“Pavlova’s are a perfect Easter dessert for so many reasons. 1) The majority of the work can be done a couple of days before serving. 2) You can make individual servings or one large dessert. 3) You can top it with whatever variety of toppings you like – or even serve it buffet style with a variety of topping and everyone can customize their own.”

Get the recipe and tips on Simple Bites.

Pssst. I got to meet Ree Drummond last week. I was just about to crawl into my pj’s after the kids went to bed and I happened to see Eliana of A Chica Bakes mentioning on Twitter that she was at the book signing here in New York (lucky me because I’m never on Twitter). P.S. Eliana is super sweet and helpful.

I was out the door in a flash and ended up being third last in line. I was trying to play it cool and didn’t plan what I was going to say. By the time I got to the front, I was so tired (10:00 is past my bedtime – lame I know) that I just kind of stood there blankly having no idea what to say. Ree was so sweet and tried to start a conversation with me but my mind just froze up and no words came out of my mouth. She looked at me sympathetically and said “ok, well thanks for coming” and I said “thank you for coming” and then sheepishly turned around and left. Obviously, I’m great under pressure.

She was every bit as sweet as you would imagine. And, even though her night was ten billion times more tiring than mine, talking to and signing everyone’s books, she was very gracious. Even to the weirdo’s like me.

Isn’t the bookstore lighting beautiful? (Insert sarcasm font.)

I purchased a book at the bookstore when I went to the signing and a few days later I received my review copy. I was super pumped because I had fallen in love with the book and was so excited to be able to share it with you.

So far we’ve made these Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas and these Fluffy New Potatoes (called Twice Baked New Potatoes in the book). Both were super yummy! Not every recipe from the book can be found on the website and many of them are tweaked to be the best they can be or to have more specific instructions. I think it’s definitely worth it to get the book. I love flipping through books – so much less strenuous on the eyes and brain.

This cookbook has quickly shot up the list as one of my favourites. I know over the next weeks (months?) the recipes from this cookbook will make it into my meal planning a couple times a week. Seriously, I want to make every recipe. They all sound so delicious.

I’m so happy to be able to give one of these books away to one of you wonderful people. Since I’ll be mailing my review copy, and I know how much it sucks not to be able to enter giveaways, this giveaway is open world-wide. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. If you like you can tell me what your favourite spring produce is. Mine is definitely strawberries or rhubarb – don’t make me pick! Only one entry per person please. The winner will be announced in Tuesday’s post. Good luck!

****This giveaway is now closed****

Now, this doesn’t mean I’m going to be making my own butter all the time. I’m still planning on using the sticks for baking and such because this is one instance where homemade is not actually cheaper. For me to buy 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) is cheaper than buying a pint of heavy cream (which makes 1 cup of butter), plus the bars are awfully handy for measuring. But, for those times when you’re wanting to use butter as a spread, I definitely think it’s worth it to make your own. The fresh taste and satisfaction of making your own butter just can’t be beat. Add herbs, spices, or citrus zest to jazz it up and give it some diversity. Just think what a star you’ll be when you whip some up for brunch to serve with scones or french toast.

Please, please do yourself a favour and don’t wait as long as I did, to make your own butter. You will not be disappointed.

Homemade Butter

• 1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste (optional)

Beat cream in a stand mixer* with the whisk attachment until solids form (butter) and separate from the liquid (buttermilk). Pour into a fine mesh sieve to strain buttermilk. Rinse with cold water. Press with a spatula (or squeeze with hands) to make it into a cohesive mass and to remove excess water. Mix in salt, if desired.

*According to other sources this can also be made in a food processor or blender but it was too thick for my cheap blender so I switched to the mixer. Also you could use hand beaters.

Makes approximately: 1 cup butter

“There haven’t been many years that my hubby and I have actually been able to go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. Whether it be because of a new baby, lack of babysitters, sick kids or just wanting to avoid the crowds, there are many reasons to stay in and enjoy a romantic evening together at home. It may seem impossible with kids, but it’s much easier to accomplish then one might think.

It all starts with a simple meal that can be brought together quickly once the kids are tucked in their beds and quiet has settled over the home. I can’t guarantee that the kids will stay quiet or that things will go smoothly but these recipes are so quick and so simple you should be able to enjoy a romantic three-course meal in the candlelight before the craziness begins again.”

Read more and get the recipes on Simple Bites.

To say that 2011 went out with a bang would be an understatement. Two months ago we found out we were moving. One and a half months later we were flying across the ocean with our most precious possessions in tow (aka. our children) and headed on a new adventure, starting from scratch, in a new land.

After living in Norway for three years we had mixed feelings. The new move meant we were going to be living much closer to family (yay!), in an english speaking country (yay!), in a city known for its great food (yay!). But, it also meant leaving behind great friends, the only home we’ve known since starting our family and this amazing view.

Anyone else hear angels singing?

We’ve left behind nature for the big city. We miss it tons but are also looking forward to this next chapter in our lives and for the many more visits that we’ll be getting from family and friends.

So let me tell you a bit about our new home.

It’s got a Starbucks on every corner (one right outside our door in fact). It’s got amazing parks like this:

Skylines like this:

And, city views like this:

Have you guessed yet?

We moved to New York City!

It’s scary, exhilarating and… scary. Really, honestly, you can’t compare New York and Oslo. They are totally and completely different. It’s feeling like a pretty big culture shock. It took me a bit just to get used to the fact that everyone spoke to me immediately in english and I found myself having to double check the words coming out of my mouth.

I think the only thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that I have a small kitchen. But, my oven is huge! I am so excited about that. And the new place has an awesome island that will give me tons of workspace.

Being in a new city, with every type of food ingredient available to me, plus it being the new year, has got me thinking about my food goals for the next year. They’re not really health related but more – how I’d like to grow as a cook. I’m sure they’ll morph throughout the year and new ones will be added but these are what are on my mind right now.

1. Teach Max to Cook on His Own

Max loves working with me in the kitchen so I think it’s best that I capitalize on that while I can and teach him how to start taking care of himself in the kitchen. He doesn’t have to love cooking when he grows up but I do want him to be able to know the basics so that he doesn’t have to bach it like the rest of them.

2. Find Healthy Snacks

This is on my list every year but you can never have too many healthy snacks. We most often eat fruit for snack time but I’d love to find more travelling snacks as well, since we have a new city to explore during the day and I don’t want to be tempted to eat out all the time.

3. Find More Substitutes for Store-Bought Products

This has been an ongoing goal for me and one that I find fun to conquer. I’ve got a lot of homemade versions of store-bought products already on the blog, but there’s always a new one to master and pretty much anytime I eat out I mentally break down the dish to figure out how I can recreate it at home.

4. Eat More Meatless Meals that the Whole Family will Enjoy

There are many benefits to eating the occasional meatless meal. It’s cheaper, healthier (usually) and often quicker to make. I’d love for our family to eat a meatless meal once a week but we’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a meat-loving husband and bean-hating son to contend with so it could get tricky. But I’ll be sure to share the successes with you.

5. Do More Canning

Last year I got hooked on canning. It was so much easier than I ever expected. Really, there’s nothing too intimidating about it. This year I hope to do small batches of canning all throughout the year. Because it’s fun and extremely satisfying and it makes you feel like you’re pretty much as domesticated as they get.

6. Decorate More Cakes/Cupcakes & Find the Best Basic Recipes

This one is more on the selfish side. I love decorating and baking cakes and I put it off for a long time after my son was born. But, I’d like to start fiddling with it more again. And, what better place than New York to do that right?

I’ve got a certain little girly’s first birthday coming up in a month so I’m in full brainstorming mode. We may not have many people to invite yet but there will be cake!

I’ve found my favourite chocolate party cake and vanilla frosting but I’m still on the search for the perfect vanilla cake, chocolate frosting and a plethora of other cake basics.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated on these food goals as I find recipes and techniques that help me conquer them.

Do you have any food goals this year? I’d love to hear about them. Maybe there are some that I can help you with? Just let me know, I love a good challenge. :)

P.S. Stay tuned for a new recipe coming up on Friday!

We’re still not in our place yet. Two more days. And, then there’s the matter of furnishing and moving all our stuff in. Should be tiring, good fun.

I can’t wait to get back into my own kitchen and start cooking from scratch again. We’ve been eating way too much take-out and frozen foods, I’m ready for some good and healthy homemade meals. Soon… soon. :)

Since I’m not able to bring you any new recipes quite yet, and since it’s the popular thing to do this time of year, I thought I’d share some of my best recipes from the past year. I always enjoy looking back on other people’s posts and being reminded of some of the deliciousness I’ve missed or forgotten, so I hope you enjoy it too.

Popular Posts from 2011

These are the posts that readers seemed to love the most and for good reason – many of them make it to our table on a regular basis.

In no particular order..

Healthier General Tso’s Chicken

No-Bake Granola Bars

Homemade Shake ‘n Bake

Rhubarb Crisp

Hoisin Chicken with Noodles and Green Beans

Peanut Buster Parfait Ice Cream Cake

No-Churn Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Homemade Wheat Thins

Pecan Crusted Chicken and Apple Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Things We Make Often

As well as many of the recipes above, these are my favourites from last year that have become regulars at our house.

Tropical Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Chicken Salsa Ranch Wraps

Homemade Egg McMuffins

Easy Almond Granola

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Perfect Burger Buns

Quick Chicken Parmigiana

Quick Mexican Rice with Beans

Summer Chicken Stew

Perfect Party Cake and Frosting

Simple Parmesan Baked Risotto

Happy New Year Everyone!

I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store.

It seems that every Christmas something comes up that I’m not able to keep up my posting schedule. And, that is so sad because I love Christmas and all Christmas related things. I’m always a little disappointed that I haven’t been able to share even a fraction of the millions of ideas running through my head. So this year I thought I’d make up for lost time and do a weeklong theme so I could get some of it out of my system. :)

So, this week is going to be all about Sugar Cookies. We’re going to start off with a yummy Christmas sugar cookie recipe and then move on to some fun and different ideas of what you can do with it. I’m really excited about this week and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it for you. I can’t wait to get started!

Giveaway Winner

I really loved reading about all of your favourite Christmas foods last week. You all have some pretty wicked awesome traditions and yummy food. I’m considering taking Santa’s job just so I can sneak some of your leftovers while you sleep. :) Thanks so much for sharing!

And the winner of one 16×20 inch canvas print from Easy Canvas Prints is…

Ellie Delancey who said:

“Is eggnog a food? Because I can’t wait for some spiked eggnog. Last year I made eggnog cupcakes and I may need to revisit that recipe again this year…”

Congratulations Ellie! I’ll be sending you an email later today so you can collect your prize. :)

I’ll see you all tomorrow with a tasty sugar cookie recipe. Don’t forget to bring the milk! ;)

From the post:

“If you’re anything like me you like to find as many recipes as possible to help use up that last half a cup (or less) of pumpkin purée. I wanted to compile a list of recipes and ideas for doing just that and I thought I would share it with you. Make sure to tuck these ideas away for reference later. If you save them for that little extra, you’ll have something to look forward to and no reason to get bored of eating pumpkin the same way over and over.”

Read more and get the 23 recipes on Simple Bites.

This is the kind of dessert that I can eat way to much of. The cake itself is so delicious that we’ve enjoyed it even without the cream cheese frosting. But as everyone knows cream cheese frosting and spice cake go hand in hand and it definitely puts this over the top.

I know everyone has a different definition of sheet cake. A sheet cake to me is a one layer square or rectangular cake, any size. They are simple to make for last-minute company but since you’re serving them cake they’ll feel like you’ve laboured.

Its natural orange color (which is more vibrant when using canned pumpkin) makes it a perfect dessert for any Halloween parties in your future. For a simple decoration make a spiderweb pattern on the frosting with chocolate syrup. You could either do it over the whole cake or on individual pieces. The frosting stays soft so there should be no problems doing it just before serving (but you could also do it ahead if you prefer).

Whatever event you serve this at, be assured that people will be asking for more.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Double this recipe for a 9×13 pan.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

Whisk together oil, sugar and eggs. Whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, until no lumps remain. Stir in pumpkin puree until evenly distributed. Pour into a greased or parchment lined 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 oz. (1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons icing (confectioners) sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons heavy cream (or 1/2 teaspoon milk)

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Whisk in icing sugar until smooth. Stir in cream until evenly distributed. Spread onto cooled cake.

Makes: 9 servings

First things first.

Tips on Making a Stacked Cake

To make this cake you’ll need to make a two-tiered, stacked cake. Here are some general tips on stacking cakes.

1. Start with a Sturdy Cake Base.

   If you’re making a stacked cake you want the cake to be fluffy (so it’s not too heavy) but also sturdy (so it can hold up to the pressure) and of course delicious (so it can be eaten :)). You’ll also want it to bake up nice and tall because it makes for a more impressive cake and will trim more easily without falling apart. I would be happy to share the Chocolate Cake recipe I use for stacked cakes, if there’s interest.

2. Trim it Flat.

   You want to make sure that your cakes are level for proper stacking and icing. You can either trim them flat with a sharp serrated knife or use a cake leveler.

3. Ice it as Smooth as Possible.

   I used a Whipped Vanilla Buttercream (again, I’d be happy to share the recipe if anyone’s interested) that is smooth, light, not overly sweet and can sit at room temperature for long periods of time. I used these methods  to crumb coat and smooth my buttercream.

4. Stack it Properly.

   Since the top tier is so small with this cake, you don’t need much in added support. I inserted straws into the 10 inch cake to help support the 6 inch, which was built on a cardboard base slightly smaller than it’s size. You can find more about properly stacking cakes here.

Now you can move on to the decorating.

How to Make a Cars Themed Cake

Note: I used marzipan to decorate this cake but you could also use fondant.

1. For this cake you want the tiers to be at least 4 inches different in diameter. I used 2-10 inch cakes for the base and 2-6 inch cakes for the top tier. If you’re wanting to have a road encircling your cake you need at least a two-inch perimeter all around the cake.
2. For the road. Before stacking the tiers, I rolled out a large piece of black marzipan and used the bottom of my 10 inch cake pan as a guide to trim it to a 10 inch circle with a paring knife. With the help of my hubby, I carefully transferred it to the top of the cake, placing it in the centre as much as possible. Then, I put straws in for support and stacked the 6 inch on top. For the white centre lines, I rolled out some white marzipan and cut it into small rectangles, brushed the backs with a bit of water and lined them up along the centre of the “road”.
3. To make the checkered bottom. I cut out 1 inch black squares and gently pressed them into the buttercream all around the cake. I started on the bottom with one black square, then placed a square in the row above by matching it with the corner of the bottom one, then continued up the cake before heading back down. This way there’s no measuring. If you match all the corners together each square with be 1 inch apart and create a checkered pattern.
4. To make the landscape top tier. I iced the top tier in light blue buttercream to look like the sky. After stacking, I rolled out some brown marzipan, cut it straight on one edge and then used a paring knife to cut out a large swoop to make a hill. I carefully pressed that onto the buttercream and made additional hills, overlapping them slightly until I encircled the entire cake. For the clouds I rolled out white marzipan, cut it into large and small cloud shapes, with a paring knife. I brushed the small clouds with a bit of water and stuck them onto the larger clouds. I then pressed those gently into the buttercream. I created a cactus by rolling green marzipan into a log, trimming and molding it into shape, using water to help the pieces stick together. I then used a toothpick to mark the spines onto the cactus before placing it on the cake. The sign is pretty self-explanatory; cut out the shapes, stick them on the cake. I also made some blades of grass to add some extra dimension. I rolled small pieced of green marzipan between two fingers until a thin cone shape was formed. Then I cut of the tip, dipped it gently into a bit of water and placed it onto a cake using a paint brush (that I only use for cakes) to help me get it where I wanted it to go.
5. For the cars. I used toy cars and secured toothpicks into the bottom and stuck them onto the cake. This way there was no fear of them rolling off during transportation.
6. For the lettering. I used alphabet shaped cutters for the smaller letters and stuck toothpicks into the bottom of each to secure them onto the cake. For the larger letters, I cut them out by hand with a  paring knife (to match the smaller letters) and used two toothpicks, per letter, to secure.

So that’s how I did it. Hopefully it makes sense and helps anyone that’s interested in making their own Cars themed birthday cake. :)

Inspired by this cake from CakeCentral.com.