San Francisco Family Dinners

Martha Stewart's Red Velvet Cupcake

Happy Tuesday to you all! I hope your weekends were enjoyable and Monday wasn't too grueling. My weekend was filled with lots of time with friends, amazing weather and endless amounts of football. Not too shabby in my book. There's something about this upcoming change in season that seems to bring everyone together. I personally think fall sports are to blame, but in the best way possible. Since I moved to the city, Sunday nights have been reserved for "family dinners." Now, I know my family will read this and be a little concerned since they are miles away from me, but a group of my friends and I carried on the tradition of reserving Sunday nights for meals with family and friends.  In the midst of our busy lives it's nice to have a "San Francisco Family" to enjoy a home cooked meal with once a week. Now and again, we are fortunate to have a break from some of the cooking duties, when nearby parents decide to host for the evening.   When this happens, we are guaranteed an amazing meal and many laughs with people I consider family. This past Sunday the Atkinson's cooked us a delicious traditional English meal, and I provided dessert. Being that it was the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I decided on something a little patriotic in color: Martha Stewart's red velvet cupcakes. No one can turn down red velvet with scrumptious cream cheese frosting, and lucky me, the recipe was surprisingly easy. Also a very simple dessert to serve in front of the television, with no messy clean up during the fourth quarter of a close Jets vs. Cowboys Sunday night match up. Do any of you have similar traditions with friends or family? If not, I highly recommend it. Families are made up of all shapes and sizes, and I'm lucky enough to have more than one :) Hope you all have a great Wednesdays tomorrow! An update on my heirloom tomato salsa is in the works... xx

Martha Stewart's Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

(recipes and photos taken from marthastewart.com)

Makes 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color (I used about 3/4 oz. of the liquid food coloring and they turned out a perfect shade of red)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.