‏إظهار الرسائل ذات التسميات themes. إظهار كافة الرسائل
‏إظهار الرسائل ذات التسميات themes. إظهار كافة الرسائل

Oscar Party Ideas

If you're having an Oscar party this weekend, or you just want to make something festive for yourself, here are some ideas from my blog.  I haven't seen many of the movies, but if Julianne Moore doesn't win for Still Alice, I will throw things at my TV.  Have a great weekend!


Brown Butter Banana "BBQ" Cake


I'm back in my kitchen!  I can cook again!  What should I make??  It has to be something healthy because I've been eating out WAY too much and also, I'm 32 weeks pregnant... there is no more room in this belly for an obscene amount of food.  Baby is big.  Baby is like, stop eating so much you crazy woman I will call mama.  Like this cake, for instance.  I might have eaten the entire thing if baby would have let me.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  Over the weekend, I took over someone else's kitchen to make Carson a birthday cake.  We grilled burgers and dogs for dinner, so I thought only a "BBQ cake" would be appropriate.  What was it really?  A Brown Butter Banana Cake, which doesn't even need frosting, but the Chocolate Buttercream took it to a whole new level of deliciousness.    

For the cake, I followed this recipe, subbing sour cream for buttermilk.  I used two 8-inch cake pans and ended up layering the cake.  For the chocolate buttercream, I used this recipe, because it's the best chocolate buttercream I've ever tasted.  For the candy, I used tootsie rolls, starbursts and dots.  I put the tootsie rolls and starbursts outside in the sun for awhile to soften them, which made them much easier to shape.  Tootsie rolls for the burgers, orange starbursts for the cheese, red starbursts for the hot dogs and the dots are supposed to be vegetables on skewers I suppose.  Just go with it.      


To make it look like a grill, I used black icing (from a tube).  I also used this icing for the hot dogs, to create grill marks.


Sorry for the iPhone photos but I was without my camera.  Back to normal soon!

Marshmallow Pops + Vanilla Rice Krispie Treats


Good morning on this Memorial Day Monday!  I hope you are having a nice, long weekend and remembering/honoring those who have served our country.  Are you heading to a BBQ today?  If you  want to bring something easy that you can probably throw together right now, here are two simple, no-bake ideas that involve marshmallows.  Because what else screams SUMMER other than marshmallows?  (Actually, a tiny, fluffy, screaming marshmallow is a terrifying thought).  


These are basic Rice Krispie Treats with 3/4 tsp of vanilla bean paste added to the marshmallow/butter mixture...


I let them cool, and then used a star cookie cutter to make the shapes (with the leftovers, I cut out small circles for the little kiddos)...


Place the stars on parchment paper, and then melt white chocolate chips in two separate bowls in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring in between.  Add blue food coloring to one bowl and red to the other and stir.  Place melted chocolate into a plastic baggie and snip one corner.  Pipe melted chocolate onto stars in a stripe pattern, or however you desire.  I also added lollipop sticks to each one, but you don't have to!


I found these marshmallow pops on Pinterest, and I knew they would be fun for Jack and I to do together (of course, he had patience for about two of them while I finished the rest).  They were extremely simple, and look how cute!  I can see myself making these in different colors for every existing holiday... so watch out.  

 

Dip a marshmallow in water, using a toothpick, and dabbing the excess on a paper towel.  


Over a bowl, sprinkle the desired color all over the marshmallow.


Place on parchment paper and remove toothpick.  



Lightly rub some Crisco onto a festive straw, and gently skewer the marshmallows.


Ta Da!  Sugar Rush, waiting to happen!!

May 5th Fiesta

I hope you guys are enjoying the #VoiceTailgate recipes.  More coming at ya Monday and Tuesday!  Any ideas for Blake's themed appetizer?  I don't know why I'm asking you, because I think I already know what I'm going to do, but I still like you and your thoughts.  Also stay tuned for a ridiculous chocolate cake next week.  RIDICULOUS.  In the meantime, enjoy your weekends and Cinco de Mayo!  Some Mexican-themed ideas below...


Frozen White Cake


I will admit something right now: I love Frozen.  I really, really love it.  And I've seen it, oh, maybe 77 times and that is not an exaggeration.  But I still love it.  I'm close to creating a viral video of myself singing the entire soundtrack.  And every time little Elsa sends little Anna away and she sadly sings, "okay bye" - I cry.  So when my niece requested a Frozen-themed cake for her 5th birthday, I jumped on Amazon to buy snowflake sprinkles faster than Kristoff and Svein race to Anna's side at the end of the movie oh my god I'm such a nerd.  I made a basic white cake following this recipe, a buttercream frosting following this recipe (which I dyed a light blue), cut one of the 9-inch rounds so that it would fit atop the other, creating a tier, and decorated it with sprinkles and a tiara.  My niece loved it, although she did ask if I was going to draw Elsa and Anna with frosting on the top.  I think they overestimate my abilities just a bit.       

More fun cakes for the kiddos: Polka Dot, Rainbow, Brobee, Wubzy and Corn on the Cob Cupcakes


Easter + Spring Ideas

Sorry for the radio silence - we were in LA last week at various hotels, hence, no cooking.  Do people still say 'hence'?  Anyway, I have some good posts lined up for this week, but until then, please enjoy some ideas for the upcoming holidays.  Happy Spring!  (I think...)


Gender Reveal Cupcakes


Are you familiar with 'Gender Reveal Parties'??  They are all the rage these days, and remind me never to say "all the rage" again because it makes me sound ancient.  Anyhoo (ancient-er), if you are not hip to the Gender Reveal (oh dear god), then let me give you the 411 (make it stop): it's a party where an expecting couple reveal the sex of their baby to friends and family (and many times themselves) in a fun manner, like cutting into a cake or biting into a cupcake that's pink or blue inside.  Well, I was not only recently invited to one for my dear friends, Beth and Brad, but they asked me to bake the cupcakes!  And in this instance, they didn't know the sex either.  Their doctor wrote it down, sealed it in an envelope and gave it to me!  Talk about your head exploding with knowledge that you can't share with anyone, oy.  In full disclosure, I told my four-year-old son, Jack.  And he probably told a couple of buddies at school.  And they were like, "meh."  

    But, I was able to keep the secret, and I didn't even play a prank and swap genders like Carson wanted me to.  I had never baked stuffed cupcakes before, and decided to go for a homemade Hostess Cupcake following this recipe.  Every part of it was perfect.  Super moist, chocolaty cake, a sweet and fluffy marshmallow cream center and topped with a rich, chocolate ganache.  My kind of dessert.  I used a paring knife to core out the cupcakes, which was time-consuming but very easy.  And I used a freezer bag with the end snipped off to fill the centers wiiiiith... BLUE icing : )   


The happy couple...




Congrats Beth and Brad!  I can't wait to meet this sweet baby boy.  

(All images by Katy at Chasing You Photo)

4-0 Cake!


Someone in our house is turning 40 this week, and it's not me, and it's not my kids... so I'll let you figure that out.  As you know, I go a little coo koo roo over birthday cakes, and this was no exception.  I thought about baking 40 cakes, and then I thought about checking myself into a mental institution instead.  AND THEN, I found this alphabet/number pan, and my sanity was saved.  How cool is it??  You rearrange these 2-inch squares to form any number or letter you fancy!  And as long as you spray the pan, they pop right out leaving a perfectly formed cake.  I'm obsessed.

Have some happy weekends, ok?  And stay tuned next week for an exciting announcement : )  





Corn on the Cob Cupcakes


Can you even handle how much these look like corn??  I couldn't handle it as I started spotting them online (here and here for example), and you know I will attempt any sort of baked good that blows my mind.  They seemed perfect for Memorial Day weekend, but would also be appropriate at any summer BBQ sooooo... off you go, to your local candy store for jelly beans.  Buy some coke bottle gummies while you're there.  Run don't walk, trip don't fall, what?     

I made Mascarpone Cupcakes with a Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting (1 cup unsalted room temp butter, 1 lb. powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp vanilla paste, 2 T milk) and then lightly colored the frosting pale yellow.  For the jelly beans, I used yellow (pina colada), white (french vanilla) and a darker, speckled gold (banana).  The pats of butter are lemon Starbursts that I flattened with my fingers.  Finally, on the top I sprinkled some white and green sanding sugar to reflect salt and Italian herbs.  As they began to take shape, I could feel the stupid grin creep up my face and my body started twitching into a happy dance.  I don't like the term "foodie" but I do like to call myself a FOOD GEEK.      





GAH!!  FOOD NERD CAN'T HANDLE!!

Fiesta Food

It appears I have made a lot of Mexican dishes over the years.  Mucho, if you por favor.  
Sorry, I took French.  But here are some ideas for your weekend fiesta...