I hate going to the doctor’s office. Not because I don’t like seeing the doctor, but because I hate waiting to see the doctor.  See, whenever I have an appointment, I try to get there at least a few minutes early, that way if they’re ready for me when I’m actually scheduled, I’ll be there and they won’t skip me to go on to the next person.  Of course, they never call me at the specific time I’m supposed to be seen and inevitably I end up waiting… and waiting. It used to be torture because there were rarely any good magazines to read in the waiting room. But now that I’m scouring any and every magazine I can find for new and interesting recipes, I find  that these days I don’t mind waiting so much. I actually kinda like it because it gives me the chance to find a cool recipe and if I’m really discreet, tear it out so I can try it at home.

Well, it was during one of these interminable waits that I came across this recipe for cupcakes that look like corn on the cob. The original recipe was on the cover of Women’s Day. And I mean, look at the picture. Who wouldn’t want to recreate these cool looking cakes? Not only that, it finally gave me the opportunity to try and make brown butter.

I’ve wanted to make brown butter ever since I first read about brown butter cookies. But I’ve been avoiding it for quite some time because the few times I’ve tried to make it, my brown butter becomes burned butter.  But this recipe inspired me. I was determined to do it and do it well, and since the 4th of July is coming up, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give brown butter one more try. And guess what? This time, my brown butter didn’t burn. It actually became what it was supposed to: brown.

Now you’re probably wondering what brown butter is. It’s just that, butter that has been cooked long enough to brown but not burn. And the key to brown butter is watching it. If you look away for a minute too long it will burn. So that’s the key, watching the butter cook and taking it off the heat as soon as it starts to turn color and acquire a nutty smell.

Once I had mastered the brown butter the rest of the cupcakes were easy. I just made cupcakes the way I’d made dozens of other cupcakes recipes. After they were baked and frosted, the hardest part was lining up all the jelly beans to look like rows of corn. But the time and effort it took lining up all those jelly beans was well worth the wait because they were just as yummy as any cupcake I’d made prior.

So for this 4th, instead of making corn on the cob to go with your fried chicken, why not make these corny cupcakes? You’ll have a side and a dessert all in one.

Corny Cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 1 stick of butter
• 1-1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Kosher salt

Frosting

• 3/4 (1-1/2 sticks) of butter
• 1 (16 ounce) box of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 16 corn holders, assorted yellow and white jellybeans, and 4 yellow Starbursts

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cupcake tins with yellow or white baking liners.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar together until they’re light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at time until combined. Add the milk and vanilla.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until well combined. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-23 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes bake, make the frosting. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat and continue cooking, swirling the pan until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty, 4-5 minutes; remove from heat.

Using an electric mixer beat the browned butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

To decorate the cupcakes: work in batches of three at a time. Frost, then arrange rows of jelly beans close together on each cupcake. Place the cupcakes side by side on a plate or platter and insert the corn holders at each end so they resemble an ear of corn. Cut a Starburst horizontally in half and flatten one half slightly. Place flattened fruit chew on top of the “corn” to resemble a pat of butter.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes and serve.

There have been several classic cocktails I’ve been waiting to make because they called for maraschino cherries. And being the cook/stickler for authenticity that I am, I didn’t want to use the sicky sweet, neon red maraschino cherries you find at the grocery store. I wanted to use the kind that you make yourself using, what else, maraschino liqueur. Now that I’ve created my own cherries, I’m ready to tackle some of the original classics.

Last week I brought you the Tom Collins. This week we have the Old Fashioned. This drink has been around since before the Civil War. Early 1800′s to be specific. Originally a cocktail was a morning drink made up of a little water, a little sugar, a lot of alcohol and a splash of bitters. I don’t know about you, but that is not what I think of as a morning cocktail. To me a morning cocktail is either a mimosa or bloody mary. I know, I’m just so modern. The point is, what used to be considered a cocktail is exactly what an Old Fashioned is: sugar, bitters, water and alcohol, specifically bourbon or rye.

People believe the cherries and orange slices that you now find in Old Fashioneds can be blamed on the Prohibition when alcohol was downgraded to this side of poison. The only way bartenders found that their patrons could stomach the harsh elixirs was if they added sweet fruit juices and/or sugar.

While the original recipe calls for bourbon or rye and no fruit whatsoever, a more modern version calls for brandy and fruit. I’ve combined the two. While I have no problem drinking Bourbon (as long as it’s Woodford) straight, I like to add a little color and sweetness, hence the fruit. So, without further ado, the Old Fashioned, a tasty drink no matter what time of day.

Old Fashioned

• 1 sugar cube
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• club soda
• 2 ounces bourbon
• 1 maraschino cherry
• 1 orange slice

Place the sugar cube in an Old Fashioned glass. Wet it down with the bitters and enough club soda to cover the cube. Muddle the sugar cube until the sugar lines the bottom of the glass.  Add a couple ice cubes.  Pour the bourbon over the ice, give it a stir, garnish with a cherry and a slice of orange  and enjoy… slowly. This is one seriously strong drink.

Since I’ve started doing my daily dinner column over at She Knows I’ve been buying food magazines like you wouldn’t believe.  I mean, I love to cook, but I don’t have the time (or the energy) to create my own dinner recipes five days a week. Once or twice a week, sure, but five… no way.

Anyway, the benefit to this is I’m discovering food magazines and recipes that I didn’t know existed.  Out of all the ones I’ve grabbed at the check out I think my favorite is Taste of Home.  They’re recipes from regular people like you and me who have won contests or sent them in and then the magazine publishes them.  It’s pretty cool.  I mean, how many of you are using recipes your parents or girlfriends or boyfriends made?  I know about half the desserts I make are from my mother.  And there have been plenty of times a good friend has made something and I’ve asked for, or rather demanded, the recipe.

So in their most recent issue, 100 Best Recipes, I found a recipe for a chocolate chip cheese ball. I know it sounds weird, but the description, “it tastes just like chocolate chip cheesecake”, was so intriguing I just had to try it.  Of course whenever cheesecake’s involved, I always have to try it.  (There’s another recipe in the magazine that’s for a pesto swirled cheesecake and I can’t wait to make that one either.) I’m so glad I tried it. The outcome was as good as the picture attested. It was a sweet cheesy masterpiece that was delicious by the fingerful or spread on top of graham crackers.

I just had one problem: the ball didn’t really hold it’s shape. I think I may have stirred it too long and that’s what caused the cheese to lose its consistency, thereby not staying in ball form.  By the time I was done, the “ball” looked more like a flat egg as you can see from my picture.  It was still scrumptious, but I think the next time I make it, I’m going to pour all the sugar in at once so that I don’t have to stir for as long and the cheese will (hopefully) hold its firmness.  But however your ball turns out, if you like chocolate chips or cheesecake you should absolutely add this to your dessert index.  I’ve added it to mine.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 box of Graham Crackers

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.  Add the sugars and beat until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap and shape into a ball.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (This can all be done the night before and left in the refrigerator over night.)

Just before serving, unwrap the ball and roll in pecans.  Serve with graham crackers.

It’s Father’s Day on Sunday. A lot of you will probably be grilling some cut of meat on the barbecue and having a drink or two.  It could be beer, but since it’s June and (hopefully) warm, why not have something a little more refreshing?  This year, why not treat your dad to a Tom Collins?

The Tom Collins has been around since 1874 so easily falls into the classic category.  It’s evidently named after The Great Tom Collins Hoax of the same year.  See, there was this practical joke that people played on each other where they’d find a friend drinking at their favorite tavern and then proceed to tell them how there was this loud guy, Tom Collins, bad mouthing him at another local haunt.  Well, the friend would get so upset he’d march right over to the other bar and ask for Tom Collins.  Of course Tom wasn’t there because Tom didn’t exist.  This happened so often, that Jerry Thomas included a drink named after the hoax in “The Bartender’s Guide”.  So now when people went looking for Tom Collins instead of finding a person, they received the drink.

So why did I choose the Tom Collins for Father’s Day? I guess because of the name.  No, neither my husband nor my father are named Tom, but it just seemed to fit.  It’s a man’s name and to me the Tom Collins has always been a man’s drink.

Although my father never taught me how to drink, he did teach me that if you’re going to buy liquor, you should always try and buy the best. Never, ever buy blended scotch – single malt is the only way to go.  (I actually passed this piece of advice on to my husband and he’s never looked back.) The older the alcohol the better and if you’re buying whiskey, buy Wild Turkey (my grandfather’s drink of choice).

Of course he’s taught me a few other things… like how to love any team from Boston even though I’m a born and bred California girl.  How to throw a ball and fly a kite (not necessarily at the same time).  While we never spent much time talking about life and love (that’s what moms are for), he was always there when I needed him and even though I’m currently speeding through my 30′s, I’m still his little girl. And always will be.  And I’m okay with that. Actually I love it.

So, Dad, here’s to you.  Gin may not be your drink of choice, but it’s tall, cool and smart… just like you.

Tom Collins

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 tsp super fine sugar
• 3 oz club soda
• 1 marachino cherry
• 1 orange slice

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.  Combine the gin, lemon juice and sugar and shake well.  Strain into a collins glass with ice cubes.  Top with club soda and garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.  Serve.

This Giveaway is now closed.

A little over a month ago was A’s birthday.  He turned two. And since several of his friends all have birthdays around the same time, I and a couple of my mommy friends decided to share the party. After all, at the age of two, the party’s still kinda for the parents and this way A would be able to celebrate with his friends as opposed to missing their parties just to keep the parents and grandparents happy.

So the other moms and I decided to do a jungle themed party.  We got a tiger-shaped bounce house, jungle-themed party favors and made three jungle-themed cakes.  There was an alligator, a lion and a hippo made out of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.  We thought cupcakes would be the best way to go since the party was at the park.  That way we didn’t need to bring a knife and everyone could just grab a cupcake and enjoy.

So while I won’t be giving you a recipe for cupcakes as there are plenty of them out there, what I will do is explain how you turn those plain chocolate and vanilla cupcakes into the hippo cake you see above. Even better, I’ll be giving away several items you’ll need to create this awesome cake thanks to Wilton.

See, I’ve been using Wilton products for awhile and absolutely love them. Not only are they insanely affordable, they work amazingly well.  My favorite has to be their frosting spatulas.  If you’re anything like me you know that while that rubber spatula or knife you’ve been using to frost cakes and cupcakes works fine, an angled frosting spatula works So. Much. Better!  So, since I’m such a huge fan of their products, Wilton gave me a whole cupcake kit worth about $125 to give away to one lucky Kitchy Cooking reader.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• 2 cupcake tins
• 1 set of measuring spoons
• 1 set of measuring cups
• The Ultimate 3 in 1 Cupcake Caddy
• A cupcake stand that holds 23 cupcakes
• A 13 inch frosting spatula
• A 9 inch frosting spatula
• A set of 75 colored baking cups
• 12 16 inch disposable decorating bags
• 3 decorating tips

So even if you’ve never made cupcakes before, this kit will have you whipping up a batch whether you have a birthday to celebrate or just want to make Monday night dinner a little extra special.

Here’s how you win: (Main entry required) This Giveaway is now CLOSED.

Go to Wilton’s site and peruse all their amazing baking items.  They do a lot more than just cupcakes.  Then come back here and tell me what you absolutely must have (other than the items shown here) to make your baking dreams come true.

Want extra entries?

Each item you do will get you one chance to win (for a total of five chances). If you already do any of these things they do count! So make sure to leave a separate comment for each item.

1. Go like Wilton on Facebook.
2. Go like Kitchy Cooking on Facebook.
3. Follow @kitchycooker on twitter and tweet the following statement:   I just entered to win a cupcake baking set from @kitchycooker and Wilton. Have you? http://bit.ly/k5lo8S
4. Subscribe to the Kitchy Cooking RSS feed.

The Fine Print

• This giveaway is only open to residents of the 50 United States. (Sorry it’s a big package and shipping’s expensive!)
• Giveaway will end on June 22, 2011 at 6 pm PST. One winner with a valid entry will be chosen via a random number generator at random.org.  The winner will then be notified via the e-mail they provide when they leave a comment.
• Winner has until June 26th at 6 pm PST to claim their prize or I’ll pick another winner.

Now that I’ve laid out all the nitty gritty details, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for – How to make your Hippo Cupcake Cake.

Hippo Cupcake Cake

What you’ll need:

• a board that’s at least 15×20 inches
• tin foil
• 48 cupcakes, your choice of flavor(s)
• a large batch of homemade buttercream frosting
• 3 mini chocolate donuts
• 3 large marshmallows
• 2 junior mints
• 1 bag of Swedish gummy fish

Directions

1. Take your board (I used a wooden cutting board) and wrap it in tinfoil.  This is where you’re going to put together your cake.
2. Since the hippo’s floating in water you’re only going to see the top of the hippo’s body and its head.  So, for the hippo itself you’re going to need 20 whole cupcakes and 3 cupcake tops.  For the body of the hippo I made two rows of 4 cupcakes each and 1 row of three cupcakes.  For the head of the hippo I made three rows of 3 cupcakes each.  The back of the head where the ears and eyes are needs to be a little higher than the hippo’s snout, so I placed 1 cupcake top on top of each whole cupcake making the last row double decker cupcakes.
3. Frost each cupcake with purple frosting, smoothing the frosting over the head so all the cupcakes look like 1 large cake.
4. Cut 1 mini donut in half and place each half, cut side down, on the right and left sides of the top of the head to represent the hippo’s ears.
5. Take the other two donuts and lay them flat on the right and left sides of the front of the hippo’s head to represent the hippo’s nostrils.
6. Take two marshmallows and frost them into a cylinder with purple frosting for the eyes.  Make sure you leave the ends unfrosted.  Place the eyes on the head of the hippo between the donut ears and press two junior mints onto each end of the marshmallow cylinder to represent the pupils.
7. Take the third marshmallow and cut it in half lengthwise.  Press the flat halves onto the front center of the hippo’s snout to represent the hippo’s teeth.
8. Frost the rest of the cupcakes with blue and/or blue and white frosting. Surround the sides and rear of the hippo with these blue cupcakes to represent the water that the hippo’s floating in.
9. Take as many gummy fish as you’d like to use and stick them in the blue frosted cupcakes so they look like they’re jumping out of the water around the hippo.
10. If you have space on your serving platter and left over frosting, feel free to frost the board with blue frosting and add a few more fish.