ask grandma j

Step Into My Kitchen

As you know, Pioneer Woman had a contest, inviting four bloggers to her ranch to cook with the infamous Barbarella Bakerella. I missed the cut.

I've been following Ree since October of 2006, and I can remember getting so excited when she'd have a name that photo contest for a $25 gift card out of her junk drawer. And then over the years she became so dang popular, and her blog blossomed into cooking, and remodeling, and castrations, and birthing of calves. Her blog is so big....like world reknown, and her contest prizes are now over the moon! Ser.i.ous.ly. But I don't go gaga over Mixmasters and Porsches.

Cooking with Ree on the ranch was a contest I wanted to win. But I didn't, so I decided to be there in a virtual sense.


Wanna join me?





We made cupcake ball things...These are the ones I made...in my humble not so upscale kitchen.

Let me give you a few step by step photos. I know you want actual lessons but it would be less that tactful for me to cut and paste the whole thing from The Pioneer Woman's blog. Ummm, yeah, I could do that for you, but really? You can get a much better tutorial from P-Dub herself. Let's just pretend we were at the big bash at the ranch.



These are my balls.....you know, the end result of crumbling up cake and mixing it with frosting. Then you make little balls by rolling dough with your hands...and refrigerate while you go wash your car, but then if it rains you take a nap.


I wanted to make some special treats for St. Patrick's Day, so I used green and white melt away chocolate. This is what they look like after you drop them in melted green chocolate. Mine are a bit messy and crooked because I spiced up the process by pretending I was playing beer pong.

After the green stuff hardens up, you take the little cupcake papers off and dip the top part in melted white chocolate.

I then make little shamrocks out of fondant. I have never used fondant, and could have easily made shamrocks with plain old green icing using a decorating bag. But....I bought the fondant so I could pretend I won the "come to the ranch contest follow along with Ree and the winners.



First I rolled little bitty balls with my fingers and spaced them like this.



Then I smashed them ever so gently with the new fondant smasher I bought in case I won the contest.




This is what the ended up looking like when finished. A bit on the sloppy side, but hey......





I wrapped them with love, and I will deliver them to my daughter tomorrow. She will probably bring them to work and tell her boss she made them....or not.