Red Wine, Chocolate and Coco Chanel

I was feeling very Martha, Rachel and Betty today and decided to tackle some recipes that I'd been wanting to test, so I did.

First - Red Wine Cupcakes with a Marscapone Icing. I don't like chocolate cake, but wholy Moses this is some good stuff!! I skipped the secret caramel toppping under the icing because I was too lazy to make the caramel, but next time I'm going to do it as I think it makes a nice addition to a "girl's night" cupcake. What better that an all in one combination of chocolate, red wine and the super indulgent caramel! Yummy! My neighbors, Shelly and Alex's fiance' Shane are starting to love my baking whims!

I overfilled the cupcake liners a bit, well, a lot, so my cupcakes are a bit high and a little lopsided! Oh well, the batter is really thick, a warning for those who dare to venture down this road of drunken baking!
I took Rachel Ray's suggestion of a cute little red grape as a garish, not sure I like it, I might have to play with garnish ideas ... and of course, does anyone have ideas for incorporating red wine into icing to make a red wine icing? Delish, I think so ...

Next, my craving for Butternut Squash Ravioli from Olives at the Bellagio could not be overlooked any longer. I thought I could wait until Erin got here in November, but alas, the urge for sage, butternut squash and pasta over took me. I found this recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna and gave it a whirl. It needs to be whirled again.

The taste was MAGNIFICENT!! SUPER DELISH AND SO WORTHY OF A PIG OUT! However, my ability to use Ricotta needs some work, the squash was under cooked, so a little a hard, then not near enough of it was "smooshed" ... plus, I think I under "saged" - don't you hate it when you undersage ... ugh. However, the end result was delish, delish, delish with some work needed!! I highly recommend you try this at home!

CHEERS TO YUMMINESS, MARTHANESS AND EVEN A LITTLE RACHELNESS!

So on a fishier note, I felt like Kate Spade has been a little lonely, on top of that, she is a horrible tank keeper! You wouldn't believe the algae build-up in that girl's home. So, a Saturday outing led to the acquisition of Coco Chanel, in the classic colors of black and white, with exquisite taste (for algae) and a complete lack of personality - the name suits her perfectly!

Keep in mind, I've never claimed to be an award winning photographer, but Coco is especially hard to capture on film. She is a 'sucker' fish, so she is always stuck to something, swimming is not an option for her! This is the best I could do, but trust me, she is so Coco Chanel!!!