Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Phillip & I got invited to a pheasant fry tonight. I haven't made a new cupcake creation in a while, so I thought that this would be the perfect occasion for a new recipe. I wanted something chocolaty to appeal to the masses, and I thought these Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes looked like a good mix of chocolate and fruit.

I used my favorite chocolate mix for the base, filled it with raspberry jam, and topped it with my basic buttercream spiked with raspberry jam. The real treat of these is the chocolate filled raspberries on top... mmm!

Raspberry Truffles

2 pints of fresh raspberries
5 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup raspberry jam
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate and jam in heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour cream over the chocolate and jam. Let stand for 3 minutes, whisk together until combined. If any lumps remain, microwave for a few seconds and stir. Let the ganache cool a bit until it thickens slightly. Using a pastry bag, pipe into the center of clean raspberries and refrigerate until set (about 15 minutes). Place on top of frosted cupcakes.

Inspired by: Annie's Eats

Shrimp Bisque

This Barefoor Bloggers choice was from Jennifer at Our Blessed Home. My brother (and roomie) AJ loves seafood soups, so I was really excited to make this for him last week. This wasn't the most rich and creamy bisque that I've ever had (and I tend to prefer creamy soups), as Phillip said, "It was fine, it was shrimpy - it just didn't knock my socks off." I will definitely try to make a shrimp bisque again, but I probably won't use this recipe again.

For some reason, I can't copy the recipe into the blog today. For now, I'll just provide a link - and I'll fix it later. Here's Ina's version of Shrimp Bisque.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

Another Barefoot Bloggers post! I know, that seems like all I post these days. I've been super busy with my last semester of school and Phillip & I are building a new house, but I make sure to make time for this blog group every two weeks. Todd of A Cooking Dad made this choice, and it was great. The best thing was that it only took five ingredients, so it was budget friendly as well.

Ingredients

1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
2 (3 1/2 pound) chickens, quartered, with backs removed

Directions

Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken skin side up, and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh and the sauce is a rich, dark brown.

Source: Ina Garten