Housewife Bliss

Know your food: Artichokes

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:26:15 +0000

I have what I endearingly call a delicate palate, while others might say I am a picky eater. Like my son Sawyer, I have to try things in my own time, and only now as I approach my 40s am I more inclined to try new foods. For years I would see artichokes on menus, at dinner parties and always avoid them. Absolutely nothing about them appealed to me until one hot day in Spain when I was sitting with a group of friends, nursing the most fabulous bottle of Rioja did the mood strike me to reach across the table and try my first leaf. It was love at first bite, my appetite was insatiable, and I spent the length of that summer buying them at every opportunity never doubting for a second why the Ancient Greeks and Romans considered artichokes a delicacy worthy of only the grandest celebrations.

There are more than 140 artichoke varieties but less than 40 are grown commercially. Today most artichokes grown worldwide are cultivated in France, Italy, and Spain, while California provides nearly 100 percent of the United States crop. Rich in Vitamins B5, B3, biotin, folate, potassium, cynarin and zinc, artichokes are full of antioxidants, making them one of the popular super foods nutritionists are often encouraging us to reach for.

A good artichoke will speak to you: Or rather squeak. Rub the exterior of an artichoke, if it is heavy with tightly packed leaves and offers a squeak when rubbed, it is perfect for eating. Like all stock vegetables, avoid drooping, soft or brown pigmented produce, these are tell tell signs that it is dry, frost damaged or has had a considerably long shelf life.

Storage: Before storing your artichokes in the refrigerator, cut the end of the stem off, and sprinkle the new exposed stem with water and refrigerate in an airtight plastic bag; cook within 5 days of purchasing.

Labor of Love: Preparing an artichoke is anything but quick. But the laborious nature of cooking them is rhythmic and cheaper than therapy. Always remove the outer shell and the top of the bud, these areas are not digestible and frankly add nothing of value to the heart of the artichoke. Once the outside is clean and trim, remove the thistle that resides in the center of a medium to large sized artichoke before cooking.

Keep them beautiful: Artichokes turn brown when exposed to air, avoid this by allowing them to rest in a large bowl filled with water and lemon juice until you are ready to cook them.

Wine Pairing: Ironically, artichokes and wine do not play well together. The science behind the acid in the artichoke unsettles the balance of the wine (clearly I had no problem with this the first time I tried an artichoke), choose your paring well, or better yet, reserve the wine for after the artichoke has been served.

Getting Sweet with Moscato

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:01:12 +0000

My love of full bodied red wine often thwarts my curiosity for trying sweeter white wines. However, with temperatures nearing a 100F in Arizona this past weekend, my desire to stay cool and hydrated motivated me to try the Moscato craze that is taking America by storm. The popularity for Mosacto is so monumental, that it is the fastest growing varietal in the US…and after trying a glass (or three) on Sunday afternoon, I admit, I am riding the Moscato fan bus as well. Join me as I get sweet with Moscato and celebrate National Moscato Day.

The golden color of Moscato hints at the aromatic palate it offers, giving a slightly sweet taste that lingers with peach and citrus flavor and medium acidity. Moscato works beautifully as a brunch wine, complimenting fruity and sweet breakfast dishes, while also pairing well with savory evening menus.

Pushing the limits with what can and cannot be paired with Moscato, I created an eclectic summer dinner menu with fish tacos and an arugula salad. Convinced that it does pair well with spices foods, the bottle (and the second one) carried us into our after dinner selection of soft and hard cheeses, peaches, and berries. By the time the meal had ended, we were all sweet on Moscato.

The aromatic flavors make it a great summer wine, offering a light bodied sweetness that makes it a fabulous compliment to everything from starter to entrée to desert. Stunning served chilled on its own, or mixed into a wine cocktail, Moscato wine is a summer bar essential that every host should have stocked and ready to serve.

The Moscato more and more people are reaching for is Gallo Family Vineyards Moscato, join me in celebrating the first annual National Moscato Day tonight on Twitter with @GalloFamily and #GNO at 9pm EST. I will be sipping my Gallo Family Vineyards Moscato and cheering them as they give away $250 in prizes to ensure that the celebration continues long after the tweet chat ends. Find out more about the give away and the #GNO chat here.

Sizzling Memorial Day Grill Out

Coryanne Ettiene — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:37:24 +0000

Each Memorial Day started with a silent ritual of my grandfather raising the flag at dawn each year, and quietly taking it down at dusk. He never talked about his experience in the Pacific but something inside told me that there was a private experience swirling inside him that allowed him to cherish the American flag more than the rest of us. Raising the flag in our home is a sign of hope, celebration and jubilation. He hangs it when a birthday is celebrated, when good news is hoped for and when memorials are remembered. The flag is his way of celebrating the joys in life, and each time he raises it I see a glimpse of that 18 year old that served as a medic in the second war and earned a Purple Heart along the way.

This year we are celebrating my grandfather by preparing a party that will bring the extended family together in a sizzling Memorial Day grill out that warrants both a patio make over and a menu filled with his favorite dishes. With 3 generations gathering at sunset, we need plenty of seating, copious amounts of food and a grill that can keep up with hungry demands.

Enjoying a special family gathering while trying to play hostess at the same time is complicated, but not impossible if you plan ahead. I must admit, time is not on my side these days and with our move to Seattle quickly approaching, I had “causal party” in mind when I ventured on line and shopped for my new items at Kmart.

Create a party station

Creating party stations allows for your guests to move around the party without congregating in one central area, allowing for a more relaxeed entertaining environment. Cluster small seating arrangements and tables together, offering a unique food or beverage at each one. With so many children to accommodate, S’mores are by far our most popular station, followed closely by Sparkling Pomegranate Punch. Place your station off the traffic path, but close enough to the fun to ensure that people flow freely between stations.

Embrace Relaxed Entertaining

Place settings are fabulous for formal affairs or long meandering dinner parties…not so much for a family party with 3 generations trying to keep the over 80 crown and the under 3 crowd grinning from ear to ear. To create a table scape that gives the effect of style without the confinement of place settings, offer your guests a buffet table complete with centrepieces, candles, plates, cutlery and beverages. It will give you party an anchor, and give your guests a destination both before and after the meal.

Keep it clear

I love using white dishes and heirloom silver (had you noticed?) but for this party, I am going clear. I love the modern style it offers the table, and it allows the blue, red and white theme of the party decor to shine without competing with the dishes. Alas, it is not always easy to find everything you need when you go for a clear theme….so be creative, stroll the bathroom accessories section, I seem to always find the best ice buckets disguised as bathroom rubbish bins there.

Embrace the Red, White and Blue

One cannot have a patio make over for Memorial Day and not indulge in a red grill. While I wanted the food to carry the bulk of the color theme, I did want the table accents to complete the decor. Chilled white wine, a berry and meringue layer cake, sparkling pomegranate punch, extra large red jelly beans, white candles, a denim blue table runner with matching napkins and a red table mat gave me the Memorial Day color theme I was looking for.

All American Menu

Grilling in Arizona often includes salsa, guacamole and any number of various taco combinations. Creating an All American Menu keeps the cooking simple, and the clean up quick. Burgers, corn, and veggies for a grilled salad means that everyone can sit down together to eat, including the grill master.

Create your own Memorial Day Grill Out Make over with Kmart, these deals are currently on offer:

20% all patio cushions, umbrellas, all folding lawn furniture
Metal arbor with gate on SALE for $79.99 (reg $149.99)
50% off hanging basket plant stand & deluxe basket plant stand

Shop Your Way Rewards members save more each and every season and for every $1 you spend you get 10 points, find more great Shop Your Way Rewards information by following them on Twitter, and don’t forget, you can lock in today’s low prices for all of your upcoming events with Kmart Layaway. Connect with Kmart online, Twitter, and Facebook. Find the items I purchased for my Memorial Day Grill out in the Kmart Outdoor Living Catalogue.

Top 5 items from my Memorial Day Makeover include:

See my Kmart shopping adventure on Google+

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric. All images, content and oppinions expressed are my own. See my full shopping experience plus extra photos from our makeover on my Google+ Page.

Sandra’s Summer Carnival

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:04:05 +0000

Last week I mentioned that I was on my way to meet Sandra Lee in NYC and preview her new line of home goods for Sears and Kmart, full of promises to take my grandmother shopping to relive my childhood Sears shopping trips and show her the new Sandra by Sandra Lee line. Well darlings….. Sears is stepping up a notch and from the looks of it, is not really my grandmother’s store anymore. Instead, I am taking my daughter, together we can build new shopping memories because frankly, I think Sears is fast becoming my new shop for home goods. In addition to meeting Sandra Lee, I also had the opportunity to meet a few of the stylists and buyers who are collectively changing the face of Sears — their sense of the trends, their passion for quality and their dedication to affordable shopping is contagious. Sandra’s new line is an example of what is to come, and boy am I smitten.

Here is a glimpse at my time attending Sandra’s Summer Carnival…..There are simply too many photos to share in one post so instead I have created a Google+ story to show you my top picks from the new line and a few ever so fabulous pictures of Sandra and I having a riot of a time discussing my table top ideas for Christmas.

My top 5 pieces from the Sandra by Sandra Lee line:

If there is anything I learned this weekend it is that my next party will have a photo booth….. hat’s off Sandra for putting a photo booth inside your party, I am convinced that every party should have one.

And Sandra…..well here is the scoop……she is delightful, genuinely delightful. Articulate yet hilariously witty, humble yet inspiringly talented, larger than life yet welcoming, and most of all, gracious. She even served me her signature Martini.

Berry Good Homemade Ice Cream for Mother’s Day

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:37:54 +0000

When I was 6 my grandfather bought my grandmother an ice cream maker for Mother’s Day. It was a bulky wooden barrel with a metal crank that made a barely audible scraping noise while my grandfather turned it. I remember watching my grandmother mix the cream, vanilla and raspberries, all the while confused why anyone would make ice cream when they could buy it in the shops. My skepticism was quickly dismissed when her gentle whisking of the ingredients released the sweetest aroma of vanilla and raspberry twirling in her mixing bowl and then again when she poured the batter into her new ice cream maker. Watching my grandfather turn the crank around the world and back again, was painful, especially for him as I must have asked “Is it done yet?” with each turn of his crank. Finally the dry ice and my grandfather’s relentless turning created an ice cream that turned me into the ice cream snob I am today. Ice cream should be rich, filling and melt ever so slowly, and oddly enough, …..I simply won’t eat ice cream unless I can use a fork (yes, I have a few peculiar habits, that is only the tip of the iceberg darlings).

This Mother’s Day we are reliving this memory 2012 style, with ice cream made in around 10 minutes that you can eat with a fork (oh Hamilton Beach you have given me a fabulous Mother’s Day present, thank you!). And with any luck, my memory of those sweet vanilla berries will become my children’s memory, and together we can turn Mother’s Day ice cream into a family tradition.

Berry Good Homemade Ice Cream for Mother’s Day

Ingredients

2 Cups of Organic Half and Half
1 Cup of Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 Cup of Organic Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Organic Vanilla Extract
1 Cup of Chopped Fresh Organic Raspberries

Instructions

Combine the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the berries muddled into the cream. Place contents into an ice cream maker, and serve once frozen. Or, if you are not using an ice cream maker, place the contents into a freezer safe sealed container and allow to rest for 2 hours before returning to stir the contents. Repeat the setting and stirring process until your ice cream is ready for serving.
Feeling adventurous? Add a few sprigs of fresh mint to your bowl before serving, trust me, it is divine!

Notes

The vanilla base recipe is courtesy of Hamilton Beach | housewifebliss.com | 2012

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://www.housewifebliss.com/2012/05/02/berry-good-homemade-ice-cream-for-mothers-day/

For more great ways to spoil your mother this Mother’s day, visit some of my favorite blogs for a Mother’s Day #HolidayHQ, and then join us tonight for a Mother’s Day special #HolidayHQ at 8pm EST. We are giving away a Hamilton Beach Blender and Hamilton Beach Ice Cream Maker.

Effortless Entreating Ideas for Mother’s Day

Celebrations At Home | A Mother’s Day “Tea” Recipe

SkimbacoLifestyle.com | Mother’s Day

Thoughtfully Simple | Muffins and Mimosa’s for Mom

The Partybluprints Blog | Mother’s Day

Second City Soiree | Cool Kitchen Gifts for Mother’s Day

Paper & Pigtails | Fabulous Mother’s Day Free Printables

___________

Hamilton Beach has not compensated me for this blog post or for the #HolidayHQ tweet chat.

5 Maraca Shaking Margaritas

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:15:22 +0000

Welcome to Margaritaville! Tequila was never a favourite of mine, the aroma was always too heavy, and the taste was always to strong, even standing next to a Margarita would turn my stomach, and conjure up images of college parties where bottles were passed and worms were dangled over head. For me, Tequila was not something I wanted to be acquainted with, nor cared to serve at any of my parties. While, I will admit to dabbling in the occasional sip from time to time, Tequila rarely met my lips or that of my guests until I learned a few things about this Mexican jewel. Now I am smitten, it is amazing what a finely distilled Tequila can do to a Margarita.

Knowledge is everything when you put on your party hat, and even more so when that hat is a sombrero. Before you stock your bar for Cinco de Mayo, choose your Margarita ingredients well. A quality Tequila will linger on your tongue for 20-30 seconds, be void of a heavy oak or peppery taste, with a clean aroma free from any vinegar or musty scents, and always made from 100% Blue Agave.

Photos by Coryanne Ettiene, courtesy of Celebrations.com

5 Maraca Shaking Margaritas

Lime Sorbet Margarita. Ideal for simple summer entertaining, this frozen cocktail is more like a sweet delight than a party drink. Made using lime sherbet, this Margarita only takes a few ingredients, read my recipe on celebrations.com.
Margarita Jello Jigglers. Zesty, sweet and oh so fun, these bite size cocktails are made in advance, making party planning a breeze. Read my recipe on celebrations.com.
Watermelon Margarita. I adore watermelon with fresh lime juice, it is one of those summer treats that permanently resides in my fridge during July and August. This sweet Margarita takes my love of these 2 ingredients and turns them into a favourite summer tipple of mine. Read my recipe on Celebrations.com.
The Perfect Margarita. Served chilled on the rocks with plenty of salt, this is the classic version, with my own little twist. Read my recipe on Celebrations.com.
Pineapple Mint Margarita Punch. I typically serve this punch with Gin, however….. I recently replaced my Gin with Tequila and Ole! It is a crowd pleaser. Read my recipe on Celebrations.com.

Sandra by Sandra Lee

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:32:47 +0000

With spring in full force, there is nothing better than transitioning your home to match the season. I love replacing my heavy traditional winter dishes with light whimsical dishes for spring and summer, stocking up on new tea towels and picking up a few seasonal trends to ensure my entertaining table stays up to date. For me spring is as much about cleaning as it is shopping.

Growing up in a small town in Arizona, there were 2 places to shop, the Western Store (I know those pictures will haunt me one day) and Sears. My Grandmother would bring me with her on her annual spring shopping excursions to Sears, and I learned from her how tactile shopping should be, and uplifting it is to restock your kitchen each year with new dishes and essentials. I loved watching her feel the fabric of a tea towel– if it passed the test, it went in the shopping basket, if not, she would call me over and tell me why– her knowledge was limitless, as was her eye for detail. That is why yesterday when I received a package from Sears containing a Sandra by Sandra Lee oven glove, I carefully wrapped it back up and forwarded it on to her. If there is anyone on the planet who appreciates a good oven glove, it is my grandmother. And I can’t wait to return from NYC and take her shopping at Sears for new spring essentials from the Sandra by Sandra Lee Collection.

As I write this I am flying to NYC for a preview of her new exclusive collection of home products for Sears and Kmart stores nationwide. The collection launches later this month and will include tabletop items and storage solutions, bakeware, cookware, utensils, gadgets, and small kitchen appliances.

I love the concept behind the Sandra by Sandra Lee over the sink cutting board, and the festive spotted dishware, but I am adore the printed tea towels, these are most certainly going my Tea Towels I am staking Pin board.

And if everyday household items were not enough, Sandra has a fabulous Christmas line to compliment the collection due out later this year. I cannot wait to deck my halls with her new line, especially these darling holiday trinkets…..Here is a sneak peek.

While I am really looking forward to the Sandra By Sandra Lee preview Sears is hosting, I am also excited to meet Sandra Lee and hear her thoughts on table styling, summer entertaining and cocktails. Join me while I preview the new collection by following the hashtag #BySandraLee and stay up to date on special offers by following @BySandraLee.

Cookbooks worth reading

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:00:14 +0000

12 years ago I owned 2 cookbooks, and now I have enough to open a small shot. My first cookbook was an impulse buy I made while living in South Africa called The Complete South African Cookbook. I bought with my last few Rand that I had in my pocket while I waited to board my flight home after one of the best years of my life. What an 18 year old needed with a cookbook is beyond me, but it has been with me ever since despite only being used a few times, it is one of my most prized books. Several years later, I was given my 2nd cookbook, my mother gave me The El Charro Cafe Cookbook as a wedding present. It is so dog eared and worn that you would think I cooked Mexican food for the first few years of our marriage — truth is, they have the best Margarita recipe inside, and the photos reminded me so much of home on those cold winter London days that I looked at the pictures more than I cooked with it. It was not until Margeaux was born that I began collecting cookbooks like some people collect stamps (do people really still do that?). At first they were focused on weaning, making baby food and basic cooking skills almanacs that I would hover over, finding delight when the pages were marked with flour or mushy peas because on some level it made me feel grown up and domestic. As the children grew, so too did my collection…as I write this we are packing up our kitchen preparing for our move to Seattle in June, and I count over 60 cookbooks. Apparently I have a problem, because 60 just does not seem like enough, especially when I browse the cookbook section and discover new books that I simply must have. Among them are these 4 beauties that at the moment are resting on my bedside table, whispering for my attention each night and filling my dreams with spicy gumbo, baked apples, kale salad and Parmesan hash browns.

While the other 60 are packed away for our long journey up north, these 4 beauties will be within arms reach should the inspiration strike on our first night in our new kitchen.

The Muffin Tin Chef by Matt Kadey. Who knew that the muffin tin could be such an over achiever and the home entertainers best friend? I love the concept of taking your favorite meals and creating miniature versions using nothing more than a muffin tin. With 101 recipes and 65 stunning photographs, this cookbook is full of healthy menu ideas ideal for brunch, entertaining or simply adding a twist to some of your favorite dishes. Find out more about Matt Kadey and his new book here.

Eat Raw Eat Well by Douglas NcNish. Raw, Vegan and Gluten-Free recipes are all the rage right now, and there is no better time to try these healthy menu ideas than in the summer. Written for both those that fully embrace a raw food lifestyle and those (like me) that like to dabble in it. The recipes are easy to follow and are all nutrient-rich, making it one of the healthiest cookbooks I have on my shelf. Find out more about a Raw Food Lifestyle and Douglas McNish’s new book here.

Pure Style: Recipes for Every Day by Jane Cumberbatch. This book is like a journey back into London living for me. It is a visual notebook of cooking, gardening and modern lifestyle tips that offer up seasonal recipes and inspirations for every day healthy living. Sketches and photos bring the pages to life, making the reader hungry to tie on an apron and put the kettle on. Read more about Jane Cumberbatch’s new book here.

If You Can’t Stand the Heat by Robert Medina. I love it when a passion for great food turns into a fabulous cookbook, and this New Orleans Fire Fighter knows how to turn up the heat. His simple to follow steps can turn anyone into a Gumbo expert, and if you like Southern Louisiana cooking, you will love how his Firefighter kitchen skills make New Orleans style cooking in your own kitchen possible. Read more about Robert Medina’s Firehouse cookbook here.

Spring Entertaining Made Simple

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:23:29 +0000

Hosting a party is like public speaking, you either thrive on the stress and dive into to every detail with enthusiasm, or you shirk away from it, only to embark on entertaining with anxiety and doubt. And then of course there are those that reside in the middle, confident in some aspects and reluctant on others. I have met some amazing entertainers, and attended some fabulous parties where the food, decor, drinks and host were flawless, only to find out later that the host was plagued by doubt over the success of the party. The guest, it would seem, is a universal concern regardless of entertaining style or experience. We all strive for a party where our guests are the focus, and who leave longing for their next invitation.

For the modern host, planning a successful party means working around busy schedules, tight budgets and the sometimes complicated relationship status that some guests may have. We all have entertaining questions, some light questions over which wine to serve and others more complicated like how to deal with a plus one guest that causes more drama than expected. Here are a few of your entertaining questions answered in my The Daily Meal Column, She Knows Interview and Celebrations.com articles on spring entertaining:

Can I throw a real dinner party in my studio apartment? Urban entertaining does not always have to be limited to cocktail parties. I once hosted a dinner party in our tiny London flat with a Moroccan theme by setting out a carpet picnic, complete with colorful pillows, decorative rugs, and a relaxed central buffet that we circled around over dinner. We incorporated our décor with a North African dinner menu, cocktails, and a soundtrack that tied the theme of the party together…. Read more

Can I host a spring party inside? Spring entertaining is always tricky when you rely upon the weather to accommodate your outdoor party plans, but hosting an indoor spring party does not mean you need to limit the freshness that comes with hosting a spring party……Read more

Are there alternatives to fresh cut flowers? If fresh flowers are not in your budget, a low-cost floral option is to visit your local garden center and buy a tray of colorful annuals, re-potting them in bowls or smaller pots will give you the illusion of a great floral spread without the added expense of buying multiple bouquets. Read more of my ideas on hosting an inexpensive spring party in my interview with She Knows.

How can I host a more eco friendly party? Shopping for seasonal foods, calculating your beverage needs and incorporating a few green entertaining methods is a great way to host an eco friendly party. Read my ten ways to give your table top an eco-chic make over plus ideas for hosting an Earth Friendly garden party on my Celebrations.com feature.

Boozy Popsicles for Playful Entertaining

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:57:24 +0000

One of the best popsicles I ever tasted was at a bar in Mexico while enjoying a typical college spring break. I would love to tell you that I remember the food enjoyed during that week, but the truth is, it was the popsicles. Before that trip, popsicles were the sort of treat I enjoyed when I was 6 while sitting in the shade, not in my 20s sitting in a cantina. There was something remarkably delicious about a lime popsicle with Tequila poured over it, so delicious in fact that the idea of a boozy popsicle has stayed with me over the years creeping into my summer parties as away of offering a playful alternative to my standard cocktail menu.

There are a variety of ways of serving boozy popsicles, by far the easiest is to place the virgin popsicle into a glass and top it with Champagne or sparkling wine, or to serve it cantina style by simply pouring a shot of something potent over the popsicle and serving it immediately. If you are feeling adventurous, and time is on your side, set aside a few hours before the party to prepare your all in one boozy popsicle that will give a playful spin to your outdoor entertaining this season. Trial and error has taught me a few things about setting the perfect boozy popsicle, before you set about creating your frozen libations, considered the following:

Store bought chocolate syrup does not freeze, it needs to be lightly incorporated into your recipe. Opt for cocoa powder instead.
The higher the proof, the less likely it will freeze.
Layering creates a fabulous visual, but takes time, so set aside 2 hours of freezing time for each layer.
Plastic popsicle holders work well, but silicone ones work better.
Small Dixie Cups make a great alternative to the traditional popsicle set.
Add a splash of style to your popsicles by using heirloom silver spoons as popsicle sticks.
If you are adding citrus, remove the skin to prevent a bitter aftertaste.
Don’t be afraid to use herbs or edible flowers, they freeze beautifully.

For lazy popsicle making, stick with standard frozen cocktails like a Daiquiri or Margarita. Simply blend your cocktails and pour them into your molds 4 hours before the party begins. If you are looking for more creative recipes, try my Vodka Creamsicle Pop, Blue Moon Beer Pop, Mocha MudSlide Pop, Mojito Pop and Campari popsicle recipes featured on Celebrations.com.

Spring Gardening for Summer Entertaining

Coryanne Ettiene — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:55:47 +0000

I grew up watching my grandfather tend to his beloved fruit trees. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve watching him nurture his garden and then generously passing out bundles of citrus each summer. He taught me the importance of patience, the beauty of giving the gift of food and the happiness that can be found in quietly tending to a kitchen garden. My grandfather had the gift of a green thumb, his love of nature and gentle spirit always brought a calm into the garden…somehow the birds were always singing and the bees always buzzing when he stepped outside with his watering can. On the contrary, my kitchen gardening skills are anything but tranquil, and my thumb is anything but green. I have to approach gardening with a mechanical check list. For me, gardening success only comes when I work at it, calculate it and take pleasure in the small victories rather than harp on about the wilted herbs, bitter squash and pests that nearly always result when I step outside with my watering can.

Each spring I take a deep breath and venture outside with wild aspirations of a garden my grandfather would be proud of. And this year is no different, I long for a summer garden full of color to brighten the view from my kitchen window, and make my outdoor entertaining more delightful.

Advice on spring gardening for summer entertaining

Sow Grow Cook: Planting your vegetable garden now will give you the summer harvest that every cook longs for. Read my tips for a cooks garden here.

Bring the outdoors in: Spring is the perfect time to use your kitchen window for showcasing bulbs, herbs and bedding plants. Be creative with how you display them. Using shallow bowls, tea pots, cocktail glasses or even the traditional vase allows you to plant bulbs indoors, giving you fresh flowers without the expense of buying cut stems each week.

Brighten your outdoor view: Container planting is a great way to liven up a patio or urban garden. If space allows, clusters of blooms along paths provide a welcome trial that will brighten up your outdoor entertaining space. If you fancy planting bulbs this month, stick with summer blooms Canna, Crocosmia, Dahlias, Gladiolus or Rain Lilies.

Focus on your lawn. Your grass is at its most fragile right now and needs plenty of TLC to nurse it back to life after a long cold winter. Give your lawn a good feed and re-seed, then keep it moist to encourage germination. Once it starts to grow, keep it trimmed within an inch of its life — mosquitos love resting in your cool lawn as much as you do — the shorter and more frequently you mow your lawn, the less likely they are do seek shelter in it.

Shop smart at the garden center: If you are anything like me, shopping at the garden center at the first signs of spring is like entering a grocery store on an empty stomach, leaving you with a trolly bursting with random plants, excess gardening accessories (oh aren’t those gloves pretty?) and a bill that makes you ban all cafe coffee for the next month. Brush up on your garden center tactics with my guide to shopping smart here.

5 Spring cleaning tasks for every garden:

Get your garden tools in shape for the busy season by sharpening your mower blades, replacing any damaged tools, ensuring you have gardening supplies stocked in your shed.
Look over your garden steps, decking, paths, fences to check for winter damage and repair replace as needed.
Tidy up your garden furniture by giving everything a good wipe down and polish, then repair or replace any broken equipment.
If you have children, now is a good time to review your garden toys and get rid of anything broken that cannot be fixed, they have outgrown or that you are just tired of looking at.
Check your garden lighting, replace or repair where necessary.

Clean Food Guide

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:16:03 +0000

When it comes to washing food, I take on some rather lazy habits, and have been a habitual eater of unwashed food the second I left home and ventured out into the world on my own. For example, if I am going to par boil my root vegetables before roasting them, they rarely go in the pot pre-rinsed, or when reaching for an apple, a quick rub on my jeans is the closest thing to clean my apple will ever see. I suspect my iron-clad stomach is the result of years of eating at street vendors in various corners of the world, and enjoying unwashed produce straight from the fruit truck of a farmer that almost always had fertilization methods that a sensible western tourist would run screaming from.

It is not to say that I have not had any run-ins with food born illness – I was once hospitalized in China for 3 days for what I can only presume was food poisoning (one of the scariest, most surreal experiences of mainly because my Mandarin consisted of a tiny string of words like “fried rice no meat”, “where is the….”, “what time does it leave” leaving me with no way of communicating with the medical staff). Over the days that followed, my diet consisted of bread, steamed rice and bottled water. I was practically starving when I met Ilene in a produce market in Cheng Du. It was a chance encounter that brought me back to the tastes of China, and introduced me to the wizardry associated with rinsing your produce with vinegar. To say she was aghast that I did not die a few days previously is beside the point, frankly she was by far the cleanest, most cautious traveler I had ever met, and for all I know she left China and invented the antibacterial gel. I took her advice, invested in a small spray bottle and washed my fruit and vegetables in vinegar never to see the inside of a Chinese hospital again, because it turns out that Ilene, while mildly crazy, new a thing or two about eating killing off food pathogens.

Food pathogens live on our produce, resting on the surface and often flourishing in the nooks and crannies of rough or textured produce, leafy greens and soft delicate fruits. Washing produce (organic or otherwise) is the best defense against food born illness.

The glory of vinegar: Studies show that produce washes are no better at removing pathogens than simple running water. Washing your produce in a vinegar solution cleans nearly 98% of the bacteria found in farm grown foods. Add 1part vinegar to 3 parts water and add to a spray bottle and lightly spritz your produce before soaking, scrubbing, or rinsing it in cool running tap water.

What to soak: Cauliflower, broccoli, vegetable blossoms and lettuce should be soaked for 1-2 minutes in cool clean water and then rinsed before eating to remove pathogens.

What to scrub: Cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, carrots, potatoes and other textured produce should be lightly sprayed with a vinegar solution, gently scrubbed and then rinsed under cool running water before eating. Even if you are not going to eat the skin, it should be washed, as slicing through a dirty skin only allows the pathogens to hitchhike into the flesh of your produce.

What to rinse: Delicate produce like berries and herbs should be placed in a colander and gently rinsed with cool running water.

What to trim: Dirt and bacteria love the stems and blossom of produce, and thrive in the damaged part of the fruit or vegetable. Ensure that you remove the stems and trim off any damaged parts before eating.

Easter Brunch for Chocolate Lovers

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:52:17 +0000

We all have those moments when our maturity escapes us and we find ourselves regressing into our 7 year old self…for me, it is the Easter candy selection that generally comes out in January and finally grabs hold of me in April to the point that I start dreaming about the 3 foot tall chocolate bunnies that are so prolific this time of year. While I a not really a chocolate lover, I have been known to binge on this heavenly creation from time to time….and Easter is one of those times when I thank the Easter Bunny for the new pair of Spanx he left me, and look for everything imaginable to cover in chocolate.

My basic chocolate recipe is simple (so long as you keep your eye on the double boil and off your wine glass), and can be applied to practically anything. Like most hand made chocolates, it does melt in your hand, so be mindful of where you store them and how you display them.

7 ways to embrace chocolate this Easter

Nutella & Chocolate Nest: An edible way to serve ice cream, or miniature chocolate eggs. The technique is perfect for mini chefs and makes a great Easter weekend cooking project for the whole family. Read my recipe on Celebrations.com
Chocolate Dipped spoons, glasses or cups: The stylish way to add a dash of mocha to your after brunch coffee or make an ordinary milk glass exciting. Simply follow my basic chocolate recipe, dip the base of your tea spoon or rim of your vessel into the chocolate and allow it to cool on a sheet of parchment paper.
Chocolate dipped snacks: Oh the sky is the limit with this, nothing I can suggest would be original, but I can tell you that our table will be topped with chocolate dipped rice crispy bars, pretzels, fruit and espresso beans…and frankly once you make a batch of the chocolate, you will suddenly feel the urge to dip everything (I once tried to dip a saltine cracker..seriously). When dipping food, be sure they are room temperature before you cover them in chocolate to ensure a slow and even cool down.
Chocolate drops: Perfect for the mini chef, simply follow my recipe, then allow them drop chocolate on to parchment paper before freezing. If you are feeling adventurous, sprinkle fresh coconut over the top, or even orange zest to give it a little hip-hop for your Easter guests.
Chocolate spread: Go on, it is Easter, and if you can’t have chocolate for Easter brunch, when can you? Prepare the chocolate according to my recipe, then place it in a warm bowl and serve immediately. As the brunch continues, the chocolate will gradually cool and harden, making it an idea treat for scones, hot pancakes, waffles, brown bread, croissants or even….dare I say, spooned from the bowl.
Chocolate Bars: Rocky Road, Almond Nut, Fruity Chocolate bars…the list can go on and on. Homemade chocolate bars are a fabulous hostess gift and make a for a great after brunch treat. Use my recipe for chocolate, then be creative with the ingredients. Read my recipe for Rocky Road Fridge bars on Celebrations.com.
Chocolate Molds: Be bold and go for the classic chocolate mold. Silicone molds are surprisingly simple to use and allow you to either embrace simplicity by using the my basic recipe, or let your imagination take over by adding any number of spicy, sweet or classic ingredients to the mix.

For more great ideas on getting the most out of the Easter season, be sure to join us tonight on the #HolidayHQ Twitter chat at 8pm EST, and hop along to the other great blogs sharing expert tips for spring entertaining.

More #HolidayHQ Hostess Easter Inspirations from:

Valley & Co Lifestyle | Elements for a Marvelous Easter Brunch

Celebrations at Home | Spring Garden Tablescape

Skimbaco Lifestyle | European Easter Traditions Galore

Thoughtfully Simple | Simple Easter Brunch

PartyBlu Prints | Little “Peeps” Easter Table Centerpieces

Second City Soiree | Cocktails that say Spring

Paper & Pigtails | Polka Dots & Pastels – Free Printables

April Fool for Berries

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:51:04 +0000

I am a fool for berries and have been since the age of 7 when my mother took me foraging in the Oregon woods on a brilliantly sunny summer afternoon. I could not resist their delicate sweetness bursting in my mouth, and paid little attention to my stained fingertips, or my new gingham dress for that matter. I rarely see a berry and not think of that afternoon spent with my mother, it is one of those childhood memories that lingers and resurfaces to bring you those warm fuzzy feelings that only come when food and family intersect.

One would not think that London could offer a similar childhood memory, but our London was a green belt pocket with wide-open spaces, many of which offered rolling hills of wild berry bushes. For years our summer walks along those paths would involve watching the berries ripen until finally they children were able to pick them as we strolled the common…I remember the anticipation they felt waiting for them to ripen, and the giggles that would arrive when their fingertips were stained and their bellies full. As much as I cherish this memory, I had no idea my daughter shared this sentiment until she retold her version while we prepared our first bundle of spring berries earlier this month. The pie we had planned to make was quickly forgotten, and suddenly we were two fools strolling down memory lane, nibbling on fresh berries while our fingertips stained.

Select & store the best berries

Timing is everything: Early spring berries, while exciting, still lack the full punch of a seasonal summer berry. Your best berry arrives in late June, early July.
Location, Location, Location: Farm fresh berries are amazing, but if buying them from a market or farm shop, be sure to buy berries stored in the shade. Sunlight and warm temperatures speed up the decay process of picked berries.
What to look for: The perfect berry is plump, firm, shiny and fragrant. The smaller the berry, the more flavor it will have, this is especially true of strawberries. Where possible buy organic, as they fall on the ‘dirty list“.
Carton Sense: The prefect carton has plenty of empty space. The more compact your berries are, the more likely they will contain mold, decay or damage. Avoid cartons with stains or damaged fruit; this is a sure sign that your berries are already decaying.
Storage: Once home, remove your berries from their packaging, and delicately rinse with room temperature water, before patting dry and storing in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be mindful that both moisture and damage will speed up the decaying process when you prepare your berries for storage.
Freezing: Properly frozen berries will stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer. Once cleaned and dry, place your berries on a sheet of parchment paper and lightly spritz with lemon juice to maintain their vibrant color before freezing for 3 hours. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag and place is a quite location within your freezer (quite meaning, not under the ice cream carton or where they will be damaged, unless you are going for berry crumble look)

4 great ideas for enjoying the first berries of the season

Eton Mess: My husband loves this summer pudding, making it a favorite in our home. Not to be confused with the ‘fool’ desert often served here in the US, this is delicate blend of meringue, cream and crushed berries that offers both crunch and cream in every bite. Read my recipe for it on Celebrations.com.
Sparkling Fruit Punch: My children call this the “KiddieGria” because it has all the charm of the grown up Sangria without the booze. Equal parts of sparkling water and cranberry juice accented with fresh frozen raspberries, orange wheels and pomegranate seeds give this mocktail a modern and healthy twist on the classic childhood favorite. It goes without saying that with a dash of ….Vodka….you can turn this it to a fabulous cocktail punch (but I am sure your mind was already spinning in that direction…..no wonder we get along so well).
Peek-a-boo Pies: Let them eat pie. Mini pies with a lazy crust make this effortless to prepare…especially if you are using ready made pastry. Blind bake your crust, add a variety of fresh berries, top with pasty and bake until golden brown.
Boozey Berries: One can’t mention berries, without mentioning that they can be just as boozey as the next fruit. Clean and dry your fresh berries and then soak them in your favorite tipple — enough to dampen them, not completely submerge them — for an hour, then transfer to a sheet of parchment paper, freeze for an hour and then use as ice cubes in your next cocktail…or straight from the freezer for a mischievous evening snack.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:31:44 +0000

With spring break over and my husband busy with his new position, I have been swamped by silence in our home….what was once a space filled with the patter of tiny feet, the echo’s of “Pretend I am…” and the tap tap of my husband’s key board, is now the stifling silence of our beloved pooch looking at me with that longing look of someone keen to strike up a conversation. After polite conversation with the dog, and laughing at my own witty thoughts, I finally settled down to the modern day approach to battling silence–I turned my iPad on and started steaming the Cooking Channel on my Cox TV Connect application. With my secret stash of Pretzel M&Ms and mini Reese’s Cups hidden in my candy jar (well, short of a neon sign flashing ‘candy’ it is not really a secret stash, but I think it adds mystery to my desk) I began my courtship with back ground noise by placing my iPad on the corner of my desk, allowing the Cooking Channel to whisper to me while I worked the day away. What seemed like a great idea at the time, only resulted in an urgent craving for cupcakes, hence the topic of this post, rather than the fabulous history of brunch I was working on.

As the year progresses, so too does my baking confidence, but alas I am still wet behind the ears with so much to learn and in need of as much help as possible….so I took the flavors I love the most and asked Xam Xam, my trusty baking assistant, to help me turn a craving into a reality. Using my much loved, but seldom used Cupcakes by Susannah Blake, I modified her recipe for chocolate cupcakes and 2 hours later (yes, I know 2 hours….I would fail miserably at Cucpcake Wars) we finally sat down to Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Cupcakes, which are now affectionately called Cox Cupcakes in the house because the latter is too much for any one person to utter when all they want is a cupcake.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes: 3 1/2 Ounces of bitter sweet chocolate
1 stick of room temperature unsalted butter
3/4 Cup of white granulated sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
3/4 Cup of self-rising flour
1 Tablespoon of milk
Peanut Butter Cream Frosting: 1 Cup confectioners’ sugar
1 Cup creamy peanut butter (or chunky if you want it to have bite)
5 Tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter
1/4 Teaspoon table salt
3/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 Cup heavy whipping cream (a splash more if you want a softer frosting)
Handful of extra large pretzel rods.

Instructions

Basic Chocolate Cupcakes: Preheat your oven to 350F, then line your cupcake pan with paper liners.
Double boil your chocolate until it is smooth and creamy, then set aside to cool at room temperature.
In a dry mixing bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder and sugar together until fully blended.
Blend the dry mix with the eggs, butter, melted chocolate and milk until smooth and creamy.
Spoon the mixture into your cake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when you test them.
Once baked, remove from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack.
Frost generously with your peanut butter frosting, and then top each cupcake with crumbled pretzel rods before serving.

Notes

The chocolate cupcake recipe was modified by a fabulous Choca-Mocha Recipe by Susannah Blake. And the ever fabulous Ina Garten created the Peanut Butter Frosting. | Housewifebliss.com | 2012

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You too can crave cupcakes while you work, or any time for that matter. The Cox TV Connect application allows you to stream live TV to your iPad allowing you to watch it in any room in your home. Over the last 3 months the app has made our slumber parties more fun, given Margeaux her own private cooking class and alas….helped me on my way to become a baking rockstar. This post has been compensated for, and made possible by Cox Communications and the Everywhere Society. All opinions, views, content and images are my own.

Baked French Toast Cups Recipe

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:44:22 +0000

I must admit, my morning breakfast usually involves several cups of coffee enjoyed in between making lunches and overseeing the cereal bowls that never make it from the kitchen table to the kitchen sink. If only perfection was within reach I would be a better family cook, but alas, I am not a morning person, not by any stretch of the imagination. The gusto of those first few weeks back at school where the energy abounds for cooked family breakfasts gradually diminishes as we approach the end of the school year, which is why, when guilt gets the better of me, I reach for my Baked French Toast Recipe and return to the family breakfast table with my fork in hand.

The beauty of baking French Toast means that there are a variety of ways to serve it, and when you have 3 children with different tastes, baking it makes this classic breakfast dish simple, popular and a multitasking favorite for busy school day mornings. At a push these can go from concept to the table in under 15 minutes, and with time and full family participation, you can have have them done in 30 minutes or less.

Hazelnut & Banana Baked French Toast Cups

Ingredients

6 Slices of French Bread
3 Large Eggs
1 Cup of Whole Milk
½ Cup of chopped Hazelnuts
3 Ripe Bananas
Pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon to season the egg batter

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven for 375F and line a cupcake tray with 6 liners, then set aside while you mix the egg batter.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, milk and optional spices, and then whisk until fully blended. Slice your bread diagonally down the side until you reach the center of the bread, and then place in the batter and coat the bread fully. Gently twist the bread into a floral shape and place in the cupcake tray. Repeat this process for each slice of bread.
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375F or until the French toast cups are golden brown. Remove from the oven and top with fresh banana slices and chopped hazelnuts before serving.

Notes

While this is a classic favorite in our home, the second most requested cup is made by adding a spoonful of fresh jam to the French toast cup, and then topping it with fresh seasonal fruit before baking as instructed above. The result is a pie like berry cup that is sweet and juicy.

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | housewifebliss.com | 2012

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Interestingly enough, I shared this recipe on Twitter while I was doing the GMC Trade Secrets Challenge, and it sparked a friendship with the ever talented Liza Utter. This week she is sharing both her sweet, and savory versions of my recipe on her fabulous site Liza America’s Host — I simply love her spin on this recipe. Reading her rendition has me eager to plan a brunch, complete with a create your own French Toast bar…thanks for the inspiration Liza!

And if you are looking for more breakfast inspirations, see my Breakfast Feast Menu on Celebrations.com, including my recipe mini French Toast Kebabs.

Roasted Pepper Bread & Butter Pudding Recipe

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:50:48 +0000

My husband is about as English as they come. Remember that quirky moment when Hugh Grant utters ‘Whoopsi Daisies” in the movie Notting Hill? Well….it is true, people, my husband included, really do say that. And if you add a few “Jolly Goods” and a “knock em for 6” you have my husband’s quintessentially Englishness wrapped up by a few of his favorite phrases. So imagine his horror when I took his beloved Bread and Butter pudding, and added garlic, roasted peppers and Italian cheese to it…. he summed up his confusion with a simple shake of the head, and a look that told me that some things are sacred…apparently messing with his Nan’s recipe was like serving chilled Ale. So of course, I got started right away.

I used the left over peppers from our Cannellini and Roasted Pepper Ciabatta that I had made the night before, and because I went to town stocking up on Ecce Panis Ciabatta bread, I had everything I needed to rekindle our leftovers.

While Bread Pudding is often a dense sweet pudding made from day old bread and plenty of currants, Bread and Butter Pudding differs only by its moist and soft consistency. Bread and Butter pudding is simple, and requires hardly any prepping time. Using leftovers meant that this recipe practically prepared itself, and because there is little cooking skill involved, the children got involved, making it a true family meal from start to finish.

The smell of roasting garlic and peppers caught the attention of my husband and suddenly the idea of creating a savory Italian Bread and Butter Pudding did not seem as foolish as it did an hour previous. When he joined us for dinner, nothing witty came from his lips because he was too busy “tucking in” to his bowl. I guess I kept the Aspidistra flying with this meal. God Save the Queen.

Roasted Pepper Bread & Butter Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

5 Cups of Ecce Panis Ciabatta Bread
1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Cup of Whole Milk
1/4 Cup of Cream (optional: use only if you are looking for a creamier texture)
4 Large Eggs
1 Cup of Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 Cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
1 Cup of Fire Roasted chopped tomatoes (I used tinned tomatoes, but if time allows, make these fresh)
1 Cup of Roasted Peppers
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 375F.
Brush the Ciabatta with Olive Oil, chop into 1 inch squares and then season with salt and pepper before toasting them in the oven at 375F for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
While the Ciabatta is baking, whisk the eggs, milk, cheese, grated garlic cloves and optional cream together in a large mixing bowl.
Grease your baking dish with a tablespoon of unsalted butter.
Once your bread is toasted, remove it from the oven and transfer it to your baking dish. And then layer the bread, with your tomatoes, roasted peppers, and egg batter until the baking dish is full.
Reduce the heat of your oven to 350F and bake your bread and butter pudding for 40-50 minutes.

Notes

This recipe is made from leftovers from my Cannellini and Roasted Pepper Ciabatta. For instructions on preparing the peppers visit: http://www.housewifebliss.com/2012/03/20/cannellini-roasted-pepper-ciabatta-recipe/

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | housewifebliss.com | 2012

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How to host a frozen yogurt tasting party

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:48:50 +0000

Growing up in a small town in Southern Arizona meant there were few opportunities to cool off in the summer: the first was the pool, and the second was our local TCBY – both were summer staples and equally vital in the eyes of a child. Ice cream was just not cool enough, if you wanted to be on the cutting edge, you had to have a massive cup of FroYo. The novelty of Frozen Yogurt never made it to London, and on our first summer in Arizona, I re-lived my first taste with the children on a day when 110F in the shade seemed cool, and the FroYo cup in our hands even cooler. As we approach our 2nd summer in Arizona, the idea of a FroYo tasting party seems like a novelty that must be experienced, especially now that #TCBYGrocery just arrived at our local Walmart.

Hosting a tasting party while the product is still new adds a novelty feel to your party that everyone will be thrilled to experience, while also getting your guests excited about the warmer spring weather. Like an ice cream social, hosting a frozen yogurt tasting party is a breeze and takes little set up once you have the 10 key elements needed to pull off a fabulous tasting party. And if you don’t have them to hand, don’t worry, I pulled this party together in an afternoon because I found everything I needed when stocking up on my TCBY Grocery items.

Top 10 Essentials for hosting a Frozen Yogurt Tasting Party:

Toppings & Frozen Yogurt: The sky is the limit with toppings and flavors, but if space does not allow you to have every topping and flavor under the sun, keep it simple with traditional favorites. I could not decide, so I went for every new TCBY Grocery flavor and kept my toppings simple with cookies, sprinkles, sauces, cherries, nuts and fruit.
Color Theme: Think bright, bold colors. Orange, Aqua, Red and White are very popular this year, and by stocking up on a few key pieces you will have your spring/summer entertaining accessories sorted for the season.
Scoops & Spoons: Keep serving simple by offering a variety of scoops for each flavor. It not only keeps your tabletop mess free, it makes self-service simple and easy for your guests. Just as a number of scoops are important, so are spoons. Opt for inexpensive tea spoons, they can be used again for another party and are always preferable over the plastic ones that frequently break while in use.
Bowls & Cones: Everyone has a preference for a cone, cup or both, so have plenty of cones, and cups on hand. Recycle your egg tree from Easter to draw attention to the cones, this keeps them from getting damaged and makes a nice focal point for the table.
House Recipe: Assign an FroYo master and ask them to mix up the ‘house’ recipe using kitchen pan scrapers. Our after school guests were hanging on to our FroYo Master (or maybe it was just my charming nature?) with this TCBY Frozen Yogurt recipe we created using their fabulous Chocolate Chocolate tub and my new snazzy scrapers.
Serving Dishes: A variety of white serving bowls and clear plastic squeezers keep the tabletop looking clean and relaxed.
Trays & Tubs: Use bright trays to showcase your popsicle treats and large colorful buckets to hold your tubs of frozen yogurt.
Ice: Keep your frozen delights cold by keeping plenty of ice on hand for your frozen yogurt to rest in.
Tasting Journal: Have fun with a tasting journal, list each flavor and encourage your guests to write down what they loved; it keeps the children engaged and the parent’s will love knowing what to buy next time they visit the shops.
Napkins: Bright colorful napkins work as both a table top accent (especially if you wrap your spoons in them) and keep the taste testers from sporting that “I just had a big bowl of chocolate” look.

Cannellini & Roasted Pepper Ciabatta Recipe

Coryanne Ettiene — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:32:28 +0000

Few foods have the ability of reaching beyond cultural boarders and socio-economic lines like bread. It has a history as rich as humankind itself, and alone is responsible for shaping the way we communicate today offering us gems like “the best thing since sliced bread” or my personal favorite, “breaking bread”. I have been fortunate enough to try bread in many countries, surprisingly enough the freshest bread I ever tried was while traveling in Morocco– it was cooked on an open fire, crisp around the edges and fluffy in the center. But as delicious as that bread was, the simplicity of it was no match to the Italian bread I would hoard in my handbag and nibble while walking the streets of Italy every summer. Perhaps it is their Roman history that assists the Italian’s in creating some of the world’s finest breads and the largest varieties….or maybe after a few glasses of wine, everything in Italy tastes better?

Our local baker, while fabulous, has a limited selection of fresh Italian breads, and I have yet to embrace the fine art of bread making (machine or otherwise), so my quest to recreate one of my favorite dishes led me to try the Ecce Panis Bake at Home Ciabatta. I was so delighted with the result that I now have a few loaves in my freezer for those fresh bread cravings that sometimes sneak up on you at 11pm (or is that just me?).

Cannellini & Roasted Pepper Ciabatta

Ingredients

1 Loaf of Ecce Panis Ciabatta
1 Tin of Cannellini beans
4 Peppers in a variety of colors
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
2 Teaspoons of Raw Sugar
4 Sprigs of Thyme
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375F and then rinse and dry the peppers before placing them on a baking tray. Roast them for 35 minutes, or until soft and tender. Transfer the hot peppers to a large mixing bowl, and cover with a plate to continue the steaming process. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the pit, peel and then cut them into thin slices. Place the sliced peppers in a new mixing bowl along with a few spoonfuls of the pepper juice to keep them moist while you prepare the marinade.
To make the pepper marinade, add a 1/4 cup of olive oil, the vinegar, sugar, thyme, 2 crushed garlic cloves, the juice of 1/2 lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk for 30 seconds before pouring over the peppers. Allow the peppers to rest in the marinade while you prepare you bean dip and bread.
Drain and rinse your tin of Cannellini beans before placing them in a food processor with 1 grated garlic clove, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, a splash of olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pulse until you have a white lump free paste similar to houmous. Add lemon juice, salt or pepper to your liking once the paste is made. If it is too thick, add a bit more olive oil.
Slice your ciabatta in half and generously brush on the remaining olive oil before cooking for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Once cool enough to handle, spread a good amount of cannellini paste on the ciabatta loaf and top with your marinated peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh thyme before serving.

Notes

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | Housewifebliss.com | 2012

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Whiskey Cakes make life sweet

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:38:20 +0000

The first time I tasted a tipsy cake I was an 18 year old living in South Africa. I was a bundle of excitement at the thought of ordering this boozy delight, and then after a few servings, an equally charming drunk (or, rather this is the adjective I am sticking with for the sake of this story). It was sticky, gooey, fudge riddled and oozing with caramel….it was heaven on a spoon. I have tried in vain to recreate that first bite and nothing has compared, until I came across these tempting whiskey cakes at a Christmas party years later (thankfully, the wisdom of hindsight taught me to limit my sweet drunken tooth).

More like brownies than cakes, these chocolate delights are dainty, with a booze quantity to match. Serve them fresh out of the oven, or make ahead and serve them chilled, they require little baking skill and the love of good whiskey. You can read my Tipsy Cupcake Recipe on Celebrations.com.

And if time is not on your side this weekend, take a short-cut by buying ready made brownies or chocolate cake, and spend 15 minutes making a chocolate whiskey drizzle. Simply double boil a package of dark chocolate chips with butter and honey, and once your have a molten chocolate consistency, gradually add splashes of whiskey until you have the potency you desire before spooning over your brownies or cake.

Produce Aisle Survival Guide

Coryanne Ettiene — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0000

There is something satisfying about being a domestic hunter gatherer. Call me strange, but I simply adore grocery shopping, especially shopping for produce…even despite my curious shopping habits. Walking into the market is like walking into a time warp for me, I love taking the time to walk the aisles, but seldom have the luxury of making a ‘day of it’. Despite my time constraint, I still maintain my peculiar habit of sorting and packing my own groceries – my ritual is so notorious that my family jokes about my antics, and the cashiers excuse the baggers once they see me approach.

Food shopping is one of the fist domestic chores we learn to tackle, but with busy modern lives, our weekly shop can turn to chaos, wasting us time and money, often leading us to make poor buying choices. Over the next few weeks I will be doling out words of wisdom, offering advice and cutting through all the confusion of grocery store shopping.

When should you buy organic? If your family eats something frequently, eating the organic option will reduce your intake of pesticides considerably. While many of us see the value in organic eating, it is not always possible — sometimes the item you need is not available in organic, or your budget restricts you from making this choice. Understanding the pesticide residue in produce is the first step in making educated buying choices.

Saving money in the produce aisle: Keep your produce fresher for longer by storing your broccoli and celery in a vase with 1 inch of water at the bottom….think of them as fridge blooms. Keeping your produce stored at the right temperature (read more here) and freezing seasonal produce to enjoy out of season is the smartest way to shop for produce with your wallet and taste buds in mind. Freezing produce is easier than you think and can be done with a variety of fruits and vegetables while still maintaining their nutrients.

Freezing vegetables: Blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute before straining, then allow them to cool at room temperature. Once dry and cool, place them in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Freezing berries and herbs: Rinse, strain and allow to dry before freezing on a baking sheet or flat surface for 2 hours. Once frozen, move to a freezer safe container and store for up to 3 months.

Find the freshest produce and skip the leftovers. Flirt with your green grocer, or simply just ask them when they receive their produce. Each store has a different delivery rotation for when their produce arrives. But arrival does not always mean it will make it to the shop floor. If you are looking for really fresh melons, let your green grocer know, they will be able to clue you on the best time to visit.

Sample new finds. Most green grocers are all to happy to offer you a sample of their produce, especially the more exotic looking items. Ask for a sample, you will be amazed at how eager they are to offer you one.

Beer Tasting with St.Patrick

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:57:43 +0000

Growing up in Arizona, 2 things are certain, the sun will shine and beer will be served. Beer drinking has been a spectator sport of mine my whole life, even marrying an Englishman with a love of fine Ales did not sway me…. I’ve tried the girly Shandy (7up and light lager) and the girly Stout (Blackcurrant and Guinness) and any number for girly combinations in between, all ending with a growing dislike of stout, lager or ale….but I digress, I am the 1%. For the other 99%, hosting a beer tasting party for St. Patrick’s Day is a fabulous opportunity invite your closest friends over learn the fine art of tasting beer.

My husband’s top 10 beers for a taste of Ireland:

Murphy’s Irish Red Ale
Smithwick’s Irish Red Ale
George Killian’s Irish Red Ale (although more a lager)
Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
Harp Irish Lager
Kinsale Irish Lager
O’Hara’s Irish Stout
Guinness Stout
Murphy’s Stout
Guinness Extra Stout Porter

Beer tasting essentials:

Plan for 3 ounces of 6-12 different beers per person for the tasting (and then copious amounts for the after party). Beer should be served around 55F for optimum taste, be freshly purchased and have no direct contact with sunlight or temperature variations for long periods of time.
Create a beer menu and offer each guest a pencil to make notes on, and take home after the tasting.
Ensure all your guests know how to taste, this fabulous tasting wheel is a great way to turn even a novice beer drinker into an expert by the end of the night.
Provide a pitcher of water and a ‘swill bucket’ for palate cleansing (oh the glamour of it all).

Image courtesy of Alabev.com

How to Taste:

Start with your lightest beer then gradually move towards your darkest beer, cleansing your palate with water, not food.
Pouring the beer is an art form: Gently run it down the side of the glass at a speed that allows the head to form no more than 2 fingers width.
Before drinking, take note of the appearance of the beer: Is the beer dark or light, is it clear or cloudy, and is the head frothy or thick with peaks? Then inhale the aroma: Does it smell of hops or a pronounced malt smell?
While sipping consider the taste: Is it sweet or bitter when it first enters your mouth? Unlike wine, beer should to be swallowed to capture the bouquet of the hop. Then consider the texture: Is it fizzy, silky, dry or thick?
Once swallowed, consider the finish: Do you have a bitter aftertaste, or has the taste simply vanished?

Finish the night off with a few of popular St. Patrick’s Day combinations like the Orchid Leprechaun or the Irish Shandy and while you are reading my recipes on Celebrations.com, be sure to print off the free printables to add create a festive St. Patrick’s Day theme.

Top 10 Essentials for Spring Entertaining

Coryanne Ettiene — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:08:56 +0000

Spring is in the air, blooms are bursting from the ground and our entertaining style is getting lighter and more relaxed with each ray of sunshine that sneaks indoors. Natural, simple and casual entertaining replace the formal, over complicated style that comes with winter parties. Embark on a season of fresh and flirty parties by taking inspiration from the outdoors, the charm of those first sunny evenings and the delights that await from a menu filled with new seasonal tastes. Embrace spring entertaining with my top 10 essentials for spring entertaining to create a “happy hour” that lasts for 3 months.

Top 10 Essentials for Spring Entertaining

Go Retro with chalk: Add a dash of playful fun to every spring party by incorporating chalk boards, toppers and signs to your next party. Say hello to stylish Eco-entertaining by re-purposing unloved child chalk boards into welcome signs, or use mini chalk board signs to create stylish menu tags for your party buffet.
Crisp clean white dishes: Nothing says clean like fresh like crisp white dishes. The beauty with white dishes is that they all match, so mix a variety of sizes, shapes, textures and styles to create an eclectic blend of dishes that will go with the soft tones abundant this spring.
Clear glass: Sparkling and simple, clear glass works with any color palate and adds a touch of classic modern style to any table setting. Serving your spring cocktails and punches in clear pitchers allows the contents to shine through and become a feature on the table rather than the pitcher itself.
Heirloom accents: Give your family silver service a stage this spring by adding it to your table top, allowing it work as both a fabulous featured accent and a talking point. The fun with spring entertaining is that eclectic is always welcome, so mix and match your pieces and mix your table with heirloom and modern favorites.
Go natural: Whether you are bringing the outdoors in, or enjoying the great outdoors, let nature be your guide by accenting with floral table runners, napkins, and tabletop accessories.
Flower power: When shopping for spring blooms, remember to keep your dinner table blooms free from fragrance and your outdoor blooms bursting with scent. With your blooms in hand, use traditional vases, tea cups, mason jars, Champagne flutes, or even ornamental bowls to display your spring bouquets.
Light the way: Candles, twinkly lights, hanging luminaries and floating pool candles are a great way to keep your party lit without the added drama of overhead lighting.
Weather watch: Not every spring night is clear and bright. Hire canopies, party tents or ensure that you have an indoor option to keep the party going should Mother Nature crash your party.
Cocktails with spring infusions: Stock your bar with light whimsical cocktails supplies, and offer your guests a taste of spring by stocking your bar with fruit infused Vodka, Floral Gins (my favorite is Nolet’s) and Pimms. Adding fresh muddled fruit, herb sprigs, citrus and edible flowers to your bar will create an instant spring cocktail with little effort or bar keeping skills.
Heat up the night: Keep warm on those spring nights by lighting a fire that guests can circle around for warmth and engaging conversation. Or go modern with heating lamps dotted around your outdoor entertaining space.

March is…

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:28:57 +0000

March brings with it a breeze full of freshness and the promise of longer warmer days. With the long hibernation of winter behind us, many of us start reaching for our cleaning and gardening gloves in a desperate act to transition our homes away from winter retreats and into spring havens. The bounty of fresh Spring blooms, produce and celebrations re-charge the home entertainer that laid dormant within me all winter long, and this month I will be….

Pouring Guinness: Avoid the school yard pinch this year by getting out your best green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th. Decorating with delicate green shrubs and blooms, adding accents of gold, and incorporating crisp white serving trays is a great way to add a dash of style to your party decor. Bring Irish classics alive with a modern twist by adding Guinness inspired pints, and sweet whiskey cakes to your party menu. See my full party ideas, plus invitations from Pear Tree and free printables from Paper & Pigtails, in my Celebrations.com Lucky You Party Plan.

Getting out the birthday candles. Everyone has them, and as we grow older we avoid them. Lucky for me, my old age is still a few months away, however this March I am reminded that children grow older, more confident & independent quicker than you really want them to. My eldest is turning 8, she is a mini version of me in many ways, and growing into a stunning individual in her own right, at a speed that leaves me teary eyed as I look at photos of the beautiful baby girl that gave me the gift of motherhood in 2004. And while I ponder the lightning speed of time, I am left puzzled by how time stands still for my husband, who celebrates his birthday this month…. despite the years that have passed, he is still as youthful and dashing as the first time I laid eyes on him all those years ago.

Spring Cleaning. I am gearing up for a 4 week heavy duty spring cleaning action plan that will banish winter from our home along with all the dust, clutter and mess that has been ignored during the long hibernation. Keep my company while I scrub, mop, clean, polish and organize this month, and stay tuned for handy printouts, guides and tips for getting your home spring clean this month.

Enjoying seasonal produce: March is National Nutrition Month, and with all the fabulous seasonal produce arriving at your green grocer, it would be hard not to enjoy a month of healthy eating. This month enjoy: Spring Onion, Endive, Celery, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Broccoli, Artichokes, Mushrooms, and Garlic.

Making the most of Blood Oranges. Blood Oranges are seldom seen because they have such a short season, and March is the perfect time to take your pick of the best selection. They are full antioxidant’s, so they are not only good for you, but are also sweet and tangy, making them the perfect substitute for regular OJ in your Brunch Mimosa or breakfast smoothie.

Buying Freesia. The sweet scent of Freesia reminds me of spring, I cannot get enough of them dotted around the house by open windows, allowing the fragrance to be carried throughout the house. When buying Freesia, be mindful that the pink and red varieties carry a heavier scent than the white varieties. Extend the life of these fabulous blooms by keeping them away from your fruit bowls and the gasses they emit as they cause the Freesia head to drop and quickly wilt. Other blooms fresh this month are Delphinium, Gerbera Daisy, Hyacinth, Iris, Lisianthus, Bells of Ireland, Daffodil, Tulip and Vanda.

Giving Away. Join me for the second round of the Kitchen Revolution on the Housewife Bliss Facebook page — each week I will be giving away goodies from popular brands that will give your kitchen, and your lifestyle the revolution in needs this spring.

Florida Orange Juice Spring Smoothie Recipe

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:50:29 +0000

As a college student I practically lived at the campus smoothie bar, there was something so refreshing about an ice cold fruit smoothie that kick started my morning after the night before. While my college days are long behind me, the memory of how refreshing those smoothies were, and how invigorating they made me feel when my body so desperately needed a detox, still present themselves every time I have a hangover (gasp horror, I do occasionally have these) or a cold.

With Spring in full force in Arizona, our days are getting warmer and the cold season continues to linger on like an clingy house guest you simply cannot get rid. Lately our days are filled with the sound of blender blades going strong, and little chef’s chopping fruit and selecting ingredients for their dream smoothie…..And our Friday nights are filled with the same sound, only with the added glug-glug of the Vodka splashing around as we mix a grown-up version fitting for a Friday night cocktail.

There are so many ways to make a smoothie, and luckily it is rather hard to get it wrong if you go with what you love. The core ingredients in our kitchen include 100% Florida Orange Juice, yogurt, fresh fruit, frozen fruit (either our homemade frozen batches or those bought in the shops) and ice. Measurements, quantities, ingredients can go out the window when you make smoothies because the best part about making them, is having plenty left over for a second glass, or to freeze and make into a smoothie Popsicle or smoothie cubes that can be added to Tonic Water.

Continue to keep your immune system going strong this cold and flu season by mixing up a Spring Smoothie made with 100% Florida Orange Juice . Our go-to smoothie is filled with seasonal Spring fruits, and according to my daughter Margeaux, it is rather fabulous.

Florida Orange Juice Spring Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients

2 Cups of 100% Florida Orange Juice;
1 Tangerine peeled and quartered;
Handful of frozen peaches;
Handful of fresh strawberries;
1 Large ripe banana;
1 Cup of Natural Organic yogurt;
Juice of a half of lemon;
Cup of ice.

Instructions

Add ingredients to you blender and blend until you reach your desired consistency.

Notes

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | Housewifebliss.com | 2012

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If the cold and flu season has taken over your household, read my tips on surviving the cold and flu season, and learn how Safeway is sharing ideas to help you “Live Well. Save Well.” this Spring.

The Silver Screen Cocktail & Oscar Party Tips

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:25:58 +0000

Roll out the red carpet this weekend with an Oscar Party that will dazzle your guests by offering a signature cocktail and fun party favors that even the golden man would enjoy.

Signature Cocktail: Keep the planning simple by offering a signature cocktail and the party stress at a minimum by serving a stain free drink. This year our guests will be delighting in the Silver Screen, bursting with floral and citrus accents, this is the perfect cocktail to celebrate the Oscars.

Print

Nolet's Silver Screen Cocktail

Recipe by Nolet's Gin | Housewifebliss.com | 2012
Ingredients
1 oz. Nolet's Silver Dry Gin
4 oz. Fresh Lemonade
1/2 oz. Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
Instructions
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the ingredients and shake for 30 seconds before pouring into a tall cocktail glass. Alternatively, strain into a chilled Martini glass and serve as a Martini.
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Viewing Snacks: Keep the theme of the night going by offering viewing snacks like personal chocolate boxes. I just adore using mini Chinese take out boxes, they are big enough to fill with sweets, but small enough to be the perfect snack size. For hungry crowds, tune into Arizona Midday tomorrow and watch me share tips for creating a donut bar, pretzel display and other festive food ideas using items from schwans.com.

Keep Score: A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, play along with an Oscar score sheet and have fun with a little pre-party nominations. Have your guests mark the score sheet with their predictions and celebrate the ‘winner’ with a toast at the end of the night. Get your score card here.

Decor Accents: Printables are a great way to tie in your party theme without the hassle of buying decor that you will have to store later on. I used these free printables from Paper & Pigtails to accent my Chinese take out boxes and my party favors, download your free Oscar printables here.

Party Bags: Once the party is over, send your guests home with an Oscar worthy parting gift that will keep the fun of the night going long after they say goodbye. This year my party bags will be filled with:

Miniature Vaseline tubs: Perfect for a Hollywood worthy smile;
Mustache Mints: Silent movie fans will adore this;
Leading Lady Note Pads: The perfect reminder of a fabulous Oscar Party;
Godiva Pearls: Bring the bling of the red carpet alive with these fabulous tiny chocolates.

What to clean & when to clean it

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:05:56 +0000

There is a lady buzzing around (do Fly Ladies buzz…hmm?) reminding everyone to go to bed with a clean sink and to put their shoes on every morning. This is great advice, especially the part about the kitchen sink, as anyone who has woken to a kitchen hangover knows. One of the most common emails I get is from readers looking for advice on what to clean and when to clean it, and my recent pin board on cleaning has become one of my most popular boards as everyone is itching to get a head start on deep cleaning.

With spring fever around the corner, what better time to hold your hand and share my cleaning schedule with you in a handy Infographic PDF that you can frame, throw darts at, or copy and paste into your household management book.

Top 10 items every pantry needs to survive cold & flu season

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:20:53 +0000

I am the first to admit that I suffer from over-dramatic cold disorder…I take to my duvet at the slightest hint of a cold, and a stuffy nose has me driving everyone in the house for the hills. My husband calls me a delicate flower (to my face mind you, who knows what he mutters under his breath when I ring my dainty bell and ask for more tea) and dreads the onset of the cold and flu season because I spend the first half fretting over when it will hit our home, and the second half suffering like a Hollywood starlet. Sniffling, coughing, sneezing, aching, sluggish and drowsy are not really looks that appeal to me and I do everything I can to keep them at bay, or at least on a short visit.

Surviving cold and flu season is easier said than done, but with planning, you can keep your family healthy for longer. The Safeway “Be Well. Save Well.” pamphlet has plenty of healthy tips and great savings to keep you and your family healthy this cold and flu season. Eating nutrient rich foods keep your immune system in top shape and supporting your immune system with healthy habits are the key to surviving the season with your health and sanity intact:

Eat a colorful diet: Dark leafy greens, yellow and orange vegetables and red fruits are all essential for a nutrient rich diet.
Spice up your menu: Not only are they great for adding flavor to your food when you have a cold, they are said to help with congestion.
Squeeze out the good: 100% Orange juice is full of important vitamins, minerals and critical antioxidants needed to keep your immune system working at full throttle.
Go Nuts: Nuts like almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and pistachios, plus all variety of seeds are a great source of fiber, potassium, calcium, vitamin E and other cold busting nutrients.
Supplement: Taking probiotics and multivitamins are great for boosting your immune system.

The Safeway “Be Well. Save Well.” pamphlet is bursting with coupons and more great advice on tackling the cold and flu season, including a fabulous recipe for Spiced Orange Green Tea using 100% Florida Orange Juice. As the weather is heating up here, I will be taking my daily does of 100% Florida Orange Juice in a smoothie and popsicle form, and sharing my recipes next week.

Top 10 pantry items needed for a ‘patient’ survival kit:

Chicken Stock (your grandmother was right, it does work);
Frozen dinners (the homemade kind darlings);
Jello Packets;
Cleaning Gloves;
Clorox Wipes & Disinfectant Spray;
Washable sponges and cleaning cloths (boil wash everything);
Tissues galore;
Organic Teas;
Saltine Crackers;
Emergency C or Airborne (for delicate flowers like myself).

A slumber party with Cox TV Connect

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:00:03 +0000

Slumber parties are all the rage in our home, not a weekend goes by where our children do not beg to either depart the nest or to invite half the class over for a night of giggling adventure. I can hardly blame them, I still remember my first slumber party, I was 7 and dedicated to my 2 best friends. Together we formed the Unicorn Club and had t-shirts made to bond our friendship forever, wearing them with pride as we feasted on cake and soda pop while the grown ups slumbered away the midnight hours. Slumber parties are where secrets are shared, giggles fill the silent night air and where the joys of childhood ignite with a midnight feast.

With most childhood experiences, the best fun is found when children are left to define their own adventures, create their own fun and delight in their own innocent mischief. Every few weeks we give our children a ‘sibling slumber party’ where they take turns hosting it and planning their midnight feast.

We recently added a modern twist to the line up….evening TV. Thanks to the Cox TV Connect Application on our iPad, we are breaking our normal rules of no TV in the bedrooms and allowing the children to enjoy late night cartoons while feasting on sugary confections as they lounge around in sleeping bags (After all, that is what childhood memories are made of ….. or so my children tell me).

How to plan your own sibling slumber party:

Take turns and be consistent with the rules you enforce;
Plan the midnight feast with your host to ensure they are clear on what is being served and what is up for grabs;
Have everything packed and delivered to the slumber party room to prevent free roaming antics all hours of the night;
Have bundles of crafts and group games arranged for them to play behind closed doors, and let them decide if and when they wish to play them;
Charge your iPad before the Cox TV Connect session to keep cords to a minimum and have your host select the TV show in advance to ensure everyone knows what will be streaming.

Once the fun of the party is over, they have to face the morning after the night before, so make breakfast just as festive by serving up a morning feast ideal for tired children with weekend delights like Waffle and Banana Kebabs, Fruit Salad Cups, Breakfast Sausages and American Style Pancakes.

Best Intention Cookies

Coryanne Ettiene — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:05:13 +0000

One of my goals this year is to become a baking rock star and finally free myself from the ready made pastry and dough I frequently have stored in my refrigerator. My baking handicap is so notorious that when my son Sawyer asked me to bake him cookies last week, he asked if we had any cookie dough….his innocent question spurred something inside me and I jumped at the challenge to whip up home made cookies, from scratch, not the tub. Once he realized I was mixing flour and eggs, and not simply spooning the ready made dough, he became concerned, almost confused at my actions. You could say he was mildly frightened at what would become of the cookies he so longed for.

With the dough ready, the oven warming, we slowly labored away at wrapping each tiny chocolate in dough for what would most obviously be my moment of shining glory as a baking rock star. As we slid the tray into the oven, readied the cooling racks and poured our milk, the cookies slowly took shape. Or rather lost shape, because that is what dough does when it is baked: it spreads, it drops, it levels out…it does not cook to a perfect round shape (a point you would think I understood, but in moment of eagerness, I clearly forgot). As the minutes ticked away, so too did my dreams of being a baking rock star in the eyes of my son. With a heavy heart I pulled them from the oven, slid them on to the cooling rack and looked on at what could only be described as best intention cookies.

These are not the cookies that people post pictures of, blog about or that are featured across glossy pages of your favorite magazine. These are home spun kitchen morsels made with love but little baking talent kind of cookies, and every mouthful offered up a divine sweetness that could only be made when a mother cooks with her son.

Fancy serving unattractive cookies to your family?

Best Intention Cookies

Yield: 36 Cookies

Ingredients

2 3/4 Cups All-Purpose White Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Cup Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature)
1 1/2 Cups White Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
3 Dozen Hershey's Kisses

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, create a dry bowl mixture by stirring together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth, and then beat in the egg. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients, and then roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls.
Slice the balls in half, inserting the Kiss into each half before wrapping the Kiss into the other half to create a 1 inch dough 'button'.
Place each dough 'button' on a greased cookie sheet, spacing them equally apart.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden before removing from the oven. Allow them to stand on your cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | Housewife Bliss | 2012

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Home Hangover Cure

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:22:06 +0000

The long days of winter, the slumber of hibernation and the ever increasing feeling of cabin fever can play tricks on your motivation to keep things clean and orderly….hence the near hysteria most of us feel when that fist ray of spring sunshine peaks through the window and we suddenly gasp in horror when we notice that our home looks and feels hungover.

And whilst the idea of flinging the doors wide open, beating the rugs and scrubbing our screens is still too much to contemplate from underneath the blanket of winter, a quick once over will get your through the final month of winter and help make life easier when you finally roll up your sleeves and start your spring cleaning.

Download the Home Hangover Cure and get a head start on your spring cleaning….You will be surprised what a difference an hour can make. So turn up the music, put your cleaning gloves on and reclaim your home just in time to enjoy the first rays of spring sunshine.

Aphrodisiac Feast for the Soul

Coryanne Ettiene — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:34:11 +0000

The history of food, and the emotion behind food, is what drives me to write, share and live in my kitchen. Nothing is more rooted to daily life than food and emotion…not a day that goes by where we are not touched by both of them. Valentine’s Day is one day where the two intertwine, in a fabulous waltz of history, myth, aroma, taste and desire.

Ancient traditions professed that if an object resembled the genitalia it held sexual powers, thus the legendary aphrodisiac powers of ginseng root, peaches, avocado and carrots. Cleopatra then made the power of scent popular by her notorious sexual conquests, spurring the rise of the apothecary. However, it was not until a physician at the court of Marcus Aurelius named Galen, that the subject was legitimised by his many writings on how food inspires successful copulation. Ironically, it was Thomas Aquinas who made the famous connection between wine and sexual confidence, and good old Bard who famously acknowledged the truth about alcohol and sex in MacBeth, “ It increases the desire but it takes away the performance”.

This Valentine’s Day let your senses take hold, and let romance bloom by offering up an aphoristic feast for the soul with cocktails that will ignite your passion and foods that will excited the senses.

Discover my cocktails for lovers featured on Celebrations.com:

Set the mood for love with my tips on TheDailyMeal.com and then serve up finger foods for lovers:

Get your dose of dopamine is the stimulant we all need to feel sexy. It makes things taste good, smell good, sound good, look good, and above all-feel good. To get Dopamine you need to either eat copious amounts of oily fish or simply take fish oil supplements. Avoid caffeine in all its forms as it interferes with a proper serotonin-dopamine balance.
Eat avocado. The Aztecs thought the fruit hanging in pairs on the tree resembled the male’s testicles. But it is good for you because it is it is high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Eat figs. The Ancient Greeks celebrated the arrival of a new crop of figs by ritual copulation as they were motivated by the ideas that it looked like female genitalia. It will work well for you because it’s an excellent source of iron, magnesium, and zinc. Besides that, Cleopatra loved it, good enough for her, good enough for you.
Eat peaches. The Chinese feel that it represents sexuality because of its moist pink colour, its fuzzy skin, and the juicy flesh and scent. It will work for you because it is high in vitamin C and will keep you strong for your next adventure in the bedroom.
Eat Bananas. They have a suggestive phallic shape (had you noticed?), but are good for you because they contain potassium and B vitamins which are essential for sex hormone production.
Eat dark expensive chocolate. Everyone associates chocolate with love, but it is good for you because it contains a stimulant called phenylethylamine, which gives you a sense of well being and excitement similar to the natural high that endorphins give us.
Eat raw oysters. Ok this one I will pass on, having tried them years ago and nearly spoiled my cocktail dress, but if you can handle them, they are a classic aphrodisiac food since the time of Aphrodite. They are good for you because they are rich source of zinc, a mineral required for testosterone production. This male hormone is believed to increase the female libido as well.
Drink Valarian Root. This is my favourite sleeping tonic, found in health food stores in liquid or tea form. For this trick you need the liquid form, and not too much or else you find yourself on the sofa with only sexy dreams and not the real thing. In small doses it is good for you because it relaxes you and stimulates touch.

February is…

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:16:33 +0000

The slumber of winter hibernation is wearing thin on most of us, and with so much weighing on what Mr. Groundhog has to say this month, we are all in need of a hint of the Spring that awaits us at the end of this long winter. This February I will be taking advantage of the last few opportunities of winter hibernation and delighting in all the domestic joys February brings.

Enjoying Super Bowl Sunday: The buzz of football has most certainly skipped our family, so we are hitting the outdoors with a family game of touch football, complete with a tailgating party fit for any True Prep. After the game we will be reliving the game over Chicken Wraps, Grid Iron Bars and Tangy Potato Salad, get the menu here.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day: Valentine’s Day is like Marmite, you either love it, or loathe it. This year I am embracing it with full enthusiasm, turning my celebratory meal into a feast for the senses, stay tuned for a bounty of aphrodisiac foods that are certain to get you in the mood for love.

Hydro planting bulbs: I loved planting bulbs in London, nothing gave me more pleasure than watching Snow Drops peak out of the winter soil each February. However, gardening in the Southwest leaves little room for floral delight. This year I am bringing the bulbs indoors and learning to hydro-plant. As I write this I have a collection of 10 vases ready for me to roll up my sleeves and get ‘planting’. I can’t wait to see my kitchen window spring to life this month.

Getting the most of out seasonal produce like Cabbage, Chicory, Parsnips, Rhubarb, Oranges, Swede, Cauliflower and Pears. Also great this month are Oysters, Mussels, and Venison.

Delighting in fresh seasonal flowers like Freesia, Gerber Daisy, Iris, Lilly of the Valley, Lisianthus and Daffidils.

Enjoying National Chocolate Month: Everyone loves this delicate indulgence. Rather than buying chocolate treats, I opt to my make my own; and before you gasp in admiration, trust me, it is easier than you think, and here is my recipe for curing the common sweet tooth.

Homemade Chocolate

Ingredients

1 bar of milk melting chocolate, 200g will make 8 molded chocolates.
1 tablespoon of clear honey (used to bind the mixture)
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (used to clarify & soften the mixture)
1 silicone chocolate mold

Instructions

Break chocolate into small pieces (I use a rolling pin) place in glass mixing bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Once it begins to melt, stir in the butter and honey. Stir until completely melted to avoid burning the chocolate. Once melted, use a spoon to ladle the mixture into the molds. Add dried fruit, finely chopped nuts or anything your heart desires to the mold and layer with chocolate to seal them in. Once the moulds are done, pop in the fridge, let sit for 2 hours and then remove them from their trays. Leave in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Notes

By Coryanne Ettiene | Housewifebliss.com | 2012

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Honouring National Bird Feeding Month: It has been a long winter, and no one can vouch for that more than your garden birds. While I am not an advocate of feeding wild birds, I do enjoy creating a friendly environment for the birds that frequent our garden, not only are they are a joy to watch, creating bird feeders in your kitchen makes for a great after school activity. Simply take a pine cone (or a slice of bread), coat it in peanut butter and then cover it in bird seeds before hanging it high in your garden trees.

Reccomended Reading

The Laundry Witch | Coryanne Ettiene for the Daily Basics

Valentines Day Cocktails for lovers | Coryanne for Celebrations.com

Valentines Day for lovers | Coryanne Ettiene for TheDailyMeal.com (coming soon)

Kitchen Chatter

Coryanne Ettiene — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:47:28 +0000

As a child, my relationship with food was that of a spectator confused by the theatre in the kitchen…I would much rather eat white rice and saltine crackers than anything bursting with flavor. Strange as it sounds, I turned my nose up at Avocado (despite it being a near requirement to dishes served in Arizona) until I was 21 and standing in a sandwich shop in Hong Kong searching for the comfort of home after nearly 4 months of fluttering around China. Hand it not been for the friend standing in line with me, assuring me that Avocado was just what I needed, I would have never ventured down this heavenly nutty path. Sometimes, it is friends, not family, that inspire you the most when it comes to food…even when you don’t realise it at the time. Fast forward a few years and I am standing in a coffee shop in Turkey, freezing cold and exhausted from an unglamorous bus journey across the country, only to find myself being talked into a black coffee that can only be described as gunpowder when compared to the frilly mocha coffee I was otherwise used to, and falling head over heals in love with it.

Image courtesy of Learnvest.com

My list of inspirations could go on and on, but perhaps those closest to my heart stem from conversations in the kitchen, with friends, who like me, were navigating the path of cooking and finding ways to align it with a modern lifestyle.

My dear friend Gemma, taught me that it is possible to juggle skinny jeans, children and traditional cooking; Darling Clare taught me how to plan meals and grocery shop with military precision (although I must admit, I still flutter around like a child in a candy store); and the ever stylish Sophie taught me to never make excuses for ready made shortcuts. While the Atlantic prohibits us from gathering around my kitchen table, their friendship and conversation has forever changed the way I live in my kitchen and my relationship with food.

It is those connections, inspirations and conversations that has spurred me to turn the comment section of the site back on, because cooking and kitchen living is fuelled by conversation, friendship and offers inspiration in the least expected places. As I embark on the 2nd Anniversary of Housewifebliss.com, it is my hope to create a community focused on kitchen living and encourage you to share your ideas and speak your mind around my virtual kitchen table.

Tailgating for the True Prep

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:50:16 +0000

Football frenzy is here and with only a few short days until the Super Bowl, now is the time to dust off your homegating entertaining skills and embrace the love of the game, if only for an excuse to throw a party. Our London life offered few excuses for a Super Bowl party, but that never stopped us from hosting an annual American football game of our own — it never ceased to amaze me how everyone would roll up their sleeves and participate, even those who had never seen a game played before. The laughter and story telling that would arise around the tailgate were memories that we cherish to this day, leading us to continue our tradition as we build a new life in the US.

This weekend, shut off the game and bring your own version to life in a home tailgating party inspired by the tradition of the True Prep. Dust off your college sweaters, show off your best argyle socks and relive the game with a simple menu focused on simplicity, not fuss.

Finger foods make excellent tailgating additions, and wraps keep the preparation simple and the clean up to a minimum once the party is over. I wrapped mine in Prep inspired printables from Gwynn Wasson Designs to dress them up for game day.

Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

12 Flour Tortillas
1 pound of deli sliced chicken breast
2 heads of romaine lettuce
1 English cucumber
1 Large red onion
1 finely grated garlic clove
6 tomatoes
12 Slices of crispy bacon
1 bundle of coriander
3 table spoons of olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Finely grate the garlic clove and add it to a large mixing bowl with the olive oil, stirring to blend the two together.
Chop up the lettuce, tomatoes, onion and cucumber before adding to the mixing bowl, blending the mixture until everything is covered in the garlic oil.
Coarsely chop the cilantro and blend it into the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste, adding more olive oil if needed.
Warm your tortillas on a non-stick pan just long enough to make them soft, not cook them.
Once warm add a few slices of chicken breast and a slice of crispy bacon to the top of the tortilla. Top with your salad mixture.
Fold the wraps like you would a burrito and then wrap again in a wax paper to keep them fresh and serve within 24 hours.

Notes

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | Housewifebliss.com | 2012

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For more great menu ideas for tailgating, read more about my tailgating ideas on Celebrations.com including 3 fun drinking games and a playlist of songs certain to get your Super Bowl party going in full swing.

Getting Crunchy with Granola

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Rolled Oats have been a part of my life as long as I can remember, they were a staple at my grandparent’s house, and to this day I can remember the ritual my grandfather would as her perched over over the kitchen stove…..the pipping hot porridge would be poured into our bowls, and he would add a tiny drop of brown sugar to my bowl, and a then tab of butter with a sprinkling of salt to his. I grew up floating between my public adoration of Lucky Charms and my secret love of Rolled Oats. My children no longer share my love of porridge (regardless of how much brown sugar I sprinkle or stories I tell) they are a year into their love affair with modern cereals, but they still make time for granola, and this month to celebrate National Oatmeal Month, we have gone ga-ga for granola in our home.

Like candied nuts, there is very little you can do to spoil granola (bar burning it) making it a delight to cook with…let creativity guide you, inspiration lead you and then let your taste buds celebrate the bounty of your efforts.

Getting Crunchy with Granola

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups of rolled oats
½ cup of slivered almonds
½ cup of unsalted seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, et all)
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/8 cup of Hazelnut oil
1/8 cup of vegetable or very light olive oil
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of dried cranberries
1 cup of diced candied pineapple

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 F, and in a large mixing bowl combine the oats, nuts, coconut, seeds and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt, stirring well to create a thick liquid. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color across the granola. Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl and fold in the dried fruit.

Notes

Recipe by Coryanne Ettiene | www.housewifebliss.com | Kitchen Living for a Modern Lifestyle | 2012

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This Crunchy granola is great by the handful and is dry to the touch. For a sticky version that is ideal for shapes and toppings follow the directions below.

Granola for Toddlers

Blitz your granola in a food processor for a few minutes to create a fine pulp, add another 1/2 cup of Maple Syrup and shape into flat discs before returning to the oven and baking for 5-10 minutes to create cookie like biscuits ideal for teething toddlers, or better yet, add to cupcake trays before baking. Will store up to a month in a cool dry storage container.

Granola Cerial or Ice Cream Toppers

Blitz your granola in a food processor for a few minutes to create a tiny pulp, add another 1/2 cup of Maple Syrup and shape into tiny balls before returning to the oven and baking for 5-10 minutes to create hard bite size balls. Allow to cool, store in a cool dry place for up to a month. Serve with milk for a healthy cereal, or least we forget, these little balls turn vanilla ice cream into a midnight snack worthy of trumpets & silver bowls.

Granola Bars

After adding a half cup of extra Maple Syrup, place in a brownie tray and return to the over for another 10 minutes of baking. And then remove from the oven, allow to cool and then slice into bar shapes. Will store for up to a month in a cool dry storage container.

Cooking with Cox TV Connect

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:51:02 +0000

As a child I watched my grandmother create culinary delights in a kitchen too small for her talents, but then that was the 70s, kitchens were purposeful, small and held little resemblance to the kitchen’s of today. The TV, a large wooden monster that rested on the family room floor, was a beacon in the house, with an expanse of space in front of it that allowed you to sprawl on the floor and become engrossed in the programme airing…..and so formed the memory of her watching Julia Child cook in her expansive kitchen, inspiring my grandmother to create dishes that were far beyond my wildest dreams. By the time I started to enjoy cooking, TVs had moved into the kitchen, often small boxes perched on the counter whispering news and daytime dramas while I flirted with my oven. A few short years later, when we remodel our first home, the kitchen became the largest room in the house, with an equally large TV resting on the wall, it was there that I would sit with my coffee, and fall in love with Nigella Lawson, and in turn the joys of cooking. Just as my kitchen evolved, so too did my relationship with the kitchen TV and inevitably cooking shows, making it little wonder that my daughter has grown up loving cooking shows, cooking and being in the kitchen.

She is part of a new generation of little chefs, where ‘apps’, downloads, podcasts and streaming are all common place…technology is her life, so it is no wonder that her latest hobby is sitting at the kitchen table, apron tied and iPad on streaming live TV cooking shows on the new Cox TV Connect while she creates her own culinary masterpiece. The free app allows you to watch live TV anywhere in the house, and for her that means she can sit at the kitchen table and be part of the cooking show, cooking right along side some of her favourite foodies.

Fancy hosting your own kitchen table cooking class? It could not be easier with the new Cox TV Connect application:

Download the Cox TV Connect App from the iTunes store (full details are available on the information page of the Application).
Open the Application and enter your username and password.
Once the Applications launches, you will see a programming guide with more than 30 national channels and a display of the show currently on air and scheduled programming. The HD image can be viewed in landscape or portrait, making TV watching a delight regardless of where you are in the house.

Mini Pies for Mega Moments

Coryanne Ettiene — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:59:42 +0000

Being a family cooks means that sometimes little bites make a bigger impact than big bites, and nothing holds more true than making miniature savoury and sweet pies during the winter months. Creating mini pies allows for everyone to take part in cooking a family feast and ensures that everyone gets just what they want, making meal times less about “eat your dinner” and more about enjoying dinner. We started this tradition when Margeaux became a toddler, mini pies seemed easier to create, store and serve, and as our family grew, so did our selection of pies…thanks in part to 3 children with varying tastes. Gathering in the kitchen and playing with pastry, veggies and shape cutters is one of the joys of Sunday cooking for us, this recipe demonstrates that only great memories come from a kitchen filled with the anticipation of a great meal.

Mini Chicken Pies

Using either mini pie dishes or cupcake trays, you can turn a traditional pie into a modern favourite…and if you are pressed for time, reach for the ready made pastry (because there is no shame in taking shortcuts, especially when they are practically calling your name as you walk down the chilled isle in the market). The beauty with these are making plenty and freezing the left overs for mid week dinners, knowing that you will have extra on hand makes all the hard work that goes into them easier to swallow, so roll up your sleeves darlings, there is a bit of work involved in creating these winter jewels.

Ingredients

Makes 6 -8 Pies depending on dish size (I still use my English recipe of grams and ML to prepare this, but have converted the measurements to ounces and pounds to help with the translation).

2 ounces of Butter
1.5 ounces of all purpose while flour
1 Chicken Stock cube
22 fluid ounces of Whole Milk
5 ounces of Frozen Peas
1 pound of cooked chicken
12 slices of grilled bacon

Directions

Butter your baking tins and cut out discs of pastry to form the base of your pies and then place baking balls or dry pasta to the top of the pastry. Place your pastry tins into a 385F pre-heated oven and gently blind bake the pastry until slightly firm (generally 10 mins). Remove from the oven, allow to cool and once cool, remove the pasta or baking balls.
While the pastry cools, dice up your chicken and add to a large mixing bowl filled with thawed peas, and grilled bacon bits. If you are adding other vegetables, like onion, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, or leek, add them into the mixing bowl. If everyone is making their own pie, give each person a mixing bowl to create personalised ingredient bowls.
On low heat, melt the butter, crumbled stock cube and flour to create a roux base, then remove from heat once melted and gradually pour in the milk to create smooth paste. Once combined, return to the heat and whisk on low heat to create a thick roux (this is not the time to drink you wine, the roux needs to be whisked constantly while on the heat to ensure it remains constant and creamy…unless of course, you can multitask). This process should take about 5 minutes at the most.
Add the roux to the ingredient bowls and gently fold together before spooning to your pasty dish.
Roll out more pasty disks to use as the cover of the pie….if time allows, decorate the tops with letters, or makings to ensure that everyone knows which pie is their pie. To ensure that the pasty lid is secure to the pasty dish, dampen the pasty edges with some water or egg batter before glazing with egg batter and placing in a pre-heated 385F oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Total prep time is around 30 minutes or longer if you take the time to decorate your pies, with a total cooking time of 1 hour. I will be sharing my recipe for mini fruit pies soon….. bring your sweet tooth, there will be plenty to choose from.

My Family Table with John Besh: Pecan Baked Ham Recipe

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:51:20 +0000

For years I nagged my husband about his book collections. When we were first married he had a library of books that would make a librarian’s knees buckle, by our 10th wedding anniversary he had a stack of books that he held on to for dear life (no doubt some went unnoticed, hidden under beds to keep them safe from my cruel tendency to donate anything that gathered dust in our home). As his books dwindled to a precious few, my books multiplied like bunnies on a spring day….I have stacks of cooking and home books stored around the house, slowly seeping from the kitchen bookshelf, onto my desk, my bedside table and into the family book shelf. The tables have turned, the nagging is his for the taking, but instead he keeps his silence as he slowly adjusts to to life surrounded by cookbooks while he gradually rebuilds his lost library on his iPad.

The latest book was My Family Table by John Besh, a book that makes me forget my crush on Nigela Lawson and gaze longingly at the images, recipes and kitchen life that bursts from each page. I find myself cheering for Jon’s modern yet traditional approach to food and family life. It is full of recipes that build a confidence in the kitchen for new home cooks, to recipes that you remember from your childhood, destined to be family classics…. like Pecan Baked Ham.

Pecan Baked Ham by John Besh, Serves 12

Chances are you won’t find a really good cooked or smoked ham in the supermarket. It’s hard to determine quality by looks alone. All I can say is never use canned ham, and search out a good Italian butcher or ask at your farmers’ market for the best local cooked ham. In the South, we pretty much have pecans coming out of our ears. As a matter of fact, there’s nothing our pigs like more than pecans. We like to coat our hams with pralines, those sweet candies made in New Orleans. But brown sugar and butter will work almost as well if you’re careful to use soft butter and make sure to mix all the ingredients well before you slather the mixture on the ham.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 5-pound good quality cooked ham
2 medium onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚. In a small bowl, mix the pecans, sugar, and five-spice powder with the butter until you have a fine, crumbly mixture. Rub generously over the ham, patting the crust with your hands.

2. Scatter the onions in the bottom of a heavy roasting pan and add about 2 cups water. Place the ham on the bed of onions. Slide the pan into the oven and roast for about 2 hours, checking to make sure there’s still liquid in the pan. As the water evaporates, add a bit more. The ham is done when a nice glaze forms on the outside.

3. The pecan mixture and the water in the pan will create their own sauce to pour over the ham after you’ve sliced it into beautiful pink rounds. If the sauce seems too thin, just pour into a saucepan and reduce it.

Dinner Party Serving Styles

Coryanne Ettiene — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:34:48 +0000

My first dinner party was a feast of pasta, garlic bread and wine in a tiny London flat that hardly had space for a kitchen table, let alone 4 adults trying to enjoy a dignified evening. My husband cooked (because frankly, that was not really my thing when we were first married) and I served the wine (because that has always been my thing). I remember telling everyone in my office I was having people around for dinner, in many ways it was my coming of age, my ceremonial right of passage into being a wife and I was beaming with pride as I skipped home to play hostess. Looking back at the simplicity of the night, I cringe at how underprepared I was: not a flower in sight, the cutlery was mismatched, the kitchen was cramped, and little to no planning was involved. Despite my shortcomings, the night was a success, and gave me the confidence to enter the crazy world of playing host. Since that first evening, I have hosted casual, formal and somewhat outrageous parties….all tailored to the guests, the event and the occasion. The trick with planning a dinner party is knowing what your serving style will be and planning the night around it.

Your dinner party décor sets the stage for your evening, but your serving style sets the tone from for a formal or relaxed dining experience. Defining your serving style when planning your décor and menu will bring all the elements of your dinner party together to create the perfect meal. From the relaxed buffet style dinner where dishes and decor are simple, to the formal restaurant style meal where every last detail is carefully planned out, there are serving styles to fit every dining experience and location. Before planning your next dinner party, consider the following serving styles before you send out your invitations.

Photo Courtesy of Valley & Co.

Formal Serving Styles: Best suited for the multiple course dinner party where opulence, attention to detail and elaborate cuisine is involved. When hosting a formal dinner party, bring out your best china, and make friends with your butcher – this is not the time for experimenting with new culinary masterpieces or taking shortcuts with inexpensive cocktails. A formal service should be well rehearsed and is often paired with formal place settings, centrepieces and carefully planned seating in the dining room, the restaurant style where each plate is served individually at each course makes your guest feel valued and pampered. The formal serving style ensures that food and hosting skills are the focal point of the evening, and allows the host to play a large part in how the evening unfolds, if your hosting and culinary skills are still young, be sure to have plenty of signature cocktails on hand to make up for any mishaps that may arise.

Relaxed Serving Styles: When inviting family and friends over for an evening of relaxed entertaining, where conversation is the focal point and food a close second, the family style service is ideal. A family style service is a time for testing out new culinary dishes, creating a fun eclectic table setting and offering a dinner service where serving platters are on the table that allow guests to pass dishes and dish up their own dinner keeps the focus on the conversation. To keep the mood relaxing, the family style service is best located in the dining room or kitchen table, with simple table décor combined with unassigned seating. Unlike the more formal restaurant serving style, this serving style allows you to experiment, and is always more forgiving to the reluctant host.

Casual Serving Styles: For any affair where socializing is the priority and food only an aspect of the evening, the casual nature of the buffet service ensures that your guests can linger over conversations as long as they wish without interfering with the dinner service. The buffet service allows you to let your hair down, offer a free standing bar service where everyone can play bartender and where your guests can eat at their leisure, sit where they please and enjoy the evening at their pace makes this the most relaxed of the serving styles. Perfect for the new host or someone who is still defining their culinary talent, shortcuts and mishaps always go unnoticed with a buffet service so there is little room for stress and plenty of room for fun.

January is…

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:04:39 +0000

Mark Twain once said, ” Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community.” Looking around my office, after a brief hiatus between Christmas and the New Year, his words echo loudly in my mind. Like many of us, I spent the latter part of December soul searching, swearing off my vices and eagerly awaiting a new, more exemplary version of myself. 2012 will be the year I master the science of baking, and drink more water (among other things…) While I am busy with self improvement, this January I will be……

Celebrating the Award Season. By the time the last drop of Christmas booze leaves my system, the award season is here to spoil my detox. This year I am serving the Brad Pitt, a refreshing drink that pleases both those holding onto their detox and those thirsty for a cocktail.

Made with cucumber slices, mint leaves and lime wheels, it is best served in a tall chilled glass…as refreshing on your eyes as its name sake, make the non-alcholhoic version in large batches and simply add your Vodka as you serve your cocktails.

Ingredients:

Cucumber Slices
Lime Wheels
Tonic Water
Mint Leaves
Vodka (optional)

Directions: Slice the cucumber and lime into thin slices, add to the tonic water and mint leaves and pour over ice in a chilled glass. Add a splash of Vodka for a spirited cocktail.

Embracing Oatmeal. January is National Oatmeal Month, and for those who vowed to start eating healthier, having oatmeal for breakfast and a handful of granola for an afternoon snack is a great way to start your resolution. This month I will be sharing my recipe for Granola that is fabulous sprinkled on yoghurt, or by the handful.

Cleaning my appliances. My fridge, freezer, oven, microwave and grill have been working overtime all season long, earning them a deep cleaning. If deep cleaning in on your list this month, pop over and read my guide to deep cleaning your kitchen.

Planning my year. Ever the planner, I love January for giving me a reason to buy a new wall calendar (yes, I am still stuck in 1989), and the opportunity to map out the year ahead. If your looking for tips on making your calendar do all the hard work for you, read my annual planning tips.

Feasting on Beetroot, my absolut favorite vegetable and enjoying other Seasonal produce including red, white and green cabbages, celeriac, leeks, onions, potatoes, spinach, chard, pears and apples. If fresh nuts are a favourite of yours, stock up now, the season is short and ends in January.

Bring the outdoors in with these seasonal flowers: Bottlebrush, Helleborus, Protea, Holly, Jasmine, Cammellia and Star Gazer Lilly. I will also be planting bulbs indoors to bring life to my otherwise dull kitchen window. If indoor gardening is on your list this month, be sure to read my tips for planting bulbs indoors.

5 Post Christmas Party Ideas

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:27:45 +0000

Looking for reasons to keep the party going? Or simply just trying to catch up with friends that you missed over the holiday season? Here are 5 reasons to open your door and play hostess in January.

Hair of the Dog Brunch: So many parties so little time over the New Year, by adding a “Hair of the Dog” brunch to you entertaining calendar you can enjoy a festive night out on New Year’s Eve and still entertain the following morning with a brunch that offers one last toast to cap off the entertaining season. Offering a brunch with tangy Bloody Mary’s, breakfast casseroles and plenty of fresh bread to soak up the Champaign from the night before is the perfect way to start 2012.

End of Advent Cocktail Party: Wind down the holiday season with an Advent Cocktail party on the 6^th of January. Why take down all the holiday trimmings alone when you can enlist your friends to help you box up your ornaments and finish off the last remaining loaves of Fruit Cake? Offer a sampling of your left over Christmas chocolates, cakes and sweets and pair with a few holiday cocktails to send the holiday season off in style.

Misfit Toys Dinner Party: With so many of us spending the holiday season away, it means that we rarely have time to celebrate the holidays with our dearest friends. Invite your closest friends over to share their holiday stories and exchange their worst holiday presents in a Misfit Toy Dinner Party. Each dinner guest brings a misfit gift that they received over the holidays, wraps it up and offers it to the host to pass out over dinner. This is a great way to laugh about the mishaps of the holidays and keep the holiday season going long after you take down the Christmas Tree.

Holiday Left-overs Pot Luck: Rather than eyeing up the mince pies in your fridge or the half bottle of Sherry that you opened at Christmas (and are likely not to touch again until next year), host a holiday left-overs potluck and invite your guests to empty out their pantry of all those holiday delights that they are eager to finish off.

Feast of the Three Kings: Host a dinner party on the 6^th of January and celebrate the feast of the 3 Kings and the end of the Christmas season. Complete with a roast goose, all the trimmings and a spattering of holiday cakes, relive the joys of the Christmas season with everyone you hold dear. Conclude the night by taking down the Christmas Tree and toasting the occasion with a festive winter cocktail.

Cognac Butter

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:50:29 +0000

With all the presents, party going and endless tasks to complete over the holiday season, sometimes it is easy to forget that the holidays are about family, and building memories that live long after we take the garland down. Celebrating with good food, family and a Christmas tree should be at the heart of every Christmas, and no story rings more true to this than the one I recently learned about a family Christmas in 1941….

Christmas 1941

With little money to match his desire for a family Christmas tree, his children tucked into bed, and his wife whipping Cognac Butter for a Christmas breakfast, my Grampy Powell took to the wintery streets of Boston in search of a tree he could afford. He walked miles, passing tree lots filled with trees to rich for his pocket. Being a proud Bostonian man, he finally turned around and walked home with a heavy heart. As luck would have it when he returned on the same path he had taken, the Christmas Tree lot he visited earlier had closed, leaving all the unsold trees in a heap on the street. He awoke on Christmas morning to screams of delight from his children who danced around the tree while my great grandmother made Christmas breakfast. I love this story, and the one where at the heart of the depression, he took an axe and cut down a Pine Tree from a nearby forest…if there was one thing that he understood, is that Christmas is not about the presents under the tree, but about the people gathered around it.

May your holiday season be Merry and Bright…..maybe a little Cognac Butter will start your holiday morning off to a bright start, great on toast, pancakes, mince pies, or even straight from the pot.

Cognac Butter

Ingredients: 100g of soft unsalted butter, 225g of powdered sugar, and 4 Tablespoons of Cognac.

Directions: Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. Once fluffy, slowly add in the sugar and whisk until fully blended. And then gradually pour in the Cognac, starting with half a measurement and increasing until the full measurement has been blended into the butter. Spoon into a serving dish, cover and let sit in your refrigerator for 1-2 hours to set.

The Perfect Gravy

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:33:09 +0000

The first time I cooked with my mother in-law was over a roast chicken, I remember it well because I was trying with all my might to appear that I knew what I was doing and to instil confidence in her that her son would not spend the rest of his life hungry. I read a library of cookbooks and even ran a few trial roast chickens on my husband before this milestone meeting in the kitchen, but never gave any thought to the gravy (a laughable offence, mainly because as much as the English love tea, they love gravy even more). To this day I have the rules of roasting a chicken ingrained in my mind: 20 minutes at 180C for every 500g. I am sure I would remember more of my first official roast chicken if it were not for the dutch courage that carried me through it (thank you Cos Nero D’Avola 2001). But this I can tell you…….gravy makes the world better, and can rescue even the most disastrous of birds, and my husband makes a perfect gravy.

Alex’s Perfect Gravy

The trick with great gravy is that it takes time, love and like the cook looking for courage, plenty of wine. It is best made while your bird rests on a carving board and prepared in the same roasting pan to ensure that every last molecule of flavour infuses your gravy. Ideally roasted celery, bacon, carrots, potatoes, garlic and onions make for a great base, but anything that you are roasting your bird with will work as a starting point for the gravy. Generally there are no rules to measuring or ingredients except that you keep the flour in your pantry and save it for your baking needs, it is all about instinct…..so be creative and keep tasting until you have a delicious spoonful.

Ingredients

Wine (plenty of it, I prefer to use white wine with chicken but if you have red on hand, use that);
Chicken Stock (at least a pint, more if you like thinner gravy);
Salt and Crushed Black Pepper (be mindful of the salt, most store bought stock will have plenty of it, taste as you go, but be generous with the crushed black pepper);
Herbs (we often use a bay leaf and a small sprig of Thyme. Rosemary can be heavy so use it sparingly);
Roasting pan (with all the left over bits of roasted vegetables, bacon, onion, garlic and chicken drippings that glisten with caramelised glory);

Directions

Place your roasting pan on the stove top or hob of your oven and pour in your a glass (or 2) of wine and the pint of chicken stock, bringing to a rolling boil and taking care to use a wooden spatula to scrape all the browning at the bottom of the pan. And then add your herbs, and salt and pepper accents. As you stir, your gravy will start to darken and thicken, allow to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and using a masher to reduce your excess vegetables to add volume to the sauce. The result will be a gravy so aromatic, so rich with flavour and colour that you will hang your head in shame for all the times you added flour to your gravy.

Note: Not using flour means that everyone at the table can enjoy it (rejoice, it is Gluten Free), and you can store it for up to 3 days in your fridge and reuse in a soup or stew. Also, if you are using an enamel roasting pan, you cannot cook your gravy pan on a glass cooking surface, so check your pots before you start firing up the stove top.

Kitchen Gossip with Chef Tom

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:14:31 +0000

Grab a cup of tea darlings, and join me at my kitchen table with Chef Tom, a celebrity Chef with a contagious zest for healthy eating and a love of kitchen sciences. From an early age Chef Tom has been fascinated by food, not just the taste but the science behind a fabulous meal. I simply adore the idea of understanding the chemical, physical, and biological reactions that take place in the kitchen, and Chef Tom offers up a simple yet thorough take on understanding the process of cooking that will make even the beginning family cook a culinary master.

Coryanne: What is your food and cooking philosophy?

Chef Tom: Don’t waste calories on bad food! Food science has advanced significantly in the last 20 years. A simple understanding of how food reacts at a scientific level allows you to get the most flavor out of every calorie!

C: When did you first fall in love with the science of cooking?

CT: When I was 6 I started experimenting with my PB&J. While my mom was away, I started playing with different breads and jelly application methods. It’s the development of this early culinary curiosity that drives me to perfect every dish I make.

C: What tips do you have for budding food scientists?

CT:

Brown your meat before using a slow cook method. The delicious richness from the Maillard reaction (usually incorrectly referred to as carmelization) doesn’t kick into gear until the temps reach 310 or so. Since slow cooked methods don’t regularly exceed 210 degrees, skipping this step means skipping out on flavor.
Understand how your oven cooks. Air is a TERRIBLE conductor of heat and actually does very little cooking in your oven. The bulk of the cooking happens when your element kicks on and radiation bombards your food. Since dark colors are better at absorbing radiation, dark pans cook faster. Your food is wearing the culinary equivalent of a black shirt on a hot day.
Remember all 5 tongue tastes. If you’re making a savory dish, remember to include a little something sour (if you don’t believe me, put a little vinegar in your next soup) If you’re preparing a sweet dish, don’t neglect salt and savory flavors. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’re food tastes.
There is no such thing as a scary ingredient! All ingredients are built from the basic building blocks. Dared to cook an insect? Feel confident knowing that the exoskeleton is made out of the same stuff as mushrooms (chitin). Tongue on the menu? Cook it the same way You would cook any other slow twitch/tough muscle. A little knowledge goes a long way at creating confidence!
Cooking good food comes from experience. Experience comes from cooking bad food. I once tried to make a boiled orange dish that turned out TERRIBLE, but that bad food taught me a lesson on what doesn’t work. We eat tens of thousands of meals in our lives, if you occasionally make a bad one, relax. There will be another meal soon enough.

C: What culinary science project have you recently been busy working on (AKA, can you share a recipe with us?)

CT: Put a new spin on Tater Tots with my Sweet Potato Tots recipe

Curious to know more about food science and cooking with Chef Tom? You can find him on ShopNBC, Twitter,

Facebook and online at Cook With Tom.

Overcoming Dinner Party Disasters

Coryanne Ettiene — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:23:59 +0000

After days of planning, hours of cooking and moments spent rearranging the floral display while you anxiously await your guests to arrive, the last thing on your mind is the wine reduction sauce simmering away on the stove top until the door bell rings and you notice for the first time that the house no longer smells of sweet red wine but of burning food. The calm smile that you had planned to greet your guests with has disappeared and you are now the image of a panicked host awaiting on a night of dinner party disasters, starting the second your guests arrive.

A dinner party disaster, while on the face of it, is a recipe for, well, disaster. But, the calm host who faces her trails with confidence and humor will give her guests a night they can both laugh about and enjoy without letting a few disastrous moments get in the way of their evening. With a little preparation, anticipation and entertaining know how, you can be better prepared to handle your next dinner party disaster, and end the night confident that you and your guests enjoyed themselves despite the unexpected.

Disaster 1: Cooking Disaster

Burned food, cooking failure or even not having enough food is a hosts worst nightmare. But with a full pantry and a little creative genius you can turn your disaster into a winning moment by thinking on your feet. First of all, stay calm, your guests have come for your company and to enjoy themselves, they have not come to act as a food critic. Laugh at your failure, share your mishap with your guests and then dive into your pantry and serve up a last minute option.

I always keep bread, olives, deli meats and cheeses on hand – not only to offer as a midnight feast should the party keep going in to the night, but also because I have learned that those unexpected guests and the potential for a slight coking disaster are common place among my dinner parties. And when all else fails, your local Chinese should deliver in 30 minutes, and everyone loves a take out.

Disaster 2: Late guests, no shows and a delayed start to the party

Your dinner is timed to perfection and every course must be served on time to deliver mouth-watering dishes. The only thing that can dampen your culinary menu is to start serving the first course too late and you are missing 2 guests. Despite your enthusiasm to serve the best meal of your life, your guests should be your priority, serve another round of drinks, make adjustments in the kitchen and make the guests that have arrived on time feel welcome and appreciated. When your late guests do arrive, bush off the late start as if it gave you more time to enjoy the cocktail hour, never let a guest feel they have foiled your evening.

However, if your late guests turn into absent guests, the party must go on. If you have tried to connect with your absent guests and you cannot reach them, it is perfectly reasonable to begin your dinner service 30 – 45 minutes after the start of your party. Should absent guests arrive after you have begun serving dinner, welcome them in as if they have arrived at the perfect moment, offer them a drink, a warm smile and what ever dish you are serving.

Disaster 3: Power Failure does not mean party failure

Your first course was served with style and grace and then the power went off just as you were finishing off your braised lamp chops, but there is no need to panic. While the romantic dinner for 8 may not be the theme you were going for, a well-illuminated room makes for a memorable evening. Serve what have prepared, reach into your pantry, light your candles, and if all else fails, hope that your local pizza delivery is still delivering.

The Christmas Nutcracker

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:15:32 +0000

Every holiday season I would arrive at my local green grocer in London to find the widest variety of nuts and curiously watch my fellow shoppers pile them into their shopping baskets while I scratched my head in amazement at this tradition that always seemed to allude me. It was not until my first Christmas with my husband that I sat down to a table heaving with nuts that I had the pleasure of my first Christmas nut. As a child I recall watching my grandfather crack walnuts with his stainless steel hand held nutcracker and wonder why he didn’t just buy the nuts pre-shelled, this memory and the answer to this childhood question became evident the first time I cracked my first Christmas nut…it is the methodical, repetitive process of cracking, shelling, and eating that makes the nut more enjoyable, almost prize like, and keeps you entertained time after time.

I always intended to buy a nutcracker to perch on my kitchen counter and act as my winter Kitchen Witch, but never managed to remember it until Christmas Day when the nuts were piled high and the memory returned…until this year while I was shopping at Sears for my kitchen decorations when I remembered that my kitchen would not be complete without a Christmas Nutcracker. While only ornamental, he now presides over my Christmas kitchen, adorned with the finery only a Soldier can muster, offering protection against burnt toast, ramshackle muffins and undercooked holiday loafs.

This Christmas Eve my new Nutcracker will spring to life when I surround him with candied and whole nuts in a buffet that would send a squirrel into convulsions of joy and my guests delighting in the tradition of the Christmas nut. My devotion to the nut this holiday season, is evident everywhere in the kitchen, my new acorn ornaments (also from Sears) are hanging with pride on my Kitchen Tree, and I have spent the greater part of last week trying out candied nut recipes. I like the nutty flavor to come through when I bite into a candied nut, so I use a smaller amount of sugar than most recipes call for…but the beauty of roasting candied nuts is that you can be as free as you want with the ingredients, infact you don’t really need a recipe, just have fun with them, trust me…. it is like boiling water, there is not much that can go wrong so long as you keep an eye on the roasting pan. Few things that taste this good take so little time, you only need 5 minutes to prepare the nuts, and the total cooking time is under 20 minutes.

Coryanne’s Candied Nuts

1/2 cup of sugar syrup
3 cups of mixed nuts almonds, walnuts & pecans
1 cup of brown sugar
1 Tablespoon of course sea salt
1/2 cup of butter

Directions

Either make your own sugar syrup using a mixture of water and sugar, or use one of the store bought mixtures (the purpose here is to coat the nuts so that the sugar sticks to the nuts when you mix the ingredients). Add the syrup to a large mixing bowl and mix in your nut mixture, stirring until the nuts are fully coated and shiny. Then mix in the brown sugar, stirring until the nuts are covered in brown sugar. In a sauce pan (or microwave), melt the butter until it is golden and runny, then pour over the sugared nuts and gently fold in the butter. Arrange the nuts on a baking sheet and place in a pre-heated 350F oven. Roast for 10-15 minutes, checking on them about 8 minutes in to see if you need to adjust the cooking time to prevent burning your nuts. Once roasted, remove from the oven, sprinkle with your coarse sea salt while the nuts are still hot and allow to cool before serving or storing.

Note: Some recipes call for you to blanch then nuts or roast them lightly for 5 minutes before hand…the pre-roasting makes great sense if you like your nuts crunchy, but I rarely have the time to take that extra step and like the soft bite of a single roasted nut.

Kitchen Gossip with Aleah & Nick Valley

Coryanne Ettiene — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:27:09 +0000

Aleah and Nick Valley

This month I’m gathering around my kitchen table and chatting with some of my favorite enetertaining and cooking experts to find out what inspires them, how they live in their kitchens and what they are doing to survive the hoildays. This week I’m chatting with the event planning duo Aleah & Nick Valley…if you want a fabulous party, an enchanting wedding or a splash of fabulous to your family gathering, Aleah and Nick Valley have the inspiration and talent to make your dreams come true. I am lucky to have them as friends, not only do they have the kindest nature, they are oozing with talent. You can find them monthly in the San Diego Magazine sharing entertaining advice, and no doubt you have seen some of their work in any number of the magazines sitting on your coffee table.

Coryanne: What is your entertaining philosophy?

Aleah & Nick Valley: When we entertain or plan events for our clients, we focus on creating an experience for each guest who will attend, including the host or hostess. We plan effortless, yet unexpected, décor and whimsical menus with at-the-ready gourmet touches, and take guests through a pleasurable experience, starting when they enter the celebration and are greeted with a cocktail or sparkling water. It’s all about appeasing the senses throughout.

C: Do you have a memory from your kitchen table that stays with you and inspires you?
ANV: The holidays drum up fun-filled memories of delicious dinners, brunches, and maybe most importantly, visiting into the wee hours with our loved ones. Food and drink play a leading role in our holidays as they set the stage for so much: comfort, heritage, tradition, and the enjoyment of good company. Grandma’s Parisian wafers, Norwegian lefsa, dad’s pumpkin pie, and Blick top the list for longstanding traditions mixed with a fresh evolving menu each year.

C: What are you top 5 tips for entertaining in style?
ANV: Entertain from the heart. Focus on elements that will add to an experience: whether it’s giving thanks to each guest with a simple toast as to why you are thankful for them, or sending guests home with late-night Christmas cookie bags, putting a personalized stamp on the holidays means so much.

Set the mood with music. Pepper Top 40 music, holiday classics, and world music. Keep the vibe upbeat and festive but the volume low.
Focus on items you have on hand: eclectic mixes of heirloom china with modern sleek linens can be so striking.
Bring the outdoors in. Forage in your own back yard and decorate with moss, leaves, beatiful lichen-covered branches, and acorns {just wash them first}.
Don’t forget about serving non-alcoholic drinks. Dress them up sparkling water with sugared cranberries or lemon zest, apple cider with cinnamon sticks, or egg nog with a sprinkling of nutmeg.

Find out more great ideas and inspiration from Aleah & Nick Valley by visiting them on Facebook, Twitter, Valley & Co Lifestyle, Valley & Co and don’t miss their tips for a fabulous New Year’s Eve here.

Gingerbread Tiramisu

Coryanne Ettiene — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:53:50 +0000

Gingerbread is one of those classic December dishes that blends sweet and spice in the most delightful way, and fills your kitchen with the unmistakable aroma of Christmas. Paired with freshly brewed coffee, it is the perfect way to start your holiday morning or end the perfect holiday party….but it was not until recently that I put the two together in a holiday pudding recipe inspired by Robin Miller, star of the Food Network Show, Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller.

The recipe below has been adapted from her new book Robin Takes 5 and was put together while giving a spelling test to my daughter, and putting away the dishes. The recipe serves 6 and takes 15 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

24 Gingersnap Cookies (or home made gingerbread);
1 Cup of freshly brewed Coffee or Espresso;
3 Cups of heavy whipping cream;
Chocolate Bar for garnish.

Directions:

Pour the heavy whipping cream into a large mixing bowl and whip by hand using a whisk (you can always get out your mixer and do it there, but then you have more to clean up) until it is light and fluffy, usually 3-5 minutes. In a shallow dish, lay your gingersnaps cookies flat and cover with freshly brewed coffee and allow to soak for 30 seconds for store bought cookies or 1 minute for homemade. Once soaked, layer your cookies and the whipped cream in your serving dish or cup until you have the desired height and then top with a gingersnap cookie and garnish with chocolate shavings. (Robin’s recipe is only 256 calories per dish, heaven knows how many this is). Once built, put your pudding cups into the fridge to allow to set for a minimum of one hour before serving, or up to 24 hours if you are making them in advance of a big party.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Robin, not only is she an inspiration but she is instantly likeable with her down to Earth

Win a copy on the Housewife Bliss Facebook Wall

approach to kitchen living and family cooking. Each one of her recipes is under 500 calories and is made with 5 ingredients or less…hence the Robin Takes 5 title. This week I am giving away a copy of her new book as part of my Kitchen Revolution Giveaway on the Housewife Bliss Facebook Wall, pop over and enter before 10 December 2011.

Holiday Salt Dough Ornaments

Coryanne Ettiene — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:07:05 +0000

My fondest Christmas memory is sitting around our kitchen table watching my mother turn dough into works of art, she effortless hand crafted a jointed Santa Clause, an ornate rocking horse and many other keep sake ornaments while I fiddled around with gingerbread cookie cutters wondering why I did not inherit her creative gene. While those around me are turning their kitchens into cookie factories, churning out confections for countless recipients, parties and hostess gifts, I am recreating my favourite Christmas memory and creating the most delightful decorations for our holiday tree, gift toppers and garlands. While many of us think of salt dough crafts as the back bone of elementary school projects (and granted mine do have that air about them), artisans have been working with salt dough for centuries creating elaborate works of art using the most basic of ingredients: salt, water, flour and paint.

Last weekend our kitchen table was transformed into an ornament workshop, heaving with cookie cutters, parchment paper, rolling pins and paint….flour was flying, jingle Bells accompanied the laughter in the kitchen and the smell of hot chocolate wafted around the room as we added another fabulous memory to our kitchen table album.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Table Salt
1/2 Cup of warm water
1 Cup of All purpose Flour

Directions:

In a dry mixing bowl add the salt and the flour and mix until fully blended, then add the water and kneed until the surface is soft and smooth. Roll into a large ball and portion out smaller balls to each person making ornaments. Cover with a slightly damp cloth to keep the unused balls from drying out while you are busy creating. Either opt for the simple option of rolling out the dough into thin slabs and cut with a cookie cutter to create your shapes, or get busy sculpting more elaborate decorations.

Once your ornaments are complete, place a toothpick at the top of each ornament to create the hole needed to string it later. Bake at 200F for 4-6 hours to completely evaporate the moisture from the dough (we were in a hurry so baked them for 2 hours and then let them air dry on a shelf overnight). Once dry, use acrylic paint to decorate, then spray with clear varnish to seal the ornament and give it a bit of holiday shine.

Essential Tools:

Parchment Paper, great for using as a worktop surface that can be transferred right on to a baking sheet;
Rolling pin;
Cookie Cutters, Play-dough equipment, potato ricer, butter knives, forks, and anything that you can think of to give your ornament a little razzle dazzle;
Toothpicks or wooden skewers to pierce a whole;
Various baking sheets;
Acrylic Paints, Paint Brushes and cupcake wrappers to use as paint pots;
Clear Varnish;
Ribbon, wire, or string to hang your ornament.

For more holiday ideas and inspirations, pop over to the rest of the #HolidayHQ posts today and discover what the experts are decorating, cooking and planning for a festive December. And then join us on Twitter Thursday 8 December at 8pm EST for the popular #HolidayHQ tweet chat for even more holiday ideas.

#HolidayHQ Recommended Reading

The Gracious Girl | Holiday Parties, Let Your Heels do the Walking

Second City Soiree | A Bright and Whimsical Christmas Table

Tatertots & Jello | Holiday Party Mantel

With Style & Grace | Holiday Sweet Treats & Homemade gifts, minus the gluten

Party Bluprints | Ring In The New Year Right with Brunch

The Daily Basics | Christmas Cupcakes, Cake Ball and and Cookie Baking Supplies

Celebrations at Home | The Kids Christmas Table

The TomKat Studio | Easy Oreo Truffles with Printable Tags & Recipe Card

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