This blog is my New Year’s resolution.

Totally.  I mean, who wants to rehash the proverbial resolution of cutting calories, carbs, or fat from one’s diet.  Boring.  I love food too much, and I know you do too.  Doesn’t everybody?  Food is something that crosscuts cultures and boundaries.  It is essential, and yet delightful.  We all love music, but do we need it?  I think not.  What about entertainment, art, or sports?  They also transcend culture as something common to all, but we don’t NEED those things.  Food…we need food.  It gives energy.  It nutures.  It also is pleasureable in every way.  I love food, and want to restore that love through this blog.

So what is wrong with the way people approach food today?  Food has become the enemy in our society.  It’s as if people are in a constant war against calories, eating less, or just finding ways to fit cooking into a busy schedule. Wanna know a secret?  Food really isn’t all that complicated.  Moderation is key, and so is using mostly fresh ingrediants.  What I hope I can accomplish through my humble blog is to inspire you to start cooking and/or baking from scratch.  I also hope that my blog inspires some of you to eat without guilt.  I’ve seen way to many girls kill themselves (and I mean that figuratively) over eating a single brownie.  It’s time people stop beating themselves up over food.  After all, food is supposed to be enjoyable.  That is why I’ve named this blog No Calorie Left Behind.  When the occasion for you to indulge comes..by all means…indulge your heart out!  It’s not an every day thing.  As Mark Twain writes, “Part of the secret to success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside”.  I think this quote is not only about eating with no regrets, but it is also about living with no regrets. 

Speaking of regrets…I have no regrets whatsoever about indulging in this beautiful cake.  I had eaten at least three slices in two days…each topped with a generous scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream.  After all, cake and ice cream are best friends, and I wouldn’t want to break up such a perfect match.  With all the work that was put into this beauty, I had to have my cake and eat it too.  Then again, who doesn’t indulge during Christmas? 

God gave us style; God gave us grace. God gave us intensely, chocolatey ribbon cake!

When I first spotted the cover of the December issue for Bon Appetit, I thought, “Wow!  That cake is stunning; but I’ll never make that.”  Then, my mother interceded my thoughts with the question “Why don’t you make that for Christmas?”  That was it.  My mind filled with visions of rich chocolate cake packaged up in a neat, tidy chocolate bow.  After all, I had to top my buche de noel (yule log cake) from last year, and this was just the perfect cake for the job.

Make this.  It isn’t as difficult as it looks.  Trust me.  I could easily take all the glory and rant about hours upon hours of slaving over the most treacherous recipe in the world, but my mission is not to scare you away from scratch baking.  Given, it did take hours upon hours, but this is not an everyday cake.  When you and your cake make the grand entrance to the party, people will be speechless with what you’ve accomplished.  It is an awesome high.  Nobody needs to be let in on the secret that ANYONE can do this!  Go ahead.  Take all the glory.  I demand you.

Still not convinced that this cake is totally something you should make?  Allow me to convice you.  Pecan filled chocolate spice cake…  Chocolate buttercream infused with rum… Rum!  Coffee spiked chocolate ganache to top it off… RUM!!!

What Now!?!?

Ok, so if that didn’t convince you…I’m not sure what will.  It is delicious in a dangerous way.  You won’t want rich food for a loooooong time after a slice, but it’s worth it.  Plus, making the chocolate ribbons was a total blast!  Who would’ve ever thought melting chocolate and light corn syrup over a double boiler would create moldable chocolate?  It is the tastiest play-doh one will ever encounter.  After chilling the mixture, you knead it until it forms an elastic “dough”.  After that, the chocolate is ready to shape!  Using my new pasta roller made the job quick, easy, and even more fun!  Using a rolling pin would work just fine too, although it might be trickier to achieve perfectly smooth ribbons.

Would I make this again?  Yes!  Without a doubt!  Maybe it won’t be this particular dessert, but I hope this post inspires you to grab a whisk and a spatula, get in the kitchen, and get baking! 

In retrospect, my resolution is part a promise for myself to start focusing more on my passions; part a promise to primarily cook my own food instead of relying on other means; and it is part a promise to eat (and live) without fear or regret.  This blog is the perfect channel to grow in my writing, cooking, baking, and alas! computer skills.  After all, the excuse I’ve used the last four years for not starting one was that I didn’t know how.

Anyway, thanks for reading my first post!  Hopefully you’ll keep coming back in the future 🙂  For the recipe, look it up on bonappetit.com.