Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Cake in a jar!
Found this on pinterest and had just the birthday girl in mind for this project. Since she has received and enjoyed I can finally post my version of cake in a jar with funfetti cake and yummy pink frosting.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Petite four class
On April 29th I was lucky enough to take a class at the Troy arts center on petite fours! It was awesome, it was taught by the owner of Sue's Sweets, a bakery in Troy NY. The class was great, we made traditional petite fours with sponge cake made from scratch and cheater fours with premade cake. Both turned out delicious and here are some photos of mine from the class.
I've begun experimenting with them at home so more posts and photos to follow. Notice one is shaped like a penguin, score!
I've begun experimenting with them at home so more posts and photos to follow. Notice one is shaped like a penguin, score!
A little stress relief
So having a stressful evening... So here's a couple pictures that made smile.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Taste Albany, NY
One of the things I have been hoping to do with this blog, in addition to my recipes and cooking is some reviews of restaurants both local and when I travel.
Taste, in Albany is on beaver st and was a little hard to find right off pearl street. I recommend the valet parking, we went on a Saturday night and it is around the corner from the times union center so parking is difficult.
The inside was beautiful, very clean, and the service was wonderful. We had a very attentive waiter who was very knowledgeable about the menu which is always good. They have a great seasonal menu and I did have s living social deal which got me a $50 voucher for $25!
I wish I could get the photos into the proper order but as tapas we had the cowboy tempura (photo 4) and the duck confit cannelloni (photo 2). Both were very good and full of flavor. The only downside of the tempura was that it did not come with chopsticks which made it a little hard to eat. The sauce on the side was a lemon aioli. I wish I had more of that, though they brought some out with the house bread, which was warm and fresh, yum! The duck confit cannelloni was also good. It was paired with a blueberry sticky rice. The blueberry mixture was quite good with the duck, but the sticky rice just did not have the right consistency. The overall bite was very good though.
Now on to the main courses! We had the pan seared diver scallops with pork belly croutons. (photo 1) Who knew such a thing existed but they were like crunchy little bits of heaven.... If I could have pork belly croutons all the time I would eat salads 24/7! The scallops had an amazing buttery texture and were cooked perfectly. And the braised romaine hearts were a great texture combination.
Our other entree was charred swordfish and mussels over angel hair pasta with lobster butter. It was very good, though not as good as the scallops. The mussels were much better than the swordfish, good not great. The dish itself just didn't tie together very well.
Overall taste was a wonderful experience and I hope you all support our local Albany restaurants. You can visit them at http://www.tastealbany.com/
Taste, in Albany is on beaver st and was a little hard to find right off pearl street. I recommend the valet parking, we went on a Saturday night and it is around the corner from the times union center so parking is difficult.
The inside was beautiful, very clean, and the service was wonderful. We had a very attentive waiter who was very knowledgeable about the menu which is always good. They have a great seasonal menu and I did have s living social deal which got me a $50 voucher for $25!
I wish I could get the photos into the proper order but as tapas we had the cowboy tempura (photo 4) and the duck confit cannelloni (photo 2). Both were very good and full of flavor. The only downside of the tempura was that it did not come with chopsticks which made it a little hard to eat. The sauce on the side was a lemon aioli. I wish I had more of that, though they brought some out with the house bread, which was warm and fresh, yum! The duck confit cannelloni was also good. It was paired with a blueberry sticky rice. The blueberry mixture was quite good with the duck, but the sticky rice just did not have the right consistency. The overall bite was very good though.
Now on to the main courses! We had the pan seared diver scallops with pork belly croutons. (photo 1) Who knew such a thing existed but they were like crunchy little bits of heaven.... If I could have pork belly croutons all the time I would eat salads 24/7! The scallops had an amazing buttery texture and were cooked perfectly. And the braised romaine hearts were a great texture combination.
Our other entree was charred swordfish and mussels over angel hair pasta with lobster butter. It was very good, though not as good as the scallops. The mussels were much better than the swordfish, good not great. The dish itself just didn't tie together very well.
Overall taste was a wonderful experience and I hope you all support our local Albany restaurants. You can visit them at http://www.tastealbany.com/
Indie garage sale
So Designs by Maeve was at our second official craft fair! We were at the indie garage sale in Utica NY. It was a great success and I wanted to post a photo of my booth for my readers. Can't wait for my next show, I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Why did I not think of this?!?
So I just found out burger king is testing a bacon sundae, with my passion for bacon and love of the salty/sweet palate I can't believe I didn't think of this before. Next time I pick up some awesome bacon from oscars smokehouse in warrensburg,NY I will be trying this!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Drunken strawberries
So here is the easy recipe for the strawberry part of my drunken shortcake listen below. I like to do a layer of strawberries on top and in between the layers of cake.
Go out and buy a bottle white wine, I prefer Glenora Cayuga white which is a NYS finger lakes region wine and probably my favorite wine. I always stock up on Glenora wines when I go to the Finger Lakes wine festival.
Then slice up some strawberries, I do thin slices so it doesn't disrupt the layers of the cake. And put them all in a bowl, for two layers of strawberries on 9" round cakes I used 2 quarts of strawberries. Then I pour the wine over the strawberries and mix in a 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Mix them with a spoon, coating the berries with sugar and wine.
Then you let them soak overnight in the fridge. Super easy! Drain the berries and put them on your cake. And don't toss out all that juice from the wine and berries!!! Trust me it tastes delicious, just drink it on moderation since it can sneak up on you.
Go out and buy a bottle white wine, I prefer Glenora Cayuga white which is a NYS finger lakes region wine and probably my favorite wine. I always stock up on Glenora wines when I go to the Finger Lakes wine festival.
Then slice up some strawberries, I do thin slices so it doesn't disrupt the layers of the cake. And put them all in a bowl, for two layers of strawberries on 9" round cakes I used 2 quarts of strawberries. Then I pour the wine over the strawberries and mix in a 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Mix them with a spoon, coating the berries with sugar and wine.
Then you let them soak overnight in the fridge. Super easy! Drain the berries and put them on your cake. And don't toss out all that juice from the wine and berries!!! Trust me it tastes delicious, just drink it on moderation since it can sneak up on you.
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