Devil's Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese

This summer, Little Lawyer wants to perfect her dessert making technique instead of her sleeping until noon technique, or her eating chicken nuggets and pop tarts until she blows up technique. She originally wanted to hone her infamous "I'm SOOOO Bored!!!" summer battle cry, but I quickly suggested the 'make desserts yourself every week over summer break' thing before she could think of something worse.

She picks what she wants to make. She makes 'em. We eat 'em.  Deliciousness ensues.

She made a special Fathers Day dessert yesterday, as I mentioned in yesterdays post about our Fathers Day dinner. Never fear! She will return this Friday with her regularly scheduled dessert-of-the-week post.

These cupcakes were super easy since they are made from a mix.

The ingredients were simple:  Devil's Food cake mix, eggs, water, oil, sugar and cream cheese.

Heat your hot box to 350 and line your muffin tins with paper liners.  Combine the cake mix, eggs, water and oil for the batter.

Fill up your liners about 2/3 of the way full.  She went a little overboard...

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in another bowl. Put all of the cream cheese mixture into the corner of a medium sized gladlock bag. Snip off a small portion of that corner so you can pipe.

You can pipe letters, numbers, designs...whatever. Multi-occasional cupcakes, these are! LL decided to display her wishes for a happy Fathers Day. Or Happ Yfat Hers Day. With her, you just never know...

Learn from my idiocy:  Pipe small. She (we) piped the letters a bit too big and they really got lost in the cupcake. It didn't help either that the liner were a little too full. But we touched up the letters with the remaining cream cheese once the cupcakes were out of the oven and completely cooled, so they looked just fine!

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese

1 box Devil's Food cake mix
3 eggs
1-1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar

Heat oven to 350. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among cups (2⁄3 full).

In small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until smooth. Spoon into corner of small ziplock bag. Snip about 1⁄8 inch off one corner of bag. Pipe mixture onto batter in a small designs or letters to
decorate tops of cupcakes.

Bake 20 to 23 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from
pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Make any adjustments or corrections when completely cool.

Fathers Day Dinner - Arizona Spice Rubbed Steak and Potatoes a L'alsacienne

Oh my goodness!

I can't believe the food we just had for dinner! It was ama-ZING! I am so full, but it's a good full. Everybody enjoyed dinner (except for Crazy Artist, who didn't like the 'crust' on the steak from the rub) and we still have Devil's Food Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting to look forward to later (which I will post about tomorrow).

First I made the Arizona Spice Rub, which was given to me by a friend in Arizona. She swore up and down this was one of the simplest rubs to concoct with more flavor than you could imagine with such few ingredients.  I promised I would try it, and I am very glad I did!

In a small bowl, combine 4 tsp ancho chili powder, 4 tsp kosher salt, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp mustard powder, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp freshly ground white pepper.

Rub this into whatever steak you want to grill. I had 6 bone-in ribeyes about 1 inch thick just screaming to be eaten. Ribeyes are not usually my cut of choice, but they looked fantastic and were on sale.  We also used mesquite chips in the smoker box on the grill. Thank goodness you can't eat a smell - because Papa Bear and I would have been too full to eat the steaks when they were done if that were possible!

Then the magic happens...when you place said meat on said grill...you don't said...er, I mean say anything - you simply drool. After about 5 minutes per side and lots of patience, you get this...

I did a quick and dirty garnish of thinly sliced jalepenos, garlic cloves and chopped cilantro that I flash-fried in olive oil.

On to the Potatoes a L'alsacienne!


This is a wonderful French dish that everybody just loves. Hint: There is bacon involved. The added bonus to this dish is that all of the herbs used in this recipe were from the Wicked Garden!!

Cut 2 pounds of potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Put them in a pot and add water to cover and salt the water (about 1 tbsp). Bring to a boil and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, melt 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil together.  Add 3 slices of diced bacon strips (I used thick cut applewood smoked) and one halved and sliced onion. Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until the bacon almost begins to crisp.

Then you can reintroduce the potatoes to the party going on in the pan. Stir and cook about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes start to crisp.

Here's where the herbage comes in:  Bring to the party 4 tbsp each of fresh chopped tarragon, chives, parsley and thyme:

During this particular process, at least three separate members of the household wandered into the kitchen asking what the fantastic smell was from.

Stir the herbs in and let them wilt into the potatoes and...voila!

Well, Papa Bear loved it. And it was his day, so my job here is done. He even got asparagus from the can! Don't ask...he actually prefers than to fresh.

Tomorrow, we all fight for the leftovers in the fridge....unless I eat them after everyone goes nighty-night...

Arizona Spiced Rubbed Steaks

For the rub:
4 tsp ancho chili powder
4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp freshly ground white pepper

6 steaks of your choice, about 1 inch thick
Garnish, if desired:  Thinly sliced jalapeno, garlic clove and chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combine the rub ingredients.

Set up your grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. If you want, toss mesquite chips on the coals or put them in your grills smoker box.

Season the steaks generously on both sides with the rub. Brush and oil the grill grate. Grill for about 5 minutes. Turn the steak over and grill for about 4 minutes. The internal temperature when read on an instant read meat thermometer should be 140 to 145 degrees F for medium-rare.

For garnish, heat about 1/4 cup olive oil in a small pan until just about to smoke. Add jalapeno, garlic and cilantro and cook until just starting to brown, 1-2 minutes. Serve on top of steaks.


Potatoes a L'alsacienne

2 pounds of potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
3 slices of thick cut bacon, diced
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
4 tbsp chopped fresh chives
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
4 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

Put the potatoes in a pot and add water to cover and salt the water (about 1 tbsp). Bring to a boil and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, melt butter and olive oil together.  Add diced bacon and onion. Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until the bacon almost begins to crisp. Add the cooked potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes start to crisp (about 10 minutes).

Stir in all the fresh herbs until wilted. Serve warm.

Fathers Day Snackage - Roasted Bone Marrow

This little treat is one of Papa Bear's favorite things. If you have never tried this, we all highly recommend that you do so as soon as humanly (or inhumanly - we're not picky) possible. Roasted bone marrow is a rich and indulgent way to treat yourself...which is exactly why I made this today for Fathers Day for one of the best Dads I know!

Another plus to this dish is that it is extremely inexpensive. All of the bones were purchased for just a mere $2!! I think it actually may have cost more to run the oven for 20 minutes...seriously. Also, it is almost effortless to make.

I can't always find these in the meat section of my friendly neighborhood grocery store, so when I do see them, I snag a couple of packages and freeze them for when we are in the mood for them. Even Drama Queen and Little Lawyer love them!

I can certainly understand people being...squeemish...about trying this, but trust me.  If it helps at all, try not to think about what you are eating too much. Eat it for the experience and for the flavor. And yes indeed, I eat all the mainstream parts as well as the nasty bits, too. There's way more to eat out there than chicken breasts, people!! I've cooked and eaten (and loved!) oxtail, chicken liver, beef tongue, and every piece of an entire suckling pig, plus a whole lot more! I will never, ever say "Eww! No!" to trying something new or different because odds are I will like it; if I don't, I will know why and I don't have to eat it again. I never know what will be my next favorite thing either, so if I don't try it, I will never know if I'll love it!

The flavor of marrow is still meaty, but meltingly smooth, rich, gelatinous and oily (but in a good way). We can't sit down and eat a ton of it because it is so rich and heavy, but Papa Bear and I are usually good for about 3-5 bones apiece depending on the size.

So let's make some roasted bone marrow, shall we?

Preheat your oven to 450.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place bones marrow up on baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside.  You can certainly omit the oil here so the marrow has less of an oily-ness to it, but I happen to like it. Plus, the olive oil adds a little fruitiness to the marrow.

Slice a nice baguette (or your favorite bread) and you can either toast the slices in the oven for a few minutes before you cook the bones or choose not to toast them at all - we've done it both ways.  I have read that some people will place the slices of bread underneath the bones before putting them in the oven so that the bread will soak up the fat that drizzles out the bones while cooking.  I do want to try it this way, but honestly, I keep forgetting to do it. I usually don't remember to slice the bread until the bones have already gone in the oven...so if you do try it this way, please let me know how you like it!

Put the bones in the oven for about 20 minutes or so, depending on the size. What you're looking for here in the finished dish is a giving, loose marrow, but not yet melted away to nothing. And believe me, if you cook them for too long, it will all melt away and disintegrate into a gooey mess...not good.

Serve the bones with the toast/bread and a small spoon. Scoop the marrow from the bone (it should come out very easily) and spread it on the toast/bread. Season with "wet salt", which is just coarse kosher salt moistened with a few drops of water. Then eat and enjoy!!