5 Egg bundt cake

This is my five egg pound cake, bundt cake recipe.

2 sticks butter
2 C. flour
2 C. sugar
5 eggs

In this chocolate variation, I added a little cocoa powder. In the lemon variation, I use lemon extract. This is a very versatile batter. Cream butter and sugar together first. Next add eggs and the flavor you are going for. Add flour last. Bake in a bundt pan for around 50 minutes.

Vegetable Tray

I made a vegetable tray for my company Holiday party tomorrow. I have some spinach dip I will fill my pumpernickel loaf with.

Fleece Friends

Trace an animal shape, sew together, stuff with polly fill, add eyes and mouth.

Christmas Dress

YAY! I love little party dresses. I made this for Reagan.

Happy Birthday Emerald

Marble cake, chocolate icing, retro flower theme.

Christmas Quilt

I made a quilt (36"x31") for my Dad's couch. I plan to give it to him for Christmas. I hope he likes it. It is very Americana..

Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 C. chocolate wafer crumbs
1/3 C. butter (approx 5 Tbs.)

Filling:
12 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 - 8 ounces packages full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 C. sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 C. sour cream

Melt the chopped chocolate and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in the bowl of your electric mixer beat the cream cheese, on medium low speed, until smooth. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the melted chocolate and beat until fully incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Pour filling in the crust. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven. Bake for about 50 - 55 minutes or until firm yet the center of the cheesecake will still look a little wet and wobbly.

Oreo Cheesecake

1 pkg. Oreo brand cookies
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
3 pkgs. cream cheese (8 oz.) room temp.
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Whipped cream and additional cookies for garnish


Finely crush 25-30 of the cookies and combine with the melted butter to form bottom crust. For the bottom I scrape the cream off. The cookies used to garnish I keep the cream in, Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pan. Beat cream cheese and sugar together with electric mixer set on medium until they are creamy. Lightly beat eggs and blend in one at a time by hand. Add sour cream and vanilla and continue to blend well. Coarsely chop remaining oreos and fold into the blended batter. Pour mixture into crust in baking pan. Bake in a 350° F oven for 50-60 minutes or until firmly set. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and remove by carefully running a knife around the outer edge. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and serve garnished with whipped cream and half an oreo.

New York Cheesecake

5 Tbs. butter
1 1/4 C. graham crumbs
Melt butter before adding crumbs. Stir to coat well. Press mixture into well sprayed spring form pan. Bake at 300* for 10 minutes.

1 1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. milk
4 eggs
1 C. sour cream
vanilla
1/4 C. AP flour
4 8oz packages cream cheese

In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until smooth. Add eggs, flour and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 350* 1 Hour. Center will still be wobbly. Custard will set as the pie cools.

Peppermint Bark

$5 each. 1/4 lb. peppermint bark treats with festive, reusable, holiday cutters. Sold individually. Each wrapped in cellophane with hand stamped tags. Great gift idea for stocking stuffers, children, teachers, and grandmas.

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3/4 C. semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 C. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup crushed candy canes (break inside of a zip top bag)
Several cookie cutters

Line the bottom of cookie sheet with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles. Place cookie cutters on sheet. Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted chocolate into cookie cutters and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Makes about 25 pieces.

Pumpkin Pie

1 1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt (you can substitute 3 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning for next 3 spices)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 29oz can pumpkin
2 cans (12 0z) evaporated milk
2 9" deep pie shells UNBAKED

Bake 425* for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature 350* bake 40-50 minutes until custard is set and knife inserted near center comes out clean. Freezing pie causes separation of crust and filling. I use the recipe on the side of the Libbys pumpkin.

Pecan Pie

4 lg. eggs
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. pecan halves

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs and brown sugar in medium bowl until completely blended and free of lumps, whisk in vanilla, salt and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter until well blended, about 1 minute. Pour mixture into pie crust. Place pecans in circles on top and bake 50 minutes or until sharp knife inserted in center comes out clean, but slightly oily. Cool pie on wire rack for 20 minutes. Brush top with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. Serve hot or cold.

Best Pie Crust

Courtesy of Reva.

4 C. flour
1 2/3 C. shortening
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1 C. luke-warm water

Use pastry cutter to blend flour and shortening until crumbly. Then add egg, water, and vinegar. Use hands to mix. Dough will come together as a ball and leave sides of bowl clean. Makes four shells. Use your leftover scraps to make tiny cookies with sugar and cinnamon. YUM!

Fleece Hats

Hats $15.00
Hat and scarf $20.00 comes gift-wrapped for Christmas.

Available animals: Bear, Cat, Dog, Mouse, Totoro, Squid. Ears can be different colors.
Size: 3 month to adult. Please specify how old the person is.
Fleece color choice: Black, white, blue, pink (coming soon). Custom colors available; must give 1 week notice.

Pizza Dough

1 dollop of honey
2 tsp. yeast (1 packet)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. oil
1 C. warm water
3 C. flour

Make into a dough. Add more flour if necessary. When you are finished, wash bowl. Add another Tablespoon of oil to bowl. Coat dough in oil. Set bowl in a warm area of the kitchen. I suggest using your wok ring, setting oven to warm, and placing covered bowl on back burner. This way the bowl does not get so hot the dough burns.

Cooking Apron

I have a retro apron pattern, and when I saw this fabric I couldn't resist. Yes, it even has a ruffle on the bottom!

Pumpkins

Snazzy Vest

I made D this vest. It has a lime green swirl lining. It is just.. too fabulous for words.

Live clams

I bought fresh clams at whole foods the other day. the fish monger instructed me to keep them in the refrigerator with a wet towel on top of them, and they would last for the next two days until my clam bake party. Of course I will be posting how-tos on all of our delicious feast items.

CLEANING:
First, gently tap any clams with open shells against the counter top. Discard any clams that do not close their shells within a few minutes or that have cracked or chipped shells. Place all the clams in a bowl and fill it with cool tap water.
Let the clams sit for 20 minutes to an hour. During this time, they will spit out the sand from inside their shells. When you're ready to cook, lift each clam from the water and scrub it to clean any particles or grit from the outside surface.

Happy Birthday Laura

Laura turns 21 today. She gets a yellow cake filled with strawberry surprise, frosted with almond buttercream icing.

Strawberry Surprise

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tub cool whip
1 package frozen strawberries
1 can crushed pineapple in juice

Smash strawberries in a large mixing bowl. Strain pineapple and keep juice for later. Add crushed pineapples to crushed strawberries. Add can of condensed milk. It is thick like honey, not watery like real milk. Stir together nice. Last gently fold the cool whip into the fruit mixture. Do not over-whip. Refrigerate until firm.

Apple Fritters

4 eggs
3/4 C. milk
3/4 C. flour
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
Good quality apple
4 tbs butter
sugar
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400*. This requires two pie pans. In each pie pan, place two tablespoons of butter, and place in oven. Over a dinner plate, use mandolin to thinly slice apple. Coat apple pieces in cinnamon and sugar. In a 4 C. mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt, vanilla, and flour. Whip the mixture until it looks like smooth pancake batter. Remove pie plates from oven. Arrange apple slices in a single layer in each pie plate. Evenly distribute pancake batter over each apple covered pie plate. Sprinkle top of pancake with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, until edges peel up and center is not liquidy anymore. Serve with warm maple syrup!

Tissue Holders

I just completed a couple of tissue holders. I was going to give them as birthday gifts to my coworkers, and then I started thinking.. "Why? Why do you need to hold your tissues? They come in a package." Oh well, I will see how well they are received. The idea came from this link.

National Comic Book Day

I drew this! I drew Spiderman in black pen, and colored him in with red and blue pencils.

Morris,Okeeffe Wedding

Congratulations.

Happy Birthday Sienna

Loretta turns 71 and Sienna turns 36. Happy birthday mother and daughter.

Baby Sweater

Color is light peach, size 18 months.

Peanut Brittle

1 1/2 C. sugar
1 C. water
3/4 C. light corn syrup
2 C. Spanish peanuts
2 tsp. butter
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat sugar, water, and corn syrup over med high heat until it reaches 260*. Add peanuts and heat (High heat) until 295*F This is where you develop your golden color, so stir and check to be sure you aren't burning. Once your brittle is at 295* remove from heat, add butter, baking soda, and vanilla. It will foam up quite a bit, so be very careful. Spread mixture as thin as possible on a cookie sheet, or cooking-sprayed parchment paper. It will cool in about 15 minutes. This is a half batch recipe. It makes enough for 2 people. Do not place candy thermometer in sink right away; it will break. DO place pan in sink with hot soapy water; it will help dissolve the sugar.

Animal Cookies

They look just like the cookies that come in a circus box.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. mace
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Over a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and mace. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, slowly add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, stopping the mixer once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed. Add the remaining flour and beat until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls. Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Let the dough stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Place each dough disk between 2 clean, large pieces of plastic wrap. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. (If the dough cracks while rolling, let it stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes more.) Remove the plastic wrap and place the dough on a floured work surface. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Dip circus cookie cutters into flour just before using and cut out the shapes. Hold each cutter over a prepared baking sheet and lightly depress the plunger to remove the cutout; the plunger will also imprint the tops of the cookies. Freeze the baking sheets for 15 minutes, or refrigerate for 30 minutes. Gather up the scraps, reroll and cut out more cookies.

Bake the cookies until very light golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool to room temperature. Makes about 20 cookies of each shape.

Cell Phone Socks

I knit a sock for my cell phone so that I had an alternate carrier. I might felt and embellish it, too. I haven't decided yet.

Grilled Shark Steak

1/2 C. Italian salad dressing
1/4 C. water
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp parsley
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dry sherry
1/8 tsp garlic powder
6 (1/2-inch-thick) shark steaks(1 1/2 pounds)
Vegetable cooking spray
Lemon slices

Combine first 7 ingredients; stir with a wire whisk until well blended. Rinse steaks with cold water; pat dry. Brush shark steaks with dressing mixture, and place on a hot grill coated with cooking spray. Grill 3 to 4 inches over medium coals 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when rested with a fork. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with lemon slices.

Elk Steak

Using a fork or other tenderizing tool, puncture both sides of the elk steaks. Place elk steaks in a pan or dish. Sprinkle 1/2 C. Italian dressing over the steaks. Turn to coat the opposite side of the steaks. Sprinkle McCormick's Brand Montreal steak seasoning to coat one side of the steaks. (You could sprinkle seasoning over both sides, but if you use too much seasoning, you'll overpower the taste of the meat.) Cover the steaks with foil and place in the fridge. Marinate at least an hour, overnight if possible. Grill steaks over medium heat approximately 5-6 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the steaks and the desired doneness. Serve with mushrooms.

Snake Stew

Gather and dice vegetables (carrot, celery, parsnips, onions). Capture one snake. Remove head, skin and organs. Dice meat. Size of it determines number you will need as well as number of guests and size of pot. Amount of vegetables should equal amount of meat. Add water enough to just cover ingredients. Season to taste with local seasonings (salt, pepper, parsley, chives). Bring to boil, allow to simmer off of flame for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve.

Brandon Graduation

Graduation Cake

Congrats Cake

Rum Balls

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (Divided)
1/2 cup dark rum (I used Sailor Jerry)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers (I used graham crackers)
1 cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts (I used pecan)


Into a large bowl, sift together 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Stir in the rum and corn syrup. Stir in the vanilla wafers and walnuts, and mix well. Place in the refrigerator to firm up slightly, about 30 minutes. (The mixture may appear crumbly and dry; this is O.K.) Place the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl or dish. Using a tablespoon, scoop out portions of the rum ball mixture and press into 1-inch balls. Using your hands, roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar, coating evenly. Place on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, placing waxed paper between the layers to prevent sticking.

Bubble Tea 泡沫紅茶

Ingredients:
tea milk
large tapioca pearls
sweetener

Directions
Brew tea. Let cool. Boil tapioca pearls until they are chewy and puffy. (Follow package directions) Drain most of the water from the tapioca, then add sweetener. This will prevent your tapioca from sticking together. Add pearls to bottom of a glass. In a separate glass add equal parts milk and tea, and ice. Shake together until beverage is cold. Add milk tea to tapioca glass, sweeten to your liking. In this picture, I used raspberry tea, and honey.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Yes, there is in fact a wrong way to hard-boil eggs. And the wrong way results in rubbery whites and yolks with that signature grey/brown coloring on the outside. Follow these simple steps to a perfectly cooked egg every time!


1. Place eggs in saucepan in a single layer.
2. Fill pan with cold water, covering eggs by 1 inch.
3. Place over medium-high heat. Cover; bring to a boil. When you see the water just starting to get tiny bubbles from the heat, add a spoonful of salt and place lid back on.
4. As soon as the eggs come to a rolling boil, turn off heat; let stand, covered (don't even think about peeking in there or you'll lose all of the heat), 12 minutes.
5. Transfer eggs to bowl of ice water. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then remove.

Glace Icing

Glacé Icing
1 lb powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 C)
6 T milk (low-fat actually works, but use whole if you can)
6 T light Corn Syrup (6T is equal to 1/4 C plus another 2 T)
1 t extract (I prefer almond)

Directions:
With a whisk, combine sugar and milk until smooth (no lumps!) Then stir in corn syrup and extract.

You will use this same recipe for both glazing and piping. The way it is right now is the consistency you want for glazing. It easily runs off the whisk in a thin drizzle. To prepare the icing for piping, you just add more powdered sugar. You can't really mess it up because if it's too thick you just add more milk and if it's to thin, you add more powdered sugar. It gets to a point where it's relatively hard to whisk it by hand. When I pick up the whisk, it still runs off, but in a very slow, thick stream. For thin icing, use a small spoon to add icing to cookie. You need to wait for the icing to set before you pipe on top of it. It doesn't have to be completely dry, but just set on top. An hour or two will probably be enough. If it's dry to the touch you can go ahead and decorate.
This is a good frosting recipe because when the icing drys you can stack the cookies with no fear of smudging the decorating.

Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:
½ pound ground breakfast sausage.
2 Tbs butter
4 Tbs all purpose flour
3 C. cold milk
Salt and pepper to taste
I like to use a little paprika

Directions:
Brown sausage in skillet. As soon as sausage is completely brown, turn to medium heat. Add flour by the tablespoon, stirring constantly. Let the flour turn BROWN before adding another tablespoon (if you don't, your gravy will taste like flour). After you have added enough flour to make the gravy as thick as you like, add milk and stir with whisk.

Biscuits

Ingredients
2 C. flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs shortening
1 C. buttermilk, chilled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.) Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Ham

I wanted to share my glazed ham with you.