Asparagus Portabella Zucchini Quiche

After my last trip to the farmer's market, I still had a relatively large bunch of asparagus. Let's face it: there are only so many asparagus grilled cheeses and asparagus omelettes that I can make before I go batty. So I decided to convert some of the asparagus into a quiche inspired by the Asparagus, Morel and Ramp Quiche with Brown Rice Crust that Closet Cooking, my new favorite food blogger, had made.

Of course, when I went to pick up some mushrooms (portabellas for me!), I sidled past some zucchinis and nabbed one of those too. I figured a zucchini would be a nice little addition to the quiche as well. So now, the name of my little dish was transformed to an Asparagus Portabella Zucchini Quiche. OK, I know that's a mouthful. If it makes you feel better, you can call it "Vegetable Quiche". Then you won't have to worry about all those pesky words. And let's not talk about using the word portabella vs. portabello. The Mushroom Council uses "portabella", so that's good enough for me.

Asparagus Portabella Zucchini Quiche
heavily adapted from Closet Cooking's Asparagus, Morel and Ramp Quiche with Brown Rice Crust

• 1 pie crust (homemade or store bought - I opted for store bought)
• 3 ramps, diced
• 1 green garlic stalk, sliced
• 1 Tbsp butter/extra virgin olive oil
  
• 3/4 cup asparagus (about 10 thin stalks)
• 1 portabella mushroom, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp dill
  
• 3/4 cup fontina & parmesan cheese, grated
• dash of habanero sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

1) Blind bake the pie crust:

- Use a fork to prick the bottom and sides of the pie crust.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

2) Steam or boil the asparagus for 2 minutes.
* Note: You can also saute the asparagus with the portabella and zucchini if you prefer.

3) Meanwhile, saute the ramps and green garlic in a pan with 1Tbsp butter until softened. You could also use extra-virgin olive oil in addition to or instead of the butter.

4) Add the portabella and zucchini. Saute for a few minutes, until softened. Add salt and pepper.

5) Chop the asparagus in thirds and add the asparagus to the portabella and zucchini. Mix to combine.

6) Mix the eggs, milk, 1/4 cup of the cheese, dill, and habanero sauce in a bowl. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

7) Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and top with the remaining cheese.

8) Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown and set in the center, about 45 minutes.

After I let the quiche cool a bit, I cut into it and it was scrumptious. The vegetables complimented each other and the eggs and cheese were so deliciously creamy. To be honest, I would have liked to have more asparagus in the quiche, but other than that, I think this experiment turned out really well!

Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts and Feta

I cannot tell a lie. I didn't actually come up with this recipe. It was "borrowed" from Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. I've actually made this dish before, in my pre-blog days, when I was trying to figure out exactly what a blog was.

I love cauliflower, whether it's raw, roasted, cooked, pureed, etc... I'll take it. Did I mention that I also like walnuts and feta cheese? So the first time I saw this recipe, I knew it was for me. After I made it, I knew I had to hold on to this recipe so I could make it again. And now that I have duplicated it with amazing results once again, I wanted to share (or "re-share", since it's already been posted on another blog) it with you guys.

Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts and Feta
from SmittenKitchen

• 1 pound pasta (whole wheat or regular - I chose regular)
• 2 heads cauliflower
• 1 medium onion
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic
• White wine vinegar
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 4 ounces feta cheese (or ricotta salata)

1) Add the pasta to a pot of boiling water. Cook according to instructions.

2) Cut the cauliflower into small pieces, using mostly the flowerets and not the thick woody stalks.

3) Thinly slice the onion.

4) Mince the garlic.

5) In a large pan, saute the cauliflower in a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then toss in the onion and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook the cauliflower and onion until they are fork-tender. (At this point, you can choose to saute the cauliflower for as little or as much time as you like. It all depends on how you like your vegetables.)

6) Stir in the garlic and remove the pan from the burner. You can add a little splash of water if you find that the pan is still too hot for the garlic.

7) Add a splash of the vinegar and lemon juice.

8) Toss in the toasted walnuts. Add salt and pepper according to your taste.

9) Add the cooked pasta to the saute pan. Add olive oil to coat the pasta and cauliflower, then toss to combine.

10) Place in a serving bowl and top with the feta cheese.

I love the salty-sweet combination of the walnuts, feta, and carmelized onions. I also liked the crunchy texture of the cauliflower. Although it was crunchier than I would have liked it to be, my roommate Kimmy preferred it that way. If you're like me, you can choose to saute the cauliflower for a bit longer. Obviously, it will softer the longer it is cooked.

Try this out for yourselves and let me (and Smitten Kitchen) know how it turns out!

S'mores Cheesecake Cupcakes

I recently had a discussion with a coworker about the next type of cupcake I would make. After a few minutes, we stumbled upon the idea of a S'mores cupcake. Sure, why not? But how about a S'mores Cheesecake Cupcake?

Uh-oh. Wait a minute. I had never made cheesecake before. There are all these horror stories out there about making cheesecake, so why did I just stuff my foot in my mouth and mention the dreaded "C" word? Of course, I could have cheated and baked a regular cake cupcake instead, making tweaks to keep it in the spirit of a S'more. But why not embrace the challenge?

The first thing I thought of was the crust. A graham cracker crust would make the perfect base for this cupcake. Kudos to me for that cheesecake idea! Then of course, the chocolate cheesecake would follow. And then for the marshmallow part of the S'more. Hmmm...I do have that amazing Marshmallow Frosting that I used on my Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcakes. That would be perfect! I finally set about making the cupcakes.

Graham Cracker Crust
(slightly adapted from iChef.com)

• 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or ~7 graham cracker sheets)
  
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter

1) Crush the graham crackers into crumbs (the finer the better!).

2) Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until incorporated.

3) Press into the bottom of 18 cupcake liners.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

While the crusts are baking, make the filling:

Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
(slightly adapted from Food Network Kitchens)

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used chocolate chips, so I didn't do any chopping)
  
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
  
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

Note: I made this batter in a stand mixer, but you can use a food processor, as directed in the original recipe.

1) Put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, up to 2 minutes more. (Alternatively put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water, and stir occasionally until melted and smooth.)

2) Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream together in a mixer until smooth. Scrape down the sides, as needed.

3) Add the eggs and beat until just incorporated.

4) Gently fold the chocolate into the wet ingredients until smooth.

5) Pour the filling over the cooled crusts in the cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees until fthe illing puffs slightly around the edges, but is still a bit wobbly in the center, about 30 minutes.

And beautiful cupcakes will emerge from the oven!

Frost with Marshmallow Frosting. Note that I used a little more than 1/4 lb of powdered sugar, instead of the 1/2lb of powdered sugar that is called for in the recipe. This is because the graham cracker crust and chocolate filling are pretty sweet as well.

The first time I tried to make these cupcakes, it was an epic fail. Why the heck did i want to "embrace the challenge" anyway? I'm not exactly sure which of my cheesecake-making blunders caused it. It could have been that I used ingredients which were not at room temperature (which made my cupcakes puff up and then sink into craters) or it could have been that little thing where I kinda sorta undercooked the cupcakes. I vainly tried to save them from undercooking by throwing them back in the oven for a few more minutes, but alas, it was not to be.

So this time, I did my cheesecake homework and revisited this recipe armed with some research tidbits. Here are some important things you can do so that your cheesecakes -- or cheesecake cupcakes -- turn out beautifully:

1) Make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature. When I typically see the phrase "room temperature" in a recipe, I ignore it. Yes, I'm a rebel baker. Usually, I'm too busy trying to find my camera and make sure I have all my ingredients to figure out if any of the ingredients need to be at room temperature or not. In the case of cheesecake, it's best to let everything sit out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before mixing the batter. The reason behind this is that you want to have a really smooth batter and it's difficult to make cold cream cheese smooth. Also, if the cream cheese isn't soft, you could end up overbeating the batter.

2) Eggs hold air, so once the eggs are added to the batter, mix only to incorporate. Otherwise, your batter will contain a lot of air which will try to get out while your cupcakes are baking. This allows for cracks in your cheesecake as the air tries to escape.

3) To help prevent overbeating, fold the melted chocolate into the batter. This step is related to Step #2 above. Doing this will prevent your cheesecake cupcakes from looking like souffles.

4) Use a water bath while baking. I find it's easiest to place your cupcake tins on a cookie sheet with some water in it. This will allow the cheesecake to bake more slowly and evenly.

So what was the verdict? Well, despite my efforts, the cupcakes cracked a little, but since the frosting covered that up pretty well, I didn't worry about it. Thankfully, the cupcakes didn't form craters in their centers once they were done baking. Whew!

Here is some of the feedback from cupcake taste-testing escapades:

- Double the graham cracker crust in the cupcake. It tastes much better when there is more graham in each bite. I agree with this comment. In my defense, the reason I didn't do this was because I pulled this recipe together from various sources. I didn't know how many cupcakes it would make, or how thick the graham cracker crust would be. I ended up making almost twice as many cheesecake crusts as needed, but if I had made only 18 crusts with the graham cracker mix, they would have been thicker.

- The cupcake was too sweet. I agree, yet disagree. The cupcakes were pretty sweet, but since I like sweet things, this wasn't a problem for me. The first time I tried to make these cupcakes, I didn't realize how sweet they would have turned out, so I guess having to redo them worked in my favor in the end. On my second attempt, I tried to minimize the sweetness by reducing the sugar in the crust, the chocolate filling, and the frosting. If you think this cupcake will be too sweet for you, then feel free to reduce the sugar even more.

- The frosting looks like crap. OK, this comment was mine. I've been really lazy about piping frosting lately and I really wanted to pipe these so they would look more appetizing. Unfortunately for my good intentions, I ran out of steam and I reached for the butter knife instead of a piping bag.

Overall, I thought the S'mores cheesecake cupcakes were smooth and creamy. The marshmallow frosting was pretty light, so I didn't feel as if it weighed down the cupcakes at all. I also really liked the flavor mixture of the graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow. Of course I also like S'mores, so that makes this dessert very easy for me to love. I can't wait to make it again. Maybe I'll get around to piping that frosting next time.

Asparagus Omelette & Roasted Blue Potatoes

This past Saturday was my inaugural visit to NYC's Union Square Farmer's Market. Actually, it was my first time ever at a farmer's market, and it was amazing! I perused the stands and saw some unbelievable produce. I spoke to several of the farmers/sellers about their goods and everyone was so knowledgeable. Impressive! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this momentous occasion, as I left my camera at home since it was supposed to thunderstorm on Saturday. Of course it didn't. I don't want to talk about it.

Let's talk about the goodies I scored instead. I was lucky enough to pick up some blue potatoes, asparagus, sugar snap peas, mesclun, ramps, green garlic, and Bosc pears.

Growing up in the Bahamas, I've had the opportunity to eat fruits and vegetables which are fresh from the garden. It's been a while since I've done that, which must account for my forgetfulness when it comes to washing things such as lettuce. I taste tested one of the lettuce leaves and was shocked to feel grit in my mouth. It immediately dawned on me that maybe I should thoroughly wash everything before I start the cooking process. Just a thought.

The moment I got home, I broke out the mesclun and sugar snap peas and made myself a quick but simple salad. I drizzled some balsamic vinaigrette over the greens and tossed. Afternoon snack? Check.

The lettuce was crisp, yet tender. The mesclun I purchased had a slightly bitter taste to it, but it was well rounded out by the sugar snap peas. I love crunchy things, so the peas were an awesome purchase. I'm tempted to go back to the market just to snag another bag of these pods!

On Sunday morning, I woke up to a beautiful bunch of asparagus staring me in the face. I'm always trying to come up with new ways to eat asparagus so that I'm not bored by it. Since I love omelets, I figured it would be appropriate to make an asparagus omelet.

Asparagus Omelet
Serves 1 person

• 4 stalks asparagus
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt & pepper
  
• 1 small ramp, diced
  
• 1 small green garlic bulb, diced
  
• handful Fontina cheese, grated or in small pieces

1) Blanch the asparagus stalks in boiling water for ~3 minutes. Remove and chop into thirds

2) Meanwhile, add the diced ramp and green garlic to the beaten eggs. (See comments below.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) Add egg mixture to a small, buttered frying pan. Swirl the egg mixture so it covers the bottom of the pan.

4) After a minute or two check to make sure the bottom of the omelet has set. Flip the omelet over so the other side can cook as well.

5) Add the asparagus and Fontina cheese on the top of the omelet, to one side.

6) After another minute or two, slide the omelet out of the pan and onto a plate. While the omelet is still warm, fold in half.

As my friend Anjelika would say, Bon Appetit!

This omelet was so fresh and satisfying, even though the ramps almost threatened to overpower the eggs and asparagus. Ramps are similar to an onion. They are almost out of season so I was lucky to snag some at the only stand still selling it at the market. When I make this again...because I will make this again...I would saute the ramps prior to adding the egg mixture. That way, they will have a more mellow presence in the omelet. The green garlic could have been more prominent as well. Green garlic is a young garlic clove, so the flavors are not as developed as a mature garlic bulb. I could have used maybe two small bulbs instead of just one. But I will still say that this omelet was amazing. And since the asparagus was really thin, it was much sweeter and tender-er than a thicker stalk. (I know that tender-er isn't a word, but work with me here.)

Here's a tip for making omelets extra fluffy. After pouring the egg mixture in the frying pan, wait about 20 seconds for the egg to begin to set. Then, with a spatula, begin pulling back the edges of the omelet gently. When you can see the bottom of the frying pan, tilt the frying pan in that direction so the "non-set" egg mixture can fill the empty space. Continue to do this until the egg mixture is gone or you are ready to flip. You should have a nice fluffy omelet now!

While I was at the farmers market I happened upon a sign that advertised blue potatoes. Um, yes please! I love those blue Terra chips that Jet Blue serves on its flights. I hate that they only have 6.5 potato chips in each bag, but that's another story.

I wasn't sure what to do with the potatoes so I thought I'd go au natural and just roast them. I wanted to enjoy that beautiful blue color.

Roasted Blue Potatoes

• ~10 small blue potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
  
• olive oil for drizzling over potatoes
• 1/4 tsp rosemary
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1 small ramp, diced
  
• 1 small green garlic bulb, diced

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Place potatoes in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.

3) Chop up rosemary and thyme if they're fresh. (I used dried herbs so I crushed them in my palm before sprinkling them on the potatoes.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

4) Sprinkle the diced ramp and green garlic over the potatoes.

5) Use fingers to evenly spread the olive oil, herbs, ramps and green garlic over the potatoes.

6) Bake for ~45 minutes. The time will vary depending upon your oven, the size of your potatoes, and how soft you like your potatoes. Use a fork to test whether or not they are done.

Ahhh blue goodness! I began eating these potatoes as soon as they came out of the over, irrespective of the fact that they were a scorching 350 degrees. I'm a visual eater, so even though they tasted just like regular potatoes, they were definitely a notch higher on my rung because of their gorgeous color. Pretty soon, I also discovered that these are great snacks. About 3/4 of the potatoes were gone about an hour and a half after they came out of the oven. Oh well, I'm trying to support our local farmers here!

Thus, I consider my first visit to the farmers market a raging success. I can't wait to go back as soon as possible so that I can show you what else I find!

Compost Spaghetti Sauce

This "recipe" was inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Cupcake Project. Of course, Stefanie made Compost Cupcakes, but why couldn't I make Compost-Something-Else? A compost recipe is basically a mixing and matching of your favorite items in a batter/sauce/etc...So I thought about the ingredients I had around the house already and improvised.

Here's what I came up with...

Compost Spaghetti Sauce

• olive oil (for sauteing)
• 1 shallot, diced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (I used a store-bought Cabernet Marinara sauce)
• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• dash of hot sauce
• salt & pepper (if necessary)
  

1) In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over high heat. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.

2) Add the spaghetti sauce and stir. Allow the sauce to heat up for a minute or two.

3) Add the pesto into the sauce and stir. Allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes.

4) Add the ricotta and stir. Allow the sauce to simmer for a few minutes (yes, again).

5) Throw in a dash of hot sauce and salt and pepper, if you think the sauce needs it (mine didn't).


Ladle over some pasta and you're ready to go!

I realize that I didn't really provide very many instructions for this recipe/process, but it's really super simple. The next time you want to pump up your spaghetti sauce (or just get rid of items that are chillin' around your kitchen), you can make your own personalized version of this.

Asparagus Risotto

I'm back to being a good Food Network magazine subscriber. It's taken me a while to read through all the latest issues, but now that I have, I'm inspired once again. So in honor of this inspiration, let's cook!

It's finally spring and this year, I have a newfound love of asparagus. I've had a lot of grilled asparagus in the past few weeks, but I've been looking for a new way to enjoy it. I couldn't believe it when I opened April's Food Network magazine and stumbled upon a recipe for Asparagus Risotto.

Let me state the obvious: I'm not Italian. But I love risotto all the same (especially my Butternut Squash Risotto, which I have yet to make for this blog but it's sooooo good!). So I just had to make this. Upon first glance, this recipe seemed to be complicated (at least for me), but after I read through it a few times and actually made the dish, I realized that it's relatively easy.

Risotto with Asparagus

• 2 bunches thick asparagus (about 2 pounds)
• 1 sprig fresh thyme or lemon thyme (I used two pinches of dried thyme, since I didn't have any fresh thyme)
  
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• Salt
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 head Bibb lettuce, cut into strips
• 8 ounces Robiola or Taleggio cheese, thinly sliced
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1) Peel the bottom third of the asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler. Snap each stalk where it breaks naturally.

2) Thinly slice 6 asparagus bottoms.

3) Place the rest of the bottoms in a saucepan with 8 cups water and the thyme to make asparagus broth. Bring to a simmer.

4) Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 2 minutes.

5) Add the rice and cook, stirring until glossy, about 1 minute.

6) Add 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.

7) Pour in the wine and stir until absorbed.

8) Stir in 1/2 cup of the asparagus broth until absorbed. Continue to add broth in 1/2 cup increments, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more, about 10 minutes. (You should have about half the broth left.)

9) Stir in the sliced asparagus bottoms and the lemon zest. Add the remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice is just tender, 5 to 8 more minutes.

10) Meanwhile, place the asparagus tips in a large skillet, cover with water and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-high heat until just tender, about 5 minutes.

11) Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the Parmesan and lemon juice to the risotto.

12) Stir in the lettuce, remove from the heat and season with salt.

13) Divide among bowls, top with the Robiola or Taleggio and season with pepper.

14) Drizzle the asparagus tips with olive oil and spoon over the risotto.

OK, so now that you've seen the entire recipe, let me tell you that I was unable to follow all of these directions. This should not be a surprise, as we all know that I have a slight problem with recipe directions. If you have any doubts about this, you can check out my first few blog posts where I happen to falter in either Step 1 or 2 of the recipe. History kind of, sort of repeated itself again:

1) I forgot to peel all of the asparagus stalks when making the asparagus broth. Well, I didn't really forget. I just didn't read the directions correctly.

2) I got so excited by time this dish was almost finished that I forgot to season it with pepper and drizzle the asparagus tips with extra virgin olive oil.

BUT...I bring up this point only to show that it doesn't matter if you try to screw up your dish. It will still turn out fine. Like mine did!

The asparagus risotto was creamy and delicious. The asparagus flavor from the broth could be detected underneath the tang from the melted Parmesan and lemon juice. The Bibb lettuce has a buttery flavor and it wilted nicely into the risotto.

Of course I used more Parmesan cheese than the recipe called for. I added 1/2 cup Parmesan instead of the 1/4 cup the actual recipe calls for. You know I can't resist doing this. I also wasn't able to find Robiola or Taleggio cheese in my neighborhood grocery store, so I used Fontina instead. It worked like a charm! I also didn't have any white wine on hand (I'm a red wine drinker) so I created a mixture of 1/2 cup water and 2 tbsp lemon juice. I used this instead of the white wine. Good things come to those who are creative! Bon appetit!

I also apologize slightly for going wild with the camera, but who ever gets tired of looking at food anyway.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

I've been away from my poor blog for too long! But I'm back just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

A few weeks ago I ventured into the new Hoboken 7-Eleven store. I headed straight to the back of the store for a Slurpee. As I was reaching for my favorite flavor (Cherry) I caught a glimpse of another flavor: Pina Colada. What was this? Is this new? Considering I haven't had a Slurpee in years, I had no idea if it was a new flavor or not. But I did know that I needed to try it. And it was delicious. Could I make this into a cupcake? Why not...

Pina Colada Cupcakes
(adapted from Wilton Pineapple Cupcakes recipe)
makes ~24 cupcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

1) Preheat oven to 325°F.

2) In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

3) In separate bowl, whisk together oil, coconut milk, eggs and coconut extract.

4) Stir in sugar.

5) Add flour mixture and mix well.

6) Fold in crushed pineapple.

7) Pour batter into cupcake liners until about 3/4 full.

8) Bake ~17 minutes. (I rotated my cupcake tins about halfway through the baking, so that they would cook more evenly.)

Pina Colada Frosting
(adapted from Gale Gand's Quick Vanilla Frosting recipe)

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract
• 2.5 tablespoons pineapple rum
  
• 1 tablespoon milk (the real recipe calls for whipping cream, but I didn't have any)
  

1) In a standing mixer, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

2) Add coconut extract, rum, and milk. Continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more.

3) Frost cooled cupcakes.

I thought the cupcakes were very moist. This is probably due to the use of oil and crushed pineapples in the batter. I couldn't use the toothpick method to tell when the cupcakes were done, but a cupcake sprung (spring, sprang, sprung?) back when I pressed gently on it. So ta-da! They were done.

I really liked the flavor combination of the coconut and pineapple, but alas, the flavor as a whole did not really represent a pina colada. Back to the drawing board I guess. Maybe I need to use pineapple extract as well next time?

The crushed pineapple was sweet and could be detected in the cupcake. Although I described the cupcake as quite moist, I didn't say it was bad! Very, very unfortunately, the pineapple rum really didn't play a leading role in the frosting. On the bright side, the frosting itself was amazing. It is seriously my new most favorite-est frosting ever. The coconut rum was prominent, and the texture was as smooth as silk. (Hint: Make sure to add the confectioner's sugar slowly to the butter when making the frosting. This will give you a really smooth and light frosting.) I could eat this frosting on its own. And I may have tested a spoonful or two of the extra frosting once I was done with the cupcakes. Just maybe.

Another successful cupcake. (Hey, let me toot my own horn once in a while since I do have cupcake flops sometimes.) I force fed them to my roommate and her family this past weekend and they didn't seem to mind at all, which was awesome of them!

So let's raise a glass, or a cupcake, to Cinco de Mayo. These may not be margaritas, margarita cupcakes, or anything remotely Mexican, but we can still celebrate as if they are!