Vacation!

This week was my week long vacation from work!! I spent all weekend stuffing my face, watching movies, and shopping. Between the delicious brewery food and to die for sushi in Tennessee, I had an awesome hamburger experience. I know that this place is a chain and maybe I was so starved out of my mind that the taste was ten times better than it really was. But the idea of putting whatever I want on a hamburger is like heaven. So thank you Five Guys! You made me realize how much I want to move back to civilization and enjoy your deliciousness. Who cares if you were two thousand calories and the reason I gained six pounds while on vacation? I don't! Ok maybe I do a little....
As this great week comes to an end I realize that being busy is what makes me want to cook. Having the opportunity to sleep in just makes me unmotivated for the day. I have some yummy desserts planned for this week. But tonight I make steak! Some great NY strips with roasted rosemary potatoes and bruschetta to start. Yum!! Cant wait to share...have a great weekend everyone!

Behold the Greasiness. MMMM!

Do see my happiness?

See this little guy? He caught my face on fire.

Potato Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

I am not Italian...I just love Italian food. I don't know how to cook authentic Italian but I really try. Being a Hispanic girl I love posole, enchiladas, and a fresh tortilla more than anything. And yes it sometimes irks me when people butcher the authentic Mexican recipes....but I understand that it is so hard to emulate a food style that doesn't often use written recipes. It is all about the experience and knowledge learned in the kitchen.  I fully plan on going back to my roots and start blogging about the delicious food I grew up watching my Nana and Tias make. But I guess for now I am just going to butcher some Italian recipes hehe sorry. I could also be craving Italian food because Giada will be in Kentucky in approximately a week and I feel some inspiration reading her recipes. Sadly I will not be able to attend the food show she will be at thanks to my job and a charity costume party I will be attending. But I will be there in spirit plus I doubt they would let me in with my Lady Gaga costume.
When I started making this recipe I really expected my husband to not like it, but he loved it. Of course he asked. "Is there any way you could add meat to this?" I should have expected that.Other than the gnocchi this was an easy recipe. The sauce was very easy to make and my house smelled like heaven. I had no gnocchi left over but plenty of sauce. The leftover sauce totally has a date with some pizza crust and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives
One batch of  Basic Potato Gnocchi
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
4 pepperoncini chopped
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 6oz jar pitted kalamata olives, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded parmesan cheese

Warm olive oil in saucepan over medium low heat. Add onions, garlic and pepperoncini and cook until onions are soft. Once onions are soft (about 5 minutes) add fresh tomato, can of crushed tomato and red pepper. Let simmer for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. After simmering add chopped kalamata olives and basil. Continue to simmer for five more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your potato gnocchi and top with parmesan cheese. Devour!
Source: About.com for Gnocchi and Sauce is an Alex original

I really ate way too much of this

The sauce totally made the dish

Listening To:
Loser-Beck
These Arms Of Mine-Otis Redding
Hey Jealousy-Gin Blossoms
Fell On Black Days-Soundgarden
Come Rain Or Come Shine -Ray Charles
Against the Wind-Bob Seger

Balsamic Brown Butter Ravioli

Lately all I have been craving is pasta. Which is the opposite of what my husband is craving. All he wants is protien. He has been devouring tuna, eggs, meat. But pasta....eh. I think he could live without carbs. Me on the otherhand need some bread, pasta and pastries in my life. I could live without meat. So when I told my husband that I was making pasta for dinner with no meat sauce, I think he was already planning his next protien binge. Since I am a big browned butter fan I found a pasta recipe that incorporated it and I was really looking forward to making it (and eating it). I think that overall I would rate this recipe an eight. I found it a tad bit heavy and I think that it would be better with a mushroom or even a pumpkin ravioli rather than a cheese ravioli. Other than that this is a perfect meal for a chilly fall evening. Enjoy!

Balsamic Brown Butter Ravioli
18 to 20 ounces store-bought or homemade ravioli ( I suggest squash, pumpkin, or mushroom)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Drain ravioli and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Transfer the ravioli to the pan saucepan with the balsamic brown butter. Sprinkle walnuts and Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately.
Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Delicious!!

You can see the specks from the browned butter. mmmm!

Listening To:
Livin' On A Prayer-Bon Jovi
Everybody Loves Somebody -Dean Martin
Check Yes Or No-George Strait
She-Green Day

Cake Cake and Cake Balls

My life last week was taken over by cake!!

The only downside of taking on large scale projects is that my life gets put on hold. I did not get on the computer. I did not watch my favorite TV shows. I did not get much sleep. I did not make dinner. And I did not pay attention to my cat Andy. (He is still getting me back for this by the way) Instead, I made 200 cake pops and a groomscake for a wedding. The couple chose University of Kentucky colors because they are both HUGE fans. Of course I faced a dilema because my local store was out of lollipop sticks....go figure. Thank you to my amazing sister in law for wrangling me up some. You rock my face off! And even though my days began at 6:00 am and ended at 2:00 am four days in a row, I was really proud that I got it all done. So when all the baking plus the work from my real job (end of the quarter madness) was done, I decided to treat myself to a girls only roadtrip. It was chock full of shopping, eating, and dancing. It was just what the doctor ordered. Now I can go back to feeding my husband and sketching my next cake. So here it is, the cakery that took over my life for the last week. Enjoy!

Blueberry cake with Lemon frosting

After dipped and sprinkled

Bagged, Tagged, and Ribboned

I loved these!

The UK Groom's Cake

Chocolate with Chocolate Mousse Filling

Listening To:

I'm Not Over-Carolina Liar
Lovefool-The Cardigans
The Joker-Steve Miller Band
The Pretender-Foo Fighters

I'm Just a Po' Boy, Nobody Loves Me

I find myself wishing I had a little more access to quality ingredients. I have a better chance of spotting Sasquatch than I do of finding fresh herbs or even arugula where I live. Arugula? The produce man seemed a bit confused when I asked if they would ever get any more in stock. On my last shopping trip I was lucky enough to find some fresh basil (the last pack) and have been using it like a crazy person. I cant seem to find enough recipes to use it in. So yesterday I made some spicy mayo! It was the perfect accompaniment to some shrimp po' boys I had made. I chose to not fry my shrimp and used a sourdough sub roll rather than just white or wheat. Add some muenster cheese, sliced tomatoes and lettuce and you have a yummy lunch. I really think that I will fry my shrimp next time to add a little crunch. But overall I was pleased. Enjoy!

Spicy Mayonnaise

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 serrano chili pepper, thinly sliced (I like it spicy)
1/2 cup basil leaves, torn in smaller pieces
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Add 1/4 cup olive oil to a large saute pan over high heat. Add the garlic and fry until just starting to turn golden brown, add the chili peppers to soften them a bit. Add the basil leaves and stand back, the basil will crack and pop. Let the basil get crispy. Pour the mixture onto a plate and put in the refrigerator to cool. Meanwhile mix the mayonnaise together with the lemon juice. When the basil/chili mixture has cooled, fold it into the mayonnaise Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and return mayonnaise to the refrigerator.

You could smell the spicyness!

The Constructed Po' Boy

Source: Michael Chiarello

Listening To:

Glycerine-Bush
Every Day Is Exactly The Same-Nine Inch Nails
Possum Kingdom-The Toadies
No One Knows-Queens of the Stone Age

Pasta Caprese

Caprese Salad- an Italian specialty that is a simple dish designed to feature its three primary ingredients: Tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese. The preferred mozzarella is made from the milk of the water buffalo. Caprese salad can be garnished with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and black pepper.

Now add some pasta to that awesomeness and you get Caprese Pasta!

After looking at broken blinds for the past year thanks to our cat's birdwatching hobby we decided an upgrade was necessary. The blinds were sticking out all over the place on one side and on the other side a perfect square (the size of a cat head). Anytime someone came to our house I was so embarrassed by the state of our blinds that I tried to deflect attention anywhere else. Our plan was to install some nice two inch wooden plantation blinds in the evening and have a light late dinner.  But instead I ended up being lazy and just watched my husband sweat, curse, and struggle putting up these blinds. I still made dinner though! It was really easy, fast and yummy! I will definitely be making it again. Oh yeah and my husband did an awesome job on our blinds. Enjoy!

Pasta Caprese
1 carton cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
2 cups or 1 package mozzarella pearls
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
12 ounces penne pasta

Mix tomatoes, mozzarella, oil and vinegar in medium bowl. Season with salt,pepper, garlic salt and crushed red pepper. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Mix in basil.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Return pasta to pot. Add tomato mixture and toss gently to blend. Season with salt and pepper and serve

 Yummy!!

Listening To:

Husband struggling to put the blinds up

I Yam What I Yam!

Ok so this blogging thing is tougher than I thought. I never realized how easy I had it when I would just post pictures on Facebook with a lame little caption. I think the reason it has been so hard is because writing has never been my strong suit and I find that I write like speak. And obviously I speak by rambling off mindless topics that jump all over the place with a few bad words thrown in. So from here forward I plan on being a lot more committed to this blog. No more copping out by just posting pictures on Facebook!
Besides not blogging this month I have been stricken with the changing weather sinus crap. Fall is rearing its colorful little head here in the mountains and thanks to this cool/hot weather falls brings, I have had whatever this junk is for going on a week and a half. Through the head pressure and sniffles I had to make a birthday cake and cater food for a bridal shower feeding 20-30 people. Even though I survived, the lack of sleep, late nights and working the 8-5:30 did not help me get better. In fact I have gotten worse and now I have no voice. (I'm sure people will jump for joy at the thought of this.) But this week approaching is my week to recuperate. I have no baking obligations and I can experiment (or not) in the kitchen. I did make a major decision last week that I am jumping off the cupcake bandwagon. At the risk of becoming too cliche or even "so last year" I am swearing off cupcakes for a while. So my Yammy Cakes will be my last cupcake post for a while because I really want to try harder recipes that actually push me a little bit. I am a junkie for trying things that I know I cant do and I think that I have been holding myself back with the baked goods. My dad actually got me an awesome cook book Dinners for Two: Cookbook with Music CD. The CD has classical pieces performed by The San Francisco String Quartet. I am excited to try the recipes and listen to the CD. Before I became a grungy alternative gal I would sit and listen to classical music in my room. Some of my favorites were The Flight of the Bumblebeeby Rimsky-Korsakov and Waltz of The Flowersby Tchaikovsky. I still listen to classical, much to the dismay of my husband who will get onto our vehicle and ask "What the heck are you listening to??" HAHA! I usually just reply "To awesomeness, duh!"
Some of the things I have made recently have actually made me proud. I am impressed that I have become pretty good at cake decorating. I have only made and decorated three cakes and this third one was my best by far. I am also self taught which makes me optimistic for the ones I will do in the future or if I ever got some proper training. I also made some Candied Yam Cupcakes in honor of the new fall season. WOW! I think I ate eight of them. And the bridal shower...I made an impressive menu. Pulled pork sliders, Fruited Chicken Salad, Baked Potato Salad, Tomato Bruchetta, Veggie Pizza, Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips with an apple berry salsa, Vanilla Berry Trifle, Strawberry orange cake with homemade cream cheese icing, cake balls. I think there is more...I just cant remember. I was unable to photograph any of this deliciousness thanks to my crappy Kodak camera that decided to break. Now I am in the market for a new one, any suggestions? I need an upgrade. Alright I think I have written enough and at the risk of rambling any further.....its picture time!

The beginning of some awesome cupcakes

Candied Yam Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream and Candied Pecans

Yummy Yammy Cakes!

Candied Yam Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream and Candied Pecans
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
3 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 (16-oz.) can yams
2/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place pecans, sugar, butter and cinnamon (First four ingredients)in a pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until pecans are toasty and sugar has carmelized

2. Beat sugar and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3. Whisk together mashed yams, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sweet potato mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Fold in toasted pecans (leave some for garnishing). Place foil baking cups in muffin pans, and coat with vegetable cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.

4. Bake at 350° for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove immediately from pans, and cool 50 minutes to 1 hour or until completely cool. Spread cupcakes evenly with marshmallow Frosting. Garnish, if desired.

Marshmallow Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened
1 7-ounce jar Marshmallow Fluff
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine butter and Marshmallow Fluff. Beat until smooth and creamy. Reduce speed and slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat the mixture until soft and fluffy.

Happy Birthday to James!

I free handed the UK...not bad! My paw prints suck though

Listening To:

Never There -Cake
Creep-Stone Temple Pilots
If You Could Only See-Tonic
Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden
In Bloom-Nirvana