Valrhona Fudge Cakes

Finally got to blog about these at All My Sugar :) Click on the link for the recipe!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This sweet vanilla cupcake topped with a rich, creamy swirl of Valrhona chocolate butter frosting will make your heart swoon and make you fall in love with life itself!

For this, I referenced the recipe in my "Cupcakes a la NYC" post (also at Allmysugar.com). They're inspired by Magnolia Bakery's vanilla-chocolate cupcakes, or even Eleni's—both in New York.

Because I forgot to get some at the grocery earlier, I substituted the melted unsweetened chocolate originally called for with the Valrhona cocoa powder I already had in the pantry. Unfortunately, I didn't measure it out and just kept adding cocoa by the spoonfuls to the frosting, until it tasted just about right. I'd say about five tablespoons, but let your tastebuds be the judge :)

Have a sweet Valentine's Day! With love from NYC :)

Mushroom Stroganoff

Nice and easy: Mushroom Stroganoff recipe by Alton Brown.

Link to recipe: Foodnetwork.com

I just made this and so far, it turned out yummy. I used regular onions instead of the green onions originally called for. Also, I halved the recipe—give or take a few ounces of certain ingredients (i.e. mushrooms, egg noodles).

Two suggested tweaks:

• Add red pepper flakes when heating up the butter (also in the bowl, when serving)
• Add thyme while sautéing the mushrooms

And this completes the 30-day Blog Challenge, woohoo!

Will share my thoughts on this year’s Challenge in another post :)

Happy weekend, everyone!


Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 30

Malt Ball Overload

At Dylan's Candy Bar :) 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 29

Harper’s BAZAAR, we meet again :)

The Moroccanoil print ad I wrote is in the March 2013 issues of Harper's BAZAAR (where I worked in international marketing when I had just moved to NYC), Elle, InStyle and the gigantic Vogue with Beyoncé on the cover!

The universe has a sense of humor—I've always wanted to write for magazines here in the U.S., picking up from where I left off as beauty editor at Hearst international titles Seventeen and Cosmopolitan. I've also contributed to sister publications Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire. So, now, my words are actually in these well-respected magazines, at least in the advertising section.

Now, if only I could make the jump back into the editorial pages, that would be FANTABULOUS! :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 28