It’s almost Labor Day Weekend!  Though I wish I was in the south to truly celebrate this holiday, I can at least devour my favorite southern cuisine here in California!  Zac Brown and his band sincerely express their love of Southern fare—check it out—it’s one of my fav country songs!

Southerners always have sweet tea at our get-togethers and while fried chicken isn’t a necessity—it does taste good hot or cold (HA!) making it perfect for picnics. I also love serving the expected southern appetizers: fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs—but I like unique variations for them, like shrimp & bacon whipped into the deviled eggs or a fancy remoulade sauce for the tomatoes. What cook-out would be complete without homemade pecan pie…this is southern dessert staple and even tastier if you can find a recipe that incorporates whisky! What are your plans this Labor Day Weekend? It’s the official last day of summer, so I’ll be traveling up to Napa for some wine tasting and later, possibly camping in the Redwood Forests too!

Sweet Tea, Fried Green Tomatoes, Green Beans, Fried Chicken, Pecan Pie, Deviled Eggs

Image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Do you ever get the craving for something sweet…I do and it usually happens to me about 2 or 3pm.  Most days I can subdue my sweet tooth with a couple M&M’s or by chomping on a piece of bubblicious, but if you want the truth–nothing satisfies my cravings like cake!  While perusing online recipes this past weekend, my mouse somehow found these elaborately decorated beauties…must have been right after lunch.  Aren’t those butterfly treats perfect for a bridal or baby shower and who could honestly resist a cake that incorporates both salty and sweet (it’s like a full brunch menu in one bite).  Hey–how much do you love those deceptively iced cupcakes?  Those peas & carrots count as one of my daily veggie servings right?   You can click on the pictures to locate ordering info or the recipe itself.

Sweets From Society Cupcakes in London

Maple Bacon Cupcakes from Kumquat Cupcakery in NYC

Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops from Bakerella

Southern Dinner Cupcakes from Hello Cupcakes

Here's a new use for my Strawberry Jam from Hello Cupcakes

This past Saturday, I achieved a tremendous feat…I was able to make homemade blackberry jam from scratch…this time all by myself!  You may remember that it was only a few weeks ago that I learned how to make Strawberry Jam and look at me now…jammin and cannin all on my own!   Growing up in the suburbs in Tennessee, most of our fruits and veggies either came from the grocery store or our local farmer’s market.  Though for some reason, we were lucky to have wild blackberries growing in the backyard (probably the doings of some cute little bird dropping a seed).  Each summer,  I would gather berries and my mom would bake blackberry cobbler or some other amazing southern dessert.  Isn’t it odd to come to the realization that it was once my mother who made the scrumptious desserts and sewed my intricate Halloween costumes and now it is me who makes desserts from summer’s bounty and sews baby dresses?

Enough with the reflection; time to talk jam! This finger-lickin recipe that I used came from my favorite southern chef, Ms. Paula Deen. Her recipe says that you’ll get six 1-pint jars full, but mine came out to nine–more to share!

Just look at these juicy bittersweet berries! They are huge! After prewashing, I couldn’t help myself but to eat one…two…three…yikes, I had to make myself stop!  Eating blackberries always reminds me of those hot humid summers growing up!

While I’m pulsing the berries in the food processor, I’ve started heating up the canning lids.  They’re like the Snapple tops: you know your jars have sealed if you hear the “pop” of the heat compressing within the jar.

Mmm…now I’ve got this pot of berries to a rolling boil and I’ve added the Sure-Gel.  I’ve pre-measured my SEVEN CUPS OF SUGAR (not made for the girl on the diet, this recipe) and dumped it all in at once. The whole house fills with this sweet summer smell!

After ladling into the VERY HOT jars (compliment of the dishwasher), wiping rims with a clean damp cloth, and sealing the jars with heated lids and rings, I’m done!  If all of your jars, lids, rings, and jam are extremely hot, then it’s not necessary to go through the process of a boiling water bath.  They all sealed up and my jam was complete from start to finish in less than an hour!

Now, I couldn’t wait until the next morning to eat my jam with breakfast.  I wanted some right then!  There was no other option than to make some cake.  Recently, I had purchased a butterfly cake mold from Ruelala.com and saw this as the perfect opportunity to use it.  I found this recipe for basic yellow cake…I like it because it’s quick, easy to revise (I used 1/2 tsp almond extract & 1 tsp vanilla instead), and now I finally have a use for those yolks left over from egg-white only omelets (that I make each morning for Lewis).

How cute are these? So adorable and the cake was so moist, it practically lifted itself right from the mold.  Placed alongside my freshly made jam, I’ve got the perfect summer dessert!

Ok…I see that most of postings on my homepage are wedding categorized, but when a girl finds a cake this gorgeous, she can’t help but to show it off!   For my cake tasting in Nashville, I was able to scroll through the designer’s previous creations and select my favorite elements of each to create my own custom cake.  This was so much fun and Stephanie, owner of The Sweetest Day who’s been designing cakes for over twenty years, was extremely helpful, honest, and friendly.  I loved how her cake samples were full-sized cupcakes and not wimpy little morsels.  Mmm…they were so good too…my mother, aunt, and I ate every bite of them!  

Here are the three designs that best reflect what I’ve ordered. The first cake is the shape that will be used. I think it’s more unique than just a rounded shape…thus it also looks more expensive for the designer to make.

Hexagon Shape and Four Tiers

This second cake is the color that will be used. Isn’t that beautiful!?  I just adore this!  Stephanie will be using the fondant icing on top of butter cream frosting so that each slice still has that perfect creamy texture.  Then she will be airbrushing the pearlized color by hand upon every inch…Wow!

Airbrushed Custom Fondant Icing Color

This third cake shows how my custom creation will have those fancy-looking fondant swags cascading down the length of the cake.  I love how delicate they look.  She will also hand-draw the intricate icing swirls that you see. I plan on having the flowers, blue hydrangeas, located at exactly the same spots as below.  Instead of a random bride/groom statue at the top, I’ll have more of the blue hydrangeas sitting atop the highest tier.

Fondant Swags and Fresh Flowers

Now that you’ve seen my design…tell me what flavor you think it should be!? I’m still undecided about this.  What flavor was your wedding cake?  It can’t be red velvet though as this is the groom’s cake flavor—can’t leave out this southern tradition!

In the south, the Fourth of July is a huge celebration…I’ve always made a habit of ensuring my presence for the festivities.  From barbeque and watermelon to a game of horseshoes and fireworks, my family has always fêted this summer holiday full out!  I’ve rounded up some of the best southern recipes for you to bring to your table this weekend: homemade BBQ sauce, blueberry cobbler made-from-scratch (simpler than you think), and a most refreshing cocktail.  Also, to add a hint of décor at your outdoor event, there are how-tos for patriotic garlands and country-chic table settings.  (All of these photos below are click-able, taking you directly to either the recipe or how-to.)  

 I’d also like to take this opportunity to clarify something for those of you who are not native southerners: a “barbeque” has actual barbeque present at the event.  If there is no barbeque present and you are at an outdoor event where there is simply grilling hamburgers, hotdogs, and veggies—then you are at a “cookout”…please make note. LOL!

Tennessee Table Setting

Perfectly Patriotic Star Garland from Martha Stewart

Raspberry Beer Cocktail from Southern Living

Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipes from Paula Deen: Memphis & Kansas City

Lattice-Topped Blackberry Cobbler Recipe from Cooking Light