Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

This is my second time making this wonderful frosting from Tyler Florence. I needed a frosting for my vanilla bean cupcakes and chose my new favorite. It has vanilla bean pieces in the frosting. I love it! These cupcakes were great with some fresh strawberries and vanilla sugar.

Vanilla Bean Butter cream Frosting

(Adapted from his recipe)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup milk

4 cups confectioner's sugar (1 pound box), plus more if necessary

Cream the butter in a medium-size bowl until very smooth. Stir in the vanilla-bean seeds until they're evenly distributed. Add the salt, milk and vanilla extract, and stir until combined. Sift the sugar over the butter mixture and stir the mixture until it's perfectly smooth. If the frosting is too loose, add a few more tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap until you're ready to use; mix well just before using. You can see what other TFF members did here.

Ultimate Samosa Pie

My husbands Man sized portion of Samosas. My cooked lentils with garlic, onions and raisins.

The Spicy filling! I loved adding cinnamon to this.

I was looking for a good recipe to try for dinner using what I had on hand. I found this recipe by Tyler Florence for Ultimate Samosas (little handheld pies). These were wonderful for dinner. I made the pie crust into 1 large pie instead of the 8 minis. We enjoyed with lentils instead of the chickpeas and spinach. Here is the recipe if you would like to try this Curry flavored meal! I don't think I have tried anything from Tyler's recipes that has tasted anything but great. You can check out what my other Tyler Florence Fridays friends made this week too.

Shrimp Scampi Tyler Style

My husband has been asking for Shrimp Scampi for the last week. I found a recipe for Shrimp Scampi from Tyler Florence. It looked easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. This took minutes to make and tasted great for a quick dinner. I used whole wheat pasta noodles from Trader Joe's. I also grated a little Parmesan on top and served with a green salad.

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Prep Time:
20 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
10 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound linguine
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
Directions
For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguine. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately. Enjoy! Check TFF to see what everyone else made!

Muffins Muffins and more Muffins

This week I had to make a couple dozen muffins for my sons Holiday party in the morning. I found a recipe from Tyler Florence for Banana Nut Muffins. I chose recipe for my Fridays with Tyler Florence cooking group.http://tylerflorencefridays.blogspot.com/ My daughter and I had so much fun making these together. She is quite the helper and wanted to do allot of it herself this time. These are super easy and tasted great. The only change I did was to omit nuts because of food allergies. I also made a batch of pumpkin and cranberry muffins with caramel frosting. These were also good.
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: How To Boil WaterEpisode: The Family That Cooks Together
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.