Told you I’d be back.

Look for things here at DoughMessTic to be in full swing from here on out!  And, to start the festivities off right, I thought I’d throw a sweet giveaway at you as well as a drink my husband has recently claimed as ‘The Best Beverage Ever.”  Ever? (And he’s quite the beverage taker-inner, too, so that means something, people!)

So, which do you want to hear about first? The Giveaway, or the Drink?

Okay, okay. The Giveaway.  How does a $250 AMAZON Gift Card Sound?  I thought about picking out a nice food processor, or a mixer, or 14 toasters for you, but then I decided what the hey? Why not let YOU decide?  So, that’s what it is – $250 from me to you to spend on any ol’ thing you fancy.  Maybe you’ve had your eye on some killer thumbtacks, a Ouija Board, every book by Nicolas Sparks, and the complete Nip/Tuck Series on Blu-Ray.  Well, now you can have it!  Just click through to enter to win! (And find out about that DRINK!)

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Every year around the end of August, we throw a big party dubbed the BillHilly Bash.  Luckily, Seven was also born around this time of year, so now we can combine his birthday party along with the bash…a win-win for us!  We book a band, throw out a buffet, supply some beverages – and hopefully everyone who comes has a great time! (I expect it’s okay – they keep coming back every year!) 

This year we had Fruit & Cheese, Strawberry Spinach Salad, Green Beans, Mac & Cheese, Watermelon, and Caribbean Grilled Beef & Chicken.  We also had birthday cake, of course…and for you cake nuts out there, fear not, there will be another post with better pics of the cake!  While it was all good enough to eat, I had a TON of people ask for the salad dressing recipe.  I wish it were mine to claim, but, an old friend is responsible for introducing me to it.  I’ll share it like it’s mine anyway!

The salad consists of fresh spinach and cut up strawberries (though I have also used other berries and peaches for a delicious effect in the past), and it is tossed with this refreshingly sweet dressing that everyone seems to love.  Maybe you will, too! (And, if you decide to claim it as your own at the next potluck you go to, I’m really okay with that. It can be our little secret.)

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I have so many cakes to post…and I am behind!  So, here are 4 that I have done recently…

• Slinky Dog Cake – 2 layers with the dog busting through the top layer.  I covered the tie-dyed fondant with black dots and paw prints.
• Christmas in July Birthday Cake.  Red Velvet bottom layer, Dreamsicle tope layer.  Melting snowman made of rice krispy treat covered in fondant. Fondant candy cane.
• Sweet 16 Birthday cake.  Birthday girls colors were oranges and blues, and her mom wanted to incorporate volleyball and teenage girl things into the cake.  Some of the details on the bottom layer are volleyballs, though it is tough to see in this poor photo.
• Ladybug themed birthday cake.  Large daisy is made from round ball pan and sits atop a 10 inch base cake, which is covered in red fondant and black ladybug dots.  Fondant ladybugs sit atop the flower.

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A few weeks ago Jon and I loaded Seven up in the truck and went on a spur of the moment field trip.  We didn’t really know where we were going, or why, but away we went.  I love trips like that, and wish we had a chance to do them more often…but work and life get in the way. It happens.  But, an hour or so after heading out, we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

One of our stops along the route was at the Historic Mabry Mill.  We strolled around the grounds, where artisans were re-enacting life from the olden days (spinning wool, blacksmithing, milling)…it was really nice.  Seven ran and ran.  His biggest fascination was not with the artisans, or the mill itself – but with the ducks. Boys. Anyways, while there, I bought a bag of Mabry Mill Corn Meal, knowing I could do a post of some sort involving the Mill…and the Meal.  Do you other bloggers think like that?  (Admit it, you DO.)

In my case – a Hushpuppy recipe is that post.

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I won’t lie.  I’ve been working on this recipe for weeks. Nay, months.  It has been an endeavor, I tell you.

But someone, somewhere,  MUST conquer the cookie.  Even if I am forced to eat all of the test cookies, I intend to be that person. It must be done for the greater good.

Really though, I just keep tweaking a recipe for chocolate chip cookies and now that I have one I really, really like, I have adjusted it to make some nice varieties.  This concoction is one of those varieties.  It started when I was perusing the fancy candy bar aisle – you know the one – the Lindt, Green & Black’s, Ghiradelli aisle that always lures you in with their latest and greatest chocolate creation.  This time I was drawn to the Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate and Caramel bar. Why not?  Double the deliciousness in one wrapper. Perfect.

So I bought it.

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