Be my valentine...

I know I'm a bit late and this photo is less than inspired, but I just had to share Graham's classroom valentines. After a few trips to the dollar spot at Target, I was able to accumulate the sixteen red mini mailboxes needed for all of his classmates. I made the envelope & heart sugar cookies (he added the sprinkles, I'll be vacuuming them up for months!) & designed the labels. Graham was very excited to deliver the "mail" to all of his friends!

Vote for Cakewalk!

I'm so excited that Graham's County Fair was picked as a finalist in My Insanity's 3rd Blogiversary Party Party. It would be greatly appreciated if you would pop over there and vote for my party. Many thanks to Sherry Heck for all of the magical pictures.

My (creative) to-do list

It's a little late for New Year's resolutions (maybe I should be working on procrastination...), but better late than never I guess. I woke up to bright sunny skies a couple of weeks ago and was inspired to make a list of creative goals for year. I'm not much of a list maker, so this in itself was a little bit of an accomplishment! I also figured sharing my goals would keep me more motivated to complete them.

So here are my creative resolutions for 2011:

Attempt the ruffle cake
Finish my 2 year+ arm chair upholstery project
Host a fancy tea party (scheduled for March)
Revamp my blog (must brainstorm & contact Lindsay)
Blog a least once a week (I'm on a roll!)
Host a cooking class for my mom's club (scheduled for February)
Spend more time making my garden beautiful(sweet peas, rannunculus & poppies planted)
Refinish a larger china cabinet to house my ever expanding cake stand collection (not allowed to start until the chair is complete!)
Have a dinner party and use the good silver & china
Perfect my vanilla cake & frosting recipes
Bake for a good cause (need to contact the Family House @ Children's Hospital)
Remake Martha's bubble wedding cake for my 10 year anniversary (hope I can remember how to make those sugar bubbles!)

What are your goals for the year?

Nutella Love

Nutella is my kryponite. I don't dare have it in my house as I know I could devour a jar in a single bound. When I came across some at work though, I had an excuse - an obligation really - make some delicious with it. I decided on ice cream because it's been unseasonable warm & lovely here and really, who doesn't love ice cream?

I used this Nigella recipe with a slight adaptation - I added an additional cup of cream stirred in with the Nutella. I like to add some unheated cream to all of my ice cream bases because I think it adds a bit of freshness. The result was amazing -rich, super creamy, and Nutellalicious!


Ingredients
•2 cups whole milk
•2 cup heavy cream
•1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
•4 egg yolks
•1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)

Directions
In a saucepan combine the milk, 1 cup cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the remaining cream, vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze.

Holiday Gift Wrap Party - the treats

Wrapping presents can be hard work, so lots of yummy treats and drinks were need to keep everyone's energy up. On the beverage side we sipped hot cocoa, spiced cider and a delicious champagne cocktail. I kept everything pretty traditional with the sweets - spicy ginger snaps, chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate peppermint buttercream, English toffee and my favorite, penuche (brown sugar)fudge.

This recipe from Martha Stewart was super easy to make and totally addicting. If you're considering sharing, I would definitely recommend at least doubling the recipe because it goes fast! I remade the recipe today subbing dark muscovado sugar for the light brown sugar and it was equally delicious but had a much deeper molasses flavor.

Penuche Fudge
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
5 ounces (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ounces toasted walnuts, chopped (optional, I didn't add them)

1. Coat a 5-by-10-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.
2. Bring evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 236 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 25 minutes.
3. Transfer to a mixer bowl, and beat in confectioners' sugar on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium, and beat until mixture is thickened and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla and walnuts (if using).
4. Spread mixture in pan, smoothing top. Refrigerate, uncovered, until firm, about 25 minutes. Unmold fudge using plastic overhang, and discard plastic. Cut into 18 pieces. Penuche will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

Also, check out Becca's recipe for the fabulous favors she created.