Peanut Butter Cup-Cakes

Peanut Butter Cup-Cakes

I have a hard time spending $4 on a single gourmet cupcake because there are a million different cupcakes that you can make right in your own kitchen (and for a fraction of the price!).  Mini Peanut Butter Cupcakes are inspired by a Reese's peanut butter cup.  I made a regular size cupcake rather than the mini's in the recipe because I was out of mini cupcake liners.  The baking time remained the same for me, but every oven varies so make sure that you test your cupcake with a tooth pick.  The cupcake is done as soon as the toothpick comes out clean.  Don't overcook the cake! 

Making the icing involves a lot of steps, but it is worth the process.  The peanut butter icing is very thick and dense; just like the center of a peanut butter cup.  But don't worry, it is still very easy to pipe onto the cupcake.  I found the glaze was a cinch but wait a bit after it comes out of the microwave to allow it to set up a bit and thicken before you dip the cupcake.

I only had one cupcake to photograph because as soon as they were made I rushed them up to a picnic at the pool.  The feedback from my guests were that they were rich, but we agreed that was a good thing!

Bloody Mary Gratin

My wonderful mother came down from Pennsylvania last month for a visit with the kids and brought with her a slew of tomatoes.  I was so excited to enjoy them on sandwiches and also just sliced with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  There was such an abundance that I also wanted to try some new recipes where tomatoes were the star. 

I subscribe to a wonderful magazine called Cuisine at Home, another thing my mom has got me hooked on.  Cuisine is great because it has pictures of every recipe. The calorie count and nutritional information are another added bonus and included in every recipe, even if the recipe is not healthy.  The only drawback is that Cuisine's recipes are not online.

In the August 2012 issue they had a recipe for Bloody Mary Gratin, sounds delicious right?!  It was great!  I paired it with Maple Bourbon Glazed Salmon because I love the yin and yang of sweet, salty and acidic flavors.  The gratin would also be great with grilled chicken.  This side must be eaten day of because it is very watery leftover.

Bloody Mary Gratin

Makes 4 servings

3 tomatoes sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup diced green olives

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Celery salt and black pepper to taste

Dash or 2 of Tabasco sauce

3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tsp prepared horseradish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in center position.  Place tomatoes in a shallow 7 x 11 ovenproof baking dish.  (I used individual gratin dishes either one works)  Combine celery, olives, onion, Tabasco, and Worcestershire, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle over tomatoes.  Mix crackers with butter and sprinkle over tomatoes.  Bake gratin 10 minutes, then heat broiler to low.  Broil gratin until cracker crumbs are golden, about 2 minutes.  Remove gratin from oven and let cool 10 minutes or to room temperature.  Stir together sour cream and horseradish for sauce or simply spoon horseradish over gratin.

Per serving with 2 tbsp of sour cream sauce: 205 calories; 12 g total fat (7g sat); 35 mg chol; 372 msg sodium; 20 g carb; 3 g fiber; 4 g protein