A Foodie's Worst Nightmare

We came home from a 10 day vacation to find our fridge broken! Everything inside it had spoiled! I'm talking: half and half, cream cheese, juice- the works! If you've never had this happen before, trust me when I say that it really is a Foodie's worst nightmare.

I was instantly frantic and started to panic. I mean, what's a Food Blogger going to do without a fridge? Seriously! Think about the ramifications here! There's literally nothing I could do without it. I mean, I'd have to buy my ingredients right before cooking, and make sure that we don't have any left overs... or left over ingredients, for that matter. It's SO hard to do, if you think about it. I mean, you're bound to have things like milk and eggs left over from just about any recipe.

So we called a fridge repair guy right away. He came twice over the span of two days, took our fridge apart from top to bottom and couldn't figure out what was wrong with it! He finally suggested that we buy a new one! So we hired another guy. He knew what was wrong with it, but had a hard time fixing it because it's a new "freezer on the bottom" fridge that's constructed differently, blah blah. The drama goes on and on...

On top of that, Hubby and I have been incredibly sick. It was super cold on the east coast, with a couple of blizzards during the time we were there. Coming from mild-weathered, always-around-45-degrees-Seattle, we were entirely unprepared. We've been calling in sick, staying in bed as much as possible, and drinking tons of chicken soup.

So there you have it. This is what we've been up against all week, since coming home on Sunday!

Anyway, the main point of my ramblings it to say this:

I'm sorry that I will not be able to post anything this week, as a result of the disaster area that is my home right now! But rest assured that I will for sure return with awesome recipies first thing next week! So just bare with me until then. =)

Boy, the holidays always turns out to be such a crazy time, doesn't isn't it?

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and that yours turned out better than mine! hehe. And have a wonderfully happy new year! Can you believe it's already 2010?! I'm looking forward to trying some pretty amazing recipes in the new year to come! =)

Giveaway Winner Announced!

I'd like to thank everyone for the awesome feedback! It was super insightful and I will be trying very hard to implement the things you asked for!

Here are some of your requests:

(1) More savory items on the blog

I know, I know. My friends keep bugging me about this one too. They keep wondering why my blog is so heavily "baking-based," and doesn't feature a lot of my savory recipes. Quick explanation: (1) I've only started baking recently- like in the last 6 months, so it fascinates me. Whereas, cooking savory foods has become second nature and doesn't excite me as much. (2) Baked goods make better photo subjects!

Anyway, I pledge to put up more savory recipes~! It might never be 50/50, but I will try my best to make it more like 40 - savory and 60 - desserts. How does that sound? It's mainly because I don't think this obsession with cupcakes will die anytime soon. I might have to open a cupcake store just so I can have an outlet for my insatiable need to bake cupcakes 24-7! =)

(2) Show more techniques and tips
(2.1) Keep up the step by step photos

I started my blog with two main goals: (1) it will feature only great recipes that I would be proud to serve to my family/guests and (2) it is detailed enough so that anyone can replicate my recipes with success. What good is a food blog if you feature mediocre food and convoluted recipes?

It's super unhelpful when you only see one picture of the finished product and have no idea how to replicate it, even though you've read through the recipe 10 times. That's why I put up the step by step photos, and I always make sure to point out the tricky parts and give tips on how you can execute successfully. I especially like to tell readers how I failed at something and what not to do. I find that those things are crucial to a reader's success in replicating the recipe.

However, I know that since I'm so used to cooking and baking these days, somethings might come as second nature, so I don't think about needing to discuss it on the blog, as some of you have rightfully pointed out. I will try my best to add in even more tips and techniques- even the ones that I might find basic. But I'm sure that I might miss some here and there. If you're ever confused about something, please don't hesitate to email me! I love getting reader emails and usually respond within a day or two. This will help me figure out what your needs are and what "holes" I have to fill in.

The step by step photos will never go away! I want everyone to be able to succeed on their first attempt of the recipe, so I think those photos are crucial.

(3) Request for a recipe index

Thank you, Erin Sue, for this excellent idea! I've looked into creating one... it will be extensive and time consuming- but totally worth the effort! I will begin working on putting one together soon, but it might not be up and running for a while because I'm not sure just how long it might take. But it's coming, for sure! I will let everyone know when it's up.

(4) Request on tips for taking good photos

I want to do a post on this, eventually. But not in the near future. I get a ton of emails asking about how I get good photos, and though I answer to the best of my ability, I find that I'm still super lacking in the knowledge department when it comes to taking photos. I only started getting into photography six months ago when I started this blog. Before then, we had a point-and-shoot, and half the time we didn't even know where it was!

I feel like my knowledge is limited and I don't want to create a post until I've done all the research and have become an expert at it. I want to be a good authority for people, and not someone who kinda knows, but doesn't. When I finally post about photography, it'll be a super long post detailing everything! And like my recipes, I want it to be fool-proof! I want anyone to be able to "replicate" it.

But for now, I'm not good enough to do that yet. I take about 400-500 photos per blog entry, and only 10-20 of them make it onto the blog. It's time consuming, but it works. I get "good" photos (the ones that you see) because when you take so many of them, you're bound to get a few good ones. That's my secret to "good photos," for now. =)


Now that I've addressed all of your requests, here's one of my own:
Please email me with your comments, concerns, questions, criticisms, thoughts, feelings, tips, whatever. Your feedback is SO important to me. And don't hold back. If there was something you didn't like about the recipe or if there was something that didn't work, let me know! I am still super new at this cooking/baking/blogging thing, so your feedback will really help me to improve! I want to become an expert and then be able to share my knowledge with my readers so that everyone can benefit! Your comments mean a lot to me! =)

Ok, here's the moment you've all been waiting for:

THE GIVEAWAY WINNER!



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Congratulations Xiaolu!

I will be contacting you soon about the giveaway!

I'd like to thank everyone who participated for their great feedback! Thanks so much for all your support!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes! A Giveaway!

Ever since starting my blog about six months ago, I've had quite a few cupcake adventures! I've featured so many different flavors of them and have made so many cupcake wrappers along the way! Cupcakes are definitely my #1 sweet treat!

I've had hundreds of readers email me to ask for the cupcake wrapper template, while others email with questions on how to make the perfect frosting swirl! People seem to love them!

Cute Cupcake Wrappers

Cupcakes are just so beautiful and elegant, especially with personalized wrappers! Add a giant, soft-serve swirl on top and no one can resist!

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Here's a recap if you've missed them:

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Halloween

Grace's Cupcakes: Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marscarpone frosting for Thanksgiving

Gingerbread Cupcakes topped with Gingerbread Cookies and Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Christmas

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For about two months now, I've been thinking about doing a Giveaway. I was browsing through kitchen store after kitchen store, looking for something cool to give away, to no avail. Nothing seemed cool enough or good enough. I can't express how much it's meant to me when readers comment or email to support my endeavor in becoming a Domestic Goddess. So, it had to be something good.

Then I thought: I need to stick with what I know. Cupcakes. And cupcake wrappers. Plus, what could be better than a hand crafted gift? =)

So, here it is:

click to enlarge photo

TA-DA! Hehe. You're probably squinting at the picture and thinking "what the heck is that pile of junk and why would I want it??"

BEHOLD: it's all the stuff you need to make beautiful cupcake wrappers and beautiful frosting swirls! All the stuff hundreds of readers have been emailing me about! =D Pretty cool for a pile of junk, eh?

Ok, let's break it down:

I had some beautiful black and white patterned paper.

I turned them into 31 cupcake wrappers!

To assemble the cupcake wrappers and to fit it around the cupcakes, you'll need a heavy duty double sided tape. It's in a fancy, easy to use dispenser, no less!

And you'll need piping bags for the frosting, of course.


But wait! You can't make beautiful frosting swirls without my favorite jumbo-sized piping tip! So I thew one in! (You don't need a coupler. I never use one for my cupcakes. Just stick the jumbo tip right into the piping bag.)

You'll also need fancy craft scissors to make the beautiful scalloped edges. I've already cut the edges for you this time, so the scissors are for if you want to make them yourself in the future! Or if your cupcakes are a bit short, and you'd like to trim down the wrapper.


So one lucky winner will get this: Judy's Ultimate Fancy Cupcake Set! Everything you'll need to make beautiful cupcakes, from swirl to wrapper!

How to Enter

Leave a comment on my blog that contains the following:

(1) Answer this question:

What would you like to see on my blog in the future and/or what do you like about my blog that you'd like to see more of

(2) Subscribe via reader or email and let me know which method you've subscribed by

(3) Leave an email address where I can contact you

Enter before 8 pm pacific time on Sunday, December 27th, 2009.

A winner will be chosen at random and announced on December 28th, 2009.

Merry Christmas!

Jam-Filled Sugar Cookies

Ok, I'm just going to start off this entry by saying that these cookies are absolutely AMAZING! They're ten times better than any sugar cookie I've ever had. They have a soft crunchiness to them...soft, yet crunchy at the same time. Wait, maybe "crunchy" isn't the right word. Because it's not "crunchy" like a "Doritos crunch," more like a soft "shortbread cookie crunch." lol. That doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, does it? But it's true! They're so delicious that I'm at a loss for words! You'll just have to try this recipe to see for yourself! Pure bliss to your taste buds. YUM.

Remember these beautiful cookies cutters?

I used them to make the Gingerbread Cookies that went on top of those delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes. Aren't they adorable?!

So this cookie recipe came about because I wanted another reason to use the cutters. I bought them especially for the holiday season and I loved them so much that I wanted to put them to good use! I couldn't bare to pack them away for next year without using them one last time.

I had been meaning to try this Jam-Filled Sugar Cookie recipe from my Williams Sonoma cookbook for a while now, so this seemed like the perfect time!

(1) Make the Cookies

Sift together the dry ingredients.


Combine butter and powdered sugar until smooth.

Add in vanilla and almond extracts. Mix until well blended and the dough has formed into large clumps.


With your hands, gently push together the dough clumps to form two flattened, circular disks. Wrap tightly in seran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.


Roll the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out your snowflakes and transfer them to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. The cookies should be able to hold its shape pretty well and won't give you any trouble when transferring. I found this to be a really good cookie dough recipe, one that isn't too soft and won't fall apart easily. If you find that your dough is too soft after you roll it out, you can stick it into the freezer for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to leave it in there for longer than that, because it will become completely frozen and too hard to cut.


Bake the cookies at 325 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, until the sides are light brown.

(2) Assembling the Cookies

Use a really good quality jam, one that's not too sweet. I used Bonne Maman Strawberry preserves. It's a super high quality jam that won't leave you feeling like you've eaten a spoonful of sugar. You can usually find it at Whole Foods.


I didn't want to waste the small cookies that were cut out of the centers of the large ones, so I made them into small cookie sandwiches! They were super cute and looked nice when arranged on a platter with the large ones.

(3) Decorate the Cookies

Use your favorite royal icing recipe for these cookies. I don't follow a recipe to make mine. I simply dump a ton of powdered sugar into a bowl with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then, I slowly add heavy cream to the mixture until it reaches the right consistency- something thick that will allow for piping. Add your icing to a ziplock bag or a piping bag and decorate elaborately!


You'd be surprised at how easy it is to make these! I know many people shy away from attempting sugar cookies because they are intimidating. But fear not! Because this is an awesome recipe, both in terms of the dough consistency being easy to work with and in terms of deliciousness!

This is beautiful treat to have at a holiday party! Your guests will be super impressed!


Click HERE for the recipe.

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Here's a twist on an old favorite!

Peppermint Bark Brownies are always a huge hit at parties. They're delicious and SO easy to make! They're a beautiful addition to any holiday buffet/dessert table, especially if you put them in festive Christmas themed cupcake liners. =)


I found these at Michael's, a local craft store. They're mini cupcake liners by Martha Stewart. These will give you tiny, bite sized brownies!

The snowflake ones are my favorite!

(1) The Brownies

I like to make my brownies from scratch, with real melted chocolate! It's simply the best. Click here for the recipe. You can also use boxed brownie. Whatever you prefer will work!


Prepare your brownie recipe as indicated and fill mini muffin pans, lined with mini cupcake wrappers. You'll have a hard time getting the brownies out if you don't line the cups. Trust me, I speak from experience. =)


Bake at the temperature indicated on your brownie recipe, but keep your eye on it! It will bake in 15-20 minutes.

(2) The Toppings

Once the brownies are cool and ready to go, melt some white chocolate and use a fork to drizzle it over the brownies.


The trick is to dip your fork into the white chocolate and tap it a couple of times on the side of the bowl, to get rid of the excess. Then, hold your fork over the brownies and rapidly swing the fork from side to side.

You'll get "creatively messy" chocolate drizzles. =)

Crush up some peppermint candy canes. For step by step instructions on how to do this, click here.

Sprinkle with the crushed candy canes!

Let the brownies sit for 20-30 minutes, until the chocolate hardens. Serve on a pretty platter!

These are SO incredibly delicious- one of the best ways to make brownies! If you're a peppermint fan, you'll love these! I hope you will give these a try and enjoy them as much as my family does! Happy Holidays! =)