirring after each one, until all the chocolate is melted. Stir for about two minutes to help cool then set aside.
3. In a large bowl,  stir together the eggs and egg yolk, the vanilla and the sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture then allow it to cool to room temp.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, the baking powder and the salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir well (no beating, just stirring). Stir in the 12 ounces of chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Lay the 12 Mounds bars in 4 rows of 3 down the length of the pan, pressing them down slightly into the batter.
6. Bake at 350 for about 35 to 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle (make sure to not hit a Mounds bar) comes out barely clean, with just a few moist crumbs on it. Don’t overbake! Nothing worse than a dry crumbly brownie.
7. Let cool thoroughly in pan on a wire rack before frosting. Also nothing worse than watching your frosting melt into a puddle on a too warm baked good.
8. Meanwhile, make your buttercream.
9. In a a large bowl (you’re welcome btw for all the dirty dishes. Don’t mention it.) combine the butter, cream of coconut and coconut extract. Beat well until mixture is smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of powdered sugar. I’d advise actually stirring at first to incorporate some of it before turning on the beater unless you are aiming to powder the kitchen. When you have it mixed in well, turn the beater on high and beat well for about 5 minutes. You’re trying to get a nice thick creamy mixture. Add the heavy cream in, one tablespoon at a time, until you get a good spreading consistency.
10. When the brownies are completely cool, spoon on the buttercream and spread to the edges of the brownies. Chill while you make and cool the ganache.
11. Ganache-
12. Put the 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips in a small glass bowl.
13. Microwave the 1 cup cream just to the simmering point. Don’t boil. Pour all of the cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes or so. Stir well. The heat from the cream should have been enough to totally melt the chocolate. Stir until thoroughly combined then let sit until the ganache has cooled completely and thickened up. Pour in a steady stream down the middle of the buttercream. Spread to the edges of the brownies. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
14. Chill brownies in fridge for at least 3 hours to give the buttercream and ganache time to set.
15. Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry, cut the brownies into desired size squares. These are extremely rich. I suggest small squares. Also, they are best if you let them sit for a while after cutting. They get fairly hard when cold. Though I know some people who like that, if you want them softer, let them sit.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

There are some things in life that can only be called dangerous and dangerous with good reason. Bungee jumping? Dangerous. I understand that whole adrenaline rush idea but jumping off of a 300 mile high surface into mid air connected to only a piece of frayed yarn (yeah yeah I may be exaggerating just a bit here but not much) isn’t my idea of a woohoo good time. Though I admit to a strange hankering to sky dive, which is the exact same thing, only from a moving plane this time. holding a plastic grocery bag over your hand and hoping it expands enough to keep you from becoming part of the scenery.

Race car driving? Dangerous. Again; I can see the appeal. Hell, I see people in my own town driving like bad versions of Mario Andretti and I’ve been known to have a lead foot at times when I am sure I am *ahem* not being watched she says tactfully.  But getting into a large chunk of metal with an engine that is about 2 inches in front of you and hoping that you can drive well enough to where said engine doesn’t end up in your lap whilst only being protected by a helmet and a body suit that is NOT made of titanium or something good like that? Yeah. Dangerous.

For me personally? Having a full bag of gummy candy near me? Dangerous. A pint of Haagen Dazs Sea Salt Caramel Gelato sitting in front of me? Dangerous. It will soon be empty and I will be smacking myself upside the head for being a glutton at the same time that I’m sticking my face down in the carton sucking up the last drips. Creme Brulee? Dangerous. Any flavor whatsoever. But this one was particularly so with my love of all things maple. Thank God that it only makes 2 servings. Because if it made more, I would have eaten more than the one I had. Creme Brulee is, contrary to what many think, an extremely easy dessert to make. It tastes like it took you all day but in reality if you can hold a whisk in your hand and separate eggs, you’re good to go. Just don’t eat this thinking it is low calorie. It’s more like enough calorie to keep you alive for say, a week. So as I always say… git to cookin’.

Maple Creme Brulee (For Two)

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup maple syrup (the real thing, not Mrs. Butterworth)
• 1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring (can be found with the vanilla extract in stores)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (USE the salt… it brings out flavor)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of either maple sugar or demarara sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place 2 8 ounce ramekins or custard cups into an 8 or 9 inch square pan.
2. In a large measuring cup (makes it easier to pour later), whisk together all the ingredients except the maple sugar. That will be your crackly topping later. Pour the liquid evenly between the two ramekins.
3. Place the pan with the ramekins into the 300 degree oven then carefully pour very hot water into the pan to where it goes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
4. Bake at 300 for about 45 minutes or until the top has only a slight jiggle in the very middle when you gently shake it.
5. Take the ramekins out of the hot water so they don’t keep cooking and set them aside to cool to room temp, then place in the fridge until serving time.
6. When ready to serve, sprinkle half the sugar onto each creme brulee and either use a kitchen torch or the broiler to caramelize the sugar. if doing it under the broiler, make sure your ramekins are broiler safe. Not all of them are.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.

I have decided to build an ark. Yep. An ark. Because I am pretty sure it is never ever going to stop raining here in my part of Kentucky. Usually here in mid May, we are hovering around the 80′s and already worrying about drought. This year however, it has rained almost every day for almost 2 weeks and the temp, while pleasant, is most certainly not hovering near the 80′s. Right now it’s 62.

But!!! Being me, I will not be filling my ark with two of every animal. Nope. Noah already did that and I don’t want to be a copycat. There will be animals of course. I’ll have monkeys. I like monkeys. And cats. And platypus for comic uses. But no elephants unless one of you wants to offer poop scooping services. And you’d darn well better believe I’m leaving mosquitoes behind. And centipedes. Those things ick me out. They have got to be the most prehistoric bug ever. If some director wanted to make a killer horror movie, he/she would only need to have a few scenes with centipedes crawling over the tied up heroine. *shivers*

So what will my ark be filled with? Duhhhh man, this is ME. What do YOU think? CANDY!! Twelve (why stop at two) of every kind of chocolate, lemonheads and of course my current craze, fruity gummi candy. I may also throw some cheetos on the ark just cause.

But, if you’re one of those weirdos who wants their fruit with no preservatives and actually *gasps* REAL, try these cheesecake bars. I based them off of the ubiquitous blackberry pie bars that you can find everywhere online, including right here on my blog . The pie bars originally came from The Pastry Queen cookbook. These cheesecake bars are based on that recipe. They use the same crust but the filling is changed up. These are quite yummy. The crust is sweet and buttery and the filling is creamy, tangy and sweet all at the same time. Plus- they have crumbs on top. Butter, fruit, mascarpone and crumbs. Need I say more? They couldn’t be any easier to make so you know the drill… get to cookin’!

Berry Mascarpone Cheesecake Bars

• Crust and crumbs-
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cold
• Filling-
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temp
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
•  1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 16 ounce bag frozen raspberries, thawed and drained well
• 1 16 ounce bag frozen blackberries, thawed and drained well
• Fresh berries to scatter on top (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13×9 inch pan then line it with parchment paper and butter the paper.
2. Combine the 3 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar and the salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture. Press the rest into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake crust at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let rest while you prepare the filling.
4. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, together the mascarpone, cream cheese and sour cream. Add the sugar and beat just until well combined. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat well. Mix in the flour. Gently fold in the drained berries.
5. Spoon the mixture over the prepared crust. Sprinkle evenly with the crumbs that you held back earlier.
6. Bake at 350 degrees about 55 minutes. You want the top to be firm but still to have a little jiggle in the center third of the bars, just like with any other cheesecake. The crumbly top will be a nice light golden brown. This will firm up as it cools so don’t overcook it.
7. Let this cool for at LEAST an hour or so before cutting, but it’s preferable to cover it and let chill overnight. Use a sharp serrated knife that you’ve heated under hot water if you want to get clean cuts.

This is a sample footer. This text can be customized from the options page. Good luck.