Gelatin-mania

I think many of my friends think I have lost my marbles when I showed up to the tailgate with these jello shots.  A purple 'W' inside gold shots.  These were time consuming to make, but the end result was so cool! 

Jello just tastes better in the colors of purple and gold!

And what tailgate party is complete without a full bar and two different beer selections via keg?  My type of party! 

Tea for 2 (yr old)

Coming up with a theme for C's 2nd birthday party was easy.  She loves her tea set, and she loves to have 'hot tea' at her play table. So a 'Tea for 2' party is now in the works.  We're doing a very small party this year, so making fancy invites wasn't a big chore.

The tea party invite plays on the theme of tea... colorful tea cups and tea bags.  I chose a couple different paper patterns and cut out a tea cup shape - going on the idea of tea cup collections having different patterns.  Here are a few of my grandmother's tea cups in my office:

The completed tea party invitation:

The 'tea bag' insert pulls out of the cup to reveal the party details.

I'm excited to get to work on the other details! Stay tuned!

November Kid Activity

Want an easy and fun daily activity for your kids?  How about a turkey that gets one feather every day until Thanksgiving!  It takes a little cutting from mom or dad, colored contruction paper (black, brown, yellow, red, orange, and any colors you want for the feathers), and a glue stick.

Click on the below image to enlarge, and print on 8 1/2" x 11" paper or Click Here.

1. Choose a background color.  I used black so the turkey and it's feathers would stand out.

2. Cut out a turkey body from brown paper or a grocery bag (aim for a fat bowling pin shape). 

3. Cut two eyes out of black paper (or use a pen to make two round dots - even easier!).

4. Cut out a yellow or orange triangle for the beak and cut a tear drop shape from red paper for the wobbler.

5. Cut two feet out of orange paper.  I cut two 'U' shapes and then made some cuts to give the feet a webbed look.

6. Cut out a bunch of feathers, 24 to be exact since this year Thanksgiving is on the 24th of November.  I  folded a bunch of colored paper together and cut out long feather shapes.

7. Glue time!  First, glue down body by putting glue ONLY near the top of the head and on the bottom half of the body.  Stick to background.  You want to be able to stick 'feather's behing the turkey's body, thats why we left the neck and upper body area glue-free.

8. Now have your kids (or you!) glue on the beak, wobbler and feet.  Let dry and then tape to the wall or hang in a frame without the glass.

9. Each day during November have your child add a feather to the turkey.  You may need to add a bit of glue to the feather so they stick!  By the time Thanksgiving arrives, your turkey will have a full set of colorful feathers!

Another option... instead of cutting feathers out of colored paper, you can buy colored feathers from the craft store.  

Candy Corn Cookies

Every year in the fall I buy five or six bags of candy corn.  Not for consuming, but for decoration.  This drives my family nuts because they always want to eat them.  Fortunately, the vase of candy corn is out of reach (for half our household).

This morning I received my daily email from Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day and it contained a recipe for Candy Corn Cookies.  I had an extra bag of candy corn (well hidden) and went to work.  You can also use store bought sugar cookie dough - just make sure you don't overcook so you can stick the candy in the hot fresh-from-the-oven cookie.

The recipe is for a basic sugar cookie and makes a small batch (I ended up with 18 per batch).  There is also a chocolate version.  I made both at the same time, to save time.  The ingredients for both flavors are the same with the exception of adding unsweetened cocoa and reducing the flour amount for the chocolate cookies.

Roll out the dough...

When cookies are out of the oven, push in a candy corn.  You need to do while they are hot. Before:

And after:

Now it's chocolate's turn...

A quick cookie with a big impact.  I just hope they taste as good as they look!  You could add any type of candy to the top... mini peanut butter cup, M&M, Rolo...

Candy Corn Cookies, courtesy of Martha Stewart
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft

1/2 c. sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. flour
About 18-20 candy corns

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour, and mix until a dough forms.

Scoop out level teaspoons of dough, and roll into balls (chill dough briefly if it becomes too soft to handle). Place balls on baking sheets, 2 inches apart.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch (do not let cookies color), 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from oven; gently press a candy corn into center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). Cool on sheets 1 minute; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Variation: Reduce the amount of flour given in the recipe to 1/2 cup. Add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder along with the flour in step 1, and proceed.

Husky Cupcakes and Jello Shots

This weekend is the big Husky Homecoming game.  Our tailgate will get an extra kick of purple and gold spirit with the help of my extra lovely gold lamay tablecloth, purple and gold vase (pictured above...an oatmeal container with ribbon glue-gunned on), and fun food.

I bought a bag of yellow chocolate from the craft store, heated it in the microwave, placed in a ziploc bag and snipped off one corner.  I then made 'W's on to parchment paper.  This is one of the easiest garnishes ever!  The 'W's cooled in just a minute or so and were the perfect addition to our cupcakes with purple frosting! (I will admit to cheating... QFC made my dozen cupcakes for $5!!)

And Homecoming deserves an extra special gelatin shot.  My favorite drink is an Arnold Palmer (ice tea/lemonade), and my new favorite alcohol based drink is a John Daly (same as Arnold Palmer but with vodka added or ice tea flavored vodka).  But because a John Daly is more of a summer drink, I've got a bit of ice tea vodka left.... that called for a John Daly shooter!

The base layer is lemonade and whipped cream vodka.  The top layer is ice tea vodka.  Hello my friend!

GOOOOO Dawgs!

2011 Halloween Costume!

Check out my cute Robot!

Two cardboard boxes, some duct tape and hot glue, shapes cut from cardboard, two cut keg cups made in to 'ears' and a black pipe cleaner. Add some candy and a 4 year old boy, and you get a robot!

The BEST Onion Rings

I kid you not.  These are the best onion rings I have ever tasted.  My husband always orders onion rings if it's an option instead of fries.  The fact that he told me these were the best he has ever had solidifies my opinion.  If you even slightly like onion rings, you MUST try this recipe.

I sliced one large onion and separated the rings.

I put the flour mixture in a storage container and added onion slices.  Put the lid on and shook to coat the onions evenly.  You could also use a sealed plastic bag to do this.

Then dipped each ring in to the batter, then dipped in to the crunchy chip-panko mix and placed on an oiled cookie sheet and baked.

The end result were crunchy onion rings.  No slimy onion on the inside, no gobs of grease.  Just extra satisfying rings!

Oven Fried Onion Rings
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)

1 c. mayo
2 eggs
1/2 c. flour

3 c. crushed potato chips
2 c. panko bread crumbs (don't use regular bread crumbs)
1/2 tsp salt

1 large onion
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  In a resealable container or plastic bag combine flour, salt, pepper and cayenne.

In a bowl combine the may, eggs and 1/2 c flour. Whisk until a smooth batter is formed.
Crush all the chips finely and place in bowl with the panko and 1/2 tsp salt.

Peel the onions and cut them into 1/2 inch rings.

Cover a baking sheet with a piece of parchment. Drizzle with 3 tbsp vegetable oil, then put in to oven for 5 minutes or until the oil starts to smoke.

In the meantime, toss the onion rings in the flour mixture.  Dip each ring into the batter. Tap off the excess batter.  Then coat the rings with the crushed potato chips and panko.

Place the rings on the hot baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, then flip each ring over and bake for additional 6-8 minutes. You may need to do this in two batches depending on the size of the rings and how many you can fit on sheet.  Do leave a little space between rings!

Remove rings from oven and sprinkle with a little salt and serve with your favorite dip.  We used ketchup and my husband added a few drops of tabasco to give his dip a kick.