CAKE POPS and CAKE BALLS...The Saga Continues

My son walked into the kitchen Sunday and took a step back..."whoa, Mom, you said you weren't doing those again" and then he smiled.  I shrugged and said "well, I changed my mind...I'm giving it another go".  Thus began 5 1/2 hours of a labor of love.  Christmas cake pops and cake balls for my family.  They love them.  The teen loves that he gets to eat the mistakes :-)

I've written a post about these last year, which you can find here.  I've written a review on Bakerella's book "Cake Pops"...because she was my catalyst for making these most excellent creations.  My 2010 blog post on Christmas Cake Pops has moved into the #1 all time post for my blog.  I almost didn't post these - I wasn't sure I had much to add.  However, since I'm not a pro at this, maybe another home baker might enjoy seeing my photos....although, they are not excellent.

That's part of the pure pleasure I get form blogging and reading other blogs.  Many of us are just home bakers and cooks who enjoy sharing our antics with other like-minded readers.  I can say this:  my cake pops have gotten a lot smoother this year.  I continue to make mistakes when trying to hurry.  Keeping the cake pops chilled firm to the last possible moment was key to them not falling off the stick.  Anytime I moved more than 2 out of the fridge at a time, the 3rd one fell off the stick.  Lesson learned.  Lesson eaten :-)

So, here are the photos.  I encourage you to visit Bakerella.com for better instructions (and a lot better photos).  You can also see a demonstration of exactly how to do it from start to finish in this link link, scroll down to "Related Media" and click on the link that says "cake pops" - it is a 3:49 minute tutorial and I've watched it about 5 times!  While you are there, buy the book.  Even better, go to an independent book store and buy it in person.  Shop small businesses this season!!!

Go get your supplies (the book has infinite resources for the supplies - I live in the boonies and have to depend on Amazon, Wal-mart, and Michael's...and many other online vendors).  Bake the cake, let it cool, crumble it to pieces, add in frosting, squish it up, roll it up, chill, set up your work area, melt, dip, and decorate  It's that easy!  Happy cake popping everyone.

Measured mixture with scoop for consistent sizing

Rolled cake balls

Shaped cake trees

Set up the work station - mis en place for this too! 
Have lots of paper towels
and toothpicks ready. 
Wear an apron if you are as messy as me!

Set up the sprinkles and get out the craft tweezers

Wax paper covered baking sheets ready to set the
cake balls on when finished dipping

I decorated as I went for the most part but sometimes, did a few trees
and then went back to decorate and pipe additional features. 
The "tinsel" for the trees was piped after the tree
dried and I added sprinkles after
I piped on melted chocolate coating.

Add the tree toppers while chocolate is still soft.
To make the "tree-like texture" of the tree pops, rapidly use
the side of a toothpick and touch and pull up and down
the cone.

For sprinkles - need to adhere while it is still melty.
You have to move really, really fast to get the tree texture,
the little sprinkles, and the star on top.
 Come back and use the craft tweezers and individually
apply the sugar balls to the tree
with a little dab of melted chocolate.

The finished cake balls - 22 survived out of 24...
we happily ate the 2 that perished!

24 cake pops and cake trees - drying and waiting to be individually
bagged up in cellophane bags for transport to our happy family
Christmas!  The important thing...pretty is as pretty does...
they must taste good too!

BON APPETIT, Y'ALL!

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Meatloaf Monday at PadreRitaVille

We decided to have lunch on the island despite it being a very gloomy drizzly day.  We were able to at least stand and look at waves for a short while before it started drizzling on us again!  I had a three-fold great day...lunch with my husband at PadreRitaVille, a brief but "mind cleansing" bit of time at the beach, and dolphins were cresting and diving as we drove across the causeway heading for home.  I count that as the icing on my happy cake!

We chose PadreRitaVille because we both wanted a salad bar and they usually have a chicken noodle soup that DOESN'T come out of a can!  Today was no exception...and it was Meatloaf Monday on the small buffet to boot!  The down side for me, I left my camera at home...cell phone photos once again.  Sorry :-(

They have daily specials of some sort of another and today, you buy a soup and salad bar for $7.00 and for $1.88 more you can help yourself to Monday's offerings of meatloaf, mac and cheese, some very tasty green beans cooked with bacon and onions, mashed potatoes, and some brown gravy.  There was possibly a bread offering (or something else in that chafing dish) but it was empty by the time we arrived. 

Our experience included a very nice and attentive server, a good chicken noodle soup, a creamy tomato soup if you preferred, and a deliciously adequate selection on the salad bar...I'm always happy when they have boiled eggs - love boiled eggs on my salad.  Salad bars are rare on the island.  I imagine when it is tourist season it's  a hard thing to keep stocked!  Anything "buffet" will draw many ravenous young people I would bet! 

So, like I said, we were happy to make our way to a salad bar and I was, frankly, stuffed after an overflowing plate of salad and a large bowl of that chicken noodle soup made with very tasty broth, tri-colored rotini, and big chunks of chicken and carrots.  That it was served in fish-shaped bowls just made it all the better.  I love their dishes!

I felt compelled to try a bit of the meatloaf, although I will say, I rarely like any one's meatloaf but my own.  I did eat two servings of the green beans (loved them) and the mac and cheese was pretty tasty, and the mashers had potato skin in them, which I liked.  The meat loaf was okay with some gravy on it.  Again, CUTE serving plates.  Little tropical shirt plates!  Everything was very hot (a huge plus for often-tepid buffets) and we walked away happy and full to bursting!

The pleasure was enhanced by Cathy and J. Micheal's very festive Christmas decor.  I love the melange of tropical holiday they manage to produce.  Lights out the wazoo and several Christmas trees, lit snowmen, deer, indoor and out....you couldn't get much more Christmassy!  I loved it.

The big Christmas tree by the bar

Beautiful ceramics atop the salad bar with the whimsy of flip flop lights below!

Signs by the stage - I sent my husband to take the photo!!!

I had to take a couple of photos of islander Julie Love's tiki dudes.  I remembered getting my haircut when she was in the midst of working on some other sculptures for island businesses and we chatted about PadreRitaVille just opening and that she wanted to do a tiki for the wall.  Now it's a year later and there are two.  Good job Ms. Love!

I need to get over there more frequently.  I will say this is one of the 2 times in memory that I've ever gone and not ordered the nachos I find so very addicting.  Glad I made the choice to give the $8.88 special a try!

Bon Appetit, Y'all

Christmas Lighted Boat Parade and Louie's Backyard

We've been looking forward to our plans to view the 25th Annual Port Isabel Chamber of Commerce Christmas Lighted Boat Parade at the end spot of Louie's Backyard on South Padre Island.  We have always watched it on the pier at Pirate's Landing...but it was always somewhat dissatisfying for some reason.  It's not the biggest parade in town...but the boats are pretty and great effort goes into their decor...so we want to support the event.

Imagine my dismay when I roll across the causeway and realize I left my camera at home.  Nighttime photos are hard enough with my little digital hand-held...but the cell phone photos were really going to be a challenge.  The good news, for us, is we got a water's edge table by walking in at the right moment, the bad news...it was dark and the cell phone "flash" just makes for awful, awful photographs of food (and people)!

So, I'll just apologize in advance - nothing I could do about it.  No freeze frame, no good brightness...even with utilizing some editing software (not sophisticated at all - me or it).  Regardless, the evening was pleasant, perfect for a long-sleeved shirt, the wind had died down a great deal, and the food was fresh and plentiful on the Seafood Buffet thanks to a large crowd for a characteristically slow off-season evening.

The teen was surprised to find he reallllly liked prime rib, tried cracking his own crab legs, ate a large amount of fried shrimp, nary a vegetable touched his plate, and he had the nerve to ask if we could buy dessert after gorging ourselves for an hour and a half! 

I tried to pace myself.  I started with a green salad, a small serving of pasta salad, and some boiled shrimp.  I knew the boats wouldn't make it over to the island finish until close to 8:00...we arrived shortly after 6:30 ...so pacing was important.  I then went for a plate of just crab legs...waited interminably for a crab cracker and crab fork, and went to work on the tedious task of procuring enough crab meat to make it all worth while. 

About 3/4 of the way through the crab, the boats arrived.  Quick clean up to handle the cell phone camera and lots of happy shouting and waving and whistling as the boats paraded past - including one boat that shot off fireworks extremely close to the deck.  I had concerns that an ember would land in my hair and it would go up like...well, like fireworks!  Still, it was a nice touch and the crowd went wild!

After the boats departed or settled into a docked position (the Coast Guard crew disembarked and joined the crowd for dinner), I went back for my final plate to include shrimp scampi over rice (sort of ho hum), fried shrimp (just 3 pieces), a couple of ribs, a couple of hush puppies, and a little piece of corn on the cob.

I couldn't even finish that off - the rest of the scampi went over the deck edge to be swarmed by a waiting flash mob of fish...they were more like piranhas attacking fresh meat!

It was a peaceful and happy evening; table-to-table chatting with people I didn't know - even surprisingly pleasant conversation with the teen.  An overall feeling of bonhomie filled the air at Louie's Backyard.  Nice.

It was a very good evening and the only thing missing was my hubby :-(

Here are the boat photos - bad as they are - it is as good as it got.  There are tons of fun activities during the holidays on South Padre and in Port Isabel.  We try to attend as many as possible...and we really enjoy the great light displays down Hwy 100 in Port Isabel and particularly at the entrance to South Padre Island after you leave the causeway.  It always makes me smile.  Traffic was moving at about 15 miles per hour coming home...it wasn't a wreck, nor any other crisis...people were just admiring the lights as they drove.  Very nice, very small town America!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!

The USCG boat

Padre Island Brewing Company

After the cookie decorating at ArtSpace - several of the participants headed up to the Padre Island Brewing Company for lunch.  We were starved!

Accolades to the waiter who got us all separate checks - and kept on top of everything quite well.

Here are a few photos of what we had... it was delicious as always.  Everyone inhaled their food, and I heard no complaints.  I assume it was thumbs up from everyone!  The special of the day was a brisket sandwich...which I didn't get a photo of, but I sat next to it, and it sure smelled good!

I had a Bacon Cheeseburger on a fabulous whole grain bun from PsychaDeli (my favorite sandwich place on the island).

Ann had a half order of Chicken Nachos - when I saw it, I wish I'd ordered THAT!  Looked great.

Lucy and others had a Pesto Chicken Salad...but exchanged the dressing for Balsamic (which I've had before and it is delicious) served with some fresh pita triangles (may have also been from PsychaDeli - but I can't be sure).  I kind of wish I had that too!

Guess I'll just have to hie myself on down there soon so I can have those things I didn't have :-)  The other end of the table appeared to have burgers...but I couldn't see very well from where I was.  Like I said, everyone was chowing down and no one was complaining.  It was all good it seemed to me!

The conversation and camaraderie were the true delights of the meal.  Nothing better than listening to the conversation of intelligent, involved, and passionate women!  I was happy to be included.

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

R & R Bar-B-Que

UPDATE March 2013
Out of Business... a new BBQ restaurant has opened in that location.  Getting rave reviews from locals.  I'll stop in soon and see what's up!

UPDATE December 8, 2011:
Stopped in for some BBQ for dinner (take-out) and they let me know they were having smoked turkeys again for Christmas!  My son was so happy to hear that and has requested another one be delivered to his house for our Christmas dinner!  I think I can make that happen :-)

November 2011
Last week I tried one of the new bar-b-que joints in Port Isabel.  I stopped in after some last minute grocery shopping prior to heading off to the family Thanksgiving, mostly because I was simply starving.  I forgot to eat breakfast and I had been to Zumba and I had a nail appointment in an hour.  Since my last stop was at Wal-mart I glanced over to the small strip shopping center and saw wood smoke curling in the air from the little gazebo built to house the pit for R&R Bar-b-que.  It smelled so good I decided now was the time to stop!  I was so tired I could barely read the menu.  I'd wanted a sandwich and my eye just went right over them and stopped at the 2-meat plate.  I decided that would be better than loading up with a big old bun!  I ordered pork ribs and brisket - and then had to decide if I wanted chopped brisket (the good moist stuff) or the lean sliced.  I went for moist.  I'm pretty basic with my bar-b-que likes...so my sides were potato salad and cole slaw.

While I waited I was chatting with the young man behind the counter and he told me they were busily getting ready to smoke turkeys for Thanksgiving.  I asked about the price - found them to be reasonable - and gave a shout out to my sister to see if she wanted me to get one to bring.  We had just discussed the fact that she was concerned her 20 pound turkey, a ham, and a brisket were not going to be enough meats for the group of 36!  When she found it out was under $30 for the turkey she said "yes, bring it on"!

I decided I would take my to-go lunch with me and "test the waters" so to speak.  I wanted to make sure the food was good before ordering anything else!  They told me to let them know that day if I wanted to pick it up on Tuesday evening (as we were leaving crack-of-dawn Wednesday).  They told me they could have it chilled and in a baking bag with instructions for warming if I picked it up Tuesday evening.  I told them I'd be back with them if I wanted to do that.

I wasn't sure if it was because I was so hungry or WHAT...but that was some of the best tasting brisket and tender, fall-off-the-bone pork ribs that I'd eaten in a good long time.  The sauce was delicious as well, just the way I like it with a bit of sweetness in it.  I admit, I would have preferred the sauce on the side and a bit more of it (my husband laughingly says I have a little meat with my bar-b-que sauce and it's true!).  But, other than that, I had nothing I could complain about in the meat department.  I liked the cole slaw - creamy and sweetly tart the way I like it.  The potato salad was a bit bland.  I like mine with onion and more crunch (pickles) than they had.  It was just "okay"...but I tore up some of my onions they served on the side, stirred it in, and I was happy. 

I had heard, from a couple of different people, that their servings were too small for the price.  I felt like it was "just right" for the $9.95 plate.  I was full and satisfied.

That brought me back to the R&R BBQ to place my order.  I paid, got my receipt, and was told to be there by 7:00 Tuesday evening...which I was.  The teen was with me then and he wanted to try their sausage plate - with mac and cheese and beans as his sides.  He said the sausage and sauce were great, the beans "pretty good", and he didn't like the mac and cheese.  You have to understand though...it was closing time and it did look a little dry...AND, my son likes Kraft in a blue box mac and cheese.  Anything else will always be graded "not as great".  So, we got his meal and I got my turkey and off we went the next morning with the turkey happily ensconced in my cooler.

Seven and a half hours of grueling holiday traffic later, I dropped it off with my son so he could re-heat it Thanksgiving morning and bring it out to my sister's house for the big meal.  It was BEAUTIFULLY moist - freaking DELICIOUS - and every single bite of that turkey was eaten up.  Who knew...smoked turkey ruled the day among a huge quantity of realllly tasty meats all around. We were such piggies I didn't get a chance to snap a photo of the turkey before it was demolished...but it was sure purty!

I can't say how highly I would recommend ANYONE wanting an awesome smoked turkey...to hie themselves on over to R&R Bar-b-que in Port Isabel.  If you can find the Wal-mart, you can find R&R.  They aren't open real late so check their sign for the current operating hours.  I'd recommend lunch! 

The people were nice, friendly, and eager to please.  I will definitely be going back.  I hope they make it.  It's in the old Quizno's location (dang, I loved Quizno's) next door to Mickey's.  They might be affiliated with Mickey's...that's what my receipt had at the top.  I've never been to Mickey's so I don't really know what's up with that.  I do know, however, that those folks know how to really smoke some good meats...tender, good smoke ring, good sauce.  That's all I need!

SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATING:

3 1/2 – Pretty Yummy - I feel my flip flops wanting to head back from time to time!

(It would have been a 4 for the meat - but the sides were not as high of a quality as the meats...gotta have it all for a 4 or more!)