The stuff dreams are made of...

Well my dreams anyway. Last year for Christmas my in-laws got me one of the best gifts anyone could ever give me...Betty. My red HOTT Kitchen Aid mixer. I have had a love affair with these thing ever since my parents bought one when I was maybe 12. She is just about the prettiest thing in my kitchen. I mix just about everything in Betty.

So this year with our Christmas gift from my in-laws I knew exactly what I wanted. An attachment for Betty. The newest attachment in a long line of attachments...the ice cream maker attachment. It is genius I tell ya! Mike and I made our first batch a few nights ago. Simple vanilla (recipe from the book that came with the attachment) but SO good. Mike said "I am still blown away that you made this" I asked why? he said "because you are suppose to buy ice cream in a store." Ahhhh sweet husband.

Here is a picture of Betty with her new friend. I think they look happy together!

Party Time with pictures!

My cousin must have felt bad for the blog because she gave me her old camera to use until mine returns from it's travels abroad. YAY Gail!

So our Christmas party was this past Friday. It is really just an excuse for me to cook for someone besides my husband. I had all the food ready at the same time. It was amazing really. Here are pictures of the food and a few of our fun guests.

We will start with dessert because it is most important you know?

The green cupcakes are chocolate with mint frosting.

The white cupcakes are red velvet with cream cheese frosting

These were a few people's favorites. Roast beef in puff pastry with horseradish sauce.

Balsamic BBQ chicken drumsticks

Pioneer Woman's Spicy orange garlic shrimp. These went very fast.

Brie and Aunt Gerry's Pomegranate Jam in Filo dough
Now for pictures of the guests, they will love me for this!

Lacie(left) and Kristan(right), Lacie hadn't had any drinks!Doug(left) and Mike(right). Mike had had a lot of drinks. Jason likes sweets...and he likes we I take his picture while he is eating, don't you Jason?

That is Lindsie there smiling.

The hostes' with the mostestsssess

Last one. My husband folks... I have NO idea.

Oye Vay..Latkes

Last year on the first night of Hanukkah Mike and I thought it would be fun to make latkes, no we aren't Jewish. They turned out okay. This year we wanted to do it again and we scored with a great recipe. Mike liked his with sour cream only. I liked mine with sour cream or apple sauce but not together.

From: Rachel Ray

1 (24-ounce) bag shredded potatoes for hash browns
1 large carrot, peeled (I left this out because I didn't have a carrot)
1 medium onion, peeled
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons matzo meal, cracker meal or all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 cups chunky apple sauce
1 cinnamon stick (left out)
1 cup sour cream

Directions
Heat 1/2-inch oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. To test oil, add a piece of bread to the pan. It should turn golden brown in a ten-count. Adjust heat, as necessary.
Place potatoes in a large bowl. Using a hand grater, grate the carrot and onion into the bowl. Add eggs to the bowl. Add salt and baking powder, then sprinkle in meal or flour. Combine vegetables and meal with a wooden spoon.
Drop mixture into oil in 3-inch mounds, press down gently with spatula to form patties. Fry in batches of 4 to 6 patties depending on the size of your skillet, 1-inch apart, until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Put chunky applesauce and the cinnamon stick in a saucepan over medium heat and warm for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain latkes on paper towels or parchment lined tray. Serve with warm applesauce and sour cream.

Sloppy Janes

No I have not up and joined the circus. My camera however, may have! I have lost it. I hate to post without pictures but I have been cooking A LOT lately and wanted to share this one because Mike loved this. I know that isn't too shocking expect that this is a wieght watchers type recipe. Mike loves sloppy joes. He was excited to hear I was making them but got confused when no manwich can was around. We both really liked this recipe. So much we took it for lunch the next day. I made a few mods to the recipe, they are below in red.

Sloppy Janes (from Hungry Girl)
Serving Size: 1 (very stuffed) sandwich
Per Serving: 5 WW points; 271 calories; 3g fat
Recipe makes 5 sandwiches

1 lb. raw extra-lean ground turkey
5 small hamburger buns
1/2 cup chopped onions (I used a whole medium onion)
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers (I used a whole bell pepper)
Garlic (I added about 6 cloves..what!?!?! we love garlic)
1 cup canned tomato sauce
3/4 cup canned no salt added tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp Splenda (granulated)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used about 2 tablespoons)
1 tsp steak seasoning blend, dry
Dash of salt

Spray large pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat. Add turkey to pan. Spread meat around pan and break it up.In small dish, combine Splenda, salt, and steak seasoning. Sprinkle this over the meat and continue to stir meat in pan. Once meat has browned, reduce heat to medium.Add onions, peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar to pan. Stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes.Add tomato sauces and tomato paste to pan and stir well. Reduce heat to low and cook mixture for an additional 5 minutes.Toast the buns, if desired. Put one-fifth of the mixture in each bun.

Noah is already 1?!?!?

I can't believe the little Noah bear is already a year old. He is growing so much and fast becoming the cutest little man ever! I was lucky enough to be the one to make his first birthday cake. He loved it once he figured out how to stuff it in his face.

Noah's #1 cake:

Noah's guests' cupcakes:

Noah getting his cake on:

Sarah's Shower

One of my Aunt's co-workers is getting hitched. She asked me to make a shower cake, in a day. Yes like she requested it Monday afternoon and wanted to pick it up on Tuesday night. I tend to work best under pressure, so I said sure. I am very pleased with the results. This is also my first time using fondant.

Happy # 6 Grace!

The Baking Bailey is actually making cakes for people other than her husband! The shock, I know! My cousin's daughter Grace turned the big 6 on November 15th. She had a princess party. My cousin, Gail, asked if I wanted to make her cake for her and of course I did. I made a giant cupcake and 2 dozen cupcakes for her friends.

Here is Grace with her cupcake:

Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp

The Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite blogs. She is funny and makes some of the best looking food ever. When I saw this recipe I knew Mike would love it. It is super simple too. We liked it so much we have it twice in one week.

From: Pioneer Woman

(Frozen) Raw Shell-On Shrimp (I used about 16)
3/4 cup Good quality Orange Juice
2-4 Cloves of Garlic (I used 4)
3 Tablespoons Salted Butter
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Thaw and peel the shrimp. Run the frozen shrimp under cold water for a few minutes, then peeling away the outer shell. Dry the shrimp with a paper towel. Slice the garlic thin and add to the orange juice. Add the cayenne and old bay and stir. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan. Throw the shrimp in and cook for about a minute and flip. Once the shrimp are nice and pink remove them from the pan. Leave the pan on the heat and allow to get really hot. Add the orange juice mixture. Add the final tablespoon of butter to the sauce and after a few minutes of cooking and occasional stirring. The sauce will thicken. Once the sauce has thicken add the shrimp back into the pan. Coat the shrimp in the sauce. And that is it. We had ours over rice. SO good.

Macaroni and Cheese

Oh my this macaroni and cheese recipe is SO good and oh so easy. This recipe is super creamy and cheesey and took less than an hour and we have plenty of left overs. Giada De Laurentiis doesn't let me down often.

Butter, for greasing dish
12 ounces wide egg noodles
2 cups heavy cream
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (packed) grated Fontina
3/4 cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan
3/4 cup (packed) grated mozzarella
4 ounces cooked ham, diced, optional
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Drain well, but do not rinse. Whisk the cream, milk, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ham, if using, and parsley. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Toss the remaining 1 cup Fontina, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup mozzarella in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the noodle mixture. Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Super Simple Chili Verde

Chili Verde is my favorite Mexican food right after margaritas. I love it more than a person should. It seemed simple enough to make after I asked a co-worker how to do it. She told me there is a hard version and an easy version. I opted for the easy version and it is pretty darn good. This is a very easy weekday dinner.

2 to 2.5 pounds pork or chicken (pork roast)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic (or more if you love garlic like me)
1 16 oz bottle of salsa verde (I used La Victoria brand)
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper

Cut the pork into bite size cubes. Season pork with salt and pepper. Brown pork in a skillet. Slice onion thin and mince garlic. Next through browned pork, onion, garlic, salsa verde, and water in large pot. Cover and simmer for at least an hour stir occasionally. The longer you let it simmer the better it gets. I find it perfect after about an hour and a half. I top with jack cheese or sour cream, YUM!

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

I recently bought Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my home to yours. It is baking porn for me! The book is full of tons of awesome looking recipes. I bought it on Amazon for less than 10 bucks, well worth the money. I joined some ladies online in picking one recipe a month and posting results. This month was the Quadruple Chocolate Brownie. They are insanely chocolaty and oh so good. I didn't add nuts and I left out the coffee because I wanted to, so there. My tips are in red.

Brownies:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbs strong coffee (I left out)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips (I used chips)
1 cup chopped nuts (I left out)


Glaze:
6 ounces premium quality white chocolate, finely chopped or 1 cup store bought white chocolate chips (I used chips)
1/3 cup heavy cream

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted-you don't want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes. (I melted the butter and chocolates in the microwave for about 2 minutes because well I am lazy.)

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don't beat too vigorously-you don't want to add air to the batter-and don't be concerned about graininess. Next, stir in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you're not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrap the batter into the pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes.(I would wait longer) Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack-the foil becomes the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely. (I would have left the foil on to put the glaze on to keep the glaze from running all over)

Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. (I used the microwave for this too) Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Hold a longer metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and using the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don't worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze. (I would cut into SMALL pieces because a couple bites will put you in a brownie comma)

Strawberry Strata

I had no idea what a strata was before I saw Giada De Laurentiis make one the other day. It looked like bread pudding and Mike said he thought it looked good. I gave it s try and it is really a cross between a French toast bake and cake. I topped it with homemade whip cream. It was good and different.

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (about 1/2 cup)
4 ounces ricotta cheese, room temperature (about 1/2 cup)
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained (about 10 ounces)
1/2 cup honey, warmed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 to 16-inch) ciabatta loaf, crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes

Place the cheeses in a large bowl and stir together with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until completely incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the milk, strawberries, honey, cinnamon, and bread. Pour into an 8 by 10 by 2-inch casserole dish. If freezing, cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.
To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the foil and continue baking for 30 to 35 minutes.