So the first time I went to Finn McCool's was to catch a world cup game back in '06. The place was hopping and I instantly fell in love with Katie Jean's (then one of the bartenders) infectious energy and the bar's awesome familial camaraderie. It's so much more than just a neighborhood bar with the best owners, coolest bartenders and a pretty awesome collection of patrons: this past weekend that group raised over two grand to help out a patron who had been shot in the head in an attempted carjacking. The list of charitable organizations that have raised money at Finn's is seemingly endless because the owners Pauline and Stephen are just that cool.

Each week for the Saints games, they cook the competition in a pot luck style cookoff and everyone who brings food gets a free drink, gets to the front of the line each week and a chance to win a $20 bar tab for the best dish. I've always liked bringing desserts when I have a chance to make something, because no one else ever brings in sweets and I have such a sweet tooth even after I gorge on all the other deliciousness everyone else makes, I still always want a little sugar too.


I think before this season, the last time I won a golden spoon was way back in 2007 for my mom's bread pudding recipe. I brought quite a few desserts last season too and the closest I came was one 2nd place finish. This year, I've been on fire because my baked goodies are 4-2 this season. Apparently I'm even a trend setter because now other people are bringing in desserts too, which in my book makes us all winners! Honestly, who can argue with MORE desserts? Anyway, I made this cupcake recipe for the Carolina game, which was aptly themed a BBQ cookoff, and is by far one of the most badass things I've ever baked.

I wanted to bring in a dessert with a BBQ flavor, not just a dessert you'd get at any old BBQ. They took a bit of tweaking, especially to find the right frosting, but honestly I can't wait to make these again. The cornbread cupcakes come via Martha Stewart's Orange Cornmeal Cake recipe and I originally tried a maple syrup swiss buttercream, but it was too sweet and competed too much with the BBQ pork. Instead I did a frosting taste off adding various flavors and seasonings to a cooked flour/heritage frosting that I've been wanting to try since I stumbled on it on Joe Pastry. The KONRIKO Chipotle Seasoning version won out over all the other liquid smoke/chili powder/whatever-else-I-found-in-the-cupboard combinations.

Anyway, the final product was AMAZEBALLS. The cornmeal cupcake was moist, sweet and savory. The BBQ pork was my party standby: stick pork roast in a crock pot and let it do its magic. I added a bit of spice to the frosting and it came out creamy but subtle enough that it pulled everything together really nicely. If you follow it to the letter, you'll have leftover pork that you can use later, but the cupcake recipe does double easily too. I can't wait to make these again...I think they might make an appearance this year's Halloween party.

Savory BBQ Cornmeal Cupcakes, makes 12 cupcakes

Cornmeal Cupcakes
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Scant 1/4 teaspoon orange extract

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake cups with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, sugar and wine until smooth. Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and orange extract; whisk gently to combine.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Spicy Heritage Frosting
Ingredients
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon KONRIKO Chipotle Seasoning (feel free to make substitutions)

Instructions
1. Cook the flour and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. As soon as it heats up and starts to boil, you will see and feel it get thicker. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. With mixer running, beat in the milk mixture a spoon at a time. Beat for another two minutes until the moisture from the milk mixture has dissolved all of the sugar granules. Add in seasoning salt to taste.

Easy Pulled Pork
One 4lbs. pork roast (shoulder or butt)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup water
1-2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1 bottle BBQ sauce
salt and pepper

Season the meat and add vinegar, water, liquid smoke and about 1/3 of the bbq sauce. Cook on low for 5-8 hours (depending on the size of the roast) until it can easily be shredded or pulled apart with a fork. Discard most of the liquid (I usually leave a little fat in there) and cover with the rest of the BBQ sauce. This can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to three days. I keep leftovers in the freezer for the days I really don't want to cook, but they usually don't last very long in our house.

To assemble cupcakes: Pipe or slather the frosting on the cupcakes and add a healthy dollop of warm but not hot BBQ pork on top and serve immediately.

Crumby Notes:

• If you are going to travel with these bad boys frost the cupcakes and bring the pork along in a plastic container, waiting until you are ready to serve them to add the pork topping. 
• Again, if you follow the recipe exactly, you'll have plenty of pork leftover for tacos, sandwiches and whatever other yummy creation you want to dream up, but the cupcake and frosting recipes will double nicely if you want to make more. 

~Happy Baking!~