Allison Cafe

Apron Giveaway at Happy Find

Have I told you that I am slightly apron obsessed? The talented Venus and team at Happy Find are giving away one beautiful piece of art, a hand-made apron to one lucky blog reader. I am not kidding when I say that these are quite simply the most finely crafted aprons, and stylish too. Simply visit the post here and follow the instructions to enter the giveaway. May the best hostess win!

cute pincushions

And the fun doesn’t end there! Happy Find also has a fabulous sale going on right now at their Etsy store as well, visit the store here to browse their creative hand-made goods.

Hayley's Sweet Stare

Hayley needs your vote again today in the Canvas Press Pet Photo Contest! You can vote once every 24 hour period until midnight on 3/24. Help us win a free canvas print, she needs 40-50 votes today to get into the top 3, take a minute to help her win! Vote here.

Guiness and Bailey Irish Carbomb Cupcakes

Well friends I am thrilled to share with you that not only did I get the corned beef right this year, I also tried a new cupcake recipe that was so yummy I could not believe how easy it was. These cupcakes have Guinness in the cake batter, Bailey’s in the chocolate ganache center and Bailey’s and Kaulua in the frosting. YUM!! To save time you could omit the ganache, but who wants to miss out on that yummy chocolaty center, not me!

Here is the recipe from IrishCentral.com, with a couple of my tweaks. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serving: 12 cupcakes

For the Baileys ganache filling:

For the Baileys butter cream frosting:

Preparation

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and Greek yogurt to blend.

Add the stout-butter mixture slowly and beat just to combine. (Allison’s Note: if the stout mixture is still warm you don’t want to cook the egg, so add it in a little at a time) Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15-20 seconds). Add the butter and Baileys and stir until combined. (Allison’s Note: you can do this step as a double boiler, simply place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over top a small saucepan filled 1/3 full with water, add the cream and heat until chocolate is melted, then add butter and Baileys and stir; remove from heat). Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough to be piped. (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.)

Meanwhile, cut out a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method (a small paring knife works best for this). Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes. (Allison’s Note: you can also dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache just before it cools completely and allow the ganache to harden on the top of the cupcake before piping the frosting)

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Mix in the Baileys and Kahlua until smooth. Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading. Frost the cupcakes as desired.

A Drinking Song

May you all feel lucky today, I know I do! Today is one of my favorite holidays. It also happens to be the one year anniversary of starting my blog, Allison Cafe. So happy anniversary too! In honor of the day we will be feasting on corned beef and cabbage and homemade Irish Soda Bread this evening.Oh, and maybe a Guinness or two as well!

St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts

• Saint Patrick was a priest. He was born to wealthy parents in Britain and his birth name was Maewyn Succat. He took Patrick as his Christian saint name when he became a priest. As a priest he spent his days teaching the Christian faith in Ireland. After his death, the country decided to honor him with day of his own – Saint Patrick’s Day.

• Saint Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated as a religious holiday. It started as a simple feast day to honor St. Patrick but developed into a holy day of obligation where people attended mass in the morning and celebrate for the rest of the day in the afternoon. And gave Catholics a one day reprieve from lenten fasting, leading to a tradition of indulging in beer!

• Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional Easter Sunday dinner in Ireland. But today it is a St. Patrick’s Day must for us in America!

• Irish Society of Boston organized what was not only the first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in the U.S. colonies but the first recorded Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in the world on 17 March 1737.

• Originally the color associated with St. Patrick was blue not green. But green won out over the years – obviously!

• Shamrocks, three-leaved plants, were thought to have been encouraged to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. Saint Patrick was known to have used them in his teachings. Wearing and displaying shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day.

• Cheers in Irish Gaelic is “Sláinte”, which means ” to your health”. In the South and West of Ireland it is pronounced “slawnt-yeh” or “slant-yeh”, in the North it’s “slain-cheh”, with the “ay” much broader than in the English “slain”.

Eating Fresh and Healthy Is Easier Than You May Think!

Did you know it is National Nutrition Awareness Month? While we should make an effort to eat healthy all year round, it doesn’t hurt to place extra attention on eating right this month. In 1980 the American Dietetic Association coined March as National Nutrition Month® in response to the growing public interest in eating right. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. For more information, visit eatright.org/nnm. Eating healthy is not always easy when our lives get busy. That is why planning weekly menus and having access to a library of healthy recipes that are easy to prepare and inexpensive to stock are so key to eating right.

In celebration of eating right, we tried a new recipe this week that is so ridiculously easy and tasty for a weeknight side-dish, that its healthy benefits are an added bonus. Try this deconstructed version of guacamole the next time you are looking to work in some healthy vitamins and good fats.

Avocado, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This is a great salad recipe, but also an alternative way to serve avocados instead of making guacamole. Not only is it easy, it is full of healthy nutrients and good fats.

Ingredients

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 hass avocados, sliced in half and then scored into 1inch squares

1 Japanese cucumber, un-peeled and sliced

1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 tbsp Anaheim pepper, finely chopped

juice from ½ a fresh lemon, squeezed

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Toss all of the ingredients in a medium salad bowl. Serve immediately. (It’s that easy!)

Hello friends, it has been awhile since my last post – but with good reason! We are kicking off another Relay For Life season. As some of you might remember, I got involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life last year. I volunteered on the event planning committee for the FIRST Relay For Life in Clairemont CA. (read my recap of last year’s event here). Check out the brief video above from our media sponsor Firefly Films highlighting the 2009 event.

This year I have taken on the volunteer role of  Publicity and Community Awareness.  Please help me spread the word about this educational and important community event. Tell a friend about this event (use the share icons at the bottom of this post). Are you a Survivor? We want to celebrate you, please sign-up online to attend our event. Join or start a team today. Or sign-up to volunteer on our website, we have volunteer needs on every level. Interested in sponsoring our event? We need donations of materials and giveaways items, please contact me at relayforlife (at) allisonbaloglu (dot) com or contact us via the website.

Details:

Relay For Life Clairemont CA 2010

The Important Question Everyone Asks:

We don’t expect anyone to be at the event 24 hours! Even if you can make it for 1 hour to walk a few laps – we would LOVE it! Or if you don’t live in town and want to participate remotely, that’s awesome too!!

What is it?

Relay For Life is an American Cancer Society event, held to raise awareness, raise funds, celebrate survivors, and remember those we’ve lost to this disease. It is entertaining, educational, and honestly, a really fun time you will want to come back for the next year!

Relay For Life is also, as it eludes to in the name, a “Relay”. It is a 24-hour walk, where team members divy up the hours they walk the path. Teams also have their own “campsite,” and you can camp in the park overnight! There are also kids activities and various entertainment going on throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Dollars & Cents:

Team Captains pay a small registration fee donation when they create their team online. But there is no charge for participants to join a team! We hope each team member will set a goal to raise $100, and we are planning a fundraisers prior to Relay to help you get there, if you so wish! However, there is no fundraising minimum requirement, Relay For Life is a FREE event and its primary purpose is bring the community together and educate them on cancer awareness and prevention information, while having fun of course! Anyone is welcome to attend the event, even if you just want to stop by and cheer us on!

The REASON:

Did you know that 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime? Think of you, and the most important person in your life. 1 in 2. We have had numerous family & friends diagnosed. I am committed to do my part to decrease this number! Won’t you join us?