Monthly Archives: February 2011

Roll out the red carpet

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Thanks Molly for guest blogging today!


I’ve been wanting to have people over for a while, but Roxy (our crazy rat terrier) had surgery and has needed to stay calm. Hardly possible with just Eric and I, so I knew having people over was out of the question. Now that she’s allowed to be active/crazy, I figured the Oscar’s would be the perfect opportunity. I love watching all the fashions and figured it’d be great to watch with a bunch of friends. I thought a lot about what to make, but decided on bruschetta, spinach lasagna, Caesar salad and garlic bread. For dessert, I thought what’s easier and more delicious than a trifle? My mom used to make this a lot when I was younger and always made it with Heath bar, but I’ve also made it with Andes mints. Be creative, you could also add fruit if that’s the kind of dessert you’re looking for.

Enjoy this delicious, super easy dessert!

1 box chocolate cake mix

16 oz. cool whip (thawed)

2 boxes chocolate instant pudding

Candy bits (heath bar, mint, etc.)

Follow directions on box to make the cake and to make the pudding. Layer cake, then pudding, then cool whip, then candy bits. Repeat two to three times depending on the size of your bowl. Top with either candy bits or larger pieces of the same candy if you wish. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best if refrigerated overnight.

:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

Peanut butter m & m Dough Balls

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I got home last night and really wanted to bake. I looked on my baking shelf to see what I could use up. I found some left over mini m&m’s and an opened jar of peanut butter. Why not make some more dough balls? These are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth. I ended up sending them with Justin to work.

Peanut butter m & m Dough Balls

Makes 15-20 balls

3/4 cup salted butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup mini m & ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer or using an electric mixer and a large bowl blend together butter, sugars, vanilla, salt, peanut butter, flour, and milk. Stir in the m & m’s.

The mixture will look dry, but keep blending until a dough comes together, though it will still be crumbly. If you still haven’t reached a stage where the dough can be shaped into balls, add as little milk as necessary. Form dough into golf ball-sized balls and place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 9 minutes. The dough balls will be delicate still, so allow to cool for at least 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

Reminders of my childhood

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My favorite breakfast when I was little was a birds nest or egg in the hole. Basically a piece of bread with a hole in the middle that has an egg in it. Both of my parents made it for me quite often. This morning I did not want to get up! (wishing for the weekend) Later on as I contemplated my breakfast I had an urge to make my childhood favorite. As a kid I didn’t mind the yolk but these days I really prefer only whites. I managed to cram two whites in the hole.

What was your favorite childhood breakfast?


:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

Where did my weekend go?

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It’s Tuesday and I am finally checking in with all of y’all. What a fantastic weekend! My battery is charged and I am happy as a clam. What makes me happy? Pretty simple: My mom came to Minnesota this past weekend, Watching Leo get buried in the snow thanks to our recent blizzard and baking some new treats. I am taking a good look at myself lately and realizing that family, friends and baking make me happy and so that’s what I am going to do! ( and yoga but that’s another story) Here is a well known recipe from my Mom Mom(that’s what I call my grandma) if you are Sephardic you call them curabies and if your not then you affectionately refer to them as cry babies!


1 cup ground pecans (do in food processor)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
3 cups White Lily Flour (mom mom said it had to be white lily so my mom brought it in her suit case for me.) I will figure out a substitute flour.
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
Powder sugar

Mix sugar, oil, baking soda, and cinnamon well. Add in peanut butter and stir well. Then put in ground pecans and stir some more. Finally add flour and knead a bit. Bake in preheated 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let cool and then dust with powdered sugar.


Mom, Mom Mom, and me!

Jennie’s Guest Blog

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Thank you so much Jennie for being a guest blogger.

Jennie’s Guest Blog

Saturday, after Nordstrom but before the snowstorm, Alli and I attended a gathering hosted by Minne transplant, Birmingham balibusta Erica and her mom, Caren. I have not seen Caren since the days at Indiana, when Erica and Alli were sorority sisters. The saying that people come into your life for a reason or a season is so true in this case.

Little did we know that Alli and Erica would reconnect as Minneapolitans in this currently snow covered city where they have a wonderful covey of cohorts. It was really fun to see some of the girls including Molly, Erin, Dani, Amy and Dana and their amazing Mom, Mary Jane.

This afternoon gathering was, as Alli put it, a “lotion party” where we got to hear all of the benefits of the Swiss cosmetic line Arbonne as told by wonder woman Caren Seligman. Not only is she singlehandedly repopulating the Jewish community of Birmingham, she works for the Jewish Federation, promotes Arbonne, adopts newbies to Birmingham, bikes 6 hours for ovarian cancer and cares for her 2 Shelties. No wonder Erica is a bundle of energy, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We have had the pleasure of attending several of Erica’s soirees and the girl knows how to entertain.


After an appearance by Justin, the four of us, Caren, Erica, Alli and I had a delicious dinner at Broder’s Pasta Bar. Alli had taken me and Dan there before and I think it is my favorite restaurant in Minneapolis. After a 40 minute wait the host told us our table was still not vacated by the previous diners and would we like to sit at the bar. Good thing we did because it was 40 minutes later before the table was available. This is the BEST pasta I have ever had, including in Italy! We all enjoyed our meals and topped it off with dessert, a cream puff filled with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate. After such a carb-a licious dinner, Alli and I decided we would have to go to yoga on Sunday.


When we got home, I received 2 messages from Delta, one booking me on a later flight Sunday and another cancelling that flight and booking me on a 7am flight Monday. What a gift, because Alli and I got to spend another day together. For a mom, it is scary when your daughter moves to a city where she knows 1 person and no other friends or family. I am so proud of Alli and the life she has made here. To Alli, Erica and all the friends from Minneapolis and other hometowns, you are amazing, independent young adults. You should all be proud of the lives you are creating.

This is the first and probably last time I will ever blog, unless I get invited back to Minne Makeover. (Doubtful because I think I have gone over the space limit).

Surviving in a giant snow globe and love to you all,
Jennie Stolper aka Jenniejomama

Links:
Arbonne: http://www.arbonne.com/index.asp?lang=eng

Broder’s Pasta Bar : http://www.broders.com/pasta-bar/index.html

What has happened to children’s toys?

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I recently read a blog post by fancy this fancy that and was mesmerized… When this happens I feel the need to blog.


She was talking about a recent Barbie she had seen that was wearing Christian Louboutin shoes. I was intrigued so I pulled up the FAO Schwarz website. I could not believe what I saw.. A barbie for $150. Now I don’t know about you, but I can remember dunking my barbies in the bath tub and occasionally decorating them with markers ( also I do remember when my brother decided to give my favorite barbie a haircut) Needless to say a designer barbie just sounds absurd!

http://fancythatfancythis.com/2011/02/17/what-could-be-better-than-red-soles-for-a-kid/


My favorite toys when I was a kid were: easy bake oven, lite brite, magna doodle, etch-a-sketch, hungry hungry hippo game and my Corolle doll named affectionately Sherry baby.

What was your favorite childhood toy? :)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

Better Late Than Ever

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What an AMAZING weekend! The Valentine’s Day party was a blast. Everyone turned out in their pink, red and white. I baked my heart out on Saturday and channeled a mix of Bakerella and my inner Betty Crocker. The menu consisted of Galina’s cookie dough truffles, heart cake pops, Oreo cookie stuffed chocolate chip cookies, funfetti Valentine’s Day Cake, Ghiradeli brownies, Valentine’s Day bark, and Amy’s sparkling punch. Great times with great friends :)

Check out the pictures:


Side note: I went to book club tonight and Dani carried the Valentine’s theme for one more day her Gouda in puff pastry was delish. I loved the heart crackers too!


How was your Valentine’s Day?
:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

Truly Tempting Truffles

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Everybody has a favorite holiday. Some people love their birthdays, others love the winter holidays, my favorite holiday is Halloween and as anybody who knows Erica would attest, Erica L.O.V.E.S. Valentine’s Day. This year Erica decided to bring her L.O.V.E. for Valentine’s Day together with her love of baking and entertaining, which resulted in a wonderful Valentine’s Day party on Saturday night. What is the point of this long introduction you ask? Well sit back, relax and let me tell you a story. You see a few months ago I informed Erica of the fact that I love making chocolate chip cookie dough truffles. So, when she was planning her party Erica requested that I make said truffles and then blog about them. These truffles make a great party treat and the best part is that they involve absolutely no baking (or raw eggs)! So without further ado, here is the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
• 8 Tbspn. unsalted butter (hey I never said they were healthy)
• ¾ cups brown sugar (I think ½ a cup would work fine as well)
• 2 ¼ cups flour
• 14 oz (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tspn. vanilla (or a little more)
• ½ cop mini chocolate chips
• 1 ½ lb. semi-sweet (dark) chocolate chips (these are used for dipping)
(1) Mix together the butter and brown sugar until smooth and combined (I find it helps to melt the butter a little otherwise mixing can be a bit difficult)
(2) Add flour, condensed milk and vanilla and mix together (the mixture can be a bit difficult to mix with a stand/hand mixer so using your hands also works)
(3) Mix in the mini chocolate chips
(4) Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour (this can also be refrigerated over night)
(5) Take out the cookie dough and roll into small balls, place onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper (you can use a small ice cream scoop or melon baller to scoop out the dough, or just measure by hand)
(6) Cover and refrigerate or freeze the cookie dough balls for at least an hour
(7) Melt the 1 ½ lb. semi-sweet chocolate chips (you may want to use more than this) in either a double boiler or if you are like you can use the microwave as well.
(8) Place cookie dough ball into the bowl with melted chocolate and coat with chocolate, remove by scooping the cookie dough ball up with a fork and tap off the extra chocolate, use another spoon to transfer the chocolate covered ball onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
(9) Sprinkle any sort of topping onto the truffle (you can use sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, melted white chocolate or you can place a piece of fruit on the truffle…use your imagination here people)
(10) Put the truffles into the freezer for about 20 minutes or longer to make sure the chocolate shell sets
I know this looks like a lot of steps but it is really a very easy process. The most involved part is the dipping in chocolate but even that is pretty easy. The truffles should be stored in the freezer, they are fine at room temperature during a party but the chocolate will melt if it is left out for longer than that.

I encourage all of you to make these little guys for your next party or the next time that you have a cookie craving.

Thanks Galina for guest blogging!
:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

Not so sporty but I’ll give it a try!

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If you knew me growing up then you know that I am not super sporty. I played soccer and dabbled a bit in basketball and tennis but that’s about it.

Long story short…this girl does not love watching sports on tv but every year I make an exception for the super bowl (love a party and love the commercials).

This year Justin and I went to a friends house and I knew right away what to bring: Cupcake Poppers! I have held on to this recipe waiting for the perfect time to bake these up. I found out that Jaron was a Steelers fan so I ended up dying half of the cake yellow and half black. Also I turned half the frosting black and half yellow. They might look a bit strange but trust me they are so yummy. The frosting I truly amazing and not overly sweet. I think this must be due to the marshmallow creme.

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
1/4 teaspoon each gel or liquid food colors (neon pink, neon purple, neon orange, neon green, classic blue)

Frosting
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Gel or liquid food colors (neon pink, neon purple, neon orange, neon green, classic blue)

Prep Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Start to Finish: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Makes: 30 Cupcake Popper sandwiches

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 60 mini muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box. Divide batter among 5 small bowls, about 3/4 cup each. Make 5 different colors of batter by adding 1/4 teaspoon food color to each bowl; blend well.

2. Fill each muffin cup with 1 level measuring tablespoon batter, making 12 cupcakes of each color.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

4. In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Divide frosting among 5 small bowls, about 1/3 cup each. Using the same 5 food colors, lightly tint frosting in each bowl to match the cupcake colors.

5. Assemble each popper using 2 mini cupcakes. Cut tops off each cupcake horizontally (save bottoms for another use). Spread or pipe about 1 tablespoon frosting on cut side of 1 cupcake top. Form a sandwich by placing cut side of second cupcake top on frosting; press lightly. Repeat with remaining cupcake tops. Store loosely covered.

Make them in your favorite colors and share them with your pals. They would be super cute in pink an red for Valentine’s Day!

Hat that has 3 corners

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On Sunday I went with Amy and Molly to make hamantashens at the synagogue (Beth El) for a fundraiser. Now don’t freak out Purim is not for like a month. ( I am definitely not complaining because I could personally eat them all year long.) We ended up making apricot but they are also selling poppy seed, mixed berry, prune, and peanut butter chocolate chip. Each of us ended up leaving with a bag. For only $12 you can have a dozen homemade hamantashens made with love.

What a great way to spend a Sunday… Baking with my besties!
Plus rolling out the dough is therapeutic in a way :)


These were examples that they had for us to look at before we started making them.


:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica