Angelnina's Cottage

Chocolate Orange Biscotti

angelnina — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:29:44 +0000

Oh my goodness, it’s almost Christmas. I am not as prepared as I’d like to be, because Mother Nature decided this is as good a time as any to send the Mother of All Life Changes and give me the gift of, a somewhat early, menopause! (As if dealing with a spinal nerve cyst and surgery wasn’t enough in one year!)

I think the Universe gives me more credit than I deserve, by thinking I can handle so many changes at once. Oh well, it is what it is and life is too precious to whine and complain (not that I haven’t), so now you know why I’ve been absent for so long, and I thank those of you who have missed me and expressed it in email or by phone.

I haven’t been doing a whole lot of cooking or baking. My husband has been forced to learn to cook, and I must say, he is doing quite well. As a matter of fact, I’m feeling a bit threatened by his ability to make spaghetti sauce that tastes so much like mine. It’s a good thing I didn’t tell him how to make the cassata. That cassata recipe is going with me to my grave.

Life is a mystery, kind of like the box of chocolate Forrest Gump talked about. It’s also like trying a new recipe. Sometimes you get a prize winning dish, sometimes it’s mediocre, and other times it’s an absolute disaster. That pretty much sums up my year. The thing to remember, is when you get the disaster, you must never forget that a prize day is sure to follow. It always does. Always.

Speaking of a prize–I found an amazing recipe for biscotti, on Epicurious.com. I made a few changes, and now I have the best biscotti I’ve ever made in my life! I want to share the recipe, and the changes I made, with all of you.

Chocolate-Orange Biscotti RECIPE

Click on link above for recipe.

The following are my ingredient changes:

I added 2 Tbsp coarsely grated orange zest, instead of 1 Tbsp

3 Tbsp Orange Contreau- instead of 2 Tbsp Orange Liqueur

1/2 tsp orange extract

6 ounces Chocolate Chunks (60%), instead of bittersweet chocolate

Angelnina’s NOTES:

I do not like my biscotti rock hard. I baked the first baking for 20-25 minutes and the second baking about 15 minutes. My family prefers them lightly toasted on the outside, but still tender.

Bon Appetit hit the jackpot with this recipe!

Toasted pecans cooling

I love how pretty the dough looks with the orange zest, chocolate, and pecans!

Pre-shaped dough ready for first bake

After first bake

The flavors of this cookie take me back to when I was a child, visiting my Italian grandparents in upstate New York. Orange and chocolate in a cookie, is like a bit of heaven, or nirvana, or whatever blissful place you wish to visit!

Happy baking and Happy holidays!

Italian Cookies~ Vintage Ware~My Life as a Vagabond (repeat blog)

angelnina — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:18:43 +0000

Please Note: I am repeating this blog because these make great cookies for Christmas giving. I’ve been struggling with a few health issues, but I feel confident I’ll be back in the game soon!

I am a cookie fanatic! This past week, I decided I wanted to bake a few of the Italian cookies I had eaten when I was a child in upstate New York.

As I’ve said before, “Cooking with Grace”, is one of my favorite Italian cookbooks because her recipes are so similar to the Italian American foods I remember my great Grandma Defranco serving. I decided to attempt a few of her cookie recipes, and I’m so happy I did!

Millie’s Orange Drop Cookies
Biscotti all’Arancia

For the cookie dough:
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 c unbleached all-purpose flour
5 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c whole milk
2 large eggs
1 Tbso grated orange zest
1 tsp orange extract (I used a good extract and added a few drops of orange liquer)

For the Frosting:
1 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar
4-5 Tbsp evaporated milk
1 tsp orange extract

Prepare oven with one rack on bottom shelf and the other on second from the top shelf.
Preheat to 350 degrees. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. In another bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.

Pour milk into glass measuring cup and heat in microwave to warm (30 seconds). Add eggs and orange rind and extract to the measuring cup and mix with a fork. Add the milk mixture to the creamed butter-sugar-mixture and beat for one minute with mixer.

With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time until mixture is used.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonsfuls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets, leaving 1″ space around each cookie.

Bake the first sheet for 8 minutes on the bottom rack; then transfer it to the upper rack and continue baking for 7 minutes. When you transfer the first sheet to the top, place a second sheet on the bottom rack, continuing to bake each sheet on the bottom rack for 8 minutes on the bottom rack and 7-8 minutes on the upper rack. Remove the cookies from the oven as they turn golden. Cool for 2 minutes on cookies sheets, then place on wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

To Frost:
Combine confectioner’s sugar, milk, and orange extract–stir until dissolved.
use your index finger like a paint brush to frost each cookie on all sides, including the bottoms, and set them on a rack to dry. Be sure to cover in the glaze frosting to seal them–that way the glaze holds in the moisture.

Store in an air tight container up to one week or freeze them in a heavy duty freezer bag for up to three months. Try to remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag before sealing. You may opt to frost the frozen cookies after you’ve defrosted them rather than before.

These are perfect with a cup of coffee or hot tea. A little reminiscent of a scone–only a bit more sweet.

My second batch of cookies are called:

Chocolate Spice Cookies
Biscotti Speziati al Cioccolato

I’m too tired to print out the entire recipe, but if you love Italian American food, I really encourage you to get your hands on this book. The darker cookies in the first photo are the Chocolate SPice Cookies. They aren’t particularly chocolate tasting–more spice. I’m still searching for the ones I had as a kid which I remember as tasting more like chocolate.

I have not tried the following recipes but they’re pretty close to what I made. Grace’s book called for currants–I didn’t add them, I did however add chopped pecans. I used a vanilla powdered sugar glaze rather than the cocoa glazes here. You really need to cover the entire cookie with the glaze to keep them nice and moist.

These cookies are a cake like cookie.

Mostaccioli

Another thrift store find:

TOTAL: $1.80

As a kid, my family moved so often, I practically grew up in a car, stopping at roadside diners and truck stops to eat. The cups in the photo above remind me of those cafes. I remember my parents would sometimes try to drive straight through from the west coast back to New York. On a few moves they would stop at midnight–or later–to have coffee. I usually ordered a hot chocolate. Searching for my shoes in the dark and climbing out of a loaded car into an often freezing cold night, made sitting in a warm, well lit diner, feel like a special treat. I suppose my attraction to diner ware has something to do with those memories.

My mother and I sat down one day and wrote down every move we had ever made. I just looked at the list and see she forgot to add Houston, Texas.

The old photo below was taken on one of our 66 (possibly 67) moves.

I’m the girl standing up on the back seat holding something that resembles food in my hand. I have no idea what it is. I often stood while we drove. Remember when seat belts were just those hard metal things that hurt your bum when you sat on one? I just kept trying to shove them out of the way or stuff them under the back seat cushion. Times have changed.

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Sausages

angelnina — Fri, 07 May 2010 04:24:33 +0000

Have you seen this beautiful Farfalle pasta by Torino? I was shopping at World Market’s Cost Plus, when this jumped out at me! Look at the beautiful colors.

It cost more than what I like to spend on pasta, but I couldn’t pass this up. They call it “designer” pasta. I’m not into designer fashion, but apparently I’m a sucker for designer pastas now.

The recipe on the back of the box made my final decision. It’s SO simple to make and it tastes so fresh and earthy!

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Sausages

Adapted from Torino pasta recipe

8.8 ounce farfalle pasta

6 ounce mushrooms (possibly porcini or 2 ounce dry porcini put in water to soften for 2-3 hours)- I used a package of wild Italian mushrooms I found at World Market

6 oz fresh sweet sausage-I used Italian sausage from Whole Foods

5 oz white wine

1/4 white onion

1/2 clove garlic- I used whole

1 oz extra virgin olive oil

2 oz light cream — I used whole milk

3 oz grated pecorino or parmesan cheese- I used both

pepper and salt to taste

In a skillet, sautee x-tra virgin olive oil with garlic and onion–finely chopped. Add the sausage without skin, and cook for 5 minutes to color. Add the mushrooms and cook slowly and add the white wine. When it looks ready, add the salt and pepper and light cream.

Cook the pasta al dente in plenty of salted water. Drain pasta and place in the sauce skillet mix on top of stove for 2 minutes and then serve with cheese.

The mushrooms are SO earthy!

I served it with chardonnay

ENJOY!

Simple enough for a weeknight meal, and flavorful enough to impress company.

Spanakopita and Gardening in April/May

angelnina — Mon, 03 May 2010 02:48:40 +0000

Spanakopita or Spinach Pie

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Adapted from a recipe posted online–years ago–by Jack Roemer

14 Phyllo Pastry sheets

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 Tbsp olive oil + 4 Tbsp melted butter

spray olive oil

40 ounces frozen spinach, chopped OR 2 – 16oz pack

1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian(flat leaf) parsley

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

3 Tbsp fresh chopped dill

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup cottage cheese –I use lowfat

1 egg

6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

a light sprinkling of white wine vinegar- approx 2 tsp

Instructions:

Thaw and drain the 2- 16oz packages of spinach.

Crush the garlic and drop into the olive oil and butter. Set aside.

To make the filling, squeeze the spinach between your hands to remove most of
the liquid. Place in a bowl or in a food processor. Add the parsley, onions,
dill, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the cottage cheese, egg and
feta. –NOTE- I do it all in the processor except for the feta. — Combine well. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Lay one sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the dish and drape the edges overthe
sides of the dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray and cover with another sheet of phyllo dough. Brush that sheet with the garlic-olive oil mixture.

Layer a total of four sheets, coating each alternately with nonstick cooking spray and olive oil. Spread half the filling over the prepared phyllo dough. Lay another sheet of dough over the filling and coat lightly with cooking spray. Lay down another sheet and lightly coat with olive oil mixture. Continue alternating spray and olive oil for a total of four
sheets. Layer remaining spinach filling on dough. Sprinkle on the vinegar-as evenly as possible.

Continue layering phyllo dough over the filling, spraying the first sheet and alternately brushing with olive oil and spraying subsequent sheets. The last layer has 6 sheets.

When finished, brush the surface with olive oil mixture and roll the edges of the doughin ward to create an attractive rim around the outside. Score the surface with a sharp knife into 12 portions.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake for 40 minutes until golden. I turn on the broiler at this point for 1-2 minutes (keep pan in center of oven) WATCH IT, or you will burn the top layer! Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 portions.

Test kitchen notes: Phyllo means “leaf” in Greek. The dough is usually available in the frozen food section of most supermarkets or in Greek or Middle Eastern markets. For best results, allow dough to defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Keep it covered with wax paper and a damp towel while making pie.

The Gardens in April and Early May

I’ve decided to post my gardens once a month. I want to document the stages of growth.

This is the time of year I start to get excited about gardening. I love my flowers, but I especially love the vegetable and herb gardens.

That said, I planted an assortment of flowers from seed this year. I rarely do this, but my cousin , MaryAnne, who lives in upstate New York, sent me seeds from her own flower gardens and a packet of Honey Bear Sunflower seeds, which means I might have a new passion. I’ll post on those as soon as the seeds germinate.

The terracotta pot above is my husband’s great find. It is from Mexico, and I thought a few coral colored begonias, double pink impatiens, along with a few chicks from my Hens and Chicks plants, would look lovely in this pot.

The portable greenhouse is filled with starts and seedlings:

Tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, artichoke, basil, and squash are waiting to go under the cloche of the front gardens.

Flowering seeds are in their little seed pots too.

As you can see, the backyard garden has plenty of cool weather plants:

lettuce, radish, beets, onions, spicy mixed lettuces, carrots, broccoli, and several herbs.

Due to my health issues, the flower beds have suffered most. They need some serious weeding and pruning, but look at that lavender!

I’ll be posting the front gardens in my next post.

I was fascinated by this lone yellow tulip. I don’t know if it was mistakenly relocated or if I had never noticed how beautiful it looks up against the purple color flowers.

Next year, I’d like to have a spring bulb garden.

Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake w/ Faux Ganache~ My dog’s birthday party cake!

angelnina — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:07:59 +0000

I’ve been out of commission for a while. Back surgery. Needless to say, before my surgery I was a bit stressed. Rather than lie around and worry about the outcome, I decided to do something cheerful. My little dog, Giovanni, turned 6 years old on March 1st. What better way to cheer myself than to throw a party?

Yes, I know I’m running the risk of being labeled “Crazy Dog Lady”. I’ve been called worse names than that, so I set out to give Giovanni a party. I invited a few close girlfriends and family members.

I baked a chocolate bundt cake, and Mark made a huge pot of his famous Turkey Chili.

Giovanni’s party invitation was posted on Face Book because everybody seems to check their Face Book page more often than their telephone messages. The invitation made it clear that this wasn’t going to be one of those “do gooder” parties where people tell you not to bring a gift. I mean, a dog’s life is limited and this boy loves a new toy.

I was expecting people to tease me, but instead I was a little taken aback by how quickly people replied to the invitation, and everybody sounded so excited.

“We wouldn’t miss it!”

“We’ll be bringing more than one gift!”

“OH! Can’t wait to see little Gio!”

Maybe dog really is man’s best friend. All of a sudden I realized how much power I have as the owner of a cute little dog that my friends and family seem to adore. What if I told people Giovanni is now into Le Creuset cookware? It’s possible, right?

Some of the guests arrived with fancy decorated gift bags filled with tissue wrapped toys and dog apparel. A few others just kept the toy in the store bag–Gio didn’t care. He isn’t picky. Toys that squeak, chew toys, soft fur covered toys, fancy doggy sweaters, and then some!

It was all going swimmingly, until….

Giovanni looked more excited than I had ever seen him before. He had opened every single gift—all 19 of them. Yes, that’s right, 19 toys! I never knew squeakers could be so loud.

I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. We all sat in chairs circling the panicky, shaking, drooling, panting, now extremely hyper-active Giovanni!

He was out of control and looked like he was going to pass out at any minute. Giovanni was now the center of our Universe, and he knew it. This was just too much for a little five pound pooch. When I saw his eyes start to roll back into his head, I moved the party guests into the dining room for dinner and tried to hide a few of his toys .

Greedy boy that he is, he followed me staring longingly at each “hiding place” I stuffed a toy in. He glared at me with his piercing brown eyes. I knew he was asking, “Whose party is this anyway?”

People, this went on for days, until Mark finally hid the toys in the garage. I was happy to make Mark the heavy.

The chili was a hit, the cake was a huge success, and when the guests left, I felt as though I had just thrown a party for a very spoiled toddler. I was exhausted. We went to bed early that night.

I’m four weeks out of surgery. Still recovering from the back surgery itself, but doctor could not remove cyst because it is inside the spinal nerve. He removed some bone and stitched me back together. In my heart of hearts, I believe all will be well.

CLICK BELOW TO CONTINUE TO RECIPE FOR BUNDT CAKE

DARK CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE W/ Light Faux Ganache or Low Fat Chocolate Glaze

Adapted from Diana Ratrray’s recipe for “Chocolate Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze” recipe-on About.com Guide

8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa, such as Valrhona or high-quality, such as Scharffen Berger*
3/4 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, stir before measuring
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Faux Ganache (recipe below)

Preparation:

Grease and flour a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the water and remove from heat. To the warm cocoa mixture, add the sugar, sour cream, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and eggs; whisk until smooth. In another bowl combine the flour, soda, and salt. Add all at once to the first mixture, whisking until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a large plate.

Serves 10 to 12.

*If you’re using a standard baking cocoa (not Dutch-process or high-quality) add 1/2 teaspoon more of baking soda to the dry ingredients.

Light Faux Ganache

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup milk –you can use low fat milk
1 (4-ounce) bar semisweet chocolate, chopped

To prepare ganache, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add chocolate, stirring until smooth. Spread ganache evenly over top and sides of cake; let stand 20 minutes or until set.

Banana Blueberry Raspberry and Pecan Bread (low fat)

angelnina — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:00:55 +0000

Quick post to share a wonderful recipe I found online. With only 3 Tbsp of oil in 2 loaves, I thought for sure this would be too dry, but it wasn’t! I did add an extra banana that I had frozen. I only had a cup of blueberries, so I threw in a cup of raspberries. I forgot to add the pecans to the batter, so I spread them over the top and pushed them down a little.

They baked much faster than the time in this recipe, so check them super early

Delicious! Lowfat! YUM!

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL RECIPE

Keep in mind I made several changes and you can find them

behind the cut, so click below to see mine…

Changes I made to the recipe are as follows:

2 1/2 cups flour– I used half whole wheat pastry flour and half all-purpose
1/2 cup sugar– I used organic sucanat
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoonbaking powder plus
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon– I used 1/4 tsp heaped
1/4 cup coconut– I used unsweetened
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk- I used a little more milk due to the ww pastry flour
1 egg
2 teaspoonsvanilla
3 medium mashed bananas– I used 3 fresh ripe + an extra frozen banana
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups frozen blueberries- I used 1 cup frozen blueberries and 1 cup frozen raspberries

ENJOY!!!

Think Spring!

It will be here sooner than we think, and I’m planning on baking a 3D lamb cake for Easter

Tom Douglas Five-Spice Roast Chicken

angelnina — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:55:46 +0000

This may very well be my favorite roasted chicken. Make this one for company–they will love you! The first time I ate Five-Spice Roast Chicken was at my son’s apartment about a year ago. It was moist and very flavorful. I was so impressed that I wanted to make it myself.

Prepare the five-spice paste a day ahead and allow your chicken to sit in the fridge overnight. It’s worth the wait.

Five -Spice Roast Chicken

Five-Spice Paste

3 star anise

1/2 dried chipotle chile

1/2 cinnamon stick broken into 1/2″ pieces

2 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp whole cloves

1/4 tsp hulled cardamom seeds

1 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar

1 Tbsp Kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

For the Chicken

1 whole chicken 3-31/2 lbs

1/4 orange cut into wedges, plus extra orange wedges for garnish

3 star anise

Kosher salt

2 Tbsp unsalted butter or bacon fat, melted

To make the 5 spice paste:

put star anise, chile, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, and cardamom in a small pan over medium heat and toast for a few minutes until aromatic, shaking the pan. Let cool, then grind the toasted pieces in a clean coffee or spice grinder/mill. Transfer the ground spices to a small bowl. Add the ginger, garlic, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Gradually add the oil, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a smooth paste.

Rinse chicken and dry completely with paper towels. With your hands, rub the paste all over the skin of the chicken. Set the chicken on a rack over a baking pan and place it uncovered in the fridge overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the quarter orange and star anise in the cavity of the chicken. Season with Kosher salt and place on a roasting pan. Line the pan with aluminum foil because paste will drip and burn. Using a bulb baster rather than a brush so as not to disturb the spice crust, baste the chicken with the melted butter or the bacon fat, and put in oven to roast.. Baste chicken with fat collecting at bottom every 20 minutes. The chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 175 degrees, and the juices run clear about 1 1/4 hours. Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before carving.

Cut up chicken into 10 pieces, pile on a platter and garnish with extra orange wedges.

I served this with Tom Douglas’

Baby Bok Choy w/ Garlic Oil

1/2 orange cut into wedges

4 unpeeled fresh ginger coins

1 1/2 lbs baby bok choy sliced in half, or left whole if small

3 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, thinky sliced

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Set up steamer, such as a large saucepan or wok with a Chinese bamboo steamer set over it. Put 2 cups water, the orange, and the ginger in the bottom of the steamer basket, cover, and steam until tender, 6-8 minutes.

A minute or two before the bok choy is tender, heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and toast until light golden brown. Remove from heat.

Arrange the bok choy on a platter, cut sides up. Drizzle first with the hot garlic oil, then with the soy sauce.

Aromatic Steamed Rice

2 cups Japanese short-grain rice
1 stalk lemongrass
2 cups cold water
3 1/8-inch-thick coins of unpeeled fresh ginger, smashed with the side of a knife
3 star anise
Zest from 1 scrubbed orange (preferably large, wide strips cut with a vegetable peeler)

Place raw rice in a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain well.
Smash the lemongrass stalk with the back of a knife; slice it thinly crosswise. Wrap it in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie in a bundle with kitchen twine.
In a medium pot, combine the rice and water. Add the cheesecloth bundle to the pot, scatter the ginger, star anise, and zest over the top and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer gently until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the lemongrass and other aromatics, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

Love and Marriage and Cupcakes

angelnina — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:22:21 +0000

I’ve had a busy winter!

My son, Sean, and his fiancee Olivia, married on December 17th. Sean’s father and I couldn’t be happier!

It was a small ceremony downtown Seattle. After the ceremony, the family gathered for a formal dinner at Pomodoro’s, and then we partied at Magnolia’s Mulleady’s where the newlyweds held their reception.

I volunteered to make the cupcake tower for the reception. I had a few weeks notice and went crazy trying to figure out how to put this idea together. The couple requested the “Day of the Dead” pair be the cake topper–needless to say, it is was a unique idea, and I have to say, I really liked the idea of thumbing our noses at tradition.

I made close to 100 cupcakes. I also piped 80 butter cream roses for the tops of the chocolate cupcakes.

I cheated and used a mix for the chocolate, but I added buttermilk and changed a few things around to make them my own. The ivory butter cream is homemade. I used an edible pixie dust to make them glitter under the lights.

I also baked lemon cupcakes–from scratch this time!– and a batch of Hummingbird cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The mini-cake topper is also a Hummingbird Cake.

I used putty to hold the giant pink martini glasses in place with the layers of depression glass and crystal in between.

Olivia and my mother made molded chocolates and placed them in little cellophane bags with ribbon and a photo of the bride and groom, to give out for wedding favors. We hung them from a little Christmas tree. So adorable.

The night flew by and soon the newlyweds flew off to California to enjoy a honeymoon in the sun.

If you would like to read about my cupcake baking adventures please click below–you can find the recipes here too…

Lemon Cream Cupcakes

Hummingbird Cake

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

The Cupcake Tower

When Sean and Olivia told me they had decided to get married in December (keeping in mind, it was December when they told me!) I actually thought a small wedding could be fairly simple. I offered to bake the cupcakes and create a cupcake tower for them. I mean, how hard can it be to bake a hundred cupcakes? I bake all the time, hell, I can bake with one eye closed. I was so excited, I was pre-baking “sample” cupcakes. By the time the wedding rolled around we were all so sick of cupcakes we didn’t want to look at a cupcake.
Anyhoo, back to the story. I was throwing out all kinds of ideas to Olivia–who is no Bride-Zilla–not by a long shot. She was pretty laid back and told me not to worry, just some cupcakes.

After looking through countless web site images of cupcakes, not to mention my twenty or so books on cupcakes, I decided to pull out my old Wilton tips and attempt a few butter cream roses. Oh, yes! I loved how the few I piped looked and that was that–roses it will be! Simple! Right?

Um, maybe a few are simple, but a hundred? Not so much.

To make matters worse, my arthritis decided it was a good time to really kick in and make it nearly impossible to pipe. To say I started to freak out at this point , would be an understatement.
“I’m going to ruin the wedding!” I shouted as Mark stood by trying to convince me that the roses look perfect to him.

“Are you blind?” I was serious. “We only have one child and I’m ruining his wedding day!”

I cried myself to sleep that night. What? Are you going to tell me you’ve never cried over a baking project? Oh, no? Was it for your only child’s wedding? I thought not!

The next morning, I awakened to pain free fingers and started piping the roses–in pink and aqua. The roses started out crisp and pointy and slowly digressed to rounded and not so crisp and pointy as time marched on–at a seemingly high speed. I was ready to purchase pre-made roses by the time I had piped out the first 25. Instead, I took breaks and finally finished the necessary roses with extras to spare.

I looked at store bought cupcake towers, but they didn’t hold many cupcakes. I didn’t have time to order anything and I really didn’t want cardboard. I ended up using Olivia’s grandmother’s bowl–a bowl she cherishes because she really loves and misses her grandma. I also used a depression blue glass plate I have and a crystal platter that belongs to my grandmother. I stacked the over sized pink martini glasses in between for pillars.

I found an adorable mini-cake pan set to bake the wedding cake top.

For added décor, I added fresh cut flowers, Jordan almonds, and some strawberry molded candies I made to place around the table.

Yes, I also worried about transporting the cupcakes to the reception and I created a lot of drama around that issue as well. I also worried about what dress I would wear, what shoes I should wear, what my husband should wear, if I made enough cupcakes, if I made too many cupcakes, my aching back, my makeup, my nails, my son, Olivia, and the price of tea in China.

In the end, the wedding and reception were simply beautiful. Our son has a wife and we have a lovely daughter-in-law, and I’m hooked on baking cupcakes

All of the lovely photos were taken by Luce Bella Photography. Shari is a very talented artist and we are grateful for the beautiful moments she captured!

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th photos were shot by yours truly

Angelnina’s Cottage Photography

Born Free

angelnina — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:04:16 +0000

Mark built a “free range” area for the birds to roam within a confined area outside of their pen. This morning he decided to let them run completely free.

I was greeted by these curious faces on my back patio.

“Got corn?”

Mark is a bit stressed out–over protective if you will–and twice has said, “Well I should lock them up now.” I’ve talked him down a few times and they are still roaming free. He is acting like the father of teenage daughters right now

Life with Mark.

Life with chickens.

PS. My oven broke down! Yes, I’m sad. Times are tough right now, so I bought a little Cuisinart convection counter oven at Costco–I look forward to posting some of the cool things that have come out of it! Plus, I save on my power bill.

Hey Sean! Guess what?

Lavender Wine Jelly, Cranberry Conserve, and Mandarin Jam

angelnina — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:41:06 +0000

I love to look into my pantry and freezer to find all the goodies I’ve stored from summer and fall. I have to admit, the heat in of summer and the physical demands of gardening can make it a bit exhausting to add canning to the list of things to do. I have found winter canning is much easier because I don’t have the physical demands of the gardens and cooking actually warms a cool kitchen.

I set out to find great deals on mandarins/clementines, pears, Meyer lemons, and other winter fruits. I still have a list of more canning to complete this winter.

Although it is not a “winter” choice, I had dried culinary lavender flowers leftover from this past summer. While visiting Lavender Hills Farm in Marysville, Washington, I picked up a small amount of culinary lavender to bake in a cake. I never got around to baking the lavender pound cake , but I did try my hand at some lavender wine jelly. I’m very happy with the results!

ABOVE: Clockwise from left- Lavender Chardonnay Jelly, Mandarin Jam, Cranberry Orange Conserve

My entire house smelled like lavender as the dried flowers steeped in hot water. I had a free aromatherapy session as I cooked.

The recipe called for food coloring, but the pink color was so pretty, that after adding one small drop of purple food coloring, I stopped and decided to back off.

For recipes and more photos, please click below…

Lavender Chardonnay Jelly

I love this lavender jelly spread very thin over a fresh cheese on a crostini cracker. The pink color looks lovely over the white fresh cheese and would be perfect at an afternoon tea on a delicate scone.

¼ cup dried lavender flowers
2 ½ cups water
4 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup chardonnay
1 drop purple liquid food coloring
½ bottle or 1 packet liquid pectin

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in lavender leaves, remove from heat, and let steep for 15 minutes.

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer or a layer of cheesecloth, reserving the liquid. Measure 2 cups of the liquid and return to the saucepan.

Return to the stove and stir in sugar, chardonnay, and drop food coloring. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add pectin, return to a full boil, and continue boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle lavender jelly into sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe tops of jars and screw on sterilized lids. Process in a boiling water bath according to your canner’s instructions.

Yield: about 3 half-pints

Cranberry Orange Conserve

Fresh cranberries, dried golden raisins, walnuts, and oranges.

Cranberry Orange Conserve

Undeniably my favorite thing to serve beside a roasted chicken or turkey! If you eat this you’ll never want to open a plain can of cranberry sauce again!

1 orange (unpeeled), seeded and finely chopped (Approx. 3/4 c to 1 cup)
2 c water
4 c cranberries
1/2 c raisins (i use golden)
3 c granulated sugar
1/2 c chopped nuts (I use walnuts)

Combine orange and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, partially cover, and boil until peel is tender, about 5 minutes. Add cranberries, raisins, and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Return to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Boil hard until mixture thickens, 10-15 minutes. Stir in nuts and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and test gel.

Skim foam and pack into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process 15 minutes in BWB.

MANDARIN JAM

Can be found here, at The Traveler’s Lunchbox, and it is a favorite of mine! I made this after the boxes of clementines went on sale at the market. Nothing better than slathering on a spoonful of this on toast, scones, biscuits, cornbread, you name it!