So I was sitting on my sofa one afternoon trying to think of something to make for dessert for that evening. I wanted to make something easy; I didn’t want to spend all afternoon in the kitchen. I thought about making cupcakes, but I like to set my butter out hours in advance and I hadn’t done that. So my mind immediately went to thinking about cake batter flavored things. So then I thought about Cake Batter Pudding. I hadn’t seen anyone post anything about that before, but I knew it had to be done by someone. So I googled it and came across a post from Mrs. Happy Homemaker. We must’ve been on the same wavelength since she posted this at the beginning of March.
Cake Batter Pudding
April 2, 2012 by 3 Comments
Tick Tock…Time is Running Out!
March 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
“Best of Show” from last year
The 7th annual Let Them Eat Cake hosts 40 of the best professional bakers at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on April 2, 2012 at 6pm. Time is running out! Buy your tickets now!
Come and sample over 40 pieces of cake, enjoy live music and free champagne with Celebrity baker, and event judge, Sylvia Weinstock. Goody bags will be given out to the first 100 attendees!
All proceeds benefit Cancer Research & Treatment at City of Hope.
To purchase tickets to the event, please visit City of Hope’s website or click here to reserve your tickets now.
EVENT DETAILS
Mon., April 2, 2012
Loews Philadelphia Hotel
1200 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-627-1200
Doors open: 6 p.m.
Advance tickets: $40
At the door: $50
Reserve your tickets now
To see the original post about this event, click here.
I hope to see you there!
Cupcakes from The Boardwalk Bakery [Walt Disney World]
March 26, 2012 by 9 Comments
So as you know, I was in Disney World last week for Food Blog Forum (you can read my trip report here). I had an amazing time and I was on a mission to try some different flavors of cupcakes while I was there. In lieu of getting dessert after our dinner at the Kona Cafe, we decided to go on a mission for some cupcakes at the Boardwalk Bakery.
I really had high hopes for these cupcakes since after all, it’s a bakery. Aly from Cooking In Stilettos was my partner-in-crime for this Cupcake Mission. We had to take the monorail from the Polynesian to Magic Kingdom, and then a bus from Magic Kindgom to The Boardwalk. This was my first time checking out the Boardwalk property and I have to say it was pretty nice! Check out a view from there:
There weren’t that many flavors of cupcakes to choose from. There were only three total. They had the Oreo Bon Bon Cupcake, Coffee Mocha Cupcake and an Orange Creamsicle type cupcake. I decided to get the first two.
I tasted the Oreo Bon Bon Cupcake first since I LOVE Oreos. As you can see from the picture, it looked a little rough. It wasn’t really in perfect condition when I got it, and me transporting it didn’t help matters. But I have to give a shout out to one of the bus drivers. He picked us up from the Boardwalk and was en route to the Magic Kingdom, but he dropped us off at our resort (The Polynesian). That was so nice of him and he didn’t need to do that at all. So I hope something wonderful happens to him because he deserves it. He definitely made it easier on us by doing that. And for that, I thank him.
So back to the cupcakes. The chocolate cupcake wasn’t moist at all. It was quite crumbly and dry. There was a cookies & cream type filling that was just okay. I love the idea, but the flavors just weren’t there. It made the middle of the cupcake a bit moister than the rest of it. The frosting disappointed me the most though. It was more like a whipped topping than a buttercream. And we all know that I’m not a fan of that whipped stuff. So needless to say I didn’t waste any more calories on this cupcake. It was disappointing though since it looked like it would taste good.
So after tasting the Oreo one, I definitely didn’t have high hopes for the Coffee Mocha Cupcake. And it’s a good thing I didn’t because it was more of the same stuff….that whipped crap. The cupcake was average, nothing to write home (or blog) about, really. It also had a filling, but I didn’t care for it much. It tasted very similar to the whipped icing on top.
I have to say that the Bakery really let me down. I was expecting a lot more of them and they just didn’t deliver. But I didn’t give up. I didn’t let these cupcakes keep me from trying out more cupcakes in Disney World. You’ll be surprised to find out who had one of the best cupcakes that I tried! Stay tuned!
Baked Pretzel Coated Chicken Strips with Honey Dijon Sauce
March 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I came across a recipe on Pinterest for Fried Pretzel Coated Chicken with Honey Dijon Sauce. Now I’m from Philly and we have an unhealthy love for soft pretzels in this city. But we also have a love Hard Pretzels as well. And I love Chicken. So it just seemed like a no-brainer for me to try this. However, I opted to bake the chicken instead of fry it. Trust me, I wanted to fry the chicken. But I’m trying to cut down on calories and make some healthier choices (a girl has to save her calories for cupcakes!) so I decided to bake them and see how they turned out.
I made these Baked Pretzel Coated Chicken Strips before going to Orlando, FL for Food Blog Forum Orlando. There were so many other fabulous food bloggers there and I had the opportunity to meet Angie of Eclectic Recipes! It was a pleasant surprise since I didn’t even realize she’d be in attendance. It was so nice to meet her and I look forward to trying out many more of her recipes in the future!
So back to the Pretzel Chicken…let’s do it!
(I used this recipe and made a few changes to it)
INGREDIENTS
Chicken
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
Breading
- 2 cups pretzels, ground in the food processor (until they are the consistency of bread crumbs)
Sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine mustard and honey for sauce. Mix well and set aside.
Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees. Combine eggs with spices in a large bowl. Whisk together until everything is incorporated and it looks like scrambled eggs (before you would cook it!).
Using a food processor or Vitamix, turn the Pretzels into crumbs. I think next time I’d probably make them a bit finer, but it still worked well the way mine turned out,.
Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, and then place them into the pretzel crumbs. Make sure that you coat all sides of the chicken in the pretzel crumbs. I like the press down on all sides to make sure it sticks.
Place the pretzel breaded chicken on a greased baking sheet leaving a little room between each strip. I like to cover my baking sheet with foil to make for an easier clean-up!
Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the internal temperature is at 165 degrees.
Remove from the oven and enjoy!
I thought these were pretty good! I would also like to try them fried (how Eleclectic Recipes made them) to see how the baked strips compare, but I thought they were quite tasty for being a lower fat option. I think they’d be a little crunchier if they were fried, but we still enjoyed them. The Honey Dijon Sauce was a lovely addition! I want to try some of these in a wrap with some cheddar cheese, lettuce and ranch!
A Magical Experience ~ Food Blog Forum Orlando [Walt Disney World]
March 22, 2012 by 6 Comments
So I had the amazing opportunity to go to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL for Food Blog Forum Orlando. I felt so lucky to be one of the food bloggers to attend. It was truly a Magical Experience. I can’t even put into words how much I appreciate all of the hard work that everyone put into this event. It was a really special event.
I learned so much from so many talented people. Everyone was so willing to help others and I loved seeing that. A special thanks to Disney World, Whole Foods, Julie of The Little Kitchen (who did such a wonderful job organizing!), Steamy Kitchen (Jaden & Scott), White On Rice Couple (Diane & Todd) and to all of the sponsors (OXO, KitchenAid, Le Creuset, Land ‘O Lakes, Bob’s Red Mill, Spice Islands, Goo Goo Clusters, King Arthur Flour, Scharffen Berger, and anyone else I forgot). The Door Prizes were totally crazy and everyone was so generous! I mean seriously, TWO APPLIANCES as well as countless KitchenAid Mixers, LeCreuset Dutch Ovens, and many other prizes. But they weren’t even the highlight of the weekend. All of the information that we all went home with was the main prize. And that’s a fact.
The accommodations were spectacular, the 4 day park hoppers were generous, the food was delectable and the people there were just plain remarkable. I could go on and on about this past weekend and ramble on for hours, but I’d rather show you how magnificent it was in pictures. Because I had so much fun trying to capture these wonderful moments on camera ~ even if it was an iPhone camera!
[click to enlarge any of the photos]
A beautiful view from the Grand Floridian
Another stunning view
Macaroni & Cheese with Lobster & Pancetta – absolutely to die for!
Desserts – Chocolate Creme Brulee, Cake Pop,
Chocolate Mousse type dessert
Olive Oil-infused Chocolate Truffle Mousse with Sea Salt Caramel
Peruvian Chocolate Cylinder with St. Germain Glaze
OXO supplied Assorted Sea Salt Caramels from
Good Karmal – Seriously the BEST! I’m enrolling
myself in a 12 step program ASAP.
Magic Kingdom
Whole Foods Brunch Menu
Candy Coated Mickey Apples!
Pineapple Teriyaki Steak from Kona Cafe
Kona Cool Sundown
Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom
Monorail at the Polynesian
Frozen Margarita from Hollywood Studios
My favorite ride ~ Tower of Terror
Pop Century – My home for the 2nd part of my trip
Monorail – Photo taken from bench outside of the Coral Reef Restaurant
Superfruit Sangria from Coral Reef
Baileys and Jack Daniel’s Mousse from Coral Reef
Boat outside of Magic Kingdom
Captain Hook at Epcot
I had these on my AirTran flight and they are my favorite now!
I ordered some from Amazon when I got home.
All of the information that I learned there was priceless. I don’t think I can thank everyone enough for allowing me to be part of this event. There are so many talented food writers and photographers out there and I’m so proud to be a part of that.
I was on a mission for Cupcakes when I was there, and you will get to read about that in another post! Because it wouldn’t be a trip without a Cupcake!
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Mongolian Beef
March 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
I always love a good Asian inspired recipe that I can make at home. Sure, I love ordering out as much as the next person, but we all know that’s not possible all of the time. So when I saw this recipe I figured I’d give it a shot. The pictures that were shown in the original recipe looked amazing, and I was set out to try it myself. There’s usually always something that I change up, but I really didn’t change much this time. We don’t like anything spicy so I didn’t add in the red pepper flakes. The only other change I made was subbing beef broth for the water and I added in a tablespoon of dry sherry.
[original recipe from Pink Bites]
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb of flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/4 cup of cornstarch
- 3 teaspoons of canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)
- 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup of beef broth
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce (I use low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 large green onions, sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
Make sure the steak slices are dry and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.
Turn the heat up and add half of the oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). It won’t be cooked all of the way through. It will finish cooking in the sauce. I ended up browning half at a time because I didn’t want to crowd the wok. Remove the beef from the pan and place in a bowl.
Heat the other half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes (if you’re adding them). Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes. I mixed a little bit more corn starch with some beef broth and added it into the sauce. This thickened it up a bit. The original recipe does everything a bit differently – you can do whatever you want.
Add the meat into the sauce and let it cook on low while your rice cooks.
Add the green onions at the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy. Serve it hot with rice.
This is one of our favorite dishes. It’s very good. It’s a bit on the sweet side, so if you don’t really like sweet things this may not be your kind of dish. Although if you really wanted you could probably cut down the brown sugar a bit. This also reheats well. I love to take this for lunch a couple of days after we have it for dinner.
Mom’s Lightened Beef Stroganoff from Skinnytaste
March 19, 2012 by 2 Comments
I always love a good Beef Stroganoff, but I always make my Beef Stroganoff in the crock pot. When I came across this recipe for Mom’s Beef Stroganoff that was made on the stove top, I decided I needed to try it. All of the other Skinnytaste recipes I’ve tried have turned out really good, so I knew this one would probably be good.
[Adapted recipe from Skinnytaste]
INGREDIENTS
- 1-1/2 lbs lean tri-tip sirlion steak, cut in thin 1/4″ x 2″ strips
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 10 oz of sliced mushrooms
- 1 can of Campbell’s tomato soup
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 1 small fresh bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 cup of light sour cream
INSTRUCTIONS
In a heavy saucepan (I used a Dutch Oven), heat pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add the oil and let it heat up for about a minute or so. Add steak and let it brown on all sides. Remove meat from pan.
Lower heat, melt butter, then add onions. Cook about 2-3 minutes until translucent, add garlic and mushrooms and sauté about 2-3 more minutes until cooked.
Add a can of tomato soup, steak, beef broth, bay leaf, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook on low about 40 minutes. Remove bay leaf and mix in sour cream.
Serve over noodles or rice.
I served Sunny Anderson’s Easy String Beans & Onions with this meal as well. They are my favorite! So…I thought this was a really good dish! As you can see we had ours over Noodles. I think the next time I might cook the meat in the liquid for a little longer – maybe an hour or so. I thought it could’ve been a bit more tender, but I still enjoyed it. I LOVED the addition of the sour cream, and I think the bay leaf is a key ingredient. This meal is a keeper and leftovers the next day for lunch were delicious as well!
Only One Week Left!
March 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Food for Though Gala is coming up in ONE WEEK! Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday that I first posted about it. You won’t want to miss it! It benefits such a great cause. Time is running out though – so be sure to get your tickets now!!!
The Food For Thought Gala is presented by PNC Bank, and is also sponsored in part by Philadelphia Magazine, UPS, and Infiniti. Tickets to the Gala can be found by clicking here. The event will also feature food prepared by top chefs from the Greater Philadelphia area, including Marc Vetri (Vetri), Kevin Sbraga (Sbraga, Top Chef Season 7), Jeff Michaud (Osteria), Peter Woolsey (Bistrot La Minette), and Marcie Turney (Barbuzzo).
The ticket prices are as follows:
Young Friends Ticket – $150 (For guests 35 and younger)
General Ticket – $200
VIP Ticket – $300 (Includes access to Infiniti VIP Lounge, Reserved parking and seating, special VIP gifts, and early admission to the event at 6 p.m.)
Purchase your tickets here.
Event Details:
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Urban Outfitters, Inc.
Philadelphia Navy Yard
5000 S. Broad St., Bldg. 543
7:00pm to 11:00pm
6:00pm to 7:00pm (VIP Early Admission)
ACHIEVEability is an agency that permanently breaks the cycle of poverty for low-income, single-parent and homeless families. ACHIEVEability provides housing and supportive services so parents can pursue higher education and become self-sufficient. Everything we do promotes accountability for our families. This year, ACHIEVEability is celebrating 30 years of helping families achieve self-sufficiency.
Find ACHIEVEability on the web. http://www.achieveability.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ACHIEVEability
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ACHIEVEability/179026932125700
Will you be going? I hope to see you there!
Ms. Goody’s Got It!
March 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I live in Center City, and I don’t really frequent other parts of the city. I usually stay in Center City and explore that area. But when I heard that there was a Cupcake Shop in South Philly that I hadn’t tried yet, I knew I needed to stop by. Ms. Goody Cupcake is located at 1838 E. Passyunk Ave in Philadelphia. My favorite thing to blog about it is cupcakes, so I was super excited for the opportunity to try hers!
It was a beautiful day out and I decided to pick up six different flavors. Because I have to tell you – three or four just wouldn’t have been enough.
Vanilla Cupcake ~ Vanilla Icing
So as you can see, Plain Jane is just your normal, everyday cupcake. I thought this was a good cupcake – the cake wasn’t as moist as I would’ve liked it to be, but it wasn’t dry. The icing had the perfect sweetness and I enjoyed it a lot. So if you want a basic cupcake, this is the way to go!
Chocolate Cupcake ~ Chocolate Icing
As we all know, Mr. Curly Fry is alllll about chocolate. So whenever I’m picking out cupcakes and I get something that has to do with chocolate, he’s a happy camper! You can definitely say he’s Crazy for Chocolate. This one was okay – I had some issues with the consistency of the cake. It seemed a bit crumbly or something – but it did get a bit better as we ate it. The icing was very good – it complemented the cupcake very well.
Banana Cupcake with Chocolate Chips
Peanut Butter Frosting topped
with Chocolate Covered Bacon
It looks like it’s time for confession. I’ve always been quite nervous to try bacon and chocolate together. I love bacon, and I love chocolate. But I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about them together. But when I saw this cupcake I just knew I had to try it. Look at it – it’s beautiful!! And I must say – I’m a fan! The cupcake had a very nice banana flavor, and you could see the bits of banana in the cake that made it moist. The chocolate chips added a nice sweet note to the cupcake that wasn’t too over-powering. I love peanut butter frosting and this was very good – I think I’d just like a little more peanut butter in it though. But overall this cupcake was DELICIOUS and definitely one I’d get again.
Chocolate Cake Filled and
Topped with Chocolate Mousse
This had Mr. Curly Fry’s name on it as soon as he saw it. The Mousse made the cake soft and super moist. The chocolate mousse that was in the middle and on top was fluffy and full of chocolate flavor. This cupcake was gone in no time. I think he could’ve eaten at least six of these bad boys! This was definitely a winner.
Confetti Cupcake
Vanilla Buttercream
After eating this Birthday Wishes cupcake I really did wish that I had a few more. I have to say that the cupcake was so moist, it was out of this world. This had to be my favorite cupcake of the night – and that’s saying a lot since we enjoyed them all! The cake was just so light, soft, and fluffy – I couldn’t get enough of it. The icing was the perfect sweetness (not to mention plentiful!) and the sprinkles added a little bit of happiness to the whole package.
Cinnamon Cake with Whipped
Topping and a Snickerdoodle Cookie
When I picked this cupcake out I figured that I’d be stuck eating the whole thing since I didn’t think Mr. Curly Fry would be into it that much. Boy was I wrong. He ended up eating the entire thing (Don’t worry – I did get a bite!). This cupcake was pretty good – not really all that soft and moist, but not necessarily dry. It seemed kind of coffee-cake-like. It had a very cinnamon-y flavor to it. It had a Whipped Topping on it that was not too sweet, and seemed kind of marshmallow-y consistency. Mr. Curly Fry said it felt like he was eating a Cinnamon Roll (which he LOVES). So yet again, another winner!
So I have to say that Ms. Goody Cupcakes is definitely near the top of our list of Cupcake Shops in Philly. The cakes were consistently good and the flavors are ever-changing. She has like 12 flavors of cupcakes daily! There are a few other flavors that I’m dying to try that she didn’t have when I stopped in. I mean really – Chocolate Covered Potato Chip Cupcake – how good does that sound? And I’m always a sucker for a good Cookies n Cream Cupcake as well. So as you can see I need to make it back to Ms. Goody Cupcakes as soon as possible so that I can try out some more flavors!
1838 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148
Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 11am – 7pm
Friday – Saturday 11am – 9pm
Let Them Eat Cake ~ Under the Big Top
March 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
Now, we all know I’m ALL about cake. So when I saw that there is an event taking place called “Let Them Eat Cake,” I knew I had to be there. Not only do you get to try over 40 pieces of cake, but it all benefits a wonderful cause.
Join us for the premiere wedding cake competition of the year in the Philadelphia area! The 7th annual Let Them Eat Cake hosts 40 of the best professional bakers at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on April 2, 2012 at 6pm.
Come and sample over 40 pieces of cake, enjoy live music and free champagne with Celebrity baker, and event judge, Sylvia Weinstock. Goody bags will be given out to the first 100 attendees.
Be sure to check out this Cartoon created for the event – it’s pretty neat!
All proceeds benefit Cancer Research & Treatment at City of Hope.
To purchase tickets to the event, please visit City of Hope’s website or click here to reserve your tickets now.
EVENT DETAILS
Mon., April 2, 2012
Loews Philadelphia Hotel
1200 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-627-1200
Doors open: 6 p.m.
Advance tickets: $40
At the door: $50
Reserve your tickets now
Romeo and Juliet is the winner of “Best of Show” from last year
The Typewriter won “Audience Choice” last year
How beautiful are these?!
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