Brandon's Birthday Meal 2014

So as tradition goes, whenever it is somebody's birthday in my family I will make a meal of whatever they ask for. Brandon's birthday was earlier in the week, but tonight was the first night we got to actually spend together, so I made his meal tonight. He asked for spinach artichoke dip and something with swordfish. I have never really made a swordfish dish, but with the power of the internet I found a fun looking recipe.

Swordfish a la Siciliana
3 oz raisins
5 Tbs olive oil
1 onion - chopped
1 garlic clove - chopped
1/2 lb tomatoes - diced
10 green olives - chopped (I used the big queen's size olives)
2 oz pine nuts
1 Tbs capers
2 lbs swordfish

~ soak raisins in warm water for 30 min, then drain
~ preheat oven to 400 degrees
~ in a skillet over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until soft and slightly translucent
~ add the rest of the ingredients (except fish), reduce heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes
~ season swordfish steaks with salt and pepper, place in a greased baking dish and cover with sauce from skillet
~ bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until steaks are firm and flake easily

 The spinach artichoke dip was a packet that I mixed with some cream cheese, basil, garlic powder, and cream cheese... nothing fancy! (served with pita chips) I didn't make a desert because Brandon bought ice cream.

Overall the sauce had a very Mediterranean feel that was nice. I am not a huge fan of swordfish (not that I dislike it, just not my favorite). I just think that swordfish can have a strong flavor or be a little on the "fishy" side. Brandon was happy with how things turned out, so as long as he is happy, I am happy.

 Happy Birthday Hunny!!

Fancy Fish and Army Cake

Lat week Brandon came home with some trout and I decided to try baking it with a fancy crust. It turned out really good, so when by brother Brian came over this weekend, I decided to try it again with salmon.
I started by going to Costco and getting a massive slab of salmon. Brandon and I got them a lot in the summer and would grill it and they are pretty good priced. I took the salmon and cut it into portion sized pieces, then dipped them in plain flour. Next I dipped them in an egg wash. For the last coating, I mixed together  garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, crushed walnuts, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. I didn't have a recipe, I just mixed and stirred until it looked good to me. Once all the sides of the fish were coated, I put them in a 9x13 pan and baked it at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, until the fish was nice and flaky. It turned out pretty yummy, if you ask me, and we have plenty of leftovers! Double win!

Today I also finished an order from "Amy Cake's Bake Shop" for an Army themed brownie cake. I think it turned out pretty cute :) The cake it actually a thicker brownie with buttercream frosting and fondant accents.

Friendsgiving

A few years ago a group of my girlfriends decided to have a girls-night get together around Thanksgiving time and call it "Friendsgiving". It was a hit and we have been doing it ever since. Pretty much it ends up being a group of girls catching up, drinking wine, eating good food, and getting all mushy telling what we are thankful for and how we all love being friends. I love it! (except the mushy stuff because I have crying...but it is nice to hear!)

This year I offered to host, so I will be making a turkey breast, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, stuffing, gravy, glazed carrots, dutch apple pie, and a pumpkin cheesecake. Other guests will be bringing garlic bread, fruit, and a cheesy-potato dish. I have the table set and everything in place, spent all day yesterday cleaning, and now just waiting to stick the turkey breast in the roaster in a couple hours. Hopefully I will post pics later :)

So I didn't take any pics, but here is one that another girl took :)

Vegas Bomb Cupcakes

**Notice**

This blog post has some things that may be unfamiliar to people who do not frequent bars, alcohol, or energy drinks (ie: my mom), so you will find descriptors in the parentheses. Enjoy! (and don't get too mad at me, Mom :) )

I have had several requests to make cupcakes that incorporate the flavors of a Vegas Bomb (an alcoholic drink, Mom). I can't say that I have ever had one, or if I have I can't remember it (sorry, Mom). However, I have been told it has peach schnapps, coconut rum, Crown Royal (a whiskey, Mom), and Red Bull (an energy drink, Mom). I guess you take all the liqueurs in a shot glass and then fill another glass half way with Red Bull. Then, drop the shot glass in the bigger glass and shoot it (drink it all really fast, Mom). So today I attempted to make some cupcakes using those flavors.

I made my regular white cake batter, but substituted some of the liquid with Red Bull (it gives you wings, Mom), then put in a peach preserve filling, and topped them with a Crown Royal buttercream (yep, that's booze in the frosting, Mom). I then sprinkled coconut flakes on top for the finishing touch.

(Here they are, Mom!)

Meatballs

I don't know if I have shared this recipe before or not... but it is one of my favorites that my mom used to make when I was growing up. It is for meatballs with a yummy sauce over top. You could always shape this into a meatloaf, but she would make little meatballs instead so it would be easier to serve.

For the meatballs:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground beef
3 Tbs onion or onion flakes
1 cup cracker crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 egg (beaten)
3/4 cup milk
mix together and form into 8 meatballs
bake at 350 for 1 hour

For the sauce:
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Divide the sauce evenly over the meatballs for the last 15 minutes of baking
(PS- I LOVE the sauce, so I always double it... the recipe above it just a single batch though)

and there you have it... pretty simple, tasty, and reminds me of home :)

Recent products

So going off last months cupcake craziness, I made "Red, White, & Blueberry" cupcakes to give away/sell. They were vanilla cake, had a cherry enter, and a vanilla blueberry buttercream, topped with some fresh blueberries.

I must say, the frosting was AWESOME!! I love a good buttercream, but when you add fresh blueberries to the mix.... YUM!

Also, yesterday I made a baby shower cake for some friends of ours who will be expecting a little boy in October (ish). The top tier was supposed to look like a present, with a fondant "bow" on top. This was a new technique for me, but I think it looked pretty cute. It was all chocolate cake with a chocolate fudge filling, vanilla buttercream and fondant accents.

Cupcake Crazy

Yesterday I got on a kick of cupcakes for some reason... and I may have gone a little overboard, but oh well! I had finished making a wedding cake that had a lemon curd filling, and I had some of it left over. I decided to make some strawberry cupcakes and fill them with the lemon curd, just so it wouldn't go to waste. As I was making them, I thought about who I should give them to (because otherwise Brandon and I would sit there and eat the entire batch) and I decided to make a "give-away" on my facebook page. I said that if 20 people "liked" my status, I would draw a random person to get a free dozen of the cupcakes, and if 40 people "liked" it, then I would pick out another name.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes -- strawberry cake, lemon curd filling, lemon buttercream, strawberry fruit snack on top)

It was fun to check and see the comments and look who "liked" the page, and I think it helped more people to see what I can do, which is cool. I am thinking about doing it on a monthly basis and having a little cupcake give-away and I mapped out flavors for every month...

July – Red White and Blueberry Swirl

(blueberry and cherry swirled cake, white buttercream)

August – Cookies-n-Cream

(chocolate cake, white buttercream with crushed oreos)

September – Carmel Apple

(white cake, apple filling, white buttercream, caramel drizzle)

October – Pumpkin Spice

(pumpkin cake, cream cheese frosting)

November – Cranberry Almond

(white cake with cranberries, almond cream cheese frosting)

December – Cool Chocolate Mint

(Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache filling, mint frosting)

January – Aunt Lois’s Cake

(Orange cake, pineapple/whipped frosting)

February – Chocolate Covered Strawberry

(chocolate cake, strawberry filling, pink buttercream)

March – Banana Nut

(banana cake, chopped nuts, brown sugar frosting)

April – Red Velvet

(red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting)

May – Chocolate Peanut Butter

(chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting)

All this being said, since I am giving them away for free, it could get a little expensive, so I may have to take off a month here and there. My goal is to make some awesome cupcakes to share & make people happy (obviously), and secondly to help spread the word and hopefully getting a little more paid business. Have any suggestions for flavors?? Want to order something?? Check out my FB page (Amy Cakes Bake Shop) and shoot me a message!