Friday, July 20, 2012

Recipes from Brooklyn's Party!

Lots of people have been asking about the food from Brooklyn's party, so here are the recipes!


Black and White Deli Cookies:


In my opinion, these tasted better than the ones in the bakery, this recipe was awesome and pretty easy, too!



Ingredients


  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (I put a little extra in because I love lemon)
  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  •  
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • 1 (1 ounce) square bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used unsweetened cocoa since it was easier and it worked out just fine)

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter 2 baking sheets.
  2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk, vanilla, and lemon extract. Combine cake flour and all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually blend into the creamed mixture. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
  3. Bake until edges begin to brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Cool completely.
  4. Place confectioners sugar in large bowl. Mix in boiling water one tablespoon at a time until mixture is thick and spreadable. (Add more than the indicated amount if you need to).
  5. Transfer half of the frosting to the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir in the chocolate. Warm mixture, stirring frequently, until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat.
  6. With a brush, coat half the cookie with chocolate frosting and the other half with the white frosting. Set on waxed paper until frosting hardens.

Soft Pretzels:

Ingredients 
1 pkg active dry yeast (1 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 C warm water (110* or hottest tap water)
3 C all-purpose flour
1C bread flour

2C warm water
2 Tbsp baking soda 
2Tbsp melted butter
coarse kosher salt  or cinnamon sugar

Directions 
Mix yeast, sugar and salt.
Add water and stir to dissolve. 
Add both flours and stir well

If using a mixer knead until smooth about 3 minutes

Grease large bowl.  Place dough in bowl then turn dough upside down to coat the surface.  
Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot

Combine 2 C warm water and baking soda in a bowl.  After the dough has risen divide it into small balls and roll each piece into a 1 1/2  foot rope, 1/2 inch diameter. (It took me about 10-15 of them to get them looking how I want. I recommend rolling one out and shaping it and then actually baking it so you can see how they look. It turned out they had to be MUCH thiner than I thought)
Twist into pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution.  Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise 15 minutes.

Bake 450* for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt or cinnamon sugar

The pizza was from Big Bill's and is the best pizza in Denver. The garlic knots are pretty amazing too!







The suckers were from Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC. If you're in the city, GO!






Monday, July 16, 2012

Brooklyn's 1st Birthday

Our little Brooklyn will be 1 tomorrow, so we had her birthday bash last Saturday! Even though we had a party, bought her presents, and she ate cake, I still don't believe she is almost 1. Although, I would be okay with nursery starting at 12 months :) Seeing as her name is Brooklyn, we decided to have a New York themed party. Trevor said she only turns one once, so lets go all out! It was fun planning everything and getting it all ready. I may have turned into a monster the day before and had a party hang over yesterday, but it was so much fun. Brooklyn had a blast and loved having all of her close family and friends there. She got so many fun things and literally didn't know what to do this morning. She had so many new toys she couldn't focus long enough to play with them, she just went from one the next examining them. She is one lucky girl and has the best family and friends. My mom helped me SO much with all of the baking and I can't thank her enough! Everyone has been asking for recipes of the food, so I will post those next once I get my life back together. Brooklyn, we love you to the moon and back and the past 364 days have been the best of our lives. Happy Birthday baby girl!

The invite...

All the food!
 She liked the cake...and then wanted to share with everyone.
 Brooklyn and her BFF Ashlyn. Brooklyn clearly didn't want her to leave.


 The closest thing to real NY pizza. 
 Oh how I love this little girl.
 Brooklyn and her other BFF Hadley. Could those pig tails be any cuter?
 Brooklyn and her "papa"
 I made this apple piƱata for $1.50. Not necessarily the most structurally sound, but it did the job.

 Brooklyn got a new trike and wouldn't get off.

 This wasn't even prompted. I looked over and they were just loving on each other.
 The cake!! Trevor's mom had it made and it was amazing!! She was such a saint helping with the party!
 I told her it was her party and she could cry if she wanted to...



 She loved all the fun things she got...
 Especially the wagon from her cousins...she has to be pulled around before bed now!

Now, don't turn 2 too fast!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

New York Weekend

I constantly tell my mom I should have been born on the East Coast and she constantly reminds me that I wasn't, and to get over it. I have always loved New York City, and dreamed of living there my whole life. It's probably my favorite city in the entire world. I love the noise, the tall buildings, the amazing food, people watching, and seeing so many cultures on such a small island. The shopping isn't too bad either. My mom took me to NYC last weekend for my birthday (which is in a month) and it was a blast. Saying goodbye to Brooklyn about killed me. The poor guy at Paradise Bakery at the airport looked at me like I was a psycho as I handed him my credit card with my shaking hand while tears were going down my face. Trevor told me I wasn't aloud to go unless I agreed to have fun and not cry about missing Brooklyn. Once the plane took off I pulled myself together and the whole weekend was amazing. Trevor was a fabulous Mr. Mom and informed me he never wants to be a stay at home mom. Music to my ears.

We walked all day long, stopped for frequent Diet Cokes at every Chipotle in the city, shopped til we literally almost dropped, and ate some of the best food in the city (in my opinion). We spent a day in SOHO, which is my favorite part of the city hands down, wandered the park and the UWS, and walked the Brooklyn Bridge. Most trips to NYC involve most of the family wanting to strangle my mom and I because we are so particular about where we eat each meal. It was so nice to be able to wander the city until we found the perfect place, and we found lots of them. I'll be doing a post on my travel blog about all my favorite restaurants in the city, so check that out if you're interested. We walked so much I had shin splints one night, wedge sandals are NOT a good idea. We ended most nights with treats from a bakery, watching TV in the hotel, listening to the noise of the city.

I can't thank my mom enough for such a fun weekend, she is my favorite travel buddy. And I can't thank Trevor and his mom enough for watching Brooklyn so I could go! I am already missing the big apple, but the more I travel the more I realize Denver has stolen my heart and nothing makes me happier than getting off the plane and breathing in the Colorado air. It's the perfect compromise for a mountain main and a city girl.




These shoes were not made for walking. My feet are still recovering!


Levain Bakery is AMAZING



I am still regretting not buying these!





 This is my parents old apartment building on Central Park West