AliCakes

Happy Birthday, Karl!

2011-09-18T21:51:00.000-04:00

A few months back, my cousin, Claudine, threw out the idea of having a suprise 40th birthday party for her husband, my cousin, Karl. It was pretty quickly decided that it would be "beer" themed, since Karl does enjoy his brew! I knew that I had to make my favorite Car Bomb Cupcakes, which I've posted on here a few times. After that was decided, I searched the interwebs for a good idea for the cake. I found something fun that I wanted to try, and here are the results.

The cake was made with four 8 inch round cake pans. I used Martha's One-Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe. I used her fluffy vanilla icing recipe for the yellow base and her swiss meringue buttercream for the "foam". I covered a foam twist tie in plastic wrap and then fondant and shoved it into the side of the cake.

The "beer" was made by caramelizing sugar and pouring it over a dowl and twisting. I will admit that this was the hardest part. I've never made candy before, and we really burnt the first batch. Matt helped me figure it out after a lot of googling!

Jack was my baking helper that morning!

I wanted to give the "beer" a golden color to match the Fat Tire Beer that Karl loves so much, and Matt found this gold shimmer sugar in our pantry, and we added a little to the caramel mixture. I think it added a nice sheen to the the "beer."

There was a lot of talk about how to cut the cake, but my dad figured it out. My sister in law makes this recipe all the time, and it is always fantastic, so I thought I'd try out that recipe. It tasted different than hers, but still delicious.

Holly helped her daddy blow out the candles.

Happy Birthday, Karl. We love you!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2011-09-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

My dad's birthday was on Thursday, and we celebrated on Friday at my brother Johnny's. Johnny put out a great spread for dinner, and I thought I'd make a yummy but simple pound cake. I started with Martha's Classic Pound cake recipe, and added a swirl of raspberry reduction. I need to work on my swirl technique. I then added some of the reduction on top of the cake and added a simple raspberry flavored glaze on top of that. It didn't look very pretty, but I thought it tasted great. Very moist and dense.

Happy Birthday, Dad. We love you!!!!

E-A-G-L-E-S...EAGLES!!!!

2011-09-11T21:54:00.001-04:00

The Eagles first regular season game was today, and Matt invited his dad and brother over to watch the game. After searching through some magazines, cookbooks, and blogs, we came up with a menu that sounded delicious but simple. I'm really enjoying trying out new recipes lately, but Matt also made a request for something I only made a week ago....Cream of Mango Soup. I didn't snap a pic, but I'm sure you remember it from last week...

Next, Matt found a recipe for Parmesan Potato Skin Chips on Eatingwell.com. He had me at Parmesan...These were really delicious. Much lighter than traditional potato skins.

What is a football game without wings? We decided to try to switch it up a little, and found a recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken Wings in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine. Matt said that these were pretty good...I'll take his word for it.

We also wanted to make something as a "main" dish. Flipping through my cookbooks, I found a recipe for Individual Chicken Potpies from my Newlyweds Cookbook (give to me by our friends, Maureen & Andy, for our engagement. Funny enough, they had their second little girl today, Hadley Ann!) The recipe suggests cutting out monograms for the potpies, but I found a cookie cutter in the shape of an Eagle...usually, I make the desserts themed, but today, even the main course was themed! I was suprised at how easy this was to make. The recipe actually yeilded six of these, but I froze two for a future dinner for Matt and I...

For dessert, I wanted to use up the Hazelnuts that I had bought the previous week for the Gooey Chocolate Hazelnut cupcakes. Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook had a recipe for Hazelnut Chocolate Biscotti. My father is the king of biscotti making, and I've been nervous to try making my own because I knew they wouldn't be as good as his. I figured this recipe might be the way to go since they are a different flavor than he usually makes. As good as these were, they weren't my dad's....

Overall, the meal was delicious, and the Eagles won.

Finally, I want to say thank you to all of those who serve and have served our country and protect us on a daily basis, epecially...

My brother, Jimmy

My sister-in-law, Abby

My brother-in-law, Louis

My cousin-in-law, Jon

My friend, Mike

Also, to all of the firemen who run in burning buildings when everyone else is running out, especially my father, Chief John McGrath.

We will never forget...9.11.01

Gooey Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes and Orange Cupcakes

2011-09-03T22:52:00.001-04:00

This weekend, we went from having no plans at all to being booked! We were invited to a BBQ at a friend's house, and I was asked to bring cupcakes. I wanted to make something different but delicious. I recieved two new cupcake cookbooks from my godmother for my birthday, and I thought I'd flip through them looking for something interesting.

I have been craving freshly squeezed and zested citrus lately (if you couldn't tell from my previous post), and when I saw a recipe for Orange Cupcakes with Orange Blossom Buttercream Frosting, I knew I hit the jackpot.

Yum!

For some reason the batter seemed to have exploded in the oven. Not sure why they came out looking so funky.

I used my new Cricut Cutter to cut out little flowers and leaves. So easy, and I think they came out adorable. Can you see the little specs of orange zest in the frosting?

The next recipe jumped off the page when I read the word hazelnut. I have been craving Nutella lately!

I wasn't sure where to find hazelnuts, but the very nice guy in Whole Foods helped me find them. Gotta love the service there, even if the parking lot is ALWAYS a nightmare!

After making the simple batter, you add a dollop of Nutella in the center of the cupcake.

The icing was basically a hazelnut ganache. So.Freaking.Delicious. I decorated them simply with some chopped hazelnuts.

The center was very fudgy. Yum.

I wanted to make a cute presentation for my friends, so I grabbed two Janie & Jack boxes. They have adorable gift boxes that I try to swipe every time I'm in that store.

I wrapped the boxes with a simple ribbon and added one of my personalized seals.

Mike and Dave's daughter, Abby, enjoyed hers...well at least one bite before she was off to play!

Look at those curls!!

Thanks, Mike and Dave, for a wonderful afternoon!

p.s. We are also heading up to see Matt's aunt, and Luke's godmother, tomorrow in Long Island, and we are taking the other half a batch. Two birds...one stone :)

Lunch date....

2011-09-02T23:35:00.002-04:00

Matt's Uncle Rich was in this week visiting from Florida, so we invited him for lunch today to meet Luke. Coincidentally, a friend of his, Sr. Christine, was also in town, so we invited her, too. It was nice to see them both, and Luke was an angel. I wanted to make something light but delicious, so I searched through some old cookbooks and blogs and came up with the following menu...

Arugula Salad with Lemon-Parmesan Dressing

I added some shaved parmesan to this and it was FANTASTIC. My sister-in-law topped pizza with a similar recipe a few months back, and it was amazing. Try it. Immediately.

Cream of Mango Soup

In an effort to make this a little healthier, I swapped out the sugar for Splenda. Also, the mangos at the market didn't look quite ripe, so I found a bag of frozen mangos at Trader Joe's. It actually cut out a lot of time with cutting the mangos myself, and I don't think it affected the flavor at all. This was sweet and perfect. In fact, Matt polished off the leftovers as soon as our guests left! I tried to be fancy and swirl in a cream heart....

Cucumber Sandwhiches

This may be one of my favorite recipes. I LOVE cucumber sandwhiches and stumbled upon this recipe a few years ago. It is simple and delicious, and if it weren't for the fact that cream cheese and mayo are not the healthiest things in the world, I'd make this every day for lunch!

Start by scoring a cucumber with a fork.

Then slice them into thin rounds and soak them in water and apple cider vinegar.

Then mix cream cheese, mayo, worcestershire sauce, onion salt, and garlic powder together and spread on whatever bread you like best. I used a Canadian white bread from Trader Joe's. The recipe doesn't call for this but I like to add a few shakes of dill weed, then layer on the cucumbers.

Cut off the crusts then sprinkle with paprika, and you are ready to go. Yum!

Lime Meltaways

For dessert, I wanted to put out some fruit and cookies to just keep it simple. I flipped through my Martha Stewart Cookies Cookbook and found these little jems. They sounded light and summery, and since its the unofficial last weekend of summer, I went for it. These were suprisingly easy to make.

Something about fresh lime zest that screams summer to me!

No eggs in this recipe, so I felt free to try out the dough :)

Martha had the suggestion of using a roller to help roll out a log from the dough. I thought she was nuts, but it did work...

After baking for about 13 minutes, you let them cool slightly then toss in confectioners sugar.

These cookies are named perfectly. They melt in your mouth!

Something about a nicely set table that just makes me smile :)

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2011-08-27T16:08:00.001-04:00

For Matt's 31st birthday, I tried out my new Cricut Cake!

This thing is very cool, but it definitely has a learning curve. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but I think once I get used to it, I will be able to make some pretty cute things.

The Saturday before Matt's birthday, we drove to Allentown to visit with his grandfather who is in from Puerto Rico. Luke got to meet his great grandfather for the first time! It was a great day, and I made Matt's favorite cake...vanilla cake with vanilla bean frosting. I'm not sure what I did with the recipe, but the cake was a little dry. The icing was fantastic, though. Soooo buttery and smooth!

The directions for the Cricut say that gumpaste works best, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I think I like it a little better than fondant, but again, I need some practice with it.

Some of the more intricate designs need to be cut out at larger sizes...

This was Matt's first birthday cake that said, "Daddy."

He was extremely happy when Luke helped him blow out his candles.

Happy 31st birthday, Matt. Luke and I love you so much!

Jedi Jack!

2011-08-18T14:27:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Jack!

Our godson, Jack, loves himself some Star Wars, which is why he was thrilled when we named our son, Luke. When Jack walked into the room just a few hours after was Luke was born, the first thing he asked was, "Is he going to be a Jedi?" Needless to say, his fourth birthday was Star Wars themed. Again, Matt came up with a pretty neat idea for his cake...a Death Star! This time, even my dad got involved. He helped me roll out fondant and even designed the rivets in the bottom of the cake.

Matt was super excited to buy Jack a Darth Vader helmet. It actually is a voice changer as well. Matt had fun saying, "Luke...I am your father!" over and over again. Unfortunately, with Jack's skinny legs, he ends up looking a little more like
Dark Helmet from Spaceballs.

Even Luke got in on the action with a teeny tiny Star Wars onesie.

Happy 4th Birthday, Jedi Jack! May the Force be with you!!!

Go Phillies!

2011-08-18T11:51:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Connor!

Several months back, I was contacted through the fabulous world of Facebook by a friend of mine to make her son's 4th birthday cake. Kelly and I played basketball together in high school and even ended up at the same college. We have been out of touch for awhile, so I was thrilled and surprised when she asked if I could make a Phillies themed cake for Connor. Although the cake was needed for only a few short weeks after Luke was born, I couldn't pass up an oportunity to make a Phillies themed birthday cake. As you probably remember from posts past, my husband is a Mets fan. I am, however, not. And I am determined to make my child a Phillies Phan!!!

Kelly asked for a cake for the party and cupcakes to take home as favors. Conor is allergic to nuts and likes vanilla cake, so I made my simple vanilla cake recipe from my Magnolia Bakery cookbook. I will admit that the design of this cake is all Matt. For a Mets fan, he really got into making this cake (I think he's a Phillies Phan at heart!).

I cut all of the designs out of fondant for the cake and just piped on some red icing for the cupcakes. I think they turned out pretty good.

Kelly wrapped the cupcakes up in these adorable boxes and tied them with a pretty red ribbon.

I will admit here that I am terrible at covering entire cakes in fondant. I need a lot of practice. Because of that, I had a lot of cracks along the side of the cake. Matt came up with the great idea of covering oreos with fondant to make baseballs. Genius. Necessity is the mother of invention...

In order to cover up another large crack, Matt cut out this great MLB logo out of fondant. I think he may be better at this than me!

Happy 4th Birthday, Connor!

Speaking of the Phillies and trying to make Luke a Phillies Phan, we got one step closer a couple of weeks ago while on our way to visit my parents in Raleigh, NC. While waiting for our plane, the Phillie Phanatic and a few players were helping out at Southwest Airlines. Luke got in pictures with a few current players, a few past players and the Phillie Phanatic! He even made the local news...CHECK IT OUT!!!!!

Here is Luke with Larry Anderson, Gary Matthews and John Mayberry, Jr. A few weeks later, my brother and sister-in-law met John Mayberry, Jr. at a charity function, and he said he remembered Luke!! So cool.

Here is Luke and I with Shane Victorino.

And of course with the Phillie Phanatic!!!

It was such a cool experience that we ended up missing our flight! Luckily, Southwest Airlines was very gracious and put us on the very next flight and we were only an hour later than we originally planned.

GO PHILLIES!!!!

Holly turns 3!

2011-08-18T10:51:00.001-04:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Holly!

I'm sure you all remember Holly from birthdays and showers past...

Well, Holly turned three this year and decided that she wanted a "Pink Piggy" party. With some help from my mom, Matt and a baby who sleeps well, we were able to accomplish some cute cakes and cupcakes.

I will admit that in my new mom stupor, I messed up one of the batches of cupcakes, but we recovered and produced a small chocolate cake and two batches of cupcakes...one chocolate and one vanilla.

After mulling around some design ideas for a few weeks, my godmother stopped by and gave me a new cupcake book. Wouldn't you know, they had a cute idea for piggy cupcakes!? So, after a few modifications, this is what we came up with...

I was a little preoccupied in that Luke was less than two weeks old so I didn't get any pictures. Luckily, Matt was a little more on the ball and snapped these gems.

Happy Birthday, Holly... We love you!!!

So....Its been awhile....

2011-08-18T09:55:00.000-04:00

But I have a good reason....

Luke Alexander York was born on April 19, 2011 at 3:30 pm. At 8 pounds, 12 ounces, and 21.25 inches long, he was a perfect specimen of baby deliciousness. He is a happy little boy who has already brought so much joy and love into so many people's lives. (Bonus...he lets his mommy sleep most nights!)

Look at that tiny little face...

Although, not so little anymore....

Needless to say, this little guy has kept me pretty busy; although not busy enough to keep me from baking! Just too busy to blog about it. However, Luke is napping like a good boy right now, and I am determined to update you on all of my adventures. Hopefully, over the next few days, I will show you some of the cool things I have worked on, and over the next few weeks I will show you the new things that I will make with the very awesome present my parents bought me....

A Cricut Cake!!!!!

How cool is this? I will be trying this baby out this weekend for my husband, Matt's birthday. I can't wait.

Gender Reveal Cake

2011-03-10T14:00:00.001-05:00

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have three awesome older brothers who taught me the coolness of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, wrestling, and GI Joe. I learned to throw a baseball the correct way, to throw a punch without breaking my thumb, and how to box out for a rebound. I wouldn't change this experience for anything in the world, especially now that we still remain close, and I know my brothers would do anything for me. However, because of this overload of testosterone, girly things were not always on the top of my agenda, despite my mother's best efforts. Yes, I owned more Barbies than any one girl should, and my Barbie Dream House stood proudly in the basement. But no, there wasn't always someone in the house who wanted to play those things unless Superfly Jimmy Snuka was invited to the party. (Small side note--I'd like to give my brother, Jimmy, a shout out for always offering to play the Sweet Valley High Board Game with me...his only requirement was that he had to be Elizabeth or he wasn't playing!)

Enter, the blessing that was the Szelagowski Family. Three girls, all around my age, with an overload of girl toys and games, only two houses away. Mall Madness, Girl Talk Boardgame (sticker zits included), and Bop Magazine were always available. Doing each other's hair and playing "school" and "house" were on the agenda almost every day. I have very few memories of my childhood where this family was not involved.

Throughout the years, we've vaguely kept in touch, but through the wonders of facebook, we've now been able to keep abreast of each other's lives. All three girls have started beautiful families of their own, and its been wonderful to see what great lives they have been able to create for themselves. The middle daughter, Kate, started her own side business making all sorts of creative things, including headbands and bows for little girls as well as beautiful invitations, cards, etc. When I found out that I was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to ask her to create an announcement for our son when he was born. I emailed Kate, and she created ten of the cutest cards I could imagine! I can't wait for our son to be born and mail those beauties out.

Well, a few weeks ago, Kate announced that she was expecting a second child. She already has one adorable little girl who is Kate's spitting image. Kate asked if I would consider making a cake for her to reveal the gender of her baby. I, of course, said, "YES!" Last week, Kate had an ultrasound where she asked the technician to seal the results of the ultrasound in an envelope, which Kate delivered to me immediately. I was to keep my lips sealed for an entire week and then bake a cake tinted either pink or blue inside. I am so honored that I got to be part of this awesome suprise! I had a lot of fun making the cake and helping to celebrate the life of another Szelagowski grandchild!

I decided to turn to my trusty Magnolia cookbook and use the vanilla cake recipe. I love this recipe for its simplicity and fresh taste. The recipe calls for half self-rising flour and half all-purpose flour. I swapped out the all-purpose flour for cake flour, which I think makes it a little more tender and light. I also swapped out the vanilla extract for vanilla bean paste, to give it a richer taste. Also, there is something decadent about seeing all of those little vanilla beans in the batter! I also used the same cookbook for the vanilla buttercream recipe. Again, simple and delicious.

For decorations, I wanted something baby-ish that didn't necessarily give away the baby's gender. I was inspired by a cake that my co-worker's sister made for her baby shower...check it out at The Sunday Flog. I thought the buttons were a cute idea.

The buttons and letters were made from fondant dyed pastel colors.

My frosting job wasn't my finest. I have found that the most delicious tasting frostings don't always spread the best or most evenly.

I used round cookie cutters to cut out the circles, then a slightly smaller one to indent the edges of the larger buttons. The end of a straw was all I used to cut out the little button holes. Easy-peasey, as my godson likes to say.

I made sure to seal the box up with a label so that any peeking ahead of time would be obvious!

Have I mentioned that I love my labels?

The little girl with the adorable look on her face is the big-sister-to-be, Julianne. I love her expression in this picture. So excited to find out!

Its a.....

GIRL!!!!!

Kate said she was definitely suprised...she guessed boy. Congratulations to Kate and Jim Asher!! Thanks for letting me be a part of your celebration!

Superbowl Sunday

2011-02-07T09:42:00.001-05:00

What I learned today...

is that I shouldn't try to decorate things when I'm not in the mood/haven't had much sleep. We were heading to our friend, Jeff's yesterday for the Superbowl, and I had wanted to make cute football themed desserts. I found a recipe for peanut butter balls and thought I could turn them into footballs. Good idea, in theory, at least. They were not turning out quite football shaped and I couldn't get the white chocolate to pipe on correctly. I gave up.

The good news was that the boys at the party loved them, no matter what they looked like. I think Andy and Jerry were personally responsible for housing most of them!

I also wanted to make another bite size snack that wasn't too fussy but would be delicious none the less. I found a recipe over at The Pioneer Woman for Graham Cracker Cookie Bars. I happen to have all of the ingredients necessary and although they were a little sloppy to make, they were my favorite of the night.

Despite my lack of decorating skills yesterday, and my lack of sleep the night before, I had a great time at Jeff's and am glad for such good friends!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Arlene!

2011-01-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

A birthday cake for my "Summer Mom."

I spent many summers during my high school and college years living with my Aunt Arlene at the beach in Long Beach Island. She has been affectionately known as my "Summer Mom" ever since. We had dinner at her house to celebrate, and my uncle asked me to bring a chocolate cake. I decided to to pull out the Magnolia cookbook again, and I used the Devil's Food Cake recipe and the Chocolate Buttercream recipe. I think it turned out pretty decent. There wasn't much left of it at the end of the night, so I'll take that as a good sign. I wanted to keep the cake simple but pretty...

I want to use this picture as proof that the cake was straight at one point. I slipped on some ice in my driveway and the cake slid a little bit. By the time I got to my aunt and uncle's house, the cake was a little bit like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I am going to be helping my friend with desserts for her daughter's birthday in March, and i wanted to try out some flowers with fondant. I like the way this one turned out. I think I might try my hand at gumpaste over the next month...

Happy Birthday, Aunt Arlene, and thanks for a great dinner, Uncle Walt! Love you both.

Pizza Dough

2011-01-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned my bread maker around here?

So...you are probably getting sick of me mentioning my bread maker, but at least this time around, I'm using it for a different purpose. I made homemade pizza dough in it this time. Again, very simple to make and it made enough for a large pizza. The recipe has a few different variations that you can use, and I chose the one with whole wheat flour and honey. Quite delicious if I say so myself....

I want to learn to strech pizza dough like a pro. Mine always look lopsided.

The dough had a great color and texture.

I had some leftover mozzarella, asiago and parmesan cheeses. I shredded them all up to make a delicious Three Cheese Pizza. I will definitely be making this in the future!

Yet another snow day...

2011-01-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

Insane amounts of snow...

I don't think anyone expected that we would get 16 inches of snow last night. Craziness. After shoveling out all morning, Matt FINALLY got to work around noon. I, however, have the day off again! I decided to flip through my Magnolia Bakery cookbook to find a good cookie recipe. I never got to making Oatmeal Raisin cookies at Christmas since I was sick and didn't want to contaminate anyone. So, when I found a recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies, I couldn't resist. I love this cookbook because all of the recipes are simple and so fresh tasting. The peanut butter chips add an unexpected twist to the traditional oatmeal cookies.

The batch made just enough for me to keep some and take some over to my neighbors who helped us shovel out this morning.

The recipe called for 1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. I used 1 tsp and added 1/2 tsp of vanilla bean paste instead. If you look close, you can see the little bits of vanilla bean.

I also decided to finally try out a Vanilla Extract making kit that I bought at HomeGoods a little while ago. The kit basically came with a bottle and some vanilla beans in it....I could have probably just found a bottle I already had and bought some vanilla beans, but this was only $5 so I figured it was worth it. I'm thinking that if this works out, I might make a few bottles at the end of the year for Christmas gifts.

All you have to do is slice the beans in half, put them in the bottle and fill the bottel with Vodka. They say to store it in a dark, cool place and shake daily for up to two months. I've put mine in my hall pantry and will try to remember to shake it each day...somehow I think I will forget a lot.

Hope all of you on the East Coast are safe and warm today. Enjoy your snow day!

A slightly inappropriate post...enter at your own risk :P

2011-01-22T11:09:00.000-05:00

A swim team baby shower...

One of my bestest friends, Denise, asked me to make her a small cake and cupcakes for a baby shower her swim team is throwing for a teammate. She asked that it be swim themed but baby girl-ish, too. After about a month of googling, thinking and brainstorming, I came up with an idea for the cupcakes.

They asked for purple, hence the purple frosting.

The ducks are made of homemade fondant that took a little while to get to the right colors. I definitely recommend gel food coloring when using fondant. Much more vibrant colors. I used a food coloring pen for the eyes and to fill in the goggles.

When it came to the cake, I was going to make a bigger ducky to go on it, but after talking to Denise last night, she made a special request. This is what she came up with. Slightly irreverent but very hilarious. She swears the girl will find it funny, and I hope she does! I was hesitant to post this but I think the warning in the post title should be enough!

This cake speaks for itself....there are no words....

Here is everything all together. I hope the team has a great time celebrating the newest member of their swim team!

A review, and Happy Birthday, Jess!

2011-01-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

The Barefoot Contessa Rocks...

My friend, co-worker, and fellow gestatation buddy turned 27 this week, and I thought I'd make her a yummy treat to get through the long work day. I've had a box of cupcake mix from the Barefoot Contessa that my cousin gave me a little while ago. I've been wanting to try it out, but the box only makes 12 cupcakes, so I was waiting for a time when I only needed a half dozen. This was the perfect chance!

As I've mentioned previously, I'm not usually a fan of the boxed mixes, but this one was great. It called for real butter instead of oil that most boxes require. I also liked that it came with a mix for the buttercream frosting. Everything came out moist and fresh, which tasted delicious, but made it a little difficult to decorate. The cake was so light that when I went to decorate, some of the cake was coming apart. So, I had to stick with a simple design.

Can you see how creamy the frosting was? Soooo yummy. These were a mess to eat, but worth it! They were perfect to snack on after lunch!

Happy Birthday, Jess! I hope it was a great day! Next year, you'll get to celebrate with your adorable little girl!

Caramel Candy Brownies and another loaf of bread!

2011-01-15T23:45:00.001-05:00

Are you sick of the bread yet?

I'm certainly not...its delicious!

Friends of ours came for dinner tonight with their daughter, Everly. When Matt and I were engaged, Maureen and Andy bought us The Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook. Whenever they come, I try to use some recipes out of it to show them how much I love it. Everything I've made from this book has been fantastic. I decided on the following menu...

Appetizer:

Brie with Apricot Topping (from the Year of Slowcooking blog)

Main Course:

Stuffed Chicken Parmesan (from the cookbook)

Fetucine Alfredo

Broccoli with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts (from the cookbook)

Sun-dried tomato and mozzarella bread

Dessert:

Caramel Candy Brownies (from the bookbook)

Leftover Peanut Brownies (from my snow day on Wednesday!)

With some help from my parents, who are in from out of town, and Matt, dinner came together perfectly. That doesn't always happen for me when I try to make dinner. Something usually is undercooked or burnt or simply doesn't turn out the way I had hoped. I was lucky this time!

As you can tell, I'm still on my bread machine kick...

For once, the loaf looked different from the outside!

How good do those sun-dried tomatoes look?

The inside was moist and savory. The bits of tomato were a nice addition.

The caramel candy brownies were a recipe I've been wanting to try from the cookbook I mentioned earlier. The basic brownie recipe was different from other brownies I had made in the past, but came out pretty good. The authors of the cookbook said that you could use caramel candies or chopped up snickers. Who can resist a snickers? I certainly can't.

The desserts were a perfect ending to a fantastic meal and time with good friends. Thanks, Maureen, Andy and Everly. We hope you had a good time and can come again soon!

Another Snow Day!

2011-01-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned that I'm like a little kid on a snow day?

I'm lucky enough to work at a place that closes if it snows bad enough. I wake up extra early waiting for a phone call saying that our agency is closed. Usually, the phone call comes before 6 am. This morning, at 6:25 am, I thought that we were going to have to go into work. However, at 6:26, the phone rang! I couldn't be more excited. Its probably the only time before 8am when I sound alert and awake on the phone! I promptly went back to sleep for another two hours, then woke up to start my day. I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish today, and as of right now, I accomplished all but one of them. After I write this blog, I may go finish that up, just so I can cross everything off of my list. Why is it that crossing things off lists is so cathartic? I feel super productive!

A few of the things on my list had to do with baking, of course! As I mentioned previously, I normally bake cookies on snow days, but I need a little more time before I'm back in the mood for cookies after Christmas. For dinner, I decided to make chicken noodle soup in the crockpot, and make grilled cheese sandwhiches. That is one of my favorite cold night, comfort combinations. I thought I'd try to fancy up the grilled cheese sandwhiches by making my own loaf of bread. (Have I mentioned how much I love my new bread machine??) After flipping though the recipe booklet, I finally found a recipe for which I had all of the ingredients I needed. No way was I running out in the snow and ice to get more ingredients! I decided on Parmesan Peppercorn French Bread. Its sort of a joke in my family how much I love Parmesan. Everyone makes sure at dinner to get to the parm first so that I don't hog it all! Again, the bread machine makes it so easy to have a fresh loaf of bread in a few simple steps.

I should probably stop taking pictures of the whole loaf of bread...from the outside, they all look the same! However, if you look close, you can see the little bits of peppercorn.

The inside of the bread looks like a simple loaf of french bread, but when you bite into it, you can immediately taste the delicious blend of parmesan and peppercorn.

I sliced up some cheddar cheese and made the grilled cheese extra crispy. Grilling the bread really brought out more of the cheese flavor in the bread, and I thought it was the perfect combination! Here's a picture of my soup that I made as well. So simple to do in the crockpot. Just add some leftover chicken, chicken broth, carrots, celery, onion and seasonings (which ever kind you like...I used Italian seasoning) to the crockpot and let sit for six to eight hours on low. About 20 minutes before you are ready to eat, add any type of noodle you'd like to the pot. I used egg noodles. Voila! The perfect snowy night meal.

For dessert, I wanted to make something simple but different. I stared at my stash of cookbooks and decided to use my 101 Things to do with a Cake Mix cookbook.

I had a box of white cake mix that was dangerously close to its expiration date, so I flipped through until I found a recipe that called for white cake mix. I knew I found the perfect one when I saw "Peanut Butter Brownies." And better yet, the ingredient list was small and I had all of them!

All you need is:

1 box of white or yellow cake mix

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

2 eggs

2/3 cup of chunky peanut butter ( I didn't have chunky, only smooth, so I used that and then chopped up some peanuts to add to the mixture.)

1 1/2 tablespoons of milk (I thought the glaze was a little thick so I added a splash more of milk)

1 cup of powdered sugar

Add the first four ingredients to a mixing bowl, mix, and bake in a 9x12 baking dish at 350 degrees for about 16-18 minutes. As soon as you pull the dish out of the oven, mix your powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over the "brownies" until even.

I was nervous that this wasn't going to taste so great, but it definitely did. It sort of tasted like peanut butter cookie dough. I thought that I wouldn't like the glaze on top and wish that I had put some chocolate sauce over it, but the glaze complements it perfectly.

Alright, well, back to being productive and checking things off my list!

My new bread machine

2011-01-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

I think we may be eating lots of carbs over the next few weeks...

Mostly because I am loving my new bread machine from my mom and dad! So, before I show you what I've made so far, let me tell you the story of the bread machine. In early December, I visited my parents to do lots of shopping...my father is still feeling the burn on his credit card. One of the days, we went to the outlets and stopped in a kitchen store. There was a floor model bread maker there for a great deal. My mother had been saying that she wanted one for awhile, so my dad and she bought it. I was a little frustrated because my parents have this great knack for buying things right before the holidays, leaving their children in a panic figuring out what to get them for a gift! I proceeded to give my mother a great deal of grief about it over the next few weeks. Well, much to my surprise, I opened a bread maker from my parents Christmas Eve. Not just any bread maker, the one my parents had "bought for themselves." They got me! I sort of felt like an idiot for making fun of them for the past few weeks. Oops!

Anyway, I decided to try it out yesterday. After a few frantic g-chats with my sister-in-law, I finally figured out how to use the thing. It couldn't be easier! It even has a feature that you delay making the bread so that it will be warm when you get home from work. How cool is that?! You simply layer the ingredients in the machine, press the start button, then walk away. However, as my sister-in-law pointed out, its not so efficient when you keep staring at the thing, saying "What the (bleep) is it doing now?"

I decided to stick with the recipes from the manual to start. The first recipe I flipped to was a Pesto Bread. I had a little bit of pesto leftover in the fridge and thought I'd use it up. All I had to do was layer water, olive oil, pesto, sea salt, bread flour, sugar, and yeast into the machine, click on my desire settings and press the start button. A few hours later, this delicious loaf of bread was ready for the eating!

I chose the 1 lb. loaf option, since it was just Matt and I. However, if I choose the 2lb. option, does is just make the loaf taller? I may have to try it out and see...

Can you see the little bits of basil throughout the bread? So yummy.

I heated up some leftover marinara sauce last night, and we used it as a dipping sauce for the bread. This afternoon, during the Eagles game (tear...), I poured some spices and olive oil in a bowl to dip. Perfection.

This afternoon, I decided to try one of the sweeter recipes. Cinnamon Swilrl Bread fit the bill (and I had all of the ingredients on hand). I layered milk, butter, egg, salt, sugar, bread flour, and yeast into the machine and pressed start. After the last kneading cycle and before the final rise cycle, the machine beeps and indicates that you can add the cinnamon and sugar mixture. I pulled the dough out of the machine, removed the kneading paddle, rolled out the dough and poured the cinnamon and sugar evenly over it. Then, I rolled up the dough and put it back in the machine. An hour later, this lovely loaf appeared....

Looks a lot like the first loaf, until you cut into it...

Scrumptious cinnamon swirls! It worked! I don't know why I'm so proud of myself, I didn't really do anything..the machine did!

I can't wait to toast up a slice in the morning for breakfast.

If you've ever thought of making your own bread, invest in one of these puppies. So easy, and the bread comes out perfect each time. Expect lots of bread posts from me over the next few months. I can't wait to try a bunch of different reicpes. I think I may try to make a traditional white bread loaf over the next week. Perhaps we won't have to buy bread for Matt's sandwhiches anymore :)

Auntie Anne's Pretzels...

2011-01-08T17:23:00.001-05:00

Snow Day Baking...

I verged from my usual snow day baking routine. Usually, I bake cookies. However, I am a a little cookied-out after Christmas. So, I decided to try the Auntie Anne's Pretzel baking kit I bought a few weeks ago at the grocery store. It was on sale, and I thought I'd save it for the perfect day, which turned out to be today! These were so easy to make, and I have to tell you...taste EXACTLY like Auntie Anne's! I made mostly regular pretzels and a few cinnamon & sugar ones.

I got this on sale for $2.99. And it made a ton...not a bad deal, instead of spending who knows how much a pop at the mall!

The cinnamon & sugar pretzels. I made these ones a little smaller, and made a few less, since I knew Matt wouldn't eat them. More for me :)

Can you see all that delicious cinnamon & sugar?

Here are the plain pretzels. Matt LOVED them. I think he's willing to forgo dinner tonight in order to consume all of these.

The butter and salt really make these extra yummy.

Matt loved these so much that he wasn't so happy that I took a small plateful over to our neighbors. My usually generous husband was a little greedy! These were so easy to make that I may try to follow the recipe from my bread maker to make pretzels from scratch next time!

Happy 1st Birthday, Meah.

2011-01-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

Meah turns 1.

A friend of mine's niece turns one this weekend, and she and her boyfriend asked me to make a cake and cupcakes to commemorate the occasion. The only direction they gave was that she was turning one and she is very "girly." I did some googling and came up with a cute but simple idea. Again, I stuck with chocolate cake and vanilla cupcakes, since most kids like simple flavors. Again, I used Martha's Fluffy Vanilla Icing recipe, which I think is the easiest to work with and tastes fantastic. All of the other details are made of fondant...

Its snowing here, which always puts me in the mood for baking...

I think the look of the daisies is simple and cute.

I really wanted the cupcakes to coordinate with the cake, and I think it turned out great.

The cake...

The cute little teddy bear...I am digging teddy bears these days and have been wanting to do something with them on a cake...

I asked Matt to come up with a cake board for me since I ran out of them and didn't want to run out to the store in the snow. This is what he came up with. Cute, right?

Happy 1st Birthday, Meah!

Happy 6th Birthday, Kate!

2011-01-07T20:59:00.000-05:00

I feel old...

My girl Kate turns six on Monday. I cannot believe how quickly she's growing. She's a thoughtful, sweet, beautiful little girl who wanted a Unicorn Birthday Party. She asked for unicorns and rainbows on her cupcakes. This was actually more challenging than I thought it would be in terms of design. Ultimately, I think I did a decent job. From past experience, I've realized that its best to stick with basic chocolate and vanilla when it comes kids...any other flavors never seem to go over very well. I used the chocolate and vanilla cake recipes from my Magnolia cookbook, and used the chocolate frosting recipe off of the Hershey's cocoa box. I used Martha's Fluffy Vanilla Frosting Recipe, as well.

For the rainbows, I found Extreme Airheads candy and just bent them into the icing. Viola! Simple, but kind of neat looking.

For the unicorns, I did A LOT of googling to try to come up with something feasible. In the end, I combined a few different ideas to come up with the final product. I used white fondant for the faces and eyes, chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the horn, a black food coloring pen for the eyes and mouth, and tinted vanilla frosting for the hair. I ~~hope~~ think they look like unicorns! Hopefully, Kate will like them for her friend party tomorrow.

I boxed them all up in nice boxes and again used the label embosser that I received for Christmas.

Have I mentioned how much I love the embosser?

Kate's mom is making a cake for her family party on Sunday, but she asked me to make a unicorn to put on top of the cake. Not quite my best work, but the first time I've worked with shaping larger fondant figures. Matt helped me try to figure out how to do it, and I think the end product is okay....

I used a birthday candle for the horn...not sure how I feel about it...

Anyone out there have any tips or suggestions for how to shape figures out of fondant?

Happy 6th Birthday, Kate. We love you and are so proud of the sweet young lady you are becoming!

Bread

2011-01-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

Banana Bread and Garlic & Herb Bread

For Christmas, my mom and dad bought me a bread machine. I was super excited to try it out, but I got a little stalled when I realized that a small, but important, piece was missing. Cuisinart was fantastic and shipped it to me right away, but I went ahead and made some breads the old fashioned way. My in-laws were coming a few days after Christmas, and I thought I'd make a garlic & herb bread from my new Williams-Sonoma Bread cookbook. I timed it perfectly that it was still warm when I served it. I paired it with some dipping spices and olive oil. So delicious. There wasn't a slice left!

Can you see all of those delicious bits of herbs?

I also decided to make some banana bread with the over-ripe bananas left on my counter. My brother, Johnny, loves banana bread, so I thought I'd treat him as a New Years Eve gift :)

I used my usual recipe that I have written down on the back of an envelope...I have no idea where it came from, but it turns out yummy every time.

I thought I'd wrap it up nice for him and use my brand new label embosser that I received as a Christmas gift from my goddaughter, Caleigh. So cute, right?! Makes me feel like a pseudo-professional. I believe its from Williams-Sonoma.

The piece that I needed for the bread maker came in yesterday, so I'll post some breads once I use it!

Christmas Cookies!

2010-12-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

Some quality baking time with the cousins...

I had a great plan to do lots of baking during my week off before Christmas. I got off to a good start with cookie baking with my three cousins who live away at school. Laura, Rachel, and Hilary came on Wednesday and helped me bake up some delicious Christmas cookies. My plan was to continue baking more treats the next day, but inevitably, a cold decided to sneak attack me right before Christmas. Not wanting to contaminate my family with my germs, I decided to put some of that baking on hold until I'm feeling better. Matt's family is coming in this week to celebrate a late Christmas, so I'm hoping my symptoms subside enough for me to whip up some more holiday treats this week.

Thank goodness for my cousins on Wednesday, though! We made some great cookies that my family all enjoyed on Christmas Eve!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

The girls insisted that this batter was delicious. Due to the raw eggs, I was unable to try it out!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This is a Hilary specialty. She makes these every year for her family's Christmas party, and they are a huge hit. They never last very long!

Chocolate Chunk Macaroons

These were a new one this year. I had coconut, so I thought I'd try out a Martha Stewart recipe. I added the chocolate chunks instead of the traditional cherry. They didn't turn out very pretty, but they were very chewy and yummy....

Snickerdoodles

Surprisingly, these are my favorite this year! Very chewy and the perfect amount of cinnamon....

We also made chocolate chip cookies, which I didn't get a picture of. Hilary jinxed the cookies by saying that hers have been turning out flat lately. Well, of course ours turned out pretty flat! But they were still chewy and delicious...just didn't get a picture.

We also made the dough for some sugar cookies, which is still sitting in my fridge. Hopefully they will get made this week. So much for my plans of lots of baking!

After the girls left, I whipped up some Gluten Free brownies for a co-worker of Matt's. He has celiac disease, and I try to make him a baked good each year. I made brownies from a Red Mill mix, but some day I'll work up the nerve to try a Gluten free recipe from scratch. (If anyone has a great recipe I should try, please feel free to share!) I made them in my mini muffin tins so that he'll have the perfect bite size snack. I wrapped them up to go with the rest of his gift, and I think it turned out pretty cute....

Thanks for all of your help, Rachel, Laura and Hilary! I had a great time with you that day. Hope we can make it a new yearly tradition!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-12-26T18:10:00.000-05:00

Last year vs. This year

The ornaments I recieved last year certainly had a theme to them...

(Thanks, Mom!)

(Thanks, Aunt Arlene!)

(Thanks, Mom!)

And one from this year still held on to last year's theme...

(Thanks, Mom!)

This year's ornaments had a new theme....

(Bought this one in Bryant Park while shopping with my girls...)

(Thanks, Laurie & Dave!)

(Thanks, Mom & Dad!)

(Thanks, Dad!)

This little boy isn't even here yet, and he's already being spoiled! Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Snickerdoodle Mini Cupcakes

2010-12-19T14:23:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

My aunt and uncle host a Christmas party every year, which centers around Santa, who comes around the neighborhood on a firetruck. Its always a great time, and I get to see a bunch of cousins that I don't get to see nearly enough. I wanted to make something festive, bite-size and delicious. I decided to flip through Marth Stewart's Cupcake Cookbook and see what would inspire me. I saw the Snickerdoodle Cupcakes that I've been wanting to make for awhile. I changed up the recipe a little to make them mini cupcakes. It also forced me to make Martha's Seven Minute Frosting, which has always intimidated me. It requires egg whites, corn syrup and a candy thermometer...all things that usually intimidate me. I don't have a candy thermometer, but I seemed to be successful without it. I think on a cake, this frosting would be way too much but on a mini cupcake, it was perfect. These cupcakes were light and cinnamony (I know, that's not a word), and I think perfect for the occasion.

I should have cut this recipe in half as it yielded almost 100 mini cupcakes! I took some over to a neighbor, and will also be taking some today to a Christmas Tree Trimming Party.

Merry Christmas! I hope you all have peaceful and happy holidays....

Congratulations, Lauren and Shawn!

2010-12-19T14:14:00.001-05:00

A work wedding shower...

My coworker and friend, Lauren, is getting married on New Years Eve. We decided to throw her a small shower at work to celebrate the big day! Lauren is using a shade of purple for her wedding colors, so I thought the Lavendar Brownie Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcake Cookbook would be perfect. First of all, the brownie recipe is to die for. So. Flipping. Delicious. Then, the lavendar icing added such a subtle spice punch. Fantastically indulgent. Martha added sugared edible flowers to the top, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. So instead, I simply piped the Bride and Groom's initials onto them. Not as pretty.

The recipe says that it should yield 24 cupcakes. After making one batch, it seems to only yield 12. So, I had to make another. Turns out I just put too much batter into each cupcake liner. I used the same scoop I use for regular cupcakes, and I think I should have used about half that batter. However, still delicious...

Congratulations, Lauren and Shawn. Can't wait to rock out with you on New Year's Eve!

Happy Birthday, Erika!

2010-12-19T14:04:00.001-05:00

To be 25 again...

Our friend, Erika, celebrated her 25th birthday last weekend. Although she isn't a big dessert person, she still needed a cake to blow out her candles! I made some vanilla cupcakes with Hershey's Cocoa frosting....simple and delicious. For the cake, I made a devil's food cake with chocolate ganache icing. It didn't turn out quite as pretty as I had hoped, but Oh Boy was it delicious! Perfect dessert for a late night party!

I topped off the cupcake with a chocolate covered sunflower seed. Looks purple in the picture, but it was actually pink...one of Erika's favorite colors.

I found these decorative cake wires at Michael's and thought they might be fun. I topped them off with some sparkly baubles. The only problem was that my battery to my camera died while I was taking pictures, so this is the only one I got of the cake...

He'll be handsome, like his daddy!

2010-12-06T17:27:00.001-05:00

Its a BOY!!!!!

We found out the day after Thanksgiving, and I immediately started crying of happiness. I suspected all along that it was a boy, and I was right! I spent the following week in Raleigh, NC with my parents buying the little guy lots of argyle sweater vests and other adorable clothes. He's going to be one well-dressed little boy!

I promise this little boy will learn to bake...my brothers and dad aren't too shabby at it, and I'm determined that he will know how to bake, too!

p.s. I promise to post more this month...lots of Christmas baking to do!

Pink and Purple Peace Cupcakes

2010-12-06T16:57:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

You remember my girl, Kate, right? Well, one of her besties is Amanda, and Amanda celebrated her birthday in November. Her mom asked me to make cupcake favors for her birthday party. The only directives she gave me was pink, purple, hearts and peace signs. I had fun making these and think they turned out cute. I hope Amanda liked them, too!

The birthday party was at Build-A-Bear, which doesn't allow cake in their store, so Amanda's mom wanted to give them as favors. I found these awesome boxes at KitchenKrafts.com. Very cute!

Baking more than cupcakes...

2010-10-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

So, I have a small reason why I haven't blogged in awhile...

I've been baking my own little cupcake. That's right...Matt and I are expecting our first child in April! We're very excited and cannot wait to meet him or her. I'm sorry I've been so neglectful of the blog, but any type of baking or cooking has been a little difficult with all of this morning sickness, which they should call all day sickness! I've been feeling much better lately and am looking forward to baking lots of new things in the kitchen.

Needless to say, I've been coveting this shirt for awhile now!

Pink themed baby shower

2010-10-24T12:23:00.001-04:00

Pink, pink and more pink...

A few weeks ago, my cousin, Karen, aka my best customer, asked me to make a small cake for a "Sprinkle" she and her friends were throwing for their friend, Deb. The only theme I was told was "pink" since this will be her first girl after a few boys. I've been wanting to try a quilting technique I have seen, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Since these ladies are classy people, I didn't want to "baby" the cake up too much with storks and bears and such. I just wanted it to be pretty in pink. I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and topped it with pink fondant and candy pearls.

I told my cousin to tell people not to look to close. Its like a Monet, from far away, it looks pretty, but up close its a big old mess. (Bonus points if you get the movie reference).

I love the quilting technique and hope to perfect it in the near future.

I had some leftover ribon and a cake box. I always think it makes it extra special when it arrives in a nice package!

And the mommy-to-be. I've never met you, Deb, but I'm sure your little girl will be precious! Congratulations!

Happy 30th Birthday, Jennifer!

2010-10-24T12:03:00.002-04:00

I love the 80's!

One of my bestest friends, Jennifer, turned 30 in August, and her sisters and friends decided to throw her a totally awesome 80's suprise birthday party. Not only was I excited to celebrate Jen, my mind was spinning with ideas for the desserts! I thought about this party for months and couldn't wait to get started.

This is the first time I've used fondant in such large quantities. I decided to try out Duff's line at Michael's and used a lot of his products. I have to admit, I loved most of them. Well, except the white fondant. Awful. When I opend the package, the fondant was liquid! I don't know if I got a bad batch or what, but I was definitely disappointed. I will stick with my homemade recipe for now. However, the black fondant was fantastic. Also, I used some of his cake tatoos. They were fun to use and worked well for the tie dye cake.

First, we have Michael Jackson gloves and neon RayBan sunglass sugar cookies.

Next, we have a Rubix Cube chocolate cake!

Miss Pacman chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting.

Simon vanilla cake.

The total package.

The cake for Jen to blow out her candles. Neon tie dye cake!

The inside of the cake..so much fun to make.

And finally, the fabulous Repetto sisters, all decked out in their 80's gear (Jennifer is on the right). Jen was completely surprised, despite my bad acting trying to get her there. And her sisters picked her the perfect outfit for her to change into once she arrived. Happy (belated) birthday, Jennifer! We love you!

Happy 30th Birthday, Matt!

2010-10-24T11:45:00.001-04:00

Very belated at this point, but...

better late than never, right? I've had some technical difficulties, but it hasn't stopped me from baking...only blogging. Sorry for the two month delay since my last post!

Anyway, my fantastic husband, Matt, turned 30 in August, and we celebrated him by enjoying his 30 favorite things. Included in that list is friends and family. We had our loved ones over to commemorate the awesomeness that is Matthew. Also on the list was vanilla cate and argyle, so I combined the two and tried to make an argyle cake. Its not my best work, but pretty cute. I want to attempt it again in the future, but perhaps a little better...

I can't remember if I've showed you my cute cake stand before...I think its summery and fun!

My brother, Jimmy, and sister-in-law, Abby, took the theme of Matt's favorite things to heart when they bought his birthday gift. If you've ever seen Parks and Recreation, you will understand. They made him a Ron Swanson gift package including Omaha Steaks, Scotch, Cigars and a photograph of Ron Swanson himself. I don't think Matt could have received a more perfect gift!

Happy Birthday, Matthew! I love you and I hope you enjoyed your week!

Cherry Pie

2010-08-09T21:51:00.000-04:00

My cousin, Hilary, is going back to school next week, and my aunt and uncle invited us for dinner. I wanted to make something summery (is that a word?) to take. Matt suggested cherry pie. I couldn't find a recipe I loved so I (nervously) tried my own. Cherry almond pie. I used an almond crumb crust from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and used two bags of frozen cherries, a few teaspoons of cornstarch, a half cup of sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract. I put all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and heated until it started to get thick. Then I poured it in the shell and topped with the remainder of the crumbs. Then baked at 350 degrees for an hour. I was nervous to take it, but it turned out great! This gave me a little more confidece to try my hand at creating new recipes. There was only one small piece of pie left at the end of the night, so I'll take that as a good sign. Very summer, not too sweet, and perfectly baked. Delicious!

I started to put the crumb topping on when I realized that I should probably snap a picture of the filling.

Look at that delicious filling!

That beautiful pie dish was a wedding shower gift from Hilary herself...

The crumb topping really made the pie. I think this might become my go-to pie recipe from now on...

See you at Thanksgiving, Hilary! We love you and will miss you!

Happy 30th Birthday to Us!

2010-08-09T21:37:00.002-04:00

Several months ago, four of my best friends and I decided to spend a weekend at the beach celebrating us, our 30th birthdays, and over 15 years of friendship. That's right. This year marks that fact that we've known each other for over half of our lives. That makes us old. Well, me anyway, since (as my friends continued to remind me all weekend) I am actually the only one who has turned 30 so far. The rest will fall in line in the fall...I can't wait. In celebration, I made some cupcakes honoring us. I have to admit, though, that I took the easy way out and killed 3 birds with one stone. Not only did I have to make the cupcakes for the weekend, I needed a dozen for Matt's co-worker's son who recently had surgery. Also, I was having lunch one day with a friend of mine who lives in Massachusetts, and I wanted to give her some to take home, as well.

Anyway, I used Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe and her Dark Chocolate Frosting recipe. I'm not bashing Martha, but I hated her dark chocolate frosting recipe. I couldn't seem to get it thick enough, so I put it in the fridge, but then it was too solid to work with. So frustrating. I was finally able to make it usable but I'm not sure I'll be using that recipe again in the future.

Katie and I had a great time catching up at lunch. I cannot wait for next year when she moves back to the Philadelphia area.

Matt's co-workers son, Matt, is doing well now. He's a brave kid.

Each of my best friends on black fondant. I didn't take great pictures, but the liners were black with white polka dots.

Sorry for the poor quality pictures...

And here we are getting ready to go out to dinner on Saturday night. From left to right: Tara, Jen, Lauren, Me, and Denise. I love these girls and wouldn't know how to get through life without them.

Scallion Corn Muffins & Bailey's Irish Creme Creme Brulee

2010-07-30T08:53:00.003-04:00

Our friends, Erika and Jeff, came over for dinner last night. It was a late dinner since a few of us had to work late, but it was nice to spend the night eating and chatting away. It was a simple but delicious menu...

Appetizers: Bacon Cheddar Toasts and Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomato, & Pesto Torte

Main Course: Oven-fried buttermilk chicken, Cucumber, Shallot & Celery Salad, and Scallion Corn Muffins

Dessert: Bailey's Irish Cream Creme Brulee

Yep, I did it again...I successfully made Creme Brulee again! This time, added with the Bailey's, it was fantastic. I stole the recipe from The Happy Housewives Club. Simple and perfect.

(I forgot to take pictures last night, so I found this picture online...looks very similar to what we had!)

The entire main course, I took from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food June 2010 issue. It was the perfect late summer meal...light and refreshing. This was my first attempt at cornbread. I'm definitely going to make cornbread more often. This was so simple to make! It came together in a snap and tasted delicious. The scallions really added some depth to the cornbread.

Can you see the little bits of scallion?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares

2010-07-25T20:00:00.000-04:00

As I was flipping through my Martha Stewart's Everyday Food looking for ideas for dinner, I found this recipe for Salted Toffee-Chocoate Squares in the May 2010 issue. I thought, "That sounds good right about now," but I really did not feel like venturing out during a thunderstorm to get the ingredients. To my surprise, I actually had everything I needed in my kitchen! These were simple to assemble and quick to make and the perfect blend of salty and sweet. This was the perfect snack for a Sunday afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Johnny!

2010-07-25T19:44:00.000-04:00

My brother Johnny's birthday was on Tuesday, so we decided to celebrate by having one of his favorite meals last night....tacos. Johnny, my sister-in-law, Abby, and my cousins Karl, Claudine and Holly came for dinner. It was a nice, low-key night with lots of laughs and delicious food. Johnny is not one for birthday cake but is a huge fan of banana bread. Holly won't eat anything called bread, so instead, we were calling it banana cake. I think she was upset that there was no icing! As soon as we sung Happy Birthday, she just started yelling, "I need a plate! I need a plate!" HILARIOUS! I used Martha Stewart's recipe for banana bread but ommitted the walnuts since Abby is allergic to nuts...I think I like it better without the nuts. Also, I added cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. I like it a little spicier...

Banana "cake" all ready for singing.

Can you see all of those delicious spices?

Holly was excited to sing! She did a great job helping Johnny blow out the candles.

The table all set for dinner...

Happy Birthday, Johnny. Love you!

Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Cream Cheese

2010-07-24T22:26:00.001-04:00

Sounds gross, right? WRONG!

As you've read in the previous post, we stayed at our friends Sean and Shira's home in California last weekend. They were awesome hosts, and Matt and I wanted to repay them in some way. Shira had printed out a recipe for Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Cream Cheese that she found over at the Cupcake Project, which had both Sean and Matt drooling. As I mentioned previously, Sean shares my affinity for cupcakes, but he also works for MillerCoors and enjoys the occasional beer. And what guy doesn't love bacon? On Sunday morning, I woke up early, headed to the grocery store to buy ingredients and Sean's first muffin tins. By the time Sean and Shira woke up, Matt and I had the cupcakes just about in the oven. It smelled fantastically like beer cheddar soup while baking. Sean helped make the icing and waited not too patiently to taste the final product. I was reluctant, seeing as I don't even like bacon. But I have to tell you...they were great. We each had way too many...

Sean and Matt had way too much fun making the bacon.

Of course, we're all from Philadelphia, so we had to use Philadelphia Cream Cheese!

Sean enjoyed helping...

The Final Product.

Sean, Matt & Shira enjoying their breakfast...

Our trip to San Fransisco....

2010-07-24T21:57:00.001-04:00

Food, food, and more food...

You may have noticed that I haven't been around all week. Matt and I headed to San Fransisco for a long weekend to attend my cousin Timmy's wedding. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with our fabulous friends, Sean and Shira. Their hospitality was much appreciated. We spent time in the city, went to a Giants game at AT&T field, went to the beautiful and fun wedding, then went up Mount Diablo in VERY HOT weather. All in all, it was a great time. We got to see lots of friends besides our lovely hosts and lots of family members.

We were in San Fransisco for more than a day when I realized that most of my pictures were of food. When Matt pointed it out to me, I thought, "Yeah? What's wrong with that?!" We started with lunch at Boudin in Fisherman's Wharf. None of us spoke during lunch. We were too busy enjoying our sourdough lunches! Before we even ordered our sandwhiches, I was oogling the bread animals on display.

How cute are these guys!?

Next came our fantastic meals. Matt and our friends, Sean and Shira, ordered the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. I took a simpler approach and ordered a grilled cheese. It was the most delicious and satisfying grilled cheese I have ever eaten. I'm assuming that the murmuring and grunting coming from everyone else meant that they enjoyed their clam chowder.

Best. Lunch. Ever.

Then we headed over to Ghirardelli Square and checked out Kara's Cupcakes.

Sean and I were the only ones to indulge as he shares my affinity for all things cupcake. Each of us struggled to decide which one we wanted to try, so we decided to order three and split them.

(Left to Right) Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Ganache, Java and Key Lime Pie.

Seeing as I am usually devoted to Chocolate, I assumed I'd have to choose between the Peanut Butter and the Java. Turns out, Sean and I both agreed that the Key Lime Pie was our favorite. It was light and refreshing with a graham cracker crust. YUM!!!

Can you see that delicious key lime center?

Finally, we had a great time at Tim and Meghan's wedding. They are a super fun couple who have a lot of style while knowing how to have a good time. This could not have been more evident than in their favors and cake!

Gum Ball machines as favors. So cute!

The design of their cake matched their invitations, which were designed by the bride.

How cute are the twinkie bride and groom!? Meghan and Tim really know how to have style but throw in a little whimsy at the same time.

Overall, it was a great weekend, although way too short! Congratulations, Tim & Meghan, and thanks for the hospitality, Sean & Shira!

Happy 60th Birthday, Mrs. J!

2010-07-18T16:42:00.001-04:00

Swimming Pool Cupcakes

One of my best friends' mom turned 60 this week, and her children decided to throw her a pool party. Denise asked me to make "pool" themed cupcakes for the occasion. After some googling, I found this idea. I think they turned out pretty cute! I used the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa can and made Martha's Fluffy Vanilla icing tinted blue. I used fondant, Teddy Grahams, gummy LifeSavers, and candy fish I found at HomeGoods for the decorations. I hope the party was a success. Happy Birthday, Mrs. J!

Chic Click Carnival

2010-07-11T17:45:00.001-04:00

Chic Click Carnival...

Hi, y'all. This week I'm participating in Chick Click Carnival. I'm a therapist by day, wife and baker by night. Cupcakes are my life. My favorite post this summer so far is probably Jack's Robot Party.

My new favorite blog that I've found is Its Sew Fun! Lots of ideas for projects that I'll probably never get to!

Want to find a new Peep? Go ahead and CLICK!

Creme Brulee

2010-07-10T19:09:00.000-04:00

I finally made a decent Creme Brulee!!

Seriously, I've tried to make creme brulee several times, and it never works out quite right. Its either not done, too done or just plain gross. There was the time I tried to make a triple chocolate creme brulee for my friend, Katie, and her husband...we call that chocolate soup now. Or the time I tried to make pumpkin pie creme brulee and forgot to add sugar. Creme Brulee and I have had a difficult relationship. Until today...we made ammends. I stuck with a simple vanilla bean recipe out of the cookbook that came with my torch that I bought several years ago with dreams of weekly creme brulee in my head. The only part that didn't quite work out was that all of the vanilla beans were on the bottom of the ramekins instead of mixed in with the custard. Hmmmm.....any ideas on how to fix that?

A nice crispy crust on top.

Creamy deliciousness in the middle.

Late night snack

2010-07-10T08:58:00.000-04:00

Rice Krispie Treats with Peanut Butter & Chocolate

Matt and I had a "date" night last night. I made vegetarian Sloppy Joe's, and we watched "Friday Night Lights." Big night out for us, right? After dinner, we were both looking for something sweet, so I started looking through the most recent issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. On the very last page, she had this recipe, and I just happened to have all the ingredients! I've googled this recipe and couldn't find it for you all, so I thought I'd share with you here. It comes together very quickly...if you can make Rice Krispie Treats, you can make these.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish

4 cups miniature marshmallows (I only had regular marshmallows on hand and it seemed to work fine)

1/3 cup creamy peaut butter, preferably natural

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil, for pressing

1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1/4 cup chopped, roasted & salted peanuts

Directions:

Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In a large pot, combine marshmallows, peanut butter, butter, and salt. Cook over medium, stirring, until melted, about 4 minutes. Add ceral and stir to combine. With a wooden spoon (I used a rubber spatula...no difference) greased with cooking spray or oil, press half the cereal mixture into dish. Spread half the melted chocolate on top. Repeat with remaining cereal mixture and chocolate; sprinkle with peanuts. Cut into small squares and enjoy!

I stuck the dish in the freezer for a few minutes to set up so we could eat them right away!

Since we were impatient and wanted them asap, these were SUPER gooey and messy. Seriously. I looked like a toddler eating birthday cake.

Buttermilk Cupcakes

2010-07-07T22:19:00.000-04:00

Book Club!

Book club is tomorrow night, so I threw together some cupcakes for us to enjoy. I decided to try Martha Stewart's buttermilk cupcakes with Hershey's chocolate frosting. Can't go wrong, right? Only problem is that it made 42 cupcakes...my coworkers will be very happy when I come in tomorrow with leftovers.

My mom and I found chocolate covered sunflower seeds at HomeGoods the other day, and I thought I'd try to do something cute with them. It didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would, but cute enough, I guess.

I found these liners at Michael's a few weeks ago. I love the brown and turquoise damask design.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos. Its late, and I just want to go to bed!

Oreo Cake

2010-07-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

Lots of baking in one weekend...

So, my third and final post of the day! You may remember that my friends, Maureen & Andy, had bought me the Oreo Cake Mold from Williams Sonoma a few months back. Considering that we were heading to their house yesterday to see some out of town friends, I thought I'd give it another whirl. This time, I followed the recipe on the back of the box. This cake is a little different in that it is a little drier and sturdier than most cakes...but it tastes just like an oreo cookie! I followed the recipe for the icing, as well, but I crushed up some oreos and mixed them in. We weren't able to hang out long enough to try the cake, but hopefully we'll get a report back that it tasted ok!

Doesn't that frosting look delicious?

Blueberry Muffins

2010-07-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

I wish Laura could come for breakfast more often...

My lovely cousin, Laura Beth (she may get mad at me for adding the "Beth" part), lives in Indiana with her husband; therefore, I NEVER get to see her. She was in visiting her family in New Jersey and was gracious enough to squeeze us in! I made the quiche I made for Mother's Day, some fresh fruit with yogurt, and blueberry muffins from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. The muffins were fantastic! Very simple to make and very fresh tasting. Laura stated that she liked the "blueberry to muffin" ratio... I just through in an entire pint of blueberries without looking at how much the recipe called for. I loved the crunchy tops. There are only three left, and I'm going to rush home to get a final one before Matt polishes them off!

Check out those giant blueberries!

Don't you just love my new cupcake stand? It spins! My mom bought it for me at HomeGoods a few weeks ago. I absolutely love it.

And more Paula Deen cupcake liners. So sweet...

By the way, Check out Laura Beth's blog. Her writing is so eloquent and thoughtful that she always makes me wish I could express myself as well as she can.

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-06T14:59:00.001-04:00

Lemon Cupcakes

My brother and sister-in-law were nice enough to host breakfast and lunch/dinner on Sunday. I offered to bring a dessert, but I wanted something that would be refreshing on a HOT summer day. I've been trying to bake my way through Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook, so I found her Lemon Meringue Cupcakes recipe. I changed it a little though because I didn't feel like making the 7 Minute Frosting. I made the Swiss Meringue Butter Cream instead. It was also my first time making Lemon Curd. I was a little intimidated, but it was so simple! These cupcakes were delicious. Her recipe is very similar to her buttermilk cupcakes, but with a lemon twist. YUM!

Can you see that beautiful lemon curd? Its tartness really tasted great with the butteriness (is that a word?) of the frosting.

A word to the wise...these cupcakes do not travel well, especially on hot days. They sort of slid...oops.

I found these liners in the dollar bin at Michael's. They are from Paula Deen's line. So cute.

This is Sammy. Her mommy regularly reads this blog, and I thought she'd love to see Sammy's picture up of her eating the cupcakes! So stinkin' cute.

Martha's Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

2010-07-03T09:52:00.000-04:00

Drive-by posting...

I had just gotten in from a long day of shopping with my cousins, sister-in-law, and aunt when Matt called and said his cousin, Doug, was stopping by on his drive home. We hadn't seen him in a few months, so it was a great surprise. I wanted to make something quick for us to enjoy for dessert, so I flipped through my Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook and saw Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies. Jackpot! I hadn't made this recipe yet, so I was excited to try it. It was very simple to throw together at the last minute and was delicious!

My swirling technique leaves a little to be desired, but you get the idea.

If you are interested in the recipe, check it out here on Martha's website.

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

Cute Cupcakes. All The Time.

2010-06-29T07:35:00.001-04:00

I've been featured again!

Twice in a week...I'm excited! Cute Cupcakes. All The Time featured my cupcakes and cake from Jack's Birthday Party today! They were kind enough to feature my snowman cupcakes awhile back, as well.

Thanks, Cute Cupcakes!

Vanilla Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-06-28T22:04:00.000-04:00

Magnolia strikes again...

We had a few stressful weeks at work waiting for some budgets to be passed and funding to come through. I thought we could all use a cupcake to cut the tension. I've been wanting to try some more recipes from my Magnolia Bakery cookbook, so I made vanilla mini cupcakes and their white chocolate cream cheese icing. So delicious and simple. I think that's why I love their recipes. Simple, fresh, and very few ingredients. I didn't have any white chocolate on hand, but I did have pink chocolate wafers that I used for Everly's Christening Cupcakes. I figured it would help me skip the step of adding food coloring I love the way they turned out. I topped them with jewel colored glitter jimmies that I found at HomeGoods a few weeks ago...Gotta love HomeGoods!

All Things Cupcake!

2010-06-28T09:09:00.001-04:00

I've been featured!

I received a notification over the weekend that the cupcakes I made for Tiffany's shower were going to be featured on All Things Cupcake blog. Check it out!

ETA: Maureen just sent me some pictures from the shower. They looked great on the tables!

A blast from the past...

2010-06-25T10:12:00.003-04:00

Claudine's Baby Shower

As I was looking through old pictures online today, I found a cake and cupcakes I had made two years ago that I can't believe I haven't posted. Remember Holly? Well, before we knew she was Holly, we had a book themed shower for her mommy, Claudine. We asked everyone to bring a book for Holly's library. I found an adorable little icon of a little girl reading a book and we used it on EVERYTHING!

I found a Wilton Cake pan in the shape of a book, and took the photograph to the local grocery store bakery, and they printed it out on an icing sheet for me to use on my own cake. I've since found out that they will not do this anymore. If you do want to try the icing sheets, there are a few vendors on Etsy.com that will print things for you. This cake isn't my best as I was still learning to pipe and decorate, but ok for a first shot, right?

For the cupcakes, we tinted the icing purple (Claudine's favorite color) and printed the little girl graphic on labels then wrapped them around toothpicks. Again, towards the beginning of my cake decorating exploration.

It was a fun shower, and its strange to think that we didn't even know how adorable and sweet Holly was yet!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2010-06-25T09:45:00.006-04:00

Celebrating four years of marriage...

That was the best moment of my life. I had finally married the most wonderfully handsome and loving man in the world in front of our entire HUGE families in my childhood church. I cannot believe it has been four years since that awesome day. Who knew that in only four years, we could already become the "Old Married Couple?" That, we are. Some people may celebrate their anniversaries with gifts, fancy dinners out or vacations, but we're a little more low key than that. Matt took the day off from work, and I took a half day. We spent the afternoon reading, watching the World Cup, playing cards, and sitting on the front porch watching a thunderstorm roll by. The weather was the exact weather we had four years ago...hot, humid and thunderstorms!

We knew that we'd make dinner together, and Matt suggested homemade pizzas on the grill...sounded great to me! I found a recipe for basic pizza dough on the food network website. Emeril Lagasse's Basic Pizza Dough recipe was so simple to make that I don't think I'll buy frozen pizza dough ever again.

Before Rising...

During Rising...

After Rising...

I don't know why but the science of rising dough always makes me laugh because I think of Alton Brown's explanation of yeast and how it works. I keep picturing the burping molecules.

As you can see, our pizza dough tossing skills leave a little to be desired. We decided to make four different types of pizza so we could sample each. Needless to say, we have plenty of leftovers now.

My first one had olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, green peppers, mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil.

Matt's first was a buffalo chicken pizza...BBQ sauce, roasted chicken, mozzarella, and garlic.

Matt's second had tomato sauce, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and mozzarella.

My final pizza was plain...just tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan.

We decided to try the pizzas on the grill. I read somewhere that it makes it taste more like brick oven pizza. It was a nice night out (after the thunderstorm passed) so we went for it. We used our pizza stone instead of putting them directly on the grill...we weren't that confident in our pizza making skills to not make a mess!

The results were fantastic! The dough was perfectly cooked. I think we'll use the grill all the time now when we make pizza!

How great does that dough look?!

For dessert, I made some Black Forest Brownies from a mix my mom got us on clearance at Target last week. My mom is super thoughtful and knows how much Matt loves brownies and cherries. Finding a mix that combined both, she couldn't resist :) I have to tell you, they were so fudgey and delicious! I've become sort of a brownie snob since I started making Martha Stewart's Fudge brownies from her Baking Handbook, but these were great.

Can you see the juicy sour cherries? The combination was so unique and scrumptious. If you find these at target, BUY THEM!

Anyway, it was a fun and relaxing anniversary...just the way we like it. Matt broke the rules a little bit and bought me some flowers. When I yelled at him, telling him he wasn't supposed to, he said, "Big Whoop. I bought you flowers." I thought it was a big whoop! They are beautiful. Thanks, Matt, for a wonderful day and a fun four years. I love you!

Jack's Robot Party

2010-06-18T21:23:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday (Again) Jack!

Jackie (aka Robot Boy) turned three on June 1st but his party isn't until tomorrow. Jack has been asking for months for cupcakes with robots on them. Matt and I had a whole idea ready to go last night about how we were going to make a robot shaped cake and cupcakes. Well, when I went to bake today, my oven was not cooperating. It kept turning off in the middle of baking, which caused two of the small cakes I was making to collapse in the center. I got super frustrated and decided to go with a much simpler idea. I used his invitation as inspiration....

I made a chocolate half sheet cake and swiss meringue butter cream. I cut the letters and robot out of leftover fondant. I also decorated around the edges of the cake with chocolate buttercream that I made for the cupcakes.

It wasn't what I originally wanted to make, so I'm a little disappointed. Hopefully Jack will like it anyway.

I did not think that the cake would be enough for the large party tomorrow, so I decided to make cupcakes as well. I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate meringue frosting. I had found silver jimmies (sprinkles for those of you not from Philly) at HomeGoods a few weeks ago, so I thought they'd be perfect for the robot theme. I dipped the cupcakes in the silver jimmies, then I had no idea what to do. My mom and Matt helped me stare at the cupcakes to come up with an idea. We tried putting eyes and a mouth on them that looked like the eyes on the cake just in a smaller form. Well, the eyes ended up looking more like deviled eggs. Then we tried to put red instead of yellow at the center of the eyes. Then it looked the GEICO money. Finally, my mom had the idea of doing robot silhouettes on each of the cupakes. I think they turned out pretty cute.

It is supposed to be VERY hot tomorrow, and I'm a little worried about the cupcakes and cake melting on the way over to the party. What do you do to keep cakes from melting and falling apart in the summer time?

Congratulations, Molly!

2010-06-13T19:36:00.002-04:00

Cake success and fail on the same day...

My cousin Molly graduated on Friday from Bishop McDevitt High School and will be attending LaSalle University in the fall...our alma mater! LaSalle is where Matt and I met twelve years (eeek!) ago, and I think Molly will do great there. Molly's mom asked me last week at the family reunion to make 2 dozen cupcakes--half Bishop McDevitt themed, the other half LaSalle themed. I thought, "No problem!" Little did I know that the baking gods were not working with me this morning. I baked 2 dozen vanilla cupcakes and while cooling, the cupcakes pulled away from liners. CAKE FAIL! After a little bit of googling, there are two possibilities as to how this happened. Either, the cakes weren't fully cooked or the oven is heating evenly. My guess is that its a combination of both. I'm always worried about over baking cakes, and our oven has been acting weird lately.

Needless to say, I had to start over and make another batch. This time, I made sure to bake them a little longer and rotated the cupcake pans more often. The results were much better! I made swiss meringue butter cream icing and tinted half of it yellow for the LaSalle cupcakes. Have you ever had an idea in your head that you just couldn't make happen in reality? That's what these cupcakes were like for me. They turned out cute enough, but just not what I had in mind. I've seen lots of cupcakes rimmed with sugar, and I thought it would be fun to try. Somehow, it just didn't turn out the way I wanted them to.

Sorry the pictures are so dark. It started to storm like the world was ending right as I was finishing up, and I just could not get the lighting right. (Not-quite-right seems to be the theme of the day).

The cupcakes, luckily, tasted pretty good. Molly said they tasted very fresh, which I always like to hear! Holly really liked the icing and even conned her Poppy into giving her his icing...Poppy just ate two plain cupcakes! After devouring the icing, Holly said, "These are good. Matt made them!" She proceded to tell everyone that Matt made the cupcakes and kept thanking him! Needless to say, Matt didn't correct her!

Congratulations, Molly! You'll have a great time at LaSalle!

CORA Cupcakes

2010-06-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

Beef, Beer, & Cupcakes

I work at a not-for-profit agency called CORA, which provides emotional, educational and prevention services for children and families in need. Like most not-for-profit agencies lately, money is always an issue. Therefore, CORA is sponsoring a Beef & Beer fundraiser tonight at a local bar. If you aren't from Philly, you probably have never heard of a beef & beer. Its self-explanatory really. Roast beef sandwhiches and beer are served at a local pub or union hall and partying ensues. It is a great way to raise money, and we are hoping tonight will help our budget at CORA out a little bit. CORA employees are providing desserts, so I thought I'd make some cupcakes with a CORA theme.

I made devil's food and butter vanilla cupcakes with fluffy vanila icing. I had leftover blue fondant and tinted some leftover white fondant a burgandy color. If you check out CORA's website, you'll see that I took inspiration from our CORA emblem.

I hope people enjoy them after a long night of drinking, dancing and donating!

Family Reunion

2010-06-06T00:27:00.000-04:00

Strawberry Cupcakes

We had a small family reunion on my mom's side today. Lots of cousins that we haven't seen in years. Despite being 85 degrees in a park, it was a good time. I had a ton of strawberries left over from the cake I made the night before, so I thought I'd try Martha Stewart's swiss meringue buttercream. I used the same recipe for Strawberry cupcakes from Patricia's birthday, which Matt has been begging me to make for a few months now. Too bad he's out of town until Monday (I saved him one). I also wanted to try out some Food Tattoos I picked up at Michael's a few weeks ago. They were really easy to use and very cute; although, I think they would have looked cuter on vanilla icing.

The pureed strawberries in the frosting really made it taste fresh and summery.

These are the tattoos I bought at Michaels. Very easy to use. I saw that Duff from Ace of Cakes started a line of cake baking items including cake tattoos. I'm dying to try all the cute designs.

Kate and Jack liked the look of the cupcakes. Jack tried the icing and said, "YUM!" But a few seconds later he said, "I don't want it, I don't like strawberry." So, I don't think I can trust Jack's critique.

Happy Birthday, Timmy!

2010-06-05T19:00:00.001-04:00

A Philadelphia Union Birthday Cake

Our friend Timmy is turning 30 this weekend, and his wife decided to throw him a surprise party. Although, Matt definitely cannot make the party, and I may not be able to, I wanted to make a cake for him. His wife, Jess, clued me into the fact that his favorite cake is strawberry shortcake. I was very excited at this news as I have been dying to make a strawberry cake of some sort. Matt helped me decide on the theme of the cake, which is the logo of the Philadelphia Union Soccer team. Timmy is a big soccer fan and has gone to several games of the new team. I really hope he likes it!

I made a basic pound cake recipe, used fresh strawberries with a little sugar for the filling, and made a swiss meringue buttercream frosting. The fondant took a long time to tint to the appropriate colors. Who knew navy was such a hard color to dye? To finish it off, I dipped some strawberries in white chocolate and surrounded the bottom of the cake with them.

How good do these strawberries look?

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Fondue!

2010-06-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

Book Club...

This month, we read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I really enjoyed reading this book, but the group was split on whether they liked it or not. If you like murder mysteries and can stomach some graphic descriptions of abuse, you will enjoy this book. Despite a slow start, the book is a quick read.

Anyway, onto baking. I hosted book club this month, and I wanted to make something easy but different to enjoy. The other week, I started to crave fondue, and I thought, "Duh. Make fondue for book club!" I made two cheese fondues (is that the plural of fondue? Or is it like the word moose? Who knows...don't judge me) and one chocolate fondue. The first of the cheese course was a spicy parmesan fondue and the second, a cheddar beer fondue. I chopped up lots of bread, carrots and apples to dip. YUM! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture. Sorry :(

The Chocolate Fondue was a simple chocolate fondue recipe from an article I ripped out of a Rachel Ray magazine. I bought some rice crispy treats, strawberries and apricots and made some brownies, chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies for dipping.

See those brownies in the corner of the first picture? Those are actually Raspberry with Cabernet Wine Brownies. Yep, you read that right. What could be better than raspberry, chocolate, red wine and brownies? My good friend, Patricia, bought me this mix for my birthday a month ago, and I've been saving them for book club. She bought the mix at a craft fair that our employer was running. (She got shushed at the craft fair for laughing too loud. Clearly the person didn't know that this laugh is Patricia's trade mark). I'd love to be able to hook you up with a website of wherever this brownie mix came from, but I could not find a website on the tag. Have any of you seen this brand before or know where I could get a more of it?

The recipe called for only a cup of wine, so we drank the rest of the bottle during book club with these wine glasses that I found at HomeGoods a few weeks ago. I couldn't resist. I just found them way too cute.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

2010-05-31T18:23:00.001-04:00

Happy Memorial Day!

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm on a cookie kick lately. I've been wanting to try out some new recipes. Today was no different. We've been home from the beach since yesterday afternoon with no real plans for the day so I thought I'd try a recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookie Cookbook...Grammy's Chocolate Cookies. These are delicious and simple to make. The dough requires refrigeration for an hour, so don't make them if you are in a rush. I thought I'd share the recipe with you, since I really thought they were delicious. This recipe is a great "go-to" recipe since most bakers having all of the ingredients already in their pantry...

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Sanding sugar, for rollings

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flattened disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls (I used a 1 inch cookie scoop). Roll each ball in sanding sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (I used silpats), about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes (I baked 9-10 since my cookies were smaller).

These cookies are chewy and sweet. As much as I'd like to eat a ton of them, they are so rich that one or two hit the spot.

I put them in my cookie jar, which I hope to use more often. My dream is to be that mom who always has fresh baked cookies in her cookie jar. Someday...

Happy Memorial Day/Jack's birthday!

2010-05-28T12:42:00.002-04:00

A weekend at the beach...

I've been lucky enough to have a wonderful aunt and uncle who allowed me to freeload off of them for many summers when I was younger. They have a beautiful beach house on Long Beach Island, and I spent many teenage summers working, sun bathing, and swimming in the ocean. Now, as an adult, they are still as generous and invited us to spend Memorial Day weekend with them. I offered to bring desserts, and they asked that I make some cupcakes to celebrate their grandson's (our godson's) third birthday, which is Tuesday. I decided to attempt to combine the celebrations and made red, white and blue star cupcakes. I made a chocolate fudge cake recipe and Martha Stewart's Dark Chocolate icing. The icing is certainly rich and smooth but a little difficult to work with since its a little runny. I think the butter may have been too soft, and I didn't allow the chocolate to cool enough before combining it into the icing. I'm hoping it will set up a little better as the day goes on, but we'll see.

I used a basic fondant recipe for the stars and numbers and some left over star sprinkles.

I found the cupcake liners at HomeGoods a few months ago. Aren't they adorable? This particular brand (which I am failing to remember the name of and have already thrown out the wrapper) is quickly becoming my favorite cupcake liners. They are thick enough that you don't need to use cupcake tins, and the colors stay bright and visible, even after baking.

I hope Jackie likes them!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-05-28T12:30:00.002-04:00

An American Classic...

Who doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie? Simple. Delicious. Enough said. I, like most people, was using the recipe off of the back of the Nestle Tollhouse bag of chocolate chips. Although they made for decent cookies, I was getting frustrated by the inconsistency of the batter. Sometimes they were soft and chewy, but most of the time, they were crisp and spread out too much on the cookie sheet. I decided to go for a new recipe. Martha Stewart's Chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. I compared the two recipes, and Martha's called for the same total amount of sugars, but decreased the white sugar and increased the brown sugar. After some reseach, it completely makes sense. Brown sugar contains molasses, which is what gives a cookie its chewy texture. They turned out FANTASTIC. Perfectly chewy and delicious. Martha's recipe also calls for course salt, which I thought was strange at first, but after tasting the cookies, I realized that it reallly cuts the sweetness and adds a nice taste. This will now become my "go-to" chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Christening Cupcakes

2010-05-22T19:52:00.002-04:00

God Bless Everly Grace...

Remeber Miss Everly? Well, she was baptised today in a gorgeous heirloom gown that her mother, uncle, and grandfather all wore. Everly's grandmother called me a few weeks ago and asked if I could make cupcakes for the occasion. Well, she left a voicemail at home, which Matt ~~on purpose~~ accidentally deleted. After some research, I found her number and was able to call her back. She asked for some pretty chocolate cupcakes as the cake she was ordering was vanilla; however, she gave me free reign as to how to decorate them. Seeing as Miss Everly is so pretty, I knew they had to be pink! I used a chocolate fudge cake recipe and Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Butter Cream. I topped them with pink chocolate crosses and light pink sugar pearls. So sweet and dainty...just like Everly. The cake, in my opinion, was just ok, but the frosting was delicious! If I didn't know how many sticks of butter went into one batch, I'd probably eat it out of a bowl with a spoon!

I found the mold for the chocolates in the stack of ones my mother gave to me a few years ago.

Here they are displayed next to the beautiful cake at Everly's Grandmother's house...

They seemed to be a hit as there were very few left at the end of the afternoon...

Mother's Day Brunch

2010-05-09T15:14:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day

Matt and decided to host a brunch for our mothers and brothers for Mother's Day. Despite the brunch being easy to prepare and set up, it was delicious. I honestly think I could have gone into a food coma.

Here is the table and the counter set for breakfast. I don't have a dining room; therefore, sometimes, we need to make people sit at the counter.

Here are the desserts. I made Citrus Orange Pound Cake Cupcakes with Citrus Orange Buttercream Icing. I'd like to say that I made the cookies, but I didn't. I was going to make something similar to these, but after walking around Chestnut Hill with my mom, aunt, and cousin on Saturday, we stopped at The Night Kitchen Bakery. They had these cookies there, and I thought, well...that'll do.

Strawberry scones...my first attempt at scones.

More pictures of the set up. Here is the buffet of food and the main table.

Paula Deen's Praline French Toast Bake. So easy and so unbelievably delicious. The only problem with this was when the pan overflowed in the oven....smoke city.

Bacon Cheddar Quiche. I wish I had more of this because it was the only thing we had run out of...

Oh, and the strawberry almond salad. Very summery and yummy.

Mom and my brother, Johnny, were the first to the buffet.

Ben was a good sport, and sat at the counter...

We definitely had plenty of leftover cupcakes as most people were too full to partake. (Well, except for Jimmy and I. We took an eating break, then soldiered on). Everyone, therefore, got to take some home in these cute boxes.

My 30th Birthday.

2010-05-09T14:46:00.000-04:00

No longer in my 20's...

I'm not going to write a ton because I'm sure my sister-in-law will write in detail about this cake on her blog, but I wanted to show you the AMAZING cake she made me for my birthday this year. I wish I had a more adequate word, but amazing is the only thing coming to mind. So delicious and rich, I loved it. Oh, and she added pink...what more could a girl ask for?