Wordless Wednesday......Outdoor Spaces

My friends got together last weekend in Napa, and unfortunately I was unable to attend. (insert sad face here) But, I thought about them and what they may be up to. Made me dream about a beautiful outdoor living area and sipping on a little Vino from V.Sattui. I would add a outdoor pizza oven to this scene, then I would be in heaven.........

Coconut Rum Drenched Chocolate Cake

Today’s Tuesday with Dorie recipe, Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes (or in my case, Coconut Rum Drenched Chocolate Cake) was chosen by Wendy of Pink Stripes. Visit Wendy’s blog to get this wonderfully-flexible recipe.

I have made many a rum drenched cake in my past. And after spotting some coconut flavored rum, I thought I would change this recipe up a bit by adding some chocolate. Dorie is all for changing up her recipes. I am here to tell you this was a welcomed change. This cake came out moist and delicious.

A good up-change to a good recipe. If you would like to make this version, add in a 1/2 c. of melted semi sweet chocolate. Then for the drizzled frosting I added in the rum with the water and confectioners sugar. I will make this again and switch it up a bit, perhaps a Grand Marnier based cake.....

We give this 5 glasses of milk,

for utter goodness!

Chocolate Pavlovas

This month's recipe chosen by Dawn, maybe quite too many steps for most of you. But, if your willing to take on the challenge like I did, you can visit her site here for the recipes. I used to call the bottom layer floating islands, so you may know these by another name. I chose not to put the glaze on top. I figured I could cut down a couple of calories at least. This was pretty tasty, but a little too fancy for my group.


The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard

Hard Lemonade......M-m-m-m

It is real hot and humid in the East right now. My nights sitting out on the patio need one of these. Especially with a long day of school vacation with the kids.......Or you can celebrate the new Sex in the City opening with a little pink cocktail. What ever you are celebrating, celebrate with one of these. You can also substitute in Pink Lemonade Crystal Light.



Hard Lemonade
Ingredients
1 (12-oz.) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 (12-oz.) bottles beer (not dark), chilled
3/4 cup vodka, chilled
Ice
Garnishes: fresh cranberries, citrus slices
Preparation
1. Stir together first 3 ingredients. Serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.

Go ahead, Drink Up!

Wordless Wednesday.......

Do you ever dream you could jump in a snow bank ,

when the temperature is above 90, and the humidity can be unbearable???

This Humidity can leave me Speechless or Wordless.....

Dressing Up Your Chocolate Loaf......

Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes showed us that a loaf cake can be fancy, too, with her choice of Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake for TWD. This cake was super easy to put together. And if you slice it looks so elegant. Pair it with some whip cream and some chocolate shavings, along with a small mound of raspberries. That would be perfect!

I only split it into halves , when I could have done thirds. That's OK, I'll make it again sometime and third it. This is a great choice to bring to a party. SO-o-o easy!

We give this 4 glasses of milk,

for utter goodness!

Fabulous Find Friday

I am reposting these adorable mini bundt cakes. I love the pan that I picked up for $5 at Walmart while on Christmas vacation. It always helps to go in the cooking Christmas aisle the day after on the 26th. You'll never know what you may find!!!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by

Kristin of I'm Right About Everything

A very cute and easy recipe to make. Although, knowing what I know now the cake was a little dry. I will add some sour cream and maybe an extra egg next time. These make great individual dessert, like pictured above. Just add some chocolate or raspberry to the plate to decorate. If there were raspberries in season, I would have added them too!




Everyone on the site said they had a hard time with finding or having a mini bundt pan. I actually have a few. This particular one is a NORDICWARE that I picked up after Christmas, half price at Walmart. Yea!

Aren't they the cutest!

Thanks, Kristin, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here.

Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll,

to see how everyone else enjoyed these mini chocolate treats!

We give this 4 glasses of milk,

for utter goodness!

Raisin Swirl Bread

Susan of Food.Baby chose this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe--(a club dedicated to baking and blogging through her book Baking: From My Home to Yours)--and what a choice she made!

I love raisin bread. And Dorie's recipe is super easy. And with all the ingredients on hand I went right to it!

I chose to add some crushed pecans in with the raisins, and instead of nutmeg I used cinnamon when making the dough. It came out good and kept its shape. I didn't have a loaf pan, so I just split it in half and baked two side by side in a 9 x 13 pan. Worked out great. I was wishing it would have been more sweeter. I guess I am used to the white frosting on the top too!!! Missed that :(. Other than that I really liked the ease of putting it together.

For those who would like to give it a try check out the recipe HERE. It really is easy!

FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN.......M-m-m-m-m-m!

We give this 4 glasses of milk,

for utter goodness!

Wordlessly....Breathtaking!

Reaping the fruits of my labor....





I just love this red Poppy!

Hope your enjoying your garden!

Berries and Shortcake....YUM!

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is for Tender Shortcakes, a perfect pairing for the season’s berries. This is basically a biscuit recipe, but a little more tender. Easy to throw together, easy to freeze, easy to top, forget about Bisquick....... Berry season is coming into full swing in this area. We have fruit trucks popping up all over with 3 pts/ $5 or less. I could eat this for all three meal sessions!!

Thanks to Cathy of The Tortefeasor for hosting this week. Cathy is a funny, awesome writer so check out her blog for the recipe and the writing.

We give this 5 glasses of milk,

for utter goodness!

Time for a Teacher Thank You Gift....

It's important to thank your children's teachers for all they do! What better than chocolate as a form of gratitude....Everyone loves chocolate, right? I go to my favorite stand by - CAKE POPS and CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS.

They are very tasty and easy to make once you have the cake brownies rolled up. I try to keep a few in the freezer for last minute treats for little hand out gifts. The bags are so cute, I found them at the Christmas Tree Shop, one of my favorite go-to stores for anything. Also, it is right next to A.C. Moore where I can pick up the colorful chocolate. So if you don't want to go to all of the trouble to make the pops, why not dip some pretzels and place in a bag or mug.....just a thought!

And thank those teachers

because they sure deserve it!!!

The Sun is Shining for now......

Hope everyone is enjoying some bit of sunshine. We have some sun for now in the Northeast. But, we're looking at rain later tonight and off/on for the next few days. So I decided yesterday to work on my front and back porch----washing ,scraping, and painting. All that snow shoveling off the porch in the winter, does a number on the paint. And of course, I love this type of work, lol. Not to mention we have carpenter ants in some of the columns so we are replacing them. YUCK!

So if you happen to pass by, that's where I'll be....

Give me a shout out!

And enjoy gazing at my garden.

A Tart Tuesday Rewind

Sorry, Bloggers didn't have time today to bake with my Dorie's group today. Things have been pretty hectic with the holiday and graduations being in full swing. Which means..... lots of working at parties and filling cake pop orders.

And to top that off...... I have had a few patients passing in the last week or so. So I am rewinding to last year at this time when I joined in on the fun with the TWD group. This delightful tart is perfect for this season.

This week, we’re privileged to have Barb of Babette Feasts choose TWD’s recipe. Although Barb totally LOVES chocolate, she picked out Dorie’s Tartest Lemon Tart. Everyone seems to agree Barb, thanks for the great pick! Go check out her blog, her photos and Dorie’s recipe.

This recipe is super easy if you have a blender. You actually blend the whole lemon minus the skin, pith, and seeds. Dorie even suggest blanching them a little to get most of the pith off. I liked the tangy tart. I used Dorie's shortbread recipe minus the nuts for the shell. And made it in these cute little tart pans I picked up at one of my favorite stores 4/ $1.99, Christmas Tree Shop. They had a few different styles. They make for nice individual tarts for brunch or even a shower.

Now go have a look at the blog roll on Tuesdays With Dorie and see how everyone else fared. Want this recipe and ALL our TWD Recipes? Better get yourself Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.