drownin' me in your promises better left unsaid

[themeletor]

so, uh, what does it say about my sanity that I think it would be a TERRIBLY AMUSING idea to have a Merlin 'vid to Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker"? (honestly, I think it's just the opportunity to time the phrase "invincible winner" to shots of Arthur in sparkly armor or, possibly, ironically falling over.)

maybe I'm insane. STILL, I THINK IT WOULD BE FUN OKAY.

also, slightly as a transitional segue pathetic confession or something, I have gotten completely sucked up in medieval recipes and might actually wrangle one for an active demo some time this month. THANKS dsudis. >:[ (♥)

anyway, the heralded recipe dump: cupcakes, nuts, and fruit dip. haha, nuts.

margarita cupcakes with peppered orange water mascarpone frosting

this little baby is inspired by a drink I had at a friend's bar where she rimmed the margarita glass with salt and fresh-ground pepper (mostly pink and green peppercorns, with a little bit of black for heat). it was pretty amazing. also it's inspired by the fact that when I went to grab the triple sec I discovered that my younger brother had finished it off in a fit of douchery, but hey! I have orange blossom water from my trip to the Persian grocery for rosewater and hibiscus flowers. so why not let that shine instead?









cupcakes (recipe tweaked from VCTOtW):
2 limes
1 lemon
tequila
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
zest of 1/2 orange
splash orange blossom water

zest the lemon and one of the limes into a batter-sized mixing bowl. zest the second lime and set that aside.

juice the lemon and both the limes into a measuring cup. add enough tequila to make 3/4 cup. pour into the mixing bowl with oil, vanilla, salt, and sugar. mix to combine, then add milk and mix (make sure you have your flour ready at this point, because the milk will get a little curdly if you leave it sit. that's the beauty of citrus and tequila).

add flour gradually, mixing gently to incorporate each addition. Zest half an orange into the bowl, sprinkle in baking soda and baking powder, and stir to combine. If desired, add a splash of orange blossom water (or, theoretically, triple sec).

fill cupcake papers evenly between 2/3 and 3/4 full, and bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. cool completely before frosting.

frosting:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons orange blossom water
1/2 cup powdered sugar
zest of 1/2 orange
zest of one lime (reserved from above cake recipe)
1 egg white, beaten to stiff peaks
1 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorns (best: a blend of green, white, black, and "pink peppercorns")
1 tablespoon orange juice

fold together mascarpone, orange blossom water, powdered sugar, and citrus zest. fold a dollop of the cheese mixture into the egg whites, then gently fold the egg whites into the rest of the mascarpone. add ground peppercorns and gently mix with a spatula until fully incorporated. finish with orange juice.

pipe onto cupcakes, and finish with a sprinkling of coarse sugar and a touch of coarse sea salt.


also! (no picture, even though I promise both items looked and tasted really good.)

orange- and cardamom-scented honey-toasted mixed nuts

I put them on a pile of this crap (the Moog (Moong?) Dal Halwa) because it needed texture therapy.

anyway, they're tasty, whatever.

6 ounces nuts, chopped roughly (I used almonds (3 oz.) and pistachios (2 oz.), and some pumpkin seeds (1 oz.) which I did not chop.)
3 ounces honey
1/2 orange, sliced very thinly
1 tablespoon orange juice (basically, a pretty good squeeze from the other half of the orange)
heavy pinches salt, sugar, and cardamom (to taste)

toast nuts briefly in oil over medium-high heat with salt and sugar.
add honey and cardamom; stir for 2 minutes.
reduce heat to its lowest, add orange slices, fold to incorporate, cover, and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.

remove from heat and serve warm as a garnish or spread in a thin layer over a well-greased baking pan and let cool.

and

mascarpone fruit dip
a.k.a. the easiest fucking thing ever, or, super-efficient calorie delivery system

1 container (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
2 teaspoons maple syrup, honey, apple syrup (my pick!), or other sweetening syrup
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt

combine, in a bowl, with a spatula. introduce fruit (on toothpicks or dinky forks or with fingers). omnomnomnomnom.

--particularly outstanding with granny smith apples or fresh strawberries. any tart, fresh, bright fruit, really. :D--

now I need to exercise for a half an hour, shower, dry my hair, straighten my hair, and then go to bed. I work a 12-hour day (one shift at each job) tomorrow. WHAT FUN!

Comments

[johanirae.livejournal.com]

Wooo, zesty. How strong was the magarita taste?

[meletor-et-al.livejournal.com]

in these? fairly. it was noticeable, at least -- which was what I was going for, especially since most of the "margarita" cupcake recipes out there are mostly 'vaguely lemon-lime-y cupcakes'. euf.