Beggar's Alley

If you're into St. Louis burlesque, you've probably heard of the Beggar's Carnivale.  It's a truly wonderful vaudeville/burlesque show and carnival, complete with a live band, out-of-town guest performers, vendors, and a hoochie-coo tent with sexy and dangerous sideshow acts!  When it first started, it was a monthly event held at 2720 Cherokee.  But, as it has grown in both size and popularity, the Carnivale has moved to the historic Casa Loma Ballroom and now takes place every other month.  This month, it happens to fall on New Year's Eve, and there is a huge New Year's Ball in the works!

It's an incredibly fun and unique event that I definitely recommend checking out.  Also?  I sell cupcakes (and assorted sweets) there as one of the vendors!  It's been a great opportunity to try out new flavors, do some experimenting, and really, it's helped to improve my decorating skills.

But why do I bring up Beggars?  Well, funny you should ask.  This weekend, there is a special Beggar's Alley show, featuring the sideshow acts usually kept safely away in the hoochie-coo tent.  Plus, you can see the show for only $5!  You'll have plenty of money left over to buy a cupcake or two.  I just know it.

The show starts at 9 on Friday at El Lenador.  You can find more information, including a list of performers, here.

Vagabond Opera, featured guest performers at the October Beggar's.  So good I bought a CD!

Hot Dates on Nights Alone

Simply because my husband works most nights (and I'm stuck at home with no car) does not mean I don't have incredibly hot dates.  They just happen to be with my kitchen stove.

You sexy beast, you.

The past two days, we've spent a lot of time together.  My goal for this year is to make a lot of edible Christmas gifts.  (My other goal is not to keep all of them for myself.  In my stomach.)  I'm currently working on making a blackberry-infused vodka, and yesterday I made two kinds of jam, and applesauce.  Well, the applesauce is for me.  Hey, it's not my fault that it doesn't keep very long.

Today, I fell a little bit more in love.

Why, you ask?  How could you fall even more in love with cooking?

Several reasons.

1) I'm continually finding new and amazing ways to enjoy pumpkin through the last vestiges of fall.
2) I caramelized onions for the first time.

Enough said.

I made Bacon and Pumpkin Pasta, and it was delicious.  Thank you, Pinch of Yum.  Thank you.  This is a thick, creamy, filling pasta.  And it has bacon.  I for one, needed nothing more to be said.  And for those among you who think that pumpkin and pasta should definitely not go together?  Well, you may be crazy.  And you also may not have heard the word "bacon."

Not just for pies, friends.

Bacon and Pumpkin Pasta, with Caramelized Onions
adapted from Pinch of Yum
(tripled original recipe to serve 6, because who doesn't love leftovers?)

6 c. dried pasta (original recipe called for shells, but I didn't have any and used rotini)
1 can pumpkin puree
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 c. evaporated milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 c. cooked, crumbled bacon
2 small-medium onions, caramelized*

*Original recipe suggests sliced scallions or green onions (would need 3/4 c. to go with above proportions), but I really, really loved the buttery sweetness of the caramelized onions.  For me, it made the dish.

Cook pasta according to packaging, drain, and return to pot.  Turn heat to low.

Stir in pumpkin, cream cheese, evaporated milk, heavy cream, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Stir over low until cream cheese has melted.  Top with the bacon and onions.

For leftovers, keep the bacon and onions in separate airtight containers to maintain crispiness.

Tolstoy also approves this recipe.

Belated Cupcakes

This is not to say that I have any cupcakes lying about, going stale.  Because that really never happens in this house.  This is just to say that I really did mean to post this brilliant, life-changing recipe a week or so ago.


But, well, curling up in a chair with a blanket and some cider was really much more appealing.  Sorry.


However, I'm here now, with the recipe for the completely delicious, so-close-to-being-my-new-favorite cupcake, Fauxstess Cupcake.


Now, I did a lot of research for these.  I was commissioned to make them (and two other types of cupcake) for my friend Jessica's birthday party, and I wanted them to be just right.  I settled on separate recipes for the cake, the filling, and the ganache, because I was never satisfied with one complete "hostess" cupcake recipe.  For the cake, I used Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake.  I found the type of cream filling I was looking for in a discussion board on Chef Talk, and a basic ganache on Joy of Baking (wherein I learned that to get a dark and shiny ganache, you simply add in a bit of corn syrup).


I like to think that the result was completely delicious.  Everyone else seemed to agree, as they were the first to disappear at the party.  And by first, I mean within the first five minutes.

"Fauxstess" Cupcakes
from Hershey's, Chef Talk, and Joy of Baking
(makes 24 cupcakes)


Cupcake:

2 c. sugar

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line cupcake try with liners.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium speed until combined (about 2 minutes).  Stir in the boiling water until completely incorporated.  The batter will be very thin.  

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.

Bake 22-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in try 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.  Let cool completely.

Cream Filling:*

2 tsp hot water

1/4 tsp salt

1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme

1/2 c. shortening

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp clear vanilla

Combine hot water and salt in a small container, set aside.

Mix together marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla combined and no longer sticky.  Mix in salt water.

When cupcakes are cool, put filling in an icing bag fitted with a medium to large tip.  Insert the decorating tip into the middle of the cupcake and fill with the cream filling.  Be careful not to overfill, or the cupcake will begin to crack!

Reserve remaining cream filling to make the signature swoops on the top.

*Note: I would double this amount next time, as I didn't have quite enough to fill and ice all 24 cupcakes.

Ganache
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (or, even easier, processed in a blender or food processor)
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs corn syrup


Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.


Heat cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring just to boiling point, then immediately pour over the chocolate.  Let stand for several minutes, then stir gently until smooth.  Add corn syrup for that shiny glaze look.




When slightly cooled (but not too thick!), spoon the ganache on top of the cupcakes and spread carefully to cover.  It should not be dripping down the sides (unless, of course, that's what you're into).


Once set, use the reserved cream filling (refitted with a small round decorating tip) to pipe swoops on top of the ganache.


Enjoy.  Because oh, you will.

Also, Extravaganza

As many of you may know, this past month featured the 4th Annual Michelle Mynx Pole Dancing Extravaganza!

It was my second year performing, third year attending, and it was just as good as any other year.  I performed my own compilation of two Frank Sinatra songs: "I've Got the World on a String" and "Come Fly with Me," and learned a great deal in the process.

1) How to mix music.
2) How to compress music files.
3) How to alter a men's shirt into a woman's halter top and add trim and sequins, all by hand.
4) How to get over big ambitions to make something work (though I really thought I'd learned this before).
5) How to stop worrying and love the bomb... er... how to stop worrying and just dance, because there's nothing left to do.

And now, for photos.

Photo Courtesy of Virginia C. Harold

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Photo Courtesy of Ricky Sherman

Favorite Photo, Courtesy of Ricky Shermam

Fall Pros and Cons... But Mostly Pros

It's been a beautiful fall. To be honest, fall is one of my favorite times. The cooler weather, the leaves changing, and, of course, the baking. The cooking. The fall vegetables. The applesauce. The cider. The pumpkin and black bean chili that is currently simmering in the kitchen.

I may not be the biggest fan of Halloween, but everything else? Adore. Did I mention soups? Sweet potato pie?

Mmmm.

Oh yeah, and the Cardinals just won the World Series!

So the cons?

Well, I'm currently home sick in my pajamas. Fall, with its wonderful cooler weather and beautiful changing leaves, wreaks havoc on my sinuses. So, there's that.

But there's still soup. And pie. And chocolate tarts. And curling up with blankets and nooks and puppies.

So... I call it a win, overall. Especially once my nose stops running.

Note: Though I may not love Halloween, I love dressing up.  Alec and I went as an adventuring steampunk couple this year, and I made correspondingly extravagant cookie cupcakes.

"Gear" cookie cupcakes!

Got to play beer pong for the first time.  Lutheran Beer Pong.

Please ignore the caveman in the background.

Kitchen Therapy

This has, for some reason, been a terrible week.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm coming off of the Extravaganza weekend (which was not terrible at all, but amazing, in spite of an entire lack of sleep), or if it's because I've just been overdoing it for quite a while.  I have no energy, my allergies have been flaring up with no warning, and my motivation levels are bottoming out.  There have been an obscene number of 3 hour long puppy naps.  And I have to work this weekend.  And Alec is coming down sick again.

And.  And.  And.

It was time for some therapy.  And since I'm without a car tonight and can't go shopping for books, I retreated to the kitchen, wherein magical things happen.  And even if I'll still be tired at the end of the night, at least I won't be hungry.

And honestly, I do feel better.  There's something about the prep work of cooking, about deciding that what this dish really needs is mushrooms.  There's something about a KitchenAid mixer, and about the feel of soft cookie dough in my fingers, and about the delightful way cookies line up on a baking sheet.  You can't be sad when you pull a perfect tray of cookies out of the oven.

And, of course, an oven that works helps too!  (It's so shiny.)

All in all, I feel better.  Plus, I'm full of cookies.  So there can't be anything wrong with that.

I may just be ready to face Friday.  Especially since the last Food Truck Friday of the season is tomorrow!

On Not Having Willpower

Well... it's been a long time.

To be honest, this is my constant curse about taking up long-term projects.  Or hairstyles.  I get distracted.  Or I lose the enthusiasm I had when I started.  I'm excellent at making excuses.

My lack of stick-to-it-ivness is one reason Alec was very hesitant for me to get my own pole two years ago.  I had been taking classes for a few months, and since that's on the high end of my time limit for new projects, he didn't want me making a big investment on something I was going to get bored with in a matter of weeks.

And yet, here I am, over two years later, and still going.  Now, admittedly, I don't practice at much as I should at home.  The pole is generally more of a big, shiny fixture in the middle of what would normally be a dining room.  But there hasn't been a month that I've skipped.  It's probably my longest-lasting hobby, next to reading, writing, and cooking.

A lot of that has to do with the huge group of friends that exists within the pole community here.  While other activities are solo projects, or done with one or two others, the circle of friends I've met through pole is huge. We go to shows together, have parties together, and just hang out.  We make use of each other's various talents, and we support each other's endeavors.  It's an amazing group of boys and girls of so many different backgrounds.  For me, at least, the pole community provides the perfect level of competition (i.e. 'I can't stop going to class or I'll be so far behind everyone else'), as well as the reminder that everyone has their strong suits and problem areas.

In other news, I've been baking for burlesque all over the place: Beggar's Carnivale as usual, as well as adding in the Randy Dandies, who have moved their show to 2720 Cherokee and who just put on another delightful Choose Your Own Adventure Show.  (This one was a nautical adventure theme, so of course I highly approved.)

I'll also be selling alcoholic/autumn-themed cupcakes at the upcoming First Annual Pumpkin Patch Ball at the Third Degree Glass Factory.  It looks like it's going to be an amazing event, and I'll be trying out some brand new recipes!

And, finally, I'll try to update a bit more often.  Really, I will.