Brandy524

The traveling Titanic exhibit that I went to in Birmingham a few years ago was the same with the boarding pass, iceberg, etc. I don't know if kids on vacation would find it very interesting, but I was absolutely fascinated. It's tragic and depressing, yes, but fascinating nonetheless. I've read up on this museum and they're not going to have artifacts that were taken from the wreck site, but rather things that were brought off the ship by survivors, or were recovered from the sea during the rescue. So maybe not as depressing as the stuff pulled up from the ocean. And awesome snowy Dollywood pics! I so want to come to the mountains for the snow. We don't often get snow down in Alabama!

Yay, I'm already on the list!! Can't wait to get my card!

www.facebook.com/brandytownsend524 I have a myspace that's all but abandoned, so I don't even bother giving it out anymore. I'm on facebook a lot though, so feel free to add me. I too think it's interesting to get to know people a little more than just from posts on a forum; to get to know their personality and stuff a little better.

One more, for now. This is my grandmother's lemonade recipe. It's the best lemonade I have ever tasted. My husband can make himself sick on it. But be forewarned: It makes A LOT! This is good for holidays and family get-togethers. Lemonade About 12 large lemons (you'll have to juice them) 7 1/2 lbs. sugar (yes, you read that right!) 5 gallon bucket with a lid The night before: Cut lemons in half and squeeze to make 1 quart of lemon juice. Refrigerate overnight. Put half of squeezed lemons in a separate container and refrigerate overnight. The next day: Put sugar into bucket. Add 1 gallon warm water and stir until dissolved. Add refrigerated lemon juice and mix well. Fill bucket to a little over half full with cool water. Add refrigerated lemon peels. Cover. Just prior to serving add a bag of ice to the bucket.

Since I brought my cookbook to work with me to post my pumpkin pie recipe in my baking thread, I thought I'd contribute some more to this thread too. This is an awesome pie. I'm not usually a big fan of coconut, but I love this pie! Buttermilk Coconut Pie 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter, melted 3 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 tsp. vanilla 3 1/2 oz. flaked coconut, divided 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (don't get deep-dish!) Pre-heat oven to 325. Combine the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and 2/3 of the coconut. Mix well. Pour mixture into shell. Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until set. *I mistakenly bought a deep-dish crust last time I made this and the middle of the pie didn't set, but I had to take it out of the oven because the crust was burning. So don't buy a deep-dish shell! Also, I don't ever measure my coconut. I just add enough to make it a semi-thick consistency for the filling, and then just cover the top.

I remembered to bring my cookbook with me to work today so I could post my pumpkin pie recipe. So here it is. Hope you enjoy! Traditional Pumpkin Pie Crust: 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. cold water *But I have to admit that I didn't make my crust this time because I had too much other stuff to do!! But I've made it before, really I have! Filling: 2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/8 tsp. ground clove 15 oz. canned pumpkin (not pie filling!) 12 oz. can evaporated milk Whipped Cream: 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 2 Tbsp. sugar 1) Pre-heat oven to 425. Mix flour, oil and salt in medium bowl with fork until flour is moistened. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, tossing with fork until all water is absorbed. Shape into a ball. Press into bottom and sides of pie plate, 9 x 1 1/4 inches. 2) Beat eggs slightly in large bowl with whisk. Beat in sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, clove, pumpkin and milk. 3) To prevent spilling, place pan on oven rack before filling. Pour filling into pan. Bake 15 minutes. 4) Reduce heat to 350. Bake 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in wire rack. 5) Beat cream and sugar in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. If not served in 4 hours, cover and refrigerate.

Wow, just fascinating...really. You may have wasted $10, but at least you saved all of us from wasting it in the future, so it's for the greater good. I'm looking forward to your report from the Titanic Museum when it opens. I am totally fascinated by the Titantic and quite possibly will make a trip just to see this museum. I've seen the traveling exhibit once and it was incredible.

Sometimes I just get the urge to bake something. Danny used to argue with me, but he's learned now. Now he just rolls his eyes and tells me to clean the kitchen when I'm done. I'll drag out my cookbooks and rifle through the pantry to see what I can make. Most of the time it ends up being some type of cookie, because usually I only have the staples: flour, sugar, butter, eggs. It's not so much that I want to bake something so I can eat it, I just love the baking process. And usually I don't get to eat much of the finished product. With Danny and the girls (and mostly Danny) I'm lucky to get two or three cookies out of two dozen. Anyway, my point is that I like to randomly bake without any special occasion. So I came across a cake recipe a while back that I've really been wanting to try but I had no reason to bake a cake, especially one that makes this much. Then I decided I didn't need a reason. If I can bake cookies at random, why can't I bake a cake? Do I need a holiday? Tuesday, December 1, 2009 was enough of an occasion for me! I came across this recipe on Bakerella's blog (http://www.bakerella.com), but she originally got it from the Pioneer Woman (who is awesome; I could spend all day on her blog!). Here's the recipe for The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_chocol/ Yum! Seriously, make this cake. It really is the best cake. Ally ate two pieces last night. Danny ate five. That should say something, right? The finished cakes! I think my frosting was a little too thin, and I didn't get the powdered sugar completely stirred up, but it still tasted awesome! Then add more cocoa, and powdered sugar. The original recipe calls for chopped pecans, but I don't like pecans so I left those out. Melt more butter on the stove. This time 1 3/4 sticks. Into the oven they go! I only left mine in about 15 minutes because my oven cooks fast. Now for the frosting. Pour the batter into the pans. It's actually supposed to be made in a commercial size cookie sheet, or a jelly roll pan, (i.e. something larger than what I have) but I only had regular-sized cookie sheets so I just made two! Then add your buttermilk mixture to the rest of the stuff in the bowl and mix it well. Did I mention that you don't even have to get out the electric mixer for this cake? That makes it even more awesome. Mix your buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and baking soda in a measuring cup. Add the chocolate/butter mixture to the dry ingredients and stir. Add water and cocoa to the melted butter. This part starts to smell soooo good! And melt two sticks of butter on the stove. We combine the dry ingredients first.

Thank you!! And yes, whipped cream on the side, so they could take it or leave it. I can't imagine not eating whipped cream on pie, but some people don't like it. Crazy, I know.

I can! I'll have to bring my recipe book to work with me to do it, so it won't be today. But I will post it.

I don't understand all the football standings stuff. But congrats on what looks like good standings, Big Mike!! Go Team!!

That would have looked good! But yes, no yellow food coloring. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

So, this is not a cake but since I'd already posted about my turkey for the pumpkin pie, I figured I had to post about the pie itself. The pies turned out great. Danny said it was probably the best pumpkin pie he's ever had. That's always nice to hear! And finally the finished pie with the little guy from last week perched on top. I just served the whipped cream on the side because some people don't like whipped cream on their pie. Imagine that. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Whipped creamy goodness! Homemade whipped cream is the best. Action shot of the mixer. I held the mixer with one hand and the camera with the other to take this. Awesome. Now to make homemade whipped cream. These are the only two ingredients you'll need. It's really very easy. Finished pies sitting out to cool. Don't they look nice? Going into the oven. When making this particular recipe, because it's so runny, you need to put the pie plates on the oven rack, then pour the filling in. If you try putting them in the oven after you've filled them, you'll end up spilling it. After the milk and other stuff is added. The filling ends up very runny, but it's supposed to be that way! I forgot to take a picture of the can of pumpkin. But you use canned pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling. We're making this from scratch; no pre-mixed pie filling for me. The above is Ally helping me mix up the pumpkin with the other stuff. When I dumped the pumpkin into the bowl, Ally said it smelled like carrots. All the spices you'll need. Eggs in a bowl. Fascinating! Start with eggs.

Y'all are all too nice to me! Thanks for all the compliments, and encouragement! I finished up my turkey last night. Here's what I did: He's shiny in these pictures because he wasn't dry yet. He's not shiny anymore. I'm just going to sit this little guy on top of my pumpkin pie (which I'll post about on Monday!). Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I'm running out of commentary, so one more picture... Then I added orange. Funny story: I knew I didn't have any orange food coloring to paint him with, so I had planned on mixing red and yellow. Started painting and realized I used the last of my yellow for the yellow brick road for Cammy's cake. Oops. Guess what I used to get this pretty orange...paprika! So now my turkey smells spicy. Danny said I needed to put a brown stripe across his tail feathers and wings, so I did. First I started with the brown.

Yes, teeth brushing is strict! But surprisingly, my kids don't like to eat sweets very much. We always end up throwing candy away because it doesn't get eaten. Odd. I had to google fairy cakes. British for cupcakes? I love it! Never heard that before.

Thanks!! I'm anxious to get it painted tonight.

So I'm on a roll with the character sculpting. I've been asked to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and being the decorator that I am, I wanted to dress it up a little. I haven't made the pie yet; I'll do that Wednesday night. But I did start something else last night. I had some gum paste left over from doing the flower for the Twilight cake, so I decided to do a little character work. Check it out. What do you think so far? Looks like a turkey. I'll post an update with him painted tomorrow. Finished. I'm going to paint him tonight. So far, so good. I just couldn't resist trying my hand at the traditional bird. Can you tell what it's going to be yet? Wilton gum paste.

That sounds really good! Ice cream, sugar, chocolate syrup...yum. Hmmm, I have left over ice cream from my daughter's birthday party yesterday, I may have to make some.

Thank you!! I'm trying to get more orders for friends and family, to do cheap, just for practice. That way eventually when I'm able to really do business, I'll have a portfolio of sorts. The marshmallow fondant is really great if you don't like fondant. It's just mostly sugar. A lot of work does go into fondant for the people to just peel it off and throw it away.

^ Thanks!! The next one probably won't be until mid-December. I'm going to do one for a friend's birthday for our monthly girls night.

Let us know how it turns out with the added sugar!

^ Thanks!! She loves the movie too. She talks about it all the time. The characters are her imaginary friends. She was so excited about the cake and her party.

Okay, second entry for today (and final one). I spent most of the day on Saturday finishing up the cake. I made two cakes, one yellow (butter) cake, and one chocolate fudge. So here's what I did: And the birthday girl, Cammy, blowing out the candles. She loved it! Scarecrow and Tin Man. Dorothy and the Lion. You can kind of see the brick pattern a little better. And the finished cake! You can't see the brick pattern very well in this picture. Added the Emerald City. I actually had to brace it from the back with a cookie turned sideways and lollipop sticks because the cookies were too heavy. I did not anticipate that, but it all turned out okay anyway. See, it looks more yellow here. Yellow fondant rolled out to make the yellow brick road. It looks kind of green in this pictures, but I promise, it was really yellow. Frosted cake. Green buttercream. This frosting is awesome because it crusts over on the outside. Yum. The two cakes ready to be frosted. Cookies covered in green fondant. These ended up a lot heavier than I expected them to be. So here's the end result. You've all seen this before, so I'm not going to bore you with the whole process. On to making the fondant for the Emerald City and the yellow brick road. Since we were going to be eating these I wanted to make the good stuff. The finished cookie sticks. I should have made them a little smaller so they wouldn't spread so much. I ended up trimming the sides off a lot. The finished butter cake cooling. The cookie recipe that I used for the Emerald City. Although I did not add the cinnamon and sugar coating to them like the snickerdoodles have. Ingredients, because I realized I wasn't taking enough pictures. Although the creme drops are not part of the ingredients. They were just left on the table by a child. When I was little I used to think creme drops were awesome, and totally Christmas-y. So when Danny and I were Christmas shopping on Friday we bought a bag. Yeah, they're not as good as I remember them being. Even the girls didn't like them. They ended up in the trash. Moving on... I made the Emerald City out of cookie sticks covered in green fondant. So here are the cookie dough sticks before they went in the oven. The almost done butter cake on the left, and the doomed first chocolate cake on the right. The chocolate one. Funny story, well, not so funny at the time but in retrospect it's a little funny. I had just melted the chocolate and poured it into the batter when my mother called. I couldn't get off the phone with her fast enough to mix up the chocolate in the batter before it started to harden. I went ahead and mixed it up (though it didn't mix up very good, so I knew something was wrong) poured it in the pan, and put it in the oven. Fast forward 30 minutes when I try to turn the cake out onto the cooling rack: it crumbles, completely falls apart. So I had to scrap that one and start over again. It was frustrating. Mixing it all up. Not very exciting yet, is it? Flour and baking powder. Butter, sugar and eggs mixed up. Bowls and mixer ready to go!

I'm going to do two separate updates today: one for the Lion, and one for finishing the whole cake. The Lion entry is going to be pretty short. The finished characters all together! Now I'm going to go get a cup of coffee before I do the entry for the whole cake! I decided to do their faces with an edible marker (actually Danny helped convince me) since the face I did with a toothpick didn't really show up. And now he has a tail! I think it turned out really cute! Ears added. It was hard to hold onto those little things. Same with Toto. Tiny ears are not easy to work with! I kind of got busy and forgot to take pictures before this point. Sorry! Legs, again looking kind of gross. Brown fondant for the Lion. Ally made sure to tell me as I was coloring it, that it was supposed to be light brown, not dark.

^ Hey, you're right! I didn't notice that. And thanks!