Just for Funfetti.

Happy World Pasta Day!  I love a day where people just celebrate the heck out of carbs.  That, is my kind of day now people!  Speaking of celebrating, there is a lot going on around here.  There’s a lot of blog love floating around in the form of “blog chain mail” Yea, you read right.  Essentially, people all over the blogosphere have been calling out their favorite bloggers to answer questions, and while I hate chain mail, I do love to support the blogs I love and read every day!  Amuse Bouche was lucky enough to be called out by 2 blogs in this chain of blog love, The Weekend Gourmet and Baking without a Box.   

Both Wendy from WG and Amanda from BwoaB have been amazing supporters throughout the growth of Amuse Bouche and these ladies have some fine blogging skills themselves!  

Here’s how it works:  These gals post 8 questions they want their favorite 8 bloggers to answer, and then these choose another 8 questions to ask their favorite 8.  See, chain mail.  Before I answer their questions, and post a few of my own, I’d like to list the blogs that I not only read everyday, but hope to meet some of these bloggers at Foodbuzz Fest pretty soon! 

1.  My blog crush: Hailey from Hail’s kitchen.  We have similar humor, and damn it the girl can cook!  Now if only we didn’t live so far apart!
2. Mama Pea from Peas and Thank You.  The girl has 2 kids and once again, always makes me laugh!  I am sure that she will become part of your daily reading routine after reading just one post.
3. Laurie from Simply Scratch.  She does just that, makes everything from scratch.  It’s a great way to live, and her recipes are spot on.
4.  Chels and Sues from We are not Martha.  These girls are so creative and they aren’t Martha, but they will certainly go down trying.
5. Jacob from Jacob’s Kitchen.  He makes well conceptualized meals, and his photography is gorgeous! Love him!
6.  Mary and clan from Food o' del mundo.  Mary started a food blog with her rather large family as a way to keep everyone involved when they live so far apart.  Amazing concept, interesting food.
7. Betsy and Joe from Project NEW-lyweds.  These guys are too cute, they made a blog to document doing something new together everyday in their first year of marriage, and it naturally evolved into mainly a cooking blog.  They do other fun things too!
8. Lori Lynn at Taste with the Eyes.  Lori Lynn has a gorgeous blog and all of her food makes me swoon.

I hope you check each of these bloggers out, they make my reading day! 

The questions I would like for you amazing bloggers to answer are: 

1. You are out of wine.  How many days do you allow this to go on?
2. You are out of eggs and powdered sugar.  How do you frost your cupcakes?
3. You have to eat 1 food group for the rest of your life. What is it? 
4. Your children are hungry and you have more than a slight buzz from that half bottle you drank after a bad day at work.  What is for dinner, mommy/Jacob & Joe? BHAHAHA!
5. Who’s the better cook, your mom, or mother in law? (I know, I’m an asshole)
6. You’re having a blogger party, who are you most excited to meet?
7. You’ve died and gone to the pearly gates of food heaven.  Which foodie greets you as "Foodie God”?
8. True or False, Some days, you just want to have a wine dinner. Just wine.

So there you have it guys, if you are interested in playing along, please answer those questions and pick 8 more of your own to pass on.  If not, I promise my feelings won’t be hurt, I know this isn’t for everyone.  And there will be wine to console me if you ignore me.

Now to answer the questions that were asked of me!  Amanda asked:

1. What's your all-time favorite "to die for" dessert?  It is called the ice cream sandwich. Ask my mom, I had an issue with these when I was little.  Like a, “We just bought this box yesterday, where are all the ice cream sandwiches?” kind of problem.
2. If you could meet any celebrity chef and spend a day with them, who would you pick? DUH MARTHA  FLIPPIN STEWART!
3. Favorite fair food?  You know you've got one. MMM. Do they sell wine at carnivals?  Ok, fine, I like corndogs, I just can’t eat them unless theyre all beef, and you and I both know the people working that carnie cart have no clue whats in there.
4. What's your biggest kitchen blooper?  Remember that one time I lit my kitchen on fire during a dinner party? Oh yea, I did that.
5. Is there any common food that just gives you the icks? Eggplant.
6.  Your blog is becoming a film a la Julie & Julia, only more wonderful because it's about you.  So who do you cast to play your part?  UH DUH I am playing it!  No one tells a joke like I do, well okay maybe Chelsea Handler can do it...
7. What's your favorite thing in your kitchen right now?  WELL ITS NOT MY DISHWASHER BECAUSE ITS BROKEN, I CAN TELL YOU THAT MUCH. It’s world pasta day, so we will go with Gonzo, my pasta attachment.
8. What's your biggest goal coming up to tackle and conquer?  Well, I think adding a third pet to my home.  You know, Sir Reginald, the sourdough starter…

Wendy asked:

1.  If you could invite any three people (living or not) to a dinner party at your house, who would you invite…and why?  Martha Stewart, Chelsea Handler, and my best friend Kelley. WHAT a dinner party.
2. What would be on the dinner menu at this meal? Red Wine, hot pockets, and caviar?
3. Do you create iTunes playlists to set the mood when you have people for dinner? If so, tell me what songs you especially like. Well duh, see my post on our most recent dinner party for a ready made playlist!
4. What are your three “go to ingredients” that are always on hand in your kitchen? Garlic, onion, and heavy cream.
5. What’s your funniest kitchen/cooking disaster? Ok so aside from burning my kitchen down, I’d have to say the one time I allowed Brian to cook. never again.
6.  What’s your favorite kitchen/cooking success?  Every day is a success. I love every moment in my kitchen!
7.  If you could be sous-chef-for-a-day for any chef, who would it be…and why? DUH MARTHA FLIPPIN STEWART.  Because she’s the bomb, and LORD knows what we would talk about.  I love that kind of on the fly “How did we end up talking about the pollination of geraniums” shit.
8. What’s your earliest food memory?  Ice cream sandwiches. Stealing them from the box, one after the other, after the other.

You know, these things, they are all in good fun. Funfetti. BHAAHAHH. Who will give me the award for lamest transition ever?  Who cares.  Make your own damn cupcakes, and get off the box people.  Funfetti is just making cupcakes with sprinkles inside.  So get on out there, and let go of the box!

Funfetti Cupcakes, from cupcake rehab

1 ¼ cups  flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup sugar

6 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup milk

2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.

Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low. Then add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture.

Fold in rainbow sprinkles.Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full.

Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

And boom. Funfetti. Remember that one time when you were out of eggs and powdered sugar?  Just mix nutella and peanut butter.  That is a perfectly fine substitute for frosting. Now go celebrate this amazing blogosphere and show the blogs you read every day some love!

Love,

Whit