Tasting Party Was A Success??

Well, I'm not really sure. There are a few things I wish I would have done differently. Quite a few in fact. Number one, I planned my party for Saturday, March 10th. So in order for everything to be just as fresh as possible I decided to do all of my baking on Thursday and Friday, maybe pick up a few loose ends on Saturday early. But life had other choices for me. I woke up Thursday morning in pain, a lot of pain. By the end of the day, many tears, Tylenol and hours curled up on the couch with the heating pad, I finally passed that demon little kidney stone that hurt me so badly. So Friday was my baking day. Thank goodness I woke up feeling fairly well and ready to hit the kitchen in full force. I was on my feet for over 19 hours that day. By the time I laid down (early the next morning) sleep came and went quickly. I was too anxious to do very much sleeping, so I just got up and started at it again. Since I had lost an entire day I wanted to get as much done as possible. I'm so happy I wrote down EVERYTHING I would need and made my trip to the grocery store days in advance. I didn't have a car on the day of the party and don't know what I would have done if I ran out of something needed. Timberlyn, my oldest daughter, came over around 10:00am to help. Her and Shelby, my youngest daughter, did their best to 'work with me'. But I'm such a stickler for details and of course, I have my own way of doing things, so they mostly just got in my way. Lord knows I love 'em to pieces, but OCD rules my life. A little later my brother Michael and my sister Rosie got here. They calmed me down  so much just by being here. Rosie has always had that effect on me though. I don't know why, but she does. Then my middle daughter, Melody showed up. Hail hail, the gangs all here!!! 

Then the guests began to arrive. Melody was having a jewelry party in the living room (total chaos) and most of my guests stayed in the dining rooms or kitchen. I think right at 30-31 came for me. Most of those were either family or church family. I was so pleased (and honestly a little shocked) that so many showed up. I saw some friends I haven't seen in a long time and I was very happy to see them. 

The turn out was good, the orders, not so much. But I have to start somewhere and perhaps word of mouth will get me some more orders soon. 

I'd like to do this again ... sometime soon. I think I'll have to ask around and see what others think. Next time I'll give myself a few more days to bake and I'll have a lot more to chose from. I didn't run out of anything. Came close. I just don't think I had enough options. But everyone seem to walk away satisfied and most of them were carrying plates of goodies with them. 

All in all, I have no real complaints. Thanks to all that came, ate and just hung out for awhile.

These are the little menus I made and the plates full of goodies. I can't count how many times I had to refill these plates. But that's a good thing. 

Until next time ...

Tried My Hand At Making Fancy Shmancy Cookies

They aren't perfect, but they are my first try. I'll get better with time. I need to perfect this frosting recipe. It's either too runny or too stiff. Too much sugar makes it tighter, but way too sweet. Too much milk or corn syrup makes it too runny and too sweet. Ugh, what shall I do? Practice makes perfect. I'll keep plugging away at it and you can all sit back and wait for the perfect results .. they will come.

Until next time ...

Red Velvet - My First Attempt

I've never made a red velvet cake or cupcake. Nor have I ever tasted one. But everyone says how good they are and I had all the ingredients on hand so I figured what the heck, I'll take a whack at it. Not too shabby. They are super moist, but hold together really well too. I didn't have any red food color so I used burgundy. I mean, who's gonna know? Well, everyone now. Shelby loved the frosting and she's not much of a frosting kind of gal. I think I'll give them a 3 1/2. I'll have to wait till tomorrow nite and see what my connection group thinks. They'll be honest with me, I hope. At least I know Kathi will. As long as keep her supplied with those peanut butter creamed filled chocolate chip brownie cupcakes she'll tell me anything I wanna hear.

Until next time ...

I've Been A Slacker - But I Have A Good Excuse

I haven't been on here for a few days. Sorry, I've just been a tad bit busy. On Thursday, January 19th our family was blessed with the new addition of Miss Jasmine Michelle. She already has this old great-granny wrapped around her tiny little fingers.Weighed in at 7lb and 9oz, 20 1/2 inches long. Wow, that's a lot of baby, but she looks so tiny. I think a lot of that weight comes from her head. The child has so much hair it's unbelievable. Anyway, that's where I've been and now I have her older sister, JoJo, at my house driving us all a bit crazy. She's only 13 months old and very very active. We're trying the whole 'potty training' thing with her so she occupies most of my time with that. It may be awhile before I get back in the kitchen and start cooking up some goodness. I'll try to at least get those cake pops done and get a picture on here sometime today. Stay with me, I'm just absent for a minute, not gone for good.

Until next time ...

Cookies! Cookies! I Have Cookies!

I've never been much of a cookie maker, that's always been my sister, Melody's, specialty. But I think these turned out rather purty.  Just wanted to let ya'll see my latest attempts. Cake pops are in the oven and I'll get them decorated as soon as they're cool and depending on how they turn out, maybe I'll post pics later. 

Until next time ...

It All Started With A Kiss

Literally. I got a Christmas card this year from a very dear lady. A lady I've known for, oh goodness, 40 years now. Wow! I can't believe it's been that long, but it has. Anyway, this Christmas card had a little tiny recipe book in it. Maybe 5 or 6 recipes for sweets and such. I decided I would try to make each and every recipe in this little book. After all, if she had taken the time to send it to me then I would take the time to make them. The very first one was for Baby Kisses. They're meringues with a special treat in them. I've never made meringues before except in high school cooking class and they were very awful. Very very awful. So I vowed to never make them again. But since I was going to make ALL the recipes I figured why not start with the one I would probably dislike the most. They turned out amazing. I made them over and over again. Everyone loved them. Then one day my daughter, Melody, asked me to make some for her work. I did. They were a big hit. She called me and asked if maybe I would be willing to make them for a profit - sell them. What? Someone would actually want to BUY something I've made?? I know this sounds so trivial to most, but my head was spinning and my heart was pumping like crazy. I was more than a little excited. That's when the 'have my own pastry shop' bug bit me again. I've been fighting that bug for the majority of my life, but I've decided no more. I'm gonna go with it and see where it takes me. I may fall flat on my face, but I'll never know till I try. Besides, it's not that great of a face anyway, and it'll heal.

Oh, and by the way, I never sold any of those little chocolate puffs of air ... yet. But it's early, the game just started. People will get hungry and they'll know where to come to fill that void in their bellies. 

Until next time ...

Building a Signature Cupcake

I'm told I have to, or at least need to, have a signature cupcake. Something that represents me and my little endeavor here. Well, today I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Trying to make something that I'm not only comfortable with sharing with others, but something that I feel I could have a connection with. I like fruity flavors and lemon is probably my favorite flavor. So I've made some lemon flavored cupcakes. I've topped them with a butter cream frosting with a dash of raspberry flavor added. If I do say so myself they are rather tasty. I didn't over-frost them. The raspberry is a rather powerful flavor and I didn't want it to take anything away from the soft subtle taste of the lemon. The flavors go quite well together. The cupcake is a little dense and holds together well. I think I'll give them about two minutes less time in the oven next time, as a few of them got a little darker around the edges than I would like. All said and done, I think today was at least a three star day. Tomorrow I'll try something new. I must have this 'signature' cupcake decided upon soon. Any and all suggestions are very welcome. This is new to me and I can use all the help I can get.

Until next time ...

This Is It!!

Well, this is it. We finally have a name for our little venture. When I say 'we' I mean my older brother and I. Or is it my older brother and me? I'm not sure. I'll ask my son, he's an English major and should know the proper way to write that. But for now, it's 'we'. I came up with this idea and Michael, my brother, took it from there. He's so good at all that businessy stuff. Advertising and making things sound good and look right are right up his alley. So together we came up with this name (actually, that was Michael again). We thought up some pretty clever names, but this one hit a nerve so to speak with both of us.

Chafafa comes from a song our Mother used to sing to us when we were younger. She sang a lot of songs to us, but this one was one of those fun ones. Made us happy cause Mama would kind of do a little dance. Swing her hips a bit and make her dress flow back and forth. Of course back in those days all the housewives wore long dresses. Not down to the floor long, but past their knees. And they were full skirts with tight little waists. Mama's waist was extremely tiny, but she was tiny all over. But she sure could belt out a song. And this song was no different. It was the Frim Fram song. Just a fun little diddy that Nat King Cole put out. She liked it and would sing it. So we liked it too. Chafafa means absolutely nothing. It's a nonsense word. But it's fun to say.

I want my little pastries to be fun. I want them to put smiles on people's faces and make them want to have more. Kind of like listening to Mama sing a sweet fun little diddy. Always made me want her to sing just one more, then just one more.

Well, there's the name of my new chapter. Once I get some recipes and such ready I'll get some pictures up here and let you all see what's happening in the Frim Fram Kitchen at Chafafa's. I hope someone will enjoy my efforts.

Until next time ....