Bridal Brunch

It is a perfect time of year for a wedding. All the trees are getting their leaves all the flowers are starting to bloom and it makes your heart happy! I helped my daughter Cassie give this bridal brunch to our beautiful Mamie. ( Mamie is my daughter Cassie's sister in law.)

MENU:
We are starting with quiche in different size tart pans.( If you have a large crowd you can use round cake pans, they work well.
Home made scones with blackberry and raspberry jam.
A mimosa bar will be set up with all kinds of fruit to add.
Tiny deserts of miniature sands with chocolate chips.

The Bridal brunch was given on the morning of the wedding and set up at Mamie's mothers house.( My daughter Cassie's mother in law.) There were a lot of  participants of the bridal party and guest that were out of town. While all the lady's got ready the brunch was served.

The large basket awaits the fresh hot scones. I pulled three quiche's out of the oven at a time. In 30 minuets time if there were any left they were placed back in the oven and fresh ones would come out and would be cut. Scones were cooked in short batches so they were hot when served. (I like the butter to melt right on them.

 

I love a self serve bar set up where every one can help themselves and mingle .

 I love the way Laurie decorates, so the house was already a beautiful presentation. Setting up the mimosa bar on her back porch was perfect. The cute fairy garden and candles with hurricane lamps are just a few of the fabulous ideas that come from this talented lady.

Ham and Cheddar Quiche

Ham and Cheddar quiche

Preheat oven to 350*

 

For the custard place all ingredients in large bowl and whisk together.

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 cup of cream
• 1 teaspoon of fresh graded nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

For the crust you will need roll out pie dough unless you want to use already made up pie dough.( If so get the deep dish so your custard will not over flow.     
When rolling out pie dough or any dough for that matter I always use saran wrap. Lay dough between two layers and it works beautifully. Lay the rolled out dough in pans that have been sprayed with pam non stick. Now you are ready to layer with meat and cheese and any veggie you may want to add. The last step is to ladle custard on top of all your layered ingredients.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. When the top has a nice light brown look and its set and firm you know its ready.

 

 

The sample slice was cut just for my son in law Dan that I love dearly. Dan is a wonderful husband to my daughter Cassie and a fabulous father to my four adorable grand kids.

Vanilla Bean Scones

There is nothing like a homemade scone! You can make them ahead of time and have them on hand in your freezer!

Vanilla bean scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold, salted butter
• 1 (3 ounce) package cold cream cheese, diced
• 3/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream
• 1 whole vanilla bean ( slice long way scrape seeds )
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Preheat oven to 350*
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl combine flour sugar baking powder and salt.
Using a pastry cutter, cut butter and cream cheese into flour mixture
until you have coarse crumbs.
Now using a mixer, add cream, vanilla bean insides, and vanilla extract to flour mixture.

Place dough between two layers of saran wrap. One will be on bottom and one for the top. Taking your rolling pin roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a 2" round or square cutter cut dough and place 1 inch apart on baking sheet.

 Bake approximately 20 minutes or until light golden brown. If you want to freeze, place pans in freezer until frozen, then store in zip lock bags. When removing from freezer you can place in oven frozen and bake. Serve with butter and jam. ( If you can find the wonderful Kerrygold Irish butter it makes a difference.)

Sands With Mini Chocolate Chips

This recipe came from my mother. I still have the original recipe written in her hand writing.

Sands With Mini Chocolate Chips

• 2 3/4 cup plain flour
• 5 tablespoon powder sugar ( extra for coating cookies. )
• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons almond
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

 

I still love to use the old nut grinders, similar to what my grandmother used. Old items take me back to simpler times.

With electric mixer, cream butter then add vanilla and almond extracts. Now add cold water, flour and 5 tablespoons of powder sugar. Last, add in nuts and mini chocolate chips.
Using about a teaspoon of dough, roll into little balls and place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes you want a light golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and dust with you extra powder sugar.

 

 

Because I am making them ahead of time, they are wrapped well in air tight container and placed in freezer till ready to travel.

 

Our Kitchen

 

The kitchen in our house is like a meeting room for all, every one likes to gather for cocktails when my husband and I start cooking.

 

 

The kitchen area is small, I have packed a lot into a small space. The bar area was a must for friends and family to gather around. I sometimes place a salad or appetizer of some sort there for people to gather around. The wicker chairs were from a second hand store and were faded in the original beige color.* I made a wash of white, teal and blue and painted on with a paint brush. Because it was a wash, the wicker absorbed the paint to give it a beautiful finish. The rug was a find at a garage sale, and yes I almost fainted when my daughter Cassie told me to go check out this rug.

 

 

There are a total of 36 different mismatched pull knobs in my kitchen and they make me smile every time I pull out a drawer.There are 28 different tea cups that hang under the top cabinets. The tea cups will be taken down and washed and used for the up coming bridal brunch, for our beautiful Mamie.

(up coming event!)

 

 

The old glass canister set for dry goods was a find at a antique store. Sometimes when finding old glass pieces, they may be missing a lid. Buy them any way; a lot of second hand stores may have something to be a clothes enough match.

(This was the case with one of the spice jars that match my set.)

 

 

 I have had many people ask me if my flour and sugar go bad in my jars. The answer is no, that is how much baking that gets done in this house! Does Ya Ya have cookies baked ? You bet!

 

 

 

 

When displaying a collection, keeping it grouped together maximizes the display.  

 

 

This is my English bus collection. I always laugh when I look at it. All my grand kids have played with them including my oldest grandson Tyler who is 13 now. When our youngest grandson, Bishop, comes in we fill his little hands with buses and he wanders around and plays. So.... some of the buses are missing their wheels, and that gives them wonderful sentimental memories for me.

 

 

 Sometimes I like to display a cute hand towel on the dear antlers. 

 

It's the small things that make the biggest impact. My best friend from high school, Ann, showed me this. Its a little pin you might add on a vintage dish towel or an old linen cut down as a runner, these are the things that make a house a home.

 

 

*( A white wash is any paint color mixed with water to give it a runny texture, I use this on very absorbent wood or wicker.)

 

A special thanks goes out to Mr. Bob Citrolo who did all the wonderful renovations on my kitchen from the ground up. Bob is the most wonderful contractor you can find and his ideas are very efficient  for today's living.

Memo board with bling!

 

When I was antique shopping in Ashville these old metal tiles caught my attention. The first thing I thought about was a memo board. I have been wanting to make vintage jewelry magnets for sometime now and this was the missing link. I had some wood in the garage from some shipping packaging and it was already the right size.                                                           

Making the board look old was the next step so I used different colors of teal, white and soft brown shades. Next I placed the tile in the middle of my board adding a little glue to just hold in place. Rummaging through my old Victorian molding I found a piece to add to the top. After gluing the molding into place I went back and added paint to them. The hinges were a touch to bring out the metal tile and add age to the piece.

 

Last I had so much fun making magnets out of vintage jewelry, scrap book stickers, and old metal ribbons I have been collecting. ( you can find magnets at your local craft store and use hot glue to adhere them)

Little Bird Hotels

I love mornings when my husband and I can sit and drink our coffee and watch all the birds coming to the feeders. To encourage our nesting friends, we made, bought , and redid all kinds of different bird houses. My bird houses have been every color under the sun, it just depends what color I am into for the spring! Make sure your houses can be cleaned out because a lot of birds will not use a house that still has remnants of another bird. The last thing I add are pull knobs and antique door knobs, they add a whimsical look.

For the perch on this house I used one of my old blue willow knobs. 

For this house I used a flower pull knob. You can really find some beautiful knobs out there now and at some good prices. I also have a basket in the yard that I put string, cotton, grass, and other items for the birds to build their nest.

  

 

This is a Marten house , this type of bird will take care of a lot of pesky insects.

 

 

If you have a garden spot that needs a little extra softness a bird house is a wonderful addition.

 

 

 

Happy bird watching!

Easter, What A Fun Time!

                             I love Easter, and right now more than ever, because spring is here!

         Small rabbits that are displayed with my blue willow collection add a nice touch for Easter.

 

 Here I have used cake plates that I found in second hand stores to display all my bird nests. When you use mix match ( like the cake plates) it gives texture to the display.



            Easter candy is a good way to bring in color, and it is a wonderful way to make guests feel     

special.                                                                                                                               

 

My husband's side of the family is Greek and our Easter falls on American Easter only so often, this just happens to be that year! Greek Easter is so much fun and every one takes part. The lamb and chicken are cooked on the large cookers with lots of wonderful Greek spices added. Every one prepares there tables, bringing drinks and desserts. I have already started planning my dessert list and thought I would share it with you!

1. Almond Macaroons
2. Coconut bird nests with jelly eggs
3. Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing
4. Greek sour cream pound cake

 

Coconut And Almond Macaroons

 

This is my personal recipe for coconut and almond macaroons that I would like to share with you.

• 1 1/2 cup  coconut
• 1/2 cup almonds ground
• 1 1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup egg whites, unbeaten
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract     

Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil.

In a medium mixing bowl add all ingredients and mix until it comes together. Now you will take two forks and take a little mixture at a time stack it on top of each other till you have about a tablespoon and a half. I have put a close up picture for you to see how this is done. Stacking the almond coconut mixture is to put air in between the layers to make it a light and crunchy confection.

Bake 325* for 18 - 20 minutes. They will have a nice golden brown look to them. Let cool to touch and slide a spatula under each one and put in cupcake papers. After they are finished cooling you can add icing and sprinkles as you like.

Icing:

• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons meringue powder. ( You can find at craft stores or you re local cake supply stores.)
• 1/4 cup of cold water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Food coloring if you want color     

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer mix all ingredients together. Separate into different bowls if you are adding color. Once mixed put in decorating bags and make them beautiful! ( I do not use a tip for the bag I just cut off a small tip of point and decorate.)

 

This picture shows how to stack it lightly with your two forks.

 

The are ready to go into the oven at 325* for 18-20 minutes.

 

They are out of the oven and placed in to cupcake papers.

 

They are decorated and ready to eat and oh what a wonderful Easter delight, my kids and grand kids love them!

 

Coconut Nest With Jelly Eggs

There is no baking to this recipe so it is so fast and wonderful to do with kids.

 

 

Coconut Nest With Jelly Eggs

• 1  16oz. bag of coconut
• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• green food coloring
• colored jelly eggs

In a medium bowl mix coconut, meringue, and confectioners sugar. In a separate bowl add cold water, vanilla, almond, and green food coloring. Add your liquid to your coconut mixture and stir well. take about 1 tablespoon full and place in cup cake papers shaping into bird nest as you go. Place jelly eggs in the middle of you nest and let try out for about 2 hours

 

Chocolate Cup cakes With Cream Cheese Frosting.

 

There are many chocolate cake recipes that I like but this is fast and quick and everyone seems to like it including my grand kids.

Chocolate Cake  Preheat oven to 350 F. Put cup cake liners in muffin pans. (makes 24)

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted        
•  2 cups cane sugar
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cups canola oil
• 2 cups water

Mix all the above ingredients together with mixer. It will be soupy but this is normal. Using a ladle put into repaired pans about 3/4 full and bake 24 to 26 minutes. Let cool before you icing.



Cream Cheese Icing

• Three  8 oz. packages of cream cheese soften to room temperature
• 1 Stick of butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Blend all ingredients together with mixer. If it seems a little thick just add a little milk to make it the right consistency. Now you can add a little food coloring if you like. To finish off the cup cake, icing by hand or use a piping bag. Take a bite and smile!

 

Greek Sour Cream Pound Cake

 

 

 

 

I make three small pound cakes instead of the one big one.

 

   

 

• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour,sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add almond and vanilla extract. Now you are ready to alternate you dry ingredients with the sour cream. Pour into well greased pound cake pound or three small pans. Place in cold oven and set temperature for  325 and bake for 1 hour.