Crackin' is hard for a living

Oh man, I don't know how I even sidetracked over to the Vera Bradley website as I normally do not care for her designs and her cult following, but ever since my sister my sister received a totally cute diaper bag I've had a little Vera on the brain. As I try and be a penny pincher around the house I went straight to the SALE section of the page, as to try and avoid any $90 bags, or $45 belts (they probably aren't that much, but you get the gist). Either way, I got sucked in. Check these out, too cute matching peacock napkin and peacock place mats. I absolutely believe that these little (cheap) gems may be exactly what my dining room decor needs.

Lighting Love

I thought I would throw this little post up here. It's a little bedroom switcheroo that we did back in December. I was able to snag this gem at IKEA and it was just the right amount of "cuteness" that we were lacking in our bedroom. I have to say, it is definitely an improvement going from a generic wall fixture to a basic chandelier.

EEk!

Ok, I feel terrible about neglecting this blog. I just felt like I wasn't taking enough pictures and that they weren't good enough so I just got a little discouraged. I will try and keep up from now on. You can thank this lady for linking her blog to mine, it embarrassed me enough to at least do an update post. I guess I just feel like I update my life of Facebook so there is no need to keep up here. I need to be more creative and learn to take better pictures. I will try and keep you updated with upcoming events such as my sisters baby shower and the arrival of my first niece! There are also a couple of weddings and then the big event is my parents 30th Wedding Anniversary! I am planning a reception for them and they will be renewing their vows, complete with the original wedding party. Crazy, they are so cute!

Holiday Party

After Christmas we had a few people over to celebrate the holidays, basically, just another excuse for me to cook! Here is a peek at some of the festiveness and a rundown of the menu.

seasoned pork tenderloin slices

hot crab dip

spinach dip (thanks K!)

walnut & parmesan brushetta

mini pigs in a blanket

roasted red pepper savory cheesecake

grapes covered in goat cheese and walnuts

red velvet cupcakes

OREO BALLS!

I have to give these a mention of their own as they seemed to have been the hit of the holiday season. They are so easy, rich, and delicious that they are sure to please even the pickiest child!

Take a pack of Oreos and grind them in your food processor. Add 8oz cream cheese and combine until it forms a ball. Place ball in fridge until set (about half hr max). Melt 8oz white bakers chocolate (I prefer Ghiradelli, and yes, it does make a difference). Roll the Oreo mix into small balls and then roll them into chocolate. Place on cookie sheet in fridge until set.

** Melting chocolate in the microwave takes a little patience. Only heat the chocolate in 30-40 second intervals, stirring in between each interval. 8oz should only take about 90 seconds.

Below I simply hung a few balls from the dining room chandelier, in an effort to take away from the terrible brass fixture (future project). The other idea came from these two, and was certainly a festive way to make water more merry, all you need to do is add a few plain, plastic balls to any type of beverage container.

My explanation

Clearly, I still feel bad for neglecting the blog for so long, so I thought I would show you a small glimpse of what was consuming all my time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each year I try to give tasty baked goods to the people nearest and dearest to me. Here is a picture of my dining room table, covered with everything from baklava to peppermint chocolate chews, everything homemade of course.



Just a little rundown of some of the things that were included in the goody baskets:

mini pound cakes
peppermint chocolate chews
baklava
cheese wafers
apple brownies
pumpkin suprise cookies
molten lava cookies
pecan meltaways
triple chocolate cookies
brownie cookies w/ peanut butter and frosting
sugar cookies

The list continues... but my memory does not.

Farewell

I do have to make a note of how sad I am to have lost this years official "Christmas Room." While I am very relieved the holidays are over I was in love with our second living room and the festive spirit it had taken on. Not only did I manage to keep the tree alive for nearly 6 weeks but the dog never even bothered it. Now, our "Christmas Room" has been reduced to a few bins and is on its way to the basement. Next year I am envisioning two trees!

Crackin' is hard to do.....

Oh man, I am so sorry I have completely neglected this blog. Meanwhile, there have been so many mini-home improvements projects, baking extravaganzas, and little holiday get-togethers.

Let me start off by introducing you to my new toy. The Hoover. After disposing of the Christmas tree we were left with quite a few pine needles in the "Christmas Room." In an effort to avoid sweeping I simply pulled out the old trusty (ie: crappy) Shark, the same one I've had for about 3 years. I know vacuums are supposed to last longer than 3 years, but being that it is a little basic and has dealt with a substantial amount of pet hair over the years, it had certainly lived its life. I somehow was able to put it out of its misery in one foul swoop of the "Christmas Room." Apparently, the Shark was so terribly it couldn't handle a few needles. After clogging the main suction area I decided to finish the deed and clog the auxiliary hose. Without even putting a decent dent in the needles I realized that the suction was no more. After asking the hubs to take a look the diagnosis was clear. Thus, time to get a new vacuum!! WOOHOO! (Sorry, I will try to keep my crackin' to a minimum.) Unfortunately, P put a halt to my dream. I decided to compromise and I let it be known that any old Dyson would do, no game. P, being the uber consumer had to compare vacuums and apparently a few faulty comments regarding one of my most envied household appliances was enough to put the brakes on my plan.

With the house in complete disarray after the holidays some action was necessary, so we settled on this. Actually, ours is slightly different but you get the drift. Ours does have a nice pet hair cleaning attachment, but let me tell you, that thing is a beast. While it probably weighs more than our dog it does pick up a significant amount of debris that the Shark completely ignored. It even has a nifty red/green light that tells me when something is clean or dirty and when it is ok to move along to the next area. Let me just say, I vacuumed cobwebs in the corners of the 10' ceilings! While it was not the highlight of my day( going to Whole Foods was!), I was happy that there were extendable arms on the hose that allowed me to do that. A sidenote, this vacuum is safe on all floor types, which was a must in the case of our house full of 100yr old wooden floors.

I give the new addition 2 tired thumbs up. However, when this one dies, a natural death (not death by needle again), there will be no compromise, there will only be a Dyson, being delivered to our front porch. Below is a pic of the new beast, in the background is ole' crappy.

I know, I know.... but it's the Holidays!

So after being called out by coworkers and my husband, the only fools who read this thing, I have decided to go ahead and catch you up on the cracker-ish things I have been doing.

Let me start by stating the obvious, it the holidays and I am very excited! I was so eager to decorate our home that I jumped the gun and put up our tree almost a week before Thanksgiving. K's awesome family happens to grow quite a few Christmas trees on their property and they allowed P and I to trek through and pick out the perfect tree for our first home. (note: don't run through a tree farm or tree laden area, you will trip over stumps!) After perusing around we decided to go big or go home, by that I mean that we went with a 10 foot tall tree! With the exception of having to snip a few sprouts off at the top, it fit perfectly in what I now affectionately call the "Christmas Room." Thankfully, K and her husband cut the tree and delivered it right to our front door, so it was virtually hassle free. I am a little sad now that I opted not to get a smaller, "Charlie Brown" tree, in addition to the main tree. Now the second floor of our home feels a little devoid of the holiday spirit. Oh well. Here is a pic of the beauty.

My camera seems to take fuzzy pics with the flash off so here is the same pic with the flash on to help you get a better view.

Now I always give credit when it's due. I invited E over to help with my creativity block. Basically, I pulled out all my Christmas decorations and the ladder and told her to get to work. Meanwhile, I went back to the kitchen and proceeded to bake goodies! I did help a little bit but when I came back the tree was nearly complete and I had two Christmas-y mantles.

As of now, there are presents under the tree, more ornaments have been added, and that pesky ribbon is fixed. I am also happy to report that the tree is still alive and kickin'. It is my personal mission to keep it alive through mid-January. I may still forget to give ole' Newtie water (kidding) but that tree shall never thirst for water! Just for kicks, here is poor Newton enjoying a snooze in the Christmas Room.

Holiday!

What does this picture of cookies represent? Holiday baking! It's official, I have started my holiday baking and I could not be happier. With P working nights I need something to keep me busy and cooking is the perfect solution. Between a few batches of cookies and dishes I can easily pass 2-3 hours in the kitchen. My M-I-L gave me an awesome cookbook that consists almost entirely of cookie recipes! I've found quite a few recipes that create not-so-delicate cookies that can be frozen ahead of time, and trust me, you wouldn't be able to detect that they were frozen previously. So far I have made:

7 mini pound cakes

30 Molten Lava Cookies (recipe made a small batch)

60 Pumpkin/white chocolate/pecan w/ brown sugar drizzle cookies

40 Pecan Meltaway cookies

This is only the beginning. I still need to make Baklava, Oatmeal raisin cookies (thinkin' of you P!) and much, much more! My goal is to make at least one new recipe each night that P is working. Be on the lookout for your holiday basket from yours truly.....

VICTORY!

On the way home from Philadelphia on Monday, P managed to talk me into taking a sidetrip to Downingtown, PA, to visit Victory Brewpub. The drive was gorgeous, nothing but beautiful foliage up there right now and I also happened to see an old covered bridge! (Sorry I didn't manage to snag a pic) I have to say that I am jealous of what the folks in Downingtown have, Victory is once nice spot to stop. The atmosphere is great, large yet homey, the beer menu pairs up your brew and food to a tee and let's face it, you can't beat the prices when the product you're purchasing was made right in house! My favorite of the day was the Whirlwind Whitbier which managed to come home with us in the handy growler. P had a little more difficulty in choosing his poison... so additional growlers were needed. All in all, this was the perfect end to a food-filled trip!

Philly Phanatics

Of course Phillies fans were still abuzz with excitement over winning the World Series. I have never seen so much paraphernalia! After we arrived I immediately felt out of place. Despite the absence of a track suit, I quickly realized that I needed to get a Phillies t-shirt. P and I headed over to trusty Modell's and where I scored this cute Phillies sweatshirt instead.

After that I was content, and warm. It was pretty amusing to hear all the fans speculating on which title one of their teams will win next. With nearly 2 million people showing their support at the parade on Friday afternoon, South Philly better brace themselves if the Eagles should ever bring home a title!

A little sidenote for you folks.... I happened to learn that Philly fans are very superstitious! Apparently, a long time ago there was a gentleman's agreement made that no building should rise above City Hall and the statue of William Penn that adorns the top of it. Well, years ago, that building was surpassed in height by a number of other high rises in downtown Philly. This year, as the new Comcast building was completed, someone placed a mini- William Penn statue amongst the highest girders. Now, once again, William Penn reigns above the city and miraculously, the curse was broken and Philly brought home a title..... crazy! Here you can see a view of the Philly skyline, the highest building is the new Comcast building. Just a little to the left of it you can see City Hall, with the original William Penn statue atop.

Let's hope this broken curse will be extended to the Eagles this season.... I managed to snag a little Eagles emblazoned styrofoam cooler this weekend and our cold cuts came back to Richmond in style!

Philly in Photos

We had a great time in Philly! The weather was fairly nice, very warm on Saturday with the chill rolling in on Sunday and Monday. We held true to our normal agenda of eating our hearts out and basically just hanging out. Here are some photos that pretty much sum up the highlights of our trip.


I always pop by South Street for a little shopping and then down to Penn's landing for a view of the waterfront.


A trip to Philadelphia Museum of Art was the highlight of our Sunday. This first picture was from my favorite exhibit of the day, Gilbert and George. I mistakenly took a picture in a photo-free exhibit, so although it is fuzzy, I am still relishing the fact that I got it. The other picture shows Edvard Munch's Mermaid. I loved this piece for it's sheer size. It's large trapezoid shape was painted/framed to fit an old home in Norway over 100 years ago.... Gorgeous!


This bad boy was Carnival Cruise Line's attempt to build the world's largest pinata. It measured 62ft tall and 55ft long. That's roughly 6 stories high! They planned to fill it with 6,000 lbs of candy and crack it open on Sunday, but by Monday it was still standing proud and crack free. I am sure there were a lot of disappointed children in downtown Philly.


Of course our trip would not have been complete without cheese steaks. Before you ask, the answer is not Pat's or Geno's, it is John's! My father-in-law has turned us on to a true cheese steak spot, not a tourist destination. I stuck with the usual, steak with provolone and onions... so delicious! P opted for what John's is famous for, their roast pork sandwich. He seemed pretty satisfied overall and we both left with bigger bellies.... but of course I had to get my favorite cheese steak accompanied dessert, Butterscotch Krimpets. The Eagles packaging was just icing on the cake.....



Before leaving town we always stop by one of the finest deli's in South Philly. P & S. There we stock up on all the necessities. Peppered ham, salami, prosciutto, provolone, and swiss. I threw in some small italian rolls as well. Let me just say, it is most certainly the bread that makes the sandwich and if there is one thing Italians in South Philly know how to do, it is make bread! A fun time was had by all but upon returning home, we both headed straight for the gym!

PHILLIES

This weekend the hubs and I are going to visit my father-in-law in Philadelphia. I am pretty excited in that we haven't been up there in over a year and I am excited to see if all the die hard Phillies fans are still riled up. I would have loved to have been up there for one of the Series games but knowing that they won is good enough for this gal. Also, this video provided much entertainment. http://www.break.com/usercontent/2008/10/Rays-fan-takes-bottle-to-the-head-597033.html

I am content with just a normal weekend trip to see family. P and I have been preparing our bellies for all the food that we will take in this weekend. Cheese steaks, Dunkin' Donuts, and of course italian fine dining.... I'm talking about sitting at the dinner table for 5 hours eating everything that is put in front of you.... and then returning to Richmond on Monday with a cooler full of P & S cold cuts. I couldn't think of a better way to welcome in the "season of eating."

Harvest Decorations

In addition to the wonderful meal that was served this past weekend, K's gorgeous home was perfectly decorated with all things harvest. While her mums were still in bloom and there were pretty pumpkins on the porch and a harvest wreath on the door, I focused on the tabletop decor, as most of my time was spent sitting at the table that evening.

The table spread consisted of complimentary fall colored linens, leaf shaped plates, and personal touches on each place setting. Here you can see that each setting included their own personal copy of the menu, printed on harvest themed card stock. Also, adorning each place setting was either a gourd or a mini pumpkin with their names written on card stock and pinned in place. Although I asked for a mini pumpkin, after seeing the gourds I wish I had a chance to reconsider. They were so cute!

Candy corn surrounding the candle sticks provided the Halloween-ie feel while at the same time lightening the mood. This formal dinner felt a little more lighthearted when you saw the candy not only filling the bowl, but reflected in the mirror below it as well.

The centerpiece held a special place in my heart, in that K and I used the same idea for the centerpieces that were used in my summer wedding. In this case, K changed it up by using fresh tulips, (that could also be found around the house in cute little bud vases), and secured them with clear pebbles. Filling the vase to the top with water gave the tulips a unique submerged vibe and the centerpiece claimed its uniqueness with an LED light that was dropped in the bottom in an effort to illuminate the entire centerpiece. Although not entirely visible through the lens of my camera, this was certainly a nice touch.

Some honorable mentions need to go out to all the harvest colored serving ware and the springs of rosemary that were added to each dish, they all did their part in making this meal really come together.

A big thanks goes out to K and her husband for once again opening up their home and letting us celebrate a special occasion. Thankfully, we didn't end the night with gloomy faces like these poor uninvited guests.

Harvest Festivus

My partner in cooking, K, and I are always looking for an excuse to celebrate with food and of course delicious beverages. Well this past weekend a coworkers birthday gave us the opportunity to pull out the mixers and meat thermometers. K hosted the party at her swoon worthy home and together we made just about everything the birthday boy requested. Let me tell you, in my quest to be a cracker, K is one major cracker to look up to. Her home is always up on the seasonal decorations and she is wonderful at remembering all the details from an ice bucket to drink stirrers.

The birthday boy specifically requested a prime rib roast and a flour less chocolate torte for dessert, everything else we got to play around with a bit, including a harvest themed pumpkintini. Here's a rundown of the menu for you.

Starters:

Pumpkintinis

Caramelized garlic cheese ball

Shrimp cocktail

Main:

Prime rib roast

Red bliss mashed potatoes

Roasted asparagus

Creamed Spinach w/ buttery crumb topping

Sauteed mushrooms

Desserts:

Chocolate Chip cheesecake

Chocolate Truffle torte w/ homemade raspberry sauce

Homemade whipped cream

dessert wine

Now while most of the cooking was done by K you can find the recipes for the Cheese Ball and Creamed Spinach in my archives. I will however share the recipes for the pumpkintinis and Chocolate Truffle Torte.

The pumpkintini was quite delicious and was perfect for the cool, harvest weather we had on Saturday night. We started by rimming the glass with a little lemon juice and crushed graham crackers. Then add:

1 splash Kahlua

1 1/2 splash Malibu rum

2 counts of Vanilla vodka

1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin pie mix)

Shake well with ice and drain into martini glass.

These can be dangerous, but oh so good!

Chocolate Truffle Torte

Preheat the oven to 350.

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dark rum

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Coat the inside of a 9-inch cake pan, with non-stick cooking spray, then sift the confectioner’s sugar onto the cooking spray in the pan.

In a glass bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, stirring half way through. Remove from the oven and continue to stir until the chocolate is melted. Set aside and allow to cool.

In the stand mixer with the whip attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, salt and flavoring together for about 8 minutes, until tripled in volume. (try cooling the whip attachment prior, apparently it helps in the whipping process)

With the machine on low, gradually pour in the chocolate mixture, until it is incorporated. Fold in the cocoa and flour, until it disappears and then pour the batter into the prepared pan. (FYI: At this point, the mixture can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours, or frozen for 6 weeks.)

Defrost and bring to room temperature before baking 20 to 25 minutes, until the torte is set in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. (Since the bottom of the cake will be the most beautiful side, don’t re-invert the cake)

Sprinkle confectioners sugar on top and add a few fresh raspberries.

Or you can go all out and add your own homemade raspberry sauce.

1 bag frozen raspberries

little sugar

raspberry liqueur

Let this simmer for an hour or two and drizzle it right on top of your torte! I will give you a warning that the chocolate torte is not for the faint at heart. I consider myself a sweet tooth but this was almost a little much for me. Don't get me wrong, I cleaned my plate, but without the help of the raspberry sauce and K's homemade whipped cream I probably would have had to bow out.

All in all the meal was perfection in my eyes. I had never quite seen a piece of meat as we had the other night and all the fixins' just really hit the spot. I will include another post that shows off some of the tabletop festivity

My two favorite times of the evening where when each of these plates were placed in front of me.

Dinner Dessert