How to Frost The Corners of a Cake


After I shared in facebook one of my first decorated cakes in 2007, (see the cake here), I have received many inquiries about techniques to frost the corners and make them look nice and smooth. When I first started decorating cakes the corners stressed me out because they never came out perfectly smooth. I used to camouflage it with decorative borders. I kept practicing, and finally I frost the corners more relaxed and they come out smooth. Now frosting a cake is a "piece of cake" :)


What I do and what works me for me: after crumb coating the cake, place about 1/2 inch thick of meringue or any other frosting, in the corners and other dabs in the sides, then gently smooth the corners with a spatula.

So this is the trick that I works for me, I place more frosting in the corners, so that when I smooth out with a flat spatula, the corners will be equally smooth and even with the sides.

Do not let this stress you like I let it stress me in the past, after you practice several times, you'll frost around the corners without any difficulty. In all decorating techniques, meringue is always more difficult to work with, but not impossible!

I leave you with this short video, of how I frost around the corners.




Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.~ Proverbs 16:3



Don't forget to stop by Delights and Wisdom, have an awesome day,
 

Guacamole


An all-time favorite... Guacamole! These are great crowd pleasers that will get you out of a hurry when a large amount of visitors appear at your home. There are many versions of these recipe in the web, but I am sure you'll like my version of guacamole. You can serve this with tortilla chips, or as a topping in quesadillas, tacos, nachos or grilled meats. At home these are favorites and are prepared at least once a week.  Check out my fresh homemade salsa that goes perfect with this guacamole: Pico de Gallo.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo to all my readers who will be celebrating this week :)








Guacamole 


Ingredients:
1 large ripe avocado
½ white or red onion
2 Tablespoons of chopped pepper or jalapeno
1 Roma tomato
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
Salt and black ground pepper to taste


Instructions:
1. Peel, pit and cut avocado into chunks and then smash with a fork.
2. Finely dice the onion, pepper, tomato, and cilantro and mix with mashed avocado.
3. Add crushed garlic, lime juice and salt and black pepper to taste.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the guacamole and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend.
5. Serve chilled with tortilla chips, vegetable crudités or as a topping in quesadillas, tacos or nachos.

Yied: 1 cup 

Note: If you are like me and most likely prepare guacamole on the same day you’re going to prepare some pico de gallo, then it has gotten simpler for you! To make the guacamole all you'll need is the avocado, 1 clove garlic crushed, 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. The rest of the ingredients substitute with 3 Tablespoons of pico de gallo and mix it all together. Enjoy!









En Español: Aquí.

Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. ~ Psalm 34:14 


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Rice with Pork Chops, Dominican Locrio de Chuletas y Camarones


En Español

Hi friends!! I know I have been m.i.a lately, but here I am, very glad to share something delicious and home cooked. This rice with pork chops and seafood is a recipe that occurred to my husband to satisfy a craving he had. He came home with smoked pork chops, smoked pork ribs, shrimp and cooked octopus so that  I would cook a locrio with all that. I often prepare Locrios but not with seafood and meat together. I find his idea very good and I started to cook it right away.  I named it "Locrio de Mar y Tierra", Sea and land rice.

For those who are new to this dish, in the Dominican Republic, locrio , as well as the  asopao is a Caribbean variant of the Spanish paella.  We call "locrio" any rice dish prepared with any type of meat, seafood or sausage. For example to rice with chicken or arroz con pollo we call it "locrio de pollo", rice with pork chops we call it "locrio de chuletas" and so on. This rice dish can easily be varied, making it a very popular dish in Dominican households. It is normally accompanied with a good potato salad, fresh green salad and/or tostones. I hope you enjoy it!







Rice Pork Chops and Shrimps


Ingredients:
6 chops smoked pork chops
1 pound of smoked ribs
1 pound of cooked octopus or mixed seafood
1 pound of shrimp
4 cups of uncooked rice (2 pounds)
1 teaspoon ground oregano
zumo de 2 naranjas agrias (bitter oranges juice)
1 Tablespoons olive oil
½ cup Dominican seasoning or (1 onion, chopped, 1 chopped red pepper, 1 teaspoon of oregano, a bit of saffron or annato)
1½ Tablespoon crushed garlic  (divided into two)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup of tomato sauce or 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped
7-8 cups of water
1 can of sweet peas
1 chicken bouillon
½ oil to stir fry meats
salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:
1. Rinse the shrimp and seafood with cold water. Peel shrimps and reserve shells. Season the seafood with the tablespoon of olive oil and a little garlic; Reserve. Boil shrimp shells with 7 cups of water and chicken bouillon. This will make a broth or quick fumet which will give a better flavor to the rice. When it has boiled 10 minutes, remove from fire and leave covered until the time of use.

2. Clean and cut the chops and ribs to the size you prefer. Season with half of the sour orange juice and oregano. In a medium-large pot, heat the half cup of oil and, sauté the chops and ribs until they are golden brown. Then add the Dominican sazón or chopped vegetables, crushed garlic, soy sauce, tomato sauce, chopped cilantro, and remaining sour orange juice. Let it all stir fry together for 1-2 minutes over medium-high heat.

3. Add the rice and shrimp broth until you have enough liquid to cover the rice, or to your tastes, if you need more water, add it. Stir to mix all the ingredients well, and cover. Continue cooking over low heat stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking on the sides. The cooking time varies depending on the type of rice you use. It should take about 35-45 minutes. Five to seven minutes before rice is done, add the seafood and the sweet peas, mix into the rice and cover until ready to remove from the fire. Serve with potato salad, fresh green salad or tostones.


Yield: 6-8 servings. You can halve the recipe or easily double. 


Notes:  
a) Instead of zumo de naranja agria (bitter orange juice), you can use lemon juice or vinegar.
b) The petit pois (sweet peas) on this occasion, I had to add them along with the water because they were not as tender as they should be, but if you have tender sweet peas add as indicated in step # 3.
c) To make a locrio of any sausage, chorizo, ham or salami, follow the same process, adding seafood is optional.


Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. ~ Proverbs 3:27 


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eBook by Mari available on Amazon.