Weekend Cooking - {French Toast}

this weekend, as a special valentine's day brunch for my wonderful boyfriend, i decided to make blackberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast with orange butter.  since he works long hours during the week, we decided to celebrate v-day a little early.  sunday morning we teamed up and tackled brunch together!  i geared up for french toast duty, while he fried up some taters and bacon.  {personal fun fact: i was vegetarian for 15 years and still don't eat much meat, so bacon is definitely classified in the man's cooking department!}

this was my very first attempt at french toast, but being a food network junkie i felt confident!  we found this recipe in a great magazine called Ready Made, and originally it called for mixed berries and goat cheese.  since we had an overabundance of blackberries in the fridge, and neither one of us is a fan of goat cheese, we decided to change it up a bit by substituting blackberries and cream cheese.  aside from these minor changes, i followed the recipe exactly and it came out just perfect!! it was so delicious i don't even think these pictures do it justice.  it was like eating pie for breakfast!


so... if you ever have to host a fancy brunch, or you're just in the mood to splurge for breakfast, here's the awesome recipe! {with my own substitutions}...

Blackberry & Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast
serves 4
orange butter
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1 T freshly grated orange zest, divided
2 T fresh-squeezed orange juice
french toast
4 eggs
1 c whole milk
1T freshly grated orange zest
1T honey (i happened to have an orange blossom honey in the pantry that i used instead of clover honey)
pinch of salt
4 slices french bread, 1 inch think
4 T cream cheese, at room temp
1 c blackberries, halved
2 T unsalted butter
maple syrup, to serve

1___make the butter by combining all ingredients (1 tbsp of zest) in a small bowl.  refridgerate until ready to use.
2___in a shallow glass baking dish, whisk together eggs, milk, remaining orange zest, honey, and salt.  set aside.
3___cut an opening that extends along the middle of each bread slice.  carefully spread one-fourth of cream cheese into opening, then fill with blackberries.  gently press and repeat with remaining  slices.  transfer to custard; let sit for 15 seconds on each side.
4___prehead oven to 200 degrees F.  heat 1 tbsp butter over medium heat in a large saute pan.  once butter has melted, add two slices of the bread and cook about 2 minutes per side until golden brown.  transfer to a baking sheet and keep warmin the over while preparing the remaining two servings.
5___serve with orange butter and syrup.  store leftover butter, covered, in the fridge and use within one week.

even though i got lazy and opted for tater tots instead of home made hashed browns, i still got all fancy with some fresh squeezed orange juice.  play around with some of your own yummy french toast recipes and let me know how it goes!

BON APPETIT!!

Baking Ribbon??

as much as i love to crochet, sometimes it's fun trying out new projects.  as you may have noticed from recent posts, i've been brainstorming new ideas for the Rockarooz spring line.

the other day while surfing the web i came across a guide on "how to make korker ribbon".  i have a ton of ribbon laying around and i thought this would be the perfect thing to play around with.  when i read the guide and saw that you're supposed to bake the ribbon for 25 minutes i was quite intrigued!  my boyfriend, on the other hand, was more convinced i was going to burn the house down with my new little experiment.

i ran out immediately to pick up some dowels so i could start on my new project right away.  after watching a few more tutorials i decided not to wet the ribbon like the initial guide had explained.  i wrapped the dry ribbon around each dowel and popped them in the oven at 275 degrees for 25 minutes.  i let the ribbon cool for a few minutes but i didn't have the patience to wait any longer.  i started unraveling one of the dowels and to my dismay the ribbon didn't seem to hold its curl... {sad face}.  i was so disappointed but i decided to let the others sit a while longer with the hope that maybe i just jumped the gun.

when i returned to the ribbon about an hour later... lo and behold!!... the single unraveled ribbon had returned to it's adorable little state of curls... yay!!  i quickly unraveled the remaining ribbons and ran them through my fingers in a bowl {ahhhhh, satisfaction!!}.  these are gonna be FUN!!!!

Weekend Cooking - {Turkey Meatloaf}

so lately i've been totally into cooking and i'm completely addicted to the food network.  i figured while i'm making my hats i might as well be learning something too, right?  this past weekend i decided to cook my hubby a nice dinner since he's been super stressed out.  these are a couple of my favorite recipes and they're super easy too!

first, i started on a turkey meatloaf with feta and sun-dried tomatoes (courtesy of giada delaurentiis).  this is a super easy dish to make because you pretty much just mix everything in a bown, dump it in a baking pan, and toss it in the over for 45 minutes.  i've made this recipe a few times now and i think i'm convince that it's fail proof!

while the meatloaf was baking i moved onto the creamiest most heavenly mashed potatoes ever! (courtesy of tyler florence).  these potatoes won't only melt in your mouth, but they'll melt your heart.  these are also super duper easy to make and only require a few ingredients.

and last, but not least, i figured we should have a veggie on the plate, too.  i cut up some broccoli florets and tossed them on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper.  i also sliced up a couple garlic cloves a threw those in there too.  about 20 minutes before the meatloaf was ready, i threw the broccoli into the oven.

and what's dinner without a glass of wine?  to finish off this delightful feast i popped open a bottle of francis coppola pinot noir.  this was the first time we tasted francis coppola wine and i must say we loved it!  if you're a wine-o (like myself, hehe) i definitely recommend this one.

i hope you've enjoyed this brief tour of my weekend culinary adventure.  if you have any of your own favorite recipes you'd like to share, comment away!

Photography

i may have mentioned this in a previous post, but one of the most important things about selling online is good photography.  this may actually be THE most important element when selling online.  of course, good descriptions are a must as well!  when a buyer visits my site i understand that my photos and descriptions are the key elements in helping them decide weather or not to purchase an item.

this year i've decided to start taking my camera with me EVERYWHERE.  i've always loved photography and now it's time for me to start creating my own.  although i'm in the process of partnering up with a professional photographer to help me with my promotional photos, i would personally love to start taking photos of my items as well.  this will give me more independence and the ability to start posting items as i finish new designs.

i began my new photography project yesterday using my kitties (felix and fonzie) in the front yard as main subjects. (since i don't have kids they're always my go to's).  it was like my very own little "wildlife" photo shoot.

i'm looking forward to sharing photos of my new adventures throughout 2011... and together we'll see how well my photography skills improve.  fingers crossed!

 

Inspiration!

part of my mission statement for Rockarooz is to create hip and fashionable kids apparel without losing practicality.  in recent days i've been searching for inspiration for new spring designs, and today i hit the jackpot!

pinupgirlclothing.com

it's definitely not traditional for kids wear, but i've always been a fan of pinup girl fashion.  this website has definitely inspired me and i can't wait to see what children's designs come from this classic style.  the colors and patterns are just fab!

We're Back!!

so i decided to take a little break from the rockarooz blog for a bit to focus on getting a few other things in order.  the holiday season was a little nuts (per usual), but i learned a ton and i can't wait to keep my business growing in 2011.  in november and december i decided to participate in a couple home shows.  they were both successful and now i know i seriously need to get my inventory up!

i recently started sponsoring a super awesome blog called a good life.  amy is so great and i absolutely love her posts.  check it out for a good ol' fashioned dose of fun and cuteness.

i'm also in the process of joining forces with a wonderful local photographer named adam hendershott.  i met adam and his wife, sylvia, last year through a mutual friend.  they're a kick ass photography team and so much fun!  i just can't wait to see the photos they capture of those kids wearing my gear.  this will be a HUGE step toward fulfilling the rockarooz website image.  so exciting!!!  i highly recommend checking out adam's portfolio for a wide array of amazing photography from kids, music, fashion, and more.

this is gonna be a fun filled and exciting year... so stay tuned!

The Holidays Are Coming!!

I know it's hard to believe, but the holidays are just around the corner!! I have some great ideas for new products and gift sets, and I can't wait to get them posted in my Etsy shop. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to have some, or all, of the following items available: booties, adult size hats, mother/daughter matching sets, father/son matching sets, fingerless mittens, gift sets, and of course more hats!! This is a lot of work, but I would LOVE to offer these items to all you wonderful Rockarooz fans for the holidays! In addition to new items, I have also been brainstorming on gift packaging ideas. This has been a bit of a challenge but I know I'll come up with something wonderful to compliment these adorable products.

Thank you all for your great support! Rockarooz is growing bigger and better each day!!

Best Wishes,
Shannon