I'm Not Even Sure Where to Begin

My little blog, I know I have neglected you.  I know.  You don't need to keep reminding me with your baleful stares and spotty August posts.  I'm back again, and I promise to do better.  We have much to catch up on, so let's begin with a new look for Fall (OK, it's now September, we can proclaim our love for Fall even though it's supposed to be 96 today).

Do you like it?  I think it feels Fall-ish without being too overwhelming.

Anyway....I promise, we will catch up on all the summer happenings, and yes, it feels crazy that summer is essentially over despite the fact that I vividly remember it being June 15th just yesterday, and then feeling like summer was going to be a giant void of packing and moving and unpacking and no fun whatsoever.

I was wrong.

It was mostly about the packing and the moving and the unpacking, but the Fun was there too.  Oh boy, was it there.

So let's begin by showing my geek side, and talking about cupcakes.  Not just any cupcakes, but Harry Potter cupcakes.

Yes.

OK, I can't even remember which cupcake recipe I used exactly...because the blog page I borrowed this from didn't specify, and 2 months have passed since I made these, and I am a giant dork.  I think it was just a basic devil's food cupcake recipe. 

Oh, and let me insert the back story, too.  Harry Potter came out, and some Michigan friends threw a great Harry Potter party.  They asked that you either bring a Harry Potter food, or dress up.  We were already partly packed & I was frazzled, so food it was!  And of course, if it's a party, I have to do cupcakes.  I found a recipe for Cauldron Cakes based on the Felix Felicis potion, and who couldn't use a little more good luck?  I had to modify it a bit because it was blazing hot in my kitchen, and there's no way I could pipe the cauldron handle & have it not melt into a tiny pool of brown goo, so instead of Cauldron 'Cakes, we have just plain Felix Felicis Cupcakes, and boy were they GOOD.  

I won't detail the whole process, but I will say that the secret to the goodness was coring out the center of the cupcake, dabbing ganache inside, then piping in marshmallow filling.  YES.  It was hard not to simply eat the ganache by the spoonful, but when combined with the marshmallow filling and the devil's food cupcake, it was even more amazing. One last time.... AMAZING.    

So there you have it.  Fun party, great food, and I even got to sneak away that Monday & watch the movie in blissful peace.  Yay!