Homemade Ginger Ale

by Michelle @ A Tipsy Giraffe // October 26, 2014 // 40 Comments

I’m not a superstitious person. I don’t believe in fate or ghosts or anything like that. Yet I still have these little habits that, if I don’t do them, I’ll feel very anxious. Most of them revolve around flying, which is even more strange because I’m not afraid of flying. I fly pretty often, I tend to split my year between the UK and Atlanta (it used to be a 50/50 split, but immigration got a bit unhappy with that so it’s more of a 70/30 split these days!) so I’m flying back and forth fairly frequently. One little superstition I follow is putting the checked bag tag from a previous safe flight in the pocket of my suitcase for my next flight, it’s supposed to bring luck – I figure you can’t have too much luck when flying so it can’t hurt! The other is not so much a superstition, just more of a routine – when the flight attendants come round with drinks I always, always have a ginger ale. It doesn’t matter if I want a ginger ale or not, I have to get one!

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Chocolate Magic Cake

by Michelle @ A Tipsy Giraffe // October 24, 2014 // 56 Comments

Magic cake you guys! It’s actually magic! Or it’s science, which is kind of like magic to those of us who don’t understand science (i.e. me). You mix up one cake batter, pour it into a pan, bake it and voila – you have three separate layers when it’s done. A dense, chewy layer. A creamy custard layer. And a light sponge layer. It’s magic!! I’m very excited about it!

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Pumpkin Pie Blondies

by Michelle @ A Tipsy Giraffe // October 23, 2014 // 36 Comments

I’m a brownie girl through and through. The rich chocolate, gooey centre and fudgy goodness is enough to make any girl weak at the knees. But I gotta tell you, these blondies seduced me! The soft texture, pumpkin pie filling and chewy edges are enough to make me seriously consider reevaluating where my loyalties lie – and that’s saying something!

These yummy pumpkin pie blondies were born out of left over pumpkin pie mix after making my pumpkin pie ice cream. But it’s totally worth making the mix especially for the blondies, they’re too good not to! You might want to invite some friends over to enjoy them with you or you’ll be in danger of eating the whole pan yourself (I wouldn’t judge you if you did though!)

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Bacon Avocado Grilled Cheese

by Michelle @ A Tipsy Giraffe // October 20, 2014 // 14 Comments

Happy Monday guys! It’s a particularly happy Monday for me because I’ve been dogsitting for my mum over the weekend and she’s home now! I’m not a dog person okay, don’t hate me! I don’t dislike dogs, I feel the same way about dogs as I do about kids – I love hanging out and playing with them, but I don’t want any of my own! The weekend was pretty exhausting though, dogs are hard work and the miniature dachshund is real mama’s girl, she spent the whole weekend pining after my mum!

I’ve got a nice simple recipe for y’all to start of the week. I said a while ago I was going to post one savoury, dinner type recipe a month and this bacon avocado grilled cheese recipe is October’s. Grilled cheese’s are an ultimate comfort food for me, they’re particularly good on these cold autumn evenings. I love to have them with tomato soup instead of bread, so yummy. When I was craving a grilled cheese one night but didn’t have any tomato soup to pair with it, I thought I’d kick it up a notch and add some tasty extras!

I’m a new convert to avocado, for the longest time I was convinced I didn’t like it but oh how wrong I was! Now I eat it any chance I get! And who doesn’t love bacon? When people go vegetarian, bacon is usually the thing they say they miss the most! It has to be the real thing for me too, turkey bacon just feels so wrong! The crispy saltiness of the bacon paired with the mild and creamy avocado is just a perfect match, and let’s be honest – cheese makes everything better! You can, of course, use any cheese that takes your fancy – personally I like to go with a nice, strong cheddar for my grilled cheeses. I also add a little lime to my avocado and a sprinkling of paprika in the cheese – heaven!!

Bacon Avocado Grilled Cheese

2014-10-20 18:50:02

Serves 1

The comforting classic grilled cheese, taken up a notch with bacon and avovado

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Ingredients

2 slices of bread of your choice (I use tiger bread)
150g cheese of your choice, grated or thinly sliced
3 rashers bacon
half an avocado
juice of 1 lime (optional)
1/8 tsp paprika (optional)
Knob of butter

Instructions

Cook the bacon to your desired crispiness, the crispier the better in my book! Set aside.
Slice your avocado and squeeze on lime juice, if using. Set aside.
Butter your bread if desired, layer half the cheese on one slice, sprinkle with half the paprika, if using.
Add the bacon and avocado, then the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle on the rest of paprika, and place the other piece of bread on top, butter the top side of the sandwich.
Head a frying pan or griddle on medium heat, and melt a small knob of butter in it. Place the sandwich in the pan, buttered side up, and fry for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese starts to melt and the underside is dark golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side for another few minutes, until cheese is all melted and gooey!
Cut in half and serve.

By Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake

A Tipsy Giraffe https://www.atipsygiraffe.com/

Blackberry and Elderflower Entremets

by Michelle @ A Tipsy Giraffe // October 17, 2014 // 59 Comments

It’s week 9 of my GBBO Challenge, the semi-final! It was Pâtisserie week! I was originally planning to make macarons, a pâtisserie staple, but after seeing them make entremets on the show I knew I had to up my game and have a go at them, so I made blackberry and elderflower entremets!

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