Better-than-sex Cake

One thing I had realized over the last couple years is that birthdays change. Eventually, there are no more balloons, no more streamers, no more party hats and no more swimming parties with all your friends. Even the little annoying blowy things that look like a frog’s tongue are gone. Now I’m not complaining. I would be a little embarrassed if all that came back when I turn 25. What I’m saying is that birthdays just aren’t that special when you get older. My parents would rather not be reminding that they are another year closer to dentures and canes. 

I turned 22 on September 12^th. The night before, my mom and I went to the mall where I picked out the shoes and clothes that I wanted. I got a call from my dad, who was in Mesquite, Nevada for a conference and from my mother-in-law as well. I went to work and went to class like the big girl that I am. I coached my 13 year old sister’s soccer game (we won, happy birthday to me!). My mom brought cupcakes to the game and gave them to the girls to celebrate my birthday. I felt a little childish, like a 13 year old. We went home and opened a couple presents, I studied for class and then went to bed. 

All in all, it was a pretty good birthday. Except for one thing. I didn’t have a birthday cake! Its not a birthday without the birthday cake! So three weeks later, my mom taught me how to make my favorite cake. Better-than-sex cake.

I’ll walk you through it. This is what you’ll need:

A box of Chocolate cake mix (Devil’s Food chocolate is my favorite)

1 jar of caramel (Mrs. Richardson brand is best, 2^nd best is the Hershey’s brand)

1 can of Sweetened condensed milk

Whipping cream

A couple Score candy bars

Alright, cook the cake mix as directed. While you let the cake cool, pour one can of sweetened condensed milk and the caramel in a pot over the stove. Heat and stir until well mixed. Now that the cake has cooled, take the handle of a rubber spatula (or something that is about ½-1 in wide) and poke holes in the cake. Don’t be timid, stab that cake! Even I can’t mess this part up. The holes should be about  1 inch apart. After you have finished, pour the caramel mixture evenly over the cake. Put it in the fridge for at least an hour. Spread the whipped cream over the cake. Crush the Score candy bars into small pieces and sprinkle over the whipped cream. Ta da!! You have Better-than-sex cake! Enjoy and decide for yourself!

Rookie baked cookies!

Cookies! This success of the week was pretty encouraging. My neighbors had a barbeque on Sunday. As usual I asked what I could bring, and then went the Walmart to buy it. This time, I was asked  to bring cookies. I was determined, after my chicken incident, to bake the cookies and not burn them. I picked one of the many recipes I’ve collected over the past few months, Oreo Cream cheese cookies.

Following the directions meticulously, I mixed the ingredients together. When I got to the part where you roll the buttery batter in the Oreo crumbs, I found that there are three helpful things:

        1. Someone who will eat the filling of the Oreo cookies (Ryan).

2      2. A pulse blender to quickly crush the Oreos to a small size.

3      3. A cookie scoop or clean hands.

4      4. Parchment paper.

  I put the crumbs into a small bowl and attempted to scoop the batter and throw the slab of gooeyness into the bowl. After the batter kept sticking to my cookies scoop, I started balling up the batter with my hands. I tossed the ball into the bowl, pushed it around with a spoon until it was covered to my liking. The parchment paper is a must, because as you’ll see, the bottom side of your cookies will be scorched without it. I slid my first batch into the oven and started the timer for 12 minutes. My first batch was a little crispy, so the next batch I only baked for about 8-9 minutes.
     
       I took the cookies on a big plate with plastic wrap wrapped clumsily around the edges. I set the plate down and was more focused on the entry, barbeque ribs. Yeah, our neighbors know how to through a party. While eating my ribs, with barbeque sauce caked on my fingers and smeared on my chin, one by one, people started coming up to me to tell me how much they liked my cookies. I’m not used to that reaction. It felt so good, to make something that was edible and tasty! Try the recipe for yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. There are a lot of versions of this recipe, but I chose this version.

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/03/22/oreo-cheesecake-cookies/

"I told you I put it in too early!" said Catherine

I wanted to have dinner all ready by the time my husband, Ryan got home at 7:00 pm. I searched the fabulous world of Pinterest and found a recipe that Ryan would love. Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Chicken. Sounds ritzy, right? Ryan would love the artichokes and chicken, so if I could make it edible everything would be great. I started cooking the chicken in the pan. I left the chicken to cook and went into the living room where my homework was scattered everywhere. I had a minute, so I started reading Cry, The Beloved Country. I read the first page, and the next page, and the next, before I realized that the chicken needed to be turned! I ran to the stove and had to use a spatula to separate the chicken from its newfound lover, pan. Flipping the breasts over, I found third degree burns. I looked pretty bad, but I persevered! The chicken part was done… I looked at the recipe to see what was next and almost cried when I saw that I was only supposed to brown the chicken and then take it out. Mine was brown alright. But again, we forage ahead! I threw the rest of the ingredients into the pan, and returned my “browned” chicken to the mixture. Time to simmer for 5-10 minutes. This would have been the perfect time to relax, or say, I dunno, read a book! But I wasn’t leaving pan’s side. It had gone through enough abused today and I didn’t think burnt tomatoes and artichokes would behoove the chicken.

When Ryan came home, I had the chicken set out on the table ready to eat. We sat down and I nonchalantly stirred everything in my bowl, more focused on seeing Ryan’s first bite and his reaction. 

“This is good, baby! It’s a bit crispy, but really good!” he said. Ryan always encourages me and tries everything I cook. He gives little hints of truthful suggestions, followed by extravagant praise. He's such a good guinea pig! I definitely married the right person.

The burnt chicken flavor was lost in the mountains of tomatoes and artichokes. But the texture of crunchy pieces reminded me of the Grisword family’s turkey dinner. I feel for you Catherine! I think it could’ve been really good!  The moral of the story is to be attentive and alert while cooking and to thoroughly, and  if possible memorize, the recipe before you start cooking. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/artichoke-and-sun-dried-tomato-chicken/

Burnt cookies and wads of yarn

This last week has been full of triumphs and mess ups in my quaint kitchen. Just like any other hobby, it takes time and a lot of patience to master something. I remember my Aunt Debbie, The Quilt and Blanket Maker, trying to teach me how to crochet. She bought me fun, colorful yarn and my very own hook. I'd go over to her apartment and watch how fast she would create a perfect little doily. She also made me a set of washcloths that I still use in record time. We would practice while watching movies and talking about my eleven year old life. Eager to make my washcloth, I started practicing at home. I was enthusiastic and excited! I started off trying to make everything perfect, flawless. But when I finished row 4, it just looked like a flattened wad of yarn. I wanted results! And after I had produced the third wad of yarn, I gave up. I lost interest. And I really wish I hadn't now. But now that I'm trying to become the master of my kitchen, the cook of the house, giving up really isn't an option. I may not bake cookies like Betty Crocker but hey, I'm learning and getting better one recipe at a time.

Another Peachy Recipe

Last week was real peachy (no pun intended). I felt so successful and proud of the Upside Down Cake that I decided to make another peach recipe (and I had a lot of leftover, bruised peaches). So I asked my new friend, AllRecipes.com, for a peach recipe. There were a lot of tasty-looking recipes, but I chose the “Southern Peach Cobbler”. As I read through the reviews, most of them five stars, I noticed that many reviewers also left corrections they felt would make the recipe better. I decided to stick to the original recipe. 

I peeled the skin off the badly bruised, but really juicy peaches, and cut them up to put into a bowl. I followed the recipes exactly (Except I put an extra dash of nutmeg in. I like my nutmeg). I was disappointed with how liquidy it was, but that didn’t seem to affect the taste too much. My family all had a piece, with a little vanilla ice cream on top, of course. They all liked it. Even Kevin, my little 11 year old brother who doesn’t hand out the compliments too often, said it was good!

One thing I did notice is that the leftovers became quite soggy. It didn’t set up very well because I used bruised, kind of mushy peaches. So my advice when making this Southern Peach Cobbler, is buy fresh, firm peaches. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/southern-peach-cobbler-2/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=southern%20peach%20cobbler&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe