Buckeye Birthday Cake

This recipe was published in the paper over a year ago, but I didn't have the opportunity or inclination to make it until my birthday this year. I'm not 100% sold on it since the layers did not cooperate in standing upright and once it was cut it collapsed into a delicious mess.

The glaze was a bit of terrific, and I've already used it on another cake.

2010 Fall Television Schedule

I set my Seasons Passes for the fall and I have surprisingly few conflicts, which makes for a stuffed TiVo. It also gives me less shows I have to watch live, On Demand or online. I think most of the NBC shows are available On Demand, which is convenient for Monday and Thursday nights. And of course, the shows on cable repeat frequently so my TiVo catches them whenever.

A fall online schedule can be found here.

Monday
8:00 PM
TiVo: How I Met Your Mother
Live: Chuck
Online/On-Demand/Cable: Adventure Time
Online/On-Demand/Cable: Little People, Big World

9:30 PM
TiVo: Mike & Molly

10:00 PM
TiVo: Hawaii Five-O


Tuesday
8:00 PM
TiVo: No Ordinary Family

9:00 PM
TiVo: Life Unexpected

10:00 PM
TiVo: Chopped


Wednesday
8:00 PM
TiVo: Undercovers

9:00 PM
TiVo: Modern Family
Online/On-Demand/Cable: Man v. Food

9:30 PM
TiVo: Cougar Town

10:00 PM
TiVo: South Park
Online/On-Demand/Cable: Top Chef: Just Desserts


Thursday
8:00 PM
TiVo: Bones
Online/On-Demand/Cable: Community

8:30 PM
Online/On-Demand/Cable: 30 Rock

9:00 PM
TiVo: The Office


Friday
7:00 PM
TiVo: Batman: The Brave and The Bold

8:00 PM
TiVo: Smallville

10:00 PM
TiVo: Blue Bloods
Online/On-Demand/Cable: The Soup
Online/On-Demand/Cable: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (IFC)


Saturday
9:00 PM
TiVo: Masterpiece Contemporary or Masterpiece Theatre


Sunday
9:00 PM
TiVo: Masterpiece Mystery!
Online/On-Demand/Cable: The Next Iron Chef

10:00 PM
Online/On-Demand/Cable: Iron Chef America

The only shows not listed are Running Wilde, Raising Hope, and Wildcats, which I watched once or twice each but didn't commit to. And does anyone know what happened to Human Target? I loved that show!

Dressed-Up Cake

Last year, I posted a picture of the cake I make almost every year for my younger sister's birthday. This year, I remembered to bring my camera in order to take a picture of the cake as served. Pictured is Sunshine Chiffon Cake with a strawberry coulis, fresh whipped cream and fresh strawberry.

Cake styled by the birthday girl.

Banana Bread

I make banana bread whenever I have overripe bananas. I don't usually plan it. But on occasion I actually buy extra bananas and intentionally let them get too ripe to eat. I have a bunch of recipes for banana bread, but this time around I used the Kitchen-Aid recipe. The only change I made was adding cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.

The loaf pictured was one that I didn't get to eat since I gave it to some friends who were in from out of town. I did try some of its sister loaf, which was delicious.

Mini Key Lime Pies

These tiny Key Lime Pies were dessert for a Labor Day barbecue. My original intention was to make one regular-size pie, but when I was in the baking aisle looking for graham crackers for the crust I found these mini pie shells. I stretched the filling to make 10 servings so we would each have one. I topped the filling with some fresh whipped cream (not made by hand) and a little key lime zest. So cute!

Labor Day morning, I called Whole Foods to see if they carried key limes and the guy on the other end said they did, and that they had them both in a bag and loose. I got to the store and, of course, couldn't find the key limes. I bought some loose limes and went to customer service afterward to tell them that they had given me bad information. The guy apologized and said the produce manager told him there were key limes. I left, and as I was leaving the customer service guy ran out holding a bag of key limes. I went back in and returned the regular limes for the bag. As I was completing the transaction, I saw the produce manager. I'm pretty sure he came out from the produce department just to scowl at me.

Up a Tree

This squirrel cracked me up the other day since he was running all around with an apple in his mouth. He ran up the tree in my front yard and then part of the way down. He was posed long enough for me to find my camera, turn it on and snap a few shots. Eventually, he ran down and onto the street and sidewalks. Lucky for me, he didn't try to get into my house.

Whipped Cream

The other day on Chopped, two of the contestants whipped cream by hand. I never do that. If I'm at home (which I never seem to be when I'm whipping cream), I use my Kitchen-Aid mixer and the whisk attachment. When I'm elsewhere, I use a hand mixer.

Tonight, I was in the mood for something sweet so I took a cupcake out of the freezer and thought I'd top it with some whipped cream. I had heavy cream left over from the Key Lime Pies I made for Labor Day so I decided to try my hand at whipping.

It took less than five minutes and wasn't as hard as I thought, but I'd definitely use an electrical appliance if I could.