Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Don't knock it till ya try it!

Last summer my sister-in-law and I dabbled into the world of cake decorating... we took a few classes, gained 5lbs from licking the spoon and sucking the icing out of the tips, and made a few halfway decent looking cakes. Since then, I have sharpened my skills a bit and have been ready for the next step... the forbidden land of fondant.

For those of you that don't know, fondant is the smooth (but hard) tasteless stuff that is often covering wedding cakes. They create a much nicer, more finished look, but provides very little desirable flavor. If you have never tasted store bought fondant, you aren't missing a thing, unless you like tasteless rubbery stuff that is hard to chew. It is also incredibly expensive (we are talking $10 for a pound). So, I have used it some, but mostly to just add a few flourishes here and there, like this cake.
Recently my cake decorating buddy Joyce (she is good for other things, too...!) and I decided to play around with fondant a bit more. We created some cute little people for her husband's family birthday party where he was celebrating with his aunt and niece (holding some fun balloons that had their ages on them). It turned out pretty cute, but we spent a fortune on fondant and it all went to the trash instead of tummies because it tastes just plane-ol' yucky. So, I became determined to make this stuff on my own, and make it taste GOOD!!

This morning we were iced inside and I got to skip school (at 26 snow days still make me giggle!!!), and I decided to give making fondant a shot. It turned out SO well, and was crazy easy and impressively tasty! So, the recipe for the day is Marshmallow Fondant. And yes, the above explanation was totally necessary!

You will need:
- 16 oz bag of mini-marshmallows
- 2-5 Tbsp water
- 2 tsp clear extract (I used vanilla)
- 2lb bag of powdered sugar
- Crisco


Let's get started!

1. Melt marshmallows, 2 Tbsp water and extract in greased, microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until thoroughly melted (It took me about 5 intervals... 2 1/2 min)

2. Pour about half the bag of powdered sugar on top of the melted marshmallows.

3.. Grease the heck out of your working space and your hands (on top of hands, palms, inbetween fingers, you get the idea....). Keep extra Crisco handy for later. I placed some in a cup so I could access it easily.

4.. Pour marshmallows and powdered sugar on working space.

5. Knead the mixture like you would any type of dough. ***DISCLAIMER*** For those with sensory issues and don't like getting messing, get over it. :-) Special ed teachers... don't try this with your AU kiddos. They will go nuts.

6. When most of the powdered sugar has been absorbed, add the rest of the bag. Continue kneading and kneading and kneading. Add extra crisco to your hands and workspace as needed to prevent sticking.
7. If the mixture appears to be dry or tears when you pull it, add more water. I ended up using a total of 4 Tbsp of water.

8. Knead until the fondant is smooth and elastic. There may be a few sugar clumps, but these will desolve after sitting over night.

9. Completely coat the fondant ball in a thin layer of Crisco and wrap in plastic wrap. Place wrapped fondant in a ziplock bag and remove all air. (You can use the fondant right away, but it is easier to work with if it has had some time to sit).

This stuff lasts quite a while if stored in an air-tight environment. Just place in the refrigerator, and take out about an hour before you plan to use it. And I am sorry the pictures are not very detailed... I didn't feel like having to scrape out crystalized sugar from the nooks and crannies of my camera!

Joyce is coming over tonight so we can begin working on a baby shower cake we are making for a girl in our Sunday School class, Rachel. I will post pictures when we have a finished product!


Monday, January 26, 2009

The ladies from our Sunday School class had a lovely little girl's night on Friday. We got together for food and fellowship and made No-Sew Blankets to donate to Mission Arlington. Yes, we made some cute blankets. Yes, we had some good conversation. But most importantly, we stuffed our faces with some delicious food! I tried out a new recipe that I half-way took from the Kraft website and half-way made myself... it is good enough to deal with having a tummy ache for a few hours!

SPINACH QUESO


1 16oz Velveeta, cubed (I used 2% Velveeta... so I could eat a little more!)
1 8oz Cream Cheese, cubed (I used 1/3 less fat... so I could eat EVEN MORE!!!)
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 package pre-cooked Bacon
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Cilantro, chopped, according to taste (I used about 1/2 cup)
Green Onion, Chopped, according to taste (I used 5 or 6 green onions)
1 Jalapeno, diced

1) Place cubed velveeta and cream cheese, along with undrained Rotel into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 60 second increments until melted, stirring after each increment.
2) Add Bacon, spinach, cilantro, green onion and jalapeno. Stir.
3) Microwave for an additional 60 seconds.
4) Serve with tortilla chips, and enjoy! (This can also be done in the crock pot... add all ingredients and heat on high until melted, then turn to "keep warm".)




First things First

My first post! Yay!

Actually, I must admit, this is not my first EVER post... I had a fun, pretty hilarious blog back in the first days of my teaching career. I had some stories that would have you peeing in your pants and rolling on the floor dating, but wigged out and deleted the whole blog when I read a story in the Star Telegram about a teaching who got fired because of her blog. OUCH! Looking back, I realize I was very careful about changing names and sometimes even genders, but it is now floating somewhere in cyber space forever gone. Sad day!

I am starting this blog mostly because I wanted to have a blog so I could keep track of everyone else's blogs... but didn't think that anyone would have any desire to read about my crazy boring life. So, upon the suggestion my blog-obsessed friend Melissa (love you, Melissa!!!), I am just going to jot down some of the recipes that get whipped up in the Melstone kitchen... and I may even let you know when something totally bombs!

So, the next post will be something (hopefully) tasty!