September Dinner Party

Appetizer- Black Guajillo Scallop Tostada (from Atlas Bistro in Scottsdale, AZ- p. 67)



This was a great, flavorful tostada. It was a scallop ceviche with really great flavor served over a creamy guajillo sauce and freshly fried tostada- all sprinkled with cotija cheese, which really makes anything fabulous.

Soup- Sonoran Tortilla Soup with Machaca Beef (from Tonto Bar and Grill in Cave Creek, AZ- p.95)



While this soup took was a ridiculous amount of work- browning the steak chunks, simmering with soup ingredients, removing beef, adding fried tortillas just to blend it all up, then adding beef back in- it was totally worth it in the end- amazing taste and super tender beef.

Entrée- Tequila and Citrus Grilled Chicken (from Elements at Sanctuary Resort in Phoenix, AZ- p. 133)
Side- El Tovar Chile Lime Rice (from El Tovar Lodge, South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ- p. 202)
Side- Artichoke Ragout (from Enchantment Resort in Sedona, AZ- p. 183)



The chicken pounded really thin and marinated (clearly in tequila, lime and orange, but also with other spices that made it delicious) and then quickly grilled. It was really tender and flavorful.
The rice was, well, rice. It had sautéed onion and ground chile and lime juice and some tomato paste, but it was still just rice. You may be able to tell that rice is not my favorite thing. People liked it, but it was nothing really special.
The artichokes, however, were the star of the whole evening. Absolutely delicious! Basically canned artichokes (I know, I know…) cooked with just a few tomatoes and mushrooms, drenched in cream and then topped with truffle oil. Yum.

Dessert- New Mexican Apple Pie (from The Daily Pie Café in Pie Town, NM- p. 219)



This was apple pie jazzed up with green chilies and pine nuts. I am not the biggest fan of apple pie (very un-American of me…) but people who like apple pie really liked it and thought the additions made it yummy (not the odd “interesting” that I was afraid of).

Neapolitan Cupcakes

I love that Hannah loves to bake. I am not the greatest baker- it is so precise and often things do not turn out the way I want them to. Which is why I am so glad that Hannah loves it, and that she is so good at it. And that cupcakes are her "thing" because eating cupcakes is one of my favorite things! Check out these Neapolitan cupcakes- we had to explain the concept of Neapolitan ice cream- vanilla, chocolate and strawberry all in the same container- as she had never actually seen that before, but she loved the recipe without even getting the Neapolitan reference. And these are soooooo yummy!



Neapolitan Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
½ tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
¼ cup strawberry preserves
Red food coloring

1. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Divide cake batter evenly among 3 bowls. Stir vanilla into batter in one bowl. Stir cocoa powder and melted chocolate in batter in second bowl. Stir in strawberry preserves and enough food coloring to turn batter pink in third bowl.
3. Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the strawberry batter into the bottom of each prepared muffing cup. Add 1 Tbsp. chocolate batter and top with 1 Tbsp. vanilla batter. (Cups will be 2/3 full.)
4. Bake about 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in muffin tins on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tins and allow to cool completely.

Ice Cream Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup butter
¼ cup ice cream
2 tsp. vanilla
5 ½ cups powder sugar

1. Allow cream cheese and butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Allow ice cream to soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and then powdered sugar. Beat in melted ice cream until frosting reaches piping consistency.
3. Tint half of frosting pink with red food coloring. Spoon pink and white frostings side by side into a pastry bag. Pipe frosting over cupcakes to look like soft serve ice cream. Chill until ready to serve.