A Night with the Scots

Okay, it has been forever since I posted.  The holidays will do that to you.  Last night I had such a lovely evening that I decided I must do a post.  My brother-in-law Justin is part Scottish.  He told us about a birthday celebration for the Scottish poet Robert Burns.  We decided to go.  Justin has a kilt from Scotland.  We rented one for Paul from the Hale Center Theater costume department.  Yes, Paul was a great sport to brave the breeze on a snowy night.  It was a formal affair so my sister Patricia and I dressed to the nines (thanks to my sister's fabulous dress collection).  The food was phenomenal, the poetry moving, and the company divine...all in all a wonderful night.  We are definitely going again next year.

Truly Scrumptious

I attend a neighborhood cooking class that meets every other month.  Our class back in November was on how to make professional chocolates.  I decided to try some this month.  I made Almond Truffles with Flue de Sel (fancy way to say sea salt).  I found some recipes I liked, did my normal tweaking and the stuck my hands in chocolate and this is what I came up with.  Of course I had to make them la-de-da, which is just as fun for me.  Don't ya just love the wax seal...tre fancy. 

My Thanksgiving Weekend

It turns out that a friend of mine from HS, Hraefn, lives in SLC...has for years and never knew it.  He is in business with a amazingly talented gal, Jennifer McGrew, owner of McGrew Studios.  (Okay, they are both amazingly talented.)  Jennifer made the elf costumes for the downtown alliance this year and Hraefn asked if I might be able to help in the finishing touches.  (I really did very little, but I'll take credit whenever I can.)  I mainly just stitched the leather cuffs so they'd stay in place.  Jennifer came up with the design AND did the darling shoes!  If you are ever downtown, go to Pierpont Ave. and stop by her shop.  You'll love it!

Look at Me!

I have to show off my new outfit.  I feel so stylin' I can't even stand it!  It was just the thing to wear to the Utah Short Film Festival at the U a few weeks ago.  (By the way, you should check some of them out.  I voted for "Cops and Robbers" - http://filmstudiospa.com/2011/11/08/cops-robbers-film-festival-update/  and "Nuit Blanche", which I've posted here ~watch it on full screen for the best effect.)  The evening was so enjoyable and felt fabulous in my lah-de-dah fashion!

Here's a Smile for You

I know this is a few months old, but I just love it.  It makes me want to twirl alone or with those I love.  Check it out and go twirl today.  You'll feel better for it.

I made a Hat

As some of you know, my friend Emily puts on a fabulous Witches' Tea Party every year.  It is something I look forward to, and once summer comes around I start thinking of my costume.  This year I wanted to do a non-traditional hat.  I researched photos on the web and finally knew what I wanted.  With the help of my sister Jennifer, I got my posterboard, purchased THE last black rose in the state and with much trepidation set out to make the perfect hat.  Well, it is by no means perfect, but I love how it came out.

Whajathink?  I know; I know ~ I'm so la-de-da you can't stand it! ;-)

Then I made a Cape

Okay, now that I had the perfect hat I decided I MUST have the perfect cape to go with it.  Actually, I had started making a cape for last year's costume and ran out of time.  So, in September I pull out my supplies from last year and got started, and what do you know......I didn't buy enough of the absolutely amazing fabric I wanted to line the cape with.  I went back to the store and of course they no longer carry this fabric.  Well, it was just too divine to toss, nothing even came close to its diviness, so I "made it work" (to quote Tim from Project Runway).  The cape is totally reversible and even without my fancy-smancy hat, the hood is fun to wear and makes me oh so mysterioso.  
So here I am in all my glory off to Emily's fabulous party.  She out does herself every year and I had a wonderful time.  (I've included a photo of my spooky cupcakes that I brought.)

Knife Knowledge

For my birthday my mom gave me another cooking class. I decided to learn the proper way to weld a knife. Let me tell you, there are WAY too many things to think about: curve your fingers, rock the knife back and forth, stay in the center two inches...oh, and don't cut your finger off. As you can tell from the lady next to me, I was the star pupil. I learned some great techniques and didn't cut myself once! I call that success.

My New Shoes

For my birthday Paul and my in-laws gave me these tres fab shoes. Totally LOVE them! Everyone wants to be me now. If you want shoes like these, you can go to zazzle.com and choose from a plethora of artists. These shoes are by Jasmine Beckett-Griffith, or "strangeling" as she calls herself. You find an artist you like and then choose from their selection of artwork and then you get to design your own shoe: you choose the color of the material, laces, thread, soles, and more. It is soooo cool!

Problems Commenting

I know some of my vast followers are having a dificult time commenting on my blog. I am having the same problem with many blogs that I follow. I have tried changing formats but nothing seems to work. What I have to do to post a comment is make certain that when I sign in I UNCLICK the "stay signed in" box. I am usually able to go back and post under my login. Otherwise I have to be "annonymous". I hope to have this worked out soon, but in the meantime I hope that helps if anyone has been trying to comment on my few and far between posts.

Speed of Light

As most of you know, Sunday night we had some fabulous lightning and thunder! I LOVE storms! I decided to take a photo of the fabulousness. I grabbed my camera and tri-pod and headed out the door. My umbrella turned inside out after the first step, which caused me to get a fit of the giggles. I must have been quite a sight, standing in my jammies, in the dark, getting soaked, while taking pictures of a dark grey sky.

I had a glorious time snip-snapping away. After about 30 shots, my batteries went dead. I went inside to see my wonderous photos and this is the only thing I got on the very last shot.....

Chicken Pot Pie

Last week Paul and I went to Faustina, a restaurant downtown.  We had this yummy appetizer that was a delicious chicken gravy in a round puff pastry, with whipped potatoes next to it ~ their version of a chicken pot pie.  I liked it so much that I made a simpler recipe here at home this week and thought I'd share it with you.  To make it fancy, I piped the potatoes out of a decorators tube, but you don't have to.  Adding a creative touch makes me like cooking more and give the family something to smile about, but it all tastes the same.
Anyway, enjoy!
(This takes 1 hour from start to plating.)

Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
1 package of puff pastry shells
    (not the little cups)
2 chicken breasts, cut into sm. pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen peas
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
3 mushrooms, diced
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. white wine
2 tsp. salt (divided)
pepper to taste
5 Tbsp. butter (divided)
5 potatoes
2 Tbsp. cream cheese (optional)
2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
sprig of rosemary (optional)
1 bay leaf (optional)
*In this recipe, you will use the same liquid many times to enhance flavor, so don't discard the water until the end.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees or temp. recommend on pastry pkg.
1.  Dice chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms into small pieces.  Place carrots, onions, 1 garlic and bay leaf into med. sauce pan.  Boil in 3 cups water about 5 minutes.
2.  While veggies are boiling, saute diced mushroom with 2 Tbsp.  butter in a skillet for 3 minutes.  Add balsamic vinegar and white wine and saute another 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and scrape all ingredients into a small bowl to be used later.
3.  Remove veggies from heat and strain liquid into a bowl.  Reserve liquid!!  Place veggies into a bowl to be used later.  Discard bay leaf.
4.  Place puff pastry shell disks in the oven as directed.
5.  Reheat liquid from veggies, adding enough water to boil the diced potatoes.  When water is boiling, add potatoes and 3 chicken bouillon cubes and sprig of fresh rosemary.  Boil until tender, about 12 minutes.  Remove sprig of rosemary about half-way through, unless you want pieces of rosemary in your potatoes, which is fine.
6.  Heat oil in the same skillet and add diced chicken.  Saute about 3 minutes over high heat.  Reduce heat to med. high and add the second diced garlic and 1 tsp. of salt.  Saute another 2 to 3 minutes.  Add pepper and peas and stir. 
7.  Reduce heat to medium.  To the skillet pan, now add 2/3 can of soup (you can use all; I don't because I like less sauce) and milk.  Stir.  Add reserved veggies and mushrooms.  Stir well about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and cover. 
8.  When potatoes are done, add 1/2 cup of the liquid to the chicken mixture and stir and cover.  Now strain the potatoes, discarding the liquid. 
9.  Place potatoes in a mixing bowl (I actually just return them to the saucepan).  Add 3 Tbsp. butter, 1tsp. salt, and cream cheese to potatoes and mix with a mixer or potato masher until well blended.
10.  Remove pastry from oven.
11.  To plate:  Scoop or pipe potatoes onto corner of plate.  Place puff pastry next to it.  Spoon chicken gravy last.  Wha-la!  La-de-dah Chicken Pot Pie!!

New Blog

I have met sooo many people here in Utah that have never really taken time to discover the wonders of Salt Lake City.  So, I have created a blog to share my finds with the world!  It is called: Salt Lake City Gems .  I encourage everyone to explore the cities around them, if not SLC than your own home gem.

Fair Fiona

I walked into the kitchen tonight to see our dog Sophie with her nose pushed up against the screen door. This is what was looking back at her. It seems our neighbors got a new pet ferret, Fiona. I must admit that ferrets freak me out ever since an albino ferret crawled up my bed, under the covers, on my first night at a new home on my mission. I felt something moving and then a big rat-like animal popped its head out right at my nose. I screamed, grabbed it, and threw it across the room. I only felt slightly sorry. It had no business in my bed. It wasn't hurt, which was good, but it never visited my bed again. But to this day ferrets and I have an arm-lengths relationship.

My Little Boy Graduated

Sniff, sniff. Matthew is officially done with high school and is getting ready for college. Where did all the time go? I was putting together a photo book for him and got all teary eyed looking through the pictures of him as a little boy. Someone once said you never look back and think "I spent too much time with my kids". That person is right. But at least I can cherish the memories and be proud of a great son.

Blogger is a booger

I have been having problems posting blogs and commenting on other's blogs for over a month now. Sorry if you haven't been able to leave comments, etc. You can only by choosing "annonymous" and then it's still a bit tricky. I hope this is resolved soon.

U2 360

Tuesday night Paul and I went with my sister Patricia and her husband Justin to the U2 360 tour. It was fabulous! Even if you aren't big fans of U2's music, no one can deny they know how to put on a show. Patricia brought her two oldest boys with her. My older children chose not to come, but I think they would have loved the experience. The stage is unlike no other. We ended up in the inner circle, just a few feet from the stage and with the outer stage behind us. What a view! I got some great photos and danced the night away! Thanks U2, and Patricia and Justin!

So Toxic

The Airborne Toxic Event has a new album out (came out a few weeks ago). It is superb! I especially like "Strange Girl" and "Changing".

Check it out and feel happy.

Undies or no Undies....That is the Question

Joseph and Jensen have started outdoor soccer. It is Jensen's first time to play any sport. He was getting his soccer clothes on a few days ago and started yelling for me. "Mom! Mom!" "What do you need Jensen?!" "Should I wear my underwear or not when I play soccer?" he yelled down to me. I started laughing, I could barely reply. "Mom! Should I take off my underwear?!" I finally managed, "Of course you should wear your underwear! even when you play soccer." Cracked...me...up! Last week he put his new undies over his old ones and wore two pairs to school. He's got some undie issues. =)

Copycat Kneaders La-de-da Cupcakes

I had this cupcake (a lemon raspberry cupcake) at Kneaders. I loved it so much, I decided to come up with my own version. They are better at Kneaders, but more pricey too (at least at the dozen level). So here you go if you would like a tasty treat to tantilize and impress your friends and family. (If you want to know how they were originally conceived, go to: http://scottandkersten.blogspot.com/ and read how the pastry chef herself created this fabulous cupcake!)

Ingredients:
1 French Vanilla or White cupcake mix
1 Tube of Raspberry Filling from Harmon's Bakery*
1 pkg. Guittard white chocolate chips
(Guittard is the BEST for melting)
1 pkg. vanilla candy coating
1 16oz container Duncan Hines Whipped Frosting
Cream Cheese Flavor
1 8 oz Extra Creamy whipped topping
Raspberries (optional)
Raspberry flavoring (optional)
Lemon flavoring (optional)

Directions:
Make cupcakes as directed on the package. When they are cooled, remove cupcake wrappers. (I tried when they were still hot and it failed miserably.) With the big end of a chopstick or something similar, poke a hole on the top of the center of each cupcake. Try not to go all the way through and slightly move the stick around to hold enough filling. Pipe filling into each cupcake hole using a frosting bag or piping instrument (I call them thingies because I don't know the proper name, but don't tell anyone.) In a glass bowl, add 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and two sections of candy coating (chopped). Heat at 12 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each interval to avoid burning. It shouldn't take more than 30-40 seconds; it melts FAST. (You will need to melt more chocolate, but it's best to do this in small batches because the chocolate hardens quickly.) Dip each cupcake into melted chocolate and turn upside down on cookie sheet to cool. Repeat until desired number of cupcakes are made. When they have cooled (about 20 minutes) turn over again and place in a new cupcake wrapper.

Now for the frills and thrills: Place half of the frosting in a bowl. If desired, add 1 tsp raspberry flavoring OR 1/2 tsp. raspberry flavoring and 1/2 tsp. lemon flavoring, into the frosting and mix in. Then you can add 7 or 8 drops of red food coloring and 5 drops blue food coloring (more or less) into the frosting for brilliant color. Now mix in half of the whipped topping and stir until well blended. Place in decorating bag and top each cupcake in a creative fun way. Then top with raspberry for a truly la-de-da extravaganza!

*The raspberry filling comes in a large plastic tube. I only used 1/3 of a bag on 48 cupcakes. It costs $8. You could go in on one bag with several ladies or store the rest for later use. Any nice grocery store bakery should carry this for their doughnuts and should sell it to you if you ask.

Number Of Servings:24 cupcakes