Spicy Lemon Chicken

This is a delicious Spicy Lemon Chicken recipe. The amount of dried chilies and pepper suggested by the cookbook was too mild for my liking. So, before I marinated the chicken, I had to adjust the level of spiciness to my liking. The result was perfect, not overly spicy and it did not over power the chicken’s lemony taste.


Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes

Spicy Lemon Chicken
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 Chicken (about 3 to 3 ½ lbs), cut into 8 pieces
½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (from about 3 lemons)
¼ Cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I used 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp Coarsely Ground Fresh White Pepper (I used 2 tsp)
1 tsp Sea Salt

Method

Rinse the chicken pieces, pat dry, and place in a deep pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and white pepper. Mix well. Set aside and refrigerate ¼ Cup of the mixture, and pour the remainder over the chicken.

Place the chicken in the refrigerator and marinate for 3 hours, turning pieces every half hour.

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the marinade, season the chicken with salt, place in a roasting pan, and roast, turning to brown on all sides. Spoon the reserved ¼ cup of lemon juice mixture over the chicken as it roasts. Test for doneness by piercing with a knife; chicken will be done when juices run clear and dark meat is tender, about an hour.

Pasta E Ceci-Pasta And Chickpea Soup

I like the combination of this Pasta E Ceci or Pasta And Chickpea soup. A bowl of this soup serves as a complete meal for me. Here, I served it for lunch with some crusty bread.


Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes

Pasta E Ceci-Pasta And Chickpea Soup
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
1 Small Carrot, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 14 oz Can Whole Plum Tomatoes, with juice
6 Cups Vegetable Broth of Water
1 15 oz Can Chickpeas, undrained
½ lb Fusilli or Ziti Pasta, cooked al dente
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, celery, and carrot, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, or until onions are just translucent.

Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute, or until lightly golden.

Coarsely chopped the tomatoes and add with their juice to the saucepan. Add the broth or water and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and cooked pasta, stir to combine, and simmer for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until all ingredients are heated through. Season the soup with sea salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and serve hot with thick slices of dense bread.

Portobello Tower

This is an elegant oven baked Portobello Tower appetizer. The Portobello mushrooms are simply mated with zucchini, eggplants, bell peppers, and a variety of cheese. Prepare the layered vegetables ahead of time and then pop them into the oven just before serving. Easy.


Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes

Portobello Tower
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

4 Large Portobello Mushrooms
½ Cup Olive Oil, plus more for coating pan
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1 Large Zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 Small Italian Eggplants
¼ lb Provolone, thinly sliced
1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper, quartered
¼ lb Mozzarella, thinly sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Clean the mushrooms.

Lightly coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with olive oil. Place the mushrooms, cap side down, in the pan and bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and reserve. Don’t turn off the oven or clean the pan.

Heat 1 to 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini slices and sauté, turning once, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and reserve.

Remove the stems from the eggplants; halve each lengthwise, and then cut into ¼ inch crescent slices. Adding more oil if necessary and keeping the skillet hot at all times, add the eggplant and sauté, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and reserve.

Re-oil the baking dish, if necessary, and add the mushrooms, create the layers by topping each mushroom with the zucchini, eggplant, provolone, red pepper, and mozzarella on top. Bake the Portobello tower for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and ingredients are heated through. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, before serving.

Mussels Arreganata-Orreganata

If clams are not what you had in mind, then try this scrumptious Mussels Arreganata or Orreganata. The mussels are topped with seasoned breadcrumbs and then broiled in the oven. Simply divine!


Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes

Mussels Arreganata-Orreganata
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

24 Mussels, washed and cleaned
¼ Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs (recipe below)
¼ Cup Olive Oil
2 Lemons, cut into wedges

Method

Preheat the boiler.

Place the mussels in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat for 10 minutes, or until mussels open. Discard those that have not opened.

Transfer the mussels to a colander and rinse under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Shuck the mussels, discard half the shells, and place the mussel meat in the remaining half shells. Season with pepper.

Spoon the breadcrumbs on the mussels and smooth with the back of a spoon. Arrange the mussels in one layer in a broiler pan, and drizzle lightly with olive oil to moisten.

Broil until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and serve hot with lemon wedges.

Note: Seasoned Breadcrumbs – ½ small Italian Stale baguette (about ½ lb), 2 Tbsp Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, ¼ cup minced flat-leaf Parsley, pinch of oregano, 1 garlic clove (minced), 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Break the bread into large chunks and place in a food processor. Process until reduced to fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in the cheese, parsley, oregano, and garlic. Gradually add the oil, stirring, until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Clams Posillipo

It’s going be an Italian food fest at seasaltwithfood! I have some real easy and yet delicious recipes that I’ll be sharing throughout this week. All the recipes are adapted from Patsy’s Cookbook. It consists of classic Italian recipes from a New York City landmark restaurant. I will start with Clams Posillipo recipe. It’s clam in light tomato sauce and served as an appetizer.


Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes

Clams Posillipo
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

32 Littleneck Clams
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
6 Garlic Cloves, halved
1 Small Yellow Onion, chopped (about ¼ cup)
1 28 oz Can Whole Plum Tomatoes, with juice
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste (optional)
¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, plus more for garnish

Method

Scrub the clam shells, rinse thoroughly in cold water, and place in a large pot. Add cold water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the shells open, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the clams to a large bowl. Discard any clams that have not opened.

Strain the cooking liquid through a chinois or a strainer lined with a coffee filter, and reserve ¾ cup of this liquid as clam broth. Return the clams to the pot, add cold water, and stir to remove any remaining sand. Drain and reserve.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium flame and sauté the garlic halves until golden, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon or tongs, remove and discard the garlic. Add the onions to the saucepan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft and translucent. Coarsely chopped the tomatoes and add with their juice to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste (if using) and add the basil and parsley. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Add the reserved clam broth and clams to the sauce and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the clams are heated through. Spoon the clams and sauce into a large serving bowl, garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Praline Semifreddo

The second recipe is Praline Semifreddo adapted from Jamie Oliver’s earliest cookbook, The Naked Chef. Semifreddo (or half cold) class of semi frozen desserts are loved by folks all over the world and it’s certainly one of my all time favorites too. The best part about making Semifreddo is that you do not need an ice-cream maker to make this delicious treat. There is also no cooking involved, besides making the praline, which is not difficult at all. So, do try the recipe and I bet you will like it!


Recipe adapted from The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver.

Praline Semifreddo
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

Paraline
11 oz Peeled Hazelnuts
1 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Water

Semifreddo
1 Vanilla Bean
¼ Sugar
4 Large Eggs, separated
2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
Sea Salt

Method

Paraline: Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 425˚F until golden (about 4 minutes). Put the sugar and water in a thick-bottomed pan and place on a medium-high heat. The mixture will start to bubble and then turn into a clear syrup. To begin with, it will gradually start to color in parts or from the sides.

Gently and carefully shake the pan, just moving it to mix the patches of color. When it’s golden brown, carefully tip it away from you and gently add the nuts. Turn the heat down to a simmer and gently stir to coat the nuts in caramel. When the caramel is dark golden brown, turn it out on to a clean, lightly oiled tray, or on to a double thickness of wax paper on a surface that won’t burn. It will cool to a flattish solid sheet.

When completely cooled (which takes about 20 minutes), smash it up roughly and pulse it in the food processor until the pieces are still quite chunky. Remove about half the praline, then pulse the rest to a powder, and add both lots of praline to the semifreddo mixture.

Semifreddo: Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean by scoring down the length and scraping the seeds out of each half. Whisk the vanilla seeds and sugar with the egg yolks in a large bowl until pale. In a second bowl whisk the cream until soft peaks form. (Important: Please don’t over whip it.) Then in a third bowl whisk or beat the egg whites with an electric mixer with a pinch of salt until they form very firm peaks.

At this point add the praline, the cream and egg whites, to the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold in. Immediately scoop the contents into your chosen container. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until you’re ready to eat. To serve, take it out from the freezer, let it thaw slightly in the refrigerator to a “semifreddo” (semi-frozen).

Serves 12

Sausage Pasta

This weekend, I will be sharing two recipes that I had adapted from Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks. The first recipe is an easy Sausage Pasta. The star of this dish is obviously the sausage. So, just get your favorite Italian sausages and make sure they are the best quality available.


Recipe adapted from Cook with Jamie

Sausage Pasta
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Fennel Seeds
2 Dried Red Chilies, crumbled
Olive Oil
600g/1 lb 6 oz Good Quality Coarse Italian Sausages
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
A wineglass of White Wine
Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
500g/1 lb 2 oz Good Quality Fusilli or Tortiglioni
Sea Salt to taste
Some Freshly Ground Black Pepper
A couple of knobs of Butter
A handful of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for serving
A small bunch of Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Method

Bash up the fennel seeds and chilies in a pestle and mortar. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins and put into the pan, really breaking it up using the back of a spoon. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to color and the fat has rendered slightly, then crush it once more so it resembles coarse mince.

Add the bashed-up fennel seeds and chilies and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized.

Stir in the oregano, then pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat down to low while you cook your pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. When the pasta has cooked al dente, drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water, and toss it in the pan with your sausage meat.

Coat the pasta in all the lovely flavors then add the butter, Parmesan, chopped parsley and a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water. This will give you a lovely loose, shiny sauce. Taste and check for seasoning, then serve immediately with a little extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

Serves 4.

Chocolate Banana Cake

Not sure if you’ve noticed, but, I have been baking quite a lot lately, haven’t I? I guess it must be the cooler weather over here in Vancouver now. Guess I must be trying too hard to contain my soaring gas bill by using the oven to keep parts of my house warm, especially, the dining hall. No one is buying that excuse yet, not even my kids! :-) In any case, this is a lovely Chocolate Banana Cake that I baked a couple of days back. The cake is just delightful, smells great and it’s filled with chocolate and has that awesome crumbly texture. Yummy!


Recipe adapted from Baking From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

Chocolate Banana Cake
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Sea Salt
¼ tsp Baking Soda
1 Stick (8 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
¾ Cup Sugar
½ Cup (packed) Light Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
¾ Cup Buttermilk
3 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped, or ½ cup store-bought chocolate chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Butter a 9 x 5 –inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer, preferable fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute, until softened.

Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. At this point, the batter may look a little curdled-it’s okay.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low speed, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 to 75 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it. Invert and cool at room temperature right side up.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls-Cha Gio

These are Vietnamese Spring Rolls or aka Cha Gio. These deep-fried spring rolls are crispy and they are great appetizers. Simply wrap the spring rolls with some lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, and then dip-it lightly into the dipping sauce. Delicious!

Savory Corn And Pepper Muffins

For now, I think I might have found the perfect savory muffin. I love the combination of the cornmeal with chili powder, corn kernels, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, and some fresh chopped cilantro. This Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins recipe was adapted from one of my favorite baking book by Dorie Greenspan. Personally, I think everyone that is into baking should get her book. I have tried many recipes from her book and they have all turned out great every time!


Recipe adapted from Baking From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

Savory Corn And Pepper Muffins
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 ½ tsp Chili Powder, or more to taste
1 tsp Sea Salt
½ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 Stick (8 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled
1 Large Egg Yolk
¼ Cup Corn Kernels (add up to 3 Tbsp more if you’d like)-fresh, frozen or canned (in which case, they should be drained and patted dry)
1 Small Jalapeno Pepper, seeded, deveined and finely diced
¼ Red Bell Pepper, seeded, deveined and finely diced
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Method

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, chili powder, salt, baking soda and black pepper. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolk together until well blended.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough-the batter will be lumpy, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels, jalapeno, red pepper and cilantro. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Shepherd's Pie

I made this Shepherd’s Pie using the recipe from The Dean & Deluca’s cookbook. However, I made a couple of substitutions to their recipe. For instance, I used beef instead of lamb, and I also used green peas as opposed to corn. This is another great comfort food and it’s so easy to prepare.


Recipe adapted from The Dean & Deluca Cookbook

Shepherd's Pie-Cottage Pie
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 Large Baking Potatoes (450 g), peeled
½ Cup Milk
½ Stick (1/4 Cup) Butter
1 ½ tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
450 g Ground Beef
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 ½ tsp Dried Parsley
1 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
4 tsp Flour
½ Cup Minced Onion
½ Cup Diced Carrot
¼ Cup White Wine
½ Cup Beef Stock
1 Cup Green Peas

Method

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, and cook potatoes for about 40 minutes, until cooked through. Drain potatoes and place in a bowl. Mash them with the milk and 2 Tbsp of the butter. Season the potatoes with ½ tsp of the salt. Set aside.

Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic and ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes, until beef is well browned. Season with the remaining salt, oregano, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and then sprinkle mixture with 2 tsp of the flour. Stir again and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour excess grease out of pan.

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Add the onion and carrot to pan and cook over moderate heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tsp of flour and stir. Increase the heat slightly, and add white wine and beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any caramelized bits. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by about half.

Add the beef mixture and peas. Stir well and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. (Enough of the liquid should have evaporated that a nice thick sauce holds the mixture together.)

Butter a casserole dish well and spread beef mixture over the bottom. Cover the beef with the mashed potatoes. Bake the casserole, uncovered, in the oven for 40 minutes, until heated through. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Ondeh Ondeh With Sweet Potatoes

This is Ondeh Ondeh with Sweet Potatoes, a popular tea-time snack in Malaysia. There are two varieties of this snack. One made completely with glutinous rice, which I had posted earlier and you can find the recipe here. Whilst the other recipe is made with a mixture of sweet potatoes and glutinous rice flour, which is what I am posting here today. In any case, if you plan to make this delicious snack, do adjust the flour according to the sweet potatoes’ texture. Some tubers’ might have very soft or fibrous flesh. Add more flour if it’s too soft, of course. Just remember that the dough is supposed to be very soft and slightly sticky. So, have fun making them.

Fried Sweet Potato Balls

Up to making some snacks or “kuih” with sweet potatoes? This is a Fried Sweet Potato Balls recipe. They’re made of deep orange color sweet potato together with glutinous rice flour, sugar, and some grated coconut. Gently roll the mixture and fry until golden brown. They’ll be crunchy on the outside whilst remaining soft and chewy on the inside. Do try this easy recipe and if deep fry is not for you, do come back tomorrow for another interesting recipe with sweet potatoes.

Magnolia's Chocolate Cupcakes

Here is the second cupcakes recipe. This is Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream icing. I really like the chocolate cake by itself. It's packed with chocolate and buttermilk, a perfect combination.


Recipe adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
4 Large Eggs, at room temperature
6 Oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted
1 Cup Buttermilk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Method

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes

Couple of days ago, my daughter insisted on baking some cupcakes for her friend's birthday. So, we chose two recipes from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Magnolia Bakery will sound familiar to some of you as it's frequently featured along the Hermes Birkin and Jimmy Choo's shoes on Sex and The City. :-) Anyway, today I am posting a recipe for Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Butter cream. The cupcakes were really good; but, the icing was a bit too sweet for me. I know they are meant to be sweet and I am sure all the sweet tooth out there would love it.


Recipe adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups Self Rising Flour
1 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Cups Sugar
4 Large Eggs, at room temperature
1 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
6-8 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar
½ Cup Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract


Method

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

For the icing: Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.

Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.