My dogs would never sit so nicely waiting for their delicious snacks. Yay! Lulu & Phoebe!
i heart faces ~ people’s choice photo challenge
best face in february
i sure think so
Check me out on Reality Fishbowl: TOP CHEF ALL-STARS
Where I say things like,
“If I were Tom Colicchio’s toilet, I would commit suicide.”
i heart faces “anything but a face” photo contest
My boy and his bug.
Bake at 350 … for forever!
Ever meet one of those people with one of those smiles? You know … that smile that just lights up the room?
Bridget (of Bakeat350.com and bakeat350tweets) is definitely one of those people!
She was our Cookie Professor at the Pioneer Woman’s Holiday Baking Weekend.
Gorgeous, huh?
And OMG! Look at those pretty sprinkley sparkley goodies she brought! And she was super sprinkley sparkley, too! I was bedazzled. (hee hee)
She gave everyone a step-by-step lesson on making royal icing for outlining and flooding. But seriously – look at that smile! It would make even The Grinch excited to make cookies.
See! I told you the PDub was there.
That’s the cover of her new book — MADE OUT OF ICING! Bridget just whipped them out on her printer at home with some icing sheets and edible ink. Seriously – I didn’t make that up.
Jennifer will have this technique mastered in no time.
You can see lots of other cool cookies and techniques at Bridget’s website and etsy shop!
But she says she is kind of a “neat freak”, so she probably won’t let you come over to her house and make a big mess like this!
So some of the girls showed off a bit. (Looking at you, Twinkie!)
And somebody got all excited about the swirly technique and the flat dots!
Somebody just got really really really excited about the whole thing!
Cookies cookies everywhere! And finally we were just cookied out.
And you know what girls do when they are all cookied out …
The move on to chocolate!
After all that teaching and swirling and icing indoctrination, she was still smiling! And still more delightful than any chocolate truffle or perfectly wrapped cookie replica of a certain Wrangler-wearing behind.
Even with gold sparkle dust!
Thank you Bridget for an awesome day and for all of the helpful and hilarious tweets since then. It is such a pleasure to know you.
This post is Part 3 of the 862 Part series
Holy Crap, I’m Going to PDub’s.
Did you hear? I went on a trip …
to Oklahoma? With Jennifer. Ring any bells?
Oklahoma? You know Oklahoma, right?
Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain? Yeah! That one!
While there, I visited a beautiful ranch. Breathtaking, really. So much so, that it made me weepy many times.
This was the scene from our bedroom. Iconic American prairie. The Country. Fields and cows and fences and gravel roads. If you’ve never skinny-dipped in a murky pond or taken the tractor out while your parents were sleeping to pull your friend out of a ditch, you might not get what I’m talking about.
What? You thought this was going to be an exposé? And that I was going to share classified documents from the mystery-baking-bunker, reveal everyone’s deepest secrets and show you exclusive photographs of us getting pedicures from cowboys wearing only chaps?
Seriously? What is wrong with you?
Okay, okay. I’ll give you a peek … the bunker, not the cowboys.
Beautiful, huh? It was perfect –warm and welcoming and rustic.
Other-worldly, even.
… A world I adore.
Lots of people think I’m from another world. This may or may not confirm that.
I can confirm that, yes, you probably d0 know that man. From behind.
I think anyone who’s ever picked up a camera would tell you that this is an awful photograph, but I love it. And it’s my blog. So there.
You can’t really tell, but those are cows. Like these:
I love cows. I grew up with a backyard full of them. Their faces are so sweet … big ol’ almond shaped eyes. They are so lovely. And the way their ears stick out to the sides is adorable. “Moo” if you love them, too.
As precious as they are, the cows don’t hold a candle to these:
And these:
Oh! I’m in love with these:
I brought these home with me. Don’t tell.
Moose!
You might have noticed that isn’t a moose, but maybe from about a hundred yards if he was standing under some branchy old trees and you were driving by at sixty mph.? Right? Nevermind.
I know, I know. You’re waiting. Waiting for the dish. With streaming video and its own Twitter feed.
Oh! But wait! Look at this. Look at that early morning light –the way it fills up the whole wide open earth at eight o’clock in the morning.
::sigh::
God bless the prairie and the cowboys and dirt roads and wild mustangs … the tall grass and rocky pastures. Standing in the middle of that beauty, I was as small as a speck of dust and quite honestly it took everything in me not to jump out of the truck and drop down on my knees and thank God for the gifts of the ranches and farms, for my childhood, for the opportunity to let it sink back into my bones.
Sometimes a thing can sneak up on you and shift your spirit, remind you where you come from … even when you don’t know you’ve forgotten.
Maybe it’s just a memory awakened. Maybe it’s the hand of God. Maybe I’m totally full of straw and you’re sick of me rambling because I haven’t shown any streaming video of any catfights or short-sheeting 0r cow-tipping. BTW -I don’t know anything about any of that.
But, I do know that the experience was something that money could never buy, that the land and the sky and the amazing women I met will stay with me always.
Blessed …I am just so so so blessed.
Oh yeah, that Pioneer Woman was there, too.
This article is Part 2 of the 795 Part series
You Know You Want One: Peanut Butter Buckeyes (via Hungry?)
These are my very favorite holiday snack. My ornery grandmother Frances used to make them every year around this time. I don’t know the proportions, but she used to make the chocolate coating from cocoa and paraffin wax. Ewww… right? But, they must have been pretty good, cause I’m still stuffing them in my face to this day! This little tidbit is from my friend Lisa, a wonderful baker and storyteller.
via Hungry?
Done and done…. (via My Bitchy Blog)
Bahar makes chocolate cake again! I swear, if it’s the last thing I ever do, I’m going to make a big, fat mess in her kitchen and bake her a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and fudge ganache! Love you, Har!!!
via My Bitchy Blog
just S’MAC me already!
I admit it. I’m a bit of a boutique food cynic. Or I am a product of my redneck palate. Both are possibilities.
So when my new neighbor Stacey called me from NYC and said, “I’m getting macaroni and cheese. Do you want some?” I was all like … uhhhh … it’s macaroni. And cheese. You gotta bring it from New York City?
Instead of that, I just screamed, “YES!”
She sent me to this website for S’MAC .
I was all like, uhhhhh. Do we really need a dozen kinds of mac& cheese? I mean, it’s like, macaroni. And cheese. And holy crap! It’s $7.25 for a “nosh”! What the heck is a “nosh”?
Instead of that, I screamed, “OMG, BRING ME THE ALPINE. AND THE CAJUN. AND THE BUFFALO CHICKEN. No – scratch the Buffalo Chicken. Just the other two.” Moderation is a virtue.
The next day, she arrives with said S’MAC. I opened the little boxes. Looked like mac&cheese. A nosh looks like about two servings. There’s a little card on top with the cooking directions.
COOKING DIRECTIONS??? I GOTTA COOK IT MYSELF???
Ten minutes at 400 degrees. Okay – that’s not too bad. I baked the Alpine first.
Then I ate the whole thing.
Then I waited a few hours and baked the Cajun.
Then I ate the whole thing.
Then I passed out in a cheese-induced-coma and didn’t regain consciousness for four days.
Thankfully, just as I was coming around, Stacey called. “Brett is in NYC. You want mac&cheese?”
I’m all like, I’m not getting that again because I’m not supposed to be eating “zhe zennemehls” (per my Russian doctor) and I’m pretty sure cheese is a zennemehl.
Instead of that, I screamed, “OMG! Tell him to bring me the Alpine. Make it two. No, make it one. No, make it two. No, one. Just one.”
Ten minutes at 400 degrees.
I only ate half of it.
waited ten minutes ….
Then I ate the rest.
Face, it. I am a paragon of self-control.
So the moral of the story is this — Despite redneck sensibilities, this is the best damn macaroni I’ve ever eaten. I don’t care if it’s got zennemehl or not, next time I’m getting three. And sending Stacey some flowers. Or a stripper. From NYC. (Then he can bring the S’MAC with him!)
Alpine: A Swiss Mac that keeps you coming back for more. Gruyere coupled with its partner in crime, slab bacon. Hard to resist!
From the s’mac website:
S’MAC was a concept born at the Peanut Butter Co. in New York’s Greenwich Village (what better venue for inspiration than another comfort food joint!). It was created by husband & wife team, Sarita & Caesar Ekya.
While sitting down and savoring their PB & J sandwiches, Sarita casually mentioned to Caesar “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a place that served PB & J, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and…MAC-N-CHEESE?!?! Comfort food galore!” Both of them laughed (and salivated for some time) and went on their way. But the idea couldn’t be shaken — well that is, the part about the mac-n-cheese couldn’t be shaken. So they started on an adventure that would eventually lead them to the opening of their “baby” S’MAC 9 months later.
Holy Crap! I’m going to PDub’s!!!
It’s true. The Pioneer Woman, Jennifer Wilson, me … hanging out at the lodge, baking lots of stuff, sleeping in, looking at cows!!! Looking at cows! I know, right! Baking stuff. I’m not sure what this “sleeping in” thing is, but I am game for anything!
I know you are just about to die to know all the delicious details. So here’s the story.
A little over a year ago, my pal Jennifer convinced me to start this blog over some pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling. A photo of Jen’s muffin wrapper (she’d already eaten most of the muffin) is my very first entry.
So then there was this mix up during Trick-or-Treat and somehow our husbands ended up adopting the puppy that would be known as BooBenDean Wilson. I was convicted as an accessory to the adoption and became Boo’s official Godmother/babysitter.
For my love and dedication, Boo and her Wilsons gave me (drumroll, please) The Pioneer Woman Cooks as a little reward! So while the guys were watching Auburn and Alabama battle it out, Jennifer and I were in the kitchen making Brie Stuffed Mushrooms!
This is Jen and me at the Annual Mother/Daughter Christmas Cookie Swap at my house last year.
I kept on blogging away and one day my little WordPress Stats seemed off by about ten thousand or so. Still not knowing the ins and outs, I stumbled onto this! {@@}
Next thing you know, it was spring.
Then there was that short stint as a goat wrestler at the petting zoo. (Contrary to photographic evidence, no tiny goats were harmed in the making of this picture.)
Of course, Jennifer was coaching the kids’ soccer team. She is much more dignified than I am. And she has it easier – only four kids. Please … four? That’s a chip shot.
(It might be important to mention that she also substitutes at the elementary school about four days per week and runs the most darling business out of her own little sweat shop. And it’s probably important to say that her four run circles around my five. I have no idea how she does it all, but if I ever find out, I’m writing a book about it and making millions.)
At this point in history, I was tired of cleaning up all the dirty dishes from cooking, so I was getting into photography. Very little clean-up required.
Actually, I was still cooking and growing stuff and taking pictures, but the only proof I have is the photography. Sue me.
In between all of that we drove thousands of miles to dozens of soccer tournaments, scavenged every Michaels and Hobby Lobby in the four state area, hosted two of the most impromptu and successful birthday parties in the history of cake and ice cream, survived The Great Nick Saban Debate, and managed to knock out a few posts every now and then.
Then …
I had to leave.
Gah! That photo makes me weepy!
It’s been three long months, but thank the Good Lawd for technology!!! Facebook, texting, cell phones, blogs, Skype, XBox 360, digital billboards, Amber Alert, The Official Lindsey Lohan ankle bracelet monitoring device … okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but technology is the thing that saved me.
Sometimes I feel like I’m still just right up the street. Like the other day when I got a text that said, “Go to PW and register for that baking weekend. If you win – take me. If I win, I’ll take you.” I thought to myself, “ummmm … do you even know how many of those things I’ve entered?” But, I played along. I was entry number thirty thousand and some-odd-hundred-or-other-number. (Seriously – over 40,000 entries).
Being a realist (you get that free with your fifth child), I put it right out of my little mind.
So this weekend, I’m standing in line at the WalMart deli (that sounds like it should have a punch line, right?) and the Mr.’s phone rings. He looks confused and hands me the phone. First she asks, “Did you get that text I sent you last week?”
I say, “sure.” I guess I did.
She says, “Did you enter?”
Then the lightbulb goes off and I think, “Hmmmmm … did I?” I had to ponder it a bit while selecting from the gallery of chicken balls. I did. I clearly remember doing that and thinking … yhea … did I write that I want to know how to make Baklava? What the heck is Baklava? What if I don’t like it? “Yhea – I entered.”
Then I hear something that sounds like a hysterical woman screaming, “I’m running naked in the Target and we’re going to see the Pioneer Woman!” Maybe she didn’t say it exactly that way. I can’t remember.
“Huh?”
“WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!”
So now I’m in WalMart screaming, “WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!” at the chicken ball lady. She was unimpressed, to say the least. I don’t think it was personal –probably just a case of too-tight-hairnet.
So then I sent Jennifer 57,889 texts that said “I AM FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!!!”
And so, yhea, we’re like really cool about the whole thing now. Totally chill. We do stuff like this all the time.
Well, not really ….. DUDE!!!! I AM TOTALLY FREAKING OUT!!!!!
So December 3 – 5, we’re off to Oklahoma for some R&R with PDub and a few other winners.
I don’t know if you know this or not, but
DUDE!!!!!! I AM TOTALLY FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!
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