Vacation!

So, it's 3:20am. I've been awake for just over an hour now. Which is frightening.

But, oh, we're leaving for the airport in about an hour.

Am I dressed? Completely packed? Reasonable sane? That'd be a negative on all the fronts. ;)

It's back out to Cali and Oregon for a wedding and to visit friends and family. And food that we can't get out here. :) Super excited. But well aware that I'll probably wind up being awake for 24 hours, due to time zones and what not.

Obviously no new baking this weekend, but probably on the 24th. Maybe by then I'll be better about updating on a more regular basis lol

Take care, everyone! :)

Pizookie!

Another post that's been in the making for, well, a few days. :)

Me and Amelia's Harry Potter/Rent vacation was quite awesome. Lots of fun and a whole lot of laughs. 'Rent' just blew me away, and we were able to get autographs after the show (including those of Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal - woohoo!!). We also got to know Boston Commons extremely well. To put it lightly. ;) Seriously, it was so good to hang out with a friend that can finish your sentences. Huzzah! Now the next thing to look forward to is my trip to CA in October. Where we're hoping to see 'Rent' in San Francisco. :D

Onto the baked goods. I knew that when Amelia was out here that I wanted to make Pizookies. Pizookies are from BJ's Brewhouse & Restaurant, and they're a personal-size deep dish cookie, fresh from the oven and topped with vanilla ice cream. The cookies come in chocolate chip, macadamia, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and an oreo-style. They are DELICIOUS. Really, you should go get one. Or if you're on the east coast and the closest one is in Ohio, you should make this recipe. :)

For the cookie part, I just used the basic Toll House cookie recipe and halved it. The bake time varies a bit depending on how thick the dough is inside the ramekin. The two smaller ones that we made were fine at 25 minutes, but the larger, about-an-inch-thick should have stayed in probably for another 8-10 minutes. Either way, they were still good. Even the one reheated in the microwave the next day.



Ingredients:
1-1/8 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips (white, semi-sweet, milk - makes no difference)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in chips.

Fill four ramekins with about half an inch of dough on the bottom. (If making a thicker cookie, do adjust the baking time.) Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and place ramekins on potholders or napkins. Top each cookie with ice cream and ENJOY.

Vacation!

Cutting things down to the wire? No, not this girl. LOL Yet here I am, 3am, and I'm sitting in front of the computer. LOL Our flight leaves at 6am.

So, yes, just a quick post that there won't be much going on here until the 23rd or so. Thankfully there's internet access on the boat, so I won't start to get twitchy from extended lack of internet. ;)

Take care! :)

Vacation!

In about an hour or so, we'll be heading out to the airport. Dave's cousin is getting married this weekend, so we're going to California for four days. Would like it to have been more, but he couldn't get any more time off from work. But hey, we'll have fun. Wedding, visiting with friends, food that I can't get on this coast - I'm so excited.

That being said, obviously I won't be baking this weekend. But I've already got ideas swirling for when I get back. :)

Happy baking (and eating), everyone! :)

No baking this week

It's been a week mostly filled with travelling. Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to go to Disney World for my birthday. Never happened.

Until this past Tuesday. The 22nd.

We drove down to Anaheim on Monday (it's about a 6 hour drive, depending on traffic), spent the whole day in Disneyland and California Adventure on Tuesday, then drove back up yesterday. I had a really great time, and I'm glad that I chose to do it this year. Oh yeah. On the way back up, on Highway 5, there was snow! Sure, I'm a MA girl, but it's been FOUR years since I've been home in the winter.

Tomorrow, we set out to Ashland, Oregon, to visit Dave's parents. Which is another six hour drive, just in the opposite direction this time. I'm excited, I've never been to Oregon before. Although I'm really not looking forward to the temperatures. LOL I keep trying to convince myself that it'll be okay, that home will be colder. We'll see how I feel about this come Sunday evening!

So yes. A little mini-vacation, that's SOOOO well-needed. Now if only I could stretch it out a bit longer and not have to go to work. ;)

Oh, yeah. Almost forget. I had a fabulous slice of olallieberry pie at Casa de Fruita, off highway 152. :)

Life will be back to its usual schedule next week. Till then, happy baking! :)