Porno for Preggos

Thanks to you all for your baby predictions. I think I favor the predictions that have him coming out earlier because I AM READY. I haven't been posting much because I can't focus. This is in part because I feel restless and because I can't seem to ever get comfortable. I keep trying to lure him out by promising to buy him toys. I used to promise him cake and candy, but who am I kidding, he gets those now.



I recently purchased this:

It's like porn for me. I have a major sweet tooth even without being pregnant and it's even worse now. It doesn't help that this cookbook has pictures. I just flip through the pages looking at all the pictures drooling. With recipes like caramel-chocolate mini bars, black bottom cherry cheesecake, dark chocolate truffle cupcakes, and raspberry champagne cream cake who can blame me?

While I'm on maternity leave, it is my goal to make as many of these desserts as I can.

Who wants to be my guinea pig?

Julie & Julia

I am currently reading this book. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. It's awesome. Julie is "pushing 30" (her words not mine) and a secretary who hates her job. She recently finds out that due to an undisclosed hormonal condition (I'm thinking PCOS) she probably won't be able to have children.

Are we seeing some parallels here? Hates her job....dealing with infertility.....is it any wonder I'm LOVING this book?

To combat these trials she steals a copy of her mother's Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and vows to cook her way through this book in a year. She started a blog....way back in 2002....to tell of her progress. It's hugely entertaining. Especially the part when she has to go on the lam because of her guilt over the seafood section. She murders several lobsters and never quite gets over it. I would love to do this myself, but I'm such a picky eater, I doubt I'd make it past the Oeufs en Gelee. Which is basically poached eggs in this congealed jelly/jello stuff. It sounds very unappetizing.

It does make me want to experiment and cook more. So many days I just get lazy and let my husband (who loves to cook too) do all the cooking. Maybe I need to rediscover the joy I used to have in it. Maybe I need to have more dinner parties as cooking for only two can sometimes be a drag.

Anyone wanna be a guinea pig for some new recipes?

The Most Awesomest Cake in the World

Happy Birthday to ME!

(I may even share)

Cooking with Spoonful of Sarah

Easy-Peasy Chicken Pot Pies
I recently discovered that making homemade individual pot pies is extremely simple. They're wonderful to have on a cold snowy day and they hardly take any time at all.

Purchase Pillsbury ready-made pie crusts. Bring them to room temperature in the refrigerator until ready to use. For the sake of this recipe, I'm going to make two individual pies.
Next, you'll need individual oven safe mini casserole dishes. I recently purchased these at Pier One. I love them.
Unroll the pie crust and place the dish upside down and cut a circle slightly larger than the dish. I would say about 1/2 an inch to a whole inch. (Depends on how much you like the crust) You will need two of these circles...one for each dish.
The rest is just assembling. You'll need a large family size can of cream of chicken soup. (or two regular size cans) Put in a sauce pan. Add to that about a cup of either water or chicken broth.
To the pan add cooked and cubed/shredded chicken. (again your preference) I use 1 chicken breast. Cook on low heat until the soup becomes smooth. It tends to be thick and chunky when it comes out of the can.
Turn off the heat and add half a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Stir mixture until the veggies are evenly covered and distributed into the soup.
Season the soup mixture with salt and pepper to taste and pour into the mini casserole dishes. I like them with lots of pepper.
Place the two circles of crust over the dishes tucking the sides to the edge of the dish. Don't forget to cut two slits into the crust to ventilate. I forgot this once and the pot pie exploded a little. It wasn't pretty.
Finally, place the pot pies on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about thirty minutes. You'll want to bake them until the crust is golden brown.
These smell so yummy when they are finished! I always burn the roof of my mouth because
I can never wait until they are completely cool to eat them. I'm getting hungry just looking at the picture!

Bon Appetite!

The Softer Side of Sears

I love my Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer. It makes baking So much easier. It's hard to believe I almost wasn't able to get it.
I had been wanting a mixer since I first moved out on my own, but have you seen the prices on some of those mixers? I just couldn't justify that....especially living on my own for the first time and figuring how to juggle bills with "fun stuff". My grandmother is a great baker and she had a standing mixer. When I would go sleep over at her house she would always pull that mixer out and we'd make homemade chocolate cake or the "best" sugar cookies that I could eat all myself.
I used to go to Bed Bath and Beyond and just admire the Kitchen Aid's in the rainbow of colors. I totally coveted one.
So when Spiderman and I became engaged I thought "Perfect, we'll register for one!" Along with the tons of other kitchen goodies we did. (Spiderman loves to cook too and Bed Bath and Beyond is our mecca for gadgets)
The shower came and went, with no mixer. We had registered for a Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuum (Spiderman has asthma and we have cats...I vacuum almost every day). We got the Hoover, but we also got a Kenmore canister vacuum from his Aunt in Indy. Did we really need two vacuums? No. Unfortunately, his Aunt didn't provide us with a receipt. But I figured Kenmore product....Sears. It's a Sears brand. Chances are VERY good it was purchased at Sears. They also have fabulous red Kitchen Aid Mixers....you following me?
So I send Spiderman to Sears one Saturday while I was at work. They told him no receipt no return. He didn't even ask to see a manager. Men. The next day the both of us went. While Spiderman was waiting in line I was perusing the vacuum aisles until I found it. The exact same vacuum. Same style, same color, same everything. When our turn came I asked for a manager. It took 25 minutes for the manager to come out to tell me that "no receipt, no return". I told her I didn't want a return, I wanted an exchange. The mixer was actually more money and we'd pay the difference. I showed her that they had these vacuums; I even pushed the vacuum next to their display. I told her that we were NOT leaving with the vacuum so they'd better let us exchange it. I wasn't rude about this...I was just firm with my intentions. I wasn't leaving without my mixer.
After about an hour a mortified Spiderman and I left with my shiny new mixer...sans vacuum....and I have been boycotting Sears ever since.
Softer side, my ass!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I enjoy cooking. I'm pretty good at it, but man let me tell you...I. Can. Bake. I think I enjoy it so much because I get to eat all the sweets when I'm done. I'm always looking for new recipes to try. Tonight I'm going to a Cinco de Mayo party at Spiderman's co-workers house. I decided to bake a cheesecake and use a new recipe that I found in my Taste of Home magazine. It turned out pretty well and I thought I'd share it with you all.
Layered Mocha Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter,melted

Filling:
2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 tablespoon boiling water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs,lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. It's important to test the quality of your ingredients. I sampled the Oreos. They were acceptable.

In a small bowl, combine the coffee granules, water and cinnamon; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. I find it easier to use my Kitchen Aid mixer for this job. Remind me to tell you all the story how I got (or almost didn't get) my mixer later. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Divide batter in half.
Stir melted chocolate into one portion; pour over crust.
Stir coffee mixture into the remaining batter; spoon over chocolate layer. Place on a pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Securely wrap foil around pan. Place in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.

When finished, it looks like this. You can also add a layer of melted chocolate to the top before serving if you like. It is SUPER yummy!