Cupcakes are the perfect little treat.  They offer up just the right amount of cake and icing in an easy to carry package… and no dishes afterwards!  Box mixes make it easy to make cupcakes just about any time, but the truth is making them from scratch doesn’t take much longer.  With a few simple ingredients you can be on your way to cupcake bliss.

Today we have a very easy recipe for you that is not your usual cupcake flavor.  Our Kahlua cupcake is flavored with Kahlua liqueur and just a bit of chocolate to take it over the top.  We topped this coffee flavored cupcake with Kahlua Buttercream.  The result is a handful of chocolate coffee goodness.

savour…  the perfect serving

I’ve often wondered how someone stumbled upon the perfect pairing of chocolate and mint.  These two, it seems, were made for each other.  Apart, they each enjoy good chemistry with a variety of other flavors, but when they come together it is sheer magic.  They are the Liz Taylor and Richard Burton of culinary couples.

Our treat for this week is a super simple chocolate tart paired with mint mascarpone cream.  I first made this mint mascarpone cream for Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake, but it truly has found a better home here.  Mint and chocolate are once again happily together on a single plate.

savour… perfect matches

We are wrapping up our soup celebration with a super quick and easy recipe that is sure to please.  The base of this soup is simply beef stock.  What you add makes it hearty enough to be the meal.  It is well-rounded and full of flavor.

This reminds me a bit of Italian Wedding Soup although there are no meatballs.  I have opted instead for roast beef and apart from the usual aromatics, I went strictly for rosemary to finish off the flavors.

savour... soup month   

Enter the inspirational pork chop.

A few weeks ago I enjoyed a seared pork chop with green peppercorn sauce.  This was the best thing I’ve eaten so far this year.  I know it’s early, but I assure even in November it will be hard to beat.  The pork chop was moist perfection, but what really grabbed me was the peppercorn sauce.  While sopping up every bit of it, I thought to myself, “Why isn’t someone putting this in a cream based soup?”

Well, it turns out there are some recipes out there, but none quite captured what I envisioned.  I think a straight pepper soup might be too much for me.  It would have to be a cream based soup that could be enhanced by the addition of spicy, snappy peppercorns and not be overpowered.  Then it hit me.

I adore clam chowder, but never never eat it without hot sauce.  The weight of the chowder and the robust flavor make is suitable to take on a companion flavor profile.  This, friends, is a match made in heaven.

What you have here is a very simple clam chowder recipe that is a sure crowd pleaser.  The addition of the peppercorns will elevate this dish for you and even bite you back a bit.  It is quite hearty and very satisfying and perfect with a hunk of bread… no hot sauce required.

savour… the inspirational pork chop

I can’t help you.  I want to, but I can’t.

I like sweets too much to fall prey to some futile attempt to swear off of them for a month or two to lose a few pounds.  I inevitably cave and then my dessert tastes less like delicious and more like regret.  So for me, I choose moderation.  I won’t eat dessert every night, but when I do… it’ll be worthwhile.

Today’s treat is quite rich and not at all Jenny friendly.  What it does have going for it, aside from the obvious flavor, is that because it is so rich and luscious a very small serving is all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The Mexican chocolate and dark chocolate used here keep the crème from becoming too sweet.  The cardamom takes this dessert to a new place and the pomegranate arils add just the right amount of sweet, tart, and crunch.  Prepare this dessert on Thursday and reward yourself on Saturday afternoon for a week of restraint.

savour… savouring

I blotted my eyes on my sleeve close to the shoulder to avoid any further onion tears.  I looked up, startled to see my son standing there. 

“You OK?” he asked. 

“Fine.  I just got a little onion in my eyes… blasted onions.”

“You’re chopping a lot of stuff.  What are you making?”

“Soup.”

“Oh. It smells good in here.  I like it when you’re in the kitchen, Dad.  It makes me happy.”

“Thanks, Buddy.”

… and then he was gone as quickly as he appeared, and I was changed…  if only for a moment.

We’re a week into the New Year and resolved to meet one goal or another, start exercising or stop smoking, etc.  I say resolutions be damned.  The goal should be to live it right (whatever right is to you).  You know what’s important.  Do it.  You have goals?  Make a plan, a real plan, and make it happen.  Remember every day to ask yourself if you got it right for the day or not.

But here’s the most important thing… don’t forget to cherish the moments as they occur.  They might not come along again and this is the stuff that makes life worth living.  Know that your actions, while insignificant or mundane to you, affect others.  And when you get it right, it’s so much more than soup.

savour…  moments

Winter weather begs for a steamy bowl of soup.  Whether your preference is brothy, creamy, or chunky, there's no disputing that a warm serving of soup can take the chill off of even the coldest of days.

January is Soup Month.  Over the past couple of years we have presented many soups here at Today's Nest.  Today we have gathered some of our favorites to get you started on a month long journey of soup sipping.  We have four new soup recipes ready to share with you every Wednesday this month.  Stay tuned for some new twists and a classic or two.

savour... full bowls