honeycomb cupcakes

this was something my sisters made for my mom's birthday cake..cupcakes and sugar cookies on top with honey inside!

Stone-Fruit Recipe

Here is a link too the recipe because I'm too lazy to write it all out myself

link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/roasted-stone-fruit-with-vanilla-ice-cream-recipe/index.html

RR Recipe: Almond Joy Layer Cake

This is the recipe to my previous post, try it out.

Ingredients:

• 2/3C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter cut into 8 peices
• 3 oz chopped semisweet chocolate about 1/2 cup
• 2 1/4 granulated sugar
• 4t vanilla extract
• 1/2t salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2C flour
• 1 1/2t baking powder
• 1t baking soda
• 1 bag (14 oz) sweetened shredded coconut (4 packed cups)
• 2C sliced almonds
• 3C heavy cream
• 1/3C confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter two 8"x2" rounded cake pans. Line with parchment and butter parchement.
2. In a medium sauce pan, bring 2/3 cups water to a boil. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Whisk in the butter and chocolate over low heat for 2 mins until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 2 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk in one egg at a time beating well after each addition.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, bakng powder and baking soda. Pour in the chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in 1 packed cup coconut. Divide batter between pans and bake in the lower third of the oven for 35 minutes or until firm at the center. Let col in pans on the rack for 10 minutes then invert to racks to cool completely.
4. While the cake cools, spread the almods on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes; let cool.
5. In a saucpan, combine 3/4 cups cream, the remaining 3/4 cups granulated sugar and a pinch of salt and simmer, stirring over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2tsp. vanilla and 3 packed cups coconut. When cool, fold in 1 1/2 cups almonds.
6. Split the cake layers to make 4 layers. Place one layer cut side up on a cake stand and spread wiith one cup of the coconut almond mixture. Top with one layer cut side down and spread 1 cup of the mixture. Repeat with remaining layers and spread, add spread to the top of the cake as well. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours to firm up.
7. Whip the remaining 2 1/4 cups cream with the confectioners sugar until stiff. Spread over the cake and srinkle with almonds.

EAT AND ENJOY!!!

from EveryDay with Rachel Ray: Make Over issue.

Going Back to Morton's

I'll be back with Pictures and a new dish

Wedding Cake

This cake was made for my sister's wedding.  The fondant was the hardest part.  Trying to get the black food coloring to mix with fondant would not work too well so we just left it out and stuck to pink and white.  It tasted awesome and pulled the cake table together nicely.

R.R. Recipie: Steak and Tomato-Baked Eggs

This recipie is NOT mine, my friend gave it to me to try out and I thought that I would share it with you.  It is from the Rachel Ray magazines and this was a seven day menu.

Ingredients

• 3T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion sliced
• One 8oz package white mushrooms thinly sliced
• 4 large tomatoes tops sliced ff and flesh scooped out
• 4 eggs
• 1T finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1lb flank steak
• 1 bunch of Watercress

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375º.  In a medium skillet, heat 2T of olive oil in medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until softened.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Fill hallow tomatoes with mushrooms and onins.  Really pack it in and crack an egg over the top.  Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  Add parsley over the eggs.
3. Preheat another oiled pan over medium-high heat.  Season with salt and pepper and turn it over about halfway.  Cook for about 12 minutes for a medium rare and 15 minutes for well-done.  Transfer to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
4. In a salad bowl, whisk the juice of half a lemon and 1T olive oil and add watercress. 
5. Serve together and eat up!  ENJOY!

Pictures from Nashville

Veal Porterhouse

Olive Oil and Basil Gelato

Cured meats and cheeses

Nashville Tennessee

On my trip to Nashville, I stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.  It was really big and it felt really cool.  There were a lot of restaurants to eat at the hotel alone.  Some of the restaurants I ate at in the hotel were the Cascades, Solario, and Ravello.  All of them were really cool but I only took pictures at Solario and Ravello.  Here is what I think.

Link: http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/gaylord-opryland-resort-convention-center.en.html?aid=311088;label=hotel-58636-us-0B1ftxZgy10VJJwniWT54gS6922013163;ws=&gclid=CJ2lmpyivqcCFQUDbAodGgqXAg

Ravello's:

This southern Italian restaurant was really good.  I loved it a lot.  I ordered the Caesar Salad as usual.  The romaine lettuce was so crisp that it was the perfect salad.  My entrée was the Veal Porterhouse.  It was so big I didn't think i could finish it.  By the time I did, realized it was mostly bone.  I was disappointed because it was so good.  It was very moist and tender.  I never had veal before so i couldn't compare it to anything but it did have Lots of flavor.  A friend of mine ordered the Antipasti.  It includes a choice of their cured meats and artisan cheeses.  Before you order, a specialist comes out to talk to you and explain you choices.  It was really cool because there were so many to chose from.  Desert was awesome!  I ordered a gelato.  But it wasn't any gelato.  It was a basil and olive oil gelato, well, one scoop of each.  It comes with some syrup and strawberries but the gelato is the star.  The olive oil gelato, you might think it is weird but it tasted pretty good, I liked it.  The basil gelato, I guess depending how strong your taste buds are will determine whether you like it or not.  I didn't love it but I wasn't putting it down like my mom.  If you like an herb taste, you'd love this gelato.

Menu Link: http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-opryland/nashville-tn-dining-activities/assets/GO_RavelloDinnerMenu.pdf

Solario:

Solario was a pretty good restaurant.  I am not a big fan of Mexican food mostly because I don't like spicy things but this restaurant didn't have much spicy food.  Even the salsa was mild.  I ordered the Salsa Salsa Salsa! That is an appetizer that provides you with three different salsas.  All of them are good, but not to my liking.  I thought they were a little too mild.  Even though I don't like spicy food, I do like a little bit of a kick in the food and it had nothing.  so if you don't like spicy food at all, you're in luck.  Another appetizer I got was the sweet potato fries.  It was really good.  You can dip it in mayonnaise which brings out the spices more, or yo can eat it alone and all the flavor will blend together.  My entrée was  the Barbacoa Enchilada Roja.  It has pulled beef and smoked cheeses in warm tortillas.  I thought it was really good.  You get three medium sized enchilada's.  I thought that you could definitely tell that it was smoked because the flavor was definitely there!  I was hungry for more when i finished but then I had more of those fries and was it.

Menu Link:http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-opryland/nashville-tn-dining-activities/assets/GO_SolarioDinnerMenu.pdf

Ruth's Chris Steak House

By far this is the best place I've ever eaten. I loved their escargot the most.  It was covered with a layer of cheese which I thought made it taste even better!  Another appetizer I really liked was the Kalua Pork broth Clams.  It is just some steamed clams cooked in a Kalua Pork Broth and some pieces of shredded pork or here in Hawai'i, Kalua Pig.  I also ordered a New York Strip Steak.  As always I had to order it medium-well.  The steak was perfectly chard on the outside and a very light  red.  The steak was also very juicy and it was so very tender.  For desert, I had a Strawberry Chocolate Rum Flambe. It was so cool especially with the blue flames when they lit it at your table.  The flavor of the rum was so strong, even after the flames went out, it tasted like there was still some alcohol.  But it still tasted phenomenal.  EAT AT RUTH'S CHRIS!!!