Cupcakes !

So I've become really into making cupcakes. So for family dinner on Sunday I have the best recipe to make. I am going to make Heath Bar Cupcakes!! They are chocolate cupcakes with heath bar pieces in the batter. Then I'm going to fill them with homemade caramel(YUM!) Then dipped in chocolate ganache. I'm thinking just a plain vanilla butter cream and topped with a piece of heath bar. I'll post the full recipe later along with pics. Hope you guys like!!

When the family's away, Meg will play...

...in the kitchen, that is. 


Last summer, I worked right near this great Venezuelan restaurant that also happen's to be a family favorite. On my second day of work, I went to lunch with my bosses and two other interns. We got the plantains. A few weeks later, I went with another group of interns...and got the plantains. Right before I left for the summer, one of the editors took me to lunch...and, again, we got the plantains. Needless to say, I was plantain-ed out by the end of the summer, and never wanted to see another fried plantain as long as I lived. So imagine my surprise when, while home alone last weekend, I got the strongest craving for Pedro's plantains. It was 10:15 at night...


...so I improvised. After hunting around online, I decided to adapt this recipe for caramelized bananas to my taste (and kitchen!): 


What you'll need:

• Bananas (as many as you'll eat)
• 1 ounce of virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon of real vanilla extract
• Salt to taste
• Non-stick frying pan
• Spatula

1. First, peel and quarter the bananas
2. Heat the oil over medium heat in the frying pan
3. Sprinkle the bananas with brown sugar and fry on one side for 2-3 minutes. Before flipping bananas, add the vanilla extract and cover with brown sugar.
4. Flip bananas over, and fry on the other side for 2-3 minutes.

My bananas were a little soggy, and a bit too sugar-y, so after hunting around online, I found a solution. I flattened them using a plate and paper towels, salted them, and put them back into the frying pan with a bit of oil, which made them much better.

Would I make them again?

Definitely, but with some changes. The bananas themselves are sweet enough, so next time, I'd use about half as much sugar. I also prefer mine a little crisper and with a bit of salt, so after frying them, I'll try baking them, sprinkled with salt (almost like french fries).

Kate Middleton Chicken

In search of an easy-yet-delicious recipe to kickstart the sisterhood of the murderous chefs, we decided to go with a basic chicken recipe. But first, a background: those who know us well (or have even had a single conversation with us) know that we both have an unhealthy obsession with all things Kate Middleton. Meg has even had a “KM Inspiration Folder” on her desktop since 2007 (see? We told you it was unhealthy.)

When we heard that Kate and her equally stylish (and skinny!) sister Pippa follow the Dukan Diet, we thought we’d check out the book. While our interest in this lifestyle died the second we learned we’d have to give up carbs, there were some simple recipes that looked perfect for a cooking novice. And so, in honor of Kate, we've renamed this chicken recipe "Kate Middleton Chicken."

Chicken With Mustard

Makes 4 Servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45-60 minutes

8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup fat free plain yogurt or fat free sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cover a rimmed sheet tray with foil
3. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, mustard, and thyme until the chicken is thoroughly coated
4. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on the foil-covered sheet pan
5. Lay a sheet of foil over the chicken and fold over the edges tightly so that no steam can escape. Depending on the size of the baking sheet, you may need more than one piece of foil.
6. Put the chicken in the oven and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken thigh registers 170 degrees.*
7. Blend the yogurt or sour cream with salt and pepper to make a sauce. **
8. When the chicken is done, remove the foil. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs, stirring to dissolve any remaining mustard and to incorporate any juices on the sheet pan into the sauce.

* Disclaimer #1: Meg doesn't even know how to take her own temperature, much less that of a chicken. No temperatures were taken. The chicken probably would have benefited from it.

** Disclaimer #2:There was a sauce. Being lazy, we decided not to make it. We probably should have.

Would we make it again?

Probably not. The chicken was really dry, and kind of flavorless (This is probably because Meg was so petrified of eating raw chicken that she cooked it for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Where was Liz, you ask? Why, watching T.V., naturally.) 

If we did cook it again though, here are a couple of things we'd do differently:

• Marinate overnight (In zip lock bags, in the fridge)
• Grill the chicken! For less than an hour! Because, as we've learned from our Dad, everything tastes better on the grill.
• Actually make the sauce to eat it with. 

So, I'm More Than A Little Apprehensive About This

Hey guys, Liz here.

As Meg said, I do love to cook -- and I’m good at it. She, however, most definitely is not. I am a little worried about teaching her how to cook, but I am up to the challenge -- after all, if I can't, who will?

Like Meg said, my brother thinks one of us will be dead by the end of the summer -- and I kind of agree with him (shh...don't tell my sister!) I love my sister, but both of us in the kitchen, together, at the same time...well that can’t be a good idea.

Even if everything we make turns out horribly, there's a good chance this blog will be a regular comedy show. So keep reading and to see our progress throughout the summer. Who knows -- maybe we actually will both still be alive by August.

Two Sisters Walk Into A Kitchen...

Hello, blogosphere. I’m Meg, and this is my sister Liz, and welcome to our culinary adventure.

We’re sisters, but we’re at pretty different stages in our lives. I’m a senior in college, about to move into my first apartment, but Liz just finished her freshman year of high school and still lives with our parents. Another difference? One of us loves to cook, and one of us needs to learn how to cook. Can you guess which one is a dunce in the kitchen? (Still struggling? Here’s a hint: Liz’s specialty is homemade, gourmet pizza. Mine is Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese.)

Despite my severe lack of culinary skills (I know how to boil water, but that’s pretty much it), I love food, and so this summer I’m enlisting my sister to turn me into a master chef. We’ll be chopping, dicing, steaming, boiling, broiling, grilling – you name it, I want to learn how to do it.

It’s going to be an interesting ride. We love each other, sure, but most of the time, one of us usually wants to kill the other one. And that’s before you bring in the sharp knives, boiling water, and cheese graters. Our brother thinks one of us will be dead by the end of the summer. We think we might be able to make it work. Our parents say that as long as the kitchen is spotless and we don’t burn the house down (both pretty tall orders for us) they think we’ll make it out relatively unscathed.

So, as our gift to the world (because we think we’re just that beautiful, hilarious, and incredible), we’ll be documenting our kitchen misadventures. Inspired by my friend over at little chef, BIG appetite, who just started a cooking blog of her own, we’ll be blogging, vlogging, and eating our way through the summer, and hope that you’ll join us!