{ let there be cake! }

I have a friend who is the most wonderfully sarcastic lesbian you will ever meet in your life!  She is British (of course!) and married an LPGA Pro she had been shacked up with for years while the two of them were at a tourney in California last month.... since they don't keep love apart over there.  But that's another topic... I'm not here to get on my political soapbox, don't you worry!

When they got home and shared the story of their court house nuptials, my besties and I jumped into action and threw a "wedding reception" of sorts for the lucky ladies.  While the others "pot-lucked" the food, I took charge of the cake!

Here is my inspiration...

In this pic {above} that is a fondant cake, with the lines hand rolled in.  Then you take a dot of buttercream to hold those little pearls in place.  Top it off with a fondant bow and voilà!  Except.... not so much!  I am so new at working with fondant that I smusshed it in too much and had my lines all out of whack.  I must've taken it off and replaced it 2-3 times before I collapsed on the floor in my kitchen with my head in my lap crying.  My fiancé knows me so well.... he immediately poured me a humungo glass of red wine that was practically half the bottle!  

After that little meltdown, I decided to scrap the fondant top and just stick with buttercream frosting and a bow!  So... I made the prettiest bow ever and tried to spray it with this silver food dye spray can stuff and BIG MISTAKE! 

{I know... tragic}

Round 2! No spray paint...

I let it set up with these baking liners, but you can also use wax paper rolled up :)

{ even walker helped cheer me up... }

And here is the finished product!  Vanilla Chiffon cake, chocolate mouse and fresh strawberry filling with chocolate red wine cake layered in the middle.  YUMMM!

Here are the recipes I used.... my only advice.... SCREW FONDANT! lol  

(except for the bow - that came out pretty)

Ta ta,

Lisa

Vanilla Chiffon Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup canola oil

5 large eggs, separated

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees 

1. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl then mix well.

2. Pour-in the cold water, canola oil, egg yolks, and vanilla extract then whisk until the texture becomes smooth. Set aside.

3. Transfer the egg whites in a separate mixing bowl and combine cream of tartar.

4. Beat the egg white and cream of tartar mixture using an electric mixer (high speed) until texture becomes fluffy. (medium peaks forming)

5. Beat-in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar a teaspoonful at a time and continue mixing until everything is properly distributed.

6. At this point, you should have two mixing bowls with different mixtures. Combine the egg white mixture with the egg yolk mixture gradually by folding the egg white mixture in the egg yolk mixture (start with 1/4 of the egg white mixture followed by another 1/4 until everything is fully combined).

7. Grease two 9-10″ round cake pan and pour-in the folded mixture equally.

8. Bake both cake pans for 33 minutes.

Let the pans cool on a rack before transferring the cake to cool over night.

Chocolate Red Wine Cake

 1 cup butter

 1 cup white sugar

 4 eggs

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1/2 cup red wine

 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1.   Preheat oven to 360 degrees F (170 degrees C). Grease an 9 inch cake pan.

2.   In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and eggs until smooth and creamy; add the vanilla and chocolate chips and mix well.

3.   In a small bowl, mix baking powder and flour; add to creamed mixture.

4.   Add red wine and mix well, but not for too long. Add cocoa powder to taste.

5.   Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour; let cool and decorate. 

Dark Chocolate Mousse Filling

1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1/2 tablespoon water

1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1.   In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until softened.

2.   Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream until softly whipped. Refrigerate until chilled, about 10 minutes.

3.   In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat the coffee liqueur at high power until hot, about 45 seconds. Stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved.

4.   In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt at high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. While beating the yolks, beat in the coffee-gelatin liquid; scrape the side and bottom of the bowl. Beat in the melted chocolate. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream in 2 additions.

5.   Scrape the mousse into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

and last but not least... THE SIMPLEST AND TASTIEST VANILLA BUTTERCREAM RECIPE TUTORIAL EVER!

Good luck!

{ office humor }

At my last job, the company was showing signs of going under long before I was laid off... one of them being those wretched words "the money will be here in two weeks!" when I was not paid time and time again.  Another, was the increase of free time in my workday!  Here is how I passed the time...

Happy hump day!  Hope you get as giggly as I do when I see these ;)

Ta ta,

Lisa

{ thanks for coming! }

Keeping with the "southern soirée" theme Jamie had going at her engagement party, I made her some thank you's!  By the way, it was a HUGE hit, with over 80 party people in attendance!!! They smoked a TON of bbq pork shoulder, had a never ending supply of low country boil, and a drink bar that even motivated the elderly attendees to shake their asses.... in their walkers!  I mean, everyone loves vodka gummy bears, non? 

Anywho...  here are the thank you's I made for her to send out to her guests and gift givers :)  

...enjoy!

xox

Lisa Marie

{ braided chicken & bacon pizza bread }

There are lots of recipes out there for braided this and that... dumpster bread (toss in any leftovers), spaghetti bread (why would you want noodles AND bread?!?!) and then my personal fave... pizza bread!
I came up with braided chicken & bacon pizza bread to make it my own...

Prep time: 10-20 mins
Cook time: about 1 hour (25 mins for chicken and 18-20 for the bread)

what you'll need

1 package of pre-made pizza dough (usually found in the bakery dept. of your local grocery store... I used the multi-grain dough)
1-2 cups of spaghetti sauce (I highly highly recommend a flavorful sauce, such as Classico's sausage and peppers or spicy tomato and basil)
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped roughly
6-7 leafs of fresh picked basil, chiffonade (meaning cut into thin strips)***
1 whole chicken breast, or two filets
4-5 strips of thick cut, smoked bacon
Steak seasoning (or roughly ground salt and pepper) to taste (my "go-to" secret ingredient in cooking is McCormack's Grill Mates Montreal Steak... it has onion, garlic, salt and pepper!)
1 8oz block of mozzarella cheese
1 8oz block of white cheddar cheese
flour (for the surface)
1 Tb olive oil
garlic powder
parsley
1 egg

***a tip for the perfect chiffonade basil cuts = remove the stems and stack the basil leaves on top of each other, largest on the bottom.  Roll length-wise like you're gunna smoke it ;)  watching those fingers, use a SHARP large chef's knife and slice away from you in a fluid motion***

the process

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 F
2.  Wash, pat dry, and slice your chicken breast into two thin filets.  Season to taste with your steak seasoning, then wrap each filet with 1-2 slices of bacon.
3.  Cook chicken for 23-24 minutes.  (I made a couple extra slices at this point, leftovers for dinner tomorrow... just pop em back in the oven under high broiler to warm em and crisp up the bacon!)

4.  While the chicken is baking, chop up the garlic and set aside.  Chiffonade the basil, set aside.  Cut up the whole block of mozzarella, and 1/2 of the block of white cheddar cheese into smaller cubes, set aside. I like alot of cheese, so if this is too much, adjust to your desired amount.

5.  Flour your work surface and and hands to work with the pizza dough.  Use a rolling pin to shape it into a rectangle of your desired thickness, approximately the size of a baking sheet.  

6.  Spoon your sauce down the center in a strip about 4" wide, leaving enough dough on each side to wrap later.  Also, leave about 1/2" on the top and bottom of the dough. Put the rest of your sauce in a small saucepan on low heat so you have a dipping sauce when you are ready for it. 

7.  Pile on your fresh garlic and basil.

8.  At this time your chicken should be ready... (everyone's oven, chicken thickness, altitude, etc differs so always always always check your chicken for doneness!)  Remove from the oven and take one breast to a cutting board.  Slice it into thin strips width wise, then make a slice length wise so that the chicken pieces are manageable.  Pile it on the saucy dough ;)

9.  Last but not least, add your cheese!  pile it on high with no fear... the dough will stretch!

10.  Next is the fun part!  Take a paring knife and cut the sides of the dough into about 1" strips.  Make sure you have the same qty on both sides.  Leave the top and bottom as one large piece.

11.  Start at one end and grab the end of the dough and fold it in like you would a diaper. Then begin alternating strips, pulling from one side then the other across the top of your pile.  When you get about half way down, stop and go to the other end and begin working your way to the middle.

12.  When your baby is all tucked in, brush with egg whites, then sprinkle with garlic powder and parsley.  I also took a cheese grater and added a little white cheddar to the top... optional. 

13.  Cover a baking sheet with foil and olive oil, making sure there is a decent layer of oil on it.  Transfer (very carefully) your finished product to the baking sheet.  Bake for about 17-20 minutes (depending on how thick your crust is). 

When you remove it from the oven, WAIT ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES!  This is the hardest part for me... I am always so excited to see how it comes out!

After you patiently await it's cooling, transfer to a cutting board and use a bread knife (with a serrated blade) to slice your masterpiece as you would bread.

Serve with a side of the sauce and prepare to impress ;)

'til next time!

xox

Lisa Marie

{ will you be my bridesmaid? }

I am in love with all of the cute ideas out there for brides these days!  One of my faves is the "will you be my bridesmaid?" proposals!  I've seen everything from cute gift boxes with ring pops to custom cards.  My co-worker, Jamie, is getting married and I am really really enjoying her asking my help with all things papery! Here is what I made for her to give her lucky ladies: 

xox,

Lisa Marie

{ I hear bells everywhere! }

There's a conspiracy afoot.... everyone is getting married!  This includes my co-worker... I had a little extra time on my hands recently and was delighted to help out a friend with her engagement party invitations.  

The theme:  Southern Soirée aka Low country boil & good old-fashioned fun!

For the invitation, she showed me 4 or 5 that she liked, but couldn't decide!  So, I combined wording and details from each of them and made her a custom invite...

We went to Michaels for some scrapbook textured paper, cut it out to the shape of the jar for some background accenting, and used the double stick foam pillows to give it some height.  We used variations of yellow polkadot, yellow plaid and yellow & white swirls.  For the final touch, we used twine and tied it around the neck of the jar... and voila!  

xox,
Lisa Marie