To celebrate Into the Spider Verse today, we made some delicious Spiderman cookies for the premier! Chocolate chip cookies covered in sugary sweet icing? I think Peter Parker would approve.
Category: Ideas
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Red Velvet Brownies with Chevre Thyme Mousse
Red Velvet cake is known for its deep red color… and also for the fact that you either like it or you don’t. I sometimes like it, and sometimes it’s really just not good at all.
These brownies though, I have it on good authority that they are good. I had so many that I had to just give them away. Ryan took them to work with him and gave them to his employees. He received several texts the next day saying how much they loved the brownies and that they were looking forward to more.
If that’s not enough hype for you, then you’ll just have to try them for yourself!
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Holiday Shopping Tips!
Unless you’re like me and start shopping for holiday gifts right after Halloween, this is a good time to start! You have a LOT of options. From the mall, to flea markets and holiday markets to the vast internet, every present you could ever want is out there.
While I can’t speak for all of you, I love to shop online. I have a knack for finding deals and coupons, and employ a variety of plug-ins on Google Chrome to find even more deals! I even use the app Paribus to get money back on Amazon purchases.
https://paribus.co/ Get Paribus Here
https://www.joinhoney.com/ Get Honey Here
While these are all well and good, that doesn’t tell you where to go. Obviously, the favorite site is Amazon. If you don’t regularly buy Amazon Prime, here’s a little tip for you. You can get a month of free prime as a trial every year. I save mine for December so I can get all my purchases with free shipping. Would you like another Amazon tip? Order early in the month. Like, right now. The post office receives well over 5 million packages every year for delivery. Since Amazon has a contract with USPS, don’t over-burden your local post office at the end of the month by ordering everything last minute. Your postal carrier will definitely thank you for it.
If you’re into unique items that you probably can’t find on Amazon, check out Etsy. Etsy is a maker’s site, and you can find all sorts of handmade, unique and one of a kind items there. I also know that supporting artists is incredibly important (I used to sell on Etsy). The prices range from low to extremely expensive. It’s definitely possible to find something for every price range and every person on Etsy.
My secret favorite website is the last one I’ll tell you about. If you haven’t before, check out Wish. Most of what you can buy from Wish seems to be overstock. You can find incredible items for very little more, or free and all you pay is $2-4 in shipping. I buy a lot of my items off of Wish, but there is one big issue. Shipping isn’t really tracked, and it’s not very fast. So if you’re going to order off of Wish, do it NOW. I ordered all my Wish items at the beginning of November.
I pride myself on being a fantastic gift giver. I’m a big fan of useful gifts, as in, gifts you can actively use or need. If you need any help with your gift choices, send us a message on here, or on any of our social media sites. We’ll find you an idea and a deal.
*None of these sites have paid for promotion.
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White Chocolate Blackberry Macarons
I like macarons. Not to be confused with macaroons (a soft and chewy coconut cookie) or Macron (the President of France). Macarons are delicate little confections, tiny almond cookies that people take beautiful pictures of. You’ve probably seen them before, even if you’ve never had them.
I think they taste good, but only when they come in creative flavors such as peanut butter and jelly or white chocolate blackberry. The technique required can be seen as difficult, because all elements must be perfect in order to ensure a smooth shell, raised feet, no cracks and the perfect texture.
This was actually my first time making macarons. I messed up the first batch of shells. How? I had my oven temperature up too high. I really hope that you’ll try to make some, it’s actually a pretty fun process.
Show us if you make our macarons on our Instagram and Facebook page!
Find the recipe here.
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Boxed Cake Mix for Those Who “Can’t” Bake
So you say you never bake because you can’t. Is there truth to that? Maybe. But no one is asking for you to bake a three layer cake with a infused butter cream frosting and fondant roses. Unless you bake for fun or you do it as a job, the parent who asked you to bring cupcakes to the school bake sale is not expecting anything more than a basic cupcake with a little frosting out of a jar.
Then we find out, you’re a perfectionist. You don’t want to serve cupcakes, let alone an actual cake if it’s not going to taste absolutely delicious.
So let’s change the name of the game. Go to the store. Get a boxed mix. “But Zoe,” you say, “everyone will know it came out of a box!” Will they? For a while now, people have been “dressing up” their boxed cake mix to make luxurious and delectable cakes that taste just like you made them from scratch.
Step 1: Pick a decent boxed mix. I personally like Pillsbury (a classic choice) Betty Crocker and Ghirardelli. You can choose your own favorites, I won’t pick that for you.
Step 2: Choosing the number of eggs.
The first thing you should do is add an extra egg. If it says 2, add 3. Eggs do a few things
when added to a cake. They help provide structure that keeps the cake from falling,
softens the texture and the fats make the cake richer.I don’t know about you, but that all sounds pretty good. If adding one extra egg will make my cake taste better and be more delicious, sign me up!
Step 3: Oil… or butter?
Pretty much every single cake mix out there will tell you to use 1/3, ¼, ½ etc. of
vegetable oil. If that’s all you have, go for it. The change using melted butter is not a
necessary step, but we like doing it. Adding the same amount of melted butter instead of
oil will give the cake a better flavor (who doesn’t love the taste of butter?!)If you follow all the steps except this one, and find that your cake still seems to be missing something, try adding the butter. I haven’t found that it is necessary for all boxed cake mixes, but if your cake is missing some of that rich flavor, this is why.
Step 4: Use Milk, not water.
In case you hadn’t realized yet, all of these tips involve ingredients that have fat in them.
This is because fat is flavor. Milk has a lot more flavor than water, last time I checked. It
is also creamy, smooth and adds density to your cake. Like using an extra egg, milk can
be instrumental to the structure of your cake, as well as giving it that boost of flavor it
may still need.Pro-tip, I use chocolate milk in my chocolate cakes because I am a chocolate fiend, and the more chocolate the better.
Now, there are a ton of things you can do beyond these steps to add to your boxed cake mix. Some of these include:
-Add extracts! There are more extracts than just vanilla. Try almond or hazelnut.
-Adding coffee or espresso to chocolate cake will add a whole other dimension you didn’t
even know you were looking for. Try adding a splash to your mix. See what happens.-Add a teaspoon of salt. Chocolate and salt are best friends.
-Layer your cake with butter cream frosting.
-Poke your cake with holes before baking, and pour your favorite cake topping in it. I like
to do this with caramel.There are so many things you can do. You don’t need to know the science or amounts or what temperature to set your oven to. The box mix tells you all that. All you need is to be a little bit creative… and no one will know the difference!
Happy Baking!
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National Parfait Day!
It’s National Parfait Day and we’re making a whole bunch of parfaits. Well, by a whole bunch, I mean two. Parfaits can come in a variety of different flavors and styles.
In my house, yogurt is a staple. We eat Greek yogurt most often, and generally with fruit mix-ins (although I really like the candy mix-ins, or pretzels). And while the yogurt we eat is generally for breakfast, I decided to make one for breakfast and one for dessert. Instead of giving you long recipes, I’ll just explain them to you.
The first parfait I made was my Pomegranate Breakfast Parfait.
This parfait is more towards what people imagine to be “classic”. Cinnamon spiced greek yogurt functions as the base, with pomegranate seeds and pistachio seeds as the other layers. For some extra sweetness, add a drizzle of honey over every yogurt layer. Top with berries and enjoy!
The second parfait I made was a dessert parfait. I have this thing for s’mores. I really really really like s’mores. So I made it into a parfait.
So here is my S’mores Dessert Parfait.
For the base and top layer, crush a few graham crackers. I use the classic honey flavored ones. In a double boiler, melt some dark chocolate. Once fully melted, I mixed it into some plain greek yogurt, thus making a really rich (very tasty) dark chocolate greek yogurt. I recommend using marshmallow fluff for the marshmallow layer. If you have a butane torch, gently caramelize the top layer of marshmallow and then top with a graham cracker and chocolate square.
Delicious. Try these out.
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Chocolate Frogs… and Other Fantastic Beasts!
I’ve been obsessed with Harry Potter since the books first started coming out. I always got the books as soon as possible, and then enjoyed the movies as they came out in later years. When the series ended and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them premiered, it was the start of a whole new fantasy. Same world, different characters, story and setting.
Suffice it to say, I’m obsessed. Since today is the premier of the SECOND Fantastic Beasts movie, I made chocolate frogs to celebrate. Unfortunately for me, I am not talented enough to create some of the more creative creatures J.K. Rowling put to paper. So these chocolate frogs were good!
Dark chocolate candies filled with chocolate peanut butter mousse? I think yes. We’re sneaking these in to see the movie (shhhh, don’t tell).
Let us know how you liked the movie!
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Pro and Cons of a Destination Wedding
So you’ve decided to get married! Unless you’re planning a little backyard affair with only close family and friends, it’s time to start planning! But wait. You’ve seen all these amazing pictures on Instagram of celebrities getting married on tropical islands and you’re thinking that’s what you want to do!
Obviously, you probably don’t own your own island (we can’t all be Johnny Depp). So your option is a destination wedding.
Now there are so many options. You can go to Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda… the options are endless. There are even websites devoted to finding you the perfect destination, resort, wedding planner and package for your perfect wedding. While that’s all well and good, is a destination wedding even right for you?
We’ve compiled a list of pros and cons that you can use to see if jetting off to a foreign country is right for you.
~Pros~
- You can have a smaller wedding and a good reason to go with it.
Are you looking to have a smaller wedding but don’t know how to tell all your friends and extended family that
they’re not invited? This is a helpful way to only have the few people you want at your wedding without making
a million excuses. - Most destination wedding venues have seasoned wedding planners to plan your whole affair.
This takes away from the stress of having to find a planner all by yourself, and paying out thousands of dollars
for someone who may not have any destination wedding experience. - You don’t have to lift a finger to plan the wedding.
If you’re a control freak, this may be the opposite of what you want. But since many destination wedding venues are full service, all you have to worry about is getting there, and getting your wedding clothes and rings. Cake, flowers, set-up, food… they’re all taken care of (depending on your package). - Your budget doesn’t really matter.
Unless you’re having over 30 people at your destination wedding, it is highly likely that you will only be paying a fraction of the cost you would be paying to have a wedding in your hometown. Since everything is through the venue, you’re not paying multiple vendors for every little detail. And there are packages in every price range. - There are more than just a few options.
When you choose a destination wedding, you’re choosing to have all the options. There are so many different countries to choose from, and within each country, tons of different resorts and venues to decide between. You’ll have your choice of what sort of weather your’re looking for, as well as what kind of aesthetic and view. - There will probably be less family drama.
Worried about planning a wedding that is full of family drama? Well, this may be the type of wedding you should have. Not only do they not have a say in what you choose, they won’t have access to your wedding planner in a different country. And, if the drama is simply that bad,you don’t have to invite the drama queens. - It can be both your wedding and honeymoon.
You’re already there, all you have to do is stay for an extra week… or three after your guests have all gone. Some resorts out there will actually include honeymoon time into their packages so that you can stay and celebrate your new relationship status without having to pack up and go somewhere else.
~Cons~
- RSVPs become very important.
You’re about to fly to another country. You need to know ASAP who is coming and who is not. This is not just about food or seating. It’s about hotel rooms. Don’t allow people to wait until the last minute. - You should be prepared for everyone you invited to accept the invitation.
Don’t invite people on the off chance that they will decline. On a similar note, don’t send invites to people you don’t want there. People like destination weddings, it’s a chance for a mini vacation. It is entirely possible that everyone you invite will be there. So use your invites sparingly. - You will have little to no control.
While this is a pro for a fair amount of people, it can also be a huge con. If you have this perfect vision in mind and nothing else will do, a destination wedding is probably not for you. The venue’s planner will have control over everything and there won’t be enough time once you get there to change everything. - If you somehow end up with a bad wedding planner, your whole wedding could be ruined.
You’re probably not going to meet the wedding planner until the day of or day before. You don’t know their reputation or the weddings they’ve planned before yours. If you’re not so willing to trust a wedding planner you’ve never met, this could end up being a huge issue for you. - It could be prohibitively more expensive.
If you’re looking to fly all 100 of your closest family and friends out to a resort, you may end up spending way more than you’ve bargained for. Unless you have a massive budget, destination weddings are best kept to small size… especially if you’re paying for everything. - Issues may arise with health and lack of passports.
Not everyone has a passport and not everyone is well enough to fly. This could cause a rift between family members or friends, not because they weren’t invited, but simply because they can’t come due to special issues. If you give them enough time, they may be able to get a passport, but those who can’t fly because of health related issues? Well, they’ll just have to stay home. - Documentation and legal measures must be explored.
There’s always paperwork involved. Even when you get married in your home country, there’s still a marriage license to apply for. However, getting married in a different country does require some extra paperwork. We won’t get into it here because each country is a little different, but expect to be doing some research on how to make sure your marriage is legal.
So is a destination wedding right for you? Maybe. What kind of wedding you want, the number of people you want to invite, and your family situation could all be factors in whether jetting off to another country for your wedding fun is right for you. Hopefully our pros and cons list has helped you come to a decision. For more wedding tips and tricks, subscribe to our newsletter.
- You can have a smaller wedding and a good reason to go with it.
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What We’re All About!
Here at One More Bite, we’re REALLY into food. Like, more than just a passing interest. Zoe has dedicated herself to it, and Eric is so interested, he made a food blog! But when we created this website, the goal was not just to bring food to the masses. It was to bring everything the world of hospitality and the world of food has to offer.
So far on One More Bite, you’ve probably seen recipes ( a lot of them ), articles giving tips and tricks on managing party stress, and us taking trips to relevant places for the season. What we haven’t shown you yet is videos (Coming soon in 2019!), interviews with people in the industries we cover, and more.
In 2019, we will begin talking about physical and mental health as relating to food, post a significant number of videos including but not limited to: tutorials, recipes in progress, and round table discussions. It is very important to us to bring you diverse and different content, and we hope that you’ll stick with us on this fascinating journey.
To get more exclusive recipes that won’t be posted on the site, scroll down on the main page and subscribe to our newsletter. We’ll send you an email 2-4 times a month, and never spam.
If you’re interested in what we have to say and what we like to post, follow us on Twitter @withzoeanderic. Orfollow us on Instagram by scrolling down and clicking the “Follow Me” button or finding us by searching @withzoeanderic.
We hope to see you around one of these sites soon, and if you make any of our recipes, we’d love to see them! Post them here, or tag us on Instagram to possibly be featured!
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Halloween 2018 Premier!
If you’re a fan of horror, then you know that Halloween 2018 comes out today. I only know because I made this fun dessert for the premier. I hate horror movies, they actually scare me. Although, I should be more specific. I don’t mind the blood and violence, it’s more about the creepy music. But enough about me.
In order to honor the legacy of Michael Myers, I decided to stab some dessert, and have my own murder spree… with the only victims being cake. Angels food cake, coated in dark chocolate glaze, stuffed with red icing, and stabbed with tiny icing cleavers (that I bought at Michael’s).
I hope you guys enjoy the movie, and maybe stab some cakes of your own!
