Sometimes All You Need After a Long Day is a Comic Strip

Bliss comic strip just gave me a good laugh before I hit the sack. I hope you'll enjoy it too!

Good night!

Bake well and prosper!

Another Dessert Comic, Another Laugh from Me

Thanks again to Off the Mark. I love their comics and especially love their food related ones. So funny! You just can't beat unicorns and ice cream!

Bake well and prosper!

D'Artagnan's Duckathlon VI (Part Deux)

As promised, the sequel to Wednesday's post.

And the challenges get wackier!

Hogs & Heifers hosted a couple of challenges. One was Duckie Get Your Gun. I ran into the boys from Daniel again and this water gun challenged seemed more like their style than the blindfolded Three Blind Spice challenge.

The challenge was to get all the duckies across the pink line before the guns ran out of water.

I think these bad boys were trying to extinguish each other's cigarettes but missed...not on purpose of course...no...never...

The other challenge outside of Hogs & Heifers was Sausage Dangler. Yes. Sausage Dangler. (I told you it got wackier.)

The idea was for a team member to put on the above outfit and then another team member help guide via words to get the dangling sausage into the milk pail. The team with the most sausage dips in 30 seconds won. (And I might be wrong on this, but I believe Great Performances, the team in the above pictures, won this challenge!)

WARNING: THE NEXT COUPLE OF IMAGES CONTAIN ANIMAL PARTS

I moved on to find the team from Greene Grape Provisions at the Balls to the Wall Challenge.

And you thought the sausage challenge couldn't be beat on the weirdness scale...

The object of this challenge was to correctly identify the testicles to the correct animal. My favorite quote from this was when a team member ask her fellow team member, "Do lambs have big balls?" (It turns out that they do! See the picture above this one.)

I followed Greene Grape's team to the challenge at Amy's Bread - Bread Archery.

Yes. Archery as in flying through the air.

Yes. In NYC. A baguette flying through the air.

Definitely not the weirdest thing ever seen on a NYC side walk (and what a fun challenge!)

After time was up for all challenges, a party was thrown and winners announced.

While I watched the festivities I met fellow bloggers Cathy from Mrs Wheelbarrow's Kitchen and Mary from The Culinary Librarian. I also finally got to meet Deana, the person responsible for inviting me to all this fun. It was my first time meeting other food bloggers and I was so happy I got to meet such great ones! (I also greatly enjoyed the yummy food and ever flowing wine that was provided. Mmmm!)

I also happened to sit by the Greene Grape team. I hope they didn't think I was stalking them (seeing I had been following them for the past half hour.) They were such a delightful team that I am actually going to trek out to Fort Greene and visit their lovely shop. (Hey! It's a trek from Queens to Brooklyn...trust me.)

And guess what! They ended up winning two of the competitions. Sweet!

I was also happy to see Cercle Rouge win a lot of categories and also they placed 3rd over all! (And don't forget that they also won best costumes.)

The overall winner (and winner for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW) was Team Annisa!

I'm sad I didn't get to see them in action on the "course", but hopefully next year I'll be able to catch all the teams for Duckathlon VII!

Overall it was a wonderful day filled with fun, laughter, and education! Thanks D'Artagnan for hosting such a great event.

And now, dear readers, your intrepid reporter will hang up her hat and head back into the kitchen to produce her normal posts about dessert. Over and out.

D'Artagnan Duckathlon VI (Part 1)

Guess what I was up to on Sunday (besides singing). Nope, baking is not the correct answer. I was invited by Deana from the awesome blog Lost Past Remembered to come check out D'Artagnan's annual Duckathlon - "Half marathon, half duck, and completely insane, the Duckathlon is a culinary obstacle course that runs through the Meatpacking District."

I did as much research as I could on the event and everyone hosting, participating, etc that I could and then set off to the Duckathlon after finishing my church choir gig.

The Duckathlon was happening in and around Chelsea Market. After meeting Lily, one of the head honchos of the event, and receiving all the info I needed to find groups etc, I set off to the nearest station to see what this Duckathlon was all about.

I found the Le Cirque group at the crepe flipping station that was run by All-Clad. (BTW, need to get me a gift? I'll take anything from All-Clad. Thanks.) The object of this challenge was to see how many crepe flips a team could get in a certain time frame. One member would flip it 5 times and pass it to the next member and so on. Guess what! I happened to have watched the winning team in action. Way to go Le Cirque (and I love y'all's restaurant!)

The next group I encountered was doing a challenge very near and dear to my heart. They had to decorate a cookie under a specific time limit. Hello! Cookies...sugar...MESS!

I chased down this Cercle Rouge member and asked to take a picture of her hands (because messy hands = be still my heart.) She told me she spoke French only and so I quickly pointed to my camera and said, "Photo...les mains." She understood right away and smiled this awesome smile and proudly displayed her mess. YAY high school French for not failing me.

By the way, there was a contest for best group costumes...guess who won that...

The next competitive stations that I stopped at were at Dickson's Meats and BuonItalia. Unfortunately I didn't get to see any groups in action for this. Check out the two pictures and try to guess what the challenge was.

Meat Map: Correctly identify cuts of meat to area of cow.

Pasta Pickup: One member takes stick of pasta in mouth and tries to get as many circle pastas with stick and place in the cup within a minute. (Yes, I'm sad I didn't see anyone do this.)

Then I wondered next door where there were TWO challenges at one table and guess what - I got to do the challenges!

At The Filling Station I sampled an infused olive oil and could tell that there was some type of fruit in it, but it would have taken me hours to guess a fig! It was delicious. Also, they let me try the ghost pepper salt and the bacon flavored salt. Yes. Bacon flavored salt. Supposedly it's awesome on an omelet. I thought it was really awesome by itself as well. I will definitely have to go back and get some of their awesome products next time I'm in the area. Plus, their motto is reuse, refill, recycle. What's not to like?

At the same table I got to taste three different types of cheese from Lucy's Whey. I had to identify which one was cow's milk, sheep's milk, and goat's milk and I totally guessed each one correctly! All the types of cheese were delightful. I think I'll make an afternoon of buying cheese from Lucy's Whey and then sit in High Line park this summer while munching on the deliciousness. Mmmm!

After all that fun, I left Chelsea Market and entered Spice Market. I had never been here and was delighted with how beautiful the space is!

I caught up with the boys from Daniel who were busy trying to figure out the last mystery spice.

All were blindfolded and had to figure out 5 different spices via touch, smell, and taste.

The team from Daniel were very thoughtful on their decision. Too bad it wasn't the right one. But that's what makes it a competition! This one was tough!

I also saw the group from Great Performances figure out the first spice.

They worked together well and quickly answered correctly. I later found out that they were one of a few groups to guess the last (and hardest to guess) spice correctly.

After this challenge, I popped back outside and was witness to some of the most unusual food challenges I've ever seen. Stay tuned for part 2!

This Would So Be Me - Comic

Another comic that involves dessert and happens to remind me of me!
From: F Minus
http://comics.com/f_minus/2011-02-11/

Bake well and prosper!

A Little Thanksgiving Humor

Hats off to Off the Mark. They did it again. They made me smile.

Check out Gravy Boats for a little holiday humor.

I love it!

Bake well and prosper!

Spilled Milk

Last night I decided to have a nice, soothing glass of milk before going to bed. (Ok, I drank it while eating one of the cupcakes from my last post. I can't deny it.) The milk carton was almost empty so I tilted to let it all out. Unfortunately it speed out and produced this horror.

I thought about how I shouldn't cry over spilled milk. I was considering crying seeing I had JUST cleaned all the specks of powdered sugar on that counter top. But then I thought I would take a picture to share with you.

That's when I heard it.

While I was picture taking the milk was doing this:

Yep. Dropping off the side of the cabinet and onto the floor. But don't worry. I hadn't just cleaned the floor so it was ok. Well, I mean, it was ok besides the fact that I had to clean it up off the dirty floor...

And to think I made a mess in my kitchen without even baking!

Yeah. I think I'll just go ahead and cry.

Bake well and prosper!

Just Some Silliness

As some of you might know, I occasionally post comics from Off the Mark. Well, seeing that I am on a baking taper after the marathon of apple recipes (runners will understand this), and seeing that Off the Mark has a really funny baking comic today, I'm sharing another good comic strip to check out:

Off the Mark: He's A Mix

Also, just in case you wanted MORE giggles, check out my Halloween costume: Babe-raham Lincoln.

Bake well and propser.

More Silliness

I really liked Off the Mark's comic today. It reminded me that I used double stuffed Oreos for my Oreo Ice Cream recipe. Thank goodness it wasn't oriels! See comic here:
http://comics.com/off_the_mark/2010-08-18/

Also, remember when I shared with y'all the cool little fellow I make with peas when I eat them? (If not, refresh memory here: I'm the Next Charlie Chaplan)

Well, guess what I discovered this morning with blueberries!
(Bad blackberry photo coming up - just deal...)

I wonder if the blueberry eyed monster wants the green peas eyed monster to buy her a drink....

OK. Enough silliness for now.

Bake well and prosper!

More Funnies!

And you thought your cake wreck ruined a birthday. Check out the new funny dessert related comic from Off the Mark.

Bake well and prosper!

Attack of the 50 Millimeter Cookie

WARNING: You might gain 5 pounds of weight just looking at the following cookies.

The mission, since I chose to accept it:
Put the brownie in the cookie dough and bake the cookie. (A→B=COOKIE)
I can't deny that I wasn't afraid of this mission. I mean, an entire 1/2 cup of dough for one cookie?!! That's just crazy!

Well, troops, I did battle in my kitchen and took this glob of dough and smacked a brownie in it.
Above, you can see the size of the beast compared to a normal spoon. Stop shuddering. It's going to be ok. As seen below, I attacked that beast and balled it all up.

Then I put those monsters on a tray and entrapped them in a small and hot compartment AKA The Oven.

To my surprise, the plan worked. The dough didn't take over the pan. Instead, it transformed into scrumptious cookies! (You can put your Uzis down now.) Brownie Pillow Cookies (found at the always wonderful Bakerella's site) 1 package brownie mix (I used my Supernatural Brownie recipe, of course)

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda1

2 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make brownies according to package and let cool. Cut about ten 1 inch squares. Enjoy the remaining brownies.

For the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter with a mixer until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add flour to butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in mini chips.

Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a measuring cup to scoop batter by the 1/2 cup. Since it’s chilled, you may need to pack it with a spoon. Then use the spoon to remove the dough from the cup and place it on parchment paper. Work quickly so the dough remains chilled or either prepare one cookie at a time so the rest of the dough remains cold.

After the dough is on the parchment paper (Erika's Extra - I've never used parchment paper), make an indention and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center. Press the brownie down gently and work the remaining dough around the brownie. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. (Erika's Extra - I found that once the brownie was covered, it was a good idea to pinch some of the extra dough off so the cookies weren't TOO large.)

If your dough gets too soft, you can chill the rolled dough balls for a few minutes right before baking.

Prepare six cookies at a time using a large baking sheet (15 X 20) and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about ten cookies using a little less than a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie.

If your cookies start to get too brown before they are done baking, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over top for the last few minutes.

Bake well and prosper!

Comics, How I Love Thee

Yes, this is another midweek interruption to say, once again, that I LOVE comics. I'm considering marrying them. It's true! Off the Mark has provided me (and all the other people reading the comics) this little gem of food fun: http://comics.com/off_the_mark/2010-07-12/

For more, visit http://www.comics.com/

Bake well and prosper!

Monday Distraction via Off the Mark

There is something about Off the Mark and their comics that get me every time! Or maybe it's something about baking birds that I find funny? (See 1st Off the Mark post: Thank You, Off the Mark) Either way, enjoy this distraction from your Monday work day. :)
http://comics.com/off_the_mark/2010-06-21/

For more, visit http://www.comics.com/.

Bake well and prosper!

Girl & Boy Meet

I recently went to a friend's engagement party and ended up making cupcakes because a guest (and friend of mine) asked me to bring some. (Hi Michelle!)

I had a box of organic vanilla cake mix bequeathed to me from some people who left my apartment building. (For more info, see here: Me, as told by Cupcakes) So, to make more shelf space in my tiny apartment, I decided to whip up some quick cake batter. I also decided to decorate the cupcakes in pink and blue and added hearts to show the love of the couple (and to make them not look like they were for a baby shower.)

So now....a love story told by cupcakes:
Girl meets boy at a party.
Boy and girl start hanging out.
After many dates, laughs, mishaps, awkwardness, fun times, and miles of running, they realize that they have "love, true love" and get engaged.
(Below photo could represent the wedding...or the kids they will have.)

Ha! In all seriousness, congrats to Tiny Jenna & Tall Boy!

Recipe for cake and frosting: Me, as told by Cupcakes

(Why do cupcakes talk to me/tell stories? I should get this look at.)

Bake well and prosper!

King of the Mountain

Did you ever read Highlights (or some similar type of kid's magazine?) You know how they would have a close up shot of something and you would have to guess what it was? Well, have a go:Maybe it's a furry caterpillar?

A torn up piece of carpet?

Nope! It's a coconut cookie!
You might be wondering what it's doing in the grass. Well, that's one too many questions. Sorry.

Ok...ok... It's in the grass because it has to make its way to the top of the mountain. Obviously. Sheesh.

And it has to climb the mountain, because at the top of the mountain are the other Coconut MOUNTAIN Cookies.

Coconut Mountains (these are a LOT like macaroons) (found on http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Coconut-Mountains/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
2 cups shredded coconut

Directions
Whisk the egg and sugar together until fluffy. Stir in coconut and butter or margarine. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto greased baking trays, about one inch apart.
Bake at 350 degrees F(175 degrees C) for about 10 minutes. Cool.

Erika's Extras: First of all, no matter how much you whisk, the batter will never be fluffy. Just whisk until nicely blended (about 5-8 minutes of whisking.) Also, I found that they needed much more than 10 minutes in the oven. Take out when tops are slightly browned. ALSO, if you would like more of a macaroon shape, liberally grease a mini muffin pan, fill with a spoonful of batter, and bake.

Make sure to pop them out of the pan right away or they might be hard to get out.

Bake well and prosper!