Chicken Nuggets

So, last night for dinner I made a chicken dish with squash and zucchini. It turned out ok, although I should have browned the chicken a bit more. Oh well.

But as usual Sean was saying that he didn't like that kind of chicken. So then he and Reagan had this conversation:

Reagan: So, what is your favorite kind of chicken, Sean?

Sean: Chicken nuggets.

Reagan: Well, these are kind of like chicken nuggets.

Sean: No they're not. They don't have any breading. (pause) They're like naked chicken nuggets! Mommy, it's naked chicken! cue peals of laughter from Reagan & Sean

Abby's Graduation

Well, Miss Abby Kendrick graduated from Gulf Coast High School this afternoon! She'll be off to the University of Central Florida in the fall. The kids and I are going to miss her very much. She's been a great friend to me and to them. Her graduation party is tomorrow afternoon and this is the cake I made for her:


This is the 6-inch tier. That's Nutella in the middle. And it's a yellow cake.

This is the 10-inch tier. Once again, Nutella in the middle. I used some scraps of cake to even out the top. I don't really have the right tool for torting a 10-inch round cake. I need a 14-inch slicing knife (well, that's what I want anyway!).

Finished top tier. Sitting atop my new cast iron turntable by Fat Daddio's. The chocolate curls are made from Scharffen Berger 62% cacao semisweet chocolate. The recipe actually called for giandujo, but I couldn't find it anywhere local and didn't have time to special order it. I think it turned out fine anyway.

Top view of the finished product. Reagan helped me dip the hazelnuts in chocolate and put them on the cake.

So, I'll update later and let you know how it actually tastes!

Anita's Photoblog

I ran across this website yesterday. I don't remember exactly how I ended up there, but the photography is absolutely beautiful. Especially if you like flowers and plant life, as that is what Anita focuses on. The link goes to her portfolio page, but she also apparently posts a different photo every day under 'home'.

It's always neat to see how people with real talent can capture the beauty of God's creation.

Katherine-you should definitely check it out! She has an amazing photo of a gerbera daisy.

Random Morning Funny...

Earlier this morning I was sitting at my computer doing my morning reading when Sean came up to me and asked, "Mommy, may I order a book online?"

I said, "What book do you want and why do you want to do that?"

To which he responded, "Because it looks like fun to order things online."!

Fortunately he's in no position to find out how right he is....

Death by Chocolate

Well, my dear friend and former babysitter Sarah Teigen is getting married on May 17th! I still can't believe it. Anyway, her bridal shower was last night and I was asked to make the cake. Knowing her complete LOVE of chocolate, this is what I came up with:

The bottom is a 10-inch 4-layer tier, and the top is a 6-inch 4-layer tier. The cake itself is chocolate. The filling is buttercream flavored with creme de cacao. I also used a moistening syrup on the layers that was flavored with creme de cacao.

The chocolate frosting on the outside came from Recipezaar. It was really very good. I decorated the cake with some chocolate covered strawberries, which I did myself, and some chocolate covered coffee beans, which I did NOT do myself.

The cake was a huge hit, although we ended up not even cutting into the bottom layer. I think everyone had filled up on the other tea party treats that were there. I'm just getting started putting my name out there as someone who does party cakes, etc, so this type of thing is definitely good exposure.