Guest Post - Matt from Tiepedia on "The Tie Cake"

In honor of having reached over 1,000 hits to the blog (which were admittedly, probably mostly me), I have a guest blogger today!  Meet Matt from "Tiepedia", http://www.tiepedia.com:

I read his blog and enjoyed it.  He graciously allowed me to borrow his post in honor of Fathers' Day.  Please read it for yourself and drop by Matt's blog when you get a chance.  He would appreciate it.  Thanks again, Matt!

Not Your Ordinary Father's Day Ties

It may surprise some of you to hear what I am about to say, but it must be said. Not all guys want a tie on Father's Day. GASP! I know, I know, it sounds crazy... and I certainly am not one of those guys, but apparently it's true.

Listen to what Joseph Hurtado has to say, "there are only two types of men: those who hate ties, and those who grudgingly accept them as part of the job."

Blasphemy as far as I am concerned, but if you're Mrs. Hurtado you may want to think twice about getting Joseph a tie for Father's Day. How about baking him a delicious necktie cake instead? I don't think many men could resist that. Here are some sweet examples for you to consider! (Congrats to the cake artists who created these!)




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About The Author: Matt’s longest streak of consecutively wearing a tie is 2 years and 5 days! (Don't worry they were different ties) He loves life, his family, his heaven, and his sports (golf, basketball and college football).

"Caja China" Pig Roast

DISCLAIMER/WARNING:  THIS POST CONTAINS PHOTOS OF A WHOLE PIG BEING ROASTED.  IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY STOP READING NOW!

My husband decided that he wanted to roast a whole pig.  I don't know why.  He ordered the special "Caja China" - or Cuban roasting box - online.  Then he ordered a "suckling" pig from a local butcher shop.  For some reason, I thought a "suckling" pig would be about 15 pounds and 24 inches long, like the piglets I had seen on farms when I was young.  This bad boy was 53 pounds and about 4 feet long!  He barely fit into the box. 

The pig was already dressed (i.e. gutted and castrated) when we bought it from the butcher.  We had to press it between the grates and hook them together to flatten out the pig.  I believe this had something to do with ensuring that it cooked at an even rate.

Then the pig was placed inside the box and a pan-like top was put on, followed by a grate.  Charcoal was added on top.  We started getting everything ready around 4:30 pm and the cooking actually began at approximately 5:00 pm. 

 

(We started out in the back yard, but had to move to the front of the house because of the wind.) 

We had to scrape off the ash about once an hour, and rake the remaining coals and fresh charcoal to make sure it was spread out evenly.  We had to add approximately 10 pounds of charcoal every hour.  (We used Kingsford.)

Slits had to be cut into the skin to prevent it from busting open toward the end of the cooking process. 

Approximately 1:00 am:  After about 8 hours, the pig turned out very crispy and "fall-off-the-bone" tender.                                     

               The obligatory "apple" shot. 

EEEEEEEEK!  This is the stuff of nightmares!!

Bananas Foster Redux

I used the same Bananas Foster cupcake recipe to make these star cupcakes for the graduation party of my niece and two nephews.  (Congratulations to Jordan on her Bachelor of Arts from Oklahoma Baptist University, Drew on his diploma from Choctaw High School, and Garrett on his Masters Degree from Texas State University!)  The star shape fit in nicely with the star theme of the party.

I used the Wilton silicone star cupcake pan for these and was not at all pleased with it.  I found that I had to experiment with the baking time and ultimately had to increase the cooking time by about half (34 minutes, instead of 24), plus I could only cook six cupcakes at a time.  To make 45 cupcakes, it took me almost half the night.  They were cute, but just not worth the effort for me.  I will be giving this pan to my niece, who loves stars of all kinds.