Beehives and Camouflage on All-New "DC Cupcakes" Special

06/05/2013

Heard of HonFest? It's an annual festival in Baltimore that celebrates over-the-top retro style and encourages attendees to don beehives, boas, bold '50s and '60s patterns and cat eye glasses. You don't have to be an old-fashioned housewife to be a Hon -- you just have to love a good time and the color pink! Katherine and Sophie fit the demographic and received a special invitation to participate in the HonFest pageant.

For the talent portion of the competition, they created a 6' cupcake Hon flamingo.The challenge wasn't easy, though. The sisters struggled to find the perfect shade of pink for their bird, and creating its feathers led to a heated discussion in the Georgetown Cupcake lab. Getting the bird from D.C. to Baltimore was another struggle. As the creation melted in the truck, Sophie, Katherine and Mommy had to get Hon makeovers. (Check out their beehives in this slideshow!) Did they sweep the competition with their new looks and impressive confection?

In typical Katherine/Sophie style, the busy sisters couldn't turn down a request for a big build -- especially when the client was the U.S. Army! The sisters committed to HonFest and a birthday celebration at the Pentagon just days apart. Besides the flamingo build, they dreamed up a giant cupcake tank for the Army's 237th birthday. This wouldn't be any ordinary cupcake tank (if there is such a thing!): It would be built to scale and would shoot cupcakes!

With mad genius Steve working on the tank's structure and firing mechanism, Katherine and Sophie were tasked with preparing camouflage fondant and more than 5,000 cupcakes to cover the tank. When the job seemed impossible, they called in the troops -- literally! But could Georgetown Cupcake and the U.S. Army finish this huge project in time?

Find out when DC Cupcakes: Get Tanked premieres Friday, June 14 at 7|6c!

Watch some of the best DC Cupcakes videos right here!

Photo credit: DCL

The "DC Cupcakes" Family Is Growing!

02/28/2013

There's a new baby in town!

In the upcoming DC Cupcakes special on March 12, the busy sisters are opening a new bakery on the West Coast, building a giant globe for the grand opening of a children's museum on the East Coast, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Katherine's baby. This is Mommy's first grandchild, so while she's incredibly excited, she also wants to make sure Katherine is prepared. You won't believe how she schools Katherine in the art of motherhood! Let's just say this is the first time we've seen a robot in the bakery. (No, the temperamental fondant sheeter doesn't count.)

As Katherine struggles to do her bakery work with a baby bump slowing her down, Sophie is tasked with double-duty! What's more, she's also trying to surprise Katherine with the best baby shower ever. Katherine has a surprise of her own, though. She wants to bake gender-reveal cupcakes to announce the gender to all her friends and family. But how can she pull off a surprise like that without discovering the gender herself?

Warmest congratulations to Katherine! See all the fun when the special airs Tuesday, March 12 10|9c.

Photo courtesy DCL

Week 7: The Next Great Baker Power Rankings

01/22/2013

On this week's Next Great Baker, Buddy split the contestants into two teams -- boys vs. girls. It was a battle of the sexes, but who came out on top?

Do you think Chris should have gone home?

Tell us in the comments!

--Julie Gerstein

Week Six: The "Next Great Baker" Power Rankings

01/15/2013

Carlo's Bakery and Buddy Valastro are steeped in Italian culture and tradition, so you just knew that there'd be a Next Great Baker challenge involving Italian food, right? The contestants were treated to an Italian fine dining experience at Carraba's restaurant, and met with Carraba's owner Damian Mendola to receive their latest challenge.

The contestants were split into two teams and were instructed to make a three-foot tall cake incorporating/replicating classic Italian dishes. In addition to making it through to the next round, the winner recieved a trip for two to Italy. Not to shabby, eh? The runners up were treated to a year's worth of food from Carraba's.

Team Chad, Ashley, Paul and Letty make a great cake, but it unfortunately falls just short of the required three foot height requirement. There's discord on the team over Letty's contributions. But over at team Chris, Jen and Gretel-Ann, Gretel-Ann is not amused by Jen's workmanship. Even so, their team pulls out the win -- basically on a technicality. And Jen is awarded the trip to Italy, which we can imagine totally burned Gretel-Ann. 

When it came time to decide who went into the box truck, the losing team voted Letty off the Next Great Baker island. She didn't exactly help, when she admitted that she could have done more.

So let's go to the Power Rankings!

And then there were six! Do you agree with Buddy's decision to send Letty home? Tell us in the comments!

--Julie Gerstein

Mixing With Tradition: Holiday Food Ideas

12/21/2012

Every family has their own special holiday traditions. One that has a long history is the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes. This is a meal traditionally held on Christmas Eve within Italian families.  The meal consists of seven fish dishes – seven being the most repeated number in the Bible.

Here are some suggestions for taking the Italian Seven Fishes meal and transforming it into your own. 

1.    Shrimp Cocktail
Grab some fresh shrimp from the market or buy a frozen bag, shrimp cocktail is a great appetizer for any meal.  Boil or steam the shrimp. Combine cocktail sauce ingredients and serve chilled.   

Ingredients
1 lb cooked peeled and deveined shrimp
Cocktail Sauce:
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon horseradish
2 teaspoons lime juice
Lime wedges for garnish

 

2.   Bacon wrapped scallops

These can also be frozen or fresh – wrap an uncooked bacon strip around each uncooked scallops and broil on a non-stick cooking sheet.  Serve as an appetizer or entre.

3.   Calamari


Ingredients
Squid rings, cleaned and cooked
¾ cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Marinate squid rings in salt and pepper, Dredge the marinated rings in flour, followed by eggs, and then bread crumbs.  Fry squid in a large skillet with a generous amount of olive oil. 

 

4. Lobster can get expensive and it is not always easy to get in late December, so why not order take out…sushi take out! A lobster roll at Christmas Eve dinner can really mix things up!

5.  Linguini with clam sauce.

6.  Crab Cakes: Get Former Miss D.C. Jen Corey’s recipe here

7.  Tex Mex Fish Tacos from TLC.com can be a fun family activity as well as a good way to mix up Christmas Eve dinner. There are many steps in making a mean fish taco—from grilling or frying the fish to preparing the salsa–everyone can have a role in making the dish. What’s a better way to spend family time than preparing a meal together?

Shake up your family’s Christmas Eve routine this year and try out this time-honored tradition!

 

--Alex Zuckerman

Make 'Em: 5 Cupcakes That Look Like Other Foods

10/09/2012

We're super excited for DC Cupcakes tonight, which is why we've decided to get in on the cupcake-making business ourselves. Tonight's episode pits sisters Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne against each other, in an all out cupcaking-making battle. To prepare, we've got six deceptive, sneaky, downright tricky cupcakes that are masquerading as other foods. See who you can fool with these delicious desserts.

Are those little sliders? Nope! They're faux-burgers, otherwise known as cupcakes. Using vanilla cupcakes as the buns and chocolate cupcakes as the "meat," you can create a surprising snack.

Hamburger Cupcakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Wedding Cake Is ... Cheese?

09/13/2012

Cutting of the cake is usually a highlight of the wedding reception, but lately, more couples are cutting the cheese. Yes, that's right. Cheese. What would Randy say?

For the past couple of years, cheese has become a viable alternative to a traditional sweet wedding cake. Why choose cheese? It's seen as a better pairing with wedding wine, and is a general palate pleaser.

The folks at The Cheese Shed in Devon, England, have actually created a cheese wedding cake "cakebuilder," which allows brides-to-be to choose from their vast array of cheeses and make a custom several-tiered cheese cake.

Why choose cheese? For one, it's a more economical choice than a standard wedding cake. And a cheese cake can offer a more unique and surprising option for non-traditional couples. So while we're not sure that the ladies of "Four Weddings" would approve, or that we'd want to forego a sweet treat for a plate of provolone, we're willing to give it a shot.

--Julie Gerstein

You Won't Believe What Honey Boo Boo is Eating Now (Sketti!)

09/12/2012

In tonight's episode of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," Mama June, Alana and the fam enjoy a special Thompson family recipe. It's probably not something you'd want to try at home, but just in case, here's what you need for Mama June's special ketchup-and-butter Sketti:

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound spaghetti
ketchup
butter

PREPARATION:

Prepare noodles according to package instructions. Set aside.

In bowl, combine:

1 part ketchup

1 part butter

Zap in microwave, stir and pour over noodles.

Voila! You've got Sketti! Feel free to experiment with spicy ketchups or other ketchup flavors if you're feeling adventurous.

Apparently Mama June's Sketti is a family fave, and somewhat surprisingly, she's not the only one with a taste for the three-ingredient concoction. A messageboard on Chowhound reveals a small-but-mighty Sketti fanbase. Writes Chowhound user Nicole:

"When I was growing up my mom and dad would whip up a quick bowl of thin spaghetti, mixed with butter and then mixed with Heinz ketchup. Often we would have it with Bordens grated american cheese sprinkled on top (which I can't find anywhere these days, anyone have an outlet for it?) I still eat it. And I still really enjoy it," wrote one user. In some countries -- like Finland and Japan -- spaghetti and ketchup are a common dish. And believe it or not, skilled chefs sometimes chow down on a bowl of butter, pasta and ketchup when they have no time. "I did the spaghetti noodle and ketchup dish when I was in high school....and then I started cooking professionally....and the noodle/butter/ketchup dish is still something we cooks in San Francisco occasionally eat when there's no time to fix much else for staff meal."

 

But it's not just Sketti that the Thompsons love to eat, of course. At a recent outing to a local barbecue joint, Alana tried to order practically everything on the menu. "She's a mess," June told the waitress, before ordering a massive platter of ribs, chicken and wings.

 

 

And then there's lemonade the Mama June way. Which involves 5 pounds of sugar. Who wants to brush their teeth now? (Raises hand).  

 

How popular is the Honey Boo Boo diet? There are now recipes inspired by the show. Some southern-style pig's feet? Or how about some homemade Cheetos?

 

What's your favorite "Honey Boo Boo" recipe?

--Julie Gerstein

Chicken Nuggets? Not So Fast!

09/10/2012

Cupcake Project

Sure, they look like savory chicken nuggets -- but before you break out the barbecue sauce we should tell you that they're actually cupcakes.

That's right -- cupcake genius Stefani Pollack over at the cupcake-arific blog CupcakeProject came up with the idea. The cupcakes are actually more like donuts in spirit, in that they're deep-fried on the outside, and are best served warm. Cupcakes are sliced up, dipped in eggs, buttermilk and breading, then deep fried. Stef paired the nuggety cakes with a faux dipping sauce -- it's actually rasberry jam (though we're pretty sure honey mustard wouldn't actually taste that bad). We imagine a delicious vanilla icing (a faux mayonaise) would be pretty great, too.

For the complete sinfully delicious recipe, check out CupcakeProject.com.

--Julie Gerstein

A Sweet Treat With A Salty Price Tag

08/27/2012

Say hello to the world's most expensive cupcake. Yes, you heard us right -- this newly unveiled delectable dessert from Bloomsbury's cafe in -- where else? -- Dubai, costs around $1,000. The Golden Phoenix cupcake is made from 23-carat edible gold sheets and coated in a thick layer of gold dust. The whole thing is presented on a 24-carat gold stand and must be ordered at least two days in advance.

If you're still hankering to blow some money after eating this expensive treat, may we suggest pairing your cupcake with Le Burger Extravagant, available at NYC restaurant Serendipity 3? Made from the finest Japanese wagyu beef and topped with shaved black truffles, white truffle butter, sea salt and a fried quail egg, this "extravagant" dish costs $293. Or, pair it with "Buddha Jumps Over The Wall" soup from Kai Restaurant in London's Mayfair district. The soup is comprised of abalone, shark's fin, apanese flower mushroom, sea cucumber, dried scallops, chicken, and pork -- and must be ordered five days in advance. The price? A cool $200.

So if you want to try any of these delectable, expensive treats, start saving now...

[Doobybrain]

--Julie Gerstein