Decorate Good Cake, c'mon!

I do believe Kool & The Gang would approve of my use of their song in this blog post.

(feel free to play it & have a little music while scrolling down)

Since I'm a bona fide professional cook now, I can no longer enter in a lot of cooking contests and competitions. Some contests don't make this stipulation (which is awesome) and I gather that companies don't think professionals have time to enter contests or don't want the free swag they dole out.

This year I've tried my hand at making cakes & other confectionery items for my friends & families. A few co-workers took classes & learned amazing tricks of the trade & got to practice and hone skills I acquired in culinary school. And culinary school is where I think I left my cake decorating skills. BTW, all January classes at Michael's are 50% off!


Looking at (and eating) their handiwork made me slightly jealous.
I wasn't able to commit the time to a class, but I let my friends think I knew what I was doing when I made a few birthday cakes this year:


Bratz dolls are infinitely cheaper than Barbie and no one complained when I couldn't find this doll's detachable feet and fur-lined jacket after the party ended.

Note: Pre-made fondant can taste good if you add vanilla or almond extract when kneading it.

For a good friend's daughter's 1st birthday party, I attempted to replicate the pink and black ladybugs printed on the napkins, plates and other decor.

Those little smiling faces make me smile, too.

The most ambitious cake to date: I was given a drawing by my friend's soon-to-be eight year old son and given specific instructions as to what the cake was supposed to taste like. Elementary school students have discriminating palates, apparently.

Original drawing by Jackson The Birthday Boy.

The accompanying note read,

i want the main frosting to be yellow with little legos and the lego logo and make the letters white on the logo. Can you do that? see the fowloing pic. Thanks

Jackson

What made me think about my specialty cakes this year is a contest from my friends at Foodbuzz.

Foodbuzz has partnered with Electrolux in an effort to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. On February 9th in NYC, there will be a special cake decorating event and baking demonstration with Kelly Ripa and a renowned pastry chef.

I had to fill out a questionnaire and cross my fingers as I pressed "SUBMIT" to hope I get selected to participate. The few questions included: cake decorating interest, ideas for campaigning votes, and my reasons for wanting to support the ovarian cancer research cause.

If and when that time comes, I do hope to follow through my plan to win. I think I deserve a trip to NYC and what an experience it would be to be thisclose to a renowned pastry chef (whoever he or she may be).

Holiday Paella

Originally from the Valencia region of Spain & made with rabbit and snails, paella (pie-ay-ya) has been reduced to nothing more than a pilaf mixed with shellfish, chicken & short-grain rice. started with a sumptuous broth of saffron, sofrito, clam juice and chicken thighs, it's a great dish to serve during the holiday season.

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 chicken thighs, deboned
2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups short-grain white rice
8 oz whole cherry tomatoes
3.5 oz pimiento stuffed olives
1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
2 cups clam juice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 pound large uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 dozen clams, scrubbed
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Heat olive oil in a wide, shallow skillet or paella pan. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken and cook over medium heat until brown, about 7 minutes per side. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot.

Add chopped onions and garlic to pot and saut
e until beginning to brown, scraping up any browned bits, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, tomatoes, olives and saffron. Add clam juice and chicken stock to pot and bring mixture to simmer. Arrange chicken, shrimp, squid, clams and mussels in rice mixture. Sprinkle with peas. Cover with foil.

Cook paella until chicken is cooked through, clams and mussels open and rice is tender, about 45 minutes (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). If needed, add additional water or stock to rice to ensure rice is cooked through. Remove foil and let paella stand 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Holiday Snacking

Sorry folks: I haven't blogged much during the past 4 months. I've been busy putting my life in order & focusing on my non-blogging career. Back in August, I was downsized from my job as a baker (I know! Sadness!) At the time I took it as a personal blow, but I managed to turn it into fodder for a comedy show at a local comedy club!

Look at that face! It has comedy written all over it!




Unfortunately, I did suffer a physical blow. I was tailgating (codeword for "drinking") with my friends at a Carolina Panthers game and...to make a long story short--I broke my left wrist. No cooking, no writing, no typing & certainly not much eating. Tomorrow I get my cast off after nearly 8 weeks of constant pain, suffering, and carrying my arm around in a sling.

Me at the hospital right before my surgery. Yes, the break was pretty bad. There was anesthesia and a overnight stay involved.


To celebrate my new & improved wrist, I made a snack for you!



A mere one cup of this snack mix is 140 calories and 2 grams of fat. I mixed up a batch of this and have been snacking on it non-stop for the past month. It's sweet, salty, crunchy & oh-so satisfying. It's great to munch on while you're doing your holiday baking, before you step out to that holiday party serving the "light hors d'oeuvres" or to tide you over 'til dinner.



'Tis the season to eat, drink & be merry.

I plan on doing all 3 in excess over the next 3 weeks. The only things I won't be indulging in is the weight gain, bloat & heartburn associated with gluttonous activities.

Holiday Snack Mix

Makes 15 1-cup servings

3 cups Corn Chex cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex cereal
2 cups Kashi 7 Whole Grain Cereals Puffs cereal
2 cups reduced fat Cheez-Its crackers
3 cups air popped popcorn
1/4 cup Smart Balance buttery spread
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1. Mix cereals, 1 cup of the cheese crackers and 2 cups of the popcorn in large, microwavable bowl. Set aside.
2. Place Smart Balance, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt in 2-cup microwavable measuring cup. Microwave on High 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir; microwave on High until bubbling. Remove from microwave; stir in baking soda. Mixture will foam up, but keep mixing until baking soda is dissolved. Pour over the cereal mixture; stir until fully coated.
3. Microwave on High 4 to 5 minutes, stirring after every minute. Spread on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Let cool for about 5 minutes to let caramel fully harden. Stir in remaining 1 cup cheese crackers and 1 cup popcorn.

I called it "snack mix" just because I don't always use Chex. Feel free to mix and match your favorite cereals, using the same ratio (I used Cheerios in place of the Kashi) and add nuts, chocolate chips, or pretzels for additional flavor and crunch. Another time, I used Orville Redenbacher's 97% fat free microwave popcorn instead of breaking out the air corn popper. I added a cup of dark chocolate chips after the mixture cooled and that brought a whole new dimension to the mix. Adding the dark chocolate only adds 1/2 gram of fat per serving, so it's still a low-fat snack option.