Banana- Honey Cupcakes CMD Style

Yesterday was one of those days where I wished I could hit the re-do button, but I can’t – I have to move forward. So to cope with this feeling, I decided to bake for my job’s summer picnic. I wanted to try this recipe I came across in my 500 Cupcake calendar from March 7th, 2011. I was slightly shocked at the fact that I didn’t need eggs or milk. I have a friend that is a vegetarian and figured he would like it. Before I made them, I wanted to do some research on banana honey cupcakes. So I went to Martha Stewart's Website:

http://www.marthastewart.com/314063/banana-cupcakes-with-honey-cinnamon-fros

to see her take on banana-honey cupcakes were; I also went to the Bread & Honey Blog.

http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2008/07/honey-banana-cupcakes.html

The author of the Bread & HoneyBlog used the same recipe that I had from the 500 cupcakes. So I proceeded forward, As with any baking I usually do: I tasted the batter first and found it ok. But I don’t want just OK baked goods - I want baked goods that make people smile, so I added more “bananas.” I added some 99 Banana liqueur (49.5%) and vanilla in the batter, and the batter tasted heavenly!!!! I whipped the ingredients into submission; I had to get my feelings out, since I was upset and angry!!!!! Plus it good to add as much air as possible to the batter for lighter cupcakes ( I may be wrong), I blended for at least 10 minutes, changing the speeds on the mixer.

Earlier that day, I got some news that made it seem like everything I am working for was being taken away. I decided to relieve the stress by cooking in a full house, which is always fun - especially when my little cousin decides she wants to stand over my shoulders and cook ramen noodles in the microwave. On top of that, cooking in my Aunt’s kitchen around dinner time was like doing the Electric Slide. Boogie Woogie Woogie!

Near the end of baking, my Darling Mom called and asked me to pick her up from the light rail stop. I wanted to scream because I had 18 minutes and 32 seconds to get her and come back to the house why was time such an issue? Because I had just put the cupcakes in the oven I like to stay around and make sure they don’t explode. ( Yes Food can explode it is still a chemical reaction)

So my cousin and I sped down Druid Hill Ave to fetch my mom. I am pretty sure I gave my cousin a heart attack with the way I drove, but we got there in record time - 6 minutes. Of course, trying to get my mom to get in the car was an issue, and performing an illegal u-turn is always fun. Suffice it to say, I made it back just as the timer for the cupcakes went off.

I have been thinking a lot and these cupcakes helped me clear my head. My Aunt, being ever so wise and not looking a bit close to her age, reminded me that we as people are blessed with a multitude of talents and sometimes we should explore those talents that have been bestowed upon us. But I don’t know…I just know that I made some kick ass cupcakes with PICTURES!

PS: So no my cupcakes did not win the Dessert Competition at my Job's picnic. But that okay cause I can try again another time. Also if you don’t have time to bake these, email me and I will bake them for a fee plus delivery charge, but only to residents in the Central MD area. Why Cause I am a genuine legal hustler!

Until Next time, Deaverster

My Wonderful Aunt eating a Cupcake!

Banana and Honey Cupcakes: ( This is my take of an adapted recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups (about 6) mashed ripe bananas

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Cinnamon sugar

75 ml of Banana Liqueurs (Imitation Rum or Banana Extract)

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Line muffin pans with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, honey, and butter.
4. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. ( I mix the batter for 10 mins)
5. Slowly add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix well.
6. Spoon the batter into the cups.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes
9. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack than cool for another 10 mins.
10. When completely cool, frost or sprinkle with powdered sugar ( if you want to keep it low fat)

Cinnamon- Honey Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon honey

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon milk

1 teaspoon Southern Comfort Bourbon ( it more like 2 splashes of Bourbon)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth for 4 to 5 minutes.

Restaurant Week: Baltimore

Don't you want a Party in Your Tummy? If you want it Baltimore will provide, with it's semi-annual Restaurant Week. It is a wonderful time to try a new Restaurant! Don't miss out. 

Also coming up:
Howard County Restaurant Week 
Baltimore County Restaurant Week
Ocean City Restaurant Week

Crab Cakes

Yummy delicious crab cakes. It is a Maryland staple. You can't go to many restaurants in my great state and not find a crab cake. It is such a simple treat, yet so easy to fuck up. I will walk you through it.


Firstly a true Maryland crab cake does not have a lot of ingredients.

And Grey Poupon and one more egg.


Recipe
1# of Lump or Jumbo Lump Crab Meat (I use J.M. Clayton Maryland Crab Meat)
1# of Back Fin Crab Meat
1 tbl sp. of Lemon Juice
3 Eggs
1 tbl sp. Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
Old Bay seafood seasoning to taste (2 or 3 tbl spoons do it for me)
3/4-1 cup of Mayo
1/2-3/4 cup of bread crumbs
Melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup)
Parsley flakes


This is it. Nothing else. Well, some old people add Worcesterchire Sauce instead of lemon, but that is all you can change!
Screw these alleged "Maryland Style Crab Cakes" with onions, peppers, or other random ass vegetables. If I just spent about $40 dollars on crab meat, I want to taste it! All I want in my mouth in sweet luscious crab meat and a few accoutrements to hold it together.


1. Pick your crab meat. Run your fingers through to remove and missed shells or gills(a.k.a "deadman" I don't know why), and orange crap. There shouldn't be a lot, but nothing screws up a "Crab Cake Experience" like finding any of this crap in your cake.

2. Make the dressing!
4 tbl sp. of melted butter, lemon juice, eggs, mustard, mayo, Old Bay, and parsley flakes in a bowl and mix it up. Reserve some in a cup, because you can't take it back out and you probably don't have extra crab meat hanging around. Please note this has to much Old Bay in it, I fucked up. I added more Mayo and an extra egg to fix it and forgot to take another picture. Shit happens.

3.Lightly, and damn you I MEAN LIGHTLY toss your crab meat in the dressing with the tips of your fingers. Keep those luscious crab lumps whole!


4. Add your bread crumbs (I like to use panko) until the mixture just holds together but is still moist. Seem a bit dry? Add the left over dressing until it will hold it's shape but is still moist.

Do you see those LUMPS. Those lovely lumps. Crabby bumps and humps? They got me tripping. Put them in the oven for 30-35 minutes on 350 until they are sexy and brown. Remove them from the oven and brush them with your left over melted butter.

Oh my God! Don't you want that? I had it with Spring baby greens and a Tri-Potato, Onion and Pea Salad, with Dill Vinaigrette.

One Of my old Co-workers swore by Mr.Yogato so why not check it out besides its fells point Frozen Yogurt and Beer awesome combination!

The Best Daily Deals in Baltimore: $10 to Spend on Frozen Yogurt http://t.co/1Xq6yKF via @LivingSocial

http://livingsocial.com/deals/36843-10-to-spend-on-frozen-yogurt

If You Build It They Will Come (The Gathering: Food Truck Rally Review)

On Friday, July 8, 2011 the city held its first ever food truck rally simply known as “The Gathering.” Of course you know us ladies were there to get a sampling of some of Baltimore’s finest food truck munchies, and finally take a small peek into something people have been talking about for weeks now. Housed in some small rock filled plot (no seriously whose bright ass idea was it to stuff this into a tiny little area that obviously use to hold some type of building?) 9 of B-more’s best food trucks came out to dish out the grub. There was beer, people, food, people, live music, and oh yeah did I forget PEOPLE.

Before we get started here’s the obligatory list of trucks that were there: Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon, Miss Shirley’s, IcedGems, Souper Freak, GrrChe, Gypsy Queen, The Silver Platter, Dangerously Delicious Pies, Curbside Cafe and more. I apologize for not documenting the names of all the trucks, my 5’3” self was too busy being dwarfed by much taller sometimes drunk people holding sloshing beer cups with no lids. Enough said.

This event was packed full, and as a result a lot of the trucks sold out pretty quickly. *ahem*Icedgems*ahem* The general word around the trucks was that they were really not expecting that big of a crowd. Why? I don’t know. I mean it’s BALTIMORE and you said FOOD was going to be there. Not to mention it’s food from the glorious trucks that circle our city, but only stop in certain “nice area’s” of Baltimore. A lot of people don’t get the chance to partake in some of the lovely yummies that come out of these food trucks because

A. You don’t know about them. (You are obviously living with your head tucked in the dirt and you had NO clue that there was something called a burger wagon that actually sold burgers.)

B. They don’t come around where you work. (This was my major issue with these trucks. They only come to John Hopkins, Yuppie parts of the city, the Harbor, or somewhere in the county.

C. You only have 30 – 40 mins for lunch. (I guarantee you 10 of those minutes will be taken up either waiting in line or waiting for your food, but it is oh so worth it.)

The Gathering was the perfect opportunity for anyone not familiar with our local food trucks to get a taste of what they serve throughout the work week. That being said I hope the next one is better stocked with food. I only got to taste from two trucks and that makes me a sad flipping panda. I REALLY wanted some cupcakes, but IcedGems was like the first truck to sell out. Then I had to walk around watching with lust filled eyes as people carried around clear plastic casing of beautiful sweet cupcakes. However, that’s another rant that I don’t even want to get into.

I had the Elvis burger and a side order of fries from Koopers Burger Wagon. Now this is not my first experience with the almost orgasmic taste of burgers from them and it won’t be my last, but I will review it for the sake of saying I ate something. If you are a burger lover and you have not been introduced to Kooper’s Burger Wagon let me kindly say you do NOT know what you are missing. The Elvis ($10) is a big angus burger with blue cheese and apple wood smoked bacon. It also had a huge slice of red onion, tomatoes, and lettuce. All of which I normally pick off of my burger because I want to taste the meat not a salad, but with this burger it felt almost like a crime to molest it in that way. Juicy is such an obvious term when it comes to describing burgers, but this burger really is juicy. The fresh crisp taste of the onions and tomatoes, paired with the tang of blue cheese on that meat is a beautiful thing. Sadly they were out of sweet potato fries, but their regular fries are still pretty good. They were salty but not obnoxiously so, a little on the soggy side for me but all in all tasty. My second dish a chilled sangria soup was from Souper Freaks. It wasn’t quite the heavenly experience as the burger, but it was a nice fresh end to my night. Honestly I wanted the chocolate berry love soup (made with chocolate soup, raspberry liqueur, fresh berries, hazelnuts, and whipped cream.) but they were sold out of it by the time we came wandering back.

It was a good adventure that apparently if all things go well they are trying to make it into a recurring event. One place told us once every 4 months and another place said once a month. Nevertheless if they do decide to continue this (which I sincerely hope they do) I would like for them to be better stocked.

The Gathering Baltimore | Trucks circling for the Gathering, Baltimore's first food truck rally - Baltimore Sun

The Gathering Baltimore | Trucks circling for the Gathering, Baltimore's first food truck rally - Baltimore Sun

To Tired to cook so ...

So Last night June 29, 2011 I went to the Grilled Cheese and co. Located in Catonsville
500 Edmondson Avenue. You would easily get lost if you don't use GPS or pay attention. The first time I went too far on Edmondson and this time I made the wrong turn off of 695. This is my second time going I went once back in February and loved it the first time! The fries were hot and Sandwich was beyond delicious. So I wanted to replicate the magic I felt from the first time I went. Almost like the
first time you have great sex you want to repeat it. I wanted hot fries with an overly cheesy sandwich, the kind that makes normal people submit to the cheesiness. My first time I ordered the Crabby Melt and I was in heaven until I broke in hives. (I am allergic to random stuff). The fries were shoestring Fries, thin, salted, hot and good. The second time around I took a friend and tried the underground
Menu. This is another reason I love this place they have two menus.

The normal one that is posted in the wall (it is painted on the wall) and the underground menu that you have to go to there website to see. Also they have monthly special like this month it was The Islander with Pepper Jack Cheese, Jerk Shrimp, Mango Salsa finished with a Citrus Jerk Sauce. They ran out of shrimp so maybe next time. So I got
the All cheesed out from the underground menu. My friend got the Kickn' BBQ Chicken sandwich. I should describe the "All Cheesed Out" cause the name didn't lie it is Cheddar, Provolone, Havarti, American, Swiss, and Monterey Jack Cheese on Ciabatta. Through it seemed like plain white bread. My friend got the Kickn' BBQ which has
Pepper Jack Cheese, Grilled Chicken, red onions and Sweet BBQ sauce.
Also they serve Sweet Potato fries (sweet potato fries done right are amazing!!!!). Service to me was pretty awesome. The cashier was friendly and knowledgeable he knew what I meant when I ordered off the Underground Menu. Also we sat at a table and brought the Food to us. The first thing that came out was the fries.

Which I am sad to say was luke warm. I mean these were not the fries I remember. They were without life, no sustenance at all. Even the sweet potato fries lacked inspiration. What was further disappointing there was no specialty sauce for the sweet potato fries. No Honey dipping sauce, No creamy sweet sauce it was given to use for lack of a
better description Raw. My fries were no better, they were ok. After a
few moments our food came out. I have to say the sandwich were hot
and was delicious with the first bite. I mean the cheese was thick and
drippy (in a good way) . My Sandwich was a good size it wasn't tiny
but you need two hands to eat half and the other half will be you late
night snack or lunch for the next day. When I bit into my sandwich it tasted like a pollo cheese stick melted between to slices of white bread. I put some ketchup on it and it reminded me of being a kid. When I was 9 coming home after school and having a grilled cheese sandwich watching Pirates of Dark Water or Wishbone. From the look on my friends face either he was super hungry or the sandwich was good. Overall, I love good service, it means they understand customer service and I still have three more sandwiches I want to try. This time the food did not replicate the magic, it did not make say mmmmmm aloud. I was slight disappointed but it takes 3 times before I write a place off as never again. Like my last review, it a cool place for a date, the atmosphere is chilled and relaxed. I hope next time they will have hot fries. If you have never been go, the Smashed meatballs sandwich is good. The Crabby Melt is awesome, the all cheesed out on paper looks good but Cheddar and American cheese was fighting for dominance. I do know that the left over are always better the second day. So my lunch hopefully will be super good.
Sign Off,

Molecular Cell

P.S.

The Second half of my sandwich was decimated by a starving 19 year old my brother. So it had to be good the second day.

Saturday Night Outing!

Last Week (June 25, 2011) I went to Zen West on Located on 5916 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21212. From what I do know about the Belvedere Square
area it caters to all social backgrounds whether you’re a college
student, adult looking for a fun night out. During the Day there are
several places that are great for lunch dates, grocery shopping and
even for family time. I do know that Zen West normally caters to local
college students. I know two of my friends that eat here a lot, so I
was hoping that it would be pretty awesome place. Truthfully, it was
moderate. The seating was cool but the design of the restaurant threw
me. We were seated next to an open window. You could reach out and
touch people on Belvedere Ave. if you wanted. The Servers were nice
and seated us immediately. I had no issues with service; service was
prompt, efficient and courtesy. Even through the server came back and
asked if I ordered the Taco or Fajitas. I didn't mind because at
least I didn't get the wrong order of food. Also we got the food
before our Drinks which seemed weird. We only ordered Limeade; it
wasn't really super busy in the restaurant. But for the server’s
pleasant attitude and friendliness everything was on point! So Zen
West is a Tex-Mex American restaurant. I don't know why I thought it
was a fusion type restaurant blending Chinese with Western dishes. (
If there is a restaurant like that let me know I want to try it!) I
get to the good stuff.

The food!!

I wish I had pictures of the food but I have a crappy camera. Of course we received complimentary Chips and Salsa. The salsa was pretty good it was spicy, and flavorful. To me it tasted pretty genuine not like some places where you can tell it was
thrown together. The food on the other hand was bland; there was no
flavor at all. I mean nothing was under or over cooked just no
seasonings. I ordered the Fajita Tilapia which the fish was sizzling
hot, but that’s it no extra flavor. I made my first Fajita and it was ok. So I ended up eating the Fish with the peppers and onion. The rice was slightly cold and My black beans didn't inspire me to eat all of them. My friend ordered the Chicken Quesadilla, which she seemed to enjoy. The cost of the meal was not that bad it was $30 for two. So
pretty much $15 per person not bad I don’t think. If you are looking for a quick meal with drinks and sports on you will be ok going here. I mean you can go there after seeing a movie or on a Saturday night when you don't want the hustle and bustle of Fells Point, Canton or Federal Hill area. But other than that I wouldn't suggest this particular place of the bat. If you now some one that does not like spicy food. Yes you should take
them the lack of spice would be perfect for them. I will not rate this restaurant; cause to each is his own. But I wasn't impressed enough to go back for the food, maybe a drink and some chips. I will stick to Chipotle for my Americanized Mexican Food or Mari Luna Bistro for my Authenticate Mexican food.

Sign Off,

Molecular Cell

The Leftover were attacked by the beast known as Roxie. She acted like she wanted to get love and affection and stole the container out of my hands.

It's Brunch Bitches

I love Brunch!! Rich, decadent food (check), waking after 9 a.m (check), acceptable morning alcoholism(CHECK CHECK CHECK)

I went to The Reserve, http://www.thereservebaltimore.com/, with a few friends, and as I rarely get a Sunday off working in the culinary industry, when I am off, time to go to Brunch. The Reserve is located in Federal Hill in Baltimore. Very cute neighborhood. Check out the site if you want details.
Food: Sexy
Service: Um, Really? No.
Will I return?: Yes, the food was so fucking sexy!

Food
I had the chicken and waffles. In this case Honey Glazed Fried Chicken and a Sweet Potato Waffle (They got fancy on my ass!) I love the chicken. It was Hot, Crispy, and Juicy! Hold on though, they gave me drummettes! Not even the whole wing. The plate would have been just as pretty with whole wings with the tips cut off, for 13 damn dollars! Uh! It was good. The waffle really tasted like sweet potato (not like a bunch of spices), but I would have liked it thicker and crispier.


Service
If you don't mind someone paying you less and less attention the longer you are there, or waiting 20 minutes to pay your bill, you'll be cool. I had things to do(like nap) so I was pissed.

Will I Return?: Yes, Sir! I would kick a friend in the knee for that chicken.

P.S Shellby(other blogger) came too! She had the grits. She'll tell you all about it.
-Shavonya

Hello!

Welcome to Party in my Tummy! This is a Blog written by 4 lovely ladies who have the attention spans of flies and needed to start a group blog so there would always be something posted when one inevitably got distracted. This fabulous blog will have Restaurant and Product reviews, Recipes, and profanity. So enjoy the show.
-Shavonya