Float On 2011

For me, as I think it is for most of us, New Year's Eve is a time to look back as well as forward. Auld Lang Syne and all that.
A little melancholy mixed in with the champagne and noisemakers. A cocktail of sweet vermouth and bitters strangely mixed to a balance.

36 years ago tonight I stood on a float for the Rose Parade and waited while the preliminary judging took place which would decide my fate of how my year would begin. My float placement in the parade lineup meant either I was on a winning float or I wasn't. Either way it was a good place to begin the year. I stood tall, smiled, and hoped I looked pretty. Maybe I would find favor with the judging gods.


As I began 1975 with my long ride down Colorado Blvd. the excitement and shine of a new year followed me. We floated around the big corner of Orange Grove and Colorado where TV cameras lined up from around the world. But after 'the turn' when out of camera range like reality, sometimes the unexpected is unwelcome and uninvited on our route.

Soon after the famous bend in the road my float broke down and I was lifted off my beautiful floral magic carpet and unceremoniously placed in a tow truck hoop skirt and all to wave to the crowds. I was crushed. How could this happen on this spectacular day? It was supposed to be perfect. We traveled a couple miles and at some point it was decided I could go back on the float while it was being towed to the end of the parade. At the end of the parade my boyfriend had chosen the wrong side of the street to stand on and did not see me on the float. The day was a series of highs and lows much like the year that awaited me when I stepped off the float.

My personal parade of 1975 saw my graduation from high school with a few community honors thrown in. I began my college years with a sense of independence I had never known before. By the end of the year, I experienced the sudden and profound loss of my father during the Christmas holidays and was confused by my mother's emotional dependence on me as a result. And the boyfriend, like the parade amid neck straining to connect, we found ourselves on opposite sides of the street separated by colleges a hundred miles away from eachother.

The year ended very different for me than how it had begun.


Years later the new year would flip and begin very hard with the passing of my mom on New Year's Day. Tomorrow is the 12th anniversary of that day.
Why she or god picked that day I'll never understand.


Tomorrow I'll carry it with me all day until the hour passes.
I'll remember everything and then nothing.
It would be easier if every year the air didn't feel and smell the same or the long shadows with intense bright spots of harsh sunlight didn't look the same.
Every year. The same.
The elements alone force me to look back with the beginning of each year.

And like every year it's a private moment that I keep to myself protecting my family from any annual memories of residual sadness forever cajoined to a holiday. I've worked hard on it over the years and I over-compensate like the Spirit of Christmas Present.

Some years are easier than others, some are more difficult and for a few friends and family this year they've had challenges on many fronts as you might have, as we all have had at one time or the other.

We all wonder at times why life throws certain things our way. Why the parade can start off so grand as we gracefully turn the corner for all the world to see and then 'mechanical difficulties' show up along the route when it was supposed to have been a perfect day. Sometimes we're stuck in the tow truck needing a hand to make it to the end. Sometimes we get back up on the float and keep on waving.

Wherever your parade takes you this year stand tall, smile and know you're life is beautiful.

Wishing you all wonderful blessings for the new year.

Decorating Desserts For New Year's Eve

I have an easy dessert decoration to share with you for New Year's Eve.

You can make any round dessert look like a clock by using candy coating chips.

I made individual Kahlua cheesecakes with an Oreo cookie crust in fluted tart pans with removable bottoms but any dessert will do.

Turning over the coating chip to the bottom side gives a nice flat surface to pipe Roman numerals on.


The hands of the clock were made by piping coating chocolate onto waxed paper and let to set. When they were hardened, I took gold luster dust and brushed it on.
Sorry I don't have a photo but I think you get the idea.

Small chocolate 'confetti' curls were made by shaving additional coating chocolate chips with a vegetable peeler and then sprinkling them on top of the cheesecake clock face.

Gold and silver dragees gave it an extra glam touch.


A single perfect fresh raspberry was placed in the center.
Since a caterer was picking up the cheesecakes to transport to a party, I secured the raspberry with whipped cream so it wouldn't roll around on the surface.

I then tucked in the tips of fresh mint leaves under the raspberry for a little more contrasting color.

Place the chocolate hands at 11:50 or 11:55 and count down until midnight with every bite!

Dear friends ~


...one of peace, hope, contentment of heart and love.

Mini Snowflake Cookies

Good things do come in small packages.

Especially in bite sized ones.

After icing the cookies with thinned icing and letting them dry, I brushed them with aqua colored luster powder for a soft blush of color.


I then piped the details on the cookie and finished with a single silver dragee in the center.

For the presentation I used paper loaf pans that I never got around to using for baking cranberry bread for Thanksgiving. Another small package and good.

All lined up and ready to go with a plastic bag and twist tie that comes with the paper loaf pans.
8 cookies fit in a loaf pan perfectly.
Add a pretty ribbon to cover the twist tie and they'll be ready for giving.

Cookie Cutters ~ Williams-Sonoma Snowflake Set
Aqua Petal Dust, Silver Dragees ~ local cake decorating store
Paper Loaf Pans ~ Sur la Table
Packaging Fillers - local party store

Water, Water Everywhere

We woke up to the fire department in our cul-de-sac. Looks like the hill at the end of our street which is 2 houses away from us is saturated and is starting to come down. If you've been listening to the news you know SoCal has had 6 days of non-stop rain which is highly unusual for us.

The neighbors at the end of the street have water coming into their house and if you look at the picture you can see it cascading down their front steps. Our next door neighbors on both sides have water coming into their kitchens in the back of their houses. So far we are good. The boys are outside clearing the drains and gutters. The bulk of the rain should come in this afternoon. We have evacuated for fires before but this would be a first for a mudslide. Clearly not on my to-do list today but I'm thinking we'll be okay.

Gingerbread Latte

I made the big mistake of tasting a gingerbread latte for the first time this weekend and can't believe I have missed out all these years!

Here is a recipe I made although I used coffee since I don't own an espresso machine.
You also make your own gingerbread syrup (OMGosh!).

I think this is the perfect hot drink for the coziness of Christmas Eve or to welcome friends who might drop by with a plate of cookies. If you know someone who loves gingerbread lattes, make them a batch of home-made syrup presented in a decorative jar with the recipe on a tag. Make sure you include on the tag to keep the syrup in the frig.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Latte

1/2 cup fresh espresso or coffee
8 oz. milk, steamed or hot

Gingerbread Syrup
2 c. water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the syrup ~
Combine water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove syrup from heat when done. Keep the cooled syrup in the refrigerator.

To make the gingerbread latte ~
Add 1/2 espresso to a 16 oz. cup. Add 1/4 cup of the gingerbread syrup followed by steamed or hot milk. Top off the drink with a dollop of whipped cream (optional) and a sprinkling of nutmeg, if desired.

* Wondering where my promised meringue stars are? It's been raining here non-stop since Friday so I have not made them yet. It's too humid in my kitchen with soups and stews cooking but I hope by Wed. there will be a break in the weather or in my cooking!

Meringue Mushrooms

Meringue Mushrooms are a special treat at Christmas time. I've used
them to decorate Buche du Noels but I like to make them to give as gifts because they're different from the regular holiday cookies. They present nicely in a small decorative basket, a mushroom basket from the store or even wrapped up in a cello bag tied with a festive ribbon.

Things needed~
1/2 c. egg whites, room temp. (3 to 4 large eggs)
1/8 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tarter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Unsweetened cocoa powder
6 oz. semi-sweet coating chocolate

parchment paper
baking sheets
pastry bag
1/2" plain round decorating tip
small sieve


Prep ~
Adjust 2 oven racks; place one in the highest position and the other in the lowest. Pre-heat oven to 225 F. Line the baking sheets with parchment. Secure the corners with a dab of butter.

Using a large clean bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on low speed until they get foamy. Add salt and cream of tarter; beat on medium speed until whites begin to form soft peaks. Start adding sugar 1 Tbl. at a time beating 30 seconds between additions. When all the sugar has been added, add vanilla; increase speed to high and beat for an additional 8 minutes. This will insure all the sugar has been dissolved. There should be no grittiness in the mixture.

Use a 1/2" to 3/4" plain round tip.
Fill pastry bag with meringue; start by piping stems on one of the baking sheets.

Set out a small glass of water and a small sharp knife. This will help cut the stems from the decorating tip.

Hold the bag straight up from the baking sheet, gently squeeze out a stem about 1" high, slowly raising the bag as the meringue is pushed out.


Use a small knife that has been dipped in water to cut meringue from the pastry tip. You can pipe with one hand and cut with the other. It takes some getting used to but it's more efficient. I wish somehow I could show you but I know you'll figure it out. :)

Place the stems about 1 1/2" apart.

Next, pipe out the caps. Hold the pastry bag in an upright position, close to but not touching the baking sheet and squeeze out "kisses" raising the bag slightly as the meringue comes out. If you have little pointy tops smooth them out with a moistened finger.

Oh, and make sure you pipe the same number of stems to caps!

Dust with cocoa powder using a very fine sieve.
I like Dutch Process because it's not bitter but you can use whatever you have.

Bake ~
Place stems on upper rack and caps on the lower. The amount of time depends on your oven and the humidity factor. Check them after 1 hour. The meringue should easily peel away from the parchment without any sticking and the bottoms should be firm. If your meringues are not this way continue to bake them checking every 2o minutes. This could take a couple hours or more. When they are ready, turn off the oven and open the door slightly and allow them to cool in the oven.

At this point the dry meringues can be stored loosely in a basket or a bowl uncovered in a cool, dry location at room temp for up to 3 weeks. If your kitchen is more humid I would place them in a ziplock bag.

Assemble ~
Melt coating chocolate. I prefer to do this in the microwave, 50% power for 30 seconds until melted perfectly. I use coating chocolate because it doesn't need tempering and it hardens fast without having to refrigerate it. Meringues don't like moisture so placing them in the frig is not a good idea.

If your stem is sliding off the cap, egg cartons make great holders until the chocolate is set. Place the mushrooms upside down in the egg cup of an empty carton.

Better make extras because once you have one melt in your mouth it'll be hard to save them for gifts!

I'm making sparkly meringue stars later this week.
I hope you'll come back then!

Have a great week!

Eggnog Martini

While 'researching' cocktails for Christmas I came across this recipe for an Eggnog Martini. Eggnog never looked so good as in a martini glass! It's a fun change from the typical eggnog and rum concoction placed in a mug or punch cup.

Eggnog Martini ~

2 cups store-bought eggnog
2 cups amaretto liqueur
2 cups vodka
gingersnap cookies
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg

Combine the eggnog, amaretto and vodka in a pitcher and chill at least 30 minutes.
Crush gingersnaps in a food processor until they almost resemble a fine powder. Pour a tiny amount of amaretto into a small dish. Using your finger tip dipped in the amaretto run it around the rim of a chilled martini glass. Dip the wet rim of the glass into a dish where the crushed gingersnaps have been placed. Pour the alcohol mixture into prepared glasses and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and fresh grated nutmeg.

Cheers!

Organizing Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs - Leola

Not to outdo Santa but I wanted my own big bag this Christmas.
Black.
With zippers.

I knew if I had put it on my list by the time Santa's elves hit the mall it would have been gone. As it was Nordstrom put out an A.P.B. for me and found it at the mothership in Seattle ridiculously on sale. As a result I can guarantee the sales associate will be on Santa's 'good girls' list.

When I was sick from Thanksgiving weekend until this week I watched a lot of TV. Morning, noon and night. To say 'I vegged' would have been an understatement.

I saw an item on QVC I thought was a great idea.
It was for an interior organizer for your handbag.

I love big bags but I don't like the free for all in the bottom of them. I also tend to be lazy when it comes to changing bags with different outfits. I'm usually rushed going out the door and I don't want to mess around moving stuff feeling like I'd have to sort through it right then and there tossing out gum wrappers and tiny bits of paper. Ugh.

True confession time ~ I rarely leave the house without at least 5 lipsticks/glosses. Security blanket. Who knows why. More stuff.

So wouldn't it be a good idea for someone like me to reach in my bag and pull out a compact microfiber organizer with everything in tact even if this item is rather pedestrian compared to my big, beautiful Marc bag which is a fact I should be willing to overlook so I could find my keys and lipstick among loose tissues?

Lori Greiner Mircrofiber Bag Organizer

Clearly I'm truly, deeply, madly in love and want to nothing to come between me and Marc at this tender time in our relationship but I know the bloom on the rose will eventually fade when my phone rings and stops when I find it. I give it a week.

Perhaps this is one for Santa.