Super Monday

I've been looking for something otterific... 

Nope, sorry.  

I thought I'd give that word another go after the weekend passed to see if maybe it was just a fluke, but it's still not working for me.

So anyways, lately I've been looking for something to add a bit of spice to the normal humdrum that is Monday.

Therefore, I decided today should be Super Monday!

Day of all things,... well,... super.

To get today off to a, shall we say, "super" start and because I know you are all crazy interested in my personal opinions and such, my favorite super hero is

Peyton Manning.

I'm serious.  

For Dress like a Super Hero Day at my hubby's school, I wore a Manning jersey, football pants and aluminum foil down my right arm.  

HA!

I'm awesome, I know. :)

Although I was informed his laser rocket arm unfortunately does not qualify him as a super hero. 

Hmmm...  

Okay, fine.  

I'll pick someone else.

Batman.

 

Late '80s, early '90s Batman, that is.

NOT George Clooney or Val Kilmer.

George was waaaaay too pretty and Val... well, I just didn't like it him as much.

No offense.

I'm just partial to the socially awkward Michael Keaton Batman.

Although I really like the new ones and may or may not be counting down the days until "The Dark Knight Rises" comes out... 

472.  

Just saying.

Alright, so I could have made a sweet treat Peyton or Batman, but it's been done.

So instead, on the first official Super Monday I made...

Captain Underpants.

Capt. Underpants is made of caramel, white fondant and a cherry heart sucker.

Does anyone else find it hard to say "underpants" without thinking of Cory from "Boy Meets World"?

Have a SUPER Monday everyone!

Rubber Duckie, you're the one!

We've spoken of my love of anything Jim Henson right?  Well, I watched some episodes of "The Storyteller" last week and they completely freaked me out, so I almost started to rethink that love.  

 

Please keep in mind however, this is coming from the girl who, 17 chapters in, had to stop reading The Historian because she was afraid Dracula would come after her too.  

 

Okay, I realize you probably think that's dumb especially since there's no such thing as vampires, but chew on this for a minute.  My mom had two spots that looked eerily similar to bite marks suddenly appear on her arm and I burned the side of my neck with a curling iron... all in the same day.  

I think it's best I not take my chances.

Anyways, I decided "The Storyteller" was just a momentary lapse in judgment and will continue sharing my love for all things muppet.  

Which brings me to today.  

I started my process for this post as more of a soap opera thing, but decided it would be better suited under the Sesame Street genre.

They're kinda the same right?  I mean, both have main story lines that are frequently interrupted by other, more minor story lines...  Okay, that's a stretch, but once you see these pictures, it will make much more sense.

 

 

It's more Sesame Street right?  

*BTW, tub dude is made of caramel, tootsie rolls and a nilla wafer, his bubble bath is made up of mini marshmallows and his rubber duckie is just fondant.  (If you've seen my first ever fondant cake, the duck's my lone keepsake.)

Happy Wednesday Everybody!

"Sorry Johnny, I don't have a dime."

Happy Smoke and Mirrors Day!

Deciding on what sweet treat to make in honor of this glorious occasion took a bit of thought, but in the end, I think the result was pretty fatasmic! :)  Yeah, I just said "fantasmic"... awesome word choice right?  

Whatever, at least I didn't say it was "totally boss".

Did anyone actually say that in the 80s?

Being as I was 5 when that decade ended, I've sadly only had the pleasure of hearing the phrase used in movies.  While we're on the subject of movies, if you've never seen "Better Off Dead" with the wonderful John Cusack, you need to rent it. 

Like now.

I'll wait.

It blew your mind right?  I know, it's mixed up crazy ways just have a way of making your heart happy.

Sorry, I told you, I've got 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon Phenom thought patterns... hmmm... Kevin Bacon's in "Footloose", another 80s movie.
Didn't really care much for that one though.

Anyway, back to Smoke and Mirrors Day.

I decided I

1.) Needed to make something "fantasmic".  (HA!)

2.) Needed to use some of my never ending supply of mangoes to make my something "fantasmic"  (double HA!)

3.) Needed to do something I had never done before and make it, you guessed it, FAN-FREAKING-TASMIC!  (Okay, I've had my fun.)

So I made creamy mango souffles!

Oh my gosh so yummy!

Here's the recipe I found, tinkered with and used if you're interested:

INGREDIENTS

1 mango
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Butter four ramekins.

2.  Peel mango.  Dice mango.  Remove pit from mango.  Puree mango innerds. :)

2.  Transfer pureed mango innerds to mixing bowl.  Add sugar.  Whisk.

3.  Add egg yolks and whisk some more.

4.  In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually add sifted confectioner's sugar and continue whisking until mixture becomes thick and fluffy.

You might say you're whisking you're life away.  HA!

5. Fold egg white mixture into pureed mango innerds mixture.  Fold until entire mixture becomes a light yellow color.  

6.  Pour into prepared ramekins.

7.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

8. EAT NOW!  

Seriously though, you have to serve them quickly or they'll deflate.

*WARNING!  These are cRaZy sweet, so just a little dab 'il do ya.*


Happy Tuesday everybody!

Rockin' the Hob Lob

Welcome to the WORLD PREMIERE of...

 

Toozy's 1st Ever Demo Day pictures!

Don't try to hide your excitement.  I already know you can hardly contain yourselves.

Before the awesome-ness begins, "The Man" says I have to warn those of you out there with sugar addictions:

**These photos DO, in fact, contain large amount of the sweet stuff so they may not suitable for your viewing pleasure.**

::wagging finger::  It's serious stuff people, not to be taken lightly.

Alright, who's ready to get their ROCK-candy on!?*

*There was no actual rock candy used in the making of this cake.

Stage 1: Crumb coated cake and causally conversing baby chicks preparing for a little bit of simple cake decorating magic.

Decided to ditch my chair for the floor.

Much better.  Time to make the pretty!

Stages 2 & 3:  Applying basketweave to the sides and adding a nice shell border to top and bottom.

Stage 4: Beginning to cover the cake with grass.

Covering...

...Still covering...

Phew!  Stage 4 complete.

Stages 5 & 6:  Creating the illusion of grass busting through the basket and making nice with the young whipper snappers. :)

Stage 7: ASSEMBLING THE ARMY OF CAKE POP CHICKS!

1st ever demo cake COMPLETED.

And the chicks rejoiced. :)

Have a sweet day everybody!

Beware the Ides of March

Welcome to Playwithyourfood Theater. 

I'm your host, Argyle S. Ock.

Today's story takes us back...  ahem...

Back to Ancient Rome in, hmm, let's see here...  What year was it?  

Ah yes, 44 B.C.

 So, as I was saying, our story today takes us to the ominous 15th day of March, in the year 44 B.C., in Ancient Rome.

Suddenly, an older gentleman by the name of Julius Caesar walks into a room filled with members of the Roman Senate and says "Wazzup?!"

THE END.

 (* Due to the graphic nature of the rest of this story we thought it best to end things here.*
By the way, Mr. Caesar is made of caramel, chocolate fancies and tree shaped sprinkles)

Join us next week for our exciting version of The Great Gatsby.

Countdown to Spring: 8 days...

I woke up  this morning with Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" in my head so you know it's gonna be a good day.

I'm giving my first cake decorating demonstration today and I'm a weeeeeee bit nervous about it so it kinda makes sense that that's what I would wake up to.  I'm taking The King's lyrics to heart though- I'm up making cookies for folks that stop by my demo and gathering all my extra goodies to add a bit of flair to things. 

BUT I also wanted to quickly post a bit of yummy happiness for all of you.  

In honor of sweet inspiration guru Bakerella (check her out @ http://www.bakerella.com/), 

and just so you know that some"bunny" loves you,
I give you  
baby chick wearing rabbit ears cake pop.

I think we're ready for our close up Mr. DeVille :)


Have a great Saturday everyone!

We represent the workers in all magical industries, both evil and benign.

I am not a fan of Mondays.
To be completely honest, I do feel kind of bad about that because I know Monday can't help being the first day of the work week, but I don't feel bad enough to actually like it.

Although, today is kinda special... 

it's 

National Tooth Fairy Day!!!

You know, there's just nothing quite as wonderful as teaching kids that they can sell their body parts for money to some random stranger who's broken into their homes.  ::sigh::  It's just precious! 

All creepiness aside, after discovering the holiday, I began thinking of the classic fairy tales which, of course, led me to Cinderella.  

Never has there been a more tyrannical dictator right?!  I mean, did you see the size of those mice she had working for her in the Disney version??  There's no way she followed labor laws with them!  I'm surprised no one's notified the Better Business Bureau!  It's time someone stood up for those poor unfortunate souls... oh, wait, wrong movie.  
Still though, someone should do something about this injustice...

So I made a completely edible replica of Gus Gus.

Power to the Mice Folk!

Gus Gus is made out of caramel, piping gel and fondant.

It's No Coincidence that Man's Best Friend Can't Talk.

Today is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.
I know this because I'm one of those crazy folks that likes obscure holidays.  It's true.  You probably have nightmares about meeting me in the supermarket, knowing that a large portion of our small talk will most likely revolve around this.  The thing is though, these wacky holidays make me happy, so I don't mind if you dread seeing me - I'm gonna like 'em anyways.  

So back to today, International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, in addition to making my two cutie patootie pooches some homemade dog biscuits (here's the website for the recipe if you're interested: http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/peanut-butter-dog-biscuit-recipe.html ), I decided to make dirt pudding.
::Sighs:: Dirt pudding... so deliciously simple.

As I was mashing the begeezus out of my oreo cookies, I began thinking of my grandmother.  (That sounds much worse than what it actually is, I PROMISE.)  I tend to think about her quite a bit when I'm working in the kitchen; it's my way of staying connected with her.

Anyways, there was one day when I was growing up that I will remember for the rest of my life.  I was hanging out in the family room of my grandparent's old farmhouse while my grandma was baking something in the kitchen.  Suddenly, a delicious aroma drifted my way.  I peered out from my wicked awesome fort I had just made with their two lazyboys and a couple of blankets, and watched as my grandma put, what looked to me, to be five little cookies on the window sill to cool.  She said something to me (looking back, I probably should have paid more attention to what it was) and then left the room.  Being the sneaky little scamp that I was, I went to investigate.  The cookies were warm and smelled like peanut butter,... my favorite!  I quickly popped three of the tiny yummies in my mouth and began to chew.  At that moment, my cheeks looking like I was a chipmunk storing up for the winter, my grandma walked back into the room and saw me.  She stopped dead in her tracks and began laughing until she teared up.  Once she regained her composure and I had managed to swallow my stolen goodies, she informed me that I had just consumed, not three wonderfully delicious peanut butter cookies, but rather three wonderfully delicious peanut butter flavored dog biscuits.
Ahh childhood.

So, with that delightful memory lingering in my mind, I decided to make dog-themed dirt pudding.

The dog is made out of caramel, the bone is made out of white chocolate and the grass is buttercream icing - all of which are human food, just fyi. :)

You Just Died of Dysentery...

Okay, so that's a little much, but it felt that way.
Well, actually, that's a lie too since I don't know what dysentery feels like, but I can imagine it's not good.
While we're on the subject, did you know that approximately 600,000 people still die from dysentery every year?!  Crazy right?

Okay, sorry, anywho...
Long story short, the evil Schooloan Kid and his Thrill-Kill Bandits took my happy and I want it back.

My treacherous journey today leads me to, well, a Chinese restaurant.  Maybe it was the fact that my husband and I just watched Shanghai Noon or maybe it was just my hankerin' for some Pa Pa Chicken... WAIT, I'm sorry.  I just said "hankerin"... I'm Midwestern, not Podunk, I apologize.  Let's try this again.
Maybe it was the fact that my husband and I just watched Shanghai Noon or maybe it was just my stomach craving (MUCH better) some Pa Pa Chicken, but whatever it was, there, in China Super Buffet (with help from Karen Tack and Alan Richardson's "What's New Cupcake"), I found my inspiration.  I would make fortune cookie cupcakes.   Not with real fortune cookies, mind you, because that would just be dumb.

The fortune cookie would really be a caramel molded to look like a fortune cookie.  Sneaky... very sneaky.

Ancient Chinese Secret:  fortune cookie make you happy, and fat if eat too much.