I finally made Cake-pops that I am proud of...!

It's four in the morning...and what am I doing?  I am up blogging about baking & cooking and all those fun ideas.

I have finally, finally, finally  made some cake pops that I am proud of!  Where's the pictures?  No pictures.  At least not this morning.  My camera's bottom has decided not to "shut" once batteries are put it in.  So this post is "picture-less", I'm sad to say.  I could get my phone but I have a 9-week old...oh, well, you get my point.

Any-how, I have finally, finally made cake pops that I am proud of and it happened tonight in a series of three steps.  If you've checked over my blog or looked at it for any length of time, you've noticed that I have  made cake-pops before.  Sure!  But they weren't "right".  You know what I mean... too crumbly, too moist, there was always something not quite right.

Now this time around I have finally gotten Bakerella's cookbook...and I've followed the instructions...and they turned out right.  Sounds simple, I know.  But you have to understand, I jumped on the first train to "something new in the cooking world" and I didn't even check to see if I had my train ticket, lol.  And the conductor (the result) came asking me for my ticket (the instructions) and did I pay for it (was I following them)...and I was not.  Hence the "not so great end product"!  Well, I've got my ticket, paid my fair, I know where I'm going...I am finally on my way to being a pop-star, a Cake-pop star that is!  Anybody want to come with me?  Or already on their way there?  Got your ticket?  I do now...(smile).  And it's all up-hill from here.

Song:

I'm gonna make cake-pops,

I'm gonna make cake-pops,

And good ones this time,

And good ones this time!

Now with that, go out and get yourself a cookbook or go online and learn how to make your favorite item, by following a recipe, step-by-step.

You'll be so glad you did!

Good Night (or Good Morning...)

and Happy Baking!

-Bakie (aka Chemeeka ;-)

A really moist meatloaf

When you hear the word, "meatloaf" what is the first thing that comes to mind?  (Be honest...) "Dry", "crusty", "not tasty.." does any of that ring a bell?  Many a person I have spoken to whenever I even mention the idea of making a meatloaf they always tell me how their mother's was very, very dry and just didn't leave a good taste in their mouths or their minds for that matter.

Now when I think of meatloaf, I think of, soft, juicy and even flavorful.  Why?  In part because I have come across this recipe~actually a concoction of mine that I think just might work to solve those dry meatloaf woes, if you will.  Let's start with 2 pounds of 80/20 ground beef.  To that add:

1/2 cup no-salt added tomato ketchup
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
2 egg yolks
1/2 part-skim ricotta cheese (just trust me on this one)
1/4 breadcrumbs
1 cup dry rolled oats
your favorite seasonings (for me that would be salt, pepper, a little garlic
powder and maybe some italian seasoning)

Go ahead and mix all of this by hand in an un-greased 2quart oval baking dish.  Form it into a loaf and top it with a mixture of 1/8 cup sweet barbecue sauce & one 1/4 cup no salt added ketchup.  (The reason for the no-salt ketchup is because it seems to be a little "fresher" an adds more moisture to the dish ;-).  Pop it in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins.

Let it rest when it's done before slicing, so that it doesn't crumble when you do.  And there you have it..a very moist and delicious meatloaf.  What more could your family ask for?  :-)

As always...
Happy Baking!
-Chemeeka (Bakie :-)

Bakerella, You inspired Me!

The following is a must read from our all inspiring, mother-of-all-baking-inspiration herself, Ms. (Angie Dudley) Bakerella.  Am I a fan?  Absolutely!

From her post, "Cake Pops: An Adventure"  by Bakerella

Today almost snuck up on me. I realized it just in time to reminisce and celebrate with you guys.

Oh and this is a pretty long post, but I had a hard time making it any shorter.

Four years ago today, on February 1, I posted something that changed my life and maybe even some of yours.

I posted these cupcake pops. I posted them the day after I posted these pink cake pops. And I had no idea then the impact they would have. Seriously, read the old posts. Pretty amusing.

While the pink cake pops were super cute and definitely different since they were cake on a stick, it was the cupcake pops that became crazy popular thanks to so many of you.  If it hadn’t been for your enthusiasm, I don’t know if I would have kept experimenting and creating craziness like the muppets cake pops for instance. It could have just ended right here with the cupcake pops. And, that would have been okay, too. They are still my and my mom’s favorite. I guess I have an attachment to them.

A little background history…  when I first made the pink cake pops, I was so excited by how they turned out. I wanted others to see them too because I thought they were so cute and I just knew they would make people smile. I was following the blog Cupcakes Takes the Cake (CTTC) at the time and I thought that if I could just make them look like a cupcake, they might feature them on their blog. So after I made the pink cake pop, I figured out a way to shape the cake balls with a cutter and dip them twice to make them look like a cupcake. Success! I couldn’t believe it. So I added my photos to the CTTC flickr group and crossed my fingers that they would pick them to feature on their site. And they did.

For me that was it. I wasn’t looking for anything more. Just to keep baking and making cute treats. And hopefully bring smiles to anyone that wanted to look at them.

But then, something crazy happened. A month or so after I posted the photos, I was invited to show Martha Stewart how I make them … on her show… like standing next to her. I thought I was being punked. I mean I had only been blogging for about four months when I received the invitation. And I hadn’t been baking much longer before that. Let’s just say I was petrified. But I did it anyway. You can watch the video here on her site. The link is on the sidebar. If you haven’t seen it before I think you’ll get a chuckle at what she calls them. Of course it wasn’t funny at the time. I think I managed to mask my shock pretty well. I know I told them we shouldn’t use chocolate cake on TV. Good times.

Lots of other fun things have happened since then, too.

• I started experimenting with designs and creating all kinds of cake pop themes.
• I visited the Pioneer Woman and we had a cake pop demo at the lodge. So fun. Love you Ree.
• I proposed to Melissa for Rich with cake pops. Miss you guys.
• Betty Crocker invited me to make cake pops for the cover of one of their magazines.
• I wrote a little book. You may have heard of it.
• I made cupcake pops with Blake Lively. Ummm… what is going on?
• You guys became Pop Stars.
• I made some cake pops for Disney’s website.
• I made a little kit and some cards, too.
• My cake pops were featured in magazines like People, Entertainment Weekly, Taste of Home, Family Circle, O, and more.
• I went on the Today Show. Kathie Lee shook the pop a bit too hard and got candy coating on her eyelashes. My stomach sunk. Mortified.
• The book has been printed in several languages throughout the world. Craziness.
• And there’s a couple more fun things coming that I can’t say just yet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

But that’s not all that’s happened because of these tiny treats on a stick. So many other things have popped on the scene because you all fell in love with the cake pops I made. Your excitement and enthusiasm for cake pops are probably the biggest reason for their success and why they are now so popular. For example…

• Cake pops are sold in a certain world dominating coffee shop.
• Bakeries and cupcake shops now sell them in their lineup.
• Businesses have packaged sprinkles and such to market for them.
• Commercials and other kits appeared. Some even use my designs. Flattering, I guess one could say.
• Machines are now on the market to make them … albeit they don’t let you mix the frosting in or custom shape them.
• Other books have surfaced on the topic, too, which just reinforces how popular cake pops have become.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

But it’s not all that stuff that makes me shake my head in amazement. You guys have done so much with them on a personal level and have continued to inspire me along the way.

• So many of you have started home businesses selling cake pops.
• Or websites devoted to cake pops
• Or created rollers or stands or just about anything else you can think of to make or use with cake pops.
• I know many of you that make them just for fun. And make lots of them.
• Your emails and stories brighten my day every time I read them. There have been so many sweet ones too. Emails from all over the world. From places I’ve never even heard of. Some that made me cry and some that made me laugh. But all that made me feel so special to have played a little part in bringing smiles to your lives.
• Big hugs and congratulations to all of you, too!

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I think cake pops have definitely made their mark in the baking world, making life a little bit sweeter.

Actually, I think we need a National Cake Pop Day. Or an International Cake Pop Day. And today seems like a great choice to me. That’s it I’m proclaiming February 1, the Official Unofficial Cake Pop Day. Who’s with me?

I’d love for you to tell me if cake pops have meant anything special to you.

• Do you sell them? What’s your site?
• Have you made them on your blog? I’d love to see.
• Do you have a picture of yours on your facebook? Share a link.
• Do you follow my facebook page for cake pop inspiration?
• Do you have the book? Do you have a favorite design?
• Are you a Pop Star? Do you want to be?
• Have you started a business to help people make them?
• Maybe you’ve just eaten them before. Or have seen them at a bakery or wedding or party.
• Maybe someone has given them to you as a gift.
• And maybe you have no idea what I’m talking about? That’s okay, too.

Go to http://www.bakerella.com/ to leave a comment.

All The Right Tools

Part of what makes a good meal "great" or even the presentation being "something special" is the use of good tools...and not just good tools, but the right tools.  Several years ago, when I first moved away from home my grandmother sent me a box.  That box was chock full of everything that I needed to make good food, the right way. 

I literally thought that I had hit either the jackpot or an early Christmas.  There was everything in there from a new set of mixing bowls, to measuring spoons, mixing spoons, (spoons that I'd had never even heard of...) you name it!  At the time, there were items that I was not familiar with using and didn't really see the purpose in actually "needing" and now I know why!  Having come from a large family, raised one of her own and now passing on these skills to her grandchildren, she knew that part of what it took to make good food, the right way (meaning food that would taste good and you could be proud of) meant initially, first and foremost, having the right tools.

Now, before you jump to any conclusions, am I suggesting to rush out to BedBathandBeyond and max out your credit cards on kitchen equipment?  Absolutely not.  I know that being a good chef or a home cook for that matter means evolving.  It means, growing in your journey.  It means learning what works, and what does not, how to please the one that you love around you, and most of all pleasing yourself.  In fact, with the right tools at your access, I bet you'd be surprise what you can produce.  So with that I want to start with a list of items that I consider "must haves" to have at your disposal to put out a "quality meal".  (*Note: I use the term "quality" lightly...)  And now, here goes!  I suggest some of the right tools that you should have in your arsenal of "this-is-my-attempt-at-making-some-really-good-food-that-people-what-to-eat-and-that-I-could-be-proud-of" as the following:

*a fancy glass or plastic juice or ice tea pitcher

* syrup dispenser

* a microplane zester/grater

* a good set of glass or metal mixing bowls

(from very small to fairly large)

*a four set of small white ramekins

*a four set of small blue or clear glass ramekins

* a nice set of plates (2 to 4 individual plates should do

two if you only plan to cook for you and one other person

four if you anticipate entertaining)

*good measuring cups

*good measuring spoons

* bamboo cooking utensils

* a good set of pots and pans, all sizes

* a hand-held sifter

A couple of other additional items that I think are great to have handy for meal presentation are:

*a lemon

* fresh strawberries

* fresh mint

Just a couple of things for you to throw in your basket the next time you're at the grocery store ;-)

For a full list of links where you could get these items click on the links below. 

juice pitcher

syrup dispenser

microplane zester/grater

mixing bowls here and here

white ramekins

glass ramekins 

nice white dinner plates

good measuring cups

good measuring spoons

bamboo (wood) cooking utensils

hand sifter (they call this one a "double strainer" but it's good to use for dusting things like confectioner's sugar, etc.)

Till next time,

Happy Cooking!

Chemeeka (a.k.a. Bakie:-)

Chocolate for Breakfast

As we all know, Valentine's Day is coming.  And when I hear Valentine's Day, three words come to mind....chocolate, chocolate, Chocolate!  So, if you insist..since it is on the calendar as "Chocolate..." I mean..ahem.. "Love Day," I guess I will go ahead and make sure that I have a chocolatey recipe ready for me the one I love (hehe :-)

If you'd like to join me, this recipe is really easy and really, really, good (and not too sweet either ;-).  Here it is:

Chocolate-filled Orange Crepes (for you and the one you love!)

5 ounce box cook & serve chocolate pudding

3 cups of milk

2 cups of complete pancake and waffle mix

1 3/4 to 2 cups of water

1 orange

1 scrambled egg per person (optional)

2 strawberries to garnish

confectioner's sugar

Directions: Using a medium saucepan, follow the instructions for your cook & serve chocolate pudding.  Cook and mix until just slightly thick and then remove saucepan from heat and let set aside to cool (only to room temperature!) and thicken.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your complete pancake and waffle mix with one and three quarters cup of water.  (Now, you want this pancake batter to be thin, because we're going to be making my version of crepes so, not to thick.  But it's up to you to gauge when your mix is thin enough.  Complete pancake mixes vary).  If necessary, add water to your pancake batter until your mix appears to be thin & runny.  Zest the peel of one medium-sized orange and add to your "crepe" mixture. 

Heat a large skillet or fry pan on medium high.  Once warm, oil the bottom with a pat a unsalted butter and spread around.  Pour one fifth of your batter (should be a circle about seven inches in diameter) in the center of the pan.  Cook on one side until bubbles begin to form around the edge and the center of your crepe.  Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown.  Repeat this step for the next crepe until you have made all of your batter.  Remove crepes to a plate to cool until you are ready to fill with your chocolate filling. 

With the back of a spatula, spread generous amounts of chocolate pudding starting in the center of each crepe.  Stop filling about half and inch from the edge and then roll.  Repeat. And top each set of crepes with some dusting of the confectioner's sugar and a strawberry.  If desired, serve with a side of sausage or scrambled eggs.  Delicious!

This recipe is sure to be a treat any day but especially on Valentine's Day!

Enjoy!

~Bakie

Sugar Baby Cookbook

I thought that this one was worth posting again.  For some reason I just can't get this cookbook out of my mind today.  Maybe some of it has to do with reminscing on my journey for this past year & how exciting it's been to chronicle my cooking, baking and sweets adventures.

Well so much to a wonderful year & hopefully many more happy, fun, bakiemesweet exploring adventures.

Cheers!

-Bakie

Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas!!!

Okay...I am SO EXCITED(!!!) about this!  Call me crazy but this is one of those Campbell soup's recipes that I have been longing to make!  Someone made these for us (or something very similar) a few years ago when we had our daughter and ever since then I've thought, "Wow, wasn't that such a good recipe?"  It seemed fairly simple to make & I know that it warmed up great and tasted great too! 

*Note to self & reader: Now let me just stop and say that I know what you're thinking...if I am a chef and my husband and I cater then "why would a simple recipe such as this be of such an interest to me?"  And I will tell you why.  It's quite simple actually.  I am a chef, in my own right, a confectioner, and a caterer if you will but on the other days...I am just a mom.  Meaning that when we're not doing parties or cooking for somebody's event, I am just living your typical day-in and day-out existance of taking care of home and family.  You know what I mean ;-) 

So to find something so simple and so delicious as this darling recipe, when I don't have to be "the chef" or the caterer-of-the-hour and I am just "mama" then I need something simple and easy that I can fit in between making sure that the laundry and dishes are done, and that there aren't too many crayons on the floor! (smile)

So back to what I was saying about this yummy, delicious, all-in-one recipe..

I made it just as the instructions said, the only difference was I threw in a small handful of fresh spinach leaves with each roll and put about and 1/8 cup water around the bottom (just because as a chef, I can't imagine that that rice is not going to dry out baking for forty minutes without it :-).  So, are you ready for the recipe?  Here goes:

Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

1 can (10 3/4 ounce) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup Pace Picante Sauce

2 tsp chili powder

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

6 flour tortillas (6") warmed

1 small tomato, chopped *

1 green onion, sliced *

*-I skipped these two items.

 Directions: Combine the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup of the picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.

Evenly divide the chicken mixture among the six tortillas.   Roll up the tortillas and place them seamside up in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.  Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over filled tortillas.  Cover baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until enchiladas are hot and bubbling.  Top with tomato and onion. 

Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies-In-A-Jar

Here are my quart size mason jars (24 of them to be exact).  All lined up & ready to go!  Into the dishwasher first for sterilization.  Then we'll move on to filling them up & get the back labels ready.  Not to mention the special "Christmas Cookies-In-A-Jar" button tags that I had made up.  Ready to go!

We'll see how it works out :-)

-Bakie

Caramel Apples & A Few Other Treats

Okay, so I loved this recipe that I tried today.  First of all, things did not go the way that I had initially intended in that I thought for sure that I would find a recipe for homemade caramel (for apples) made with heavy cream rather than sweetened condensed milk, since:

1) That's what I had (heavy cream) and

2) I swore that I saw someone online (either a recipe or a YouTube video) making

it with just the sugar, butter & heavy cream...

I just knew that I had all the ingredients.  But sure enough, lo and behold, when it came down time for me to make it...I didn't  really have all of the ingredients, so...I just had to wing it! 

I started out with a few of my apples & I boiled them, just slightly to get rid of the waxy outer layer.  Then I put my sticks in them.

I got my chopped pecans lined up because I know that I would be using those later.

Then I got my sugar boiling.  (Sugar and water that is).

Next, I moved on to add my butter (about 5tablespoons, and one cup of heavy cream)

and I just continued to cook, and cook, (and stir) and cook it down until it was about this color.

I turned the heat off on the caramel & got my plate ready to begin dipping my apples.

Set them aside.

Now next, I turned to start making my drizzle with these (wilton melts)...

Now, I can't tell you what else I added to this.  All I will say is that just melting the

wilton melts in the microwave, like I've done before to make candies, did not work here.

Then I drizzled them on top of my apples.

And sprinkled on my nuts.

And Voila! Delicious!

With the leftover caramel and sauce, I came up with a few other treats.



Milk Men

Whew!  It's been a whole summer since my last post and I've got a lot of catching up to do!  In the meantime, let's kick off the fall and approaching winter with a little 'Ode to Christmas (for my mind is already there :-)  Today's post is dedicated to "milk men".  I've seen them on some different sites, and they've inspired me and given me different ideas and I want to share them with you!  Here goes:

(as seen on Bakerella.com)

They're smart and simple.

Snowman Milk Glasses. A perfect mix of winter and whimsey.

You may have seen them already, they were inspired by some that Amy Atlas made on the Today Show after being inspired by Celebrations at Home who was inspired by these from Better Homes and Gardens. (Check them out.)

(These were made by one of Bakerella's friends, Julie.  How cute?)

And here are my other favorites:

(As seen on Celebrations at Home.com <-love that site!)

Okay, LOVE THE SWEETS PARTY!!!!

All you need:small milk glasses (these from Target work great)
powdered doughnut holes
straws
milk, of course

To decorate, you can use chocolate jimmies to press into the doughnuts for the eyes and mouth. The noses are orange coated sunflower seeds pressed into the dougnut and attached with a tiny bit of frosting.

You can decorate their felt scarves with the same color striped straws. And to finish them off, glued a few small buttons right on the glass.



Fun & delish!

-Bakie