We're Having a Picnic

A few weeks ago, my church had a Sunday afternoon potluck picnic lunch to kickoff summer. Now, I don't know about you, but for me, church picnics conjure up all sorts of memories.

My father was a choir director at our church when I was a small child, and we had many a picnic in our backyard or a local park. The smell of hot dogs getting blackened and crispy on the grill, ice cold lemonade in plastic cups with sweat beads dripping down the sides, cool and creamy coleslaws filled with a rainbow of veggies...if I close my eyes, I'm right back there wearing my favorite cotton sundress and my jelly shoes chasing fireflies.

But, what I remember the most were the desserts. Homemade apple pies that melted in your mouth, rocky road brownies that were so chewy your front teeth were covered in goodness, buttery pound cakes that sent a tingle to your toes. All baked with love by adorable Christian women that want nothing more than to stuff another calorie-laden delectable down your throat. Heaven.

What to bring??? The choice seemed obvious: I must be the Dessert Lady.

After thumbing through all my Southern cookbooks filled with ooey, gooey desserts, I settled on Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake. While I had never made a sheet cake before, I decided that if it bombed, how bad would it be too bury my face in the bowl to lick the chocolatey goodness and then pick up some fruit at the store? Yeah.

I had all the ingredients on hand, and the recipe was basically foolproof.

The sweet smells of dark cocoa and rich vanilla wafted through my house all afternoon, taunting my taste buds for a sample. (Of course, I have to make sure it is edible.)

Finally! The cake was cooled and ready to be cut...just sitting there on the counter with the glorious gloss of the frosting reflecting off the light in the kitchen...calling my name. Kristina. Eat me. Now.

My knife slowly sunk into the cake like you sink into your favorite comfy chair with a good book. The cake was so airy, so light. The silkiness of the frosting matched with the crunch of pecans set off fireworks in my mouth. Que eyes rolling back in head and deep, guttural moaning.

I had just created sin on a plate. Utterly dangerous. Praise the Lord.

(In case you missed the link above...get the recipe here: Chocolate Sheet Cake.)

Sweet Deliciousness!

It's summer in Atlanta already. We just skipped right over spring and went straight to those hot, muggy days. Ick.

While long hot days generally don't have me craving a piping hot bowl of apple crisp topped with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream or a warm piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream (although, really, is there ever a bad time for that?), they do get me flipping through my cookbooks for light, fruity, refreshing answers to my ever-present sweet tooth.

After consulting my new favorite cookbook, Fresh Food Fast (by Cooking Light of course), I have fallen in love with the light, creamy and deliciously fruity Strawberry-Banana Pudding.

How bad can that be?

The crunchy yet soggy vanilla wafer crust layered with creamy, smooth vanilla pudding gently folded into the cloud-like whipped topping makes my mouth water.

The soft, ripe bananas cubed and mixed into the pudding ever so gently, hide behind the wafers just waiting to be discovered in my mouth. Finally, topped with luciously sweet strawberries that are seeping sugar from their pours, this dessert has earned a place in my personal Dessert Hall of Fame.

(She says as she licks her lips.)

Strawberry-Banana Pudding

(from Cooking Light's Fresh Food Fast cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 (3.4 oz.) package of instant vanilla pudding

1 Cup of fat-free milk

1 (8 oz.) container of fat-free whipped topping

3 ripe bananas, diced

1 1/2 Cups vanilla wafers

2 Cups of fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:

1. Combine pudding mix and milk in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in bananas.

2. Layer 3/4 Cup of cookies in bottom of an 8x8 glass dish.

3. Spread half of pudding mixture over cookies.

4. Repeat with remaining cookies and pudding mixture.

5. Top with sliced strawberries. Serve immediately or cover and chill.

Saturday Morning Coffee

The words just make me smile. After a long work week, the sweetest reward on a Saturday morning (aside from not getting screamed at my my alarm clock at 5:45 a.m.) is pouring that freshly brewed, steaming cup of rich, dark coffee into my favorite mug. You have one too; it's the mug that fits just perfectly in your hand and sends feelings of warmth and coziness from your fingers to your toes as the joe wafts smells of Sumatra or Costa Rica or Arabica to your olfactory system.

Then, there are the creamers. Oh, the creamers. At any given time, I have been known to have up to six bottles of various flavors in my fridge (mind you, I live only with a four-legged furry friend, Max). My obsession started innocently with Irish Cream and Vanilla. Then, I discovered the Peppermint Mocha and Pumpkin Spice...and now it's just overwhelming with the Sweet Italian Cream, Chocolate Chip Creme Brulee and Belgian Chocolate Toffee. I mean really. Who comes up with all these flavors? I'd like to bake them a pound cake.

Once the flavor decision has been made, I delicately open the cap and pour the silky cream into the dark perfection and watch as it swirls inside, turning the darkness into a milky, creamy bath of goodness. If I'm feeling a little crazy, I may sprinkle some spicy cinnamon in for a bit of an extra kick.

With such utter perfection in hand, I sink into my couch and cuddle into my favorite cranberry chenille blanket and flip on my DVR episodes of Barefoot Contessa....ahhh....

Alas, today, my Saturday Morning Coffee eludes me. Instead, I am sitting in my local Starbucks, blogging (which I adore by the way!) and catching up on my life while awaiting the "opportunity" to pay an unexpected lot of for new tires and a tune up.

Oh, Belgian Chocolate Toffee, where art thou?