Cake balls made easy!

Hello... I know I went MIA for a while, but now I'm back (and with a super easy recipe too!).

I've noticed a huge craze for cake balls and I've seen tons of recipes for them as well.  In fact, my friend bought me one from Starbucks because she was surprised I haven't tried one out yet. Let me tell you... they are yummy, but not so easy to make (at least the coating of the cake ball isn't).  However, after much "research" I found an easy way to make cake balls! WOOHOO!

First, pick up your favorite cake mix box (i.e. Duncan Hines or Betty Crockers).  I picked the cheapest box there was, which ended up being Duncan Hines.  My favorite flavor: red velvet :)  So yes, I went for my favorite cake mix and I also picked up a whipped cream cheese frosting by Duncan Hines as well.  

Now... make the cake as directed on the box.  After the cake is ready, allow the cake to cool down (takes about an hour).  Then crumble the cake with your hands! Yes... in a bowl, crumble the cake and add half the container of frosting to the bowl.  Make sure the cake and frosting is thoroughly mixed... if the cake mixture feels dry, then add more frosting.  

On a cookie sheet (with parchment paper on top), mold the cake mixture into a ball and place it on top of the cookie sheet.  I used my hands to do this, but if you want less mess then I suggest using an ice cream scooper (a small one).  Once you've finished making the balls, place them in the freezer or the refrigerator and let it "harden" (takes about another hour or so).  

Once the cakes are ready, it's time to dip them in chocolate!  Now, I'll admit, my first few cake balls ended up poorly because I was trying to use white chocolate and it just did not coat well and I kept burning the chocolate (yes, they were wasted).  However, I used dark and milk chocolate and that worked out.  Make sure you buy a few packages of either chocolate chips or chocolate bars because it takes a lot to coat the cake.  

Follow the directions on the back on how to melt the chocolate.  Then, dip the cake balls one at a time in the chocolate.  Place it back on the cookie sheet and either refrigerate them or freeze them for another hour.  Viola! You've just made cake balls!  Now, you may decorate them with sprinkles prior to placing them in the fridge.   

My cake balls apparently were super tasty and moist (I used almost the entire container of frosting).  

The Capital Grille- Houston Restaurant Week

Just the other night, I took my family to The Capital Grille for dinner.  It was Houston Restaurant Week (HRW) and I was thrilled to see The Capital Grille on the list again!  Here, I had absolutely the BEST SERVICE EVER!  We came over here for two reasons (1) daddy's birthday and (2) HRW, but really it was daddy's birthday so that's why I made reservations here (he never heard of The Capital Grille, so why not?!).

Anyway, what's awesome... because they knew it was a birthday celebration, the table was decorated with confetti (ribbons and ballon confetti - pretty awesome!!).  Once we sat down, the server, Susan, wished my dad happy birthday!!! (Okay, fine... I did say "celebrating dad's birthday" on the reservation, but still... it was really nice!  

So some of us ordered off the HRW menu and others ordered off the regular menu.  Regardless, the food was amazing!  My mom tried their filet mignon- she states "this is the best grilled filet mignon I'd ever had in my life!" (and she's had plenty too).  She even started cutting her steak up for everyone to try.  

My brother ordered their Ahi Sear Tuna... umm... YES SIR, I'D LIKE ANOTHER ORDER!  The tuna steak was plump, juicy, and seared perfectly!  It was even sprinkled with sesame seeds.  The tuna came with ginger rice (yumm) and three dipping sauces.  Honestly, you don't really need the dipping sauce, but! the honey-ginger one is fabulous!  The other two were wasabi (which was very light) and soy sauce.  I didn't hear her tell my brother the green one was wasabi, so I had fun when I dipped it in and took a bite =/ 

Our table also ordered their Carpaccio- very, very good!  The carpaccio was sliced perfectly and seasoned well.  The arugula salad served on top was paired perfectly with the carpaccio.  It's a must try!  

I tried their 14 oz bone-in kona sirloin... it was not as good as the filet, but it was still yummy.  The Sam's mashed potato was also a delight.  The creamed spinach was definitely creamy!  The only thing I wasn't to thrilled of was their french green beans.  We weren't sure if there would be enough food, so that's why we ordered another side dish.  

Now dessert... yumm... I tried their home-made ice cream, which was vanilla mint... my three-scopes were gone before someone could tell me to breathe.  My dad had their espresso cake, which paired well with my ice cream (I know... it's his birthday and I stole a few bites!).  What was absolutely amazing for anyone to order is their cheesecake!  The cheesecake here has a caramelized top (yes, creme burlee style).  It was light and delish!  Honestly, I'm not a big cheesecake fan, but I will go back and order that!  

So... after my adventures of trying out a few HRWs, I'd have to say this was the best of out of 4 places I tried.  It's also a place I'd drag my boyfriend to for a romantic dinner (yup... you've read it correctly mister!).  Sorry! I didn't take any pictures :(  by the time I remembered to... it was too late and my plate wasn't very presentable, but I will next time!

Brunching at Max's Wine Dive

Another brunch place taken down by "hungry sandy"! ::clears throat::

The other Sunday, I went out to brunch at Max's Wine Dive with two of my guy friends.  I don't know how I ended up here, but I think it's partly because I've heard so much about their fried chicken AND the boyfriend is still not back from his business trip so I made plans to keep myself busy.  Anyways, I was able to make reservations 2 hours before I got there!  (I know... I love it!) However, even with the reservations, we still waited for about 10 minutes.  But I'm still glad I made them because this place was PACKED! 

Real quick about the place: its small!  Basically there's a bar (where you can sit and dine as well) and two rows of tables.  A friend of mine mentioned how he doesn't think the place would fulfill the disability standards, and I agree.  So if you're claustrophobic, don't even think about coming here.  

Since it was crazy packed, we had a lot of time to look at the menu.  I was torn between the fried chicken and jack cakes or the fried chicken with the collard greens, brioche bread and potatoes.  I even bugged our server about which dish she'd order.  However, I ended up with their Chicken Fried Ribeye with over-easy eggs and their jalapeno cheese grits.  WHAT?! I decided I didn't want to eat around chicken bones!!  Regardless, it was a scrumptious dish.  I cleaned off the entire plate before the boys even finished their entrees (yay me!).  

Anyway, the fried chicken was not the only dish I was pondering about.  I was having a difficult time deciding what to get that day.  They have Red Velvet Pancakes and Nutella-Banana Crepes... I really couldn't decide!  Luckily, I was with some boys who also love red velvet and we ordered the Red Velvet Pancakes for the table to share.  Now, don't get me wrong... the pancakes were good, but it wasn't as good as I hoped.  It wasn't as flavorful as an actual slice of red velvet cake.  What's amazing was their cream cheese butter.  That butter did make the experience better, but I have to be honest I was a lil' disappointed with it.  Even so, I finished off my share of the pancakes too.  

Actually, looking back... I'm dang proud of myself!  Not only did I manage to finish off my glass of mimosa before the boys (there were two), but I cleaned up my plate before them (one didn't finish his entree) AND I cleaned up my share of pancakes (there were 3 so we each had one).  I didn't even realized we were competing to see who ate the most until I was sipping on coffee and watching the boys try to do the same damage I did!  One of the boys finally managed to finish everything just to make us "even"- NICE TRY, but I think I won.  I at least enjoyed everything... he was miserable half way through his pancake.  

Okay, sorry, I went off on a tangent over there.  Back to the food... I say its definitely a place to try out.  I really loved the jalapeno grits.  It was really tasty and I wish the serving was bigger!  The mimosa here was pretty darn good too.  Not the best that I've had, but it was good enough to where I enjoyed it.

I want to head back here for the nutella crepes and maybe even their egg sandwich.  Heck, I just want to try everything because it looked so good and everything I had was great!  Yes, so come try this place out!  Remember... you can make reservations the day of!