Wild Wonders…

This is Charlie, the birthday boy!! )

Kookaburra…

Alligator…he wanted to eat me!!

good thing we had this fence between us!!

Arctic Fox…so pretty!!!

Owl…

Cheetah…

Kinkajou…

Porcupine…

Fennec Fox…

Charlie and his mother, Julie

I think this little guy was a Fennec Fox, but I could be wrong!

Charlie and his siblings…

The Koleszar Family…

Thank you for having me along!! I had a great time!!

– Mandi

Click here to check them out on Twitter.

I will be shooting Cafe21’s grand re-opening on February 23rd, from 5:30pm-8:00pm, details can be found here!

Warm bread in the over…yum!!!

Cafe21 makes everything from scratch, and one of those many things is Baklava, which is actually how their business got started!!

Below is the process of it in the making…MMmMmmmm…so delish!!

ready to bake in the oven!!!

final product!! smelled *SO* good!!

Isn’t she just *SO* puuuuurty!?!?!

Thanks Heidi!! I had a great time with you today! D

These photos were take at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center while the grandchildren were down here visiting from Visalia.

This is Benjamin…

Baby Jacob!!

Allyson….

isn’t he just *SO* flippin’ cute!?!?

I hope you had a great time visiting!! It was great to see you all again!!!

My friend Allison made this wonderful Vanilla Crème Brûlée for a dessert party we had a while back.

The minute this dessert touched my lips I feel in love!! It may take about a week, or two, to burn off the calories, but it’s well worth it!!

Allison, thank you, again, for an amazingly delicious recipe!! )

Vanilla Crème Brûlée

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse, 2001, Foodnetwork.com

INGREDIENTS

4 cups heavy cream

1 cup granulated sugar, plus 8 teaspoons

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

8 large egg yolks

35 wafer cookies [I omitted this]

DIRECTIONS

In medium, non-reactive saucepan, combine the cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the vanilla bean and seeds over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, whisking to dissolve the sugar. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar. Whisk about 2 cups of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture until smooth. Slowly pour this mixture into the hot cream mixture, whisk for 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Fill 8 (6-ounce) custard cups with equal portions of the mixture. Place the cups in a deep roasting pan or baking dish large enough to accommodate the cups without touching. Fill the roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake in the lower third of the oven until just set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the cups from the water. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle each cup with 1 teaspoon sugar. One at a time, using a kitchen blowtorch, approach the sugar with the torch at a low angle until the inner blue flame is 1/4-inch above the surface and move the flame in a continuous motion over the surface until the sugar has caramelized.

Or, preheat the broiler, sprinkle the sugar over the custards, and slide the dishes under the broiler. Broil until the sugar caramelizes, 1 to 2 minutes, watching carefully so the custard does not curdle or break. Remove and serve.

Before serving, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the remaining sugar on the top of each custard.

He’s 4 months old today!!

to see the “BIG Announcement” click HERE!!

]]> http://www.mandiwhiting.com/?feed=rss2&p=582 1 http://www.mandiwhiting.com/?p=571 http://www.mandiwhiting.com/?p=571#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:00:07 +0000 Mandi http://www.mandiwhiting.com/?p=571 If you like Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, I promise you will LOVE  ”Big Al’s K.C. Bar-B-Q Sauce.” This BBQ sauce is *SO* good, so good that I think I could literally drink it, HONESTLY!!

I will never buy BBQ sauce again….this is super easy to make. It doesn’t even compare to any store bought BBQ sauce.  It’s the BEST on Baby Back Ribs.

Thank you Allison for turning me on to this great recipe!!

Enjoy!

NOTE: Recipe posted below photo.

Big Al’s K.C. Bar-B-Q Sauce

Melissa asked me to bake her the McClure family tradition cake, angel food cake, topped with her Gramma Charlotte’s Snow Frosting (a.k.a. 7-minute frosting), drizzled with bakers chocolate.

mmmMMmmm, pretty tasty!!

By the way, check out Melissa’s blog on Thursday for a new and exciting announcement!! )

HAPPY {EARLY} BIRTHDAY MELISSA!!!

NOTE: Recipes are posted below photo

Homemade Angel Food Cake

Adapted from Recipezaar.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cake flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

12 large egg whites

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

Note: For those not use to making angel food cakes Don’t get any yoke in the whites, if you do throw out and start over. I always separate the egg in a glass first. Then if no yoke pour into measuring container.

Heat oven to 375°.

Sift the cake flour and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar; set aside.

Combine the extracts in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until it forms peaks. Add the other 3/4 cup of sugar slowly, then beat on high until stiff peaks form.

If you have a mixing guard for your mixer bowl now would be a good time to attach it.

Beating on LOW, add flour mixture and extracts slowly. Make sure you fold in the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl. (You can fold in flour mixture by hand but this way is faster.)

Spoon into an angel food cake pan. Move a knife through batter to remove air pockets.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger.

Invert pan onto a tin funnel to cool completely.

To remove the cake from your pan run a knife around the rim of the cake pan just to get the ‘crust’ away from the pan. Then firmly spank the sides of your pan. You could use a knife but this sometime tears the sides of the cake.

Invert onto your serve plate then take the knife to the now top which was the bottom of your pan and gently cut cake away from the pan insert.

No need to cut around the center tube as you just give the cake a gently but firm tap or downward shake on to the plate. Or you can pick up plate while holding onto the pan insert with your thumbs and firmly strike the bottom of the plate onto a folded towel. (Just give it a slam down on the towel/table).

Gramma Charlotte’s Snow Frosting (a.k.a 7-minute frosting)

Adapted from Melissa McClure’s Grandma

INGREDIENTS:

1 egg white, unbeaten

3/4 c sugar

dash of salt

3 T water

3/4 tsp light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Combine egg white, sugar, salt, water and corn syrup in the top of a small double boiler.

Beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly mixed over rapidly boiling water, beating constantly, cook minutes or until frosting will stand in stiff peaks when you lift the beaters.

Remove top pan from boiling water and add vanilla.

Beat until thick enough to spread. Enough for angel food cake, or 2-8″ layers or a 9×9x2 cake.

Chocolate Drizzle

INGREDIENTS:

1 – 1 ½ bar baking chocolate (bitter)

1 tsp butter (or canola oil)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt baking (bitter) chocolate – 1 or 1 1/2 blocks – with 1 tsp butte (or canola oil). Microwave about 1/2 min, stir, and cook another 1/2 min.

Drizzle over white frosting.

I didn’t end up frosting the cake ’cause I thought it was perfect without it!!

[recipe posted below photo]

Best Ever Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Recipezaar.com

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Frosting :[I omitted the frosting 'cause the cake, in my opinion, was perfect without it]

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups icing sugar

Garnish [I omitted this]

chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275°.

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. [I made mine in a bundt cake pan, so it took longer to cook]

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean [mine took about 1-1/2 hours, but I started checking it after 1 hour].

Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.

Spread on cooled cake.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.

Enjoy!!!!