Groom's Cake

For my brother-in-law's wedding, I put together a 3-tiered Funfetti cake.

 My mother-in-law, Robin, had previously baked off the layers, wrapped each one in cellophane, and stored them in the freezer. Due to some unforeseen circumstances (it wouldn't be a wedding without them!), she was not able to put it together the night before, so she called on me! It was an honor and lots of fun :-)

It helped that the cake was frozen when I was shaping it and frosting it.

 Thankfully I remembered to put down strips of wax paper underneath the cake so the platter didn't get coated with too much frosting.

Look how cute it looks next to the real wedding cake. The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, and Jon and Steph had their Funfetti cake!

Thanksgiving II

To round out our Thanksgiving Holiday, Craig and I had Hang, Frank, Bill, Mike, Carrie, and little Blair over for a round 2! Frank looks forward to cooking a turkey every year and this was his chance. He showed up Sunday morning with his turkey brined and ready to go! He bathed the turkey overnight in a saltwater bath of citrus fruits, herbs, spices and the secret special ingredient...soy sauce! Frank expertly cooked the turkey at 500 degrees for 30 mins., just to brown the skin. Then he covered it with a triangular piece of foil and baked it at 350 for about 3.5 hrs. He didn't open the oven even once...what patience! It all paid off because it was the BEST turkey any of us have ever had. Seriously. He gave some credit to Alton Brown, but really, it was all Frank.

To add to the feast, I made Sausage and Sage Stuffing and Apple Crisp.

Sausage and Sage Stuffing courtesy of Real Simple Magazine.

I used a loaf of Sourdough instead of Italian. I also used Mild Italian sausage which a gave it a little kick! I cut the bread into about 1-1.5 inch pieces. Craig said he liked the larger pieces of bread.

The Apple Crisp was my own recipe...it was awesome served with vanilla bean ice cream and warm caramel sauce!

Apple Crisp

12 medium Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, diced

6 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 stick butter, cold, cubed

Topping

1.5 c. oats

1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 stick of butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Divide the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon into 2 skillets. Cook on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes until soft. (If you do not cook the apples through in this step, you will end up with liquid in the bottom of the apple crisp.)

3. Spoon apples into a buttered 4 qt. casserole dish and dot with 1/2 stick of butter.

4. Mix dry topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Then mix in melted butter. Sprinkle on top of apples.

5. Bake 45-50 mins until the top is brown and crisp.

6. Serve with ice cream and warm caramel sauce. Serves 8-10.

Hang's contribution was a delicious Green Bean Casserole. She said she got the recipe from Paula Dean, but I know Hang put her own special touches on it! She also made some incredible mashed potatoes which she diligently peeled for Craig. Also some canned corn :-)

Craig's contribution were some artfully crafted deviled eggs which served as our appetizer and cranberry sauce which went so well with the turkey.

Ah, what a way to end the Thanksgiving Holiday! Back to work tomorrow!

Thanksgiving I

So, this year for Thanksgiving day we went to our friend Dan's house in Hollywood. Going to Dan's has become a tradition about four years ago. I brought up two new dishes...Cheesecake-filled Pumpkin Cupcakes and Cauliflower Gratin.

Cheesecake-filled Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine

These cupcakes were really rich! The cake part was easy to make. However, it was my first time making butter-cream frosting and it was a lot of work. Definitely worth it for a special occasion like Thanksgiving though. I honestly didn't realize how much butter went into frosting! I doubled the recipe and made 24. But 12 was really all that was necessary since they were so decadent. Also, I tried piping the frosting through a ziplock bag, but it wasn't turning out very well, so I ended up just frosting them with a butter knife.

Look how thick the frosting is! So good!

Cauliflower Gratin Recipe courtesy of Real Simple Magazine

I used two bags of frozen cauliflower instead of fresh. I just defrosted them in the microwave first. I also used Monterey Jack instead of Cheddar. I mixed in 1/2c. shredded Parmesan into the Panko brad crumbs. Also, I didn't have any fresh parsley, so I used about a Tbsp of dry parsley. This turned out amazing! Just make sure to serve it nice and warm.

First Blog

Hello Bloggers and blog readers. I've spent all weekend checking out food blogs. I love seeing pictures of food and reading about the messes and successes. I also love to bake and try out new recipes. So, I decided I will try out my own blog to share my creations with the blogging world!

I was watching the reality TV show, "Chefs of Beverly Hills". They were making stuffed cabbage. It reminded my of my mom's polish stuffed cabbage. I haven't had it in years! She would roll a beef and rice mixture into the cabbage leaves, bake them on low, and serve with boiled potatoes and butter. I found an Ina Garten recipe which I plan to make in the future. You can find the recipe here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/stuffed-cabbage-recipe/index.html. She puts raisins in the meat mixture--sounds like it could be a nice balance between sweet and savory.

Another recipe I plan to make is a red velvet cheesecake bars. I saw Sunny Anderson making this on the Food Network. She calls it red velvet swirl brownies. It combines two of mine and my husbands favorite things--how could it be bad!

More to come!!!!!!!!