Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all!

Graduation Time!

Well its definitely graduation time! All the cap & gowns flying to the dry cleaners!! All the proud parents getting their digital cameras/videos ready for their proudest moment....ahhhh the end of year!!!!

Here are some of the orders I did from Sweets La Petite! They turned out really cute and were a big hit with each client! They are my regular sugar cookie recipe and combined with frosting sheets for the college logos.

CSU East Bay Grad

Colorado State Univ Grad

UC Berkeley Grad

California College of the Arts Grad

Cilantro Chicken

ok. I have a confession. I love....no really...L_O_V_E cilantro. No I don't think you understand what I said....I love cilantro. If I could marry cilantro I damn sure would! So when a co-worker and I were chit-chatting at the registration desk at our convention in Washington DC last month, and she told me she had a TDF recipe for cilantro chicken, I practically stalked her on email to give it to me. Course it took me this long to make it, but OMG its sooo easy and its SOOOOO good! I'm just going to cut & paste her instructions for the recipe cuz of course (the baker that I am) really tried hard to follow it but without any measurements I was kinda lost!!!! Of course my BF helped me and made his persian cilantro rice and I thought I had died and gone to cilantro heaven! ENJOY!

FREAKIN BOMB CILANTRO CHICKEN
Adapted from Kathy

So here is my recipe for the bomb ass cilantro chicken:

You can use either a whole chicken or chicken pieces and it does work on skinless chicken too.

In a mini processor
one bunch of cilantro
3 cloves of garlic, depending on how garlicky you like it you can add more
About a teaspoon of chili powder, if you like it spicier then add more
A little salt
And olive oil, I don’t know a measurement just add a little at a time. You want it to come out kind of like a thin paste.

Put the chicken in a deep baking pan and rub the cilantro all over the chicken don’t be skimpy it makes a nice crust on the chicken after you bake it.. After you rub the chicken down with the cilantro pour about 2/3 of cup of salsa on top of chicken then take a half a can of Mexican beer and pour in the bottom of the pan (and chug the rest). Put in the a 400 degree oven. If you are doing a whole chicken I would say for about a n hour or so but if it is pieces it won’t take as long. I usually make rice with this, it has a lot of juices at the bottom of the pan that you can pour over the rice.

If you get stuck on something my home number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Kathy

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Results show the best chocolate-chip cookie is ...

When I saw that Anna at Cookie Madness had pegged an article in her local paper about how Karen Haram baked 6 types of chocolate chip cookies and put them in front of a panel of 18 Kindergartners, 15 people who claim to love chocolate chip cookies and 7 food professionals, I just knew I had to make the 'best-of' cookies. Its amazing how, even to this day, we still agree with kids!!!! I was not disappointed and I trust you won't be either.

Below is the list of recipes of what they tested. Karen was very thorough with this test because she used the same brands of ingredients, the same size scoops of dough, the same oven and the same cookie sheets for every recipe to make it an fair test!

NESTLE TOLLHOUSE
JACQUES TORRES’ COOKIES
MARTHA’S COOKIES
MRS. FIELD’s COOKIES
POPULAR ALL RECIPES COOKIE
COOKS’ ILLUSTRATED SNAGGED FROM RECIPEZAAR

Karen also went on to give some really good tips.

TIPS FOR THE PERFECT COOKIE

Use the best semisweet or bittersweet chocolate you can afford; milk chocolate chips are too sweet for the dough.

Have ingredients at room temperature.

Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape so they don't melt throughout the cookie. If you use other chocolate, it may melt more.

If you add nuts, toast them first (about 6 to 7 minutes in a 350-degree oven).

Salt plays an important role in cookies; don't skimp on it. Sprinkle sea salt lightly on top for a wonderful flavor contrast.

Don't overbake the cookies; they're done when the edges are golden brown.

Jacques Torres’ Winning Chocolate-Chip Cookies
Adapted from Houston Chronicle Article

Makes 1 1/2 dozen (5-inch) cookies

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp (8 1/2oz ) cake flour (important: don't substitute!)
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour (I just used AP flour)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 oz) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp (8 oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 lbs bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate discs
Sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and coarse salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.

3. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

5. Scoop 6 (3 1/2 -ounce) mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontal any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. (Editors note: For testing, we used a tablespoon cookie scoop and made smaller cookies, baking them a shorter length of time, about 10 minutes; they worked well.) Sprinkle cookies lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.

6. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Howdy folks! I've been waiting all year to make these! I saw them on flickr last year around this time and immediately went online to buy the cookie cutters and have been waiting patiently (ok fine...impatiently!!!!) to make them!!! I can't believe how well these cookies turned out!! I love the colors!!! I used my standard recipes: sugar cookie recipe, rolled buttercream recipe, and royal icing recipe.

You know you want to place an order for your next fiesta party, right? Well, you can definitely order them from http://www.sweetslapetite.com/!!!

Mini Purse Cake

Yes I've been a little absent. Well, its cuz I've been busy working/traveling (you know, my 'real job'!) and also taking classes on how to make purse cakes. My first one I made is on my flickr page but I wanted to make mini purses. I'm soo proud of how this mini purse cake came out! Its my infamous Chocolate Stout Cake but made into a mini purse. I'm planning on making more for Mother's Day! I'll be sure to post more when I make them! ENJOY!