Countdown to Turkey Day!... T-7 days and counting

During the holidays I can’t help but let my mind wonder a bit. I always have my sketchbook close at hand to sketch any last min ideas for homemade gifts and recipes. It wasn’t until last night when I was talking to k that I realized there is a pretty great chance that I will creating a full thanksgiving dinner solo. I have seen my mom and grandmother meticulously plan in the past. Starting days before and even putting little paper labels in each dish corresponding to what future contents it will house. This year however I’m on duty. N is coming in town and with K about to have this baby at any moment so I have to be ready for anything. If Little J decides that she isn’t ready to come early than, K will be there to assist, but if she does decide she wants to join us for thanksgiving than it will be up to N and I to prepare dinner and be on M duty. We are planning a grocery trip for this weekend to get the essentials. The menu is ever changing but the bones of it are pretty basic

Turkey
Gravy
Mashed potatoes
Rolls
Green bean casserole
Pumpkin pie

Then I am in the works of possibly a stuffed pumpkin of some sort, a variation of a traditional sweet potato dish and another pie. I love a traditional dinner, but where is the fun without a few crazy additions. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I think the hardest part is the waiting game…and I’m not even the one having the baby. The best I can to do is get the best prepared I can, buy a couple bottles of wine and let the rest take care of itself. The entire holiday should be pretty laid back and a kind of makeshift family affair. Friends will come and go and we will enjoy it with those who are here with a few phone calls in between.

Now to figure out how to cook a turkey…

Yesterday was a fight day. I actually got myself to the gym on a weeknight and stayed for almost 2 hours...now to only do the same tonight. weight is +1 with -31 by my 27th birthday (next christmas).

Cupcake Happenings

So after the crazy week of CANstruction I decided that I should say thank you to everyone at work who donated over $600 in a little under an hour so we could get the cans we needed to finish the Turkey.

Long story short our Wal-mart order didn’t go through so we found a food lion that was willing to put in a last min order to arrive the day of the build. However as much as I hate wal-mart sometimes their prices were much cheaper so the same order was going to cost aver $600 dollars more. So within one hour L was able to convince everyone to donate at least $10 to make it happen. I took the cash and headed back to Virginia Beach to pick up the remainingcans and set out in search of 349 more cans of Van Camps baked beans (they got the order in but it was not correct). So after 4 Wal-Mart trips and another team member hitting two more we were ready to build.

The build went wonderfully but I felt I needed to do something to thank all the generous people willing to make up for our mistakes... And in my mind that meant 6 dozen cupcakes decorated to look like turkeys.I knew I wanted to use two of my favorite cake recipes. One carrot cake and one double chocolate chocolate mouse.

I had a few ideas for the tails. Mostly leaning towards chocolate, but I forgot to get squeeze bottles while I was at Michaels and all of my improvising techniques didn’t seam t be working. I settled on the idea of cookies and headed back to the store for some pre-made cookie dough. Some may call it cheating but I think the using boxed cake mix every now and then and a few remade ingredients can be just fine. This time however I was determined to make these cupcakes the best I had ever done before.

I started with the Carrot Cake cupcakes with Cream cheese icing and roasted Pecans

Best Carrot Cake Ever (my version)

6 cups grated carrots

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ginger (or 1/4 c. ginger preservers for a spicier cake)

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

-In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple and ginger preserves (optional). Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices, stir into the wet mixture until absorbed.

Finally stir in the carrot mixture. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (for cakes about 15-18 min for cupcakes) in the preheated oven, until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Link to original recipe:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/best-carrot-cake-ever/Detail.aspx

Cream cheese icing

-2 packages cream cheese

-1 stick butter (can use less)

-About 2 c. powdered sugar (I just add until it is the sweetness I am looking for

-2 tsp vanilla extract (I like to use crushed vanilla beans because I like the way the flecks look in the icing)

Mix and ice

Top with chopped roasted pecans. I always seem to burn the pecans but roasting them makes a huge difference. Put them on a cookie sheet in preheated oven for a little over 5 min WATCH CAREFULLY!

Now I know it is a pain but grating fresh carrots is what makes these cupcakes great. It is worth the effort. It also can help to dry the carrots for just a bit before you mix in the brown sugar.

Now that the carrots are marinating I can start the Chocolate cake

This is one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes and I rarely deviate from it. The cake is moist with a rich chocolate flavor. It is also great to stir in a cup of mini chocolate chips right at the end

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,176,157191-244200,00.html

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake with Mouse

2 c. sugar


1 3/4 c. all purpose flour


3/4 c. Hershey's cocoa


1 1/2 tsp. baking soda


1 1/2 tsp. baking powder


1 tsp. salt


2 eggs


1 c. milk


1/2 c. vegetable oil


2 tsp. vanilla extract


1 c. boiling water

-In large mixer bowl, combine dry ingredients.

-Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat in medium speed 2 minutes.

-Remove from mixer; stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

-Pour into 3 round 8-inch pans, greased and floured.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

-Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely. Prepare DOUBLE RECIPE of chocolate mousse (below).

…And the best part

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE: (single recipe)


1 tsp. unflavored gelatin


1 tbsp. cold water


2 tbsp. boiling water


1/2 c.sugar


1/4 c. Hershey's cocoa


1 c. chilled whipping cream


1 tsp. vanilla extract

To double recipe, use 1 envelope unflavored gelatin and double remaining ingredients. Use large COLD mixer bowl.

-In small mixer bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute to soften. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool slightly.

-In small COLD mixer bowl, stir together sugar and cocoa; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until stiff peaks form.

-Pour in gelatin mixture and beat until well blended

So after getting the first batch of chocolate cup cakes in the oven I started on the “Turkey Parts” so to say.

I rolled out the sugar cookie dough to about ¼” thick and used one of my fondant flower cutters to cut it into flower shapes. I cut each of these in half and placed them on the baking sheet. This made the feather shape pretty nicely and even the edges browned a bit to give some color variance.

Next were the turkey heads. I simply molded these out of the dough. Watch the oven closely though these cook very quickly.

Next I was ready to start decorating, I melted some white chocolate with some orange food coloring and used this to attach one chocolate melt to each tail.

The carrot cake cupcakes were topped with the roasted pecans and the chocolate cupcakes were topped with mini chocolate chips. All in all I think they turned out well. So after about 7 hours and three trips to the store I had 6 dozen cupcakes to sere with my fellow employees who helped raise the money for a good cause. Needless to say I ma not be baking again until thanksgiving…witch is only a few weeks away!

CANstruction results

After a long a grueling process we came out victorious. Our Tom the Turkey earned best meal with jurors comments being positive about the structure and food selections. Tom was made of of about 2299 cans weighing about 3212 lbs.

Ham and Brie Quiche

This morning began with trying out a new recipe.

Ham and Brie Quiche

1 piecrust

6 eggs

1 wedge Brie cheese

1/4 c. pepper jelly

3/4 c. diced ham

-Brown ham in a skillet so it has the nice brown crispy edges (or however you like to eat your ham)

-In small bowl mix 6 eggs wit the pepper jelly (mama nims is the best and can only be found in Thomaston Alabama. The good news for you is that they now ship their peppery goodness all across the country and internationally. Link to the website at the bottom)

Add a splash of milk and a bit of salt and pepper

-Remove wax coating from Brie and slice. Place slices at bottom of crust

-Pour in egg and pepper jelly mixture

-Pour cooked ham bits on top.

-Bake at 350 for about 15-20 min or until quiche is firm and a knife comes out clean

-Cut and enjoy!

The quiche turned out pretty good. Then it was off to run errands and get the last things I needed for the crazy cupcake endeavor I am about to embark on. Let the baking begin...details and pictures in the next post!

http://www.ruralheritagecenter.com/

This pepper jelly runs for about $7.00 a jar but is more than worth it. I will be stocking up to give as Christmas presents this year. Mainly because it is annually requested by those I gave it to the year before.

Also this is an amazing Rural Studio project...actually two projects creating a space for an amazing organization and some of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life! Every time I call to order the rich southern accent makes me miss Alabama and all the wonderful people there.

1/2 and 1/2

So yesterday was a bit half and half.

Slept in then decided that an omelet with mushrooms and blue cheese was a great way to start my lazy day. This was also accompanied by a side of buttery grits. So feeling bad I headed to the gym. 30 min on the elliptical, 100 crunches on the medicine ball, 100 reps on the rowing machine all ended by the most dreaded 10 min on the stair stepper. I don't know what it is about those retro machines but they kick my butt...literally. So after walking home in the beautiful weather I was greeted by the most adorable puppy eyes wanting to go on a walk. M1 and I took them for a short stroll around the neighborhood. Hope seemed pretty content after that. So all in all I count the morning as a fight day.

It wasn't until I made a much needed grocery store run that I began to load up on nacho makings. Auburn was playing Georgia so there was a strong need for some "football food". J and I proceeded to load the chips with cooked sausage, green peppers, onions, cheese, black olives, and reduced fat sour cream (I try to be a little better with certain things). After pigging out and watching the Tigers take out the Dowgs for the first time in 4 years we were ready to quench our sugar craving. So back to the store we went, this time in search of everything unhealthy. We decided on Chocolate chip cookies with brownie bits and Bryers cookies and Cream ice cream. Hot out the oven cookies with ice cream has become one of my favorite desserts...second only to crème brule

New kid in town

I have many passions in my life. Some may call me an extremist, others lazy, and others a bit A.D.D. I have been described as a Tom-Boy-Home-maker. One day I will have my tool belt on fixing a leaky faucet and the next baking all day in the kitchen. I almost always have some sort of project in the works. Sometimes they work and other times they don’t. But now that I am about to start taking my ARE exams and have joined the gym it is back to the ways of College. It’s time for little sleep, project deadlines, and high stress levels…wish me luck!