Happy 11th Birthday Celina

Happy 11th Birthday Celina..

My Pre-teen!!! Growing up too fast!!

Sugar and more sugar...

 Logan had a great time building this sugar cube castle with me on Feb 14th.

2nd Grade Sugar Land...

Happy Valentine's Day 2011

I made this pie, so easy to make and oh.... sooooo Good!!! YUM!!!

CARAMEL PECAN SILK SUPREME PIE - (Bakers Square copycat recipe)

Category: Pies - Cream and Custard

1 deep-dish pie shell

Caramel-Pecan Layer:
7 oz. caramels (unwrapped)
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (not not too finely)

Put caramels, butter and whipping cream in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until caramels and butter melt (use a whisk for this). Remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Stir in pecans. Pour into (blind-baked) pie shell. Refrigerate, covered, for several hours until firm.

French Silk Layer:
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Beat sugar with butter in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate; stir in vanilla extract. Mix well; spread on top of cool, firm caramel layer. Chill until ready to add cream cheese layer.

Cream Cheese Layer:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp milk or half-and-half
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups thawed whipped topping

Mix cream cheese, milk and sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Gently stir in whipped tipping. Carefully spread over chocolate mixture.

Decorative Topping:
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream, whipped until stiff peaks form
A few caramels, melted
1 (1 oz) square of chocolate, melted

Using pastry bag (or sandwich-type bag with corner snipped off), pipe one continuous line of whipped cream around edge of cream cheese mixture, next to crust. Next, put dollops of whipped cream all over pie (circle shape , about 1 inch across– again, using pastry bag). Place pecan halves on top of several of the dollops of whipped cream. Drizzle lightly with caramel and chocolate. (if you’re in a hurry – you can use caramel and chocolate ice cream toppings – it tastes fine with them).
* Note.. switch the order of the chocolate layer and the cream cheese/cool whip..

V-day.. baking

Spirit Mountain.. Mini Vacation

We are back.. .had a nice 3 day mini vacation skiing in Duluth, Minnesota!!

Yes, that's me..,. Nanook of the Cold, Cold North!!lol...

 Blue Ice.. the pix doesn't do it justice!!

We cross country skied on Sunday, downhill skied on Monday and came home today!!

Chinese New Year, February 3, 2011

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!

Year of the Rabbit!!

 I made fortune cookies for the first time EVER!! All I can say is YUM!!! They are nothing like the tasteless store both ones. These are delicious crispy cookies!! So easy to make..

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cookie sheet. Write fortunes on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Generously grease 2 cookie sheets.
2. Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar and blend into the egg white mixture.
3. Place teaspoonfuls of the batter at least 4 inches apart on one of the prepared cookie sheets. Tilt the sheet to move the batter into round shapes about 3 inches in diameter. Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Do not make too many, because the cookie have to be really hot to form them and once they cool it is too late. Start with 2 or 3 to a sheet and see how many you can do.
4. Bake for 5 minutes or until cookie has turned a golden color 1/2 inch wide around the outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking, prepare the other.
5. Remove from oven and quickly move cookie with a wide spatula and place upside down on a wooden board. Quickly place the fortune on the cookie, close to the middle and fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the cup and one on the outside. Place folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin or egg carton to hold their shape until firm.

 I also made my father's New York Pepper Steak!!

 Steve made Akiko's Chinese Pork Pot Stickers..

We invited Steve's parents over to help us eat all the yummy homemade food!!

 And here it is.. Pepper Steak, rice, noodles and bean sprouts with a little scallions on top.

Followed by a fortune cookie and a french eclair.. not as good or even close to Rustica Bakery but pretty good for all home made...even the custard!!