Monday Makeover~ Lady Marmalade

Our citrus crop this year has been unbelievable. My neighbors lock their doors when they see me coming. I have given away all that I could.

We drink fresh squeezed orange juice every morning and there has been no shortage of orange glazed chicken, lemon tea cake, lemon curd….the citrus makeover creations go on and on.

With no other options I decided to make orange marmalade. I myself don’t care for it, but Mr. Décor loves the stuff and that is good enough for me. I subscribe to the theory that many hands make light work and enlisted the help of my good friend J who has made jam before. So we began with a good supply of oranges, pectin and sugar.

I read through many recipes, some which included directions such as “and the next day…” I settled on a recipe in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. The first thing I did was decide that instead of peeling the fruit and scraping the white pith off and cutting the orange rind into strips I would just use my zester.

Then I peeled the oranges and cut them into chunks old school style.

J opted to put her oranges in the food processor.

We then boiled the zested orange rind for a bit.

While we were waiting I mixed the entire 5 cups of sugar into the orange chunks. Holy Sweet tooth Batman!

It was then time to add everything together, bring it to a boil and add the liquid pectin.

The sterilized jars were filled with the jam mixture, the lids placed on and the jars were then immersed into a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

The jars looked so pretty all lined up while they were cooling. Altogether the process took about 4 hours.

I tied some ribbon and a tag which read “Orange ya glad we’re neighbors!” onto a few of the jars and passed them out. One jar was soon opened and enjoyed by Mr. Decor.

A few of the jars will be added into the already groaning gift baskets I am preparing as prizes for my upcoming English themed linky parties.

Are you going to join in on the fun?

Gitchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da,
Laura

Yummy Holiday Goodness

Two finals down, one to go. I have a reprieve from school until Tuesday. I plan on decking a small portion of my halls on Friday morning. This lovely image is inspiring my living room decor.

In the afternoon it will be cookie central. On the baking menu:

Peanut Butter Kisses~ easy and yummy

Classic Magic Cookie Bars

Peppermint sticks~chocolate minty goodness that is Mr. Décor’s favorite.

Of course there will also be Aunt Jan’s Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing. The secret is to roll the dough out in powdered sugar.

My favorite part is the decorating. Our collection of sprinkles, edible glitter, gold and silver dragees have taken over one entire shelf in the baking pantry.

Once finished there is the question of how to wrap up the cookies for giving.

Do you use the tried and true cookie tin?

Or something a bit more creative like old ornament boxes?

I love gift wrapped cookies.

Clear cellophane with the recipe attached is classically lovely.

How about a paint can full of yum? Empty new cans can be found at most home improvement stores.

If you’re short on time, cookies in a jar are always fun.

What’s are you baking this holiday season?

Laura

Linking to:

Gollums Foodie Friday

Pumpkin Pie Alternatives and Funny kids

It’s Monday. Sometimes at the start of a stressful week I need extra encouragement in remembering just how blessed I am. I have NO idea where these two learned such outlandish behavior. Probably from their Auntie. :)


(Sweet boy and the Fashionista mugging it up on the way to see Sir Elton John~)

Truth time. I would be perfectly happy to never eat another slice of pumpkin pie. I know, it’s totally un-American, right? This is normally how I eat pumpkin pie~ not visible, under a mound of whipped cream.

It’s not that I don’t like pumpkin. I do. Just in other forms. Here are two of my favorites Pumpkin Pie Alternative recipes.

Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Butter Bars~ feel free to lick your screen.

I first heard about these dessert bars from my cousin. She said I would love and perhaps kill for these bars and I do. But two things make the primary ingredient, pecan pumpkin butter, hard to come by. First, Williams Sonoma is on the other side of town (45 Min. +) and second, it’s expensive.
I thought about how I could recreate this fabulous food and pondered making my own pumpkin butter. Because with family, school, housekeeping and a business to run, I have time for such things. Then the heavens smiled upon me.

Sure, it’s missing the pecans, but I just added in some extra nuts and in a word….delish! Here’s the adapted recipe:

Pumpkin Butter Dessert Squares.

10 oz jar of T.J.’s Pumpkin Butter (I may try the cranberry apple butter next)

1/2 cup of chopped pecans. (If you’re an overachiever, you can roast them first.)

I box yellow cake mix, set aside one cup (I use Duncan Hines super moist)
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan.
• Divide cake mix, placing all but one cup in a mixing bowl.
• Stir the melted butter, pecans and one egg into the cake mix until combined.
• Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan.
• In another bowl, mix pumpkin butter with two eggs and milk until combined.
• Spread pumpkin mixture over pressed cake mix.
• Stir the reserved 1 cup of cake mix with the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
• Then add the softened butter and mix together until crumbly.
• Sprinkle over the top of the pumpkin layer.
• Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool and cut into 2 ” squares. Serves 24.

Now for my other pumpkin pie alternative, the Pumpkin Roll. Oh how I love the cream cheese frosting! I was first given this recipe by my dear friend Pam 15 years ago. It is a fall classic.

Pam’s Pumpkin Roll (It is actually pretty easy)

• Vegetable cooking spray (I use Pam of course. :)
• 3  large eggs
• 1  cup  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup all-purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1  teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 2/3  cup  canned unsweetened pumpkin (Libby’s, libby’s, libby’s on the label, label, label…)
• 1  teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2  cups  powdered sugar, divided
• 2  (3-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/4  cup  butter or margarine, softened
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract (use the real deal)
• 1  teaspoon lemon juice (bottled ok)

Coat bottom and sides of a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray, and line with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; set aside. (Do NOT skip this step!!!)
Beat eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored; gradually add granulated sugar, beating until well combined. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating well. Combine pumpkin and 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and gradually add to mixture, beating well. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Sift 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a 15- x 10-inch rectangle on a clean, dry dish towel~flour cloth works best. Run a knife around edges of pan to loosen cake, and turn cake out onto prepared towel. Peel wax paper off cake. Starting at narrow end, roll up cake and towel together; place, seam side down, on a wire rack to cool completely.
Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add remaining 1 cup powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in vanilla and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture on cake, leaving a 1-inch border around edges. Re-roll cake without towel, and place seam side down, on a serving platter. Cover and chill at least 3 hours.
 What desserts are you making?
Come back tomorrow for more party prep and a hilarious video for Tuesday gratefulness.
Love and happiness from,
Laura

Festive Fall Recipe

Do you happen to recall the image on the Metis Linens blog of the antique grain measures filled with beautiful apples? Over the course of the day we were repeatedly asked, “Are those real?”  The apples truly were real and we ended up selling a few from our booth display, but still had tons to take home.

As fall has arrived so too have precious memories which have made me miss my mom. (For those who are new to this blog, she passed away very suddenly last March.) In the backyard of my childhood home we had an apple tree. Every fall my mom would make my very favorite applesauce.

 

Rather than wallow in my grief I decided that it was high time I use my ample supply of apples to give my children a taste of my childhood. As I collected the simple ingredients I wondered, “Why haven’t I hadn’t made this before?”

For Nadine’s Red Hot Applesauce you’ll need:

10~12 apples (Fuji, Granny Smith or any other crisp and slightly tart apple)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of sugar (more if you like it really sweet) you can also use splenda, etc.

1/4 cup of red hots (more if you want a more cinnamony ~yes, it’s a word :) taste.

Peel and core your apples. I leave one or two with the peel still on, as I like the texture. Chop into fine bits.

Place your apples and the other ingredients in a slow cooker on high for 8 hours. Stir occasionally. It is so easy I am almost ashamed I haven’t made this before.

I spooned the applesauce into small vintage jelly jars that I recently purchased at an estate sale for $1. They are a perfect individual serving size. But you can also place the applesauce into a large Tupperware container or something similar.  It will keep for about 2~3 weeks.  But trust me, it won’t last that long.

I gave my neighbors a bit of “Happy Fall Ya’ll” as well. 

Mom would be proud.

Laura

Linking to:

Gollum’s Foodie Friday

Lee Lee’s Oriental

Sweet Boy will soon be celebrating a birthday. He has selected the theme of “The Last Air Bender”. Of course given that the series ended in 2008 and the movie was just released there is NO party ware available. Which mean tons of creative fun for me. (Can you feel the sarcasm?:)

 

This means we needed to take a trip to our favorite Asian grocery store ~ make sure you scroll down and view the bloopers.

I had an excellent assistant.

A realistic look at Veggie Tales.

The fish had teeth!

Squid meatballs…uh ok.

I looked it up. It is what you think it is. Ugh.

Fish flavored crackers.

Hands off!

The end result for dinner.

He likes it! Hey Mikey!

A few BLOOPERS for your enjoyment….

No children were harmed during the filming of this video. Indeed the truth was told when the camera accidently recorded while in my purse.

We also purchased several fun and festive things for Sweet Boy’s upcoming party. But of course I am mean and will make you wait. :)

Laura

Linking to:

Design By Gollum

Sucré

Don’t you wish there was a “taste” button on your computer screen?

When I began planning my travels to New Orleans I knew that I would not be leaving without a visit to Sucré, the famed bakery that has been featured in countless magazines, travel guides and news stories.

As a writer I always research my travels to the 9th degree. This is due to some faulty hardwiring within me that fears I might miss something fabulous if I don’t read every scrap of information available. I therefore had read quite a bit about Sucre’s famed pastry chef and founding partner, Tariq Hanna.

During my research I began to formulate in my mind what he might look like. Yes, it would have been easier just to “google” his name, but what fun is that? When thinking about French pastry chefs what comes to your mind?

Perhaps if you add in a smidge of this…

…Sprinkle in a bit of boyish charm,

…Perhaps a dash of laughter mixed with big hearted talent and you would almost have the essence of Chef Hanna.

When I spotted the ruggedly handsome Hanna  sporting pierced ears, spiky hair and a goatee, I immediately relaxed and thought “Now this is my type of chef!” This thought was further reinforced when he later revealed an image of a Fleur~de~lis tattooed on his arm.

Chef Hanna was born in Nigeria and attended boarding school in England. Upon moving to the Detroit area to study architecture, he instead fell into culinary school.  The reasons behind this decision are stories that are his to tell. 

After completing his studies, Hanna worked as a breakfast cook in a diner where he attempted to keep the waitresses happy. He then tried the graveyard shift at a Dunkin Donuts for six months simply because he liked donuts. After that, he owned and operated his own gourmet shop, Northville Gourmet, for five years.

Other jobs came and went. He also became involved in several competitions with the Food Network and the American Culinary Federation.

During this time he met his future wife, Jennifer. The mere mention of her name brought a crystallized gleam to his eye that was lovely to see. Jennifer loved the Big Easy and passed on her love to Tariq. The two eventually married in New Orleans prior to Katrina.

The devastating hurricane could not dampen their love and enthusiasm for the city. A meeting made of true kismet occurred when Hanna met his business partner, Joel Dondis. Within a short amount of time everything was put on the line and the two decided to open Sucré. Hanna left a well paying job in Detroit for a future filled with unknowns in a city, that five years later, is still in the midst of recovery.

It appears to be a sweet gamble that has paid off. Sucré has become well known for it’s magnificent desserts, handcrafted chocolates and of course the French macaron. The shop believes in the concept of sustainable baking~meaning that they try to use regional ingredients from farmers and businesses in the New Orleans area. 

Chef Hanna subscribes to the Stan Lee notion that “With great power, comes great responsibility”. While he receives great joy in the happy faces of his customers, he also has the desire to give back. He often can be found in classrooms sharing his knowledge and love of pastry, as well as donating his time to several fund raising efforts. Pictured below is his French bulldog, aptly named Bon Bon, during a fund raiser for the SPCA. His other dog is named after a well loved British comedian, which provides a glimpse of his sense of humor. 

He credits his parents for instilling in him the admirable traits and characteristics of which he possesses. Indeed after our marathon chat session I couldn’t help but feel blessed to have met him.

I imagine that his future will continue to shine and the goals he has set for himself will be met. With each success I hope he rewards himself with his favorite dessert which surprisingly is quite humble and can be found in most grocery stores.

My hope for your future is that you experience and enjoy several of his irresistible masterpieces. Beware, you can shop Sucré online.

  I hope that you have enjoyed this installation of my ongoing tour of New Orleans. It is a vibrant city full of culinary and visionary experiences that should not be missed.

Thank you to those who have participated in the Make It Right Foundation team Decor To Adore. We have currently raised $50 in support of the efforts to rebuild.

The generosity found within the blogging community never ceases to amaze me.

Laura