Sally McKenney's Blog, page 159

Fiesta Corn & Avocado Salsa.

Completely addicting corn salsa packed with avocado, black beans, cilantro, and plenty of flavor! A fiesta in a bowl, if you will.

I brought a little piece of Mexico home with me this week.

I went on a 4 day trip with a bunch of our friends to Riviera Maya last week. It was the perfect mini vacation. Just long enough to get away and feel relaxed, but not too long to break the bank. We all stayed at the Valentin Imperial Maya, a resort where we stayed last year for our friends wedding. (The best all-inclusive resort I have ever visited.) On this trip we got a ton of sun, pool time, beach time, drank plenty of mojitos, maybe a little too many mojitos, ate our weight in guacamole, went on a bike ride, took a zumba class (wow, I am incredibly uncoordinated) and and and! our friends Rich and Alexis got engaged! So much packed into 4 days.

Waking up to reality back home on Monday, with sunburn on my shoulders, wasn’t pretty. I still haven’t finished unpacking, but at least I made a piñata cake, fiesta salsa, and uploaded all my trip photos to Facebook. Priorities.

Alright, let’s turn up the party on my blog. It’s Friday! It’s almost Cinco de Mayo! My sunburn turned to tan! Clearly, a fiesta is in tall order. Grab some fresh avocados, corn, beans, and just about any tortilla chips you can find and dig in.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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How to Make a Piñata Cake.

Learn exactly how to make an incredibly moist and flavorful butter layer cake complete with fudge frosting and filled with candies inside. It’s a piñata cake, everyone!

Picture overload today! I hope you’re ready for this. I don’t even know if I’m ready for this but it’s happening. And it’s still gracing the corner of my kitchen counter staring back at me. “Eat meeeee,” it says. Am I the only one taunted by talking leftover cake?

Oh. Ok. The cheese stands alone.

If you are looking for the most epic cake in the entire world, look no further. This here cake, my dear readers, is the tallest most buttery tower of indulgence. To make it even better (and similtaneously worse for upcoming bikini season… sorry?), this layer cake is topped and filled with rich fudge frosting. But the crème de la crème of this entire dessert masterpiece is the hidden treasure inside.

SURPRISE CANDIES! I simply cannot type that without all caps.

I made today’s party perfect cake for several reasons: first, Cinco de Mayo is around the corner. And if that’s not enough excuse for a piñata, I don’t know what is. Second, it’s my birthday next month so a plethora of sprinkles on any given day between now and then is required. And finally I teamed up with BHLDN, Anthropologie’s wedding brand, to bring you this recipe– as well as the giveaway at the bottom of this post. By the way, here is the exact cake I created for them. See my recipe notes below for the vanilla frosting recipe that I used. (Same butter cake recipe.)

Continue reading:How to Make a Piñata Cake.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

The post How to Make a Piñata Cake. appeared first on Sallys Baking Addiction.

Piñata Cake & a Giveaway!

Learn exactly how to make an incredibly moist and flavorful butter layer cake complete with fudge frosting and filled with candies inside. It’s a piñata cake, everyone!

Picture overload today! I hope you’re ready for this. I don’t even know if I’m ready for this but it’s happening. And it’s still gracing the corner of my kitchen counter staring back at me. “Eat meeeee,” it says. Am I the only one taunted by talking leftover cake?

Oh. Ok. The cheese stands alone.

If you are looking for the most epic cake in the entire world, look no further. This here cake, my dear readers, is the tallest most buttery tower of indulgence. To make it even better (and similtaneously worse for upcoming bikini season… sorry?), this layer cake is topped and filled with rich fudge frosting. But the crème de la crème of this entire dessert masterpiece is the hidden treasure inside.

SURPRISE CANDIES! I simply cannot type that without all caps.

I made today’s party perfect cake for several reasons: first, Cinco de Mayo is around the corner. And if that’s not enough excuse for a piñata, I don’t know what is. Second, it’s my birthday next month so a plethora of sprinkles on any given day between now and then is required. And finally I teamed up with BHLDN, Anthropologie’s wedding brand, to bring you this recipe– as well as the giveaway at the bottom of this post. By the way, here is the exact cake I created for them. See my recipe notes below for the vanilla frosting recipe that I used. (Same butter cake recipe.)

Continue reading:Piñata Cake & a Giveaway!

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

The post Piñata Cake & a Giveaway! appeared first on Sallys Baking Addiction.

Baking Basics: Top 10 Baking Tips.

Happiest of Mondays to you! I’m just getting back from my trip to Riviera Maya and with no time in the kitchen the past week or so, I decided to post a little something different for you today. I’ve been wanting to begin a how to series on my blog for over a year, and I’m fiiiiiiinally getting around to it.

Readers, welcome to my Baking Basics series! I have over a dozen posts planned for the next coming months where we can talk about anything and everything related to baking. My goal is to present you with the baking basics I’ve learned from stocking a baker’s kitchen and rolling cookie dough to the difference of flours and why room temperature eggs are crucial. While I often touch on certain “hows and whys” in my recipe posts, I want to provide you with a continuous series with basic baking knowledge so that nothing is left to the imagination or guesswork. And when it comes down to it, I want you to recreate my recipes with confidence.

Continue reading:Baking Basics: Top 10 Baking Tips.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Saturday Seven, 16.

Greetings from sunny Mexico! I’m currently in Riviera Maya soaking up the rays with friends. We’re vacationing at an all-inclusive resort for only a few nights after a long winter spent inside. Kicking off the summer the best way, right? Cheers.

Since I’m currently in an all-things-tropical mood, here is how today’s Saturday Seven is going down. All fresh, warm weather recipes that will put you in a warm weather mood. Cherry blossoms. Strawberries. Coastal life. Windows down. Mojitos. Tank tops and blue jeans. Watermelon slices. Road trips. Warm nights. Waves. Solace. Palm trees. Porches. Tan lines. GOOD VIBES ONLY.

Continue reading:Saturday Seven, 16.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Roasted Garlic Chicken & Mozzarella Pizza with Homemade Basil Pesto.

In other words, the longest recipe title in all the land.

I’ve been yearning to make a completely new pizza recipe for weeks. Something I’ve never made before– not the typical Hawaiian, gorgonzola apple (fave!), or BBQ chicken that graces our table every Friday night. No, no. Something unique to us with fresh flavors and lots of cheese. Of course cheese.

This roasted garlic chicken pesto pizza came to me when we were out to dinner the other week. I ordered a portabella mushroom and pesto flatbread, which I realize sounds gross to most people but it was ridiculously good. I had an OMG moment (you know the kind) and the next day I made my favorite homemade pesto, combined it with leftover chicken, mozzarella cheese, my prized pizza dough, and enough roasted garlic to keep my breath… aromatic.

The resulting pizza was all sorts of green and fabulous.

Even Kevin, notorious for “just plain cheese pizza please,” loved it. I think what really makes the pizza so special is the homemade basil pesto and all the roasted garlic rubbed on the pizza crust. Your breath will be amazing and you are welcome.

Continue reading:Roasted Garlic Chicken & Mozzarella Pizza with Homemade Basil Pesto.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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How to Make Homemade Basil Pesto.

Here is how I make classic basil pesto at home. It’s incredibly simple and flavorful, while only using a handful of fresh ingredients. 

Here is my absolute favorite recipe for homemade basil pesto. It’s classic simple, flavorful, and oh-so-fresh! Homemade basil pesto is much easier than you think and tastes worlds better than anything coming from a jar.

You’ll need a few very basic ingredients, which can be subbed for similar ingredients as noted in the recipe below. For a twist, I like to add a bit cayenne. Instead of pine nuts, I love using walnuts. See more variations below.

Continue reading:How to Make Homemade Basil Pesto.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

The post How to Make Homemade Basil Pesto. appeared first on Sallys Baking Addiction.

Raspberry Streusel Bars.

Here are my simple raspberry streusel bars with four incredible layers: a buttery shortbread crust, thick raspberry filling, brown sugar streusel, and a drizzle of sweet vanilla glaze. 

Remember the raspberry bars I had at my sister’s bridal shower a few weeks ago? No? You’ve probably moved on with your life since reading me gush about said raspberry bars. I, however, have not. Those raspberry bars have been front and center on my mind (what? I’m a baker.) and I finally got around to making something sorta just like ‘em. And if you’re not flipping already, you will when you take the first bite.

I realize I’m not talking about chocolate layer cake or some Oreo stuffed caramel cookie concoction and that these are just… raspberry bars… but no. No, no, no. They are so much more than “just raspberry bars.” LOOK at them! That crumble! The glaze.

Be still my heart.

This is a wonderful dessert for the upcoming warmer weather, Mother’s Day, showers, and the like. They’re something everyone is guaranteed to love and you can easily double the recipe to make a larger batch to feed partygoers, family, raspberry lovers, streusel addicts, glaze-aholics. Um you get the point.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Sally’s Candy Addiction Cookbook Pre-Sale & Video!

(The first time I’m unveiling the finished cover! What do ya think? The cover has recently changed to this and we’re still working on changing it across all the pre-sale vendors.)

The day has FINALLY come!! I’ve been talking about my upcoming cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction Cookbook, since January 1st and I’m thrilled to formally share pre-ordering details with you.

Continue reading:Sally’s Candy Addiction Cookbook Pre-Sale & Video!

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Crispy Coconut Chicken with Spicy Honey Orange Sauce.

Crispy, flavorful, and simple coconut chicken using convenient pantry ingredients to make one memorable meal everyone will love!

Here’s a simple dinner recipe that turned out to be even tastier than I planned. Sure, I had high hopes for this mid-week meal but I never expected it to be THIS GOOD. I think the chicken’s crispiness is what makes it.

And that spicy sweet orange sauce is like icing on the chicken cake. That sounds so weird but you know what I mean. I hope?

Here’s the deal. The chicken’s crust:

Continue reading:Crispy Coconut Chicken with Spicy Honey Orange Sauce.

© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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