Homemade Marshmallows

  The girls have been on a marshmallow kick lately. No roasting or toasting required, just eating one or two straight out of the bag for a treat. For the 4th, we were going to have friends over for grilled steak, wine and sparklers, so I figured we'd set up the fire pit and make S'mores. So I decided we could make homemade marshmallows for a fun activity.

Between trying to keep kids away from the boiling sugar syrup, beaters and other kitchen dangers, I didn't get any pictures of the process. But, the Barefoot Contessa's recipe isn't that difficult (and doesn't use egg whites, for those who sure vegetarian  or have allergies), just fairly sticky. Next time, I'll probably spray the pan with vegetable oil, then dust with powdered sugar because mine stuck to the sides and wouldn't slide out of the pan when I turned it upside down.

Tip: Use a pizza cutter (or thin, sharp knife) sprayed with vegetable oil and cutting is a breeze. I tossed them in a little more powdered sugar and had no problems with them sticking together.

Everyone agreed they were the best marshmallows they'd ever had. My friend's toddler kept grabbing the bag and stuffing them in her mouth (which is one way to keep little ones awake for fireworks).

I think these need to be part of my holiday baking routine, maybe flavored with peppermint and dipped in chocolate. 

Easter Cookies

  For our annual Easter Egg Hunt last weekend, I wanted to make a fun, cute, kid-friendly dessert. Last year, I made cupcakes (which I apparently didn't write about...) and the year before I made Bunny Cake Pops. This year, I was inspired by the King Arthur Flour catalogue and made Easter Cookies.

I used their Sugar Cookie and White Icing mixes with some Wilton cookie cutters. I made the dough one day, rolled them out and baked the next day and decorated on the last day. I wanted to try the "flood icing" technique, but I don't think my royal icing was runny enough and I didn't feel like mixing all my colors twice, so I just went with it. I piped the frosting, spread with a knife and smoothed out any bumps with a wet finger. They turned out really cute, if I do say so myself.

Ornament Wreath

I didn't really need a new door wreath for the holidays, but, let's be honest, I really wanted one. However, I wanted a fun, bold wreath that wouldn't break the bank. Which, is a little harder to find.

On Pinterest, I found a fun wreath that didn't cost too much money; it just required some ornaments and a wire hanger. (Go ahead, make the Mommy Dearest joke. You know you want to.)



I found a set of shatter-proof ornaments at Costco for $20. Somehow, I didn't have a glue gun, so I popped over to JoAnn's and got one (seriously, how did I not have a glue gun?) and started on my wreath.

The tops of my ornaments didn't slide up, but I put a ring of glue around the base to secure everything. I grabbed a hanger from The Boy's closet, put some Vampire Diaries on (if you don't watch this show, you really should), and started stringing ornaments.

It's best to mix sizes, so they can slide snugly on the wire. There's really no rhyme or reason needed, unless you're set on a particular color pattern.

I didn't have any wire cutters, so I used some pliers to wrap the wire around the hook at the top and tied a nice ribbon to hide it.

Like I said, I got my ornaments for cheap at Costco, but if you're willing to wait, you could get some on sale after the holidays and stash them for next year. It's a quick, cheap and extremely easy project that has a lot of impact!

Halloween Costumes

This year, I made the girls' costumes. Because I'm crazy.

I made a purple and black dress for The Bean, from Simplicity 2569 and a "wady-buggy" costume from Simplicity 2788 for The Belly.

The dress was made out of satin, crushed velvet and tulle--3 fabrics I had never sewn with before. The satin and velvet are really slippery, which made cutting them out somewhat tricky. I had to re-cut a few pieces before I got a bodice I was happy with. And have you ever tried to rip stitches out of tulle? It's nigh impossible.

However, the final product was a huge success. After a switch of witch hat for wings, and antenna from bumpy chenille stems and a headband, a beautiful butterfly was born.

The ladybug costume was easier to make, but had its own challenges. The body is lined with fleece, gathered at the bottom with elastic and the wings and shoulders are attached with velcro. The dots are just ironed on with strong fusible webbing.

The elastic casing on the bottom was a little hard to sew, just because of the fabric thickness. I also made a change to the wings. The pattern calls for 2 layers of felt to be fused together with webbing, but they were too floppy for my taste. So, I put stabilizer between the felt and sewed around the edges, using double-fold bias tape as trim. The pattern also includes a jumpsuit, made from velour, but I decided The Bean could wear a black shirt and pants and save myself some sewing.

She wasn't a fan of the antenna hat, so she went without, but was still incredibly cute.

Chocolate-Covered Candied Orange Peels

For me, the holidays are officially here when I watch A Muppet Christmas Carol (while decorating the tree) and when I make candied orange peels.

As I said earlier, my mom was famous for her orange peels. Her friends would hide them from their children, saving them all for themselves. They're not difficult to make, they're just time- (and space-) intensive. I usually make a double batch, using every single baking sheet I have for drying and dipping. I don't like grapefruit (unless it's mixed with vodka in a Grayhound), so I make mine with all oranges.

Chocolate Dipped Orange and Grapefruit Peel
1 large grapefruit, 3 large navel oranges
1 cup of honey
About 1 cup of sugar
16 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1. Remove peels. Cut it into 1/4" strips. Place in a 5-qt. Saucepan; cover with cold water; bring to a full boil; then drain. Repeat four times.
2. Transfer drained peel to a large skillet; add honey and 2/3 cup water. Cook slowly until all syrup is gone--about 60 min. Cook 15 min. longer, over low heat, being careful not to scorch the fruit.
3. Drain thoroughly; cool; then roll each strip in sugar. Spread out on cookie sheets in single layer; dry overnight. Next day, roll again in sugar.
4. In top of double boiler, over hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate. Holding with tongs, dip each strip in the chocolate; drain off excess. Place on waxed paper on tray. Cool. Store in refrigerator.

A note on dipping: I'm lazy, so I only dip the peels halfway and I think the contrast between the dark chocolate and the crystallized orange is pretty. Also, I dip my peels in bittersweet chocolate, mainly because I get it in large packages at Costco. You can use milk, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, whatever taste you like best.


This year, I made fudge and almond toffee to go in my goodie packages. Looking through my notes from pastry classes, I found something interesting:

For every 1,000 feet/300 meters above sea level, subtract 2 degrees F/1 degree C from every boiling point listed in the recipe.

I'd never really thought about altering candy recipes for high altitude before, but it does make sense considering baking recipes need to account for differences in evaporation. I have to say, the fudge was creamier than the previous times I'd made it. So, try it and see if it makes a difference in your candy recipes.

Thanksgiving Eats

As the saying goes, "The Best Laid Plans O' Mice and Men Aft Gang Aglay" (and if you like Eddie Izzard, you know the mice are planning their own version of the Italian Job). For us, our Thanksgiving travel plans were thrown out the window when both girls got sick, in the Belly's case a double-ear infection, and we decided not to fly. So, we had a nice dinner at my lovely friend S's house, and made our own little family for the night.

For me, it's just not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. And I found the most amazing recipe for Caramel Pumpkin Pie, courtesy of Dorie Greenspan. (I haven't made it with the strussel as in the link, but it's got to be even more fantastic.) S made a delicious apple pie which was made divine with the inclusion of The Pioneer Woman's Hard Sauce. I made yummy noises the entire time I ate it.

It's also not a holiday unless there's Pink Salad. It's something my stepmom always makes for big dinners, a recipe she got from her mom. It's wicked easy, very refreshing, and since it has light cream cheese and pineapple, you might be able to convince yourself it's a healthy thing to eat.

Pink Salad
1 - 6oz package of Strawberry Jello
2 - cups water
2 - 3oz packages light cream cheese
1 - 20oz can crushed pineapple
1 - cup pecans
1 - package Dream Whip, prepared according to the box
(Note: if you can't find Dream Whip, you can use a container of thawed Cool Whip)

Combine pineapple and water. Bring to a boil. Stir in jello. Cut up cream cheese and stir until nearly dissolved. Chill until set but not jelled. Fold in Dream Whip and pecans. Put into lightly oiled mold (I use a pie pan) and chill until jelled.

The perfect thing to wear to eat all this? Hot Pattern's Wong-Singh-Jones Marrakesh Drawstring Pants. They look nice and dressy, but have an elastic drawstring waist, so you can eat your fill and still look fabulous.

Labor Day Feast

I'm working on a whole post on my love for knit wrap dresses, but for now, we'll talk about what I made to eat this Labor Day.

The Pioneer Woman is my new food crush. A friend turned me on to her pizza dough recipe, which has now become our Friday night staple. After flipping through delicious recipe after mouth-watering recipe, I bought her book the other day. The first recipe (among many) that I had to make right away was her Cinnamon Rolls.

I made the dough Sunday night and left it to rise in the fridge over night. When I went to get it this morning, it looked a bit like The Blob as it had spilled over the sides of my mixing bowl and was heading for the fridge shelf. (Note to self: next time put it in a larger bowl.) Assembling the rolls didn't take too long and soon I was in gooey, cinnamon-ey heaven. I froze the other 5 (yes, 5!) pans of rolls for future cravings.

Leftover pizza was lunch. I'd made a veggie pizza and it was still delicious.

Dinner was BBQ Beer Can Chicken (thanks to Cook's Illustrated), sauteed zucchini and squash (with seasonings from Savory), and Orange-Carrot Basmati Rice. It's an amazing rice dish, with honey, shredded carrots, orange zest, cardamom and a little red pepper. The smell is amazing--it reminds me a bit of the smell from making candied orange peels.

Dessert was Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream, semi-homemade. I did break down and use store-bought lemon curd, but I did mix the buttermilk and curd together and turn the ice cream machine on all by myself.

Now, I need a whole wardrobe of knit wrap dresses to accomodate my full belly.