Thursday, December 27, 2012

Connie's Diner

I have a standing breakfast date with a good friend. We try to meet up at least once a month at Connie's Diner in Waterloo, NY. This place is old school and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's the sort of place where they know your name (and your parents and your grandparents names) and it never changes. I've only ever had breakfast there but they do offer lunch and dinner as well.

I love me some tea :0)
  All of the tables have these individual juke boxes with classic oldies...alas ours was out of order.
Le menu. I typically get the breakfast special because it's 1) the best value for your money and 2) it's just so darn yummy.
Nom nom nom. Clockwise: sausage links (always get the links! they're better than the sausage patties in my humble opinion), wheat toast, 2 eggs over easy, and home fries.
The eat-in bar.
The Christmas tree!

Fun fact, there was this older gentleman there who had a hat on with mistletoe taped its brim. I thought it was cute because he seemed like a nice old man and wanted to ask him to take his picture, but I realize how this could easily veer into dirty old man territory. I digress, if you ever get the opportunity go to Connie's Diner!! PS. The Belgian waffles are stuff dreams are made of, but make sure you bring your appetite because they're huge.

Who: Connie's Diner
What: small town diner with a classic '50s vibe & awesome comfort food
Where: 205 East Main Street,
Waterloo, New York 13165-1508
Need to Know: They only accept cash. No debit/credit cards or checks, so be prepared with some old fashioned $$. They also have an ATM in the entrance in case you need to take some cash out. 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Camouflage Cupcake Frosting

I realize this cupcake is really not Christmas-y at all but I think more than a few hunters will appreciate this one. I had a special request from a friend to make camouflage cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday. When she asked if I could do it, I've never done anything like this, but I'm not one to back down from a challenge, so of course I said yes.

This cupcake is all about the frosting, so you can use any type of flavoring you'd like for the cupcakes. I also used these cute camouflage cupcake wrappers I found in Wal Mart.

This turned out to be really easy and sort of difficult at the same time, and really messy.
There was frosting every where!

Camouflage Cupcake Frosting
Yields enough frosting for 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)
1/2 (1 stick) of soft unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
food dye -brown, green, & yellow

1) Cream the vegetable shortening & softened butter until well combined & creamy.
2) A half a cup at a time slowly incorporate the confectioners sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl between adding the sugar. 
3) Once well combined, add the vanilla extract and mix.
4) Now divide the frosting equally into 3 bowls and mix in the food coloring.
5) In a pastry bag fitted with a ribbon tip, try to add equal amounts of the 3 different frostings. This is easier said than done, but trust me the colors will combine as you squeeze the frosting out, creating a cool camouflage look. Then go ahead an top with brown sprinkles. Here I used dark green and brown leaf sprinkles.


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Silence + Support For Sandy Hook

I came across this today at Glam Hungry Mom....

*******************************************************
To the Blog World and Anyone Else who Wants to Help,

Yesterday, tragedy struck so many of us in ways we did not foresee. An elementary school and small town in Connecticut was shattered by a mass shooting. We knew we wanted to help and we came up with this:



On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence.
We will post the button and that's it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services. Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to:

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."


Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

We can't imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's make a difference and use blogging in a positive way. Thank you in advance for participating.

Love,
The Blog World

p.s. If you would like to, copy-paste and repost any part of this, please do. Share on.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Today.

Today hit far too close to home. Today (as of the last news cast I saw) 20 innocent children and 6 adults lost their lives to the hands of a mad man in Newtown, CT. The Sandy Hook Elementary School and the Newtown community has suffered an unimaginable loss.

I have a niece and nephews who attend the Newtown school district in Connecticut. I've visited the area countless times to spend time with my family. It's a sleepy and picturesque town, where things like this don't happen, but at 11:04 am I was sitting in a meeting at work and I received a text from my mom saying "Newtown school shooting - not Cindy's (my sister) kids school, everyone is ok." No one ever wants to receive that phone call or message. But all I can keep thinking about are those families who have lost those precious babies and family members. My heart goes out to them. I can't even begin to imagine how deep this loss is. It's unfortunate that it's tragic events like this that often have us counting our blessings. I ask you to hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight and send a prayer to Sandy Hook. I know I am.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

I'm Obsessed, I know...

...with the food at the Crystal Lake Cafe at Americana.

 It just wouldn't be dinner (or lunch or brunch...) at Americana if I didn't get a glass of the Gewurztraminer.

The mouth watering spinach artichoke dip. I have a bone to pick here. What is up with the tortilla chips Americana?! This use to be served with their home made focaccia bread and now they serve it with chips. Not impressed. I thought this was a one off thing the last time I had ordered it, but I see that is not the case. Next time I'm gonna have to request the focaccia in place of the tortilla chips. 

The Friday night specials.

I got one of the specials, the empanadas. Delicious per usual. Jared had the lamb burger which isn't pictured, but you can see it here.

In case you haven't heard, Americana Winery and the Crystal Lake Cafe is located at 4367 East Covert Road, Interlaken, New York 14847. What are you waiting for?


Monday, December 3, 2012

Tokyo Hibachi Sushi & Asian Bistro

I haven't done a restaurant review in a long time! Jared and I went to Tokyo Hiabchi Sushi & Asian Bistro in Ithaca, NY for lunch this past Sunday. We heard of it from his mom who happens to work in the same plaza where this restaurant is currently celebrating its grand opening. And I was feeling some sushi.

First impressions:
I really liked the entrance way with the brick detail and Buddha sitting in the corner. The inside was much bigger and more sophisticated than the strip mall facade made it seem from the outside. However, it was completely empty. As in vacant. I wanted to attempt to do a vlog of our meal but I felt too awkward talking to my camera with our waitress watching our every move because we were her only table. Therefore I give you this awkward video...
In all I really like the decor, however it did still smell of fresh paint...hopefully that will fade away. But the atmosphere was cold because there was no one else there. You could tell that the wait staff was bored, but a big plus of this was the service was pretty attentive.

First Course
 Miso Soup
soybean broth with seaweed, tofu and scallions
Was included in the noodle dish, on it's own is $2.25

Second Course
 Spicy Tuna Roll ($5.50)
Jared had the Salmon Avocado Roll (not pictured) ($4.50).

Third Course
Yaki Soba ($13.25)
shrimp (you could also choose beef, chicken or vegetable) with pan-fried buck wheat noodles, red onion and mushrooms
I was a bit disappointed with the soba noodles. They weren't bad but they didn't 'wow' me either, especially considering the price. However you do receive a generous portion and I ate half saving the other half for lunch the next day. I had some serious entree envy with Jared's dish...

Amazing Chicken ($12.95)
chicken gently fried in a delicate batter, tossed with a zesty sauce
No I did not make that name up, but it was amazing. They were delicious little tempura nuggets from heaven. And he got a flower on his plate. I'm still a tad jealous if you can't tell. 

The Good
The sophisticated atmosphere was a pleasant surprise to find in a strip mall.

The Bad
I was not impressed by the prices for what you received. In total the bill was just under $40 for two people for lunch. In my world, that's too much, especially since I wasn't that impressed with my entree.

In conclusion I wasn't blown away with the place. I'd be willing to try it again for the hibachi grill, but other than that I don't expect to frequent the Tokyo Hibachi Sushi & Asian Bistro again any time soon. Over all I give it a "meh."
Located at 722 South Meadow Street, Suite 800, Ithaca, NY 14850 (the Barnes & Noble plaza in Ithaca, NY).    

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Thanksgiving Dranksgiving Wine Tour 2012

It's no secret that I happen to live in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, which is also wine country. Having grown up here, most of my friends and myself have worked in the "industry." Now that as we've gotten into our 20s and live farther away from each other, we always like to go on at least one wine tour sometime during the holiday season. The Saturday after Thanksgiving this year, we went all out and 18 of us rented a stretch SUV limo and hit up 8 (!) wineries on the east side of the Seneca Lake wine trail.

However first things first, you have to eat before a wine tour. It's bad news bears if you don't. A wine tour is serious commitment, typically one that consumes all day, so you are better off going into it with a full stomach. My friend Olivia graciously offered to host a brunch at her family's house, and oh my gosh guys, it was so good. Her mother is one of the best cooks who's table I've ever had the pleasure of sitting at. Unfortunately for you I was too busy shoveling food into my mouth to be bothered to take any pictures of it, however no brunch is complete without mimosas.
Then we piled into the limo and promptly opened a bottle of bubbly...you can tell where this day was headed.
I will link all of the wineries we then stopped at and try to provide some pictures. I don't have pictures for all of the wineries because at one point I forgot my phone in the limo but I will see if I can poach some off of the book of faces (facebook). I'm not even going to attempt to describe the wines we had because 1) who am I to tell you what wine is better than the other...this is something that's so individual that my opinion doesn't really matter to your own taste, and 2) I'm not gonna lie, I was quite drunk by the end and after about 4 wineries they all just taste the same anyways.


I accidentally left my phone in the limo and have no pictures. To be quite honest the physical winery itself isn't all that gorgeous, especially compared to some of the other ones in the area, but this happens to be home to one of my favorite sparkling wines EVER. The Golden Spumante. It's like rainbows and puppies and happiness all mixed together. I realize that makes little sense, but it's awesome. I bought a bottle, plus it was only $11 and change because you get your $3 tasting fee back if you purchase something there.The said bottle was finished by the end of the wine tour...this probably contributed to the hot mess I became by the end of the night, but minor details dear readers.

If you've ever heard of Hazlitt, you're probably most familiar with Red Cat. I am not a huge fan of Red Cat myself, I've since outgrown it, but I do love that it has a song attached to it, and lucky you I recorded it for posterity!



  This place gives you 16 (holy crap!) tastings. No wonder details become fuzzy from the wine tour from here on out...

This is the winery I started to share tastings with my friend Caitlin.....lol that's all I have for this one. I think there was a warm mulled wine here...

 Here I shared a bottle of Jabber Waulkie White with 4 other people. It was super sweet for me, and I remember it being too sweet (6.9% RS), but I wanted my $5 worth. I'm so classy. 

I don't remember that much about this place...except for promising to bake cupcakes for a pair of engaged friends for their wedding ceremony...hmmm.

This winery was an instant favorite. The couple who opened the winery about a year and a half ago converted an old church into their tasting room. It has a Gothic feel to it and I loved it there. Definitely worth going back to when I'm less shitfaced drunk.

In conclusion my tips for a wine tour are as follows:
  • always, always, always have a designated driver
  • do not do a wine tour on an empty stomach
  • if you have a large group (6 or more people) make a reservation to make sure they don't turn you away
  • bring snacks and water with you
  • try not to be a drunk asshole, respect the winery and the people working there
  • don't drink more than you can handle, no one wants to be that girl (or boy)
  • anticipate a nap afterwards

Thursday, November 29, 2012

My First Thanksgiving Turkey

Last week I had the honor of roasting my family's Thanksgiving day turkey, which also happened to be my first one ever. I've never even roasted a chicken before, but thanks to the video by Kin Community on YouTube for turkey virgins such as myself, it was a huge success. I'm feeling awfully lazy so I will leave you with an Instagrammed (I know, I just made that up) photo bomb. Enjoy!

 The 15 lb turkey all rinsed and patted dry (the secret to delicious crispy skin ;)
 This was not in the video, but was highly suggested by my mother to...
 ...cut up onions, carrots, an apple and some celery to shove in the turkey's hoo ha.
 Butter, garlic and rosemary for the rub...
 ...all finely chopped and mixed together with salt & pepper to taste.
Ready to go into the oven!
She's all done!
Now for some photos of the table decorations...


In all it was a fabulous Thanksgiving! Here's to the 2012 Holiday Season!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!


A few things I'm thankful for:
  • #firstworldproblems: there are times when I become overwhelmed with every day life. But when I take a deep breath and step back, I realize how truly blessed I am and if my biggest annoyance for the day is the holiday traffic, I've got it pretty darn good. 
  • Annie the Golden Doodle: she's my best furry friend and just makes life better with her happy face and wagging tail after a long day. 
  • The boyfriend: I am soooooo thankful for him. He makes me a better person and is my best friend, not to mention the love of my life. I could go on and gush about him for ages, but Jared you truly are something special. 
  • Scarves: there is not an easier or more chic accessory that also keeps you warm in the cold fall air.
  • Living in wine country: the fact that I live less than a mile where my favorite wine is produced is really freaking awesome. 
  • This blog. And you readers. I am unbelievably thankful for you. Comment below to let me know what you're thankful for this Thanksgiving!
PS. The turkey was a success! I will post pictures later today of it all carved on my grandmother's pretty platter when we serve it for dinner. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

I am roasting my first ever turkey this afternoon...this shall be interesting. I found this recipe on the KinCommunity channel on YouTube and it seems easy enough. I will post later with updates!
Also make sure to check out my show on www.fingerlakes1.com, the Lake to Lake Girls with Tiffany Collinsworth and myself. We will be on live from 5:30 to 6:30 PM Est. tonight!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sunday's Nugget of Wisdom

"The most beautiful thing a woman can wear is confidence." -unknown*

I love this quote. When a friend tells me she can't wear this or that, or would never be able to pull something off, I call poppycock. Confidence is key. If you love something, I say rock it sister. People are drawn to confidence, if you want to try out a new hair style, lip stick or piece of clothing do it with confidence. And if you're still nervous, just remember that most people devote more energy to  worrying about themselves than judging you for what you're wearing. Even if they are judging you, who cares?! You will never see that random person at the mall, restaurant, park, etc again ;)

*I did a google search to find who this quote belongs to but I couldn't find anything definitive. If you know please comment below!

Cinnamon Bun Fail, Kind Of...

I like to be honest with you guys. Not everything I make comes out perfect or even close to what it's suppose to be, and these cinnamon buns had it out for me. Yesterday was opening day for deer hunting in New York. Being a country girl, I've been surrounded by this my entire life, so without getting too political, it is something that is a part of life around these parts. I personally do not understand the appeal of sitting out at the crack of dawn, in the cold waiting for a deer to walk by to shoot it, but hey if that's your thing I won't stop you. Anyway, I digress! I was awoken at 5:30 AM Saturday morning as my boyfriend geared up to indulge in some primal cave man urges to hunt wild life and I had a hard time getting back to sleep. Bridgette, my boyfriend's brother's girlfriend (follow that?) was up as well, and we thought what better thing to do at 6 AM than make cinnamon buns right?!

Things did not go according to plan. I'd like to blame it on the recipe book we were using because the way the recipe was written, was not very intuitive. *Insert shifty side eye right about here.* I'd like to blame it on the cook book, but it really probably has more to do with that fact I attempted this without coffee. We accidentally left the eggs out. Then the dough wouldn't rise. Oh well! We still baked it anyways. Then the tops browned too quickly while the inside was still gooey and raw.

Then there wasn't enough actual cinnamon in the sugar mix. Only 1 tsp worth....I should have known better. 
All in all, they weren't great, but that serves as motivation to find a recipe that actually works, and perhaps save it for a time when I'm a little more awake or at least caffeinated ;)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Mandy Eats

Welcome! There are some changes brewing over here at Cupcakes by Mandy, the first being the change of this blog's name! I'm really excited to announce that I've changed this blog to Mandy Eats. The official domain name is now http://www.mandy-eats.com.  I am expanding the blog to cover more than just cupcakes to talk about a variety of different recipes, food & restaurant reviews, and  keeping up an active lifestyle. This is something I've been thinking of doing for a while, and I'm excited to have the blog grow! I have so much more to talk about than cupcakes, but those will certainly still be featured here and will continue to expand my baking skills. Stay tuned for upcoming articles for Thanksgiving recipes and how I attempt to keep the holiday weight gain at bay! I'm thinking of throwing a Facebook page into the mix as well... stay tuned!

The old address of cupcakesbymandy.blogspot.com will redirect you to this site as well.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Eeking out every drop of my Halloween decorations as possible. Bring on the holiday season now!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Butterbeer Cupcakes



A friend asked me to make butterbeer cupcakes as a birthday treat for her fiance, which happened to be combined with a Halloween party (that's why I included the candy knives for a spooky decoration). Now I have indeed been to Harry Potter World at Universal, but (gasp!) did not actually try the butterbeer! Why? Because the line was about 20,982,183 people deep. I exaggerate a tad, but seriously the line was ridiculously long and it being the middle of July in Florida, it just wasn't going happen.

So what's a girl whose never actually tasted butterbeer to do? Google. I came across this recipe by AmyBites and it seems pretty spot on. These butterbeer cupcakes are adapted from her recipe. They are filled the the brim with butterscotch, vanilla and buttery flavors.

These are an awesome flavor combination for fall and a great way to impress family members and in-laws for that up-coming Thanksgiving dinner.


Butterbeer Cupcakes 
with Butterscotch Ganache Filling & Frosting 
Yields 18 cupcakes

Butterbeer Cupcakes
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. 
  2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 
  3. In a large mixing bowl bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Approx 3-4 minutes of mixing on a "high" setting.
  4. Add your room-tempature sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 
  5. Beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.
  6. Alternate adding the buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. 
  7. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. 
  8. Cool completely on wire racks.
While the cupcakes cool...

Butterscotch Ganache (for the cupcake filling)
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
  1. In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. 
  2. Cool to room temperature. 
  3. Reserve at least 3/4 cup of the ganache for the frosting later
  4. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow. I highly recommend using the squeeze bottle, as opposed to a frosting bag and tip; it gives you a lot more control over the ganache and less chance of spilling. 
Butterscotch Frosting
3/4 cup of unsalted butter (room temp.)
3/4 cup of vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)
3/4 cup of reserved butterscotch ganache
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp butter flavor (optional)
  1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter & vegetable shortening until well combined & fluffy (approx 3 min).
  2. Mix in the reserved butterscotch ganache.
  3.  Mix in 1/2 salt. I find that this is a very sweet cupcake, so I added salt to the frosting to help counteract all of the sweetness. It's very similar tasting to salted caramel.
  4. One cup at a time mix the powered sugar into the butter, vegetable shortening & salt, on a low setting, making sure to scrape down the sides after adding each cup. 
  5. Then add the vanilla and butter flavoring. I did not add the butter flavor, so try it out first with just the vanilla and see if it's "buttery" enough for you. 
Frost the completely cooled cupcakes with a ribbon tip and then lightly swirl any of the remaining ganache on the tops. 
These are the Martha Stewart Cupcake papers I used. My boyfriend's mom gave these to me, but I'm pretty sure you can find them at Michael's Craft Stores

For more fall-inspired cupcakes by Mandy click here!