Fall Semester 2010

I was supposed to be keeping up with this blog thing... I guess that's the thing about law school. It doesn't let you do crap other than law school. :0/

This semester I have been trying to pick up the grades, but I still found a little bit of time between classes to do other fun things. I took 10 hours this semester... That's the most I've ever taken in law school. Ya, I will pay for that genius move when I take 4 finals in 4 weeks.... Again, the most I've ever taken in law school. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, there are people that are taking 6 finals... pardon my language, but f*ck that. I will stick to my little 4.

Anyway, here's what I failed to post about...


This is the Houston Magazine My Table. It's a pretty good reference magazine for what's good to eat around town. No, I wasn't featured in it... yet. But my Daddy was!

That's right, number 57 of things you must eat before you die. Pretty impressive huh? If you like Mexican bbq, that's where you need to go. :)

I've been doing some interesting cupcakes lately. For my best friend's birthday, I made Batman cupcakes... I am still trying to figure out how to make black icing that doesn't taste like poop. Bitterness is not a friend to anyone, just FYI. In the meantime, I used that fake Wilton stuff for the Batman cupcakes (which I don't have a picture of) and these Spidey cupcakes...


Again, I am still learning to have a steady hand, so the lines might be a little off. Hey, practice makes perfect, right?

In October, we celebrated Halloween in our usual fashion. G and I like to sit and carve pumpkins while we watch TV... in particular, we have to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I guess that's one of my neurotic things, but it's just not Halloween or Christmas unless Charlie Brown is on the tube.

Anyway, this is my pumpkin... it's supposed to be a skull and a cupcake, but it looks like a melting face and a cupcake that's on fire...


Oh, and of course, our costumes. We went all out this year... or rather, I went all out this year. For a week, after I got home from class, I would plug in the hot glue gun and get to work... It was worth the effort I think. :)

I strung up LED lights in the fluff and used poster board for my "cup". I received a lot of compliments, but there were a few people at the bar that called me "cloud" and "sundae". Idiots.

Anyway, since October has ended, finals season has picked up full swing. It sucks. But the good news is, I lost my job! Well, that's not really good news, but at least I have time to study and I can release the stress by baking a few things during my breaks...

I will try to keep up more once I bake something. For now, for those interested, here is my sister's Italian Cream Cake recipe... She's awesome at making this cake, but I changed it a little bit for cupcakes. We are having her baby shower tomorrow, and I am making these tonight. I will post pictures and comments after the weekend is over...

Toodles!

Ingredients:

· 1 stick margarine, (4 ounces)

· 2 cups flour......I always use Cake flour - seems to taste better to me :)

· 2 cups sugar

· 1 cup buttermilk (I use half buttermilk and half whole milk)

· 1 small can (approx. 3 ounces) flaked coconut, about 1 1/3 cups.... I don't know about coconut in a can, so I just used the bagged stuff. Also, that bagged stuff is kinda sweet, so just go according to how much you like coconut.

· 5 egg whites, stiffly beaten

· 1/2 cup shortening... There's a brand I use regularly called Earth Balance. They sell at Whole Foods and Central Market. I haven't seen it at Kroger but I haven't really looked.

· 5 egg yolks

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1 teaspoon vanilla (I probably use a little more)

· 1 cup chopped pecans, or walnuts

Frosting:

· 1 package cream cheese, softened (8oz)

· 1 box confectioners' sugar, (1 pound) (Again, this is to taste, so don't feel like you have to use the whole box or bag.)

· 1/2 stick margarine, softened (4 Tbs) (There is a butter at Central Market I use called European Style butter. It's better for cream cheese frosting because it has less liquid, so your frosting is a bit stiffer and doesn't ooze all over the place.)

· 1 teaspoon vanilla (Here, I use vanilla bean paste or actual vanilla beans. I just love the little flecks in the frosting.)

Preparation: Cream margarine and shortening; add sugar. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine soda and flour; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and nuts. Fold in egg whites. Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans; bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth; stir in sugar. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread on cake layers; sprinkle top with chopped nuts.

July, Part 1

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret..... July is my FAVORITE month. Not only because it's the month I get to celebrate my birthday, but also because it's the month I get to celebrate other birthdays, 4th of July, the end of summer school and a whole bunch of other things that serve as excuses to bake and drink!

This month is especially great. First, as I mentioned last time, Amaris' birthday was this past weekend. I made her an upside down pineapple ice cream cake... it prolly would not have won 1st place in the looks department (it was my first time making an ice cream cake, cut me some slack!), but it did get a lot of compliments on taste (patting myself on the back!).

That was the finished project. It had a ton of ice cream and 3 layers of pineapple upside cake... Bravo, Alfredo! I think the only thing that upset me about this cake was those stupid candles. They dripped everywhere and they definitely didn't spark... I hate Wilton products. Seriously.

Anywho, here are some other pics from that night.

That's the birthday girl on the left. The other two are my other BFF's, Nicole and George.

Here's a good picture of the whole group...

We're the cool kids everyone wants to hand out with! :)

Anyway, that was just one night of festivities in July. Now that Risy's birthday has passed, I have a ton of other things to go over... My brother-from-another-mother and his wifey are moving back from Oklahoma this weekend, so I am super excited about having them back in town. Then on Sunday I am celebrating another July birthday of another high school friend....

(Let me clarify something... all of my best friends are high school friends. This is not because I didn't make friends in college. This is not because I haven't made friends in law school... it's because my high school was awesome. St. Pius X is a family and no matter how uncool people think it is to go back to high school or whatever, I've never met anyone from Pius that didn't still talk or hang out with another Pius person. That's what's great about Pi-High... you make friends for life.)

Ok, off the soap box.

Basically, I have a ton of stuff I have to do for my friends. I am making strawberry cupcakes for the "Welcome Home, Wes and Bonnie" party. I am making strawberry (and possibly chocolate) for the "Happy Birthday, Kimmy" party and I am also making strawberry cupcakes and a chocolate sheet cake for another birthday party for a great friend/former co-worker at Glenn's office that same week! Geez, I'm going to use all the strawberries in Texas over the next 2 weeks.

In case you couldn't tell, my strawberry cupcakes are TO DIE FOR. Seriously... I'd put them up against any cupcake you can throw at me. Why are they do great? Well, you'll just have to taste them, won't you!

After the 22nd, you would think things will calm down, but no... I have a final on the 23rd for my summer class, a review for the MPRE on the 24th (That pesky law school thing rears it's upgly head again!), then my birthday weekend starts.... Oh! And then I get to bake my cake for my own birthday!!!! No, that's not sad or pathetic at all. It's smart! I know what I want, so I am making what I want. Simple as that.

July is my favorite month because it is always so busy! Two weeks til my birthday and it's gonna fly by!

I'll be sure to post pics from this coming weekend... you'll want to see all of my creations!

Summer 2010

Ok, so I haven't written in over six months...what the hell have I been doing? Oh, law school... that pesky thing.

I took Federal Income Tax, Criminal Procedure and Legal Research and Writing II, so my semester was pretty hectic. On top of learning how to decipher the federal tax code (which I apparently didn't do very well, according to my professor and my final exam), I had to write my first appellate brief on the topic of the effects of pre-trial prejudice on a jury pool. How did I survive? I have no idea... good thing I was an English major and not an Accounting major. That's all I have to say about that.

Anywho... on to the good stuff. I started a new job working for a criminal defense attorney in downtown Houston! I get to follow her all around the criminal courts and she's teaching me so many cool things about how to be a successful defense lawyer. Criminals are still scum... just less so when you know their back story.

Other than the new job and the end of that hellacious semester, life has been pretty normal. I'm baking more this summer since I am taking only one class. It's my summer "off". Hence the return to the blog and the return to baking.

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to try something I had never done before. I can't call myself a baker if I keep baking the same damn things over and over again. So after I asked Glenn what he felt like eating and getting no where, I went to the source for all of my baking questions... Martha Stewart. I know, I know... there are so many better sources, but she is so awesome, so I always go to her first, then I go elsewhere.

The Martha Stewart Baking Handbook is kinda like my cake bible. I searched and searched for something that sounded tasty to me and Glenn and we decided on the Ricotta Cheesecake.

It was super duper easy to make! I was worried since I had never made a cheesecake before, and prolly still haven't depending on who you ask, but I loved it! Especially once we finished it off with some berries and powdered sugar... and I wonder why I can't lose weight.


HOLY COW... Doesn't that just look amazing.

IT WAS.

But that wasn't our dinner... it was just a fun test to see if I could do other things besides cakes. Glenn made a pizza that night. We had Ratatouille the night before, so we made a Ratatouille pizza... it was so delicious. My man can cook, ladies and gentlemen!


That was our project three weeks ago. Today, I am making a pineapple upside down ice cream cake with pineapples foster for a topping. It's for Amaris' birthday party and as is tradition, my friends get whatever they want for their birthday cake.

I'll post pictures on that later, but for now, here's a few pictures to make your mouth water.


and it wouldn't be pineapple upside cake without...

I'll give the rest of the details after the weekend is over.

TTFN!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Wow... it's been like 4 months since I last posted. Actually, it's not like that much has happened. I finished my 4th official semester of law school... Go Me! I will pat myself on the back, but not until I get the grades. Con Law and Evidence are NOT fun. I actually enjoyed Constitutional law, but my professor was feisty, you never knew what she was going to ask, so even if you knew the material, you didn't know the material...

I am making some wonderful cupcakes tonight. It will be my first time experimenting with mint! The order on the table is Mint Chocolate with peppermint cream cheese frosting. I'm so excited. I've had this box of Williams & Sonoma peppermint bark for about a week now and every time I take a bite, I envision little chocolate cupcakes with that stuff sprinkled on top.... drool. I can't wait!

I'm also making Red Velvet.... let me tell you my thoughts on that (pointless) cake. I don't like using unnatural ingredients. Mostly because I have a sensitive tummy and I never know what is going to upset it, but also because I just don't think it makes things better. Why add something unnatural if you can get the same affect using a (sometimes more expensive) alternative? I know, I know, I'm probably insulting everyone's mother right about now... Lord knows my own Mom used gelatin, food coloring and (bleh) artificial flavoring. I'm just saying... if God made it, why not use it?

With that being said, I hate red velvet cake. That seems to be the only cake with which I cannot find a suitable alternative. What's the point of Red Velvet cake anyhow? I know the history: Back in one of the great wars, there was a shortage on chocolate. Most of it was being sent to the troops over seas. So, it started as a great cause. However, red velvet has chocolate in it... a tablespoon to be exact. I guess my whole problem is, if it has the chocolate flavor... why not just make chocolate?? Anyway, back to my rant, to get that disgusting blood red color, you have to add like a whole bottle of cancer causing red food coloring. A WHOLE BOTTLE! Gross. I've tried looking for alternatives... beet powder, etc., but nothing keeps that red color. I'm not a chemistry major in any sense, but I do understand that even though the beet powder makes the batter red, once heated, it becomes a blah brown. Again... the cake is a waste.

Anyway, I am making this diaster of a cake because it's Christmas... and since it's Christmas, I am going to make it pretty and festive.

EEE! I just ordered new cupcake boxes. I'm pretty excited... this will save lots of money. Glenn is gonna freak. I have no where to put the boxes, but we'll figure that out later :)

So many things are happening soon. We are going to Atlanta for Christmas to spend time with his family. I'm uber excited! And then, for New Years, we are going to NEW YORK!! He's never been, so there are so many things I want to show him... can't wait!

Ok, I need to go do some work. I will write again before the month is over.

New things all around!

So many things have happened in the last few weeks. I officially launched Callooh Callay cupcakes. I made some marble cupcakes for my friend Christina and the Animal Law Society and from what I heard, they were quite the hit.

I officially created a fan page on Facebook. So far I have 31 fans! That's a big number for me, especially since only a few people have actually tasted my confections. I'm working on getting my name out there... my best friend Amaris actually just created my logo, so now it's just a matter of time before I make business cards and get down to business.

Big news! My brother and his wife just had a beautiful baby girl! Fallon Claire. She is perfect in every way. She has my nose :)

I can't wait to post pictures. I am making a big batch of cupcakes on Sunday to celebrate.

Saturday afternoon we are having a huge baby shower for my best friend Nicole. She is also expecting a baby girl. I'm making Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookies just for the occasion.

So many things to celebrate, so little time to cram it all in!

Callooh Callay Cupcakes!

So it's become a mad hobby. My cupcakes have taken over... and it's not just cupcakes. It's cookies too. Vegan cookies! I am totally in love with this baking thing. I love how I feel when a fresh batch of anything comes out.

My 4th semester of law school is set to begin. On the plate I have Evidence, Constitutional Law and Property II. Am I excited? Not one bit, but I have vowed to make this semester one of the best. I don't know how I'm going to do it exactly, but hard work and a lot of studying will have to pay off eventually....

Big news though! I have officially named my products/hobby/future cupcake shop. It's now called Callooh Callay Creations! My tag line is: "Delicious Nonsense". I'm pretty excited about it. Several people have already volunteered to help with websites, logos, taste testing, etc. It's gonna be big, man. Take over the world big!

I forgot to tell you guys about the move and California! And my birthday! I had the greatest 27th birthday ever. We had a get together at Cedar Creek in the Heights and so many friends came to celebrate. My bestie Nicole got me not one, but TWO cakes, both equally delicious. I got so many cupcake related presents too! From the Martha Stewart Cupcake book to cookie decorating instruments, this really was the summer of baked goods. Awesome, awesome birthday!

Ok, on to California. What can I say about how much I absolutely loved that state? We flew into LA and rented a convertible (truly, the only way to go!). From LA we went to Santa Monica where we dipped our feet into the Pacific for the first time. Holy hell, that was cold water! We grabbed lunch at this fantastic Italian deli and let me tell you, it was one of the best sandwiches I will crave for the rest of my life... From Santa Monica we took highway one all the way to Santa Barbara. Again, an amazing drive. We finally got to Santa Barbara that evening and stayed at this amazing little cottage. Wine and Boccie ball are a great combination, btw!

After Santa Barbara, we headed to Paso Robles. I fell in love with the couple we stayed with there. Anne and George are the cutest! Their wine was pretty awesome too, Justin the Orphan. If you ever have the chance: TRY IT. We got to go to the mid-state fair in Paso Robles which was exactly like the Texas State Fair or the Houston Rodeo. No difference. Glenn and I rode the Ferris wheel and another fun ride, then decided to get daring and ride some crazy spinning ride... needless to say, we both got seriously nauseous. That night didn't end well.

After Paso, we went to Carmel and Monterey. We went to the aquarium, saw the fishies, sea lions, sea horses... all too cute to describe in detail here. From Monterey it was on to San Fran, but not til I had my In and Out Burger! We literally crossed over a Mountain to find the closest In and Out, but it was so worth it. I think that trek over the mountain officially got me my official foodie card! San Fran was AWESOME. I would totally live there. From the people, to the scenery, to the weather, to the FOOD... it was all just so amazing. We went to this fantastic Oyster Bar called Swan Oyster Depot. Best and freshest seafood I have ever had and I've been to New Orleans. There was nothing special about the place, just a really old bar, really old stools and great service. If you are ever in San Fran, GO.

Now, onto the biggie: THE CUPCAKES!! Of course we tried cupcakes. We found a place in Santa Barbara: Crushcakes. I must admit, we could only eat one... way too sweet. The cake was perfect, but the icing was totally diabetic coma inducing. Too sweet. Even Glenn, who loves icing couldn't take it. I loved their motif and bumper stickers, but was not impressed by the actual delivery.

In San Fran we went to Kara's Cupcakes. WOW. That's all I can say. WOW. I know I might have said that I am aiming to be the next Martha... I changed my mind. I want to be Kara. I want my cupcakes to taste like Kara's cupcakes. I don't know who she is, but I love her. We trekked all over San Fran trying to find her store... being unfamiliar with the city, it wasn't easy. We found it and again, totally worth it. Kara, if you are out there, you have a devoted fan in me!

On our last day in San Fran which also happened to be our last day of the trip, we made it to Citizen Cake. Glenn loved it. I was just ok with it. I don't know. I think I didn't care for the Rocky Road cupcake? Maybe that first one ruined the rest for me? Anyway, she was good, but not Kara good. Glenn liked her, so that made the trip there worth it for him. I could have left San Fran happy with just Kara and her delicious cupcakes.

Finally, the move. We moved in together that day we got back from our vacation. Talk about stress. We both love the house, but everything is still a mess. I can't wait til we get everything unpacked. I love my kitchen tho. I have a ton of counter space! It's gonna be cupcake heaven.

Anyway, that's all that's going on. I have a family reunion this weekend, so Friday night will be spent making all sorts of goodies. I think I am opting for Martha's lemon cake with berries, some chocolate chip cookies and another item... carrot cake maybe?

I will let you know how it goes. TTFN!

WOOO HOOO!! School's done for the Summer!!

So Yippie!!! I am done for another semester! and it was a toughie! Whoever thought OF cramming Torts and Contracts into a summer session was seriously demented. I mean, products liability and defamation alone should get their own course. Well, at least the way my professor taught it they should. And what the tell was up with that Contracts final!? I thought we took Contracts, not employment law!

Anyway, sorry. I had to vent. It's been a crazy couple of weeks/months since I last posted. Since the last posting, obviously summer school started, but so many other great things happened too!

Carady, my sister-in-law had her baby shower and I hosted. I did a pretty good job too if I do say so myself. I really am trying to be Martha Stewart... I made favors and everything! Her theme was honey bees and Winnie the Pooh. It was absolutely perfect and she racked up a ton of gifts which made me infinitely happy. We don't know what the baby is yet, so I'm not sure if I am going to have a niece or a nephew, but regardless, I am ECSTATIC. Here are some pics.



No, unfortunately I didn't get to make those cupcakes. They are from Crave Cupcakes, which in my opinion, is the best place to get cupcakes in Houston... well, aside from my cupcakes that is :) That lovely cake is from Whole Foods. They make really good cakes too. I don't know what that one is called, but holy cow! It's scrumptious.

Anyway, the shower was in June... so fly by a few more weeks and the (future) in-laws came in town to celebrate 4th of July with us. It was wonderful. I love seeing them. We spent Memorial Day with them in Memphis and I absolutely fell in love with Glenn's nephew Brady. Goodness gracious, I had baby fever that entire weekend.

As I was saying, July just FLEW by. My bestie, Amaris, celebrated her birthday this month too. Here are pictures of her and her cake... yes, I made that one. Thank you for recipe, Martha!

It seems everyone loved that cake too. I've had several requests for me to make it again. That makes me happy, however, that cake was time consuming! Squeezing each freakin' lemon... Thank God my wonderful boyfriend got me a lemon juicer!

So anyway, those are the biggies... Oops, almost forgot! My birthday is in 5 days!! Oh, and we are leaving for California in 6 days!!! And another thing... we are moving in together!! Isn't that crazy?! I am so absolutely in love... I just can't believe how things have just done a 180 in such a short year. Anyway, we are moving in together like in 2 weeks, as soon as we get back from Cali as a matter of fact. I will be sure to upload a ton of pics from my birthday festivities, the trip and the move.

Lots to catch up on! But for now, I'm off to bed. Crossfit at 6:00am sharp.

XOXOXOXOXO.