Cupcakes for Baby Jacob Henry!

This past weekend we celebrated the upcoming birth of my very dear friends Steph and Leroy's baby boy, Jacob Henry, their first child!

My contributions to the shower were red velvet cupcakes made from scratch (I don’t mess around when I bake). All in all I think they turned out great if I do say so myself, although a tad bit rich for my blood, and not as red as I would have liked.

I had initially planned on topping them with little trucks, which I thought would be super cute for a baby boy shower, but to my dismay, I could not locate an adequate adaptation to what I dreamed up in my head, so I had to go to plan B.

Plan B = me wondering around the greatest party store ever (Everything Party, Formerly Confetti Junction in Redmond, WA) until I found these adorable little blue rattles and pacifiers. This store has pretty much anything and everything you could imagine or not imagine, for a theme party. Go there and see for yourself, seriously (Halloween is just around the corner).


Back to my cupcakes… As I mentioned in my previous post, I was super nervous about trying red velvet. Anything that involves a “chemical reaction” freaks me out. The reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda turns the cocoa powder a reddish brown color, which turns the batter red (in addition to the red food coloring). I did not put enough food coloring; the batter was more a brick red vs. a bright red. If anyone has seen “Steel Magnolias”, J. Roberts’ cake was red velvet – an armadillo. The cake was so red it looked like blood!

PLUS, the Cupcake Queen, one Jamie McQuary, was in attendance and she makes some pretty yummy treats that are tough to compete with!

For the batter, I like to use cake flour because it is much lighter and makes the cupcakes really light and fluffy. This particular recipe called for sour cream, which I also really liked, because it kept the cake very moist. For the topping, I just love cream cheese frosting, and I thought the combination would be really good. I just mix equal parts unsalted butter and cream cheese and add powdered sugar (about 2-3 cups) until blended well. You can add food coloring to this recipe if you like. I opted for white this time.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy them, so I consider that a success! They were fun to make and I might just make a spooky version for Halloween.


Happy baking!

Red Velvet

Well folks, I am going to tackle the ever-so-popular and infamous Southern classic, RED VELVET! I have been fascinated and slightly obsessed with Red Velvet since J. Simpson married one Nick Lachey, so I finally have the chance to try it out.

I am making special cupcakes for one of my besties baby shower this Saturday. I found a great, traditional recipe, so let's hope I don't screw it up. Stay tuned....

What the hell is Funnel Cake?

As summer comes to an end (one can hope it is a slow and steady decline but this is Seattle, so fall could arrive at any given moment), the Fairs are in full swing and along with them... Fair Fare! Inspired by an electronic conversation amongst my best girl friends and a recent trip to the Monroe Fair (yes, I hit up Monroe twice in one weekend), I decided to look a little closer at a fair goers favorite; FUNNEL CAKE!

I have never actually seen or tried funnel cake before, but all I ever hear about come fair time is fricken funnel cake or deep fried snickers! In my head I envisioned some sort of cake shaped like a worm, which sounds less than appetizing. Come to find out, that is EXACTLY what it is, minus the cakey consistency. The consistency is more like a doughnut (fried dough), not to be confused with Elephant Ears, which are totally different (see below).

Wikipedia says funnel cakes are made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil in a circular pattern and deep frying it until golden-brown. They are often served with powdered sugar, jam, or other toppings.

What is the difference between funnel cake and said fair treat 'elephant ears' you ask? The difference is totally obvious. Elephant ears are made with risen yeast dough, whereas funnel cakes are made with an unleavened batter. And well, one looks like the ear of a giant African beast, and the other looks the same before and after you eat it (I know, inappropriate).


I thought I would also include an image of a deep fried snickers since I have never seen one of those either. This to me does not resemble something I would like to eat, let alone a dessert. However, rumor has it these are delicious morsals worth every fried, gooey, chocolatey calorie!

I am fascinated by the American-Hick tradition of fairs. The Evergreen State Fair aka the Monroe Fair, went on for like three weeks and the Puyallup Fair (the Monroe of the South) will now be going on for the next two! Some people actually purchase week-long passes, which I just do not understand. One day or even a few hours is plenty of fair fun for me. There are only so many farm animals/livestock to see/smell, rides that cost $5/ticket, and fried food to eat that always leads to trouble (I think you know what I mean). Though I am never one to pass up a bag of kettle corn.

My friend Coffey ventured to P-town last night and made a few of the following observations, along with some of my own:

- Hefty gals who keep their cell phones in their bras... WTF? A pager... maybe, but a cell phone?

- Stand in line for an hour for the Zipper only to finally reach the front and the ride closes due to an excess of puke from a teenybopper that has spewed in and around the ride. Icky....

- A mother who asks if she can hold her BABY so she can go on a ride (this was actually someone elses observation but I thought it was too absurd to leave out)

- One of the ride operators forgot to buckle in patrons and the ride took off with them screaming for mercy. There was a default safety mechanism but still.... 15 year olds should not be operating rides made in the 70's somewhere deep in Iowa (heard this one on the news this am)

- Republican Party booth giving away fake money with Obama's head in Arab garb and people actually thought it was real... COME ON PEOPLE!

-Parking for $20... in a field... next to a 1979 el camino and a cutless supreme

Happy Fairing!

Seafood in Monroe?

If you are from the greater Seattle area, you probably wouldn't say, "Hey lets go to Monroe for some good seafood." This city is more of a steak stop if you ask me... I mean, every which way you look there are barns and livestock. The only fish I figured Monroe would fry up good, would be that of the cat or carp kind.

Well, I am here to share that Sockeye's Restaurant & Bar located on the man-maid yet beautiful Lake Tye off Fryelands Blvd in Monroe, WA is just as good, if not better than our Seattle Favorite, Anthony's Home Port.

Sockeye's was a birthday choice and a good one at that (not mine). They sat us in front of a window overlooking the lake and I swear it looked like we were in North Carolina or somewhere in the South. We had the perfect vantage point to watch a gorgeous sunset... with a side of thundershowers.


They started us off with fresh baked foccacia bread seasoned with herbs and served with olive oil and balsamic. We went through two baskets in about five minutes.

I had a starter salad with blue cheese, lightly tossed with dressing and served with English cucumber and a tomato (yum). I decided to try something new in the fish category and took a chance with the Rockfish. No one at the table knew what Rockfish was so it was in deed a chance. Upon the arrival of my dish I decided I made the right choice! I discovered that Rockfish is a white, flakey fish, similar to halibut or mahi but much more mild - it's all about the flavoring with this fish.

My fish came with a cashew crust, pan sauteed with a side of tarter sauce that was TDF (to die for). Super light and with a hint of horseradish I believe - SO good. I also had baby new potatoes tossed in herbs and some sauteed veggies on the side. The fish was absolutely outstanding! Needless to say I overate and eventually went into a food coma.

Marge's Rating: 3 Stars and I would and will go back ;)

For more information, visit http://sockeyesrestaurant.com/