Ganache-Filled Cupcakes

Last week was not only St. Patrick's Day, but also one of my best friend's birthdays. Since my husband and I officially became a couple more-or-less on St. Patty's Day (7 years ago!), we didn't always get to celebrate with her. The festivities would also almost always fall on the night before the Shamrock Run, an annual run in downtown Portland that I had done for 7 years. This year, I decided to skip the race since it was the day after St. Patty's Day and I wanted to be there for the party. My friends have an ideal house for a party and there was plenty of Jameson to go around. I wanted to make something fun and delicious to go along with the party's obvious theme. I found this recipe for a so-called "Irish Carbomb" cupcake recipe on Pinterest (follow me!) and thought they would be perfect for the party. I ended up going back to the original Smitten Kitchen recipe and ended up following that one as I couldn't tell what the "adaptation" from the original recipe was and I trust the Smitten Kitchen recipes a little more, having some experience with her recipes.

Updates

It's been well over a month since I updated the blog. I have been cooking and I've thought about blogging, but for the few readers I have who don't know what's been happening in my life, I'll provide a quick update.

Homemade Bagels

Next on my list of baking goals was the bagel. I'm a big fan of bagels and after our bagel experience in NYC, I couldn't satisfy my bagel craving with pretty much anything in Portland. Kettleman Bagels are pretty good, but I just heard they were bought by Noah's, so there goes that option.

Weekend Breakfast: Eggs Benedict

Yes, this is really what I made for breakfast on Sunday

And no, I didn't just order eggs benedict to go from Sanborn's down the street and pass it off as my own.

Superbowl Snacks

Pretzels cooling on the rack...it took all the strength we had to not bite right into them

Here it is days past the Superbowl and I am just getting to this post. I think we're still depressed.

Paella and Tapas

Over the weekend we went up to Seattle to visit my family and see my uncles, who both normally live in Southern California and I rarely get to see. Since it was a special occasion, my mom made a paella, and I made three different tapas.

Chili and Cornbread

These little hybrid delights finally have me convinced cornbread can be good

I don't like cornbread. There, I said it. It feels good to get that off my chest. It's either dry and crumbly with little to no flavor or overly sweet and cakey, making a poor excuse for a side to a delicious chili or BBQ. So what do I pair with the white chicken chili I planned for our last (tear) football Sunday?