Food Creations

These little duckies were our contribution to the cake auction that our Young Women in our church put together to raise money for Girls Camp. It was a huge success and tons of fun. I found this recipe in What's New Cupcake? It was much harder than I thought it would be, but I think they turned out okay and they were a lot of fun to make.

The tail is half of a marshmallow, the head is a doughnut hole, the beak is an orange Tootsie Roll, and the eyes are mini chocolate chips. What a great way to play with your food!

photo by Liz Lambson

This was one of my favorite cakes that one of the girls made to look like kitty litter. So funny! There were also cakes made to look like a hamburger, a mummy, Chinese checkers, a race car, and a lot of other beautiful and delicious cakes.

photo by Liz Lambson

This is our latest Good Eats recipe attempt. Craig has been wanting to make this for a long time. Mostly because it is dried on a contraption made up of a box fan and air filters (never been used, of course).

Even though we tried to aim all of the jerky fragrance outward, the smell lingered in our apartment the whole day.

It actually turned out really tasty! Thanks Alton Brown!

Here is the recipe. Let me know if you want to borrow some air filters :)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
• 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Special Equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, and 2 bungee cords

Directions

Trim the flank steak of any excess fat, place in a zip-top bag, and place it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours in order to firm up.

Remove the steak from the freezer and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.

Place the strips of meat along with all of the remaining ingredients into a large, 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag and move around to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Place the bag into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours.

Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips of meat onto 3 of the air filters, laying them in the grooves and then stacking the filters on top of one another. Top these with 1 empty filter. Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with 2 bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to medium. Allow the meat dry for 8 to 12 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions.

Once dry, store in a cool dry place, in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.