Just Call Me "Dr. Betty Crocker"

As explained in an earlier post... the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. But food isn't just a great way to land/keep a guy - it is also a fantastic way to win over your boss, celebrate an occasion & impress your friends. What is a universally great way to accomplish all this... dessert!

Over the summer I was externing with a Judge and I made it a point to create a new recipe to bring in every Friday. Most were cupcake recipes, some were slight alterations on family recipes, but all were a rousing success! Friday became known as "Cupcake Day" & clerks and judges alike snuck in to chambers to steal a sweet snack.

But, working 60 hrs a week was not really conducive to slaving away over a hot oven for hours. So what resulted was a bunch of recipes using Betty Crocker cake mixes doctored up. No one knew that they weren't from scratch and I saved a ton of time. Now, I'm sharing my secrets with you.

Quickest Fix: Adding a teaspoon or two of vanilla to any box mix (whatever the flavor) helps to add a homemade flavor. I do this with everything! Also you can add coco powder to intesify the flavors of chocolate batters. This works amazingly for red velvet cake too!

Funfetti: If you want to make funfetti cake (its white cake with rainbow sprinkles), but don't have a mix on-hand, just take a 1/4 of rainbow sprinkles and mix with a teaspoon or two of flour. Then fold into your white cake mix batter. The flour ensures that the sprinkles don't sink to the bottom of the cupcake while baking and instead float throughout.

Espresso: Want your brownies to be kicked up a notch? How about making mocha cupcakes? (Fun fact - add the word mocha and people immediately are impressed) Follow the box recipe, but instead of just adding the water plain, add espresso instead. Warm the water in the microwave for a minute then add 1-2 tablespoons of instant espresso powder. Stir, then add to the batter.

Icing: This is the one thing I would tell you to make from scratch. It is completely noticable when it is from a can & doesn't take a lot of time to pull together. Here is a recipe for a simple vanilla buttercreme...
Ingredients -
1 cup unsalted butter
6 cups of powdered sugar
4-6 tbsps of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions -
Mix the butter until creamy. Then add a cup of powdered sugar.
Add a teaspoon of milk.
Alternate between adding the sugar and milk. The desired consistency depends on how you will be frosting your cupcakes/cake. Thicker is ideal for piping, but you will want it more loose for frosting with a knife.
Add the vanilla.

Want a variation on this recipe? Add 3-4 tablespoons of coco powder for chocolate buttercreme. 2 tablespoons of espresso powder to that and you have mocha buttercreme. Instead of using all milk you can add some juice from maraschino cherries for a cherry vanilla pink icing. Or do this to the chocolate recipe and you have chocolate cherry cordial icing. You can use another type of extract to achieve another flavor... try orange or almond or even raspberry.

Brownies: Want to make brownies look fancier. Instead of cutting them into squares, cut them into sticks (one long cut down the middle and then slice each rectangle into 10-12 strips). Dust with powdered sugar.

Piping: Piping your icing onto the cupcakes makes a huge impact, although it does take a little more time than just using a knife. I think that it is well worth it though. Don't have a fancy piping kit? Then just cut the corner from a ziplock bag. Warning: as you hold the bag the icing does heat up and melt a bit - which is why having a stiffer icing is ideal. A quick fix for this is just to take a break and put the bag in the freezer for 30 seconds.

Some of My Favorite Combinations:
- Mocha Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercreme
- Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercreme (for an added patriotic touch put a blueberry on top)
- Funfetti Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercreme
- Triple Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cherry Cordial Buttercreme (add a maraschino cherry on top for a fun touch)
- Vanilla Cupcakes with a Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Buttercreme

Enjoy!

Love & First Bite: Why Vampires are the Newest Sex Symbol

Lately you are hard pressed to find a girl, teen or woman that has not been bitten by the vampire craze.

If you want a brooding, deep teenager who is an expert at bedroom eyes - Edward Cullen is your guy.


Interested in some brothers action? The new series Vampire Diaries will deliver.

If you like sexy, ancient, bad boys then Lestat (Tom Cruise in Interview with a Vampire) is a good match.



And we can't forget Eric in True Blood - a chiseled, cocky and ancient vampire with a hidden soft side.

But why has this mythical creature reached new heights in popularity with a corresponding rise in female fantasies? What has made the classic equation of human woman + male vampire = love, explode throughout the entertainment and literary industries?

I don't think that it is an accident that women are so drawn to the character of a vampire. Part of it is a "they chose me" attitude. Think: captain of the football team fantasy in high school. These men could have anyone, seduce anyone... but the attraction is them choosing you. Not just as a food source, but as an equal - to love and to cherish.

Also, vampires have an inherent bad boy streak. There is something dangerous and subsequently sexy about a bad boy that has always attracted women. Well, this character brings it to the next level by there actually being an element of risking your life. At any point they can lose control and take things too far.

Vampires are also a little amorphous with their sexuality. After being around for hundreds of years, they pretty much have tried everything. They also have had hundreds of years to perfect their technique in the bedroom. A well trained man in that department is definitely a turn on!

Passion. ALL women want it. We want to be adored - the center of someone's universe. And every woman wants to be looked at with those passionate stares that vamps are known for. You know what I mean, the intense stares that say "I want you", "I NEED you", "You look good enough to eat" all rolled into one.

And it doesn't hurt that they choose actors like Robert Pattinson, Brad Pitt and Alexander Skarsgard playing them. These men are gorgeous anyway, but add a little fang and their sex appeal is skyrocketed to a-whole-nother level!

Finally, there is fantasy about getting bitten (at least in the stories that it doesn't get you killed). It is a very overtly sexual act... the ultimate penetration for a vampire and blood-donor. Many times, feeding is directly linked to a sexual activity, only increasing its draw.

With all this, women are not going to soon abandon their vampire fantasies. Especially when they have the Twilight Series movies, another season of True Blood & Vampire Diaries to look forward to.