Chocolate Cream Cheese Flan

This recipe came to me when I was searching the internet one day. I always stop to look at cool posts about food and this was one of my findings. The recipe made a rather large batch so I managed to make a full round pan and a small square pan. Two flans for the price of one. I freaked a little when the flan came out and I saw cracks on the bottom of the pan. I thought the pans were cracked so I got angry and didn't want to enjoy the flan at first. My mom soaked the pans in water overnight to discover it was just the caramel cracked on the bottom. After that I was able to enjoy the flan. The process was so simple I made the recipe the very next day for a Hispanic Heritage Tasting at work. Everyone loved it. And of course my mom enjoyed it everyday until it was gone. I hope I'm not stuffing my family with too many sweets. HeHe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the good old dependable cookies I have been making for quite a while. They always turnout just as I want them too. Unfortunately no one really got to taste them because they are my boyfriends favorite and he gobbled them all up like The Cookie Monster. At least one person got to enjoy them

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I was on Facebook and I saw this recipe on the delectable Curtis Stone's page. He is such a handsome Aussie Chef. I had been wanting to make peanut butter cookies and these included chocolate so how could you go wrong. It was a simple cookie recipe and I made them very fast. The cookies came out soft and chewy just like I like them. My family and friend devoured them. Aside from the ones my mom gave to the new neighbor. They were so good I made them a second time and took some to work for a friend of mine who loves peanut butter cookies. He of course loved them as well. They were so good that when I left some on a friend's desk who missed work that day he returned to find one missing. My friend's just couldn't resist. Hehe. This was a sure fire hit. Thank you Curtis. At least I can still put my trust in someone.(NOT INA)

Raspbery Syrup

This was a simple recipe for raspberry syrup. Just raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice. I gave this to a friend for a present. She loves raspberry soda and will use this to make it! This turned out really good.

Warning! Don't Attempt This Recipie Unless You Want To Send Someone To A Butter Death In A Buttery Grave

This will be the first blog that doesn't include the recipe name in the title. But I didn't want to fool you with a great picture and the inviting title of Sticky Buns and make you think this was a good recipe. It was awful. And I think I actually lost a year of life with every bite I took. But here comes the story. So I saw this recipe on Barefoot Contessa. Yes. Ina again! I trusted her to play a part in my culinary exploration yet again only to be disappointed. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that I got a successful savory recipe from her recently. A recipe that turned out so good I completely forgot about the 10 sticks of butter buttercream she tricked me into frosting my chocolate cake with. Well I didn't completely forget but it was enough to get me to attempt another one of her recipes. But after this disaster Ina will have to come to my home and beg and plea to me in person to ever grace this blog again. Surprising the recipe looked very good on her show, which is why I wanted to try it in the first place. I mean Sticky Buns, how can you go wrong. But trust me. Please don't let the picture fool you. I almost didn't want to include the picture but after much thought I realized the picture followed by this story will be the perfect way to express the trickery of Ina Garten. The luscious sticky buns sitting on the wax paper tray just calling your name mixed with the painful story of butter overload. The plan almost wrote itself. But back to the story. I want to make it very clear that I followed the recipe. To the exact measurements. I am very anal and precise when it comes to recipes so I can assure you this was no error of mine. Nope. It was all Ina, or shall I call her Barefoot Contessa to lesson the slander of her real name. I creamed the butter and sugar, placed 1 of the 12 tablespoons the recipe called for in to each cupcake mold. I melted even more butter and brushed it onto the already butter puff pastry and added sugar, cinnamon and rolled up my dough. Everything I did was just like I saw it on the TV show. Now I saw how much butter was in each cupcake mold and I thought it was a lot and I know that puff pastry is 50% butter but I trusted Ina. Foolish me. When my sticky buns came out of the oven they smelled delicious. My house filled with the scent of cinnamon and sugar which is never a bad thing. That scent was only a facade because when I un-molded my buns they were not that puffy. They looked very sticky which was to be expected but they also looked greasy. One bite and I was in butter shock omega. I could not taste anything but butter. Not the cinnamon, not the sugar, not anything but butter. My mother tried to be nice and eat one but I saw the life slowly slip out of her as she took each bite. My dad, the baker, said they were not that bad but I know it was his attempt to make me feel better. It would be as if Picasso told you your finger painting my kindergarten was "not that bad." After all was done I stabbed a knife into one sticky bun and called them dead. I had to kill then before they could kill me. Ina-This recipe nearly killed me. Readers-Do Not Attempt

Apple Cake Tatin

Another great recipe from Barefoot Contessa!!! This is one she has made a couple times on her show. It is always a crowd pleaser. The method was so easy I would consider making it again but tweaking some of the ingredients. The crucial point was the flip over. I had to flip the cake pan over onto a plate in order to make the pretty apple design I created end up on top of the cake. I was nervous it wouldn't turnout and I think I chanted something along the lines of "Ina's is going to hear from me if this doesn't turn out." Lucky for her and my hungry family it did. With the sound of a plop the cake was free from its chamber and ready to eat. With some homemade whipped cream and powdered sugar! It was really delicious, so good in fact my sister's boyfriend stopped by and had two slices before leaving. But not without saying "I can taste the egg" and making me self conscious about me cake. But what does he know it was good and he had two slices so he must have liked it. Overall the dessert came out beautiful and delectable. I would definitely consider making this for a party. No wonder Ina always does! Hehe

Ina's Chocolate Cake

This is the simple chocolate cake I wanted to make from the beginning. Of course the recipe came from Barefoot Contessa. Her famous chocolate cake. I actually enjoyed making the cake until it came to the frosting or should I say buttercream. It had the consistency of butter in your mouth. Maybe that is why people don't typically like it. But as with the other chocolate cake it got better once it was refrigerated. This cake lasted a little longer in the house but was soon eaten up.

Chocolate Eclairs

These were made on the fly with some extra ingredients I had around the kitchen.They turned out so good. My family liked them so much they ate them all up. Mmm Mmm Mmm.

Guinness Stout Chocolate Layer Cake

This is an old recipe my mom had on the fridge forever. I wanted to make just a plain chocolate cake but mama wanted this one. This recipe was really involved but it came out great. I did used raspberry jelly instead of currant jam however to accommodate my family's taste buds. The frosting was supposed to chill over night but I didn't realize that until it was too late. It set up but was a little watery so I chilled the cake overnight. This really helped out the cake's frosting so the next day the cake was better. My family and friends love it. This was an overall good experience in the kitchen.