The Introduction

Today my mom came up with the idea of creating a blog about my cooking resolution. She said that at the end of the year, I'll have sort of my own cookbook. I'm intrigued by this idea because I've always loved cookbooks, cooking magazines, and cooking shows - so this is perfect.

Background info: I am an awful cook. Well, I used to be, at least. In my family, I am famous for my failed attempts (i.e. the stuffed acorn squash that even the dog spit out, etc.) and so, being sensitive, I kind of quit cooking. Being 26 (27 in a week!), however, I realized that I really needed to start figuring this out. I've been experimenting since Thanksgiving with things like hand pies, stuffed peppers, cheddar biscuits, bagels, and caramels (yes I know I choose more difficult recipes than most beginners but I'm picky!). So far so good.... Except for an over-salty but still beautiful popover incident (and I followed the recipe, damn it!). I am getting more confident and maybe even enjoying cooking and baking a little bit.

Tonight is New Year's Eve. I'll be bringing to Dani's and bringing my margarita cupcakes! The cakes were easier than the tequila merengue buttercream frosting, which took at least double the time - but was quite worth it. The only snafu was the fact that our grater is dull as hell and so I had to resort to peeling limes and chopping the zest myself! Not so great when Kenzie is picking huge bitter hunks out of her cupcake (I am not the greatest chopper I guess!) but I think they will go over okay anyway. I also didn't want to waste egg yolks from the frosting, so I also made a banana pudding - FROM SCRATCH! I'll have that when I get back home tonight to meet up with Marky- he loves bananas.  It called for vanilla wafers to be layered in, but I just did bananas and plan to get some whipped cream.

Sorry for such a long post, but I had to give the background scoop. Happy New Year, and good luck with YOUR resolutions ;)

Recipes:
Margarita Cupcakes
Banana Custard Pudding