thankful

This week was a stressful one for me on the home front. Adding to my playing hostess to my first Thanksgiving for both of our families, which in itself carries its own stresses, my papa bear, Al, was in the hospital, recovering from a terrible infection in his leg. After a few days of straight panic about whether or not he would be coming home (we have never spent a Thanksgiving apart in 27 years), he was finally released yesterday. Thanks be to baby Jesus and the Pilgrims and the Indians (since it’s really their holiday).

So in light of this week of togetherness and thankfulness and turkeys and my Daddy being healthy again, I wanted to share what I am most thankful for in my life these days (and always):

-          For Phyl and Al, my parents  – who after almost 40 years of marriage, not only still love each other, but genuinely like each other. All that they do for me and my siblings still inspires me every day.

-          For Bill, my husband - who provides for me, loves me endlessly and really is so good to me all while dealing with my moments rage over tablecloths and burnt cupcakes. (hey, thanksgiving is stressful.) and for the love that we have together.

-          For my parents-in-law, Anna and Bill – who accepted me into their family and always treat me like their own daughter. And for having Bill. Because he’s the best.

-          For my brothers and sister, Bryan, Joe and Jeanine – who I know are always there for me, no matter how near or far they may be.  And are always, ALWAYS good to me.

-          For my dear friends (all of them) – who are always a bright spot on my day, especially when I really need one. And who don’t hate me when if I fall off the spectrum for a while when life gets a little crazy.

-          My love and health of my entire family – which is always endless and comforting.

-          For the roof over my head that Bill and I work so hard for and are so happy to call our home.

-          For my working DVR  at the end of a long work week.

-          For a steady and providing job in a time when so many do not have either.

-          For my own health and a working body that I sometimes take for granted. (like when I hurt my knee running last week – maybe my body’s way of saying, “slow down, girlfriend!”

-          And for the 5,000 calories I will be consuming tomorrow in turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, butter pecan bread pudding, shrimp cocktail, spinach dip, stuffing, cheesecake, wine and Sambuca. Food is good.

What are you thankful for this year?

my sweet mother in law

A lot of ladies can have an unfortunate and hateful relationships with their MIL’s- like, you married my son and now I hate you! Not so with me and Mama P. She’s about 5 feet tall, looks a LOT like Bette Midler and she is so excellent. She also makes some of the most delicious food I have ever tasted in my life. Like, honestly… the thought of her Alfredo sauce makes my heart race. Probably because she adds enough butter to give me a heart attack. But whatever – it’s delicious as is every single thing she puts on the table. Even her eggs. Like how did you make these basted eggs SO good? What did you do??! One time, I stated that I had a hankering for hot chocolate and that I was going to go get some. But Mama P said, “no honey, I’ll make you some.” If you’re thinking I got a cup of Swiss Miss, you are so wrong. She brought me in giant-ass mug filled to the brim with homemade hot chocolate made from melted chocolate and heavy cream and full size marshmallows. She just whipped it up. She doesn’t screw around. It was the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had – I could cry thinking about it. Tears of happiness, of course.

Four years ago, two days before my birthday, was the first time Bill brought me home to meet his parents. Mama P made a pot roast, mashed potatoes and a pumpkin cheesecake for my birthday. I was all like “When can I come back? Oh, tomorrow? Cool.”

So I did. I went back the next day and Mama P made rigatoni with chicken in vodka sauce.  At that point in my life,  I had the mentality that pasta was the devil. So what now? This vodka sauce is staring me in the face and it smells DELICIOUS. So I ate a few bites.

Then I ate a few more.

Then I had two plates.

This is one of my very favorite dishes of hers and while Mama P. has shared a lot of coveted recipes with me, she never gave me the vodka sauce recipe. But at my bridal shower, my mother started a book of recipes and asked all the guests to fork over their favorites. When I opened the book, there it was. Mama P’s vodka sauce. I almost died. Since then, I’ve made it twice and it just doesn’t taste as good as hers does. I don’t know if it ever will, to be honest, but I’m okay with. It gives me an excuse to go over her house and beg for vodka rigatoni and hot chocolate.

Being part of Mama P’s family now, I can’t share the EXACT recipe with you. But I will give you a close variation of it for you to enjoy.

1lb prosciutto, diced small

2 tbsp. butter

1 pint of light cream

1 jar Prego tomato sauce

Few dashes of hot sauce

¼ grated cheese

Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

1lb rigatoni or tubey pasta of your choice

Boil and cook pasta till al dente.

Brown prosciutto in butter and garlic powder. Add tomato sauce till heated through. Add light cream and heat through again. Add grated cheese, hot sauce, salt and pepper and mix through.  Add pasta and mix together.

You’ll notice the real secret to vodka sauce according to Mama P is NO vodka! Suckas! This recipe is also great with shrimp, chicken and peas.

new friends, new treats

I am starting to go through some serious blogging withdrawal. Writing in my blog… reading blogs.. looking at new blogs…redesigning my blog. Do you get it? Good.

Anyway, I have a new job – and while I am really enjoying it – I miss the extra freedom that I came along with hating my last job. (I also miss my coworkers. They were pretty okay.) That extra freedom meant more time to blog during the work day. Those days are gone and I’m okay with it, except.. I still miss blogger life.

So I have this new job…and it’s good. But regardless, I’m still the new kid. So what’s the best way to get people to like you?

Make them treats. And lots of them.

My second week, I brought in pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. This got them to remember what my name was.

The following week, I brought in chewy chocolate chip cookies with sea salt. This got them to warm up to me. They were also gone before noon, which is always a good sign.

The third week, I made some cake batter bark, courtesy of this lady, and this really sealed the deal. Now on my fourth week, I was asked why there weren’t any treats this week. HA suckas.. no real, I need to bring in something for next week or else I’ll probably be fired. (ok, not true).

There have been so many other things that I want to blog about lately…the delicious shrimp scampi, chicken cordon bleu, cheesy stuffed potatoes and caramel-stuffed cupcakes with dark and white chocolate ganache that I made; my latest obsession with Taste of Home magazine; my experience at the Amish market; my restraint in eating all of the Halloween candy and my excitement for hosting my first thanksgiving.  It’s been one busy fall season so far…this weekend, I am baking a whole lot of mini red velvet birthday cakes for this little lady. And my birthday is Sunday. A day to which I consume roughly about 8,000 calories and drink alcohol before 11am. Phylis is making me an orange-raspberry coconut cake (my nannie’s recipe) schwing! Anna is making Chicken Marsala from the Carmine’s cookbook. (double shwing!) It’ll be a good day.

Anyway, that’s what’s livin’ on the home front. So what’s up with you guys?

pumpkin time at target

oh boy.. it's been so long. terrible, i know. between getting a new job (SCORE!), getting a few cupcake jobs and throwing a housewarming party for our amigos, our lives have been pretty hectic...but here i am...ready to r-o-c-k.

i had the day off, but willy didn't, therefore I was by lonesome all today. Sometimes, a gal needs her time to  herself to unwind, have several cups of coffee and watch Crossroads with Britney Spears. (alright, so this happened.) However, today I was particularly bored without my hubsta around...even after waking up, making myself a pancake, doing laundry, organizing my clock, reading a new nook book...I was still a little restless...so I went to target. bah.

i grabbed a cart and wheeled around for about an hour... and somewhere between getting toilet paper and toothpaste, I ended up in pumpkinland. Where you aware that Target carried such an array of pumpkin products? Me either.

So here's what I ended up with:
4 cans of pumpkin puree (something that seems to be sold out everywhere i go. tis the season, right?)
1 box of pumpkin oatmeal
1 box of pumpkin pancake mix
1 box of eggo pumpkin spice waffles
3 containers of pumpkin pie yogurt
1 loaf of Pepperidge Farm Swirl Pumpkin Spice bread

i know, i know. I went into overload...i couldn't help myself. I think the pumpkin oatmeal is to blame.. not to worry though... i have major plans in the future for all of my pumpkin goods!

running something up the flagpole...

..gonna see if anyone salutes it. (12 Angry Men. anyone?)

here's what I have marinating... going to bounce this off a few of my peeps here and see if it floats.
I started this blog to document all of the delicious desserts that i love to eat and to share my recipes with the rest of the blogging world. Now while I can live on dessert alone, that guy I live with (you know, my hubster) cannot. that man likes his food. so I need to be a good wife and make it for him. Lucky for him, I happen to love to cook and I'm pretty great at. (i know, it's hard being me, isn't it?) But lately, I find myself coming up with more recipes that are savory, and not so sweet. Thus, I seem not be coming up with a ton of sweet-related things to blog about, which is a dilemma for a blog that has cupcakes in the title.

Here's what inspired this: I made a black bean soup the other night that was so damn good, I wanted to shout the recipe from the roof of my house. And I thought, "I really want to blog about this soup. it's too tasty NOT to blog about. can I do that? there were no cupcakes in it."

So here am I... wondering....despite this being a dessert only blog...can I make the transition? Adding the occasional food post (like, real food) in addition to blogging about desserts? This feels like when Selena crossed over from Tejano to mainstream.

here's the soup, by the way. It looks a little offputting because I ran half of it through the food processor and well, ground up black beans just ain't pretty. But hey, what can you do?

I also took this picture on my Blackberry, which is actually just Satan disguised in the form of a mobile device. i used this recipe, and instead of 10 slices of bacon (which is aggressive, even for me), I used three slices of pork roll chopped up. it was delicious. Bill told me so at least five or six times. I love that guy.

so back to question at hand.... what are your thoughts about making this a crossover blog? (staying with the Selena theme here. Como la Flor!!!!)

i have found my blog soul mate

as expressed in my previous post, i have since found a million blogs that I am obsessed with since joining the blogger world a year ago. But yesterday, I fumbled across a blog that takes the cake. (GET IT!?!!)

no really. and it belongs to this gal right herez: The Girl Who Ate Everything

I love this blog. i mean.... i REALLY love it. not just because her recipes are brilliant (like this right here?? genius.) but because i relate so much to her. I don't care for people who say "welllllll... i really have more a salty tooth. I don't care for sweets the way i care for potato chips." orrrrrr "I really love cupcakes so much and hate Cheetos." take it a step further.. people who don't like to eat at all? go away.

i don't trust these people. and anyhow... where does that leave me? I love cupcakes. and cheetos. and cookies. and chicken parm. am i alone here? *crickets*

Enter Christy here. She loves to eat. And her family is cute. She is honest and hilarious. so therefore... i am in love. I have spent the last half hour printing out recipes that I will make this weekend and then re-blog, bragging about how amazing Christy is, yet again.

am i teetering on creepy? whatever, get out of here then.

just kidding. please keep reading my blog. and Christy's too.

happy birthday blog o'mine!!

hard to believe it's been a year since i said to myself (ok, wrong. It was out loud and to this gal), "i think i want to start a blog."

and so i did. i started a blog to document my fave recipes, baking techniques, gripes, moans and as many delicious desserts as I could get my hands on. this blog has provided me with the creative outlet I craved when I left the publishing industry and really helped me discover what a strong passion I had for baking. It also turned me on to a plethora of other amazing blogs that I now enjoy reading everyday.

it's been quite an eventful year on my end...i got married, bought a house and started a business. 2011 has been a pretty excellent year so far, and I'm hoping the next 3.5 months of it will continue to be just as excellent.

don't worry - I've already treated myself to a birthday dessert. i mean, come on!

confessions

So this is how it started…..

Yesterday, I bought a package of Archway Dutch Cocoa cookies. You know….the soft ones with the sugar on top. These, peeps:

My coworker turned to me and said “You like those? I’m really surprised, since you’re, like, a baker and everything.”

HOLD UP.

So I’m not allowed to like Dutch Cocoa cookies because baking is part of my job? (one of them at least). They’re delicious, 100 calories for a huge cookie and $1.00 a pack. i mean, cha-ching, right? WTF guys? Remember the box cake craving? Stop hatin’.

So here.. I thought I’d unload some confessions about myself to get the record straight about some things…

-         I have no idea how to cut a mango. Really, no idea. I read books, I live on ehow.com...somehow, it always ends up being an orange disaster all over my counter…and usually results in several cuts all over my hands.

-         When I bake a cheesecake, I sit on the floor in front of my oven for the entire time to make sure it doesn’t crack/burn/fall/start a mini fire in the oven.

-         You know this already, but I love boxed mix cake. Sometimes with canned frosting. sometimes with my own frosting. Sometimes just plain. it's so delicious and i'm not afraid to admit it. 

-         I have yet to make a perfect muffin. I have a really hard time getting them to the fluffiness that I so desire. I’m working on it.

-         I eat ice cream out of a mug and it makes my husband crazy. He doesn’t understand that when it comes to ice cream, I have a problem with portion control and must eat it out of my ice cream mug.

-         Speak of the devil…sometimes, when my husband is traveling, I eat two bowls cereal for dinner and watch reruns of sex and the city.

-         Last weekend, I burnt a dozen cupcakes. I was so upset that I threw each one in the garbage, one at a time, and let out of a string of four letter words. My poor padre (who doesn’t swear) was standing in the kitchen while it happened.

-         I love finding sweets from my childhood, like moon pies, pecan swirls or rainbow ice cream. I feel like I hit the jackpot. Adding to this, finding bakery outlet stores also gives me this feeling. Like a Wonder Bread/Hostess outlet. aisles and aisles of treats and breads for $1. They are so rare these days.. like the holy grail of baked goods. amazing. 

-         Andddd speaking of hostess....Hostess Orange Cupcakes are my favorite treat, as well as my mother’s. They aren’t always easy to find, but when we do come across them, we always call each other and say “guess what I’m eating?” Unfortunately for me, the gas station across the street from my office ALWAYS has them and I have to beat myself off with a stick to avoid getting a pack every day.

Here’s the point I’m trying to make, guys. Baking is my favorite thing to do and I’m good at it (I mean, whatever. Toot toot beep beep.) I feel accomplished and I enjoy making other people happy with my desserts.

This doesn’t make me a pretentious dessert snob. I’m a simple little lady. Who now wants orange cupcakes.

what's been happening lately....

things have been nuts around here, party peeps. but all good things! here's what's going on...

#1. Three months ago, I told you all that I was pursuing a business venture. And this summer, that's just what I did. After making cupcakes for bridal showers, birthday parties, friends, etc etc etc.... I thought it was time to try to make this passion of mine legitimate. (this always makes me think of Michael Corleone from the Godfather.. but this is off topic.) ... so I went for it. I launched my own small business called Eat Dessert First. (check out zee website!) EDF specializes in cupcakes and little treats, such as cake pops, brownies and mini pies. Need dessert? Do you hate baking? Call me, I love baking..and I'll take care of you.

2. Eat Dessert First catered their first large event this past weekend, Rachel and Daniel's wedding in Germantown, PA! We (we meaning me with help from my madre) baked over 150 cupcakes for Rach and Dan's wedding and it was a big hit! on the menu: a lemon infused cupcake with raspberry filling and raspberry butter cream, a Reese's cupcake (including two big ones for the newlyweds to cut), Classic Carrot Cake and a Mochacino cupcake. Here are a few pictures...and check out more details at Meredith's blog!

chillen with the cupcakes.

3. I contributed some delicious cake pops to our friends at m2 photography for a beginner's workshop. You can check out the sneak peek here!

it happened.

Several months ago, I blogged about wanting to have Pinkberry when I went to see my sista on the Left coast. But it never happened. It’s like a dessert urban legend to me…something I just need to have.

...this Saturday evening, after a bachelorette dinner in NYC for one our lady friends, my other girlfran said to me, “Can we stop for Pinkberry before we go back?” And then my heart stopped for a second.

So we went to Pinkberry. And we stood in line. And I got nervous. What was I supposed to get? All I could think were TOPPINGS, TOPPINGS, TOPPINGS!! Original with fruit and cereal? Cap’n crunch or fruity pebbles? What about coconut? Bananas and chocolate chips? Should I go the sundae route? Wait, they have gummi bears too? ARE THOSE CHEESCAKE BITES?
Anxiety ensues.

I approach the counter and the pinkberry girl CLEARLY notices that it’s my first time here. Gives me the Pinkberry speech while I stare at all the toppings. I panic some more. Remember that scene from A Christmas Story where Ralphie sits on Santa’s lap and blanks about telling him that he wants an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two hundred shot range model air rifle? This was me… but with toppings. I was so worried about making the wrong decision. this was a big deal, i didn't want to sabotage my first Pinkberry experience by choosing the wrong toppings...it could ruin everything...

So I made a decision. This was it:

with heath bar pieces, coconut and raspberries.

and it was bliss.  

cake pops are for lovers?

cake pops seem to be all the rage these days. should i be renaming my blog? this like the time I found out all the zodiac signs changed and thought I had to get my Scorpio tattoo removed.

no no no no. I still have my tattoo. and I still love cupcakes. but I confess - I am falling in to the cake pop craze. It really all started a few months ago when I went to Starbucks for an iced soy misto and left with my misto + a Rocky Road cake pop. I blame the kid in front of me who asked for one first.



like i could actually walk out without one of these? yeah oooook...

but now I'm loving the cake pop. I generally love all things on a stick and mini-sized, so this just takes the cake. (GET IT???!?!!!) they are so perfect for kid's party or for wedding/engagement party favors. check these out!

so versatile, so delicious. yeah, these are definitely the new cupcake.




moving on - I am providing some baked goods for a photographer's workshop this weekend and guess what I'm providing? don't guess, it's cake pops. i'm thinking about doing something like the genius at bakarella aka the princess of pops has done here:

on a finale not, my friend Jenny makes pretty amazing cake pops. i'm learning my mad pop skillz from her.

just a little hiatus...

guyssssssssssssss

i haven't been around. well, friday i was. but i will be doing this for the next week:

and it bites. i hate it. i just shoved my fave cupcake pan into a box filled with living room stuff. get it together, kris.
but my hub and i are moving into our dream home, so my complaints should really be scarce.

i'll be back soon, faithful 16! xo

treats from the 90's that i miss

i am a legit child of the 90's. established 1984. i am also a big reminiscer, hence, the origin of this post. looking back now on all the amazing delights that were available in the 90's, it makes sense as to why i was such a fat kid.

anyway, here's how this post was inspired:

it's a heatageddon here today in philly. and I've been on a MAJOR chocolate and banana kick as of late. in my humid haze, i started thinking about this delicious chocolate and banana fudgesicle i used to enjoy in my chubby younger years. so a google search later, i found it. although, it doesn't look the same, but this is it:

i love anything that has "bonanza" in the name.



isn't it wild how you can still remember the way that things used to taste when you were a kid? if i had one of these in my paw right now, i bet it would taste exactly the same. probably because they never changed the ingredients. you get the idea. 

anyway, here i am. reverting back to my fat kid years and about to divulge in some seriously mortifying details of my childhood. but it's Friday and I'm going to do it anyway...
here is the lowdown of my favorite treats that are no longer alive. (except for a few that i occasionally can find on the last shelve in the snack aisle.)
 

i vividly remember this tasting like plastic - but loving it anyway.



alright, these jawns are still around. i know this because i bought a pack for my coworkers last year and it was gone in 30 seconds. but regardless, a 90's staple.



the white ones were my fave.



this is the holy grail of 90's treats to me. I would probably pay an embarrassing sum of money to get my hands on some.



the ultimate variety pack. DUH!!



the 90's were the prime years for breakfast cereal.
my mother bought this once for me. I ate it one day and she never bought it again.

give it up to me people.. what are your favorite nostaligic treats?

no-bake desserts

guys, it's so hot here in Philly. ungodly-stupid-can't move-want-to-kill-someone hot. here's the proof:

102 degrees? for realz?

i don't know about you guys, but turning on the oven in this heat is just a silly idea. I don't care who wants a cupcake - not happening. but with the summer heat comes summer produce as well as a bundle of other goodies which are always more delicious from May-July (like ice cream. duh!)

if you're having guests this weekend or you're just hunkering down inside to avoid melting in the heat, try one of these delicious no bake desserts. so easy and you won't asphyxiate yourself by turning the oven on. HOORAY!

Shortcut Shortcake
Top a pre-made angel food cake or mini sponge cakes (you can find these pups by the produce) with a gaggle of your berry of choice. top with store-bought whipped cream or be brave and whip up some of your own with some heavy cream and sugar (me love this).

Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches
Toast your favorite frozen waffle. Spread a little hot fudge or Nutella on the inside. Add your favorite softened ice cream and top with the other waffle.

Banana Split Ice Cream Pie
Start with store bought chocolate or graham crust. (don't hate on these Ready Crusts. They are amazing in the summer months.) Line the bottom of the crust with a layer of hot fudge. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until the fudge has hardened a bit. Top the fudge layer with sliced bananas and stick it back in the fridge (or freezer) for another 10-15 minutes. Top with your favorite flavor of ice cream, softened. (i prefer breyer's vanilla bean for this) Top the ice cream with another drizzle of hot fudge and some chopped nuts. Add a few swirls of whipped cream, a cherry on top and serve.

my gummi bear's birthday & a recipe

before i get on with it, you should know that my term of endearment of choice is usually that of a dessert food. cookie, nugget, gummi worm, cupcake.. you get the idea. I think it stems from my mother calling me "cookie" growing up. who am i kidding, she still does it. I do this to all of my friends and they seem to be alright with it. my husband, too. he can't get enough it.

but this weekend, Nicole (aka my little gummi bear-cookie girl) had herself a birthday. She turned 21 for the 7th time and we had a big bash at her shore house to celebrate the occasion. staples for nicole's birthday celebrations (every year) include champagne, gummi bears and waffles and ice cream. All three made their respective appearances this year, as well as these guys:

 *note: something crazy happened during the upload process. apologies for the weird blurry mark.


yeah, that's a cookie in a cupcake

i did it. I went there. and they were a huge success. the neighbors took three and ran back to their house to hoard them. true story. that's the impact of the cookie bottomed cupcake, friends. Made with love for my one and only cookie girl on the day of her birth.

here are some highlights from the party:

my lady friends.

yes, you read correctly. it's her f_cking birthday.

and here's the recipe, so you can make it and cause havoc at your next fiesta. *another note: I used my standard vanilla cupcake recipe here, which I don't have in front of me to share with you. So for argument's and time's sake, a box mix will work just fine. Same for the cookies.

Nicole's Cookie Bottomed Birthday Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

your favorite chocolate chip cookie cookie dough

(i used toll's house's cookie since it's my fave.

break and bake's would work great in this recipe, too! )

your favorite vanilla cupcake batter, prepared.

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

preheat oven to 350

line an 18 cup muffin pan with liners

place a small circle of cookie dough at the bottom of the liner,

 about an inch wide

bake cookie mixture about 7-8 minutes. cookies should be starting to form,

 but still raw.

top the cookie layer with cupcake batter. fill till about 3/4 full.

put cupcakes back in the oven and bake till a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean. about 18-20 minutes.

while cupcakes cool, bring heavy cream to a slight boil. remove from heat.

add bag of chocolate chips and whisk until smooth.

dip the cupcake tops into the chocolate mixture.

refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.

committing baker fails across the board

i had two epic baking fails last night.

1. I destroyed a zucchini bread.
2. I bought a boxed cake mix and canned frosting with every intention of using it.  

alright, before you stop following my blog, hear me out.

I was on the phone with my sista on the Left Coast while I was making my bread and forgot to add baking soda and the cinnamon. That's what happened. It never rose and it turned out to be more like a pound cake, a tasteless one in fact. I'm not perfect here, peeps. I've been baking from scratch since I was 12 years old, so these things happen. sometimes, I forget to add an ingredient or I get ambitious and sub one for another and it turns out to be terrible. But I'd be lying if I said that I was ok with this. When I have a baking fail, I usually become engraged, throw it in the garbage and cry on the couch for awhile. 

so the lesson learned for kristen: don't try to bake during a crisis or while on the phone with a sibling. and don't take out the failed baked good on your husband. It's not his fault. He doesn't even like sweets.

as for the cake mix, I'll be straight up here: I have had a monster hankering for yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Not from scratch, either. It has to be from the box and so I bought this:

and this:

so i could have this:

i really can't say why i am having this craving. and as a baking blogger and lover of all things sweet, I should probably be pretending to have sophisticated dessert taste and making some fancy organic pudding from scratch or something, but I don't do this. I'm a simple little lady and, sometimes, I just want a cake mix cake and duncan hines frosting. is that so terrible? ... i think not.

so the story is...i'm going to make my cake. I'll try my zucchini bread another time. and all will be right with the world once again.

an excellent weekend + some random thoughts

disclaimer: this is not a dessert heavy post.

this weekend was indeed a great one. bp and I traveled back to our homeland of NJ and visited with some our bffs. pasta, mango salsa, jalepeno poppers and lots wine and vodka were consumed. on saturday, nic and I attended our friend Jeana's bridal shower. the shower was beautiful and Jeana looked gorgeous as usual. in typical Kristen nature, my camera died after my first picture, so i stole some pics from our friend, Jenny (who is starting a blog. HOORAY! can't wait to share hers!). she also made these amazing cookies. I had enough to be embarrased to actually share the number. alright, it was six. maybe seven.

  

we heart jeana!


on sunday, bp and I stopped off at my parents, where I raided Big Al's garden for an abnormally large zucchini because i have this and these on my radar:

courtesy of rachael ray

on the random thoughts front....I'm in a weird baking slump. I've been itching to try some new recipes (a blue velvet cake, cake batter pancakes and red velvet biscotti are at the top of my list), but there is little time to be had to devote to getting in the kitchen. this also includes cooking; thank God I have a husband who is more than happy to eat yogurt and cereal for dinner a few times a week. but we bought a new pad and we're moving in three weeks. hence, time is of the essence and my kitchen is slowly becoming a ghost town. so just a heads, the posts in the coming weeks will most likely to be devoted to all the recipes that i am planning on baking, but not actually getting to it. and maybe documenting a breakdown or two because packing gives me anxiety. sorry party peeps.

BUT!
I am carving out some time from packing and cleaning to make some treats with the mutant zucchini. it has to be done. 
in the meantime, i'll leave you with these, considering i can't get them off my mind. i'm breaking in the new kitchen with these babies.

howsweeteats.com

whipped cream vodka 101

As a dessert blogger, I realize that I should probably be providing some recipes for the 4^th, chock full of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, some sponge cake and a bucket of whipped cream. But I’m not going to do that. Here’s why:

1. It’s a holiday weekend and we should all be getting our drink on. Not our baking. It’s hot and ovens should stay off.
2. I’m going to give you some drink recipes using whipped cream vodka. So it’s a little festive, you know?

A little background…For my bridal shower, I received a bucket full of liquors and drink mixers from a new cousin. Basically, the best gift ever. However, a bottle of whipped cream vodka lies in the bucket still because I have no idea what to do with it. When cocktail time rolls around, I tend to stick to more basic drinks… a beer, vodka soda, maybe a dirty martini when I’m feeling frisky. But alas, the whipped cream vodka sits alone in the bucket and I’m on a mission to drink it down this weekend.

what to do with you, friend.....

With some help from the Pinnacle website, I’ve narrowed it down to a few winners. (because is there a better drink name than a “Woo Hoo”? I think not…)

Woo Hoo

2 oz. Pinnacle Whippted

4 oz. limeade

Mix in a glass filled with ice

and garnish with a lime wedge.

Cream Saver Cocktail

2 oz. Pinnacle Whipped

2 oz. pineapple juice

2 oz. orange juice

Mix in a glass filled with ice

and garnish with an orange wedge.

Cream Saver-tini

2 oz. Pinnacle Whipped

1 oz. pineapple juice

1 oz. orange juice

Shake over ice and strain into

a chilled martini glass. Garnish with

an orange slice and a cherry.

Light n’ Sweet

2 oz. Pinnacle Whipped

4 oz. club soda

Splash pineapple juice

Mix in a glass filled with ice

and garnish with an orange wedge.

Dallop Daiquiri

2 oz. Pinnacle Whipped

2 oz. half & half

4 strawberries

1 cup ice

Blend all ingredients until smooth.


.. remember to drink responsibily, party people. and..

HAPPY FOURTH! YAY AMERICA!

why ice cream makes everything better

if you haven't figured it out, i loovvvvvvvvvvveee me some ice cream. in fact, if you don't like ice cream, you probably shouldn't be following this blog. But I know all 13 of you, and you all love ice cream....except for you, Amanda.

personally, I think ice cream makes people happier. who knows, maybe the world would be a better place if everyone just had a cone here and there. I mean... just don't know. I did, however, hold an experiment at my work place, though. here's how it went down:

...things at the old workplace have been a little sluggish so last month, I decided to hold an impromptu ice cream float social at my desk after lunch. I hiked it over to the shop-n-bag, picked up some root beer, Coke, ginger ale and  chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Ice cream floats were made right there in the middle of the office and enjoyed by all. It really turned the mood around in everyone and since then, ice cream socials are held on a weekly basis.

sometimes we have these:



and one week it was these....

next week, i think we're going to have this.. for my friend, Stacy.

so it's pretty simple here friends... if you're having a bad day.. you should have this:

preferably with rainbow sprinkles.

i kicked something off my bucket list

i have a lot of things on my bucket list. on our honeymoon, i kicked "seeing wild horses" off the list and 90% of the other items are related to places I'd like to visit (Alaska, Belize, Italy, etc.) and things I want to do (go on a safari, hold a koala, thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, see a whale...)

however, this weekend in Cape May, i kicked something else off my bucket list.

i visited an old-fashioned soda fountain.

I get that this could seem pretty boring and maybe a little weird... but soda fountains are so symbolic in American history and pretty rare to come across these days. Not just any soda fountain, either. a legit in a drug store (or woolworth) soda fountain with men in wedge caps, singing and tossing ice cream in the air. (alright, maybe not that far...)
...I also love ice cream and firmly believe that I should have grown up in the 1950's. So you could get why I reallllllyyy wanted to try and find one of these. 

and here's how it went down:
...walking down a street in Cape May with my hubs and my inlaws when I see an old five and dime with the words "SODA FOUNTAIN." (O M G)..I walk in and there it was; right next to the silly putty and penny candy... my soda fountain.



the picture is a little grainy, since I took this with my blackberry.
didn't know if these gentleman would have appreciated having a photo shoot with me.


I have no idea how long I was in there for, analyzing every last item on the menu. Dreaming about sitting at the counter and ordering an egg cream.. or a cherry bomb.. or a raspberry lime rickey. the options are endless and if "Let the Good Times Roll" would have been playing, I probably would have never left.  

...but Bill eventually was standing next to me (laughing, of course) and said "I figured I'd find you in here. Do you want to get a treat?" ..I stupidly declined, because we hadn't had lunch yet. clearly, i have priorities. so sadly.. we left. but I have big plans to return to Margie D's Soda Fountain. Or maybe I'll go here in the meantime. who knows? i do know this....an egg cream is most definitely in my near future.