Dinner for Friends

Some friends of ours at church had their first baby (a girl) last Monday so tonight Allison and I are providing dinner for them.  Allison is making barbeque (don't know what recipe she's using) and veggies.  I'm doing buns and dessert.

For dessert I'm making Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cupcakes and topping with vanilla buttercream that I have left from decorating Nin's birthday cake.

For the buns, I'm making Homemade Hamburger Buns (Bread Machine) from Recipezaar.  Yes, I'm using the dough setting on my bread machine -- too much to do today,  I need some help and it's perfect for that.  I topped the buns with sesame seeds after I brushed them with melted butter.

SERVES 12

• 1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
2. Select dough setting.
3. When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface.
4. Cut dough in half and roll each half out to a 1" thick circle.
5. Cut each half into six 3 1/2" rounds with inverted glass as a cutter.
6. Place on greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.
7. Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
8. Bake at 350° for 9 minutes.
9. Note: Oven temperatures vary so check after 9 minutes to see if done. Some reviewers baked these anywhere from 12 to 30 minutes.

Cupcakes are cooling now.  Buns are rising and will be going into the oven in about 30 to 45 minutes.  I'll take a photo of the buns when they come out of the oven.

Birthday Party Themes

What in the world does birthday party themes have to do with food?  Well...it turns out that next year I will be hosting a "food themed" birthday party (yes, 'next year' as in 2010 - Elizabeth has already decided on a theme for her 7th birthday).  E has decided she wants a "sweets" themed party.  We're going to use the Nordic Ware ice cream cone pan (at left).  Everyone will decorate their own cupcake and we'll have a candy buffet to do goodie bags.  She's excited about it.





I've wanted to do a cupcake-themed party for quite some time.  Bitsy seems to be the perfect recipient for that - provided she'll go with the idea.  :)  I'll bounce it off her as we get closer to December of 2009.  :)  However, I found this and if I didn't already have the "Leap Frog" theme chosen for Baby Guy, I'd be tempted to go this route.  It's cute!  But cupcakes are much more Bitsy's style and not so much Harrison's.  They also have the same theme for girls - should you want a pink version.