Ready... Set... BAKE!!!

I have decided to join a blogging group. Of bakers!!! It's called "Daring Bakers" and once a month we receive a challenge. The challenge is to be completed in that month's time and everyone blogs their pictures and experience on the same day. I will be receiving my first challenge the beginning of January. I am soooooooo excited! And terrified. Yeah, that too! These are not 'oatmeal cookie' challenges. One member shared her experience with her first challenge of Daring Bakers. The recipe was 9 PAGES LONG! This is so thrilling to me: to challenge myself. To see just how good I can become. Each time I try, I learn. Each time I fail, I learn. Each time I succeed, I learn. Thanks to Melanie, I have more confidence based on success! I will be posting all of my daring baker challenges on this site (since it has to be on a public blog). But I will also be including other pictures and recipes, too. I might be lazy and just link the recipe instead of typing out each one. BUT I want somewhere I can just post the pictures of my food if I feel like it. Anyways, here's the pictures!



So these are my second attempt at home-made rolls. Not bad, not bad. Still lumpier looking that I'd like!









This was our Christmas Eve dinner with Tyler's parents and his brother (and kids). Looking at the pictures, it looks like such a small meal. But it took a lot of work!
(Potatoes courtesy of ForTheLoveofCooking)

(with the desserts too)








Here is dessert #1. A chocolate/caramel cheesecake from MyKitchenCafe. My very first cheesecake! I am hooked... I was sooooooo pleased with the presentation of this cheesecake. It was extremely rich with a wonderful texture. It was a bit bitter for my taste (because of the bittersweet chocolate, of course!). But I think it tasted 'off' because I had it in my head that it would taste differently. Make sense? Still....











Look how pretty!!!!!!!










Christmas day apple pie!
Don't know why it looks so Nasty! It wasn't bad.(except for our stupid microwave... I cooked the apples for almost HALF the time it said, and they were still over-cooked.. Well, according to me! My MIL like it!)





My. Very. First. Loaf. Of bread! EVER (besides banana bread, zucchini bread, you know...) And I got to use my new, shiny, red (SEXY) KitchenAid! The dough stuck to the towel while rising (despite the fact that the towel was wet) and the top kind of collapsed in on itself. Oh well!






Second loaf. A little better. Still pretty crunchy on the outside. And this time I even used a bowl of water in the oven with it. It helped with the browning of the top, but not really with the 'moist-ness' of the bread. I might have over-floured my dough.








Christmas morning cinnamon rolls! (recipe courtesy of MyKitchenCafe
This was my prettiest one: I HAD to get a 'before icing' picture!












I couldn't believe I didn't screw them up!!!!