Showing posts with label sweets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sweets. Show all posts
Monday, December 28, 2009
Finally Free Time
I have been busy, just like everyone else this time of year. Christmas was fun. I love the decorating, shopping and baking. Of course there was no time for beads, nor did I get or ask for anything bead related this Christmas.(I did get great stuff from Etsy.) But I will be at the torch soon enough. So here is a photo recap of my past few weeks.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
My New Favorite Dessert
Just a real quick post. My friend made the best candy this last weekend. She always makes really good desserts and it is somewhat irritating. :) I make such complicated recipes and then here she comes with the best dessert made in 10 minutes, and with 3 ingredients. This time she made Oreo Truffles. OMG. They were so good I could have eaten 20 of them. The recipe was so easy it didn't even need to be written down.
1 Package Oreo cookies crushed
1 Stick of softened cream cheese
1 Package of vanilla chips
* I used fat free to be a little healthier and I hate cream cheese(For some reason fat free doesn't gross me out so much)
* I also used milk chocolate because my family doesn't like white chocolate
Mix crushed Oreos and cream cheese in large bowl. Roll into truffles and refrigerate while melting chocolate. Roll in melted chocolate and sprinkle with left over Oreo crumbs.
Yummy
1 Package Oreo cookies crushed
1 Stick of softened cream cheese
1 Package of vanilla chips
* I used fat free to be a little healthier and I hate cream cheese(For some reason fat free doesn't gross me out so much)
* I also used milk chocolate because my family doesn't like white chocolate
Mix crushed Oreos and cream cheese in large bowl. Roll into truffles and refrigerate while melting chocolate. Roll in melted chocolate and sprinkle with left over Oreo crumbs.
Yummy
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Calm After The Storm
Things have gone incredibly well. I really had my doubts about everything, only because I had so much planned. The croissants were quite an ordeal. I started on Friday and by Sunday morning we were eating yummy croissants. They weren't as good as Bouchon's but they were so much better than Starbucks. Mission accomplished.
Next on my to do list was my sons Halloween costume. I knew this was going to be a difficult costume, but I had no idea it was going to be this difficult. All it was going to be was a rectangle with 2 holes for arms and a hole for a neck, then came the hard part of the details. I was wrong the entire thing was hard. First I had to find stiff vinyl, found it put it was twenty something a yard. I ended up with a thin costume vinyl and use a stiff black backing on it. The Vinyl its self was a nightmare to work with, when using vinyl any needle hole can be seen permanently. So I had one chance to sew it right, and of coarse I didn't. Then I had poor planing on the arm and neck holes and ended up cutting them after I sewed the costume together. The apps I printed and laminated were the wrong size so that had to be done over again. The industrial strength glue had a mind of its own. The final touch was the lettering, and any mistakes on it and the costume was ruined. So last night, the night before his costume parade at school, I was in panic mode. Everything did turn out good in the end, and he had a pretty cool costume. Most importantly he was beyond happy with it. Oh, and my daughter decided to go trick or treating with her friend last minute and made her own costume which was a big hit. I am always so proud of her.
So, this weekend I will do some beads and tell you about them and the incredible class I took from Corina.
Next on my to do list was my sons Halloween costume. I knew this was going to be a difficult costume, but I had no idea it was going to be this difficult. All it was going to be was a rectangle with 2 holes for arms and a hole for a neck, then came the hard part of the details. I was wrong the entire thing was hard. First I had to find stiff vinyl, found it put it was twenty something a yard. I ended up with a thin costume vinyl and use a stiff black backing on it. The Vinyl its self was a nightmare to work with, when using vinyl any needle hole can be seen permanently. So I had one chance to sew it right, and of coarse I didn't. Then I had poor planing on the arm and neck holes and ended up cutting them after I sewed the costume together. The apps I printed and laminated were the wrong size so that had to be done over again. The industrial strength glue had a mind of its own. The final touch was the lettering, and any mistakes on it and the costume was ruined. So last night, the night before his costume parade at school, I was in panic mode. Everything did turn out good in the end, and he had a pretty cool costume. Most importantly he was beyond happy with it. Oh, and my daughter decided to go trick or treating with her friend last minute and made her own costume which was a big hit. I am always so proud of her.
So, this weekend I will do some beads and tell you about them and the incredible class I took from Corina.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Buttercream and Beads
I did get my beads done and took photos to prove it, but first I need to talk about sweets. I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting last week and they were the best I have made so far. The cake it's self can still be improved, I'm using a vegan recipe. But the frosting was to die for. Out of all the bakeries I have been to the best chocolate cake I have had surprisingly comes from Costco. This frosting was like the Costco frosting only better. So speaking of bakeries I made a trip with the family to Bouchon again. This time I got my staples; Bouchons, Chocolate Donuts, Peanut Butter Cups, Nutter Butters, and Croissants. I did try something new, the Lemon Tart. It was good, creamier than a lemon meringue, but I didn't fall in love with it. I am so glad I don't live closer, because I can not control myself around their treats.
So here are my beads. They aren't that special. Plain transparent turquoise, but they are perfectly round.(Mostly) It is so boring I don't even have any meltdowns to report. So now I am going to make these beads into a necklace with some pretty chain that I purchased a while ago and hopefully be able to post photos of the necklace on Monday. Meanwhile I am continuing to make plain round beads with a different color just to get more practice before my class this month. Maybe photos of those beads too on Monday????
So here are my beads. They aren't that special. Plain transparent turquoise, but they are perfectly round.(Mostly) It is so boring I don't even have any meltdowns to report. So now I am going to make these beads into a necklace with some pretty chain that I purchased a while ago and hopefully be able to post photos of the necklace on Monday. Meanwhile I am continuing to make plain round beads with a different color just to get more practice before my class this month. Maybe photos of those beads too on Monday????
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Am I More Productive Sick????
Not only am I fighting mysterious swelling but I got a cold on top of it. In between cold medicine and my prescription induced "comas" I did get a few things done.
My friend had a baby shower, which unfortunately I was heavily medicated for, but I did manage to make a Diaper Cake. It turned out pretty cute. It wasn't what I envisioned, but after 4 days of looking for taupe and blue toile ribbon I gave in a did just solid ribbon. I still like it, it would just be perfect if I could have found the right ribbon.
Since my trip to Napa I have been dreaming of ????? ( ugh, it is so hard for my brain to function right now. The only word I can think of is couture..designer... NO that's not right) GOURMET Rice Krispie Treats. I did a somewhat copy cat of the Neapolitan I had in Napa. They were yummy. I made the strawberry and chocolate recipe up so there is room for improvement, but overall I loved them. I have a few more flavors I would like to make, maybe this weekend.
I have also been working on beads.(Finally!) I am getting so much sleep during the day, as soon as I wake up in the morning I have lots of energy.(Until my morning pill takes affect.) So I made tons of beads on Saturday morning. I am working on my basics since I haven't been doing them for so long, and because I am taking a class in a few weeks to hopefully re-inspire me. As I have previously posted I am a freak about being perfect, so I have already begun to worry that I will suck in front of everyone in this class. But so far its like the old over used saying "it's like ridding a bike". I still have 3 sets of 6 round beads to make, but for now I'm going to take another nap.
My friend had a baby shower, which unfortunately I was heavily medicated for, but I did manage to make a Diaper Cake. It turned out pretty cute. It wasn't what I envisioned, but after 4 days of looking for taupe and blue toile ribbon I gave in a did just solid ribbon. I still like it, it would just be perfect if I could have found the right ribbon.
Since my trip to Napa I have been dreaming of ????? ( ugh, it is so hard for my brain to function right now. The only word I can think of is couture..designer... NO that's not right) GOURMET Rice Krispie Treats. I did a somewhat copy cat of the Neapolitan I had in Napa. They were yummy. I made the strawberry and chocolate recipe up so there is room for improvement, but overall I loved them. I have a few more flavors I would like to make, maybe this weekend.
I have also been working on beads.(Finally!) I am getting so much sleep during the day, as soon as I wake up in the morning I have lots of energy.(Until my morning pill takes affect.) So I made tons of beads on Saturday morning. I am working on my basics since I haven't been doing them for so long, and because I am taking a class in a few weeks to hopefully re-inspire me. As I have previously posted I am a freak about being perfect, so I have already begun to worry that I will suck in front of everyone in this class. But so far its like the old over used saying "it's like ridding a bike". I still have 3 sets of 6 round beads to make, but for now I'm going to take another nap.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The rest of Napa
After we went to Bouchon, we stopped at a non-food related stop. The Calistoga geyser Old Faithful. I went here with my parents as a kid and thought my kids should have the same torture, I mean experience. It is a very cheesy mud pond surrounded by picnic tables. Every 30 minutes the geyser erupts like a hose 60 feet in the air for maybe 3 minutes. That's it, all done that's what you see. Sorry kids, but its now a tradition, you will have to take your kids there too.
My husband joined in on the silly family sightseeing fun and suggested we stop at the petrified forest. Well, coming from the family I did, I already have seen the petrified forest and knew it was along the same lines as the geyser. So with a smirk I agreed. Basically it's like walking thought the foothills and every so often there is a fallen tree with a fence around it. The history behind it is interesting but once you see one petrified tree you have seen them all.
So now for the good stuff. Our next delicious stop was Woodhouse Chocolate. It's on a cute little street in St Helena. From the outside it looks like a chic jewelry boutique, and when you get inside the theme continues. Their walls are decorated with tapestries and glass shelves of china, with the beautiful chocolates displayed under glass cases. I felt like I was inside a beautiful candy box. I didn't eat any of the chocolates until a few days after we got home and here are the results. I am ruined. I have never had chocolates this good. They are so delicate and melt in your mouth, covering each taste bud with creamy chocolateness. In order from favorite to favorite is: Sur del Lago - dark chocolate, Fresh Mint - really fresh mint flavored chocolate, Champagne Truffle - white chocolate with Grande Champagne Cognac, Toasted Coconut - white chocolate and coconut filling, Heart of Darkness - dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, Milk Chocolate Caramel Mousse - caramel mousse, Brown Butter Ganache - browned butter chocolate covered in white chocolate, Honey - honey butter mousse. They were sooooo good. I am going to try a few more next time, Passion Fruit, Thai Ginger, Raspberry Chambord, Quatre Epices, and Fiori di Sicilia. I also had their Fluer de Sel, which are chocolate covered caramels sprinkled with sea salt. They were delicious and inspired me to make my own variations.
After eating lunch at Mary's Pizza Shack, we went to Annette's Chocolates. They were good but like I said I am now ruined by Woodhouse. We ordered Chocolate Covered Honey Combs, they were OK. My kids ordered giant Peanut Butter Cups, which they liked,but I just found out Bouchon has some so we will try theirs next time. Then we ordered the usual truffles peanut butter, coconut, dark chocolate, etc, but it just doesn't compare.
Our last stop was for dessert. I am not kidding. We went to The Chocolate Cow in Sonoma. We did not order any chocolate though, we were there for something else. SHAVE ICE. Yes, we went to Sonoma for Shave Ice and I will do it again. It is the closest thing to Hawaiian Shave Ice there is. You can even get it Hawaiian style with ice cream at the bottom. It is light and fluffy ice drenched in syrup, possibly too much syrup. Sorry no pictures of the Shave Ice but when I go back I will.
I am really considering going back this weekend, and by next year I will be as big as a house.
My husband joined in on the silly family sightseeing fun and suggested we stop at the petrified forest. Well, coming from the family I did, I already have seen the petrified forest and knew it was along the same lines as the geyser. So with a smirk I agreed. Basically it's like walking thought the foothills and every so often there is a fallen tree with a fence around it. The history behind it is interesting but once you see one petrified tree you have seen them all.
So now for the good stuff. Our next delicious stop was Woodhouse Chocolate. It's on a cute little street in St Helena. From the outside it looks like a chic jewelry boutique, and when you get inside the theme continues. Their walls are decorated with tapestries and glass shelves of china, with the beautiful chocolates displayed under glass cases. I felt like I was inside a beautiful candy box. I didn't eat any of the chocolates until a few days after we got home and here are the results. I am ruined. I have never had chocolates this good. They are so delicate and melt in your mouth, covering each taste bud with creamy chocolateness. In order from favorite to favorite is: Sur del Lago - dark chocolate, Fresh Mint - really fresh mint flavored chocolate, Champagne Truffle - white chocolate with Grande Champagne Cognac, Toasted Coconut - white chocolate and coconut filling, Heart of Darkness - dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, Milk Chocolate Caramel Mousse - caramel mousse, Brown Butter Ganache - browned butter chocolate covered in white chocolate, Honey - honey butter mousse. They were sooooo good. I am going to try a few more next time, Passion Fruit, Thai Ginger, Raspberry Chambord, Quatre Epices, and Fiori di Sicilia. I also had their Fluer de Sel, which are chocolate covered caramels sprinkled with sea salt. They were delicious and inspired me to make my own variations.
After eating lunch at Mary's Pizza Shack, we went to Annette's Chocolates. They were good but like I said I am now ruined by Woodhouse. We ordered Chocolate Covered Honey Combs, they were OK. My kids ordered giant Peanut Butter Cups, which they liked,but I just found out Bouchon has some so we will try theirs next time. Then we ordered the usual truffles peanut butter, coconut, dark chocolate, etc, but it just doesn't compare.
Our last stop was for dessert. I am not kidding. We went to The Chocolate Cow in Sonoma. We did not order any chocolate though, we were there for something else. SHAVE ICE. Yes, we went to Sonoma for Shave Ice and I will do it again. It is the closest thing to Hawaiian Shave Ice there is. You can even get it Hawaiian style with ice cream at the bottom. It is light and fluffy ice drenched in syrup, possibly too much syrup. Sorry no pictures of the Shave Ice but when I go back I will.
I am really considering going back this weekend, and by next year I will be as big as a house.
The Happiest Place On Earth
I went to the happiest place on earth this weekend, and it was not Disneyland, it was the Napa Valley. ??? I am not a wine person, and I am not the kind of person who likes snobby wine people, so why is Napa the happiest place on earth? One word CHOCOLATE.
The first stop on our dessert tour was Bouchon Bakery. OMG. It was all around wonderful. First of all the town that the bakery is in is so cute. Touristy, yes, but so It's a Small Worldish. I was very skeptical when we walked up and there were a ton of bicyclist hanging about. (Bicyclists are right up there with snobby wine people. I know I shouldn't stereotype, but we live by a popular bike trail and have had many bad experiences with them and my kids.) We waited in the back of the line, which was out the door and into the courtyard area, and in a few short minutes we were inside this adorable rustic bakery. With the wall of fresh bread behind the case of pastries, and the window to the kitchen where all of the goodness is made, it was hard to keep my focus on what I came for CHOCOLATE. Being the prepared girl (compulsive perfectionist) I am, I came with a list. I told the girl at the counter that I had a large order and she told me just to give it all to her, and with out writing it down she quickly got our order together. My husband ordered a ham and cheese croissant, my daughter a regular croissant, and my son a chocolate donut. Then there was me, I ordered: 1 vanilla macaroon, 2 caramel macaroons, 1 blueberry macaroon, 1 chocolate tart, and 1 order of bouchons. When we sat outside at the bench to eat I realized I didn't get anything for breakfast, my order was all for tasting through out the day. I took a bite from my daughter, it was good, then I took a bite from my son and I was in love. That was not a chocolate donut he had, it was something much more amazing. My sweet husband got back in the line, which was now even longer, and in no time at all he came out with a chocolate donut for me, and a loaf of fresh bread to take home.
So, the chocolate donut has chocolate frosting and crunchy chocolate beads sprinkled on the top. (Hey, that's where the bead talk comes in on this post.) That alone makes it better than an ordinary donut. Then they put in a chocolate filling unlike any chocolate filling I have had before. It is rich and creamy and very chocolaty not like the donuts you get at your corner donut shop. I am forever ruined from having donuts anywhere else.
Up next was the macaroons. I have only tried the caramel so far, but it too was divine. These macaroons are not like petite macaroons I am use to. These are the kings of the macaroon world, about 3 inch wide. It was soft and full of caramel flavor. I passed it around and everyone liked it, the only criticism was that it was very rich. Not a problem for me. I am trying to pace myself, but I will be trying the other flavors soon.
The chocolate tart. I am not a tart girl. I have issues with fruit in my dessert. So this might be the only tart I have ever had. I am not sure what the decoration was on the top. To me it looked like a little mouse, which is slightly disturbing to have on top of your food, with gold leaf fur. Mouse or not it was calling my name. It was a smooth rich chocolaty almost ganache with a chocolate crust. In between the filling and the crust there was a layer of crunchy toffee maybe, it was hard to tell because I inhaled most of it. My husband did managed to pull it away before I finished it with out losing a finger, so he could share it with our daughter.
Last was the bouchons, that are named after their shape of a cork. They are a mix between a cake and a brownie, with chocolate chips inside. I was afraid they were going to be too bland for me, after all they didn't even have frosting on them. I was wrong. They were perfect. This is what I need when I crave chocolate. It was the perfect consistency not too dense not to light, and had the perfect amount of sweetness. These might be my second favorite, to the donut. They are definitely more practical to eat on a semi daily basis.
So this was just our first stop. There is still more to write about, but I will save the others for tomorrow. I just couldn't say enough about this place. My family really had a great time on this trip, and we have already talked about making this bakery at least a monthly breakfast spot.
Enjoy drooling over the photos.
The first stop on our dessert tour was Bouchon Bakery. OMG. It was all around wonderful. First of all the town that the bakery is in is so cute. Touristy, yes, but so It's a Small Worldish. I was very skeptical when we walked up and there were a ton of bicyclist hanging about. (Bicyclists are right up there with snobby wine people. I know I shouldn't stereotype, but we live by a popular bike trail and have had many bad experiences with them and my kids.) We waited in the back of the line, which was out the door and into the courtyard area, and in a few short minutes we were inside this adorable rustic bakery. With the wall of fresh bread behind the case of pastries, and the window to the kitchen where all of the goodness is made, it was hard to keep my focus on what I came for CHOCOLATE. Being the prepared girl (compulsive perfectionist) I am, I came with a list. I told the girl at the counter that I had a large order and she told me just to give it all to her, and with out writing it down she quickly got our order together. My husband ordered a ham and cheese croissant, my daughter a regular croissant, and my son a chocolate donut. Then there was me, I ordered: 1 vanilla macaroon, 2 caramel macaroons, 1 blueberry macaroon, 1 chocolate tart, and 1 order of bouchons. When we sat outside at the bench to eat I realized I didn't get anything for breakfast, my order was all for tasting through out the day. I took a bite from my daughter, it was good, then I took a bite from my son and I was in love. That was not a chocolate donut he had, it was something much more amazing. My sweet husband got back in the line, which was now even longer, and in no time at all he came out with a chocolate donut for me, and a loaf of fresh bread to take home.
So, the chocolate donut has chocolate frosting and crunchy chocolate beads sprinkled on the top. (Hey, that's where the bead talk comes in on this post.) That alone makes it better than an ordinary donut. Then they put in a chocolate filling unlike any chocolate filling I have had before. It is rich and creamy and very chocolaty not like the donuts you get at your corner donut shop. I am forever ruined from having donuts anywhere else.
Up next was the macaroons. I have only tried the caramel so far, but it too was divine. These macaroons are not like petite macaroons I am use to. These are the kings of the macaroon world, about 3 inch wide. It was soft and full of caramel flavor. I passed it around and everyone liked it, the only criticism was that it was very rich. Not a problem for me. I am trying to pace myself, but I will be trying the other flavors soon.
The chocolate tart. I am not a tart girl. I have issues with fruit in my dessert. So this might be the only tart I have ever had. I am not sure what the decoration was on the top. To me it looked like a little mouse, which is slightly disturbing to have on top of your food, with gold leaf fur. Mouse or not it was calling my name. It was a smooth rich chocolaty almost ganache with a chocolate crust. In between the filling and the crust there was a layer of crunchy toffee maybe, it was hard to tell because I inhaled most of it. My husband did managed to pull it away before I finished it with out losing a finger, so he could share it with our daughter.
Last was the bouchons, that are named after their shape of a cork. They are a mix between a cake and a brownie, with chocolate chips inside. I was afraid they were going to be too bland for me, after all they didn't even have frosting on them. I was wrong. They were perfect. This is what I need when I crave chocolate. It was the perfect consistency not too dense not to light, and had the perfect amount of sweetness. These might be my second favorite, to the donut. They are definitely more practical to eat on a semi daily basis.
So this was just our first stop. There is still more to write about, but I will save the others for tomorrow. I just couldn't say enough about this place. My family really had a great time on this trip, and we have already talked about making this bakery at least a monthly breakfast spot.
Enjoy drooling over the photos.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Reminiscing about the old days
When I was in high school my friends and I would ditch school at lunch and go to the only place that served food within 15 miles. Raley's. I have always been a picky eater and every time we went I ordered white rice and a bag of fortune cookies. I love fortune cookies. They might possibly be my favorite cookie. This week we had Chinese food and I ate everyone's fortune cookie, and still wanted more. I hinted to my husband that I would love one of those GIANT fortune cookies you can have delivered. Sometimes he is clueless when it comes to my hints. (Sorry sweetheart.) So, today I made my own fortune cookies. I was happy with the way they turned out, thank goodness, because they were a lot of work. And now I might finally be fortune cookied out.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The other "B" word
Baking not beads is what I have been working on. I have had different cupcake ideas in my head and today I had a chance to implement them. My daughter had a cakewalk at her closing ceremony of softball and I made yummy cupcakes for it. Every time I make cupcakes I try a different cake recipe, because I cant find just the right one. The last time I made them the cake was perfect, but I made up my own recipe and didn't right it down. So these cakes were pretty tasty and good consistency but next time I might make just a few changes. (and write them down) So for the frosting I made Gumball and Cotton Candy. The Gumball tasted like my favorite childhood ice cream. The Cotton Candy tasted like SUGAR, which I guess means it tasted like cotton candy. I still have a few other flavors to try next time, but lets hope I get some beads made before that happens.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
More Vegas Desserts
PS they also have a sugar free blueberry muffin for your morning sugar hangover.
Las Vegas Desserts
Raspberry Rose Meringue
Key Lime
Don't know, but it's chocolate and good.
Triple Chocolate
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