Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So, me and my husband eloped on a trip to NC back in 2005, only to come back to NY and be surprised with a wedding party at my old job. The cake was Red Velvet made by Magnolia Bakery in NYC. It was my first time ever trying it, and i fell in love with it. I can still find traces of red food coloring on a nice pair of Jimmy Choo heels that somehow ended up on top of the cake at the end of the party... but that's a whole other story...
Of course living in NY without much time to cook or bake, every time i wanted red velvet i would just wait in line patiently for a red velvet cupcake from Magnolia Bakery... and that was heaven...
Since moving to NC two years ago, red velvet is always on top of my list when baking.
After trying different recipes, i really liked Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cupcake recipe from the Food Network website.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.

Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

Salsa Verde

Since the heat index is about 100F every day for the past 3 weeks, i have been doing most the cooking outside on the grill to keep the house from being too hot, and even though i love plain grilled chicken , after a few chicken meals you want some different flavors added to them. Today we are having grilled chicken topped with lots of salsa verde, a little white rice and iceberg wedges to go with it! oh yeah, did i mention margaritas go great with spicy food! Good thing it's friday and i won't feel guilty...

Printable Recipe - click here

Ingredients for 2 quart jars:

10 tomatillos without husk

3 whole jalapenos ( if you prefer not too spicy use 1-2 jalapenos and also cut in half and remove the seeds)

2 medium yellow onions quartered

6-8 garlic cloves peeled

1/4 cup of white vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

2 handfuls of roughly chopped cilantro

In a large saucepan place all ingredients but salt, pepper and cilantro, and fill half way up with water. Bring it to a boil, lower temperature to medium and cook for about 15 minutes or until all vegetables are soft.

Let it come to room temperature and blend with cilantro until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

It's great with enchiladas, veggie lasagna or grilled meats.

I can the second jar by throwing it on a hot water bath for 15 minutes and you can store in your pantry for a year.