Spaghetti and Meatballs, Anyone???

My friend Lyndsay had a birthday recently, and I really wanted to do something special for her. Her husband is deployed to Afghanistan, six months into his year-long tour. She has two young children and no family in the area. I really wanted to take her out to dinner, but that didn't work out, so I settled for the next best thing.

I invited her over.

Grant was out of town for the weekend, for his grandpa's 95th birthday party in Las Vegas. The kids and I were super excited to have some company and celebrate Lyndsay's birthday a little bit late.

I made Chicken Parmigiana for dinner, which turned out nicely.

Then, I made a quick exit to the garage fridge, where I was hiding the dessert.

Spaghetti and meatballs! As I told Lyndsay, "I figured it wasn't enough to have pasta for dinner, we should have it for dessert too!"

Isn't this great????



It really couldn't be easier. I had a ton of fun making it, and even more fun seeing Lyndsay's reaction. Priceless!

So here's how you do it.

You'll need:

10-12 white cupcakes, made from 1 white cake mix, prepared according to package directions (or from scratch)
White frosting (I used 1 c. butter, 4 c. powdered sugar, 2 t. vanilla - blended until light and fluffy)
1 t. cocoa powder (sifted)
dab of yellow food coloring
3/4 cup strawberry jam
7-10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates
white chocolate, for grating (I used almond bark)

Mix cocoa powder and food coloring into frosting.
Lightly frost 10-12 cupcakes and set on a platter.
Using a piping bag with a fine tip or a ziplock bag with a small hole cut in one corner, pipe spaghetti strands all over, covering amply. This is great fun! The messier, the better! Be sure to pipe over all the spaces between the cupcakes.
Melt the jam in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, until soupy. Toss the chocolates in it until coated. Spread on top of cupcakes.
Grate white chocolate on top (for parmesan cheese).

Source: adapted slightly from Hello, Cupcake

Linked to Birthday Cake Round-Up