Catering Day...

Today is the day! ...

   I got up this morning quite early as I couldn't sleep (the problem of being a baker is that you can NEVER sleep in). I started off my morning with baking my tart shells. I was feeling really good at this point as I had a lot of time to prep everything. As it was only like 6:30 am and I had to be at my destination at 2:30 pm. So I thought that I had a lot of time... Well it turns out that tart shells take about 25 minutes to bake and I only was using 3 tart tins. So if you add that up it equals 3 hours and 48 minutes. Which took a lot longer than I expected. The only problem was that I also needed my oven to bake my strawberry meringues, which equals 3 hours. So that is already 7 hours, and that wasn't even with the walnut streusel that I also had to bake off. So my day consisted of stressing out cause my oven wouldn't bake fast enough as everything had to be at different temperatures, some had to have high heat and other cool. So I ending up pulling the last tart shells out of the oven right as I was headed out the door.

  So as I was stressing out all morning wanting my oven to bake faster, I was also making lots of the other components for the dessert. Which included:

~Lemon Curd
~Tart Shells
~Strawberry Puree
~Lemon Whipped Cream
~Walnut Streusel
~Sweet Lemon Salad
~Balsamic Reduction Strawberry Salad
~Baked Strawberry Meringues


After I started with the tart shells I decided it would be a good idea to make the meringues as they took quite a long time and they needed to get done. So I made the meringue and pipped them onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper into small circles. Baked those off in about 3 hours and then started baking the walnut streusel. During that time I thought I should make the whipped cream, so I made that and got everything ready for the walnut streusel so I could bake that off as soon as the meringues were done. After that was done I started peeling my lemons! If you have ever peeled a lemon, you will know that it takes a long time and you don't get very much lemon. Good thing I didn't need that much. I decided that it was taking far to long, so I thought I would save it for the Falk's house as I had some time there to do prepping as well. It was really nice to have that thought in the back of my head as I was prepping. If I didn't have time... I could always do it there. That took a lot of stress off me, which was nice. Then I started the strawberry puree, this was an easy component to make... strawberries, sugar blend it up really nice and smooth, then heat it up again and add a little bit of cornstarch mixed with some water to thicken it up a bit.

   So once everything was done, which was from 6:30 till I had to be there... I was like 10 minutes late! But that was fine, cause Hiro (Yoshi, the chef) originally wanted my there at 3. So it was okay.

   Once I got there I unloaded all my stuff, put on my chef's jacket and started transferring all my baked goods into deli containers. Which are very handy by the way. Once the other chef got there and all the servers and dish washers we got the run down of things, and it turned out that I was going to be cooking with Jill (the other chef). I did not know this. So it was a bit surprising but I was excited for this challenge. We were to make the risotto and heat up the vegetables and get the Turducken ready as well. Well also helping plate and clean up at the same time. Jill and I had everything down to perfect timing! Everything ran so smoothly it was simply amazing! It couldn't have gone any better, I was sure that something was going to go wrong. But nothing did! It was a fantastic night. Full of good times, wonderful people, AMAZING food and a great atmosphere. It couldn't have gone any better! And once the dessert rolled around it got even better! The plating was absolutely perfect, there was attention to detail and it was simply perfection. The one thing I love about food is that it can be so plan... but once you add a chef, the whole dynamic changes. It goes from being a simple dish into an extravagant masterpiece. I was so proud. This is definitely something that brings joy into my life. Besides the stressfulness of everything, it is just amazing to see how everyone can work together so well to make something so amazing. When everything works out, that is what brings me joy! It is simply amazing what we can do when we set out mind to it. So now that the day is done, and everything was amazing. I am off to bed. For a wonderful sleep. There will be pictures to come soon... hopefully. If I can get them from the photographer. Also check out all the recipes as well.

Here is the menu:

Yarrow Alliance Church Leadership Dinner

October 29^th, 2011

23 guests

Cheese Reception:

Bleubry, Le Saint-Raymond, Le Cendrillon,

Le Triple Creme DuVillage, Sir Laurier D’Arthabaska, Cantonnier

Cobs Fruit Bread Crisps,

Walnuts, Grapes, Cranberry

~

Frisee and Chive Salad

Egg, Bacon, 

Pickled Shallot, Radish,

Burnt Lemon Vinaigrette

~

“Turducken”

Braised Turkey, Chicken, and Duck Leg

Orzo “Risotto,” Cauliflower Puree,

Roasted Baby Vegetables,

Natural Jus

~

“Lemon and Strawberry”

Lemon Curd Tart, Strawberry Meringue,

Walnut Streusel, Mint

Chef: Hiro “Yoshi” Takeda

Sous Chef: Jill Teerink

Pastry Chef: Tessa Isaak

*please check out my blog: yoshifood.wordpress.com

RECIPES:

Sweet Lemon Salad

Lemon segments, cut up

Simple Syrup

Black Pepper

Mix altogether, should taste a little bit acidic but not to over powering. :)

Walnut Streusel 

1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 pinch salt

1/4 c. butter, cubed

1/2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped

Stir flour, sugar, and salt to blend. Cut in butter with a pastry blender and stir in walnuts. Bake in oven until a bit crispy, about 8 minutes at 350*F. 

Baked Strawberry Meringues 

2 pkg. Strawberry koolaid

12 egg whites

3 c. sugar

3/4 t. cream of tartar

2 fresh strawberries, almost minced 

Beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar together until white and foamy. Slowly add the sugar and the koolaid, beat until stiff. Fold in the strawberries and pipe small circles onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 225*F until crispy. About an hour. Maybe and hour and a half. 

Tart Pastry

I box tender-flake lard

5 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. salt

1 T. vinegar

1 egg, lightly beaten

Ice cold water

Mix together flour and salt. Cut tender-flake lard with knife into small chunks, and cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender, until it resembles coarse oatmeal.  

In a one cup measuring cup, combine egg and vinegar. Add water until it reaches the 1 cup line. Add only enough water to make dough cling together* 

Gather into ball and divided into 6 portions. If desired you can wrap it and refrigerate or freeze it at this point. Otherwise use it for what you would like. If it is really sticky then refrigerate  for an hour or two. 

Lemon Whipped Cream

1/2 c. whipping cream

1 T. icing sugar

1/2 t. lemon zest (finely chopped)

1 t lemon juice

Place all ingredients into a bowl and whip until medium peaks form. 

Lemon Curd

Zest of 2 lemons, in wide stripes

Juice of 2 lemons, strained

2 eggs, 3 egg yolks

6 T. sugar

1/4 c. butter

Whisk together lemon zest, juice, eggs, sugar and butter into a pot over a pot with lightly simmering water. Stirring consistently until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Once this happens keep stirring for about 3 minutes until the curd coats the back of a spoon. Do not let the curd boil* 

Remove from heat. With a rubber saptula, push the curd through a medium-mesh sieve, into a clean dry bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto the curd so taht is doesn’t form a skin. Poke a few holes in teh plastic wrap with the tip of a knife so that steam can escape. Refrigerate until well chilled. About 3 hours, or up to 5 days. 

Makes about 1 cup. 

enjoy! 

Recipe # 6 ~ Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping and Pecans and Caramel

So I really Like anything pumpkin, and Thanksgiving is a fantastic time to make many things out of pumpkin! It is a great holiday! 

So this year for my Mom's side of the family, I made a pumpkin cheesecake! and it was seriously the best pumpkin cheesecake I had EVER made. It was delicious! I am definitely making this one again. So to start off with this recipe I needed ginger snaps for my crust. And guess what? I didn't have any... So I just made some day of and dried them out, put them in the oven and processed them in my food processor. I just love food processors! They are fantastic. 

So this cheesecake is definitely home made! At least the way I made it :) Most people will probably just buy the ginger snaps. Well here is the recipe, enjoy this one! it is a keeper! Just make sure you make it the day before you are going to eat it as it has to set over night. 

Serves 12

CRUST:

2 c. gingersnap cookie crumbs

1 c. pecans

1/4 c. (packed) golden brown sugar

1/4 c. butter (melted)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray 9-inch-diameter springform pan with non-stick spray. Blend cookie crumbs, pecans, brown sugar in processor until nuts are finely ground. (Unless you like some little chunks of nuts, then not as long) Add melted butter; using on/off turns, process until crumbs stick together. Press crumb mixture into bottom and 2 inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake crust until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. 

FILLING:

4- 8 oz. pkg. philadelphia brand cream cheese (room temp.)

2 c. sugar

1- 15 oz. can pure pumpkin 

5 large eggs

3 T. flour

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. all-spice

1/4 t. salt

2 T. vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325*F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin. Add eggs one at a time, beating on low speed to blend after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add flour, spices and salt; beat just until blended. Beat in vanilla. Transfer filling to cooled crust. 

Bake cake until edges  begin to crack and filling is just set in center (filling will move only slightly in center when pan is shaken gently), about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake; chill uncovered in cake pan overnight. 

TOPPING:

2 c. mini marshmallows

1/4 c. whole milk

1 t. vanilla extract

1/8 t. salt

1 c. sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stir marshmallows in large saucepan over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Cool mixture to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Fold in sour cream. Pour topping over cheesecake and spread evenly, leaving 1/2 inch plain boarder around edges. Chill to set topping, at least an hour. 

Cut around pan sides again. Remove pan sides. Cut cheesecake into wedges and serve. 

ENJOY! 

YOSHIcatering

   Over the summer I worked at Camp Squeah which is in Hope, BC. I was the Pastry Chef for the summer, it was very fun and I got to make many things that I have always wanted to make and I also got to experiment with quite a few recipes. The head chef there is a Red Seal Chef and has worked at many well know restaurants. In the fall/winter he usually has a couple catering jobs for his friends or people that have heard of him. He is a very talented chef. For this catering job he asked me to be his pastry chef and make a dessert for 25 people. So I came up with about 15 different desserts and sent them to him. He gave me a budget and his 3 top options. The dessert that I am doing for them is a lemon curd tart, with strawberries and strawberry puree. This is what it will look like on the menu:

“Lemon and Strawberry”

Lemon Tart, Strawberry Meringue,

Walnut Streusel, Mint

   There is also lemon whipped cream, the strawberry puree, strawberries, and a sweet lemon salad. So the dessert has 8 components altogether. I have never made a dessert with 8 components before. I am very excited for this opportunity to learn and to make desserts that I have never made before. I have made my grocery list already and have everything set to go. I will hopefully get pictures of my assembled creations on the day of. I will post how things are going as the date of the catering gig gets closer. It is only 11 days away now, on the 29th of October! I also got a chefs jacket as well. Which is kinda exciting as I have always wanted one and never had a good enough excuse to get one. So I am excited about that too! 

   There are just so many exciting things that are happening and I am very excited about the many exciting things that are also going to happen. You never know which way your career is going to go in the food industry! :) 

Here is YOSHIcatering's blog if you want to see the type of food he makes and what he all does. 

http://yoshifood.wordpress.com/category/yoshicatering/

Owl Cake

    It was my Auntie's Birthday last Friday and she really likes owls! So my Mum wanted to make an owl cake for her, she phoned me at work one day and told me everything that I needed for the cake that she was going to make. So I went to Save-On-Foods and got some candy corns, black jelly beans, shortbread swirl cookies and slivered almonds.


   I got home and my Mum unfortunately didn't have enough time to make it, so she decided that I would have some time to make it for her :) So when I got home from work I started on it. And it is SO cute, and really easy. You just need a small square cake and some chocolate and vanilla butter cream icing.

Here it is!

Enjoy!

Recipe # 3 - Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Blueberry Sauce

   My sister's 20th Birthday was just last week and she requested a lemon dessert. So I decided to make a cheesecake as she LOVES baked cheesecakes. So I thought that it would be fun to take this recipe and add a type of berry. We just got a lot of blueberries so I decided to swirl some blueberry sauce into the cheesecake as well as have a blueberry sauce to garnish. Since the cheesecake in quite plain I thought it a great idea.

   One thing that I have never figured out is how to have a cheesecake that does not crack. Well one that is in a springform pan. I know that is is easier to make them thin and then they won't crack as easily, I have also heard that if you over-whip them they crack. And if you put them in a water bath it is less likely to happen. I haven't tried to many of these... maybe thats my problem :) I was going to put mine in a water bath yesterday as it suggests in the recipe but I was using a flower shaped pan with a removable bottom, so I didn't want the water to come through to the cake as it wasn't sealed properly. Well it still worked out, just a few cracks :)

Here is the recipe:

Serves 16


2 c. ground gingersnap cookies
6 T. butter, melted
5-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
2 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
7 large eggs
3 c. sour cream
2 T. finely grated lemon peel
2 T. fresh lemon juice
lemon leaves (optional)


Blueberry Sauce:

About 2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup frozen
about 3ish T. sugar (to taste)
2 T. cornstarch
3/4 c. water

To make the blueberry sauce, put all the blueberries into a medium sized pot on med-low heat. Stir every once in a while to make sure it is not burning on. Once the blueberries start to get warm and release juices, squish some of the berries with either a potato masher or pastry blender. Stir some more until they get warmer with more liquid. Add sugar and stir. Once the sugar has melted mix the cornstarch with the water in a separate bowl, get all the clumps out. Pour into the blueberry mixture and stir until it starts to thicken. Let boil and take off heat. Take about 2/3's of the mixture and blend it so there are no chunks left. Set aside to cool. Place the blueberry sauce with the blueberries in it, in the fridge. Once the cheesecake is made and in the pan, use the smooth blueberry sauce and scoop about 6 tablespoons (or how much you prefer) on to different places on the cheesecake. Then take a knife and swirl it into the cheesecake, then follow the baking directions.

Preheat oven to 350*. Stir cookie crumbs and melted butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom (not sides) of 9 inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Bake crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325*.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually mix in the sugar, then salt. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Pour filling into crust. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake cake until filling is slightly puffed and moves only slightly when the pan is shaken gently, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove cake pan from water bath. Cool cake in pan on rack for 2 hours. Chill uncovered until cold; cover and keep chilled at least 1 day up to 2 days.

Cut around pan sides to loosen cake; remove pan sides. Place cake on platter. Garnish with lemon leaves if desired. Cut cake into slices and pour some blueberry sauce over each person portion.

Enjoy!

Recipe # 1 ~ Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Well today I am going to start on going through bon appetit Desserts! The first recipe is a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. A very easy and normal one, but thats okay. I am still very excited to make all these different kinds of recipes that I have never made before :)
This is probably my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe, It is really good and I think that you will enjoy it as much as I have!


Makes about 2 dozen.

The recipe for the cookies is:

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. golden brown sugar (packed)
3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 c. pecans, toasted and chopped 


Butter 2 large baking sheets or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add both sugars, beat to blend. Add eggs and vanilla; beat to blend. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed just to blend. Stir in chocolate and nuts, if using. Cover and chill dough for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375* F. Drop dough by 2 level Tablespoonfuls unto prepared sheets, mounding one on top of the other, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are browned and tops are golden brown, 11-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

These cookies can be made one day ahead and kept in the fridge, then bake the next day :)

enjoy!

Cowboy Cookies

   I love cookies! They are so easy and they also taste so good, there is an endless possibility of cookie options. This recipe is a good one, it is a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe with added coconut and pecans. There is nothing more that I enjoy than a cookie with some kind of nut in it and coconut!

   You know when you have made a good cookie, is when you want to eat all the cookie dough before you bake them. These are those kind of cookies, I could just eat the whole bowl of cookie dough and not even bake them :) I did end up baking some thought! I hope you enjoy this recipe as I have.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies, or 2 dozen big ones ;)

2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut


Preheat oven to 350*. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugars together with a hand mixer until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans and coconut until combined.

Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop or small spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.

Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, about 11-13 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire rack, and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks. Let cool. Cookies can be stored up to 3 days in airtight container.


Enjoy!

From Mather Stewarts Living Magazine : October 2008

Recipe # 5 ~ Chewy Ginger Cookies

   I have to say that Ginger Cookies are quite good, but they were never my favourite! But these ones are actually pretty amazing. This cook book just keeps getting better and better! I didn't think it could, but every recipe is just amazing.

   I made these cookies because I was making a Pumpkin Cheesecake and I needed ginger snaps for the crust. I didn't have any and I didn't want to go drive somewhere and buy them. So I just decided to make some instead. I made one recipe, used half for the crust and the other half got eaten in about 30 minutes. That usually never happens in my house, sometimes it does but not often. My mom has a thing for freshly baked cookies... She just can't resist them :) So when I make cookies I have to put them away right aways, that is a rule she has with me. If I ever bake anything I have to give it away or put it away!

  After I made these cookies I put aside the ones I was using for the crust (about 15) and lowered the oven temperature to 200* F. I put them in the oven for probably a total of an hour, to dry them out so I could crush them for my crust. Bake until very hard :) Not the usually instructions for chewy cookies...

Makes about 2 dozen:


2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. ground ginger
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cloves
3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar (I used golden and they worked great)
3/4 c. butter, room temp.
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. mild molasses
1 large egg


Whisk flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar, butter and white sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add molasses and egg and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and mix until just blended. Cover and chill one hour. (I skipped this step cause I needed them baked right away so I could use them for my crust, so if you don't have time you can just bake them)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in additional sugar. Place on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch. About 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets about 1 minute. Carefully transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Cookies can be made 5 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature. 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins! It tis the season, once again :)

  I really wanted to make some muffins, so the other day I decided to make pumpkin ones. As I love pumpkin and it is also Thanksgiving weekend! Oh how I love Thanksgiving; well holidays all together! They are simply fantastic... But Thanksgiving is a great one. Lots of get togethers with families and lots of GREAT food I might add. This Thanksgiving I am going to make a Pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and a sour cream marshmallow topping. I am excited to make that. I will post the recipe and photos once I do make it. I think it will be wonderful.

   Well this recipe I got out of Baking: From my home to yours. By Dorie Greenspan. One of the authors of Baking with Julia. It is a fantastic cook book, one that I love and always look at. It has many simple recipes, which are the best ones. Cause they take no time at all and are always delicious. After I made these muffins I gave some to my brothers as everyone in my house doesn't really eat anything that is baked :( So I always make things for my brothers and they always love it, so it makes me happy! So I gave some of these muffins to them, and later the next day my oldest brother calls me to tell me that is absolutely loved the muffins. He said that they reminded him of some that he used to always get at Starbucks, basically tasted the exact same. So it made me happy to hear that he loved them. I thought they were pretty fantastic as well. SO delicious! Just make sure that you don't over mix the batter with this recipe otherwise you will get tunnels in your muffins and that is no good! Well enjoy this recipe cause it is a great one!

Makes 12 muffins!

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

1/8 t. nutmeg

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 t. vanilla extract

3/4 c. canned unsweetened pumpkin puree

1/4 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. pecans or walnuts

About 1/3 cup raw sunflower or pumpkin seeds for topping :)

You can also add raisins if you would like! I didn't add any but thats cause they are not my favourite :) If you do it is about 1/2 c. moist, golden raisins.

Preheat oven to 375* F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and the two sugars in a large bowl on medium speed until soft. Add eggs, beating for a minute after the eggs are incorporated, then beat in the buttermilk and vanilla. Lower speed, add dry ingredients into the batter using a rubber spatula. Stir in pecans (and raisins if using). Divide batter evenly among  the muffin cups and sprinkle with sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until thin knife inserted comes out clean. Transfer to rack and cool. Eat while still warm... they are great. Or just reheat them as muffins are always better a little bit warm. They keep for about 3-4 days in an airtight container. Or you can always freeze them for a couple months.

Enjoy!

Recipe # 4 ~ Chocolate Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

   What goes better together than peanut butter and chocolate? .... I don't think there is such a thing! Well these brownies are a great combination with the peanut butter frosting that goes along with them. They are very fudgey and also taste great frozen!


Makes about 2 dozen

BROWNIES:

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. unbleached flour
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350*. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, leaving 2 inches on both long sides. Spray foil with non stick spray, or grease with lard. Combine both chocolates and butter together in sauce pan on low heat, stir until melted and smooth. Cool until barely lukewarm. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl at high speed until mixture is thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour and salt. Then melted chocolate mixture. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Bake brownies until tester inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached. About 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack; cool 15 minutes. Using metal spatula press down brownie edges to level top. Cool Completely in pan.


FROSTING:

1 c. creamy peanut butter
3 T. butter, softened
2/3 c. icing sugar
1 t. vanilla

Place peanut butter and butter together in mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until well blended and smooth. Using metal spatula spread evenly over brownies in pan and refrigerate for at least one hour. Using foil as aid, life brownies out of pan. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

sorry there are no photos :)

Get Well Cake

This cake I made for a co-worker, as his wife just had surgery and he wanted a FarmVille cake for her. So I tried my best to make it kinda look like FarmVille, I found some pictures of the animals and used royal icing to make them. The rest is just buttercream icing with different piping tips. The cake was chocolate with a raspberry mousse filling and a vanilla buttercream icing to top.  

Enjoy! 

Recipe # 2 ~ Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

   On to the second recipe! this recipe is more for like a gourmet cookie :) It has an almond flavoured dough that is surrounded by cherries, almonds, chocolate and oatmeal. They are fantastic, almost like a granola type of cookie. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures as I was in a hurray as I was making them and baking them the next day. We were off to Granville Island and I needed some cookies so I had to get ready and bake them which equals not enough time to take some pictures. Makes about 2 dozen cookies! 

Here is the recipe:

1 c. all purpose flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

10 T. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. (packed) brown sugar

1 large egg

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. almond extract

1 c. old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. dried tart cherries

1/2 c. slivered almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 325*.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg and both extracts. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, then chocolate chips, cherries, and almonds. 

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool cookies on baking sheets, they will firm as they get cool. This cookie dough can be made about one week ahead and kept in the fridge. 

Enjoy!