Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes

I have the attention span of a five year old…after they have devoured all of their Halloween candy. It’s sad really because there are times when said short attention span gets the better of me. Just recently, while driving, I got distracted by my Blackberry and missed a turn. And by distracted, I mean I was busy taking a picture of me driving in my mother’s Miata…so I could post it on Facebook (disclaimer: I was at a stop light, so it wasn’t like I was barreling down the streets of Georgia with one hand on the wheel and the other on my Blackberry trying to strike a pose).

My attention span only gets shorter when a nifty new gadget or piece of gear is in my general vicinity (and by general vicinity I mean within a ten mile radius because I can sniff out new techie things like a police dog sniffing out cocaine at an airport in Miami circa 1983). So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that when I set out to make these mini key lime cheesecakes for our New Year’s Eve celebration, my new baby kept distracting me. Sure, this is the same camera model I had earlier in the year. But I just now got around to replacing the one that had to be sent back due to a defective flash. And this time I actually read the owner’s manual from cover to cover…and discovered you can control the camera from your LAPTOP!!! I don’t need no stinkin’ camera remote, I have my Macbook! Wait, where was I going with this post????

Gifts from Shaw Girl’s Kitchen

So you’re finishing up your Christmas shopping, happily checking everyone off of your list and then it hits you: what about my co-workers? Sure a lot of them can be complete and total idiots, but ’tis the season to be forgiving (and to ignore the fact that some of your co-workers – thankfully none of mine – have the charm of a poisonous snake) and what says “let bygones be bygones” like homemade treats? Also, they’re a heck of a lot cheaper than giving everyone gift cards….

I Ain’t No Challah Back Girl

Let’s just all be honest here. Half the reason I even made this bread was so I could title the post “I Ain’t No Challah Back Girl”. It’s a great pun, right? No? Did you just question my pun abilities? That’s soo not cool.

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here…

It’s not like I didn’t warn you…not like I didn’t mention my over fondness for all things Christmas. Hell, I put my Christmas tree in my HALLWAY because it wouldn’t fit anywhere else in my basement apartment. I don’t care…it’s up and it’s beautiful. And now, let the Christmas baking begin!!!!!!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Caramel Cake Cupcakes

I’ve missed the Daring Bakers! When I took a bit of a sabbatical from food blogging, I also took a break from the Daring Bakers. But I’m back and just in time for a sugar rush! Challenge hosts Dolores from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Alex from Blondie and Brownie, Jenny of Foray into Food and Natalie of Gluten A Go Go found what can only be described as a dentist’s worst nightmare. This month’s challenge recipe is Shuna Fish Lydon’s Caramel Cake, as published on the Bay Area Bites blog, an ode to sugar at its finest. It’s a cake…with caramel in the batter…topped with a carmelized buttercream. My teeth ached just reading the recipe. For my first challenge back in the saddle, however, this was an easy yet versatile recipe…even more so since I turned them into cupcakes.

Chocolate Coconut Walnut Scones

Dear Santa,

I’ve been good this year…well, I mean I’ve been fairly good. Okay, I’ve been about 49 percent good this year, but considering my track record that’s like, super good. But I digress…this letter isn’t about the adult me. This is about the Shaw Girl of Christmas past. The sweet, happy, innocent little Shaw Girl who believed in you and was really, really good. Remember the letter I sent you when I was five? You must remember because I even included glitter in the envelope as an enticement (well, the glitter I didn’t eat…I had a thing for craft supplies at that age). That was the year I pleaded for an Easy Bake oven…the ultimate gift to a budding foodie. How I yearned for an Easy Bake oven…something to bring my delicious creations to life. My friend Cheryl had one but she wouldn’t let me use it…she mocked my lack of Easy Bake oven status. But I knew if I was good enough and if my letter was heart felt enough, I too would have an Easy Bake oven to call my own…boy was I wrong.

Brioche in a Snap!

When I was little, we only had the major holidays off from school. Columbus Day? Spent sitting in Mrs. Slusher’s class listening to her find sexual content in every book we read (seriously, she even made a case for what Huck Finn and Jim were doing all that time in the boat on the river…disturbing for a high school literature class). President’s Day? Of course school had to be in! That was a perfect opportunity to learn about our presidential history. So imagine my surprise to find out as a grown up, I get such unexpected holidays off! In fact, it didn’t even hit me that I had Tuesday November 11th off until a co-worker mentioned it the day after election day. Veteran’s Day off? Sweet! Speaking of sweet, have you met a brioche yet? No? Well, let me make a formal introduction…and show you how easy it is to make.

Artisan Boule Bread

So I promised you guys a treat if you voted. And you were good, right? I mean the voter turnout was amazingly high, so you must have voted. Well, either way, I am not one to renege on a promise so here it is: Artisan Boule Bread! And let me just tell you, this is a treat of legendary proportions…because it’s not just about the bread. Oh no sir! It’s about so much more…

Liz’s Fantastic Cupcake Surprise!

I woke up early Saturday morning (6:46 am to be exact), staring straight up at the ceiling and thinking of all the things I had to do. Because this was no ordinary Saturday…no sir. It was Liz’s surprise birthday party Saturday and much needed to be done to fool the Tall One (I call her that…and not just in my head either). The thing is, Liz is a very clever girl…so clever that she almost ruined her own birthday party with repeated requests to stay at home and chill out on Saturday night instead of heading to Finn MacCool’s – the scene of the crime. Yup, she was proving to be a hard nut to crack…but either way, I had cupcakes to make! So in the early morning hours, I pulled out my cake flour, Big Red and enough butter to grease a runway to make the ultimate Red Velvet Redskins Cupcakes!

Wedding Cake Cupcakes

On my walk to work yesterday morning, I noticed a young couple who were obviously lost. I had the feeling they were tourists (the confused looks on their faces was the first clue), but they weren’t doing the normal, annoying touristy things (you know, standing in the middle of the sidewalk with a map the size of North Dakota folded out and obstructing everyone’s view). I was about to go over and offer assistance when a man beat me to it. This guy looked like the typical DC lawyer: impeccably dressed, briefcase in hand and a cellphone glued to his ear. But he still stopped and helped this couple find their way. It was one of the nicest gestures I’ve seen in a while and put me in the mood to make these cupcakes.