Dad and Kymmies Big Adventure

Well, it was finally time for the big trip. We had planned for 3 days to travel ~2100 miles to Bethesda.

I rented a trailer from U-Haul to pull behind my car. I know...it's hideous! Julie told me to make sure that I wear my sunglasses so no one would know that it was me pulling the ugly bomb shell! Thanks for the advice Julie. :)


We decided to take I-80 because there was a huge storm in Denver, CO which would make traveling on I-70 a little treacherous. We made good time for about 100 miles and then found out about a 100 car pile-up at Rock Springs, CO. We spent all afternoon in Rock Springs with 100s and 100s of semi-trucks!

After a few hours waiting in Rock Springs, we decided to take the long way around to get to Rawlins, WY. It was only supposed to take 2-3 hours but it took us 4. (My car could only go about 50 MPH when going uphill.) But we finally made it to the Hampton Inn in Laramie, WY.

Downtown Laramie is super exciting...not! But this was Dad's favorite hotel that we stayed in.

We saw lots of exciting things while we were traveling...

Trailer parks...

Windmills...Trains, Cows, Horses, Turkeys...

And lots of rest stops. This one had tiles showing different quilt patterns.

4 days and 2305 miles later we had finally made it. (This is a long exposure of the Washington DC Temple at night).

My cute landlords had cut fresh flowers for my apartment! How nice!

Frozen Falls

Mom and I decided to go blading up to Bridal Veil Falls before Dad and I headed out for our road trip.

We couldn't make it all the way to the falls because there was still snow on the trail but we made it close enough to see the falls. It was beautiful!

Christmas Stripes

I know it's been a while since Christmas but I wanted to make sure I posted these cute cookies. The recipe is from Martha Stewart's "Cookies" cookbook. There are hundreds of cookie recipes in the book including everything from simple chocolate chip to extravagent ginger with chocolate. I have been wanting to buy the book for months but decided to hold out to see if someone would give it to me for Christmas. Lucky for me (and everyone who gets to eat the treats when I make them) my Sister gave me the book on Christmas Day!

These cookies are a little challenging to make. You have to prepare the batter and then spread it into a thin layer in the shape of a rectangle. Red food coloring is added to some of the batter and then the rectangles are striped using a piping bag. After the cookies are baked they are rolled up while they are still hot.

I think the cookies are supposed to be crispy. Mine turned out a little chewy but they were super yummy! If you're up for an adventure these are fun to try. You could even stripe them with green for St. Patrick's Day or pink and purple for Easter!!!

Milano Cookies

I have wanted to try this recipe for Milano Cookies for quite a while. I think I have procrastinated trying them because I thought they would take a long time to make. But when I made them last night they only took about 2 hours from start to finish (and this included breaks to watch The Amazing Race). They were also super yummy. I would definitely make them again.

Biscotti Milano

Cookie Dough:

6 Tablespoons cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
Scant ½ cup egg whites (from about 4 eggs)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour

Mint Glaze:

1 egg white
About 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
A few drops of mint extract

Chocolate Glaze:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the cookie dough: Cream the butter until smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix in the sugar. A little at a time, mix in the egg whites, then add the vanilla and lemon extracts. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to the pastry bag with a plain ¼ inch tip.

Prepare two cookies sheets with parchment paper. Pipe 1-inch long sections of dough onto the sheet pans, spacing them 2 inches apart (the will spread sideways). Bake until golden on top and brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan.

Make the mint glaze: Whisk the egg white with 1 ½ cups of the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Whisk in more sugar a little at a time, just until you have a thick, smooth glaze. And mint extract to taste.

Make the chocolate glaze: Melt the chocolate. Spread the flat sides of half of the cookies with chocolate. Spread the flat sides of the remaining cookies with mint glaze. Sandwich together and set on a clean sheet pan. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until firm, at least 1 hour.

iPods?

I wanted to do something a little different for Jenny and Katy's birthdays this year. I made them some individual cakes in their favorite colors.

I got the idea from Confetti Cakes for Kids book. I think they turned out pretty cute!

From Failure to Success

One of the technician's in our lab recently had a birthday so I decided to make him a birthday cake at the last minute. I had a recipe for a filled genoise cake that looked super yummy so I started mixing and baking. A genoise cake has no leavener (baking soda or baking powder) so all of the volume comes from gently heating and then whipping your eggs until they are really fluffy. My batter turned out perfect and when I put my cake into the oven the batter was at the top of the pan. After 28 minutes in the oven I was so excited to see the results...




As you can see, the cake didn't do too well! This is the third time I have made a genoise and I have never had one work. If any one out there has advice for a genoise, please send your comments my way.

For my second try, I made a simple sour cream vanilla cake. I sliced off a little of the top and then hollowed out the middle.

I filled the cake with strawberry and cream cheese/whipping cream.

I put the top back on to hide the yummy filling!

And then topped it with more of the cream cheese/whipping cream mixture. I sprinkled on some of the cake I hollowed out from the middle and topped it with a strawberry. The result...a deliciously light and refreshing summer cake!

Brownie Cookies

I made some super yummy cookies this weekend. They were very easy to make and everyone loved them. They taste a lot like a bite-size brownies...give 'em a try.

Chocolate Drop Cookies
Adapted from "The Essence of Chocolate"

Beat together with a paddle attachment at medium high speed 2 eggs, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla for 10-12 minutes. You want the egg mixture to be light in color and very fluffy (don't skimp on the mixing time). Meanwhile melt together 4 oz of unsalted butter and 6 oz 99% chocolate (unsweetened chocolate). Also, sift together 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour. When you egg mixture is whipped turn the mixer to low and slowly drizzle in the chocolate mixture. Mix for 2-3 minutes on low and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Then fold in the flour mixture by hand. I also added 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips but you could add more chopped chocolate or nuts or nothing at all. Drop tablespoon size balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are just starting to crack and cookies have lost their shine. The cookies will be really soft when done (don't over cook them or they will be hard). Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. And then...enjoy!!!!