Masterchef: 7/12/2011

Gordon Ramsay is as delicious as my Coconut Cream Pie Cupcakes...ok with that said, I shall move on to my account of this date's episode. First and foremost, Christian is a complete ass, and I look forward to the day he gets kicked off. His arrogance stinks as bad as a blue cheese filet that has been left out in the smoldering sun for 7 days. Last week when he disagreed with the judges about his dish, I was yelling at the tv and had to calm myself down to prevent going into preterm labor...his dish looked like something you would find on another planet, and I sure as Hell wouldn't have eaten it. I was shocked when he pulled through and made it to be one of the captains for this last episode. His team had to create a veggie, a meat, and a dessert in small bites for a fancy schmancy Hollywood party. His team did a double layer gazpacho, and Adriane created this dish. It had a green botton and a red top it looked delightful and based on looks was the one I would have voted for. Seeing this dish has really inspired me to look for a gazpacho recipe. I mean think about it...hot summer day....cold tomatoey soup with fresh vegetables all pureed into a crisp refreshing party for your mouth. YUM! I wonder if I could find a very similar recipe to the one created last night. I believe the bottom had like a guacamole type soup, and I love me some guac! Ok, moving along...

His second dish was a beef tartar. Really? Really Christian??? Not everyone that is fancy schmancy likes completely raw beef. I pretty much order my beef mooing at me, but tartar is way too much for me. So much so that if I was one of the people at the party I wouldn't have even tried it, and rather asked him what the fudge nuggets he was thinking. I will admit, he is a bit sexy in his own way, which may have made it a little difficult to give him a piece of my mind, but sexy or not...his beef would not have touched my delicate palette.

Third dish was a super cute profiterole, with a raspberry and espresso bean on top. This was darling! The other team also tried to create a profiterole, but Esther messed up 2 batches of the batter for the pastry, and a quick decision by team leader, Ben, gave their team a small cupcake liner full of fruit and cream....did I mention these were to be finger foods? It was cute to watch people try to eat them, and even cuter to see Ben try to pull it off as though this dessert was meant to be shot like an oyster into your mouth.

Ben's team also created a gazpacho which Suzy created. This girl needs a reality check. I don't know who blew so much smoke up her ass but she is not nearly as talented as she believes herself to be, and this episode may have been the turning point for her to realize she may need to up her game and brush up her skills. So in the Esther got the boot for messing up desserts twice....my bad but aren't desserts what she claims to be her forte? Well bye bye Esther and I for one am not sad to see her go. I found her quite annoying.

Sorry for posting this a week late...lots going on these days...ha! That's a good one right? The truth is I used up all the date on our cell phone tethering plan so I was sans internet for about a week and a half. Lots of blogging to do to make up for this so keep reading!!!

I Made Dinner!!! Woot Woot!

For the first time I think ever, I used the meat that I insisted we buy. Typically what happens is I insist we buy whatever because I am going to make whatever and then the meat sits in the fridge for a few days and because I am a freak when it comes to spoiled food, I throw it out and we make mini pizzas for dinner. Well, not this time! I had Nathan get some tilapia fillets, fresh tilapia fillets, and I made the dish you see to the left. One bite and the hubs said it was really good, and was sad we didn't buy more than 2 fillets! Wow, I thought! Go me! Last night's dinner was all homemade, with the exception of the pasta. I made the sauce for it, but I am not up to making my own noodles just yet. The menu included Red Pepper Parmesan Tilapia, Creamy Noodles (from a healthy cookbook nonetheless) and steamed broccoli fresh from Nathan's garden! A healthy dinner to round out the healthy day I had already had. I've decided healthy meals must be a part of our life because being on this modified bedrest thing means change your diet or buy new clothes in a much bigger size. I choose the former. So here's the recipes for last night's dinner. Enjoy!

Red Pepper Parmesan Tilapia

4 Fresh Tilapia Fillets
Egg Wash
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp italian seasonings
1tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp pepper
Mix the dry ingredients together, dip fish in egg wash and then in dry mix. Place in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Creamy Noodles:
8 oz uncooked thin spaghetti
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBLS butter
6 oz low fat cream cheese
3 TBLS reduced fat sour cream
3 TBLS Skim Milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning
1/4 tsp white pepper


Cook spaghetti according to package directions, Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute garlic in 1 TBLS butter until tender, Add Cream cheese, sour cream, milk, salt, onion powder, cajun seasoning, pepper and remaining butter. Cook until just smooth do not boil. Remove from heat
Drain spaghetti toss with cream sauce, serve immediately. Yum!
 

If Not MasterChef, Perhaps a Business?

I've been catching up on Masterchef, and I must say I am getting worried. I know last year's winner Whitney Miller was mostly a baker, but since starting this journey, I have made 1 real entree and a ton of desserts. I must say I am much better at desserts. It's so weird because the people in my life who are excellent chefs, the hubs, the mother-in-law etc. cannot bake...or so they claim. So why is it this girl who has spent very few hours of her life in the kitchen has this knack for baking? Perhaps it's my calling? I really enjoy it, and they say if you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life right? Right!

Well, with that said, it seems as though another potential opportunity to open a bakery/cafe or restaurant is back in the mix. There was an opportunity last winter, but it didn't work out for various reasons. I have met someone who has an excellent background in getting businesses up and running, and to boot she is an awesomely creative person who is great at decorating, which I am not afraid to admit is my downfall currently. I will show you a pic to prove this with a funny story in a moment. So, in addition to focusing on learning actual cooking skills in order to fulfill my dream of meeting Gordon Ramsay and being a contestant on Masterchef, I will be researching how to open a bakery/cafe. I have a great concept for one, but that's on the down on the low for now...wow! What I meant to say was "on the down low," but I got distracted by Wayne Brady rapping about corn on "Let's Make a Deal." Yikes! ADD anyone? Ok, so back to blogging now, I will share tips on this blog about opening a business as well as a few other things. This blog will now have the following weekly blog features: 1. Dick's Picks  2. Random facts and photos of my dreamboat Gordon Ramsay himself  3. A weekly update of what occurred on Masterchef and I am hoping to have a guest blogger each week to blog about something cooking related. Also, this creative friend of mine also made a great suggestion to blog about some things I come across I may not be familiar with for example, she said she was watching Masterchef and they had to use white asparagus, which she knew nothing about nor do I so the suggestion was to research and blog about it. So that will also be a blog you may come across. Alright, friends, we have a focus! Woo hoo!!!! And when I meet the famed Gordon Ramsay, I will for sure blog about that!

Ok, funny story and picture time...so about a week and a half ago, I asked my brother and his wife if they were in need of a cake for the party they were having on the 9th. My brother said to ask the wife, and so I waited for a response from her. She was quick to get back to me until I offered my baking services, and then...nothing! I sort of figured she was trying to spare my feelings because one of the cakes I made that I took over there not too long ago was one of my flops so she didn't want me to make it. Even though I assured her I fixed the problems I didn't want to force my cake on them ya know? So, anyway I dropped it. That was on Saturday the 2nd. Didn't hear anything back so I didn't worry about it. Monday we all got together and she says "so are you making the cake for Saturday?" Me: "um, yea of course!" I was excited but freaking out because now I had less time to plan. I tried reaching both of them about who the cake was for etc, nothing...in their defense the out of town relatives were staying with them so they were extra busy. By Friday about 4pm I still had heard nothing so I said "screw it, I am making cupcakes." I call my mom to tell her and no sooner do I hang up, my brother texts me to make the cake say "hurt me." AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! OK, fine. My future business partner was coming over so I decided I would whip out the cakes and still make cupcakes because a lot of people were going to be there. Long story short, I made the cakes Friday but had to decorate em' Saturday. I felt so rushed and had nothing to make fondant and barely enough to make buttercream frosting. I had to use my left over red royal icing from the 4th of July. I spent an hour trying to make that damn buttercream smooth...I am getting annoyed just thinking about it. I wrote Congrats on 36 years Ray on the top and hurt me all over the rest with red dots...it looked like a 1st grader did it! It was awful. My creative partner, trying to make me feel better said it sort of fit with the theme "hurt me." AHHHHH! How sweet, but I thought it looked awful and I was really hoping getting my cake in front of people would sort of start the business slowly by just baking for people's parties when asked, but I am not so sure that's going to happen now, but we shall see.
So, here it is....

Coconut Cream Pie Cupcakes: A Delight for the Senses

First and foremost, sincerest apologies for being absent this past week. With out of town relatives in town, and Fourth of July festivities, and annual parties etc it has been one hectic week! But now things have calmed down and I can share with you the delight that is Coconut Cream Pie Cupcakes. I made this Wednesday for the out of town relatives that came over. There were about 11 people here, I made 24...and I had to eventually take a few and hide em' for Richard and Mary (the inlaws). With Richard's affinity for Coconut Cream Pie, I knew I had to save a few or I would never hear the end of it. Mary gave me the best compliment I received from anyone which was "best cupcake I have ever tasted." And coming from another "foodie" that means a lot. Even the hubs went crazy for em. I cannot even describe the taste, but I can tell you, you will be the hit of the party if you bring these adorably delicious cupcakes! Enjoy!
Coconut Cream Pie Cupcakes:
Cake Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Cream Pie Filling:
3/4 Sugar
3 TBLS Corn Starch
2 Cup Whole Milk
3 EggYolks (Save Whites!)
1 Tbls Coconut Extract
1/2 Cup Flaked Coconut
1 TBLS Butter

Merengue:
3 Egg Whites
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp cream de tartar
6TBLS Sugar

Directions for the Cake: Preheat oven to 350
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.
Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

Once cooled, core a hole in the center of the cupcake to fill with the cream pie filling. Top with merengue in a swirl pattern using Wilton's cake tips and bags, and bake until merengue browns at 375.

Cream Pie Filling Recipe:
Mix sugar and corn starch in a pot. Add Milk and Egg yolks, mix together and put on heat. Medium heat works best, but if you're in a hurry you can put it on high just do not stop stirring. Cook til thickens. Take off heat and add remaining ingredients.

Merengue:

For Merengue, beat first 3 ingredients until soft peaks form. Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook will tell you this only takes a minute...they are liars! Your merengue should look like this before you add sugar. Once it looks like that begin adding tablespoons of sugar one at a time. Beat merengue until stiff white peaks appear. Add it to the top of your cupcakes, and bake at 375 until merengue begins to brown. Eat and enjoy!


A few things that helped make this recipe a success:
Now obviously you can use any cupcake pan, but to make the merengue super cute the 53 piece decorating set from Wilton is a must have. Making your cupcake standout with these tools is a breeze, and I am not a good decorator at all!!! Wilton helps make you look like a decorating superstar!


Much love and Happy cooking,
Amelia

Pineapple Upside Down Cake: A New Recipe from the Pro, Cousin Kelly!!

Nom om om, excuse me while I wipe the drool from the keyboard.........ok, back. Wow! I would never have thought to make a pineapple upside down cake, but I am sure glad we did. This was delightful, and a must take to a summer party. The texture is light and fluffy, not quite a regular cake, not quite angel food cake, but pure delightfulness for your taste buds. Also, a quick and easy make. Usually when I make a cake or anything, I literally use every measuring cup we have, every bowl, every everything! The hubs gets mad because he claims he is the one who always cleans up...not true by the way, but with this recipe you barely need any utensils! Enjoy it friends!!!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup melted butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Can Sliced Pineapples (20 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs seperated
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
9 marachino cherries

Directions:
1. In 9" ungreased pan, combine the butter and brown sugar. Drain Pineapple Juice, reserving 1/3 cup. Arrange 9 pineapple slices in bottom of pan on top of brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle pecans over pineapples.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks, until thick. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Blend in vanilla and 1/3 cup pineapple juice. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Then add that to the egg mixture.
3. In a second bowl, beat the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Spread on top of pineapples.
4. Bake at 375 Degrees for 30-35 minutes.

A few tips from Kelly:

1. When you beat the egg whites, your beaters must be extremely clean! Egg whites are finicky!
2. Folding is not the same as stirring. Be very careful when you fold in the egg whites as to not mess up their texture. This step is key to proper baking of the cake.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

Strawberry Cake Layer:
Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 (1.5 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4-1/4 cup strawberry puree made from frozen sweetened strawberries Depends on your liking for measurement

Chocolate Cake:
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot, brewed coffee
2 eggs

Strawberry Cake Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely. 

Chocolate Cake Directions:

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt.

Add oil, milk, vanilla, coffee, and eggs; beat well. Batter will be thin. Pour into two 9 inch greased and floured round pans.

Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or when top springs back when done. Cool layers on wire racks. 

****For decorating I used chocolate buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant, please feel free to make your own alterations to any of the following. 

 
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
  This recipe was take from Wilton.com and can be found here. 
decorating or spreading—make thicker or thinner by following our tips.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 3-4 tablespoons milk

Instructions:  

Step 1

Stiff Consistency: In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add cocoa and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Step 2

Chocolate Mocha Icing: Substitute cold brewed strong coffee for milk in Chocolate Buttercream recipe.

Darker Chocolate Icing: Add an additional 1/4 cup cocoa (or one additional 1 oz. square unsweetened chocolate, melted) and 1 additional tablespoon milk to Chocolate Buttercream Icing.

For Thin (Spreading) Consistency Icing: Add 3-4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

Marshmallow Fondant
This recipe was found here 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
• 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp water
• Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional

Preparation:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar. Place the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now. Instead, refer to step 6 below for instructions.
3. Add the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.
4. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto the prepared work surface. It will be sticky and lumpy, with lots of sugar that has not been incorporated yet--this is normal. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.
5. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.
6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.

Fourth of July Awesomeness

 Well, here it is the cake I wrote about in my last post...the cake for the fourth of July party with the hub's side. I woke up at 7 and began the marshmallow fondant. Yes, a brave venture seeing as the day before was a huge mess and more stress than one person needs while baking. But like they always say "if at first you don't succeed, drink some vodka." Well, I'm all knocked up right now so I had to go with the less familiar adage of "if at first you don't succeed, try try again." And boy am I glad I did!

The recipe for Marshmallow Fondant, if of course you follow the recipe and not the tips from other commenters, is so easy, and get this...IT'S ACTUALLY EDIBLE! Sure so is regular fondant, but the taste is not so great, but this fondant is like a super sweet marshmallow. Yum!!

Now, for the actual cake, I was so torn about what I wanted to do, in fact it wasn't until yesterday morning that I ultimately decided what flavors I wanted to make. Note to self: when you're going to make a big cake, do it in steps over the course of a few days not all in one morning! Anyway, I finally decided I would grow a pair and test my "halving" skills, and I halved the delicious strawberry cake recipe I had to make one 9 inch layer. I was so worried this wouldn't turn out, but it actually turned out great!

I also decided to make two chocolate layers and essentially have a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake. I was a little worried because as of yesterday morning I still hadn't had a chocolate cake recipe that I loved, but a few minutes online and dash of hope later, I found one that looked pretty good. Best part of all? Super easy! Basically you just throw all the ingredients in, mix, and pour into pans. I was skeptical, but this chocolate cake recipe is by far the best. It's light, it's fluffy, it's moist, and best of all...it's actually sweet! Not bitter like most homemade chocolate cake recipes.
When it came time to decorate, I was in a huge rush. I knew I wanted a really good frosting to cover the cake in case the fondant wasn't great and also to ensure the fondant would stick, so I whipped up a Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, and frosted the entire thing and in between each layer. Placed the fondant on the cake and made a quick batch of Wilton's Royal Icing and made red and blue. Since I was in such a time crunch I opted to just outline stars with the writing tip and then put some blue mini stars in the striped stars with the star decorating tip, and of course out a pretty blue swirl at the bottom. I was happy with the basic design, but even better than the design was the taste. I accomplished my goal to create a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake. I hope you too enjoy the delicious taste when you create this fun, moist, and delicious cake!

One of the guys at the party who shall be referred to as "Monkey 2" asked that I make him a cake of just the strawberry layer for his birthday this weekend! I told him I'd oblige, and I am now on the hunt for the perfect design for his birthday cake...perhaps a monkey? Who knows? We shall see.

Recipe for this creation is on the next blog.
Much love and Happy cooking Friends!!
Amelia

Well, It Wasn't a Complete Disaster...

So, as you all are aware I'm sure, it's the holiday weekend, and like most of you, I have plans to meet with the families. These plans have been set for about a week now...Sunday with his family, Monday with mine. I got large 3 tier cake pans and was all stoked to make a gigantic cake for my family's get together, but Kelly (the girl who helped inspire me to start all this craziness) got dibs on the cake this year, no worries I thought I can do a smaller rendition for his family. I thought about what I wanted to do for a few days and came up with the following: Chocolate bottom layer made in a 12x2" pan, strawberry top layer made in a 8x2" pan with a beautiful fondant icing and decorations. So what that I've never used fondant before. I can totally bust this out...or so I thought!
So, why am I blogging about the cake I am going to make tomorrow today? Well, because my mom asked me to make a cake for our out of town relative Kaylee who is in town and just turned 17. "Great! I thought, now I can make a cake for my cousin and get a chance to work with fondant once before making the cake for tomorrow! Win, Win.
Since I am all about homemade cooking and baking, I found a really cool fondant recipe that is made from marshmallows. It had rave reviews, so I made that first thing this morning, but instead of following the recipe, I followed the notes from a commenter on the recipe...BAD IDEA!! The fondant was a huge sticky mess that was everywhere and difficult to clean up. I was pissed and now had no other option but to go out and buy Wilton's Fondant at Walmart. Grr! This is not home cooking, I thought, but I had no other options. So I whipped up some buttercream frosting, frosted the cake and sent the hubs to Walley World.
He met me at the inlaws house where I began working with this extremely tough stuff! I wanted to make it really red and then have a white bow. After kneading the shit out of this so called edible stuff, I finally gave in and accepted the coral color that I had achieved. Rolled it out, and like a 3 year old screwing around with playdough for the first time ever, I started forming the fondant around the cake...the square cake...I had no idea how to smooth out the corners so I just wrapped those bitches around to the side and made it seem as thought I wanted it to look like wrapping paper....which I most certainly did not, but for the most part, it looked ok.
Now, for the decor! Well, I didn't want to open the other package of $6 fondant so I just kneaded more red coloring into the leftovers to make a deeper red...but this made the fondant so thin and soft I couldn't do anything but cut outs. Fortunately, my mother in law had cookie cutters so I made a heart and slapped it on there all by itself. I had no icing for writing so it was a "less is more" kind of theme for the decorations. It looked ok for my very first time trying to deal with fondant having never taken any kind of class or anything on how to work with this tricky product. Needless to say, tomorrow's cake has certainly been changed! I am going to stick with my flavors, but I am going to do two round pieces same size frost with buttercream frosting or maybe cream cheese...not sure yet, and make wilton's royal icing recipe to decorate with the new tips I just got in the mail today! White base, with red and blue stars and maybe a few fireworks! I feel confident that this will turn out much better. I am still going to attempt the marshmallow fondant at some point...just not tomorrow. So with that Happy 4th ya'll.

Much love and Happy Cooking Friends,
Amelia
PS. I will also write a blog about how the cakes about killed me because I put way too much batter in one and not enough in the other! Ay yi yi!!

Triple Berry Pie

Here is the recipe from the other night's "Dick's Pick's" Challenge.
I couldn't find a recipe to match the amount of berries that I had so I created this one as an inspiration from "Better Homes and Gardens"

Amelia's Triple Berry Pie:
Ingredients:
Filling:
2 Cups Fresh Blueberries*
2 Cups Fresh Raspberries*
1 Cup Fresh Blackberries*
2/3 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Flour
a bit of cinnamon if desired
Crust
***this is from better homes and gardens
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
8-10 TBLS Cold Water

Filling Directions:
Combine Sugar and Flour in a bowl. Gently add berries and cinnamon. Transfer to pie dish. Top pie with remaining pastry and cut slits or designs into crust to vent. Brush with milk and sugar. Cover edge of pie with foil, and bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove foil and bake another 25 minutes.

Pie Crust: recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

1. Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size. 2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all the dough is moistened. Divide in half. Form each half into a ball.
3. On lightly floured surface, flatten 1 dough ball. Roll from center to edges into 12-inch circle.
4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Transfer filling to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate.
5. Roll remaining dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Place remaining pastry on filling; trim 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired. Bake as directed in individual recipes. Makes 8 servings.