Cupcake Craze. May 8, 2012.
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Diva E noticed a growing trend on pinterest and cooking blogs to "cupcakify" everything...lasagna cupcakes, pizza cupcakes, pancake cupcakes, polenta cupcakes...the list goes on and on. So she challenged the Divas to get out their muffin pans, choose either a savory or a sweet option and get creative. What resulted was an adorably bite sized and delicious meal.
Baked Macaroni & Cheese Cupcakes
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Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis (with slight modifications courtesy of Diva N)
Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 (12-cup) muffin or cupcake pans with vegetable cooking spray. Using 1 cup of the bread crumbs, coat the inside of each muffin cup with bread crumbs, shaking off any excess.
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey or chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, Cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and add to a large bowl. Stir in the cooked turkey and the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the prepared pasta mixture into the cupcake molds, filling evenly to about 2/3 full. Arrange a few pieces of tomato, broccoli and asparagus into each cup. Top with a thin layer of the remaining bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and carefully unmold with a spoon onto a serving platter.
*Cook's Note: To blanch vegetables, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the vegetables and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until very crisp. Using a small strainer, remove the vegetables and immediately plunge into a bowl of iced water. Drain and use.
Diva N's note: i used 8 oz of pancetta instead of the ground turkey/chicken cuz i thought it'd be sexier but still fit with the rest of the recipe.
and i learned an important lesson - really do let them cool if you want them to come out of the pan in one piece!
Ingredients
- Vegetable cooking spray
- 2 cups dried bread crumbs, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 8 ounces ground turkey or chicken, preferably dark meat
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
- 8 ounces small pasta, such as pennette, shells, or elbows
- 2 cups grated Parmesan
- 1 1/2 cups grated white Cheddar
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 cups chopped broccoli, blanched,* see Cook's Note
- 1 pound asparagus, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, blanched
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 (12-cup) muffin or cupcake pans with vegetable cooking spray. Using 1 cup of the bread crumbs, coat the inside of each muffin cup with bread crumbs, shaking off any excess.
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey or chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, Cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and add to a large bowl. Stir in the cooked turkey and the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the prepared pasta mixture into the cupcake molds, filling evenly to about 2/3 full. Arrange a few pieces of tomato, broccoli and asparagus into each cup. Top with a thin layer of the remaining bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and carefully unmold with a spoon onto a serving platter.
*Cook's Note: To blanch vegetables, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the vegetables and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until very crisp. Using a small strainer, remove the vegetables and immediately plunge into a bowl of iced water. Drain and use.
Diva N's note: i used 8 oz of pancetta instead of the ground turkey/chicken cuz i thought it'd be sexier but still fit with the rest of the recipe.
and i learned an important lesson - really do let them cool if you want them to come out of the pan in one piece!
Spinach and Feta Swirls
The cupcakes that never were. These were whipped up in 45 minutes in a time crunch. Unfortunately, on the way to Diva E's they met an unfortunate end on the walk from Diva K's apartment to her car. The dish smashed into about a million pieces and took the Spinach and Feta Swirls with them. It was the first time a diva showed up empty handed, but the meal was still very delicious and Diva K had an extra one waiting at home and it did turn out quite well. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb spinach (I had a big plastic container of organic baby spinach that I used)
- 6-8 oz feta, crumbled
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 onion (I used Vidalia), finely chopped
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- 2 sheets puff pastry dough (one box of frozen puff pastry dough), thawed about 40 minutes at room temp
- butter
- Pre-heat oven to 375
- In saucepan – over medium-high heat, melt just enough butter to coat the pan, add garlic and onion and cook until onion is see-through
- Little by little, add spinach (add butter if necessary) until it’s all wilted and cooked-through – allow liquid to boil for a few minutes stirring occasionally
- Pour spinach into colander in sink and allow to drain- pushing through excess water
- Pat spinach with paper towels to make sure it’s fairly dry
- Add beaten egg – some of the egg will go through, that’s okay
- Add feta
- Brush the pastries with melted butter (not boiling hot butter)
- Spread spinach mixture evenly amongst both puff pastry squares- leaving a 1 inch border on all four sides
- Cut edges off the rolls and cut evenly into six equal parts totaling 12 (cut each roll in half, and then with each half cut into thirds)
- Grease muffin tin and place rolls spiral-side down
- Brush the tops with butter if you want
- Bake about 30-35 minutes
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_Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients
Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl.
Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix.
Mix the meatloaf together with your hands.
Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce.
Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin
- 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
- 2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
- 1 cup plain bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
- 1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup tomato salsa
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl.
Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix.
Mix the meatloaf together with your hands.
Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce.
Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.
Coffee Brownie Bites
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So I wanted to do something with ice cream and brownies, and I wanted something layered. I decided to layer brownies, vanilla ice cream, coffee pudding, and Heath bar crumbles. Here are the recipes for the brownies and coffee pudding.
Coffee Pudding:
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch salt
2 cups strong cold coffee (regular or decaf)
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
Disclaimer: I just realized that I screwed up when I made mine. I used 4 cups of coffee, which would explain why mine was so runny!
In large saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in a small amount of coffee until smooth, then add remaining coffee. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. (With 4 cups of coffee, this took 20-25 minutes.) Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes more.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into the egg yolks to raise the temperature of the eggs. This way they won't scramble when you add them to the coffee mixture. Add the eggs to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool. Fold in the whipped cream. Chill.
Disclaimer: Mine was really strong, probably because I used double the coffee. If it's too strong, just add more whipped cream!
Brownies (from Baking by Dorie Greenspan)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon instant espresson powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 325. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and coat with butter.
Seat a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmer water. Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl. Stir until the ingredients are melted, being careful not to let them get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of hot water.
With a whisk, stir in the sugar. It's okay if the mixture turns grainy. One by one, whisk in the eggs. Add the vanilla and whisk vigorously before mixing in the expresso, salt, and flour. Stir only until incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the chopped walnuts.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 30-33 minutes, or until the top is dull and a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack to cool.
Coffee Pudding:
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch salt
2 cups strong cold coffee (regular or decaf)
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
Disclaimer: I just realized that I screwed up when I made mine. I used 4 cups of coffee, which would explain why mine was so runny!
In large saucepan, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in a small amount of coffee until smooth, then add remaining coffee. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. (With 4 cups of coffee, this took 20-25 minutes.) Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes more.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into the egg yolks to raise the temperature of the eggs. This way they won't scramble when you add them to the coffee mixture. Add the eggs to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool. Fold in the whipped cream. Chill.
Disclaimer: Mine was really strong, probably because I used double the coffee. If it's too strong, just add more whipped cream!
Brownies (from Baking by Dorie Greenspan)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon instant espresson powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 325. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and coat with butter.
Seat a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmer water. Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl. Stir until the ingredients are melted, being careful not to let them get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of hot water.
With a whisk, stir in the sugar. It's okay if the mixture turns grainy. One by one, whisk in the eggs. Add the vanilla and whisk vigorously before mixing in the expresso, salt, and flour. Stir only until incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the chopped walnuts.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 30-33 minutes, or until the top is dull and a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack to cool.