June 2011: Cold Foods

Summer time brings a longing for all things cold. So for June, bring something cold! And the recipe. :)

Date: Thursday, June 9
Time: 6:30pm (no worries if you're late--so far everyone has been!)
Where: Suki's House

Aside from me, we had an entirely different group in May than we did in April. Whoever is here though, there is always good food. Come join us!

Easy Lemon Tarts

Easy Lemon Tarts

prepared by Kathy and Cassie Whitehead

1 c sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cup cold water

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/4 cup lemon juice

grated rind of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp butter

pre-baked mini tart shells

In 2 quart saucepan, stir together 1 cup sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Stir in egg yolks. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in next 3 ingredients. Cool. Spoon into pastry shells.

**Note from Suki: The recipe they gave me was for an actual lemon meringue pie. I hope I interpreted the recipe correctly to what these tasty treats were.**

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes & Laffy Taffy Frosting

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

prepared by Breezi

1 (18.25 oz) package white cake mix with pudding

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 (10 oz) jar Smucker's Simply Fruit Strawberry Spreadable Fruit

Sprinkles

Laffy Taffy Frosting

**This frosting is enough to cover all the cupcakes but if you want it piled on the cupcakes like in the photo then you will want to double this amount.**

10 pieces of strawberry Laffy Taffy candy (fun sized)

2 Tbsp heavy cream

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

In a small sauce pan, melt the taffy and the heavy cream together stirring until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat to cool while you make the cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin cups with paper liners. Spray liners lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, buttermilk, butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Then increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.

Fill paper liners two-thirds full with the batter. Bake at 350F for 18-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool.

Prepare frosting, while cupcakes cool. In a mixing bowl, whip the butter until smooth.

Mix in the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, whipping until fluffy. Then add the melted and cooled laffy taffy a spoonful at a time. You don't want it too thick. If needed, place it back on the stove for a few seconds to soften it just enough. After each spoonful of the laffy taffy, turn the mixer up to high and whip the frosting until it's fluffy. You can also add a little pink or red food coloring to get the desired shade.

When the cupcakes are cooled, using an apple corer or knife, cut out a 3/4 inch round plug from the center of each cupcake creating a pocket in each cupcake. Reserve the plugs in a bowl, you'll need them.

Spoon the Smucker's Simply Fruit in a ziploc freezer bag. Knead the fruit in the bag for a few seconds to soften it. Snip off a corner of the bag with scissors and pipe the fruit into the pockets, filling the pockets of each cupcake.

Take the cake plugs you reserved and break them in half. Keep the top piece and do whatever you want with the bottom half. Place the plug on top of each pocket to seal it off.

Frost the cupcakes with the laffy taffy frosting and top with sprinkles.

Makes 22-24 cupcakes.

Fresh Fruit Shell Salad

Fresh Fruit Shell Salad

prepared by Suki

8 oz medium shells

8 oz plain yogurt

1/4 cup frozen concentrate orange juice

15 oz pineapple chunks, drained

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 cup seedless red grapes, halved

1 cup seedless green grapes, halved

1 apple, cored and chopped

1 banana, sliced

Cook pasta shells as directed on package. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, blend yogurt and orange juice.

Chop the fruit and mix together in a large bowl. (I don't remember what fruit combination I used -- any combination would taste good so use whatever you like!)

Add shells and yogurt mixture to the fruit. Toss.

May 2011: Fruit

With strawberries in abundance right now, it seemed appropriate for this month's Just A Pinch to be about fruit. I already have my recipe picked out! I haven't made it before, but it looks yum.

Date: Thursday, May 12

Time: 6:30 pm (note the time change!)

Where: My house

We had a small group in April which was awesome, but we always welcome more people! Maybe I'll remember to take pictures this time around.

April 2011: a dish you love to make

For our first evening, please bring a dish that you LOVE to make. It doesn't have to be your best dish ever or your family's favorite dish. It doesn't have to be healthy. It doesn't have to be pretty. It just has to be a dish that you enjoy putting together (boxed macaroni and cheese counts too). Maybe we'll get a full meal out of this!

If you have a dish that requires last minute preparations, you are more than welcome to arrive early to finish up. (Or if you just want to tell your husbands that we start at 5:30 and escape the chaos come early, that's fine too.)

I have a limited amount of serving ware so if you could bring your own, that would help!

Welcome to Just A Pinch!

Just A Pinch is a group for women to come together and talk about food. My goal is to learn techniques and tricks about preparing meals while strengthening friendships with awesome people. And, of course, I plan to eat good food along the way!

There will be a different theme for each month. This will give us variety as well as opportunities to expand our cooking repertoire. The goal is to be able to learn from each other and maybe try something that we might not otherwise.

This blog is designed as a holding place for recipes as well as a reminder of what the next monthly theme will be. I have a crazy idea of taking pictures of each food to be able to post with the recipe because, let's face it, we're all more likely to cook a recipe if there's a yummy picture to go with it! Like this:

Also, at the bottom of each post, there is a place for you to rate the posts. I like this feature because I like recipes that people love and if it is not loved by my family, I tweak it until it is amazing. If you are like me, then rate the recipes that you have tried. In the comments section, you can leave any changes you may have made (regardless of who provided the original recipe!) or how your family loved or didn't love that dish.

Just A Pinch will be held monthly on every second Thursday at 6 pm. Currently it will be held at my (Suki Lotti) house but we may go to other places as well. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at any time!