New Year's Eve: Prosecco Cupcakes

For New Years Eve, I wanted to make a festive dessert that celebrated the holiday. Clearly, that meant Prosecco cupcakes.

As a fan of the Food Network show Cupcake Wars, I had seen the bakers make many Champagne cupcakes in the competition. However, I personally prefer Champagne's sweeter, Italian cousin– Prosecco.

Cupcake Vineyards produces quality wines at great prices. Unlike many other American-based wine manufacturers, they correctly label their sparkling wine based on the region from which the grapes were cultivated. Unfortunately, many American winemakers label their sparkling wines as Champagne, when in fact the grapes were not from the Champagne region in France.

But I digress... The Cupcake Prosecco was suited perfectly for my baking needs. And the name was quite apropos for the situation!

The result: perfectly fluffy cupcakes with just a hint of the grape-y Prosecco. Needless to say, they were a huge hit at the party!


P.S.– A word on the frosting: I hand-piped the frosting using a large Ziploc bag and a piping tip left over from my days as a cake decorator. The steps are really simple:

1. Cut a hole in the bottom corner of the Ziploc bag that's just large enough for the piping tip
2. Stick the piping tip in THEN fill the bag with frosting
3. Go ahead and pipe!

Foodspiration

To me, cooking and eating go hand-in-hand. By cooking, you can appreciate the time and effort that went into making a delicious meal; by eating, you can learn what properly cooked food tastes like. I'm not talking about ostentatiously elaborate dishes you'd find at a pricey restaurant– oftentimes, the best meals are made simply with fresh, quality ingredients.

For me, the question usually remains of what to cook. So, to help me with my "Baker's-block" (if you will), I like to download menus from top-rated restaurants to find inspiration. It's especially helpful to look at the ingredients and combinations they use– like endive (a bitter leaf often used in salad), roasted pear, Roquefort (a blue cheese), and walnuts.

Dinner menu from Le Parisien in NYC

Recipes aren't necessary to use these menus; it's all about the inspiration. Because, really, where else would I get the idea to make a roasted artichoke salad with cherry tomatoes and lemon tarragon vinaigrette?

Christmas Gift Guide for the Foodie

I'd like to consider myself an amateur foodie, but I don't go too crazy when it comes to food. The most adventurous things I've had were in France– duck, pâté, tartare, and escargot. However, I can boast a near-perfect winning record in the "Food" category in QuizUp. Which makes me a foodie, right?

So here are my Christmas gift picks for the foodie in your life. Personally, I'm hoping to see the Silpat baking mat under the tree this year... it's made from woven glass fibers and coated with a layer of silicon. Nothing sticks to a Silpat.

Happy gift-giving!

Silpat kitchenware dining / Kitchenaid stand mixer / Tiffany Co drinkware / Cake plate / Williams-Sonoma wine glasses / Pier 1 Imports kitchen gadgets tool / Black Truffle Oil / Tahitian Vanilla Extract