Jessi's Joys

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes!

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:36:08 -0400

So it’s been awhile. Clearly. Because of that - here’s a nice treat. Giada’s raspberry cream cupcakes. These cupcakes are absolutely phenomenal and easy to make!

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)

• 1 1/3 cups water

• 3 large eggs whites

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 (6-ounce) containers fresh raspberries

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first 6 ingredients to make cupcake batter.

Whip the raspberries and whipping cream together to form fresh raspberry whipped cream (see picture below)

When the cupcakes are done baking - let them cook. Using kitchen scissors, cut the cupcakes horizontally and put the fresh raspberry whipped cream in the middle. Put them cupcake back together. When you’re finished with all of the cupcakes, sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Enjoy :)

Hope everyone’s had a great week - looking forward to tomorrow (TGIF).

Pesto, pesto, pesto!

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:25:46 -0500

I’ve really been into making different kinds of pesto lately. Immersion blenders and food processors are MUST HAVES for any kitchen. Even kitchens as small as mine (#NYCProblems).

Pesto 1: Avocado Pesto

Ingredients: Avocado, lemon juice, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, basil and lemon zest (choose your portions of each - the more lemon, the better)

I put it over pasta but I had leftovers and I put it on fish tacos - amazing!

Pesto 2: Asparagus Pesto

Thanks to my good friend and fellow foodie from home, Brian (@BrianStewart), I discovered asparagus pesto! Who knew you could make so many different pestos?!

Ingredients: Asparagus, spinach, pistachios, garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

Yummmmmy goodness…

And more yummy goodness…

Delish.

Know of any other alternative pesto recipes? Send them my way!

Tonight's Festivities

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:51:53 -0500

Very excited to attend Bloggers Night Out in New York City tonight! Excited to meet fellow bloggers and have a great time!

[Image Credit: BloggerNightOut.com]

Words to live by!

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:31:12 -0500

I really truly believe this!

Currently Swooning Over...Neons!

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:46:00 -0500

I am LOVING all of these neon trends. So adorable. I am just waiting for my style icon, KM to break out some neon!

[Image Credit: InStyle, For the Love of Vogue, and Fashioneestar]

Quinoa Burgers

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:39:47 -0500

My good friend, John recently alerted me to something amazing: quinoa burgers He used quinoa, onion, salt, pepper, two eggs, chives, hummus and mustard. The key is to get the patties to stay together so you can transfer them to the pan.

For my quinoa burgers, I used quinoa, white onion, basil, eggs, bread crumbs and dijon mustard. For my burgers, the hardest part was having the right amount of eggs and bread crumbs in order to form patties.

I also made a garlic aioli to go on top of the burgers with sliced avocado. The aioli had mayo, minced garlic, paprika and lemon juice.

As long as you can make patties, you can add whatever you want to your quinoa burgers. Enjoy!

Goodbye, 2011...Hello, 2012!

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:41:56 -0500

My New Year’s Resolution is to blog more, have fun, make New York my home and to see my family and friends as often as possible. Here’s to 2012!

Sushi at Home

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:55:03 -0500

If you know me, you know I LOVE sushi. I could eat it for every meal..except breakfast. It is very easy to make at home and cost-effective! The best part about my sushi recipe is the shitake mushrooms. They are unbelievable and can be used for other things besides sushi - specifically they are also delicious on burgers!

Seasoned Shitakes

Ingredients:

10 ea. Dried shiitakes

Soaking Liquid:

5 Tbs. Sugar

5 Tbs. Soy sauce

4 1/2 tsp. Mirin (Sweet rice wine)

Directions:

1. Rinse Mushrooms with water and soak in warm water until they rehydrate and are soft to the touch, approximately 30 minutes.

2. Cut off the stems. Place mushrooms into a small saucepan. Strain soaking liquid and add enough to the pan to cover the mushrooms. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2-3 minutes.

3. Add sugar and soy sauce. Continue to simmer until the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally to keep mushrooms from sticking to the pan.

4. Add mirin and swirl pan to allow pan liquids to thoroughly coat the mushrooms.

5. Cool to room temperature.

Sushi Prep - don’t forget your spicy mayo!

The ingredients you’ll need for the spicy mayo are above - change amounts depending on your preferred level of spicy!

The last step is taking an extremely SHARP knife to cut the roll into pieces and voila! Homemade sushi!

Steak Tacos with Avocado Lime Salsa

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:28:00 -0400

These are probably my all-time favorite tacos EVER. They are scrum-didily-uptious! Ellie Krieger, my favorite healthy chef, features this recipe in her cookbook, “The Food You Crave.” They are called, “Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos.” They are PERFECT in the Summertime. Yes, I realize it’s October but I have been so busy the past few months with my new job that I haven’t had time to post very much. Also, you can make these anytime of year but I just prefer using a grill for the steak (hence summertime).

THere isn’t a picture of an actual taco because we ate them too fast :)

Click here for Ellie’s Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos!

Enjoy!! :)

Mahi Mahi Tacos!

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:49:38 -0400

A few nights ago, I was craving fish tacos. Mahi Mahi being my favorite, my boyfriend and I picked up some fresh Mahi-Mahi at the fish market in Chelsea Market (sidenote: their fish selection is amazing…so is their sushi).

Without a specific recipe, we marinated the fish in lemon juice with some salt and peper for about 20 minutes and pan fried it. Sliced up some avocado, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and mixed up some spicy mayo (my faveee). Don’t forget the fresh lime juice! :)

Spicy Mayo Recipe:

1/3 cup Low Fat Mayo

1 Tablespoon Chili Paste

1 Teaspoon Chili Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

Seriously, spicy mayo makes EVERYTHING better. Trust me :)

So very lucky.

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:12:29 -0400

So very lucky.

My newest obsession: Rice Cooker

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:38:51 -0400

For my college graduation, my wonderful older sister got me a rice cooker! I AM IN LOVE. It is without a doubt the most amazing thing I own…

It can cook rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and it can even steam vegetables! I don’t know what I did before I owned this amazing machine. Best of all: it makes the best sushi rice so I can start make sushi again! Making sushi seems REALLY hard but after you do it once, I promise it is so easy. I will post pictures of sushi as soon as I remember to take them (accidentally ate the sushi too fast…oopsies).

I made a really simple and delicious rice dish a few nights ago with plain old white rice.

I made the rice in the rice cooker (so easy!) and then chopped up some scallions, mint, and added some canned corn (I am a horrible Iowan). I also added some fresh lemon juice, some lemon zest, and a little salt and peper on top.

It took about 30 minutes. Unbelievably easy. I originally wanted to make this with quinoa like Giada’s recipe but of course, like an idiot, I forgot to buy quinoa at the grocery store so I was stuck with what I had.

If there is anything you should put on your list for your next birthday, anniversary, holiday, etc, it is a rice cooker. Enjoy!!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:25:00 -0400

A few weeks ago, I made Lemon Crinkle Cookies, very similar to the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies I made back in February. I MUCH prefer the lemon version. Call me crazy but I’m not big on chocolate. Sinful, I know.

They turned out great! Crisp on the outside but soft on the inside. Perfection.

Ingredients

½ cup Butter (1 stick)

1 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Whole Egg

1 tsp Lemon Zest

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

¼ tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Salt

⅛ tsp Baking Soda

1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (I ran out of Whole Wheat Flour so I had to use this stuff)

½ cup Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Stir together the dry ingredients (excluding the powdered sugar) and then slowly add to the wet ingredients until combined. Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Use spoon to grab dough (about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie) and roll into a ball and then roll in powdered sugar.

Bake for 11-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Summertime

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:45:48 -0400

Image Credit: The Love Shop, The Glitter Guide, Simply Hue, and Crazy Maybe.

So classy. I have a pair of beige wedges but now I want...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:51:59 -0400

So classy. I have a pair of beige wedges but now I want those.

Image courtesy of People.com

I love this outfit. Where can I find it?? Image courtesy of...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:49:47 -0400

I love this outfit. Where can I find it??

Image courtesy of People.com

New Beginnings: New York City

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:47:51 -0400

It is official. I am now a “New Yorker”. I actually hate saying that, I feel like I’m betraying my roots. Not to mention, if I start cheering for the Yankees, my father might not speak to me for months. That would never happen though.

I am very excited to be here and the number one thing I have learned is how to be creative with space. That is a true New York talent because there is definitely not a lot of it. My little apartment in Chelsea is absolutely wonderful and I am so excited to be here! I am within steps to the West Village, Union Square, and Meatpacking. It is such an exciting time and most importantly, I start my first real job on Monday! I am ready for a routine again. The past few months have been great relaxing, visiting friends, and going home to see more friends and family. So watch out real world, here I come!!

The most creative uses of space I have ever seen!

Image Credit: Ideas to Steal, We Heart it, & LauraThoughts81.

The search is OVER! Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:54:32 -0400

Look no further, I have found the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Take my word that I have baked a LOT of chocolate chip cookies in my life. In fact it was the very first thing I ever made. Unfortunately, as a meer 6 year old wanting to surprise my family with a sweet snack, I thought 3 1/4 cups of flour meant three of the one-fourth cups…also known as 3/4 cup. Needless to say, my first chocolate chip cookie experience was a disaster.

Sixteen years later, I have finally found the best recipe there is. It is from Fine Cooking and let me tell you, they don’t get better than this.

Here is the recipe:

10-3/4 oz. (1-1/3 cups) unsalted butter, cold (**I used 2 sticks of butter**)
1-1/2 cups packed light brown-sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, cold
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
17 oz. (3-3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Arrange oven racks in the upper and middle positions of the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, starting on low speed and gradually working your way up to high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 min. once you reach high speed. Scrape the bowl and beater. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low until blended. Beat on high until light and fluffy, about 1 min. Scrape the bowl and beater.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add this to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended; the dough will be stiff. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop rounded measuring teaspoons of dough about 2 inches apart onto two ungreased baking sheets. Refrigerate any unused dough. Bake until the bottoms are golden brown, 8 to 10 min., rotating the sheets halfway through for even results. Remove the sheets from the oven, let sit for 3 to 5 min., and then transfer the cookies with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool completely before baking the remaining dough.

Such a great dress. Kate Middleton, I idolize your style. If...

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:51:41 -0400

Such a great dress. Kate Middleton, I idolize your style. If only…

Iowa City Farmer's Market

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:23:20 -0400

So many of you know that I currently live in Washington, DC. Although I am moving in a month to start my new life in New York City!! I am very excited about moving to New York but I will miss Washington, DC, my friends, and my life for the past four years.

What most of you don’t know is that I am from Iowa City, Iowa. A great place to grow up that is filled with some amazing people.

Last week, I went to the Farmer’s Market in my hometown and I was thoroughly impressed! After being spoiled by the Dupont Farmer’s Market and soon to be the Union Square Market, I wasn’t expecting much.

Below are the best asparagus I’ve ever had. Look how long they are! They fill up the 13x9 pan!

I put a little olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsalmic vinegar on them and stuck them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. So delicious and fresh!

Thank you, Iowa City Farmer’s Market!!