Ganache Greatness

As I stated on my last post, I made my first "fancy" cake with ganache, and tried the Chocolate Cake from Whisk Kid's blog (my new favorite blog by the way).  It was soooo good.  I couldn't use her icing due to the whole "raw egg" factor and certain health issues some of my co-workers are having right now.  So, I used the "Quick Vanilla Buttercream" recipe that I found on the Food Network site and it turned out really well.  I also used Whisk Kid's Peanut Butter Ganache recipe, but added 1/2 cup more peanut butter because I wanted the PB taste to sing a little more.  Her picture of the cake was just gorgeous, but I'm still starting out and needing a little (as in a whole heck of a lot) more practice to get to her level.  Her ganache called for dark chocolate, so I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips.  I had some left over and didn't have time to make the chocolate curls so I threw those on top.... don't judge me!
The cake was insanely delicious and I will make it for all other chocolate cakes in the future.   I really enjoyed the ganache, too.  It got the wheels in my head turning about how to make it mocha flavored next time. 
Here's the pictures.... and yes.... the cake is a little lopsided and not iced perfectly but it was crazy late and "Biggie Smalls" was having a rough night so I didn't have time to purty' it up like I wanted to.  

 My co-workers are still fighting for this very last piece of cake.  I wont lie, it makes me feel good!  Heeh heeh!  I know the last 2 pics are a little gross, and not "blog beautiful" but I thought it was hilarious how these 7 women tore this cake up!  The last picture shows the ganache in the middle above the icing layer.  The recipe made A TON of ganache and I wished I had used more, but I was afraid of it squishing out and being gross. 
Check out Whisk Kid's blog for the recipes and also see her insanely gorgeous rainbow cake that is the next task on my list. 

cake trials

I made my first "fancy" cake last night.  It turned out pretty good.  It was supposed to look like this (from Whisk Kid's blog):

.... but suffice to say it did not.  But it still tasted delicious.  Little man is good, we are good, things are good.  I'm a little bit out of my mind with work and having to move my office since our satellite office is closing.  I thought I was originally going to have to work out of the Pittsboro office (an hour and a half commute) but I begged my boss and the agency has graciously allowed me to work out of the downtown Durham (insert gun shots, pepper spray, and scream sounds here) office, which will "only" be an hour commute.  I'll take it over not having a job at this point.  We're supposed to move tomorrow.  I have no boxes packed.... NONE.  It's my own person protest.  Needless to say it's not getting me far. 
I'll post pics and reviews of this cake when I get a little more settled.  Love you all.  Thanks for checking in!

Carrot Cake Deliciousness!

Mom had her birthday in January and my sister and I got our babies together and celebrated with her. I used Martha Stewart's Carrot Cake, and holy mackerel it was good! That icing was to die for. Enjoy!

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pound carrots (8 to 10 medium carrots), peeled and shredded on a box grater or in a food processor (about 2 3/4 cups)
• 2 cups pecans (1 cup finely chopped for batter, 1 cup coarsely chopped for decorating sides of cake)
• Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
2. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat 3 minutes. Add vanilla, water, and carrots. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen, and turn out cakes onto rack. Turn right side up, and let cool completely.
4. Using a serrated knife, trim rounded top of 2 cakes. Place one trimmed cake, cut side up, on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with second trimmed cake, cut side down. Spread 1 cup frosting over cake. Top with remaining cake. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Gently press coarsely chopped pecans onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 1 day, covered) before serving.

So, I lied.....

Yeah, I lied.... I didn't post anything yesterday like I said I would. I brough my camera to work, but I had so many patients to see yesterday that I never got a chance to post. So, here are our pictures! We had 2 Thanksgivings, one with Phillip's family, and one with just us and college friends that came to visit. It was so wonderful to see them. It's been a year now and I really do miss them!

Getting ready to go to Aunt TT's for dinner

He's so freakin' cute!

Diving in to some yummy Thanksgiving Dinner!

The grown-up table that we've been allowed to join since we had Carter :) LOL!

The dinner I cooked! Yummy! Not as much as my mom makes, but I'm not sure I could've done more!

(Oh, and P.S.... I have the BEST recipe for crockpot mac and cheese! DELISH!)

Accent decorations- Tip from Martha to add cranberries to your fall flowers

Our table

Where's my food momma?!!

I made pumpkin pie (thank god it didn't turn out like my pecan pie did!) and Pumpkin Spice Cucakes and Cinnamon Cream Cheese icing with candy acorns (Totalllly did not taste like pumpkin and were AMAZZZZING!! Our guests cleared through 1/2 of them before I even got to ice them!)

The Acorn Toppers (made from caramels, dipped in chocolate, then dipped in sprinkles)

Sam and Katrina, our guests :)

I never thought I'd miss the boy, but I really do!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Babies

So, I haven't been completely void of cooking and baking since I've been away. I'm working on getting the recipe up for you guys to a Paula Deen cake that I made. It was INSANELY moist and goooood! But, I guess you'll have to settle for these, which I found in the Kraft Food & Family Magazine (love it!):

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Babies

1 pkg. (19 to 21 oz.) brownie mix (13x9-inch pan size)

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

20 maraschino cherries

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE brownie batter as directed on package. Spoon into 20 paper-lined muffin cups.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla with mixer until blended. Spoon 1 rounded Tbsp. into center of batter in each cup, pressing down slightly into batter. Bake 30 min. or until centers are set. Cool.

SERVE topped with COOL WHIP and cherries.

These babies were super fast to make and turned out pretty well. The only thing I would have to say is that "pressing" the peanut butter part into the inside is not as easy as it sounds.

I was in a hurry to make them, so mine didn't turn out as pretty as the picture they have. This is what theirs looks like:

This is how mine turned out after the Cool-Whip had melted:

Update #2

Ok, so here's "...the rest of the story"....

Carter is really growing fast. He's catching up in his weight and really is quite the chunk now compared to what he used to be. He had his four month shots a couple weeks ago and if it were up to me children wouldn't have to go through that..... EVER!!! It was horrible! Little man screamed his brains out and was pitiful for a week afterward. Not to mention the nurses failed to tell me that it could make him have a temperature and he certainly did. I was freakin' out. The babysitter called and told me his temp was over 99, so I went down to get him and it was over 101. Definitely scared this little momma. My babysitter was the only one who clued me in that the temp could probably be from the shots...... very aggravating. It's sad that there's only one pediatricians office in this area. It's ridiculous to make an appointment for 4:00 and not be seen until 6. It's not fair to the families and it's not fair to the children who are tired of sitting in one spot, they are hungry, and they are rubbing their little germ ladden hands all over each other and the toys in the waiting area and passing grossness back and forth. Not to mention, it's not fair to have me come in for vaccinations when you are out of stock and I have to come back AGAIN the next week. ARRRRGGGG!!~

Ok, I'm off my soapbox. Carter weighed 13 pounds and 14 ounces at that checkup! I'm so excited because we looked back at his records and he weighed just over 7 pounds back in December!! Little man has definitely made some progress!! I've mentioned before how he is enrolled in early intervention services with the agency that I work with, and how he sees a nutritionist here. Well, the nutritionist saw him a week after his pediatricians appointment and he weighed 14 pounds 7 ounces!!! Little heffer! He no longer needs nutrition services and graduated from the program because he has made so much progress!! I'm just so happy about it and so excited that he is doing so well.

Now, I gotta tell you about my first "crazy-mommy-moment". Our babysitter (we will call her P) just took on another little boy to watch over. I was talking to P as she was standing with her daughter (we will call her T). This little boy, we will call him "Devil", crosses the room, pinches T, and walks back to his toys. "Devil" proceeds to do this three times, all the while I'm watching him and wanting to scold him. P puts "Devil" in time out for a second. He gets up from time out and walks over to Carter, my little baby Carter, who is the youngest and smallest of all 5 children P keeps. My mind starts FLYYYYING! I just KNEW he was about to pinch Carter. I was on this kid like white on rice. I dart over to him and pick up Carter so the Devil wont pinch him. All the while my mind is going a hundred miles an hour thinking, "So help my God! If you pinch my kid I will knock your ever loving block off!!! I don't know you, I don't know your name, your parent's name, or anything else besides the fact that you will be flattened to the floor if you touch my son!!!" I just don't think I've ever moved so fast. Dear Lord, I'm totally stressing the days that Carter has to go to daycare and gets pinched and bitten by other children. I will have to be put in restraints to not go after that other child or their parents. .......ok...... breathe!!!!!......

As a side note, here is a delictable recipe my cousin sent me. I haven't had a chance to cook it and give you any kind of insight on it, but she always makes good food, so I trust her :) Enjoy!!!

Oh, and she didn't give me a name for it, but said it was to die for. So, I'll go with it.....

To Die For Pie

Cream together 1 block of cream cheese at room temperature & Mix 1 can Eagle Brand Milk & 1 large container of cool whip. Prepare 2 deep dish pie crusts. Sautee pecans & flake cocoanut in a little butter until toasted lightly (however much you like for your pie) Pour 1/4 of the mixture cream cheese in the bottom of each crust. pour a good amount of caramel ice cream topping on the mixture & top with cocoanut & pecan mixture, then layer another layer of the cream cheese, then caramel again, then cocoanut & pecan on top. Put in freezer until well chilled.

I NEED THIS!!!

I need these pans like it's nobody's business!! You can find them at Sur La Table if you are as desperate to have them as I am:

Administrators Day

Tomorrow is Administrators Day. The front desk person in our office is a great friend of mine. She is absolutely obsessed with chocolate and peanut butter, so I'm going to make her a treat. These are from one of my favorite sites, Divine Domesticity. It's her Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes
Makes 18-24 cupcakes (Mine made 18, original recipe says it makes 24)

1 (18 1/2 ounce) package chewy fudge brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)
24 Miniature peanut butter cups or 1 (12 ounce) bag of peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the package for cake-like brownies. Fill the cups half way with brownie mix. Add one miniature peanut butter cup to each. Add batter on top to cover the peanut butter cup.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are set. When they have cooled a bit, remove them from the muffin tins and let cool completely on a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
Recipe by Paula Deen

Recipes!! (finally)

Here are the recipes to some of the best stuff ever to hit your tastebuds. And their easy too.... you know I wouldn't do it any other way!

Hot Artichoke & Spinach Dip

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed/drained
14 oz. artichoke hearts, drained/coarsely chopped (this is the most time consuming part)
1 cup shredded Parmesan - Romano cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
10 oz. prepared alfredo sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into small pieces

Combine all and put into sprayed baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. I served mine with bagel chips and it was the best~!

Grape Salad- the most refreshingly lovely thing you've ever had

• 1 pounds seedless green grapes
• 1 pound seedless red grapes
  
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 container of Marshmallow Fluff (7 ounces?)
• Chopped Pecans (optional)

Wash and de-stem all grapes. In a large bowl, mix together room temperature cream cheese and fluff with mixer until smooth. Fold in grapes. (optional pecans can be folded in here as well).
Easy right??!!!!

Momma's Fruity Punch

2 liters gingerale
1 can frozen mixed berry concentrate
1 can frozen citrus concentrate

Mix together for cup-o-goodness.

Looks evil, tastes delicious!

Why is it that stuff that looks horrifying is delicious? This was the case with dinner last night. One of my favorite things in the whole world is taco night, especially because of refried beans. (I'm a plain Jane kind of girl and usually eat only cheese with my taco and beans, so don't make fun of how bland it looks) In the case of the refried bean... how could anyone eat these. They smell disgusting coming out of the can, they look awful, but they are so delicious!

What is another food I love, you ask? That would have to be Sweet Sixteen Donuts by Hostess. They are amazing. There is no other powdered donut like this. And of course, since I love them so much, they aren't sold anywhere close to the city I live in. No one knows why, and no one has noticed until I brought it up to some friends how much Phillip and I scour the country for them. Now, it's inevitable that whenever our friends go to the store, they find themselves looking for these donuts... but can never find them! So, needless to say, when we go home, my mom always picks some up for us. Gotta love a sweet momma! These below are from a friend who found some at a store close to his parent's home. He was kind enough to bring some back and I have been hording them in my desk since I got them. Another thing to be on the look out for.... Hershey's Mint Bars. These bars and the white chocolate bars are my favorite creation from Hershey's. They aren't sold anymore, but my friends insist that they are, so... inevitably, they are also on the prowl for these bars. If you see them please let me know where!
I made mommy's banging butter cream mints last night for Monica's shower that's this weekend. I'm super psyched about them. They are SO good!
Hints for the recipe: *The mix takes a while to turn from powder to a thick consistency- be patient *Make these in a large mixer if you have one, the mix gets very tough to turn *Add only a few drops of food coloring at a time (making sure to mix it fully after each test) or you'll get one ugly concoction *Taste your mints before rolling them to make sure you have the minty taste you want *If your mix is warm you will need to refrigerate it so it doesn't turn to mush while rolling *I halved this recipe and still got a crap load of mints out of them.

Mommy's Banging Butter Cream Mints
4 lb. powdered sugar sifted
1 8-ounce bar cream cheese softened
2 1/2 sticks real butter at room temp
8-10 drops of mint flavoring
Tad of food coloring of choice (or you can leave this off and they just come out a nice ivory color.
After everything is mixed and the color is what you want (or no color), roll the dough into "snakes" and cut them. Usually kind of on the small side - a little less than the size of half a large marshmallow.

I made mine small (about the size of miniature marshmallows)

My blue beauties