Vanilla Cupcakes, tried and true

This recipe I have tried out a few times, and as listed below makes a really nice birthday type cupcake.

Vanilla cupcakes
makes around 24 - 30
Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 zest of 1 lemon

Turn oven on to 375 degrees F.

Put butter in mixer and beat at medium speed until somewhat smooth. Pour in sugar and beat well. Add 2 eggs. Mix well. Add vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk. Beat until smooth and pour into individual baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full. (Note: Don't overfill, they puff up quite alot!)

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 24 - 30 cupcakes.

Optional raspberry Version:

Additional Ingredients
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/3 cup raspberry jam

For variety, try adding a thin layer of raspberry jam. Cream cheese frosting and decorate with fresh raspberries.

When filling the baking cups, add 1/3 batter, then a teaspoon-sized layer of jam, then the remaining 1/3 batter. *Note: Spread the jam (don't dollop, it will sink to the bottom).

Bake for approximately 20 minutes as stated above.

Ice with cream cheese frosting and decorate with fresh raspberries.

Hi again

Long time no post. I guess there's not so much to update. We're working quite a bit. Dan spent a month in Tampa helping them finish up the second simulator for that project we both worked on. He's spent many many hours on them so it's fitting.

I spent last month in Stolberg (missing him) but keeping very busy with work (at least it was productive). I'm pretty excited about the project I'm on now, we are just now getting the lab working well, coding at our desks, finishing off interfaces between software and hardware.

The weather has been not so pleasant, but not bad for winter. Doesn't matter so much because we haven't been traveling really. We'll get out to see some things when we have some company this year. It's nice to feel comfortable at home here now. I would say it takes a good six months to feel like your new place is home, foreign country or not.

Ciao for now.

Oh, and I do post more regularly at the KathyBou blog. It's more random over there though.

Biscotti, grown up cookies

So yeah, I know that biscotti just means cookie in Italian. But they seem much more sophisticated, especially the recipes with poppy seeds and ground almonds like the one Dan and I made this weekend. This was my first attempt at biscotti and it won't be my last. This cookie has depth, it's good but also interesting to eat at the same time.



Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients:

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup ground almonds
• ½ cup ground hazelnuts
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. finely grated orange or lemon zest
• 2 tbs. poppy seeds
  

• 8 tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature.
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
  

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F [325°F Convection].

Combine first group of ingredients well using wooden spoon OR with a mixer on slow.

Add butter & mix well. Add egg, vanilla, pistachios. Mix until dough has consistency of wet sand.

Turn out onto cookie sheet & form into 2 firm logs, about 2x8-inches & 1-inch deep. Don’t be afraid to use your hands to shape form.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven & cool to room temperature.

Lower oven to 325°F [300°F Convection]. Cut into ¼-½ inch slices with a serrated knife: thick slices makes a chewier biscotti, at an angle if desired. Lay out on cookie sheet cut side down, like toasting bread. Bake 20 minutes until lightly golden.

Cool until crisp & store in an airtight container.

P.S.
This recipe is courtesy of my friend Lucy. She's an amazing baker, and also Italian, and I love following in her lead.

Also, I ended up adding 2 tbs. of apple sauce to make my wet sand texture more wet. Also, the poppy seeds could be optional, but the orange/lemon zest is really important for finesse.

And what not

We need an inspiration for our next destination. I think we'll go somewhere in February or March, a weekend trip, but I don't know where yet. Maybe Amsterdam. I want to go to Italy but not until we have a real trip planned and at least a week we don't mind taking off. In Germany, we get 4 or 5 days of public holidays around April/May, so maybe somewhere around then.

There is a big carnival at the beginning of February in Maastricht, in the Netherlands. Maastricht is only 15 minutes from Aachen so it's very close for us. It's a costume in the streets sort of thing, bright and colorful and crazy from what I have heard. We're going to probably go with Francois, Gerry and the other Dan (guys from work).

Pictures posted

on our picasa page. New web albums for Christmas 2007 and our trip to Boston in January.


.

Is it any wonder

that Florida is a big winter destination?

Image from weather.com

Still on Break(!!)

Dan and I have been lucky enough to have quite a long break over Christmas this year to enjoy some time with our family and friends. We took 3 weeks off from work and as of now still have another week to enjoy ourselves - then it's back to Deutschland. We may not be back until next Christmas so we are trying to make the most of our time here.

It's fun to see both sides of the family, the climate extremes makes it almost comical. In Florida, we were clipping tangerines off my grandmother's tree, playing basketball by the beach, and eating key lime pie for dessert. In Quebec, we got to listen to some traditional French-Canadian music at a Gregory Charles concert, go glissading (sliding) at a snow park, and help prepare/eat all the amazing Quebec/non-Quebec food that Dan's mother and sister are masters at creating. We had some amazing food this holiday, example - dinner last night was scallop, shrimp and lobster in a white wine creme sauce wrapped in a crepes, sprinkled with cheese and baked (soo good!), followed by rack of lamb with port and raspberry sauce along with rice and broccoli, and cake with tea for dessert. It takes time, but with the whole day to relax, it's fun to make something nice. Especially on the last night of the year.

I miss hanging out with my sisters more often than we do, but we do keep in contact while Dan and I are away - we have alot of books to discuss in the coming year after the all book gifts we exchanged at Christmas. What's really great now that we've been together for over a year, is that I really look forward to seeing Dan's family too. I'm pretty sure Dan feels the same way.

Tonight we are going to St-Ephrem for New Years dinner with Dan's mothers side of the family. Will be nice to see his cousins and aunts/uncles again. We're here in Quebec until Saturday, then we're flying to Boston to see Dan's sister's place there. Should be fun. I'm excited about meeting their petit(?) chat, Morris. He sounds tres gentile.

We'll probably post photos here and on our picasa, once we have it all straightened out.

Hope everyone is enjoying their day off!