Crepe Crazy and the Kid Cave!

Look out! This is one of the best desserts ever!!!

I had a dessert similar to this one at a restaurant and have never forgotten it. They used puffed up pizza dough baked in a brick oven, incredible!

It is warm crepes with nutella, carmelized bananas with brandy, vanilla ice cream, and almonds.

Sometimes only the Best will do!

I'm not even a banana person, but these absolutely make the dish!

A few days earlier we had crepes filled with warm sweet cream cheese topped with fresh strawberries and blackberries soaked in a bit of sugar.

And a few days before that... we had crepes with melted dark chocolate chips, cream cheese and fresh blackberry sauce.

To make the blackberry sauce, mash them through a sieve, add sugar, and reduce over the stove until thickened slightly.

Oh Crepes... I've never met one I didn't like!

And this is the kid cave!

We decided to make the kids there own little space in the closet under the stairs.
We prepared it secretly and sent them on a scavenger hunt to find it.

 Of all the kids, Will thinks it's the most magical : )

Poor guy, his work is never done.

What's a cave without a bear?!

( He was a Costco steal. I couldn't stop laughing as I was by myself pushing the shopping cart with his huge arms hanging out the sides. )

Also among the amenities is a  Hi-Tech Quaker Oats Messaging System.

Dom humored me and let me screw two giant eye hooks into the wall for their pulley system : )



It's been so much fun.

'Til next time!!!

For the crepe recipe that I like to use, refer to the post Dessert for Breakfast Any Day, June 2009.

Aebleskiver and a Happy Easter!

Aeble-what? Aebleskiver!

Or ball pancakes as the kids and I like to refer to them : )

Some of them we made with sweet cream cheese filling, and others with white chocolate chips. You can go crazy with these, with any sort of filling you can think up!

Top them with blueberry sauce...

And enough whipped cream to lose them in!

I bought this first pan a couple of years ago for about $10. When black flakes started peeling off the pan with the pancakes I thought maybe I should've gotten a nicer one. It scared me a little.

So I caved and bought the good one.

Definitely worth it.

The USA on the bottom was so reassuring after the scary pan.

I made half of the recipe with wheat flour, and half with rice flour and it worked out perfectly.

Bella was so excited!

Yummmmmmm!

Every year we sit at this table it feels like such a treat.
My sister Amy hosts Easter and it is so special!

Each egg shell vase was specially dyed, filled with water, and given a coordinating flower from her own garden.
They were so beautiful!

And the Hostess with the Mostess!     : )
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the feast because I was too busy enjoying it.
I could just kick myself, but it was gooooooooooood!

Happy Happy Happy Easter!

Ebleskiver - Williams-Sonoma.com

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

 In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, granulated sugar and salt.


In a small bowl, lightly whisk together the egg yolks and buttermilk. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/2 tsp. butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Place over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well and cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add your filling in the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Using 2 wooden skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Dust the pancakes with confectioners' sugar and serve warm with maple syrup. Makes about 40.

A Sweet Afternoon Pick-me-Up!

This little snack is made up of vanilla yogurt, honey, lavender sugar, and cinnamon and sugar flour tortilla chips. It's very light and refreshing.



I use the uncooked tortillas, cook them lightly on the stove top, then butter them, cover in cinnamon and sugar, slice them, and put in the oven until crisp.

My sister's lavender sugar was the perfect finishing touch!

And Sprinkler Season has begun!

'Til next time!

 

Someone Call the Fire Department!

This was a super fun cake to make!

Who's manning the hose?!

'Til next week!



Spoon Bread, Corn Bread, and a Penny.

This recipe has been on my "to try" list for a while.



It's part corn bread and part corn souffle. I really liked this recipe, but might add a touch more sugar and a little more salt next time.

Perfect with barbeque chicken, green beans, and cheesy baked potatoes!

And Corn Bread... hot out of the oven...

Delicious served plain...

And fabulous with melted butter and honey!!!

I love this recipe!

And this is Penny.

She is so cute! It's just ridiculous!

My sister and her family got her a couple of weeks ago and brought her over for a visit.

There are no words!!!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Spider Spoon Bread - Down Home Cooking, Reader's Digest

1 cup white or yellow corn meal

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 cups low-fat milk (2 %)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup corn kernels

5 large egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12 inch cast iron skillet; heat in the oven.

2. Onto a piece of wax paper, mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, and slat. In a medium-size saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil over moderate heat. Add the dry ingredients in a steady stream, whisking constantly. remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool.

3. In a small bowl, with an electric mixer set on high, beat the egg yolks with the baking powder until thick and light yellow. Stir into the cornmeal mixture with the corn.

4. In a clean medium-size bowl, with clean beaters and the mixer set on high, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cornmeal mixture, then spoon into the hot skillet. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffy. Serve immediately, right from the skillet.

Cornbread- (given by a friend, not sure of the original source)

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into 8 pieces

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

In a large bowl, mix together first 6 ingredients, cutting in the butter until it resembles coarse meal. Beat together the sour cream, milk and egg until blended. Pour this mixture into the large bowl and stir until dry ingredients are moistened and mixture is blended, about 30-60 seconds. Do not overbeat.

Spread batter evenly into a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

My Favorite Birthday Cake.

Not only did it look super sparkly... it tasted super sparkly... and crunchy!

The kids made my birthday cake this year, and boy did they have fun!

Bella is just trying out the sprinkles to make sure they're alright.



It was a sprinkle explosion!

"Can't... Handle... the Pressure!!!"

Oh, it was stressful!



Best birthday cake ever!