Prom photos

Chris thought I should put up these pictures getting ready for med school prom. I'm apparently practicing to be a movie star. :) Unfortunately for everyone, Chris forgot to use his camera the rest of the night, so these are the only pics I have - I don't even have one of Chris! Oh well, a good time was had by all - you really can't beat dessert and dancing. :)

As you may know, I read a lot of food blogs. I'm sure that ups my dorkiness factor, but really, who am I trying to impress? I kept reading about this tomato sauce that seemed waaay too easy to be good. I eventually tried it, and I have to say - they were right. Chris told me just the other day that it was the BEST tomato sauce he's ever had, and ranks high on the best meals he's ever eaten. Ever! Can you guess what the secret ingredient is? It's not basil, garlic, or any of those silly seasonings. There are actually only three ingredients...I'll let you decide for yourself. I highly recommend you try this. Tonight. It's crazy.

28 ounces (one big can) whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano is apparently the best kind, if you can find them. I didn't use them the first time, but I found some later so I'll make it again and maybe let you know how it goes)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste.

That's all. You won't be sorry!

Valentines and Caduceus

My lovely husband fixed me these pancakes for Valentines day! We don't usually get too into V-day too much since everything is 1) fattening 2) expensive, and 3) crowded. But, sweet berry pancakes in bed is a pretty good option.

Caduceus, or "med school prom," was a couple weekends ago. Chris and I decided to have a few people over beforehand just for a little fun. And the best way to get people to come over, of course, is with cake. I decided to make this cake and these cupcakes from a nerdy science food blog that I frequent, called Not So Humble Pie. My treats were not nearly as pretty (not anywhere near, since the cake didn't cook evenly and ended up looking pretty crazy) but boy were they delicious! We ended up having quite a crowd come over and almost all of the cake got eaten (which is exactly how I wanted it) and I am pretty sure it was well liked by all. Yum!

Coconut cake with raspberry white chocolate ganache

Marshmallow cream-filled chocolate cupcakes!

These were just some leftover sugar cookies I had from a bake sale...They were obviously not as big a hit as the cakes. My mouth is watering for some more of that coconut cake just thinking about it!

As an aside, my grandpa passed away this morning. I may put up some posts about it later (I have already written some but not posted them), but not yet. Please keep my family (especially my grandma) in your prayers. :)

Rachel's Surprise Bridal Shower!

My friend Rachel is getting married in a few months! A few of my other friends decided to throw her a surprise shower a few days ago, and I volunteered to make the cake! I made a cute little cake and cupcakes - all in "orange dreamsicle" flavor (which happens to be one of the flavors of Rachel's wedding cake!!)

Rachel was hilarious - when they opened the door and we all yelled "Surprise!!" she turned and asked "what are we celebrating?" That just means it was a good surprise.

Rachel is one of the nicest people I know, and her fiance is one lucky guy! Apparently he doesn't really care for cake, though, so they're going to have some wedding pie to go along with their cake. :)

The party was fabulous and the cake was a big hit. I definitely had a great time and I'm pretty sure the bride-to-be did too.

Rainbow pancakes

Oh man. I've not written anything in a while, so now I don't know where to start. I think first we should start with some pancakes. It's always a good idea to start with pancakes. In fact, that's how I started my day - we made sweet potato pancakes! Yum! My husband is a great pancake flipper, and Patrick, my brother, is a great pancake eater. These rainbow pancakes were my favorite pancake recipe ever - super almond pancakes.

Patrick gives these a (really tall) thumbs up.

Katie, Chris, and Patrick's super almond pancakes

Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis

Whip up your favorite pancake recipe (if you want a special treat, use almond milk instead of regular!), then add 1tsp almond extract. Pour each pancake out on the pan, and drop little bits of almond paste into the pancake - it will melt a little and get nutty and gooey all in the pancake. It's like a sweet little surprise with each bite!

If you want rainbow pancakes, just separate the batter into cups and color each one with food coloring. I think you can figure that part out. You have to do a lot of dishes afterward, but I think it's worth the effort. :)

Many more posts to come!