Blogging Events

Mixed up at Mixed Con!

January 16, 2013 by Lynsey 6 Comments

As most of you know, at the end of November I had the pleasure of attending my very first food blogger’s conference in the rolling Virignia hills. MixedCon was held at the infamous Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. You are looking at THE Kellerman’s Mountain House. Yes, the one from the movie Dirty Dancing. “Hello, Mr. Kellerman!” Yup, that’s we were spent this wonderful, funfilled weekend. I know what you’re thinking. Eeekk is right!

On a Friday afternoon about 150 food bloggers took Mountain Lake by storm. I honestly don’t think they knew what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to host this conference! 150 (mostly female…well, 2 males to be exact) poured into the quiet, mountainess hills reenacting scenes from Dirty Dancing, using up every. Single. Ounce of band with available and giddy to meet all of wonderful bloggers we had come to “know” through the blogging world. The staff at the hotel were incredible, so nice and accommodating and ready to help in any way possible.

Upon arriving at the Roanoke airport, the conference attendees instantly started spotting one another and introducing themselves. We got so carried away getting acquainted and visiting in the airport we actually had our shuttle waiting for quite some time…ooops! We quickly loaded our luggage and got on the shuttle and started the trip to the mountain. The entire trip to the hotel was filled with constant chatter, everyone so excited about meeting one another, the conference and everything in store.

The girls I roomed with, along with 3 other attendees, I “know” from an on-line cooking board. It was great to finally be able to meet some of these people I talk to on a daily basis! Lucky for me, they were just as nice in person as they are on-line. Amy, author of What’s Brewing in the Kitchen, Heather, author of Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks Maeghan, author of The Way To His Heart, Liz, author of Books-N-Cooks, and Stephanie, author of Brownies and Blondies were all absolutely amazing. Just as wonderful as I expected!

When we entered our room we were greeted with even more swag from our amazing sponsors! After we got settled we visited and sorted through our swag bags. I must say, Wow and a huge thanks to all of the incredible sponsors. Ya’ll really loaded us up with some fabulous stuff! A big kuddos to OXO, KitchenAid, Dixie Crystals, Real Butter, Dreamfields, Attune Foods, Hershey’s, Way Better Snacks, Lucky Leaf, Creminelli, Roland Foods, Stonyfield, Harvard Common Press, Le Creuset, Duff Goldman, Edgeware, John Boos, Boos Butcher Blocks, Dreamfarm, California Raisins, Anderson Seafood, Wisconsin Cheese and Captain Morgan! Ya’ll help make the weekend!

After we chatted for a bit and sorted through all of our goodies we headed down to the cocktail hour sponsored by Wisconsin Cheese. We enjoyed some delicious cheeses, wonderful salami from Creminelli, sipped on some wine and met some of the other incredibly talented ladies attending the conference.

After the cocktail hour, was dinner, then we headed over to the barn to enjoy some fabulous cocktails from Captain Morgan’s and munch on some cookies. More visiting and introduction went on for a bit, but not too long since everyone was ready for our midnight mac and cheese party. Ali, the author of Gimme Some Oven, won the contest put on by Dreamfields for the best mac and cheese. Be sure to check out the winning recipe for her vegetable mac and cheese. It’s delish!

Saturday was jam packed with fun (and educational) sessions with some of my foodie icons! First up-photography with the amazing and incredibly talented Bree Hester of Baked Bree. (Let me just say, she doens’t give herself enough credit for just how talented she is…don’t be fooled by her humility…she’s awesome!) Bree who is a foodie and professional photographer spent time going over various topics suchs as ISO, aperature, and lighting. It was a great way to start off the day and I walked away from this session with quite a few tips that will come in handy!

Next up was a session dedicated to holiday cookie decorating. The wildly talented Marian, of Sweetopia not only taughts us tricks, tips and techniques to use when decorating sugar cookies, she also demonstrated her techniques for us. Talk about someone who is so sweet and so nice, Marian is the real deal. She re-instilled my confidence and gave me the courage to go home and try frosting sugar cookies again. Before this session I had lost all hope that I could frost, fill and flood cookies. Thanks to Marian, I went home and successfully lined and flooded cookies for my little man’s 3rd birthday. Thanks, Marian!

The third session of the day, the last one before lunch, was videography. Denise Woodward and Lenny Ferreira of Chez Us educated us in the ever so indepth world of videography. Wow. I have so far to go before I even think about trying to tackle the world of video. (Note to readers…it’ll be a LONG time before you hear any words spoken from this southern girl) I did, however, learn so much from Lenny, as well as, had a ~~few~~ lot of laughs along the way. Be sure to check out their blog for terrific video footage, as well as some delicious recipes!

After lunch we had some free time. Myself, along with Heather, took this time to wonder the grounds, take a self guided Dirty Dancing tour (and along the way I just may have envisioned myself as Baby…that’s for me to know and you to never find out)!

The house where baby and her family stayed, while at Kellerman’s!

This rock was a tribute to the late, Patrick Swayze. It was placed on the path the leads guests through the self-guided Dirty Dancing tour.

I also took some time to read up on the mystery of Mountain Lake. That’s right, the lake that was a staple in the movie was dry. gone. Vanished. It was a little eerie looking out where the lake should be and seeing high weeds and grass. Hopefully it’ll fill up again soon…and maybe I’ll have a chance to visit again and see the flowing waters.

After touring the grounds, it was time to head back to the next session of the day. Cake decorating with Duff and his gang. That’s right, we got to actually decorate side by side with Duff, Mary Smith and Elana! Duff and the girls are just as down to earth as they appear to be on their show. I had a blast cake decorating as well as chatting with him and the girls. They are all a hoot and so fun to be around. He was even nice enough to provide us with some fondant, icing and other supplies to take home!

The next to last session of the day was all about food styling. Just how do they make the food on the magazines and websites so pretty? Well, we learned all about it from fellow food blogger and professional food stylist Tami Hardeman of Running with Tweezers. Tami shared great insights about how the pros make the food look so great, but also shared some wonderful tips for the homecook. I have already tried to implement some of the tips and tricks she shared with us.

The final session of the day was e-books. The amazing and talented Heidi Larson, of Foodie Crush, schooled us in the ins and outs of ebooks. She informed us on how to get started in the e-book phenomenon, how to organize our materials and layout of the book, and finally how to market the finished product. During this session the wheels in my tiny, little brain started spinning and I came up (with what I thought) were some pretty nifty ideas for an ebook. Don’t start holding your breath yet, I’ve still got a ways to go before I have any type of book out there!

*Be sure to check out Heidi’s e-magazine that’s all about food and foodies, Foodie Crush Magazine

Throughout the day booths were set up with different snacks and goodies from our sponors. We were able to sample different products, stock up on samples, and chat with the reps throughout the day. I know all of you are familiar with Hershey’s so I don’t even need to begin to tell you about all the prodcuts they have to offer…I’ll just say that they hooked us up! Way Better Snacks specializes in healthy(ier) snacks and they are making a splash into the food scene. They provided all sorts of goodies for us throughout the weekend, and I must say their sweet potato chips and sweet chili chips are amazing. You must try them. Thanks so much to all the vendors that made sure we didn’t go hungry while we were getting our learn on all through the day Saturday.

After the final session wound up we took a minute to go unload all our goodies. We then headed down to another wonderful cocktail hour, followed by dinner and then headed on over to the barn for another mixer. We had more yummy drinks from the wonderful and generous Captain Morgan, some live music from a local band, and lots of giveaways from our more than generous sponsors. Oh yeah, I was once of the lucky winners too! Wooohoooo!

I had a terrific time sipping cocktails, scoring a great prize and getting to mingle with some of the other fabulous and talented ladies. I also got to chat up some of the reps of the sponsors; they are amazing and beyond nice. It was so nice getting to talk with the Lizs (yes 2) from Dreamfields and Kimberly from Dixie Crystals, just to mention a few. I also got to talk to some talented bloggers, as well, Erin of Eat Bake Drink Cook, Mackenzie of Susie Freaking Homemaker, Karen of Pint Sized Baker and Krista of Budget Gourmet Mom, just to name a few.

After sipping on some tasty concoctions, some great music and wonderful giveaways we headed back to our rooms, changed into our pj’s and got ready for the movie. You guessed it, the midnight showing of Dirty Dancing. We had seen the set and toured the grounds, now it was time to watch the movie in the ballroom at the place it was filmed. How surreal! While we were watching the movie there was no shortage of candy to munch on, thanks to Hershey’s. You have no idea how fun it was to watch this movie with so many ladies that were just as equally enthused as I was, I think we all found ourselves quoting each scene…and even cheering at times!

Sunday morning we woke up, packed up and at one last meal with all our new friends. Then it was time to bid farewell to Mountian Lake and our friends and head back to the real world. At the airport I had some free time before I had to board my plane so I spent some time with some more fabulous ladies; Carrie of Bakeaholic Mama and Lauren of Climbing Grier Mountain. I had such a wonderful time visiting and chatting with them, my only regret is that we didn’t connect earlier at the conference. After tons of chatting it was time to board the plane and all head back home.

It was a great weekend, that was jam packed with so much to do. I still can’t believe that I was able to go and that I was surrounded by so many talented and gifted foodies. It’s a weekend I will cherish forever.

Thanks again to our fabulous hostess’ and conference organizers. Paula, of Bell’ Alimento, and Susan, of Doughmesstic, ya’ll are awesome! Thanks again for everything and providing a weekend for so many foodies to have the time of our lives!

A Day to Honor Sandy Hook and Browned Butter M&M Cookies

December 21, 2012 by Lynsey Leave a Comment

Before Friday, December 14, 2012 I had never heard of the tiny town of Newtown nor the Sandy Hook Elementary School. I think it’s one of those days that will stay frozen in my mind forever. I will remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I found out that one of the most horrific things imaginable had happened. A shooting at a school. An elementary school. For me and all the people around me it was like the events of the day came in slow motion and the number of victims just kept increasing. My heart was broken and I was numb. Children, teachers, a town and a community had just experienced one of the worst things ever. My heart broke for people I don’t know, for a town and school that I had never heard of. All I could think to do was pray. Pray for God to wrap his arms around the kids, teachers, staff, parents, first responders, a town and community. And that’s what I’ve done; pray numerous times every day since I heard the news.

I can’t imagine the terror and the horror that each person in Sandy Hook faced one week ago on this very day. There aren’t enough drills or courses in the world that can prepare anyone for what they went through. I thank God that the teachers and staff were able to keep a level head and did everything in their power to keep their kids safe. These teachers will forever be remembered as heros. These kids will forever be remembered as angels and remembered for the joy and laughter they brought to everyone they encountered. They may be gone but their spirits and legacy will live on forever in everyone that they touched.

Not a day has gone by that I don’t think about the people in this town, a town before now that was described as Mayberry. An innocent, happy place where people loved one another, a tight knit community. How could something so senseless happen to such a perfect town? Such perfectly innocent people? I think those are two questions that will be running through people’s minds infinitely.

After the events of Friday, December 14th I along with many others were left wondering what could be done to support this school, town and community. How could I show them I cared. I wanted them to know they are loved, prayed for and cared about. A whole nation and world are praying for them and are heartbroken for them.

In times like this the blogging world truly amazes me. A group of people that are tied by a common bond of blogging and sharing their passion band together to show their support to those in need, in trouble and those who just need some support. After Friday’s events a group of bloggers got together to organize an event to honor the victims, families and community affected by this tragedy. I am so honored and blessed that I can be a part of Cookies and Crafts for Sandy Hook.

I know the families and community of Newtown aren’t going to be reading any of these posts right now, or even in the near future. But when the healing process starts, and some sort of feeling starts to enter their bodies again hopefully they will get wind of the event taking place today and they’ll find some of these posts and know that there are people everywhere that care about them. That there are people that don’t even know them that love them. That there are communities, groups, organizations, a country and a world that loves them, whose hearts are bleeding for them and who are there for them.

I want to share a poem with you written by a teacher in honor of the victims.

twas’ 11
days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
“where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
“this is heaven.” declared a small boy. “we’re spending
Christmas at God’s house.”
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”
“may this country be delivered from the hands of fools”
“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
“come now my children, let me show you around.”
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
“in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

To pay honor and tribute to the victims, families and community I decided to get in the kitchen with my most special little helper and bake up a snack that would be sure to please kids of all ages. We decided to make browned butter, brown sugar, M&M cookies. When I think back to my childhood, I always remember being drawn to the cookies that had some sort of candy in them. They were always full of bright colors and candy and, well, they were just plain fun. Can anyone really look at a brightly colored, candy packed cookie and not smile? I’ve never met anyone who didn’t crack a smile when given a cookie.

So when I was looking for a recipe to share with you today, this one just seemed to fit. A cookie full of candy and bright colors that would be sure to make anyone and everyone smile. A cookie that you could just imagine being brought through the doors of any school for a group of kiddos and teachers.

These cookies are delicious. They are packed full of candy, flavor, they are fluffy and they are perfectly chewy. I love that this cookie includes brown sugar, cookies with brown sugar just have so much flavor and tend to be that much more chewy! This one also has one of my favorite things, browned butter. You all know this is a weakness of mine. The end result is amazing. A caramel-like, nutty browned butter flavored cookie that is studded with brightly colored chocolate M&M’s.

Let’s be sure to remember the heros and victims of last weeks senseless tragedy. Some older and many that were so young. Now they all have wings, are with God and are walking the streets of gold and will forever be angels.

Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Ana M. Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine F. Hsu, Catherine V. Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, Allison N. Wyatt, Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, Dawn Hochsprung, Charlotte Bacon and Rachel Davino

For more information on how you can help with a monetary donation please visit Newtown Youth and Family Services. According to their website they are a “licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.” All donations made to the NYFS will go towards all of those affected by the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Browned Butter Brown Sugar M&M Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups all-purpse flour

1 Tsp baking soda

3/4 Tsp salt

1/4 Cup sugar

2/3 Cup packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 Extra large egg, room temperature

1 Tsp vanilla

1 Cup M&M’s

Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

Place butter in a small saucepan and place over low-medium heat. (Butter will begin to crackle and foam as it melts.) Once the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown. Swirl the butter around the pan as it cooks. Once the butter is brown remove from heat, and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Place the cooled butter along with both sugars in a bowl a mixer. Beat on high until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated (being sure not to over mix. Once the ingredients are combined, remove the bowl from the mixer, add the M&M’s and stir with a spatula (or spoon) to incorporate.

Chill dough for 2 hours (or upto 24 hours) before baking.

When ready to bake; preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Using 1 cookie scoop (mine measures about 1 tablespoon), scoop the cookie dough and place on prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle the tops of each cookie with sea salt. Place in oven and bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven, allow cookies to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Recipe source: barely adapted from Keep It Sweet Desserts

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