Happy Birthday Chica... and a review...

Today my baby girl is 19 years old! The time has certainly flown by. It seems like just yesterday she was born. It was the wee hours of the morning and I didn't sleep at all after her arrival. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was perfect. I had never known I could love someone so much, until that very moment.



I asked Tawny what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday this year. She requested an almond flavored cake, that was decorated with bright pink and bright lime green. That was actually the same cake she requested last year. But last year, I had a hard time tinting the frosting and instead of bright colors, ended up with something more suited to a baby shower. She gave me a do-over.

Even though she requested that cake, I knew she loved those big cupcake shaped cakes. You know the ones... they look like a big cupcake!

Anyway... I needed to buy a pan.

This pan.


I could only find this at Michael's, since I waited until the last minute to buy one... but they wanted $35 for it!!! I could buy it for $20 on Amazon... AND get free shipping. I was really bummed about such a big price difference. But I was shopping with my friend Erin, and this caught her eye!!



Edible Cake Tattoos??!!! And in fun brightly colored animal prints!!! Those would be PERFECT!!!

They're by Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes at Charm City Cakes.

Duff has a whole line of stuff to make cool cakes at home! He has loads of Buttercream Fondants, Fondant Cutters, all kinds of Decorating Icings and Gels and Flavored Sprinkles, plus lots of other cool cake stuff. The clerk at Michael's even said that Duff's buttercream fondant is totally yummy... unlike that Wilton fondant.

I would definitely be considered a cake novice and honestly, was a bit nervous that I couldn't make the cake look cool, even with step by step decorations. But I knew Tawny would think this cake was awesome... so I decided to give it try.

For this cake, I had to bake two 8 inch cakes and two 6 inch cakes.


I opened the Edible Cake Tattoo package and this is what was inside.


They almost looked like fabric strips.

Time to frost the cakes.

Remember, when it comes to cakes, I'm definitely a novice. This time, I decided the cakes were flat enough to just use as is... but the next time I try this, I'd definitely trim the cakes so they were flat. I did trim one of the 6 inch layers. But I was worried if I trimmed the cakes, I'd need to trim the tattoos and I wasn't sure if I'd end up just making a huge mess.

I definitely could have trimmed them, the tattoos would have fit and after working with them, I feel pretty confident I could have easily trimmed them, without making a mess, if needed.



Place the tattoos on the cake.


They go on very easily. You do have to be gentle with them, because they will tear easily, but not so easily, if that makes sense.

There's a white border around each tattoo where the print ends. On white frosting, it totally blends in. But where the seams meet, you'll want to trim it down to the print, so you can't see the seams on the cake.

Tattoos applied!


Time for decoration. I used Duff's Icing Pouches.


The consistency of these pouches was a little thinner than I would have liked. Also, it was impossible to get the first two or three inches of icing that came out of the pouch mixed. So you definitely don't want to start out directly on the cake.

Once I got the feel of it, it was ok. But I think next time, I'd make my own icing, so I could control the thickness. Actually... only if I can get those vivid colors. I have a REALLY hard time with that. Plus, with my own frosting, I could use a much wider variety of decorating tips. I have a pretty nice set of tips, but you can also get a pretty nice set from Duff!

With my slightly rounded cakes... and trying to get the hang of the thinner than I like icing... this is what I ended up with.


I think it's a pretty decent likeness... especially for someone who just doesn't have much experience with cake decorating.



It's hard to tell in the picture... but those are zebra, tiger and giraffe candles. I found them over the summer and knew I would use them on Tawny's birthday cake. They just happened to fit in perfectly!





So how does all of this stuff taste you ask?

Not bad at all!

Well... I tried some of the extra tattoo when I trimmed it. By itself, it almost doesn't taste like anything. Everyone liked the pink icing from the icing pouch. I didn't try Duff's cake mix or butter cream icing.

I was a little worried that while cutting the cake, the tattoos would kinda drag and pull, but they sliced perfectly. And when they adhere to the frosting, you really don't even notice any tattoo taste or texture. They kinda become part of the frosting. They're pretty cool!



I have to say I'm very excited about Duff's line of cake decorating products. Stay tuned for Spryte's Adventures in Fondant... coming to a computer screen near you...

As for you Tawny.

Happy Birthday bonita chica! You have grown into a lovely, talented, strong young woman, who is loved very very much. I'm so proud of you. I love you pretty girl!! Happy Birthday!! Love, Mom ♥

Crescent Chili Cheese Dog Boats

So it was October 4... but my kitchen calendar was still on September.



I bought some crescent rolls over the weekend and had planned to make these, just not on a stick.

Bob was walking through the kitchen and said, "mum, you should make those, but without the rolls" I told him that I was making them... but with the rolls, just no sticks. Weird that he'd ask for them on the day I planned to make them. I hadn't mentioned my dinner plan to anyone.

Then Jon happened through the kitchen and said that I should make those but add chili. Again, weird, because I didn't tell anyone what I was making.

Oh! That sounded really good!!

It's usually a 50/50 guess if Bob will want chili on a chili dog and that day, he passed and asked if he could just have hotdogs with cheese.

Lilly is eating a vegetarian plus fish diet these days, so they didn't fit the bill for her either.

Tawny is away at school. She probably would have had one, but would have asked if I'd only put half a hotdog in hers.

Anyway... what seemed to be totally kid friendly food... and only Jon and I wanted any of it!

Crescent Chili Cheese Dog Boats
1 package crescent rolls
4 hotdogs (your favorite kind)
1 can of chili (or your own homemade)
shredded cheddar cheese

Carefully unroll the crescent rolls. Separate the dough into 4 rectangles and pinch the seams through the middles closed.

Spoon a little chili onto each rectangle. Top with a hotdog and then some cheese. Pull all the corners of the dough towards the center and pinch to seal. They won't close all the way... add more cheeses to the opening.

Bake in an oven preheated to 375F for 12 to 15 minutes. Until dough is golden.

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is what you need.


Carefully unroll the dough to make 4 triangles and pinch the center seams to seal.


Add some chili.


Add the hotdogs.


Some shredded cheese.


Pull the corners toward the center and pinch to seal.


I noticed they were lookin' a little empty... so I decided they should have more cheese.


That's better!

Then into the oven for 12 - 15 minutes, until the dough is golden and everything is heated through.


These were so easy!


Mmmmm... melty, cheesy, chiliy goodness... wrapped in crescent dough!

Win!

I think the October recipe is Garlic Stuffed Olives baked in some kinda dough. I'm not typically an olive fan, with the exception of Erin's Olive Cheese Balls OMG DROOL... so I probably won't be making the October recipe. But maybe I'll change the calendar in a timely manner and November will have a cool recipe. We'll just have to wait and see!

Pumpkin Mudslide

It's finally fall! My favorite season! Hmmm... maybe my favorite season is winter... I'm not sure, I just know that I love fall! Gone are the hot humid sweaty sticky days of summer and they're replaced with cool days, cooler nights, leaves changing color and the smell of fireplaces burning in the evening.

It just makes me want to inhale deeply, close my eyes and say "ahhhhhhh".

My sister, Jeannie has a cocktail for every occasion. She made Pumpkin Mudslides this weekend... what sounds more perfect for fall than a Pumpkin Mudslide?

Pumpkin Mudslide
Equal parts
Pumpkin Spice Schnapps or Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur
Kaluha
Vanilla Vodka
Splash of milk (however much or little as you like)

Shake with ice and enjoy!!

The first one I tried had Pumpkin Spice Schnapps.



The second one had Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur.



These are both wicked good!! But if you make it with Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur, it really does taste just like pumpkin pie!

I highly recommend you give this a try in the very near future!!

Happy Fall!!

Root Beer Cookies

Hey look who it is! I'm back twice in one week!

I bookmarked this recipe about a year ago. It's been just sitting in my favorites, patiently waiting for me to finally decide it was time to make them.

I'm not sure how I happened to browse to it. But I found it on a Betty Crocker blog, who noted it was from the Minneapolis Star Tribune Food Section.

My son Bobby LOVES root beer. He drinks gallons of the stuff. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them.



Root Beer Cookies slightly adapted
Cookies
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flat root beer
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon root beer extract or concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons flat root beer
2 teaspoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon root beer extract or concentrate

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream together, butter and sugars. Add eggs and mix. Add root beer, root beer concentrate and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, until just combined.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for 9 - 11 minutes. Cool on rack.

For icing, whisk together all ingredients and spread over completely cooled cookies.

Enjoy!

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Ok, first what you wanna do is make the root beer flat.


I poured it into a glass and just stirred until most of the bubbles were gone.


Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.


Cream butter & sugars, add eggs, then rootbeer, rootbeer concentrate & vanilla.



Mix in flour until just combined.


Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets.


Bake for 9 - 11 minutes at 375F.


Cool on racks.


To make icing whisk together all icing ingredients and spread over cookies. I think next time I might leave out the butter. I think the icing would look a little smoother without it.



These cookies were really good! I wasn't sure what to expect from a root beer flavored cookie. I've only had root beer or root beer flavored candy; but never a baked good.

For the concentrate... since I was having a hard time finding it, I was going to just cook down some root beer until it was a thick sticky syrup, but since I had never seen the concentrate, I wasn't sure if that would work. Now I think it would have been totally fine. So if you're having trouble finding the concentrate, you could try to just cook it down from root beer.

Before icing the cookies, I tasted one. I wanted to see how much root beer flavor was in the cookie itself, because I was thinking they might be better with a vanilla glaze to make them root beer float cookies. The cookie itself had a mild root beer flavor, so you do definitely want to use the root beer icing. I was a little nervous about the icing too. I tasted that on its own and it was really strong. I was afraid it would ruin the cookies, but it was really perfect! They totally taste like root beer cookies!

If you wanted to try to make a rootbeer float cookie, I think maybe you could swirl the root beer icing with a vanilla icing. I'll have to experiment with that the next time.

But everyone really liked these. At first I was thinking.... "yeah, they're good, but I probably won't make them again." It was mostly the novelty of them. But they really are good! And they're really different. They're be great for a cookie exchange. Something than the same old sugar/chocolate chip/butter cookie.

If you like root beer, I highly recommend you try these!

Hotdogs & Beans aka Saturday Night Supper

Hiya! I know last time I was here, I said I'd be around more, then I promptly fell off the face of the Earth! As it turned out I had an unexpectedly, unbelievably hectic summer and did almost no cooking at all. Just ask my family... they'll totally back me up on the no cooking thing!

Anyway, I'm back! I think. I kinda hesitate to say that again. But well, here I am!

Soooo.... I was out on Saturday at Market District in Robinson to see FoodTV's Aarón Sanchez do a cooking demo and get him to autograph his new cookbook. He's totally my favorite Chopped judge.



That was a fun time. Aarón commented on how well stocked the grocery store was. While I was in line waiting for an autograph, I noticed they do have a very well stocked meat department.



I wasn't looking for Python... but if it hadn't been $30 a pound, I definitely would have tried some!

But after the demo, I figured in this extremely well stocked grocery store, it would be easy for me to find Root-beer Concentrate and Malted Milk Powder. I needed them for a couple of new recipes I wanted to try over the weekend. Those aren't really unusual ingredients. But do you think they had either of them? No. They didn't.

But on my way out of the store, I noticed they had B&M Brown Bread!


That instantly made me think of Saturday night suppers growing up. I say suppers, because back then, that's what we called it. I don't think I really use that word anymore, now it's always dinner.

Anyway, growing up just outside of Boston, hotdogs and beans was a very common Saturday night supper in our house. I don't really remember actually having Brown Bread... but definitely remember the hot dogs & beans. Mum always boiled the hotdogs. I know many of you are totally cool with that... but I don't ever want to eat a boiled hot dog again. Fried, grilled, baked, microwaved, just not boiled. I really have no reason for this, other than boiling meat just seems wrong.

But not being able to actually recall consuming the Brown Bread prompted me to give Mum a call this morning to ask if we had it. She said that she never made it, but that my sister and I probably had it at Grammy's house. When we were little, Saturday night was date night for my parents, so we spent most Saturday nights with Grammy & Grampy. I only remember steamed clams (drool), HeeHaw, Lawrence Welk and All in the Family... so I emailed Jeannie to see if she remembered the Brown Bread. She didn't either. But Jeannie's not a big bread eater to start with. So I have no idea why Saturday Night Suppers popped into my mind at the first glimpse of B&M Brown Bread, but it did!

I snatched the can off of the top shelf and headed over to the baked bean section. Of course I had to have some B&M Baked Beans to go with the Brown Bread. Do you think they had any B&M Baked Beans? Nope! Not a single can! So I grabbed a can of Giant Eagle brand and headed for the checkout.

I opted to fry the hotdogs in butter. Definitely no boiling of hotdogs in my house!


Then browned the buns in butter too.


Meanwhile, I heated up some of that B&M Brown Bread in the toaster oven.


Serve it with a bowlful of baked beans and a nice warm slice of brown bread and it's dinner supper time!


Yum...


Beans on brown bread! My favorite part of dinner supper!


So it was a nice nostalgic Saturday Supper, followed by a movie night.

I had leftover beans & brown bread for breakfast on Sunday too!

Are you from New England? Did you have Saturday Suppers of Hotdogs & Beans & Brown Bread?