Angry Birds Birthday Cake

My latest cake...Angry Birds! I took the Knock on Wood game and made it into a cake. :-)

Baked Mac & Cheese w Bacon & Caramelized Onions

Tonight I bring you a short entry but a delicious recipe! This is by far the best macaroni and cheese I've made, so far, on my journey to find the perfect baked mac and cheese.

Finally...an update!

In May I will have officially lived alone for a year. Let me say what an amazing year it has been. I have grown so much as an individual and I really have been blessed with new experiences. I think the biggest change that took place this year was actually deciding to go back to school. The reason I've been so quiet here on the blog is because most of my free time has been spent doing homework. I've also been enjoying life a little more. I haven't taken much time to cook. As I near the end of my first semester homework has stopped and it's just studying for finals. I have actually had some free time so I have been back in the kitchen!

I decided to post today so I could sure some photo from the past few months. If you don't follow me on Instagram (@chadizze) then these will be new photos for your viewing pleasure. :-)

Also, I will have a new post soon with a recipe! I finally made a delicious Baked Mac & Cheese...check back in a few days for that.

Clifty Falls State Park Madison, IN
A nice weekend away lead us to a small hike through the start park. Very beautiful and peaceful. This was my favorite location we visited. I even got to climb behind the little waterfall. Very nice time.

My favorite local Bakery Heyerly's Bakery Ossian, IN
Stopped here for a Birthday treat for myself and cupcakes for my birthday lunch. I had the best birthday I have ever had. :-)

I'm all about a quick pasta dish! I usually just use jarred pesto, but this time I decided to make sauce from a few tomatoes I had. The sauce turned out quite delicious. 

Butter Sugar Cookies (recipe to come soon).
I get a craving for sugar cookies sometimes. This time I really wanted some old fashioned soft fluffy cookies. These didn't turn out exactly like I wanted, but they were pretty delicious!

Almond Orange Scones.
These were my first attempt at scones. They turned out pretty good! 

Moist Chocolate Cake and Homemade Buttercream

I'm not a huge Chocolate Cake fan but I had a craving that had to be satisfied. This cake was quiet delicious and SO simple!

Baked Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
This recipe should be up in a few days. Sweet, spicy, and CHEESY!

Happy Birthday Grandma

Clown Cake Pops

The most recent (and probably last) cake pops I've made. :-)

Going bananas Again - Banana Cream Pie

Mini Banana Cream Pies

I don't know about anyone else but when I get a new bon appetite or Food & Wine magazine in the mail I get a little happy. There are usually only a few recipes I am willing to try but there are always good articles to read and plenty of splendid food photos to look at. :-)

When I got the latest issue of bon appetite I saw a Banana Cream Pie w Salty Bourbon Caramel listed on the cover and I was instantly hungry for it. Little did I know that when I saw the picture I was going to start drooling! I've never been so eager to try a recipe. I was so eager I tried it that night. 

I, of course, had to adjust a few ingredients. First, I'm not a huge fan of peanuts and to me it seemed pecans made more sense to go with banana. So, I substituted and I almost ate the crust by itself. :-) Second, I added a little more vanilla flavoring to the pastry cream. I really wanted to add some vanilla bean, but I didn't have any so I added some Vanilla Nut Flavoring. Aside from those two adjustments I followed the recipe and it was quite delicious. 

The only other thing I have to add is that this was my first time making a pastry cream/pudding. My first attempt (pictured below) was a fail because I was afraid to cook it too long…don't be. Once it's cooked you blend it so if it does get "chunky" no worries. The second time I made the recipe (pictured above) I used cupcakes liners and made mini banana cream pies.

First attempt, doesn't look beautiful but certainly was tasty.

Banana Cream Pie w Salted Caramel  [Printable Version]

slightly adapted from bon appetit Banana Cream Pie w Salty Bourbon Caramel

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

Crust:

1 1/4 cups pecans

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 baking soda

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg yolk

1/4 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Nut Pastry Cream:

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

5 large egg yolks

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in 1/2" slices

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp vanilla nut flavoring

Caramel:

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp corn syrup

1 Tbsp water

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut in 1/2" slices

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Have 9" pie dish or tart pan ready.

2. In a food processor pulse the pecans until coarsely ground. Set 1/4 cup to the side for garnish. 

3. For about 2 min pulse the pecans.

4. In a medium bowl whisk flour, salt, and baking soda. 

5. With an electric mixer beat the sugars, butter, and pulsed pecans for 2 minutes. 

6. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla until well blended.

7. Slowly add dry ingredients. Do not over mix.

8. Places dough in pie pan and spread to the edges. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Vanilla Nut Pastry Cream:

1. Bring milk and heavy cream to a simmer. 

2. In a large bowl whisk sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt.

3. Add egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Mixture will be very thick.

4. Gradually add the milk/cream mixture to egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

5. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick whisking constantly for around 3 minutes. 

6. Transfer to a blender with butter and vanilla. Pulse for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Caramel:

1. In a medium saucepan stir sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

2. Increase heat  and cook until sugar is a deep amber color, about 6-8 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add heavy cream. Caramel will bubble vigorously!

4. Whisk in butter, salt and vanilla. Cool.

Assembly:

In the crust make a thin layer of pastry cream

add sliced bananas

alter until the crust is full

top with whipped cream, caramel, and pecans

First Birthday Cake ... Happy BDay Payton!

It's hard to believe how fast time passes sometimes. It's been a year since I made the Welcome Baby Payton cake. She is now 1! Here are the photos of her mini cake, the Tinkerbell cake, and Lil Miss Payton so delicately eating the cake. We were so hoping she would just smash into the cake...didn't happen. I've never seen a kid eat cake so politely. She's just too adorable!

Triple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies are my enemy! Well, that was until I changed just a few things in the classic Nestle recipe. They still aren't my perfect idea of a Chocolate Chip Cookies, but they are almost there!. 

A peek of posts to come!

Here's a little peek at what posts I have in the works. I'm going back to the sugar for upcoming posts!

Triple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Banana Cream Pie
Mini Banana Cream Pies

My first attempt at...donuts!

My first attempt at making donuts with this new donut maker I got for Christmas. The recipe wasn't great but they do taste alright. Liking the maker so I can't wait to try out another recipe!