Ultimate S'more Cake

Behold the Ultimate S'more Cake! I made this for this month's dessert club. Absolutely the tallest most fantastic off the wall cake I've ever had...not to mention delicious, layers and layers of delicious! Check out the recipe, it's definitely worth a try!: Ultimate S'more Cake

- The Dessert Club -

Recently I formed a dessert club for some of the young women at my church, and yesterday we had the first meeting, or "eating", as we call it! It was so much fun, just a bunch of ladies bringing dessert and eating it! Fattening, but we only meet once a month, so we can justify that! ;) There were amazing desserts from S'more Bars, to Lemonade Blackberry Cupcakes, to Key Lime Cheesecake, and more! We had a great time, and I heartily recommend you form a dessert club for you and your friends, it's just an awesome event! Here are some photos from the evening.

I made the Cheesecake.

- Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Bruschetta -

And we're going Italian with the appetizer. I have to say while this might not be the best tidbit for a wedding (unless you want your guests to walk around with tomato up and down their front), it does, however, make an amazing homestyle side dish or appetizer. "Crunch, onion! garlic, acid, sweet, chunky cheese, there's that kick of basil!" is literally what you think when you bite into this pile of Italian goodness. Will you crave it, you ask? .... yes...yes you will. WARNING: may cause out of control devour-ment which will leave you without friends because you left them without food.......sorry loves.

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Bruschetta

Ingredients:
1/2 of a Baguette (about 12 thin slices)
Olive Oil
1/2 of a Shallot, minced
1 clove of Garlic, minced
5 Campari Tomatoes, chopped into small cubes (I try to get out most of the seeds and discard them)
2 quarter inch slices of Mozzarella, (cubed the same size as the tomatoes)
1 T. of chopped Basil
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper

Directions:
Put the tomatoes into a bowl, and set aside.

Brush all the slices of baguettes on one side with olive oil. Drizzle large skillet pan with olive oil put on burner over a medium heat. Put in the baguette slices, olive oil sides down, and let cook for a minute or two, until it is nicely golden-brown. Turn over a cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute more on the plain side. Turn off heat and remove the bread from the pan, arranging on a plate. 

Meanwhile in a small skillet pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over a medium heat. Add the shallot and cook till translucent, about a minute (don't let it burn!). Add the garlic and cook for another 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat and add to the tomatoes in the bowl. Stir together with wooden spoon and let cool a couple of minutes. Then add the basil, mozzarella, salt, pepper, and a small drizzle of olive oil. Stir together and then top all the baguette slices with a small pile of the tomato mixture. Eat right away! Serves 4

Enjoy!

- Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade -

Snow is everywhere here in New England, and since the snowboarding season, for me, is over, I find myself hankering for summer. What say's summer more than Lemonade? Umm...nothing. So deep into winter, with the snow falling just outside, I created my very own Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade. I'm really excited to share this one with you guys, since I am sure many of you are itching for some feeling of summer, like me. With much hurry, I furiously made this beverage and ran to the family room to snuggle up on the couch with my mom and sister to watch Downton Abbey and sip lemonade. Nothing more perfect.

Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

12 oz. bag Frozen Raspberries

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

The juice of 4 Lemons

The juice or 1 Lime

2 liter Bottle Lemon-Lime Soda

1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries

Directions:

In medium saucepan over a medium heath, stir together the sugar and the 12 oz. of raspberries (I just threw them in frozen). Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes, until it is all cooked down like a slush. 

In medium bowl (like for punch), pour in the lemon and lime juice. Strain the juice from the raspberry and sugar mixture into the lemon juice. Mix and press with wooden spoon until there is nothing left but the seeds and pulp. Add the lemon-lime soda. Add some ice cubes and then the fresh raspberries. Refrigerate for an hour until ready to serve. (Will serve about 12 give or take).

Enjoy!

- End of a Year -

Well here were are, after Christmas, exhausted, relaxed, five pound heavier, and generally happy. I've had a whirlwind of a Holiday with family flying out, arriving very late Christmas Eve, opening lots of presents, lots of cooking (of course), going places, doing things, not getting enough chocolate, celebrating a birthday, gearing up for the New Year, more chocolate, playing in the snow, sledding in the snow, snowboarding in the snow, and on and on it goes until everyone leaves on Thursday. Yes, this has probably been the most exhausting Christmas for me yet (having fun just makes you that way, no?)

So just thought I'd say to all of you "Have a Happy New Year!"

Orange Chicken for dinner tonight.

- What is Happening Today -

Oh yes, we are busy getting ready for the Christmas Party. The recipe for this will come later!

- A Little Bit of a Change Can Go a Long Way -

So every year my family has our annual Christmas Party. We always bake dozens upon dozens of cookies for it. When we lived in California the party got to be WAY over a hundred people. Now we live in a small New England town and the party has downsized (which is good considering the only reason over a hundred people were able to fit comfortably in our house in CA was because the weather permitted overflow into the backyard, something frigid New England cannot provide in December). But anyway, our party is one of my favorite parts of December, as it has been an annual tradition my whole life and really throws me headlong into the Christmas spirit. 

So the point to this whole thing is just this: Brownies. Yes, the second most beloved American dessert classic (just behind the chocolate chip cookie, of course). At our Christmas party there i s really the best sort of brownie you can imagine. A brownie with cranberries in it! Now the idea might be kind of freaky putting a sour berry like that into a brownie. "Who in their right mind?" you're thinking, right? And the reason I know your thinking this is because at our Christmas Party I watch these brownies sit there, piled on the plate, mostly untouched the whole night by everyone outside my family. You might think this is a bad thing, baking all those brownies only to have no one eat them...but I don't really think it is. I'm rather delighted, inwardly, laughing manically at the untouched plate, knowing the less the guests eat of them, the more they miss out, and the more I get to stuff myself all the next day with the leftovers. I confess I am not all that sad at the thought that those guests don't know what they are missing. Does that make me a bad person? *evil grin*

But seriously, you guys DON'T know what you are missing here. The sweetness of the brownies really compliments the tart cranberries very well. 

So, here is what I recommend, mix up your favorite brownie recipe, and add about 1 1/4 cups of frozen cranberries to it if it is a 9x13 pan, or a 3/4 a cup if it is an 8x8 (and of course this may vary due to the thickness or thinness of your recipe. Mine are uber thick). These brownies are quite the festive holiday delight! Try them out this Christmas, you will not be disappointed! 

- J.