Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Easy Kitchen Update...

NOT!

So Brian and I purchased our house over 3 years ago. We have had many plans, but plans take time, energy, and money. We have done a few things (that we are ready to change already), but a lot of the things that we plan on doing we talk about a lot but that was it, talk...

Deciding to utilize the time that Brian has off from work we decided to take down the hideous wallpaper and paint the kitchen. Well as the usual Wells (Brian's last name) Curse goes nothing is ever that easy. Have a look...

Here is the hideous outdated wallpaper that was up in the kitchen. Don't you just love the quails and bouquets?
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Here is the equally breathtaking accent paper.
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Here is one half of our kitchen, the microwave is new but the stove is old, I actually think it was used to make The Last Supper.
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Sink area...
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Here is the other half of the kitchen, please don't mind the chaos of a ribbon board.
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The paper in the kitchen came off much easier than the paper in the dining room. Underneath the paper there was a blue that reminded me of Martha Blue!
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So about the wallpaper, IT WAS ON THE CEILING! ON THE CEILING!! When we took it down was when the can of worms began to open. With the wallpaper off of the ceiling we were able to see water damage.
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We called Brian's dad to come over and evaluate and he told us what had to be done, hours later, sore backs, this is what has become of our easy kitchen update...
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Good thing that we didn't have any New Year Eve plans!
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These are the colors that we have narrowed our choices down to. We are going to paint the cabinets white and replace all of the knobs and hinges with brushed silver.
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These pictures are of the old Poland Bake Shoppe. It was a very popular bakery that was open for years.
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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Filled Jelly Roll...

The jelly rolls were super easy to make and an absolute success. Everyone ate every last crumb of them. We spent the afternoon in Cleveland yesterday and we got home around 5:45 to leave our house around 6:15. In that half hour I had enough time to defrost the genoise cake, whip the cream, fill the roll and roll it up. Have a look...

I first started by whipping very cold heavy cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer, I added 3 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla to 1 C. heavy cream.
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Unfortunately I was all out of my homemade jam so I had to use Smucker's strawberry jam. If you try making one of these do not frost the jam all the way to the edge of the genoise cake.
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Next goes the whipped cream, it is important to not go all the way to the end of the cake with the cream or it will mush all the way out of the end.
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Here is the finished cake with a fresh sprinkling of powdered sugar. I put it on my beautiful Martha Stewart Collection leaf platter.
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So delicious!
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas...

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I would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my blogging friends out there. I never expected to receive such a wonderful response to my blog. I also never expected to establish such great relationships and find the immense amount of inspiration by reading the blogs that I do.

I look forward to many more years of sharing my life and gaining insight and inspiration from all of the creative and wonderful people who I consider friends.

Thank you!
Louis J. Gastelum

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

I Don't Think Your Ready...

for this jelly roll...

When I saw Martha and Sarah Carey make jelly rolls on Martha I just knew I had to try them... This is what I am taking to dinner at Brian's family's house. The jelly roll was my idea and they requested that I make potato salad (who knew, potato salad for Christmas dinner). Have a look...

You first start off by heating eggs and sugar in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. After the egg mixture is warm to the touch it needs to be whipped on medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy.
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It is amazing how fluffy this mixture gets after being whipped for a bit longer on high speed.
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The dry ingredients are then sifted onto the top of the egg mixture.
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Then gently folded in.
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4 tablespoons of melted butter are then poured into the mixture making sure to pour the butter towards the outside of the bowl, gently fold until combined.
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The batter is then poured into a greased and floured sheet pan.
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While the cake bakes (for 7 minutes in a 450˚F oven) you need to prepare a clean kitchen towel (a flour sack towel or one without naps or lint) needs to be sifted with a generous amount of confectioners sugar.
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As soon as the cake comes out of the oven it needs to be turned out onto the clean towel. Gently remove the parchment paper and roll the cake so the cake cools in a roll and when cooled it can be rolled again without cracking.
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And repeat the entire process for a second jelly roll for a dinner we are going to on Friday.
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Here are the two rolls cooling in the towels. After they were completely cooled I wrapped them in the plastic wrap and froze them. I will thaw them a few hours before I fill them with a layer of whipped cream and jam.
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Monday, December 22, 2008

More Photoshop and Light box foolery...

Before...
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After...
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More Photoshop and Light box foolery...

Photoshop Novice...

I have Photoshop on my MacBook Pro, but I have no idea how to use it. There are so many bells and whistles that I get overwhelmed and just close the program. I found this post online with instructions on how to construct a photo box to take photos inside and then further instructions on how adjust your photos using Photoshop.

Since my mom got our Christmas card I decided to use that as my first photobox/Photoshop subject.


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I also made this glittered leaf card. I love how this photo came out!
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders...

I am posting this recipe for my sister-in-law Lorrie. Brian and I hosted a Princess House party and I made BBQ pork sliders. Well Brian is having his office holiday party tomorrow and he requested I make a cake with Nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream and BBQ pulled pork sliders. They are super easy to make and everyone seems to like them.

I made up the recipe and since I am a vegetarian I have never tasted them...

Here is the recipe.

Start off by generously seasoning a 7-8 lb (or bigger) pork butt roast with salt and pepper...
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Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on high heat. Place the pork roast in the pan once it is very HOT.
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The object of the hot pan is to sear a crust onto the entire roast. All sides need to be browned so take your time, about 3-5 minutes per side and do not move the roast around. Let it sear for 3-5 minutes and then turn, repeat until all sides are browned.
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Here is my twist, I place the roast, 1 medium onion thinly sliced, and about a teaspoon of fresh thyme (optional) in a crock pot on high. I then fill the pot with a bottle of Simply Apple cider.
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Here is the roast after it has cooked for about 6 hours. I let the roast cool a bit and then use a colander to drain the juice and cider. The reason that I use a colander is to collect the delicious onions and put them back into the roast.
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Using two forks shred the roast. The roast was so tender from cooking so long that I only had to use one fork and little effort.
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I then mixed the shredded pork with one full bottle of Brian's favorite BBQ sauce.
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I like serving this pork on mini potato rolls and people make their own sliders (which are mini sandwiches).
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I hope Brian's office mates love them!

CLOTHESPIN COOKIE FORMS...

A few people have been looking for or asking about the molds to make clothespin cookies. I found a few places online that sell molds like the ones that I have...

Here are a few online sources for what are called Cream Horn Molds

You can also find a lot of sources by searching for Cannoli or cream horn molds...

http://www.fantes.com/cannoli.html

http://www.surlatable.com/p2p/searchResults.do?method=view&search=basic&keyword=canoli&sortby=ourPicks&page=1

http://www.amazon.com/Fox-Run-Cream-Horn-Molds/dp/B0000CFMSP

http://www.kitchenemporium.com/cgi-bin/kitchen/prod/06np3661.html

http://creativekitchenonline.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2226

https://www.kitchenworksinc.com/itemDetail/17265/CREAM-HORN-MOLDS-TINNED-STEEL-S/6

http://www.bizrate.com/kitchensupplies_utensils/oid853201717.html

http://www.kitchenhaven.com/page/100/PROD/GRINDSaltPepperWoodMills/4508

Wooden ones...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-Made-Small-Wooden-Cannoli-Forms%2FMolds_W0QQitemZ140288557365QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081212?IMSfp=TL081212162002r26898

Cookie Exchange 2008...

I was so excited when my friend Steph asked me back to participate in her 2nd cookie exchange. Last year the cookies were good, but this year they are alllllll soooooooooo delicious. Steph and I both ate so many cookies yesterday that we had stomach aches. We each left with 12 dozen cookies!
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Let's start with the cookies that were made by Steph's mom.

Here are some beautiful Vanilla & Anise pizzelles.
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These were my personal favorite 7 layer cookies...
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Brian and Nicole have been eating tons of these no-bake cookies...
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Steph made classic buckeyes which are peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate they are made to resemble the buckeye which is the state nut. They are so good!
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These are sooooo good they are haystacks which are chow mein noodles and peanuts held together with caramel and chocolate.
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These are also classic Christmas cookies which are a delicious buttery cookies with a Reese's Peanut butter cup pressed in. YUM!
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I CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR...