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
Well Hello There!
Well Hello There!
Regretfully, I haven’t blogged since January– and its now April! crazy! I have no idea where the time has gone. But here I am again, giving this blogging thing a try one more time and recommitting to it. I guess I am hoping this will somehow help me move through what my boyfriend has so thoughtfully dubbed my “Quarter Life Crisis.”
So here’s a brief update on my life… my day job is ridiculous… legit.. I work with crazy people and I think its starting to drive me a little bit crazy. To compensate for that I decided to do a manager training program at Pier 1- which is far from logical as I just added more shifts to my already densely packed schedule. In between job 1 and job 2, I am trying to start a business and have been packed with cookie jobs– a great thing– yet adding even more to my schedule… yes my life is a bit overwhelming!
And with all this going on I still want to go to pastry school… which as of now I am slated to begin in the fall due to an unfortunate instance of technology not exactly doing its job— but I am okay with that right now because of how nuts my life is.
And somewhere inbetween all this I am trying to keep myself happy and healthy- trying to excersize, eat right in between all this sugar and sweets- and make time for a social life- which can be challenging when I pass out on the couch at about 9pm each night- I even took today off of work to regain some sanity— it was a fab decision on my part!
Despite the chaos that I’ve turned my life into- I’ve figure out a couple things…
1.) Baking bread is extremely cathartic– kneading the dough and getting my hands dirty has been a fantastic outlet for frustration or anxiety and makes a deliciously delightful outcome– try it– it works! I am even more obsessed with french bread than ever.
2.) I want to teach children how to bake.
3.) I want to be my own boss. And somehow combine baking and therapy– I think its possible..
4.) I want to write a book. Random, I know.. but whatever…
Well the rest of my day off will consist of signing up for a fondant class, an hour long work out, a trip to Santa Monica and I have lots of pictures to go through and lots of things I want to add to the blog… stay tuned!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
WBFT: Disappointing news… AND HUGE EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!
To learn more about ‘Will Bake For Tuition’, Click Here! To read all ‘Will Bake For Tuition’ Posts, Click here!
So I have lots of news to report… both good and bad… first lets go with the not-so-great-news….
I met with the folks at AI on Wednesday about entering pastry school come spring. Initially they started talking about re-admitting me for winter since their winter semester has just begun and they were still enrolling. Although I reiterated I wanted spring.. they pushed for winter and created a billing system that, in theory, would work within my budget… I signed the paper and I was supposed to start Thursday… that was the next day!!! Ahhh how overwhelming, yet exciting, yet crazy!
So I got home to tell my BF my big news and he was shocked… not what he was expecting at all.. and I started to tell him all about our meeting. They more I talked about it, the more nervous I got about the billing. As much as this is my dream, every last penny I had would be going to pastry school. There would be no Sushi dates on Friday or afternoon Starbuck’s Lattes for me… it would all be going to pastry school. As I talked and talked some more (my boyfriends a pretty good listener!) I realized I felt really pushed into making a HUGE financial decision that I simply was not comfortable with.
Before bed that night I wrote an email to my rep. at AI saying I would not be beginning pastry school on Thursday. As long as I did not attend any classes, they could not charge me for a thing. As much I want this, I simply could not justify the huge financial risk and burden this would be. So disappointingly, I am back to the drawing board…. or so I thought….
On to my HUGE EXCITING NEWS!!! Yet again, I have another brilliant idea! Post email and after further chatting with my BF, I thought about checking the local community colleges to see if they offer any kinds of culinary program. I would even be happy doing start up culinary program if I could find it at the right price. Turns out, the Trade-Tech School at Los Angeles Community College has both a Culinary Program… AND A Baking and Pastry Program! OMG!!! Awesome!….But Wait… it gets even better!
After doing a little bit more research… I learned the school only charged $20 per unit for California Residents compared to the $300-something AI was charging… OMG AGAIN! This is SOOOO within my budget! I can pay that is cash now!! And not go into debt!!! AWESOME…. And I have even more news… They are accepting application now to begin in Feb!! OMG!!! Talk about Huge-Fabulous-Fantastic-Awesome News! This puts pastry school in total reach for me!Yippee! I can taste the cakes already!!!!
Here’s my new plan of action… Submit my application over the weekend and hope to begin Pastry school in FEB! Thanks for your support everyone!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
WBFT: Better Late Than Never!
To learn more about ‘Will Bake For Tuition’, Click Here! To read all ‘Will Bake For Tuition’ Posts, Click here!
So clearly the theme of this week for my has been ‘Better Late Than Never’ and this Will Bake for Tuition Post is long over due. But I have lots to report so here it is…
Back in late November, I got the most distressing phone call ever… The International Culinary Institute at the Art Institute of California had withdrew my application due to not having the funds to pay for school. What a Freakin’ bummer! (I blame some of my blog absence during the month of Dec. on having a pity party for myself and trying to formulate a new plan of action!) I was so disappointed, and thought that my pastry school days would be a long ways ahead of me. For those that know me well, know that patience for things such as this is not something I have much of. I really did not want to wait years to make this happen. I want it to happen now… okay.. back to the drawing board I went.
The scholarship just hadn’t been working in my favor either. I applied to a few that I was eligible for, and had not heard a thing. I felt somewhat stuck, because I would have qualified for tons more scholarships if I were already attending the classes, or if I were a freshman, or were left handed… anyway, the list could go on… but all this to say my hopes in dreams for only scholarship money to pay for Pastry School were not quite working out.
So there I was, having a massive pity party for quite some time, until I had a wonderful revelation! So I’m going to be very open here about a topic that some my fine taboo, but whatever… Currently, I pay approximately $800 a month towards my student loans — outrageous and ridiculous I know… my monthly payment is more than I pay in rent (and this is Los Angeles!) and will only continue to grow until I am about 50-something years old when I finish paying them off. Essentially, my brain is worth the same amount of a small house in middle America… yes it was my choice to go to school and I have no regrets… but that’s alot of money for a bodily organ! Anyways, I digress as usual! As soon as you enroll in school half time, your student school loans can be deferred… which for me means I don’t have to pay them… which translates into an extra $800 in my pocket to do what I please with… so why don’t I get my foot in the door at AI and begin pastry school by paying out of pocket… at least my expensive brain is paying off! Clearly, this is the most Brilliant idea ever!
So I talked to my rep at AI today who reinstated my application for Spring and told me my next step from here is to meet with financial aid one more time on Wed. to confirm that this is a viable plan of action to make pastry school happen… and I am so pumped about it! My excitement and eagerness has been rejuvenated! Pastry school is that much closer!
Lastly, I must address one more thing… I am still going to apply for scholarships, save all my cash from cookie sales and am always open to accepting donations (see the button to your left! Hint, Hint, Wink Wink!) I’ve even picked up an extra shift at Pier 1 to continue to stockpile the savings! Even though the plan has drifted somewhat… I still plan to pay to pastry school with out using loans or credit cards— may not be easy, but I am sure I can make it happen!
Thanks for all your support! I promise to update you at the end of the week about my meeting with financial aid!
Happy Baking!
-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
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG Over Due!
Hello there!
This blog post is LOOOOOONNNGGG Overdue! My sincere apologies readers. I have no good excuse what so ever, but I am back… SO.. please forgive my absence, and I promise to never to do it again unless I am on my dream month long honeymoon in Fiji (which would also mean I have to get engaged first… and as much as I love my BF- marriage for us is quite a few years down the road!) Anyways, didn’t take me long to start babbling…. But I have SOOO Much to fill you in on!
First of all, I got some awesome cookie orders during the holiday season. I lost track around the 300 cookie mark and made every cookie you could imagine. Chocolate chip, mint chip, peanut butter, jelly button, M&M and sugar just to name a few… my kitchen permanently smelled of cookies. I was actually approached by a neighbor of mine who informed me the smell wafted into her apartment— luckily she didn’t mind so much! I also developed a new frosted cookie to my repituar (thanks to a little help from my lady Martha Stewart and her awesome December issue of Martha Stewart living) and I will have a post about it later this week!
I can’t wait to share my Christmas Dinner with you too! I made my first prime rib roast… and she was such a beauty! And of course was super tasty! I had a bit of a misshap… there was lots of smoke involved… but with lots of fans I was able to save the day!
Lastly, I have lots of Will Bake for Tuition news to share… a few changes and some re-crafting needed to be done, but it seems like a solid plan has been made. I really look forward that update too!
It is so nice to be back to blogging! Check back for exciting updates! and Thanks so much for your support!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
Cranberry Cake Encore!
Let me begin this post with sharing the first few conversations I had this morning as I walked into work…
Conversation 1
Nurse: Hey! I heard about your cake!
Me: What cake?
Nurse: Some Cranberry Cake??… Girl I heard it was good!
Me: Oh, Right! It was a cranberry upside down cake… yeah everybody seemed to like it.
Nurse: Yeah! So are you going to make it again?
Me: Maybe!
Conversation 2… 30 seconds later…
HouseKeeper: Krystal (she calls me that!) I heard your cake was gooood!
Me: They cranberry one?
HouseKeeper: Yeah, that one!
Me: That’s what I’ve heard too! Guess I’ll have to make it again.
Conversation 3… 5 seconds later…
Tech: Kristy you’re cake was gooood!
Me: I’m so glad you liked it!
Tech: Thanks for saving me that last piece!
Me: No Problem! It was gobbled up pretty fast!
Conversation 4… a few minutes later…
My Boss: Kristy I heard about your cake!
Me: Really? Ha.. the entire unit has apparently been talking about it!
My Boss: Yes, yes the Cranberry one. It sounds so good! I think I’ll sign you up to bring that in next week for the Holiday Pot Luck.
Me: Oh it was good! And, I’ve beat you to the punch… I’ve already signed up to bring that cake!
My Boss: Oh great! I really want to try it! And, could you bring me the recipe?
Me: For sure!
Someone has been spreading rumors about my cakes! (Good thing they are all good rumors!) What a wonderful greeting I received this morning about a cake I made a week ago… yes a week ago and people are still talking about it… and yes it was delightful! It was Cranberry Upside Down Cake which was featured in the November Issue of Cooking Light! I wish I could say the pic to the left is my own, but its not… although my cake looked just a beautiful, the pic on my phone just would not do it justice… so this is the photo from Cooking Light.
This cake was easy to make. I ended up by making it twice in one night– because I dropped the first one in the oven– it was horrible— I was in tears out of seeing my cake in a big old mess, while my boyfriend was in tears from laughing so hard… Anyways, good thing I made it in a cinch. It was 3 simple steps— 1. make the brown sugar cranberry topping, 2. make the batter and 3. bake…. so check out the recipe by clicking here and bake it for yourself!
On to the taste… Amazing! The cake it self was super light, fluffy and sweet which so nicely complimented the tart sweetness of the cranberries. I think the only thing I will do differently next time around is make some sweet whipped cream to top the cake with. I love things extra sweet and I think the whipped cream would have added that extra yummy-ness I was seeking. This beauty of a dessert is really perfect for the holiday season and I highly, highly recommend giving it a try… clearly it’s a crowd pleaser!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
Lets Make Whoopie!
One of the desserts I made for my Thanksgiving Dinner was Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! Whoopie pies are kind of a big deal in the North East. They consist of a chocolate cake like cookie arranged in sandwiches with a creaming whipped vanilla filling. OMG Delish! Since it was Thanksgiving, it seemed only appropriate to make Pumpkin flavored Whoopie Pies!
I’ve never made Whoopie Pies before, so I decided to stick with a recipe, which you can check out by clicking here. (FYI- I don’t like baking with apple sauce, so I substituted in sour cream!) The recipe was super easy and uber tasty. To make the dessert a bit more festive, I baked the pies in my pumpkin cake pan from Wilton (got it at Joanne Fabric after Halloween 50% off! awesome!) The pies were filled with a cream cheese filling which I piped in with a fancy piping tip. Once they were assembled, I finished them with green white chocolate leaves on top (a simple chocolate leaf mold will do!) which I attached with a little frosting. Didn’t these little handheld treats come out adorable?!?! They were a big hit at Thanksgiving, not only because of how cute they are, but because of how tasty they were! I will so make these again! I kind of can’t wait!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
Another Week Gone… But I Went Shopping!
Yes, it has been yet another week since I have submitted a post and I hope everybody had a lovely Thanksgiving. I am happy to report I am fully recovered from my sushi-sickness, but was burnt out from working 6 days in a row. Today was my first day off and I was completely lazy until I traded my PJ’s for jeans around 2pm. It was utterly delightful! I watched trashy TV, drank too much coffee and had cake for breakfast. Yippee!
Anyways, I have lots to update you on. I baked for almost 6 hours straight last Wednesday Night and will share each of my treats I baked with you over the next few days. But today, I wanted to share with you what I rewarded myself with for having such long work week. I had a $50 gift card to World Market that had been sitting on my night stand for months and today was the perfect day to use it!
Initially my boyfriend and I had discussed using the gift card to go toward a new furniture purchase for our living… but today I thought otherwise. I quickly passed the furniture section not seeing anything all that appealing and headed straight for the kitchen section! To the typical person, these purchases aren’t all that exciting… but they made me very happy!
It all began with a new cookie sheet! Seeing that I bake so many cookies, probably thousands a year, a shiny new cookie sheet is a very exciting thing! The next purchase was a flour sifter. Again, nothing uber thrilling… but I will now have fluffier cakes and smoother frosting! Awesome! On to the cookie cutters… I was hoping to stock up on some awesome holiday cookies cutters, but World Market hadn’t got them in yet, so I got a circle… simple yet versatile! My last purchase in the kitchenware section was an awesome microplane. It’s got a zester, a scoring blade and garnish cutter all in one! I can’t wait to use it!
I meandered from the kitchen center to the expansive wine section of the store (one of the many reasons why I LOVE this store!) I stumbled upon a bottle of wine called “Layer Cake” and this was an instant must buy for me simply because of the name. For an inexpensive red wine, it was quite delightful. The write up on the back of the bottle equates it preparation and taste to eating a luscious layer cake and I surely agree! The flavor was rich yet smooth and yummy! My final purchase was a wine stopper and pourer… a neat little gadget that allows you to fully seal your wine- yet make it easy to pour when you are ready for another glass! A perfect kitchen gadget for this wine drinker!
Today was totally about pampering myself after a long week… with a little AM indulgence and laziness and some afternoon retail therapy, I think I am ready to face another week on the psych. unit! (Good thing its only a 4 day work week!)
Happy Baking and Indulging!
-Kristy
Rough Weekend!
Greetings! My apologies for my sporadic posts over the last week. I was glad to be back from my visit with nephew, but I have been a bit overwhelmed with everything I needed to get before Thanksgiving… then… yesterday… I ate some very, very bad sushi… needless to say its 7pm on Monday and I am just starting to feel functional again. Anyways… its a new week… here’s hoping for a productive one!
In thinking about Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help but think about the importance of having a beautiful table setting! So I thought I would share with you the table setting my brother and sister in law have on their table because its super adorable, simple, yet festive! A leafy place mat, simple white plates, deep red napkins and dazzling napkin ring. The fabulous thing about having white plates, is that you can simply, easily and inexpensively change out the place mat and napkins and have an entirely new look. Their setting looks awesome on their rich chocolate brown table, and dazzled with a beautiful bunch of deep red, rust orange and yellow flowers.
Just as the food you serve should look fabulously tasty… so should what you serve it on!
Happy Baking and decorating!
-Kristy
