The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I LOVE Thanksgiving. It is my second favorite holiday next to Christmas. Christmas is my absolute favorite because I get to see my family and it is usually the only time of year that I get to see my family. But Thanksgiving is my "friends" holiday. I have been hosting it at my house for the last few years and I usually have about 12-15 people in my tiny apartment which is very "cozy" and fun! To give you an idea of why I love it so much, I will share that my first 3-4 Thanksgivings here in San Diego were pretty bleak. Thanksgiving is such a family time for most people that I didn't get invites to go anywhere and the family that I do have down here always left town for the holiday, so that left me... all alone. Eating microwave popcorn and watching a movie or some such nonsense. It was really rather depressing.

Ok, enough of the "poor me" stuff. Fast forward to today. I have a wonderful community of friends that I love and enough of them also don't have family in the area that we can have our own shindig, and so we have. Every year, we eat a huge meal, go on a walk on the beach, and play games, and just be friends. It is such an enjoyable day. I kind of have a reputation among my friends for being a good cook so Thanksgiving is known for being pretty epic. It is a lot to live up to and I try to outdo myself every year. This year was no exception. There were a couple of things that didn't turn out as great as I had hoped - the apple pie was a flop, and the gravy was a little too rich. But overall, it was delicious.

My friend, Yong, deserves some kudos this year though. He was in charge of the salad and cranberry sauce. Those are easy "single guy" things to bring, right? Well, he wasn't going to take the easy way out and just grab a can of cranberry sauce and a bag of salad, he was going to make it all. I felt a little bad because I think he had some pressure to contribute to the most delicious of all meals. But at any rate, he made one of the best salads I have ever had and some pretty delicious cranberry sauce. He also ended up going to the ER for slicing his finger in the process. Talk about taking one for the team! Way to go, Yong!

Nattida got a hold of my camera and took pictures of every dish that we had so even though it is a lot of pictures, I will post them for those of you who weren't there so you can drool over our amazing dinner! I am not going to post recipes because there are way too many. But if anyone wants any recipes, just let me know and I will send them to you.

The whole spread:

 The Turkey:

 Shiitake Mushroom Gravy:

Roasted Root Veggies (from Abby):

 Green Bean Casserole:

 Stuffing:

 Mashed Potatoes (from Tricia):

 Herbed Butter Corn:

 Yam/Praline Casserole:

 Cranberry Sauce (from Yong):

 Three different kinds of butter for the rolls:

 And I forgot to take pictures of dessert but we had three pies: apple/cranberry, blackberry/ peach, and pumpkin/ praline. And Nattida brought Red Velvet cupcakes because it was Tricia's birthday as well.

And here are some of the guys just sitting around and digesting:

 And here are some of the girls on our beach walk:

And there you have it, Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was a wonderful day. Now for the "Day after Thanksgiving" activities - making homemade Turkey Noodle Soup and decorating the house for Christmas. YAY!!!

Breaking Dawn Review

I am a Twilight Fan. I big one. I have read all the books. Something like five times. I have all of the soundtracks. I have the Illustrated Guide. I own all of the movies and have watched them many times. I have seen most of the movies at midnight on opening night. Yep, I am a Twilight Fan... me and all the 14 year old girls in America. Don't mock me. I am allowed to have "my thing". So this is my review of Breaking Dawn part 1. It has only been out three days so if you haven't seen it yet and care about spoilers, stop. reading. now. This blog will be full of them!

I spent all day yesterday watching the three previous Twilight movies in preparation for watching Breaking Dawn last night. That was kind of cool to watch them back to back like that. It was interesting to see the different styles that each director brought to the film. I also definitely noticed the improvement in acting among the three main characters. The first movie has some nice elements but Kristin Stewart is so twitchy I can hardly stand to watch her. And Robert Pattinson makes really bizarre faces that don't really make him look like a thirsty vampire as much as a constipated, crazy man. And Taylor Lautner tends to make Jacob kind of whiney. All of that is really distracting! The characters in the books definitely don't do that! But I have to say, these three have come a long way, thank goodness!

Although Eclipse is my favorite book in the series and I loved the movie as well, Breaking Dawn part 1 was probably the most satisfying of all the movies in that it portrayed what I imagined from the book REALLY well. The wedding scene was amazing! Not only was it gorgeous visually, the music was brilliant. When Edward and Bella were saying their vows and "Flightless Bird" started playing I actually started crying. Oh my gosh, I felt dumb but Bill Condon is a genius! He manipulated my emotions with music! The song made everything feel so nostalgic. I also loved all of the toasts. Not in the book but a nice addition. It gave everyone their moment of closure as that is the last we will see of Bella's high school friends.

The honeymoon scene was very well done! Isle Esme was beautiful and the whole thing was very romantic, yet tasteful. I love how they captured Bella's nervousness. Surprisingly well done, Kristin Stewart.  In fact, Kristin did a great job in the whole film. Not twitchy at all! And holy cow... did they make her look sick! I was very impressed with Bella's transformation. It was incredibly realistic and slightly nauseating, as it should be. And the birthing scene? Woah! Nothing more needs to be said. Woah!

I think one of my favorite moments was when Charlie called Bella and she told him that she was going to Switzerland. His pain at not being able to see her was very well portrayed. I love Billy Burke, and to be honest, I think he is my favorite character in the whole series. I just feel so bad for Charlie knowing what is coming! He is just so lovable and awkward I can't stand to see him in pain!

Jacob's transformation is nice too. He is becoming a man and is a lot less whiney than he has been. I am really excited for part 2 when he steps up even more. I think that they really handled the imprinting scene well. That could have been creepy, and who knows, maybe if you haven't read the books, it still was creepy because it is not explained as thoroughly but I think the idea came through pretty well and it worked.

The final scene was predictable of course, but perfect. It was the perfect place to break and I am very excited to see part 2. A WHOLE YEAR AWAY!!! arg...

I will leave you with this: the lyrics of "Flightless Bird". I love the song, it has such a beautiful melody, but have you ever listened to the words of Edward and Bella's love song? Weeeeeird! It goes to show that music is emotional and it can make you feel a certain way no matter what is actually being said!

I was a quick wet boy, diving too deep for coins

All of your street light eyes wide on my plastic toys

Then when the cops closed the fair, I cut my long baby hair

Stole me a dog-eared map and called for you everywhere

Have I found you

Flightless bird, jealous, weeping or lost you, american mouth

Big pill looming

Now I'm a fat house cat

Nursing my sore blunt tongue

Watching the warm poison rats curl through the wide fence cracks

Pissing on magazine photos

Those fishing lures thrown in the cold

And clean blood of Christ mountain stream

Have I found you

Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding or lost you, american mouth

Big pill stuck going down

Um... yeah... romantic.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

The other night our Community Group had a bonfire on the beach. The great thing about November is that we were the only ones there. It was great! I brought some pumpkin swirl brownies for dessert. This is the season where I feel the need to add pumpkin to everything! I think this recipe originally came from Martha Stewart. I got the recipe from my friend, Abby, and I make them every fall. Pumpkin and chocolate might sound like a strange combo but they are delicious together!

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies


1 stick butter
6 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 1/4 cups pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg


Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9“x9” baking pan.
Melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl and beat until fluffy and well combined (3-5 minutes). Beat in flour mixture.
Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir the melted chocolate into one bowl. In other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set.
With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect.
Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

Andes Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

This week has been a whirlwind of a week! Work has been busy, I am getting a new roommate in a few days so my current roommate has everything in disarray for his move, I got a precious new niece, I FINALLY got my Christmas time off approved and bought a plane ticket to see said niece (and the rest of the family), and in the midst of it all I am still finding my zen in the kitchen. This week I made Andes Mint Chocolate Cheesecake for my friend, Kelly's, birthday. I LOVE cheesecake. I LOVE chocolate. I LOVE mint. Put it all together and you have a party in your mouth!

Andes Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:

2 cups finely ground Oreo cookie crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:

3 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup chopped Andes Mint candies

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Crust:

Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter until well blended. Press mixture into a 9” spring form pan. Bake at 375°F for 7-8 minutes. Cool and fill with pie filling. Take out and turn oven up to 450°F.

Filling:

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well after each one. Add chocolate, Andes candies, sour cream, and vanilla. Pour over crust.

Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 250°F and bake for 35 minutes more. Turn off oven and leave in for 1 hour. Don’t open door. Put cheesecake in the refrigerator and chill for 4-5 hours.

Stay tuned for next week's Pumpkin Swirl Brownies. So. Good. 

I wish I had a silent "S" in my name!

My little niece, Isla Jolee, has arrived. Isn't that a great name? It is pronounced "Eye-luh" not "Iz-luh". I love the fact that her name has a silent "S" in it. I wish my name had a silent "S" - Tamaras - it has flare :)
At any rate, after a long nine months for Tim and Malee - including a couple of months on bedrest, she is finally here, safe and sound. She weighed in at 8 pounds and is 20 1/2 inches long. I am kind of going crazy here knowing that my precious little niece is halfway across the country and it will be two months until I get to see her. laaaaame! Anyway, here are some adorable pictures:

They were taken with a cell phone and texted to me so they aren't the best quality, but they're all I've got! Congratulations Tim and Malee!!!

Speaking of Fall...

I am absolutely loving the fall! The weather is all cool and cloudy and it is definitely October. Just when I come to terms with Southern California's wimpy version of fall and embrace it, I am reminded of what REAL fall looks like! On Facebook, many people from my hometown in Idaho are posting pictures that are making me so jealous! I mean seriously, don't you wish you could be there?!?

There is snow on the mountains and the trees are turning - gorgeous! October is also the month of my family's annual Steelhead fishing trip up in Shoop, Idaho. I have only been able to make it home one year for the trip but I loved it and am jealous every year. What I wouldn't give to be camping in the Rocky Mountains right now! Here are a couple of pictures I snagged from my sister-in-law:

I totally miss my family! So excited to see everyone at Christmas. YAY!!! Now off to light my pumpkin spice candle and pretend it is fall here. 

Pretty Fall Colors

So, my degree is in Interior Design. I spent four years designing hypothetical spaces in school then four months designing real spaces at a design firm before the economy took a nose dive. I am now in the corporate world doing corporate things with very little artistic outlet. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I am VERY thankful that I am able to pay the bills even though life doesn't look like "The plan".

However... I yearn for a creative outlet. My recent interest in cake decorating has been fun and I really love the cool things I am learning. I also find culinary art to be really fulfilling. Making an amazing dessert or savory dinner satisfies that need to create. But, I have to say, I still get the itch to design living spaces! Consequently, various rooms in my apartment get redone from time to time. I kind of wonder about the timing because it is very odd. Last year, I got sick for about a week and the next week I redid my bathroom. Coincidently, last week I was sick all week and then I got a sudden burst of energy and redid my kitchen this week. I wonder if I react against the inactivity of being sick or something. Weird.

Anyway, so I repainted my kitchen cabinets and the walls in my kitchen and dining room. Before you go looking at the pictures I will tell you that my favorite season is Fall and I live in Southern California that doesn't really have much of a Fall (or any season, for that matter). It is quite sad, really. I find that my home decor is pretty much all Fall colors: golds, greens, browns and orange. I suppose I am trying to simulate seasons that I am not actually experiencing. So my kitchen and dining room now look very much like a Fall day. I kind of love it!

Here is my kitchen before:

And here is my kitchen after:

Here is my dining room before:

And here is my dining room after:

I am REALLY happy with how it turned out. The cabinets now match all the rest of the wood in my house and pulls everything together. It also just feels warmer. I am all about warm and cozy right now. Gearing up for the holidays (I know... already!) Speaking of, here are two more "Fall things" that are totally awesome:

Trader Joes mini pumpkin bouquets. My favorite thing about October - LOVE THEM!!!

And this delightful recipe I found on Pinterest to make my house smell amazing!

one orange

1/2 cup cranberries

1 Tbs. whole cloves

3 sticks of cinnamon 

a pinch of grated nutmeg 

Quarter the orange.  Put all the ingredients into a crock pot or a saucepan.  Fill pan with water.  Place on the stove on the smallest burner, on the lowest setting.  Refill water as needed.

This stuff is awesome. My house looks and smells like Fall should. Now if only the leaves would actually change... 

The blog you have all been waiting for... THE WEDDING CAKE

Today was Dave and Ellie's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I was a bit worried about it being hot since it was about thirty minutes inland and the weather channel was predicting mid-80's. Fortunately, it was in the low 70's and very comfortable. Their colors were variances of greens, beiges, and golds... very Fall-like. They got married in a beautiful park under a HUGE tree and there were leaves all over the ground. It couldn't have felt Fallier. (yes, I just made up a word, when you have your own blog, you can do that)

Anyway, as you know, I made the wedding cake for their big day. It was my first wedding cake and I was very nervous about it. I mean, when I really think about it, a wedding cake is simply a few normal cakes that you put on top of each other, no big deal. But I guess the fact that it is a WEDDING and the fact that I have never done one before put a bit of pressure on. I really didn't want to screw up! Especially since I offered to make the cake for them, I would have hated if that was the one flop among an otherwise magical day.

I am happy to say that it turned out perfectly! It came together to be just what Dave and Ellie asked for and exactly how I pictured it in my mind. I made the leaves out of gum-paste, which is like sweet, edible, play dough that hardens when it dries. The colors of the leaves turned out to be really complimentary to the wedding colors. I gave the cake some vertical texture on the sides because when we were looking at inspiration pictures, Dave and Ellie really liked that look. I used a slice of a tree trunk as the base for the cake because it gave it a rustic look and fit in perfectly with the feel of the wedding.

Anyway, enough description of the cake, I will just show you the pictures:

Here are the gum-paste leaves before they were scattered on the cake. These were definitely the most time consuming part of the cake. I probably spent 7-8 hours in total making them. I love how they turned out though, very natural!

There were only 18 pieces left which was great! A lot of times, there is a LOT of leftover cake and I was a little worried that there would be a lot of waste. 

There were two flavors, chocolate with raspberry mousse filling and red velvet with cream cheese filling. Both turned out well and both were a big hit! All in all, my first wedding cake experience was great! I am so glad I was able to give this to Dave and Ellie and SO glad that it turned out well. YAY!

P.S.

A huge shout out to Abby and Cheryl for helping me cut and serve the cake! I appreciate you girls!

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

Last night our community group had an Italian Dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. It was Ben's birthday and he requested chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. I happen to have a delicious chocolate cake recipe from my mom. It is the same cake I am making for Dave and Ellie's wedding in a few weeks. The great thing is it is so versatile. You can fill it with chocolate mousse, raspberry mousse, whipped cream, anything! It is a very dense and moist cake. I also got to use my new mad cake decorating skills to make it look elegant. I think it was a hit!

Chocolate Cake
Cake:

9 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2½ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
½ cup butter
½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk w/ 1 Tbs. vinegar)
2¼ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
¼ cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup warm water
1½ tsp. vanilla


Mix cocoa and vegetable oil. Cream brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Add cocoa and mix well.
Mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Alternately add buttermilk and flour mixture to batter. Mix well. Add 1 cup of boiling water. Pour into two greased and floured 8" round pans. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Cool cake and fill with filling of choice. Mix together all ingredients for the frosting and frost the outside of the cake.

Zuppa Toscana

Last week I bought some kale so I could try making kale chips. I have heard several people rave about kale chips. I have to say though, not my cup of tea. They had a very strong taste and after about three, I threw the rest away. I was left with a lot of kale left and no idea what to do with it (have you ever tried raw kale? blech!!!). I asked for some suggestions on Facebook and several people raved about this Italian soup - Zuppa Toscana. I had never heard of this soup before but it sounded good and since my community group was having an Italian potluck this week, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. Conclusion - yummy!

Zuppa Toscana

5 Italian sweet sausages
1½ tsp. crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
6 slices bacon
2 tsp. minced garlic
10 cups water
3 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 red potatoes

1 small bunch of kale (about 3 cups)
Poke a couple of small holes in the sausages and fry in medium pan on medium heat until done. Remove from pan and cut lengthwise then into ½" slices. Cook bacon in same pan used for sausages. Remove bacon and crumble. Cook onions and garlic in the same pan. Drain grease and set aside. Add chicken bouillon and water to a pot and heat until it starts to boil. Add the onions and garlic and sliced potatoes. Cook until soft, about half an hour. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the sausage, the kale, and the crumbled bacon. Let the soup heat through and serve.