A first: Banana Pudding…No Pressure at all.

What up world, Hopefully y’all been doin well…

Been a busy kid…officially started payin for skool (school)

For those that don’t know, I’m going to cooking school to learn Baking…for realsies.

So in the meantime, been working a lot, saving up.

Which is one reason, why y’all don’t here from me that much.

BUT no fear, I still keep y’all informed…

So w/that said, Banana Pudding? Porque?

Well, I was at a retreat and the request of the retreat: Banana Pudding

Have I eaten it before? Yeup

Have I made it before? Nope.

But after much “research”, I found a recipe on a newspaper clipping and voila!!

I made it, first time in a while I made somethin and had no idea if it was good or not.

Not tooting my own horn…I just said “tooting” in a sentence #silly

But to make it you’ll need the following

• 4 Eggs (Separated)
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 3 Bananas (Ripened)
• 1 Cup Sugar (Separated)
• Box of Vanilla Wafers

Notes:

• For the Pudding aspect: Use the 4 Egg Yolks, 1 1/2 Cups of Milk, 1/2 Cup Sugar.
• Take the remaining 1/2 Cup of Milk and 1/3 Cup of Flour and mix together with a Fork in a Cup/Bowl.
• Heat up the Milk n Sugar together in a saucepan then pour the hot milk over the yolks and whisk it simultaneously in a bowl. Then add it back to the saucepan.
•  Take the Milk/Flour mixture then whisk it in to the saucepan and  let it come to a boil. Stir occasionally.
• You gotta let it come to a boil to cook out the Flour-y taste and it’ll thicken up. You’ll know when its ready when its thickened  and not milky.
• For the Meringue: 4 Egg Whites + 1/2 Cup Sugar. Whip up the whites til frothy, then add the sugar til you get stiff peaks.
• To assemble: Layer w/either Bananas or Wafers first, then go from there like a trifle.
• Place Meringue on top, Place in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or til the meringue gets golden brown.

Thats all it takes, No Pressure y’all….really.

Apparently Banana Pudding is up there as a legendary dessert. Didnt really think about that when I made it.

That’s all I got for this week… I have decided it’s the return of Pop Tarts!!!

That should be fun…

If y’all like what y’all see? Comment, Subscribe and/or Like this bad boy…I try n keep this sucker interesting.

If not…I cant give ya a refund so…..

Oh btw, anybody else tired of the NBA Finals???

I swear if they had a drinking game of how many times “LeBron” “Miami Heat” “MJ Comparisons” were said, we’d all be DRUNK.

 

 

Citrus Angel Food Cupcakes w/Raspberry Whipped Frosting…that just happened.

What’s this?? A post in less than 2 weeks??

WHATS HAPPENED??!!!

Nothin really, I have time to update y’all w/a post….thats all really.

So I’m just getting used to being back in Texas….Last week, I was in KC for my BFF’s wedding.

Note I did say BFF….

Have I been baking since then? nope.

After all the work I put into that, I went on Baking Sabbatical.

Still currently on said Sabbatical…but I shall return soon enough.

This post is more of a throwback/ new material that I forgot to post right away.

This was actually what I made for Mothers Day…

Angel Food Cupcakes w/Raspberry Whipped Frosting

 

Why the “Citrus”…I added some Citrus aka Lemon & Orange to the cupcakes to make it light AND bright.

I sound like I know what I’m talkin about huh…

Anyway, the Raspberry Whipped topping, was basically this:

• 1 Cup of Heavy Cream whipped
• 2 Tablespoons of Sugar
• 1 Pint of Raspberry, pureed and strained (you know seeds and stuff)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla

Proceed to fold together..

Figured it’d be a bit lighter than doing a buttercream frosting…not saying buttercream frostings are bad…

But I will say, it’s quite addictive to eat…you have been warned fyi.

What else is going on?

Oh Im doing another Grooms Cake for a wedding this year!

#LOOKATGOD!

I’m excited for this challenge…apparently I’ve gotta make it look like the “Texas Tech” logo…that should be fun.

Other than that, just sitting, waiting, wishing til August.

But dont worry, I wont leave y’all hanging til then..

So that’s all I got for now, til next time…

Subscribe/Like and/or Comment….

I do try and keep this sucker going at least.

Anybody else forget its June already???

 

Boy Weddings REAALLY take up your Life/Time huh???

So, I realize its been damn near a month since I’ve said anythin to y’all..#mybad

But I was pre-occupied w/ the Wedding…not A wedding THE wedding.

My BFF roommate Luke, who accidentally changed my life w/Baking, got married about a week ago.

He hired me to do work at his wedding: The Cake & Dessert for the rehearsal dinner…yeah

The rehearsal dinner consisted of 80-100 people…so I had to hit the ground running as soon as I got up to Kansas City.

Cooking. Prepping. Cooking. Drinking…not sure where that falls into order, but it happened.

Fun Fact: Hungarian Moonshine will do damage…Bachelor Party.

So after spending Friday all day Cooking, Driving. Setting Up. Serving….I was tired.

But I am proud to say this happened..

Three Parfaits, Trifle-Style.

On the far left: Key Lime, By that: Red Velvet, By that: Black Forest.

Apparently, they were a hit. From what Luke’s Auntie said, there was “A buzz” about the trifles.

#VICTORYHUZZAH

And then turn around and crank out the cake…. to say I was tired is an understatement.

Esp cuz I had drove 3 hours up to the wedding and then drive back the next day…crazy.

But despite the cray cray workload….I’m proud to say that I did it.

I’m glad to say I succeeded in completing the challenge of feeding THAT many people for a wedding.

And getting paid dont hurt either…

With that said…I’ll do my best to keep y’all updated more.

Really. I got some more stuff that I cooked, that I shall share w/y’all.

Hopefully y’all still rockin w/me…

Til then, I would like to point out, that if I had a dollar for every dead animal I saw driving during this wedding…I’d be a rich boy…#truth.

Red Velvet Creme Brulee and an Important Announcement (yeah it is!!)

So world, I post w/ some exciting/unique news.

No, Nobody’s Pregnant, Engaged or Married.

I’m officially going back to skool/school. I’m goin to skool to officially become a “Baker”.

That’s right, after talkin a Big Game, yours truly is doing work and now going to skool to learn baking…for reals.

I’ve already enrolled in 3 courses and I start in August….so far I got quite the reaction on Facebook…which I wasnt expectin.

Ranging from “Im So Proud” to “About Damn Time”… But I hadnt let y’all know. So now whenever y’all have a wedding coming up, which apparently is pretty common, theses days.

Now I know whats it like when people announce their pregnant. Or engagement..

But lets be real peoples: Pregnancy Announcement> Engagement Announcement.

So with that I offer a celebratory Creme Brulee…Red Velvet Creme Brulee.

I may/may not have an obsession w/ Red Velvet… kinda a Southern thing I guess.

Thats Pre-Brulee fyi…

So the next few months shall be filled w/Exciting, Terror, Anxious and the occasional “Oh yeah I forgot, Im in skool now”

But I’m glad I FINALLY did this..after much delay and Speeding Tickets.

I would say let this be a lesson to y’all out there: Dont Talk About It, BE About It!

Also in order to get the Garden of Your Dreams, You gotta dig thru a lot of Crap first….

You know Fertalizer is technically “Crap”…anyways, more Creme Brulee…

That’s all I got for today…

If y’all like what y’all see, Comment, Like and/or Subscribe to this bad boy..

I do update this sucker, Fairly Often I should say..

Now excuse me, I must find some Mothers Day Cards..

I refuse to be that guy who sends Mothers Day Cards LATE!!!…..AGAIN!!!

Story of My Life.

Apple Pies & a “My Bad” post…

Hey world,

Long time no? Yeah, I’ve been a busy boy lately… too busy to be in the kitchen bakng stuff…

For those who follow along w/this, I say… My Bad. Its tough keepin this thing a float, mostly cuz I’ve been preoccupied with work /interviewing for work/running outta of ideas sometimes…

Yeah I said it!! I sometimes run outta ideas! #dontjudgeme!!!

So what else has been goin on in my world? Ironically, losing weight by running.

I say Irony cuz I make dessert and I run…weird huh?

Actually, you can have your cake and work out as I find out as long as you dont over do it.

The eating that is… like I usually say, “Dont eat til you get a food baby”.

Anyways, I should think of more desserts ideas, but this is also where Y’ALL come in!!!

If you follow this sucker, and/or just want something random made, say so…

As a way of saying “My Bad” here’s some Apple “Pie”

Why I quote “Pie”, cuz it aint the traditional way at all… It’s a Free Form Tart.

I find this style is a lot more fun, than the traditional pie format.

When it comes to Apples, I use either Granny Smith’s or Golden Delicious…

Porque?

They hold their shape when you cook ‘em and they’re tart so you can make them how sweet you want to.

You use Apples with a lot of water in ‘em, they turn to Apple Sauce and it aint as pretty.

Pretty as this:

#BOOM That just happened.

So to do that above, you need the following

• 2 Apples (Granny Smith or whatevs), sliced
• 1/4 C Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Lemon (juiced)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• Whatever Pie Dough Recipe you got

Bake for 25 min @ 400 degrees

Sidenotes:

• Slice up the Apples and place in a bowl, coat apple slices w/ Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Lemon Juice, Vanilla, and Nutmeg. Let ‘em sit for about 5 minutes.
• Roll out pie dough crust and place on a cookie sheet or cake pan.
• Add the apples and cover up the sides in whatever fancy way you want.
• Brush sides w/ milk.
• Throw in the oven for about 25 minutes

And thats it!

You get this:

So, I realized this weekend, I dont have to work, go outta town or nothing.

This shall be my time to think of new ideas esp for the summertime.

Also I shall be continuing my quest for working out.

Swimsuit is almost upon us y’all!!! We gotta get that Bikini Bod together…

TMI??

Anyways, do subscribe/like/and or comment.. I do update this sucker (fairly) often…

Til then, Be sure to do y’all taxes…. I did, I felt all growed up too!!!

Peanut Butter Bread Pudding…I may have a PB problem.

Oh hey there world,

I’ve realized I kinda suck at when I say,  ”Stay Tuned Next Week I got something EPIC”.

Last week, I DID make somethin Epic, but I forgot due to my work schezule (that “schedule” in hipster)… I beg you FORGIVE ME !!! ATTICA!!!!!

Anyways, I had a craving to make Bread Pudding…dont really know “WHY?” but I just did…

And as you maybe aware of, I’m a bit of Peanut Butter Junkie and I figure I’d combine the two and get this gem h’yah!! (thats “here” in…whatever it is)

Fancy no? Well it is to me and thats all that matters okay!??!

Sorry it’s Monday, and its cold out…which is odd cuz its “Spring”

But good news, my March Madness Bracket has survived the weekend!! #Huzzah!

Usually the Sweet 16 round is where I get the matches ready to burn my bracket.

But currently I am sitting at “THA THRONE” (thats #1) and I intend to stay there!

But I know what y’all thinkin, enough of the bracket talk, show us how you made this:

Well to that I say, “Sheesh!” and then I say its simply this:

Peanut Butter Bread Pudding

• 1 loaf of day old bread from Jimmy Johns (shameless plug, I know)
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 1/2 C Whole Milk
• 1/2 C Heavy Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

Bake @ 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Sidenotes:

• Slice up the Bread into cubes and place in a Giant Ramekin.
• Place Cream, Milk and Peanut Butter in a Saucepan for about 5 minutes, til the Peanut Butter has melted into the milk/cream and thens its Peanut Butter Milk.
• After that take off the heat, let it cool for a few minutes.
• Whilst that cools, Whisk the remaing ingredients together.
• Then pour the PB-Milk over the eggs mixture, then pour THAT over the bread and push down the bread so it absorbs it.
• Place ramekin in a “Water Bath” or a giant skillet with an 1 inch of water and set in the over for about 45 minutes.

And then this happens

Chocolate Syrup not included, but you can add that if you must…actually I’ll allow it.

So there y’all have it folks….hopefully y’all are the “Forgiving” type…

If I’ve learned anything over the last few weeks, its this

“Think First, React Later”…that’s easier said than done. But if y’all give it a shot, then SOOOOO many disastrous situations can be avoided!!

That is all…

But if y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Subscribe and/or Like this sucker cuz I do update it, every so often…

Til then, When the heck will “Spring” show its face???

Part 2 of the Parfait Saga: Key Lime….y’all forgot about this “saga” too huh?

Oh hey world, It’s March…not only that.

It’s PIE DAY, PIE DAY….gotta get down on PIE DAY!!

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!!!

Yes, that just happened….

So I’ve took a bit of a “Break” and by “Break I mean, I completely forgot about writing or cooking somethin new last week…. #whoops.

Sometimes I work cray cray hours or get pre-occupied w/stuff and I completely forget…

Please FORGIVE ME..I BEG YOU….ATTACA!!!! (HUH?)

So as you may not be aware of…I’m making dessert for a rehearsal dinner…for 100 peoples….yeah

And I gotta make 4 diff parfaits: Black Forest, Red Velvet, Tiramisu and (what this post is about) Key Lime.

Key Lime is technically a pie so…this ties in well!!! YAAAY!!!

So world, I would like to give some advice: Go with your Gut…

Pardon the pun/ fact this a “Food” site, but whenever you find yourself uncertain about stuff: Go with your Gut.

If you know you prolly shouldnt eat that last slice of pizza, go w/your gut.

If you not sure about a potential job opportunity, go w/your gut.

If you know you should try somethin different, go with your gut.

I say that cuz I figure somebody out there may need it…Idk…maybe.

I just realized theses 3 Sundays in a row are 3 monumental things…

Daylight Savings, St. Patty’s Day AND Easter?? Whaa???

Who decides when Easter is?? I always am confused by that…

So hopefully y’all have a good St. Patty’s Day…I got some tricks up my sleeves y’all!

And this time I’ll tell y’all what I did..

That’s all I got this week, but hopefully this was an entertaining post.

I cant really guarantee your money back, since…well y’all know.

But if y’all like what y’all see?

Comment, Subscribe and/or Like this page…I do update this sucker frequently.

Til then, remember go w/your gut…

That thing knows what it wants… usually.

Carrot (Cake) Muffins…I’m seriously on Muffin Tear rightaboutnow….

What up world, its tha last day of February…dang.

Do anythin memorable in theses 28 days???

You do a “Harlem Shake” parody? Watch Beyonce’s Half-Time Show a dozen times?

Well 28 days later, we are slowly but surely headin towards spring…and that means here in the south, straight to summer.

#TexanProblems.

Anyways, I ran in a 10k race… and did not get trampled!! HOORAY!!!

It’s scary than y’all think esp w/over 6,500 peoples in it.

Esp. that first mile and a half, had to do a bit of matrix/parkouring on the sidewalks cuz it was SOOOO crowded.

But it was all good in the end, cuz it thinned out, but I also got a bunch of free food.

And free products….my inner klepto was quite thrilled.

Ole-Bill’s no thief, but you offer a bunch of free stuff, I’m 9/10 times gonna take it!

Anyways, I present y’all this weeks post: Carrot Cake Muffins.

Pretty no?

Well this came about a few years ago at a restaurant my pops and I went to for brunch.

They had a bunch of muffins and one of them was a Carrot Cake Muffin

Also a friend of mine apparently havin eye-issues and what better way to eat carrots than in muffins right?

Its things like that where I get inspiration from, no not from somebody’s pain…but just random things like that.

Although a lot of artist do use “Pain” a lot as their “inspiration”.

#artistproblems.

So how exactly you pull this off?

Simple, all you need is the following:

•  1 1/2 C Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 3/4 C Brown Sugar
• 1/4 C Reg Sugar
• 2 Eggs ( I FORGOT THE EGGS!!!)
• 2/3 C Veg. Oil (or Canola, whichevs)
• 1 Carrot, sliced n diced.
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until a fork comes out cleanly.

Sidenotes:

• Add everything but save the carrots til the end.
• It’s gonna look like it’s in desperate need of some more liquid, thats where the carrots come in. Carrots got liquid like Zuccini and will be enough liquid by the end.

Et VOILA!!

There goes my french for the week.

Hopefully y’all give this a try, i.e. make ‘em on the weekend and have for the week.

But make sure you put ‘em in a closed container,otherwise they dry out and turn into a weapon when thrown.

If y’all like what y’all see?  Comment, Subscribe/Like…I do update this sucker fairly often.

With that said, I leave you with another muffin

Note I didnt make ANY “Muffin Man” references, as bad as I wanted to…

Hold up I did mention it though…Crap.

Blackberry Muffins….THEY SO TINY!!

So world, I’m a tad cranky…

To whoever that it is thats doing that obnoxious tapping on the windows outside…

I will find you….and give you a STERN talking to!!! Maybe even a mean mug too…

Those are dangerous too.

SO…last week I did it!!

I pulled off cooking on V-Day!!! I cooked an entire pasta dinner for 50 some-odd people.

#victoryhuzzah!!!

I cooked Shrimp & Chicken Alfredo pasta and it came out quite lovely…or so I think.

Or what I’ve been told too…I don’t know. As for that Brownie Cheesecake as seen below?

That sucker was gone before I even got to look at it…guess that may be a good thing.

So to the post at hand… Blackberry Muffins.

Why did I make these?? I was too lazy to go buy Cereal so I thought I’d make muffins to eat instead…#bakerproblems

I like muffins, I don’t make’em too often. Not sure why thought???

Anyways, the recipe which I found on a certain “Pinning” site… I kinda took their recipe and twerked it a bit….

With Blackberries!! I find they get over shadow by the Blueberry waaay too much.

So with that I shall now share y’all the recipe, I know FINALLLY!!

Lemon-Blackberry Muffins

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Pint of Blackberries
• 1/2 Cup Applesauce
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 Egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Sidenotes(been a minute since I’ve done that):

• Gather all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl & set aside.
• With the Blackberries add the Sugar, Vanilla & Lemon Juice and stir’em around so they get coated.
• Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside. A lot of settin aside this time around.
• Combine the berries and stuff with the dry ingredients.
• Add the Egg Whites in thirds. First batch just mix in, next batch fold in nice n gently. Also fold in the Zest of the Lemon.
• Place batter  in muffin tins and toss that sucker in the oven.
• It should yield 10-12 muffins all together.

And you get this

I found this to be a fairly simple thing to whip up. Esp if you one of them “On The Go” folks.

Or in my case the last month n half, training for a 10k race.  I’ve been myself outta house and home

#runnerproblems?

Anyways, hopefully y’all get somethin from this recipe and hopefully on Saturday, I wont go out and get trampled…

That would suck.

So w/that I’ll leave you some muffins….

Anybody else realize February is almost over…dang.

Brownie Cheesecake for all my V-Day peoples…Single or Taken.

So world, it’s V-Day…

Or for those who dont care, it’s Thursday.

But for those like Moi who are Single since the beginning of time, I offer this:

You don’t need a “Lover” on Valentines Day, You just need “Love”.

Top THAT Hallmark!!!

Well today is a big day for yours truly.

No I dont have a date. Like I said, I’ve been single since the beginning of time.

I am cookin for a singles dinner tonight. I’m in charge of making Pasta.

Shrimp & Chicken Alfredo Pasta.

For 40-50 people.

Am I nervous? Nope

Am I scared? YEUP

Never cooked for THAT many people and I’m terrified…I’m just terrified on the inside.

BUT I’m also in charge of makin dessert and I’m makin Cheesecake

A BROWNIE CHEESECAKE

Yeah thats right, That’s what I’m serving tonight.

I had some left over Brownies from a couple weeks ago I kept fresh and I thought “What to do?”

And I thought why not incorporate into a cheesecake?? HOORAY!!!

So thus is why I made this….

 

 

For those wonder what the heck is that up top???

It’s Chocolate Ganache…

Ganache= Chocolate Chips+ Warm Cream.

I used Dark Chocolate w/a bit of Milk Chocolate to Sweeten it up a bit.

So it’s basically Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate.

Fun huh?

Well world I would stay in chat longer, but I gotta start prepping 4 tonight’s dinner..

Wish me luck!!

Also that I don’t go nuts by the end of the day too….

Oh and I dont cause food poisoning too…That would SUCK!

BYEEEE!!!