Jello Shots + more

I've never made jello shots before nor have I eaten them. Thank goodness I had Elise to help me out with a reliable recipe.

Ingredients
1 packet of jelly
250ml boiling water
150ml alcohol (I used Malibu with the pineapple jelly and Vodka with the strawberry jelly)
50ml cold water

Method
Open the packet of jelly crystals and pour it into a bowl (or a jug so it's easier to pour into the shot glasses later)
Pour the boiling water over the crystals, stir until dissolved
Mix in the alcohol and the cold water
Pour it into the shot glasses (best to buy the plastic ones so they can be tossed out after one use)

NB - You may want to change measurement of alchol slightly as some people found the vodka ones a little on the strong side....so maybe do 100ml of alcohol and 100ml of cold water instead.

Pineapple and Malibu jelly shots (the favourite of the two)

Strawberyy and Vodka jelly shots

And continuing on for last weeks post (I really need to post more often), here is a snippet of what was available at my husbands party.

Cubes of beef marinating in salt, pepper, garlic, bay leaves and red wine

Skewered and ready to bbq (beef)

Lamb skewers

We cooked 2 skewers for a taste test. Bit overdone but they were lovely once we knew how long to cook it for

Egg and potato salad

Vegetarian stir fried noodles

Grilled vegetable salad

Chicken Wings

My dads creation: Watermelon basket with watermelon and rockmelon balls

He made 2 of these and spent another 30mins carving flowers from carrots! He's the best!

Butt Cake - Happy 30th Birthday Laurence!!!!

Is it mean that I dedicated a "Butt Cake" to my husband for his 30th birthday? I was tossing ideas for ages planning for his special occasion. There was mention of golf, a golf ball, putting greens with flags, soccer ball cake, soccer cupcakes, a numbered caked, etc. They are all him, but this seemed a lot funnier. And there is a bit of a joke when it comes to his butt-crack. You see, he's quite the handy man and I think anyone that has been around him while he's doing these odd jobs around our home, or their home, would have had the pleasure of seeing this view. Hahahahaaha! So when I googled cakes for inspiration, I came across a couple and based it on their versions. I was intending to add a tool belt with tools hanging off it and a spanner in his back pocket, but that didn't turn out and I was running out of time with all the rest of the preperations I needed to get done. So this was the end result. It did definitely get a good laugh. And my hubby was a very good sport about it all.

The final result

Butter cream frosting

I had baked the butter cake the night before because I knew I'd be short on time. I doubled the mixture because this tin is an extra large one (I think it's 12 inch pan from memory)

I tried to carve the sides to round it off a bit and then used these crumbly bits on the top of the cake to give it a "fuller figure"

After spreading the butter cream frosting

First layer of fondant - the actual butt cheeks.
I was quite frustrated already at this stage because my fondant kept cracking. You can probably see the crack (HAR!!!) on the left butt cheek. It was the best I could do because I had rolled and re-rolled this fondant at least 5 times already. I figured most of it would be covered so I should be safe enough.

Second layer of fondant - white t-shirt.

At the top of the cake. This was the easiest part of decorating because it was plain white so I didn't have to dye it and knead it.

Last layer of fondant - blue jeans.

After abondoning the idea of a tool belt and tools, I changed it slightly to have a waste band with loops instead.

I was quite pleased with my end result. However, the cake itself was a bit too dry. Since I had to double the quantity, the timing was a little wrong on my part and I overbaked it. Also, I needed to use more butter cream frosting (1/2kg was not enough). Still, overall I was happy enough. And people still ate it whilst laughing away. That's successful to me : )

Happy 30th Larry!

Love you with all my heart!

Swissotel - My Baby Shower

How awesome is my sister-in-law Chhay and my best friend Prem?!
Prem rounded up the troops and Chhay arranged to have my baby shower at Swissotel and also organised these party favours. Aren't they the coolest party favours you have ever seen?

Inside the "oven" is a bun candle

High tea buffet at Swissotel ($39 per person)

Crowd favourite. It was a coffee cake of some sort.

My first plate

My 3rd plate....lost count after that.....

For a buffet high tea, I thought this was worth it considering all the other places Chhay looked up were around the same price for a normal high tea (ie not all you can eat) and being the glutton that I am, I definitely wanted buffet....I mean if you are going out you have to go all out, come on....

Everything was really nice, except for the sandwiches. They had obviously been made well in advance (possibly even the night before) because the bread and the filling were very dry (some commented the bread was stale). I found the egg filling was crusty and dry on the outer edges. But apart from the sandwiches everything else was really enjoyable. I failed to try everything (good excuse to go back perhaps?) And I didn't even get near the chocolate fountain except to take a photo.

Either ways, I had a great time because I had all my wonderful friends and family around me! Thank you all for attending and a big special thank you to Chhay and Prem who are absolutely amazing!

Jas My Waffles

My family informed me of Jas My Waffles saying "You HAVE to go. It's soooooo good". And they are right. It is that good. Particularly the churros. These cured all my cravings for anything doughy, deep fried and coated in cinnamon and sugar. Being out in Rooty Hill though was a bit further than I'd like to go. Maybe just as well because my stomach and waistline would never forgive me.

We ordered the Jas my Favourites Platter which comes with 5 waffles to go, 4 churros and 1 sauce ($18)

These are part of the platter.

From left to right: Caramel, pistachio, honeycomb, don't remember the one on the far right.

For our fifth one I chose the hot dog waffle to go and it's basically like a pluto pup, but instead of the cornflour batter, it's a waffle. Sounds gross? I quite enjoyed it. Forgot to take a photo though.

Regular waffles with cream and maple syrup (about $7, it was on the board but not on the menu)

Waffles with berries and strawberry ice cream (about $8, it was on the board but not on the menu)

Waffle to go with cream and maple syrup ($2.50)

Do you know of any other churros place worth trying? There use to be one upstairs in Market City near the foodcourt that I would frequent, but it's been closed down for a long time now. I've also tried the "healthy version" one at wowcow (Darlinghurst), needless to say it was not that good. Then there are the ones from the Easter Show which aren't that common anymore either. I had some pretty good ones at El Bulli, but I wouldn't go to such a restaurant just for churros. So anyone with suggestions, please let me know.