5 posts tagged “food”
This past weekend we celebrated my friend's birthday in back yard barbecue style. I had dibs on supplying desserts for all of the party goers and my devilish plan was to make individual cheesecake cupcakes, the very same heavenly dessert my mother would make for all of her get togethers. I started baking the night before and ended up with 30 supremely delicious mini cheesecakes in three assorted flavors, cool whip cherry, drizzled milk chocolate and plain-jane. The next day I had a panic attack as the whipped topping melted quickly while we drove to the party, and as I walked into their house I had to take one for the team and make silly jokes about my hideous cupcakes but still hinting at how wonderful they were. By the end of the night the tray was empty, each and every person who had tasted one was ohhhs and aahhhhs. The birthday girl, ate 3 herself!
They were an absolute hit. So I feel the need to share:
Ingredients:
- 4 (2 lbs) packages cream cheese
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together room temperature cream cheese, sugar & vanilla. Stir in the eggs one at a time, making sure to beat thouroughly between eggs.
3. Place foil w/paper baking cup liners into cupcake pan and fill 3/4 full with mixure.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool.
6. Spoon the topping of choice onto the individual cakes. Get creative with toppings, cherries, strawberries, oranges, blackberries, meleted chocolate, cool whips or sour cream.
Tip: if using whipped cream, wait until serving to add.
Bakes: 30 cupcakes
The phrase starving artist takes on a whole new meaning when its comes to TastyKakes, yum. For those of the world that have never tried the sweetness of these Philly born treats I beg you to take one bite, you will never be the same. I have not found a single store in the state of Kentucky that carries these heavenly treats, but I have a good connection in the PA area who has made an "art for food" exchange with me, it all started with a light hearted bribe between a few vox neigbors and ended with me joining in the fun. Early next week I'll be sending Haze one of my prints, in exchange for these forty, count them forty, TastyKakes!
I'm in heaven, you know.
Last night I tried this recipe, I was looking for a sweet candy to help fill the empty spots in my Kentucky bourbon ball basket for thanksgiving day. Something that wouldn't take away from the bourbon flavored balls of goodness but would add a special touch. If your a nut lover and have a sweet tooth, then sugared pecans are a dream. They are so simple to make, just coat the pecans with an egg white solution, some sugar and spices and then pop them in the oven for half an hour.
1 egg white
1 Tbsp water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz pecans - about 2 cups
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1.) Preheat oven to 300°F.
2.) Put sugar, cinnamon, salt, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg in a plastic bag, shake to mix.
3.) Put egg, water, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until slightly foamy, add pecans and coat well. Lift pecans out of bowl with a slotted spoon and put into the bag of sugar and spices. Shake pecans in bag making sure they are well coated.
4.) Bake 30 minutes on a baking pan lined with lightly greased aluminum foil. 15 minutes into the baking, stir up the pecans with a fork. Let cool completely before serving.
Makes about 2 cups. Thanks Simply Recipes my favorite food blog.
Last night to celebrate my Birthday I had made plans to go to The Nagasaki Inn for some fantastic Japanese cuisine. After work I dressed up a bit and got ready for a night out on the town. Jon had told me to wait upstairs and he had a sneaky smile on his face. I thought I would kill him if he bought me something else because the new digital camera was seriously over our budget and I didn’t ask for anything else. I waited in the living room when the doorbell rang. I had figured that he’d locked himself out of the apartment so I ran downstairs to let him in. Waiting at the door was my husband with a single white rose in his hand and the car pulled around to the front ready to go. It was a date, an old fashioned real date. I slipped on my shoes and we were off. Its been a long time since I’ve had a real date, a few years in fact so this was such a treat. We ate tempura and talked about the day under a Japanese pagoda and sipped our tiny glasses of plum wine. It was wonderful and the perfect way to spend my birthday.
