Albino Oreo Cookies modeled by a burglar — But for the name Golden Oreo, he probably wouldn’t have stole ’em and I wouldn’t have bought them. For $1 a box, I had to try at least one. And it’s a good quality Sandwich Cookie, but plain. I prefer its dark, older cousin, Oreo.
Although not technically food related, a tie-in was created for expression. This Cryin’ Onion wants the story told. I should be embarrassed, but here it goes… I’ve been using the same mascara since high school, long enough. It’s Marathon Waterproof Mascara by Cover Girl. Nothing fancy, but it works. I never had reason to switch, until now. It’s been discontinued. And if that’s not bummer enough, I’ve been buying it for up to 5-times its original price on Amazon and Ebay. I told myself not to do it, but still thrown off without a replacement to love, I did. And it’s now getting worse, because it’s no longer available on Amazon and prices are rising on Ebay. Its latest, someday expiring seller thanked me, yeah I’d thank me too.
Cover Girl suggests a specific replacement, but I wasn’t impressed and now truly forced to find another — And guess what? It won’t be by Cover Girl. They may have discontinued it in hopes its users would purchase one of their higher priced mascaras, unsure. I’m told the decision wasn’t made due to lack of sales. Was it uncool? Maybe you are CG, because Onions aren’t supposed to cry. That’s not how it goes. Now bring it back.
At some point the real Crab Claw Shell begins hidden under the breaded, pressed fake and real Crab combination. Be careful when nearing the end of the Claw, as Crab Shells are hard. Don’t get too happy — And there really isn’t need, since they’re not that remarkable, other than the fact they are different. Although flawed, I appreciate the creativity of ’em and other unique offerings at Fresh & Easy, newly opened within walking distance. Bite at your own risk.
Don’t you find that practically everything takes longer to cook than the package states? I do. Why do most manufacturers get it wrong on the label? Is it to entice us to buy? Oh, it only takes 10 minutes to cook — Let’s get it! The small print should read… But if you want this product to taste good, it’ll really take 20 minutes. I was reminded of this once again after wrongly conceding the 20 – 30 minute cooking time on a package of dried Split Peas. Of course I opted for 30 minutes, but at that point I was still crunching on Peas. And when all was said and done, an hour later they were finally right. What’s up with that? Is it just one big, bad psychological marketing ploy?
It’s fun to try a variety of new food items in one sitting — A bite (or more) of each, from savory to sweet, to see what you go back to the most and finish first. In this instance, the favorite of the basket was the Sofiato Cream Filled Crepe Bites aka Cafe Mocha Pillows. I’m still missing them. And the California Pantry Rosemary & Olive Oil Baked Crackers were excellent too, super crispy and flavorful.
All else was fine, except for the Cheese Straws — Yuck, none could finish one. The taste and texture was bad. And surprisingly the Godiva Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel wasn’t good either, as the Pretzel was too fat, thick and dry for the Chocolate that crumbled off it after the first bite. Overall, I appreciate the gift and the basket is a keeper for attractive organization.
A few months back, I entered the Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge for which I created a recipe using Tonnino Tuna and a video preparing same. I didn’t expect to win (and didn’t), since my first recipe video was fraught with technical errors, but I did learn a lot, like not to take longer to combine the recipe ingredients than the video is allowed to be. That’s pretty important!
Aside from the video, the recipe turned out damn good — And now that the competition is officially over, I’ve decided to publish my Calypso Tuna Cakes recipe below. To find out more about the challenge, recipe and video see here.
Regarding competitions, challenges and contests… It’s not cool, right, nor appreciated if/when entry deadlines are extended — It’s a little unfair, inequitable, unprofessional, misleading and disrespectful to those who entered on-time or by the competition’s posted deadline. The Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge deadline was extended twice. I didn’t like that and hope not to encounter it again. However, I am pleased to discover Tonnino’s high quality Tuna. It’s impressive, but not inexpensive.
Calypso Tuna Cakes
1 (6.7 oz.) Jar of Tonnino Tuna Fillets with Jalapeno in Olive Oil (loosely chopped)
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs (1/4 Cup for Tuna Cake mixture + ¼ Cup for Tuna Cake coating)
1 Egg
1 Tbsp. chopped Cilantro
1 Tbsp. chopped Green Onions
1 Tbsp. Lime Zest
1/3 Cup Corn (roasted and cut off cob)
1/3 Cup Red Bell Pepper (diced)
1 Tsp. of Mayonnaise
1/4 Tsp. Cumin
Olive Oil for baking sheet
* A little reserved Jalapeno Olive Oil, if necessary to moisten Tuna Cake mixture (optional).
Preheat oven (and a baking sheet) at 400°.
Combine all ingredients reserving 1/4 Cup of Bread Crumbs on a plate. Mix other ingredients together and form into (4 – 6) Tuna Cakes depending on preferred size. Coat each Tuna Cake with the reserved Bread Crumbs. Add Olive Oil to the heated baking sheet, and then add the Tuna Cakes. Bake for 15 minutes turning once halfway through. Remove from the oven, cool slightly and dig into the Calypso — YUM!
The Calypso Tuna Cake above was served with a blend of Chipotle Peppers and Sour Cream, Pico De Gallo and Hava Chips. And they’re named ‘Calypso’ for their regional ingredients, vibrant colors and tasty flavors, likened to the enlivening feeling of Calypso music. Finally, it just so happens that I’ve met John of Food Wishes, the guy who actually won the Tonnino Tuna Chef Challenge and he’s a cool guy. Congratulations John!
* Unfortunately the final Calypso Tuna Cake photos aren’t as fabulous as the recipe, but had to show something — To be replaced when made again.
Have you seen that Reddi-wip commercial, whereas Reddi-wip is offered as “Cream” for a slice of Pie and generic Cool Whip is offered as “Oil” for the same? Oil or Cream says the waitress. Cream of course. Who wants Oil on a slice of Pie?! If Cool Whip is truly made of Oil, I don’t know. You may want to research that yourself. For fun on Thanksgiving, Chef Lexi and I tested Reddi-wip’s marketing campaign by asking each guest if he/she wanted Oil or Cream on their Pumpkin Pie.
And interestingly some who usually opt for Cool Whip on Pumpkin Pie, chose the Reddi-wip this year. Hhmmmmm, effective marketing? It’s not like Cream is tremendously better for you than Oil, but at least it’s what you think you’re getting. Cream obviously sounds more desirable on Pie (or any dessert) than Oil. Regardless, our final position is this… Reddi-wip and Cool Whip are fine on occasion, but real Whipping Cream is so much better than both. Know that it’s convenient too, in that it only takes a few minutes to whip up and can be stored in the fridge a few days.
Top Chef All-Stars started last week and airs again soon (Wednesdays on Bravo TV). I like Top Chef, but haven’t been riveted by its happenings the past few seasons, though I’ve caught most shows, since they rerun them over and over. And right now I’m happy to be excited about the show again, because of the All-Stars. Already knowing the personalities makes it more interesting. The formula was getting a little boring, although it’s better than most TV programming. I admit to liking Millionaire Matchmaker and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills too — That Camille, I can’t stand her, but we talk food here. Let’s get back to Top Chef All-Stars…
I like Carla.
I like Fabio too — Our Guest Blogger Bonnie recently reviewed his restaurant, Café Firenze posted here. Last week during Top Chef All-Stars, Fabio was reamed by Judge Anthony Bourdain, who repeatedly said he “hated” his dish. Trying to be funny, AB was pretty much a dick. It’s unnecessary to be so dramatically negative, which applies to all judges, and cheers to Fabio for speaking up about it. He handled himself well. I probably would’ve cried after putting so much effort into it.
The All-Star Chefs were delivered the ingredients they used and had to pack their knives for and go, during his/her respective season. Each had to make the dish better or at least passing this time — How fitting. A perfect first challenge.
Wanted to quickly commentate on the photos and generally about the show, not provide a complete recap — Who has time? Watch the show. If further compelled, we’ll weigh in.
Nibbles of Tidbits is asked to try a lot of products — Some immediately interest us and others we’re not so sure about. Since we can’t, nor want to try ’em all, we choose to try food products we’re curious about, that are unique, that we think we’ll like, or because it’s offered/provided at the right time. If we report about a product, it’s guaranteed to be honest, good or bad, rain or shine, although good, shiny days are preferred. 😉
In this instance, I wasn’t quite sure about trying Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze, a Non-Dairy Beverage made from real Almonds — I’m a hard core Milk drinker and the thought of Almond Breeze as a drink scared me. I thought it would taste too sweet, but it’s not.
This product arrived timely in that I’d been wanting homemade Hot Chocolate and Almond Breeze came with an Almond Hot Chocolate recipe. The stars aligned. In addition, I love nuts (all kinds) and have purchased many Blue Diamond products over the years. Their quality has been consistent.
I prepared the Almond Hot Chocolate by pouring hot (microwaved) Almond Breeze over Milk Chocolate Chips and powdered Cocoa (approx. 2 cups Almond Breeze, 6oz. Chocolate and 1 tsp. Cocoa) — Their official recipe is linked here.
Pour the hot Almond Breeze (or Milk) over the Chocolate Chips and Cocoa.
Prepare in individual cups with desired amount of Chocolate or in bulk to fill many cups.
Stir until Chocolate Chips are melted and Cocoa is blended.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first Almond Hot Chocolate in a cup from my Great Grandma Moore.
The combination of ingredients makes a rich, luxurious Hot Chocolate and the hint of Almond puts it over the top — It adds a nice, toasted flavor. Cheers to all my loving Grandmas!
Almond Breeze makes an excellent Hot Chocolate. The taste of it alone was surprisingly good, as it’s not sweet — I actually liked it.
It’s noted that Almond Breeze can be substituted, cup for cup in many recipes, which sounds exciting, but it appears it’s not true when it comes to the basic Minute Tapioca recipe. Its preparation with Almond Breeze didn’t work, as it never firmed up properly and remained too runny. The Almond garnish sank — Bummer! It tasted good warm and perhaps cold it could be served as a boba drink, not.
Overall, we’re nutty about this product discovery.
Have you heard of, seen or tried a Grapple yet? I first saw them on Unwrapped. They’re Washington Extra Fancy Gala or Fuji Apples that are infused with a concentrated Grape flavor. It’s said that Grapples look like an Apple, but taste like a Grape, and is described to have the sweet distinctive flavor of a Concord Grape with the crispness of a fresh Apple. Chef Lexi (below) from Kids in the Kitchen gives ’em a try.
And the verdict is in… Lexi and the tastin’ gang behind the camera (5 of us) were unanimous — The Apples were indeed fresh and tasted like Grape, but the Grape flavor unexpectedly tasted artificial. Its scent and taste was reminiscent of purple, Grape flavored Candy or Soda, not that of a true Concord Grape, as we were hoping.
Since we’re always interested in different things, we had to try a Grapple. They’re definitely of premium quality, but we didn’t fall in love with their flavor. Regardless, we appreciate trying unique foods — It’s a fun time.
We picked up an empty glass and bag upon arrival at the City View at the Metreon in San Francisco, then filled ’em up over-and-over again with seemingly endless samples of Beer, Wine and FOOD. It’s what happened to 350 Food Bloggers during the Taste Pavilion, an afternoon prelude to the Gala Dinner commencing three hours later — The Foodbuzz Blogger Festival is an eating extravaganza. YEAH!
Only ended up taking a few photos here — I needed another arm, or two, or three — It was hard to eat, drink, write, shake hands, collect literature, and accept Beer, Wine and product samplings with just two hands.
The Frog Hollow Farm Pears were so juicy and a favorite from the event was their Granola. It’s some of the best I’ve had. I wish I’d brought back another bag of it — Soooo good!
Willow Bird Baking was one of the six recipe winners and Nature’s Pride Cooking Demonstrators at the Taste Pavilion. Congratulations to all.
Fresh Express Salads, much needed greens.
The Cupcake of the weekend seemed to be everywhere and dare I say they were just okay. Maybe I didn’t have the right one, because the Food Network was filming them for Cupcake Wars, or something like it — In love Food Bloggers will know better.
One of the coolest things there was the Buitoni Flip Book Booth, which converted short video clips into mini Flip Books – You then flip through the book pages to see yourself move — It’s like watching an old fashioned mini movie.
I captured talented Food Bloggers, Chef Dennis, Korean American Mommy, CaffeIna and What’s for Dinner Across State Lines making a Flip Book — What fun!
View from the Taste Pavilion — A new appetite had to happen before dinner and appetizers scheduled to be served three hours later. It shall be reported as the final (1) in the 3-2-1 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Wrap Up.
Before being spoiled at the Tasting Pavilion at the Metreon in San Francisco, most Foodbuzz Blogger Festival attendees participated in Morning Breakout Sessions/Seminars at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, conveniently taking place down the elevator from my 19th floor room. During my first session, panelist Lick My Spoon, Kitchen Corners and Carrots N Cake talked about blogging success and what it means to each of them — Interesting and diverse points of view.
Mary Sue Millikin prepared Fish Tacos during the ‘Great Catch’ session presented by Alaska Seafood. Food Bloggers got to make their own Fish Tacos at the Taste Pavilion that later followed.
It was fun watching the Food Bloggers edging to get the best photos — Some were right up in the Salmon’s face. I’m sure many produced better photos than these, but I liked my seat.
During my last session, Chez Pim, Rhodey Girl Tests and Food Wishes talked about Video Blogging — Moderated by Krissy Wall. Food Wishes offered great tips and was pretty funny too. After all ended at noon, 350 Food Bloggers hiked it down to the Tasting Pavilion, reported about in (2) of the 3-2-1 Blogger Festival Wrap Up.
Ready, Set, Blog! It’s time for the first of (10) Challenges developed by Foodbuzz for Project Food Blog, a friendly contest amongst hundreds of talented Featured Publishers to determine the Next Project Food Blog Star. What an honor that would be! Oh, $10,000 is the PRIZE too. Hello. In Challenge #1 contestants will be put in a colander to see if they make it through to become (1) of (400) selected from (1,850+). Each challenge eliminates more, until I’m left. Here the judges want to know WHY I have what it takes to be “the one” and WHAT makes Nibbles of Tidbits unique and sets it apart from other food blog brands. Good questions. I hope to answer them clearly here in words and photos.
More about me and WHY I have what it takes to be the Next Food Blog Star*.
Although pictured in my Contestant Profile with my Rocky Mountain Orange Cream Pie at the Fair, I’d opt for Foie Gras in a minute. And after reserving a slice of the Pie for later, I’d want to smash it in a friend’s face for a laugh, fully deserving retaliation. If you dish it out, you’ve got to eat it. Overall, I’m sweet, savory and spicy, and rarely make the same dish twice. I’ve cooked my way through various classics — Lobster Thermidor, Beef Wellington, Coq au Vin and countless others. And I’ve explored foods from a number of cultures — Thai, Indian, Greek, etc. I love to experiment and keen on purchasing ingredients I’ve never tasted and/or used before. It’s almost as fun as Christmas to determine what to make with them. Experimentation is how I discovered Parsnips (White Carrots) so long ago and I still can’t believe most I ask haven’t tried them. I want to taste almost everything. Too many Americans are missing out by not sampling different things.
More reasons WHY… I’ve been lucky enough to win several ribbons in the Orange County Fair’s Culinary Arts Competitions. I also won a contest sponsored by Milk, whereas my recipe (Fennel-Cannellini Soup) and photo appeared in Gourmet and Bon Appétit Magazines sporting a Milk Moustache. I won the Grand Prize in the Soup category. And another recipe creation (Angel Cake Soufflé) was endorsed by Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen. Family and friends call me with their food related questions and I love answering them.
Equal to my passion for cooking, I’d opt to eat out day and night until tiring of it. I haven’t yet tired, but my wallet does. The restaurant options are limitless. Dining out is instant gratification, as it provides diverse food quickly, without having to do the dishes. One of the finest meals out caused me to melt down my chair in excitement with every bite — I was under the table by the end of the meal. Maybe it was the Wine.
Utilizing all I’ve learned with a fine palate, I like to uncover (by taste) what’s in a memorable restaurant dish to possibly re-create it at home. I’ve been successful with a few favorites — One example is linked and others can be found in the ‘Copycat Recipes‘ category. And finally with respect to WHY I have what it takes, I write as the Orange County Food Examiner on Examiner.com and for others as needed by way of I Need Text Co. I tell people that starting my blog is one of the best things I’ve done, since I walk and talk FOOD all day long anyway. It’s truly meant to be that I’m here right now. Cheers.
* I’m not sure about the “Star” part of the title — I’m most interested in the “Project Food Blog” part, because I love FOOD (the true Star), eating, photography, blogging**, cooking, writing and a good old-fashioned competition.
** Are there better words than blog, blogger and blogging? The terms are just so… not cool sounding. I guess it’s too late now.
WHAT makes my blog (Nibbles of Tidbits) unique? And what sets it apart from other food blog brands?
Nibbles of Tidbits is about the GOOD, the BAD & the FUNNY regarding FOOD — From Yikes to Ooo La La, as the heading states. Having cooked like a maniac for twenty plus years, I’ve learned that some dishes turn out great and others turn out like crap. And some published recipes and flavor combinations work and others are just plain wrong. I report about it all. Since I’ve fine-tuned my cooking skills over time, most meals turn out GOOD, and I’ve come to realize that the BAD can also be FUNNY. Photos posted for this first challenge represent the good, bad and funny (GBF) regarding food and drinks.
Nibbles of Tidbits is FOOD without limitations — Thank God since I want to experience all aspects of it, especially that from the earth, food events, restaurants, product testing and comparison, easy recipe creation, unique ingredients, copycat recipe development, cooking shortcuts, special finds and all things interesting. I sometimes find pleasure in fast food and frozen meals, but feel most excellent at a gourmet (non-stuffy) dining establishment with a glass of Wine in hand. All is reported about with helpful and entertaining insight.
I’m a snob for freshness, quality and value and want to get what I pay for. Don’t gouge me with inferiority and all should be good — I prefer not to write bad things, but truth is king. With a few exceptions, I’ve posted daily for almost 2 1/2 years and challenges include… Taking photos before digging in, measuring ingredients before adding them to creations, and presentation (mine looks too elementary school sometimes). Nibbles of Tidbits is unique for the reasons mentioned herein and we’re (I’m) excited to encounter more, eat well and laugh along the way.
See my Project Food Blog Contestant Profile linked below — MAKE ME YOUR BABY. I’ll make you proud! 🙂
I’ve always wanted to make Heart Shaped Eggs & Toast and just learned that it’s hard to get the Egg Yolk to perch in the center of the Bread — It tends to settle in one curve of the heart or the other. Oh well, does it matter? I think so, since the results look more spooky than romantic. Did the freshly ground Pepper land perfectly to form eyeballs? No, they’re fun props once employed for another project. It’s funny how they instantly bring things to life. 🙂
I used Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat Bread and large fresh (recall proof) Eggs. To view other Nature’s Pride Bread recipes and info, check out this link. Should the above be made again for Valentine’s Day or Halloween? I wonder what Rorschach would say?
I concur with the message in this video by the Bulk is Green Council. You can save time and money buying certain items in the bulk aisle, rather than elsewhere scattered throughout the store. I recently experienced its benefits at Henry’s Farmers Market — A great store for bulk.
Above is just a sliver of Henry’s bulk foods selection — Don’t forget to write the item number on each tag / bag sealer, so the checker will know how to ring it up. Many items look the same, especially the powdered goods. It can be a fair amount of writing if you get a variety. This day we tried a little of a lot (about 15 items). It was entertaining and we did see that money can be saved when needing a little or a lot of certain things.
I’m advised that it’s National Bulk Foods Day on October 23rd — Hhhmmm, it seems there’s a day for everything now. Did you know it’s National Nibbles of Tidbits Day on December 3rd? It is! Until then, buy from the bulk foods aisle.
I’m pondering why I want to try this? It looks kinda cool. No disrespect to Eggs or Chickens or God, although what’s worse than eating ’em? I do that. Hhhhmmm, too deep right now and a downer topic for a food blog — Instead, check out more unique, interesting and funny food photos and videos at My Food Looks Funny. They’ve collected some good stuff.
Just peeled my first Lychee fruit — They’re super easy to peel, but the fruit sure sticks to the seed (pit) pretty tightly, and the seed sometimes colors the fruit around it with a brown tint. No wonder why I rarely see a pristine white, plump, seeded Lychee, at least where I’ve been. It’s necessary to expose myself to certain things. For total immersion I’ll book a trip to South China, where they are considered a symbol of romance and love. 🙂
What kind of Nut are you? I’ve heard that question many of times, hahaha, and now I know. It appears I’m a Pecan for those who have wondered all these years. Fisher Nuts has developed a Personality Quiz to help you determine which Nut you’ve always been. Take the quiz now — It’ll be such a relief to finally know. The mystery is somewhat solved. 🙂
PECAN: You are generous and loyal. Friends and family love to be around you because you consider their needs first. You are a tenacious, committed team player who doesn’t require recognition. You are happiest when you share the credit with everyone around you.
The Deep Fried Butter at the Orange County Fair is kinda like the giant horse you pay $5.75 to see, but viewing the horse is more satisfying. It’s at the Heart Attack Cafe, the Butter, not the horse (yet) — Who knows, maybe next year. We weren’t gonna bother with the Deep Fried Butter, but someone in the group had to have it. They found another sucka, haha.
The deal is this… It’s basically a Churro that’s injected with Butter in the center, then plugged at both ends and frozen. It’s then re-fried to order and one big yuck! Why would anyone want a Butter-stuffed, frozen then refried Churro? They serve them sweet with Cinnamon, Sugar and Whipped Cream, or savory with Garlic Salt, Parmesan and Marinara Sauce. Either way it’s ridiculous, but surprisingly the Chips underneath were okay with the Marinara.
Note: The Marinara Sauce was so unexpectedly yummy that we asked the brand. We learned it’s San Benito and will be looking for it in stores. It appears something good came out of the Heart Attack Cafe afterall — Check out other crazy OC Fair food options here.
I never considered making my own Pop-Tarts until contacted with the idea, then thought it’d be fun to give it a try. The pictured Pop-Tart was indeed good, but questionably worth the work. With respect to Pop-Tarts, I’d rather grab one out of the box and put it in the toaster oven. This one tasted like dessert — A scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream would’ve been right on with it.
I followed the Pop-Tart recipe forwarded to me and used the best Raspberry Preserves I could find. It’s suggested that one simply use their favorite Pie Crust recipe along with the best, thick Preserves to create the ultimate Pop-Tart. The recipe used to make the pictured Pop-Tart was thought to be a little too buttery for breakfast, but yummy for a desserty-ish treat.
Overall, it’s fun to make homemade Pop-Tarts once. It’s decided that we’d prefer to make a Pie rather than multiple Pop-Tarts. It’s less work and nicely cooked packaged Pop-Tarts are good enough.
Chef Kristine Subido’s Breakfast/Nourish Menu at Wave inspired our attempt at making the pictured homemade Pop-Tart. We’d love to travel to Chicago sometime to have the real goods. They say believe in breakfast again — We try.
* Our apologies for the quality of the pre-baked Pop-Tart photo directly above.
In AAA‘s Westways Magazine, Al’s New York Cafe in Costa Mesa was recently named one of the “Best Cheap Eats” in Southern California, and most on Yelp rave about it too. We tried their Pepperoni Pizza and unfortunately thought it was a bit too greasy for us.* We might be a little too CPK. We’ll try a couple of Al’s other specialties next visit.
* We’re not grease snobs — Pizza photo was taken after blotting.
Our Banana Split Cake started out as a fun idea, but unfortunately it didn’t quite cross the finish line. Good thing we’re testing out recipes before entering ’em into the 2010 Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competition — This one certainly wouldn’t win a ribbon. The concept is entertaining and it tasted really good, but one can’t submit a Cake looking like this. 🙂
With ripening Bananas and Strawberries on hand and the recent receipt of Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook, we created a Banana Split Cake. We started with a prepared White Cake Mix evenly divided into 3 round baking pans — Then mashed a Banana, pureed a few Strawberries and got out the Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. As shown below, we added each respectively to the divided mix.
We baked the Cakes, then set them aside to cool completely — We did get that part right, although it may not look that way. We made an amazing Cream Cheese Frosting from the Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook. It’s called Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting (p. 37). Before adding the Pecans that are called for in the recipe, we reserved and divided a portion of the Frosting to mix pureed Strawberry into one and Chocolate Syrup into the other, and then added Pecans to the remainder and chilled all in the fridge.
To build our Banana Split Cake, start with Chocolate Cake on the bottom, then add a layer of Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, followed by Banana Cake, Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting, and ending with Strawberry Cake on top. We then smothered the assembled Cake with Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting. It held together at first, but then you see what happened. We ultimately separated the layers and frosted each separately with the Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting. Office co-workers usually don’t care what it looks like.
Next time we’ll add less Strawberry puree and Chocolate Syrup to the Frosting and less Frosting in between the layers. We might also want to chill the Frosting a little longer or make more Cake, so the layers aren’t as thin. Perhaps we’ll add sliced Strawberries and/or Bananas in between the layers to avoid sliding Cakes. Again, it tasted pretty good, therefore it’s worth another try.
Note: So far we like what we see in Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook by Southern Living and look forward to making the recipes we’ve tabbed in it.
My Brother-in-Law just told me a funny story. One of his co-workers learned that purchasing a maximum of (5) Green Beans at one time doesn’t weigh anything, thus he’s usually not charged for them at the checkout stand. After fine tuning his discovery, he went to the supermarket daily for a week, until he had enough Green Beans to make a meal. Can you believe it? It’s true. And he’s not poor either — He owns two houses and has a great job. I’m still laughing about this. In some ways it’s moderately inspiring (haha), but I certainly wouldn’t want to go to the supermarket every day. Hope he doesn’t stumble upon this blog or my Brother-in-Law is in trouble. 🙂
Note: Photo is of Fava Beans, which are generally more expensive than Green Beans.
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