Sweet as Sugar

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by Kristy Rhine

If you are like me, any occasion or celebration brings about the desire to make something sweet. Below are some pictures of some sweets I have made with my girls this summer. Some of these were worth keeping the recipe and making again and some were credited to experience in the kitchen!

Strawberry cupcakes….YES.

Strawberry Cupcake

Sea Salt and Caramel Cupcake…NO.

Peaches on the grill…Yes!

Peaches on Grill

Homemade Cherry Pie and pie crust…Yes!!!

Delicious!

pitted cherries

homemade pie crust

uneven lattice work

Sweets on Fourth of July….yes!!!

Chocolate Cupcake and Chocolate Icing

My mom’s banana pudding

The day was spent with family and friends with plenty of food and dessert to go around. Sadly, while the chocolate cupcakes were good, they were not “the best chocolate cupcakes ever” as the recipe said!! My mom’s recipe is better than that and I will stick to hers next time!

My hubby made the guacamole and Hannah and I made the veggie salad. I do love when we are all in the kitchen together. It’s much more fun!!!

home-made guacamole

18Jul2015

It’s Complicated

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by Kristy Rhine

My two older daughters and I watched It’s Complicated this afternoon. This movie always draws us to the kitchen. First we wish our kitchen looked like the one in the movie and second we all wish I could actually cook like the mom in the movie. And who doesn’t want to own their own cute, little successful bakery that is as inviting as hers?

I don’t have my own shop to run to and whip up any type of food or dessert whenever I want, but I do know how to run to the local HEB and purchase the necessary ingredients to make “Croque Monsieur” for dinner. My oldest daughter told me we needed to either go to the Steeping Room in the Domain or make it ourselves. We found a recipe that looked tasty and made it at home.

She wanted wine to go with our meal, so she looked up what pairs well with this french sandwich and we chose the white sparkling wine, which we loved. It was far too sweet for my husband, so he opted for a red Cabernet instead. We all enjoyed the dinner immensely, but sadly it is time to find some healthier recipes. At least we only used one piece of bread!! I added the recipe if you want to give it a try. We were not sure of the bechemel sauce and only used it on four of the eight sandwiches. We agreed that the sauce is needed… Bon Appetit!

12Jul2015

“New York, New York”

Posted in 2015 Travel Adventures by Kristy Rhine

Taking my two youngest daughters to New York this summer was an experience….

….An experience in navigation as I was the main adult in charge of trying to get us around the city. It made my girls a little nervous since I can still get lost in downtown Austin after living there for 18 years! IMG_7048[1]

…An experience in “fast food” as we tried to grab a quick bite in an overcrowded restaurant. My daughters tended to sleep in late, which made us rush to our destinations on a daily basis. A bagel on the subway was our breakfast on most days!

IMG_7059[1] …An experience in being street smart as a homeless man tried to steal my money in the subway. My daughter, Olivia, may not look tough but she did scare the man away!! She was my hero that day!

…An experience in acting cool while seeing a celebrity crossing the street, and trying to tell my daughter to hurry and take the picture because it’s Meg Ryan…while she asks “who is Meg Ryan” ????

…and of course an experience in cupcakes and cannoli…and finding out again that my favorite place to get a cupcake in New York is Sweet Revenge.

Cupcakes on the fire escape

Sweet Revenge Cupcakes

leave the gun….

Love it!

Girls enjoying dessert

I do love New York City! And I am so thankful I had the chance to experience this wonderful city with my girls.

And of course experiencing tasty sweets and Italian food makes me wish I could duplicate it all at home. I don’t think I can match the cannoli but I will continue to give the cupcakes a hearty try. Below are some pictures from our trip, delicious food, Empire State Building and Central Park. I am ready to go back!