Halloween 2010!

Sorry these are so late, I am a bad blogger!  Here are some pics from the 1st pumpkin carving JV and I did this year. 

Chef Chloe's Vegan Raspberry Tiramisu Cupcakes Or HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

I have a vegan for a Father.  And a vegetarian for a Mother.  It being said Father's Birthday, I volunteered to make the dessert.  I had been wanting to test out Chef Chloe's Raspberry Tiramisu Cupcakes, which won an episode of Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, and this was my chance!

So Cute!

Creme Brulee

Because I was left with another plethora of egg yolks, I decided to undertake the mission of making Creme Brulee, recipe courtesy of my baking bible, "Baking", by James Peterson.  This was something I had always avoided in the past, mainly because of the complete and utter unhealthiness of the recipe.  Oh, and not having a kitchen torch also had something to do with it.

Martha Stewart's Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

The saga of creating delicious noms from leftover portions of previous leftover noms continues.  Once again, I had a tub of lemon curd with which I have been waiting to bake with.  When I saw this amazing recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book, I couldn't wait to give it a shot.

 

 First things first, starting simple, I made the cupcakes.

Delicious Noms of St. Louis

          After living in St. Louis for most of my life, I FINALLY had occasion to get myself to the renowned Gooey Louie's, and OMG, I was not disappointed!  It kind of seemed like whenever I drove by the store (which is A LOT) it was closed, so that contributes to my never having been there.  One day, I had the day off, was craving something sweet, and happened to notice a giant "Open" sign outside the store as I drove by.  So exciting!  I drove down the alley and parked in the back as the sign instructed.  

We Went on Vacation. 3 Months Ago.

So, this post comes a tad late, but you know how the saying goes.  For vacation this year, the BF and I went on our annual trip to our family home in gorgeous Jamestown, Rhode Island.  Due to odd timing, we were forced to visit at the very beginning of June, when RI is not at it's absolute warmest.  Although it was too cool to swim, the weather was gorgeous, and we had a great relaxing time NOT running around taking day trips to various cities.

Raspberry Lemon Mini Cheescakes in Macaroon Crust

What a happy coincidence!  I happened across this mouth-watering recipe at the exact moment in my life in which I have lemon curd to spare!  This recipe for Red and Golden Raspberry Lemon Baby Cheesecake Pies from Picky Palate looked so delicious, I just had to give it a shot. 

Lemon Curdalicious

So, after making Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, I had about a gajillion (fine, 8) egg yolks I needed to find a use for. After debating for about 2 seconds on what I should concoct, I landed upon a promising recipe for Lemon Curd.  I know, it's not the prettiest format, and since I made this recipe I've found about 6 other recipes all using slightly varied ingredients (number of yolks, butter or no...).  All that leads me to believe that a recipe for Lemon Curd is just a general suggestion, and that you can pretty much change it up slightly with little or no recriminations. 

Tanner's Meat and Vegetable Marinades

Yay for summer!  It's time to get our grill on, thanks to the totally rad Christmas present given to the BF by my parents; the one, the only, the Weber grill!!!  Hooray!  Until this summer we had been having to make do with a teeny tiny grill, which fit practically nothing on it.  Now we can fill it up and have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, yippee!

Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

Hey Y'all!  Since it was going to be my Mom's birthday, not to mention my Aunt's birthday, AND my Uncle's 50th birthday, I decided to venture into the realm of cake-baking for the event.

I love cake, OMG! 

Empanadas, Ole!

Lately I have been craving things wrapped in dough.  All this thinking about tarts, hand-pies, mini-purses, and the like have got me wondering, "Hey, can't I eat my main course wrapped in dough too?"  Lo and behold, a random recipe for Empanadas, from who knows where!  All the deliciousness of a pie with the savory meatiness of a meal!  Yay!  If I knew where I found this recipe, I would certainly give props to the creator; unfortunately, when I printed it up a few months ago, it lost all trace of its ancestry.  Bad blogger!

Vegan Apricot Tart

Since it's the season when we are lucky enough to experience an abundance of juicy summer fruits, I have been looking for ways to turn healthy snacks into guilty pleasures.  Orangette has this perfectly simple recipe for an Apricot Tart, with no icky gelatin glaze or any unnecessary froofs or frills; just pure, pristine, TART fruit.

Wow, that was yummy

Would you like to meet my Watermelon?

Nice to meet you!

Chicken Curry Meatballs

I found this absolutely OUTSTANDING recipe for Chicken Curry Burgers at Vanilla Sugar, a most awesome flog.  This recipe is fantastic for all the right reasons; it is super easy and quick to prepare, and I swear, it tastes like it came from a restaurant! 

Mmmm, skillet noms

Honeycomb

I found this recipe for delectable Honeycomb Candy on the Seattlest, via the Kitchn.  I am in love with two things here:  the Kitchn, a totally bitchn flog with tips and recipes galore, and, doy, Honeycomb Candy!  One of my faves from Bissinger's or one of those other choco shops, Honeycomb candy has been a family staple for decades.  I  never knew how easy it was to make it at home!  Seriously, only 4 ingredients!?! Shut up talkin' to me!  I got my ingredients together, readied a small baking pan with my silicone mat, broke out my digital thermometer and big ol' pot, and was set to go.

It's all about product placement

My "Woooo, Go Saints Party"

The BF decided to invite a couple of his friends over for the Superbowl a few weeks ago, giving me the perfect opportunity to make a smorgasboard of sweets and dips.  I made some "Best Veggie Dip Ever" from the Food Processor Bible (which I didn't happen to think was THAT impressive), some guacamole from the same book, which was delish, even though I added an entire extra lime, and some tasty plain-old onion dip.  There were chips and veggies galore, and then we ordered pizza and wings!  Total excuse for a pig-out fest.  For dessert, I decided to make some cupcakes decorated with footballs and the Saint's logo.  I was excited about using my new decorating tips to make the green around the footballs look like grass, but the icing recipe I used was too thin, so I had to make do with flat turf.

I didn't include a pic of the Saint's logo cupcakes because they were kinda hideous!  They were most definitely mocked.  Apparently they looked like sickles, or some flag, or something to do with pirates.

Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treats

We wouldn't want to be Doggist and leave the doggie out of the fun, would we now?  Newman is the BF's Boston Terrier, I call him my step-child.  Poor Mr. Newman is a very good boy, but he has, um, some digestive issues.  Let's just say he doesn't smell so great sometimes.  I  heard that pumpkin can be soothing to a doggie's tummy, so for Christmas, I decided to make him some of his very own, made with love, Pumpkin Doggie Biscuits.  I found this fantastic recipe at Simmer Till Done, a fantastic blog about foodie life.   

Homemade Hypoallergenic Cat Food and Treats

If you don't know by now, I have a cat who is extremely allergic to everything - he has both food allergies and airborne particle allergies!  This makes it extremely tough on us.  Because of him, I have to make homemade cat food and treats, and try to make sure that he does not get ahold of any food particles he is not supposed to have.  All of that entails actually having to hide the dog's food bowl, feed the OTHER cat homemade food as well, make sure all dishes in the sink have no food particles, and also establish special feeding times (3 times a day) when I microwave the cat's meals for them.  Not to mention all of the pills.  Sheesh, I swear, you'd think I'm a crazy cat lady!

O'Malley and Pinky enjoying their treats

Deeeelicious Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Well hello again! I am back, so sorry for the long delay! It has taken me two whole months to recover from the festivities of Christmas. I have been busy playing with all of my toys! Among other amazing and generous gifts, the BF presented me with an awesome Kindle for Christmas, and I have just become so addicted to the thing. Highly recommended! He also gave me this: