Fourth Fun-ness

Fourth of July was fantastic!

My shirt was amazing, and Emma and I may have been the best dressed and most patriotic there.

 
 

Even though I wasn't able to live up to the saying on my shirt, I did do my part and had a beer and a jello shot when we first arrived. :p



















I seem to always make the mistake of over-cooking, so there was some left overs, but for the most part, it was a hit.

The cornbread was the biggest favorite of the crowd. Everyone really loved that I put just a bit of sugar in the batter, so its not just a heavy brick of bread. My cornbread seems to come out very moist and crumbly as well, also a plus in my book.

The butter went hand in hand with the cornbread, and the coleslaw was the iffy addition. I guess no one had ever had a vinegar-based coleslaw, so it was a new taste to the palate. It took some getting used to, but once everyone had a taste of all the sweet BBQ, sweet cornbread, sweet drinks, etc... the tangy coleslaw came in handy.

The jello shots were insanely loved by the adults, and  I can't quite tell you how long those lasted. once the kids had eaten and were chasing each other around the yard, the adults put the bucket of jello shots on the table and a game of dominoes begun. I don't think they lasted long, as it almost seemed that as a domino was picked up, a shot was thrown down.








Emma and her cousins in Uncle Mike's truck, ready for fireworks!

The fireworks too were lovely, although I see fireworks almost every day at Disney, there's just something about 4th of July fireworks that are so special. With every good experience, comes a bad though...with all the kids loaded up in the bed of the truck, we lit off our first firework, when it ignited and flipped itself over and began to shoot out towards everyone! it was so scary, Flo and I had immediately dove over Emma, and our friends also grabbed and dove over their kids. After the firework was over, we were in a symphony of crying kids who thought the night was ruined. It was all fixed with some juice and hugs, and the firework show commenced.

I was so dang tired from working that morning from 2am-10am, that by 11:00 pm, I was laying on the concrete listening to the fireworks with my eyes closed.

All in all, it was a great night, complete with good food, friends, fireworks, and festivities.

Emma and her cousins Laila and Elijah enjoying a hot dog

Emma and I in our 4th of July outfits

Macaron Madnessssss

Okay guys, so I don't know what triggered this rampage; perhaps it was me looking at the pictures from week 1 in class with the raspberry macaron, but I haven't been able to get my mind off of macarons. I've been told that that's the spell they put on people, I'm a sucker, I guess. I had to do something about it. The raspberry ones were not made by me, but by my chef instructor who decided to take over the macarons as there was no oven space for 4 trays of macarons. I've attempted to make them in another class before, at least 3 times, attempted being the key word. They not only turned out horrible looking, but horrible tasting. I couldn't believe that all the hype over French macarons led to...that. A woman in my class at the time, told me not to base my opinion on macarons using the ones we made, due to the recipe not being a very good one, but to try a place in LA called Bottega Louie. I go to Long Beach often to see Flo, so I wrote it down thinking I'd give it a shot, but the spark never ignited.

After having one of Chef Annie's raspberry ones, I was impressed. I was impressed that I even gave them a 4th chance. I actually liked them, I guess it's always like that when someone else makes them (especially when that someone else is a trained professional.) I delicately ate one and moved on. It took two weeks, but that little French gift from God somehow entered my mind, and I haven't been able to get it out.

I began looking through pinterest the other day using the keyword "macaron" just to look at the endless flavor combos and beautiful bold and pastel colors they come in. I oohed and awed, but didn't consider making any because of my previous luck I've had with them. I looked and looked and looked. I looked for a few hours, tried to distract myself, looked for a few more hours, tried to sleep, woke up, went to Winco and bought almond flour. The deed was done, and now I HAD to do it.

I don't know what made me buy that almond flour, but I'm glad I did. FOR REAL.

I came home and made a batch of chocolate macaron's filled with a salted dark chocolate ganache.

I did a bit of research before hand, on tips for making macarons, and I believe it helped along with the tips I learned in school, but I think the key to them rests in 3 important steps:

1. get the almond flour as fine as possible. I threw mine in a blender, food processer, anything I could find to get it almost like powder. I'm not sure why I think this helps, but I do in fact, think it helps.

2. after piping the macarons, let them sit. forget about them if you can, and let them dry out before you put them in that oven. the outer shell has to get dry so the feet can develop in the oven.

3. use a convection oven. This goes for anything delicate, ovens have hot spots and uneven spots, no matter the make and model. Convection seems to be the only thing to get the heat evenly dispersed.

I watched anxiously throughout the process of my chocolate macarons, and I was actually pleasantly surprised with them, even after each step. the only thing is that I have to get the piping down right so there isn't a little lip  on the shell, other than that, it was great.

Another tip that I not only read about, but experienced first-hand is to wait to eat them. They will taste great freshly filled, don't get me wrong, but waiting to eat them until the next day is the best thing you can do for your taste buds. I, or my family, didn't have the patience to wait for 24 hours, so by day 2, there were 5 left, which I ate, which leads me to this opinion. They were so much better after aging. The wait is worth it.


They were so damn good, that I had to make more.

I came home from school today, and noticed Emma wasn't yelling, "Mommy's home!". I remembered that my mom and aunt had promised to take her to Chuck E. Cheese this afternoon, so, I sat there. I made something to eat and sat there some more. I got really bored, and then those sneaky macaron's crept into my mind again, and my body followed.

I had to make more.

I tried to think of a different flavor, a fruity one. I stepped outside to get inspired, and I saw our lemon tree being weighed down with ginormous vibrant lemons.

LEMON MACARONS.
bingo.

again, more success. that's all I can say really; that and: I THINK I'VE GOT THE MACARON BUG.


I look forward to making more.
and more.
and more.

Here's some pictures from my two days of macaron madness!









THEY HAVE FEET!





 

Emma helping me make the salted chocolate ganache


 

Finished Salted Chocolate Macarons

 





Finished Salted Chocolate Macarons

 

 







Station ready for the lemon macarons

 

 



Lemon Macaron shells


 



Inside of the lovely lemon macarons

 

 



               

Finished lemon macarons





It's a Plane!

Emma has lots of fascinations, but one that seems to be the strongest is her fascination of planes. She of course has never been in or even around a plane of any size, but she can't seem to take her eyes off of them in the sky.

Living in the Inland Empire, were very close to the March Air Force Base Museum. My dad (a walking, talking History Channel) and I thought this past weekend would be a great time to take her. We both weren't busy, and really needed to get out of the house because of how dreary things have been lately.

It was pretty hot for being outside all day, but overall we had a good time, and I had the perfect opportunity to get pictures of Emma and her Papa together in a place where they were both awe-struck.

Emma couldn't believe that planes were so big, as I said before, she has only seen them in the sky. I'm not sure her brain related that even the ones in the sky were that big as well. She did get upset when I told her that she couldn't actually get IN a plane, let alone fly in one.

We spent about 2 and a half hours there, and most of the time I was listening, or hearing is a better word, talk about each and every plane and what it was used for and when it was used, and all that other good stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late Merry Christmas

Sorry everyone, for the late holiday wishes. Emma and I have been extremely busy, keeping two sides of families with smaller pockets of families content with visits from the munchkin. Also, the fact I don't have my computer makes blogging a bit harder. I want to take a second to thank everyone (The Bakers, Pouliots, Ciccozzis and Sapersteins) for the amazing gifts that were sent to the house for Emma. This Christmas was truly a magical one with your help. This year, Emma was able to grasp the meaning of Christmas and all is traditions, and thanks to both of my grandmothers, I was able to make it so Emma could see both of her families for Christmas. Thank you everyone again, and have a great 2014!
Pictures coming soon!