<![CDATA[ On Set with Alexa Gromko

<![CDATA[ On Set with Alexa Gromko - In the Kitchen ]]>Tue, 21 May 2013 05:45:49 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Castle Cake for a Princess]]>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:07:46 GMThttp://alexagromko.com/8/post/2012/01/castle-cake-for-a-princess.html

Is this not the most fun cake you've ever seen?!

Yes, I made this cake for my daughter's 5th birthday. I threw her a fairy birthday party and this was the fairy princess castle cake! I scored on this kit, finding it at a second-hand store for $12.

While it looked daunting, I forged ahead and went for it, so to speak. Disclaimer: I had never baked birthday cakes before really, at least nothing as elaborate as this!

But I figured there's a first time for everything and if I was going to give my daughter a memorable birthday, I wanted it to come from me not a store.

If you've never done a stacked layer cake before, it takes some pre-planning. I put my bottom cake on a much-wider cake plate I created out of two cardboard circles wrapped in aluminum foil. Proper measurements are key. I layered and frosted the cake and inserted wooden dowel rods which I cut to size, to support the upper tier.

Two layer cakes finished and ready for stacking.

That wasn't so bad! But it sure doesn't look nearly as perfect as experienced cake bakers make it look! Sigh...

I've decorated the turrets with purple, green, and pink royal icing. The recipe comes with the kit, which is nice. Time to insert them into the cake.

This was the tricky part, but thanks to bakers who've done this cake before me and posted tips on line, I was able to avoid costly errors.

My husband drilled holes in the bottoms of the turrets so that I could insert long wooden dowel rods and plunge them into the cake, making them sturdier.

Construction just about complete! I piped on the greenery and pink flowers because I have no patience to make a couple hundred gum paste flowers and leaves. And remember, I'm a beginner! I'm about in over my head here, so I cut myself some slack and piped on the floral and green trim.

The plastic cones from the kit I coated with pink icing and cake sprinkles. They took some practice handling while frosting but I got it done and added them to the turrets for the finishing touch. This cake took me five and a half hours to do from start to finish. Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY!

]]><![CDATA[Fried Turkey with a Cajun Injection]]>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:59:42 GMThttp://alexagromko.com/8/post/2012/01/fried-turkey-with-a-cajun-injection.html

Photo Source: Cook Jules2jewels from Mountain View, CA on www.allrecipes.com

This past Thanksgiving I changed a long held family tradition of going to my mother's house. I decided it was time to take the plunge that so many mothers before me have done and cook a turkey myself. I didn't merely want to bake that large bird. I wanted to FRY him. With the new turkey fryer my mom had gotten us for Christmas the year before. I felt I was ready for the huge ordeal that is Thanksgiving. So I began by researching various Cajun injection recipes online to find one that scored well with reviewers and looked enticing. Here's what I came up with: a double-whammy cajun rub AND an injection solution. This turkey was gonna tantalize every taste bud at that table!

These are the ingredients for a homemade Cajun injection. I settled on two recipes from www.allrecipes.com and was very pleased with how they turned out. You can find the link to the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cajun-deep-fried-turkey/detail.aspx

Simmering the injection solution ingredients on the stove.

The injection sauce doesn't really dissolve all its ingredients together. So when you insert your syringe, make sure you plunge it toward the bottom of the pan to get a good mix of solution and spices.

Massive injection syringe! This part is kind of fun! While the solution is still warm, you suck up as much as you can and start injecting the bird.

This is what makes the entire experience right here: injecting the turkey and watching the solution puff out the skin! Just knowing that is what will give your turkey scrumptious flavor makes it all the more enjoyable!

This is the Cajun rub. A completely different solution with different ingredients that I smeared all over the turkey before frying. You can find the link to this recipe here:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/deep-fried-turkey-marinade/detail.aspx

I enlisted the help of four tiny yet capable hands! They liked smearing the bird the best. Just make sure they don't rub their eyes, as they'd be in for a spicy surprise!

You can't use too much of a rub. When you're frying a 16 pound bird, every bit of seasoning helps.

After we finished injecting and rubbing, we bagged the turkey to let the seasoning work its magic overnight in the refrigerator.

Finally, as my mama always says: "All good cooks clean up their mess!"

My husband fried the turkey on our patio outside and it was ready in less than an hour and a half. It tasted fabulous! My thanks to the wonderful recipes from www.allrecipes.com for enhancing our delicious first Thanksgiving at our home.

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]]><![CDATA[Welcome! Website Under Construction. Thank You!]]>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:10:50 GMThttp://alexagromko.com/8/post/2012/01/first-post.htmlStart blogging by creating a new post. You can edit or delete me by clicking under the comments. You can also customize your sidebar by dragging in elements from the top bar. ]]>