Back to School Send Off

My friends are heading back to school in a few weeks and held a lovely back to school send off party this afternoon.

valentines toddler trail mix cups

Valentine's day is tomorrow, and I am finding that this holiday (like most of the others) is becoming more and more centered around my children. This is absolutely ok with me. It makes things a lot more fun. It also makes them a lot more work. (sigh) On the to-do list for the two girls is: Valentines cards for two classes and treats for the preschooler's class party.  (The older child's school prohibits any home-made goodies. I know, I know...where's the fun in that?)

Pinterest has lots of cute ideas floating around for just about any occasion.  I tweaked a trail mix idea to make it toddler friendly and HeartDay colors.

Ingredients used: pre-popped popcorn, Yogurt Burst Cheerios, Goldfish Colors (just the red ones), dried sweetened cranberries, M&M candies, strawberry gummy nibbles, and cherry vanilla yogurt bites.

the best rain out

Friends, it's been a while. For that, I'm sorry. I'll try to take a few moments and fill you in on the latest catering escapades from my kitchen.

But, first, I must tell you about two blogs of which I have recently become aware (and how this awareness came about).

My husband and I were scheduled to go ice skating with some friends this evening. Mother Nature had other plans, as a major weather system moved into the area bringing buckets and buckets of rain with it this afternoon. So, our party headed for the nearest pub. (Logical, right?)

Over a great dinner and wonderful conversation, I discovered that two of my friends had started blogging in the last few months. Both of their blogs are food related, and you should definitely check them out!

www.foodandgladness.com (one post features some GORGEOUS pictures from a recent Italy trip)
www.weeklyadmeals.com (shows you how to combine meal planning and grocer's weekly specials for savings)

In other news, my kitchen has been as busy as ever. I'll show you some highlights of the last few months.



Tie Dye Buttercream over Pink Velvet Cupcakes




Dark Chocolate Mousse with fresh raspberries and cream




Moroccan Carrot Salad Endive Cups




Goldfish Cupcakes

kitchen sink cookies

Ok...I'll admit that the title of this recipe does not quite whet one's appetite. But after you taste the cookies, you won't care what they're called! This recipe is from my favorite Junior League of Springfield (MO) cookbook, Sassafras. Go out and get yourself a copy; it's full of GREAT recipes.

The recipe's descriptor line says, "Get out your biggest bowl to mix this batter." They are not kidding. I have a couple of commercial sized salad bowls that are just big enough for one recipe. I needed to make LOTS of cookies this past weekend, and I was wondering just what to mix the dough in, and I thought that I could use about 3 of the big salad bowls, or I might just hose out the plastic kiddie pool! (kidding!!!) I decided on a double batch, which yielded 180 small/medium sized cookies. Don't fret: the recipe divides easily, and it will freeze beautifully.

Kitchen Sink Cookies ('cause you throw in just about everything but the kitchen sink!)

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups sugar
2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups corn flakes
2 cups (7 ounces) flaked coconut
12 ounces chocolate chips (pick your favorites)
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Yield: about 90 cookies

Preheat oven to 325. (I have found that my oven needs to be at 350.) Cream sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add corn flakes, coconut, chocolate chips, oats and nuts. Mix well. (At this point in the recipe, you need to know that this is a heavy batter/dough. Use a strong wooden spoon to do all this mixing. Your arms just might be a little tired afterwards!) Drop from a teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

back-who-igans?!?

I had the pleasure of making some cupcakes for a sweet little friend who turned the big 2 last week. She had a Backyardigans inspired party, and I had to do some online investigation to figure out how to make fitting cupcakes.

The inspiration

I made strawberry cupcakes and had a lot of fun with simple buttercream frosting!!!

another fond farewell...

I don't know what it is about my cooking that seems appropriate for farewells, but oh well...

Here's the latest from today

Amaretto cupcake with buttercream icing

Mini bacon cheeseburger spears

Bruschetta with ricotta

the word of the day...

Macerate (according to the food dictionary at epicurious.com): to soak a food (usually fruit) in a liquid in order to infuse it with the liquid's flavor.

Here's a peek at some macerated fresh fruit salsa!

farewell fiesta

Last evening, I helped throw a farewell party for a lovely young lady, who, in a few short weeks will be moving to the Yucatan in Mexico and getting married. Naturally, the hostesses for this party wanted to celebrate her upcoming move south of the border with some Mexican flavors...with a Vegan twist. All but one of the dishes (two if we're counting dessert) were Vegan-friendly. The hostess who opened her home for the fiesta had perfectly placed windows, and I had some fun snapping photos before the guests arrived.



Artichoke



Veggies Galore



Cheesey Black Bean Enchiladas



Corn, Tomato and Onion Salad


Our menu for the evening:

tortilla chips, freshly made salsa and guacamole
tons* of fresh veggies with garlic hummus
grilled chicken fajitas with caramelized peppers and onions
cheesey black bean enchiladas
corn, tomato and onion salad (my favorite!!!)
tres leches cake
fresh fruit salsa with cinnamon sugar pita chips

* slight exaggeration

babies shower(s)?

I'm not exactly sure what to call a shower given in honor of a mom carrying twins. It is a baby shower, because it's not a bridal shower. But do you make it plural? Babies shower? It was just one party, so the shower stays without an 's'. Right?

Regardless of the grammar confusion here, the mommy-to-be and the party were both lovely!

Here are a couple of pics of our yummy food...

Always a favorite: Fruit kabobs

A soon-to-be favorite: Strawberry Bruschetta

We also noshed on fruity chicken salad croissants, some fresh veggies, phyllo wrapped asparagus and a spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette.

blueberry soup

Last evening, I had the pleasure of preparing meals for 175 ladies at our church's annual Miss & Mrs. Tea. I spent a good part of the week preparing parts of the meals (or prepping ingredients), and Friday my team and I assembled, cooked, plated, garnished and cleaned until we almost couldn't move any longer!

Our menu for the evening:

• Chilled Blueberry Soup with Lemon Mascarpone Cream
• Raspberry Chipotle and Orange Marmalade Palmiers
• Strawberry Salad with Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing
• Garlic Rosette Rolls
• Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
• Loaded Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Glazed Pecans and Warm Cinnamon Sauce

I have a few pictures to share. (I'm really sorry I didn't snap any pictures of the first two courses before they were served!)

A little perspective. There were two more crates that didn't fit on the counter!

Loaded Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Glazed Pecans and Cinnamon Caramel Sauce



A little less than half of the desserts.

Apple Nachos

So, I know this is a little late for your Super Bowl Parties, but better late than never, right? Here's a yummy snack that you won't feel absolutely sinful eating (but it sure tastes that way).

Here is a 'recipe' for the nachos...or at least what you see in the pictures. You could put ANYTHING on these: white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, pecans, peanuts, marshmallow creme, well...you get the idea.

5 crispy sweet apples, sliced very thinly (on a mandoline if you've got one), tossed in lemon-lime soda. (This will keep the apples from browning, and the soda will have a less bitter taste than Grandma's version in lemon juice.) Drain and arrange on your serving plate.

Put 1/2 cup peanut butter (natural) in a microwave-safe container and melt. My microwave took less than a minute. BE CAREFUL, the peanut butter will be hot. Drizzle over the apples.

While the peanut butter is still soft, drizzle apples with caramel sundae topping (or other toppings of your choice), sprinkle with 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips and 1/2 cup toffee chips.

Enjoy!

dead-beat blogger

Yup. That's me. I'm a dead-beat. Never mind that I have two beautiful, smart, funny little girls that keep me on my toes most of the time. Well, in my "spare" time I like to grocery shop, do laundry, clean spills, and if I'm really lucky, go to Target. This blog thing? It's just extravagant.

So, in the theme of extravagance, I'm going to post some things that are true indulgences for me. Decorating for Christmas is one of them.

Here's our mantle all ready for Santa's stop in a few days. My sister-in-law determined that we would make these Pinterest-Craft-Stockings over Thanksgiving. I think that means I get to choose our Christmas break craft, right? Hmmmm....

sneak peek

Here's a quick glimpse into a little something I'm working on for tomorrow. OK. The work is done, I'm just waiting for party time tomorrow. I promise there will be more pictures and details.

Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

trying new things

Hello, friends! I've been away for a while, but I've been busy. I wanted to share some photos from an event last night, including some new favorites! Enjoy...

Phyllo Wrapped Asparagus - A crowd favorite!

Twice Baked Baby New Potatoes - Little toasty potato pillows. Yumm....

Beef tenderloin sandwiches - Herb roasted tenderloin with greens and French baguette.

Espresso Panna Cotta - A sweet, creamy, Italian espresso dessert with white and dark chocolate curls.

Up close and personal. You can almost taste it...

Lemon Drop Cake - Lemon sponge cake with lemon buttercream and lemon curd filling, decorated with candied lemon peel.

how hot is it? and sweet jalapeno cream cheese dip

It is so hot here in St. Louis, I wanted to write a little bit about more hot things...peppers!

Peppers can conjure up wonderful culinary rememberances of sweet and smoky cuisine, or it can terrorize your palate with flashbacks of runny noses, tears and an empty water glass and a waiter-in-hiding. How is it that so many things with the same name, can have such a range of flavors?

All peppers are members of the capsicum family. The amount of capsaicin in a pepper correlates with the amount of perceived hotness. A man named Wilbur Scoville developped a quantitative scale for ranking the capsaicinoid content in each pepper type. Here is the Wikipedia article regarding the Scoville scale.

Here are some common peppers, and their relative Scoville scores.

Bell peppers: 0
Pepperocinis: 100-500
Anaheim or Poblano: 500-2,500
Jalapeno and Tabasco sauce: 2,500-8,000
Serrano: 10,000-23,000
Cayenne: 30,000-50,000
Pequin: 50,000-100,000
Habanero or Scotch Bonnet: 100,000-350,000
Law Enforcement Grade Pepper Spray: 5,000,000-5,300,000 ;)



Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip - Make at least 1 week ahead.

And now for a recipe that you're sure to love. You'll need just a few things:

Jar of jalapeno slices
Sugar
Brick of cream cheese
Corn chips (think Fritos, or some other kind of cracker)

Don't knock yourself out shopping for those things. You may have some of them at home already!

• Drain the jalapenos. (If you took them out to drain, put them back in the jar.)
• Fill the jalapeno jar with sugar. Replace the lid tightly.
• Let the sugar liquidize. (I know there must be a technically correct term for this, but I am unaware!)
• Fill again with sugar in a couple of hours.
• Keep repeating this filling process until there is no more room at the top of the jar.
• Put this in the back of your fridge for at least a week. Yes, I said a WEEK - 7 days, unless you are a British Invasion-type...then it's 8 days.
• Place a brick of cream cheese on a plate, and pour the contents of the jalapeno/sugar jar over it.
• Enjoy with your corn chips or crackers.
• Mmmmmm.....

peach bombs

If you like peaches, you will not be sorry for trying this recipe. It's the time of summer when the local growers have peaches ready for us to use. So here you go...

Get 4 yummy peaches and wash them. Pat them dry.

Quarter a pre-made pie crust, and wrap each peach in one piece of the pie crust. Make sure you cover all the peach, and press the seams together.

Place the peaches into a baking pan (with sides...just in case).

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make a scrumptious little sauce to go with the peaches.

In a small mixing bowl, beat one egg until smooth.

In a small saucepan, melt one stick of butter.

Add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar to the melted butter.

Then add 1 TBSP Almond extract and the beaten egg.

Cook until smooth, stirring constantly. Set aside.

Serve peach bomb with sauce and (optional) vanilla ice cream.

What a delicious summer treat!



I will make these soon and take pictures to add to this post!

strawberry semifreddo

Last week on the Today Show, I saw Donatella make a wonderfully inviting summer dessert in less than a minute. You know how everything is at warp speed when people cook on TV? Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could all have someone to wash, stem and quarter all of our strawberries?!?

Well, I do not have a sous chef (unless you count children who want to eat strawberries as you are chopping them), but this recipe took only slightly longer than the minute on TV. Maybe 15. Pretty quick.  Here's the recipe from the "Donatella Cooks" segment of the Today Show.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of strawberries, hulled, plus more for garnish
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons Tuaca or Grand Marnier (optional)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Fresh mint, cut in thin strips, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Line an 8" or 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan, if using, with plastic wrap and set aside.
Combine the strawberries, sugar, and Tuaca (a golden liqueur made in Tuscany. It infuses the semifreddo with the subtle flavors of orange and vanilla) in the bowl of a food processor and puree. Reserve 1 cup. Pour the remaining puree into a large bowl. Whip the cream in another bowl using an electric mixer until soft peaks form when you lift the beaters out of the bowl. Fold the cream into the puree using a rubber spatula, working from the bottom of the bowl, until there are no signs of cream. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
Invert the semidreddo onto a serving plate. Remove the plastic wrap and, when slightly softened, smooth the top with a knife.

Serving

Cut into ¾ - 1" thick slices and garnish with the strawberries, mint, and some of the reserved puree drizzled on top.

The end result is a lot like a light strawberry ice cream. Only better! Let me know if you try it, and what you think.

and the winner is...(part 2)

The winner of the fabulous Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator is....


Lois!

Congratulations!

giveaway!!!

It's too darn hot! My car thermometer read 102* this afternoon. To think that not too many generations ago, air conditioning was unheard of...I can't even imagine.

Because I am just not a fan of uber hot weather, and will NOT be turning my oven or stove on for the foreseeable future, I thought something fun and lighthearted was in order.

I am giving away a new Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator. To enter,leave a comment about your favorite part of summer.
Here's mine...

My favorite part of summer would have to be swimming or fireworks.

Easy, right?

Click to leave your comments before Thursday (7/14) at 11:59PM, and you are entered to win!

Good luck!

in my daughter's eyes

My 4 1/2 year old was recently 'interviewed' at her pre-school as part of a Mother's Day project. The teacher, Miss Patty, recorded the children talking about their moms, and wrote a little report for each. Here is what my daughter said:

My Mommy is Special
She has dark brown hair and green eyes.
Her favorite foods are bananas and spiced stuff.
I don't know her favorite color. I think it's dark pink.
When I am at school, my mommy makes parties because she likes parties and I do too.
My mommy is prettiest when she is at the party. She probably will wear a dress. She's pretty when she wears dresses.
And here is the portrait my daughter created of me.

Yup...that's me all right. Yellow mullet, green googly eyes (sporting make up, no less), 5 very pointy fingers,
lipstick, a black dress and a pair of .... hmmm...hips?
Sotheby's might not have any interest in selling this artwork, but that's OK. They can't have it.