Chocolate Cupcake/Lava Cake???

I believe that everyone knows how important it is to measure accurately and 'follow' the recipe when baking.  This has always been a challenge for me.  So when I started tinkering with a very reliable cake recipe I was not surprised when my cupcakes after cooling were so fragile I almost couldn't frost them.  They tasted great but crumbled at my touch and were near impossible to remove the paper cupcake mold.  Then an inspiration that turned 2 dozen potentially crumbling cupcakes into a wonderful dessert.  By the way I took them to work to get an independent read on the final product and 'they were a hit'.  The inspiration was to turn them into Lava Cakes.  The tinkering consisted of adding a lot more chocolate so that the cake whenit formed did not have enough structure to support itself.  So with a sunken middle I popped the cupcake into the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds and presto chango I had a deliciously warm Lava Cake.  The original cupcake recipe came from Cupcakerecipe.com but I would like to think my changes make it a bit more uniquely mine.  Please enjoy.

Summer Chicken Salad

With summer here we wanted something light and tasty without alot of cooking.  We went to the market picked up a roasted chicken, a few vegetables, and presto chango, dinner for two.  BTW my wife came up with a great suggestion/idea to give the salad a fresh taste.  We added lime infused olive oil to the dressing.  Since I tried this recipe a couple of times I also increased the lime flavor with a little lime zest.  For a non cook she really hit a homerun on this one!

Fundraiser Cupcakes for Doberman Pincher SOS

It has been for ever since I have had time to work/play on my blog.  I apologize to my followers for not staying true to the site and updating regularly.  Between the Fourth of July weekend and other organizational requirements I have been swamped.  Fourth of July was a picnic/party at the house featuring coconut chicken kabobs, rubbed/BBQ’ed pork and devilled eggs.  Those recipes will have to follow someday soon.  BTW the party culminated with me catching a three foot rattlesnake, which was not harmed and released later farther from civilization, but I digress.  One of the things keeping me away from the blog has been our work with a dog rescue, Doberman Pincher SOS.  Dawn and I are board members and the official fund raisers for the rescue.  Therefore we ended up helping to cater and organize the fundraiser at a local winery, Souza Family Vineyard, in Tehachapi, California.  So today’s post is dedicated to that event.  I made about four dozen cupcakes with an alcohol theme: Margarita, Coconut Rum, and Chocolate Port Cupcakes.  Hopefully I can find a picture or two to post but I need to get something out there soon, people are clamoring for these recipes.  The cupcakes were sold as part of the fundraiser and were a hit.  BTW checkout the Souza family Winery link embedded in my blog.

Chocolate Brownies

Here is a tasty  choclate brownie recipe I tried.  It came from Jean-Pierre Wybauw's cookbook entitled, chocolate.  What I really enjoy is the splash of dark rum.  It really gives the brownies an added flavors.

Venison Bourguignon

Laura Calder's Beef Bourguignon

Kahuna Steve's Venison Bourguignon

I have been fascinated with French cooking and have gravitated towards Laura Calder's, "French Food at Home".  Much less innovation and a lot of attempted dedication to following a recipe.  Of course, I never really succeed in following exactly but the bottomline is to eat well.  My sister (Anita) and niece (Danielle) came to visit me last weekend for an upcoming bridal shower/bachelorette party for yet another niece (Laura).  All of our love to you and Jake for the upcoming wedding.  My weekend responsibility was to provide lodging for Anita & Danielle, cook for them, and to accompany them to the shower/bachelorette party. We had a great time but back to the cooking.  I had been raving about a beef bourguignon recipe I had seen Laura Calder prepare.  Anita asked if I could modify it and use venison - of course I was up for the challenge.

Fennel & Mushroom Salad Atop a Celery Root Puree

I had my sister and niece visit this last weekend so I tried to make them a few special dishes.  As you can see I am wearing my 'Pop Pop' apron, provided by my grand-daughter, Audrey.

Another relatively simple dish with some very nice flavors.

Seafood Medley in a Cream Sauce, served with Herbed Polenta

I made this set of dishes for Easter and then again for my sister and niece this last weekend.  Really simple but definitely tasty.