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!