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Become a chef with an amazing restaurant to serve delicious and beautiful food.  ^-^

What was the best movie you saw this year?

Superbad.  Most definitely.

Sooooo pretty much I've been completely spoiled on every plot point ever of the Deathly Hallows because of @#$%& people and the @#*&#!^ internet.  Thanks everyone.

Did you see the Harry Potter movie this weekend?  Are you going to read the new book?

YES AND YES!  I actually saw the movie last Thursday and absolutely loved it.  It has so many mixed reviews which is uncommon I think, but honestly I thought it was great.  And I don't think that of every movie.  I hate The Prisoner of Azkaban movie.  Hate it.  Whoever casted that movie should be fired *mutters something that could be deciphered as Gambon*.  Whoever casted for Order of the Phoenix was awesome.  (Watch, it's the same person)  Luna!  Luna!  I love her.  That girl that played her was sooo perfect!  And the actress who played Umbridge was perfect too.  I especially love Luna though.

I'm excited for the new book and will be one of those geeks out at Barnes & Noble at midnight to buy it.  I could wait till the next day to buy it, but I like the midnight party.  I go with my cousin.  Last year we got hungry so we bought some Ben & Jerry's Magic Brownie ice cream from the gas station across the street in celebration of it (Magic Brownie, get it?)  Fun fact:  For some reason we put the leftover container in the bushes and 2 months later it was still there.

Anyway...when I got book 5 I was all hyped to get it and start reading it.  I didn't start reading it until 2 weeks later though.  I made up for that though by reading the 6th book right away. Sooo...yes, I'm excited for the 21st!

TV, books, movies: Who's your favorite fictional father?

As lostdwarf said as well, definitely definitely Keith Mars.  That was my immediate thought when I read the question.  He was the best TV dad ever.  The perfect mix of fatherly authoritativeness and supportive camaraderie.  I'm going to miss that show so much.  Sigh.

I can't even think of any other fictional fathers.  Most of the things I read/watch have father figures instead I guess.  Oh wait, I've got one!  Michael Bluth from Arrested Development.  He was a pretty awesome dad, even if that whole family was crazy.

And now for something completely unrelated...a picture I just took of my mom's vine-plant-flower-thing!

HPIM3413

Well, today is my dad's birthday and it's kind of come to be my job to make cakes for everyone in my family when it's their birthday.  Today, I went kind of crazy.  I got inspired and just couldn't stop.  Here's the result:

Cake

The letters got kind of runny for some reason so I probably wouldn't do that again.  But I'll give the recipe if anyone wants to give it a shot and also for my own use later on.  Okay don't be scared by the length of these instructions.  Really, I understand, I would look at this post and be like "Ooh pretty picture," look at the length --> O_o and click away asap.  But it's not that bad.  I'm no expert.  I would suggest you enjoy baking first though ;)  The main cake is made of white boxed cake split into 2 8 in circular pans.  My dad wanted a cake that wasn't too sweet so I made a different type of frosting.

[All flavors can be changed to whatever you like]

The outside is frosted with:

1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup milk

8oz Cool Whip

1 tsp. vanilla extract

~Combine the pudding mix, milk, and vanilla extract until it's dissolved then fold that into the Cool Whip.  (don't do what I did and mix it too much so that it get's thin!  I had to make a crazy gelatin/sugar/syrup mixture to fix that up)

The middle is filled with:

1 pkg banana creme flavored instant pudding mix

1 cup milk

8oz Cool Whip

some crushed peanuts

~Combine the pudding mix and milk until it's dissolved then fold that into the Cool Whip.  The peanuts are optional...I just folded them in afterward.  I only used about half of this on the cake.

The chocolate part is fondant. Chocolate fondant is kind of like if you took a brownie and flattened it and made it kind of tough and a little bit frosting-y.  I used this recipe I found online (I only made half of this recipe and used only half of what I made on the cake):

----------- 

Makes:2 3/4 pounds - enough to cover a 9-inch by
3-inch cake and a 6-inch by 3-inch cake.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon gelatin
1/3 liquid cup water
2/3 liquid cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon glycerine
1/4 cup solid white vegetable shortening (or Crisco) 
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 1/4 cups powdered sugar (lightly spooned into cup) 
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (Dutch
Processed)

Instructions:
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a 2-cup
heatproof glass measure or bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Set in a small
pan of simmering water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. (This
can also be done in a few seconds in a microwave on high power,
stirring once or twice.) Blend in the corn syrup and glycerine, then add the
shortening and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in
vanilla.

Mix the sugar and cocoa in a large bowl and make a
well in the center. Add the gelatin mixture and stir with a wooden spoon
until blended. Mix with your hands and knead vigorously in the bowl until
it forms a ball. Turn out onto a smooth, lightly greased surface such
as Formica or marble, clean your hands, and knead until smooth and
satiny. If the fondant seems dry or brittle, add several drops of
water and knead well. The water will make it very sticky and messy at first.
When the mixture holds together, scrape the counter clean, lightly
grease it, and knead the fondant until smooth.

Chocolate Rolled Fondant may be used at once but is
easier to work with if made one day ahead to give the moisture a chance to
distribute evenly.
It is important to cover the fondant to prevent drying
out. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in an airtight container.

When ready to roll out, spray the work surface and
rolling pin with nonstick vegetable spray. Don't be alarmed if tiny
cracks appear in the surface of the fondant; the warmth from the kneading
or pressure from the rolling pin will make it smooth and satiny.
 

Tips:
If the cocoa is lumpy, process it in a food processor
for a few seconds until powdery. If Lumpy cocoa is used it might not
incorporated evenly into the fondant. If this should happen, the chocolate
fondant can also be placed in the food processor for a few seconds
until completely smooth. Don't try to process the whole batch at a
time.

I use nonstick vegetable spray to grease the counter,
rolling pin,cutters - even my hands.

If stored fondant seems very stiff, a few seconds in
the microwave before kneading it will make it pliable.

Don't be tempted to substitute butter for the solid
white shortening.
This is one rare instance where there is no
perceivable difference in flavor and the shortening actually blends better
(without streaking) than the butter.

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It looks really complicated, but it was actually really really easy.  The rolling and cutting part took the most time and concentration.  Also, don't bother with the glycerine (I'm not even sure what that is).  You can substitute the same amount of Crisco for that.  I sifted the sugar and cocoa and didn't have any problems with lumps.  I know I would have if I hadn't (man, my sugar and cocoa were lumpy!).  The tip about greasing your hands and the rolling pin and counter is VERY important.  Grease, then grease some more.  You'll understand once you have your fondant all rolled out and cut perfectly, then try to pick it up and it breaks apart D:  Yeah, so you can cut it however you want and with whatever you want.  I used a metal ruler (clean!) and 4x6 index cards to slide under it and pick it up (who said office supplies can't be used in the kitchen?? *cough* Okay, even -I'm- a little ashamed I had to resort to that...shh no one else needs to know!)  You can use cookie cutters though.

So just use the banana filling for the middle and then frost the outside with the vanilla.  Refrigerate as often as possible so the Cool Whip doesn't get wet (like when you're cutting the fondant).  Cut the fondant how you want and just place on cake however you want...and enjoy!  It's really good.

Recently I've come to notice how awesome Craig Ferguson is.  He's the host of The Late Late Show (with Craig Ferguson).  I don't watch late night talk shows and I never knew about him and his show until Jenna Fischer made an appearance on it (so of course I had to watch it).  Now I somehow find myself looking up clips on YouTube at 2 am when I swore I'd be asleep 3 hours ago. 

For his opening monologue he improvises with only an outline.  He's from Scotland originally and was once an alcoholic, but has been sober since 1992.  I found a clip of when he spoke about it on his show and it is really good...

 I was excited when recently I was watching Rachael Ray and he was on as her guest.  She raved about his book Between the Bridge and the River and demanded he write another one.  Tip from Craig about making mashed potatoes:  To make them less dry when preparing, add an egg instead of tons of butter etc.  He did it on the show and it worked!  Okay anyway, I think he's really funny and I may be delirious, but I found this clip and think it's hilarious.

What is the most creative gift you have ever given or received? 
Submitted by Nacwolin.

Last year, my senior class was going on a trip to NYC and I was trying to save a little money for when I was there, but also 2 of my friends' birthdays had popped up just a couple weeks before the trip.  I didn't know what to get them so I made them messenger bags that they could use for carrying stuff around NYC or whatever.  The cute bags I found at Target and then I designed the stencil I used to paint it. 

NYC messenger bag

2 comments

What's that secret dream job you've always believed you'd be good at, but never gone for? 
Submitted by wedgeh.

Two words.  Cafe Roteva's.