text:
Triple Threat Chocolate Cookies
Today Shane and I are celebrating four years of marriage - yay! We were reminiscing last night about the day, remembering all the little details that made it so much fun. Among my favorites? The cakes, of course! (I shared them last year if you're curious.) As our anniversary approached, I racked my brain trying to decide what kind of cake I should make to celebrate this year. Originally I thought I'd use my 6-inch cake pans to make us a mini layer cake, but in the end decided it would probably still be too much food for two of us. Instead, I turned to Plan B - cookies. Shane loves cookies, and I already had a few recipes in mind that I'd been wanting to make for him, so it was an easy decision.
As I've mentioned a few times, Shane's absolute favorite cookies are the chocolate crinkles. I've tried a ton of chocolate cookie recipes over the years trying to find one that can compete with the crinkles, and took this opportunity to test another. These triple threat chocolate cookies from The Pastry Queen cookbook looked like a worthy contender - they're packed with chocolate (8 oz of bittersweet, 3 oz of unsweetened & a whole bunch of chocolate chips) and contain only a small amount of flour. As a result, they're really dense and rich with tons of chocolate flavor. They almost reminded me of fudge, and while I found them too rich (I almost always do with chocolate cookies), Shane was a big fan. They didn't overtake the crinkles, but I'm beginning to think it may simply be impossible for any cookie to do so.
I also baked Shane the Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies that have been making the rounds in the blog world over the past few months. If you haven't seen them, the idea is simple - take homemade chocolate chip cookie dough and use it to completely enclose an Oreo cookie then bake. It takes quite a bit of cookie dough to cover the Oreo, so these cookies are huge! I found a package of unopened holiday Oreos in the pantry (no worries, the best by date is late April...) so that accounts for the red filling in my Oreos, if you were wondering. We enjoyed these mostly for the novelty factor. That's not to say they weren't tasty, we just didn't think they were decidedly better than the sum of their parts. Shane is going to take some of them to work, so I'll be curious to hear how they go over there. If you want to give them a try, you can find the recipe here.
We don't always exchange gifts for our anniversary but we decided to do them this year. A few weeks ago Shane mentioned to me that the traditional gift for the 4th anniversary is an appliance (to be clear, even though we always check what the "traditional" gift is, we rarely pay much attention). Shane saw an opening here though - since I love being in the kitchen so much, appliance is actually a pretty cool category. I was beyond thrilled to open my gift last night (yes, we cheated & opened a day early) and find this beauty, which I've been lusting over for many, many months :)
Triple Threat Chocolate Cookies
from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather
1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
1 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 7-9 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Cool completely.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the butter, bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate to a small saucepan and set over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until completely melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and chocolate mixture; whisk vigorously until the dough is thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing only until just incorporated. The batter will be quite thick. Finally, stir in the cooled nuts and chocolate chips. Set the dough aside and let rest for 20 minutes.
Use a small cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between the cookies. With barely wet fingertips. flatten the mounds slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies crack and look glossy. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks, and let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them to the racks to cool completely.
Makes about 4 dozen
Swiss Chard, Sweet Potato & Feta Tart
I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you guys were under the impression that I never eat vegetables. I know I don't blog about them very often, but it's not because I'm not cooking them. It's just that most of the time the things I'm eating aren't very blog worthy. Roasting is my go-to preparation for veggies; I'll roast just about anything - asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, parsnips, beets, etc. I love the simplicity, and the way the vegetables caramelize in the oven. I just don't feel compelled to blog about them when there are so many other things to share! So, rest assured, I don't exist purely on chocolate and cake, even if it seems that way sometimes :)
Brace yourselves, though, because today is all about vegetables. I came across this tart as I was flipping through a recent issue of Fine Cooking, and the combination of sweet potatoes, chard, red onions and feta sounded too good to pass up. The onions are caramelized and glazed with balsamic vinegar, the sweet potatoes are simply roasted, and the chard is cooked just until wilted then also glazed with balsamic vinegar. The filling is bright and fresh, just a touch sweet and complemented perfectly by the slightly salty feta. It's hearty too - one slice of this tart was a really satisfying lunch for me.
I spread the preparation of the tart out over the course of an afternoon to make it less overwhelming because there are quite a few steps. I also baked the tart crust using the teff flour suggested by the recipe. I'd never used it before, but I found a bag at Whole Foods and figured I'd give it a try. I loved the nutty flavor and darker color it imparted to the crust so I'm glad did! That said, if you didn't want to buy the teff flour, I don't see any reason you couldn't just substitute whole wheat flour in its place. I will caution that I had a bit of trouble rolling out the crust - there was definitely a lot of patching involved. I may try pressing it into the pan next time instead of rolling.
As written, this recipe makes an 11-inch tart, but I halved it and used an 8-inch pan. Aside from that change, I made the recipe exactly as written so I'm just going to link to it on Fine Cooking's site here.
Maple Syrup Breakfast Scones with Cappuccino Glaze
When I buy a cookbook and flip through it for the first time, it's almost a guarantee that I will flag any recipes utilizing maple syrup. I absolutely love that stuff. The only thing that stops me from baking with it more often is its relatively high cost. Needless to say, I've got a long list of maple-inspired recipes to try, and getting through them will take some time. The oatmeal maple scones from Joanne Chang's Flour have been sitting atop the list for a few months now, and after they received rave reviews from my friend Di the other day, I was all set to finally make them.
Before I got a chance, though, I came upon a similar recipe in another cookbook and I as read through the intro the authors mentioned that their recipe was inspired by and based upon Joanne Chang's oatmeal maple scones recipe. I suppose I could have baked both recipes and done a side-by-side comparison, but since I already had it on good word that the Flour scones were delicious, I decided to make only the adapted recipe this time. Not that I'm forgetting about the original...I'll get to those eventually too!
I'll just cut to the chase - I loved these scones! They're sweetened only with maple syrup and while they have nice maple flavor, they're not overly sweet so you won't feel like you're eating dessert for breakfast. Diced cream cheese is added to the scone dough, and the pieces remain visible even after baking, giving the scones little pockets of creamy richness. Even though I'm not a coffee drinker, I enjoyed the cappuccino glaze too. Often I find scone dough overly dry and crumbly, which makes it a big pain to shape and cut the scones, but that wasn't a problem here. The unbaked scone wedges are fairly small, and though they rise nicely in the oven, they're probably still smaller than most of the scones I've baked in the past. Which of course means it's completely justifiable to have 2 for breakfast :)
Maple Syrup Breakfast Scones with Cappuccino Glaze
from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber & Toy Kim Dupree
1 3/4 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
1 1/8 cups (100 g) old-fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon (130 g) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup very cold cream cheese (130 g), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2/3 cup (75 g) pecans, coarsely chopped (I omitted)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk (I used 1%)
1 large egg (plus 1 egg for eggwash)
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon half and half
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the diced butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse meal, about 10-15 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the diced cream cheese and pecans (if using), mixing to distribute them evenly.
In a measuring cup, use a fork to beat the maple syrup, milk and the egg until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a fork to mix the wet and dry together until the dough starts to come together - don't overmix. Flour your hands and gather the dough then divide it into 2 equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, gently shape each half of the dough into a disk that is about 1 1/4 inches tall - you don't want to compress the dough too much. Cut each disk into 6 wedges (they will be small) and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Whisk the second egg plus 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash generously on the tops of the scones.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown and firm on top. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. Combine the instant coffee, water, vanilla and salt in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the coffee. Whisk in the half and half and the the confectioners' sugar until the glaze is completely smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
Makes 12 small scones
Chocolate Glazed Mini Orange Bundt Cakes
I have been more than a little obsessed with citrus the past few months. It started with lemons - I bought a giant bag of them and couldn't stop baking. When I wasn't baking with them, I was burning my favorite lemon zest candle so the house was filled with the aroma anyway. In the past few weeks I've moved on to oranges. We're sort of in that weird in-between phase here in the Northeast with respect to produce. The calendar tells me it's spring but it'll be a few more weeks until I can find my favorite spring produce in the stores or at farmer's markets. I am dying to get my hands on some gorgeous asparagus - it's one of my favorite veggies, but its season is oh so short! Until then, I'm all about oranges. I went a little crazy flagging recipes so this is the first of two I'm planning to share this week.
I had every intention of making this recipe as written, really I did, but my baking mojo just wasn't with me. It probably didn't help that I was diverting at least 50% of my attention to the March Madness games either :) The cake is supposed to be studded with chocolate chunks, but I forgot to add them and didn't realize until I'd already spooned the batter into the pan. At that point I just said "to heck with it," figuring I'd get the same flavor profile as long as I added the glaze. I didn't even notice I'd made a more egregious error until I was typing up the recipe for this post. Two eggs? Hmmm, that can't be right, I know I only used one. After double checking the recipe, I confirmed I'd only used half the eggs called for - ooops! I guess it's a testament to the forgiving nature of this cake that it still turned out well for me.
I've never been much for the chocolate/orange combination, but these little bundts made me a believer. The cake is packed with orange flavor, thanks to the combination of orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice in the batter as well as an orange sugar syrup spooned over the warm cakes after baking. I thought the chocolate glaze added just the rich touch of richness without overwhelming the orange. One more thing - I used my mini bundt pan, which has 6 1-cup wells, to make this recipe but you could also use one 6-cup bundt pan. Alternatively, double the recipe and bake it in a standard 12-cup bundt.
Mini Orange Bundt Cakes
cake and syrup adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! (via Smitten Kitchen)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest (about 2 oranges)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
from Martha Stewart
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons rum (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray the wells of a mini bundt pan with cooking spray with flour.
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk the orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla together in a measuring cup.
Add the sugar and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Rub them together with your fingertips until moist and fragrant. Add the butter to the bowl, and cream with the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with the remaining tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. Divide the batter evenly among the wells of your mini bundt pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the syrup, combine the orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn the mini bundts out of the pan onto a wire rack and spoon the syrup over the warm cakes. Let the cakes cool completely.
To make the ganache: Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low until simmering. Pour over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Add the butter and rum (if using), and whisk gently until smooth. Pour glaze over cooled cakes.
Makes 6 mini bundts
Homemade Sandwich Thins
With the exception of an occasional grilled cheese or peanut butter & jelly, I've never been a sandwich person. It's mostly that none of the traditional sandwich options hold much appeal for me - I don't like deli meats, nor am I a fan of the "salads" (tuna, chicken, egg, etc.). But, as I mentioned last week, I do love a burger in the summer, which is, I guess, technically a sandwich. Shane likes his burgers on store-bought hamburger rolls; preferably buttered and grilled until golden brown. That works for me too, but last year I was looking for a slightly healthier option. I came across sandwich thins in the store, tried them, and fell in love. It was the perfect compromise between the hearty white rolls I'd been eating and no roll at all (which, for the record, was never really an option). It had never occurred to me that I might be able to make sandwich thins at home until I saw them on a few of my favorite blogs. With grill season approaching, I decided to finally try the recipe and stash the homemade thins in my freezer so I'd be all set when the time came to grill my first burger.
When it comes to flavor, these sandwich thins were spot on. The texture was perfect too - sturdy, but still tender and chewy. Mine puffed just a bit more than I'd have liked, but that was probably my fault. I didn't make the thins as large as the recipe instructed, next time I will. On the plus side, because they were a little thicker, they were easy to slice in half. Not bad for a first attempt, by the end of the summer I'll be an expert :)
The recipe does call for a few ingredients you may not have in your pantry - vital wheat gluten and wheat bran. If you didn't have the wheat gluten, you could try using additional all-purpose flour instead. I had the wheat gluten, but (on Bridget's recommendation) substituted more whole wheat flour for the wheat bran.
Homemade Sandwich Thins
as adapted from Food.com and Confections of a Foodie Bride by The Way the Cookie Crumbles
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups warm water (about 100 F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
rolled oats (for sprinkling on top of the sandwich thins)
Crack the egg into a 2-cup measuring cup and beat lightly with a whisk. Whisk in the water and olive oil. Add the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat bran, wheat gluten, yeast, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix briefly just to combine. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the bowl. Once completely incorporated, continue kneading on low speed until the dough is soft and elastic, about 7-8 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a small amount of flour; if it is too dry, add a little water.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. I weighed the ball of dough first and then used the scale to verify each portion was approximately the same size, but you could definitely just eyeball it. Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten it into a circle between your palms. Transfer to the baking sheet and, using your fingertips, press the circle into a thin round, about 5-inches in diameter. Brush the dough with water and sprinkle each thin with rolled oats. Cover each baking sheet with plastic wrap and let the thins rise just slightly while the oven preheats, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Use a wooden skewer to poke 9 holes in each thin. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until puffed and dry on top. Cool completely before slicing.
Makes 16
Hi-Hat Cupcakes
A few years ago when I started learning to bake, I bought a book devoted entirely to cupcakes; it was one of the first cookbooks I ever owned. I flipped through that book countless times, flagging recipes I hoped to be brave enough to try someday. At the top of that list were these hi-hat cupcakes. They consist of three components: chocolate cupcakes topped with marshmallow frosting and then dipped in melted chocolate, which forms a shiny shell when it sets. Alongside the recipe there was a photo that showed what the inside of the hi-hat cupcake would look like, and it totally drew me in.
So, why has it taken me over 3 years to finally make them? I was scared! I'd made a mental list of all the things that might go wrong - the frosting would fall off when I flipped the cupcake upside down, the frosting would melt when dipped in the chocolate, the chocolate would drip down the sides of the cupcake wrappers leaving a huge mess... In short, I was worried my cupcakes wouldn't turn out as well as the ones in the book. If you know me, you know I'm a total perfectionist, and while rationally I know all anyone cares about in the end is how things taste, I really, really like the things I bake to look nice too. It's the type A control freak in me :)
In the end, these hi-hat cupcakes weren't nearly as terrifying as I made them out to be. That's not to say it was all smooth sailing. A few of my cupcakes turned out like this:
Yikes! After a bit of trial and error I discovered that the temperature of the chocolate was critical in achieving success with the dipping. If the chocolate is too hot, the marshmallow melts. I had the opposite problem though; I let the chocolate sit at room temperature for too long and it began to thicken. This thicker chocolate was so heavy it pulled the marshmallow frosting right off my cupcake when I dipped it. I rescued the frosting and stuck it back on the cupcakes so they were still edible but definitely not the look I was going for. I'd recommend erring on the side of chocolate that you think might be too warm when you dip your first cupcake. If the marshmallow doesn't hold its shape you can always let the chocolate sit and cool for another minute or two. Once I found the right temperature/consistency for my chocolate, I dipped a few cupcakes and then reheated the chocolate briefly in the microwave and dipped several more, repeating until all of the cupcakes were coated.
These cupcakes have a wow factor, and that's what I love most about them. Shane was standing in the kitchen watching me dip them and was so impressed with the cupcakes that turned out well. (He told me when I described what I was making to him the night before he didn't think it could be done.) This was my first time making this chocolate cupcake recipe, and it was a good one. The sour cream makes the cupcakes more tangy than ones I've made in the past. In combination with the marshmallow frosting and chocolate shell, these chocolate cupcakes are undoubtedly a rich dessert - a good one to share between two people! They're also a nice weekend project if you're looking for one :)
{Note: There are tutorials here and here if you want step by step photos.}
Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup room temperature water
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second bursts at 50% power, stirring in between, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the melted chocolate and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each completely before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla and beat until the batter is creamy and the color has lightened a bit, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix until the white streaks disappear. Finally, with the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and water, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and beating just until combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each with about 1/3 cup of batter (the wells will be quite full, and the cupcakes will bake with tops that rise slightly over the edges of the pan). Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffin pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before removing the cupcakes from the pan to the rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Marshmallow Topping
from King Arthur Flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup meringue powder
{Note: You could also make the marshmallow frosting with egg whites if you don't have meringue powder. Here's a recipe.}
Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling, remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar completely. Let cool to room temperature. Add the meringue powder to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the cooled sugar water and beat the mixture on medium to medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 10-15 minutes.
Fit a piping bag with a large plain round tip. Pipe the marshmallow onto the cooled cupcakes in a tall, swirl pattern. You want the frosting to look almost like a soft serve cone of ice cream would. If it takes a few tries to get it right, don't worry - you can scrape the frosting off the cupcake easily and try again. Once all the cupcakes have been frosted, put them in the freezer for a few hours.
Chocolate Coating
from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons canola oil
Combine the chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30-second bursts on 50% power, stirring in between, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let the chocolate cool slightly before you start dipping the cupcakes.
Transfer the chocolate to a tall cup with an opening wide enough for the cupcakes. Holding each cupcake by its bottom, turn it upside down and dip it into the chocolate - you want to cover all of the marshmallow frosting but not the cupcake itself. Lift the cupcake out of the chocolate, but continue to hold it upside down over the cup of chocolate to allow the excess to drip off. Turn right side up and transfer to a platter. Once all of the cupcakes have been dipped, move them to the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to fully set.
Store the cupcakes in the refrigerator, but let them sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Orange Chicken
Remember back when you were in middle school or high school and hanging out at the mall with your friends was THE thing to do? It's funny to me now that I enjoyed it so much, as these days the mall is pretty much the last place I want to be, especially on a weekend when it's almost a guarantee that there will be a ton of kids milling around. I think that means I'm officially old :) One thing I loved about the mall back then, and, if I'm honest, still enjoy now, was the Chinese food restaurants in the food court. In particular, there was one stall that had the best orange chicken - it was pretty much the only thing I ever ordered when I ate in the food court. It's been years since I've had that orange chicken (I'm not even sure that Chinese food stall is still there) but when we try a new place for Chinese take-out, orange chicken is generally the first dish I'll scan for on the menu. If I can't find it, my back-up is usually General Tso's chicken. We discovered a great recipe for a homemade version of General Tso's chicken a few years ago so recently when I found myself craving orange chicken, I decided why not attempt it at home?
There's a version of this recipe floating around on a few blogs I read but in those recipes the chicken is fried on the stove top, and as I've mentioned many times, I just don't like frying unless absolutely necessary. Luckily when I went back to the original source, Cook's Illustrated, I discovered they also had a baked version. To be fair, it's not exactly a health conscious alternative - a baking sheet is preheated and coated with oil in a really hot oven and the chicken is essentially fried on that baking sheet. Still, it's less messy than frying on the stove top, and doesn't leave my house smelling like a fast food restaurant, so I consider it a good alternative. The sauce is great; it's thick with loads of orange flavor and sweetness that is balanced by the heat of the cayenne pepper. I definitely recommend serving the chicken over rice to soak up all that saucy goodness. I'm thrilled we now have a second delicious dish we can make at home when a craving for Chinese food strikes, because while I absolutely love the General Tso's chicken, variety is a very good thing in my book!
Orange Chicken
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
For the Marinade and Sauce
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 large oranges)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated zest
6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 piece fresh ginger (about 1 inch), grated (1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons cold water
For Coating and Frying
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup canola oil
In a large saucepan combine the chicken stock, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper. Whisk to dissolve the sugar completely. Transfer 3/4 cup of the mixture to a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken to the bag then seal and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, but not longer.
Heat the remaining sauce in the pan over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl, mixing to dissolve the cornstarch. Once the sauce reaches a boil, whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Simmer the sauce until thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside while you make the chicken.
Preheat oven to 500 F. Grab two pie plates. Put the egg whites in one of them, and beat with a fork until they're frothy and broken up. Combine the cornstarch and flour in the second pie plate. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and drain in a colander to remove the marinade. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Add the chicken to the egg whites, turning to coat on all sides. Drain again to remove the excess egg whites. Finally, place the chicken in the cornstarch/flour mixture and toss to coat. Shake off the excess and place the chicken on a plate. Repeat with all of the chicken pieces.
Place a rimmed baking sheet in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove the sheet, add the oil and return to the oven until the oil just starts smoking, about 5 more minutes. Remove the baking sheet and add the chicken pieces in a single layer. Cook for 7 minutes, or until brown on the bottom. Use tongs to flip each piece of chicken over and cook on the other side until browned and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
Reheat the sauce if necessary, and add the chicken, stirring to coat.
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
For whatever reason, I can never seem to keep up with the strawberries in my fridge. There always seems to be a container of them just barely holding on, and time and again I find myself scrambling to figure out what to do with them before they go bad. Of course I simply eat plenty of them plain (or macerated in just a little bit of sugar), but I crave variety so I like to incorporate them into baked goods as well. The only problem is that strawberries can be tricky to bake with due to their high water content so I don't see nearly as many recipes for strawberry treats as I do, say, blueberries.
As strawberries start to come into season around here it's only a matter of time before I find myself bringing home giant containers of them, so I'm trying to get ahead by building up a stash of go-to recipes that will save me in those moments. I bookmarked these strawberry shortcake cookies last year but just finally got around to trying them recently. They're easy to pull together, and quite tasty, but after making them, I'm not sure they should be called cookies. Their texture is definitely more reminiscent of little tiny scones - tender and fluffy inside with a golden exterior. Not terribly surprising given the method for making the dough is pretty similar to most scone recipes, and again, not a bad thing because they were very good. These "cookies" are best the day they're made and the recipe yields about 3 dozen, so if you aren't feeding a crowd, you may want to scale back. I quartered the recipe and wound up with 10 cookies, which is definitely a more manageable number when you're keeping these all for yourself!
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
adapted just slightly from Martha Stewart (originally seen on Pink Parsley Catering)
12 oz strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
coarse sugar, for topping the cookies
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar then set aside. In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest and remaining 7 tablespoons of sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips until moist and fragrant. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the zest/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. Add the cream to the bowl and stir until the dough starts to come together. Finally, gently stir in the strawberry mixture.
Use a small cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets spacing the cookies about 1 1/2 - 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let the cookies cool. The cookies are best the day they're made, but can be kept in an airtight container for 1 day.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Oven Fries
It's around this time of year when Shane and I really start looking forward to grilling for the first time. There were a few days last week that were probably warm enough to justify it, but we already had other (not grill friendly) meals planned. I'm holding out hope we'll be out there at least once by the first week of April. In the meantime, I've been bookmarking tons of new recipes to try. As excited as I am about making those meals, the go-to grill option here has always been burgers, and I don't imagine that'll change anytime soon.
When I think burgers, I think fries. They're like peanut butter and jelly - they belong together! In past years, we've rarely eaten french fries because we didn't have a good recipe for baked fries, and frying just isn't practical for a whole host of reasons. I was determined to change that this summer and began a quest for the perfect baked fries. There were more than a few failed attempts along the way including way too many soggy fries - ick! Finally, I came across this recipe from America's Test Kitchen and hit the jackpot. These baked fries are just what I was looking for - golden and crisp on the outside and soft inside. The recipe's easy too, with just one extra step you may not have seen in other recipes - soaking the wedges in hot water before baking them. We devoured these fries in record time and I can't wait to enjoy them again with the first grilled burgers of the season :)
Oven Fries
from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
3 russet potatoes, scrubbed
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
kosher salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 475 F with a rack in the lowest position.
To cut the potatoes into wedges: Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then cut each of those halves in half lengthwise so you end up with each potato quartered. Slice each quarter into 2 or 3 wedges (lengthwise again), depending on how thick you want your fries.
Add all of the wedges to a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grab a large rimmed baking sheet and coat it with 1/4 cup of the canola oil. Tilt the pan to ensure the oil is spread in an even layer. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper over the oil evenly.
Drain the potatoes and spread them over a dishtowel or layer of paper towels. Dry them thoroughly. Dry the bowl the potatoes were soaking in, and then add the wedges back to the bowl. Toss them with the remaining teaspoon of canola oil. Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet and spread them in a single layer. Cover the pan with foil.
Bake for 5 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until the bottoms of the potatoes are golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and flip each of the wedges over. Return to the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes longer, or until golden and crisp. Drain the fries on a paper towel-lined plate then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Wedges
Yesterday may have been the first day of spring, but I think someone forgot to tell Mother Nature as our forecast this week calls for snow. Needless to say, I'm really starting to yearn for lighter meals and all of that wonderful fresh spring produce, but while the threat of waking up to the white stuff and temps in the 30's exists, comfort food is still very much a part of the plan over here. One of my quintessential comfort food choices is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - it's a childhood favorite and you can't beat the simplicity. That said, I can't remember the last time I had a PB&J; we don't keep bread in the house very often so it's rarely an option. I suppose when a PB&J craving struck recently I could have baked a loaf of bread to make sandwiches, but instead, I went looking for a dessert option that would fit the bill. You're not surprised, are you? :)
While I certainly acknowledge that it's easier to grab two pieces of bread and slather them with peanut butter and jelly, these shortbread wedges are worth the extra effort, and truthfully, they're about as simple as dessert gets. All you need are a couple of pantry staples, and a few minutes to mix the dough (there is an hour of chill time so plan ahead accordingly). Straight from the oven I thought the wedges looked a little like another comfort food favorite - pizza - with their crisp shortbread edge and jam and crumble topping. You can use your favorite jam or jelly for the recipe - I went with raspberry, and I thought it paired perfectly with the crisp peanut butter shortbread, which is just slightly sweet. My craving was definitely satisfied!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Wedges
adapted from Bon Appetit (originally seen on Annie's Eats)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup jam or jelly (I used raspberry)
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in the sugar and salt and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the vanilla and then add the flour and beat on low speed until it is just incorporated.
Remove 1/3 cup of the dough from the mixer bowl. Form a disk with the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer the remaining dough to the prepared springform pan. Press into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Use an offset spatula to spread the jam over the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the outside edge. Pop the springform pan into the fridge to chill while the disk is in the freezer. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F.
When the disk is firm, remove it from the freezer and break it into small pieces. Distribute them over the jam and shortbread crust. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the shortbread is golden brown. Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing the shortbread.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream
Can I take a minute to tell you guys how much this time of year excites me as a total sports nut? The past few days have been a blur of March Madness games from noon til midnight around here. The plan for this weekend looks to be more of the same. We're heading toward playoff time for pro hockey and basketball, and it looks like both my Bruins and Celtics will be making post-season appearances. Spring training has been in full swing for several weeks, and though I have a hard time getting amped up until the season actually starts, the Red Sox have the potential for a really exciting year. Poor Shane. Contrary to popular stereotypes, he could pretty much care less about any of these things, so he's just stuck dealing with this crazed fan. And now I've gone and bored you guys too - but hopefully these cupcakes will make up for it :)
One thing that Shane and I can both agree on though is the need for game day snacks. Sometime within the past few weeks I discovered a really great new-to-me blog, Love & Olive Oil, and bookmarked about 10 recipes within my first 15 minutes on the site. These chocolate banana cupcakes were on the top of the list and definitely game day appropriate. Though I didn't realize it until after I'd baked them, the cupcakes (not the frosting) are vegan - the first vegan cupcakes I've ever made! Coconut milk is used in the recipe, though once the cupcakes are baked you'd never guess there was coconut milk in them. There was a chocolate banana frosting recipe over on Love & Olive Oil but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go with a peanut butter buttercream instead because, I mean, chocolate, banana and peanut butter in one treat? Heavenly.
Chocolate Banana Cupcakes
adapted just slightly from Love & Olive Oil
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 1 banana)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed banana, coconut milk, sugar, oil and vanilla until well combined. The mixture won't be completely smooth due to the banana, but whisk vigorously to get out as many of the large lumps as possible. In a second medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. ( If your cocoa is lumpy like mine you may want to sift instead of whisking - I can never get the lumps out with just a whisk.) Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and gently whisk (or fold with a rubber spatula) just until combined.
Distribute the batter evenly among the liners, filling each about 1/2 - 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the muffin pan to a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to the wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Peanut Butter Buttercream
from Cook's Illustrated
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
pinch table salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt to the bowl and beat at low speed just until the sugar is moistened. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the mixture until fully combined. Finally, mix in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again then beat on medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and garnish with banana slices.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups (enough to frost 10-12 cupcakes)
Golden Cheesy Bread
Gooey cheese and warm bread - I'm not sure I need to say much else about this recipe :) If you've ever had monkey bread, this is essentially its savory counterpart - melted butter and cheese are layered between pieces of yeast dough and baked until golden and delicious. Just like monkey bread, you don't cut the bread into slices so much as grab bite-sized pieces from the loaf, which makes it really fun to eat. As if our corned beef and cabbage dinner last night wasn't decadent enough, I decided to add this cheesy bread to the mix. It actually wound up being more of an appetizer since I pulled it from the oven about an hour before the corned beef finished cooking. We stood around the island in the kitchen pulling pieces off one after another - it was completely irresistible!
As bread making goes, it doesn't get much easier than this recipe. You don't have to shape loaves or rolls - you simply divide the dough into pieces and toss them into the pan with the cheese. I adapted the recipe from King Arthur Flour's site just slightly to make it work with the ingredients I already had in the house. Instead of the pizza dough flavoring they used, I went with garlic powder and oregano but you could use whatever flavorings for the dough you happened to have on hand. My loaf was made with a combination of all-purpose and white whole wheat flour, which practically allows me to claim it as health food, right? The whole wheat cancels out all the cheesy pockets of goodness throughout the bread :) It's definitely comfort food, and perfect for the lingering cold nights we're experiencing here in New England.
Golden Cheesy Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour
1 cup lukewarm water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup dry (powdered) milk
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the water, butter, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, dry milk, garlic powder, oregano, salt, onion powder and yeast. Mix until the ingredients come together and form a rough dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 7 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth. The dough will be tacky, that's fine.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the dough to the bowl, turning to coat, then cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until very puffy (it may not be quite doubled in size).
Remove the dough from the bowl to a lightly greased work surface and press gently to deflate. Now, you want to divide the dough into about 64 small pieces of roughly the same size. Don't worry too much about making them perfect! I think the easiest way to do this is to grab a sharp knife or bench scraper and divide the dough ball in half. Then, working with one half at a time, divide each piece in half over and over until you have 32 pieces. You don't have to roll the final pieces into balls - whatever rough shape they have is fine.
Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and spray the parchment with cooking spray too.
Put 16 pieces of dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Distribute 1/3 cup of the shredded cheese over the dough pieces then brush with some of the melted butter.
Now repeat: put 16 more pieces of dough on top of the first layer you created.
Then distribute another 1/3 cup of shredded cheese, and brush with some more of the melted butter.
I think you get the point - you want to repeat two more times so you use all of the dough. When you finish the final layer, brush the dough with the butter, but don't sprinkle with the final 1/3 cup of cheese. We're going to save that for later.
Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let the bread rise for about 30 to 60 minutes, or until it's just barely risen above the rim of the pan. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers between 190 and 200 F. If the top of the bread is browning too quickly, you can tent with aluminum foil.
Remove the bread from the oven, and run a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen it. Let rest for 2 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan onto a rimmed baking sheet. With the bread right side up, distribute the last 1/3 cup of cheese over the top. Return to the oven for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos
Happy St Patrick's Day! Are you doing anything special to celebrate? Nothing too exciting over here - we'll be eating our corned beef and cabbage for dinner, but otherwise, it's business as usual. I have a few bottles of Guinness in the fridge for Shane but since he's running his first race of the season (a half-marathon in New Bedford) on Sunday, I doubt he'll take me up on that offer. I'm not much of a Guinness fan myself, but maybe I'll whip up one of those homemade shamrock shakes I've seen floating around the blog world this week. I tried a shamrock shake from McDonald's for the first time this year and didn't love it as much as I'd hoped; maybe I'll have better luck with a homemade version :)
But anyway, today I'm actually not sharing a St Patrick's Day recipe. Instead, we're going with a Mexican theme. Shane and I are both big fans of Mexican food but I don't know that we've ever had authentic taquitos. When I saw this recipe on Josie's blog a few weeks ago, I bookmarked it immediately and was so excited to finally try it. I roasted a chicken earlier this week and used the leftovers for the filling in the taquitos but I think shredded pork would be equally delicious. I love that this recipe can be made in advance and frozen, and the next time I make the taquitos I'm definitely planning to prep extra and do that. There's no question there will be a next time as Shane and I both loved this recipe. It's flavorful and fun, a definite change of pace for us. Whatever you do, don't skip the salt sprinkled on the taquitos before they're baked. Those bites were the very best!
Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos
adapted from Pink Parsley Catering, originally from Our Best Bites
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup salsa verde
juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
8-12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, chile powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic, parsley, scallions, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Add the chicken and cheeses and stir until evenly distributed. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
Place 2 tortillas at a time on a microwave safe plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 25 seconds, or until the tortillas are soft and pliable. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the filling onto the lower third of each tortilla, and roll tightly. Place seam side-down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
Spray the taquitos with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tortillas are crisp and golden. (I loved them served with sour cream!)
Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
During the summer months we stop by our local ice cream shop pretty regularly, and 98% of the time I end up ordering mint chocolate chip ice cream topped with chocolate sprinkles. It's my go-to; I just love the chocolate-mint combination. When cold weather sets in we don't stop eating ice cream altogether, but it is a less frequent occurrence, and instead of going out I make most of the ice cream myself. I haven't found a homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream I love (if you have one, I'd be psyched if you'd leave a comment telling me about it!) so I almost never make it and consequently don't get to satisfy the craving as often as I'd like. So, it's probably not a shocker that I kept coming back to chocolate and mint desserts when I was searching for St Patty's Day recipes.
My starting point was a recipe I found in my Whoopie Pies book for mint buttercream. I briefly considered going in the whoopie pie direction, but decided I'd rather have a chocolate cupcake with the buttercream mounded on top. I made Martha Stewart's one bowl chocolate cupcakes, which are one of my favorites. The recipe is super simple and the cupcakes always turn out moist and chocolate-y. I added green gel food coloring to the frosting just to make them more festive, but you could certainly leave it white if that's more your style. The buttercream is fairly sweet but not as buttery as others I've made and I liked the flavor quite a bit - it's minty, but not overpowering. The texture was perfect for piping too. My chocolate-mint craving was definitely satisfied :)
Two quick notes: I wanted to add chocolate chips to the cupcakes to really make them mint chocolate chip, but the batter for this particular recipe is too thin, and the chips just sank to the bottom (even when tossed with a little flour beforehand). I'll try again eventually using a different recipe. Also, I halved the cupcake recipe below and the full frosting recipe yielded the perfect amount to top my 9 cupcakes. If you like as much frosting as I do on your cupcakes and you make the full recipe for 18 cupcakes, you will probably need to double the frosting recipe.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Cupcakes from Martha Stewart; Frosting adapted from Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsly & Amy Treadwell
Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract and water and whisk until the mixture is smooth and all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared pans, filling each well about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pans to wire racks and let the cupcakes cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove them from the pans and cool completely on the wire racks.
Mint Buttercream
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
green gel food coloring (optional)
semisweet chocolate chips
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the confectioners' sugar and butter (first on low and then increasing the speed to medium) until evenly distributed and crumbly, about 1-2 minutes. Add the cream, extracts, and salt and beat on high speed until light, fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. If you want green buttercream, beat in a little bit of food coloring at a time until you achieve your desired color.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, frost as desired. Garnish with chocolate chips.
Makes 18 cupcakes
TWD: Mini Citrus Cranberry Sunshine Muffins
This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Lauryn of Bella Baker: citrus currant sunshine muffins. I love that the recipe has the word sunshine in the title - it just makes the muffins sound bright and happy, which is I guess a glance into the way I feel about sun in general. I'm definitely one of those people who starts to feel depressed in the winter when the days are really short so I was pretty psyched to spring ahead last weekend. Not only do we get more sun, but it means spring is on the way!
A few changes were in order this week. First, I decided to make minis because it'd been ages since I last broke out my mini muffin pan. Plus I had colorful mini muffin liners, which seemed to fit the tone of this recipe. Not only were the minis cute but they baked in under 10 minutes (about 8-9 here). I halved the recipe and wound up with 24 minis. I also substituted dried cranberries for the currants. I've never tried currants and though I think I'd like them, I didn't want to buy a whole bunch just for one recipe.
These muffins were bright and fresh, not too sweet and quite citrus-y. The orange was the dominant flavor for me, though I could also detect the lemon, and I always think the combination of cranberries and citrus is nice. Many thanks to Lauryn for hosting this week! You can find the recipe for the muffins on her blog or on page 7 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)


text: We read some reviews on this place and decided it was the place to try in a town of too many fast food restaurants. AWESOME is the word for all of the food that we were served. The broasted chicken was cooked perfectly and oh so hot. It had just the right flavors that could not be imitated at home.... More

subset: commoncrawl


text:
We had breakfast here during our stay in Jackson and the coffee and the food was great. The service was friendly.
We had breakfast here during our stay in Jackson and the coffee and the food was great. The service was friendly.
My mom said her Americano was too strong, but I found it to be just right! Good tasting coffee. I was happy with their raw sugar option as well. Nice people, pretty average coffee shop atmosphere.
I dropped in early one morning for a coffee and to check my emails. They brew a nice cup of coffee...the atmosphere is hip...they charge for refills...
We didn't want to go to the big "chain" place just down the street on Broadway just off the square so went here instead. Glad we did as it was very good coffee. I like dark roast and there's was nice and dark. Not sure if they have two locations or not but the picture on the tripadvisor site is... More
We stopped here our way out of town. My cafe Mocha was perfect and the aroma was soothing. The atmosphere was relaxing and I really enjoyed seeing the local artwork on the walls. The place ceiling is vaulted so a lot of natural light comes in. The place is clean and the two employees were very kind. Would definitely return... More
Really great sandwiches made with fantastic bread. Sit down area was a little cramped but the food made up for it. Can't say I like Jackson that much.
We went to a small outdoor stand in Moose Village. The worker was fast, fixed things like we wanted and was very informed about things in the area. My coffee drinking buddies said this was the best tasting coffee they had in town. Great idea putting this stand up for early morning wildlife hunters! Thanks
Over the last couple years I visited Jackson Hole Roasters now and then for a cup of coffee and always loved what I got, though their old business was a bit cramped. At one point I did a coffee-making workshop with the owners through my school, and so got to know the owners a little bit-- they're really amazing people,... More
i love excellent coffee and i can't bear mediocre coffee. this is the only cafe in jackson where I expect to be served a drinkable espresso. it is also the only shop in town where I expect the packaged espresso beans to be fresh. from time to time there are very enjoyable coffee tastings. luba, stephan and the rest of... More
We tried to go here during our stay and the place was shut down, we pulled up and there is no sign on the door, correct address, shop empty. Must be closed or maybe just for the winter....it seemed like there was a few places that had closed up. Was disappointed was looking for some fresh roasted coffee to start... More
If you own or manage Jackson Hole Roasters, register now for free tools to enhance your listing, attract new reviews, and respond to reviewers.
Manage your listing


text:
We understand that finding the best value for money BMW Quotes car insurance cover is important.
At Performance Direct we search a wide selection of BMW Quotes insurance providers for you in minutes, giving you a choice of the best BMW Quotes insurance policies available.
Retrieve Quote
McLaren's P1 had a lot to live up to, specifically the tag of being the best performance car on the planet, but the vehicle has moved a step closer to claiming this title after taming the Nurburgring in a jaw-dropping time of less than seven minutes ....Read more on McLaren P1 Breaks Seven-Minute Barrier at Nurburgring
The winners of Top Gear's annual coveted Car of the Year prizes have been announced, with a surprise package taking home the overall award. ....Read more on Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year: The Winners
The Classic Car Club, based in Hoxton, London, have established one of the most prized classic car collections to be found on this side of the pond. The collections range from the American Icons such as the Ford GT and the Mustang, to more UK favourites l....Read more on Classic Car Club's Christmas Crackers


text:
As the green building industry continues its rapid expansion, many people are taking a close look at the best way to minimize their own residential footprint. There's a huge amount at stake, since homes account for about 22 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, 21 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions and 9 percent of water use, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
On one hand, new green homes are often 30 to 50 percent more efficient than older ones. However, they are usually a bit more expensive, are in short supply, and often don't have the character and fine craftsmanship of aged structures. They also may not be located in the established neighborhoods that are becoming more attractive again in places like urban centers.
Older houses are often drafty and filled with inefficient appliances. It's usually very difficult to try and add modern insulation after the fact. On the other hand, a house that already exists doesn't require use of any new resources or expansion of sprawl, which is a major threat to wildlife habitat. Older homes are typically smaller and more densely packed.
Adding to the difficulty of people's decision is the fact that repair and replacement costs typically rise each decade of a home's life, according to a report published today in Investor's Business Daily. The median age of U.S. homes is 32 years, according to the U.S. Census.
According to a National Association of the Remodeling Industry survey, 46 percent of American homeowners claim they would be eager to incorporate green principles into their homes, especially if it would save them money. Experts estimate one can generally save 20 to 30 percent on energy costs with $4,000 to $8,000 worth of improvements.
Clearly, there are many factors to consider in homeownership, and there are no easy answers. Whatever a person's choice, it's great news that so many people are beginning to give serious thought to their environmental impact, and trying to find a solution that works for them.
Enter your city or zip code to get your local temperature and air quality and find local green food and recycling resources near you.


text:
Originally Posted by Sparky
Yeah, we got that argument before.. but it seems that the asian women ( mostly in Hk anda Taiwan) people want to look anerexic. In fact, all the magazines are flooded with slimming products.
There is a thin line between slim and anerexic looking.... I am just afraid YM will fall to the latter, the dark side


text:
The NIV Bible
Most Read. Most Trusted.
Find out why it's the most read Bible version.
Read More »
Community Bible Experience
A Bible study that will transform participants, small groups, and even entire churches.
Read More »
Global Bible Translations
Exciting opportunity to support Bible translations.
Read More »
Bible Study Tools
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while...
Thousands of churchgoers across North America read the entire New Testament together in 40 days
While 80% of churchgoers struggle to read the Bible daily (source: Lifeway, 2012), the Wesleyan Church denomination is...
Biblica has created a new iPhone and iPad App for Advent 2013. The free Mobile App is available for download from the iTunes AppStore.
For more information, or to download this exciting new app to your iPhone or iPad visit the...


text:
The one day I don't check this forum, you mention chess. xD
Black getting the first counter-move is considered a small advantage, the point is that it is smaller than the first move advantage.
White cannot always counter the counter, which is why asymmetrical openings like the Sicilian are very successful for black.
Maw if you are on tonight I would like to challenge for this title.
defended my crown against tyshine! same civ selections(zulu america) but i had the better starting advantage on both....lucky me.
ggs ty im sure iv got a lot 2 learn from you.
Game 1 was one of those awful Zulu games were I don't get 100g, while maw gets Rome, Moscow, and 7 cities. I got Spain eventually, but had to defend against KT's and a WA. I moved my settler and saw nothing. Took a village after a double wound and got Bronze Working. Ran into Spain and couldnt get a walkin, so I had to build a WA, and they had 20 g from a tile. Not a fun game at all.
Game 2: I had two artists, but couldn't convert his 2nd taken cap as he never had his 100g so my two cities was too little culture. I never go my 100 g and after he took 4 pop Thebes that I couldn't convert I saw the writing on the wall. I thought I had a great plan to convert his Horse army, but the extra artist ended up costing me the game.
Last edited by TyShine; 03-09-2011 at 01:09 PM.
Me and Maw had a wicked game last night.Zulu vs Zulu.The most fun for me in a long time.
I settler rushed picked up 2 friendlies and got 50 gold, and found athens and took it and got democracy, then a few turns later I took madrid and got navigation.I had a great start, but this game can be really funny sometimes, on how the game can swing.Maw found angkor wat and switched too fundy, and his impi warriors took 2 of my cities.I had a huge tech lead, but Maw being in fundy done some real damage.I switched my tech to gold for about 15 turns just to defend Maws nasty fundy tactics.We agreed that we wouldn't build oxford and it got to the stage were we were neck to neck tech wise, but the game froze in the late game, when Maw switched from fundy and I got locked up in 1 of my cities.Also Maw had a few knight armies and 2 cruiser fleets.But I had 2 GB,s, and had industrialization in 2 turns.I was going to tech riflemen then build leos workshop, and use my other GB for EITC.We both agreed it was anybodys game so we agreed on a draw or a remtach.I also found 7cog in 100 ad or something, Maw sold his galley which if he had of moved it for 3 turns, he would of found it.
Really fun game Maw, the best game I have had in a long while, and talking to you is always fun.Thats also whats fun, the banter between us.GG.
If I have forgotten anything Maw, maybe you can add your 2 cents too this game.
Last edited by Jackoneill; 03-09-2011 at 10:00 PM.
nice write-up jack!, yes gd game and quite balanced ....not! you geting demo and nav before 2500 really crushed my confidenceuntil i got angkor wat, but i initially switched 2 republic and dropped cities enough 2 catch up 2 your 11 techs vs my 2(jack was in demo)!and then when you got 7cog i thought i was done, but i know what happened i found out that a zulu fundy WA can take pikes outs which they did and slowed your roll bigtime. pity about the freeze would have been nice 2 see what would happen but we shall catch you next time and as its a redo itl b zulu on zulu again, bluddy gd gas bagging witcha and it was an awesome close game.
didnt see ya online for the last few days jack ,and as no matches were won i figured it would be ok 2 let morte have a crack at it.
my zulu vs zulu
over pretty quickly morte had me backedup and i made silly mistakes and lost.
my america vs america
i get more gold than him and as we start real close together my money eventually grabbed the win(even got 7cog)but the early warrior battle dance was won by morte.
china vs china
we both settler walk but my position and goodie hut gave me the edge and i managed 2 camp 2 of his forests and also get SOC for 2 GE early, ridiculously gd start for me and another lucky defence of the top tier crown.
ggs morte
one thing 2 note is mirror matches are mostly unbalanced.
had a challenge against redaf
zulu vs zulu(seems 2 be the favourite first choice!)
my map was better and 7cog helped me expand like a mutha. i win
my america vs china
now this was a good game and red did a good job securing tech lead and making my roll 2 COL very slow but the 1 thing that shined in this game was my america being in medival vs red's modern knight rush i lost many knight armies to the quickness and sometimes lucky attacks but it really didnt bother th american broken bonus of rushing cheap knights .i managed 2 drop a galley of legion and knight armies behind his front lines but the game ended in a freeze. i do think unless you had an ace up your sleeve my broken america would have won, but all you gota say red ma man is you want a replay and it shall be done! just let me know soon because i like 2 keep this title rolling!
That Zulu game was pretty worthless from my end the moment you got 7cog!! You also did a nice job confining me to a smaller side of the globe with that choke point. What killed me most in that game was a miserable peninsula start. I settler walked one of the longest treeless planks of land I have ever seen!
I thought I might have had you in that china vs USA game! That production city I had with the free workshop was putting out a knight per turn! But alas, it couldn't keep up with your 25g knights..
GGs! But if you find a lull in your challenges, I would like another crack at the crown! I've only beaten you once so far, but its always a good time playing you!!
I challenge you again, and you know, it's time for you to lose
And, it may be strange but, I would prefer to use Aztecs, Arabs and Americans against Zulu, Chinese, Americans.
Mawpawk, if you're gonna be on tonight, bring your C game!
Bout time someone else got a chance to wear this crown! I could use the practice with these civs if we're gonna play with em this weekend...
Thanks for the games Mawpawk! You're still my favorite opponent to lose to!
I'm soo bad with these civs, I might start using them in ranked to get some practice with them!
yes red always a pleasure mate im pretty sure you will school me soon enough(i wont forget that beating you gave me with the english) ,and as we were talking about chess i would like 2 say that civ and chess have the same effect where if you dont get beat you wont learn anything..unless yor a robot i hope you recorded that america vs my zulu game , you could make a 7min youtube clip with tips on what not 2 do kinda like a bloopers reel(wish i had a record of all my blunders) that bit where yor WA attacked mine an lost washington with pyrimads is classic! also the death of your slow moving general should make the cut 2
GGs Pawkster!
I no longer have a strategy when I play, so basically whatever happens happens and you just so happened to win.
cheerz 4 the games zef, i still think you tapped out 2 quick on both games! but i wasnt privilleged 2 yor side of the game i guess , and i believe in making up the strategy as ya go 2.
I don't know. Maybe. In my China versus your USA, we split up the map and there were the Mongols between us. Your armies were on the other side on a hill. I had about the same amount of units there. I think the hill advantage goes to you. So I back off. You take the cap between us. I flip it. Your other army takes it back. At least you lose a KT knight, but now we're back to where we started, except not only do you have half the map, you have a little more than half with your new cap. We were both past 5 techs; I had a couple more. What can I do? If we play passive and both expand, you win with America. If I try to go for a sneak attack, your posted militias see where I'm coming from. No chance really---your game.
Game #2:We again are having fairly equal games. You take two caps, but I take Rome for CoL. I get 100 gold earlier. I see your Zulu vet army about to attack my own Zuu cap, and I leave it open as a trap. You take it and I attack from a hill with a HA and lose with an advantage. Now you have more cities, and a city close to my own. Horrible situation for me. I really just have no good strats these days, but you played well in both games!
game 1 vs chugg e
my americans vs china. game was pretty balanced in the begining with 1 cap each, and i managed 2 fend off and impressive 2 HA attack which from my point of view was the wining moment as i had loads of land 2 expand, even tho china is extremely powerful nothing can compete with americas half price units chugg conceded the game just after i GS corp which was a good call as i had galleon fleets loaded with cheap knight armies coming in the back door. gd game chugg and well played but americas given the chance and breathing space are ridiculous.(except if your playing against morte)
game 2
i win
cheerz for the games chugg, we played a teams(AI partners) match after this and chuggy schooled me.
Last edited by Mawpawk; 04-14-2011 at 04:35 PM.
I played versus the drunk king of the top tier, first one was my Zulu vs his Americans. I won that one.
I started by moving my settler into the mainland, then by exploring with warriors, since there were no early barbs for early armies. Anyway I could see a lot of barbs after 7-8 turns. By the time I had a vet warrior army (and other warriors around), I found his capital. I tried to take it (but didn't attack) and waited over a hill. He attacked with his horse army and won a 6v6 battle.
I got horseback riding meanwhile (from one of the first barbs) and built a horse army. I went to Madrid and took it. I could see a settled great scientist, that made me laugh, since he told me that he lost it early on. However, I built my second city in a pretty good spot for a early library, 1 grassland + 1 fish, and many water tiles.
I defended from his horse army, and while he took the Arabs, I took Madrid.
The worst thing happened soon after. He had fundamentalism and tried to take Madrid. He killed my horse army, and that was ok. I started rushing archers, and his horse army was wounded. I got seven cities meanwhile.
However, he attacked in the same moment I formed the army, so guess what happened.. He won the battle against a single archer, won, and took the city! The game didn't even count the scientist, since, if you know, it counts as a defence too.
However, I got irrigation, school of confucius (before seven cities, but it wasn't that important). With the scientist I rushed code of Laws I think, but I'm not sure. I expanded a bit and flipped a mongol city, from where I rushed a horse army to take Mongols. After some turns I got ark of covenant, too.
So, he tried to harrass me a bit but after I defended to his attacks, a sort of cold war started. We were both expanding, but I stopped about 9 cities. Meanwhile he had about 20. The beaker count was about the same, but I was a bit better in the tech race. He tried to attack me, and I tried to attack him, but nothing important happened, just few pointless battles. By the way, I rushed east india company in my capital
I switched to democracy and he did the same, and at one point I got riflemen (and you know, zulu get 1/2 price riflemen). I started building defences in my only 2 mainland cities (in fact other cities where in other two islands). He tried to take my second city (near Zimbabwe, the one with library), with about 3 knight armies and a horse army. He kept killing some of my units and I kept defending. I had a cruiser in defence but he brought at one point a vet cruiser fleet. I kept sending units from Zimbabwe too (with a road), and meanwhile rushed a barracks + 2 cruisers from the Mongols island, to build a vet cruiser fleet myself.
I defended with thousands of units, then brought the cruiser fleet, which he attacked losing his fleet. At that point I started attacking with riflemen to kill his units and had no more problems about defending my mainland cities. He was in modern era too, but I was about 6 techs ahead (30 to his 24), with about 300 beakers per turn etc.. I even rushed corporation, but after he realized there wasn't anything to do, he conceeded. The game on my side was even freezing every turn I chose a rifleman, and the turn after that it unfroze, and kept happening. However, it was a pretty good game.
The second one, I used Americans vs his Zulu.
Pretty fast one, I started with a great explorer. I won't talk about many details, I took his capital, took his second city and defended a to his tries to take cities back. At one point he quit because he was left with only Madrid, some units and a galleon. I got great pyramid anyway after I took his city. The only weird thing was that he got angkor wat, so the game was a bit confused (who owns Zimbabwe?)
So, after I got the title, he challenged me. I picked Americans and he picked Americans too.
Pretty fast game again, I took japan, got horseback riding and while I had 2 horses he had a horse army. He killed one of my horses so I decided to move my horse ahead instead of trying to defend with it. I built warriors to defend meanwhile, and at one point I took his empty capital while he was taking Japan.
The second game (which I won) was Chinese vs Chinese, and I'll talk about it later on.
Finally de-throned Sir Mawpawk the Great! Nicely done Morte.
That was one hell of run you had Mawpawk! How many title defenses did you have along the way?! Must have been near 20!!
You must have been getting a bit bored with these civs anyway...
Good show morte! even tho i was in full drunk mode i shall not make any excuses, and admit i got outclassed ! it was a good run , and im glad you were sober enough 2 write the good write up! your the kind of player i will have 2 play more games with (not drinking) 2 understand how 2 beat you better! good luck with that throne and i hope you get some good challengers along the way
cheerz red yea i learned alot about power civ matchups and yes you are right i was bored and gave it away..........not! i will return when im a withered old man morte and destroy you!
3 weeks ! and no challengers! i told you this would happen morte, time 2 kick your brother off fable 3 and give my crown back
alrite now, im back!
zulu vs mortes zulu i have a fairly good start with a close barb and start pumping out the impis morte grabs an early cap and 5 turns later i taake the indians out ,spanish are the last ai left so i sell em bronze and pottery as i cant get 2 them and morte eventually takes madrid but im guessing he didnt get nav as no galleons arrived , i throw up sum choke points and hit the apples and sneakily steal madrid from him so my city count is doing fine ,but he finds SOC and rushes code of laws i head for maths and eventually land a cat army,archer,legion at his front lines while sending a galleon 2 the backdoor, game for me.
america vs america
GB start for me but i wish i had settler walked a bit as it took awhile for my 3 warriors 2 find anything i find 7cog and take the romans for code of laws so its looking good for me , i didnt realize morte had found angor and had done just as much expansion as me and my extra money! i go for galleons and cats which eventually wins the day , loads of cities loads of units&(musta been about 100 militia on the map!), i think we were both on 19techs when the game finished.
i noticed in both of these games morte had no pressure 2 apply on me early which gave me a chance 2 expand and tech.
cheers morte yor expansion techniques are still a few levels above mine.but im luckyier
I challenge you again, these were pretty good games, even if I did too many mistakes. I sometimes don't like to wait a lot of turns and press enemies, even if I should
you probly wont have time 2 challenge me as you will be to busy trying to win bracket 2! anytime morte i look forward 2 our matches , most intensive games iv had in a long time, but then again some1 may have taken my crown by then.... any challengers?
hmm yeah you should spread the challenges around Morte may well be hte best possible challenger but it would be a bit lame for him and you to just continuously play eachother - unless there really are no other challengers (in which case ofcourse its fine but surely that isn't the case).
I'll play you in the absence of anyone else
Although if elthrasher or someone more worthy wants to have a go they can first, my statement above is not just a con to get me first on the list
King Mawpawk vs past his bedtime thrasher
my zulu vs thrashs china
find 7cog first and win some important even battles for the win
my america vs zulu
made a big mistake going the expansion route while thrasher finds the big money and soc and cleverly lays down 120bucks worth of road for his legion onslaught.
my china vs america
this game ended with a question mark but im pretty sure it would have been sum class A battles i had just landed a knight army with galleon fleet support and had taken a couple cities with another mob on the way and religion next turn ,thrasher was just about 2 tech feud but mr sandman raised his ugly
challenger forfeits!
got in a couple against mawpawk.
first game zulu vs zulu - actually the matchup iwas trying to avoid so i guess he out thought me on the pick :P
We met fast and I got the advantage in the early exchanges, and i got a early cap (germans) but he soon got americans and had access to the other civs like aztecs I managed to use up all the barbs and started to run short on gold. I killeda WA of his by the aztecs then set up to attack them but was to slow retreating and lost against the odds to the aztec defender. apparently that would have been good as the 7cog was next to the aztecs.
Mawpawk then built a lot of attacking units and came over and killed me - i was able to resist for quite a while but in the end he had more units than i could have built...
second game my US vs his. anyone would think i suck with the USA! I started with a GA and him with a GE. again he gets the more useful one. then i found i was blocked with barbs in a peninsular, so i planted my settler in the best spot and tried to build a ha and he captured england in about 3500. he teched to 5 techs and i only had 1 but soon as i had my HA i steamed over a few barbs and pumped some caravans into he french ai then attacked them. i traded tech with them to get my 5 tech (thanks also to mawpawk selling them some of his) because i figured without it I was dead for sure,but in the end that gave mawpawk too much of my gold be cause i mismanaged that, not optimizing when i bought techs and when i took their cities.
I tried to have a look for him with a HA (really jsut hoping to spot a city for a flip and a fluky comeback) but jsut got myself killed.
arrgh... ok a few more challengers for pawk then Ill have another go this time im going to get GB with the americans and my zulus will take rome for CoL and spain for Nav in about 3500bc
its quite fun power civing isnt it? i couldnt believe how much gold the french had i think they offered me 140 for alpha then 80 for IW then 59 not to attack them,they wanted 40 for monarchy but that was my ace in the hole tech.
Mawpawk vs CHUGG E
zulu vs zulu
chugg heads off for a sweet start taking out the arabs and the 2 remaining AI while im left with barely 100gld and a lonely little boat that finds angor wat for the comeback win ,with a little mixture of republic,fundy ,demo, fundy
oh and i think chugg and i would agree that if he had rememdered he had religion the game would have been his
america vs america
my GS finds a hut for 25g 2 pop an early horse and chase after chuggs rambling GE and after circling him a few times mange 2 grab the early win
Mawpawk vs RZ Racer
zulu vs RZs china
an earlywalkin on tripoli 4 me and 7cog seals the deal
my america vs Aztec(! racer didnt realize aztec was not in this tier but we played on)
fairly good start for racer as he lands 7cog at about 3700 an i have a GH by the time his horsearmy shows iv got legions ready and then its basically america and expansion time.
all fun games and both these competitors admit 2 not having much experience with the top end civs so good on yall for giving it a stab!
Can't let these epic battles be forgotten.
I don't think Seven Cities mattered for you there. What mattered is you won every even battle and one in which I had the advantage. Lucky!
This game was awesome. I was so pissed at first because barb #1 gave me a galley and then my scout caught sight of your borders. I timed the walk-in perfectly. Well, perfect except for the fact that I had to click away first contact diplomacy twice for some reason. Then I said that yes, I really want to have an epic battle with you consisting of my wounded guy walking into your empty city and all your units vanishing. Nothing happened. Then I did it again. Nothing again. I tried a 3rd time and by then you'd rushed a defender. LAME!
But the mario gods work in mysterious ways. I was about ready to quit, but I got my 100 gold and figured I should plant it on a nice fishy spot near Confucius. I grabbed that for an explorer and a humanitarian (decent), then found Seven Cities nearby. Yeah, 120 gold worth of road. I used the Humanitarian so I could rush a settler out of my 100g city and put it three tiles from Washington. Then I could just keep pumping the legions at you until victory! It was one of my more successful legion rushes.
Yeah, you blew it a bit by teching techs you didn't need at all. You might have out-legioned me, though you'd still need some techs to do that. But this game was a testament to staying in and going full-on aggressive and so I dedicate it to the entire forum, even you.
I was tired and already playing badly but I think I had a shot due to being America. The good thing I did in this game was carefully avoid backfilling any useless techs (like Literacy, which you obviously had first) so I could be comfortably in medieval. I think even lazy play would have gotten me the game if I could have taken Madrid, but there was an unbeatable archer in there. So yeah, had to knock off at 2 AM acknowledging that while I had a chance, you were more likely to win due to my fatigue if nothing else.
I'm a one crown kind of guy really. Two wouldn't suit me.


text:
DePauw Sweeps Singles and Doubles Matches at Invitational
September 9, 2009
September 9, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — DePauw players won all six singles and three doubles flights in the season-opening, seven-team DePauw Invitational. Complete results are available here.
Kelly Gebert won at the number one spot with a three-set win over IUPUI's Hunter Bullock. Kayla Smith won the second singles flight, while Courtney Ulrich took the third and defeated teammate Courtney Griffin in the three-set title match.
Taylor Prodromos captured number-four singles, followed by Lizzy Whitlatch at number-five with a three-set victory over teammate Anna Prasch. Katie Regan won the sixth singles flight.
In doubles play, Prodromos and Gebert won the first flight with Sarah MacPhail and Ulrich winning the second. Griffin and Elizabeth Young captured the third doubles flight with a win over teammates Whitlatch and Prasch. The Tigers return home on Saturday, September 12, with matches against IUPUI at 8 a.m. and Indianapolis at 4 p.m.


text:
The University of Tennessee at Martin softball team used a barrage of hits and key pitching performances to down Saint Francis 2-0 and Detroit Mercy 11-2 in six innings on Day 2 in the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla.
"Our pitching really set us apart today," UT Martin head coach Donley Canary said. "We had great pitching performances from Casey Vincent and Autumn Glenn. When things got tight in the in the top of the sixth, Morgan Lewis was able to come in and get three critical outs in a close ballgame."
"We have come to expect a lot from Kenzi Tate and she provided the spark we needed going 5-for-7 on the day with three home runs and six RBIs," Canary added. "Today we saw what our bats were capable of and were able to hit the ball really well."
UT Martin 2 – Saint Francis 0
UT Martin sophomore starter Vincent proved to be too much for the Red Flash, allowing just three hits in seven shutout innings. Vincent effectively struck out five while only allowing one walk.
Sophomore Tate blasted a solo home run in the fourth to give Vincent the lead that the Skyhawks would not squander. Junior Kayla Wade led the Skyhawks with two hits, coming in the first and sixth innings. The speedster used one of her three steals in the game to swipe home in the sixth, proving to be the final score of the game.
UT Martin 11 – Detroit Mercy 2
In a game which began with five lead changes, UT Martin proved to be too much for the Titans thanks to 10 hits, including four for extra bases. Tate went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs in the contest.
The Skyhawks exploded for five runs in the third on solo home runs by Leah Taylor and Tate before Stephanie Nidiffer and freshman Jessie Britt each added an RBI in the frame.
True freshman Glenn capitalized on just her third career start allowing two runs over five innings in the circle. She struck out four, while walking one and surrendering seven hits.
After allowing the first two batters to reach base in the top of the sixth, Lewis entered the game to quickly extinguish the threat, striking out three consecutive batters to end the frame.
The Skyhawks used a clutch steal of home scoring Britt to open the scoring in the bottom of the sixth, an inning which saw three runs cross the plate. Following the steal, Tate launched her second home run of the game, and third of the day, to score Wade.


text:
NP Rank:
Bottom in? Vampire Squid Slashes 2013-2014 Outlook for Gold, Call
by alexoscarew | February 26, 2013 at 11:35 am
58 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments
In the midst of gold and silver's relentless attacks last week by the cartel, we wrote that investors should be prepared for a potential bottom in gold and silver on or around Monday 2/25, options expiration in both gold and silver.
Goldman seems to have validated that call this morning, as only one day after March options expiration, the Vampire Squid has advised clients to sell gold, slashed its 2013-2014 outlook for gold to $1450/oz, and called for an end to the gold bull market.
Read More: http://newsdoors.blogspot.com/2013/02/bottom-in-vampire-squid-slashes-2013.html