Table for 25-ish please....

A few months ago, I ran into a detective downtown and he said my name had come in conversation (I love it when that happens), and he asked if I would consider cooking for them one night during CIAA. They asked me again when they came for dinner in January and I told them I would love to.

So March 3rd was the big day and another first in the wonderful world of AHOP.  I had the pleasure of cooking dinner for 25+ law enforcement officers -- the most ever at one time! I initially thought dinner would be for 12 ABC Unit detectives (Alcohol Beverage Control) with the CMPD, but then the list grew to 22, then to 25-ish, to include ALE special agents (Alcohol Law Enforcement), and two from the Charlotte Fire Department. All were assisting with the CIAA and, once again, I have no pictures to show for my monumental dinner!

My ONLY photo....a boring picture of two EMPTY pans. 

I thought lasagna would be the easiest to transport, so that's what I made. The officers funded the entire meal which consisted of two giant 20" pans of lasagna (that's a lot of lasagna), salad, rolls, banana pudding, my cream puffs, and two gallons of sweet tea. The event got too big to host the dinner at my home, so we moved it to the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) Lodge. I have always wanted to see where it was, so I was glad about that. 

As if making lasagna isn't a big enough production (and anyone who has made lasagna knows what I'm talking about), there were major kitchen snafus where, at one point during the day, I thought I would lose my mind...really! But I managed to pull everything off. My cook-top is going out and each pot of water I put on to boil for the noodles, took a minimum of 30 minutes to even resemble a slow boil. It was very stressful. The afternoon was ticking away and I had to be out the door at a certain time. I have the utmost respect for anyone in the catering profession. But these guys are very sweet to me. Even when they come to my home for a meal, they know not to ring the door bell early. I can get a lot done in two minutes and sometimes it's down to the last minute. I am not a professional cook by any means and I learn something new every time I host a dinner.  

Like this....

Did you know that if you put plastic wrap over your cooked lasagna before adding the tin foil (if you need to transport it or keep it warm), the cheese won't stick? Seems logical, doesn't it, like it would be something you would think of on your own, but I never thought of this! I learned this helpful tip from Chef's Catering. They have catered a few events for my work, and a few weeks ago one of the cooks actually delivered the meal himself, so don't you know I was asking a bunch of questions! That's when I learned about the plastic wrap. I have transported lasagna several times to three different CMPD divisions (Metro, South, and Steele Creek) and never thought about this before, not to mention how many times I have kept lasagna warm on my own stove, only to have all the cheese stick to the foil. You can also spray PAM cooking spray to the foil, but I like the plastic wrap tip the best. 

One of the highlights of the entire evening (for me) was that I got to stay for roll call. One detective invited me to do a ride-along with them one night which I thought was very sweet. Comments like that make me feel accepted into a big family that's not so easy to get into unless you work there. I will have to complete all the necessary paperwork to do the ride-along, but I am already looking forward to it. 

A big thank you to my neighbor, Sheilah, who cleared one shelf in her refrigerator to store my banana pudding. It was a huge help and she even delivered it back to me. You can find this delicious recipe here in a previous post.

And another thank you to Chef's Catering, who gave me an unbelievable deal on tablecloth rentals. We ended up not using them after all, but I appreciated their kindness and support of what I do.

Three things I know for sure before another officer sits at my table for a meal is 1) my 25-year-old cook-top is on its last leg and I'll have to replace it, and 2) a second refrigerator for the garage is a must-have, and 3) I will designate a picture-taker!

The day following this big meal was Sunday, and the old girl rested. It was a wonderful weekend!

FOP Lodge #9 (notice the Thin Blue Line across the door - I love that!)

♥

Happy Halloween....

I love this time of year. Halloween is the holiday kick-off from now until we ring in new year. I loved it as a little girl, and I still love it now. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here and gone before we know it. It all goes by so fast.

I put together this fun Halloween video with a few safety tips I found on the CDC website to help keep your festivities fun and safe, and I included a delicious recipe from a previous blog post. All of my friends - with and without a badge - just love them. See below or click here for the original post.

Happy Halloween!

. 

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz) package Jello brand instant butterscotch pudding mix

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (optional...I did not use in mine)

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
Paper cupcake liners
2 muffin tins (holds 12 cupcakes) * Recipe makes 24 cupcakes. I do not recommend halving the recipe, but make all 24. They will be eaten!  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins (12 ea) with 24 paper muffin/cupcake liners. 
• Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves in a bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.  Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.  Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg.  Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Place one paper liner in each muffin space. Pour the batter into paper cupcake liner. (see my notes below)
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.  NOTE: I used a double-oven and put one tin in each oven.  If you have a single-oven,  I would probably bake one tin at a time.  I’m not sure how evenly it would cook w/ two tins in one oven, so use your own judgment there.
• After the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the cinnamon cream cheese icing.  

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing (Delicious!)

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth.  Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and ground cinnamon.  Beat until fluffy.  NOTE: You may need to add a little more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing.  Try it with 3 cups first, and then add more if you want the icing to be thicker, but not too much, as you don't want it so sweet it won't compliment the taste of the cupcake.  I did add a little more, but not much. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before icing them.

Notes:  

• The first time I made this, I panicked because after I stirred in the flour, the batter was VERY thick and was NOT ‘pourable’ as the instructions given to me called for.  I scooped the mixture out using a spoon. 
• The second time I made this, I used a scoop like this and it went much, MUCH faster.  I use this scoop for my cream puffs also and it is such a time saver.  The scoop size is a 2” circle. 
• If you use the scoop, put one scoop in each of the 24 cups, then go back with a spoon and evenly distribute the mixture until cups are ¾ filled.  Keep swirling the mixture around with a spoon to get the mixture to settle down. 
• You won't use all of mixture, so don't worry. 

I used a 16" pastry bag for the frosting and the Wilton tip #1M.

October 27, 2017 - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Headquarters

I volunteered Friday night in the gift shop and set up my little treat table -- the first time in a long time. I thought it turned out cute. 

 ♥

Me, oh my....PIES!

So who would've thought fixing a moisture-damaged wall would take so long. I started searching for someone to fix my wall well over a year and a half ago - maybe two. The first handyman who said "oh, I can do anything", never called me back. The second handyman was just interested in making a quick $70 for a service call so he can move on to the next job.

So when my neighbor, who manages commercial real estate for a living, highly recommended the handyman he uses, I had no reason to doubt his ability. Wrong! $1,630 later and I'm having to have the wall completely redone.

I was bamboozled!

All I want to do is get this wall done and my house put back together so I can invite my friends over for a hot meal again. I had a special request from a first shift officer for lasagna, so I guess I'll make that first.  

In the meantime, while I wait for the big ol' wall to be redone, I came across this wonderful video on pie crust hacks. With the holidays just around the corner, I thought I might have at least one reader who might be a pie baker.

Enjoy!  ♥

                                                                                     

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.....Oh. My. Gosh!

Okay, so most of you who follow my little blog already know I am not a 'trained' cook.  I am just a working girl with two jobs who enjoys cooking for my friends when I can. 

Every new recipe I make is pretty intense and there is always self-induced kitchen drama -- especially when I'm cooking dinner for 2nd shift.  I freak out over lots of little things because I don't know what I'm doing half the time.

So I really love it when a recipe comes my way that is almost 'fool-proof' -- like this one.  These Pumpkin Spice cupcakes, although a little labor intensive, came out perfectly by just following the directions.  

The flavors in this cupcake (pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves) all blend together so beautifully to make this little cupcake exquisite.

In fact, they were so good, I sold three dozen the very first time I made them.  And, except for a colleague who needed some cream puffs for a PTA meeting, I have NEVER sold anything I have made. Three different people, after having just one cupcake, asked if they could buy a dozen for their Thanksgiving dinner. And they basically said....'just tell me how much you want for them.'  Wow!  Now that's a pretty good guarantee that these cupcakes are delicious.  And no thanks to me....I just followed the directions.  It's not even my recipe.  Thank you to my colleague, Miss Heather B., for sharing this one with me.  I hope I made her proud.

Here it is!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz) package Jello brand instant butterscotch pudding mix

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (optional...I did not use in mine)

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
Paper cupcake liners
2 muffin tins (holds 12 cupcakes) * Recipe makes 24 cupcakes. I do not recommend halving the recipe, but make all 24. They will be eaten!  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins (12 ea) with 24 paper muffin/cupcake liners. 
• Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves in a bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.  Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.  Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg.  Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Place one paper liner in each muffin space. Pour the batter into paper cupcake liner. (see my notes below)
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.  NOTE: I used a double-oven and put one tin in each oven.  If you have a single-oven,  I would probably bake one tin at a time.  I’m not sure how evenly it would cook w/ two tins in one oven, so use your own judgement there.
• After the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the cinnamon cream cheese icing.  

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing (Delicious!)

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth.  Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and ground cinnamon.  Beat until fluffy.  NOTE: You may need to add a little more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing.  Try it with 3 cups first, and then add more if you want the icing to be thicker, but not too much, as you don't want it so sweet it won't compliment the taste of the cupcake.  I did add a little more, but not much. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before icing them.

Notes:  

• The first time I made this, I panicked because after I stirred in the flour, the batter was VERY thick and was NOT ‘pourable’ as the instructions given to me called for.  I scooped the mixture out using a spoon. 
• The second time I made this, I used a scoop like this and it went much, MUCH faster.  I use this scoop for my cream puffs also and it is such a time saver.  The scoop size is a 2” circle. 
• If you use the scoop, put one scoop in each of the 24 cups, then go back with a spoon and evenly distribute the mixture until cups are ¾ filled.  Keep swirling the mixture around with a spoon to get the mixture to settle down. 
• You won't use all of mixture, so don't worry. 

I used a 16" pastry bag for the frosting and the Wilton tip #1M.

♥

Easy Peasy ROLO Chocolate Turtles

This has to be THE easiest sweet treat to make in the whole world.

I made these beautiful chocolate turtles for the first time last Saturday to take to the gift shop. By the time I left at 3:00 am, there were only 3 left, so I ate them.  

Nothing about making these is hard and the only time-consuming part is standing at the kitchen counter and unwrapping 50+ ROLO candies.

Enjoy!

This is all you need (plus parchment paper). 

Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper - one for each Rolo.

Top each pretzel with one Rolo and bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.

Top each softened candy with a pecan halve.  

And that's it!!  

♥ ♥ ♥

Easy Peasy ROLO Chocolate Turtles

Adapted from the back of the ROLO bag and here

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2.  Place one pretzel for each ROLO on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.

3.  Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt.  Start checking the candy at 3 minutes.  You want to make sure the candy is soft, but not melted.  I think mine were ready at 3-1/2 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with pecan half. Cool completely.  I put mine in the refrigerator.

Unsung heroes.....911 call-takers and dispatchers

Friday night, about 12:10 a.m., my little Honda was 17 (that means 'en-route' in Po-Po language) heading North to the CMPD headquarters downtown with a special midnight 'Operation Cream Puff' delivery for the Communications Department -- home of Charlotte's unsung heroes -- the 911 call-takers and dispatchers.  Word of my little cream puffs has gotten around this past year, and this is my third delivery to the Communications Department. 

Here you'll find the hard-working 'behind the scenes' men and women who work tirelessly around the clock 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to answer approximately 68,000 calls a MONTH! They are so many times the lifeline to not only the public, but to the officer as well. They make a positive difference to everyone who hears their voice. 

They handle both emergency and non-emergency calls and must quickly assess the situation and accurately process the call.

Emergencies include:*
  -  crimes that are in progress or about to happen  
  -  crimes that have resulted in serious personal injury, property damage, or property loss
  -  situations in which the suspect may still be at the scene 
  -  some suspicious activities

* For more information, click here.  

They are all so sweet to me when I come, but I didn't hang around long Friday night like I have in the past.  It was after midnight and the Queen City was hopping -- they had work to do!
 
The next time you need police, fire, or medic, remember.....your call starts with these hard-working professionals.  Please let them know how much you appreciate them!

This isn't a picture of my 911 call center, but it is very similar. Day and night, there are no bright lights. 

Maybe to create some calm in what can otherwise be a very stressful atmosphere.  

♥ 

Strawberry Santas....HO-HO-HO!

You will be the talk of the party if you arrive with these cute little Santa's.  I made these little guys for the first time today for the 10th floor Holiday Potluck at work, and they were a big hit!  I also took a plate down to the CMPD South Division.  Served on a bed of shredded coconut to resemble snow....so cute!

Here's what you need...and strawberries, of course!

Santa Strawberries

Adapted from this recipe

1 dozen strawberries

1 8 oz. Cool Whip    

Handful of chocolate sprinkles
Pastry bag and tips (or) two large ZipLoc bags

Using a paring knife, slice the leafy end off each strawberry so they stand up evenly. Then slice the tip off to make a little hat.  I did about 7-8 Santa's at a time and lined them up on a folded paper towel to absorb some of the juice.  This way you can place the hat in front so the hats don't get mixed up (no laughing -- I'm sure I have a little OCD somewhere in my family.)

All shapes and sizes....just like us.  :o)

I used a pastry bag to pipe out the Cool Whip.  If you don't already own one....it is a very inexpensive kitchen tool that you will use over and over and over and over!  Pipe out the Cool Whip for the little head, then plop the little hat on top.  

This is the size pastry bag and tips I used.  

You can buy these Wilton products at Micheal's and other craft stores.  The tips are very inexpensive (something like $.99/ea.)  If you don't have a pastry bag or you don't think you'll use it often, a large ZipLoc bag works very well.  For the buttons and hat, the hole should be no larger than a pin-head. Super tiny.  Use a separate bag for the face and cut a slightly larger hole.  Cut a very small hole for the face and test it.  If it's not large enough, cut a little more and test it again.  Keep testing until you get the size face that looks like the picture.  You can make the cut larger -- you can't make it smaller.

  

A Zip-Loc bag works well to pipe out the Cool Whip if you don't have a pastry bag, but
Wilton pastry bags and tips are an inexpensive addition to your kitchen gadgets.
Don't be scared....go get one! ;)

Place two chocolate sprinkles on Santa's "face" for the eyes.  

TIP: I found the sprinkles very hard to pick up and put on the face without messing up the face.  Dip your finger in water and then pick up a sprinkle using the flat side of your wet finger -- that made it easier to place the sprinkle on the face.    

This was the first time I've made these Santa's -- the next time I think I will chop up some of the sprinkles so the eyes are smaller.
  

You're done! Store them in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

♥ 

Updated photos from 2014:

2014 Gift Shop Treat Table

I served these little guys on a bed of shredded coconut to give the appearance of snow
(an idea I saw in a magazine). Very cute!

Southern Banana Pudding......

I am happy to say my monthly Tuesday night dinners are gaining momentum. Seven officers stopped by for dinner throughout the evening and one new officer knocked on my door – HOORAY! Lots of leftovers though and I’m sick of spaghetti -- but it was tasty!  I have recently stopped using jar sauce and have started making my own. I did manage to take a picture of one dessert! Very easy to make - enjoy!  

Southern Banana Pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Banana Cream Instant Pudding/Pie filling

1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip Topping thawed

30 vanilla wafer cookies

3 bananas

Directions

1.  Pour milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix.  Beat with wire whisk 2  minutes. Let stand 3 minutes. Gently stir in 1-1/2  cups whipped topping.

2.  Place 10 of the cookies on bottom of a 2-quart serving bowl. Top with 1/3 of the bananas and 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers ending with pudding mixture. 

3.  Put 6-10 wafers in a Zip-Loc baggie and close (leave a small opening for air to escape), and

     take a rolling pin to crush the wafers, then sprinkle on top.

4.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 8

Southern Banana Pudding
(picture shown was a double batch to serve 16)