At Considerable Cost

In August, Clare had her first baking lesson as I taught her to make homemade chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins.   She did such a great job and was so proud of the finished products.   They were delicious!   Now, I have two little people in the house upon whom I can depend for fresh baked goods!               Several evenings this week, Emmeline could be found sitting with a pile of cookbooks.   She wanted to create cupcakes this weekend, so she looked up recipes for the cake, frosting, and thought about toppings.   She decided to make S'mores cupcakes.   She baked the cakes last night and finished the toppings this afternoon.   Emmeline did all the work herself and I am so proud of my little baker!          

Today, I'm linking up with Moxie Wife with my Five Favorites : Tipsy Cupcakes, sumptuous and clever British dramas, and fine cowgirl boots. 1. Tipsy Irish Coffee Cupcakes Beautiful photography by my dear friend, Lauren . Is it acceptable that one of my favorites is my own creation?   Because I really love these.   My editor at Bourbon and Boots asked me to come up with a dessert recipe that featured Irish Whiskey in time for St. Patrick's Day.   My kitchen became a test kitchen and friends became willing taste-testers.   I kept trying to achieve enough coffee and whiskey flavor by adding Irish cream liqueur to the recipe.   Hello, the icing already tastes like cream, so I just needed to add straight whiskey to get the flavor I desired.   Adding instant coffee granules to whipping cream for a layer of chocolate ganache gave me the right touch of coffee balanced with the chocolate in the homemade cake. ...

Still trying to catch up on blog posts! MORE IN MY KITCHEN LATELY... I'm really enjoying the island in my kitchen.   I have two drawers dedicated to all my baking stuff.   I can store all my baking sheets and pans neatly beneath, along with mixing bowls.   I have about twenty mixing bowls.   And honestly, at holidays, there comes a moment in time where they are all dirty, having been used that day! PRETTY GIRLS & HANDSOME, FUNNY MASTER T C gets stopped in stores all the time, as people ask her if she knows who Shirley Temple is since she looks just like her.   This is her new sailor outfit.   It's not going to do much for making the Shirley Temple references stop.   It's so funny that C is more tomboyish at play, but she prefers dresses.  E is more regal (not just Mama-bias; that's the word people often use when describing her) and lady-like, but while she likes dresses, she prefers wearing...

In New Orleans, the King Cake is traditional fare for Mardi Gras.   It's just not decadent enough for me, though, in those last days leading up to the penance of Lent.   For our Mardi Gras party this year, I made this double fudge praline cake.   It's a homemade three layer chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache in between the layers and around the outside of the cake.   Then, I made pralines with toasted pecans.   Instead of dropping the mixture to make small pralines, I poured the whole batch over the top of the cake.   Yeah, really.   It's my favourite cake. I don't fry often, but we had homemade chicken strips (after they soaked in buttermilk). Finished strips What fried chicken meal would be complete without homemade buttermilk biscuits?! Enjoying a biscuit with Georgia cinnamon honey.   Biscuits with butter: bread for the meal.   Biscuits with honey/jam: dessert W...

Mama let me learn to cook with Jiffy blueberry muffin mix.   I learned to measure, stir, set the oven, and check for doneness.   When I was ready, she let me bake homemade muffins from her 1956 Betty Crocker cookbook (now a favorite keepsake).   It was the book she bought for her college freshman home economics class.   I spent hours sitting and looking at the illustrations in that book, dreaming of the delicious dishes.   I also loved the hints and tips for the 1950s homemaker.   From muffins, I was ready to move on to cakes, tapioca pudding, and cookies.   Later, we would build on those skills. Today, E. had her first solo baking session with applesauce spice muffins from scratch.  She was proud, I was proud, and I think Mama would be proud.   E. says she wants to be a pastry chef...or a nun.  I didn't think to take pictures until she began scooping the batter into the pans.  I think she was ...