Coloring The City

It’s the last day of May, which leaves just enough time to sneak in one last radish recipes before my attention turns completely to broccoli and strawberries.

And I’ll throw in some asparagus since they got sort of over looked in my kitchen this month….

And we’ll serve it with some Filet Mignon and a glass of a nice California Pinot Noir…which I heard is yummy. From experience, the “Value Brand” works well too. The perfect way to end another cupcake-filled Saturday.

This meal is incredibly delicious and easy. Just so you know…I’m letting you in on my super secret streak marinade that I use all the time. Guard it with your life.

Beer and Brown Sugar Marinated Steak

• 2 steaks (I used filet mignon, but anything works)
• 1 dark or strongly flavored beer, I like using an IPA
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves crushed garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Creamy Worcester Sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Place the steaks in a large Ziplock bag. In a small bowl, combine all other ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into the bag with the steak and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 24.The longer the steak takes a marinade bath, the better it tastes!

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and add steaks with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the marinade. Cook for about 7 minutes on each side or until they reach desired doneness.

Brown Butter Roasted Radishes with lemon and Radish Tops

By Bon Appetit Magazine

• 1 bunch radishes
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 450. Wash and dry radishes and place in glass dish with stems still on, then drizzle with olive oil. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and continue to cook until butter begins to brown. When butter is brown, add the salt and the lemon juice and stir to combine. Roast for about 25-30 minutes. When the radishes are done roasting, pour the brown butter over top and serve.

Pan Roasted Garlic Asparagus

• 10-14 asparagus spears
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pan then add the asparagus, cook for 5 – 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes or until asparagus is easy to pierce with a fork.

I’m off to Los Angeles for the holiday weekend with my friend, Melissa Sue! I’m be sure to get a tan, drink some wine, eat some cupcakes and listen to nothing but Katy Perry for all of you. Have a great weekend!

It’s time to round out this cupcake parade with a Vegan (aka healthy?…healthier?) batch from Cowgirl’s Baking.This bakery is a realtively new addition to the East Village crop and serves a tantalizing combination of vegan burritos and cupcakes. Who could ask for more? Not me.

Honestly, I didn’t know we were stepping into vegan territory until I was close enough to read the chalkboard menu outside of the shop. That just made it all the more better! I’ve never had a vegan cupcake before, (I had to do some googling to see what they are actually made out of…the frosting still confuses me) and I have to say they weren’t bad! We ordered the most popular, Coffee and Doughnuts, which was topped with a mini vegan doughnut, a Strawberry Shortcake, Cotton Candy and Peanut Butter Chocolate.

I know what your thinking…and I’m still thinking the same thing. Why did I order cotton candy? Gross. I did it because it was so beautiful. I couldn’t help myself. And look how photogenic that unaturally blue, vegan frosting is?! But it didn’t taste as good as it looks. I mean, props to Cowgirl for making a cupcake that tastes EXACTLY like cotton candy…not props to me for ordering it when I know I don’t like cotton candy. Shoot.

We had better luck with the other flavors, The Peanut Butter Chocolate was by far the best. The frosting is so peanut buttery and fluffy…I still don’t know how they do it with out butter. And the chocolate cake had chocolate chips in it, which was a yummy surprise.

The Coffee and Doughnuts cupcake was good, but it was a little too rich for me. The cake was really intensely espresso flavored, and the doughnut on top made for a pretty hefty dessert. I ended up taking the frosting covered doughnut off and eating that instead of the cake, which was lovely. Almost as lovely as the Strawberry Shortcake, which I think was code for peanut butter and jelly cupcake. I can’t be sure since I’m new to vegan frosting…but I think it was peanut butter, and the cake tasted like cornbread and was filled with strawberry jam. It was runner up to the Chocolate Peanut Butter for sure.

Not that I’ve discovered the vegan baking world, I’m regrettably going to have to stop making fun of it and jump on the bandwagon. Expect some vegan recipes soon….but not too soon. I have to burn through the 24 pounds of butter that I have stock piled in my fridge first :)

Baked by Melissa has a very special place in my heart. At my last job, every time we had something to celebrate, someone’s birthday, baby shower, promotion, half-birthday, end of a juice cleanse…we ordered a pizza box full of 100 tiny, 2-bite cupcakes from Baked By Melissa. I had ordering those things down to a science. Always order 20 red velvet or cinnamon because everyone loves those, but only 5 of the chocolate mint because the green really adds to the visual appeal of the box…but the mint frosting tastes a little too much like toothpaste.

Since I’ve been completely deprived of Melissa’s baby cupcakes since I started a new job, Nicole and I ventured over to the Grand Central shop for trip down memory lane.

Aren’t they adorable (Nicole included)?! We went last month because the Mini of the Month was Birthday Cake, and the rainbow sprinkles were calling my name. We ordered 2, as well as 2 Chocolate Chip Pancake, one Cinnamon and a Peanut Butter Cup – our 2 favorites. Each cupcake has a tiny dollop of filling on the inside, which makes the cake to frosting ratio just about 1 to 1, love it. I think the filling also keeps the cake from getting too dry, which is hard to achieve with a mini cupcake.

The best thing about Baked By Melissa is that they are an entirely different take on cupcakes. I’ve never seen a cupcake so small and so flavorful. And since they are so small, roughly 30 make up one regular size cupcake…so it’s ok to go back for more!

It’s rainy and cloudy in New York. Not fun. Day dreaming about my trip to California this weekend when I get to play in the sun with my best friend, who I haven’t seen in FOREVER, is the only thing that is getting me though this week. That and the secret stash of cupcake pictures that I keep on my camera for when I need a good pick-me-up. Yes. Cupcakes are my drug.

I’m officially naming this Cupcake Week on Coloring the City. For 2 reasons. 1. I’m on day 2 of a 5 day cleanse, which I love, but it means no sugar, so I have to get my cupcake fix somehow…pictures will have to do. And 2. It doesn’t seem fair that I have so many pretty cupcakes that I haven’t shared with you all (ya’ll) yet! It’s a crime.

We’ll start with these beauties from Buttercup Bake Shop in Midtown East.

Jennifer Appel, after founding Magnolia Bakery in 1996 with her business partner, left in 1999 to start her own cupcake shop – Buttercup. Her cupcakes are not surprisingly similar to Magnolia’s cupcakes. Like Magnolia, the mountain of buttercream on top of each cupcake steals the show with each bite. While I have no complaints about the cake…not too dry, not to heavy…I can’t really remember it being much of anything except for an excellent base for the frosting.

While some might think is waaay too much frosting for a cupcake, I loved it. I’m a firm believer in a 1:1 cake to frosting ratio, no matter how sick it makes me. It actually pains me to watch people wipe frosting off of cake. A little piece of me dies every time I see that happen. Is it acceptable to ask strangers if I can have their left over frosting? I didn’t think so. So if you are a frosting addict like me, you HAVE to go to Buttercup…did I mention their frosting comes in a rainbow of colors?! Even better, right?? But, sadly, if you aren’t into frosting…you might want to skip Buttercup.

On a cleaner note, I’m really enjoying the 5 day spring cleanse that I started yesterday by Julia over at Lemons and Loafers! Julia sends out delicious recipes (especially the morning smoothie) everyday and also gives out tips and advice on how to organize your life and improve your overall health and wellness. If you are interested in a cleanse that doesn’t involve nothing but juice for days, I would check out Julia’s next cleanse!