Posts Tagged "Christmas"
I come bearing gifts. Yummy gifts.
This year’s Christmas gifts were another epic undertaking [but that seems to be a common theme in all of my gifts] but the end result was utter deliciousness.
There’s something awesome about conquering a treat that otherwise seems so mysterious and difficult to achieve [there's only a matter of time before I attempt my hand at macarons!]. Everyone thinks you’re a genius and even when you tell them just how insanely easy it was, they scoff and brush it off. I mean, I tried to tell everyone just how simple these were to make [seriously: melt chocolate, chill, scoop, roll, chill, dip] and they refused to hear of it.
Anywho, this year I decided to make chocolate truffles. Oh yes, I turned my kitchen into a chocolate factory that would make Willy Wonka shake his head and scoff. Because it wasn’t that awesome. It was freezing though made for perfect conditions to work with chocolate. Oh, the truffles.
I made four different flavors:
1) White Chocolate Champagne
2) Peanut Butter [dipped in bittersweet chocolate - if I were to do this again, I'd use a semi-sweet chocolate instead]
3) Chocolate Nutella
and my absolute favorite: S’Mores. Oh yes I did.
Oh, wait. It gets better!
Why, yes that IS a marshmallow in the center! How’d it get there? It’s like magic! Or the power of smooshing two halves of the truffle around the marshmallow. This little nugget tastes so awesome that I am super sad that I don’t have any more extras. They were the first to be eaten. Oh. I would so make this over and over and over again. In fact, I think I will in the future.
Aside from the S’Mores truffles, my other favorite part of this year’s gift was the packaging. Of course. This was made simple thanks to one Martha Stewart Crafts. I stumbled upon her food packaging set at Michael’s and thought they were the cutest thing ever. I debated the merits of attempting to replicate them on the cheap but realized that when everything was said and done, there was no way I’d be able to do so any cheaper than buying them. And then fate stepped in and they were put on sale! I was SUPPOSED to use these boxes!
And I am so glad I did. They had everything I needed: boxes, inner scalloped boxes, tissue paper and those cute labels. The only additional thing I bought was the baker’s twine because I thought they needed a little something on top. Definitely a good add. My only complaint was that the corners of the bottom portion of the boxes didn’t line up as nicely as they should have and made it a bit difficult to get the top box on. You should check that out Ms. Stewart.
I am starting to look for ideas for next year. I know that I’m not always saving money by making these treats [especially when you add up the cost of quality ingredients] but I know my friends really look forward to receiving these gifts and genuinely enjoy them, which is really the only point.
Read MoreMerry Christmas one and all!
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday with your loved ones! Red cups and all.
Read MoreUnagi is not a method of self-defense…
It’s finally Friday. What a freakin’ relief. Though I wish I could have just taken today off…the office is gasping for breath at the moment. Well, the department next to me is here and buzzing away but they’re always like this. They’re pretty much busy all year around. Anywho, this morning as I was walking to the BART station, I realized that after today, the next time I come to the BART in the morning will be when I’m flying out to Michigan! Tell me that isn’t exciting. It was more than enough to put a few extra hops to my steps.
I had a blast last night though. After work I met up with Eileen for dinner downtown. Robe and Alan were going to join us too but Robe wasn’t feeling well and Al was still deep at work when I left the office. So after some deliberation, Eye and I headed up the street to Sushi Boat.
This was the first time I’ve ever been there. It’s this cute little sushi restaurant downtown that’s on the corner of Mason and Geary. After some minor confusion in seating, we were and Eye added some sushi with that. I don’t remember what it was called but it had eel and avocado and actually tasted pretty good. It was a great time out with classic conversations. Good times Eye, good times.
Afterwards, we met Alan outside for a drive-by gift exchange and chatted for a brief second since he turned down our offer to grab dessert. I finally got my birthday/Hawaii gift from her…this super cute rash guard to wear when I’m surfing. And Eye gave me these really cute knee socks. I should have taken a picture of them when I tried them on. I like them. I’ve got to make a reason to put them on. Maybe I’ll bring them when I go to Michigan. We all know I’ll need all the extra help staying warm that I can get!
I’m sure the bf will love them. Look at my sexy knee socks…like those stripes on the foot and the flowers on the leg? Aren’t they HOT? I know he’ll just shake his head and go about his business. Best believe I’m wearing them to bed, son!
We’ll definitely have to get together more often though. I hadn’t seen Robe and Alan since Jacki’s wedding back in July and I hadn’t seen Eye since my birthday in August. And it’s December! Too long folks, too long. We are looking forward to hitting up Tahoe next month hopefully though for some snowboarding. I can’t wait. I hope Cin can get the cabin for the weekend. Those trips are the best.
Okay, since I am delivering two more bags today and finishing up this weekend, I can finally reveal what it was I’ve been working on the past week. In an awesome follow up to last year’s baskets of fudge and gingerbread men, this year’s gifts consisted of 4 flavors of chocolate dipped pretzels [oh yes I did!] and two flavors of whoopie pies.
The whoopie pies were surprisingly easy to make and deeelicious. Okay, the gingerbread one was okay but the original chocolate one was to die for. I’d definitely make that one again and again and again. I used a different recipe for the filling than the one listed with the chocolate whoopie pie recipe that I used and I quite enjoyed it. I doubled the batch according to my own calculation but I think it’d be better as single batches because I thought it tasted a little doughy…well, until I figure out how to probably multiply measurements. Because sometimes, you just can’t double a recipe. Anywho, onto pictures!
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