Weekly Wonderings: February 1st, 2012

Oh goodness, only 13 days till Valentines day. Time to get my stuff in order, pronto.  I have cards to make, and cakes to bake! I thought this week, I’d share my favorite thing I did for last Valentine’s Day. I hope it inspires you to have one of your own because it was an absolute blast.

Last year, I had a Valentine’s Day Crafternoon, here are some of my favorite photos from it:

Here’s my original post on it. It was such a blast and we all came out with adorable cards to send!

Cranberry Compote

So for the second part of the Brie Bites installment, I have the very easy recipe from Lily taken from a Martha Stewart hostess gift! It's the perfect addition to Brie Bites or simply just a piece of plain old bread.


HOMEMADE CRANBERRY COMPOTE

• 1 bag fresh (or frozen) cranberries
  
• ¾ cup sugar
  
• ½ cup (possible more) cranberry juice

Put the entire bag of cranberries in a small pot on medium heat

Let the cranberries heat up and soften (you will see the skin burst and make soft pops)

After about five minutes, pour in the sugar and cranberry juice. Stir and mix well

Let the mix simmer on medium for about 15 minutes. It will bubble and stir every few minutes so it doesn't congeal.

• If it looks too thick at first, add a little more juice
  
• If it tastes too tart (this all goes by your taste, after all!) add a little more sugar

Once the mixture has reduced, take it off the heat and let cool for about five minutes

There are three ways to finish your compote:

1. Leave as is. This way will be slightly more congealed and chunky, but still delicious!
   
2. Pour the slightly cooled mixture into a blender (even a hand blender will do). Blend until the chunks are blended out (the mixture will get hotter as it blends, so be careful). The seeds will still be there but the mixture will be much smoother
   
3. To make the ultimate in silky cranberry deliciousness, first complete step 2. After the mixture is blended and slightly cooled, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. It's easiest to do this a few spoonfuls at a time so you don't spill it out the sides. Push your spoon down on the strainer to help the mixture go through and move the seeds aside. Strain the mixture once, and maybe twice if you reeeeally want some super silkiness!
 

Pour in a small airtight container (or a glass jar if you're giving it as a gift!)




Good Luck!

Easy Entertaining: Brie Bites

So you may have noticed the lovely little pastries at my Valentine's Crafternoon party, they were made by my best friend, Lily. As I lover of brie, jams and all sorts of carbs, I was delighted when she suggested bringing some over. They are quite easy to make and sadly, were the first thing gone at the party. I asked her to send me the recipe, and luckily for all of us, she obliged. 

BRIE BITES

• 1 round brie (a wedge will work for minis or just one serving of the regular size, otherwise you'll need a round
  
• Pillsbury biscuits or crescent roll/croissant dough (1-2 packages)
  
• Jam (homemade compote if you've got it)(*recipe to come later) 

For the minis: get a mini cupcake pan put one biscuit dough round in each cup

• Cut the brie up into small cubes (after removing the top of the brie round, the stiff white layer)
  
• Place one brie cube into each cup and top with a teaspoon of the jam
  
• Pull the sides of the dough up and pinch at the top to seal

For the regular size, you'll need either two biscuit rounds or a stretched out crescent triangle

• Place one biscuit down in the cup, stretching it until it covers the entire cup.
  
• Place a larger square of brie and a tablespoon or so of jam (go by sight, you don't want it to overflow)
  
• Then flatten out another round of dough against your palm to make it thinner and flatter
  
• Put it on top of one of the filled brie cups and push the sides down to seal it 

 Bake according to the instructions until light golden brown (350 for about 8 to 12 minutes, depending on size)

Serve with a drizzle of honey. And careful… they're hot!

 

Thanks, Lily!


 

Easy Entertaining: Apple Dips

      During my crafternoon party, I had seen in the September issue of Living magazine these beautiful apple dips. They didn't look too hard to recreate and seemed like the perfect addition to my red and pink themed afternoon. I choose peanut butter, caramel, and my special fruit dip to place in my three apples.

Apple Dips

  Materials:

Large Apples

Melon baller (Make sure it's a sturdy one, I broke my dollar store one)

Lemon Juice

                 Pastry Brush

Directions-

1. Slice the top off the apples. Then to level the bottom, cut off the bottom part to make it level.
   
2. Use the melon baller to scoop out the inside; don't worry if it's not perfectly smooth since it will be hidden by the dip.
   
3. Take the pastry brush and dip it in lemon juice then coat the inside of the apple to prevent it from browning.

 And the recipe to my special fruit dip:

Fabulous Fruit Dip

1 part Marshmallow Fluff

1 part Cream Cheese

Simply mix together in a bowl and try not to lick the leftovers. Perfect for apples, grapes, bananas, strawberries, etc.