How Pinteresting... Part 2

So in addition to the button monograms I posted about the other day, and the button ornaments I did a few years ago, I have another Pinterest Project to share.

My cousin had a Pinterest Party in December, and asked guests to bring something they made from a recipe they pinned, and a craft project to work on.  I made these Cheesy Bacon Rotel Cups, which were a huge hit.  They are SUPER easy to make and insanely delicious.  Even the guests who said they hated mayonnaise gobbled them up.  I've made them a couple times and the Hormel real bacon in the bottle (near the salad dressings and toppings) works just as well as bacon I cooked myself and was far less messy.

The craft project I worked on was something I've had pinned for a while - floor wax and glitter ornaments.  My friend Michele made some the Christmas before last and said they held up beautifully in storage.  I have been noticing that the clear glass ornaments you can buy at the craft store are much thinner and more delicate than they used to be.  I was worried about them breaking, so I bought the acrylic ones instead.  I also picked up a multipack of ULTRA FINE glitter that had 16 different colors in separate packets (because I have a decision making disorder and can't possibly commit to one or even two colors).  Most every tutorial I read stressed the importance of the ultra fine glitter for the best coverage.  You can also buy a six-pack of the glitter at the Dollar Store, but I found the glitter from AC Moore was better quality and wasn't that much more expensive, especially with a coupon.  An entire packet of glitter was enough to cover the inside of the medium sized acrylic balls, and definitely enough to cover the inside of the medium sized "disc" ornaments.

Monogramed

I won't describe the whole process - I followed these instructions, and they're very good.  The ornaments are really pretty and sparkly all on their own, but they were a little boring.  I had two ideas for jazzing them up a little, a rhinestone monogram using stickers from the scrapbooking section (the stickers in that post are exactly the ones I used) and a snowman handprint ornament.

Since I had 16 different colors to work with, I used a whole packet per ornament and did ones for Little Dude, my niece and nephew, and a pair for my cousin in their wedding colors of pink and black (she got the pink one, he got the black).  This one is Little Dude's.  For the monogram ornaments, I went with the disc shaped ones instead of the round.

A word of caution while using the stickers - they can be a little tricky to get placed correctly and trying to move them around can cause the little rhinestones to pop off (the stickers are the tiny rhinestones set on a clear, letter shaped adhesive base).  A steady hand and a pair of tweezers can come in very handy, and you can press the rhinestones back into place.

Given  Little Dude's train obsession, we did a train ornament for him using stickers.  For this one, the train goes most of the the way around (it was a pack of individual stickers) the ornament with his name in the middle.

I don't have a photo of it, but on the back of the ornaments, I used flat silver stickers, also from the scrapbooking section, for the year.  A little trick I discovered for perfectly lined up stickers was to use the sticky strip on a post it note to line up the individual number stickers to form the year.  The tweezers will come in handy here as well.  Be sure to put them in reverse order, sticky side up.  Once your numbers are arranged and spaced to your liking, use the post it note to transfer them to the ornament, rubbing over the post it note to adhere the stickers to the ornament.  MUCH easier than trying to get the stickers lined up straight and evenly spaced on the ornament itself.  I used the same stickers for spelling out Little Dude's name as well, using the same post it note method.

I also did some other round ornaments with the glitter, and for these, I painted up Little Dude's hand with some white acrylic paint and had him put his handprint on the ornament.  We practiced a few times BEFORE I put the paint on his hand, and he did really well with this.  I walked him through the process very slowly for each ornament, and I was amazed that he cooperated.  Once the handprints dried (you can see the little cardboard rings I made up to hold the balls in place until the paint dried) I painted on hats, scarves, faces and buttons, as well as the year.  Little Dude chose the blue one for himself, my ILs got the red one, the gold one went to my husband's aunt & uncle, and the green went to my aunt & uncle.  (We handed them out at Thanksgiving so they were able to put them on their trees for Christmas).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I'm a day late, but I was busy celebrating yesterday. St. Patrick's Day is my most favorite day of the year - I think it even outweighs Christmas, though I'm never one to pass up a Christmas cookie (or seven...). In addition to being exactly 1/2 Irish, I think I love St. Patrick's Day because it's not all wrapped up in preparations and pressure. My husband's family is mostly German and Polish, which means we don't have any family holiday obligations like we do most other major holidays (yes, St. Patrick's Day is a major holiday for me!), so we get to have our out little celebration. And it's a welcome break from the winter.

And did I mention the food? I love corned beef. Love it, even though it's more Irish-American than Irish-Irish. I read somewhere that most people in Ireland have never even eaten corned beef - beef is quite expensive over there, and the corned beef is something much more Irish American. Who cares though? I love the stuff and so does my husband. He never had it until we started dating, and I am pretty sure corned beef played a large part in why he married me. :-)

I went a little crazy this year and tried a new recipe from Steamy Kitchen for Corned Beef with Guinness. (BTW, this is NOT my photo). After discovering that Pennsylvania does not sell beer in six packs at distributors, and being unwilling to shell out $35 for a case of Guinness, I was able to convince my husband to stop at Wegman's on his way home, one of the few grocery stores that sells beer in smaller quantities. (And in fact, restrict just how many ounces can be purchased at one time. PA has the screwiest liquor laws, I swear.) But anyway, after getting over the fact that we no longer live in Delaware and have access to a Total Wine on every corner where I can get any damn beer I please, I ended up with the beer I needed for the recipe.

The verdict? It was good. Very good and quite possibly the most tender corned beef I have ever cooked. I started it in the crockpot because I did not have a large enough casserole dish or a dutch oven (shocking, I know, for someone who cooks as much as I do) to do it in the oven. Naturally, I had to head over to Bed Bath to see what they had - uhhh, nothing. Their in store selection is very poor in the way of dutch ovens. Luckily, the TJ Maxx next door had a plain white ceramic casserole with a lid, oven safe to 500 degrees. SCORE! (The $15 price tag didn't hurt, considering it was sitting on the shelf next to a Le Creuset that cost 10x that. At TJ Maxx. Seriously?)

So while the corned beef was good, it was not THE BEST I HAVE EVER HAD, and let's face it, I make some damned fine corned beef. I thought it was slightly salty, even though I rinsed it very, very well. And the Guinness flavor somewhat overrode the corned beef flavor that I love. So it looks like it will be back to the "boiling the bejesus out of it" method of cooking which involves a water change (I think that alleviates the saltiness problem). But we just didn't have the "what the hell happened here?" experience where we look down and discover we've inhaled most, if not all, of the corned beef. (That really has happened)

I would also like to mention at this point that I glaze my corned beef after boiling with a paste of mustard and brown sugar, which is then broiled for a few moments until brown and bubbly. This year, I went with a spicy whole grain mustard that I purchased intentionally for this project, instead of grabbing whatever mustard is in the refrigerator. I pronounce it to be DELICIOUS and a practice that will continue. I incorporated a splash of vinegar which gave it some zip, but wasn't entirely necessary.

I did find redemption in dessert. Normally I make a lemon meringue pie for St. Patrick's Day. I don't know why, I just do. We've had lemon meringue pie for every single St. Patrick's Day that I can remember. This year, I felt like changing it up, and gave my husband a choice of a Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake or Gooey Bread Pudding - The Irish Way. My husband loves bread pudding and will usually order it if it's on the menu. I will order a chocolate cheesecake or any kind of chocolate dessert (except cake - most chocolate cake is too dry). Naturally, he picked the bread pudding and because I love him, I made it.

HOLY COW!!! You should go out and make it, but I warn you - start with a small portion (seriously - like 1/2 cup. You can go back for more), and watch out for that sauce. It is one of the most sinfully good things I have ever eaten. In my whole life. The bread pudding was amazing, and I do not generally care for bread pudding. Did I mention you should make it? Oh yes you should.

I used chocolate chips that I ground up a bit in the food processor. I mixed the chips with the bread and left them in a buttered casserole (not sprayed) overnight on the counter because I like to live dangerously. I also made and refrigerated the sauce last night. If you have a container that locks, I suggest using it because you will be sampling the sauce with your fingers. This cannot be helped. This morning, I mixed up the egg mixture, but I added 2 more eggs and some extra milk, based on some of the reviews that I read (the recipe is also on epicurious.com). I used a mixture of light and dark brown sugar because the recipe didn't specify what kind of sugar, and I added just a tiny bit of cinnamon (maybe 1/8th of a teaspoon because I can't help myself and must mess with recipes).

My oh my oh my. Oh my. And oh yes, that Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake WILL be making an appearance at some point.

But wait.... there's more.

Since my husband a) doesn't much care for Valentine's Day as he is convinced it is a made up Hallmark holiday and b) had to spend 3 days, including Valentine's Day, in NJ for a work conference, we decided that we would celebrate St. Patrick's Day instead. Yay. Presents for me!!! (I did pack him up a lovely goodie bag of snacks for his hotel and made him a nice steak dinner before he left, so he didn't get completely out of Valentine's Day.) Behold...

A new Vera Bradly On the Go bag in Twirly Bird Navy, my Irish version of flowers- an oxalis plant and a shamrock plant, my Guinness beer, and not one, but two perfumes - Sinner and Saint by Kat Von D. I've already been subjected to shaming by several friends for liking Kat Von D's perfume, but let me just state for the record that I don't care one way or the other about Kat Von D - whatever floats your boat, but I'm not a fan. I wouldn't have even picked them up to smell had I not been intrigued by the Sinner and Saint names. Smelling them was my downfall - I couldn't get them out of my head, and my lovely husband obliged me buy purchasing not one, but both! Let me tell you - that Sinner is some sexy stuff... Ahem. This is most definitely a tradition we plan on continuing. It worked out quite well.

And as your reward for reaching the near end of this very long, ridiculously self centered post, I give you the cutest leprechaun ever...

I took some photos last week to send out some St. Patrick's Day cards to friends who celebrate and to Nick's Grandma and Poppy, and his Great Grandma. Nothin cuter than a little boy in a sweater and jeans. Unless it's a cutie patootie "sniffing" some flowers.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

During Saturday's house hunting adventure, DH and I stopped by a local farmers' market to check out the produce and ended up coming home with a large bag of red peppers. In our house, that means Roasted Red Pepper Soup is on the way. DH roasted them up for me on Sunday afternoon, and then I took over and made my soup.

I love this stuff. I first had it at a brew pub that has long since closed, but after the first time I tried it, I knew I had to make it myself. The chef would not part with the recipe, though he did tell me that Boursin cheese was an ingredient. (As it turns out, the Boursin is the key ingredient, after the peppers themselves). I set to work testing a variety of recipes and ended up with my current version, which I will post in just a minute. I knew I wanted a roasted red pepper soup with a creamy texture and nothing in the soup but peppers, onions and cheese. No tomatoes, no pasta, no croutons, no crab, nothing.

Granted, red peppers are expensive, especially when they're not in season. Our grocery store usually charges around $3.99 a lb for them, though I've seen them as cheap as $.99 a lb in the summer. Usually, though, we hit up the farmers' markets and buy a huge bag or basket of them. Roasting the peppers can be a lot of work, but DH doesn't seem to mind it. I've never used jarred roasted red peppers for this - I'm not sure I'd want to. If you do use the jarred peppers, make sure they're packed in water, as there is dairy in this recipe. (There was an incident in my past involving peppers packed in a vinegar solution and a cream sauce. It wasn't good). The ingredients are simple, and the soup comes together quickly

Cream of Red Pepper Soup
This recipe doubles or triples easily, but use your judgment on increasing the butter / olive oil

1 to 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (I like sweet onions)
2 large cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)
1 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin, optional
5 medium red bell peppers, roasted and chopped
1 tbsp. unbleached white flour
1/2 cups stock or water
2 1/2 cups milk (low fat okay), room temperature or warmer
Boursin Cheese for garnish

Melt butter or heat oil in soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onions and garlic; cook slowly with salt, pepper and cumin. After about 5-8 minutes (when onions are clear and soft), add bell peppers. Stir and cover. Cook over low heat 10-15 minutes, stirring intermittently. Gradually sprinkle in flour. Cook, stirring, another 5 minutes. Add stock or water, stir, cover and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Puree in food processor or blender, bit by bit, with milk. You can also use an immersible stick blender for this part. Put the pureed soup in a soup pot or double boiler. (Optional: you may strain the soup to get a smoother texture.) Heat very gently. Serve topped with sour cream and minced herbs, if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.

I've made this soup so many times that the recipe is a very basic guideline for me. Feel free to play around with it to your tastes, but here are some suggestions and changes that I've worked out along the way. I always use at least 5 POUNDS of peppers, which about triples the recipe, but only double the onions and cumin. I wash, quarter and core the peppers, then flatten them out with the palm of my hand on a foil covered baking sheet, and roast them in the oven. (A little cooking spray on the foil is very helpful). Once the skins are burned black, I put the peppers in ice water and the skin comes right off. Then I chop the peppers and add them to the cooked onions.

I use a combination of beef and chicken stock (bouillon), using a little more chicken than beef. I tried using cream instead of milk - too greasy. But whole milk works well, as does the low fat or skim if necessary. I usually use 2% as that's what we buy. You may want to add more or less liquid depending on the amount of onions and peppers you use. Absolutely strain the soup - makes for a much nicer texture. The Boursin really adds to the soup. I drop about a teaspoon-sized chunk into the soup bowls, pour the hot soup on top and garnish with a few more crumbles. The cheese will melt and stir into the soup.