The Tasty Kind of Thanks

Yes!  Finally!  I got to bake something!  It's been waaaay too long since my last baking adventure (27 days)!

And now,  in the same week I get to make cupcakes and a cake!  The cake is actually coming later.  I haven't baked it yet, although that's on my to-do list for today.  Bake a cake and finish my government project...

The cupcakes began where all cupcakes begin: the grocery store.  Dad and I went to Kroger (although I think you already knew that...) and shoped and shoped and shoped!  Finally, we had all the ingredients for a really, really big Thanksgiving meal (including ribs; yes, we had ribs on Thanksgiving).  Actually, no, we forgot the ReddiWhip, so Aunt B. had to buy some yesterday.  Anyway, I'm getting off track.  We had to buy all these ingredients...

 

  

OK, so the sprinkles weren't actually on the shopping list.  But I had a coupon and they just looked so cute!

After I baked the cupcakes, I obviously had the let them cool before I iced them.  That's just the way of the world, I suppose.  Anyway, I had to make some icing, but then I found some chocolate ganache in the freezer.  So I rewhipped the ganache and starting icing the chocolate cupcakes.

Then (and let me remind you that this is the day before thanksgiving) my parents drag us all out of the house to Frontera in order to finally (three weeks late) celebrate our good grade reports.  It was good food and I enjoyed it, but I'm still stratching my head a little bit at choosing "Thanksgiving Eve" to go out to celebrate.  Plus, I had to finish the cupcakes!

When we got home, I finished icing the 26 cupcakes... I just remember that I had 10 extra cupcakes because I ran out of icing.  I should do something with them...

Back to the task at hand:  I finished decorating the little turkeys with their icing heads and candy corn beaks and feathers...

 

And then I realized that they didn't have eyes...  By the way, I would just like to mention that talking on a cell phone while decorating cupcakes is not the smartest idea.  You're bound to drop something with that kind of multitasking.  I guess that's why they invented bluetooth, huh?

While all this turkeying around was going on, I was also baking Chex Mix.  Chex Mix which my uncle voted me to make from now on...  Anywho, I made 2 batches because I realized that when 13 of my closest relatives get together, 1 batch of Chex Mix just isn't going to cut it.  (Especially with my mom sneaking around eating it beforehand).  It's really an easy process.  I just followed the instructions and make my own substitutes:

• I used Cheez-its instead of bagel chips (couldn't find any and besides, I like Cheez-its better)
• A dash of white pepper with the other spices
• Actually, a dash extra of all the spices just to, ya know, "kick it up a notch"
• Use more corn and rice Chex than wheat.  No one eats the wheat?
• And finally, I used "party" peanuts instead of mixed nuts.

Speaking of Chex Mix, though, I would just like to add this, another reason why I don't like our oven...

See?  The butter all slides to the front of the oven: because it's not level!  Now I have photographic evidence of how lame our oven is.  At least it didn't conk out while the turkey was in it, right?

So I shall now leave you to feast upon some images from my Thanksgiving yesterday.  In the meantime, I'll get myself a slice of pecan pie and get ready to bake a cake...

(By the way: My little brother is crazy.  I don't know WHY he thought it was warm enough for shorts and flip-flops...  Also, the turkeys molted overnight.  They still tasted good, but they just weren't as feathery!)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving

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And there is so much to be done!

For starters, there are cupcakes, Chex Mix, and a cake for Sunday.
But there's also a turkey to bake, pies to bake, potatoes to bake (and then mash), casseroles to bake, bread to bake...  You get the idea.

I'm in charge of desserts, though, so that's why I'm making cupcakes today.  And maybe some cookies, if there's time.  (Chocolate chip cookies, except we're out of chocolate chips.  Gee, I guess I'll just have to use the dark chocolate M&M's...)  I can't remember if Dad bought a pecan pie or not at Kroger today, but I sure hope so.  I love pecan pie.

The Chex Mix, I am aware, is not a dessert, but it is a family staple, and as I wandered down the cereal aisle at Kroger for what seemed like the hundreth time, I saw the box of Rice Chex, the box of Wheat Chex, and the box of Corn Chex.  And I realized:  we have to have Chex Mix.  Normally my mom or aunt makes it, but I seem to recall that last year, either everyone forgot or they thought someone else was making it when in fact, no one was.  So I took it upon myself this year to make the Chex Mix.

And what about Sunday?  Sunday is the first day of Advent.  I know!  It snuck up on me too!  I had so much on my plate that I totally forgot that this is the last week of the liturgical calendar!  So, of course, as a tradition, I have to make a cake.  I already have a really good, tasty plan formulated, which I shall share in the near future.

As I am baking up a storm and trying not to make a mess in the kitchen, so that there's enough room to make a mess tomorrow, I shall leave you with this amazing video that I found on YouTube:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I just want to let you know that I am very thankful for all of you for your kind comments, suggestions, and ideas.  All the comments and e-mails I recieve from my wonderful blog readers means so much to me!  It's been a year since my first post (actually, I'm 2 days late), but it's been a great year and I look forward to many more!  I could not have done it without all of you: THANK YOU!




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Ta-Da! Cupcakes!

I actually made these cupcakes for Halloween.  Our school was hosting a blood drive (get it? Blood? On Halloween?  Anyway...) and we also had a bake sale.  So I made two dozen cupcakes.  I also made a dozen cupcakes for my Spanish class's Dia de los Muertos fiesta.  They were so yummy :-)

Here they are! (And despite- or because of- their simplicity, I do think they look darling.)

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

 And right now I've got some brownies in the oven, and I think I should follow my nose to that deliciously chocolately smell...

It's the Holiday Season

Has anyone else noticed that on November 1st (and in some places, earlier), everyone has begun to advertise Christmas?  And by everyone, I mean all the stores and businesses, like Wal-Mart, Coke, Sears, etc.  Everywhere is red and green.  I went to Wal-Mart last week and realized that I was humming along to Christmas tunes not just because of the festive decorations but because they were playing music on the loudspeakers!

Now, I love Christmas; it's my favorite time of year.  Despite the absolutely freezing temperatures, Christmas time makes me happy.  But not for the same reasons that Wal-Mart would want me to think.  It's not buying out their entire store that I love, but the atmosphere: the music, the love, the happy little kids, not being in school, etc.  So even though I'm loving all the little holiday reminders, it's really starting to annoy me when Christmas is associated with shopping.  Because that's just not right.

What I will associate Christmas-- and most holidays-- with is baking!  However, I'm going to reign in my urge to make little fondant Santas and snowmen for just a little while longer.  Right now, I have Thanksgiving to worry about.  Talk about some baking...

So as I'm planning my dessert scheming, I remember Iron Cupcake.  Last month I didn't participate in ICE because, well, I forgot.  I was sick, remember.  This month, though, I plan on making something good, and making something within the next 2 weeks.  I'm just not sure what yet.  The theme for November is Cranberries!

I do have a list of possible ingredients...

• pecans
• walnuts
• macadamia nuts
• almonds
  
• caramel
• marshmallows
• butter cream sauce
• orange juice glaze
• molasses
• pears
• zucchini
• coconut
• pumpkin
• apple
• white chocolate
• peaches
• ginger
• cheesecake
• lemon
• strawberries
• orange
• cream cheese icing
• chocolate
• chocolate chips
• white chocolate icing
• pineapple

So, based on that list, I'm going to make some cupcakes including one or more of those ingredients.  But not all of them.  That would be a little... excessive. ;-)

While I'm thinking and baking and humming along to "Let It Snow" (even as I wish that it doesn't get anywhere near cold enough to snow), I hope that all of you are getting into the holiday season as well.  Because we have a lot of fun baking ahead of us! :-)

The Flaming Fort

**Most toys not harmed in the making of this cake**

My little brother has hit the double digits.  He is now a proud ten-year-old!  And of course, what better to celebrate and comemerate such an occation than a cake with toy soliders on it?

Now I realize that when you look at this cake, it may not look like my best effort:  it kind of leans to the side, there are definite crumbs in the icing, and speaking of icing, I did a poor job of smoothing it down.  But fear not!  The appearant lack of perfection in this cake is exactly what I was going for.  And when I say "I," I mean to include my little brother too.  Because James definitely helped.

He picked out the cake mix (silly lemon cake lover!) and we baked cupcakes together.  Why cupcakes?  It was his idea.  Then together we took the cupcakes and some yummy cream cheese icing and created a fort.  Not a castle.  Oh, no, no, no, no, no!  Most certainly not a castle!  It's a fort.  After we stacked up all the cupcakes, I iced the outside walls and the roof.  Unfortunately, 34 cupcakes stacked up on top of each other isn't very stable.  One misstep with that icing spatula and I could've knocked down an entire wall!  So I had to be very careful.

For the finally touches (after I piped on some doors and windows.  Windows which apparently weren't appropriate for a fort, I might add), James and Mom cleaned off some of his new army men and placed this strategically on the cake.

That wasn't the end of it, though!  Dad, of course, had to pull out the sparklers.  Candles just weren't good enough for this cake.  And so, as we all joined in a chorus of "Happy Birthday," the sparklers  sparked happily on the top of the cake.  Until...

Yes, that's right.  One unfortunate solider got caught in the crossfire and, well, caught on fire.  Thankfully, he survived, even if his arm didn't.  And James had a fun story to tell at school the next day!