When Fandoms Attack: Spicy Dark Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes

So, about two years ago, the husband was advised, nay ordered, by a friend to play a new (well, newly discovered) video game. it was around the time that World of Warcraft died down in our household and, while I was still busy with grad school, my husband was looking for something to fill the time in the evenings and on weekends. World of Warcraft (or WoW) was a huge deal in our house until then. We were part of a guild and we ran raids and did dungeon runs together. But, just before our wedding, we decided that we needed to focus our attention on, well, our wedding, and both agreed to stop playing. We both realized that WoW wasn't holding our attention as much as it did before and a few months after we got married, we cancelled our accounts. One of our good friends had recently picked up a game called Mass Effect. It was a sci-fi space-faring RPG and apparently it grabbed our friend more than any other game before it. The husband was intrigued and borrowed a copy from another friend who had played it and finished it. The husband was, for lack of a better word, enraptured by the game. He couldn't put it down. He dove headfirst into the world of Mass Effect (or ME) fandom and joined all the fan communities on LiveJournal, even got a handle/profile on the game forums. Soon after he finished the first one, the sequel came out and I don't think I saw him for days as he consumed every bit of that game. His fandom grew and he started to write fanfiction, the sort of level-cap to any fandom. During this time, he kept suggesting that I play, too. Given the timing, I didn't really have much in the way of free time, but during one of my breaks I picked up ME1 and started playing. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it. While my fandom never fully capped like my husband's, I was in it for the long-haul. I played through ME1 multiple times and imported all my saved games into ME2; bought the downloadable content; bought ME-themed apparel; the works. When ME3 released earlier this year, we both ordered our own copies of the Collector's Edition of ME3. While this certainly isn't the forum for expressing how we eventually felt about the trilogy's ending, suffice it to say we're still hooked. ME remains a huge deal in our household. While I might not be writing my own fanfiction, I help proofread the husband's works and I follow a few choice fanfiction authors online now. So yeah, pretty big deal.

But, La Petite Chef, how is this related to food? Oh, dear reader, everything in my life can be related to food. Sometimes I feel like Monica on Friends when she's told that the only reason she became a chef was so people would like her (that's another fandom entirely, believe me). I tell you about this Mass Effect fandom to lay the groundwork for what I did last year.

Last year was the husband's 30th birthday. One of those milestone birthdays and we went all out. I even organized with one of his best men at our wedding to come up from LA to visit and celebrate with us. We had a ton of people over at my parent's house and cooked up a huge variety of street-style Mexican tacos. We had carne asada, carnitas, grilled chicken, and even some grilled portobello mushrooms for our vegetarian friends. Accompanying these we had all the condiments: homemade guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa verde, pickled onions. Let's just say the crowd did not leave hungry that day. The thing is, the husband did all of this himself. Well, okay, I helped a lot with the prep-work, but he manned the grill, and served everything up on his birthday. He loved it. I, on the other hand, kept the dessert a secret. I only asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted. He simply said spicy chocolate. Off to the internet I went and found a beautiful recipe for Spicy Dark Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes with Cardamom Buttercream. I ran it by him, he approved, and I made them. What the husband didn't know was how they were going to be decorated. Little did he know, I had been making sketches of my idea a few weeks leading up to the party. I wanted it to be perfect. I researched what I wanted to draw, bought a whole mess of food colorings, pastry bags, and piping tips. I spent the night before the party at my parent's house, baking and decorating and getting everything set up. I loved every minute of it. Only thing I wish I had was a picture of the two of us holding the tray of cupcakes on his birthday. Oh well, let's just say, he was pleased.

The cupcakes and buttercream was easy enough to make, really. I find cupcakes to be easier to bake than whole cakes and for almost every special occasion in the last 3 years, I've been happy to bake cupcakes for birthdays and other events. I made 2 batches of Root Beer Float Cupcakes for my niece and nephew's 5th birthday party, as well as cupcakes for the last few birthdays for the husband. These particular cupcakes were quite delicious. The spice was a little more subdued than I was expecting; there was definitely more coffee than spice, but I don't think I would try and add MORE spice as I wouldn't want the cupcakes to end up bitter. The cardamom buttercream was an excellent complement, although I was rather sick of cardamom after making these, considering how much I had to handle the frosting during the decorating phase. My nephew, who isn't big on cupcakes at all, said they were his favorite. The reason being is that I lightly ice my cupcakes. Like my nephew, I do not like a ton of frosting or icing on my cupcakes. It's too sweet, especially when all I want is the cake. So yeah, the cupcakes, both as food and a gift, went over well. Not everyone in the crowd understood the significance, but it was my gift to my husband. While my fandom will never surpass his completely, at least he knows I'm just as much of a fan in my own way.

Hello Dal-y: Broccolini and Chickpea Dal

Last year I started a subscription to Sunset. Yes, I am my mother, and I've accepted that (to be honest, she is a pretty cool lady). Anyway, I didn't quite know what to expect when I got my first issue in the mail. I knew there were going to be a lot of articles about gardening (have I not mentioned my rather brown thumb?), home renovations (although drool-worthy, can't use them), and travel (okay, that fits into our life a little more). I had a feeling there would be some recipes involved (I mean, what else are you going to do with your perfectly grown summer squash in your homemade redwood raised beds?), but I wasn't sure what kind. I didn't want a repeat of Mario Batalli, in which he goes on in a pompous manner about how readily available he finds monkfish at his local fishmonger's and how his father owns his own charcuterie (or the Italian equivalent) and makes his own salumi and other dried meats and sausage. Oh--you don't have these things available? Too bad, no substitutions for you, peasant! *ahem* Where was I? Oh, right... I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sunset's recipes were easy to follow and were, of course, delicious. Plus, since Sunset is all about the seasonal availability of everything, the recipes coincide with the seasons and use fresh ingredients, which you can find in abundance at your local store, in my case Whole Foods (anyone who follows me on Twitter will know I have a bit of a Whole Foods addiction). 

One of the first recipes I tried from Sunset was this one, Broccolini and Chickpea Dal. Alright, pun aside, I love a good dal. As I've established a number of times before, I cannot get enough of legumes. I think I could easily go vegetarian, as long as I subsisted on nothing but legumes (and, of course, pairing them with the right grain as to ensure I'm getting my complete protein). Of course, this would mean no meat and that would make me a very sad omnivore. Nonetheless, I have been known o make a vegetarian meal every so often and this has become one of my absolute favorites. I also love anything that starts with "brocco-", whether it's plain ol' broccoli or perhaps its bitter cousin broccoli rabe or its sweeter and more tender brethren broccolini, I love it all. I've been known to live off of broccoli (okay, it was broccoli and baked potatoes, but still, my college dorm's mini-fridge wasn't complete without a few bags of already prepared fresh broccoli florets). This dish is perfect: it's spicy, tender, creamy, and perfect for all occasions. I'm sure if you can't find broccolini, you can simply use regular broccoli. Although, I would recommend just trim up the stems a bit more so that it cooks in the time allotted without overcooking the chickpeas. Seriously - this is a meal I would easily make year round. Who cares if it's the middle of summer and you can't get off the couch because your thighs are stuck to it? This will make you sweat just enough to loosen things up and off you go!

No excuses! Okay, some excuses...

So, here's the deal, I could run off a litany of excuses as for why I have seemingly abandoned my food blog. It certainly isn't for lack of eating, although I did spend the majority of the past year submerged in Weight Watchers (my love of butter had caught up with me and I had to do something about it). Of course, this doesn't mean that I stopped cooking while on WW; in fact, I did more cooking, since going out on WW isn't the best option. Who knew you had so much control over your own food in your own kitchen!? /sarcasm I could cite school as being a huge obstacle in my way of cooking and blogging about my cooking. Truth be told, I'm not the only one in school in our household anymore. The husband started his MBA program last fall, which has thrown a wrench in our otherwise routinized evenings. Him being in school for a few days each week has led to the "cooking for one" dilemma. I love myself, but sometimes I just don't have the energy to cook for just myself.  In the last few months our weekly schedule is even more crammed as the hubby and I have both started attending classes at our local gym (Smash Fit is pretty darn awesome; check it out if you're in the area). This meant I had less time to cook on the evenings my husband and I were together, thus leading to more grabbing something to eat on the way home from the gym. When your class ends at 8, it's tough to cook a complete meal without finding yourself eating at 9:30 at night. So, while I could do the thing I just said I wouldn't do, but quite easily did, I will instead say that I am back to writing and cooking and doing all manner of things to keep this blog active. While I cannot promise future hiatuses won't happen (the upcoming fall semester is my portfolio semester, which means finalizing my masters degree and attempting to graduate), I will do all I can to make sure they don't last a full year.

Deal?

OK, deal.

Now that all that's sorted, I'd encourage you to stick around for some upcoming dishes and posts. I'll have some new favorites, like Broccolini and Chickpea Dal, and some incredible expressions of love and fandom, such as my Mass Effect themed Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes I made for the husband's 30th birthday, plus much more as the summer progresses! Seriously, it'll be great.