Fall Decoration & Recipe: A Nutty Idea

I was shopping with my friend Tracey last year when I found this darling squirrel tray. It is made of wood and looks great on my island corralling garlic and onions or in the center of my table surrounded by candles. The squirrel is a symbol of Tracey's sorority, so she bought one too! When I brought it out this year to celebrate the season, I decided to take this photo to send to Tracey and remind her of our fun visit. Just before I snapped the picture, my mom suggested I put one of the acorn-shaped corn muffins I'd made for dinner in his hand. Ha! She's always thinking. 

I have found the same squirrel tray online here, if he speaks to you.

I am going to make my chocolate-dipped acorns, now that I have the perfect place to serve them. Remember when I made these for a party back in Michigan? I swear a girl told me she was taking some home in her purse!

This treat has one roasted almond stuffed inside a chocolate-dipped date. The acorn topping is more pulverized roasted almonds. They are delicious. You can find my recipe here.

#acorns #falldecorations #fallcandy #candymaking #fall #squirrels #autumntreats #momentsofdelight #annereeves

Meri Meri Cupcake Kits Make Dessert Darling

I found a Meri Meri "Hop to It" Easter cupcake kit a month ago and I was hoping for a chance to use it. When my aunt invited us over on Easter, I accepted with a rousing, "I'll bring dessert!" 

The cupcake kit included 2 patterns of cupcake papers (12 each) & 6 girl bunnies in calico dresses, 6 boy bunnies in striped shirts and 12 flower picks. Aren't they darling?

I made 24 Betty Crocker Super Moist yellow cake mix cupcakes with Martha Stewart's homemade buttercream frosting recipe (*I use salted butter) and they ate every one.

I just love the designs by Meri Meri - their cupcake kits are just darling. Happy Easter, indeed.

Caramelized Peaches - 5 Ingredient Masterpiece

These caramelized peaches were a happy accident.  Intending to "poach" the fresh peaches, I placed them cut side down in a large saute pan in a syrup made of equal parts sugar and water, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and an inch of vanilla bean.  I put the burner on medium and...answered the phone? Checked the computer?  

Do not follow my example, it was a close call and I almost burned up the pan as well as the peaches.  But I arrived at the magic moment when the peaches had caramelized and the remaining liquid had reduced to a glossy peach-infused syrup.  You can make this incredible (and easy!) dessert too, just please stay in the kitchen and keep an eye on things.

The peaches I bought were large and still quite hard.  The good news is that all of that hardness disappears when you cook them.  If you don't have an inch of vanilla bean to spare, just splash in a touch of vanilla just before you take it off the heat.

I served each peach half with a small scoop of my favorite "ice cream."  Edy's Slow Churned Yogurt Blends in Vanilla.  It is creamy, contains the beneficial live active cultures of yogurt and counts as a good source of calcium.  What more could a girl want?

*I'm reposting this entry to inspire you to buy peaches at the farm stand! This is my favorite way to prepare them and I haven't had a chance to take another picture! Enjoy!

Cheery Cherry Pie

Anne's Fabulous Cherry Pie

2 frozen Pillsbury pie crusts, defrosted
4 cups washed and pitted tart cherries
3/4 cup white sugar
3 Tablespoons quick tapioca
1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg, beaten
some white sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open the box containing 2 frozen pie crusts and leave them on the counter to defrost.  Unroll one crust and center it on the pie tin. Unroll the second pie crust onto a cutting board and cut long strips - this will be your lattice.

Mix cherries, sugar, tapioca and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Allow to sit 15-20 minutes.  Stir well and pour into the pie crust covered tin.  Lay the strips of crust across the cherry mixture and arrange into a lattice or basket weave pattern.  Pinch dough strips to edge of pie shell to seal the strip.  Brush crust lattice and rim with a beaten egg.  Sprinkle entire top of pie with a little white sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature with creamy vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

S'More Maker: Delightful Date Night with Square Marshmallows

To me, nothing says Summer like S'mores. And you know how I love unreasonable appliances.  I was an early adopter of the electric iced tea maker and the Cocomotion (an electric pitcher that whirls and heats milk and chocolate to make cocoa) and to my surprise and delight, my brother and sister-in-law gave me this S'mores Maker. We normally make s'mores together on the beach at Lake Michigan, so I hadn't actually had a chance to use it until this Memorial Weekend.

We were home, instead of up at the lake, so Dan and I christened my s'more maker on Sunday night - roasting marshmallows and talking on the patio after a long day working on the house and garden.  

I had forgotten how relaxing it is to slowly roast a marshmallow. The s'more maker includes a burner for the fuel (you provide a small sterno can) with a handle and a snuffer to extinguish the flame. It worked like a charm and felt safe and easy. The stand works like a lazy Susan (the base spins), which makes assembling your s'more a piece of cake.  

Another item I must trumpet? Square marshmallows.  Kraft makes Jet Puffed StackerMallows - the same marshmallow recipe we love, just sized to fit perfectly on top of a graham cracker.  I like innovation when it makes sense. 

Do marshmallows need to be flavored? No, not really.  
Do marshmallows need to be the size of a lemon? No, not really. 
Do marshmallows need to be square to give more marshmallow to chocolate coverage in a S'more? Yes - now we're talking!

Glossy Sauteed Peaches with Frozen Yogurt

Peaches make life better. I am getting way more than my recommended daily allowance of fruit during peach season, and I feel great. Yesterday, instead of having some fresh peach with my Greek yogurt for breakfast, I saved it to be the star of dessert. 

I cooked my peach by "poaching" it, I placed the 2 halves, cut side down in a large saute pan in a mixture made of equal parts sugar and water (1/3 cup each?), a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and an inch of vanilla bean (only if you have it, no need to add vanilla otherwise).  I put the burner on medium and let the fruit cook about 10 minutes - be sure to watch it so that it doesn't burn.The peach I had was still quite firm.  The good news is that all of that hardness disappears when you cook them.  When the peach has cooked, pull out the piece of vanilla bean stem and discard.  

There will be a magic moment when the peaches have caramelized/deepened in color and the remaining liquid will be reduced to a glossy peach-infused syrup.  I serve my peach half with a small scoop of my favorite "ice cream." Edy's Slow Churned Yogurt Blends in Vanilla.  It is creamy, contains live active cultures and counts as a good source of calcium.  

You must try this while fresh peaches are still available.  Promise me...

Chocolate Pot de Creme and My Never List

Have I got a dessert for you: Chocolate Pot de Creme.  However, I can only endorse making it once.  It is the kind of dessert you should taste, enjoy, marvel at...and then find a way to make it with less whipping creme.

I have had make pot de creme on my "Never List" for a long long time.  

My "Never List" is a collection of food-related items that I have never tried, but would like to make/bake/taste.  It is far less dramatic than a bucket list (no one would say, "I'd like to learn how to make pot de creme before I die."), but it nags at me just the same.  It is something I have "never" made (or tried)...yet.

I recently crossed off: "Eat a fresh gooseberry" when my friend Josh picked a small basket of fresh fruits and berries from his garden to eat with his cheeses. My review?  Gooseberries are tangy and full of flavor (plus they are a beautiful pale celery yellow) - a perfect to compliment cheese.  Try them. 

What's an easy item still on my "Never List?"  Make biscotti.  You would have thought I'd tried that by now, right?, but I haven't had a chance.  So I write it down and the Never List goes on.

Anyhoo, I have wanted to make Pot de Creme for ages and I even bought antique containers this winter in Palm Beach, remember?  Since then, I started feeling nervous about experimenting with a water bath in an antique vessel, so I decided to try out this recipe from Epicurious in some classic pots ($1.95 each) from Sur La Table first, to get a feel for it.  

The result was magnificent. You should absolutely use this recipe for any party where you need a show-stopping dessert.  I made my batch with Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips and I wouldn't change a thing.

Except that I am never making it again.  Ha! I can't feed my family something with that much fat on purpose.  I will be re-working this pot de creme recipe into something that is delicious, but more reasonable in the fat department.  Stay tuned...

Irresistible Fruit Dip

When I make a dish for a crowd, I like to come up with something that is irresistible.  You know a dish is just that when you watch people taking turns to dip their skewered banana, strawberry or pineapple chunk into a bowl of orange pudding dip.  This cold fruit dip was introduced to the family by my grandmother more than forty years ago.  

This dip is best served in a separate bowl next to fruit-filled pineapple halves.  Guests are to spear a piece of fruit (pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, banana) with a toothpick and dip it in the orange pudding and then eat it.  The dip goes fast and my family stands around the bowl, spearing-dipping-eating until the beloved dip is gone. 

This year I added green grapes to the fruit salad and most of them were still left in the pineapple shell when the last dollop of dip was gone.  We were laughing that the grapes probably weren't popular because, in terms of fruit real estate, they would hold the least amount of dip when dunked.    

The recipe isn't scientific.  Add and subtract amounts to suit you, but remember that the goal is to make a dip that will cling to the fruit.  The dip will thicken a little more in the refrigerator.

Irresistible Orange Fruit Dip

2 boxes (5.1 oz) box Jell-O INSTANT vanilla pudding (*1 box is a backup, but lately I've added all of it to make really thick dip)
1 cup cold orange juice
1 cup cold milk (2% preferred)
1 cup sour cream

With an electric mixer, beat 1 box of instant pudding mix with orange juice, milk and sour cream until thick.  If the mixture seems too thin, sprinkle in more pudding from the second "reserve" box of pudding to help restore the thickness.  Chill in refrigerator until cold and thick, at least an hour.  Serve with fresh fruit and toothpicks.  And stand back.      

Decaf Ice Cream

I know! You've never heard of decaf ice cream before.  I thought I would make my point about the perils of enjoying certain late night desserts, while sharing
my wonderful coffee ice cream recipe.

I love love love coffee-flavored desserts, especially Tiramisu (which contains espresso) or a simple bowl of coffee ice cream.  The problem is, I am very sensitive to caffeine and one great coffee-flavored dessert means that I will still be awake at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Why restaurants don't make decaffeinated desserts, I'll never know.  So I decided to promote this rather simple concept by posting my recipe for: 

Decaf Coffee Ice Cream 

Mix 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed 2% milk, 1 (5 oz) can of evaporated milk, 2 cups of whole milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 4 Tablespoons of instant decaffeinated coffee crystals (or 2 1/2 - 3 T. of decaffeinated espresso crystals) together and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to chill. Once the mixture is cold, pour it into the freezer container of an electric ice cream maker and follow the ice cream maker instructions.  If the consistency of the ice cream isn't firm enough, place the container in the freezer to set. I sprinkled my decaf coffee ice cream with a few mini chocolate chips. 

Serve and enjoy during Saturday Night Live with no worries.  Good Night!

Las Vegas: Jean Philippe Patisserie

Oh me, oh my!  When I arrived at The Bellagio in Las Vegas, I made a beeline for the Jean Philippe Patisserie, which is to the left of the conservatory not far from the lobby.  You know, just to make sure it was still there and that I could go ahead with my "travel plans" of having a pastry a day.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but a girl has to dream, doesn't she?  In truth, I have been here 3 days and have actually spread my sugar consumption around.  

Day One: a multitude of mini-pastries at The Buffet at The Bellagio (it was our travel day and we hadn't had lunch or dinner, so a buffet was a fun way to go.) 

Day Two: a red velvet cupcake at Jean Philippe.  The cake was delicious - dense and moist.  The frosting encased in this glorious red lacquer was sweet, fluffy and satisfying.  Would I order this again - absolutely! 

Day Three: I ordered myself a small cup of gelato at Cafe Gelato, which is inside The Bellagio, next to the Fine Art Gallery.  I had Bailey's and Dark Chocolate side-by-side and I have never been happier.  I was able to eat it outside on the terrace that overlooks the pool.  I stood in the sun (it was about 62 and sunny today) and enjoyed the fresh air and sweet treat.

I still have two days left on this trip, so there are more pastries in my future.  

Caramel Chocolate dipped Apple

I was wrong, completely.  I had seen these overloaded apples in stores for years and thought that they were more of a culinary gimmick than a treat.  That is until I tried one!  Someone brought one to us from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company and with knife in hand, we stood at the counter eating it until every last bit was gone.  Yum!

I thought that caramel, 2 kinds of chocolate and pecans would be overkill for a simple apple, but she can take it!  If you are looking for a sweet hostess gift to bring a friend this Fall, consider getting her an overloaded apple.  She will either know instantly how smart you are or learn quickly, like I did. Happy Fall! 

Homemade Popsicles

We tried our hand at making layered popsicles and they turned out super cute AND delicious!  Our masterpiece started to melt before my niece and I managed to find a camera, but you can get the idea from this picture.

The top layer is pureed watermelon, then we added a layer of strawberry ice cream, then we mixed fresh sliced strawberries with homemade strawberry jam and ending with a base of vanilla orange pudding.  They were delicious! And the mix of flavors and textures complimented each other very well.  We were happy that our very cool popsicle mold has a straw in the base so we could slurp out whatever had melted.

Making homemade popsicles is fun, but creating ones with layers is even better.  We decided that we felt like a sweet genius.

Palm Beach-style Cheesecake

You've heard of New York-Style Cheesecake, right?  Well, I call this cheesecake, "Palm Beach-Style" because of the shells!  Don't you love it?

I worked backwards on this one.  I wanted a dessert to highlight the realistic look of the shells, so I needed something that I could pile graham cracker crumbs on to look like sand.  Cheesecake was the the natural choice! 

It all started when I wanted to make white chocolate shells, so I visited a cake and candy supply store in Florida and bought several different shell molds. 

My niece and nephew were visiting Florida this week too and together we molded the white chocolate discs into shells (melt chocolate discs in microwave, pour into molds, tap on counter repeatedly to allow bubbles trapped in chocolate to rise and pop, harden for 5 minutes in freezer, unmold - it's that easy!).

Then I decided that I wanted to try giving them a soft color sheen with edible pearl dust.  The shells shown here are made using Bronze, Gold, Pink and Lilac pearl dust.  Simply use a food-safe paint brush and brush on the edible dust - it is gorgeous and now I want to luster everything!

The cheesecake is just cheesecake - I used a Martha Stewart Everyday Food app to find a recipe on my phone so that we could bake on vacation.  It was  a classic recipe, so feel free to use your favorite cheesecake recipe.

It turned it out better than I could have imagined!  This is how we do cheesecake Palm Beach-Style!

Little Lemon Tarts

My electric citrus juicer is in the running for my "Most Used Appliance" this Spring.  My go-to flavor has been lemon lately and I just can't get enough of it. 

I want to pin down the best Lemon Curd and having been experimenting with a variety of recipes.  This batch was made with Ina Garten's Lemon Curd, sans the lemon zest.  I wanted an absolutely smooth curd for these tarts.

The best part?  I used store-bought shortbread shells.  Trust me, with homemade curd as delicious as this, the shell is merely a vehicle to get the lemon curd into your mouth.  And on a weeknight, any tart shell is a welcome tart shell in my house.



12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 9, Molten Chocolate Cake

My oh my!  There has to be chocolate somewhere in your Valentine's celebration, right?  I made molten chocolate cakes for the first time and adapted the recipe from Epicurious.  What did I change?  I dropped the almond extract, used Hershey Special Dark cocoa powder and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and topped the individual masterpieces with a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream, instead of homemade coffee whipped cream.  It was delicious!

And of course, I crafted and made a set of heart-topped picks to dress up dessert and reinforce the Valentine spirit.  Just find some cute scrapbook paper and "punch" out hearts with a Martha Stewart heart craft punch.  Then glue them back-to-back onto toothpicks and Voila!  A custom pick worthy of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.

Happy Day 9: Make sure to incorporate some chocolate into your week.

12 Days of Valentines Day: Day 6, Order Dessert!

Oh, come on, we're celebrating! Who doesn't need a slice of cake with pink icing?

I think that part of the 12 Days of Valentine's should be spending time with your friends. Call someone up and invite them out for coffee and cake. In the middle of catching up, you will both feel the love that makes Valentine's Day so important.

Happy Day 6: While you are ordering, get some cake!

This cake? Oh, this is the signature cake at The Royal Hawaiian resort on Waikiki. They describe it as "pink haupia cream layered between coconut-soaked sponge cake," - what a delight!

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 2 Sweet Sherbet

Two ingredients can make a big impact when served on a pretty plate.  This is raspberry sherbet (the kind that is only $1.64 for an entire round tub, plus it is delicious) softened a bit and then scooped into a heart-shaped tin mold and frozen.  I quickly ran the sides under hot tap water and let it release onto a heart-shaped mound of Oreo cookie crumbs that I had arranged on a "Royal Collection" tin plate from Windsor Castle.  Voila! 

Sometimes, presentation is everything.

Happy Day 2: Mold ice cream or sherbet into a heart-shaped delight.

Petite Sweet: Key Lime Pie

Do you want to take their breath away?  How about serving a petite sweet? 

My strategy for making super cute desserts is serving individual portions on small antique plates and then crowning each dessert with an edible flower. 

Made with just four ingredients (eggs, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice and pre-made tart shells), this is the type of petite sweet that you can be ready to make at a moment's notice.  And now it is even easier to keep the these ingredients on hand, because I just discovered that Walmart now stocks Nellie and Joe's key lime juice.  Hallelujah. 

Key Lime Petite Sweet
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
4 egg yolks
1 package of 6 mini graham cracker pie crusts
6 edible flowers

Stir sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks together. While stirring, slowly pour in key lime juice.  Place the individual pie crusts (in their metal tins) on a cookie sheet for stability.  Pour mixture into pie crusts and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool and then refrigerate a few hours to allow flavor to develop.  Before serving top with an edible flower, like this pansy.  Serve and bask in the oohs and ahhs. 

(Note: Edible flowers can be purchased in the packaged herb section of many large grocery stores and also at farm stands/vegetable marts where the blossoms are packaged and marketed specifically as edible flowers)

Simple Desserts

My friend and I went out to dinner to catch up.  It had been far too long since we had been able to look each other in the eye, talk about our lives and really hear each other.

So we ordered drinks and dinner and launched right into talking.  We had so much to say that we didn't even notice that our meal was taking forever.  And ever.  Suddenly the manager came to our table and told us to start thinking about dessert because it would be his treat.  There had been some mix up in the kitchen, which explained the delay.

And we didn't care one bit.  We were getting a chance to talk and were right where we wanted to be.  Which brings me to this sweet and sticky, warm and chewy brownie sundae and my suggestion that you make this for your next cook out.

I've come to this conclusion: brownies + ice cream + raspberries = happy guests.  And if you want to go all out you can drizzle the whole thing with chocolate sauce (I bought squeeze bottles like this at Walmart for a song) and top it with a mint leaf from the garden.  

This is a reminder that dessert doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be good. 

Individual Cherry Gateau

I love homemade desserts, especially ones that look as good as this! In the height of cherry season, I wash and pit fresh cherries and then freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. After they are frozen, I transfer them to a Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer. When I want to bake, it is just a matter of defrosting! Try this preservation technique next Summer - you'll be glad you did! For now, buy some cherries in the freezer section of your grocery store.

This recipe is adapted from the tried & true Blueberry Gateau recipe that was featured in Country Living magazine as a specialty at The Blueberry Hill Inn in Vermont.

Individual Cherry Gateau

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
approx. 2 cups fresh cherries, washed and drained (or defrosted)
*enough cherries to place 3-4 cherries per muffin cup


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a Texas-size (giant) muffin pan with vegetable-oil cooking spray.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until blended. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.

Put 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Nestle 3 or 4 halved cherries into the batter in each muffin cup. Bake for 30 minutes.