Did I ever show you these super-cute baby birdie cupcakes I made?
I co-hosted a baby shower for a friend expecting twin boys, and I thoughts these Martha Stewart inspired cupcakes were the cutest ever!
They were pretty easy to make, but I found that the buttercream frosting wasn't quite firm enough for making the round bird bodies .. they got saggy pretty quickly.
Super fun peeps that tasted delicious!
What a hit! Literally - so much fun to whack at it with a rolling pin, hammer, or in my instance, a metal citrus press.
This was our make-it-as-a-family holiday food this year, although I found that I was in charge of the hot sugar melting on the stove and once it hardened, the kids were able to whack at it and brush the sparkle dust all over.
The recipe is found here, but I'm going to repeat it below for you, with some of my notes added in.
I found great glass-topped/magnetic-bottomed spice jars at Ikea, and they are a great size for this gift.
Ingredients
Step One
Grease a cookie sheet or cake pan with butter.
Step Two
Measure ingredients.
Step Three
Pour granulated sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.
Step Four
Without stirring, boil the mixture until a candy thermometer reads between 300 and 310 degrees. (This will take about 30 minutes.) Drop a small amount into ice water. If it separates into brittle strands its ready.
Step Five
Remove from heat and let boiling subside.
Step Six
Measure flavoring oil and pour into candy mixture. Also add food coloring if desired. Blend with a wooden spoon. (You’ll notice that it will get really steamy for a few seconds.) Actually, mine spat and sputtered and really intensified the scent. Crazy!
Step Seven
Pour onto greased cookie sheet or cake pan. Let cool. (I put mine in the fridge) Must refrigerate - don't waste the time waiting for it to cool. You're going to want the satisfaction of cracking into it!
Step Eight
Cover hardened candy with parchment paper and tap with a mallet to shatter candy into small pieces. I skipped the paper, and found I had no flying particles! As I said above, I ended up using a heavy metal citrus press to break it up, not having a mallet on hand!
Step Nine
Use a basting brush and coat candy pieces with icing sugar. I brushed the large pieces, then broke them down a little smaller and coated both sides and the exposed edges. Very fun.
Step Ten
Place into favor tins. (I lined the inside with a cupcake liner.) Tie with ribbon and adhere labels. My size tin called for an extra large cupcake liner, and then I used a 3" circle punch to cut out some decorative paper, which I inserted inside the lid. I then printed out a holiday message on cardstock, punched it out with the 3" circle, and taped it to the bottom of the tin.
This was such a fun project to do, and the kids were able to take ownership of it also.
Thanks, Intimate Weddings Blog, for the great idea!
I'm trying out my new KitchenAid juicer attachment and it's so fun!! Actually, it's been hiding in my cabinet for a year or so, but it just made it to my countertop.
It's a continuing challenge. There the cookbook lies, a mess among bowls and spatulas, partially covered in ingredients and dirty fingerprints. And it lies flat on the counter, which isn't the easiest view when trying to follow a recipe.
Enter the cookbook stand. Something to prop up your book to reading level, and hopefully something you don't mind leaving out.
There are lots of acrylic or metal frame cookbook stands out there, but suppose you want something remotely attractive sitting out on the counter?
(1) Super-useful interior storage, for all those scraps that make their way into your recipe files. (2) Easy on the eyes: cherry-toned and lucite. (3) Can’t decide on a style? This tucks away under cabinet. (4) Traditional iron scrolls (5) Why go rummaging through the drawer to find measuring equivalents? These are right on the side of your stand.
I'm cracking myself up right now. I just had a lovely phone call with Megan in Charleston, South Carolina, who delightedly signed me up for the Bacon of the Month Club.
I've gotten back on my clean-and-organize spurt, and attacked the pantry yesterday. Partially fueled by the new storage containers I got at the store, I spent the afternoon removing, sorting, cleaning, filling, and reorganizing. I've not yet finished the new labeling. Which I love to do!
I can't believe I did it! We had a party, a real honest-to-goodness Christmas party, and while terrifying to
host such a big party, it went off without a hitch (well, only minor ones) and I think everyone had a great time. Woo woo!
... both for me and for others.
For my family, butternut squash. I peel, cut, and roast a whole slew of it, saving some of the roasted cubes for the children, and with the rest I make a killer soup. I found a great recipe in Cooking Light, and I add crumbled bacon and goat cheese to the top. The cheese softens up nicely and adds the perfect touch.
And for others, I worked all day on these stuffed dates. A group I'm a part of is helping to host a Meditteranean-themed cocktail party, and I offered to work on these dates. They are stuffed with a mix of feta, crystalized ginger, and chopped pistachios. They are divine ... I had a hard time making sure they made it to the freezer without a detour to my mouth.
It was just one of those mornings ... planets aligned and life was good.
My husband made breakfast for us ... alas, it was Cheerios and bananas, but it was prepared when I sat down. The morning went well, we ran a few errands, and returned home.
My children go to a church-based preschool, and in their bags on Wednesday was a note that they are to dress up as their favorite Bible character this Monday. Okay, I know the basics ... Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Noah. That's about it. I'm not up on the stories, parables, histories, etc. Thus, I will be dropping off a lamb (oh, how sweet) and an angel.
Thus, part of our errands included a trip to the fabric store. I found the most fun, cream, curly fur fabric that I've fashioned into a tunic of sorts. With a tail. It's absolutely adorable, but it looks like a poodle exploded on my basement floor.
Anyway, we arrived home, and the small people were frantic for food, as we skipped snack time while in pursuit of fuzzy lamb goodness. I looked into the refrigerator with dismay, knowing that I couldn't again in good conscience feed them more chicken nuggets.
With the following ingredients, all leftovers, I whipped up a fabulous lunch that two almost-2-year-olds actually ate:
-pancake batter
-chopped pork tenderloin
-finely shredded parmigano reggiano
-bacon
-julienned apples
-butter
-cinnamon
Voila! Crepes filled with cinnamon-sprinkled apples and pork.
I was very proud, to say the least.
