Update on the Snowflake Quilt

I completed all the indivitual triangles about mid-July. I'm amazed I got to that point. Now, the snowflakes are coming together. Below is detail of the paper piece. Fabric was sewn onto all the lines which end up like the finished snowflakes above. I still have a long way to go, but am so happy to not be sewing tiny pieces of fabric together!

Fuego Pizza Boy

This past weekend we went to Park City. Mike had a photo gig up there, so we decided to stay the night over. We visited the outlet stores and, of course, bought some fun stuff for Benjamin. Then while Mike was doing his thing, I took Benjamin swimming at the hotel. Finally, we went out to eat at Fuego Bistro & Pizzaria. We were very happy with our BBQ pizza and Benjamin got a little cheese pizza for himself. Unfortunately, I left my camara at home for the trip, but the pictures here are of him enjoying his leftover pizza at home. I normally cut up his pizza into little pieces, but decided to let him enjoy a full slice. He took it very serious and gobbled it all up.

Raisin Toes

After bath time tonight I hold Benjamin he had raisin toes, so he took a bite. This little guy makes me laugh!

Toffee Cake

This is an easy cake to make, but I made it difficult. Why? The original recipe uses Cool Whip, but I wanted to make a fresh whipped cream frosting. That's not all, I wanted the toffee to be nut-free, so I made a batch of homemade toffee. The first batch of toffee I tried was a disaster. The butter and sugar separated, but I tried a different recipe that worked out great for me. I made the toffee a couple of days before I made the cake so I didn't have to bake everything on the same day. I at least used a packaged cake mix and kept that simple.

Toffee Cake

1 package devil's food cake mix
Whipped Cream Frosting (recipe below)
1 1/2 - 2 cups Toffee broken up into small pieces, prepared before hand (recipe below)

Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Prepare and bake cake according to package directions. Cool on wire rack completely. Cut each layer in half horizontally. Fold about 1 1/2 cups of the toffee into the whip cream frosting. Place one layer on serving dish and spread with about 1 cup frosting mixture. Repeat with remaining layers. Use remaining frosting mixture to cover top and sides of cake. Sprinkle top of cake with remaining toffee. As decoration, top cake with big wedges of toffee.

Whipped Cream Frosting

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 c heavy whipping cream

Beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Slowly pour whipping cream into mixture, scraping sides and bottom often. Mix until soft peaks form.

Toffee

1 lb butter
1/2 c water
1/4 c light corn syrup
2 1/2 c sugar
2 c chocolate chips

Butter a 12"x18" baking sheet, set aside. In heavy saucepan, combine butter, water, corn syrup and sugar. Place over high heat and stir with wooden spoon until mixture begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low and remove wooden spoon. Clip on a candy thermometer and cook syrup to 290F. Remove from heat and carefully pour in buttered baking sheet. Cool for 1 hour. Melt chocolate chips and spread over toffee. Allow to set for 24 hours. Break into pieces and store in airtight container.

Successful Peach Cobbler

Last year I made a peach cobbler that turned out a bit sad. I figured I would give it another try with some fresh peaches that one of my neighbors gave me. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com but made a couple of changes. The peaches I had were fairly large, so I only used 6 peaches. It was great because it was perfect with the amount of topping. If I had used any more peaches, I think that the peach to topping ratio would have been off. Also, I diced my peaches rather than thinly slice them. There were some comments under the recipe that indicated that the cinnamon sugar mixture was too much, but I liked it as the recipe called for. Once the cobbler is cooled enough, top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoyed the yummy dessert.

Peach Cobbler

Fresh Peach Mixture

6 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and diced

1/4 c white sugar 

1/4 c brown sugar 

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg  

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsps cornstarch 

Topping

1 c flour 

1/4 c white sugar 

1/4 c brown sugar 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 T unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 c boiling water 

Cinnamon Sugar Topping 

3 T white sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.