Chocolat....

This past weekend I made my way up the North Fork of Long Island otherwise known as home. It had been almost nine months since I had last visited. And you can bet that I was feeling pretty home sick. I could not have picked a better weekend to make my way back. Derby Day is a tradition for my best friend Kerry and her family. I have missed the tradition for the past three years so I was definitely ready to celebrate. As it is always the first weekend in May, Mother's Day usually lands on that Sunday making for an even better reason to come home. But thirdly my dad's birthday is May 11 which just happened to fall pretty close this year. So with three things to celebrate I was anxious to get there. Being home always brings back so many fond memories of growing up in a small town. It was great to see all of my friends converge on the Gagen household. We were able to celebrate the engagements of Jennifer and Scott, and Kendra and Nick, sharing in their excitement. All signs that time just flies. It was so great to spend time with friends and family and to feel the love. I realized just how much I miss seeing their faces and listening to all of the things that are going on in their lives. DC just seemed all the further away. But with a great amount of singing (thank you Danielle for the karaoke machine) and a great amount of dancing (always a staple) a great weekend was had.

And now for the good stuff....Chocolate. Who doesn't love a delicious chocolate treat?

My mother and sister prefer a salty sweet, but when it comes to my father and I it is sweets all the way. Put a piece of cake or pie in front of me and no matter what feast I may have eaten prior I will make room for that decadent slice of sweet satisfaction. Growing up my dad always had a little sweet something with his morning coffee. Whether it was a piece of Enteman's coffee cake or one of those sleeves of 99 cent cookies you could count on Dad enjoying it with a cup of black coffee. So I thought since I was finally home close to his birthday I would make him a sweet chocolate treat. And what better than Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcakes. They came out absolutely yummy or so I was told, there were none left when I went to grab one! But no worries I had made them earlier in the year so I can attest that they are indeed delicious. Here is the recipe:Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

I made two dozen regular sized cupcakes instead of the jumbo. 

             

To continue on my chocolate rant I am going to include the Chocolate Babka Recipe that I used for this years Easter breakfast. I have brought my Polish traditions with my down south. My mom's family always enjoyed a Polish breakfast on Easter Sunday that included babka, hard boiled eggs, kielbasa, and fruit salad. So to keep the tradition going even though I wasn't home I cook this breakfast for my family in Richmond. For the past two years I had taken on the task of making my own homemade babka. And to spice things up this year I tried a crumble topped chocolate babka. It was quite the task but was well worth it!  I must say I am quite proud of the results. Although, I think I would have changed a few things to tweak the recipe I will try that the next time because this recipe definitely will be used again! 

Here is the recipe: Babka!