Pasta Salad. . . with BROCCOLI!

I've been making pasta salad the same old boring way for YEARS. It's the same way my sister Diane makes it, which is the same way my mom makes it, which is the same way that HER mom makes it. It's not even Armenian! Usually when all of us make the same thing the same way, it's because there's history. But this is pasta salad we're talking about. It's not rocket science.

So here's what the "old" recipe included: tri-colored rotini, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, atrichoke hearts, black olives, cubed cheddar cheese, and Wish-Bone Italian Robusto dressing. There could be some slight variations, but that's pretty much it. Now I kept some of the old, but wanted to update it because it's not as healthy as it could be. . . plus, WHERE'S THE BROCCOLI?! So my new and improved version includes the following: Barilla Plus rotini, tomatoes, green pepper, celery, broccoli (frozen and thawed, because as much as I ADORE broccoli I kind of can't stand it raw. . . ), low fat cheddar cheese (yes, Michelle, I know. . . ), and Annie's Tuscany Italian Dressing. I used a whole bottle of the dressing, which actually didn't seem like enough (liquid or flavor), so I also added some EVOO, the juice from half a lemon, salt, and pepper. It's pretty good, as far as pasta salad goes anyway.

50th Wedding Anniversary Cakes

Some of you already received the album of these pictures, but I figured I'd make it "official" and put a couple of pictures up on here too.

Apparently the word is starting to spread at my work place about my cake making. . . so someone asked me, a few months back I think, about making two cakes for a joint 50th Wedding Anniversary Party. So of course I was excited. I just needed to know all of the details. I found out it was going to be for about seventy people, and they wanted two cakes, each with two tiers. After consulting many times with Jenni, Cake Art, and the internet, I figured out how big each tier should be, what I should be charging for the cakes, how to support them, what kind of icing to use, how to decorate them, etc.

Each two-tier cake had a white cake and a chocolate chocolate cake. I filled the chocolate cakes with chocolate mousse (yes, Jenni, the recipe from our cake decorating class!) and the white cake with a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream -- I just mixed some strawberry jam into the swiss meringue buttercream that I used on the outside of the cakes to frost them.

The border you see was suppose to be gold instead of purple. I tried REALLY hard to make gold, but it just wasn't working. I couldn't find any Wilton dye in gold. The closest thing I could find was copper, so I bought that. Well, it was very. . . copper-y. It was actually pretty gross. I then noticed that I had "golden yellow," so I tried mixing some of that in with the copper. That didn't work either. I tried it the other way around, starting with the golden yellow, and adding some copper. Nope. I did also have a back-up plan though. . . this gold dust powder stuff. I think it's usually used to "paint" decorations, but something more solid, like fondant or modeling chocolate. It wasn't working so well with the frosting. I mean, it was okay, but not super fabulous enough for a 50th wedding anniversary. So purple it was.

What else is there to say? It was a stressful week, from baking the cakes, freezing them, making batch after batch of frosting, going through more butter than I ever have EVER, figuring out the flowers to go on top, etc. . . and I was working every day! But all in all, I think they came out pretty well. The family kind of raved about them (and luckily didn't care that the border wasn't gold) and I gained more experience from doing it. And that's my story.

Big Salad

Part of my May Resolutions involve not just eating better, but EATING. Like taking the time to sit and make myself something good for dinner, or lunch. For far too long I've been surviving (questionable) on special k red berries, graham crackers and yogurt. Sounds appetizing?!

So tonight I made a variation of my favorite salad recipe. It's a recipe that my mom started making years ago at Christmas, I believe it's called a Christmas Salad. I love it, but also crave it in the summer. I'd made an addition a few years back, including avocados (which, are also for lovers!) and they are now a permanent addition to my "Christmas Salad". Tonight, for the first time, I added some chicken - to make it more meal like, give me some protein, and hopefully stave off my recent ice cream cravings. And, it was...delicious.

The Salad includes baby spinach and butter lettuce (or Boston lettuce, or whatever really), sliced strawberries, balled honeydew melon, and Gouda or Edam cheese, and now, avocado. The dressing is a Lime Ginger dressing made with 1/2 cup lime juice, 1/4 cup honey, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. Tonight, I made some extra dressing and marinaded a few chicken strips in it for a short while and then grilled the chicken. Everything tossed together, and viola - dinner is served. Resolution sustained.

Holy Cakes!

I'm having some layout issues, so I apologize if this looks really, really bad.

A while back, I was asked to make a First Holy Communion cake for one of the kids I babysit for. When we got closer to the date, and I was asking the mom what kind of cake and for how many people, another mom over-heard us. She offered up her cross cake pan for me to use (because she made a cross-shaped cake for her daughter two years ago for HER First Holy Communion), and I thought, Hey, that's great! One less pan for me to buy is always a good thing, right? It was then decided that there should be one chocolate cake and one yellow cake, to please everyone who would be attending -- around thirty guests total. Once I saw the cake pan however, I thought two cross cakes would be JUST enough. . . so after consulting with the family, I decided to make an extra chocolate round cake. Who doesn't love chocolate?! I figured if there were left-overs that it wouldn't be a terrible thing at all.

So I took the cross cake pan home, and couldn't help but laugh. . . because I'm way mature like that. I'm about to make a cake. . . in the shape of a cross. . . and someone's going to cut into it. . . and eat it. It was all a little weird. Then Diane came over. She saw the cross cake pan, and proceeded to make the sign of the cross and recite the Lord's Prayer, to the pan. Of course there were margaritas involved, but that's a different show. Oh, and then Nichole came over, saw the unfrosted chocolate cross cake sitting on my porch, and thought it was a little strange too. So maybe I'm not the only crazy one here. (I did the cross on the round cake free-hand. . . not too bad, huh?! I think it's even centered! That was pure luck.)

Cupcake Madness

Cupcake Madness happened two weeks ago, right before my dance recital. I decided to give one of these cupcake boxes to each of my eleven student assistants.

The boxes (how cute are they?) are from the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's. There were matching cupcake papers and labels too, but I thought that was WAY too matchy, so I just opted for a combination of pastel and silver papers.

The cupcakes, from the top left are chocolate with chocolate buttercream, white with traditional buttercream, chocolate with peanut butter frosting, and white with strawberry butter cream cheese frosting. Yum-o, no?

The more unusual frostings were a little experimental. The peanut butter frosting came from a super cute and informative book that Leah got me for my birthday called Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse. It was experimental in that I had never made it before. It was good though, so I will post that recipe when it's not nearly 1:30am. . . the strawberry butter cream cheese evolved from one of my favorite recipes for just plain butter cream cheese. I thought, hey, what would happen if I made that and then stirred in some strawberry jelly? Well what happened was this: Scott's favorite frosting ever was born.

So there you go, my cupcakes. Just add some sprinkles, and BAM -- they're ready for gift-giving.

waterless baking

At the beginning of last week the apartment complex shut off my water for three days straight. That's right, three days! Luckily a friend who was out of town gave me her key and I used her apartment for water-based things like showering, and washing dishes. it was so nice of her to do that for me, particularly since we arranged it last minute, about 11pm the night before her 6am flight - and I'd never been to her house before. I wanted to be sure and thank her properly, and what says 'Thank you!' and 'Welcome Back' better than a plate of Lemon White Chocolate Chip cookies? Nothing, in my mind.

I figured, I didn't need any water for the baking, so I'd make them at my house and just pack up the dirty dishes and bring them over to her place to wash. What I hadn't counted on was how frequently I use the water when baking. Zest of lemon, must wash the lemon - bottled water on a paper towel to wipe it down. Flour poufs out of the bag when you close it, and it's all over your hands, must wash your hands - bottled water and a paper towel. You accidentally pet the cat, must wash your hands - bottled water, soap, a paper towel and hand sanitizer. You drip some of the batter on to your fingers to taste the goodness, must wash hands - more bottled water, soap, a paper towel and hand sanitizer. You get the idea. It was a challenge. But, I pulled through. I used parchment paper to line the pans, so those didn't need washing. And because I was unable to wash my hands, the counter, utensils as I normally would I became very diligent and probably more sanitary than usual while baking. It was quite the experience. Try it - bake without using your faucet.

How do you like them apples?

May I never eat another apple until mid-September at the earliest.

I was that person at Shaws today.

I stopped at Shaws on my way home from dance tonight, knowing that if I waited until AFTER I got home and ate dinner that I just wouldn't want to go. I stocked up on the usual: pasta sauce, linguini, milk, eggs, organic apples, frozen broccoli, eight boxes of sugar, and four pounds of butter (I'd tell you why, but some of my assistants might be reading this, and they won't know why until TOMORROW). Well it all added up, as I'm parading the isles trying to find everything I need, so I don't have to go back out tonight. I got to the checkout, and it's pretty busy. I found a good spot to wait in line where there was only one person in front of me. Great. Soon enough, it's time for me to start unloading my carriage onto the conveyor belt. I quickly finish, and put the thing at the end of my groceries that separates your goods from your neighbor's. I then waited for the person in front of me to finish up bagging, and while doing so, notice not one, not two, but really SEVERAL people glance in my direction. You know, they're the people scouting out the checkout lines, trying to figure out which line to choose so they can get the hell out of there. NO ONE wanted to get in line behind me. You know those people. You've been one of those people. I didn't even have that much. Was it all the sugar? Or other from-scratch baking supplies? I will never know.

true confessions of a late-twenties drama queen

About a year and a half ago I started making guacamole. Last summer it was my staple bring-this-to-cookout food. I made it a few times, and people liked it. Some people requested it. I then also began to make Mango Salsa with it. So, Guacamole and Mango Salsa went with me to every party, BBQ, what-have-you. Then I moved to Texas. Where we have cookouts and BBQs year round, where Guacamole and Mango Salsa fits in to every conceivable meal plan. And, I've become "famous" for my guacamole. I joke that my friend Ryan would stop being friends with me if I showed up without guacamole - and while I've showed up empty handed a few times, I do wonder if it's just the hope of more that keeps him around. Yesterday I showed up at a pool party, with Guac and Mango Salsa in tow, and was greeted with shouts of "Oh, give me some of that sweet, sweet guacamole" and "Quick, I'm going to tear that thing open and have my way with it" - all this from people who have eaten it once! When I was packing up ready to leave people were huddled around the left over mango salsa (the guac had disappeared hours ago) and I had to fight them for my bowl back - agreeing to stay a few extra minutes while they all but licked the bowl. And today, I've received two emails telling me how good it was.

All these compliments, I try to be modest and just smile and say thank you - all the while hiding my fraud-status. I do not lace this with intoxicating drugs, and these people have not been hypnotized, and I do not know what they think is so amazing about this stuff. But, for you, I'm going to FINALLY share my secret. Here is how I make Guacamole and Mango Salsa.

*about 5 or 6 avocados
*one large, or two small mangoes
*two containers of mild pico de gallo (fresh from the grocery store, usually in the produce section. I used to use this, but in TX I use a different brand)
*one container of medium pico de gallo
*one small lime
*fresh mint, if I feel like it.

In one bowl I combine all the containers of pico de gallo, this is to let it sit together and the flavors to have more time to marry. (ohh, good word!) Also, this is in case my company shows up before I'm done - and the first thing in the trash is any evidence of store bought ingredients! Then I slice the avocados in half and squeeze the guts into a bowl. Using a potato masher I smash them up. Now I add in about half of the pico de gallo, slowly, until it looks like about the right combination of green and red. Squeeze the juice from half a lime into it, cover it up, and put it in the fridge. Then I cube up the mangoes. I've not yet figured these out - there is no pit, but something hard is in the center. I end up just slicing weird shapes off the sides until I can't go anymore, and I often feel like I am wasting a lot of mango. Once it's all cubed, I throw that in the bowl with the rest of the pico de gallo. Squeeze in the juice of the other lime half, and chop up some fresh mint (if i feel like it) and throw it on top. This gets covered and put in the fridge too, right up until you're ready to go!

And there you have it, my "world" famous, to die for, there must be drugs in this, guacamole and mango salsa. Hey, if Sandra Lee can do it, so can I!

Sometimes a plate of roasted asparagus doused in lemon juice hits the spot. Tonight was one of those nights. Fifteen days until my local farmers markets open up for the season, and I cannot wait.

Okra

It's been a busy few weeks chez-moi. I've made two batches of German Chocolate Cupcakes, which are by the way - A-MAZING! I made banana bread, which I hear was good. But, I'd like to showcase the non-baking culinary skills tonight. For the meat-eaters among us, here is a great, simply, fancy chicken recipe that comes straight from Rachel Ray herself (it's no NOTsagna, but it'll do!)

Sesame and Herbes de Provence Chicken Tenders

I've made this before, I've used skewers and threaded the chicken on them, but this time I ditched those. I further streamlined the process by combining all the "coating" ingredients into a ziploc bag and putting the chicken tenders in a few at a time, a la Shake-n-Bake style, and they were coated quickly and nearly mess free! I do suggest going a little easy on the sea salt, as the rest of the herbes seem to be somewhat salted, and this last batch came out pretty salty.

Along side, I finally did it - I grilled some Okra! It was so yummy. I put some olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, and soaked the okra in tat for a little while. I pre-heated a griddle, and then grilled the okra, flipping them a few times. Some of the okra seemed to "pop" open after being grilled a bit, but the end result was so great. I think this might be my new favorite vegetable...and it seems like it's pretty good for me!

I fought the frosting and. . . I won.

I recently bought a fabulous book. It's called Cake Art, and it was put out by the Culinary Institute of America. These people are serious. I like them. Let's back track though, shall we?

This is a cake I made for my sister-in-law's graduation party. It was my go-to chocolate cake recipe, off of the Hershey's cocoa powder package. The FROSTING however, was one I wanted to test out for the 50th wedding anniversary cakes I'm making in May. Holy crap, it IS May! Well I guess you'll be seeing pictures of those cakes soon too. Anyway, the frosting was swiss meringue buttercream, which from what I've been reading, it a typical frosting used on wedding cakes because it can stay out a room temperature and hold its shape for at least a few hours.

I did try to make swiss meringue buttercream not too long ago. The recipe I used that time however was from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook -- another terrific book. The woman is totally nuts, but has some great tips, ideas, and recipes (usually. . . ). The frosting (and maybe I didn't beat it long enough) was really thin, and much too sweet for my taste. So I knew when I read the swiss meringue buttercream recipe in Cake Art, with less sugar and more butter, that it would be exactly what I was looking for.

I followed the recipe precisely, as I've fought with frosting in the past and wasn't going to let the frosting win again. . . or at least this time. Let me tell you, it was the perfect spreading consistency and it was creamy with a deliciously light taste. I won.