Food TV

With the holiday season fast approaching our hearts and minds turn to those less fortunate than ourselves. Sounds cliche, I know, but in the best of worlds it is true. Fans of the Food Network are probably aware of their current work with Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength is an organization dedicated to prevention of childhood hunger in America. Food Network is proud to be the national television sponsor of Share Our Strength. Look for your favorite Food Network Stars doing commercials and events for Share Our Strength.

Having said that, our favorite stars also have charities that they love and donate to on their own. I’d like to tell you a little about those too.

First of all, Alton Brown. In case you all haven’t figured it out by now, Alton is my favorite Food Network Star. It doesn’t hurt that he’s adorable and geeky in a super funny and smart kind of way. Add to that, his pet charity is one of my favorites too, and he is very nearly the perfect man… (Second to Hubby of course…) The charity of which I speak is Heifer International. Heifer International is working to rid the world of hunger following the old adage, give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. When you donate to Heifer international you buy a hungry or needy family a piece of livestock, a cow, a pig, a sheep, and not only does the organization give that animal to them, it teaches them to breed, care for, and recieve nourishment from, these animals… They also have programs that teach about agriculture, planting food, and getting those that live in cities to become closer to their food sources. Also, they acknowledge the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is spreading across the world and have included AIDS Prevention and Awareness Programs… All around an amazing charity!!!

Rachael Ray, has currently been working with City Harvest, and has recently donated two tickets to her daytime tv show to City Harvest’s 25th anniversary bid against hunger auction night. The tickets were won for an astounding $18,000 each!!! However Rachael also has here own charity, called Yum-o! In this day and age of fast food and meals on the go, Yum-O works to help families lears to cook together, building relationships over mealtimes. They also work to prevent childhod hunger (do we see a theme here yet?) On top of all of that they fund cooking education and scholarships.

Emeril also has his own charitable foundation, called, shockingly enough, the Emeril Legasse Foundation. Established in 2002 Emeril’s foundation is dedicated to “inspire, mentor, and enable our future.” The funds raised by his organization are in turn granted to other charities, childrens organizations that have something to do with food or hunger prevention…

If you would care to donate or help with any of the above charities, just click on the links and they will direct you to the site!!!

Also, to all of you lurkers out there, I am extending an invitation. Please, comment here what you would like to read about. Whether it be a specific show, or a particular personality… Any recipes that you’re just dying to have… Anything that you would like to see me write about. Once each week, I promise to take one of your suggestions and blog it, but I can’t do it if I do’t get your suggestions!!!

Remember this week, no mater how bad your life is, somebody has it worse. Donate time or money to the charity of YOUR choice today, whether it be one of the above or something totally different. I’m sure it will make you feel better!!!

I always seem to forget how much I enjoy watching Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello. The show is well made and informative, but for some reason every time I see it on the guide on my TV is skip over it. I have set my DVR to remember it for me. Watching his Halloween episode, I remembered why I liked watching the show so much. He gives information not only on what food to make for parties, but the format is one of, 5 days in advance do this, 4 days in advance do that, etc… This is really helpful to those folks that watch the show with the intention of actually entertaining. I very often make everything for a party the day before of the day of, because I’m just not sure what is going to stay tasty and fresh, or for how long…

For his Halloween episode he made peanut butter cups, that looked fantastic, except for the slice of dried banana on top. I’m all for peanut butter and bananas, but dried banana slices are a bit much in my opinion… The textures don’t seem as though they would mesh well for me. He also made a poached Garlic Soup that looked so yummy that I think I’m going to be making it in the next couple weeks sometime… mmmm soooouuuupppp… Of course before I do that I’ll still have to buy an immersion blender. heehee… There were some awesome tips in the show, including how to cut graham crackers with a cookie cutter without breaking the crackers. (The secret is to microwave to crackers for a few seconds to soften them up first…) I think my favorite little trick though was the Vampire Punch with Body Part ice cubes. I’ve seen folks use latek gloves to make hands in the past, but the plastic Halloween mask to make the face was a nice touch… oooh, and the Slimedoo Fondue was very gooey and yummy looking too!!! All in all, it was a fun show. One of the main reasons I love the Food Network in the Holiday Season…

That’s right, I was so frustrated that I couldn’t find a single photo of AB’s new tattoo, that he got on the season finale of Feasting on Asphalt, that I wrote to the artist. And he wrote me back… With his permission I have his photo of that tattoo. As far as I can tell, this is the first copy of this photo anywhere on the internet!!! And isn’t it an awesome tattoo? I told you, didn’t I? I believe that the artistry and detail work on this tattoo is amazing and beautiful.

Well, Nic, being a wonderful (and might I add, patient) man, not only sent me this amazing picture to use, he also agreed to an interview with me. So, this being my very first interview ever, I made a few mistakes. Most notably of which was trying to set it up on IM, and then realizing that my IM doesn’t really work at home. Thank you very much $40 Wal-Mart wireless router… So rather than the lively conversation I was hoping for, I sent him some questions, and he sent me his responses. Here they are now, along with some of my thoughts after reading his answers…

Tell me a little about you… How long have you been tattooing? Are you married? Any Kids?

I have been tattooing for 16 and a half years, as long as I have been with my wife, we have been married for 15 years. We are both 36, we have 2 children a boy and a girl. This answer seems kind of dry, sorry, I cant think of anything to spice it up, I am kind of a white picket fence guy. I work, and go home and I coach soccer and volunteer at my daughters school, and I own a tattoo shop.

Actually, I don’t think this to be dry at all. As a matter of fact, I think it’s a great way to show the general public that tattoo artists are people too. They are husbands and wives, and soccer coaches. Really just like the rest of us, making a living, and hopefully having fun while they’re doing it…

What is your favorite of all of the tattoos that you have done?

That is a hard question, as I am fortunate to do lots of REALLY fun tattoos, so it would be hard to have a favorite, as the new fav’s supplant the old ones, but are still favorites one and all… does that make any sense? I realistically do a true favorite every couple months.

It seems like you truly love your job. If only everyone in this world could be that happy!!!

What are your hobbies?
I work out (which is what I am gonna do right after I am done with this!), I run (marathons!), I play video games, I paint and draw, I hang out with my kids and wife, and go scuba diving.

Wow! You’re a busy guy…

Are you a Food Network fan?
Yes, though not as big of a fan as my wife and son are! They love Iron Chef.

Well, who doesn’t?

What is your favorite show on the network?

Probably the original Iron Chef, I saw it in San Francisco like 11 years ago and loved the concept and program ever since.

I was a fan of the original Iron Chef as well, although I must say I like the American version much better. The secret ingredient in the original almost always grossed me out, and the dialogue of the judges seemed a bit cheesy. Mostly due to the dubbing of the voices, the overlays were always a little over the top for my taste…

Have you seen Feasting on Asphalt, before Alton Brown came to your shop?

No, but my wife and son love his other shows and were stoked when I told them he was at our shop. I had seen him a couple other times on Good Eats and Iron Chef America.

Of all of his shows I think Good Eats is my favorite…

Did you recognize him right away?

Yes, he is unmistakable

What was he like?

He was super nice and respectful, it was amazing considering they had been on the road for like a month at that point (I think it was that long, maybe just a couple weeks). His personality was pretty much the same or similar to the guy you see on TV.

That is so fantastic to hear. So often these days we hear that our favorite stars are jerks in real life. I’m glad that he really is what he seems to be…

His coming up to the shop was very spur of the moment in the show, was it actually? Or did he have an appointment?

It was totally spur of the moment and had us scrambling to open up space to get him in! They called a couple hours before they were coming down, but I am usually booked 5 months ahead of time so it was a little stressful, but worth it, for sure!

Who thought of the design, him or you?

He thought of the design, I drew it up.

Is there anything else you would like me to include?

Not that I can think of. It was a great experience and has been really fun running into people I know who have seen the show on TV. I wish I have been able to engage him more during the tattoo with cooking talk, but I am not much of a cook (though I can grill with the best of them!)

Thanks so much for your time Nic, I really appreciate it, hopefully I will be able to get a better wireless router before my next interview… heehee… You are awesome, and I really appreciate you sharing your art with us.

And to my readers in the Twin Cities area, when you want your next, (or first…) tattoo, be sure to get in touch with Nic, and the folks over at Uptown Tattoo. From the looks of what he’s done to our favorite food geek, it’s totally worth the wait for his next appointment!!!

Amy Finley, otherwise known as the season 3 Next Food Network Star, is finally on the air in her shw The Gourmet Next Door. I loved Amy on NFNS, and actually cheered when she won. So I was super excited to see this show on the Food Network today. For a first episode it was good, not great but good. The food looked tasty, and the dessert sounded especially yummy. I wouldn’t call the triple layer “Mocha Ice Cream Terrine” gourmet, but I would certainly make it, for a birthday party or something.

The biggest issue I had with it was the appearance. Gourmet food looks gorgeous, and most of all, finished. The use of plastic wrap to aid in getting the ice cream out of the loaf pan was practical, but not pretty. The wrinkles that were imbedded in the surface of the ice cream treat made it look… unfinished. If I were her, I would have covered the whole thing in nuts or cocoa powder or something to make it a little more polished. All in all though, not a bad show at all, and I will certainly watch again!!!

A scant 90 minutes before the third episode of the Next Iron Chef, I am finally sitting down to review the second one. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the episode, as a matter of fact I thought that the challenges were very telling of the type of chef’s that we are dealing with.

In the first challenge the Chairman stated that a great meal always begins with a single bite. He then instructed the potentials to put every thing that they are about in a dish that was only one bite. Just as Alton Brown was about to let everyone go to the ingredients he got a phone call. The contestants were to make 6 plates of their one bite dishes. And then it began. There was a flurry of ingredients and tools everywhere. All to soon AB was counting down the seconds, and all of the chef’s had plated 6 beautiful, tiny dishes. All that is, except one. Chef Sanchez continued messing with his plates long after time up was called, and even then, only had one dish actually plated. His confusion? He thought they would be able to plate later as they seem to do on the other challenges. Now, I would allow this, except for a couple things… First of all every other chef understood perfectly well what they were supposed to do. The rules were in no way unclear. Second of all, this is not the first time. In only two episodes, and three challenges, we have seen Chef Sanchez continue on his dishes after time up is called twice. He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of a time limit, and that irritates me beyond belief. I am a strong believer in rules when it comes to competition, and I think he should be eliminated out an out if it happens again. He hasn’t been strongly cautioned by AB yet, but I think it’s coming. I hope so anyway!!!

Once we finish listening to his little temper tantrum about how he doesn’t think it’s fair that he can’t finish, we find out why they were making six dishes in the first place. In this challenge, titled Simplicity, they are judging each other. After they have tasted each others dishes, each is to votre for the one they thing expressed themselves wholly, in one single bite. Chef Sanchez, of course, cannot win this challenge. Having only completed one dish it’s mathematically impossible. However his bite was eaten by Chef Besh, who says it’s a good thing he didn’t finish all the plates… Chef Symon, however, is voted by his peers to be the winner.

We return from the commercial to fabulous Kitchen 5 which is just chock full of strange and wonderful kitchen implements. Things that even these world class chef’s had never seen. As well as jars and jars of chemicals. Things like xanthan gum, and methocellulose. You know, all those things on the back of so many ingredient lists that most of us are clueless about. Who knew that people actually cooked with that stuff? And liquid nitrogen for goodness’ sake!!! The tools were just ans interesting and innovative. As a matter of fact the challenge associated with them? Innovation. There is first 90 minutes of learning how to use the ingredients and tools like the vacuum sealer, smoker, and a clever device called an Anti-Griddle. Like a griddle, except instead of super hot, it runs at minus 30 degrees and freezes liquids into cute little patties very quickly. Then is the actual challenge. The chef’s are to create dishes using at least 2 chemicals, and at least 3 devices. Chef Symon gets his very own kitchen station fully stocked as well as the chance to raid the buffet before everyone else. Chef Davie seems to have fallen in love with the liquid nitrogen, and made a strange dish she called the freezo-frito, in which she nitrogen froze some slices of citrus fruit, and some other random stuff, and topped it with some ugly brown fried thing. It was certainly innovative, but she missed the point that it has to be both innovative AND edible… oooooohhh…edible too you say?

The masterpiece of the evening was Chef Cosentino’s Razor Clams with Saoir “shaving cream”. Innovative, witty, tasty, all around a winner. Which is why he won!!! I am going to make an early prediction here and say that our next Iron Chef America is going to be Chef Cosentino. He has an excellent attitude, and is quite comfortable using the strange array of ingredients that we often find to be the secret ingredient. The loser of the evening was of course Chef Jill Davie, who while very nice, just couldn’t quite get it… I look forward to seeing episode 3: Resourcefulness. And I promise the review of that will come BEFORE next Sunday…

Is there anything sexier than a man, just off a long loooonnnng motorcycle trip, that gets a cup of strong black coffee, followed up by a tattoo? This is what we saw on the season finale of Feasting on Asphalt.

Alton Brown spent his second season with his crew on bikes of the highest quality, traveling the country finding good food, and better people. Award winning fiction writers could not create the characters he encounters on the back roads of our beautiful country… This season they traveled up the Mighty Mississippi, beginning at the southernmost point and making their way northward. While the first few episodes of the season, (to me at least) seemed repetitive, it was nonetheless interesting. Perhaps I just don’t really care for the whole cajun style of cooking, so encountering 3 episodes of crawfish heads and jambalaya, wasn’t really appealing to me. We finished strong in Minnesota though, where we encountered vikings and a real live smorgasbord. And if you’re wondering what the difference between a buffet and a smorgasbord is… well don’t ask me, I’m still not sure. It seems, that it perhaps has to have something hot, somethign cold and something pickled. Or maybe it just has to have a potato dish. Or maybe it just has to have a large variety of Scandanavian dishes. Or maybe all three of the above are true. All I know is it looks yummy!!!

And just before they arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi, at Itasca Lake, AB hit Uptown Tattoo in beautiful Minneapolis, Mn. There he got a fantastic skull tattoo, with a knife an fork crossed through it, and a banner, proclaiming MMVII to commemorate the year of the trip. I have a note in to Uptown Tattoo right now to get a picture of that tattoo, and I hope to be able to put it up for you soon.

By the way, I have two favorite new blogs here at 451 Press!!! Read the most recent entries for Pushing Daisies, and the Hogwarts Herald!!!

So it seems to be reruns of Good Eats this week. I DVR pretty much every episode, because I have a sick, SICK fascination with Alton Brown. He is very possibly my favorite F.N. personality. So today I watched every episode I DVR’d this week, and it looks like most of them were from Season One. This is a good thing for me because I never saw the first season.
In the Behind the scenes episode of Good Eats, A.B. explained that the first episodes of Good Eats were actually filmed in a home kitchen. Eventually they had to get an actual soundstage and set, but those first episodes were indeed in somebody’s house. I didn’t think I would ever notice, but watching those first episodes I was struck by two things…

1) Boy does A.B. look young!!! He looks more like his nephew that makes so many appearances these days, than he does himself. Now for the most part, I must say I am a greater fan of his current look, but it was shocking to see how much he has changed in the last few years.
2) The sound quality of that first season is not the greatest. It really was a very amatuer show in the beginning. And I don’t say that in a negative way. Rather I say it in astonishment that it has come as far as it has. With the television industry being what it is, and awesome show’s like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip being canceled in less than 2 seasons, it does my heart good to see that Good Eats has made it as far as it has.

In the Pantry Raid episode we saw A.B. go into a pasta factory and talk to an actual pasta maker. While they were recording the gentleman was tossing instructions to his staff, and the machinery of the factory was nearly overpowering their conversation. And yet it was fascinating. It was the stuff you rarely see anymore. In Let Them Eat Foam, we learned about Angel Food Cake, and I saw how much A.B. has grown as a narrator of his show.

I also saw This Spud’s for You, parts One and Two. Well nobody loves potatoes more than I do, so I loved the different recipe’s and ideas in the shows. But I also really loved the contrast between the two episodes. The first being another from that first season, when the show was … not polished … The second, being one of the most fun, if not strangest stories that I have seen on the show. Along the lines of Stephen King’s Misery, the show followed a bedraggled Alton who found himself in the clutches of his Number One Fan, who happened to be dating a potato farmer. She keeps him captive, making him help her make him meal after meal.

The first season of this show has very few of these mini stories, while somewhere along the line, we got an entire episode that was a story… These days we have a fantastic mixture of the two. Each show has a theme, with several short sketchs, and a lot of time in the kitchen. A cavalcade of strange characters populate the kitchen of Good Eats these days, but we love them all. I think they found a balance that makes the show damn neat perfect. I hope that it shows for many years to come…

Today was my day off. These days are great, because Hubby is working, the folks are off gallavanting around, or sleeping, and it’s just me, my Little Dude and my TV. Of course, for the most part, that TV is on the Food Network. I sometimes wonder if I make that poor boy watch too many people cooking, but I don’t really think it’s possible to watch too much food… heehee… Anyway, somewhere between Sandra Lee, the Barefoot Contessa, Paula Deen, and Giada DiLaurentiis, I realized something. I would love to make all of the fabulous recipes I see them making, but there are a few things I’m missing.

You see, friends, I grew up in a household where “seasoning” consisted of salt and pepper, and I often ate the Mac&Cheese (boxed of course) out of the pot I made it in if I was the only one eating. Ah the joys of youth and not wanting to wash a bowl… Because of that, we didn’t have the fancy kitchen gadgets that others did. As a matter of fact the “fanciest” thing we had was a microwave, and I remember when we got our first one. This seems to be one of my major fascinations with the Food Network. They make things that I would love to eat, but could never really see myself making. I am this year though, I make a promise to you all right now that I am going to make every single recipe I post, and I will report to you how I liked it after I have eaten it. (By the way the Cupcakes were awesome!!!)

So looking into myself making that promise, I have to go shopping I think, because there are a bunch of things that they use in almost every show that I watch, that I just don’t have. A few that I didn’t even have a clue what they did until I saw them on the Food Network. Like the immersion blender. This is the handiest little thing in the world. Every time a Chef brings it out they say the exact same thing… “Well, you could do this with a regular blender, but this is so much easier.” And boy are they right. For the most part these immersion blenders are used in soups and other hot things that would not only be a huge pain in the butt to get into the blender, but they would also be very dangerous if spilled. The immersion blender gets you all the puree-ing goodness of a regular blender, with a lot less hassle. Yes I’ve definately got to get one of those.

And a food processor. I know, I know. Who, you ask, in this day and age doesn’t have a food processor? Well I don’t. I still grate my cheese by hand, and chop things with a knife. But I want one, badly. As well as a set of really nice knives. Hrm… what else do they have that I don’t? Well, pots and pans that go straight from stovetop to oven, those silicone pads that people bake and make hard candy on, a Silpat I think it’s called. A zester, a peppermill, and one of those funny little mesh colander type things that people sift powdered sugar and flour
through… Wow, looks like I have to hit the stores huh?

Well in the meantime I’m going to keep on with the tools that I do have, but I’d like for you to let me know something… What is the coolest little gadget that you have in your kitchen that you cannot do without? Maybe I’ll pick one of those up too!!!

By the way, one of our very own has been nominated for a Bloggers Choice Award! Stop by the Earthly Garden and see why…

And since that time of year is just around the corner, get some Pumpkin-y Tips here!!!

Duff. Mary Alice. Geoff. They have almost become household names.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Duff. It was (of course) Food Network Challenge. He was the first Chef I’d seen on the show using a sauldering iron. I got an instant crush on him. Any man, who can work with his hands and bake, well he’s a winner in my book. The cakes that he made each challenge were not only beautiful works of art, they were masterpieces that combined bits of technology with the cakes. While they didn’t always work, the effort to do something different is what amazed me.

Ace of Cakes is certainly something different. Here we get an inside look at Charm City Cakes and it’s eccentric crew of bakers and decorators. The kind of crew that will all go get tattoos together, and the kind of boss that will run down an ice cream truck at top speed, and get sundaes for everyone because it’s been a bad day. Every week we get to see these people go out of their minds a little bit more. And it’s fantastic. Although I must say Hubby and I have speculated a bit as to what goes on down in that basement besides band practice.

All in all it’s refreshing to see a group of real people running a real business. They have their snips and arguments, but they really seem to be family. We have seens huge successes, (Wrigley Field comes to mind). And we have seen catastrophes. Who can forget the Scottish Castle that ended up on the floor? But even with that, the crew came together and made the cake bigger, and better, and in less than six hours.

I am glad I get to spend time with Duff and the crew at Charm City Cakes every week. They make me smile, and who can ask for better than that?

By the way, I read this post today and it truly touched my heart, read here and show your support for Ellen and Iggy

Everybody loves the fast paced excitement of Iron Chef America. The talent and showmanship of the four people that hold the proud title Iron Chef cannot be denied. Food Network has decided to play up the success of the Next Food Network Star, by creating another Survivor style reality show. Finding one more chef to stand beside Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, Mario Batali, and Matsuhara Morimoto in Kitchen Stadium.

The first episode of Next Iron Chef was very good. It’s main focus was speed and artistry. Narrated by the versatile Food Network personality Alton Brown, the show was quick paced and intelligent. After having met our contestants, we got right into the competition.
The first of the two competitions showcased speed and skill. The contestants had a mere 15 minutes to de-bone a whole chicken, fillet a salmon, french a rack of lamb, husk 6 bivalves, get 2 cups of milk out of coconuts, and slice a piece of vegetation that I can’t quite place, nor remember the name of into four slices thin enough to read a newspaper through
The first group of four chefs managed to get through the challenge pretty well. Although Chef Cosentino, who brags that he is happy to cook with what most people are all to eager to throw away, completely ignored Alton Brown’s repeated hints that perhaps he should remove the bones and fins from the salmon that he filleted. When the second team came up, however, we were blown away by the speed and efficiency of Chef Morou. That is until he noticed that somewhere between the chicken, salmon, and lamb that he managed to get to within the first three minutes of the competition, he had sliced his finger open. He was bleeding all over the place. Still he was the first to finish the entire challenge, with quite a bit of time left to spare.
On the judging of the challenge we found that while Chef Morou may have been the fastest of the lot, he was not the most accurate. That honor, and the first “reward” of the series went to a competitor that until then I hadn’t really noticed. He cut cleanly and quickly and ended up with the full 75 points. A feat that not one of the other competitors accomplished. And that was Chef Aaron Sanchez.
For the second half of the show, the elimination challenge, the Chairman had a “sweet tooth”. Alton explained to the competitors that they were to make 2 world class desserts in 90 minutes. One a classic dessert of their choosing. The twist? They could not use, butter or sugar. And if they wanted cheese, they would have to make it themselves. The second dessert would be made of something savory. Chef Sanchez, having won the first challenge, got to choose first and decided on Duck Confit. The rest of the competitors made their choices, and Chef Cosentino surprised everyone by picking tripe. Even though he was only the third to choose, and there were plenty of other things on the table. Apparently he really means it when he says he will cook with anything! The chefs were then split into two groups once again and prepared their desserts. Although there were a few technical difficulties in the kitchen, probably due to the extraordinary amount of people and heat in there, everything went smoothly.
The judging was quick and painless. Chef Besh impressed with “Catfish Three Ways”. The catfish and grape truffle was the most astounding of the three. He also made a bread pudding with bananas foster, and the judges commented on how rich and tasty it was even though he did not use butter. He easily won, and chef Cosentino’s tripe was good enough to have him called back as well. Unfortunately Chef Des Jardins was not as good with her salmon roe, and was the first to be sent home. Perhaps because when asked if she did anything with the salmon roe, her response was a sharp “I rinsed it”.
Who will be the Next Iron Chef? I will be tuning in, and I hope you will too!!!

I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite time of year. Leaves are changing, or they would be if I lived in a place that had seasons, and the air is cooling. It’s the time of year when animals put on a second layer of fat, and humans do much the same. The best food of the year comes between October first and January first every year. After that it’s back to the same resolutions that we set every year, to lose that extra fat we gained over the holiday season. Dieting is not allowed in these cool autumn and early winter months, but good food and fun is.
The first part of this holiday season, is of course Halloween. And nobody celebrates Halloween like the Food Network. From Sandra Lee’s beautiful Semi-Homemade Masquerade Ball to the huge Food Network Halloween Party Hosted by Emeril every year, the yummy food and amazing costumes can’t be beat. It seems this is the time where we see more cupcakes, caramel corn, and creepy adult beverages, and I love it shamelessly. This year I have already watched Giada’s Halloween show,and it was excellent indeed. With orange and chocolate cookies, and some gorgeous almond brittle we couldn’t have asked for more tasty goodies. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Food Network stars have in store for us over the upcoming month, but I promise, I’ll keep you updated, with details, and my favorite recipes. Here’s one quick one that I love while you’re waiting… And hey, don’tbe afraid to let the kids help!!!

“Wicked Cupcakes”
(taken from the www.foodnetwork.com)
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cups prune juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
4-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 drop food coloring (green), optional

Chocolate wafer cookies
Licorice strips
Toasted coconut
Small candies

Special equipment: 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners

For the cupcakes: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Set liners in muffin cups.
Put the chocolate and prune juice in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on low power, stirring occasionally, until completely melted.
Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg and yolk with an electric hand mixer at high speed until slightly thick and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Slowly add buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Divide the batter among muffin tins, filling them 1/2 of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed gently, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes then remove from the tin and cool completely.

For the frosting: Beat the butter, peanut butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and milk mixing until the frosting is smooth. Add food coloring as desired. Refrigerate the frosting until firm.

To decorate the cakes: For the witches hat, score a circle in the middle of a cupcake. Cut a deep cone-like shape with a knife held at an angle. Rotate the cupcake to complete the circle and remove the center. Repeat with all the cupcakes. Generously scoop or pipe enough frosting into the center of each cupcake to fill the whole and to come over the cake to make a face. Top with a chocolate wafer cookie. Put a dot of frosting in the middle of the wafer cookie and invert the cone shaped piece of cake on top to make a witches hat. Use skinny licorice, toasted coconut or cereal flakes for hair and candies for eyes and/or nose. Refrigerate for up to 30 minutes before serving.