Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal - YUM!

Apple Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

2/3 cup Cooking Oil

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

3 cups Oatmeal

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Milk

2 cups Apples, chopped

1 cup Cranberries, dried

1. Cream oil, sugar, egg, baking powder and salt together until smooth.
2. Add in oatmeal and milk and mix until combined.
3. Spray a 9x13 pan and layer in apples & cranberries.
4. Add oatmeal mixture over fruit.
5. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve with milk.

Recipe adapted from Swiss Woods B&B, Lititz, PA

New England Seafood Dinner

Our July dinner has been announced and mouths are watering! I've chosen a seafood theme in honor of the sunny weather and salty ocean breezes before us (albeit the opposite coast!). Regardless, this upcoming entree is a personal forte of mine so don't miss out! Take a look at the three courses we're serving:

Roasted Corn Chowder with Cocoa-Glazed Bacon

Pan-Fried Crab Cakes with White Chocolate Blood Orange Drizzle & Mixed Greens

Chile-Burnt Caramel Apple Pie with Vermont Cheddar Cheese

We're also featuring some tasty vittles as our optional starter:

Steamed Mussels with Crispy Salumi and Herbs

The dinner date is set for Saturday, July 25th, with seatings at 4, 6, and 8pm. And all three courses are just $25 per person. As always, space is limited so RSVP to 619.578.2984 to claim your table before its gone. Until then, take a gander at the pics from last month:

Starter: Tangy Chicken Wings with Dipping Sauce Trio (Tarragon Honey Mustard, Balsamic Blue Cheese,  Chile Burnt Caramel Peanut Sauce)

First Course: Chile-roasted Corn on the Cobb with Cocoa Nib-Infused Butter

Main Course: Chocolate-Caramel Cheeseburger with Cocoa-Glazed Bacon and Caramel Gjetost Cheese

Dessert: Cherry Vanilla Bean Buckle with White Chocolate Biscuit Topping and Frozen Semifreddo

Cupcake Extravaganza Update!

Its just over a week before our Second Annual Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend and I've got some exciting updates to share! Tuck in cocoa-kiddies and listen up...

First off, remember that Eclipse Chocolat VIP Pass I mentioned? You know, the one that grants the holder a free Box of Nine Cupcakes each week for two months (over a $200 value)? The one that you can get by being the lucky winner of an Eclipse Chocolat Golden Ticket? Yeah that one! Well we've decided to double the prizes this year and give out FOUR!

In case you missed it previously, the Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend is July 3rd, 4th, and 5th and we will be featuring 28 exotic flavors of cupcakes. All cupcakes are Buy 2 Get 1 Free, and a Box of Nine is discounted to just $20 (normally $27). Nine cupcakes, eh? I hear you say... perfect for 4th of July picnics and bar-b-ques, no?

Well it gets better, because every Box of Nine purchased is a raffle entry to win the Eclipse VIP Pass, which two lucky people will win. Even better, two lucky cupcakes will contain a Golden Medallion tucked under the cupcake lining that will be instant winners for two more passes! That's four passes altogether and if you're doing the math, $800 dollars in fabulous cupcake prizes!

So what are the upcoming flavors for these cakes in a cup? Some are are old standards, some are returning by popular demand from last year, and some are brand new! Comin' at ya is the complete list. Check it:

Yellow Cake:

Marshmallow Almond

Toasted Barley and Ale

Ginger Green Tea

Banana Cinnamon

Crispy Bacon Caramel

Maple Pecan

Chile Hazelnut

Macadamia Lemon

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Banana Rum Cigar

Salty Peanut Butter Toffee

Honey Saffron

Coconut Curry

Kentucky Bourbon Caramel

Chocolate Cake:

Berry Merlot

Basil Absinthe

Double Espresso

Boysenberry Pink Peppercorn

Strawberry Rhubarb

Salty Smores

Muscavado Caramel

Lavender Vanilla Bean

Sea Salted Caramel

Peanut Butter and Banana

Bergamot Orange Peel

Goat Cheese and Fig

Toasted Coconut Caramel

Burnt Caramel Marshmallow

I had the honor of uniting Pasquale & Cindy in marriage

on Saturday, June 20, 2009.

Luaua Custard French Toast

Good Morning Everyone!!!!

Today, I'd like to share a recipe that I've adapted from a great bread company called Eurobake.

I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY IT!

Luau Custard French Toast

1 loaf	French Bread, sliced into 1" pieces
10	large eggs, beaten
2 cups	half & half
1 tablespoon	vanilla extract
3/4 cup	brown sugar, packed
1 15oz can	pineapple tidbits, drain and reserve juice
1 cup	flaked coconut

Butter a 9x13" cake pan. Arrange French bread slices in bottom of pan. In large bowl, whisk together beaten eggs, milk, vanilla extract and brown sugar. Pour custard filling over bread slices. Top with pineapple tidbits and coconut. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes. Serve with Luau Maple Syrup.

Yield: 12 servings

Luau Maple Syrup

1 pound	brown sugar
1 - 13.5 oz can	coconut milk
1 cup	maple syrup
1 teaspoons	vanilla extract
2 tablespoons	Reserved Pineapple Juice Corn starch

Mix brown sugar and coconut milk together in a small bowl. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla extract and reserved pineapple juice. If desired, you may add the cornstarch to thicken syrup. Makes approximately 3 cups and is enough for 2-3 pans of Luau Custard French Toast.

Second Annual Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend

The Fourth of July is nearly here, and with less than three weeks before the big holiday weekend Autumn, Dan, myself, and the rest of the Cocoa Babies here are gearing up! For what, you ask? Well its our Second Annual Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend! Yay!!!

If you were being held captive this time last year by anti chocolate and/or cupcake terrorists, then you may not have heard about our event. Otherwise, I'm sure you made it. Yes? But for the benefit of everyone who might be reading this, here goes:

Fourth of July Weekend (Friday-Sunday) join us at the cafe for 28 different flavors of Crème Fraîche Cupcakes (as our normal selection of 16 rotates with 6 flavors daily, this is quite a feat!). Better yet, all cupcakes are priced to move! So take them to your picnics, parties, and pro chocolate and/or cupcake capitalist rallies at just $20 for a Box of Nine (normally $27) or Buy One Get One Free!

Can it get any better? Yes!

Here you can see our Box of Nine Crème Fraîche Cupcakes, accompanied with the two VIP Eclipse Passes, which if you were around for last year's event you know are good for a Box of Nine every week for two months! How does one receive such a pleasure? Well by winning the Extravaganza Weekend Raffle, of course (each Box of Nine is an entry). But why bother with entries into a lottery when you can win the fast way? One lucky patron that weekend will receive the Golden EC Medallion. That's the pretty little token in the cupcake liner shown above. That person will ALSO win the VIP Eclipse Pass. Who needs a golden ticket when you can have a medallion (insert inevitable Willy Wonka joke here, I've heard 'em all!).

Later this week I will post all of the new exciting flavors (we have 8 new ones and 8 returning from last year) so stay tuned. In the mean time, begin salivating.

Joe's Birthday aka "Plaid Day"