Happy 2011

Wow 2010 flew by... I can't believe its 2011. Did you know this year will be my 10 year high school reunion! That'll make ya feel old ;-) Well, I rang in new years eve with my BF and a few friends. My one friend opened up his house for the party and let me put together the whole menu of food and desserts! (Is it sad I was most excited about that? Could care less about the ball dropping lol). I used Love the Day's NYE printables - which everyone loved! Here's a little taste of the party I put together....

Appetizers

Beef Sliders
Served with choice of condiments and sweet potato chips or salt and pepper chips

Sundried Tomato Bruschettas
Sundried tomato pesto with fresh mozzarella and prosciutto served on French bread

Hummus
Served with mini pitas and veggies

Candied Bacon
Brown sugar candied bacon with a touch of spice and served on a stick

Baked Brie
Brie baked in a pastry with apricot and cranberry

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Shrimp baked with bacon

Curry Chicken Skewers
Chicken marinated in a red curry peanut sauce and grilled

Desserts

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Chocolate cake filled with salted caramel sauce and topped with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Topped with white chocolate, chocolate chips or toasted coconut

Homemade Doughnuts
Baked doughnuts topped with chocolate glaze or almond-orange glaze

Chocolate Dipped Oreo Pops
White or milk chocolate covered oreos on a stick

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
Homemade marshmallows dipped in dark chocolate and topped with toasted coconut, graham cracker crumbs or sprinkles

I was very happy with the result and it all came together just as I envisioned. Thanks again to Love the Day for the printables! Cheers to a new year ~Cara Lee

Getting Ready for New Years Eve

I'm so excited I have NYE off for once. I've been working in a restaurant throughout college/grad school and I always miss the ball drop. Not doing anything crazy but I am excited to be putting together the hors dourves and desserts for the little get together we are planning with friends. I'm also using Love the Day's free printable for decor and inspiration for the food table. BTW - the printables are being offered on behalf of Operation Shower. Check them out if you get a chance :)

Soooo, today I prepped some of the desserts for NYE...

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Some sprinkled with toasted coconut, chocolate chips or drizzled with white chocolate

Chocolate Covered Oreo Pops
Decorated with edible star glitter and a little edible gold dust

Homemade Marshmallows

Now, I have been wanting to make my own marshmallows for a long time! I got the big box of Knox Gelatin (kinda expensive) and it has just been sitting there for a few months now. So finally I made them. I read good things about Martha Stewart's recipe so I gave it a try. I can officially confirm that once you have had a homemade marshmallow, ya can't go back to store bought!

Homemade Marshmallows
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes about 16

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (I did vanilla extract instead)
• Confectioners' sugar, sifted, for coating
  

Directions

1. Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside. (This confused me a bit, I think I was supposed to put the plastic THEN spray)
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.
3. Add peppermint extract and mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.
4. Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed a sharp knife. Place confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

These are SO good! They also last longer in hot chocolate than store bought marshmallows and that makes me happy ;-) I did take a little of the batter and added some matcha powder to make a small batch of green tea marshmallows and they were very good too. I plan to experiment with other flavors in the future.

I have a few more desserts I plan to make and hopefully the rest of the food will turn out okay too ;-) Hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve! ~Cara Lee