Archive for It’s Delish!
Baking For Good!
I recently came across this amazing website worth sharing. It’s an online bakery called Baking For Good. Here’s what makes this online bakery so unique… 15% of all proceeds made from each order go to charity, AND you can choose which charitable organization (from a HUGE list on their website) that you would like to support. What an awesome concept!
As for baked goods, you have lots to choose from. Iced cookies, drop cookies, brownies, bars, allergy free treats and even event favors. There’s gift boxes, corporate gifts and gift cards as well. Click here to look at the extensive treat list!
I had the opportunity to speak with the CEO of the Company, Emily Dubner a couple weeks back. Turns out she and I had a surprisingly similar background! We both grew up in Massachusetts baking treats for our classmates all through elementary school. Both went to college in Cambridge, MA and graduate the same year. And, we both have a HUGE passion for baking and doing good deeds! I hope at some point to get involved with the company, just because I so believe in the cause and the efforts Emily has put forward. We’ll have to wait and see if this could be a possibility!
So check out the bakery, tell your friends and place an order!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
An Overwhelming Two Weeks…
The last two weeks have been completely nuts- on top of my 6 day/50 hour work week I’ve had a bunch of cookie and cupcake orders. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for all the orders! It was just a touch overwhelming! Alas, I came out of it all alive, with orders successfully completed and my wallet filling a bit fuller- which is always a happy thing!
So I have tons to update you on- as well as lots of sleep to catch up on- so today’s post will be short, but sweet of course! I’ve had this picture of this cupcake order from a while back- Easter actually- and have been excited to show it. The order was from one of the doctors I work with, who pretty much lets me have creative reign over all hers orders- which is really exciting. I was looking forward to topping these cupcakes with a gorgeous spring flower that I was in my new Marta Stewart Cupcake book (more to come on how amazing this book is! It’s a MUST buy!) Of course, in my head- mine would look just as perfect as hers…
OMG was I mistaken! They were way more complicated than I thought, my frosting was way to stiff and the flowers looked terrible! After a full day of work, baking all night- around 1 am I gave up on the flowers, scraped all the cupcakes clean and started over. I dug through my cabinets to find some kind of alternate decoration for these Easter Cupcakes. Sprinkles are always a great last minute resort and I always have them well stocked! I mixed some clear sugar sprinkles with colored on a plate, frosted the cupcakes then rolled them in the sprinkles mixture- super easy and super cute! It was nothing spectacular- bit it did the trick. All the cupcakes looked clean, neat and yummy. And the Doc at work was super happy. Yippee for a late night success!
This late night pattern has been a bit of a pattern for me lately! It’s about 8:30 and I am ready for a hot cup of tea and my pj’s! No baking all-nighter for this lady tonight! Stay tuned for more to come!
Happy Baking and Cupcake Decorating!
-Kristy
It’s Almost Earth Day- Eat Cupcakes!
I receive email updates from Sprinkles Cupcakes, the most famous Original Cupcake Bakery of Beverly Hills (now around the entire US). The update today was on a great promotion centering around Earth Day that I thought was worthy of sharing. From today through the 23rd, Sprinkles will donate 100% of the proceeds of their Vanilla Cupcakes to help plant tree and benefit other local Environmental Care organizations. Fab- Treat yourself to a cupcake and treat the Earth to a tree! And not to worry, if you are not in the Beverly Hills area, just order online! For more info on the the promo, click here!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
Red Wine Poached Chicken Salad
Apparently I’ve been doing alot of cooking with vino- and vino is a good thing… And there’s never too much of a good thing!
Weather here in LA has been warming up finally and warm weather makes me seriously crave salads. I threw this salad together earlier this week and thought it was so beautiful and tasty I just had to share it with you. I obviously eat lots of sweets, which makes it so important for me to pay close attention to what I am eating in every other meal. This was filling and satisfying and super healthy. So here’s my Red Wine Poached Chicken Salad recipe.
Ingredients:
-1 lb. thin cut boneless chicken breasts
-1 cup red wine
-1 cup chicken stock
-1/2 cup water
-2 tablespoons dried sage
-2 cups red leaf lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped
-1/2 cup grape tomatoes
-1 tablespoon goat cheese
-salt and pepper
-Balsamic Vinaigrette, or your fav. salad dressing.
Directions: Combine wine, chicken stock, water and sage in pan- bring to a boil. Salt and pepper the chicken then add to pan. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook chicken 7 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and let rest a couple minutes. Combine lettuce, tomato and goat cheese. Toss in dressing. Slice chicken and top the salad. Salt and pepper to taste! Done!
So easy, so tasty, so healthy! Enjoy!
Happy Baking and Poaching!
-Kristy
Scones and Jam!
This past Thursday night I had another cooking date with my good friend Minh. This time around, I got to do a little baking and teaching. Minh had approached me for some help with creating a gift basket for a friend who was recently engaged. She was including lots of teas, curd and other exciting treats in the basket and wanted to include some jam and scones- a couple things I am well versed in!
We decided to use this recipe for Raspberry Lemon Scones. So there’s a good chance it might have been the 2 bottles of wine we working on, but we made 3 batches- 1 was fab, 2 were alright. The flavor was great in all three batches, but we struggled a bit with the shape and consistency. After thinking about it further yesterday with a non-wine influenced brain, here are a few changes I would make to the recipe: 1. Increase the flour from 2 cups to 2 and a half cups to improve the consistency of the dough– I found it to be a bit too flimsy at times. 2. Add the juice from 1/2 a lemon to increase the lemony flavor. 3. Use fresh, clean and dry raspberries- we used frozen which created far more liquid than we anticipated.
Despite needing a few tweeks, this is a pretty kick-ass scone recipe. My BF and I gobbled up the rest of the busted looking leftovers in just a couple days- which was both a good thing and bad thing! They were, as I said before, super delish and tasty- the combo of the lemon and raspberry was lovely. But having two for breakfast yesterday and today may have been a bit too much! Good thing I did an hour long cardio work out today… and have another scheduled in tomorrow!
Onto the jam- I love jam- my new Cali plates on my car actually say “Jam.” and, I kid you not, I did not request it- it was just a stroke of luck. Anyways, once I started making Jam I realized it was alot easier than I anticipated. I use a recipe that was provided to me by Lisa Baker Morgan, the Chef and owner of Ciao Yummy. Combine 1lb. fruit, 10 oz sugar (I like to use a little less) and 2 tbs lemon juice in a bowl and set in the fridge over night. The next day, add your pectin, and boil down until the jam hold it shape and does not spread on a frozen plate. And Done! So Easy!
We made 3 batches of jam along with the 3 batches of scones- Bruise-Berry Jam (Blackberry and blueberry), Strawberry, and Raspberry-Strawberry. They were beautful! The color of homemade jam is so vibrant and stunning. On top of that, they were obvi super tasty and sooo much better than store bought.
Minh called me this AM to tell me what a huge hit her gift bakset was, which I was super happy to hear. Homemade gift such as these, I think are the most thoughtful and, pardon my nerdiness here, so extra special. I would love to hear about some of the homemade gift some of you readers have given to friends and family- or if you have a fantasticly creative idea, post that as well!
Happing Baking and Jamming!
-Kristy
Pot… opps… type-o… Port Brownies!
Although I should be in the kitchen 
making another 100 cookies- I am having a lazy evening and thought a little blogging would be a good idea.
Back in Feb. my boyfriend and I took a trip to South Lake Tahoe, CA for a relaxing weekend away. My BF hit the slopes while I found the spa and a a few wineries. While doing a tasting a the Picchetti Winery Tasting Room, I fell in love with their dessert Port Wine. The fantastic gentleman behind the counter doing the pouring described how his wife adds the port wine to brownies to make a fab. dessert— OMG she is a genius!
So here’s the scoop, take your fav. brownie recipe (or box brownie) and substitute in the port wine for whatever liquid is required the recipe- bake as directed and you’re done! The flavor definitely changes to a more sophisticated, rich chocolate. Its such a simple, and great way to change up a typical dessert to something a bit more exciting. Give them a try! Let me know how you like them!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
An Evening with Grass Fed Beef
Out of no where, my good friend, fellow Bostonian and fabulous chef Minnie invited me to join her for an impromptu evening of grass fed beef last Thursday night. She explained it to me as “a bunch of chefs cooking up grass fed beef.” My guess was that there would be lots of great food there, and I LOVE a good piece of meat, so I had no hesitation in agreeing to go!
The event was a casual, yet informative and delicious dinner 
hosted by Kevin Coleman, a rep for Estancia Beef. Basically, Coleman invited a bunch of local chef’s to his gorgeous home to test out and cook up some super fab. cuts of grass fed beef.
I felt a little out of place initially, as I am not exactly a professional chef, but with Kevin’s gracious hospitality and all the chef’s being super friendly, I was quickly put at ease. Minnie invited me to help prep her dish 
(lemon grass ginger beef served over a cold noodle salad- AMAZING!) and that at least made me feel useful! After preping, I took the opportunity to pick Kevin’s brain about what made grass fed beef so special. Here’s are few fun facts…
Fact: This beef is considered more “responsible.” The cattle are raised on free range family farms, no corns or grains ever given to the cattle and its meets the highest standards in animal 
welfare.
Fact: GFB is overall healthier than the meat found at your local grocery store: its full of omega 3 fatty acids (similarly to Salmon), has half the fat and cholesterol of corn-fed beef, no added hormones and is super high in vitamins A and E.
Fact: Its cooks faster and has a more intense flavor (which I can totally 
attest too!)
So, pretty much, this is the end all be all of red meat. Awesome. The food prepared was freaking amazing- it began with Steak Tartar, Sirloin Crostinis, Mushroom and Gouda Stuffed Burgers, Minnie’s Amazing Lemongrass Beef Salad, Curried Beef, a Seared Fillet and sides of creamy risotto and crispy onion loaf.
My taste buds were uber happy! All 
the food was fantastic and I could totally taste the difference in quality in the meat. The meat was soo tender and flavor far more robust. Something that I have personally been focusing on lately in the kitchen has been the quality of the foods and ingredients I purchase to cook or bake with. And, GFB definitely fits into this category of far better quality.
I was fortunate enough to go home with a couple pieces of meat to try to 
cook up on my own and made my own version of Minnie’s dish with a slab of Flank Steak. It cooked up super fast (3 minutes east side under the broiler) to a perfect medium rare. And it was Scrumptious!
Definitely keep your eye out for GFB on the menu’s of your fav. restaurants. Its popping up everywhere here in LA. My favorite take out spot Bloom has a fantastic GFB Burger. And, I’ve heard fab 
things about the burgers at Father’s Office in Culver City.
I took tons of photos that night of all the deliciously beautiful food and decided I had to post all of them! so keep scrolling to check them out! and my apologies if it caused your mouth to water!
Happy Scrolling, and Happy Baking!
-Kristy
…
Great Article
Just wanted to pass along a link to short article from Tallahassee.com on one woman’s version of cake therapy! She’s super talented! And, I lived in Tally while in grad. school and so glad to here she is being recognized by the city!
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100315/LIVING04/3150326/Cake-baking-is-therapy-for-Monticello-woman
Happy Baking and Reading!
-Kristy
35 Cookies
I’ve been doing lots of cookie party favors lately, and wanted to share one with you. My fab sister decided to throw her hubby a surprise 35th birthday party. Her parties are pretty awesome too– she pays attention to every little detail… for example- this party’s theme was black and white– so not only should you have dressed in black and white cocktail attire- but all the invitations, decor, food and beverages were black and white: A black and white striped birthday cake, Samual Adams Black Lagar and White Ale were served along with a Black Martini made with Black Blavod Vodka and a White Dirty Martini– ahh I wish I could have been there!
As my contribution to the party since I could not travel cross country to Boston for it, I made sugar cookies with 35 written in black sugar- they were uber cute- a bit time consuming, but totally worth it. I seriously love making custom cookies and think they are an awesome personal touch to any party or celebration. These were served alongside the other desserts, but also could have been fab as party favors too.
After doing these cookies I got to brain storming a bit- which seems to be a constant state of mind for me at the moment as I am forever trying to figure out my life–I love parties and I love cookies… so why not develop a portfolio and a new page on my website specializing in cookie favors and party treats… hmm… I think its a fab idea! It’ll take me some time to develop- but I think its a good start in a good direction.
Happy Baking and Cookie Decorating!
-Kristy
Merry Christmas!… I mean Belated Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I know, it’s a little late, but better late than never! I am really excited to share my Christmas Day meal with you. Usually my boyfriend and I make the big trip across the country back to Boston to spend the holidays with our family. This year we decided to stay here in LA and I was super pumped to make my first big Christmas dinner. Even though it was just Matt and I, I made a 6 pound Prime Rib Roast, with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Sauteed Asparagus. Dessert was one of Matt’s traditions, A Classic Apple Pie. But before I dive into the roast, check out my tree! It was perfect— short, fat and plump! And sparkled with White, Gold and Silver Ornaments!
Onto the roast. I did my research prior to making my decision on how to make a roast. There are so many different ways to cook and prep them. Slow roast on low heat, cook it fast on high heat, or even cook them in a clay pot in your oven (yes, my sister tried this method!) I found this recipe here by Ida (Barefoot Contessa) that got rave reviews on FoodNetwork.com. Since this was my first, I stuck to the recipe instead of making any significant alteration. This was a high heat- fast cookin’ recipe, so before I did anything, I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed my oven to make sure I would not get any smoke or fire from the 500 degree oven. Scrubbing your oven is a must prior to cooking anything at such a high heat!
So I rub her (the roast of course!) down well with lots of salt, pepper and fresh crushed garlic, put her in a glass pan and into the oven she goes. The first 30 minutes or so was no issue. She was cooking up well and I had no smoke… awesome! Then a little bit of smoke billowed from the oven… no need to worry, I must have just missed a spot… okay time to turn the oven down… fab.. smoke stopped… and she looks beautiful! Fab! 45 minutes later I up the heat again to 450… and oh god… the smoke… it wouldn’t stop! I had 2 fans going, had to temporarily take out my smoke detectors, open all the windows in our little LA apt and smoke was just seeping out of every crevice of the oven possible… there I as panicking that I was about to set my kitchen on fire and I just couldn’t figure out what had happened or where all this smoke was coming from!
After a frantic 30 minutes, the roasts internal temp finally hit 145 degree and she could come out a rest. That’s when I found the smoke culprit… my glass roasting pan had cracked through the center and all the wonderfully tasty drippings were slowing flowing there way to bottom of my newly cleaned oven. Bummer! Luckily I did not burn down my kitchen and was able to save what was left of the drippings in the pan for a delicious gravy! And, I learned a valuable lesson— never use a glass roasting pan with an oven heated to 500 degrees!
Despite a smoky mis-hap, the roast was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!! (Had a bit of a smokey flavor too!) The whole meal was fab! I was super full after one serving— but my BF went back for seconds and thirds (and going back for more is always a good thing!) My first Christmas Dinner= A tasty success!
Dessert, as I mentioned above, was a traditional apple pie. Believe it or not, I am not a huge pie fan. I like it from time to time, but I’ll take a layer cake over a pie any day. My BF, on the other hand is the complete opposite of me. He could eat pie for every meal and not even give a cake a second glance. For him its not a Christmas without a pie- so I stuck to apple. (I have to say his mom make a kick-ass apple pie, so I have some kind of idea why he likes it so much!) I have to admit I cheated a little bit too… usually I would have made my dough for the crust from scratch, but as I was more concerned with the success of my prime rib, I bought the Pillsbury Ready Made Pie Dough. I prepped the pie earlier in the day, that way when we were ready for dessert, I could pop it in and we could have warm pie fresh from the oven—mmmm— that’s the kinds of pie I like! I made it a bit festive too by using Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter on top for ventilation, instead of just scoring with a knife. I love adding those little touches to make food a bit more exciting!
Anyway… we ate pie (which was gone in under a 24 hours!), drank Hot Totties and fell asleep by 7:30 on the couch watching a Christmas Story… It was a perfect LA Christmas!
Hope all your holidays were wonderful and bright!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
