Christmas

Christmas was great this year (not that it isn't every year, well, except for the one where Brandon was in Iraq but let's not get technical ;) ! We got to spend most of the day at our house and each of our families came over to visit; mine for breakfast (cinnamon rolls of course...it's tradition!) & Brandon's for lunch (we had buttered shrimp (!), roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, broccoli and rolls. All very delicious. I'm kind of bummed I didn't get a picture of my plate.) Later we went to my grandma's house for dinner and the entire family get-together which happens each year since before I was even born! (My family has always had the same traditions since my older sister was little...before I was around!)

I feel like a little kid for wanting so badly to show off what I got for Christmas but I am just really excited by it all! Here's what I got:

My talented mom made me this which will be my brag book after our darling daughter is born. I'll have to show you the "finished" product once she is here and I add her pictures to it. The top two pictures are the front and back of the closed album. The next two are of each side of the fully opened album and the next three pictures are just some (blurry) close ups. Didn't she do a wonderful job?! Be sure to click on the pictures to get a better view! I am so proud of her!

While we are talking about the craftiness. This cute penguin cookie jar is what my sister-in-law made for me. She is about 10 years old. It says "Favorite Cookies" on it. She did a great job too!

My parents also got Brandon and I some cookware. I have been wanting stainless steel pots and pans for quite some time now and I finally got them! This set came with a steamer basket too! I've already gotten to use it and it's the most amazing thing ever! I've actually used every piece in the set! Oh and the bowls all have lids too which works out great for me because I am one of those people that doesn't make sure she has all the ingredients on hand BEFORE she starts baking and has to stop mid-recipe to run to the store and get the missing ingredient. Luckily I only live 4 blocks away from the grocery store! Anyway, these pans are fantastic! Thanks Mom & Dad!

Over the summer while my aunt was in town, we went on a shopping trip to the mall with my grandma. When we were at Bed, Bath & Beyond I found some dishes that I like, commented on them and moved on. Didn't really think twice about it, well my grandma did! She went back and got them for us! We have our first set of dishes that aren't hand me downs! It's enough for 4 people and we are gladly taking donations to get another set so if you are interested in donating please leave me a comment and we can work out some sort of deal ;) Aren't they beautiful? (the picture doesn't show the complete set. We had already begun using them before I started taking pictures...actually that is a lie. I took all the pictures before we used any of the dishes then when I plugged my memory card into the computer to start blogging away my memory card went caput and I lost all of my pictures and had to get a new card. So by the time I got my new memory card we had already used some of the dishes and that is why the complete set is not shown in the below picture).

And Brandon got me (drumroll please...) THE OFFICE DVD BOARD GAME!!!! I was so excited when I opened my gift from him! We started playing Christmas day with his family but none of them have ever watched the show so we quit early and haven't been able to pick it back up yet because we have been back to the daily grind. Brandon has been so busy at work. His shift is over at 6:00 but he is still working right now and yesterday he worked until 9:30 too. It's nice having him downstairs though instead of being away at the office working this late. I feel bad he isn't getting much of a break though. I know how much I like to be done with work; when my shift is over at 4:00 I am outta there! He requested New Year's day off though so maybe we will get to play my new game then!

And look at these adorable shirts my parents got for our little girl! They got them in the size she should be come summertime. I can't wait!

A Month of Sundaes

If my sister or I got grounded growing up our parents would tease us saying that we were grounded for a month of Sundays. Neither of us knew what that meant and it drove us nuts; Mom & Dad got a kick out of it! Now after we are both grown up and married my mom found this book and gave it to us as a gift from her and Dad this Christmas. The really cool thing about the book is it's all about ice cream; ice cream is my FAVORITE! It's about the start of ice cream in the USA! I find it interesting that all ice cream parlors/soda shops back in the day were in drug stores (pharmacies). Who'd have ever thought? I guess a spoonful of sugar really does help the medicine go down! At the back of the book it has a list from state to state which are the best ice cream parlors and one listed is here in my hometown! It also mentions what is the "best" at each place.

Double-Chocolate Christmas Praline-Fudge Cake

I am obsessed with cooking & baking. I am both proud and slightly embarrassed to say that I own around 200 cookbooks. The amazing thing is that I have only purchased maybe a total of 10. My friends and family know me too well. My mom bought me a Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook last year; a cake in it caught my attention and I really wanted to make it. Brandon was deployed in Iraq at the time and I couldn't imagine making it just for myself! Well now that he is home, I FINALLY made it last weekend! And it was just as delicious as I imagined it would be (well worth the wait)!!!





I usually have a really difficult time with layered cakes so I am really proud of this cake! I've got a story about the last time I tried a multiple layer cake! My parent's had gotten me a cake pan to make a checkerboard cake; I made the cake, assembled the layers and went about my business. When I came back upstairs, a huge chunk from the top layer had fallen off! I "glued" it back on with some frosting and continued on my way only to come back and see that the chunk had fallen off again but it took with it part of the next layer. I tried "gluing" it again but came back a third time to find that even more had fallen off! It was hopeless, but HILARIOUS! I ended up dumping the entire cake into a regular 9x13 pan. It looked really sloppy but still tasted oh so delicious!
Here is the recipe to the cake in the picture above. If anyone makes this let me know what you think!

Double Chocolate Christmas Praline-Fudge Cake

1 cup butter or marg
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate Ganache
Praline Frosting

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is smooth; remove from heat. cool. Beat buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add butter mixture to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended. Combine sugar, flour and salt; gradually ad to buttermilk mixture, beating until blended. (batter will be thin). Coat 3 (8") round cake pans with non-stick vegetable spray; line with wax paper. Pour batter evenly into pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 24 minutes or until set. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool layers completely. Spread about 1/2 cup ganache between cake layers; spread remainder on sides of cake only (not top). Chill cake 1/2 hour. Pour frosting slowly over top of cake, spreading to edges, allowing some frosting to run over sides. Freeze, if desired; thaw at room tempurature 4-6 hours. Makes 10-12 servings


Chocolate Ganache

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter or marg, cut up into pieces

Microwave chocolate chips and cream in a glass bowl on medium power (50%) 2-3 minutes or until chips are melted. Whisk until smooth. Gradually add butter, whisking until smooth. Cool, whisking often, 15-20 minutes or until spreading consistency. Makes about 2 cups.


Praline Frosting

1/4 cup butter or marg
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring often; boil one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add toasted pecans, stirring gently 2-5 minutes or until frosting begins to cool and thicken slightly. Pour immediately over cake. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.