My recipe index

I have been looking at other cooking blogs and have been provided with a few wonderful ideas! On the left of my blog I will have an clickable icon that will take you to my recipe index, where I will have my recipes sorted by subject and then listed alphabetically. So I will not have my list of labels on the left side anymore (since it makes it much more difficult to sort through). I hope this will be helpful!! I love creating new things and perfecting old things, and then sharing them with all of you. Thanks for reading :)

love, kristin ann

{I will work on it a lot in the next day or so, hopefully I will have it up and running in no time.}

Our Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!! Yesterday was busy for us, so today is our "unofficial valentine's day".

{this picture was taken at the tech museum in san jose, it's a thermal image of the love of my life giving me lots of hugs and kisses as he usually does, I'm just so darn lucky}

Valentine's Dessert ideas!!

I love pink, and desserts, and cupcakes, and Martha Stewart (most of these ideas are from her), and of course, I love my Martin.

Who and what do you love?!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

So I went through my lot of pictures and pulled out the best of the best for valentine's day!! I know it's a little late, it would've been better if posted a few days ago, but I've had a busy weekend!! Martin and I went to a wedding yesterday, we actually had a few acquaintances get married yesterday (and it was Martin's parents anniversary, so happy anniversary Mary and Patrick).

So from wreaths, to heart mobiles, and personalized fortune cookies, or dinner party idea's.. oh how I love holidays.

Tomorrow we're celebrating valentine's (due to a busy and already ocupied sunday) so I have a little more time to go through ideas.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Valentine's day!!

{Some of the wreath and craft ideas came from http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com }

Valentine's Day Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes to make for sure. The chocolate dipped cake :) I used a box of any old chocolate cake mix, prepare it as directed. (For this size cake I used smaller pans then the usual 8 inch, but you can make this cake as an 8 inch for sure). Whenever I plan on layering and frosting a cake, I freeze the cake, still in the cake pans; just to provide a little more stability while frosting and decorating. I used two cake pans, and cut both of those layers in half. So I layered, strawberry filling (my mom's homemade jam), layer of my chocolate buttercream, and then another layer of strawberry filling. After frosting the entire cake with the buttercream, the cake goes in the freezer, just for an hour or so. The melted chocolate over the top, you can find at any grocery store, I'm not sure of the brand, but it's usually by the chocolate chips and it comes in a little bowl almost, and it's meant for dipping fruit. I follow the melting directions and then add a few tablespoons of butter. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the cake, using a spatula to spread evenly, and the chocolate drips over the edges; gorgeous, I know! This is the hard top chocolate, you can also use my ganache recipe to cover the top (or also as a filling). You can dip the strawberries before hand and have them dry, but you may have to use toothpicks to keep them in place, or just arrange the strawberries on the cake as you dip them in chocolate. I like to use sprinkles of all kinds with my chocolate dipped strawberries, just to be pretty.

Vanilla or Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

Makes about 10 cups
2 1/4 cups sugar
9 large egg whites
2 cups of butter (at room temperature)
2 cups of shortening
3 t. pure vanilla extract
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (optional, for chocolate buttercream)
1 c. cocoa powder

Over a pot of simmering water, in a heatproof bowl, whisk together sugar and egg whites until sugar is dissolved and mixture is very warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Remove From heat. Beat on medium until completely cooled and stiff peaks have formed, about 10 minutes.

With mixer on medium, add butter a few tablespoons at a time until completely combined, then shortening, same process. Add vanilla, beat on low speed until smooth, about 5 minutes.

If you want the chocolate buttercream, add the semisweet chocolate chips, after being melted completely, and slightly cooled. Add the cocoa powder and mix thoroughly. Frosting is much easier to use once cooled, so refrigerate about an hour or two before use.

p.s. this recipe is mostly a martha stewart recipe, I made a few changes ;)


Chocolate Ganache

1 bag of chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Either over a double boiler or in a microwave you can melt the two ingredients until you get a smooth consistancy (mix with a whisk).

Strawberry Pinkalicious Cupcakes

1 box of white cake mix (follow box instructions)
1/3 c. strawberry jam (add to the cake batter)
Basic cupcake holders

Frosting:
1 package of cream cheese (softened)
3 large spoonfuls of strawberry jam
1 ½ c. powdered sugar
Dab of pink gel paste food coloring (I use Wilton icing colors, you can find them at Michaels)

Rainbow sprinkles

Using a white cake mix, follow the box instructions to make the batter, and add the strawberry jam. Using cupcake holders, follow instructions for amount (usually 2/3rds full) and bake time. I usually take my cupcakes out of the oven slightly before they’re done. So when I insert a toothpick it won’t come out completely clean, but almost. Let cool before you frost.

In a mixer, soften just the cream cheese, then add the jam. Add the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments, to avoid a mess. Add the food coloring slowly and mix thoroughly before you add more. I always add more than needed.

Decorate anyway you like!!!

{This creation was inspired by my cousin Chloe. A few weeks ago I babysat her and the first thing she said when she came over was "I wanna make some pinkalicious cupcakes!!" I think there may be a pinkalicious book of some kind. Anyways, it was a lot of fun, and they were so delicious I could've had them all. The strawberry jam really made them amazing.}

Welcome Baby Maximus

Maximus Jacob Beck

8 lbs. 14 ounces

20 inches

January 31st, 2010

Because I love Heidi dearly, she let me be in the room with her while she delivered and it was the most amazing experience! Words can not explain the joy of seeing a newborn baby, especially when it is a close family member. I absolutely love Todd, Heidi, Elizabeth and now their new addition to the family, Maximus. They will always have a place in my heart.

{I will have more pictures and more info later!!}