Monday, December 26, 2011

The Brooklyn Bridge


I stumbled on this amazing picture of the Brooklyn Bridge today.  These are painters, working on the cables of the suspension bridge.  I don't know who took it back in 1914, but kudos them!  It made me think of the fascinating history of the bridge and those who built it.

Construction started in 1870 and was completed in 1883.  It crosses the East river, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The bridges designer sustained an injury in the beginning building process and subsequently passed away.  He passed the job of building the bridge to his young son.  The son also sustained injury and was unable to supervise the construction.  His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, stepped in learning mathematics and acquiring unique knowledge of bridge construction.  The legend is that she cared for her husband during the day and, at night, went to oversee the construction of the bridge.

It was opened 130 years ago and almost 150,000 vehicles still cross the bridge each day.

Here's a picture I took of the bridge when I lived in NY.  What looks like scaffolding below the bridge was a temporarily art project of waterfalls constructed below the bridge.


I've often heard that the limestone used in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge is the famous Indiana Limestone.  However, I think this is a common misconception.  Perhaps a mix up with the Empire State Building and Flatiron Building which DO feature Indiana Limestone.

A funny side note, the Sherman Minton bridge that crosses the Ohio River between Kentucky in Indiana was completed in 1962 and had to be closed in 2011 for extensive repairs.  The Sherman Minton bridge carried about half the number of vehicles per day.  I think that they could have used Emily Warren Roebling.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Cake Batter Truffles!

I saw a few recipes online that lead me to this little number.  It's a winning combination of a few different recipes.


Firstly, let me just tell you - these are SO good.  I took them to a holiday party last night and they were a huge hit.



Cake Batter Truffles

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
¼ tsp. vanilla
¼ c. sugar
2 – 3 tbls. milk, half & half or cream
2 tbls. candy sprinkles, divided
1 package vanilla candy coating

Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer.  Mix in entire box of yellow cake mix.  Add milk 1 tbls. at a time until you have a stiff dough.  (The temperature and humidity of your house will depend on what you need, so it might change each time you make the recipe.)  Stir in 1 tbls. candy sprinkles.

Roll dough into ¾” balls and chill for at least 15 minutes.  You could make these a day ahead, but you would want to cover them.  Once you are ready to coat, remove from fridge and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. If you try to coat super cold middles with warm candy coating, they will expand and crack.  NO GOOD!  

Melt vanilla candy coating and coat the cake batter balls, immediately topping with remaining sprinkles.