And a final nod to Bryan’s birthday . . . a simple strawberry cheesecake. I used the base of this recipe, swapping out the graham crackers in favor of shortbread cookies.
Archive for the ‘In the kitchen’ Category
6 Jun
Blackberry Sangria
Sangria is quickly becoming my favorite summer drink. While a recipe isn’t really necessary, these are the basic ratios I’ve found particularly tasty.
Blackberry Sangria
Add blackberries, raspberries, sliced strawberries, sliced apples and sliced peaches to a pitcher and stir in:
750 ml red wine
1/2 cup blackberry brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup orange juice
Serve over ice and and top with club soda.
When the pitcher runs low, just add more wine!
24 May
J-E-L-L-Oh, we should have made more!
This Jello is for grown-ups only; specifically, those attending my friend Monica’s graduation party.
Thanks to inspiration from Bakers Royale, we made orange and lemon Jello shots—in oranges and lemons. Monica managed the hard part–scooping out the pulp from halved fruit. Then, we balanced the halves in muffin tins, and poured in a bit of vodka-enhanced gelatin. (We used about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of vodka in place of part of the cold water.)
Once they were set, we cut each half into thirds and served. While they didn’t pack much of a punch, they were certainly cute!
19 Apr
Lemon Meringue Pie
Two notes about this particular concoction: First, lemon is quickly becoming my go-to ingredient to tie an entire menu together. It is seemingly at home in every dish this time of year. Second, there is something undeniably magical about the way egg whites transform when introduced to a bit of air. It never ceases to amaze me.
17 Apr
A new twist on a springtime favorite
I have been looking forward to trying this new, raw asparagus recipe–shaved asparagus with Parmesan vinaigrette.
I used a vegetable peeler to shred the stalks into long ribbons, then topped them with lemon juice, olive oil and and Parmesan. I’m not typically a fan of raw asparagus, but the thin slices were mild and almost sweet.
I love cooking this time of year—it seems all you need is a splash of olive oil and sprinkle of salt. We served this with cherry tomatoes and grilled chicken—quick, easy and light.
23 Mar
I love the details that go in to an event. I don’t get to focus on these much at work anymore, and so they’ve become even more important to me when I have the luxury of planning something at home. Given the myriad of ideas available online (even for the seemingly small niche of woodland fairy birthday parties), I had a huge supply of inspiration for this gathering.
We started with very simple invitations with three-dimensional butterfly stickers.
I wanted to create the “woodland” feel with the party decorations, allowing the little girls to serve as the fairies. I started with the centerpiece for the main table, which I created by covering Styrofoam blocks in sheets of moss. I intended to use native grass cuttings from our yard, but opted for greener silk flowers instead. The letters spelling Ava’s name are borrowed from her bedroom wall.
I think this photo that Doug shot illustrates the main table the best:
The flag garland over the table was almost an afterthought—I had so much fabric left over from the mushrooms, I decided to make use of it. I stacked it up, made three quick cuts with my rotary cutter, then secured the flags to ribbon with a bit of hot glue. In all, they probably only took 20 minutes.
Ava and I painted small birdhouses (for the fairies, of course) and created fabric colored mushrooms to add to the centerpiece.
Despite starting our planning efforts nearly a month ago, there were several tasks I didn’t complete. My mom disappeared for a bit on Saturday morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see her return with flats of pansies for the pots in the entryway.
My favorite part of the planning and preparations was making the tutus for the little fairy guests. In all, Gramma Great and I made ten tutus by looping tulle around a ribbon.
Here’s the smallest tutu, made especially for Sylvia, our littlest fairy.
We hung the tutus and wings near the front door and secured them with flowery hair clips.
I had blue dragonfly wings for the boys, but they were remarkably unpopular…
We served chicken salad sandwiches, crudites, chocolate-covered strawberries (called fairy berries, of course), fresh fruit and cheese, and plenty of sweets. Laura, a calligraphy artist, created the gorgeous labels.
One of the best ideas I found online was for a make-your-own-trail mix bar, complete with chocolate nests for bowls. To make the nests, I mixed crushed shredded wheat with melted chocolate, and molded it into the inside of a dish. After a few minutes in the freezer, the “nest” popped right out. Dave made the wooden chargers we sat underneath.
I made flower-shaped cupcakes for Ava and her guests, and in keeping with tradition, I ruined the first batch and had to make a second to serve.
My mom made an angel food cake, which I nearly—and accidentally!–destroyed. Mom was thankfully able to save it, and we placed it on a cake stand that Dave built for the party.
Karyl and Ava decorated the number six sugar cookies, and then sprinkled them with a bit of “fairy dust” to make them glimmer.
We put the pinata in place, and waited for the fairies to arrive.
Up next, the party participants!
13 Mar
Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Mousse
I made this Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Mousse for my coworkers last week. I heeded reviews and substituted Martha Stewart’s fool proof cake recipe for the base, but the chocolate mousse and whiskey syrup from Bon Appetit were fantastic (and quite appropriate for the approaching holiday).
14 Feb
Happy Valentine’s Day
The girls and I made four batches of smashed berry muffins this weekend. Sixty-four mini muffins went to kindergarten and preschool unadorned (to fulfill the “healthy” food preference expressed by the teachers). The others were topped with a towering swirl of strawberry-meringue buttercream and enjoyed by friends and coworkers. Thanks to Laura for the adorable cupcake boxes!
22 Jan
Horsing around
(You’ll see why that title is appropriate in a moment…)
Every two years, Gramma and Grampa dig and process horseradish. This year, Bryan helped with the digging, and the grandparents sent some roots home with him to process on his own.
So, late one night last month, he set to it, taking photos of the task along the way. Here are the pre-processed roots, which he had soaked in the garage for a few days prior.
Then, he peeled the roots. He said he started with 36.5 oz of horseradish root. After he cleaned and peeled it, he had 22 ounces left, or about 60 percent of the starting weight.
From Bryan: I blended the horseradish with some water (just enough to allow for blending) and a pinch of salt. After blending, I let it sit 10 minutes (I read on the internet that the longer it sits, the hotter it gets, up to a point). Two to three minutes was recommended for mild, about five minutes for medium, and eight minutes for hot. Ten minutes seemed about right to me. After that, I added some white vinegar to get the consistency right.
All in all, it’s very good and pretty hot. Not too bad for a first attempt, anyway. I made it without safety glasses or ventilation, but it was only two batches in the blender, so not too big or dangerous of a job. The only cringe inducing moments were after the 10 minute period when I opened the top of the blender to peek in and add vinegar. It’s probably best to stand back a foot or two from the top of the blender, to not breathe in the fumes directly.
By this point, the entire house smelled like horseradish, and Bryan, perhaps fueled by a combination of the pungent fumes and large quantities of bourbon, continued to snap photos using the camera’s timer function.
Thanks, Gramma and Grampa, for sharing—we will enjoy this in the months to come.
17 Jan
In the kitchen
I haven’t done a lot of baking lately, but here’s a photo from Christmas morning. I love Ina Garten’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake–it’s quick and easy, and the end result is pretty to boot.
I normally make this in a Bundt pan, but I tried the recommended tube pan for the first time because Mom and Gramma were there to supervise. The cake slid out without any trouble. Inverting it on the cake plate was an adventure, but fortunately, it landed in one piece.
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