February Cook Off Reading/Writers/Winner

Today I'm feeling lucky. I just bought bought the KitchenAid for my friend, and I could not have done it without you. So thank you to the moon and back. Somewhere in Hawaii a mom, my friend, will be mixing and baking up a storm with her new toy, I just know it will make her smile.


Speaking of mixing and baking Christian has been bugging me about my Birthday cake. He's an incredible and elaborate baker, no joke. Every year he gets more and more daring with his cake skills. I was supposed to put in a request a couple days ago but could not come up with anything. Today I figured out exactly what I wanted and it's a Dr. Seuss theme cake. The Seuss and I share a birthday. Had I been born a day earlier the Bieber and I would of shared a birthday and I would certainly have requested a Justin Bieber life sized cake. Instead  Thankfully I'm getting a Seuss inspired cake. I can't wait to see what Christian comes up with. We will also be doing live readings of our favorite Dr. Seuss books. If you're around you should totally come. Cake and ice-cream (frozen yogurt for me) plus a bunch of adults pretending not to be excited but actually totally stoked on reading Dr. Seuss plus tons of kids running around minus space that we actually need to host this equals a guaranteed good time.


Now on to the February Cook Off Reading/Writers/Winner


Favorite Passages...


Confessions of a Kitchen Witch: "After it was all made, I was handed a slice of their fresh mozzarella cheese and I can still remember the expression on my face as if it was yesterday. You would think I died, went to heaven to have it be Christmas morning everyday til eternity! The smooth texture, the freshness, everything just seemed to come together in a dance of culinary euphoria for this girl! After that, I was completely hooked and I only cook with the freshest mozzarella cheese." Read more about  her experience working in an authentic Italian Deli here.


Bright Morning Star: "I was sad I halved the recipe and I shared them with none , except with family (am safe there coz they aren't high on sweets ).  To read more about her first experience baking whoopie pies and how enthusiastic she is here.


Full Circle: "We were finishing off a lovely Mother's Day brunch and all agreed that a special lady deserved a special dessert. Thanks to my wonderful mother, my life would be forever changed after that meal. It was love at first bite and I've arguably been a foodie ever since." To find out what food Kimmie is talking about go here. 


The Little Foodie: "My list of food memory associations in books I had read was longer than the number of foods I had eaten in real life. Even now, the stroke of taste from a book is never as good as the ones in real life, however incredible the chef" Read more about Mariko's love for food in literature here. 


A Girl Who Craves: "Seafood has always been a family experience, tied very much to my mom and her parents. We'd have fish frys in the summers and spend hours out on the boat hoping to catch something. The truth is, I never really liked fishing. But I appreciated the results. And those dishes -- the casserole, fried catfish, parmesan shrimp, flounder -- have always been the ultimate comfort food to me" To read more of Amanda's beautiful prose  go here.


I really appreciated reading these stories. I'm glad this wasn't a competition. I'm glad Baby Maria randomly picked the winner. 

Delegating these kinds of responsibilities is my favorite. So Mariko from The Little Foodie you have Baby Maria to thank when you get your killer Kerrygold basket full of creamy butter and wonderful cheese in the mail. I'm jealous but excited to see what you cook up. 


Happy Monday everyone.