Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Olympics!

I hope you are all enjoying the Olympics even if the opening ceremony was sorta lame. I got invited to my friend's to watch the opening ceremony complete with olympic themed foods.
I decided to make my favorite pasta salad with an olympic twist! I found out on pinterest that if you add food dye to the water when boiling the pasta you could turn the pasta colors! So simple, yet I hadnt throught of it before. So with my blue and white pasta I added Yellow, Red, and Green Peppers, and black olives.
Katie made desserts and snacks in the olympic theme. She's very creative! She started with Olympic Torches
and moved on to Olympic Medals (who doesnt like fruit by the foot!)
And the center piece was olympic rings cake!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Chocolate Classes

While i'm at it I'll post about the chocolate making/champagne tasting class peter took me to for valentines day. The class was taught at 918 F street by the chef from Coco Sala.

We made raspberry truffle pops, and were delicious! here is a picture of the pops before the 2nd side was added.


Look for another post soon from another class I will be taking there with my friend Julie.

The big 3-0

Well hello again, sorry for the big gap in posts. I guess I haven't been that crafty lately, but here I am once again with some delicious baked goods. I baked a plethora of desserts to celebrate my 30th birthday! Julie asked me why I was making my own birthday treats, and my answer was that I loved to cook (and this way peter and I wouldn't end up eating it all).

A few months ago I made Italian Rainbow Cookies, and while they were delicious there was still room to improve, so I thought I'd try again with two notable differences. First I used vegetable shortening in the frosting instead of butter, and boy what a difference that made! It was easy to spread and appropriately thick, so if you are going to try this recipe definitely go with the shortening, and if you live near here come use mine b/c I now have a whole package that I'm never going to use. The Second difference was the color choice. These no longer look italian or like christmas, but instead summary and pretty!


My next dessert was inspired by one of the most addictive websites ever created...pinterest of course. I made peanut butter-Graham Cracker Truffles and boy were they delicious! We made them much smaller than the recipe called for which I think was a good move since they were too delicious and this provide a little portion control.


Surprisingly most easily, I made mini cheesecakes with blueberries or chocolate chips on top.

Lastly, but certainly not least, a good friend brought over home made marzipan flavored marshmallows. Check out her website to see all the amazing flavors she makes

I still have a few days till my actual birthday, but I'm feeling very lucky to have such great friends and family to share these desserts with, or just tell them about from afar, and I cant wait to turn 30! Happy Birthday To Me ;)