Happy Halloween ~ Ms. Paula's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Just a quick note to say Happy Halloween! Sorry I've been a bit bloggy delinquent recently. I've been on domestic goddess overload of late. Traveling and baking and preparing birthdays and parties and family visits. But I've got a few things "in the oven" for you so keep your knickers on!

Hoping yall have a spooking scary day filled with grinning goblins and merry monsters! To keep with the theme of the day here's one of my all time favorite recipes from the Queen of Butter, the Dame of the Georgia Drawl .... Ms. Paula Deen! 

All joking aside I'm serious when I tell you these are super easy and I've yet to meet one person that doesn't love these. My advice... cut them small and serve with (home made) whipped cream. Heaven! 

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Serves 8

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make the cake, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.  Pat the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan. 
Prepare filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well.  Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.
Serve with fresh whipped cream.

And I just have to do a quick plug for her website. I didn't even know she had a website till I started looking for the recipe but it's fabulous! Very easy to find what you're looking for and of course full of quirky sassy Paulaisms! Check it out ... www.pauladeen.com 

Cheers, 

Ouiser

Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

I was browsing through the latest Williams Sonoma catalogue this week, dog-earing nearly every page with accompanying "Oooo I need that" or Mr. O's favorite, "I don't need that but its sooooo pretty."

I find each of their catalogues inspirational but there's just something extra special about this time of year that makes me want to bake and decorate... all the time. So, with that in mind when I mentioned how tasty the Cheddar Bacon Biscuits looked featured in the latest Williams Sonoma catalogue Mr. O jumped on it, suggesting I try them out.

This morning I made a batch and while I do have a few changes and suggestions, make no mistake. 

They. Are. Win.

I'm linking you to the Williams Sonoma recipe here but also detailing it below with my notes and suggestions. 

These are perfect for chilly fall weekend mornings. If you make a batch, by all means please let me know what you think!

Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

12-15 biscuits

6 oz. Bacon, diced (4 slices of thick cut bacon)

2 C All purpose flour

1 TBS Baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

8 TBS (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus 2 TBS melted butter

3/4 C Extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 C Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

1 C  Buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Cook the bacon till crisp then tear into pea sized pieces and set aside. Pour 1-2 TBS of bacon grease into a biscuit baking pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper. Cut in the cold butter until pea size crumbs form. A pastry blender would be perfect but I didn't have that so I used a potato masher for a minute or two. Then use your fingers to pinch the crumbs with the butter till it's fully incorporated. 

Stir in the bacon, cheddar and parmesan cheese. Slowly stir in the buttermilk until the dough just comes together. (NOTE: I didn't have buttermilk so I made some by adding 1 TBS of white vinegar to 1 cup of skim milk and letting it sit for 5+ minutes.)

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gently need the dough by folding over, turning and folding over again. You can also use a roller but I prefer a more rustic look. Once dough is ready flatten to about 1/3 inch thickness and cut using a biscuit cutter. I actually use a mini wine glass I received at a wine tasting nearly 10 years ago. Its the perfect size and the base of the glass fits perfectly in my hand.

Lightly roll each biscuits in the bacon grease as you add it to the baking dish. If you run out of grease baste the remaining biscuits with the melted butter. I only had to use a little bit of the butter for the last two biscuits.

Bake for 25 minutes and let cool for a few minutes before serving with butter, naturally! 

Note: I mentioned to Mr. O that I thought the biscuits were a little dense and heavy to which he reminded me they had both bacon AND cheese. *rolling my eyes* Thanks a lot Captain Obvious! So my thought is next time I make a mini version using a 1 in. or 1 1/2 in. cutter. Of course to accomplish this I'll need to purchase actual biscuit cutters.  Oh well, lookey here... Williams Sonoma has a set of five for $16. I wonder what else I'll find that we "need."

Happy Baking!

Cheers, 
Ouiser

Weekend Getaway ~ Puerto Rico

View onto the beach from the pool

I don't have any deep or meaningful things to say about my surprise girls weekend in Puerto Rico but I wanted to share a few of my pictures. As you might imagine it was divine to escape for a few days and soak up the sun, cocktails and all the girl talk I could fit into the sixty-three hours I was there. 

It would have been longer but I spent 15 hours in the airport or on a plane on Friday. My morning flight on USAir was cancelled and as there were no other flights, they put me on a Delta flight through Atlanta. I was irritated at first but I have to say it was the BEST thing to happen to me. Not only did I have a lovely chat with my seatmate during the flight down to Atlanta, who just happens to be my favorite (in office) politician but I also bumped into one of my oldest and dearest friends from high school. She and her husband were sitting not 25 feet away from me in the Delta sky lounge!

Once I finally arrived at the Ritz Carlton I was in much better spirits.  Of course, no surprise I highly recommend staying here! It's a hop skip and a jump from the airport and has everything I was looking for... a fabulous pool, several great restaurants, a divine spa and a morning mimosa bar... all weekend! There was also a small casino but that's not really my thing so I never even checked it out, though I'm sure it was lovely. 

While there wasn't much shopping I did enjoyed an afternoon visit to Old San Juan. The capitol building was absolutely beautiful as were some of the surrounding buildings. I wish I'd made it to the Coronado area of the island. It has some high end shopping as well as the museums. Maybe next time!

Hotel Fountain

Birthday dessert at BLT

Key Lime Martini = Delish!

My inspiration for our patio remodel!

San Juan Ritz mascot

I'm ready to book next year's trip! 

Cheers, 

Ouiser

Recipe of the Week ~ Bob Armstrong Dip with a side of Mommy Guilt

Buenos Dias Yall!

I'm practicing my Spanish as I pack. Is that enough of a tease to make you ask where I'm going?

Mr. O is sending me to Puerto Rico for FOUR days with my girlfriends and I leave first thing tomorrow morning. I plan to spend my time drinking slushy cocktails that make you giggle when ordering one from the cabana boy, reading countless books who've been waiting patiently in my kindle for months and of course spend a few blissful hours at their spa. Le Sigh. 

All in all I am excited beyond belief but I'd be lying if I wasn't a teensy weensy bit uneasy. This will the the first time I've left the boys for so long and only the second time I've ever left Baby Deux over night.

I know it will be a good experience for me as well as for Mr. O but I am hoping to skype while I'm away. I mean what if Baby Deux picks this weekend to start walking? Sigh... okay I don't like where this post is heading. So lets get back to food shall we? 

Anyone from Texas can probably make this dip without even going to the grocery store because we are hard wired to have all of the ingredients on hand in case there is a queso emergency. (Yes this can happen) However for those that don't here is my take on a Texas favorite! Trust me when I say you'll love it. I'm also including a link to the REAL Bob Armstrong Dip recipe from Matt's El Rancho in Austin. If you find yourself in Austin please go visit Matt's it's an Austin institution that shouldn't be missed. 

Bob Armstrong Dip 
(the easy peasy way)

serves- never enough

1 large package Velveeta, cubed and melted

1-2 cans Rotel  (I like to mix the mild with the cilantro version though you won't need both cans)

3/4 lbs ground beef

1 tsp each ground cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, salt & pepper

1/2 avocado, chopped

Melt the Velveeta in a large bowl in the microwave. It can cook unevenly so it's good to heat for a minute than stir and continue till all melted. Add rotel and stir. At this point you'll need to reheat for another minute of two. Meanwhile mix spices with ground beef and cook over medium high heat in a large skillet. Once browned and slightly crispy on the edges add to queso. Top with avocado pieces and serve immediately with tortilla chips. 

Enjoy your weekend folks and I'll see you next week!

Ole, 

Ouiser

Life in Pleasantville ~ Del Ray's Art on the Avenue

I know I often bore you with stories about my idyllic neighborhood so if you hate those posts you'll want to out click and move along with your day. However, if you love the charm of Main Street I hope you'll enjoy this post.

This weekend was the 15th annual Del Ray Arts on the Avenue. It seems to get bigger and bigger every year (though doesn't every festival?). It is about 6 or 8 blocks of artwork, crafts, food, music and kiddie activities. Basically my perfect afternoon plan for entertaining the littles.

I chuckled at my sweet and slightly sarcastic neighbor (we call him the mayor of our street) told me that the first couple of years no one would dare come to "this part of town" for any reason and now you have to stake out parking by 8am! Apparently Del Ray was once a bit less idyllic. But like most towns established nearly 120 years ago it's probably seen good and bad times.

We spent a good two hours walking up and down the avenue looking at great art work, I have my eye on one artist in particular, Don Ripper. I love his work and one day I'll buy a piece. Take a look at his gallery if you have the time, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Don Ripper Gallery

Here's a good example of his work. He does landscapes and portraits.

I've digressed. As you might imagine with a two and a half year old and ten month old we didn't exactly browse. We targeted our efforts on food, balloons, singing and romping. Enjoy the pics I took and maybe next October you can join us!

people, kids and LOTS of strollers

If this is the ride you get as sheriff I'm SO in! 

Singing a good ole country fav! 

We LOVE Steve the butcher and Jill at Cheesetique

New mural along the community center

Whats a festival with out balloons, lemonade and funnel cake? 

Cheers, 
Ouiser