Hylan's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

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Hylan aged another year on Sunday, February 26th.  Since last year was super lame because we were both too busy and stressed out to do anything more than dine at Carrabba's, this year I decided to make the whole weekend a bit more eventful. 

This picture wasn't from his birthday, but the week before when we went with my sister's family to watch the BYU women's basketball game.  It was a pink out...and we had fun!  It's also the most recent picture of Hylan (did you notice he shaved again?).

To begin, on Friday afternoon, I visited Hylan at the bank to cash out some secret checks I had saved up from subbing fitness classes.  This became Hylan's birthday cash stash for the ensuing activities we were about to enjoy all weekend long.  It also happened that he received a card my mom and dad with a few bucks to add.  Great timing!  (Birthday shout out to my Dad and niece, Marie who celebrate their birthdays on February 26th as well)! 

Later Friday night, we ate at Tucano's (how can you refuse that free birthday churrasaco?) and then I surprised Hylan with an appointment for a couple's massage at Massage Envy.  Hey, I get to enjoy his birthday too, right?  ;)

On Saturday, we met our buddies Lynn and Nick up in SLC at Les Madeleines for lunch and dessert.  Have you ever heard of the Kouing-aman?  Well, we finally got our chance to try this buttery, flaky, crunchy, sugary french pastry (simplified: like a sugared croissant, to the crunchified max).  This pastry was featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the Food Network and we have wanted to try it for a very long time.  Unfortunately, they were sold out the last time we stopped by the bakery last summer (not too worry, they have other delicious delicacies--I recommend the french macaroons they call "buttons"-- and they serve a yummy cafe lunch).  We finally got our chance this time and we were both in food paradise!  Hylan declared, "okay, we can move to France now."  Ha ha.

Kouing-aman pastry from Les Madeleines

After that experience, we headed on over to the Capitol Theater for a taping of the So You Think You Can Dance auditions.  Okay, yeah, that might have been more for Lynn and I, but Hylan and Nick graciously agreed to accompany us.  Because of Hylan's magical whimsy, we ended up moving from our pathetic back corner seats, to the mid balcony, to the side chair balcony where we could see all of the action!  The experience would have been much more inferior had we not moved to those seats, because we had a perfect view not only of the stage, but also the judges, audience, and auditioning dancers.  It was the best perspective.

The judges looked up at us several times and I even got a wink from Nigel.  I'm not even kidding.  And when Mr. Adam Shankman used a very naughty word, Mary looked right up at me covering up my ears.  It was so funny. 
Anyway, we had a great time watching fantastic, interesting, and mediocre dance auditions.  It really was just like you see on TV except everything took 17 times longer.  I would have taken pictures but I read a disclaimer that said they might confiscate cell phones, so none of us brought ours into the theater.  They didn't end up confiscating anything or turning people away who wore jeans, but alas, it was a fun time.  We left just before the choreography part of the cuts, but got to see SYTYCD All-Stars Robert and Courtney perform the number the remaining dancers had to learn. 

After our my fun time at the theater, we were going to hit up the Red Iguana for some killer mole (pronounced mole-lay), but we weren't feeling the wait in the cold, so we ended up getting some takeout Zupas close to home and enjoyed the rest of the evening in.

On Sunday, after church, I was going to make this yummy french onion soup per request, but I didn't have enough onions to make it until Monday, so we enjoyed it yesterday.

Along with this roasted pork tenderoloin with apricot sauce and steamed broccoli.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  For lunch after church, I just made a quick french toast and fried egg with pear compote and then used up the rest of the eggs to make the Second Request Biscoff Cupcakes. 

It just goes to show that I don't bake well when I'm not relaxed.  And for some reason, I felt oddly rushed when I made these on Sunday.  Thus, they did not turn out as well as they did the first time I made them.  For some reason, they sank in the middle and the frosting that covers the dip also kind of separated a bit, unlike last time's perfect velvet texture, but I still took pictures for you to scrutinize anyway.  Thankfully, they still tasted delicious, which always matters most! 

Um, they are money cupcakes because that's what Hylan likes.  $$MONEY$$  HA! 

White chocolate money symbol with golden sugar sprinkles.  The cupcakes look a little weird because they spread out like a cookie around the rim, which despite it's odd appearance, does happen to be my favorite part.  By the way, these cupcakes get better with age, I'm just saying.  I may have just eaten one with my lunch. 

And that concludes Hylan's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza.  He enjoyed many messages of well wishes on the actual day, which was great since we planned to lay low the rest of the Sabbath Day, as per his request. 

Second Request Cupcakes

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I wish I had photographed the moment where my nieces (ages 5 & 6) patiently sat at the kitchen island after dinner longingly staring at these cupcakes waiting for the adults to finish up dinner so they could eat their cupcake treat. Adorable.

I made these special for a belated birthday dinner for my five year-old niece. Hence, the pink. I love girls!

I couldn't decide how to frost them, can you tell? I think the swirls and pink sprinkles looked the best.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because everyone was enamored by how delicious these cupcakes were. I made these Biscoff Cupcakes from Picky Palate and used this Perfect Frosting from Our Best Bites.

Hylan is a self-declared cake hater, and yet, he managed to down 3 of these and also requested them for his upcoming birthday on Feb 26th. Yes, they were that good!

The cupcake batter utilizes Biscoff Spread--you remember my desire to try it from this post. Since then, I have enjoyed this "treat spread" on apples and in even tried this recipe for Biscoff Blondies (though, I personally thought the blondies turned out too sickeningly sweet, Hylan's family didn't seem to complain). I have actually seen Biscoff Spread in many of my local grocery stores lately, so it is becoming more popular and available. The Biscoff seems to give these cupcakes a subtle sweet, hint of cinnamon, and a sort of delicate nuttiness that is not too overpowering in flavor but adds just enough "hmm, what is that?" factor. And the crumb texture on these basic cupcakes is perfectly fluffy: not too dry or too moist or too dense or too chewy.

As for the frosting on these cupcakes, I didn't use the recipe for Biscoff Buttercream from Picky Palate because I only had enough Biscoff Spread left for the cupcake batter, and also because I didn't want to use 2 sticks of butter for 12 cupcakes!

I had previously heard about an alternative technique to making buttercream that requires cooking flour and milk together for the base of the frosting. It only takes a few minutes more of your effort to make than traditional buttercream, but the result is well worth those few minutes! It is less tricky than my all time favorite favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and the end product is similarly silky, not cloying, and perfectly light and fluffy. So, I highly recommend trying this Perfect Cupcake Frosting. It only has 1 stick of butter (and by the way, skim milk does work just fine).

In closing, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you try these recipes:

Biscoff Cupcakes

Perfect Cupcake Frosting

Each is scaled for 12 cupcakes which was perfect for a dinner party of 4 adults and 3 children. I especially loved that I had all of the ingredients in my pantry and fridge to make these recipes! (So, next time your out grocery shopping, look for that Biscoff Spread so you can make these anytime you want).

They were a hit, so I will definitely be making them both again.

Please let me know if you try either recipe!

(Fo)odds and Ends

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The retired life is good, I tell ya! It is also delicious. I have had the time to cook up so many things during the past week that I'm having trouble remembering it all. A few examples include: Lasagna, Banana Crumb Muffins, Roasted Broccoli, Turkey Cranberry Paninis, lime kiwi fruit leather, Mulligatawny Detox Soup with homemade croutons, Mulligatawny Shredded Chicken over brown rice, guacamole, Crustless Quiche...

I could make a comment about each of those foods and how much I or Hylan has delighted in them, but I'll spare you (but you should really try the banana crumb muffins--they have been one of my go-to recipes for the past 10 years, literally. The date on my recipe shows it was printed in 2001. Hylan strongly endorses these muffins. I've made variations with whole wheat flour that have turned out delicious as well.)

Today, I gave myself the task of using up a giant zucchini from my mother and father-in-law's garden. Instead of picking between two recipes, I made them both. I was surprised that both were blog-worthy and well worth the two hours it took me to make them.

I present you with Italian Zucchini Pie.

(The top slice in the book is the one I made)

If you can't read that, I'd be happy to send you a better photo of the recipe if you're interested.

The zucchini pie was surprisingly delicious. I was skeptical at how the pastry would turn out because it uses olive oil instead of butter, but it was flaky and tasty, just as it should have been. The filling was as simple as zucchini, garlic, eggs, ricotta, and provolone cheese. Also, I had to substitute fresh parsley for the basil because that's all I had on hand, but basil would have been good too. It had a great garlic flavor and a creamy texture. Hylan said it tasted better than he thought it would, but I think he's just weirded out when I make recipes with lots of veggies. I would definitely make this recipe again. We had it for dinner but it would also be perfect for brunch or a lady's luncheon. It's certainly another fantastic use for your bounteous zucchini harvest!

And now I present you with Carrot Zucchini Mini Muffins.

By the way, I took these pictures with my phone because I'm not a food blogger with a super sweet expensive camera, but what the pictures lack in quality, I can assure you was made up for in actual tastiness. You can take my word for it, or come over for samples.

These muffins happen to be gluten-free, though that has nothing to do with why I made them. I just love Giada's recipes, and they just looked and sounded delicious. And now that I've made them, I highly recommend. I love the nuttiness the almond flour lends, the moist crumb texture from the zucchini and carrot, the bright cinnamon flavor, and subtle amber sweetness from the maple syrup. You can make a quick frosting with whipped cream cheese and honey to make the muffins kind of cupcakey, but the cream cheese I had was getting a little old, so I chose to forgo the topping and enjoy them plain.

A side note: I kind of love muffins a lot, especially when they tend towards healthy! :)

On another topic, I've recently noticed quite a few intriguing recipes using Biscoff spread - you know, that delicious cookie served on Delta Airlines made into a peanut butter-like spread. I have to admit that each time I've ever eaten biscoff cookies, I marvel at how much I enjoy them. Anyway, biscoff spread is going around the blog circuit, so I looked up where to buy it and of course, good ole reliable Harmons sells it (I miss living within walking distance of my favorite grocery store). I bought a jar to sample and I can assure you it is as delicious as the crunchy airplane treat. Just so you're aware. You're welcome. Ha! Perhaps, I will have to try one of those foodie blog recipes.

Anyway, um, how is it that I never knew snickers ice cream bars are now sold in in miniature size? Yes, those delicious chocolate covered caramel peanut ice cream bars that I haven't eaten probably since I was a teenager come in a perfectly portioned 90 calorie size! I'm so happy to have (re)discovered these. It's perfection.

So, happy eating delicious foods to you and to me! And if you want to invite yourself over for dinner, Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays work well for us. Just let me know. But you might end up eating more vegetables than you're used to, just so you're prepped, okay? Ha! Don't worry though, I'll still pump you full of meaty protein and sugary sweet treats.