Ninja Cupcakes

For my boyfriend's last class tonight at his karate school, I made ninja cupcakes to share with his students. I'm so proud of you J, and everything you've accomplished in the past year! xoxo

Wine, Wine, and Some Frosting

This week has been crazy busy between working, helping friends with events, and out-of-state family visiting. Here's a quick photo bomb from my past week. The cupcakes for this weekend are going to be Ninja Cupcakes! Stay tuned for photos of those later this week.

 The Seneca County Chamber of Commerce's Annual Membership BBQ & Small Business Award Presentation (Congrats to Fuzzy Guppies!) at Knapp Winery.

Catered by Aaron's Smokey Bar B Que.

Dining among the grapes, it's how we do in the Finger Lakes.

Sunflowers plucked from right down the road. 

Entertainment provided by The Casey McDonald Band. 

Grapes. Soon to be in my wine glass.

Cash bar featuring Knapp Winery's finest wines.

Mama Kitty!

Thursday night's are spent at Michael's in Ithaca, NY perfecting my decorating techniques. 

Shell border anyone?

The historic row townhouses in downtown Geneva, NY.

Cruisin' Night Block Party in Geneva, NY.

How cool is this stair case?! Starting to notice a theme here?

I may need this in my future home.

I love to hear what you lovelies have been up to this week as well!

The Weekend Dish

Hello Lovlies, I hope everyone had an amazing weekend! I know that mine went way too fast, but it was spent well with good friends and good food.

Friday night the boyfriend and I stayed in, and made tacos (nom nom nom). We then went to see the local-theater production of Avenue Q. Now, I knew about Avenue Q from when my brother saw it on Broadway years ago, but I have to say I was not quite prepared for it. Especially for the puppet sex. Yes, I just said puppet sex. Needless to say it was completely irreverent, hilarious, kind-of offensive and enjoyably un-PC.

Saturday I attending a baby shower, made these cupcakes, and then celebrated summer/a friend's birthday/just-because-we-can party. Any night that ends with me sipping wine with a glow-stick straw, is a good one in my opinion.

Then Sunday, I ate at one of my favorite places on Earth, Americana Winery. I'm not exaggerating either. A part of me almost doesn't want to tell you about it, because then you will go and taste how delicious the food is and see how chill the atmosphere is, and then I'll have to start making reservations to go because it'll be so crowded. (--> That was definitely a run-on sentence.)

The boyfriend and I are regulars of this place. We particularly love it in the summer time when you can sit outside and enjoy a chilled glass of the Gewürztraminer (my favorite), and listen to a local band playing, while you pet one of the resident dogs or cats roaming around.

The view from our table.

 One of the labradors playing catch in the lawn at Americana.

Then there is the food. It's local, it's fresh, and it's freaking amazing. They have their regular menu at the Crystal Lake Cafe, which will change to accommodate with what's in season, however my favorite part is the daily specials. I have never ever seen the same special run twice, which is awesome because I love to try new dishes.

For our appetizer we shared the Spinach Artichoke Dip with Toasted Focaccia Bread. Did I mention that they make all of their breads, rolls, etc. from scratch?! Because they do.

The boyfriend ordered the Lamb Burger with a side of Sweet Potato fries. They are $2 extra, but they're worth it.

Look at the cross-section on that! The Lamb Burger has rosemary aioli, black olive tapenade, lettuce, tomato, red onion and feta on a roll. I am really not a fan of lamb at all -I've tried it so many different ways and in different parts of the world, because for some reason I really want to like it and can't; but this burger is the only version of lamb that may eventually convert me.

I opted for the Curried Chicken Salad on an open face sandwich with the Sweet Potato Fries as well.

One of the cats lounging near our table. Super fluffy -just how I like 'em.

Who: The Crystal Lake Cafe at Americana Vineyards

What: Wine tastings, delicious food, and cuddly creatures

Where: Interlaken, NY

All opinions and photos are my own. I was not paid nor invited by Americana Vineyards to review the Crystal Lake Cafe. To be honest, I'm pretty sure they don't even know this blog exists. All photos were taken on my iPhone and snazzed up with Instagram.

Martha Knows Best

Hello Lovlies,

 

I was asked to make cupcakes for a chocoholic friend's birthday this past Saturday, and Pinterest led me to this amazing Devil's Food Cupcake recipe by Martha Stewart. I decided to take it one step further and hide whole fresh strawberries in the cupcake, to mimic a chocolate covered strawberry. To top it all off was a decadent swirl of chocolate ganache frosting. All pictures taken with my iPhone and snazzed up by Instagram.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream & Ganche

Good morning lovlies,

One of my older sisters asked me to make cupcakes for her  birthday dinner this past weekend. She loves chocolate, but I have to be honest, I feel like chocolate can become boring if you're not careful. I wanted to do something a little more special and grown-up than the simple chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream, so I made her a chocolate cupcake topped with a layer of chocolate ganache and fluffy espresso buttercream. I am going to keep experimenting with my mocha and espresso buttercreams though, because while this one was a good first effort, it tasted vaguely of maple syrup to me. Strange I know. Stay tuned for another variation on the chocolate cupcake this coming weekend!

Friday Night Dish

Good morning lovelies! I've been thinking of incorporating more blog posts about my culinary adventures beyond cupcakes, to include insights and reviews of restaurants, farmer's markets, and recipes tried at home. Let me know if you want more posts like this, or strictly cupcakes.

Friday night is typically date night for my boyfriend and I. I'm the type of person that will try anything once and I'm always looking for new restaurants. Ithaca, NY is a mecca for foodies in upstate New York. Jared and I have many favorites, some places even recognize us now, but last night we tried a new-to-us restaurant in the Ithaca Commons called Mia. This pan-Asian restaurant was beautiful, had excellent service and the food was amazing. I didn't take pictures of the entire meal because I was way too excited to dive into the food.

For the appetizer we had the special of the night, which was a tuna sashimi with a mango salsa and seaweed salad. For the main course I had the GrawPraw Goong, which the website lists as "stir fried prawns with snow peas, onion, and fresh chili pepper in Lex’s hot Thai basil sauce." It was so so so good! However, it was also so so so hot! As in 3 glasses-of-water hot. I love spicy foods, but this was just too much for me. Knowing what I know now, if I ever order this dish again, I would ask them to tone the spicyness down a notch. Besides the burning, it was extremely tasty. 

For dessert Jared and I both ordered the Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Mousse. How do I put this without seeming cliched? It was heaven. It was the perfect portion of a white chocolate mousse sandwiched between a chocolate crumb crust and a top layer of dark chocolate mousse. In a word, decadence. On the side of the plate, was a pretty design of caramel sauce. I'm kicking myself now for not taking a picture of it. I have to say too, that this mousse was even better, in my humble opinion and taste buds, than the very well-known and delicious Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse served just down the Commons at Madeline's. 

On the agenda for this weekend is Mocha Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache for my big sister's birthday dinner tonight!

Keep Calm...

And have a Cupcake! How cute is my new phone cover?!

Peanutbutter Cupcakes

These delightful peanut butter chocolate cupcakes were made for a client, who's husband is obsessed with the classic flavor combination. Please excuse the rather crappy quality of these photos, they were taken in a rush and with poor lighting. Anywho, these bad boys are a dark chocolate cupcake with a mini Reese's peanut butter cup baked on the inside. A light and fluffy peanut butter buttercream frosting is topped off by a halved mini Reese's cup. PS. A little bird told me that the birthday boy ate eleven of the dozen and left only one for his wife. They're that good.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

I made these little darlings for a jewelry party held at my boyfriend's mother's house, and the occasion obviously called for girly cupcakes. The cupcake is a light lemon cupcake, with a raspberry buttercream frosting, topped with these adorable pearl sprinkles.