Ok so maybe not the best but definitely an award winning cookie in my mind :). And of all cookies it happens to be my take on the old fashioned oatmeal raisin. My husband had a craving for these about a month ago - and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. I've never been a fan of said cookie so I really wasn't sure about doing them. Anyway I got out an old cookbook and found an easy recipe. The first round was great. Then I started to get a little adventurous and added nuts. On the third round I tried a mix of dried cranberries. I think I'm on to something. I'm ready to venture out to making a high protein trail cookie. Stay tuned and we'll see what happens with that.
On another note, I tried out a new pasta tonight for dinner - bow tie pasta with prosciutto and asparagus. I have to tell ya', it was slammin'! Can't wait to have leftovers tomorrow for lunch. And after last weeks lunch bill I have come to the realization that I really need to cut back on spending. That's a tough one though considering I have just discovered that 256togo will deliver Nonnahs to my office. This is bad. This is really bad! Knowing that the Chocolate Temptation is just a click away from my desk.....yep my bank account is already slapping me across the face. I can tell you that is one cake I have no desire to replicate. It is the most succulent slice of heaven my taste buds have ever experienced. I don't know how they do it; I just know they do it right. I would trade one of my beloved dogs for an entire cake. Hmm, not such a bad idea .....I'm only kidding! Sort of.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Baking With Williams Sonoma
I guess it's no big surprise that I absolutely adore a fabulous kitchen store. From Bed Bath and Beyond to Williams Sonoma, I can just spend hours upon hours at each one. About 2 weeks back I was browsing through Books-A-Million, my other love, in search of a new romance novel to read. The line was ridiculously long so I putted my way over to the cooking section to see if they have possibly decided to carry a decent cake decorating book. (They haven't.) While browsing I came upon a Williams Sonoma cook book, make that a baking book. Yes!!!! A book filled with recipes for the home baker. It was love at first recipe. I opened the cover and flipped to the first couple of recipes. OMG. Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Flashback to 2007 when I met my husband. I met Uncle Mark late summer of 2007 when I was introduced to Uncle Mark's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cookies that fell from the Heavens. Months later after my husband and I were engaged, I was informed (after several begging attempts) that once we were married only then would I be eligible to get a copy of the recipe. Since our wedding date I have managed countless attempts at Uncle Mark's cookies. I have come to the conclusion that something must have been left out.
Flash forward to two weeks ago. I purchase my copy of the baking book and head right to the kitchen to test out this recipe. It's incredible. A great runner up to Uncle Mark's cookies. So while I may not be able to conquer Uncle Mark's recipe, at least I can make a batch or two WS Chocolate Chip Cookies to settle my cravings in between family functions. With so many recipes to choose from, I figure I'll have a good bit to blog about! Wonder what I might try next?
I hear you get your own personally made batch of Uncle Mark's Cookies at your first baby shower too. Hmmm......interesting.
Flashback to 2007 when I met my husband. I met Uncle Mark late summer of 2007 when I was introduced to Uncle Mark's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cookies that fell from the Heavens. Months later after my husband and I were engaged, I was informed (after several begging attempts) that once we were married only then would I be eligible to get a copy of the recipe. Since our wedding date I have managed countless attempts at Uncle Mark's cookies. I have come to the conclusion that something must have been left out.
Flash forward to two weeks ago. I purchase my copy of the baking book and head right to the kitchen to test out this recipe. It's incredible. A great runner up to Uncle Mark's cookies. So while I may not be able to conquer Uncle Mark's recipe, at least I can make a batch or two WS Chocolate Chip Cookies to settle my cravings in between family functions. With so many recipes to choose from, I figure I'll have a good bit to blog about! Wonder what I might try next?
I hear you get your own personally made batch of Uncle Mark's Cookies at your first baby shower too. Hmmm......interesting.
Double Shower Weekend
The weekend of May 22, 2010 I had two showers to 1.) Bring the cake and 2.) attend as a guest. On Saturday we had the baby shower for Baby Knox. The Parents-To-Be want the sex of the baby to be a surprise. As I was shopping for Baby Knox's gift, it never occured to me until that moment how difficult it is buy baby stuff without knowing this little detail! The cake on the other hand was not a problem. When I hear the word "surprise" I immediately think of a present. So I decided on doing a gift box cake covered in white fondant and decorated with yellow, pink, blue, and green ribbons and dots. It turned out better than I expected and pretty tasty I must say!
On Sunday we had a bridal shower for Kate and Jared (cousin of my husband). Here's where I had yet another "meltdown". Originally I drew the cake to be a three tiered "wedding" style cake. Aunt Rita bought their last name initial to be the topper. I wanted to use a whipped topping that I normally purchase by Wilton. I went to the store on Saturday to pick up the topping and as my luck would have it, they were sold out. Small meltdown in aisle. Not a problem I'll just do buttercream. Needless to say I was exhausted from working on the baby shower cake and from the baby shower. My attempt to do a three tier cake went down the drain. I had a difficult time with frosting the layers. No matter what I tried, this just wasn't going to work out. Big meltdown. And then along comes the migraine. After a small rest and a chit chat with my mother in law accompanied by a cold beer, I was ready to tackle the cake again. We decided on a two tiered basket weave cake with red roses in the top basket. (The roses covered up the bottom of the initial topper so we had to scratch that idea!)
In the end though they both turned out great! I learned another valuable lesson that weekend. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
On Sunday we had a bridal shower for Kate and Jared (cousin of my husband). Here's where I had yet another "meltdown". Originally I drew the cake to be a three tiered "wedding" style cake. Aunt Rita bought their last name initial to be the topper. I wanted to use a whipped topping that I normally purchase by Wilton. I went to the store on Saturday to pick up the topping and as my luck would have it, they were sold out. Small meltdown in aisle. Not a problem I'll just do buttercream. Needless to say I was exhausted from working on the baby shower cake and from the baby shower. My attempt to do a three tier cake went down the drain. I had a difficult time with frosting the layers. No matter what I tried, this just wasn't going to work out. Big meltdown. And then along comes the migraine. After a small rest and a chit chat with my mother in law accompanied by a cold beer, I was ready to tackle the cake again. We decided on a two tiered basket weave cake with red roses in the top basket. (The roses covered up the bottom of the initial topper so we had to scratch that idea!)
In the end though they both turned out great! I learned another valuable lesson that weekend. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Things I Have Learned
1. Peeling 10 potatoes and throwing the skins down the garbage disposal gets you no where but standing in front of the sink with a toilet plunger in both hands and a phone between your ear and your shoulder crying to Dad for help.
2. Grease fires are NOT my idea of a fun time. Always keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
3. My granny makes the BEST stuffing at Thanksgiving. It is so good it explodes out of the pan (literally).
4. Cranberry relish should not make your mouth pucker up as if you just bit into a lemon.
5. Pay attention. This statement goes for baking and driving.
2. Grease fires are NOT my idea of a fun time. Always keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
3. My granny makes the BEST stuffing at Thanksgiving. It is so good it explodes out of the pan (literally).
4. Cranberry relish should not make your mouth pucker up as if you just bit into a lemon.
5. Pay attention. This statement goes for baking and driving.
How It Started
I have always wanted to learn to bake. I am not from a family of bakers or chefs and I have never attended any fancy culinary institute. But I always have the desire to do something creative in my kitchen.
My mom taught me very basic kitchen skills in my early childhood years. I can remember standing on a stool to reach the stove while she explained to me how to make grits. Mom wasn't the best cook in the world, but by far not the worst. Family dinners mean a great deal to her and it wasn't until just recently that I really understood the importance of that. I hosted our family Christmas dinner for the first time this past Christmas and I must say that it was worth every ounce of stress. I loved having the dining room filled with the conversations and laughter of my loved ones, and of course the frequent "yummmmm" coming from them!
I have always been a huge fan of desserts. There is hardly anything more satisfying than a delicious, sweet treat, which brings me to last year. A friend was hosting a gathering of some sorts and I was in charge of bringing the dessert. Now I normally didn't do much more than open a frozen pie from the grocery store, bake it in the oven and serve it with a container of Cool Whip. But something got into me that day. While flipping through the pages of a Southern Living magazine I saw a recipe for a trifle. The picture looked good enough to eat.
As I reviewed the recipe I thought to myself maybe I should attempt to bring something homemade. I went to the store and bought all of my ingredients. I also picked up a Mrs. Smith's frozen pie and Cool Whip, just in case. Always have a Plan B. Back at home, I arranged all of my ingredients out on the counter. Pound cake, cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, strawberries....hmm. Berries. At the entrance to our driveway sits a beautiful, abundant blueberry bush in need of picking. I ran out to the driveway with a plastic container in hand and picked off as many of the best looking blueberries on the bush. I made a few other changes and substitutions while preparing my trifle. When dessert was serverd that night, I could hardly believe my taste buds. I created that. I actually made a dessert that tasted good!
I've always had a desire to be creative though things I create in my head look far better than what I typically produce, which is why I was at the craft store one day browsing around. I wandered over to the cake and candy making aisle when I saw a flyer for cake decorating classes. They were offering the first class at half off that month, so I said what the heck. Let's give it a whirl. And then I decided to bake and decorate cakes.
I love the Food Network. I could seriously watch it 24/7 and never tune in to another channel. I love watching the marathons of Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. I go into an almost hypnotic state of mind. Before you know it, I'm in the kitchen donning my favorite apron. And then.....things happen.......
My mom taught me very basic kitchen skills in my early childhood years. I can remember standing on a stool to reach the stove while she explained to me how to make grits. Mom wasn't the best cook in the world, but by far not the worst. Family dinners mean a great deal to her and it wasn't until just recently that I really understood the importance of that. I hosted our family Christmas dinner for the first time this past Christmas and I must say that it was worth every ounce of stress. I loved having the dining room filled with the conversations and laughter of my loved ones, and of course the frequent "yummmmm" coming from them!
I have always been a huge fan of desserts. There is hardly anything more satisfying than a delicious, sweet treat, which brings me to last year. A friend was hosting a gathering of some sorts and I was in charge of bringing the dessert. Now I normally didn't do much more than open a frozen pie from the grocery store, bake it in the oven and serve it with a container of Cool Whip. But something got into me that day. While flipping through the pages of a Southern Living magazine I saw a recipe for a trifle. The picture looked good enough to eat.
As I reviewed the recipe I thought to myself maybe I should attempt to bring something homemade. I went to the store and bought all of my ingredients. I also picked up a Mrs. Smith's frozen pie and Cool Whip, just in case. Always have a Plan B. Back at home, I arranged all of my ingredients out on the counter. Pound cake, cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, strawberries....hmm. Berries. At the entrance to our driveway sits a beautiful, abundant blueberry bush in need of picking. I ran out to the driveway with a plastic container in hand and picked off as many of the best looking blueberries on the bush. I made a few other changes and substitutions while preparing my trifle. When dessert was serverd that night, I could hardly believe my taste buds. I created that. I actually made a dessert that tasted good!
I've always had a desire to be creative though things I create in my head look far better than what I typically produce, which is why I was at the craft store one day browsing around. I wandered over to the cake and candy making aisle when I saw a flyer for cake decorating classes. They were offering the first class at half off that month, so I said what the heck. Let's give it a whirl. And then I decided to bake and decorate cakes.
I love the Food Network. I could seriously watch it 24/7 and never tune in to another channel. I love watching the marathons of Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. I go into an almost hypnotic state of mind. Before you know it, I'm in the kitchen donning my favorite apron. And then.....things happen.......
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