Reindeer Cupcakes

Reindeer cupcakes, too cute not to share. Wish I could take credit for creating them. . .

My friend Brian, a father of two with another baby on the way, made these festive treats for his daughter, Emma's second birthday. Busy with life and small children, Emma's parents chose to celebrate her second birthday a few days early with a creative dessert, and friends at a Christmas party-now that is what I call multitasking.
  
Ingredients needed to make Reindeer Cupcakes:
chocolate frosted cupcakes
Antlers: mini pretzels
Face: vanilla wafers
Eyes: white frosting and black gel frosting 
Nose: gum drops (make it stick using frosting as glue)

What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Holiday Pizza Crust

 The first holiday party I attended was, appropriately scheduled on the first day of December-my official start date for the winter holiday season. The guest list was filled with families with small children, so the host decided to cater to the appetites of the attending majority and make it a pizza making party.

Everyone who came to the party, brought a pizza topping, a children's book for the kid's book exchange, and a chocolate or beer themed item for the adult gift exchange.  

Jeanette, the hostess, supplied the essential pizza ingredients: red sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and lots of wonderful pizza dough- you've got to try it. 

Jeanette's Pizza Hut Pizza Crust

1 c lukewarm (105-110) water

1 pkg yeast

1 T sugar

1 T oil

1 tsp salt

Mix yeast in water.  Add rest in order given.  Add 2 c flour, beat till smooth.  Add ½ c more flour until stiff.  Let rise a few minutes.  Roll out in round and pinch edges to hold fillings.  Fill with toppings. 

Sprinkle 1 tsp cornmeal on pizza peel, stone or pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Party goers made several pizzas with a variety of toppings cooked in Jeanette's double-decker oven, on "pizza peels." Several pizza peels were involved,other guests brought their own. I had never heard of a pizza peel before but, as soon as I saw one, I recognized it from the many pizza parlors I have dined at.  Pizza peels, a.k.a bread paddle or bakers shovel, look like big wooden cutting board that act as a pizza pan, with a long handle to keep your hands away from the heat when you slide it in the oven. 

Pizza on a peel, also known as a bread paddle or baker's shovel - (

quezi.com

Everyone left the party full and happy, carrying new books, chocolates, or a bottle of holiday ale, along with news and memories to carry through the New Year. The first holiday party of the year will be a hard one to top.

Making an Inviting Work Space at Home; Part 3

The quest continues: make a more inviting office space in a room that triples as a guest room and dressing area.  The Goal: make the room -a place where I must work, into somewhere I want to spend time. 

Step 1: Illuminate the room by replacing black out curtains with bright red and white curtains. (An Inviting Work Space At Home: Part 1, posted 11/8/12)

Step 2: The Little Things; hats and jewelry (posted 11/13/12)

Step 3: The Daybed; a new look.

After browsing in stores (more times and more stores than I'd like to admit) I decided on some new bedding for the day bed in my room. It was a big decision, the daybed is a large piece of furniture in the the small room, something I would have to look at everyday, and gets used a lot be overnight guests.

Before

 If you've ever shopped specifically for  "daybed" bedding you know how expensive and limited the options are -maybe the "daybed" just isn't a common piece of furniture?

However, there are oodles of choices for twin sized bedding materials. That is what I ended up purchasing at Macy's, specifically -a Fairfield Square Collection 6 piece reversible Bed Ensemble (a twin comforter set: sheets and sham included, on sale for $39.99 down from $100.00!)

After

The two peppermint candy looking pillows are from Ikea, ($9.99 each.) The black pattern on the comforter brings out the linear elegance of the cast iron bed frame and the red accents the new red and white curtains (see Making an Inviting Work Space at Home; Part 1.)


To be continued...

Cranberry Sauce; Not Just for Holidays

Whole cranberry sauce

Whole cranberry sauce, so easy , so good for you, why is it only served at Thanksgiving?

Cranberry sauce is more than a great companion to turkey, the holiday super food, called      "bounceberries" by some (that's how you can tell a good cranberry, it is shiny, firm, and it bounces when dropped.) These bouncy berries are high in free radical fighting antioxidants and vitamin C, store for long periods of time, and contain high levels of pectin, a natural thickening agent, making them an ideal ingredient for sauce.


 Whole cranberries do more than make a great sauce, they are rich in vitamin C an essential component in overall health, and antioxidants, your body's Allie in fending off cancer.

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say. It may not be the cure for the common cold (though it's thought to help prevent more serious complications). But the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c

Cranberries are typically sold in 12 ounce plastic bags during peak cranberry season (September-December) during this time they can also be found for sale at local Farmers Markets. While, frozen whole cranberries are available year round, now is a good time to stock up, because of their acidity, whole cranberries store easily and for long periods of time, approximately, 1 month in the refrigerator and up to 1 year in the freezer.

This sauce is great on toast or served w/pork

The following whole cranberry sauce recipe is one I found on the back of an Oceanspray whole cranberry bag (about $2.00 for 12 oz.bag)

Whole Cranberry Sauce

• 1 bag whole cranberries rinsed and drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar (I bet you could add just 1/2 a cup and it would still be quite sweet)

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium sauce pan.
2. Add cranberries
3. Let mixture gently boil for 10 minutes
4. Transfer to a bowl and let cool at room temperature.
5. Chill in the refrigerator, then serve.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c

 http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/thanksgiving-superfoods-you-should-be-eating-year-round-2409021.html

Alex's 2 Day Corn Bread Stuffing

The following cornbread stuffing recipe was a delicious addition to Thanksgiving dinner, saintly in flavor, angelic in texture, but made with some devilish ingredients.

For the second year in a row, my best friend, Alex drove 7 hours from Redding,California, to spend Thanksgiving with me in Portland, Oregon. Alex, a creature of holiday habit, likes to eat the dishes she had every year growing up at Thanksgiving.  I realized- this Thanksgiving, how special particular dishes were to her when the first thing she said to me after our initial greetings was:

 “I really want to make my mom’s cornbread stuffing, not the stovetop stuffing you got last year.”

Alex's stuffing is yummy but is not for the faint of heart- I mean that figuratively and literally. Figuratively, this spicy recipe takes stamina-it took Alex two days to make, and she had to handle turkey giblets! Literally, it has a lot of artery clogging fat and more calories per serving than I would care to count.

Alex’s 2 Day Cornbread Stuffing 

Pair with a 12 - 15 lb. bird.  

Ingredients

• 3 cups crumbled day old cornbread.
• 3 cups cubed white bread (Alex used a small par baked baguette)
• Liver, Gizzard & Heart of turkey.  
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried Thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
• salt to taste
• 3/4 tsp. or more fresh ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf finely chopped
• Tabasco to taste
• 15  roasted chestnuts chopped
• 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)



Chestnuts ready to peel

• 1 lb mild Italian sausage

 Method

Day 1: Roast Chestnuts and Bake Cornbread

Roasted Chestnuts

About 15 chestnuts, buy extra-sometimes they are spoiled or get damaged while cooking or peeling.

Score the top of the chestnut using a paring knife. Carve an x, deep enough to penetrate the outer skin.

Roast on 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. Chestnuts are done when skin around the scoring starts to peel and pop. When cool enough to handle remove the skins.

Peeled & chopped chestnuts

http://homecooking.about.com/od/nutrecipes/r/blmisc38.htm

Corn Bread

http://www.alberscorn.com/recipes/cornmeal/AlbersCornBread.aspx

After corn bread has cooled cut it in half and let it sit uncovered over night to dry out.

Cut corn bread in half to dry out

Day 2:

1. Crumble the corn bread into a large mixing bowl
 

2. Toast the cubed white bread evenly & add to cornbread
 

3. Mince the giblets.
 

4. Heat 1/2 the butter in a large skillet: add giblets, sausage, vegetables, spices & tabasco. Medium to low heat, approximately 20 mins.  A Dutch oven could also be used.

5. Mix in chestnuts & craisins.
 

6. Add remaining butter. After the butter melts, combine all with bread in a mixing bowl.
 

7. Stuff the body cavities of the turkey & secure with kitchen twine (NEVER stuff the bird & let it sit overnight.)
 

8. Instead of stuffing the bird, Alex put the stuffing in a large casserole dish and baked it for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

What do you have to have for the holidays?

Indoor Orchid Success

Phalaenopsis "the moth orchid"

             

Orchid are notorious murder victims by gardeners and people who receive them as gifts (like me). I would like to think that I have a green thumb, specifically when it comes to an orchid that I received as a gift in June. The splendid delicate, purple orchid has despite its elegance has proven a hearty addition to my plant family, and has continued to bloom from June to the present (mid November.)

So am I just lucky? Is the light in my dining room here in Portland, Oregon just right? Does my orchid get just enough water from the ice cubes I place in its pot? I did some research and found some helpful tips for growing orchids indoors and also found that the conditions in my Oregon home are quite pleasing for orchids.

My orchid lives on my dining room table near a large north facing window. Experts suggest growing orchids near eat-west facing windows but not too close to the window-orchids get cold, they should be kept in 60-80 degrees temps when blooming indoors. If you keep and orchid on a window sil move it at night when temperatures drop.

Bright light, but not direct sunlight-welcome to a nice day in Portland, Oregon! The grey day light here in Oregon is on my side, it is bright but not too intense in my dining room where my orchid lives perched on a table.

Since June, I water my orchid with 3 ice cubes placed in the pot when potting medium feels bone dry, now that it’s November and there is less humidity in the air, I plan on watering  (ice cubing) a bit more often. Experts suggest placing orchids on wet gravel in trays and using a mister to give flowers some refreshment now and then.

These plants need moist air. Placing pots on wet gravel in trays is a good idea. Keep 1/2 inch of water in the gravel....this will evaporate and provide humidity. Using a mister to give your plants an occasional spritz will also provide the moisture your plants need.

Air circulation is important. Open windows when the weather is warm, or place a small fan in the growing space.

http://www.dreamorchids.com/Growing-Orchids-Indoors.html

What kind of indoor plants thrive in your home? Any orchid lovers out there?

A Really Good Teryaki Chicken Lunch

A Really Good Lunch

The other day, I spied some delicious looking teryaki chicken take out that I friend had ordered, she asked “want some?”

I did want some, but declined the offer-wanting to be polite. Since then, I had been craving something just like my friend’s take out. 

Using a wok, chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, and a simple teriyaki sauce, I made an excellent take out-like, high protein lunch for myself. 

First, I bought chicken breasts- they were on sale, cut them in cubes; put the chicken in the wok with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil.Whenever I use my wok I think,

“Why don’t I use this more often?”

Wok cooking is fast, the high heat sears meat quickly locking in the flavor. The chicken cooked in 4-5 minutes, after, I removed it from the wok so I could cook the broccoli florets and mushrooms. 

After about 4 minutes the mushrooms and broccoli-my favorite super food, were cooked to firm yet chewable perfection.  It was all coming together, the chicken put back in the wok with the broccoli just waiting for the sauce. 

Making teriyaki sauce at home is easier than I thought it would be. After perusing the internet for recipes, I decided to concoct my own sauce using the bare minimum ingredients suggested in recipes on the web.

Bare Minimum Teriyaki Sauce

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup cold water

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Whisk and toss with ingredients in wok until warm.

Serve over rice.

There are a lot of great teriyaki sauce recipes out there that will rival your favorite restaurant’s version. Next time I make teriyaki sauce, I’m going to add pineapple juice and ginger then use the mixture as a beef marinade.

What will you use your sauce for? What kind of ingredients will you try?