I did it!

I have finally done it...it's been on my bucket list for years and it's always been something I've dreamed of doing and now it's done!
I made a wedding cake.
:D
Ok, so it didn't turn out as good as I had hoped, but the good news is I get to do another one in November.

Amy and Max were such a nice couple and their wedding was sweet and fun. I saw them last Sunday a few days after they got back from their honeymoon and they looked so happy. I was really blessed to be able to do all their wedding food. A thousand thanks, Mr and Mrs Ford! :)

The Menu:

Mini Quiches

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Mushroom and Brie Tarts

Fruit Kabobs

Pesto Rolls

Wedding Cake! ;) (White chocolate raspberry and coconut layers)
Lemonade Sherbet Punch

The camera died really early on into the whole event so I have very few pictures of the food. :( But the reviews were all raving and lots of people came up to me this week to tell me how tasty it was. I was so happy it went so well since I was sick the day of the wedding and was stressing out the entire time. Lots of prayers were sent my way and they worked! Thanks everyone... <3

Mini Quiches with Swiss, Cheddar and Ham

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus right before they headed into the oven. These were a hit! Everyone I talk to mentions how good these are.

Layering the cake to make sure it's all to scale...

Royal icing flowers for the cake drying

And of course, the cake itself. Sorry for the AWFUL picture. Like I said, the camera died at this point. :( And I think it tasted better than it looked. Heh.

If you ever need you house to smell nice...

Make some of these! :)

I love making biscotti. There's something about patting the little lump of dough into a loaf, taking it out of the oven and slicing it while still warm, eating the soft ends and crisping the rest of the slices...it's one of my favorite kitchen processes. (Right up there with canning jam and browning meringue, haha!)
Last time I made biscotti it was more of a springtime crunch: orange cranberry. This time I went for something cuddly and fragrant. You know how you feel when it's raining outside and you pull a quilt out of the dryer fresh and warm and you wrap yourself up in it and breath deep? I wanted to make biscotti that tasted (and smelled) the way that feels. Like a cocoon of contentedness.

Mmmm...
And the best part? It's low fat and low sugar but still tastes all snuggly warm!

Want the recipe yet? Sure you do!

• 
  
• Spiced Caramel Biscotti
• Makes 42
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg and ground cloves
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets with Pam spray or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, spices and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Divide dough into two pieces. Your hands will get pretty sticky. Try to resist flouring them or the dough. Use a rubber spatula or wax paper to help form each half into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. Place roll onto the prepared cookie sheet, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When the loaves are cool enough to handle (you still want them warm so they don't crumble), slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted and crunchy.
4. If you would like, you can drizzle them with caramel sauce but this add calories and makes em a bit sticky. Of course, this didn't stop me at all. ;) On goes the caramel! 
5. 
   

Happy munching!

Pina Coladaaaaaa!

So.
I'm getting ready to cater my very very first wedding ever! I am 8 parts excited, 12 parts nervous. I'm hoping that soon the excitement rises on the excitometer and the nervousness kinda ebbs away.
I usually find that worrying about something is
a. no help at all. Sleeplessness is always a bad thing.
b. laughable after it's all over. I always do better than I expect.
A few weeks ago I was able to go to the bride's shower, meet her grandmother, her aunt, cousin, and all her friends. They were all nice pleasurable people that love Amy very much. I gave her a kitchen utensil set and also 2 dozen of these babies:

Pina Colada Cupcakes! 

Her and her mom adore coconut, but they also picked that flavor for the wedding cake itself so I didn't want to just make coconut cupcakes for the shower. I had some cherries and canned pineapple so hey. HEY! Pina Colada, right? right!

According to the popular opinion these were AMAZING!! Amazing with an extra zing...my mom actually took home three extras from the shower and she never has seconds (she is a figure watching ninja...)

They were all over facebook the next day. I probably got a little too prideful about em, if I have to speak truth. But my last two experimental batches just didn't turn out too well so I was very very happy. 

The only thing I would change about it would be to add a little more Rum extract. I adapted my recipe from Glorious Treats. I didn't think Cream cheese frosting would hold up as well (it tends to get soupy) So I made a batch of coconut butter cream. THAT was my favorite part. mmmm....Oh. That and eating the leftover dried pineapple pieces. They're like candy! 

Of course, these awesome photos were taken by my ever lovely and talented sister, Laura. She just bought an Olympus something or other (I really don't know anything about cameras. But her's is like magic.) and so she really put it to work. Laura can make any camera pump out great looking photos, but Lucy (that's the new camera's name) puts her into the supernatural category of photography. :)