Guinness and Baileys Cupcakes

Guinness and Baileys Cupcakes, originally uploaded by jerseyjenny.

What better dessert to make for the Superbowl than cupcakes with beer in them? I yanked these from Smitten Kitchen and I am so glad that I did. The recipe was not hard- a little time consuming, but not difficult at all. I wasn't thrilled with how the Baileys icing came out of the large star tip, but I only have that one and a teensy tiny one, so giant star tip it was.

We ran out of ganache- I probably carved out too much of the middle- but it was easy enough to make a second batch of it. I never knew that ganache was just heavy cream, chocolate, and butter!

Anyway- make these, stat. I am going to try the batter as a cake next time- two thin layers with a thin layer of ganache in between and a fancy star patter of frosting on top. YUM!

Domestic Goddess-ing

IMG_7392, originally uploaded by jerseyjenny.

Tonight, I made my first recipe from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess. My mom got it for me for Christmas (after I had read it at Marty's house and fell in love with it!) The recipe was easy- Cappuccino Cupcakes- and I had all of the ingredients on hand. I've been trying to keep a well-stocked pantry, and lately I have been doing a good job of it. I am almost out of sugar- I bought a 10 pound bag a few months ago- but otherwise I am doing fine.

I love the slightly runny icing (white chocolate!) and the dusting of cocoa powder on the top makes them just delicious to look at!

First day at the new gym is tomorrow.

Big Girl Knitting

I had my first knitting class today at Knit-A-Bit. It started off pretty poorly (dropped stitches! slippery needles! split yarn!) but it ended pretty well. I learned how to cast on and bind off and I made a pretty pathetic, crooked, hole-y little swatch. But that's okay- the instructor said, "If you knew how to knit, you wouldn't be here in this class."

I bought a new pair of bamboo knitting needles and I cannot WAIT for my break this afternoon so I can get started on a new swatch. I am apparently awesome at casting on, according to the instructor. Glad I can be good at something.

Happy Turkey Day

IMG_7009, originally uploaded by jerseyjenny.

Thanks to Bakerella for the idea!

These were so much fun to make- and easy, too. Bake a box mix cake, mix it up with some frosting, roll the cake into balls, stick a pop in them, toss them in the freezer for a bit. Then dip the pops in melted chocolate and let them cool. I glued on the parts- a peanut butter Whopper for the face, a chocolate covered sunflower seed for the nose, and an upside-down sugar heart for the wattle- with some more melted chocolate. They looked pretty cute but they tasted divine!

I can't wait to see what she comes up with for Christmas- I'll definitely be making whatever it is. I love crafty food stuff- I have so much fun baking.

My most favorite yarn

IMG_4641, originally uploaded by jerseyjenny.

I have no idea what kind of yarn it is, what brand, or what the fiber composition is. But it is maroon, and soft, and I love it. I think it wants to be a hat.

Frogging already

I made a long,thick, glorious, soft scarf in Rowan Big Wool Arctic. I unfortunately did not join the two skein ends together, so I ended up with big ugly pieces that need to be woven into the rest of the scarf. That did not go well, so I think I am going to tear the whole thing out and start over again. It only took a few hours to make, and the yarn is so delicious that I won't mind making it over again. I almost want to keep on tearing it out and re-doing it just so I can feel the yarn!

I found a cheap Internet source for more Rowan Big Wool. TROUBLE.

I have a problem.

I love yarn. I've only been knitting for a few weeks, but I already have a 20-gallon Rubbermaid tote that is full of yarn. And a basket. And a tote bag. I have two finished scarves, two in progress, and grand plans for baby hats. We'll see how it goes.