Happy 4th of July and a Chess Cake

Happy 4th of July.  I went to Orchard Supply Hardware today to take advantage of their paint sale and they had this beautiful display of petunias.  Isn't it pretty?  I snapped a photo with my Droid.

Here is the view from our balcony.  We are going to watch fireworks tonight and sip some of this wonderful champagne my daughter ordered especially for the occasion.

I tried three new recipes from Pinterest today and the only one I liked was this wonderful chess cake from Kevin and Amanda's blog.  It is to die for, but a sweet tooth is definitely required.  It has only five ingredients, the base ingredient being a cake mix.  This is my kind of recipe.  I paired mine with the fresh fruit and believe me I wanted more.

I hope you all had a safe and fun holiday.  Thanks for your visits.

Bailey's Irish Cream Milk Shake

Since St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching, I thought I would re-print our Bailey's Irish Cream milk shake that I shared last year.  They were so simple.  Swirl Magic Shell chocolate syrup in a chilled champagne glass.  Just mix coffee ice cream and Bailey's Irish Cream, top with whipped cream and garnish with some chocolate syrup.  Truly decadent and worth the calories.

Add a four leaf clover plant.

And some Bailey's Irish Cream cake pops and you're off to a fabulous celebration.

Thanks for visiting, and remember, we're all a little Irish on St. Paddy's Day

I may be partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
                             
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           

Pumpkin Stuff by Somewhat Quirky

Yesterday my friend Karen of Somewhat Quirky posted a recipe for a fabulous desert she calls Pumpkin Stuff.  She posted the recipe in my honor, so to show my appreciation I whipped up the recipe today to share with my family.  Doesn't this look heavenly?  I am a real pumpkin fanatic and this Pumpkin Stuff is really wonderful.  I only had to make one slight variation because my daughter will not eat nuts so I just sprinkled the pecans over the whipped cream when it was finished.  I also added a few chocolate chips to the mix.  Hop on over to Somewhat Quirky for this wonderful recipe.  Here is the link to Karen's blog for Pumpkin Stuff.

Thanks so much, Karen.  This recipe is a keeper!

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Easy Apple Crisp

One of my favorite desserts around the holidays is apple crisp, and I used to buy it for our Christmas parties because I didn't know how easy it was to make.  Tomorrow evening Aubergine Emporium is hosting their annual holiday event and so I decided to learn how to make my very own apple crisp recipe.  I found some recipes on the internet and this is my version.  It passed "the husband" test so I think it's a good recipe to share with you.

Homemade Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter a 9x13 baking pan.

2 cans prepared apple pie filling.

Spread the apple pie filling in your prepared pan.  I sprinkled a tiny bit of cinnamon and nutmeg over the top.  Not too much though.  About a 1/2 tsp. of each. 

For the crumb topping, mix the following ingredients in a large bowl.

3/4 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 white or yellow cake mix
1 stick plus 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.

Mix it all in a bowl and spoon over the top of the apples.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes then cover with tinfoil and bake another 25 minutes.  Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy.  Yum yum!!!

I'm partying at...


Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy    
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Coastal Charm  
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life   
                                     Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Wednesdays     Savvy Southern Style
                                           
Thursdays        The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here 
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays            French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                    Potpourri Friday     Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays        Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           My 1928 Charmer Sunday's Best

Peppermint Madness: Martinis, Peppermint Bark, Peppermint Cupcakes

My daughter Stephanie went a little crazy with her peppermint experiments this year, but all of us enjoyed her laboratory (kitchen) experiments and they were delicious.

To make the Peppermint Bark, use one package of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 12 oz.  One package of white chocolate chip morsels, 12 oz., and 12 candy canes.

Put aluminum foil on a baking sheet.  Heat chocolate semi-sweet morsels in microwave, then spread evenly on aluminum foil with a spatula.  Place in freezer.  While that layer is in the freezer, place your candy canes in a plastic bag and crush the candy canes with a rolling pin or object of your choice.  Make small, small pieces of the candy cane.  Once that is completed, heat your white chocolate chip morsels in the microwave.  Heat all chocolate a half a package at a time and check after a minute and a half.  Once the white chocolate is ready and melted, stir in peppermint crushed candy canes.  Take the frozen semi sweet chocolate out of the freezer ( make sure it's frozen) then spread the white with a spatula over the dark.  At this point Stephanie  says it looks kind of funky and you think it's not going to look good so place the whole thing in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes.  Let it cool at room temperature or put in freezer until firm and ready to break.  This is the best peppermint bark I have had so far and everyone asks for the recipe.

To make the Candy Cane Delight Martini, use 2 ounces Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, 2 ounces Pinnacle Whipped Vodka to one ounce Peppermint Schnapps and about 2 ounces of heavy cream.  Use Grenadine for color if you would like to make it like a candy cane.  Stephanie bought the peppermint rimming sugar  and all other ingredients at Total Wine.  Rim your glass with the Peppermint rimming sugar.  Wet the rim of your glass and dip it in the sugar.  In a shaker mix the rest of the ingredients except the grenadine.  After the martini is made, pour it in the rimmed glass and do a splash of grenadine in a circular motion to make a swirl and garnish with a candy cane swirl.  Enjoy and please drink responsibly.

For Stephanie's cupcakes, she used regular cake mixes and used a cake decorator tip to swirl the frosting and then crushed the candy canes into pieces using a rolling pin or a mallet.  (a food processor works too.)  Sprinkle the crushed candy cane onto your cupcakes.  They look so festive and taste divine!  We consider ourselves cupcake connoisseurs since we live so close to Sprinkles and Crumbs cupcake shops.  I enjoyed hers just as much.  They were truly beautiful and were a fraction of the price.  Besides, cupcakes make the perfect serving size.  She served them on a pretty paper doily and then surrounded them with the peppermint bark and some holiday candy kisses.

Halloween Buffet and a Bunch of Bananas

Happy Halloween from our family to yours.   Stephanie baked all day and concocted this fabulous assortment of goodies.

I love the fabulous Halloween colors.  She did a great job.



Uncle Jesse isn't sure this costume is going to attract any birds onto her balcony

  Our pets are the best of sports.  My oldest daughter's name is Shanna and we have always called her Shanna Banana so when she found these banana costumes for her kitties, aka the girls, she couldn't resist getting them into the act.  Than, of course, she had to get the matching costume for our little Cindy. 

 Here is Lulu Mae looking for the rest of the bunch.  How did she get in there?  She is the most curious of kittens I have ever seen.

Cindy just isn't sure she wants any part of this.  I'm sure she's thinking what did those darn cats get me into now?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Today I'll share another one of our favorite holiday recipes.  The original recipe came from the October/November 1997 issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion Magazine.  The original recipe is very delicious and was for a loaf of pumpkin bread, but my daughter, Stephanie, experimented and replaced the oil in the recipe with applesauce.  Her recipe is a much lighter version and the muffins are a perfect two-bite portion. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

1 cup applesauce
2 2/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 16-ounce can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (reserve 1 T. to toss with choc. chips)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (totally optional)
paper mini cupcake holders.

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl beat together applesauce and sugar.  Beat in pumpkin, water and eggs.  Add flour, reserving 1 T. for chocolate chips.  Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and vanilla.  Stir chips into batter.  Bake until a cake tester comes out clean.  Approximately 13 to 17 minutes.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Best made the day before.  Enjoy!

Stephanie's Pumpkin Martini

During the holidays my daughters and I love to dream up a signature cocktail for our celebration.  This year I am blessed enough to have Thanksgiving holiday with my daughters in Northern California in the wine country.  In preparation for the holiday festivities, my youngest daughter concocted the perfect Pumpkin Martini in which I was lucky enough to be the taste tester.  You be the judge of her final recipe.  This is a great party mixer and can be made and stored ahead of time.


Stephanie's Pumpkin Martini



Stephanie's Pumpin Martini in a Tumbler

Stephanie's Pumpkin Martini

Chill Martini or chosen goblet
Use Chocolate Magic Shell on chilled glass and then re-freeze for 10 minutes
In a martini shaker prepare 1 oz. milk
1 oz. Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice Liqueur
1 oz. Pinnacle Whipped Vodka
1 oz. Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Liqueur
Garnish with whipped cream, nutmeg and sprinkles of your choice.

We were able to purchase all liqueurs and vodka at Total Wine.
Enjoy and please drink responsibly.