8 absolute you Recipes

vanilla ice cream (or any flavour or s you want), ice cream topping, melted and cooled first (peppermint crisps, ripe cherries, crunchie or violet crumble honeycomb, jelly babies, maltesers, tur)

gone are the days where the bride and groom share a slice of a 3, 4, or 5 tier wedding cake. nowadays some people are opting for a more simple cake solution, yet they still want the elegance that a large tiered cake offers. enter on stage the simple yet elegant cupcake., versatile cupcakes are standing along side and, in some cases, replacing larger cakes these days. below are some helpful hints if you want to use cupcakes for the main cake at your wedding., tip #1 : arrangement, how you arrange your cupcakes is as important if not more important than the taste. everyone wants a breathtaking wedding cake at their reception so arranging your cupcakes to give this appearance is very necessary., my personal favorite way of arranging my cupcakes is to stack 4 or 5 boxes on top of each other to form a tree of sorts. i choose boxes that are approximately 4 to 5 inches high. i like 24 inch square boxes then 18 inches square then 12 inches then 6 inches square. this gives me a cupcake ledge of 3 inches when the boxes are stacked., decorate your boxes as you wish. beautiful paper wrapped around the boxes then a ribbon all the way around is a great decorating combination ., your wedding cake cupcakes can then be placed on the ledges and on top of the boxes for a beautiful arrangement for your wedding., arrangement idea for your wedding cupcakes is to place cupcakes underneath raised cake platters. larger cakes or more cupcakes can be placed on top of the platters., how your cupcakes taste and even how many different flavors you offer are both very important to the overall success of your wedding cupcakes. i think 1 of the best reasons to have wedding cupcakes instead of a large wedding cake would be that you can have many different kinds of cakes. not everyone prefers the same type of cake and frosting so having 2 or 3 different types of cake flavors would be ideal., three of my favorite flavors are vanilla , chocolate, and lemon cupcakes. these are a great combination for any special occasion that you may choose to serve cupcakes. you can either serve all of the different flavors in the same cups with the same decoration or you can use different cups and/or different decorations for each cake flavor you choose., skimp on the ingredients for your wedding cupcakes. fresh cupcakes made from your favorite cupcake recipes are always the best choice. boxed cake mixes just won tsp cut i for special occasion cupcakes. the same goes for frosting. make your frosting instead of buying it prepackaged from a grocery store. if you don tsp feel confident making your own, you could always buy some freshly made frosting from a local bakery., presentation is everything when dealing with weddings. you should make sure your cupcakes are just the right size so they are absolutely gorgeous when presented. the entire purpose of serving cupcakes at a wedding is to give your guests a small taste of a wonderful dessert. small is the key word here. you don tsp want cupcakes that are larger than an actual teacup. if they are, then they should be called mini cakes and not cupcakes., also, it would cost you a fortune to bake mini cakes for each of your guests. the right size cupcake will offer just the right amount of cake for each person attending and will also likely save you money., be careful not to err on the side of your cupcakes being too small. if your cupcakes are too small, you may run out of cupcakes before you guests sweet teeth are satisfied. you also run the risk of having too much frosting on a small cupcake which could ruin the overall taste of your wedding cupcakes., i ve found that the perfect size cupcakes are baked in 1/2 cup wells that i fill approximately 1/2 to 2/3 full of cupcake batter. make sure you carefully measure the cupcake batter each time you fill a well. this will make sure that your cupcakes come out of the oven all the same size., i hope that these tips will help you produce the most beautiful wedding cupcakes that anyone has ever seen! good luck

red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, eggplant, green courgettes, red onion, garlic clove, crushed (you can use more ), extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh ground black pepper, dry oregano, salt

potatoes, peeled and cubed, stalks celery, chopped, onion, chopped, cooked cubed ham, evaporated milk, cream of mushroom soup, milk (based on how thick or thin you want your soup to be), pepper, red pepper flakes (optional), salt (optional), grated parmesan cheese

risotto with sausage and cranberry beans, make risotto , you absolutely must use a specific type of rice called arborio rice (carnaroli and vialone nano are also used, some say superior, but are more difficult to find). these types of rice release starch when stirred in a liquid; it is this process which makes risotto, otherwise you just have a starchy mess of mush. these types of rice are identified by their fat round grains and pearly appearance. they can be used to make other sorts of rice dishes, such as pilaf, but other types of rice cannot be used for risotto. arborio is no longer that much of a specialty product; it can be found in most large, well-stocked grocery stores in the italian section. or sometimes, misguidedly, in the asian section., okay , so now we have the rice. you will also need some good, low-salt stock or broth - it should be low-salt not for health reasons, but because a good deal of it will evaporate, leaving its salt behind, and i like to have more control over the salt in a dish. it can be homemade, but i m not going to be a snob about it because, in truth, we go through gallons of store-bought stock in this household and i don tsp see that changing anytime soon. furthermore, risotto is actually a dish which can be whipped up out of thin air when it seems as though you have nothing to eat, as long as you have butter, rice, stock, maybe a few herbs, and some leftover parmesan. i like the kind of stock purchased in tetrapak cartons, because they are resealable and can be put in the fridge and used as needed. if you really want to use homemade but you don tsp have time to make stock or don tsp like the aroma of roasting bones in your house (i don tsp blame you), you can buy really great stock at north market poultry and game - it is expensive, but can be diluted with a 2- or 3-to-1 ratio of water to stock, so it stretches. my general guideline is to plan on 1/4 cup dry rice per person, and about 4 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice. of course, this isn tsp exact and will vary depending on your elevation and the phases of the moon, but it s a good place to start. i usually just use 4 cups of stock and then dilute with water or wine (or sometimes beer, if that s all i have) if i feel i m going to run out., well, we have rice and stock covered, now we just need our setup: place the stock in a saucepan on your rear burner, bring to a simmer, and leave it there with a 6-8 oz ladle in, and place a large, wide saute pan (must be really large, plan that your rice will at least quadruple in size) or dutch oven on the burner in front. get out your favorite wooden spoon and flex your stirring arm., nice thing about using sausage is it s so full of flavor you can leave out the usual onion/garlic/shallot/celery nonsense if you re tired and don tsp feel like chopping. furthermore, sausage goes from the freezer to the pan without suffering too much. okay, let s go, risotto with sausage and cranberry beans - serves 4, links italian sausage , or 1 lb bulk (or hot, or a combination - definitely with some fennel), casings removed, cooked cranberry beans or 1 can white beans, drained, arborio rice, beef , chicken or vegetable stock, butter, freshly, finely grated parmesan cheese , plus more for garnish, an oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely, lemon juice , or juice from 1/2 lemon, salt and black pepper to taste, red pepper flakes to taste, optional, good balsamic vinegar , optional

enchilada sauce, divided, cream cheese, cubed, salsa, shredded chicken, pinto beans, rinsed and drained, chopped green chilies, extra 10-inch flour tortillas, shredded mexican blend cheese, shredded lettuce , chopped tomato, sour cream, and black olives