Father's Day Smiley Face Cake

I told my daughter Lily that this was the first time I'd seen such determination and long term attention span in her. She worked with such dedication to complete these two "gifts" for her father that it brought joy to my heart. So, I wanted to share her labor of love with you.

The first project she worked on was a "Bouquet" that she thought Bob would enjoy. She talked about the act of giving flowers and how it was mostly females that were the recipients of these lovely gifts. Then she talked about her Dad. She said the only bouquet he would truly appreciate was one he could eat, so she made one.

This simple act of love was made with brownie bites covered in white candy melts, dipped in colored sugars and attached to lollipop sticks. She added some tissue paper flowers to the back and stuck the sticks into a styrofoam ball that had been placed in a small wooden bucket. She also added some Tootsie Pop flowers, a few silk plant leaves and a bow to complete the look. Simple, yet loving.

Next she decided to make him a Father's Day cake. She settled on a Smiley Face. Remember how I told you we like to use M & M's to decorate, well, that's what she did. Check this out.
Her patience in placing all the M & M's on the cake gave me a new respect for my daughter. She's growing up. Seems like priorities are now slowly beginning to change. Slowing down that hectic pace she's kept up for so long (and that got her ill) is finally beginning to subside.

The cake is a simple vanilla cake with some chocolate chips added in for good measure. The frosting is a vanilla buttercream. The side (small) smiley faces are Oreos dipped in white candy melts with a smiley face imprinted on the top with mini M & M's. It took her all day to complete her gifts for her Dad, but it was worth it. She was quite proud of herself, as were Bob and I. Happy Father's Day!
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In honor of Father's Day, this is Bob's favorite joke.

Why don't cannibals eat clowns???

Because they taste funny!!!

Nestle Refrigerated Cookie Dough RECALLED

Sad news for the chocolate world today. Nestle's has recalled their refrigerated cookie dough after the FDA concluded the possibility of an Ecoli bacteria having invaded the product. Nothing is said of the actual chocolate chips we use in our everyday cooking and baking, but the pre-packaged cookie dough has been taken off the market until further investigation.

Go to these links for more information. I'm so heartbroken for the company. Next to Hershey's. Nestle is what a use on a regular basis (except for Abuelitas).

This is a quick post just FYI. The news merits everyone taking precautions. Please go the attached links and read some more.

http://www.rr.com/news/news/article/rr/1110/8102060/Nestle_recalls_Toll_House_cookie_dough_products

The FDA says:

"The recall includes refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tub, cookie
dough tubes, limited edition cookie dough items, seasonal cookie dough and
Ultimates cookie bar dough. It extends to chocolate chip dough and other
varieties, including gingerbread, sugar and peanut butter cookie dough. It does
not affect any other Toll House products, including ice cream that contains Toll
House raw cookie dough.The FDA also said consumers should not try to cook the
dough, even though eating cooked dough would be safe, because consumers might
get bacteria on their hands and on counters and other cooking surfaces.E. coli
is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration
and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure."

The Nestle Press Release:

http://www.nestle.com/MediaCenter/SpeechesAndStatements/AllSpeechesAndStatements/Toll+House+voluntary+withdrawal.htm

National Fudge Day

June 16th was National Fudge Day according to The Nibble, an online food magazine about specialty foods. And even though I had everything ready to go yesterday, Bob and I decided we needed to get out of the house and away from computers and stuff. We went to see the Star Trek movie. Yeah, I’m a Trekkie at heart. I think Zachary Quinto makes the PERFECT young Spock. I’ve always enjoyed Quinto’s character of Sylar in Heroes, but now watching him revive the Spock character was just the most entertaining time I’ve had at the theatre for a while, well, other than seeing Angels and Demons.


But enough about me. Let’s talk FUDGE. I’ve grown fond of watching Alton Brown on “Good Eats” on the Food Network show. Recently he had on a segment regarding fudge. I watched, I laughed, I listened to his comprehensive and scientific teachings on his cocoa and fudge research. He’s not only fun to watch but also has a way of teaching you a thing or two about cooking. OK, I was talking about the fudge. I wrote down his recipe for what he considers the best fudge in the whole world. I followed it to the letter using my candy thermometer and the proper size pans and ingredients. Long story short…I’m still waiting for the fudge to set. I’m pretty sure at this point that either I screwed up on one of his instructions, or….?

My plate is lonely. WHERE is the FUDGE???

Being flustered, I prepared a pan of Mexican Chocolate Fudge. I melted, I stirred, I cooled and I waited for the fudge to set, I cut into squares and took a picture (or two) and Alton’s recipe is still not set. If it ever does set, I’ll take a photograph and show it to you.

Meanwhile, please enjoy this recipe of Mexican Chocolate Fudge to commemorate Fudge Day (which was yesterday, while I was at the movies with my honey).

YAY! My plate is not lonely any more. It's got CHOCOLATE Fudge...Mexican Chocolate Fudge!

Mexican Chocolate Fudge
(about.com/candy)

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 disc (3.1 ounces) Mexican chocolate, finely chopped

Preparation:
1. Prepare an 8x8” baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine the marshmallows and chocolate chips in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place the butter, milk, sugar, cinnamon, cayenne and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to let the candy boil, stirring constantly, for five minutes.
5. Remove from the heat. Stir in the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and vanilla, mixing until well-combined.
6. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.7. While fudge is still wet, sprinkle the chopped Mexican chocolate on top. Place in the refrigerator to set the fudge. Once set, cut into 1-inch squares to serve.
Look at how creamy and smooth it turned out. Sorry, Alton. But since your recipe STILL has not set completely, I guess I'm King (Queen) of the the (Fudge) Kitchen! :)

For a great bit of reading on the histoy and origin of fudge, go to the Nibble by following this link. It's very interesting.
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Check out a delicious recipe for BBQ Pulled Pork (Crockpot Style). Go to the Mexican American Border Cooking blog for the tasty recipe.






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Interesting Fact:

The Hershey bar was the first candy bar on the market in 1900. By the 1920’s, there were about 40,000 candy bars on the market.