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. 

Chocolate Cream Cake for Easter Saturday Dinner with the Family

This year a small group of us gathered at my brother's house for an earlier Easter dinner.  The meal was fantastic and I was only a guest but really wanted to bring something to share.  The recipe I chose was from Chocolate by Jean-Pierre Wybrauw.  I picked this book up off of the discount rack at our local Barnes & Noble.  I drool when I look at the pictures.  My mother usually makes pies so I decided a nice chocolatey dessert might be a nice addition.

Good Friday Dinner

Lobster on celery root puree and roasted carrot with a mango rum glaze.  The inspiration was a roasted carrots posted by Alanna Kellogg at http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2011/04/bourbon-glazed-roasted-carrots.html#comment-form.  The lobster and celery root purre was my concoction for the evening.