Chouquettes {Cream Puffs}

We made cream puffs for the Resident Photographer

...

We plotted this since her birthday last year.

I suspected they would be difficult and put it off only to discover how simply you can whip up a batch of these babies!

Live and learn, I suppose.

I used David Lebovitz recipe, found here.

For french recipes I usually check David Lebovitz website.  I find his instructions honest and ingredients usually translated from grams to cups, thank heavens!

Apparently pastries or "chouquettes" - cream puffs, are a common afternoon snack in Paris - although most likely not smothered in whipped cream as ours were.

The pastry was easy to whip up and I didn't try very hard for evenly sized puffs.  I brushed them with egg yolk and milk, sprinkling them with coarse sugar after, as instructed but the sugar cooked faster than the puffs and sort of burnt.  Apart from that they were perfect and the flavor wasn't ruined by the topping - just less attractive. 

Try them!  

You more than likely have the ingredients in your cupboard!

Hibernation {explored}

I know I've been absent for some time.

Instead of going over the all the reasons why I'm just going to say I'm back.

...

That said.  I've taken on a new project.  I've bought a camera.  As you can see I've got a ways to go.  But life is simplified when you have a lovely (tall) younger sister who will (mostly) obligingly pose for you (and consequently let you put up her hair and pick her outfits :).

Now if I can just get the resident photographer to slow down so I can catch up! 

See, isn't she cute.

We took a vacation to the mountains in January.  Idaho was missing snow until our getaway weekend.  We bundled into a cabin to watch movies, eat comfort food and knit,

and take pictures of course!

Have a whimsical week!

Sweet Sixteen (part 2)

Or, how to celebrate a 16th birthday.

Start with: Cinnamon Sugar Baked Doughnuts

These doughnuts are perfect sweet and buttery on the outside and doughy inside.  Best start to any birthday.  And if your dough flops it makes delicious cinnamon rolls :)

Next...  what do you make for dessert that's sophisticated but still fun? 

Lady Fingers & Strawberry Ice Cream

I can't even remember now where I got the recipe.  I do remember a bit of a fiasco with measurements though :)  We had to double the recipe part way through and wound up with a lot of lady fingers in the freezer.

Piping consistently was our biggest challenge but they tasted good whether they were shaped right or not.

We made our strawberry ice cream of course!

Happy Birthday!

Pictures by the Resident Photographer

Sweet Sixteen (part 1)

Maddie turned 16 in June!

I gave her a sketch :)

Look familiar :)

She's darling and I can't believe she's so grown up!

Happy Late Birthday Post!

Of course pictures by The Resident Photographer.

Finally summer... maybe

Hi

I know it's been some time.  Do I still have any readers out there?

While the weather hasn't been very cooperative as "summer" weather (more like playing hide-and-seek) last weekend ended my primary commitments for this year - very fun but very time consuming - & sprung me into feelings of summer whatever the forecast may be.

It feels like summer vacation for real.

Maddie has been saving recipes from pile of old Martha Stewart Magazines.  Lately we've been craving Frozen Mango-Cream Cakes. 

We've been hoarding our mangoes until we've had time to use them, I'm afraid to say they were a little wrinkly :)  

We peeled them nonetheless and whipped together this mango summer magic on Sunday.  

Uhm... yum.  

We've learned a neat trick: when using heavy whipping cream in recipes you can substitute some greek yogurt.  We decided to go this route with the mango cream and I couldn't tell a difference.  I'll post our adaptation here.

Frozen Mango-Cream Cake

adapted from Martha Stewart Magazine

serves 8

You can either make this in one large 8-inch spring form pan or shape 8 individual cakes in 2-inch round ring molds.

For the Crust:

Vegetable Cooking Spray

1 oz. salted dry-roasted  macadamia nuts (app. 1/4 c.)

3 T. granulated sugar

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. unsalted butter, melted

For the Mousse:

1/4 c. fresh orange juice

1 envelope (1 scant T.) gelatin

2 firm but ripe mangoes, peeled 

(ours definitely weren't firm!)

1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 T. lemon juice

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 c. honey Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat inside of ring molds or spring form pan with cooking spray. 

For crust: pulse macadamia nuts & granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground.  In a bowl, combine nuts, flour & butter with fork until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Press mixture in to the bottom of desired pan & bake until golden brown.  (The recipe says about 12 minutes but ours burned so just check it regularly!)

For the mousse: Pour orange juice into small saucepan & sprinkle with gelatin.  Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.  Heat over low heat, stirring, until dissolved.  Remove from heat.

Slice mango to puree, setting aside some slices for garnish.  In a blender, puree chopped mangoes, granulated sugar & lemon juice until smooth.  With machine running, add gelatin mixture in a slow, steady stream, and blend until combined.  Transfer to a bowl.

With a whisk or an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream until soft peaks form.  With spatula gently fold together whipped cream, greek yogurt & mango puree.

Divide mixture into molds or pour into prepared pan.  cover with plastic wrap & freeze until firm (at least 4 hours).

When ready to serve let cake stand at room temp to soften.  Serve garnished with mango slices.

Maddie said this tastes just like summer.  The 

Resident Photographer & Maddie drizzled chocolate sauce over their mango cake.  I tried it and was pleasantly surprised but preferred the fresh taste.

Now didn't we make that look effortless?  

:)

Actually it's been a while since we cooked together.  We made a big mess, everyone was tired & I was rushing to finish so we could watch a family movie.

But the end result was just right for a Sunday evening.

The Letter B

Today (err- Saturday was) is brought to you by the letter B.

Birthdays

Buttery Croissants

Bunting

And Babies!

Happy Birthday to the Resident Photographer!

Saturday Bethany turned 19.  

We started the morning channeling our inner French, with warm buttery croissants and cafe au lait - might I add very sophisticated.

We decorated the dining room with our bunting and the cupcakes with pennants - which perhaps isn't so sophisticated, but definitely fun.

  We had a lazy day at home, just the way she likes it. To be honest we did a lot of decorating considering how small scale the party was - but I think that's part of what makes it special.

I get a lot of inspiration for things from blogs.  But lately, I've been trying to find simple fun ways to decorate.  The bunting was a good start but I know there are so many other ideas out there!

  If you're looking for some fun party inspiration you can check out Jordan Ferney's blog.  

Saturday Mornings: Leftover Paper

That's right, paper.

This week was a tad hectic.  

I haven't calculated the hours I was at the restaurant (have I mentioned I work at a restaurant - well, I do) because of V-day, but it was a lot.  While being an incredibly lucrative holiday for the restaurant it was also incredibly tiring.

I somehow managed to throw together a brunch Saturday morning but alas, no pictures.  It wasn't for us anyway but it involved some killer quiche lorraine and our orange muffins, which may have been even better the second time around.  We went out for cinnamon rolls and bought wool for felting while breakfast was enjoyed.

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But that's not what this is about.  

This is about what to do with leftover wrapping paper from Anthropologie and a few vintage Ladies Home Journals.

Make yourselves some bunting, of course.

I've been plotting some bunting for a while now but planned to make it out of fabric.  During Christmas I bought some beautiful hand made wrapping paper from Anthropologie. It's been lying around ever since and I didn't know exactly what to do with it until bunting came up again.

We just cut out triangles of both material, pasted them together and strung them on some yarn.

voila!

It has totally transformed our room into something festive and is going to be amazing for birthday parties. It is a slightly time consuming process but wound up being quite sturdy.  Try it out.

Oh, and if you're looking for something yummy to try for breakfast tomorrow we made these a couple of weeks ago.  We used our pizza dough recipe with some hard white wheat, well they were yummy.  

Tomorrow is the resident photographer's birthday - ack!  I am sadly unprepared - but there will be bunting!