Cook set for fruits and vegetables

The Apple Cooker set from Mastrad is said to be a better way to cook fruits and vegetables. Fruits cook in the microwave or a conventional oven.

The set includes two non-stick, BPA-free silicone apple cookers, one corer with scoop and a recipe book. The scoop has a slight tip, which helps pierce the fruit flesh and enables swift removal of the core and seeds in one clean motion. The scoop is also marked for one teaspoon and one tablespoon measures to make food prep easier. Sets are available in candy apple red, apple green and black.

Cupcake liners put style in the kitchen

Sutton Gourmet Paper offers eight designs of its cupcake baking liners. Each set of 50 baking cups is packaged in a round, clear plastic container. The container protects the shape of the liners so they bake perfectly. The company also sells in bulk to bakeries and professionals, as well as provides wholesale tubs to culinary retailers. It is a new exhibitor at next month's Housewares Show in Chicago.

Company founder Kellie Sutton says cupcake baking liners need to be "colorful, grease-free and look beautiful using only one liner. Our whites stay white, the colors are vibrant and the designs are crisp."

Winners from the Dallas gourmet show

Dallas Market Center announced the winners of the 2nd annual Dallas Gourmet Gold Awards last month. Participants competed in a variety of categories displaying the art of cooking. Entries were judged based on taste, originality and packaging. This year’s judges were Amy Cavanaugh, associate editor, Fancy Food & Culinary Products; Rick Wells, president, Wells Hospitality Group including Rick’s Chophouse and Sauce; and Sarah Dyer, business development manager for floral, gift baskets, card and party, Central Market.

The Dallas Gourmet Gold winners are:

• Best Chocolate or Candy – Oh Chocolate Cake Rounds, La Bouchee
• Best Dessert – Pecan Caramel Dessert, The Caramel Candy Co.
• Best Snack or Dip – Spinach Artichoke Dip, Carmies Kitchen
• Best Condiment: Jelly/Jam/Preserves – Scotch Bonnet Pepper Jelly, Suan’s
• Best Condiment: Salsa/Relish/Sauces – Golden Pecan Pepper Jelly, Liz & Linda’s
• Best Soup or Chili – Chili Fixins Texas Style, Truly Texas
• Best Beverage – Yerba Chai Tea, Sterling Tea
• Best Seasoning/Oil/Vinegar – 20-year-old Aged Balsamic Vinegar, Galli Gourmet
• Most Innovative Kitchen Accessory/Kitchen Gadget – Slow Cooker Mate
• Best of the Rising Stars – Margarita, Slim Ritas

The Gourmet Market is a 25,000-square-foot shared showroom in the Dallas Market Center. It features unique gourmet gifts and specialty food and beverage lines, as well as housewares, cookware, tabletop, kitchen gadgets and wine accessories from more than 150 companies. As the only gourmet showroom open daily in the United States, The Gourmet Market serves as an excellent resource to showcase the newest products from leading gourmet companies.

GIRLFRIENDS CHRISTMAS PARTY 2009

One of my favorite holiday traditions is the Christmas Dinner that my friend Alisha and I host for some of our girlfriends. I love planning, preparing for and enjoying it. It's so fun to get together with friends and enjoy each others company along with good food every now and again.

These were the invitations we sent out and the little craft/favor that everyone made and went home with. It's a recipe book with several of our favorite recipes complete with pics from the party over the years. We'll add new recipes to it each year and it will be a great collection of holiday favorites.

Appetizers:

• Frothy Pink Grapefruit Strawberry Drink
• Tomato, Mozzerella & Basil Skewers drizzled with Balsamic Dressing
• Roasted Red Pepper Dip on a Crusty Baguette

Dinner:

• Christmas Salad
• Cajun Candied Salmon
• Lemon Rice
• New Wave Green Beans
• Fruit Salad with Cherries
• Orange Rolls

Dessert:

• Mini Cheesecakes & Brownie Tarts with Carmel Frosting

It was all soooooo goood!

(most of these recipes are on the recipe blog linked on my sidebar and the rest will make their way there eventually)

We had our traditional dessert exchange which is always fun and exciting. Everyone goes home with a fun holiday dessert for their family and a cute new serving tray. This year we had a banana cake with carmel and burnt butter frosting, peppermint bark popcorn, chocolate covered oreos, adoreable pretzel rod snowmen, homemade oreo cookies with peppermint, peanut butter and jelly bars and fudge, red velvet cupcakes, and a chocolate cheesecake cake.

Clever felt breadbasket

The Avva Felt Breadbasket from Teroforma is made of 100% wool felt. The colors coordinate with the company’s linen collections. It is available in white, green, brown and gray. The baskets hold four bagels or equivalent size breads.

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Retailers: Contact the manufacturer for prices and minimums.

Shoppers: Ask your favorite independent retailer to order this item for you. 

Tea caddy

Mark Feldstein & Associates's wooden tea storage box with a glass top has six separate compartments to store and preserve tea bags. The box includes eight assorted popular blends from Bigelow Tea.

Retailers: Contact the manufacturer for prices and minimums.

Shoppers: Ask your favorite independent retailer to order this item for you.

Top products from August

The following were the most-viewed gift, home and furniture products for the month of August. (Click on photos for a larger view: click on title below to read more.)

Plush sleep aids for children (cloud b)

First look at a new bedding line (Zicci Bea)

Colorful alarm clocks (HeadsUp Design)

Organic chocolates, candles (Vanishing Creatures)

Scandinavian-designed cake server (Urban Butik)

French Breakfast Puffs

(picture and recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks Blog) 

French Breakfast Puffs
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 sticks butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside. Pray. In a different bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening, then add eggs and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden. In a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Eat. Faint.

Ham, Mushroom, and Spinach Strata

This is delicious and a great idea for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning since you make it the night before. I got the recipe from my friend Alisha and the only change I made was adding some baby spinach. Thanks for sharing Alisha!

8 eggs
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
5 slices dense French Bread cut into 1-1 1/2 inch cubes
1 lb ham, cubed (I had deli ham on hand so I just sliced that up and it worked great)
1/2 pkg sliced mushrooms
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
1/2-1 cup baby spinach leaves torn into pieces (optional)

note: I used a little less ham and added 1/2-1 cup of baby spinach torn into pieces

Beat eggs; add milk, salt and dry mustard. Stir well. Add next 4 ingredients, stirring well after each addition.

I put it in a 2 1/2 quart DeMarle (silicone bakeware) mold to bake, if you do it in something else you'll probably need to grease it. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Let stand 20 minutes before inverting onto plate (you'll only be inverting this if you use a DeMarle mold, you can just serve it out of the pan if you're using something else) Slice and serve.

Orange Rolls

Rolls:

Best Refrigerator Rolls - from the kitchen of my Mom

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 cups Better for Bread Flour - divided (note: my mom lives in UT and this works for her, I always end up adding a bit more flour here in OR, so you may need to adjust a little)
3 eggs, well beaten

2 Tbsp rapid rise yeast

Mix all ingredients together in mixer except for yeast and half of the flour. Then sprinkle yeast on mixture and add remaining flour. Mix until sticky. About 5 min. Place in lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel. Raise until double. About 2 hours.

Punch dough down and cover bowl with a damp towel. Refrigerate. (I make the dough the night before and then refrigerate it till whenever I'm ready to make it the next day)

Roll out as desired. Shape. (I divide the dough into thirds, roll each ball into about a 14" circle (about 1/4" thick) like a pizza crust and then use my pizza cutter to cut it into 12 triangles, then I roll them up into crescent shapes) Brush with melted butter. Place on baking sheets and cover lightly with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let raise 2-3 hours. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min or 375 for 12 min.

Makes 3 dozen

Filling:
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp orange rind (I use more)
1/2-1 tsp orange juice

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice
1/2-1 Tbsp grated orange rind
1 Tbsp melted butter

Brush filling onto rolls before rolling them up (and before they rise) so it's on the inside, then dip tops of rolls in glaze when rolls have cooled. Makes enough for 16-20 rolls.

Lego Party Ideas

A few weeks ago my 7 year old wanted to have a Lego Party with some of his friends.  Here is what we did (just cutting and pasting the rest of this post from my own blog):

The Lego Party was a huge hit. Mark had a great time and all his friends seemed to also. I had tons of fun putting it together and was really happy with how it all turned out. And let's be honest, I'd much rather plan a party than clean house, pay bills, etc. So, it really was a great week. Although my bathrooms, floor and laundry may complain of neglect.

Here was the invitation Mark and I put together and delivered:

And here are some pics from the party:

(click to enlarge)

Each picture above is numbered and a coordinating number is below with a description/explaination:

1. We decorated in traditional Lego colors with balloons streamers, and different colored plates, cups, forks, etc.

2. One of the games we played I printed off of Lego.com, it had two similar pictures and the kids had to find and circle the 15 differences between the two pics. The winner got to pic a lego person keychain/bag charm as their prize.

3. For another contest we had everyone build anything they wanted to out of legos. We had spaceships, Star Wars ships, a house, and other things that I had no idea what they were, but everyone loved what they made and loved playing with all their creations together after this game. For this game everyone got a bag of Lego Brick candy that I got at the bulk candy store in the mall for a prize.

4. Here are the Lego Brick Candy prizes. We had one for the most colorful creation, one for the fastest looking one, one for the person that used the most people, etc.

5. These were the prizes for the other games. They are Lego figure keychains that the boys like to hook on their backpack zippers. I took Mark to the Lego store at the mall and he picked them out so of course they are all Star Wars.

6. These are the gift bags I put together for the boys. I found the idea online and just bought bags and coordinating cardstock and then used a craft punch to punch the circles out of the cardstock and then attached them with pop dots to the bags. Inside the bag was a lego poster again a download from Lego.com that I had printed on 8x10 photo paper at Fred Meyer, and a set of lego stickers (from Lego.com) that I printed on sticker paper from the office supply store.

7. The first game we did as the boys arrived was to have them guess how many Legos were in this jar. They all guessed super low, and I would have too if I didn't know how many were in there. Can you believe there are 300? 

8. We had a tallest tower contest to see who could build the tallest tower in 2 minutes and it couldn't fall over. 

9. I used the bags as place cards at the table so that boys who knew each other would have a friend to sit by (some of the kids were from church and some from school so they didn't all know each other before hand)

10. I found the basic idea for these Lego cakes online from Betty Crocker and thought they turned out great. I'm not a cake decorator by any means so they definitely aren't perfect, but the boys thought they were great!

The time actually flew by and the boys were totally content to just build and play with their Lego creations. I had to pry them away to eat the cake before their parents came to pick them up.

submitted by Emily (www.delightfuldistraction.blogspot.com)

Halloween Carmel Apples

Caramel Apple Recipe

1 pound brown sugar

2 sticks butter, at room temp

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

12 apples

12 dowels


Topping:

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 TB shortening

Combine ingredients in a 2-3 quart saucepan. Heat at medium low temp, stirring constantly but slowly and frequently scraping the bottom of the pan. Cook caramel to the soft ball stage (236) degrees. Pour into a small deep metal or heat proof bowl and let cool to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Push a dowel or stick into the top of each apple. Dip apples into caramel using a straight up and down motion. (Too much agitation causes the caramel to separate and become oily). Place dipped apples on baking sheet and place in the fridge for 15 - 20 min. Next, dip caramel apples into melted chocolate, then sprinkle with decorative candy.

TIP: Granny Smith and Fuji apples are the best apples to use. Make sure you wash and dry them because there is a waxy film on the apples which will make the caramel not stick.

To make the sticks I cut a 12 inch dowel in half. Then cut out 5 inch by 1.5 inch scrapbook paper. I spread Mod Podge on the back of the paper and rolled it on the stick. It sealed perfectly!!

Submitted by Brandy Dunaway
www.dunawaydivasanddad.blogspot.com

Tall Cupcakes

Okay, here it is, the tall cupcake post.  The pan is made by Wilton, along with the cupcake wrappers/papers.  I found both at my local craft store (Michael's).  There are 6 cupcakes to a pan. One cake mix makes one pan.  Then I just use a can of frosting and decorate according to the occasion. 

French Toast Recipe

First, to those who have emailed asking for copies of the Conference packets I will email those out tomorrow.

And second,  your not going to like me unless you live in UT or in the vicinity of Yuma, AZ.  The Overnight French Toast Recipe comes from Kneaders Bakery and Cafe which has locations in the above mentioned places.  You use their Chunky Cinnamon Bread to make it.  And it is "what makes it".  You could try it with a similar type bread from another bakery, but I don't know how it would turn out.  The bread from Kneaders is a dense bread (fluffy wonder bread isn't going to cut it) with cinnamon swirled throughout and then a white icing/glaze on top and also throughout the bread.  

Here is the recipe:

1 Loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut into 8 slices

6-7 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

 1 Tbsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 Tbsp butter

Butter a glass 9x13 pan.  Place slices flat in pan.  Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread.  Cut butter into pieces and dot over the tops.  Refrigerate overnight.  Bake 45-50 min at 350.  

Emily's notes:  First off, I can't fit it all in a 9x13, I end up using a 9x13 plus an 8x8.  Also, I like it best when I refrigerate it overnight and then turn the pieces of bread over and let them sit an hour before you bake it in the morning so both sides really soak up the egg mixture.  It is great with maple syrup or with strawberries and whip cream!

submitted by Emily (delightfuldistraction.blogspot.com) email: delightfuldistraction@gmail.com

Visiting Teaching Brunch

A few weeks ago I hosted a brunch at my house for the girls I Visit Teach (a program from my church, to learn more visit www.mormon.org). It was so much fun and I think would be a fun "gift idea" to do for any group of gals you love for the holidays. Below I will cut and paste from my personal blog what I did for mine, it was pretty simple since I'm at the end of being pregnant with #4. I've heard of lots of other fun ideas for this and next time I think it would be fun to send out invitations and have something for them to take home (a plant, handmade gift, etc).

What: Brunch (Ham, Mushroom & Spinach Strata, French Breakfast Puffs, Fresh Orange Juice and Fruit Skewers)

When: Last Friday Morning

Where: Emily's House

Who: Emily, Heather, Cassandra, Tina, Kari, and Michelle + the littles that aren't in school yet

Why: Do you really need a why to get together and eat good food with good friends? I don't think so!

submitted by Emily (delightfuldistraction.blogspot.com) email: delightfuldistraction@gmail.com

Fruit Kabob Centerpiece

Used for my husband's luau themed birthday party

The fruit is on kabobs and pushed into pineapples. The "trees" are carrots with slits on the sides and a green bell pepper on top. Fruit is then filled in on the bottom, it was easy and turned out looking great

submitted by Mandy Hughes

EASTER BUNNY S'MORES

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

1. Reduce 1 sleeve graham crackers to crumbs.
2. Layer 2/3 of the crumbs in a 1 quart jar.
3. Place 8 marshmallow bunny peeps standing up, facing out around the inside of the jar.
4. Press them up against the glass, but don't squash them.
5. Carefully spoon remaining crumbs in the center of the jar to support the bunnies, pressing down to keep it snug.
6. On top of this pour 1-1/4 cup Easter M&M's.
7. Spoon 1/3 cup brown sugar into center of M&M's, gently pressing with a spoon.
My changes: I did M&M's first, then Peeps, then put combined brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs in baggie. I didn't like how the crumbs made a mess in the jar.

Attach a gift tag giving the following instructions:

1. Empty the jar contents into a bowl. Snip the bunnies into bits with kitchen sheers or cut up with a knife. Return the bunny bits to the mixture. Mix well.
2. Melt 1/2 cup butter; add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour this over the dry ingredients, mixing well. Pat into a greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.
(Makes 9 to 12 bars.)

*Option - leave bunnies whole; combine remaining ingredients and place the bunnies on top; then bake as directed.

*This gift jar may be created to suit any holiday for which marshmallow candies are available.

submitted by Hilary Shirley

Kid Friendly Sushi

Supply list

Rice Krispies
Marshmallows
Butter
Swedish Fish
Fruit roll ups

I made these sushi for my kids to celebrate the Chinese New Year!

1. make rice krispy treats if you don’t have a recipie here is an easy one:
¼ c. butter
10 oz. marshmallows
6 c. Rice Krispies

Melt the butter and marshmallows over low heat on the stove. Pull off heat and add rice krispies. Place in buttered pan.

2. While the Rice Krispies are still warm, butter your hands and take a little ball out. Place a Swedish fish in the middle of the ball and form it into a sushi roll size. Wrap with a fruit roll up. Place on a plate to cool off.

Tips- you need to be able to rebutter your hands a lot so they don’t stick to the rice krispie treats. Also I cut the fruit roll ups in half. You might even want to cut it in thirds, it depends on how big you want your sushi to be. Have fun!


Submitted by Erin Wayland
http://nathananderinwayland.blogspot.com/

Cute Anytime Gift Idea

Supplies needed:
2 colors of cardstock (Valentine's is coming . . . think pink!)
cellophane
coordinating ribbon
and . . .
Chocolates!

To make these little cuties . . . borrow your friend's scallop cutter to get the cute edge on the smaller circle. (Or you can probably buy that fun cutter at your local craft store.) Then I used the Creative Memories cutting systems circle patterns to cut the larger circles. I used a bit of 2-sided adhesive to stick them together. Finally, I used the CM circle maker to do the smaller circles for the coordinating gift tags, and a corner rounder to finish them off.

I've had my eye on these chocolates for two years now . . . they are from Costco and I think they are so cute! One box was $10.-12. I think, and dividing them up for these gifts had enough for the women I visit teach and for the elderly couples and widows in our cul-de-sac. (And of course a few left over for me to sample.)

These are nice because they are a small but delicious gift for a single person to enjoy.

submitted by
Alisha 

Another Girlfriends Christmas Party

My friend Alisha and I enjoy hosting a party for our Girlfriends at Christmas as our "gift" to them. Here's what we did this year.



Wednesday night my friend Alisha and I hosted our 2nd Girlfriends Christmas Party. Neither of our days went as planned but we still had a great time and were happy with how everything turned out. When we were on the phone in the afternoon realizing how much was left to do in such little time I said "I think we might not be the super women we thought we were", she laughed at my drama.

These were the invitations we sent out.


We invited 6 friends to the party so there were 8 of us total. We started off with appetizers and punch while we played a little "get to know you better game". Okay, okay, I'll tell the truth, we started off with Alisha using my blender without putting the bottom of it on and then having quite the mess when she tried to take the blender off of the stand, after that our guests started arriving and we enlisted there help in some last minute food prep. THEN we enjoyed Creamy Mushroom Phyllo Triangles, Veggie Pizza, Shrimp Dip and Frothy Pink Grapefruit Strawberry Drink while we played the "get to know you better game". Four of the girls won prizes which were either a bag filled with foot scrub, lotion, a pumice stone and pedicure kit, or a bag of chocolate covered pretzel rods rolled in toffee bits.



Then it was onto dinner. Alisha made the lime tower centerpiece and had extra berries left over that I used along with some ribbon and a tag to tie the napkins with. We served Christmas Salad, Barbequed London Broil with Vermont Cheddar Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, Crunchy Green Beans, Orange Rolls, and the most delicious and beautiful Island Fruit Cups you have ever seen (Alisha has an amazing gift for food presentation).




After dinner we did our dessert exchange. Everyone brought a fun holiday dessert on a new serving tray to give away! Here is a picture of them, I took individuals but most of them were blurry. Alisha made the Black Forest Cake, I made the tall cupcakes, Tanya made the Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Torte, Tina made the cutest snowman cupcakes, Kelly made her famous Peppermint Fudge Truffle Cake on a pedestal that I REALLY wanted, Lori made her own recipe of Ooey Gooey bars in this super cute candy cane tray, Heidi brought her favorite wassail recipe in this cute teapot, and Celeste made her famous cathedral cookies. Everyone was so excited to take their treats home to their families.




For the dessert that we actually got to eat Alisha made Double Chocolate Souffles.with Warm Fudge Sauce. And OH. MY. GOODNESS. Heaven in a bowl. Seriously a must try!


The last part of our evening was our little craft. We made these cute ornaments inspired by Becky Higgins. Each ornament has four pics of each child on it to remember this year by. Each person made them so differently and they all turned out so cute.





I had a great time and am so thankful for such good friends to share fun times with. I can't wait for next year!

submitted by Emily (www.delightfuldistraction.blogspot.com)