Update

I suck, I know. I always say to myself, "Okay you're baking this today so take photos and blog about it". Well I take some photos and either things don't turn out how I'd like or I don't have good photos. I don't know. I have an excuse for everything. Anyways. Little update for ya'll who may or may not care, I've been doing a lot and not a whole lot. I had my 1 year post op since my breast reduction. And I filmed a video on it. But I think I'm going to re-do it and actually write up a bunch of topics I want to discuss about it. I was all over the place and kept going back and forth on what I was talking about and I was worried someone was gonna walk in my house and then my camera died. So. Much. Drama. I did my graduation ceremony for my pastry and baking certificate. I quit my job. I got a new job a month later; that was a painful month. I found out I only have one more semester to finish and I'll get my AA in psychology. I had tonsillitis :(. I went to a concert. And I turned 22 since I posted last. Wow I suck. It's been 6 months. Okay wow. If you could see my drafts for this blog you'd be amazed/confused. Like why do I have 20+ posts that are basically done but not posted? I don't know either. Life's confusing. Anyways, here's what I've been doing.

<- Me and my best friend at the concert. The concert was all a part of my birthday present from my co-pilot/best friend/boyfriend. We went out to a wildlife place and got to see giraffes, cheetahs, rhinos. And then a couple months later got to go to the Kenny Chesney concert. I got my face painted too. :)

Fun side note. I had tonsillitis the weekend of the concert. The medication I had to take had super fun side effects. Like: headaches, fatigue, stomach aches, hearing loss, and so much more. And since it was antibiotics, I couldn't drink. Wooooo. But a woman in line at the snack bar bought me chicken strips and french fries so that was fun. And after the concert I thought it made more sense to walk to a location then call Uber because the rates were gonna be so high at the stadium plus all the traffic. We ended up walking 2 miles and we were nowhere near an actual place we could be picked up. My feet were blistered and bloodied and we were tired then we saw a Taco Bell and called an Uber. $40 and a 4 minute ride later we got to our hotel. 

I also started trying to date again. Which was weird. Still is weird. Went on a couple dates with a couple different guys. One guy was really nice but didn't seem interested. The other seemed really nice and fun but turned out to be an ass. Basically I found out dating is super awkward. After one date I really had to pee but the restaurant was closing and I didn't wanna run to the bathroom before we left and I really had no clue how to get back home without GPS. And when I say I had to pee I mean I thought I was going to pee my pants it was horrible. Luckily after driving for 20 minutes and being too stubborn to use my phone navigation I found a Safeway and took a selfie before going home.  

I went to the beach with my parents on Valentine's day since I'm extremely single. And who passes up a trip to the beach and sandwiches and taffy? Not me. We went to a local deli and got sandwiches and lemonade and then drove out to the coast with my dog. Of course every beach was at capacity until we drove out further and hung out at this one. It had really cool tide pools but the beach wasn't sandy it was more like tiny rocks so my feet were raw at the end of the day. Then we stopped and got salt water taffy on the way home and I didn't feel like a single loser, instead I was a 22 year old third wheeling it with her parents. :)

 And here we have me being an ass and not leaving work when I was clocked out because who knows.  This is the lovely job I quit unexpectedly. Which sucked because I put in my notice because I wasn't happy but I didn't have another job lined up. I found one applied, interviewed and they had me come in for a "shadow day". Worst. Experience. Ever. I've only had a couple jobs. I was an assistant soccer coach, cashier at a candy store, and associate at Panera. And I've had a million interviews. But man. This place was horrible. I won't name what the place was or where but WOW. Let's just say I wanted to leave a few minutes after arriving and I actually told the manager I wanted to go home so I left halfway into my shift and never looked back. It's a funny story to tell now but my God it was bad. 

 Here's me and my cousin at the Giant's game. This is actually the night before I put in my notice at work. But we took the ferry into the city, got a little drunk, ate chicken strips and cotton candy. She fell asleep on the ferry home and we ended up getting back around 1:30. And I had to be up for work at 4 am. Guess who didn't fall asleep until after 2? If you guessed me, you are correct!

 Some nights you just feel like buying Four Lokos and getting drunk on your couch, getting into an argument and then having your dad drive you and your best friend to In N Out. I'm pretty sure we wanted to watch a movie but ended up watching Chopped or Master Chef all night. I don't know why we wanted to drink and get really drunk that night but we went to like 4 different stores to get alcohol and almost walked to Target to buy my sister slippers. Thank god we didn't because it was really late and we were really drunk and Target doesn't sell slippers in April.

Here are some cupcakes and a cake I baked for a bridal shower for a family friend. I still gotta work on my cake decorating skills. And my social skills. I like working behind the scenes, not the business part. Like I can sit at a consultation and find out what the person wants and how many and what date. But I am not as strong at selling my product or discussing price. Soooo I brought my dad to set things up and pep talk me through it all. It was a cool but really stressful experience. I forgot how difficult it was transporting a cake and then not knowing what the environment will be at the actual event. I destroyed my kitchen and mental health for a couple days but it was easily fixed by a million loads in the dishwasher and oversleeping the next few days. I made 40 cupcakes, 10 chocolate, 10 vanilla, 10 strawberry, and 10 lemon blueberry. And then I made a 6 inch chocolate and vanilla cake on top. Everything was edible except the gold ribbon. I made white chocolate plastic roses and white chocolate starfish. Only bad part was, the table was super unstable and the cake stand was too. The top cake was super heavy and basically if someone ran into the table the cake was going down. At this point my motto is "Once I'm paid and out the door it's not my problem" and I told the woman the situation so I didn't look like a jerk of course. Then I got to go home to a destroyed kitchen I had to clean. Awesome. But that's why we charge so much as at home bakers right?!

Philadelphia Style Cheesecake

I don't know about you, but whenever I make something I think is extremely delicious I state, "This is so good, I should marry myself". A little dramatic/crazy but it doesn't happen all the time. I think this moment happens when I've baked an item enough to know how to do it very well, don't make any errors, and follow the recipe perfectly. Sometimes things get cray in the kitchen but I find that my food comes out better when I'm relaxed, organized and I follow directions fully.
This cheesecake was one of those things. It was so light, sweet, creamy, delicious. Ugh, I had two pieces in one day, which is not good because I'm lactose-intolerant but I couldn't help it! And I almost never eat what I bake. I'll snack and taste, maybe eat a piece but nothing like this. I'm obsessed with cheesecake.

I just finished taking an ice cream, custards, and soft desserts class and let me just state this: after the first day I really disliked the class. However, I came to enjoy making most of the projects in class and became more inspired to make those types of desserts at home. In class we had to make two cheesecakes, one as a group and one individually. This was fun except you had to make your own cookies for the crust. You couldn't bring in graham crackers or vanilla wafers, you had to bake them in class. But they were delicious. And I loved/hated making cheesecake. It's really hard to tell when it is done and if you over bake it, it becomes more cake-like instead of being silky. No bueno.

What I did learn was that all custards are done at 180* and they won't always look done; they will be jiggly. Which is very frustrating if you like baking cakes because you never want to take out a jiggly cake. Mmm and cheesecakes are too delicious. So silky, smooth, and simple. The simplicity is the best part if you aren't exactly comfortable with baking just yet!
This cheesecake recipe is from my reader in the SRJC culinary program. :)


Crust:
1 box vanilla wafers
7 tbsp melted, unsalted butter
4 tbsp granulated sugar

To make crust:

1. Place cookies in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse sand
   
2. Add the butter and the sugar and pulse until combined
   
3. Press into the bottom of your pan and up the sides.

Cheesecake:

30 oz cream cheese

1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar

5 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 325* If you have convection, put the fan on low.
2. Cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth
3. Add in the eggs one at a time and be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle as you go.
4. Add vanilla and beat the mixture until smooth. Make sure there are no lumps. Don't over mix. 
5. Pour the mixture into your pan lined with crust and place in the middle rack of your oven. 
6. Bake until an instant read thermometer reads 180* let cool at room temperature then put into fridge to chill.
7. Cheesecake should be cut the day after it is made, not the day it was baked.

When you are ready to cut the cheesecake remove it from the pan and remove the metal bottom. Place on a cardboard circle. Be near a sink or have a large container filled with hot water. Also have a serrated knife, chef knife, and clean towel. It's a lot, but it is super important. 

1. Wet the serrated knife then wipe with clean towel.
2. Cut directly across cheesecake. Wet knife and wipe with towel.
3. Cut the cake into quarters. 
4. Take the chef knife, wet and wipe with towel
5. Cut each quarter into 3 pieces. Wetting and wiping the knife between each slice

Important: You MUST wet the knife and wipe clean after each cut because if you don't you'll break up the cheesecake and get nasty, rough edges and crumbs everywhere. Nobody wants that. 

Tips:

There are many important things you should know about baking cheesecake: do not use a spring foam pan if you can help it. They are not as good. Sometimes the bottom or sides become warped and don't attach properly later on. Instead use a pan with a removable bottom like a tart pan. You do not need a water bath. Do not cut the cheesecake on the metal bottom, it will scratch it up and make future desserts not come out the same. It is also handy because you'll never bring a cheesecake to a party or gathering and lose the metal bottom forever! If you can bake it in a convection oven even better. And BAKE IT TO 180, no hotter, no cooler.

"For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over again."

F. Scott Fitzgerald 

S'mores Bars

Today was a really good day. I woke up to rain and then went out to breakfast with one of my best friends. We had the most delicious melt in your mouth pancakes and then we went to the mall, Sur La Table and Target before coming home. But a short while after being home I felt sick and I craved comfort food. I wanted soup, stew, mashed potatoes and gravy, milkshakes, anything to make me feel better. I settled on noodle soup but I knew I wanted something sweeter. I thought about driving to the grocery store and buying ice cream or some gummy candy but my mom took my rain boots, I was done spending money, and I sure as hell wasn't going back into the rain. I also remembered I bought the ingredients I needed to make s'more bars. I love this dessert.
I've been making these s'mores bars for a couple of years now and they've always been a favorite of mine. They are super easy to make and they don't take long to prepare and bake. I found the recipe on Crepes of Wrath and I basically follow the entire recipe but I change a few things up. If you wanna find out how to make these delicious s'mores bars then keep on reading!






To make these bars you will need:

-an 11x7 square baking dish
-1 stick of butter
-¼ cup of brown sugar 
-½ cup of sugar
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 ⅓ cups of all purpose flour
-8 crushed graham crackers
-1 tsp of baking powder
-¼ tsp of salt
-4 chocolate bars
-1.5 jars of marshmallow fluff (It has to be fluff, not marshmallows, the marshmallows don't turn out well in the oven and the flavor is not the same)

Tip: Before baking it's important to have all of your ingredients pre-measured and set up in your kitchen so you aren't running around, possibly forgetting a step or ingredient, or realizing you don't have everything you need!

1. Preheat your oven to 350* and butter or Pam your baking dish. 
2. Crush your graham crackers. I put them in a freezer ziploc and smash them with a hammer or a mallet until they are crumb texture
3. Cream the butter and sugars in your stand mixer or handheld until light and fluffy.
   
4. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix.
   
5. In a separate bowl combine the flour, crushed graham crackers, salt, and baking powder. 
   
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until it crumbs together
   
7. Take half of the dough mixture and press it onto the bottom of your baking dish. 
   
8. Lay the chocolate bars equally across the dough and lightly press down
   
9. Scoop out the one and a half jars of marshmallow fluff onto the chocolate bars and with a flat icing spatula or butter knife, spread across chocolate bars and spread to each end of the dish. You might have to hold the chocolate bars down with your free hand while spreading because the fluff picks things up and is like glue. Seriously if you can tell me how to spread marshmallow fluff and not make it look like a 3 year old did it you are an amazing talented person and I want to know the secret.
   
10. Crumble the rest of the dough over the fluff or press into flat, small pieces and place over the fluff. I prefer the crumb method because it's a nice texture. 
    
11. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 
    
12. You can even let them fully cool or dig in while the fluff and chocolate bars are still warm and ooze out. Both are extremely delicious. 
    

I honestly think they are best the next day or a few hours later when the chocolate solidifies again but I never have the patience to not have a piece the moment it's cooled down. They taste delicious with a glass of milk and when you're about to run out the door and you need a snack on the go! :)