Fall Harvest Recipe Round-Up!

Are you on a hunt for some wonderful Autumn treats for this Hauntingly Fun Halloween Weekend?!  I have assembled for you some of my most favorites, that will definitely be a hit at any party- and especially at your own dinner table!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Both a Savory and a Sweet Version!

Traditional Garlic and Worcestershire Pumpkin Seeds and also  Cinnamon-Sugar Apple Cider Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Favorites

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
Kolokithopita- Savory Greek Pumpkin Pie
Low Carb Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Yum Yum Brownie Muffins
Caramelized Onion Pumpkin and Ricotta Tortellini's with a Walnut and Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Apple Treats 

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
Apple Cream Cheese Quick Bread
Apple Dapple Cake
Traditional Apple Crisp
Apple Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar

Owl and Bat Cupcakes

And just incase you are looking for some fun ways to decorate your cupcakes for the Halloween Party, these are always a huge party hit!

Owl and Bat Cupcakes

Blueberry Quick Bread

This weekend my sister and I gathered the troops and headed up to Vermilion, Ohio to do some blueberry picking at Baumhart Berry Farm.   Bonnie had been here once before and raved about it, so this was my first time.  What a treasure to find!  The aisles are huge, easily accommodating our two large strollers, the bushes are tall enough that you aren't bending over giving yourself a backache and most importantly, the berries are HUGE and sinfully sugar sweet!!  I couldn't get over how easy it was to pick them, just grazing your hands over the plump fruits would drop them into your bucket.  The kids never tired of the picking and our buckets soon became full.  It was a fun afternoon, and even after all our snacking we still came home with more blueberries then one knows what to do with.  Don't worry, your tummies will know exactly what to do with them!

Let me help you with this lovely Blueberry Quick Bread.  It is overflowing with blueberries in ever single bite. The the bread itself has just the right sweetness and tastes heavenly with some soft butter smeared all over it. Try it with a slice of shaved ham on top.  Super yummy!

Blueberry Quick Bread
recipe courtesy allrecipes

5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
4 eggs
2 cups cold milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts.

In a small bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour into two 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 65-75 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

This recipe is featured on This and That and  http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com Linky Party

Chocolate Cherry Frozen Yogurt

I. Love. Ice. Cream.  I could eat it every single day and not tire of it.  It is pure indulgence, but oh goodness, so, so delicious!!  For Christmas my in-laws got me an ice cream maker, and let me tell you how much fun we are having with it!!  I tend to not be drawn to ice creams (or any dessert for the matter) that have a fruity flavor in them.  I am usually a "If it isn't chocolate, peanut butter or caramel, or something else of the sort I'm not interested" kind of girl.  But this frozen yogurt was actually an exception.  I was a little worried when I was putting it all together that it would become a bit overly sweet with the addition of the cherry juice.  But it wasn't at all!  The richness of the chocolate softened the sickening sweetness of the maraschino cherry.  Together they were a match made in a heaven.

I brought this over to my in-laws for dinner and usually Scott and my father in law will have a small taste of dessert and that is all.  Well tonight they both had seconds.  This never happens!  I'll take it as a win.

Like with (most all) ice cream or frozen yogurts you need to have an ice cream maker to do this recipe and a little planning ahead.  I have the Cuisinart 2Qt one and love it.  It is a great investment, especially with the sumer months coming up.  A few things: Don't forget to put your ice cream makers freezer bowl in the freezer over night to get nice and solid and allow yourself a little over 4 hours to complete this entire recipe from start to finish.  Don't worry!  You won't be actually making the frozen yogurt for 4 hours, but the base will need 2 hours to set up and then the frozen yogurt needs an additional 2 hours to get to ice cream cone consistency. It can be eaten right away out of the ice cream maker, but it will be very soft and will melt fast.  (Think soft serve on a warm day.)

After having a (few!) bowls of this, I think that the addition of chocolate chips in the last 5 minutes would also be great to give a little more texture and crunch to the final product.  But then again, could you ever have too much chocolate?

Enjoy and please have fun!

Chocolate Cherry Frozen Yogurt
Makes about fourteen 1/2 cup servings

9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to a simmer
4 cups lowfat vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
1 cup drained maraschino cherries, roughly chopped

Place the chocolate in a food processor fitted with the metal "S" blade.  Pulse to chop.  With the machine running, add the warmed milk in a slow, steady stream and process until the chocolate is melted.  Add the yogurt, sugar, and cherry juice; process until smooth.  Refrigerate until well chilled, at least two hours.

Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20-25 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of freezing, add the chopped cherries.  The frozen yogurt will have a soft, creamy texture.  If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the frozen yogurt to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.  Remove from freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information per serving:

calories 203. carbohydrates 30g . protein 6g . fat 9g . sat. fat 5g . cholesterol 7mg . sodium 56 mg . fiber 1g 

recipe courtesy Recipe Booklet: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Sherbet & More! by Cuisinart




I linked up my recipe at Sweets for a Saturday!

Fruit Pulp Muffins

My sister has become completely into juicing.  About a month or so ago she bought a Juicer and has been having a blast making up all these amazing fruit and vegetable juices for her whole family to enjoy.  A little spinach here, carrots, cantalope, mango, watermelon, kale, apples there.... whatever you happen to pick up at the market, give it a whirl!  The skies the limit really.

I myself do not own a juicer.  I do like making up smoothies and whatnot in my blender, but that is a bit different.  With juicing, it separates the fibrous pulp from the juice, giving you just what is needed for a healthy, balanced, highly nutritious drink.  The only thing is that then you are left with all of that beautiful, full of fiber fruit pulp. You don't want to throw it out; it is also incredibly good for you.  So what to do?  There are lots of recipes out there: salsas, dips, sorbets, even your own fruit leathers.  Today Bonnie wanted to share with you all a recipe for Fruit Pulp Muffins.  So if you happen to have a juicer or know someone who does- try these out! They taste amazing!!!

Create Your Own Juice Pulp Muffins
recipe courtesy All About Juicing!

Use any combination of fruit pulp you have on hand to make your own muffins. You really can't go wrong!

4 cups of any fruit pulp
1 cup of sesame or olive oil
3 eggs
1 cup of honey
3 cups of whole grain flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp of nutmeg, cinnamon or spice of choice(optional)
1 tsp of vanilla


Mix the fruit pulp with the honey, eggs, vanilla, oil and mix. Add the dry ingredients. Pour into muffin cups or greased muffin tins. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win a 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to the new local culinary publication "edible Cleveland".  Giveaway ends on April 2nd, so hurry!

No Bake Cafeteria Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to please click on the link and give me a vote in Cleveland Magazine's Nothing But Net 32 Most Entertaining Blogs contest! Thank you!

You remember these don't you?!  They were the best part of school lunch, and in my school cafeteria we could get two of these guys for something like $.40!  Such a steal.  And no one would walk out of the lunch line without one of these guys on their tray!

For those of you unfortunate souls who grew up with out these delicious treats, think peanut butter cups, but more flakey and of course more peanut butter.  I remember always trying to get the chocolate top off in one big piece.  Ahhhhh memories.  Thank you Southern Plate for bringing this recipe back into my life!  So fun and such a crowd pleaser!  One recipe makes a full 9x13 pan, so you will have plenty to share and reminisce over. Trust me, you will have a lot of happy people surrounding you when you bring these treats over for that playdate (mommies and daddies as well as the kiddos!)

No Bake Cafeteria Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars
recipe courtesy Southern Plate

1/2 cup butter (or margarine, whatever you have)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, again whatever you have)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups peanut butter
2- 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave until butter and peanut butter are melted, one to two minutes (time will vary by microwave).

Remove from microwave and use a large spoon to stir all of the ingredients together until they form a ball of dough that leaves the side of the bowl. Pat into a 9x13 pan.

Pour chocolate chips into another microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until completely melted. Spoon over top of peanut butter mixture and spread evenly.

Allow to cool completely at room temperature until chocolate hardens again or place in the refrigerator for faster hardening. Cut into squares and serve to some awfully happy people!

I linked up my recipe at Sweets for a Saturday!

Butter Twist Cookies

These are a perfect cookie to bake when you want to throw something together really quick, you only have "the basics" in your pantry, but yet of course you want it to be simple, pretty and most importantly, delicious. These Butter Twist cookies by Martha Stewart are a winner for sure.  They are crisp and crunchy, making them the best kind of cookie for dunking, if you are into that sort of thing.  Which we all are in my family; coffee, an ice cold glass of milk, hot tea... almost no beverage goes undunked!  Yum!  They have a lightly sweet flavor, and a wonderful feel in your mouth from the flaky butter taste to the crispness of each bite.  These will be bookmarked as a do again, a perfect playdate cookies, lovely for tea parties and just great with a nice cozy mug of hot chocolate at the end of a long day.

Butter Twists
recipe courtesy Martha Stewart's Cookies

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put butter and sugar in the bowl of and electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until creamy.  Mix in vanilla and egg white.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour and salt; mix until combined.

Roll dough into 3/4 inch balls. Roll each ball into a 6-inch log. Bend log in half, then twist.  Space 1 inch apart on baking aheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake, rotating halfway through, until cookies just begin to turn golden, 13-15 minutes.  Let cool on parchment on wire racks.  Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature.

*I added sprinkles to make them a little festive for a tea party the were baked for.  But the sprinkles are not necessary- just fun.  

Oven Roasted Bananas- Traditional and also with Cinnamon and Chocolate

Or how to impress your kids and make your husband fall in love with you all over again.  This recipe is so dang easy your children can do it almost entirely on their own (except for needing a smidge of help with the hot oven).  It also works as a great summertime campfire trick.  They are wonderful plain, in their beautiful perfect banana state.  Or my personal favorite, sprinkled with cinnamon, stuffed with chocolate chips and dotted with butter...mmmmmmmm.

These make a lovely dessert, it would even empress guests at a dinner party.  But it also works perfectly for a breakfast with a dollop of yogurt, or to curb that mid day sweet tooth.  It turns a plain banana into something truly special.  It tastes so much like the famous dessert Banana's Foster, but it isn't!  A simple banana with nothing else tastes like it is so much more.  If you've never tried this recipe before you will be amazed on the lovely flavors it changes into.

Oven Roasted Bananas

Traditional Oven Roasted Banana
1 banana per person (and this is absolutely all you need if you want to go the plain route, which trust me, tastes anything but "plain")

preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place whole banana, as is, uncut on a baking sheet.  Place in hot oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the banana peel turns black.  That is when you know it is done!  Place on a plate and carefully split the peel with a sharp knife and eat with a spoon.

The warmth of the banana paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is heavenly.

Oven Roasted Bananas with Cinnamon and Chocolate

1 banana per person
a sprinkling of cinnamon
a sprinkling of chocolate chips, I used mini above, but large are just as great!
a few small pats of butter, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice banana lengthwise and place on a foil lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and chocolate chips and top with a few pats of butter, if using.  Bake for 15 minutes or until banana peel turns black.  Carefully remove from oven and eat directly out of the peel with a spoon.  Enjoy as is, or serve along side ice cream, yogurt, sprinkle with granola, drizzle with honey or chocolate sauce- whatever your heart desires.  After you've had these once, trust me, you will want to try them every way possible!

Don't forget to tun in or set your DVR's to watch 

Amie, from My Retro Kitchen cooking on 

New Day Cleveland, Fox 8

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

10:00 am




I linked up my recipe at Sweets for a Saturday!

Traditional Apple Crisp

For dessert on Girls Night, Bonnie made a classic Apple Crisp. Oh how I love fruit crisps- probably one of my most favorite desserts. It is simple to throw together, but the smell it sends through the house while baking is soooo comforting and wonderful.  I am usually a If It Isn't Chocolate, I Don't Want It kind of girl when it comes to dessert.  But NOT when apples are involved.  They are my absolute favorite dessert fruit.  The crisp sweetness when raw turns into a lovely warm, caramelized flavor that is like no other.  Pair it with a little cinnamon and sugar and even better throw in rollled oats and of course butter and you've got me for sure! Delicious, homey and one dessert everyone needs to learn how to do.

with whip or without, either way this dessert is a win!

Traditional Apple Crisp
recipe courtesy Family Fun

6 apples (or 6 cups of apple slices)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
Whipped cream or ice cream (optional for serving)

To peel an apple safely, your child should hold the fruit in one hand, grip a vegetable peeler in the other, and push the peeler away from himself.

Heat oven to 375 degrees and lightly butter an 8 or 9-inch-square baking pan. Peel, core, and slice the apples and arrange them evenly in the prepared pan.

Place the oats, brown sugar, flour, spices, and salt in a sealable plastic bag, close, and shake until combined. Cut the softened butter into 1-inch pieces and add to the oat mixture. Close the bag again and knead or squeeze until the mixture holds together. Instead of using a bowl to mix the crumb topping, use a sealable plastic bag. This will cut back on dirty dishes and let young bakers--even preschoolers--lend a hand.

Open the bag and crumble the topping evenly over the apples. Bake the apple crisp for 40 to 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the juices begin to bubble around the edges.

Cool slightly, then serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

My favorite parts: the crispy, gooey edge bits 

and when the whipped cream melts into the warm crisp just right


Do you ever read that little box on my sidebar over there -->
Labeled "Daily Inspirations.  Quotes Amie Likes"?
It is a fun box that rotates a new famous quote with each push of the refresh button.

Well I love looking at it and being inspired throughout my day.  Just as I was writing this entry I saw a quote that really struck to me for it was so fitting to my beautiful friends Bonnie and Dawn.....

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." —Anaïs Nin

I love you my sweet friends.

Apple Cream Cheese Quick Bread

Do you love cheese danishes as much as we do?!  If so, then you will LOVE this recipe! It is a quick bread (think simple and easy!) But has all the amazing flavors of a cheese danish, minus the extra work involved. And with the addition of grated apples you get the tangy sweetness of the fruit as well.

I made a loaf last night and already over half of our bread is gone! Jackson can't keep his little hands out of it. Last night while I was slicing, he kept sneaking little bites and this morning he says to me "Mommy, can I have a piece of your bread now and another piece at breakfast? I love it!" Now, mind you this was just at 7:30am while I was in the middle of scrambling his egg for breakfast.  I guess it is a winner! We even bought more apples today to make more this weekend. Yeah, it's that good.

Just be sure to grease and flour your pans really, really well. As you will see in the pictures, parts of my crust stuck to the pan.  Jackson told me that it was ok, he would just eat those good bitzky bites for me that stuck. Good thing I don't have finicky eaters in this house :)  I apologize for the not so beautiful pictures, but you get the point.  We were all too much in a hurry to eat!

Apple Cream Cheese Bread
recipe courtesy of Tomato Kumato

for the apple cake
2 apples
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg

for the cream cheese swirled topping
6 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grate the apples (skin and all) into a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, cup of sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix well to combine. Without mixing, add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the wet, and pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Combine the cream cheese, sugar and egg with a fork. Pour over the top of the batter, and use a knife to swirl the two layers together.

Bake loosely covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue to bake an additional 15-20 minutes (mine took at least 20 additional minutes, and I have an oven that runs hot), until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. Allow to cool fully before slicing.  This is very important.  I know it will be tempting to cut into it right away, but the bread needs to set up some, otherwise it will fall apart if sliced too soon.

Here is close-up of all that wonderful swirly goodness.  Caramelized sugar, cinnamon, sweetened cream cheese, bits of apple......

One Fish Two Fish Cupcakes

This past Saturday we celebrated my (not-so baby) boys 1st birthday party.  And oh my, what fun it was!! There was lots of great food provided by everyone, wonderful company and LOTS of laughs!  We sure have some silly kids (and adults!) in this family!  Owen got into the full spirit of things and completely smashed his smash cake.  It was unbelievable how excited and into it he got!  When Jackson turned one, we had to take his hand and smash it into his cake for him- NOT OWEN!  The moment it was put onto his tray his hand went right in it and it was craziness from then on!  He knew exactly what to do and HE. WAS. A. MESS!  But boy, did he have fun.  And so did we- it is just what you want your one year old to do with a smash cake, it was hilarious.

When coming up with decorations, what originally started out as just a "fishy" themed birthday slowly morphed into a Dr. Seuss Birthday Party.  I wanted to keep the cost down and realized we owned tons of books that would work awesome as decorations- they are colorful, silly and encouraged people to pick them up and read.

I used some of my drawing skills and hand drew the rest of the pictures to hang around the house.  What resulted was a party that was super inexpensive and such fun!  Perfect for our joyful Owen.

After the fun I had decorating my owl and bat cupcakes for Halloween, I knew I wanted to do another fun cupcake for Owen's party.  Since I was focusing on the decorating, I made things easy on myself and just used a boxed yellow cake for the cupcake's.  If you happen to have a great cupcake recipe, please send it my way! But this worked great for me, and everyone seemed to enjoy them.  For the first time I used a soft gel paste food coloring to dye my frosting. It was a recommendation of my cake lady down the street, and she was right!  This stuff is awesome.  It only took a little bit to achieve such a great blue color (and it didn't dye peoples lips and tongue!)  After mixing the food coloring into the frosting, I spooned it into a gallon-sized ziplock bag and snipped the tip.  This worked perfect as my pastry bag since I don't own one of those fancy things.

Starting on the outside edge of the (completely cooled) cupcakes, I slowly piped the icing in a circular motion, working my way to the center.  I wanted to achieve a sort of "water and wave" appearance, so I wasn't concerned about the pipping to look perfectly even.  Then I sprinkled them lightly with blue sugar crystals and placed different colored goldfish crackers jumping in and out of the "waves".  Next I added white pearl candies to create the look of the fishes air bubbles.  And there you have it, One Fish Two Fish Cupcakes :)  Pretty fun if you ask me!

I knew they would look cute- but at first I wasn't sure how the goldfish crackers would taste on top of the cupcakes, but they were actually delicious together!  They gave a nice crunch, texture is always a good thing, and also a very light salt flavor to the already sweet cupcakes.  It made a nice combo.

One Fish Two Fish Cupcakes
makes 24 traditional-sized cupcakes (or 12 trad. and 24 mini, or 48 mini)

1 box yellow cake mix (or a batch of your favorite yellow cake), prepare as directed for cupcakes
24 large cupcake liners (I used 12 large and 24 mini)
1 tub white frosting (or a batch of your favorite white frosting)
blue food coloring, I highly recommend AmeriColor
1 bag of mini goldfish crackers
blue sugar crystals
mini pearl candies (look in your local cake supply store)

Prepare cupcake batter as directed on the back of the box, filling the cupcake liners 3/4 the way full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Please note, mini cupcakes will take a much shorter amount of time, so please keep watch!  Remove from cupcake pan and allow to cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack before frosting them.

While you are waiting for the cupcakes to cool, dye frosting by adding a few drops of food coloring at a time until you get the desired color.  Mix well.  Spoon frosting into a pastry bag, or a gallon-sized ziplock bag and snip the end.  Carefully push all the frosting down to the snipped end of the bag to create a nice tube of frosting.  Once the cupcakes are cool, gently and slowly squeeze the frosting out of the bag onto the cupcakes in a circular motion, working from the outside in creating little peaks of frosting.

Next lightly sprinkle the cupcakes with the blue sugar crystals, place the goldfish crackers in the "waves" you just created in the blue frosting and then in a zig-zag pattern arrange the white pearled candies to create the air bubbles.

And there you have it- Fish Cupcakes!


I linked up on Sweets for a Saturday #45!

Owl and Bat Cupcakes

Halloween is such a fun holiday.  I'm not so into the scary, creepy and gross side of things.  But I do love to dress up, taking the Littles out Trick or Treating and of course the fun party at my sister's afterwards.  There is always great "spooky" food (think Mac a Boney and Cheese, Ghoulash, Eyeballs- deviled eggs with olives, etc.).  This year I was incharge of dessert. Yum!

My little family all dressed up and ready to get our Trick or Treat on.

I decided to go as a 1950's Housewife, not much of a stretch, huh?!

Our Crew:

My sister the witch, her husband the Inmate, their two devilish daughters and baby Lion.  

My husband the um, OSU tailgater (er, no costume, bummer!) his 1950's housewife and our great protector Thor and his trusty lizard.  

It was super chilly so we had to bundle up.  As a kid I always hated having to cover my costume with a coat.  Still do now!  

When I was put in charge of dessert I knew I had to make these adorable owl cupcakes that have been floating around blogland.  I am not sure who thought of it "first", probably Martha Stewart.... anyways they are so easy, no intimidating ingredients (i.e. fondant) and super duper kid friendly- I mean who doesn't love Oreo's and M&Ms?!!  I also threw together a bat because right now my Jackson is obsessed with super hero's.  I thought he would get a kick out of a few of them mixed in.  And goodness was I right.  When he got home from preschool and eyed the cupcakes he points at the bat and says "Mommy, this is amazing!"  Right then and there I knew I just went up a few notches on the cool ladder....


Sure I made these for Halloween, but they would totally be cute for birthday parties (animal, woodland, super hero, etc.) as well.

Owl and Bat Cupcakes

for the cupcakes: 
1 box devils food cake (or your favorite cake mix)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
18-24 cupcake liners

Prepare cupcakes according to box directions.  Allow to cool completely before decorating.

for the decorations: 
1 large package of Oreo cookies (You won't need them all, but it takes some practice to cut them.  You'll want extra)
1 bag of M&Ms (You only need the brown and the yellow, the rest is for you to snack on while baking) 1 toothpick
1 tub of your favorite chocolate frosting, homemade or store-bought
1 icing pen (I accidently bought a gel pen, but I kinda like how the details are subtle on the bats)

Smooth the chocolate frosting over the surface of the cupcakes.  Set aside.

To make the Owls:
Separate the Oreo cookies, keeping the white frosting intact.  These will be your eyes.  I found that giving them a gentle twist released them pretty well.  Have a butter knife on hand incase some frosting sticks to the opposite side.  It scraps off pretty neatly.  Then just press it back down where it goes and smooth out the crack with the knife or a finger.  Use your butter knife to very gently scrape the tops of the white frosting to remove the  brown cookie residue getting them as white as possible.  Gently press a brown M&M on the white frosting to make the iris of the eye.  If the frosting cracks a little just smooth it with your finger or the blunt edge of the knife.  If you run out of brown M&M's just use green or blue ones.  That would be cute too!  Set the eyes aside.

Now you want to cut the plain cookie tops in half to make the owls horns.  You can use a sharp knife, or what I found was that kitchen scissors worked nicely.  It is very difficult to cut the cookies in half without having one of the halves shatter.  No worries, you have a whole box right?!  (I used the imperfect ones to make the bat wings since I was trimming them up a bit with my scissors anyways.) Using your kitchen scissors, carefully clean up the edges to get the halves nice and smooth.  This was really easy to do.  I couldn't believe how will the scissors worked for this.

Now go get your cupcakes.  It is time to assemble!  I slightly smoothed out a flat section where the "eyes" were going to go to to give them a bit of support so they would sit somewhat nicely.  I thought they were going to slide off, but they surprisingly stuck rather well.  Now take two "horns".  On a slight angle, stick a point into the cupcake above-behind the eye.  Do this with both halves.  Take a little dollop of frosting and put it on the cupcake behind the horns to give them a little support so they don't fall over.  Take another little dollop of frosting and put it between the eyes below the horns to give a little "hair".  Take a toothpick and use it to make little points in the frosting creating the "hair".  Do the same thing with the toothpick over the surface of the rest of the cupcakes making them look a little fuzzy and cute.

Next take a yellow M&M, turn it up on its side and stick it in the cupcake between the eyes.  This is your beak.

Ta-da!  You just made an owl!

To make the Bats:
There are two options for the bat wings.  1)You can smooth out your cut Oreo cookie halves to make nice clean edges and sharp points like you did for the owl's horns.  2)Or you can carefully cut little points in the flat side to create the points on the bat wings.  If you don't cut the points, that is fine, just draw them in with the icing/gel pen.  If you want to go with option 1, using your kitchen scissors make small "v" shaped cuts on the flat edge of the cookie half.  I found it pretty easy to do.

Once cut, using the gel pen draw the shape of the bat wing on the decorative side of the cookie.  Carefully on an angle stick the corner of the bat wing just off center into the middle of the cupcake.  Do this again with the other side.

On the brown M&Ms, gently draw two small dots to make the eyes.  Place the "head" in between the bat wings.

And there you go- you just made a bat!

I linked up on Sweets For a Saturday #43. Come find some other delicious sweet things :)

Fridays, Feasting With Friends- Featuring Michelle Venorsky

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'

Michelle Venorsky

I am so, so excited about today's guest!  Michelle is the talented blogger and food writer to the amazing site Cleveland Foodie.  Started back in 2006, Cleveland Foodie is a blog dedicated to the talented chefs and growing food scene right here in Cleveland, OH. She is hands-down the go-to when seeking out the best places to dine here at home.  Like most Clevelanders, she is passionate about our wonderful city and excited of all that we have to offer in our culinary scene.

Right around the time Michelle started writing Cleveland Foodie, I had just moved back to Cleveland after calling Cambridge, MA home for several years.  Although I was born and raised here, with being gone for so long I almost felt like a stranger in my hometown.  So much had changed since I lived here last and I needed a refresher course in where to go, what to do, and of course- where to eat!  After just a little googling around, I stumbled across Michelle's blog and I think I read the entire thing from start to finish in one night!  I couldn't stop!  Here was exactly the information I was longing for.  And the best news- while I was away Cleveland turned into a fantastic culinary scene.  I was so excited and inspired to be back home.  Cleveland Foodie was the very first blog I ever religiously followed and don't ever plan on stopping!  Thank you Michelle for your BIG heart in this amazing little city, your wonderful way with words and giving all of us such a gift in your lovely blog.  You are an inspiration.

What is your favorite thing to cook?
I’m not sure if I have a particular favorite. We cook a lot. And I like to experiment and make all sorts of things. As long as I have a recipe handy, I’ll try it. I love making pancakes on the weekend with my toddler and dancing like silly in the kitchen to braised short ribs when it’s cold outside because it’s such a long, glorious process and the house smells all kinds of wonderful.

How about your least favorite thing to cook?
Fish still makes me nervous. I love fish, and with the exception of salmon, always tend to overcook or mess it up. Not sure why as I know it’s fairly easy to make.

What is your favorite local restaurant and what is one you are dying to try out?
I don’t really have a favorite per se. When people ask me this – I say favorite for what? We truly are a lucky bunch here and there’s no need to pick just one! But there are some we tend to frequent more, and those include: Greenhouse Tavern, Momocho, Fahrenheit, B Spot (my go-to this pregnancy), Vine & Bean, Umami, Sun Luck Garden and L’Albatros (cheese, glorious cheese!).

Music and food go together so beautifully. You are hosting a dinner party, what would be on your playlist?
I couldn’t agree more! It depends on the crowd, theme, etc. But for a recent dinner party of sorts we had, here were my favorite songs on the mix I made: Sha la la (Al Green); One More Saturday Night (Grateful Dead); Surrender (Cheap Trick); Mess Around (Ray Charles); El Cuarto de Tula (Buena Vista Social Club); I am Mine (Pearl Jam); Little Lion Man (Mumford & Sons); Iron Lion Zion (Bob Marley); Driver 8 (R.E.M).

What would you choose to be your last meal on earth?
I’d like a little bit of all my favorite foods and to be surrounded by an endless pour of cabernet joined by my husband, family and closest friends. Short ribs from Crush in Seattle, buccatini all’ amatriciana from the old Battuto in Little Italy, king crab legs, a clambake and plenty of stinky, creamy cheese to top it all off!

What are you currently reading? Potty training books!

What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget? Immersion blender.

Do you have a signature go-to dish?
Two apps I tend to make a lot. The dates from Avec (my favorite restaurant in Chicago) and Mario Batali’s chickpea bruschetta from Babbo in NYC. Everyone gets this upon sitting down – it’s so easy and so fantastic! And everyone should dine at both these places!  (please click for the wonderful recipes!)

What is your favorite thing about the Cleveland area?
There’s so much about this city I love! I choose to call Cleveland home. Both my husband and I have had numerous opportunities through the years to take jobs in LA, Chicago and NYC and never gave it more than a second’s thought. The people closest to me are here. I love the weather (yes – I’m serious!). Cost of living. Great neighborhoods and history. The people. The spirit. The belief that we can do anything. The belief that the Brown’s will win it all (and we will!). The food, of course. And that it’s home. Everywhere I go, there’s a memory or a new one to be made. And for all of this, I can’t imagine raising my kids anywhere else.

Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you cook it today?
My mom was (is) an amazing cook. We never had processed crap or take out anything. She cooked every night and those consistent dinners around the kitchen table are some of my favorite memories growing up. She didn’t make anything too crazy – it was always Italian, or had an Italian spin to it. I loved everything she made. But my favorite memories were coming off the school bus during the winter, opening the door and smelling her scratch chicken soup. Best. Smell. Ever.

Top 3 Movies of all time?
It’s a Wonderful Life. Rocky 1 (I’m Italian – I think it’s sacrilegious not to name this one). Back to the Future.

What was your happiest moment in life?
Impossible to pick one. Marrying my husband, Jamie. The most amazing man, husband, friend and father. He always jokes and asks me what it’s like to win the lottery. But as corny as it sounds, that’s how I feel.

And the day our daughter, Natalie, was born. And in just a few weeks, we’ll have that same feeling again as we wait for the arrival of our second daughter. Every day is fantastic. I truly feel blessed – through the good times and bad. Life is good what’s not to be happy about?

Where do you do your grocery shopping?
Heinen’s, Miles Farmer’s Market, Whole Foods, West Side market and farmers’ markets. Though you can find me at the first two practically daily.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
Ok – I realize this will gross many people out – but I love Miracle Whip! I know, I know – it’s not even food. But I can’t stand mayo and this stuff is just great.

Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year?
Get my knives sharpened – I’m so behind.

One word that best describes you is: My word: Passionate. 

Others word: Stubborn.

And now for your recipe:
Right now, I am addicted to making strawberry rhubarb pie. I just attempted my first one last month and have made several since. The rhubarb from The Chef’s Garden is out of this world good! And I’m hoping by this weekend, I’ll have enough strawberries from our garden to make another. The recipe I’ve been following is from Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/strawberry-rhubarb-pie/

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Lattice-Topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Recipe taken from Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 1997
Serves 8

For crust
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
10 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Make crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. [Alternately, you can use a pastry cutter to make your dough, as I did.] Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.)

Make filling: Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.

Assemble Pie: Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish [er, I used a metal one and it was just fine]. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.

Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about another 25 minutes. [The original recipe suggested a total baking time of 1 hour and 55 minutes. No joke. Mine was done in just shy of an hour.] Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Un-fried, "Fried" Ice Cream

I got together with the girls last week for another yummy dinner.  Mexican was the menu and I was in charge of dessert this time.  I had fried ice cream for the very first time not too long ago at a fantastic restaurant here in Cleveland called Momocho.  It is crispy, sweet, and although fried, the ice cream is still super cold and totally frozen.  It's a fun concept!  I wanted to try recreating the dessert tonight, but thought maybe I could make something similar without the added fat that frying would give.  I found this recipe at Christie Jordan's blog, Southern Plate.  It was so yummy and couldn't be easier!  We all loved the sweet and crunchy cereal topping paired with the french vanilla ice cream.  I totally sprinkled extra cruchies on my ice cream once I ate the rest off- it was the best part!  

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Unfried Fried Ice Cream
from Southern Plate

Container Vanilla Ice cream
3 Cups Honey and Oats Cereal*
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoons cinnamon

Scoop frozen ice cream out onto waxed paper lined baking sheets and place in freezer for at least an hour, or until hardened.

During that time, place cereal in gallon zipper bag and crush. Melt butter in microwave and stir in sugar and cinnamon, pour into bag with cereal and seal. Knead with hands until well mixed. Pour out onto lined baking sheet and place in oven at 350 just until toasted, about five minutes. Keep close watch as cereal will burn easily. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Roll hardened ice cream balls in mixture, pressing lightly as you do so. Place coated ice cream in 9×13 dish and return to freezer or serve immediately.

For serving, drizzle with honey and top with whipped cream and a cherry.

*Can also use corn flakes or cereal of your choice. Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc.
Yields about ten scoops of ice cream.

Soft and Chewy Trail Mix Cookies

What an exciting weekend this past one was!  Early Saturday morning my beautiful sister gave birth to my very first nephew!  As with many births, especially those that begin with an induction, was a very long process.  Baby Neil was just so comfy in there he wasn't sure he was ready to come out.  So all day Friday and well into the early morning on Saturday my brother in law, my parents and I waited patiently for his grand arrival at the hospital.  Lots of magazines, chit chat, fidgeting and of course bad vending machine food helped pass the time.  I tried to make a good decision, but after 10 hours of hospital lighting it was increasingly difficult.  There were these cookies by Sunmade that sounded super yummy. They were Trail Mix Cookies, crunchy little cookies full of all the great stuff you would find  in a bag of trail mix.  Although they tasted great, they were anything but healthy.  So once I got home I was determined to recreate these guys in a more healthful way.

These cookies are pretty healthy, replacing the fat with applesauce, using only egg whites and full of lots of stuff to bump up your energy level but also satisfy those mid-day cravings.  They remind me a ton of a granola bar, but the nice thing is that they are small so there isn't a big commitment that a whole bar has.  You get to eat a cookie and not feel too bad afterwards.  Nice trade off!

I think I will be playing around with the recipe, replacing some of the brown sugar with white sugar to give more of the "crunch" that I like in a cookie.  But this recipe is definitely a keeper.

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Soft and Chewy Trail Mix Cookies
makes 3 dozen cookies
recipe adapted from allrecipes

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with silpats, parchment paper or grease with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat applesauce, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites until they are frothy and begin to firm up. Fold egg whites into applesauce mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoons on prepared baking sheets.  These cookies don't spread out at all remaining in a mound after baking.  If you would rather have a flatter cookie, press down lightly with greased finger tips.

Bake cookies in preheated oven until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool.

I linked up!