Posts by admin:
- 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3⁄4 cup rum
- 1⁄2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 4 eggs
- 2-3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup milk
- 1⁄2 cup sour cream
- 12 ounces apricot jam
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2/3 cup brandy
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3 unbeaten egg whites
- food coloring (optional)
- coconut (optional)
- Directions:
- Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/no-cook-7-minute-frosting-107841?oc=linkback
Boozy Cake with Dulce de Leche and Spiked Apricot Filling
December 3rd, 2012
This cake has been a long time coming. We had two birthdays in the last 10 days and I knew I had to have a good cake for my loved ones.
Growing up my Chilean grandmother would make each member of the family their favorite cake. She would make a 13 to 15-inch cake and fill it with the birthday boy or girl’s choice spiked jam. Mine was always apricot spiked with brandy. I even had our wedding cake prepared that way too!
Since my sister has been with us for a few weeks I knew I wanted to do something special. We started talking about cakes and she wondered if I could try my hand at replicating my grandmother’s cake. I started 2 weeks ago and really did not have much luck. The cakes came out too dry or I burnt them. I really did not have time to be making multiple recipes.
Well, luckily, Quirk Books sent me Booze Cakes to review, just in time for me to try something on my family. Woohoo!
Even though my mother reminded me that my grandmother’s white cake was more like a sponge cake, I decided to try a white cake from this book from the Pina Colada recipe. I actually do not like trying new recipes on trying it on family as a gift but this recipe seemed like a no fail recipe.
The result was a nice and moist cake. It was PERFECT!! The cake was made with coconut rum and coconut cream but I used sweetened condensed milk and regular rum. I found out that 35% of the alcohol is retained in the cake once it is baked. I love this book already!!
There are so many other recipes I want to try and WILL be trying but I wanted to let the publishers know that this book came in super handy in a time of need.
I mixed apricot jam with brandy and spread it on two layers of the white cake. I then added some dulce de leche on top of the spiked jam layer. I let the cakes soak overnight so that the flavors and filling could seep into the white cake. I then frosted it the next day.
Now I know that my grandmother used Cool Whip for her frosting and even though I contemplated doing that I decided I could make my own LIGHT frosting that was not full of fake ingredients. My mom always made the 7-minute frosting for her cakes and I knew I had to make it for this cake.
The frosting for this cake cannot be too sweet or thick because it is all about the cake and the filling. Even though I have traditionally made the 7-minute frosting over a double boiler I decided to try a new recipe I found on Food.com. It was super easy and foolproof.
My sister and husband were raving over the cake and my sister told me how much the cake reminded her of my grandmother’s. My husband did not know he could have such a great cake. He even said this was probably one of my best desserts I have ever made. Wow, that is saying a lot folks since I bake pretty often!
I have to say that this cake was actually made with not only apricot jam and brandy mix but only half the cake was filled with that jam. My husband decided he wanted strawberry jam and Grand Marnier. We had a VERY boozy cake and at the end I believe my husband favored the apricot jam mixture better.
Boozy Cake with Dulce de Leche and Spiked Apricot Filling
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes for the cake
Ingredients (10-12 people)
Cake
Jam Filling
Dulce de Leche Filling
Frosting
Instructions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, rum, and sweetened condensed milk 3 to 5 minutes, or until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream. Mix in the flour and milk mixtures in three alternating additions.
Pour batter into pans and bake 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Jam Filling
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and let sit.
Dulce de Leche Filling
Place can of sweetened condensed milk to a crockpot and cover with water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Let can cool over an 1-2. Remove from can and divide filling between two layers.
Frosting
Mix sugar, vanilla and egg whites.
Add boiling water.
Beat on high til mixture forms peaks (like meringue) approx 5-7 minutes.
Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/no-cook-7-minute-frosting-107841?oc=linkback
Preparation
Place one layer cake on serving platter. Using a serrated knife cut the 1/4 inch of the top layer of the cake to expose layer. Pour half the apricot filling evenly over the cake. Dollop with half of the dulce de leche.
Repeat the removal of the top portion of the second cake and cut the second layer into two layers. Place a layer on top of the first layer. Repeat the filling as the first time. Place third layer on top and frost with 7-minute frosting.
This cake can be prepared the night before. For better flavor, fill the cake the night before and frost the next day, Cake also tastes delicious after being refrigerated!
Powered by Recipage
Sharing is Caring!
The Academy of Vocal Arts: The Barber of Seville Performance Review
November 29th, 2012
A few weeks Ryan and I had the opportunity to attend a fun performance of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville at The Centennial Hall at The Haverford School. I have seen this opera several times in Houston but I was surprised Ryan had not seen it yet so it was nice for him.
The Academy of Vocal Arts has an amazing season. Even though they are not an opera company but an organization, they have an extensive season list to give opportunity to all artists-in-training at the Academy. Let me tell you a little about them.
The Academy was founded in 1934 by Helen Corning Warden and their mission is “to provide tuition-free and opera training of the highest quality and financial support during training to exceptionally talented and committed singers who have potential for international stature.” Their training focuses solely on operatic training.
We look forward to the rest of the rest of the season. If you are ever interested I would STRONGLY encourage to plan a date with your loved one or even with a group of friends to catch a performance.
THE ACADEMY OF VOCAL ARTS
2012-2013 SEASON
Jubilate! A Concert of Sacred Music
December 1 & 2, 2012
Eugene Onegin
January 15-22, 2013
Don Quichotte (Don Quixote)
March 2-14, 2013
Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball)
April 27 – May 11, 2013
Farewell Recital
May 10, 2013
Follow AVA on Twitter
and
Like AVA on Facebook
Sharing is Caring!
{Restaurant Review} Pronto:Gourmet Italian Drive Thru
November 28th, 2012
I have been holding back on this review because I have needed time to think about my experience. Ryan and I enjoy eating out and trying new restaurants and one of the things we were most excited about was knowing we were going to be in an area where food options were greater.
I heard about Pronto from our neighbors several months ago when we first moved so I checked out their website. The only GOOD Italian restaurant we had in Michigan was Olive Garden just because we lived in a college town so finding a good Italian place seemed important.
I ended up finding out that Pronto was asking their customers to vote for them to be listed in Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Wow, I then thought this place must be excellent especially for a gourmet Italian drive-thru.
I contacted the owners and set up a time to meet in order to find out more about their company. They agreed to let me review some of their popular dishes. Let me tell you something funny though, the night before I was going to pick up our meals from them our neighbors had us over and they served us food from Pronto. Whoa! Who knew!
They ordered the Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti marinara, a vegetarian penne pasta, and two different kinds of salads; their chopped classico salad and their caprese salad. While the company was nice the meal left us hanging a bit. While the salads were fresh they hardly had enough toppings for the price. The Caprese salad had greens and tomatoes and four TINY THIN slices of mozzarella. The salad was 9 bucks which I could make at home for 2 bucks. Atrocious.
Anyway, Ryan and I were not impressed with their pastas either but we thought we would give them a second chance seeing we were going to be tasting some other items the following evening,
Pronto has an option where you choose your pasta, (they offer a gluten-free pasta and a whole wheat pasta too), then you choose your topping, like meatballs, sausage, chicken, shrimp, wild mushroom blend and broccoli and then you choose your sauce, like tomato, marinara, alfredo, arrabbiata, blush, or garlic and oil.
I chose to go with their most popular spaghetti and meatballs with their marinara. I was planning on splitting the pasta with Ryan so I was shocked that I only got two meatballs and a ton of pasta. I did not ask but additional meatballs cost 0.75 each.
The other dish we got was the Pronto favorite called the Porchetta, which is a slow-roasted pork topped with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone. I ordered this more for Ryan since he likes pork. I, on the other hand do not. I took one bite just to be able to review and the broccoli rabe was VERY bitter. I waited for Ryan to take a bite. He thought it was gross and therefore removed the broccoli from the sub. The sandwich itself was priced at 7.99 and was huge. It was priced well.
The spaghetti and meatballs was tasty only because the marinara was good but the meatballs were nothing to rave about. The salads that came with our meal were VERY fresh and I have to say that these were our favorite. The balsamic vinaigrette and their house Italian are all homemade and were very tasty.
I had not planned on getting dessert but since the meals were on the house I decided to buy some desserts to complete my review. I ordered their tiramisu and cannoli, which does not happen to be on their paper menu. Both desserts were 3.99 each and again, they were really nothing to rave about. I liked the cannoli shell but the filling was just creamy and gross. The tiramisu lacked flavor and required more coffee and liquor in my opinion.
I have to say for QUICK gourmet food it is decent for a night of the week with no dinner plans but I have to say anyone can through some pasta and sauce together and it taste better. It was a little on the pricey especially for the portions.
I know Pronto just opened their second location in Thorndale so they seem to be popular. They also do a lot of catering as well. When it comes to busy professionals, this seems to be the place to go but for me, they are definitely not Guy Fieri-worthy. While this restaurant is run by 2 brothers, their parents own restaurants in Thorndale called Ruffini’s restaurant, Cafe’ Gap and piazza Deli. Maybe I will try one one those places but in the meantime, I will still search for a great Italian restaurant in our area.
Sharing is Caring!
Thanksgiving Weekend
November 27th, 2012
We enjoyed our Thanksgiving this past weekend, did you? It was nice to have the hubby home and my sister and bro-in-law for company this year. It was great to have someone helping out in the kitchen and having more than 1 mouth to feed.
Last year Julianne was about 3 weeks old and everyone was out of town so it was a very quiet Thanksgiving. I still made a turkey with all the side dishes but it was strange not celebrating with family.
This year there were five of us and it was fun. I made the same turkey I have made the last 3 years from Bon Appetit. It is a no-fail recipe and it is easy to me so maybe next year I will try a new recipe.
While the turkey was brining for 18 hours, we prepared a pumpkin pie.
I also made a corn-syrup free Pecan Pie from Deliciously Organic‘s website. It was delicious and a hit with me because I had been wanting pecan pie for weeks!
Since we had the pies baked a day ahead they kept tantalizing me. It was hard not to dig into them!
Our finished product!
My sister and I had tried a delicious appetizer at a restaurant and decided to make them as a starter for our meal. Goat cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto and baked in the oven. They were SOOOO good. The men raved and planned on making them for Christmas already!
I decided to try an alcohol-free wine which turned out to taste disgusting. Why bother seriously? I definitely think it is better to have the real thing and wait so I am not doing that again. Alcohol-free beer is SO much better.
I took an almost 28-week picture with a new haircut. Did I mention that I have a hairstylist living next to me? All I had to do was walk over and get a hair cut and color. Seeing that I am already limited with my time. I feel blessed to have someone that is okay with me coming over and having my hair cut. SCORE!
On Black Friday, Ryan and I were given the opportunity to go on an ALL-DATE. We were out for 12 hours while my sister and BIL babysat for Julianne. It was amazing and rejuvenating. Even though we did not have a lot of planned shopping to do we thought it would be fun to be out and see how the crowds would be like. It was disappointing! It was so not crowded but by the time mid day came around, the malls started getting busier.
On Saturday we decided to go on a walk around downtown West Chester since my sister and BIL had not been. We decided to also see what this Small Business Saturday was all about. It was a VERY chilly and windy but it was perfect for Julianne because she actually took an hour nap in the Ergo as we went into different shops.
We went into a gallery where they were showcasing not only paintings but jewelry by an artist as well. It was gorgeous and intricately painted.
Christmas decorations were underway.
We also visited Highland Orchards where we bought a variety of apples and apple cider doughnuts. YUM!
Julianne enjoyed saying hello to the goats in the farm area. She wanted to feed them hay.
All in all the weekend was lovely and restful. I did not think it went by too quickly but it was the perfect amount of time to spend with this small family.
How was YOUR weekend?
Sharing is Caring!
Joovy: The BabaSling Review
November 26th, 2012
If anyone knows anything about me it is the fact that I love baby carrying. I have been carrying Julianne since she has been born and I feel like there has been such a special connection. I believe it is the reason she dislikes being in her stroller often but she just might be particular.
I had an opportunity to review this lovely sling which I believe came in perfect timing. Now that I am almost 7 months pregnant the Ergo carrier is not the MOST comfortable carrier so I am enjoying slings much better.
Joovy sent me theBabaSling in deep blue to try out. It took me a bit to try it because the weather changed on us from cool to nippy. I tried it in the house and realized that since my Julianne is now a toddler it was harder dropping her into the sling. It was MUCH easier sitting her on my knee and placing the sling over her head and body.
I used this several weeks ago when we went to the pumpkin patch and it was great because we did not have to use the stroller. We were able to take a hayride with the baby all cozy next to her mama.
This sling has 5 ways to carry a baby so I am super excited to use this with baby #2 come February. Right now, the hip carry or side saddle is the best for this pregnant mama. We have been taking walks in the neighborhood with Julianne all bundled up. The sling works more like a hammock and it has a nice cushion or padding for the baby’s head for added support.
The sling is 100% cotton which I love! I can wash it in the washing machine and hang to dry. The shoulder pad on the sling is VERY comfortable seeing that this sling has adjustable straps. It fits on either shoulder and it has second security buckle for added security.
I cannot wait to breastfeed with this sling because there are 2 discreet positions to try. It has a lot of material and I feel comfortable carrying my baby in this. It is also comfortable wearing her while feeling very pregnant too. I plan to use this sling when we fly next month. Here is hoping she will nap in this sling too!
I can use this sling up to the age of 2 or about 33 pounds so I am glad I have some time to use it for both babies!
Joovy is an American company and a family-owned business with facilities in Texas and California that focus on creating products that are good-looking, fun and extremely useful to families. I am for sure enjoying this sling and look forward trying out other products in the future.
Thanks Joovy for letting me review this wonderful sling. Where can you buy this product? Click this page to order one!
Like Joovy on Facebook
and
Follow Joovy on Twitter
