The tree decorating is out of control.  Some of it has gotta give.

N

An Ode to the Middle of December

We're 3/4 dressed for the holidays.  We're waiting for the tree to accustom to being in the house, and then it, too, will be 'dressed'.   Lights, ribbons, balls, snowflakes, icicles, acorns and the occassional monkey or My Little Pony.   I was going for simple and classy, but then they excitedly brought home disco ball ornaments and gorillas.   A block of butter is making its way to room temp on the counter for several batches of snowballs.  I've wrapped four gifts, and already I am tired of wrapping.  This inevitably happens every year.  It's tradition.    These are just my random thoughts from one half glass of white zinfadel.  Call it my ode to the middle of December.   I need to buy egg nog.   One litre should be sufficient.  I usually get over-zealous and buy two litres and one will eventually rot, and when I pour it down the drain, I will gag and swear off egg nog forever until next December.  I will say to everyone I converse with from now until the 25th that we MUST get together before the holidays, and I will consequently slap myself for dangerously overbooking my social calendar.   If I ever complain of loneliness, hit me over the head.   The holidays are for connecting and being grateful and GIVING.  Must remember to love a bit more.  Smile and think productive and positive thoughts.   I need to get the skates sharpened.   I think this is the year that the Bumblebee must learn to step away from the wall.  I shall entice her with chicken nuggets all wrapped up under the tree.  That kid loves meat.  I'm also planning my second turkey dinner which excites me to no end.   I'm going to have to make room in the fridge.  Could this post be more random??? 

Cheers!
N

In Response to Baby Cake Comment

This is a quick post aimed at one of the commenters on my previous post about the baby cake. Maria, if you're reading this, congratulations on becoming a grandmother in January! We love babies and all things baby related. You wanted to know how to make the cake but did not leave an email address or a way that I can contact you so I'll just write up some quickie instructions and you can feel free to send me an email if you'd like more details.

To make the baby cake you will need:

2 cakes in your choice of flavour, filled and iced (I used 8 inch cakes, one vanilla with vanilla buttercream and one chocolate with chocolate buttercream)
About 2.5 pounds of rolled fondant (purchased at Jo-Ann craft store or Michael's or make your own)
13 x 19 inch cake board if using 8 inch cakes
rolling pin
pizza cutter or sharp knife (for trimming fondant)
Gel icing colours in: skin colour, brown, pink, or any other colour that you want for eyes and accessories

Tint 3/4 of your fondant in skin colour. Divide in half and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness and about 16 inches in diameter. This will give you enough fondant to cover your cake tops and sides. Once your two cakes are covered in fondant assemble them on your cake board so that the two cakes are touching. Cover the bottom half of the bottom cake in white (for diaper) using plain white fondant. Then using the leftover skin coloured fondant make feet and toes, ears, arms, and nose. I just formed all of these parts by hand as if I was using Play-Doh. I tinted the fondant scraps in dark brown for eyes, mouth, and curly hair. I also added pink circles for cheeks and a pink bow as this will be for a girl baby. Feel free to be creative and make your cake in whatever way you want.

If you've never worked with fondant before see these helpful step by step instructions or check YouTube for some videos. It can be tricky to get it really smooth but remember that fondant is forgiving and you can always cover up imperfect parts with the diaper or accessories. Good luck!

Two cakes and a baby

I received an order for a cake from a friend that I used to work with at my previous job. One of her staff members is due in February and they were celebrating yesterday during a staff meeting. I've made one of these baby cakes before but this time around it's a girl (notice the pink bow?). This is one of my favourite cakes to make because the construction is pretty simple and it's quick to make. I tend to get strange looks when I tell people that I'm making a cake in the shape of a baby and then people are going to cut into it and eat it, however, this is more of a cartoon-y looking baby and not at all realistic. Not like this more life-like baby cake. I'm not sure how I would feel cutting into that. Shudder.

Soda Bread: A Review

Any hope of dieting has just flown out the window.  I've discovered Soda Bread.  More importantly, I've discovered Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.   The book is described as 19 culinary lessons and more than 250 everyday recipes that illustrate just how easy it is to eat wonderfully well if you cook, eat, and live by these fundamental guidelines:

• eat locally and sustainably
• eat seasonally
• shop at farmers' markets
• plant a garden
• conserve, compost and recycle
• cook simply
• cook together
• eat together
• remember food is precious

I decided to start with the soda bread because it had four ingredients, required no rising or kneading, and was true to its word of taking under an hour from start to finish.  Really.   And it's delicious.  Funny thing is, it was so simple that I continued to bake because I hadn't even begun to scratch my itch to bake.  So I baked my ol' stand-by chocolate chip muffins.   I then offered up my gift of bread and muffins to my little family, and they gobbled up my bread and left the muffins on the counter all sad and chocolate-y.   Now I must figure out what to make next.

N

Lemongrass & Spearmint

The salt dough ornaments have all been painted.   I will need to search out twine for hanging them as the holes are too tiny for even the slimmest ribbons.

Four weeeks to Christmas - are you ready?  Last year, we scaled down a bit on gifts, and I did alot of crafting, but I am afraid that my family is tiring of my 'making'.  I really appreciated not having to step foot in a mall in December, not having to drive around parking lots for hours to find a parking space, not having to push past harried shoppers, not having to stand in checkout lines with impatient children, and so forth.  Frankly I felt a little superior to all of those that simply picked something off the shelf and handed over cash.  I spent weeks knitting, sewing, beading, baking, thrifting, and colouring.   I don't know if that's the answer.   I could support local businesses instead.  I could buy gift cards that benefit non-profit organizations.  I could give gifts of time.  Make donations in lieu of gifts.  Or scale down completely.  Make new traditions and continue with old traditions.  What do I want my children to remember about Christmas?  I guess that's the question.  In any case, their few gifts have been well-thought out and purchased, and I am making them each a gift.   I'm keeping it simple.

Happy Sunday, my friends.  We're off to spend good ol' quality time with family this afternoon - decorating the tree and sharing a meal.  That's what I'm talking about.

N

Holy Cannoli

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

This was my very first time making cannoli. I've eaten them a few times, and my favourite by far was the Sicilian cannoli that Mr. T and I shared while standing on a street corner in Rome. It was crispy and the filling was rich, not too sweet, and had a nice cinnamon flavour.

I do loathe to deep fry at home. That's not to say that I don't love eating all things deep fried, I just don't like the large amount of oil that gets tossed out afterward, not to mention the smell in the house. Is it just me or does anyone else not like their homes to smell like food? This seems a little contradictory since home is where food should be made and enjoyed but while I'm cooking I'll close off all of the doors and open the windows in the kitchen, even if it's minus 30 degrees out.

Anyhow, I ended up using cannelloni shells as my cannoli forms since I had forgotten to go online to purchase some. I wrapped the cannelloni in foil so that the dough would not stick to them and it worked like a charm. My cannoli dough fried up and blistered like they were supposed to. I think the holes were bigger than I would have liked and took a lot of filling to fill them all but that's kind of ok since the filling tasted very good.
I decided to use mascarpone cheese instead of ricotta since I wanted a really smooth and creamy filling. I really liked the taste and I thought the creaminess of the cheese went well with the pistachio, cinnamon, and orange flavourings that were added. I'm not sure if I'd make cannoli again because of the whole frying thing but other than that, I would say that this was a success.