Jandy and Jonathan's Wedding
Jandy is a colleague of mine. She is a quiet and sweet girl. Recently, she got married and upon my insistence, she shared her wedding photo slideshow with me. I was so moved by it and asked her if I could share it here. I am so happy she agreed. Please check it out. It is the sweetest thing!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
My Favorite Sandwich
This is one of the most easiest and tastiest meals you'll ever make. It's my favorite sandwich.
Soft French Baguette, lightly toasted
Butter
Goat Cheese
Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil
Salami
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Basil
Spinach
Cilantro
Sea Salt & Coarse Black Pepper
My, oh my.
XOXO
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Happy "Brrrr-thday" Nico!
My nephew Nicolas had an Arctic birthday party for his fourth birthday. It was so cute. I have to commend my sister for being so creative as there is not a whole lot of canned ideas out there for an Arctic Fishing themed birthday. She did a wonderful job with the decorations and the games.
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| The guests received little fishing tackle boxes filled with goodies |
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| Cari baked a delicious and beautiful chocolate cake |
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| Iceberg treats |
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| I made these sugar cookies and without even planning it, they matched the party colors perfectly! |
Happy 4th Birthday, Nico! God bless you always.
We love you!
Monday, January 2, 2012
It's Always About the Food
I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. We had a wonderful time with friends and family on both days. What a way to end the year and start a new one! And in true Padilla-Casillas family style, no get-together is complete without delicious food.
On New Year's Eve, Jeanette and my mom made Enmoladas which are like Enchiladas except instead of dipping the corn tortilla in enchilada sauce you dip it in mole sauce. They were so delicious and I was so excited that I totally forgot to take a picture of them. Sorry! But trust me, if you like mole, you will love Enmoladas.
I made Ceasar Salad Deviled Eggs, recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. Deviled eggs are good but they're not something I usually think of making. They are deceitfully laborious. But I was intrigued by this recipe and judging by how fast they flew off the platter, I'm guessing they were pretty good.
I also baked these Churro Cupcakes.
I love churros, especially when they are filled with Dulce De Leche, so when I came across this recipe on Love and Olive Oil, I knew I had to make them. In their recipe, they filled the cupcakes with chocolate pudding and topped them with a chocolate whipped cream frosting. Since I like my churros filled with Dulce De Leche, I decided to fill the cupcakes with that and since it was New Year's Eve, I opted for a champagne buttercream frosting which I found on i am baker. The result: Pure Joy!!!
It's so easy to make your own Dulce De Leche, it's dangerous. At a zillion calories a spoonful, it's a good thing I don't remember to make it often. But anyway, here's how to make it:
Take a can of condensed milk and place it in a stock pot with about 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Once the water comes to a rapid boil, lower heat to simmer and cover pot. You will leave on simmer for 2 to 3 hours depending on how dark and thick you want the Dulce De Leche. Please be very careful not to exceed the cooking time of 3 hours because the can will eventually explode and you will have a huge mess. This happened to my grandmother once. For the cupcakes I wanted it to be a little runny so that I can fill them easily, so I cooked it for about 2 hours. My thought was to pipe it into the cupcakes but then I decided to cut the tops off of the cupcakes and spoon it in just like it said to do in the recipe.
Here you will see the difference in color and texture of the Dulce De Leche. The one on the top was cooked for 2 hours and the one on the bottom was cooked for 3 hours.
You can make the Dulce De Leche ahead of time as it will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
Once I had baked the cupcakes, I cut out a cone-shaped well and filled them with the Dulce De Leche.
To the tops, I cut off a little from the pointy end so that they fit back on nicely. Don't worry about the seams because you will cover them with the frosting.
These were so delicious. I can't wait to make them again!
For New Year's Day, we had a spontaneous small gathering at our house. The day was so beautiful and warm. David and Mr. Casillas decided to make shrimp two ways; David: Camarones Agua Chile, which is kind of like a shrimp ceviche, Mr. Casillas: Spicy Shrimp Tacos (don't know if the recipe has an actual name). I don't have the recipes for these but if you are interested, leave a comment and I will get them.
It is both a blessing and a curse to have a foodie family. Now that there are 5 pounds more of me to love, you can all guess what one of my New Year's resolutions is.
Have a blessed year!
XOXO
On New Year's Eve, Jeanette and my mom made Enmoladas which are like Enchiladas except instead of dipping the corn tortilla in enchilada sauce you dip it in mole sauce. They were so delicious and I was so excited that I totally forgot to take a picture of them. Sorry! But trust me, if you like mole, you will love Enmoladas.
I made Ceasar Salad Deviled Eggs, recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. Deviled eggs are good but they're not something I usually think of making. They are deceitfully laborious. But I was intrigued by this recipe and judging by how fast they flew off the platter, I'm guessing they were pretty good.
I also baked these Churro Cupcakes.
I love churros, especially when they are filled with Dulce De Leche, so when I came across this recipe on Love and Olive Oil, I knew I had to make them. In their recipe, they filled the cupcakes with chocolate pudding and topped them with a chocolate whipped cream frosting. Since I like my churros filled with Dulce De Leche, I decided to fill the cupcakes with that and since it was New Year's Eve, I opted for a champagne buttercream frosting which I found on i am baker. The result: Pure Joy!!!
It's so easy to make your own Dulce De Leche, it's dangerous. At a zillion calories a spoonful, it's a good thing I don't remember to make it often. But anyway, here's how to make it:
Take a can of condensed milk and place it in a stock pot with about 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Once the water comes to a rapid boil, lower heat to simmer and cover pot. You will leave on simmer for 2 to 3 hours depending on how dark and thick you want the Dulce De Leche. Please be very careful not to exceed the cooking time of 3 hours because the can will eventually explode and you will have a huge mess. This happened to my grandmother once. For the cupcakes I wanted it to be a little runny so that I can fill them easily, so I cooked it for about 2 hours. My thought was to pipe it into the cupcakes but then I decided to cut the tops off of the cupcakes and spoon it in just like it said to do in the recipe.
Here you will see the difference in color and texture of the Dulce De Leche. The one on the top was cooked for 2 hours and the one on the bottom was cooked for 3 hours.
You can make the Dulce De Leche ahead of time as it will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
Once I had baked the cupcakes, I cut out a cone-shaped well and filled them with the Dulce De Leche.
To the tops, I cut off a little from the pointy end so that they fit back on nicely. Don't worry about the seams because you will cover them with the frosting.
These were so delicious. I can't wait to make them again!
For New Year's Day, we had a spontaneous small gathering at our house. The day was so beautiful and warm. David and Mr. Casillas decided to make shrimp two ways; David: Camarones Agua Chile, which is kind of like a shrimp ceviche, Mr. Casillas: Spicy Shrimp Tacos (don't know if the recipe has an actual name). I don't have the recipes for these but if you are interested, leave a comment and I will get them.
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| David's Camarones Agua Chile |
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| Mr. Casillas' Spicy Shrimp Tacos |
Have a blessed year!
XOXO
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