Sasha's Kitchen: Tea Party Strawberry Sodapop Cupcakes with Poprocks for Ovarian Cancer Research

Breast cancer and ovarian cancer are both causes dear to my heart. In fact, my beloved mother is a breast cancer survivor. So, when Foodbuzz and Kelly Confidential announced that they would be donating money to ovarian cancer research for each entry in Top Nine Tea Party Takeover on Foodbuzz, that gave me even more incentive to create the perfect cupcake recipe for a tea party. Kelly Confidential is a great organization that is sponsoring Electrolux and Kelly Ripa's virtual tea party for a truly important and cause - sponsoring ovarian cancer research. If you enter the tea party promotion on Kelly Confidential's website, they will donate $1 for each entry to this terrific cause.

These cupcakes are, of course, pink, both because they are tea party inspired, and as a tribute to women everywhere who are fighting ovarian and breast cancer. What could be cuter and better for a tea party than strawberry sodapop (or even strawberry champagne) cupcakes with crackling strawberry poprocks on the top, my all time favorite candy? I absolutely love everything about tea parties - they just bring out the feminine little girl cuteness in life. That's probably why Manhattan's Alice's Tea Cup - a tea party restaurants, is one of my favorite tea party spots.

Nothing is better for a tea party than these pretty pink cupcakes. They are fabulously strawberry flavored, and are the perfect match for a cup of tea with milk and honey for your next all-girl gathering. Perhaps you'd also like them alongside my Alice In Wonderland cupcakes for the ultimate tea party?

Oh, and what could be more perfect for a tea party than these cupcakes - mini strawberry sodapop cupcakes with poprocks! I was sure to keep enough batter to make a tray and a half of these too!

So, go PINK for your next tea party, pink for ovarian cancer research to put an end to this deadly disease.

Sasha's Strawberry Sodapop Cupcakes with Poprocks
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup seltzer with strawberry syrup (or Champagne with strawberry syrup)
1 stick of butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree

Sasha's Strawberry Poprocks Frosting
1 stick of butter
4 oz cream cheese
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 T strawberry syrup
3 T seltzer or Champagne

To make the cupcakes, beat the butter and sugar for three minutes on medium speed in your mixer, until smooth. Beat in the eggs and the seltzer, which you can make strawberry flavored with Hershey's Strawberry Syrup. Alternatively, if you prefer to go all out for your tea party, replace the seltzer with Champagne - by all means! Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Alternatively beat in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, until combined. Then add in the strawberry puree, which you should make from fresh strawberries.  Fill your full size and mini cupcakes trays with the batter- I filled one one and a half mini trays and a dozen regular size cupcakes. The large cupcakes bake for about 35 minutes at 350, the minis take closer to 20 minutes or so. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean, before they start to brown.

For the frosting, in your mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and confectioner's sugar until smooth and frosting like. Combine 3 T of seltzer and 1 T of strawberry syrup and beat that in as well.  Using a fluted tip, pipe the frosting onto each cupcake (or mini cupcake) using a frosting bag. Top with plenty of cracking poprocks and serve with delicious organic teas. Party time!

Sasha's Kitchen: Tea Party Strawberry Sodapop Cupcakes with Poprocks for Ovarian Cancer Research

Sasha's Kitchen: Veal with Roasted Red Peppers and Mushrooms

I was excited to use the delicious looking jar of roasted red peppers from Greece that I had received from Shop-Rite in the mail as a participant in the ShopRite "Potluck" blog panel. I had already planned on making veal marsala for dinner. Then, I decided to go with the marsala theme, but vary things up a bit. This dish is kind of a take on veal marsala, but its quite untraditional - and better than even our best veal marsala. I jazzed up the sauce with a bit of lemon and some Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce that I got some coupons for as part of a Foodbuzz  promotion. So this is all about some great ways to use the goodies that I received. The roasted peppers from ShopRite in particular were delicious - and made a perfect complement to the marsala sauce and the mushrooms. The Lea & Perrins really jazzed up the marsala sauce in the best way ever - and is a must (in small amounts) in all of my marsala dishes from here on out.  I also used some of ShopRite's extra virgin olive oil that I received - fresh from Italy. It was delicious, and great quality and complemented a nice dish.

Sasha's Veal with Roasted Red Peppers and Mushrooms
flour
1 lb veal scaloppine or veal cutlet
ShopRite extra virgin olive oil
baby bella mushrooms (one package)
1 jar ShopRite roasted red peppers
1 onion, diced
3 sprigs of thyme
1 cup marsala wine
1 cup of chicken stock
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp Lea & Perrins worcestershire sauce

First, dredge the veal in flour and season with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides, and set aside. Dice an onion and saute in olive oil. Add a bit more olive oil, as well as the mushrooms and red peppers and thyme, and cook until softened. Add 1 cup of marsala wine and cook over medium high heat, and allow to reduce by half, as the mushrooms, pepper and onions will soak up the flavor of the marsala. Add the chicken stock and reduce until you have a proper sauce.  In the meantime, you can cook the veal to your liking in the oven before adding it back into the sauce and cooking over medium heat for another few minutes, as the sauce thickens. Add the Lea & Perrins and juice of half of a lemon towards the end. Enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Veal with Roasted Red Peppers and Mushrooms

Sasha's Kitchen: Grilled London Broil Steak Sandwich

It is officially the start of summer, as yesterday was the summer solstice. That means that grilling season is here. Although my husband and I have outdoor space here in Brooklyn, we do not yet have a grill - something that we plan to rectify soon.  However, when I received some free samples of Nature's Pride hamburger buns and hot dog rolls from the Foodbuzz  Tasemaster's Choice program, I couldn't resist the chance to do some indoor grilling to use some of the free samples. Seriously, what's better than coming home from work to discover a large box with free samples?  I had a nice cut of London Broil from Fresh Direct so I decided it was time to make some steak sandwiches.

Sasha's London Broil Grilled Steak Sandwich (serves 4-5)
Nature's Pride Country White Rolls
2 lb cut of London Broil
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup soy sauce
grated parmesan cheese
pomegranate seeds
arugula

Marinade the london broil steaks (which can be divided into four steaks or into strips) in the marinade of the pineapple juice and soy sauce for about an hour. Then, grill the steaks on a grill pan (or an outdoor grill) on each side to your liking.  We then cut the steaks into strips and further grilled them to medium well, which is how my husband and I like our meat prepared.  I served in a fairly non-traditional way with pomegranate seeds, fresh grated parmesan and arugula on a Nature's Pride Country White Roll.  It was delightful!

Sasha's Kitchen: Grilled London Broil Steak Sandwich

Sasha's Kitchen: The Flavors Of Napa Valley (A Foodbuzz Contest)

When I decided to enter the contest to report on the finals of the Foodbuzz / San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition in beautiful Napa Valley, the answer was easy for me.  Napa Valley is my favorite culinary spot in America, both because of the breathtaking natural beauty of its surroundings and because it is a foodie paradise due to its incredible local produce.  Napa Valley is a perfect place, given its rich culinary tradition and lovely scenery, for chefs from around the world to compete to present the most incredible and delicious dishes.  I couldn't think of a better spot on earth to inspire such culinary creativity.  I love watching chefs create their masterpieces, like works of art.  I would love to be there to watch the challenge of so many superb chefs.

Thus, am first presenting some San Pellegrino sparking mineral water with the flavors of Napa Valley, in this post.    I decided to pair the San Pellegrino with the Meyer lemon, Napa's distinctive lemon.  The Meyer lemon is thought to be a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange.  It has a sweeter, less acidic taste than the ordinary lemon, and is, in my opinion, quite a star in itself.  The combination of the Meyer lemon and sparking water dazzles.

Next, I added another dish that I grew to love in Napa.  This is going to sound weird, but trust me with this one and just try it.  When I visited Round Pond Estate in Napa Valley, where they make their own limited production olive oils (and wine too, by the way), I had a marvelous buffet lunch all using local Napa produce (the best on earth).  They served vanilla ice cream with their Blood Orange Olive Oil.  I was skeptical at first.  Ice cream and olive oil?  Weird.  Bizarre.  And also amazing, especially with the blood orange complement.  Thus, this dish will alway be part of what I consider to be the distinctive flavor of Napa Valley.

To sum things up, I would love the opportunity to report live from the Almost Famous Chef Competition, and I'll have a glass of San Pellegrino, garnished with a wedge of Meyer lemon by my side, along with two of my other loves: food and writing.

Sasha's Kitchen: The Flavors Of Napa Valley (A Foodbuzz Contest)