Gorgonzola, my new best friend...

As I mentioned in a previous blog, there is this awesome website out there called Pinterest.com. It is a virtual pinboard and lets you add pictures, recipes, and ideas to your board to use at a later date or right away. It's absolutely fabulous and I highly recommend it for anyone and everyone. 

On that note, I am once again side tracking from my usual topic and going straight for the best stuff on Earth....PASTA! Let me start by mentioning that I have become completely obsessed with looking up and pinning recipes on Pinterest, especially at lunch time oddly enough. There are so many delicious looking entrees that I am dying to try.

Because I am getting married soon, I really want to try to start taking on some wifey duties. I know how to bake and truly enjoy it, but when it comes to cooking, I am a disaster in the kitchen. I am slowly starting to try out new recipes and so far, it's going ok. That being said, I am going to start posting recipes I try that are successful and tasteful. 

Last Thursday I decided to try two recipes: Lemon Garlic Pasta and Italian Bread with Gorgonzola. They were both delicious!

Matthew and I are really trying to choose healthier options which can be a little difficult when you have a love of pasta like I do. I saw this on Pinterest and it looked so pretty and sounds healthier so I just had to try it. Oh and PS, I have never had gorgonzola cheese before but OMG it is fantastic on bread!!!

Lemons Garlic Pasta

4 oz dry spaghetti
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded

****Here are a few things I learned from preparing this: 1 clove of garlic is not the entire white cluster you buy from the grocery store. I was slightly confused, but after googling it, I discovered it is only one of the half moon shaped things that comes out of the white cluster you buy from the grocery store. Phew! Potential disaster was avoided! I also learned that lemons are different sizes and this recipes doesn't specify the size. Just to be safe, stick to 1/2 of any size lemon, otherwise it ends up way to lemony. Finally, I have never used fresh herbs before and definitely did not start with this recipe. I eyeballed the amount of dry basil, but I would guess it was about 1 tablespoon.

Start by mincing the clove of garlic and letting it heat up on low until it browns slightly in the olive oil

(While the garlic and olive oil heat up, go ahead and cook the pasta noodles. Also, don't use this large of pan. My smaller one was dirty, so this is all I had)

Combine dry ingredients in a good sized bowl, squeeze in juice from 1/2 lemon, and then add browned garlic and olive oil to mixture

Once noodles are done, add to bowl and mix well.

The finished product is absolutely beautiful!

Italian Bread with Gorgonzola

Loaf of French Bread

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese
1 to 2 cloves garlic
parsley
salt
pepper
fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Optional: Basil or Oregano

*****Side note: I used pre-minced garlic that you can buy at the grocery store. It just seems to work better with the bread. I also recommend melting the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds instead of just softening it. I chose to use both the basil and oregano as well. 

********Extra side note, my wonderful fiance was in charge of making the bread for our meal and he did a fabulous job! 

First, melt the butter and then add all other ingredients to it.

Then, make slits in bread and spread mixture into each one.

The next step is optional, but I think it tastes better this way. Pour a little olive oil in a bowl and use a brush to "brush" it on top of the bread. 

Also optional, but we added Parmesan cheese on top of the olive oil.

Finally, wrap bread in foil and place it in the oven for 15 minutes on 400 degrees. 

The final product looks amazing!

This meal was, in fact, delicious! The pasta is the perfect combination of light and tasty. While the flavor is subtle, each bite is a unique blend of garlic, lemon, and nutty flavors. This would be great paired with a garlic chicken. If you are looking for a full flavored pasta, this is not the recipe for you. However, if you want something light that enables you to still have room for dessert, I highly recommend this. The bread was heavenly. The Gorgonzola brought a very Italian flavor to the bread. I also enjoyed the few chunks that fell on my pasta when I would bite into the bread. The cheese added a unique flavor to the pasta that is indescribable, but tasty. Matthew and I thoroughly enjoyed our healthy pasta and paired it with a nice bottle of wine. Now, I didn't tell you this, but because we felt soooo healthy, we decided to treat ourselves to an extremely healthy dessert......

a Dairy Queen Blizzard! :-) 

I highly recommend these recipes! Thanks to Pinterest and especially to those that originally posted these recipes. Bon Appetit!

Swing Batter, Batter....

Well, now that my day of feeling sorry for myself is over, I can get back to what really matters in life....dessert! 

So the softball party I mentioned before was canceled, sadly. I had already bought such cute baseball themed decorations and everything! So, with baseball/softball on my mind, I decided I should put some my ideas to good use.

Now this first cake I am about to show you will NEVER and I mean NEVER be seen again! Anyone who knows Matthew and I know what huge baseball fans we are. Naturally, living in Texas, we are die hard Rangers fans. So, here is what happened....

Our friends, Tim and Jamie, are also lovers of baseball. Unfortunately, they cheer for the LA Angels. It's horrible, I know. I don't know why we are even friends with them! :-D Anyway, Jamie's birthday was last week and I offered to make her a cake. For some CRAZY reason Matthew, of all people, suggested I make her an Angels cake. Seriously!?! I'm pretty sure those words tasted very bad in his mouth. I'm also about 98% sure that he regretted saying it as soon as it came out. Despite my astonishment and bewilderment (aren't those fun words?), I proceeded to make the cake. Because the last couple of cakes I have made have used gum paste and fondant, I decided to switch gears and practice my piping! It's been awhile and, clearly, I'm a little rusty. This was the best I could come up with...

 This is a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting...

Smashing ideas!

So the "smash cake" photo shoot is officially over, so I can now post the cake picture! I don't have any action photos from the shoot, but I also don't want to invade my cousin's privacy by plastering her baby all over my blog so it's probably for the best. He's such a cute little boy and I really hope he enjoyed destroying his first cake! Special thanks to my cousin for letting me practice on Hunter's smash cake! Thanks Mel! I appreciate it!

P.S. Another special thanks to Tim and Jamie for the most wonderful cake turn table ever!

Now, onto the next desserts! We are having our coed softball end of season party tomorrow night and, of course, I will be using another opportunity to practice cake decorating! I can use all the practice I can get! 

So my plan is to keep it simple and stick to just a few things. One of our team members has a Gluten allergy so I'm planning on making some Gluten-free brownies. I've only made one other dessert that was gluten-free before and I didn't think it tasted quite like normal. My goal is to research and find an awesome Gluten-free brownie recipe that is so tasty, no one will know it's not the real deal! The other dessert I plan on making is cake balls! I haven't quite decided what flavor yet, but I plan on dipping them in white chocolate and drawing red lines on them to make them look like baseballs. Cute, right? 

Feel free to offer any other ideas or suggestions!

Finally, I'm back

Well it's been awhile but I've been a busy girl! Last week was super busy, but very productive! I worked on the baseball cake last week and delivered it on Saturday. I also finished up my finals and graduated from college on Saturday afternoon. So, I was a little too busy to update my blog, but I'm back now and happy to be!

Soooo, where did we leave off? The baseball baby shower cake!
I ended up making new baby animals: an elephant, a giraffe, and my newest addition, a monkey! I thoroughly enjoyed making the little figures and I was very pleased at how they turned out. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the put together cake, but I did manage to get pictures of the individual tiers.

This is the bottom tier

 

and this is the top tier

 

The monkey is my favorite! Thanks to the practice I got on this cake, I was able to make another monkey for a different cake. I am making a "smash cake" for my cousin's baby's first birthday! I guess the new thing for babies is to have a little photo shoot of them tearing into their first cake on their first birthday. I did a little research online to help get some inspiration and the pictures I found were absolutely adorable! 

I delivered the "smash cake" tonight, but the photo shoot isn't until tomorrow, so I won't reveal little Hunter Hopkins' cake until after the shoot! Until then...

Softball Playing Giraffe!

Hello again! So I had so much fun creating the cute little elephant yesterday, so I decided to go ahead and make the giraffe as well! It was a little more difficult to make than the elephant, but it's alright for the first try! I've never made a giraffe before...

I made a few other figures last Christmas for my family Christmas dinner. My plan was to make cake ornaments and place a figure in front of each one as sort of a name tag. I made two penguins, an elephant, a mouse, a reindeer, an owl, Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh. I had so much fun making them! Unfortunately, they ended up being a little bigger than I anticipated. They were the same size as the ornaments! I did not end up using them and later threw them away :-( Here are a few of my favorites...

Well I guess that's it for today...all that's left are some mini baseballs, the cakes, and a few other details! I'm excited to see the final product!!!

Baby Elelphant!

So I'm getting very excited about the baby shower cake I am making for next weekend. I decided to get a head start on some of the gumpaste figures and details this weekend. 

If you aren't familiar with gumpaste, think of it as play doh. It usually comes in a package or a bucket and you can buy it in a number of colors or just buy plain white and add your own color to it. Although it has a dough-like consistency, it can dry out very easily so make sure to turn off ceiling fans above you when working with it and keep the bag closed or lid shut to keep the remaining gumpaste moist. Also, while working with gumpaste, the consistency may turn to stickiness. If this occurs, put a little Crisco on your hands and keep on sculpting.

Ok so enough of that boring stuff and on to the exciting creation! I have decided to make a two tiered cake with a few animals, a large baseball, small baseballs, a few baseball bats, and a pendent. If you can't visualize all that together, don't worry....I don't want you to! What fun would that be if I drew out in detail what I was going to do before I do it?? Hey, it's even going to be a surprise for me!

My first figure I created today is a baby elephant. He's a cute little guy that is clearly very hungry!

 Well, what do you think so far???

Which animal will I make tomorrow.....

Christmas in August!

So I've been dreaming of Christmas all day and have now resorted to actually listening to Christmas music while I finish homework and play on the Internet. Our office has been a bit chilly which has been great because that means it is "sweater weather" at work. It reminds me of cooler weather which is nice because it is so dang hot here in Texas! The cooler weather, of course, reminds me of Christmas which is my favorite holiday ever! Christmas this year is especially exciting because we're getting married on Thanksgiving day in Costa Rica and having a wedding party back home to celebrate it the week before Christmas. This means the party will be the perfect combination of the beach and yes...CHRISTMAS!!! 

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas themed party with Christmas trees, white lights, drinks, dancing, CAKE, and of course, sea shells! After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year! (can you guess which Christmas song I'm listening to right now?) 

So my wonderful mom is planning and throwing this party for Matthew and I, but I'm in charge of the dessert table(YAY!) and the candy bar(WOOHOO!). What better job security is there for a dental assistant??  

Here's some inspiration for our dessert table
***Thank you for referring me to http://pinterest.com/ . (you know who you are) It is such a fun website!

Imagine these starfish in all white...Pretty!

I love this cupcake, but I have no idea how I would make this beautiful flower!

These are fun desserts!

 Ok, so I was searching the web for pictures of cakes and I came across this really cute picture. If you are a girl and, like the rest of us, have body issues, you'll love this!

 Isn't it such a pain that the first place we lose weight is in our boobs, but it seems nearly impossible to gain them back??? Oh well....let's keep eating cake and keep our fingers crossed that it will move up to our boobies instead of down to our booties!

Until next time....

P.S. I'm still working on the baseball baby shower ideas. I'm going to make the gumpaste figures this weekend so I'll post those as soon as I make them!

P.P.S. I've decided to make a new blog that relates to the "Love Is" comic from The Dallas Morning News. It's super corny, but I used to cut those out and collect them. I have an excuse for being over the top girly because I'm engaged.....so don't judge!