I Keep Saying I’m 25 but Really I’m 26!

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cake. They make the best!

Birthdays come and go. We all get older and we all say, “Oh I don’t want to celebrate.” Well I know I’m one of them but deep down in my heart I know that it is a good excuse to just go out and have fun. Drink, fun dinners, silly laughs, dancing etc. Just today I had a compliment, someone thought I was 20. Umm thank you! Hehe. I get that a lot actually and I’m taking it!

My birthday was on July 30th and I actually had a weird fear of turning 26. In 4 years I’ll be 30, is what I kept repeating in my mind. Well it happened, I turned 26. I think I will be okay. This birthday was probably one of the best birthdays ever. I felt like a princess the whole day and it was the people I surround myself with. I never felt so good and so loved. Thank you to everyone who came to my dinners and had a few drinks with me. Thank you for the fabulous birthday cards too!

I know it has been a minute since I’ve made a post. I always use the excuse I’m really busy but I’ll just be honest. I don’t have the heart of cooking like I once did. I try to continue loving it and blogging about what I’ve made but I had to force myself to do it. It just wasn’t feeling right. I don’t cook as much as I use too. Thank goodness my mom has learned how to cook because I’d be drinking smoothies for dinner every night! I want to change the feel of my blog. I want you guys to know my personality and who I am. I tend to be very random and my posts will become very random. The blog will still focus on food but I’ll add in other tidbits like workouts and cool projects I’m working on. How does that sound? Perhaps a blog name change will be in the future as well!

Summer Veggie Slaw, from my favorite blog, Proud Italian Cook: http://prouditaliancook.blogspot.com/2012/07/summer-veggie-slaw.html

I sent my mom the recipe and she made it for my birthday dinner. Boy was this delicious!

My favorite Spinach and Mozzarella Turkey Burgers and honey mustard chicken.

Honey mustard glaze: dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Season raw chicken with salt and pepper, grill and then glaze chicken while grilling.

My birthday meal! The only thing I cooked were the sweet potato fries and protein.

Dessert!

The best ice cream cake ever. It had a layer of vanilla ice cream, brownies, and a buttery toffee ice cream with huge chunks of heath bar and swirls of caramel. Whip cream icing and sprinkles! Oh and my Happy Birthday Fallon was in fudge, not the icky artificial frosting stuff! <3

Adios my friends!
Fallon

Mike’s Birthday Cake

This year Mike requested that I make one of his favorite cakes, Cannoli Cake. I usually only make it around Christmas time to share with family but he insisted I make it for his birthday. Well your wish is my command! Happy Birthday babe!!!

I wonder if I’ll have to make it again for Christmas? hehe

Cannoli Cream
By Fallon

The cannoli cream filling is actually really easy to make! I’ve definitely perfected how to make it just right with using 3 cups whole milk ricotta (strained overnight for extra liquid), 1 cup sifted confectioner’s powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 3 ounces of mini chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate that has been chopped up.

Combine the ricotta cheese and powdered sugar with a hand mixer and combine. Add in the cinnamon. Mix in the chocolate and place in the fridge for an hour to let it thicken up. I chopped my bittersweet chocolate in the food processor, so easy.

You can add pistachios and orange zest as well. Mike ONLY likes the chocolate but I can guarantee it will taste even better with those extra add-ins. You can use this as a cake filling, pancake/waffle topper, toast, homemade cannoli shells and whatever else you can think of. I prefer spoonfuls. ;) I did double the recipe for the cake because we like a lot of extra cannoli cream. I do have a cannoli filling recipe that I’ve made that is slightly different with the addition of vanilla extract and pistachios. And how about a Mexican Cannoli?

 
He couldn’t wait any longer, his mouth was watering to try his cake!        

Buon Appetito,
Fallon

Hominy Grill + More

Continuing on with my birthday adventures in Charleston, SC it is now time to move onto the food. Don’t forget to check out my post about Ft. Sumter as well.

We stayed at the historical Ashley Inn Bed and Breakfast while in Charleston. My first time ever staying at one and it was definitely something to get use too. Lets say it was an experience. This place was from 1832… I was a bit weird out by the older fixtures like in the bathroom and the wooden floors. Oh and what was really icky was the fact that the AC kept dripping water. Not cool! But other then that, the place was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the breakfast out on the deck was awesome! They also do happy hour from 4-6 with complimentary wine and appetizers. That was the best part!

 
Hey it is 5 o’ clock!

 

 
Our cute little bed! Until the AC started dripping water..

Since we only had 1 full day in Charleston, we only ate out once for a really nice dinner which was my birthday dinner at Hominy Grill. Other then that we stopped at a bar and grill downtown and when we went out we would grab some beers and apps to enjoy. As for snacks and desserts.. my cupcakes were the star!

    

I kept going back and forth on where to have my birthday dinner. Being a huge foodie, I wanted something local and original. Charleston has a lot of fine dining restaurants and a lot of seafood. I don’t eat seafood and I wasn’t in the mood for a super fancy meal. I wanted something fun and umm low country? I’ve never had a TRUE southern meal and Hominy Grill took an original twist on southern meals. They were also featured on a show called Man vs. Food. Who else watches this show? Love it!!!

Waiting to get our table!

There was so much to offer I didn’t know where to start! I wanted to try a little bit of everything. They started us with some boiled peanuts. Have you ever had these? They remind me of mashed potatoes. LOL

We ordered 2 appetizers, She-Crab Soup and Homemade Red Pepper Jelly with Goat Cheese and Crackers. I didn’t dare touch the soup but I was all on the cheese and crackers. Their jelly was amazing, wish they sold it!

Apparently they call She-Crab Soup because of the roe added to it.

As for our meals I randomly went with their Pecan Crusted Porterhouse Pork Chop with Spiced Peach Sauce. It just sounded real good and it was. Mike ordered their fish of the day, red snapper. As for sides, I couldn’t believe how many they had to choose from. Probably about 10-12 choices. At this point I knew I wanted to have their eggplant side (it was baked with tomatoes and bacon) but I was curious if I could just get a slice of corn bread as my other side. They told me it would be extra. I already had enough food and knew I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing, so I just got white rice. Mike ordered the eggplant side and mashed sweet potatoes.

Overall our meals were good but not great. They wouldn’t do anything extra, like with the corn bread. Also Mike asked our waitress without me knowing if they do anything for birthdays. She said they don’t do anything special but if we order dessert they can put a candle on it. Mike came back to the table to tell me what he tried doing because he just got up out of know where! I told him I would NEVER be able to eat dessert after appetizers and our meal. So we declined but we heard their buttermilk pie is spot on. Oh well!

In the end I’m glad I went to a place different then I’m use to but it isn’t a place I’d go back to if I visit Charleston again. It was good but not great. Maybe I’m just a picky person?

Oh and I think I mentioned cupcakes in this post. Yeah they are coming up next!

Always,
Fallon
(I used my digital camera. Still scared to take the DSLR out in public.)

S'more Cookie Bars

Well I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. I spent my weekend with my boyfriend! It has been about 2 months since I last saw him and Labor Day couldn't be a more better time to visit. We hung out a lot, chilled and made some good at home dinners! His birthday was on the 6th and I wanted to do something cool at home. I talked with his sister-in-law (SIL) on what we should do and we came up with an awesome menu! We wanted to grill steaks, green salad, pasta dish and bread. Simple but very flavorful! As for dessert, we stuck with a simple s'more bar. It is a Hershey's recipe that has been floating around the blog world for a while and been in my bookmarked recipes. Labor day, end of summer, BBQ, s'mores.. it was all just meant to be! Luckily his SIL has a pretty well stocked kitchen and had all the baking supplies I needed. The s'more bars were really easy to do. Took me less then an hour to prep and place in the oven. Glad I had this recipe handy because it turned out really well. We placed a few candles on top and sang happy birthday!

 
S'more Cookie Bars (Adapted From Hershey's Kitchens)  
Ingredients
1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup Stevia in the Raw (you may use granulated sugar)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt 4 (1.55 oz. each) HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Bars
1 jar of marshmallow creme

Heat over to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan or line with foil and grease for easy cutting later on. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan.

Arrange chocolate bars over dough, breaking as needed to fit. Spread with marshmallow creme. Scatter bits of remaining over marshmallow; carefully press to form a layer. (This part was a bit challenging. I used more dough on the bottom layer, so the top layer was more of a crumble.)
  Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. 16 bars. These are best to be eaten after being cooled off and slightly warm and gooey. By the time we had ours, they were more like room temperature, so we nuked them for a few seconds in the microwave. Worked like a charm. ;) Tasted just like a s'mores!

Time to make a wish!
 

You will also notice I didn't use sugar but stevia. His SIL had the brilliant idea to sub that for sugar, since it is cup-to-cup in measurements. I was worried of an aftertaste but with the chocolate and marshmallow it evened out and you would of never known! I bought a bag of the stevia she has and I'm going to start subbing it for sugar in certain recipes. Can't hurt and will save on the calories!

Enjoy,
Fallon

Birthday Presents!

I had a wonderful week celebrating my 24th birthday. I kept it simple and low key. The kitchen is coming together which I will share with everyone once it is all put together. We just ordered a new kitchen table and a few other items, so I want to wait till it is all done. It is going to look awesome. Along with my birthday we celebrated for everything else that has been going on. We ate at Miller's Alehouse and Lucille's Barbecue. Couldn't of been a better week!

Cap't Jack's Buried Treasure®: Homemade vanilla ice cream cake with Oreo® cookie crust, caramel, chocolate fudge & heath bar crunch.

I received some great gifts this year and I wanted to share them before we get to the good stuff. Like cupcakes. ;) My best friend gave me a gift card to my new favorite sandwich place, Hougan's Racing! Can't wait to get some use out of that one! You can check out my review HERE. My boyfriend told me to send him 3 things I wanted for my birthday and he'd decide what to get me. Well honestly I don't know what I want! I really didn't know what to ask for so I sent him a list of 5 different cookbooks I've been meaning to purchase. I was pretty surprised to find he picked out 3 for me. I've already finished reading Skinny Italian and been going through Clean Food. I'm loving some of their summer salad sides! Baking Illustrated is a lot more text and detail that I can't wait to study up on. Let's just say I'll be keeping myself busy! My parents hooked me up this year with jewelry! My favorite. My aunt last Hanukkah started me off with a charm bracelet by Thomas Sabo. He is a German designer that has a wicked mind when it comes to creating charms and jewelry pieces. The charms are small and unique. His charms are meant to be personalized to each individual. My aunt started me off with a heart with love engraved in the middle. For my birthday my mom decided to add a charm to my bracelet.

I love personalization.

Last which I did not picture but I really needed. A good chain for a diamond pendant my boyfriend gave me last Christmas. You can scroll down to see it at that link. The chain it came with was very annoying, it would spin around and the pendant would get caught in the clasp and sometimes I'd have to tug to get it out! Well problem solved when my dad said that a new chain be a present from him! It is a beautiful white gold wheat chain, that pairs perfectly with the pendant! My birthday might of been small and low key; I could feel the love and that all that matters! Come back to check out C U P C A K E S sometime this week! Always, Fallon

Birthday Recap!

It amazing how busy I've been these last few days and I really haven't been doing much! Just shopping, eating and relaxing. I believe time just moving faster. I mean it is already August! In two months Halloween will be here and then shortly after Holiday season begins. BUT today it about my birthday that was on July 30th. I had a wonderful birthday. It was very simple, how I wanted it. I know it hard times for many of friends right now, so I really never expect anything from them. It doesn't bother me. To me it is always the small things that matter. Like my mother. I always say my birthday and any holiday will never be the same now that my aunt is gone because I don't get a card from her anymore. This was her sister and she was like another mother to me. What a wonderful woman she was. So my mother did something special and I had a "special" present come from my aunt. This was probably one of the best things she did, yes it was sad but it was wonderful. I had a card and flowers from my aunt.

I love the orange flowers but have no clue what they call them!
 

See the bud? I woke up this morning and several had bloomed. :)
 

This year I also decided I wanted to make my own birthday cake. I mean if I knew a bakery out here that made a S'mores Cake and it was delicious as the one I made, then I would of just bought my cake. This wasn't the case though. I was on Baking Bites and saw her post for a S'mores Cake. I instantly knew this was my birthday cake. Lately I've been obsessed with s'mores or anything dealing with a gooey marshmallow center! It so delicious, I can't help myself! I made my cake the night before my birthday so it could set and I didn't feel like baking on the day of my birthday! Plus licking the chocolate bowl and finishing the marshmallow off the spatula, priceless!

The cake was out of this world. It was everything and more I had expected. It was exactly the way it was described on Baking Bites. The cake was very moist and very delicate. The cake had a ton of flavor from the graham cracker crumbs. Which was the "flour" of the whole cake. The marshmallow creme set well because it calls for a layer of chocolate frosting on top of the first cake which is still warm, so it easily melted the marshmallow creme to spread evenly. Topped the rest and it was beautiful. The chocolate just melted down the sides. The warm chocolate frosting was slowly shifting my cake and making it lopsided. The creme was oozing out of the sides. I quickly put it in the fridge from any further delicious damage! To get the recipe you can CLICK HERE or look below.

Look at the oozing marshmallow creme. Mmm The tender cake was very crumbly.

 
S’mores Cake (from Baking Bites)  
Makes 1 9-inch cake, Serves 8-10Graham Cracker Cake Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray or oil and line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, whisk together graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt. Working in two or three additions, alternate stirring the graham cracker mixture and the milk into the butter mixture.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks in a clean, medium-sized bowl. Working in 2 or three additions, fold egg whites into graham cracker mixture, mixing until no streaks of white remain.

Divide evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in pans for 3 minutes, then invert onto wire racks (remove parchment paper) to cool completely before filling and frosting.

To assemble: Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread about 1/2 cup of the chocolate frosting onto the cake, then spread the marshmallow creme into an even layer. Top marshmallow layer with second cake round, then pour remaining frosting over the top, spreading it into an even layer with an offset spatula and allowing it to drip slightly down the sides of the cake.

Cake will set up quickly, and should be stored in the refrigerator if not being served shortly after being assembled.

Marshmallow Filling and Milk Chocolate Frosting Ingredients 

1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme

8-oz milk chocolate, chopped 

1/4 cup half and half/cream 

2 tbsp butter 

2 tbsp corn syrup

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate, half and half, butter and corn syrup until melted. Stir with a fork or small whisk to ensure that everything comes together smoothly. Proceed to assemble cake (above) once the frosting is prepared.

*If you grind your own grahams in the food processor, you’ll need about 20 graham cracker squares ( I used 28 squares and it gave me exactly 2 cups). I used a regular store brand, nothing fancy. Grind a little extra, so you don’t have to go try and process one by itself if you’re short.

My ingredients are ready to go. You can see my little cookbook library!

 

The graham cracker cake mixture.

 

My fluffy egg whites!

 

Cake batter evenly divided.

 

Baked up beautifully.

 

Chocolate frosting time. 
  Wish I was in this bowl. Butter, chocolate... Can't get any better! My chocolate oozed everywhere along with the marshmallow creme. Mmm The cake was slowly shifting. I like cakes that don't look pretty but taste makes up for it! My big beautiful slice. I felt this had the most oozed marshmallow creme. It had my name on it! Told you I have a thing with gooey marshmallows. This was after 3 people have a 3 big slices. haha
 

Will I make this cake again? Absolutely. It was easy and the taste was amazing. My boyfriend loves s'mores, and I told him I will make this cake for him when he comes home for a few days. I know he will love it. Everyone who tasted my cake loved it too. This is the kind of cake you could see in a bakery. The chocolate frosting really gives it that bakery look because it thick but creamy from the milk chocolate. Some things I will do differently next time:

• I'm going to whip sugar into my egg whites instead of the butter. I want to see if this will make the cake a little stronger. When I put the cake to cool on the rack, it was a pain to lift, I had to use a spatula because it was sticking and crumbling up. I saved it though!
• Next time I will remember to whip the egg yolks into the butter mixture. I completely forgot. I had already added the cake mixture in and then saw the yolks. I added them in, but I'm thinking this might of affected how the cake should be.
• For the chocolate frosting, I used half n half. I think it might of been too "light" for the frosting because my frosting was very thin. It easily poured and dripped quickly down the cake. Regardless it didn't change the taste but a more thicker chocolate would make a prettier display for the cake. I will use regular whipping cream next time. I also think it would hold the cake in place, instead of tilting sideways.
• Marshmallow creme. Have you ever read the ingredients on that jar? Very scary. One day I will attempt to make my own creme. This is when I own a second kitchen aid because marshmallow is very messy and sticky! I think fresh marshmallow would be delicious. Does anyone have homemade recipes?? Please share if you do!

So after having my cake on my birthday I was extremely full that night to even have my birthday dinner. We went to Yard House for lunch and had nachos and beer. This is one of my favorite cheat foods and I haven't had it in a long time. Then to top if off the bartenders brought me a chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream. Which I could of done without it because I knew I had my S'mores Cake! Hours later we were still really full and couldn't even think of dinner. I knew I wanted my cake and then.. more trouble. An unexpected gift appeared at my door and I couldn't say no.

Cookies. Sugar cookies. Sugar cookies with delicious frosting.
 

This was my favorite, cinnamon brown sugar cookie. 
 

I discovered these cookies at my girlfriend's baby shower. They are from Cookies by Design. This is the most creative business I have ever seen. I love it. It better then flowers because cookies can't die, you just eat them and enjoy them! They have tons of baskets on their site and for any occasion. I think anyone would enjoy a gift like this. I know I did! They are located nationwide so check it out. See if they are in your area!

So after all the sugar and nachos, I couldn't even think of my birthday dinner I had requested. Grilled filet mignon, corn on the cob, and butter lettuce salad. So we saved it for the following night instead!

That's right. Dinner doesn't get started till I get my glass of wine!
 

Since it was my birthday dinner I really didn't want to do any cooking! So I just ordered my parents around instead. I like to call it the bossy sous chef! I did husk the corn and put it in the pot of boiling water. I seasoned the steaks. Set the table. So the menu was petite filet mignon. I seasoned them with salt and pepper. That is all they needed. My father tells me I shouldn't salt the meat until after it cooks. It will take out all the juices and will be dry. Well I think the steaks came out perfectly when done. I let them sit for a few minutes to rest. They were tender like butter. They were cooked perfectly, medium- rare. What is your take on salting raw meat before or cooked meat afterward? I find salting it while raw makes them more tender after they are done cooking. The side was a simple white corn on the cob, boiled. Some people like to add butter to their corn, we eat ours plain. It doesn't need the butter, they are so sweet and tender without it!

Of course I had the biggest steak. About 10 oz. I saved half of it for the next day!
 

BIG salad!

For my salad, I requested a butter lettuce salad because I believe it pairs well with a grilled steak. My father use to make this salad all the time when I was growing up. It was still good!

Butter Lettuce Salad (Adapted from my father)
Serves 3-4 people  

Ingredients
1 huge head of butter lettuce (we bought the one in the container with the roots still on for freshness)
1-2 roma tomatoes
1/4-1/2 sliced red onion (depending on how much you like)
Red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil Salt and Pepper

Wash and dry the lettuce well. Top with sliced tomatoes and onions. Drizzle on the vinegar and oil. Make sure it isn't over dressed. Then sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Then right before it time to eat, mix the salad together. If you mix it early then the salad with be soggy and you will lose the butter lettuce texture of the entire salad. That is the trick, wait till it time to eat and then mix the salad. I thought some toasted steak rolls would go well with the dinner, so I paired it with my salad. We bought the steak rolls from a bakery in Las Vegas, Great Buns Bakery.


The wine with my dinner is again one of my favorites. I'm more of a red wine person. My personal favorite is a Pinot Noir. It is a lighter body wine and it goes down smoothly. I'm not very knowledgeable on my wines yet but I'm slowly learning. I know with steak a heavier red wine like Cabernet or Merlot would of paired well. I just haven't found a Cabernet or Merlot I like yet. I would love to take some wine tours, and learn more about wine.

I've had this brand at several restaurants. I really like it.
 

Then to top off the ending of my dinner, I had a very small slice of cake left just for me! I enjoyed every single bite. It was worth the minor birthday weight gain, but as of today I'm back to my normal weight. Phew!! Lots of weight training and sweating really pays off. This is a rather long post, but hey it took 2 days to celebrate my birthday! I want to thank everyone for the wonderful wishes and the cards/ presents I received. I never expect anything, and that when I am usually surprised the most! I'm still waiting on my package from my boyfriend. I'm so anxious, I want it now!!! LOL.

Happy Sunday!!!
Fallon