The Nifty Foodie

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about peppermint bark chess pie. I adapted the pie recipe for the 9Chefs Baking Competition, which was aired on WAFB (a local news station). I can’t tell you how many times I made that pie to practice, but it was to the point to where I pretty much didn’t need to look at the recipe for the competition.

I was INCREDIBLY nervous about this competition. The whole week of the competition, I would randomly get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Would I drop my pie? Add salt instead of sugar? Look ridiculous on camera? I also had dreams about how it would go….I know it’s ridiculous sounding, but I’ve never done anything like this.

The morning of the competition, I left my house an hour early just to give myself ample time to settle in at the culinary institute (where it was held/taped). Well, typical Friday traffic didn’t happen, because there was a terrible accident on the Interstate, which, despite me leaving an hour early, I was 10 minutes late. I was the last one there…how embarrassing. I seriously thought I was going to get kicked out for being late.

When I arrived, I learned that we were going to be wearing chef jackets. Um…WAY COOL. After that, it was a whirlwind, but I remember we had a few minutes to set up our stations (we were allowed to bring any tools/appliances from home, so I had a bit to unpack haha) before interviews. Then, right after, the competition would start.

The competition allowed us 3 hours to bake two pies. One for tasting and one for presentation. With the pie I wanted to make, I knew I had to get it in the oven within the first hour, to give it ample cooling time. One thing I didn’t expect was that there were culinary students there to help us gather ingredients, and while we were frantically rolling pie dough and making fillings, the students washed our dishes for us. It was so appreciated. I’m sure the students have no idea this blog exists, but if they happen to see this, Thank You. Also, a HUGE thanks to the Louisiana Culinary Institute (LCI) for allowing us to use their kitchen, their ingredients and their equipment. It was very interesting (intimidating at first) to use commercial equipment, but with the help of the students and instructors from LCI, it wasn’t bad at all.

That first hour, I was completely in the zone. The room was actually VERY quiet, and I thought it would be crazy/loud/hectic like you see on Chopped, but every competitor was quietly doing their thing. It was so cool to glance around to see what everyone was making, and to watch how everyone works differently in the kitchen. After the first hour, I relaxed a bit and worked on decorations/whipped cream topping. I also got to really take this whole experience in once the pies were in the oven….that first hour, the room felt so quiet, but after everyone had their pies in, we all would just randomly chat and it became a pretty friendly environment, which I didn’t expect at all. It was a relief, but we were all amateur home bakers…I think we were all pretty nervous about it. Once my pies were out of the oven (about 2 hours in), I concentrated on cleaning my station/packing my tools and letting my pies cool.

After 3 hours, this is the display that I left for the judges. My pies could have cooled a bit more, and man, I was SO nervous slicing the pie that quite a few of them just broke (compared to the blog photo from the recipe post). I was really hoping that the taste would make up for it.

Once the competition was over, we went to a waiting room to allow the judges to taste the pies and did our post-competition interviews. I think that’s when the butterflies really set in. My pies came out great but of course, I had to question if I did enough….

If you’d like to see how the competition went down, here’s the video on YouTube. If you want to skip to the results, just drag the player to about 20 minutes in.

One of the big questions my friends and family have asked me is if I would do this again. In a heartbeat. I really loved it!

Thanks again to WAFB and LCI for the wonderful opportunity, and congratulations to the winners!

Man, what a year it has been! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with their friends and family.

Most years, I feel like time has flown by, but for some reason, it feels like last January was truly a year ago. So many great things have happened to us this year (as well as some really crappy events).  

Some highlights and not so highlights:

• It was our first full year in our new house, which has been such a blessing. It’s just awesome to finally have friendly neighbors, who don’t throw their trash in our backyard or play loud music at 2am (side-eye to the neighbors at the old house).
• My husband and I have both decided to live healthier. Between us, we’ve lost over 150 lbs. this year. (I’m sure my husband is rolling his eyes at me sharing this, but seriously..I’m gonna brag here!) That’s just amazing to me. I’m so proud of us.
• Another weight loss highlight. I fit into a clothes size that I haven’t been able to wear since 10th grade. That was 12 years ago. OMG!
• A not so highlight. Hurricane Isaac…don’t want to go into too much detail with that one, but yeah, hurricanes suck. Oh, and for the record, labradors don’t care if the winds are 50 mph outside. If there’s rain/water, it’s playtime! (ugh)
• I think I’m making some good progress on my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list.

And of course, it’s been another fun year blogging. I really appreciate all of y’all taking the time to read my tiny corner of the Internet. Thank you for your sweet comments, emails and tweets. In January, it’s gonna be this blog’s 5th anniversary, and I’m just amazed by all of the friends I’ve made and people I’ve “met”  through this blog. You guys are the best!

Just to round up the year, I wanted to share with y’all your top 10 most read posts from 2012.

10. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Buttercream - These whoopie pies were made for a work fundraiser, and they were a huge success. Great pumpkin/spicy flavor, and the salted caramel buttercream just makes them super indulgent. Pumpkin + caramel is a wonderful combination!

9. Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - I love anything red velvet. This bundt cake is a fun change from a regular cake, and it was pretty easy to throw together and bake!

8. Baked Oatmeal - My breakfast has been forever changed by this. This oatmeal is not soggy at all (which I hate about cooked oats), and it’s very sweet with the addition of bananas.

7. Peanut Butter Cookies - Just simple, classic peanut butter cookies. Very good!

6. Candy Corn Oreo Truffles - Oreo truffles are insanely good, and it was fun to make these with seasonal flavors. Always a favorite when I bring these truffles to work!

5. Fresh Strawberry Pie - I’m SO glad strawberry season is back. I need to make this pie again…it’s not rich at all, and since it involves no cooking (except for the crust), it tastes so fresh!

4. Snickers Cupcakes - Oh, I totally need to make these again. If you love Snickers, you will LOVE these!

3. Homemade Strawberry Lemonade - Meyer lemon season + strawberry season? Um…guess I need to make this too and ASAP!

2. Red Velvet Swirl Brownies - These were just delicious, and so pretty too! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!

1. Spinach, Strawberry, Pecan and Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette - This is a huge favorite of y’alls. I think Pinterest made this a popular one, and it is VERY easy to throw together! This is a salad you want to make for your next party…it’s an awesome combination!

Thanks so much for reading this blog, and I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Time to get used to writing/typing “2013″.

Am I the only person who is shocked that Christmas just passed? I can’t believe it. Neighbors are taking down lights, and our tree looks SO empty without gifts under it. My favorite holiday is over, and crazy enough, it’s time for a new year. 2012.

Time to take the shrink wrap off of the new planner and get used to writing “2012″ on papers/emails/etc. This is just crazy.

Also crazy…sometime in 2012, my 4 year blogiversary is happening and my 3 year wedding anniversary is happening too. WHAT?

It’s a lot to look forward to, but before everyone rings in the new year, I just wanted to share with y’all the top 10 posts of 2011.

10. Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream – This was my first time making SMBC, and I swear, if you haven’t tried SMBC before, just do it. Please?

9. Pecan Pie Macarons – Gotta love macarons. These were really a huge favorite for Thanksgiving, and the star shape (which was a happy accident) made them super cute and festive!

8. Restaurant Style Queso Blanco – This is it. The ultimate queso blanco. If you’re as addicted to queso as me, you’d understand how wonderful it is to FINALLY have a recipe for this!

7. Strawberry Cream Cake – I’m actually glad I compiled this top 10, because I sort of forgot about this cake. Since it’s currently strawberry season in Louisiana, I think I MUST make this cake again. Yum!

6. Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Truffles – This is the recipe that made my year, basically. I still can’t believe I won that recipe contest, and I’ve been told by a few friends who made this that these little truffles were a hit at their holiday parties! So happy to hear that!

5. Banana Nutella “Ice Cream” – Two ingredient “ice cream”. It’s basically awesome and couldn’t be any easier. Your food processor does all the work!

4. Grilled Corn Grits – I can’t be from the South, and not have a post about grits. I promise you if you make this, your hips may never be the same again, but your taste buds will tell you it’s completely worth it!

3. Easy Pasta Salad – My first (and so far, only) vlog. I might get the courage to make one again, since you guys seemed to like it so much!

2. Cooking For Kids – The infamous post. Yup, who’da thought that a soda cupcake would get so much response from you guys (both good and bad)…yikes!

1. S’mores for a Shower – Nutella S’mores. I can see why you guys loved this one so much. I’m sort of craving s’mores right now, actually.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year with your family and friends, and thank you so much for reading The Nifty Foodie! See y’all in 2012!

You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet on the blog. This is an odd time for me not to post, since Fall started and I really enjoy making dishes that scream Fall.

There’s a good reason for this, I swear.

WE’RE MOVING!

We just closed on this house Friday, and have been in a packing frenzy for a couple of weeks now! So, the kitchen is closed right now. It’s actually sort of hard for me, since the Fall recipes are pouring in, and all I want to do is be in the kitchen. However, in a week or so when we’re all settled in, this will all be worth it.

And of course, I wouldn’t show you the house without showing you the kitchen.

I absolutely love how open the kitchen is and I cannot wait to start cooking in it! I also love that the kitchen will have so much natural light in it (this picture was taken with natural light alone)…easier blog pictures, right?

Thanks for bearing with me during the move! We’re so excited!

I’ve been seeing this blog idea around the blogosphere for a little while now, and last week, I got tagged by The Wannabe Athlete to post my 7 links. This was a little hard to do, because I’ve been blogging for well over 3 years. How could I just pick 7 links to share with y’all?

However, after a good bit of thought, here are 7 links on my blog that I think you should totally check out if you haven’t already!

Most Beautiful – My Blog, My Moments

I really enjoyed writing this post for Project Food Blog last year. It made me dig deep to share with y’all why I blog about food. Some people find it a little weird. Heck, my family and husband found it weird at first, but they realize that this is now a hobby of mine and fully support me. My mom even tells me all the time how much she enjoys my writing, which is a huge compliment.

Most Popular – S’mores for a Shower

I had no idea that this post would be as popular as it was. This dish was made for a virtual baby shower, and I think that contributed to its popularity. The picture/post also got featured on Foodgawker and Tastespotting. The result? The hits were about 10 times more than the normal daily hits on my blog! Definitely exciting!

Most Controversial – Cooking for Kids

Another post I was surprised by. I wrote this post, mainly because I wanted to share a fun cupcake coloring technique to do with children. The post was actually written, because it would result in a $50 donation towards a charity. The controversial part was the diet soda cupcake recipe idea that I shared from a Weight Watchers meeting. Since the recipe featured nothing but cake mix and soda, a lot of snarky comments resulted, which really made me realize that thick skin is really important to have as a blogger. While I wouldn’t make diet soda cupcakes for kids, I would definitely make them for myself in a pinch. I still don’t understand why some people commented so rudely.

Most Helpful – Nifty Tricks

This was a post series idea that I had a while back featuring little tricks you can use in the kitchen. I actually forgot about this series until writing this post. (oops!) I really want to start up these posts again, since it was a fun idea, and you guys seemed to really like it, too!

A Post Whose Success Surprised You – Caramel Apple Pie a la Mode Bites

I wrote this post for a recipe writing contest (no, I didn’t win). I really didn’t think the idea would be popular at all, since the crust was simply sliced bread and cinnamon sugar! Even Joy the Baker commented on this post! Seriously crazy and surprising!

A Post You Feel Didn’t Get the Attention It Deserved – Turkey Cake Pops

I have to admit, cake pops take a ridiculous amount of time, and usually, dishes that take time to make, get more hits for some reason. I really thought this post would be more popular, since it was written right after Thanksgiving, but maybe I should have blogged it before.

Most Proud Of – Gumbeaux

Roux is an intimidating thing. It can easily burn, and when making gumbo, you have to work on a roux for quite a while. It’s intensive and stressful for me. After many burnt rouxs, I found this idea from Alton Brown to make roux in an oven. SCORE! The resulting gumbo was absolutely delicious, and I felt so proud that my husband and I made a gumbo from scratch for the first time.

Now, to tag 7 other bloggers:

Serena of Big Apple Nosh
Amy of Sing For Your Supper
Jessica of The Novice Chef
Cate of Cate’s World Kitchen
Carrie of Carrie’s Sweet Life
Stephanie of This Casita
Ali of His Birdie’s Nest

Can’t wait to read everyone else’s 7 Links!