Friday, January 27, 2012

I'm a horrible blogger. This is my 50th post, and I've had this thing for a while now. I keep saying I'll be better about updating but I'm obviously a liar. This week I went to a lecture that my school had going on by a man named Chris Young, who is one of the authors of the Modernist Cuisine. As one of my regular teachers describes it "food porn." While I don't do much cooking, I did enjoy this lecture because he talked about things that I could relate too, such as what makes a souffle rise and fall. I really want this set of books, but it is a little expensive. It has so much information and it looks so awesome.
In other unrelated news I made delicious amazing cookies today. I made sugar cookies, and I know a lot of people might be saying "how are those deliciously amazing?" Well I made the sugar cookie dough and then I wrapped each cookie around an Andes mint. It works with any old sugar cookie recipe.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

As you may know I got a babycakes cupcake maker for Christmas, and I used it for the first time today. It is awesome. I had also gotten a cookbook strictly for the babycakes maker. I decided to make some a couple days ago but then my mom was in the hospital and I didn't feel like making them, I felt like being at the hospital keeping her company cause hospitals suck. The good thing is that she was in the hospital for only two nights. One of the things that she has to do now that she is home is give herself shots in the belly. Since I have a pretty squeamish stomach and have no chance of becoming a nurse, but wanting to give a shot and mom being a nursing instructor. She instructed me on how to give a shot, and then let me do it. She said that I did it as well as any of her students, moms are awesome. She asked me if I was nervous about it, but I wasn't, I was excited. I know that may sound weird, but I don't care. It was awesome, so awesome in fact that I got excited and fell down because my socks are too slippery for the hardwood floors. I figured that now is as good as anytime, since we brought mom home today, to make some cupcakes and try out my babycakes maker. It took my only about an hour total from start to finish to make them. It did not make as many as the recipe says it will, but I might have been filling it up a little too much, oh well.

Aren't they cute?








Cherry Limeade Cupcakes from 175 best babycakes cupcake maker recipes
2 cups white cake mix
2 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup low fat cherry yogurt
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 drops red food coloring
1/4 cup finely chopped well drained maraschino cherries
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat everything except the cherries for 30 seconds or until moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Gently stir in cherries
If desired place paper liners in wells. Fill each well with about 1 1/2 tbsp batter. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Now the book said to use freshly squeezed lime juice, but I didn't want to waste limes so I used the fake kind except for what I squeezed out of the lime that I zested which wasn't enough

Cherry Limeade Buttercream Frosting also from the babycake cupcake recipe book
1/2 cup butter softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 tbsp cherry juice
1 tsp lime juice
In a medium bowl using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter for 1 minute or until light and creamy. Gradually beat in sugar until blended. Beat in the juices until light and fluffy.
If a thinner frosting is desired, beat in extra juice.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Banana Split Cheesecake Bars


Mom reminded me that I haven't said anything about my favorite present, but that is because I forgot that it was a present because I got it before Christmas, because it was of more use to me in my hand than under the tree. I got a new camera. I love it, its blue and pretty and takes some pretty awesome pictures. I don't take many pictures of food because I can be pretty messy sometimes and I don't want to ruin such an awesome camera.
Holly KittenPants (HKP) annoyed at me 

Most recent shot of me

HKP interested in the new camera
Everybody makes mistakes, this is a short tale of one of mine, 
I get bored really easily sometimes. Today, was one of those days. I decided to make something. I had been planning to make these about a week ago, but I was told I wasn't allowed to make things for a little while because we had too many leftovers from Christmas to eat. Our refrigerator is pretty full still, but not with the same leftovers from last week. This recipe calls for a 9x 13 inch pan, but I didn't have room for a pan that size in the refrigerator, so I made it in a smaller pan. Which ended up being a bad idea. The smaller pan made the crust bigger so it didn't cook in 20 minutes. I let it cook until the center was mostly done. I then had trouble making the cheesecake part because the food processor we own is not big enough to hold all the ingredients for the cheesecake layer. When I finally got it all mixed together and put on-top of the brownie, or so I thought it was on top of the brownie. The crust wasn't as done as I thought it was and the cheesecake layer mixed in with brownie layer in the center. I went ahead and put it in the oven to cook and see what happens. I took it out when the center no longer jiggled just like the directions said. I let it cool, didn't put the top on, cause I'm a lazy baker sometimes, (plus I didn't have any of the ingredients). When I cut into it was still a little warm in the center, and because the size of the pan was smaller than what the directions called for, the cheesecake bar was deeper that what it normally would be. Somehow everywhere but the center got done, if not overly done. I mean it was like pudding, really soupy, the kind of undone the makes you worry if it is safe to eat. I tired the outer edges and found that it was pretty good and next time I should probably take the directions advice and use a 9x 13 inch pan. I got this recipe out the Denver Post.
Ingredients
For the Brownie Crust
12 oz semisweet chocolate
¾ cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
4 eggs
For the cheesecake layer
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
3 ripe bananas
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
3 eggs
For the Topping
1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
¼ cup pineapple jam
1 tbsp water


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate and the butter on high for 1-2 minutes stirring every 20 seconds, or until melted. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the chocolate-butter mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. If there are any bubbles in the crust, gently push them flat. Leave the oven on.
To make the cheesecake layer, in a food processor, combine the cream cheese, bananas, sugar, flour and salt. Process until completely smooth, scrapping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing and scrapping the bowl between additions. Pour the batter over the brownie crust, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles. Cool, then refrigerate until completely chilled.
When the cheesecake is completely chilled, arrange the sliced strawberries over the top. In a small microwave safe bowl, mix the pineapple jam and the water. Microwave until bubbling. Spoon the jam over the strawberries. Allow to chill for 15 minutes for the jam to set up. Cut into squares. Store, well wrapped, in the refrigerator.