Archives 'Baking Beauties
for the Betty Crocker within
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Young & HungryIf you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! |
| 6 August |
Happy Saturday, Atlanta!
Set your DVRs for the 11 Alive Saturday morning news at 9:00 am where I will be demonstrating the fabulous Buttermilk Carrot Cake, aka Best Carrot Cake EVER! Below, a link to the broadcast online:
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http://www.11alive.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=437712397001
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Enjoy!
| 23 June |
Red, white, and blueberry
With the 4th of July already on the horizon, it’s time to start thinking…dessert! Last year, I graced my table with Ina Garten’s marvelous flag cake and this year, I turn to Ms. Ina once again, as she is the reigning queen of summer sweets that are as pretty as they are delicious. This crumble bakes up crispy on top, lusciously fruity on bottom, while the peaches and blueberries meld together to create a lovely sauce. It’s a perfect, simple way to pay homage to the country that provides us with so much.
| 13 June |
Calling all soon-to-be-Mrs (Christine, this means you!) Above, the cake I made for a friend’s bachelorette party. I took my inspiration from the previously posted Lizzy Cakes and kept with the lingerie theme yielding a fun, girly, delicious treat, guaranteed to slay any wedding stress or Bridezilla behavior!
| 2 May |
Bananalicious!
In honor of my young, hungry, and NEWLY ENGAGED co-blogger, I present this chocolate chip banana bread recipe that I adapted from foodnetwork.com. Christine makes a legendary banana chocolate chip cake and while I would never claim to out-bake it, this recipe is a quick and easy substitute. I recommend eating it with a diamond ring on your left hand….congrats, Christine, I love you!!!!!
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| 23 April |
When does our perception of birthdays change? I’m guessing it is somewhere between 21 and 25. The ages, after which, you no longer need that extra year as an enabler. There are other benefits that the years deliver, however. Knowledge, wealth, friendships, and experience all build over time, but these are often overshadowed by achy backs, extra pounds, and ever growing responsibilities. Either way, I think there are two main offenders to which we can point our fingers.
| 11 April |
Straight from Strawberryland!
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Strawberries have begun to abound in the farmers’ markets…..love that. I decided to channel my inner Strawberry Shortcake and make a good ol’ fashioned, all American, make you feel good inside strawberry rhubarb pie.
| 1 April |
I don’t know when exactly I fell in love with the concept of Bed & Breakfasts, but I can recall at least a couple fond memories of beds and breakfasts past. The first was on my tour de colleges all around the southeast. My recollection of that stay, being more than 10 years ago, is limited to a delicious Mocha Muffin Recipe. My next experience found me actually in college and staying with my parents and Grandmother in a nearby residence in Winston Salem for Easter. We had both the western style basement suite and a Victorian room upstairs. B&Bs tend to gravitate towards themed rooms; a trait I find quite endearing. Since then I lived next to a very pretty B&B on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. It actually went up for sale, but after several attempts that at least I thought were quite compelling to convince my parents to purchase the beautiful house for Mom to redecorate and me to manage, I was denied.
This trip found me on a tour de Florida and in the lovely town of St. Petersburg where we stayed at the Larelle House on a lazy cobblestone street lined with droopy moss, yet bright with history. The house dated to way back before I was around and was constructed by a hardware salesman for his bride to be! I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect place. Walking up the gated entrance you immediately feel relaxed surrounded by the lush green yard soon to spot the big front porch swing that you just can’t wait to plop down on! But wait, your host Larry is about to welcome you in and give you a tour of his home, beautifully decorated with a myriad of antiques by his wife. When you think it can’t get better, you catch a glimpse of the backyard where they have bicycles for the guests aka yours truly to enjoy and the most elegant underground hot tub surrounded by a flowery gazebo in case you need to relax after a hard day’s vacation. Grabbing a homemade cookie on the way upstairs, the four rooms, themed of course, are just as delightful. I stayed in the Longley room named after the original owner, which sported very luxurious fabrics, a giant fantasy sized bed, and the courtesy bottle of sherry that comes with all the rooms. Since there were only two couples staying at the time I was able to peek into the Hemingway room, which was more studious, but with a dash of fun courtesy of the leopard accents. The Victorian room was also quite nice and just as rosy pink as you would imagine it to be.
| 27 March |
Chocolate Overdose
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While shopping at my local Kroger a few months ago, I noticed that the esteemed Scharffen Berger chocolate house had come out with a line of baking chunks. Even better, Kroger was offering them at what I estimate to be a loss leading price point and I therefore stocked up on 6 bags. What to do with a surplus of baking chunks, you ask? Why bake, of course!
| 24 March |
Bon jour!
As mentioned before, I’ve gone macaron crazy! Here is a recipe I took from my I (Heart) Macarons by Hisako Ogita. I highly recommend purchasing the book if you’re serious about perfecting this craft as it is incredibly detailed, with step-by-step instructions and photographs. Below is a recipe that I slightly simplified and decided to tint blue to help usher in spring (note: make the batter darker than the desired color as they will lighten while baking—reference my weirdly light blue / green result.)
| 19 March |
Strata. The savory sibling of sweet bread pudding. A breakfast casserole or stuffing of sorts. I do love a good strata.
There are so many fabulous things about stratas I barely know where to begin. How about with the fact that you can make them a day ahead and sleep in the morning of consumption? Or what about the flexibility of knowing that you can use almost anything you have around as long as you have a few key ingredients that are standard pantry staples(see strata take 2)? My new favorite thing about the strata is that I can bake it in the standard casserole dish, individual ramekins, OR I can bake it in one large pan and then use ramekins or cookie cutters to divide it into pretty little individual portions and then top with a poached egg. As with bread pudding that can now be found in every variation from sweet potato to s’more, the sky’s the limit!
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