Pink Ombre Cake

When I asked my daughter what kind of cake she wanted for her third birthday, her reply was simple: "pink!"  So I went a little overboard, and made the inside of the cake three shades of pink, with pink frosting, pink edible glitter and pink heart sprinkles.  Were there pink candles?  Um, duh.  And I splurged a bit on this cake topper from Etsy because an all-pink cake deserves a little bling.

To make the cake ombre, all you need is a little food coloring!  Simply bake as many layers as you'd like, evenly distribute the batter into different bowls, and use varied amounts of food dye to create different shades.  I made 4 different layers, but the cake started to look absurdly tall so I ditched one of them.  I used boxed white cake (two boxes) with neon pink food coloring, and followed this recipe for the Vanilla Buttercream.  It was a hit amongst the pink-loving crowd.

Now if someone could just help me figure out how to explain to a three-year-old that her next birthday is an entire year away...  

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Homemade Treats for Dad

I always find Father's Day hard to shop for.  Most of the cool, techy toys I know Carson would LOVE are like, stupid expensive (I'm talking to you, drones).  I've found homemade gifts are the most meaningful, whether that's a customized beer bottle label from this site, or a baked treat from MY site!  Here are some ideas!  Exclamation points!  (Or is it marks?)

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

Golf Cupcakes

Brown Butter Banana BBQ Cake

Transformers Red Velvet Cake

Southern Caramel Cake

Mini Cherry Pies

S'Mores Cookies

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Today Parenting Team!

Are you familiar with the Today Show Parenting Team?  It's a community in which anyone can join and share their parenting advice, stories, photos and wisdom.  There are monthly topics and challenges that have spewed such wonderful articles, like this one (she's my hero).  It's really fun, and if you're a parent or grandparent or godparent or auntie or teacher or you have, like, a thousand cats... you should join.  We're in this together people!

I recently wrote an article about "letting go of stress" - because I am NEVER stressed.  Nope, not me, I'm perfect.  Click here to read, it's called: Teenagers Don't Wear Diapers!  If you enjoy the read, would you consider voting for me?  And sharing it with your friendly friends?  Thanks!!

Back later with a delicious Salmon + Garlicky Mashy Peas recipe...     

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Turks and Caicos

If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably know I was torturing you with photos from Turks and Caicos last week.  Don't hate me!  I'm back home now wearing multiple pajamas trying to entertain all of my kids because of school closings and delays.  I simply couldn't help myself last week!  That was our first, EVER, true family vacation and it, was, sublime (and I will continue to overuse commas to get, that, point, across).  I'd like to share some super professional (no) photos with you and talk about our culinary hits and misses (there weren't any).

The above photo was taken at a resort called Amanyara.  To be clear, we did not stay there, we just went to check it out.  It's an incredibly extravagant, remote, GORGEOUS spot... but Carson and I felt  like we had to whisper to each other the entire time we were there.  Amanyara means "peaceful place" and oh my god was it.  I felt like I was at a rehab facility for billionaires.  It was probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen... and we enjoyed our time there, baking in the sun, sipping on tequila and ice cold beer and snacking on spiced pistachio nuts.  Beam me back, please! 

One night, Carson and I snuck out for an adult dinner at a restaurant called Infiniti at the Grace Bay Club.  It was an incredible setting... dining in the open air and staring at the ocean.  We ate simply grilled red snapper and buttery lobster tail and the most perfect kale salad.  And of course, more tequila, along with their complimentary bar snacks which were spiced popcorn and curried plantain chips.  (I might spontaneously sob as I write this post...)  

My handsome dinner date:

One day we took a (expensive) taxi into town and walked around a shopping area they call the Salt Mills.  We found a place called Island Scoop and ate THE BEST coconut and salted caramel ice cream we've ever had.  Everything is made right in the shop, and there's even an outdoor playground for the kids.  I highly recommend you find this place if you're ever on the island.  

Do you know what conch is?  It's basically a sea snail that lives inside those glorious shells you see everywhere and it is VERY popular on the island.  To eat, I mean.  I am a big believer in the "when in Rome" frame of mind when traveling, so I was happy to try it.  And I enjoyed it!  Especially when it was deep fried, it tasted like calamari.  The Conch Shack (I'm sorry, "da" Conch Shack) is a very popular place for both tourists and locals, and it may have been our favorite night out.  The tables are set up right in the sand, and you watch a man pull in the conch straight off a small boat.  There is live music, awesome t-shirts for sale and the best rum punch I've ever tasted.  

One day for lunch we walked along the beach to a place called Somehwere Cafe.  I love that name, and I loved the man named Jermaine who worked there and called everything "LOVELY" in a deep, island accent.  I keep saying "the best I've ever had" in this post, but when it comes to the Pina Colada I drank at Somewhere... HANDS DOWN PEOPLE, UNREAL.  I'm sobbing again just thinking about it.  We also ate delicious nachos and pulled pork tacos, and we lied about our son's age so he could sit upstairs with us (I mean, what's the difference between 5 and 6?).      

Everyone talks about Coco Bistro.  The restaurant is so popular, they even sell reservations on Ebay!!   We were very lucky to get in, and other then my 6 month-old breaking a plate within seconds of being seated, we had an incredible meal.  Blackened mahi and curried shrimp and spicy caesar salad and a ridiculous tuna sashimi appetizer.  The restaurant is set in a palm tree nursery so even when you look up, you see a sliver of the moon between giant palm leaves.  It's stunning.  The green trees against a bright red building with white, twinkly lights everywhere makes it feel like tropical Christmas.  And don't forget to say hello to Coco, the cat that roams the premises.    

We stayed at the Gansevoort, and on the last night we ate dinner in our room from the restaurant Stelle.  It was quite the relaxing and delicious send-off, and here's what we ate...

Brown Butter Basted Lobster Tail   

Wagyu Beef Cheeks West Indian Curry

Pan Roasted Salmon

Soy Honey Cured Tuna

Shrimp Caesar (with BACON)

So there you have it.  I had never been to Turks and Caicos before this trip, and I fell in love with it.  The people are lovely, as Jermaine would say, and so peaceful.  The atmosphere is serene and the island is still relatively quaint and remote.  The food is authentic and delicious.  The trip from NY is quick and direct.  It's perfect, and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to reconnect with my family in such a perfect place.   

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Sticks

What a week this has been!  Thank you for all the nice things you had to say about my Rachael Ray appearance.  I would love to go back, but I need your help!  Tell me if you've seen recipes online that baffle your little brain (just kidding... your brain is huge), particularly if they have to do with upcoming celebrations like the Super Bowl or Valentine's Day.  Ok?!  Ok.

I will leave you on this cold, snowy Friday with a messy treat that's fun for kids.  As you can hopefully tell from the photos, I let mine completely take over this project.  After all, it was my nearly-six-year-old's idea.  He said, mom, let's take pretzels and dip them in peanut butter and then chocolate.  I said, sure!  And so we did.  I melted some creamy peanut butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds, just to make it easier to dip.  Then we dipped, placed them on parchment-lined baking sheets, and placed them in the fridge for about an hour to set.  After that, we melted chocolate chips (for 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring in between) and dipped again!  Warning: this is messy.  But the kids loved it, and I took deep breaths and let go.  Let it GOOOOOO...     

Pajama sword fight!

More chocolate dipped pretzels.

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Jello Cookies

My little boy had a temperature yesterday, and he overheard the doctor telling us that she lets her own kids "cook" when their fever is low enough.  When we got home, he started asking me what he could make in the kitchen.  It was right before dinner, so I told him it wasn't the best time, until he insisted that the doctor wanted him to COOK.  Um, adorable!  How do you say no to that?  So we jumped on Pinterest and searched for kid cookie ideas.  He picked these Jello Cookies, and I happened to have every ingredient on hand (because my kitchen is a goddamn bakery).  If you ever wonder if everything on Pinterest is as easy and adorable as it looks, the answer is NO.  I couldn't get this dough to come together.  Even after adding milk, it was a crumbly mess.  But I was able to make 5 cookies out of it and Jack was happy, therefore, I'll categorize this as a success (let's pretend that the dinner I was planning on making wasn't totally neglected and I didn't order pizza instead).         

By the way, the lovely people at Alpha Grillers felt badly that they couldn't give ALL of you a Garlic Press & Peeler Set, so they're offering everyone 10% off should you want to buy one on Amazon!  Just use the code SIRIGP10, which is valid between now and December 24th.

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies + Brown Butter Frosting

One year ago today, Carson began a new job that changed our lives!  We moved from the city of Santa Monica, California to the suburbs of Long Island, New York and have immensely enjoyed watching our children roam free in our new space.  The kids and I have also loved every minute of our mornings spent watching Daddy in the Orange Room.  So to celebrate, I baked cookies last night inspired by this milestone.  And what is the best type of "orange" this time of year?  Why, pumpkins, of course!  (Or screwdrivers, now that I can drink them again...)

After posting this photo on Instagram...

 ...and asking you fine people what I should bake with these ingredients, someone pointed me towards these Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, stating they were the bomb dot com (I can HEAR my future teenage children rolling their eyes at me).  Well, that they were my friends, that they were.  Perfectly spiced, perfectly soft, perfectly pumpkin-y, PERFECT.  Did they need Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting??  Probably not.  BUT I DO WHAT I WANT.  So I frosted them with this and I do NOT regret it (you won't either). 

You should bake them.  Unless you're on the west coast and it's 1,000 degrees.  In that case, you should get naked and dance in front of your freezer, I think.  

Congrats to Carson and everyone that works so hard in the #OrangeRoom!  

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Minion Cake

My little Etta, who suddenly looks gigantic to me next to her newborn sister, turned two over the weekend.  Thankfully, she had no idea it was her birthday because I'm not exactly in the proper mindset to get a decent party together (hashtag NO SLEEP).  That said, do you think I could let a birthday go by without baking a cake?  Nope.  I like to torture myself.  Etta loves the Minions (calling them bee do's), and I'm not proud of how much "Despicable Me" I let her watch in my last month of pregnancy.  So I decided to make her a Minion Cake, using a boxed confetti mix (see: newborn baby) and a Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.  

I divided the batter into two cake pans: one round and one square.  Then I cut the round cake in half, trimmed the edges slightly, and set it on top of the square to form the minion shape.  I separated the frosting into four bowls, and used dye to make yellow, blue and grey (leaving a small amount of white for the eyes).  A large chocolate chip became the eyeball, melted chocolate for the smile, pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate for the hair, and marshmallows dipped in chocolate for the feet.  My minion had no arms.  He lost them in war.  Wait, what?  Just kidding... um, they were behind his back.  The cake was a hit!  Although Etta would have been happy blowing out candles on a cardboard cake (servers at restaurants have to re-light the candles 15 times if Etta is with us).

I can't believe my baby girl is 2!  And I can't believe I have another baby girl that is over 2 weeks.  

And I can't believe there will be ANOTHER Royal Baby (actually I can believe that and don't care).       

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Black and White Chip Cookies

A week or so ago, in honor of the Emmy Awards (ahem, The Voice was robbed), Jackson and I made some cookies because, let's face it, we make cookies in honor of anything.  It's the first Tuesday of the month?!?  THAT'S HUGE LET'S MAKE COOKIES.  But these cookies were special, because they were Jack's idea.  He thought, why not make a cookie with half dark chocolate chips and half white chocolate chips, sort of like the infamous Black and White Cookie we see EVERYWHERE in New York.  I think I've used the word "cookie" in every sentence so far.  Anyway, I used this recipe again because now I have it memorized, split the dough into 2 bowls, added white chocolate chips to one and semi-sweet to the other...   

...placed about a tablespoon of each side by side, formed them into balls and baked them!

Ta da, fancy Black and White Chip Cookies, courtesy of my genius son Jack.

Hope you guys had a nice Labor Day Weekend!  I spent mine feeding a baby every hour and a half... two-week growth spurt?!?  Back tomorrow with a Green Smoothie!

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Pasta Primavera with Roasted Veggies

Well, I've survived the first week as a mother of three, and I only called my newborn daughter by her sister's name 17 times (poor third baby, I'm turning into my father).  Of course, it's easy to survive when you've been spoiled by grandma love... both my mom and Carson's spent most of August with us.  They cooked, cleaned, ran errands, swam with kids, spoiled kids, spoiled me... and it's all coming to an end!  No!  My mom leaves Saturday (tear), which means no more lovely meals like this healthy, hearty pasta dish.  I've been eating leftovers of this recipe for days with zero guilt... roasted veggies and fresh linguine.  It's superb.  Superb like grandma love.  Don't leave!  

Happy Labor Day Weekend one and all.

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The Chewy + M&M's + Baby

Hello there.  What's new with you?  I had a baby last week.  I had a baby!!

Let's back up a little.  I didn't share with you that I had a false alarm about a week ago in which I spent the day in the hospital surrounded by all those wonderful labor and delivery nurses (seriously, if you are one, you are a saint).  Once I got home (still pregnant and overdue), I decided to make cookies for my NEXT visit to the hospital.  You know, the one that would hopefully send me home with a baby.  I wanted something easy, something familiar.  So I made Alton Brown's The Chewy and used M&M's in place of chocolate chips.  Note: to make them look more professional (thus, yummier), place a few M&M's on top of each cookie right as they come out of the oven.  

So back to having a baby.  I had a baby!!  London Rose Daly was born on August 20th.  She makes little piglet noises and only cries when she's hungry and her older brother and sister fight over who gets to hold her.  We just love her to pieces.  I don't typically share photos of my children on the blog (although you'll often see a chubby helper hand), but if you'd like to see a few... these were shared on the Today Show.  Aaaaaand suddenly I have 3 children!  I will try to get back in the groove of blogging as fast as I humanly can, but for now you can look forward to a few new guest posts.  

Thank you all for the well wishes!  xo       

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Jessica's Creamed Corn

The following guest post does NOT mean I've had my baby yet (grrrrr).  But I did ask some friends and family if they wanted to contribute guest posts as I wind down over here, and the following is from my sister-in-law, Jessica.  She writes a fabulous blog called One Hungry Yogi with the most entertaining posts about life, health and food.  AND... she's pregnant!  This will be the first niece or nephew for me from my side of the family, and there's just something so exciting about that :)

Her guest post is below, and I hope you enjoy...  

I was lucky enough to ring in the completion of my first trimester at the beach with my family.  One of my sisters came for a couple of days and so did my dad, but the majority of my vacation was spent in an old beach house with the two women who raised me: Mom and Ruby.

Ruby took care of me and my sisters from birth to the day we left home, and she is family.  There was something about spending peaceful, quiet, quality time with these two women while pregnant with my first child that felt so perfect, so balanced, and so special.

My mom taught me to love the ocean; Ruby taught me to roller skate.  My mom and I crooned to Van Morrison; Ruby and I grooved to Luther Vandros.  My mom taught me the importance of healthy eating; Ruby taught me the secrets of her famous fried chicken and delicious creamed corn.

Ruby spent decades taking care of my family, and as she grows older, it's now our turn to take care of her.  I wouldn't dare fry chicken for her at the beach... too much pressure, but I did make her my version of creamed corn, and she had two servings... I'm just saying.  As Ruby would say, this creamed corn is so good "it'll make you slap ya' grandma."

Jessica's Super Easy (and a little lighter) Version of Ruby's Creamed Corn 

Printable Recipe

3 large ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbsp. corn starch

Salt and pepper

Whisk the corn starch into milk until fully dissolved and smooth.  Melt butter in a large saucepan, add corn and sauté on medium-high heat for about five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Put the heat on low and stir in the corn starch/milk slurry.  Keep stirring the corn on low until it becomes thick and creamy.  The finished product should be creamy and the corn still a little crunchy.

*Thank you Jess!  I hope I get the chance to meet Ruby someday (because I really want to hear that "slap ya grandma" phrase in person).  

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Rhubarb Crisp

I took one last quick trip over the weekend to Minnesota (technically I think you shouldn't be flying at 33 weeks, shhh).  Etta came with me and we spent a few days reconnecting with friends and family (and many, many babies), playing with grandma and eating.  Always eating.  A trip to Bruegger's Bagels, a Bacon & Scallop appetizer at Manny's Steak House, Sautéed Walleye at Jensens Supper Club, my mom's famous Chalupas and her Rhubarb Crisp were some of the food highlights.  Sounds like I was there for a week, huh?  Nope, just 2 days.  We eat lots.  

    My mom has made this Rhubarb Crisp for as long as I can remember.  As a kid, I wanted nothing to do with it.  Rhubarb looked funny to me and the name alone sounded icky.  I mean, call it rhubarb-berry or something if you want a kid to eat it.  But as I've grown older and wiser, I now know how delicious it is and perfect in the summertime, especially when my mom picks the rhubarb straight from her garden.  Thank you for sharing the recipe, mama! 

Rhubarb Crisp

Printable Recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup oats

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 T corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups rhubarb, chopped

1 cup strawberries (chopped) or blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine flour, oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and nuts.  Press half of mixture into an 8x8 pan (it is not necessary to spray pan).  Cook sugar, water, corn starch and vanilla on stove over medium-high heat until very thick.  Add rhubarb (and any other fruit you want) and mix thoroughly.  Spread on top of pan and top with remaining oat mixture.  Bake for 1 hour.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.  

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One Hungry Yogi

You don't read words like "raw" or "vegan" or "gluten-free" on this blog very often because, well, I don't type those words very often.  It's not that I don't enjoy following a (somewhat) healthy lifestyle (moderation people) it's just that I really enjoy butter and bacon.  That said, I've had readers contact me, asking for vegan ideas or gluten-free ideas and while I do that from time to time, I want to point you in the direction of someone that does that ALL the time.  My future sister-in-law!  She just launched a blog called One Hungry Yogi that chronicles her experiences as a yoga instructor and lover of creating healthy food.  That ice cream above?  RAW.  Frozen banana, cocoa powder and coconut milk.  She even made a chocolate tart the other day out of avocado and sweet potato.  Genius!  Check out the site.

I am so excited for my brother to marry this woman : )  

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SD on TODAY

Thanks for the nice comments on my SECOND (what?!) Today Show appearance.  It's such a fun, surreal experience to be a tiny part of a show I've watched since I was a kid.  For your informations, I wasn't trying to scold Mr. Roker for touching the bacon.  Would I ever scold anyone for touching bacon???  No, I was yelling at Carson who was touching the hot pan with his fingers, and they just happened to zoom in on Al at the same moment.  Oh, the silly magic of television.  

In case you missed the segment, you can view it here (and my first appearance here).

We are back from NY, we are back from DC, and I will try to cook something ASAP.  

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