Delicious Deception

My favorite cupcake memory comes from my school days, when it was customary to bring in treats for your classmates on your birthday. You remember them ... those cute little cakes with the foil wrappers. Perhaps your favorite was yellow cake with chocolate frosting, or maybe it was chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. If you were really wild, it might have been funfetti! And if you were a real cupcake connoisseur like me, you may have even liked them baked in ice cream cones.

Every year for my birthday, my mom (who rarely baked) would break out her best ... box mix. That's right. One box of cake and one tub of frosting later, and I had 24 little cupcakes to share with the kids in my class. If we were really lucky, there may have been sprinkles involved. Luckily, we weren't very picky at that age.

As I thought long and hard about this final Blogger Challenge from America's Test Kitchen, I eventually said "Why mess with a good thing?" So I decided to bring it back to the old school. One box of cake mix and one tub of frosting later, and I had ... just kidding!

Having won the last Blogger Challenge, you know I felt just a bit more pressure to make this submission good. So I took my birthday cupcake of choice from childhood to the next level. Instead of just a simple cupcake in a cone, I decided on chocolate dipped cones!

My recipe combines a number of favorites: the cake cones traditional to chocolate dipped cones, the best-ever chocolate cupcake recipe from America's Test Kitchen (which I made just a few weeks ago), Martha Stewart's "seven-minute-frosting-that-takes-twelve-minutes-to-make," and a simple chocolate coating to bring it all together. Sounds like a lot of work? It's guaranteed to be harder than the box mix mom made. But they're so cute, it's all worth it!

Chocolate Dipped Cone Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
18 flat-bottomed (cake) ice cream cones

For Frosting
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For Coating
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Wrap a 1-inch thick band of foil around the base of each cake cone and stand cones up in muffin tins. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk boiling water, cocoa, and chocolate chips until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until incorporated. Divide batter evenly among cones, filling each about halfway. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean, about 22  minutes. Cool cupcakes in tin on wire rack. When completely cool, discard foil.

To prepare frosting, combine sugar, egg whites, water, and cream of tartar in a glass bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Place bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and continue beating on high until stiff peaks form, about 12 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and stir in vanilla.

Spoon frosting into large zip-top bag. Snip a corner of the bag and pipe frosting onto cupcakes, swirling into an ice cream shape. (Martha claims your frosting should be 2 inches high. Good luck with that.) Carefully stand cupcakes back up in muffin tins and transfer to refrigerator. Chill 15 to 20 minutes, or until frosting appears set.

While cupcakes are chilling, prepare coating. Combine chips and oil in a small, deep, microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high, approximately 20 seconds at a time, whisking well between nukes, until completely smooth. Allow coating to cool for several minutes.

Remove cupcakes from fridge. Holding cupcakes by the cone, dip each one into the coating to completely cover frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, then transfer back to fridge. Allow to set at least 2 hours. Serve cold (of course!).

Fair Food Phenomenon: Deep Fried Mac and Cheese

Upon moving to Wisconsin nearly eight years ago, I faced the stark realization that I'd been deprived of two very important things as a child: macaroni and cheese, and summer outings to the State Fair.

You see, when I was growing up, I didn't even get the mac and cheese from the infamous blue box. It just wasn't something my mom, a proponent of healthful, homemade dinners, would put on the table. And being a city girl, I couldn't fathom the idea of a State Fair. My idea of livestock was the sea lions at Pier 39, and they were more likely to be observed with a slice of sourdough in your hand than a corn dog.

Now I'm not saying that mac and cheese and State Fairs go hand in hand ... but it turns out they're also not mutually exclusive. In fact, they're downright compatible!

If it's cheesy, deep fried, or served on a stick, you can find it at the Wisconsin State Fair. And the culmination of these three culinary phenomena is a trifecta of Fair food goodness. That's why Deep Fried Mac and Cheese on a stick is my ultimate State Fair dish ... and something I had to recreate at home.

My lack of mac and cheese experience initially made me nervous about this week's Blogger Challenge from America's Test Kitchen. But as I thought about it, I realized that this Challenge afforded me the perfect opportunity to put this recipe to the test. And it turns out that was a pretty darn good idea.

I based my mac and cheese off of the Skillet Macaroni and Cheese recipe from Cook's Country, just scaled back a bit and minus the topping. Then I treated the leftovers as I would any food for frying ... a little seasoned flour, egg wash, and some breadcrumbs. A couple minutes later and voila! Delicious little nuggets of creamy, cheesy, carb-y goodness with just the right amount of crunch!

I had good intentions of threading these deep fried wedges onto wooden skewers to really replicate the State Fair feel, but they didn't last long enough. Bill and I couldn't help but gobble them up as soon as they were cool enough to handle. I should also note that I fried a very small batch. For the sake of our arteries, the remaining mac and cheese is tucked safely away in a casserole dish, waiting to serve as a side on another day.

Before the insanity ensued!

Deep Fried Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 cups large elbow macaroni
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper
1 cup vegetable oil, for frying
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:
Bring water, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to simmer in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add macaroni and cook, stirring often, until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining evaporated milk, cornstarch, and hot sauce, then stir into skillet. Cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in cheese, gradually adding water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce (I ended up using about 1/3 of a cup). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Have a helping (because it's best when it's hot and gooey!), place the leftovers in a container, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the mac and cheese from the fridge and cut a portion (about 1/3 of the leftovers) from the container. Slice into wedges. Place flour in a shallow dish and season with cayenne and salt and pepper. In another shallow dish, whisk egg. Place breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish. Working one wedge at a time, dredge the mac and cheese in flour, then dip it in egg, then coat it in breadcrumbs.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small saucepan. Oil should be about 370 degrees for frying (but rather than checking the temperature with a thermometer, I just stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and call it ready when small bubbles rise around it). Carefully place 2 or 3 coated mac and cheese wedges in the hot oil and fry, 1 to 2 minutes, turning once for even browning. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove wedges to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining wedges.

Careful! You should allow the mac and cheese wedges to cool for a minute or so before scarfing them down. But good luck with that!

Jen's Juicy Lucy

I've been waiting for weeks for America's Test Kitchen to choose a Blogger Challenge that I felt confident in conquering, and this week it finally came. It was almost like fate ... On Sunday I made some of the most delicious burgers ever grilled, but decided to save the post for another night. Monday morning, I saw @TestKitchen tweet about this week's burger challenge and I felt like I'd experienced divine intervention. Clearly, something was telling me to postpone that post for a reason!

We make a lot of burgers in our house, especially during the summer when my husband basically lives over the grill. While Bill often mimics Bobby Flay, I usually turn to my most trusted source, America's Test Kitchen, for recipe inspiration.

Well, they were certainly on the right track with their Cook's Country All-American Burger, which mixes traditional toppings like bacon and cheese into the meat. But in true Midwest fashion, Minnesota has taken the "contained ingredients" technique a step further. Why have cheese scattered throughout your burger patty when you can take one big, juicy bite and reveal an oozing, cheese-licious center? Thus, I give you the Juicy Lucy.

I was first introduced to the Juicy Lucy with an episode of Man v. Food on the Travel Channel, where Adam Richman visited Minneapolis and two dives both claiming to be the originators of this burger: The 5-8 Club and Matt's Bar. Just a 6-hour drive and my husband and I had a chance to experience this ourselves ... and it was worth the trip! With me and the Juicy Lucy, it was love at first bite.

I know I'm not a Midwest native ... I'm just a humble transplant. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the genius of ooey, gooey, oh-so-melty cheese stuffed inside of a burger! In fact, I can't believe you don't see this more often and I can't believe it took an episode of Man v. Food for me to be exposed to this delicacy. Naturally, I needed to perfect it myself (since a 6-hour drive for a burger isn't do-able more than once a year ... although it's tempting). I think I've succeeded in creating something to give the 5-8 and Matt's a run for their money. On the outside it's just an unsuspecting burger. But on the inside my Juicy Lucy is bold and bursting with flavor ... literally!

Jen's Juicy Lucy
Makes 6 burgers
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons steak seasoning (such as McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak)
Salt and pepper
6 slices American cheese
Olive oil, for brushing
6 hamburger buns
Assorted burger toppings

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine beef, Worcestershire, steak seasoning, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Divide mixture into 6 equal parts, then shape each sixth into 2 thin patties (about 1/3-inch thick). (For those of you who are mathematically challenged like me, you should now have a total of 12 patties!).

Top 6 of your patties with cheese. (Note that a slice of cheese will likely be too large to be sandwiched between 2 patties. I recommend cutting each slice into fourths and creating little stacks to nestle in the center of each burger.) Place a plain patty atop each cheese-topped patty and pinch the edges together to ensure the cheese is encased by the beef.

Place burgers on a platter and allow to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your grill.

When coals are ready and grill grate is hot, remove burgers from fridge and brush a small amount of olive oil over both sides of each patty (this is easier - and less dangerous - than greasing the grill!). Grill burgers until well-seared on both sides, about 10 to 12 minutes total. Serve on toasted buns with your favorite toppings (I suggest onions, jalapeno relish, and ketchup, all topped off with a pickle slice!).

Before I made the original beef and American cheese version of the Juicy Lucy, I also attempted the sandwiched cheese technique with turkey burgers and Monterey Jack (pictured at right). I have to admit, it's tough to choose which I liked better! At the end of the day, I think you just can't go wrong with a hot, juicy burger oozing delicious, melting cheese. Now I have visions of more varieties ... a Greek burger stuffed with feta and topped with tzatziki, an Italian-seasoned burger stuffed with mozzarella and topped with roasted red peppers, a steakhouse burger stuffed with bleu cheese and topped with caramelized onions ... the list goes on and on. But the original is a true American classic that just can't be beat!