February 12, 2009
My friend Ava V and I entered a cake competition this weekend for an Ace of Cakes Valentine’s Day Cake Challenge. However, we were not in the mood for romance. Instead, we made a red velvet cake in the shape of a broken heart with a chocolate knife stabbing it with blood gushing out. Did I mention we lit it on fire? A bit extreme, but go big or go home, when you’re dealing with an Ace of Cakes challenge! The cake was also quite delicious, we made a red velvet cake with icing and fondant. The recipe actually came from Ava V, so I would like to give her a shout out, and a thanks for a great recipe!
http://thatsmyprerogative.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/sinfully-delicious/
Happy Valentine’s Day!
January 28, 2009
One of my favorite shows to watch on the food network is Ace of Cakes. I love how their cakes are so creative and different. The most important thing for making a cake like that is making the fondant icing that goes on top, and it is a lot easier to make than you think. I actually made a cake like this for my friend’s birthday and used this simple recipe for the fondant. This is a picture of the cake I made.
Ingredients:
16 oz. bag of Marshmellows
1 bag of Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup of crisco
Step 1: Melt the marshmellows and 2 tablespoons of water in the microwave. I usually will put it in for 30 seconds, then stir, then put it back in for another 30 seconds, take it out stir, etc. Maybe about 4 or 5 times.
Step 2: Grease your hands and the tabletop
Step 3: Add the powder sugar to the marshmellows and mix together until you work it into a solid mixture and it turns into a dough like substance.
Step 4: The Fondant will be white, but if you like to add color, mix in any food coloring to your liking and knead it into the fondant.
Before adding to the cake, roll out the fondant with a rolling pin and gently lay it over an iced cake.
January 19, 2009
Last night my boyfriend decided to make dinner for me. Usually I am the one that cooks because it is something I enjoy doing, so it was hard for me to stand back and let him take over my kitchen. His specialty is jambalaya and I have to say, it was entertaining to watch him in action. First, he b0ught enough food to feed a family of 15. He had 2 boxes of pasta, 4 boxes of rice, 3 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds ground chicken, 2 large cans of chili, two large cans of beans and an entire bag of shredded cheese.
The strangest part for me was that he had no recipe or guidelines. He basically just picked out a ton of random ingredients to throw together. I had a really hard time standing back and letting him do all the cooking, so he let me handle the rice. Now, when I cook, I always have a basic plan and then add spices in as I go. He, however, just seemed to improvise on the spot. In addition to the ingredients listed above, he also added in salt, pepper, hot sauce and steak seasoning. There was so much food we couldn’t even fit it into one crock pot and had to split it in half. After mixing everything together, I couldn’t resist stealing a bite. To my surprise, it actually tasted really good. 
To be honest I thought it was going to turn out like Rachel’s trifle from friends… but the ingredients really came together. My boyfriend even sounded like Joey, “of course it tastes good, chili gooood, ground beef gooood, beans gooood, rice gooood. It was a masterpiece that will last us a week.
January 5, 2009
No matter what shape the economy is in, it is always good to save money. Did you know that you can save up to $1,750.00 a year just by bringing your lunch to work rather than buying it?
Making your own lunch not only saves money but it will probably be more nutritious. Sandwiches are pretty basic and easy to make but one of my favorite things to make for lunch is pasta salad. 
It is real easy to make, and you can make as much or as little as possible. Also, you can put in or leave out whatever you’d like.
Pasta Salad
Grocery Store List:
- Pasta (I like using the tri-colored spiral kind) also known as “Fusilloni”
- Italian Dressing (any kind)
- 1 Green pepper
- Black Olives
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Optional Salami/Ham from the deli counter cut into thick slices
- Grated Parmagian Cheese
Cook pasta according to box. Drain pasta and add to a large bowl. Wash veggies. Chop up the green pepper, olives, tomatoes, and meat into bite sized pieces and add to the salad. Add about a cup of the Italian Dressing and toss ingrediants together. Add as much Parmagian Cheese as you like, and pack it up for lunch! This is one of my favorite lunches, what’s yours?
Bon Appetite!
January 5, 2009
Growing up in an Italian family, my life revolved around food. I started helping my grandmother in the kitchen when I was old enough to eat solid food. My knowledge of cooking helped me in college when I started living on my own and I would create easy meals for me and my roommates in our tiny kitchen. Although I am no professional, I would like to share my basic cooking skills with you, and show you that cooking can be fun, nutritious and most of all EASY!
Bon Appetite!
Meg
