Spicy Penne alla Vodka

Posted by: Maggie

Congrats to Nicole/comment #2 for winning our Anthropologie apron giveaway! Nicole has been contacted and will receive her prize shortly. Thanks to all who entered!

Annie makes amazing penne alla vodka. I've been asking her to blog about it ever since we started A Bitchin' Kitchen, but she's oddly protective of the recipe and refuses. Generally I despise food that is not at its intended temperature - for example, I'd rather eat boogers than cold pizza or cold fried chicken, but I actually ate a bowl of cold penne alla vodka while visiting her in Philly last fall. It's just that stinkin' good. 

Anyway, since Annie is keeping her recipe on lockdown, I was forced to find another version to satisfy me. I turned to The Curvy Carrot, since I enjoyed the Pasta Puttanesca recipe that I got from her site earlier this year so much. Fortunately, her penne alla vodka recipe was also perfect, and I loved that it contained a generous portion of red pepper flakes. The added spice just made one of my favorite pasta dishes even better!

Here's what you'll need:

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 pound penne pasta (I recommend making the whole box if you like your pasta less saucy)
Fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded

Set up a large pot of water to boil while you start the sauce.

Divide your can of tomatoes into two halves. Place one half in a food processor, and puree until smooth. Chop the remaining tomatoes into small pieces, and set aside. Combine your pureed tomatoes, and chopped tomatoes to equal 2 cups. Add the reserved juice to get to a full 2 cups if necessary.

In a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add in minced garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and salt.

Remove pan from heat, and add vodka. Return the pan to the heat, and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta. At this point your water should be boiling. Add in pasta, and cook according to package directions.

After sauce has cooked for 8-10 minutes and reduced slightly, stir in the cream, and cook until heated through. Add the cooked and drained penne to the sauce, and stir to combine. Add additional salt to taste, and top with fresh basil.

Printer-friendly
Source: The Curvy Carrot / Cooks Illustrated

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Posted by: Annie

I made these delicious cupcakes for my best friend's birthday. Thanksgiving often falls on or around her birthday, and I know that many of her birthday celebrations have involved a slice or two of apple pie. Two years ago I made her these filled Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. This year I chose to stick with the Thanksgiving theme and fill vanilla cupcakes with apple pie filling, and then top them with a delicious buttercream. 

These cupcakes were actually part of a much larger gift. Back in October, one of my best friends, Dana, made me the most thoughtful birthday gift. She titled it "Annie's Favorite Things" and compiled a bunch of items that were specific to what I appreciate and love in life. Dana filled a colander with a vanilla cupcake candle, a cookbook, cocktail mix, Keurig pumpkin spice coffee, Diet Coke, and more. It was such a thoughtful gift that I totally ripped it off and reused the idea (thanks Dana!)

The birthday girl was thrilled with the cupcakes and her other "favorite things," and even though Thanksgiving has passed, these cupcakes still make a fabulous addition to any dessert table during the holiday season.

Lastly, don't forget to enter our blogiversary giveaway! It closes at 11:59 p.m. tonight!

What you will need:

For the cupcakes:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

For the apple pie filling:

2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced

For the vanilla buttercream:

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

To make the cupcakes, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy (approximately 2 minutes.) Next, beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla extract. Alternate beating in the dry ingredients and milk, in small increments, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among cupcake tins. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place cupcakes on a cooling rack.

To make the apple pie filling, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add cinnamon and sugar and heat until bubbly. Lower the heat and stir in apples. Coat thoroughly with cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until apples are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling the cupcakes.

To make the frosting, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy. Stir in sugar and salt and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla and heavy cream. Mix on medium-low speed for approximately four minutes, until frosting appears light and fluffy.

To assemble, use a paring knife to cut out the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with apple pie filling, and frost with buttercream.

Printer-friendly
Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Fatty Fat Fats

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted by: Maggie

Things have been kind of cupcake heavy around here lately. Last month we had Annie's homemade funfetti, and my pumpkin spice cupcakes for two. A couple weeks ago, Annie shared some deeeelicious looking peanut butter cupcakes that had me wishing I lived up in NJ, just so I could try one. 

Hopefully you guys are cool with the cupcake excess. I figure as long as we're bombarding you with sweets, and not like...liver, or haggis you'll keep coming back.

I made these cupcakes earlier this month for my dad's birthday, and we were both in agreement that they're mighty tasty! They're a dark chocolate cake, filled with a bittersweet chocolate ganache, and topped with a chocolate sour cream frosting. They're intensely rich, but not excessively sweet thanks to the use of bittersweet chocolate, and dark, dutch-processed cocoa powder.

I hope all of our U.S. readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow with your friends and families! Don't forget to enter our Anthropologie apron giveaway if you haven't already. The winner will be randomly selected next week!

For the cupcakes (yields 13-14)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream

For the ganache filling:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

For the frosting:

(if you don't like a 1:1 cupcake to frosting ratio like me, cut this recipe in half!)

14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted after measuring
6 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons full-fat sour cream

To make the cupcakes, adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if using a non-stick cupcake tin.) Line 14 cupcake wells with paper liners. Important note: obviously this recipe makes too much batter for one cupcake pan. I do not recommend baking the extra cupcake pan containing two liners at the same time as the full pan. The cupcakes will bake unevenly.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa. Microwave on 50% power for 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. Set aside to cool until slightly warm to the touch.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder to combine.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer on low speed. Add in sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and beat until combined. Pour about one-third of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Beat until just combined, and then mix in the sour cream. Add in the remaining flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined. The batter will be thick and mousse-like.

Divide the batter evenly among cupcake tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake!

Cool cupcakes completely before filling with ganache and frosting.

To make the ganache, combine the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on full power in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Stir, and continue heating at 15 second increments until fully melted. Remove from the microwave, and transfer to freezer. Allow the mixture to chill for 30 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes to promote even cooling. When the mixture has cooled and thickened, and is no longer runny, fill the cupcakes.

To fill the cupcakes, remove the core using one of the many handy cupcake coring doodads on the market these days (I got one at Target for about $6,) or just use a knife. Or an apple corer, whatever strikes your fancy. Fill the hole in the cooled cupcakes with the ganache, and set aside while you make the frosting.

To make the frosting, add the chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on 50% power for 30 second increments, stirring after each increment until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool until barely warm. (This is important - if you add it to the other ingredients when it's too warm it will melt the butter and ruin your frosting!)

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Beat in the cooled, melted chocolate, and lastly, the sour cream. Continue beating on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly combined. Use immediately, and refrigerate any leftover.

Printer-friendly
Recipes adapted from: Cupcakes - Cooks Illustrated, Ganache - Post Gazette, Frosting - Annie's Eats