Manhattan Chick in the Midwest, Part 1: Pleasantries & a Weekend of Firsts

This past weekend, I visited the small Midwestern town of Northfield, Minnesota. You may now be asking...why? Well because one of my bestest gals and favorite Midwesterner turned New Yorker turned West Coaster got married in a truly gorgeous, down home wedding ceremony. For the last 9 years of friendship, C has regaled me with tales of small town wonder, including but not limited to extreme niceness, use of the word 'pop' in reference to soda, and of a land where everyone really does know your name.

Cornfields as far as the eye could see

A Weekend of Firsts
I realized that this trip not only symbolized the everlasting love and happiness of C & I, but also my own personal weekend of firsts.
1) First time in the Midwest.
Yes, it's true. I, Rachel, had never been to a Midwestern state before this weekend. As my dear friend M asked, 'Why have you never been to the Midwest?', I responded with a simple, 'Why would I go to the Midwest?' I do not mean to be snobbish or uppity over my East Coast roots...but they call them flyover states for a reason.

2) First time renting a car.
And I'm just glad that this was experienced for the first time in Minneapolis. As I rushed to the Enterprise counter, hoping against all odds that there would be a short line, imagine my astonishment that not only was there no line at all, but 6 tellers waiting to assist me. Had this been Newark International, there would have been a line 40 deep with a lone representative half working, half chatting with another representative who in turn was doing absolutely nothing. Midwest 1, Jersey 0.

3) First time flying Northwest.
And unlike numbers one and two, this first will likely be my last. Tiny, old planes and impossible online check-in (When I printed my boarding pass at work, there was no bar code on my ticket. When I called Northwest, instead of offering a solution, they informed me that yes, I do need a bar code. Thanks.) made this a less than desirable flying option. Don't even get me started on trying to move my flight to a later time. Unhelpful customer service reps and forced Internet changes solidified the pain, to boot. Though ultimately, I made it to Minneapolis and back in one piece, so I suppose I can't take that away from them.

Pleasantries & Unbelievable Occurrences:
1) Case #1: The people in Minnesota are just...nice.
In addition to the more than pleasant rental car experience, all locals thereafter put East Coasters to shame. Let me tell you about my darkest Jersey girl moment. On Friday, C & I had a rehearsal dinner at the local golf club. Putting on my cutest green summer dress and dolling myself up with pretty hair and make up, my lovely ladies and I parked across the street and walked to the club. A car pulled up next to us and the man inside rolled down his window. Immediately, I was prepared with my signature eye-roll and anti-cat calling slurs. As I braced myself, the nice man inside asked what was going on at the club as he had heard there was a football dinner. We said we weren't sure if there was a football dinner. The man wished us a nice evening and drove away. Northfield 1, Manhattan 0.

2) Case #2: The people in Minnesota actually line up at the bar.
No punching, pushing, eye rolling, or brawling. Instead, Northfielders form an orderly queue, pressed tightly against one wall of the bar and order their drinks one at a time. I have never seen anything like it. I'm not sure how anyone actually got themselves a drink or how long of a wait the line was...but it sure was a sight to see.

The bottom line from my first Midwestern excursion? I like it. A lot. It was refreshingly down to earth and all of C's tales of tea time and beyond really did live up to expectations. Up next, I'll be bringing you Northfield: A Big Weekend in a Small Town.

What I'm Pop Culturing This Week, June 22nd

It's week 2 of pop culture madness. Not that I haven't always been a pop culture nut, but now I just feel the need to document and share it with you. Let's get down to business.

What I'm Watching...on DVD:
Still going strong on True Blood. While I feel as though I can't get through it fast enough (due to Netflix lead time and the Netflix-provided and unwatched Vicky Christina Barcelona DVD sitting on my player for the last 6 weeks...I swear, I'll get to it), it is nice to drag out the 12 (is it 12?) eps so I can get more Bill, Jason, and especially Lafayette before I plunge into season 2. Next up is Dexter and Mad Men, season 1 of both.

What I'm Listening to...on the Treadmill:
Often the most dreaded and mundane part of my day, I need to have a long list of running-appropriate music in a two week rotation, since I get very sick of the same songs very quickly. Recommendations are requested, so please leave them in the comments!
Here's what got me through this morning (in addition to closed-captioning GMA):

Beggin' Madcon
I Gotta Feelin' Black Eyed Peas
Bad Things (Club Mix) aka True Blood theme song Jace Everett
Boom Boom Pow Black Eyed Peas
Use Somebody Kings of Leon
Just Dance Lady Gaga
Poker Face Lady Gaga
Closer Ne-yo
Don't Trust Me 3OH!3
Cool Down: Lucky Jason Mraz & Colbie Callait

What I'm Reading...on Kindle:
Still working on Pillars of the Earth...and this one's gonna be a while. Not that I want it to go anywhere fast because I'm loving it, but after a couple of weeks I'm only half way through. I hear there's a sequel, World Without End, which may be up next. Since I'll be leaving for my Aruban paradise vacation in 1.5 weeks, I'm on the lookout for good beach reads...please leave suggestions in comments!

Key Lime in the Coconut Cupcakes Make for a Gluttonous Father's Day

In between eating delicious food all over the city and beyond as well as pop culturing to my heart's desire, I aspire to be a domestic goddess. I'll admit that sometimes I do curse myself after offering to bring a savory dip to a party or (in my weakest, wedding-dazed filled moment) volunteer to make 150 Magnolia cupcakes for my own engagement party (no, I'm so not exaggerating and I have the carpal tunnel syndrome to prove it...almost). But I do enjoy cooking and especially baking...and that's about as far as my domestic lasso will grasp.

With total disregard for terrible, rainy weather (in hopes that if I don't acknowledge it, it won't exist), I decided to whip up some Key Lime in the Coconut Cupcakes in honor of the usually summery Father's Day. Inspired by a recipe from Ultimate Recipe Showdown (where did that show go? I really do watch them ALL), I altered this one a bit to fit my schedule and my desire to bake. It was all made possible with a little help from my friends.

My favorite appliance...if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Chopped white chocolate adds some extra flavor to the icing

A doctored-up cake mix and no one will know the difference

Recipe for Coconut Cake
*Inspired by Food Network
1 box Classic White cake mix
1 tsp almond extract
1 C sweetened coconut
Zest of 1 lime
2+ tbsp Key Lime juice (from bottle if you can't find real Key limes)
Directions: Prepare cake mix as directed on box, adding in the almond extract. Fold in coconut, lime juice, and zest before baking. Bake as directed on box.

White Chocolate Frosting
*Ok, this I lifted directly from foodnetwork.com and you can see the full recipe here. Noted below are the elements I changed
5 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (leave it out over night. seriously.)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I did not sift, and it was just fine)
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon key lime juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)...(I used more like 2 tbsp because I wanted it to be limey)
1/4 cup sour cream
Finely grated key lime zest & sprinkles, for garnish
2 drops food coloring (I like green for lime)

Directions: In a small heat proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, carefully and slowly melt the white chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool until just slightly warm. (*Note: I did this in the microwave. Heat at 30 second intervals, mixing in between. Do NOT overheat). Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar until well combined. Add the salt, vanilla extract, key lime juice, and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add the melted white chocolate and mix just until incorporated.

Deliciously fluffy icing of the key lime variety

My biggest tip: Even if you are making a boxed cake mix cake, making your own frosting makes all the difference in the world. If you make your own frosting, instead of serving that canned garbage icing to your friends and family, they won't even notice the boxed cake mix. And my favorite aspect...The frosting is the easiest part to make.

Ta Da!

To cart these little babies around, I got a handy cupcake caddy from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. $25 with a never-fail coupon and worth every penny!

My super adorable cupcake caddy...makes the carting of fab cupcakes possible!

Any other cupcake recipes out there? I'm a sucker for beautiful, delicious cupcakes and always looking for new recipes. If so, write to us, include photos, and we'll share with our readers!