BLOGHUNGRY

Cupcake Bakeshop

This cupcake blog is blowing my f*cking mind! Forget everything you thought you knew about cupcakes.

Bloghungry's Oscar Recipe Knock-offs

Usually my friends and I hold an Oscar party with a menu based around the best picture nominees. This is a practice that usually lends itself to a series of quirky mismatched of dishes and a few stomach aches. This year I've decided to knock off some of the foods from Wolfgang Puck's official event menu. We will be be serving:

Appetizer: Mini Cheeseburgers with Aged Cheddar
Salad: Chicken Salad w/ Cashews, Crispy Noodles & Honey Sesame Dressing
Entree: Roasted Garlic Chicken Breast with Wasabi Potato Puree
Dessert: Chocolate Shells Filled with Chocolate Mousse and Raspberries 

Mini Cheeseburgers with Aged Cheddar

1 1/4 pound ground sirloin
2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
10 soft dinner rolls, split
1 small yellow skinned onion, finely chopped
sliced aged cheddar

Special Sauce:
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix meat and next 4 ingredients. Divide meat into half and score each half into 5 pieces. Roll the meat into balls then squish it into small, thin patties, 3 inches across. You will yield 10 patties. To make a double batch or more, meat can be made into patties ahead and placed on cookie sheets to store 24 hours. Bake on cookie sheet in preheated 400 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Serve on dinner rolls with cheddar, chopped onion and Special Sauce.
To make sauce, combine ranch dressing with ketchup and black pepper.

Chicken Salad with Roasted Cashews, Crispy Noodles and Honey Sesame Dressing

1 pound rotisserie chicken meat, skinned, boned and diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 cup shredded carrot, a couple of handfuls
4 scallions, chopped on an angle
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
Salt and pepper
8 ounces mixed baby greens
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey mustard
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup (2 ounces) roasted cashews
Fried Chinese noodles for garnish

Combine meat, celery, red grapes, carrot and scallions. Add yogurt and ginger to the salad and toss to evenly distribute the ginger. Season the salad with salt and pepper, to your taste.

To dress the greens, add salad to a bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together broth, honey, sesame oil, and honey mustard. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. toss mixture with greens.

To assemble, pile dressed greens on a plate. Using an ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops of chicken salad on greens. Garnish with roasted cashews.

Roasted Garlic Chicken Breast  

Lemon Beurre Blanc, recipe follows
1 roasted green bell pepper, chopped
1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled, plus more for garnish
6 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a medium saucepan, combine the Lemon Beurre Blanc, roasted peppers, garlic, and feta cheese and heat over low heat. Keep warm until ready to use, stirring occasionally.

Preheat a grill or grill pan. Place chicken breasts on grill and grill on both sides until completely cooked through. Remove from grill and place on a serving plate. Spoon sauce over the chicken and garnish with crumbled feta cheese.

Lemon Beurre Blanc:

Pinch chopped garlic
Pinch chopped shallots
1/2 pound butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup Chablis wine
2 lemons, juiced
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sweat the shallots and garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the wine and lemon juice and cook until reduced by half. Add the cream and reduce until it reaches a sauce consistency. Reduce the heat to low and whip in the butter. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Wasabi Potato Puree

2 pound baking potatoes, like russets, peeled
Salted water
8 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream, heated
2 tablespoons roasted garlic puree
1 pound spinach, stems removed
3 teaspoons wasabi
Salt and pepper

Cut the potatoes into large pieces of equal size. Cover with salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain thoroughly. Mash potatoes and whip in the butter, hot cream and roasted garlic puree.

Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for 10 seconds. Refresh in ice water. Drain thoroughly. Transfer to a blender and add wasabi powder. Process to a puree. Stir into warm mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chocolate Shells Filled with Chocolate Mousse and Raspberries

Chocolate Shells:
12oz semisweet chocolate chips
8-10 paper muffin liners

Chocolate Mousse (for inside of Chocolate Shells):
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup raspberries

For the chocolate shells: Fill a small saucepan with about 3 inches of water and put over medium heat. Place chocolate in a metal or glass bowl and put bowl on top of sauce pan (creating a double boiler). Allow chocolate to melt slowly stirring occasionally until smooth. Fill 1 muffin paper at a time with about 3-4 tablespoons of chocolate spreading to coat sides and bottom of liner. Set aside and continue with remaining liners. Using a butter knife even out chocolate layers on sides and bottom to create an even wall of chocolate  Place on plate or tray in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and gently peel back paper liners. Spoon in mousse and garnish with raspberries

For the chocolate mousse: Fill a small saucepan with about 3 inches of water and put over medium heat. Place chocolate in a metal or glass bowl and put bowl on top of sauce pan (creating a double boiler). Allow chocolate to melt slowly stiring occasionally until smooth.

While the chocolate is melting, whip 1 cup of cream to soft peaks. Have a whisk ready and add 1/2 of the heavy cream into the hot melted chocolate. Work quickly or the chocolate will seize up. Whisk cream with chocolate until homogenous. Add the balance of heavy cream and gently fold to eliminate any white streaks. Reserve until ready to use.

BH On A Diet

Inspired by all the celebrities reforming their lives, Bloghungry has decided to take control of his dependence on unhealthy foods. It's time to face my demons and commit to eating healthier. The plan is to lose 20 lbs before I relapse. That said, the container of cookies PopMuse's mom sent us this week is destroying me. I won't let myself have one, but I refuse to throw delicious things in the trash. I would like to express my torment through a PopMuse video clip of Jill from Starting Over.

Cookie Party Shirts

I've received a lot of email about the Sarah Silverman Cookie Party T-shirts and finally found a source for them. For your very own Cookie Party T-shirt, GO HERE

Apple Dumplings

There was a sale on apples at the grocery store and I went a little nuts. Now I am scrambling to use them in just about everything. This recipe for apple dumblings is really the easiest recipe for individual mini apple pies that you will ever find.

Apple Dumplings

1 premade rolled of pie crust
3 medium apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a cake pan. Cut premade dough into 4 equal slices. Place apple slices on each section. Spoon 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon into the center of each apple. Moisten corners, pinching edges of pastry to seal. Brush with slightly beaten egg and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake 30 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender.

A Bloghungry Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. Popmuse, you've stollen my heart and my heart shaped oven mit.. and I want them back.

Glazed Blue Cheese Meatballs

Popmuse loves meatballs and I love blue cheese with beef. Out of this love, the blue cheese meatball was born.

Glazed Blue Cheese Meatballs

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoon sliced green onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup whipping cream
chopped parsley for garnish

Combine beef with cheese, onion, sauce and both salts. Shape into 12 meatballs. Melt butter in skillet. Add meatballs and brown on all sides. Cover skillet. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon and put in serving dish. Add cream to drippings. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring, for about 2 minutes or till satiny. Spoon glaze over meatballs. Sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4.

Serve immediately. These can be shaped several hours in advance, cover and refrigerate till cooking time. 

Apple Bread Pudding

This bread pudding recipe is not for the faint of heart. It calls for a while box of brown sugar, a package of cream cheese, and some heavy cream. That said it's so good it will make you want to slap your mother.

Apple Bread Pudding

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 loaf French bread or baguette, with crust, cut into small cubes
16oz brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup walnuts
8oz cream cheese, chilled and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13x9-inch glass casserole or lasagna pan. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the bread cubes and stir to coat evenly. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp. Remove the bread and turn the oven temperature up to 440 degrees.

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped apples, walnuts, cream cheese and toasted bread cubes. Drizzle with the reserved sugar syrup and mix to evenly distribute. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.

Bake, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Then bake an additional 5 minutes, without stirring, until the top is golden brown and crusty and the liquid is almost gone. Serve warm with pitchers of heavy crema or heavy cream for adding at the table.

Bloghungry's Polenta

Basic polenta is quick and easy to make. Alone it can be a little bland, but it serves as the perfect bed for a juicy piece of meat and or a saucy vegetable mix. Bloghungry recommends Sherry Roasted Tomatoes, Skirt Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter, or Filet Mignon with Merlot Sauce.

Everyday Polenta

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan bring water to a boil. In a bowl stir together cornmeal, rosemary, and chicken broth. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to the boiling water, stiring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stir constantly for a few minutes until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat, stir in the Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.

Another Super Bowl of Dip

The Superbowl is here again and Carrie Fisher and I can't wait. I'm not much of a sports fan, but I am a big dip enthusiast. I had this dip at a friend's holiday party a couple months ago and ate an embarrassing amount of it throughout the night. The whole idea of the dip is genius to me. I think more foods should be transformed into dip form. It's very T.G.I. Friday's meets Rachael Ray (which is probably a good thing for Super Bowl eats).

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 [10 ounce] cans chunk chicken, drained
2 [8 ounce] packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup red hot sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
crackers, chips, and/or celery sticks

Heat chicken and hot sauce until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and Ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half the cheddar cheese and transfer mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle of the remaining cheese over top, cover, and cook on low setting until hot and bubbly.