Whipped Salted Caramel Ganache Icing

March has been a month of many birthdays so I've been auditioning a few icing recipes. This is a Whipped Salted Caramel Ganache Icing I tried and love. It starts as an angsty, moody, emo ganache (I hear You Oughta Know),

 

and after a pound of butter and a little dance to Whip It,

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Fridays are for Inspiration: Tastespotting

I cannot even remember how I stumbled across this gem of a website but hours upon hours have been spent browsing Tastespotting. I do recall coming across it sometime in 2007 and unanimous love for this website seems to only grow. It also serves as motivation for food bloggers to share: to date I have submitted two pictures that have been rejected but I'll get there someday. May there never be another period of panic with Tastespotting being shut down. Those were dark days.


Thanks to Tastespotting it's easy to see and join in on food blogging trends including 

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Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Last Saturday we finally got around to celebrating Hijiri's birthday. Belated though it was, we had a great time eating, shopping and eating again. 

The gals came over for a casual lunch of good French baguettes and a platter of sandwich fixings including ham, chicken, cheese, tomato and lettuce. B also contributed to the lunch with a collection of divine scones (cheese, white chocolate and cherry, and chocolate). 

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Fridays are for Inspiration: Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart. 

I adore Martha. 

I adore Martha so very much.

I adore Martha so very much that I wish her version of The Apprentice were still on. 

I adore Martha so very much that I wish her version of The Apprentice were still on and I would totally audition.

I adore Martha so very much that I wish her version of The Apprentice were still on and I would totally audition and triumph as her apprentice.

I adore Martha so very much that I wish her version of The Apprentice were still on and I would totally audition and triumph as her apprentice so long as I fix my meringue fail.

 

This post is certainly story-centric but descriptions of my first memory of Martha as many lazy afternoons spent baking iconic chocolate chip cookies from a Living mag with my mom is so not happening. Such lazy afternoons did not exist because while Mami is a great many things, a baker she is not. In truth, my earliest memory of Martha is the hilarious Ana Gasteyer playing her in the SNL skit "Martha Stewart's Topless Christmas Special." Forgive me, M.

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Mocha Cake with Italian Buttercream

Never before have I met a person who loves celebrating her birthday as much as my dear friend Louise (B to me). It's perfectly normal for her to make multiple announcements a day informing any nearby ears that her birthday is only X more sleeps away. Granted, part of the reason it's such a special day is that her son was born on the same day (!) but I have a sneaky feeling that we'd be reminded just as frequently were that not the case.

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Fridays are for Inspiration: Chez Larsson

Chez Larsson is another blog I enjoy daily as you can see on my Bookmarks Bar.

Colleagues and I were joking recently that our homes are always at their cleanest during report card writing time because cleaning and organizing is how we procrastinate writing them. Thanks to Benita's blog, there is inspiration galore to serve as procrastination for many term's worth of report card writing. All joking aside, what I love most about her is her just-get-'er-done attitude. One day I will maintain a home as neat, minimal and functional as hers.

Since discovering Chez Larsson,

I store sprinkles upside down just like her. 

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Cheese Straws

I've taught at four schools in four years and consequently, I've had to make friends with a whole new staff the past four Septembers. Come my first turn for Treat Day, I always bring these cheese straws and magically, I've made new friends. The best part? They're easy.

Blitz the ingredients in a processor. Easy.
Dump out and press together into a dough. Easy. 

Roll out and cut into rustic strips. Easy.

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Fridays are for Inspiration: The Pioneer Woman

The Pioneer Woman is one of the blogs I enjoy daily as you can see from my Bookmarks Bar.

Her photos are beautiful, her humour shines through her writing and she seems thoroughly humble. PW also inspires me because she is the opposite of a food snob and appreciates almost all food like I do (bananas for her, licorice and ginger for me).

I initially visited her blog via Tastespotting when I saw a picture of her Bacon Appetizers and I was hooked. Obsessed with making her recipe, I bullied Jess into making them together (I couldn't find Club crackers in Vancouver - had to take advantage of being in the States) for a family BBQ. This is the actual 2008 picture taken in the also small Bronx kitchen.

 

From PW I've also learned 

• about The Cake Pan Lady 
• how not to fear baking with yeast (dynamite Cinnamon Rolls and No-knead dinner rolls? Totally baked.) 
• more facts about calf nuts I ever thought I’d learn

Thanks for the inspiration PW!

PS You may notice that I enjoy all her content but have only ever made a comment when she’s doing a KitchenAid stand mixer giveaway. Says a lot about me, non? Creeper alert.
PPS She's also the reason I decided to share my full name online. Maybe one day I'll share my last name too. Still find it scary.

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Amelia & Italian Buttercream

There's a new baby in the house. Meet Amelia.

(Look Jess! After 5+ years, I can now shut up about wanting one!)  

She's 25 lbs, over 11 inches and beautiful. Not long ago I shared how envious I was of Hijiri and her stand mixer but now I'm part of the club! It all happened unexpectedly on an unusual Friday.

Last Friday I was owed a day off work so Mami and I planned a road trip to Seattle with my grandmother (Halmuhnee) and her friend. We were browsing at the Premium Outlet when I spotted a special on red KitchenAid stand mixers at the kitchen store. How convenient that my kitchen colours are red and blue! Four days and a drive of death later, she was home.

I've been telling myself repeatedly that getting one was out of the question because of the lack of space and admittedly my limited counter space has been significantly compromised but I simply couldn't pass on the price. Price trumped counter space. Seriously, I've paid more for jeans and shoes (obviously a lifetime ago, when saving up for a condo was not even on the horizon).

...and the inaugural recipe? Cupcakes from a box. Not the most distinguished recipe for Amelia but we're not judgmental here in this small kitchen. Besides, I needed cupcakes to practice piping techniques for upcoming birthday cakes and cupcake orders. Didn't bother taking pictures of the iced cupcakes because they weren't v. pretty. (Oops. So maybe we're slightly judgmental in this small kitchen.)

The next recipe was Italian Buttercream. Boy, was it ever fun to watch Amelia beat the curdled mess into smooth oblivion. And forget about it when she teams up with BB, because when put together, baking becomes exponentially fun. What I actually did with the buttercream was fun too. Check out the practice roses piped with my new 1M icing tip. Now I need to practice piping a clean finish. I've already shown improvement.

I spy with my little eye 

• a rose that perished as a snack
• and Amelia's foot.

 

And we're done like dinner. 

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