A Savory Treat: Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi

While I thoroughly enjoy all the sweet treats I make I am also very fond of baking food that is savory, too. After all, one can only take so much blatant sugar. Instead of making dessert I made a dinner out of spinach, ricotta, parmesan, seasonings, and binding eggs.

Making the gnocchi was much like making both filling of stuffed shells, and making pasta at the same time. I first combined the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl, and once that was completely mixed I added flour until the batter was of a pasta consistency.

The dough with all its' speckles of herbs and seasonings is then rolled out into a long log shape and then cut into gnocchi pieces. I had absolutely no idea of what gnocchi is supposed to look like, so I found a video that showed me how. All he did was cut 3/4 inch pieces on the diagonal. He did a much better job of flinging them into a neat pile on the table with his knife than I did. Mostly my pieces stuck to the table. Perhaps I should have added a bit more flour.

Anyway, once they're all cut into precious shapes they go into a pot of boiling water (good to add a touch of oil so they don't stick together).

They only boil for a few minutes; once they start bobbing along the surface they're pretty well done. I didn't have any tomatoes to make a sauce so I just used a can (for shame, I know!), and it did turn out really well. The gnocchi with the tomato sauce topping tasted remarkably like stuffed shells -- so decadent!

I love that baking not only entails making desserts, but also making food that you can eat for a satisfying and healthy meal. If you have the right ingredients your baking adventure can be extremely good for you, whereas desserts are typically reserved for a sweet after dinner indulgence.

I love how versatile baking can be!

Celebrating Legalization Of Gay Marriage In NY!

“Love is just love, it can never be explained.”

-James Earl Jones

The morning I found out the Same-Sex Marriage law was passed, I found a spectacular and most fitting idea for a cake. This cake has every color in the rainbow, and I couldn’t have found it at a more perfect time. In honor of this momentous day, I decided to make a mini rainbow cake.

Batter not yet colored.

The article calls for making an ordinary vanilla cake. After the batter is made, it is divided into five or six bowls (depending on how many colors you want). I decided to use red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I know from making Red Velvet cake that food coloring can make the batter taste funky, and I also know that adding flavoring masks the strong flavor from the dye. I used cocoa powder to give the red and purple a deeper color, and to give the cake a bit more flavor.

Making purple: cocoa powder, blue, and red dye.

Once the batter is separated and the colors are mixed it is time to pour the bright rainbow colors into the cake pans. Purple is put in first because it is the outside color for my rainbow, and because it has the most batter. Pour it in the pan and give it a shake. This evens out the batter without leaving spatula marks, peaks, and valleys. Put in the next color, blue, now the most amount of batter of all that is left. Give that a shake, too, and it evens out—sinks into the purple and displaces it. Keep pouring the layers in and shaking them out, your smallest amount of batter going in last. It already looks like a masterpiece!

What a pretty rainbow!

Bake for 20-25 minutes. I ended up cutting the recipe in half and making two six inch layer cakes. A perfect amount for three people.

All the layers are in!

I was so impressed by the way the cakes turned out! They looked different from the picture I found, but then nothing ever turns out the same way you think it will, but they still looked great! Once the cakes cooled mom and I decorated the cake with buttercream frosting, sprinkles in a rainbow pattern, and silver balls of death (you can decorate your cake with them, but the label is sure to tell you not  to ingest them….). The cake looks perfect!

The finished cake.

So pretty!

I couldn’t have been more pleased when mom cut into the cake – the layers lined up almost perfectly, the top layer’s colors matching up with the bottom layer’s colors. This cake is the most beautiful cake I have ever made, for sure. Now I will admit that it was not the most delicious – that pesky dye flavor got in the way of the natural flavors of the cake, but it was gorgeous! I have been thinking of ways to make it not only beautiful, but tasty too. Perhaps almond flavoring or using naturally colored substances like blueberries, raspberries, etc. This would minimize the use of dye, and give the cake a natural flavoring.

That's pretty cool.

 

I am so happy with this cake, but I am even happier for my friends.The ones I love are now able to marry the ones they love – bring on the weddings, and if you need a cake, you know where to find me!

Gorgeous.

 

Caramel Apple Crisp Framed By Gorgeous Antique Dishes

My last post was about finding antique dishes in the thrift store, and today is all about what I made to put in them! And I used almost every dish during this adventure.

Milk turns to caramel in two hours!

 After I found my dishes I was inspired to browse through some food magazines, and lo and behold I found some decadent looking recipes! I cut a bunch out and left one to experiment with my fabulous finds. I found a Caramel Apple Crisp recipe, which is similar to a crisp Grammy made for our last party, except she used butterscotch. After tasting the splendor of that dish I thought I would see how one small addition, caramel, would change these similar dishes.

There it is!

The first thing done is making that gooey, scrumptious caramel! In a water bath for two hours at boiling temperatures in an old pot. I recommend not using nice pots and pans for this task because there will be a black ring that requires elbow grease to get it off; use an old pot.

Mushing butter, oats, and spices.

I then got out my new clear bowl and mixed together the oats, flour, cinnamon, and cloves (I add cloves to  everything!), and then I squished in chunks of cold butter. I absolutely love the aroma of spices mingling together -- mouthwatering!

Piling on the layers.

You pat half of the mixture into your lovely blue and flower decorated Fire King casserole dishes, and cover with apples, caramel, and the oat mixture (repeat until just the oat mixture remains on top). You then have a gorgeous, aromatic dish to pop into the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Holy cow.

 Mom had also made vanilla ice cream with caramel swirled in it (we're using up ingredients if you haven't guessed). Nothing like coordinating your dishes! It looks so pretty and the flavors carry over from dish to dish. Holy crap, it was delicious!




 Remove crisp from the oven when a fork pokes through the apples without resistance; they're done now, smelling sinful, and calling my name.

I love these dishes!

Gorgeous dishes for a pretty dessert! A perfect fit, too!

Perfectly done!

I let the crisp settle for a minute, and then dug in. I broke out a brand new (well, to me anyway) cranberry glass bowl. I found this bowl just the other day at an antique store. I have a couple of dessert plates in this gorgeous color, but no bowls. Until now!

The marigold glass perfectly compliments the caramel.

 Hello, gorgeous! So delicious, too. There are some things I would change about the recipe, but all in all it was a wonderful find. Easy to assemble, too, which is nice when you want to whip up something incredible in a timely manner. This is your go-to guy. So good. And I love my addition of cloves. I think they make everything better, even when the dish is magnificent without them. Cloves elevate the class factor in my own personal opinion. :)

New cranberry glass bowl!

I have never been a fan of mixing ice cream with other desserts -- I do not like soggy cake...gross. I do have to say though that for this specific dish, the two should most definitely go together. The vanilla from the ice cream combines with the spices, oats, and apples, makes for happy taste buds! And the oats and flour stand up against the melty ice cream making this a wonderful after dinner dessert.

Calling All Antique Lovers: New Toys for Baking!

Yesterday I spent the day with my mom and Grammy, lunching, looking for plants for the garden, and we went thrifting!. After lunch Grammy decided that she wanted to go to a local thrift store, which is always tons of fun. I never used to find much of anything but junk, and I was always so impressed that Grammy always unearthed the most gorgeous treasures: clear glass plates, marigold glasses, cranberry vases, among many others. It all looked like junk to me, but after watching how she works I have managed to pick up the bug: the thrifting bug!

Everything I found thrifting yesterday!

The store was absolutely packed -- I have never been in there when it was so busy! This naturally made is more difficult to peruse the isles, and completely interrupted my usual route. Yes, I have a usual route. I always save the best for last because I like to keep my anticipation for as long as I can. The last row is where all the clear dishes are, and this is where I spend most of my time. I followed my usual route, down the isle with all things wooden, around the back where the Christmas dishes are, along the opposite side where the black dishes are kept. After this I always go up the isle that I first walked down (this makes an upside down and backwards "L" shape. So I have only been around the perimeter of the room thus far.

My first find of the day!

 I was able to turn down this isle with all the green dishes and knickknacks (someone decided to color code a while back...This makes things much easier to find, but I have to admit I did enjoy rifling through all the colors and all the stuff to find the treasure). Once I was done with the green isle I was ready to make my turn into the red isle. But people were blocking my way (and these rows are tiny!), so I was forced to go down the last isle next.

The images are in perfect shape!

But it was here that I found my first treasure! An Anchor Hocking Fire King casserole dish with matching tiny dishes nestled inside! I looked up the pattern in a magazine that Grammy gave me and apparently this very pattern is highly collectable!

Caramel Apple deliciousness is coming soon!

They were perfect! I thought Grammy would want them because she has a few like it, clear glass ones, and colored ones, too, so I left them on the shelf for her to find. I made my way down the isle just a bit when I saw another casserole dish, but this one has tiny red, pink, and black flowers on it.

Perfect for my collection!

A couple of Christmases ago Grammy had given me a box full of dishes, and one of the ramekin sets had this very flower pattern on them, and I have loved them ever since! Well, this was definitely to be mine!  I grabbed it up, and went to go down another isle that was partially free. I saw a couple of glass bowls that I liked, but I was about ready to leave that section.

Absolutely love this pattern!

I gave one last gaze down the isle, and it was here that I did a double take...stacked prettily inside each other were...... six marigold bubble berry dishes! This was the most magnificent find of the day! I absolutely adore these bubble dishes (also Anchor Hocking), and I have already collected a number of clear dinner plates and bowls in this pattern. What a find! I scooped up these sunny jewels and ran over to show Grammy my loot! She was so surprised, and excited too!

She had also found a number of treasures including pink juice glasses and pink glass plates. What a stellar day.

Pure delight upon this discovery!

It turned out that Grammy didn't want the blue patterned casserole dishes....so I grabbed them! I really didn't have any idea what I would do with them, but I knew that I could find something spectacular to do with them, even if I just set them out as decoration.

The woman at the counter who checked me out kept commenting on what wonderful finds I had! She told me that when she got married in the 70s she received these casserole dishes as wedding gifts, and she still uses them today. She also said that while I was walking around still perusing the isles for more goodies that she wanted to come up to me and tell me what wonderful dishes I had found, but she didn't because she thought I would think she was strange -- quite the contrary! We had the most delicious chat about dishes, and she gave me ideas on what to use the dishes for.

Mixing ingredients in a clear glass bowl is the best!

I ended up finding a recipe this morning for a caramel apple crisp. Grammy made a butterscotch apple crisp for our memorial day party, and it was simply divine. I imagine this caramel apple treat will be equally decadent! I am definitely going to have to try it out!

I savored peeling off all those price stickers!

 I can't believe what a lucky thrifting day I had! It was my best treasure hunt to date, and I can't wait to go again! All of those dishes for only twenty-one dollars. In a store everything I bought could have easily amounted to between 75-100 dollars. Mmhm. Excellent day for thrifting! I guess it was a good thing that my route was interrupted...Grammy could have snatched up my treasures before me! :)

Three Fabulous Wedding Cakes For Two Special Friends

Have you ever been asked to be a bridesmaid and make the cake for the same wedding? Well I have! I agreed to both almost a year ago, and yesterday I pulled it all off. I was so incredibly honored when Sue asked me to make her wedding cake that summer's afternoon at Java Junction. I think my chin may have literally dropped to the table -- that's a secure (or completely nuts) bride who will let an amateur baker plan and execute such an important aspect of her special day. Of course I agreed to do it, and then she hit me with, "I would also like you to be a bridesmaid if you think you're up to it." Um, yes! I have never done either of these things singly, and I agreed to do them both simultaneously. Maybe I'm the one who is nuts! After months and months of planning, cake tasting, figuring, and purchasing, the blessed weekend arrived. And I was much calmer than I would have originally thought. Since the wedding would take place on Sunday I decided to start baking the Friday before, frost/decorate Saturday, and then set up on Sunday. Miraculously, everything went mostly according to plan, and the cakes turned out more spectacularly than I could have ever imagined. I could go on and on about my experiences throughout the weekend, so I've decided to post the pictures my mom and I took to let them do most of the talking.

Paula Deen would have a field day in my kitchen!

Mom loves her hairnet. I guess that's a good thing :)

Ginger cake....and Guinness? Yes, please!

The flower nail in the center and the strips around the edge make the cakes turn out perfectly!

Hazelnut cake

Spicy Chocolate cake

 So many people said that these cakes were the best wedding cakes they had ever had. These cakes were not your average chocolate or vanilla cake. They had pizazz!

I am the master of mess-makers.

Two done! One to go!

Who needs food when you have cake?

Decorating the cakes with flowers and butterflies.

Sue, Scott.............and baby Sue-Scott?..........

The completed cakes! My, oh my.

My masterpiece.

Lauren seems to be enjoying her cake.

So many of Sue and Scott's guests came up to me and said how delicious the cakes were, and that they had a slice of each one, filling them to capacity. And if they hadn't had three slices, they were going up for more, and taking some home!

My cakes! Chopped to pieces!

I'd say that was successful.

First time as a bridesmaid--check! First time creating, executing, baking, decorating wedding cakes--check!

What an amazing experience! 

Congratulations to the gorgeous couple, Sue and Scott! <3

Any feedback from attendees are welcome!

The Finished Product: Chocolate Blueberry Cupcakes With Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

This cupcake stand is perfect!

The cupcakes were a success! Before the Memorial Day party even started mom was handing out cupcakes to everyone who came over early. Chris, our chef and neighbor-friend was the first of our guests to get a taste of blueberry decadence. I knew I could trust his opinion because he is also a foodie -- he makes excellent desserts and the most scrumptious grilled meat (he wants a restaurant, and I think "Smokin' Ass" would be the perfect name for such an establishment! He says pork butt, I say pig ass--potato, patato). Anywho, he loved the cupcakes! He said they were so smooth -- the cake was moist, the frosting creamy. He said it was like ice cream! The blueberry flavor wasn't overpowering either; there was a perfect balance between chocolate and blueberry -- and it wasn't too sweet.

Regular sized cupcakes and their mini counterparts.

I can't count the number of times I heard, "I've never been a fan of blueberries, but this is delicious!"

Joe's reenactment of his first bite--I think he liked it...Ed too. 

Auntie Shelly's eyes rolled up, Ed said this was his first taste of a gourmet dessert that actually tasted gourmet. *smiles from ear to ear* There was a chorus of aaahs and mmmmms and "ohmygod you have to try this." 

I offered Joe another mini cupcake after Ed took his, and he said, "Oh, no, I want a big one." :) That is a good sign of a delectable cupcake!

What a lovely cupcake

 

Even the kids liked them! That's quite the compliment when a younger person enjoys the fruity flavors, and not just the chocolate-y deliciousness.









The purpley color in the frosting perfectly complimented the luscious brown of the cake, and it was all pulled together by chopped chocolate covered blueberries (juice, really) and a perfectly sweet blueberry.

Even if you are not a fan of blueberries, I can assure you that you will like these! MMmm!