Delicious Baby Shower Details

My friend Christie and I hosted a baby shower this weekend for our friend, Kristen. Baby showers are always fun and we had a great time putting everything together. We had been working out the details for the last few weeks, and found some great ideas on our newest favorite site, Pinterest.

A baby shower is always a great excuse to have a dessert buffet:



Kristen's baby room colors are going to be pink, green and purple, so we kept our shower decor within that color scheme. Pink is nice for a girl, but it's even better with lavender and lime green!

Along with the real desserts, we also made some "desserts" out of diapers:


And some baby onesie cupcakes (made with receiving blankets and onesies):


And for the real desserts, Christie made delicious chocolate and vanilla cake balls. I just love the baby blocks shapes she created!


Kristen's favorite cake flavor is chocolate, so we included chocolate cupcakes with praline buttercream into the mix:




Instead of the usual shower games, Christie had the idea of having everyone decorate onesies. She gathered fabric samples, glue and onesies of various sizes so that everyone could assemble their own onesie masterpiece. I think they turned out great!



We can't wait to meet Kristen's new little girl in one short month!

Sweet Tea and Bluebonnets

Around this time of year in Texas, the wildflowers, including the beautiful bluebonnets, start popping up everywhere. The fragrant blossoms are a sign that Easter is just around the corner. On this particular day, I decided to capture the beauty of the flowers while enjoying some sweet tea, of course! :)

Job Security for Your Dentist

Last weekend, I found myself craving chocolate and had the overwhelming urge to bake; Those who know me are probably not the least bit surprised by that, and know that when the urge hits, look out! I had been wanting to try a new brownie recipe I'd found recently while reading one of my favorite food blogs by famed chef and cookbook author, David Lebovitz. I enjoy reading his humorous postings about "living the sweet life" in Paris (France, not Texas), where he currently resides. This is the first recipe of his I have ever tried, and it certainly won't be the last, based on how this one turned out. These things are dangerously sweet and cannot be left unattended in my home, so I made some little packets of love for my neighbors and coworkers. Lucky them!



Here's David's recipe (you can also go to David's site to view his brownies):

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter (oops! I just realized I only used 1 stick -- 8 oz. is 2 sticks, but they turned out fine)
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant coffee or espresso
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cup sifted flour (I used cake flour, which is a bit finer, and supposedly makes for fluffier baked goods)
about 2 pounds chocolate-covered thin mints (I used York peppermint patties)

Optional: 1 1/2 cup (150g) walnuts, pecans, or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped




(see note in ingredients regarding amount of butter required-- 1 stick worked for me, but maybe 2 sticks is better!)

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF

2. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil, shiny side down. Smooth the foil then butter it lightly or coat it with nonstick spray.

3. Chop the chocolate and cut the butter into cubes, then warm them together in a medium bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat as soon as both are melted and smooth.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or by hand, whip the eggs, vanilla, salt, instant coffee, and sugar on high speed for about ten minutes until foamy and stiff.

5. By hand, stir in the chocolate mixture, then the flour followed by the nuts, if using.

6. Smooth half of the batter into the pan. Place a layer of thin mints over the chocolate, breaking the mints into pieces to fill in any large gaps.

7. Pour the rest of the batter over the mints and smooth the top.

8. Bake the brownies for 35 minutes, rotating the brownies midway during baking.

When the brownies are done, they will have a firm crust on top but a toothpick inserted into the center should come out wet. Do not overbake the brownies.

9. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan and slice into rectangles.

Storage: The brownies will keep at room temperature for up to three days. They can be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to two months.


This recipe is versatile in the fact that if you don't like peppermint patties, you could sub in another favorite mini-sized candy bar (I'm thinking peanut butter cups may be the next things to try).

Yumberry Bellini Tea

I apologize to my loyal reader (hi, Mom) for the long blogging absence. That's right, I'm fairly sure I only have one reader at this point, since all others have given up on me. Well, maybe not everyone (hi, Nick). I will attempt to rectify this situation by making a little tea. I have found that a good glass of sweet iced tea will bring peace and harmony to the world.

With that, I bring you Yumberry Bellini Tea. Yesterday, while grocery shopping, I was wandering down the juice aisle looking for a mixer for my latest tea find, Berry Bellini tea. Don't get me wrong, this tea blend by itself is great, with a breezy peach flavor and a hint of sweet raspberry. However, I'm always looking for a way to jazz things up, so I usually mix in one of the good old standbys - lemon or lime juice, or some crushed mint. This time, I was looking for something different, something more wild and exotic and I stumbled upon just that - Yumberry Juice. I read the list of ingredients and found that one of the ingredients was actually "Yumberry Puree", so I decided to give it a whirl.

I found this site that gives more information about the Yumberry. It's origins are from China, where it is known as the Yang Mei fruit. It is a red, dimpled fruit, with tangy sweet flesh.

Here is my recipe:
1 1/2 Cups hot water
1/2 Cup sugar
5 Zhena's Gypsy Tea Berry Bellini tea sachets (found at Central Market)
1 Cup Yumberry juice
6 Cups cold water





1. Boil 1 1/2 cups water and mix in 1/2 cup sugar to dissolve.

2. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Allow to steep for 4-5 minutes.

3. In large pitcher, add tea, Yumberry juice and cold water.

4. Pour over ice and serve.

Serves 4.

Peach Fuzz Tea

I've been craving peaches lately, and I think it has something to do with the fact that the season for fresh local produce and fruit will be coming to a close soon. The temperatures dipped below 100 degrees recently, which means that Autumn is just around the corner! The State Fair opens this month and football season is upon us, so surely all of these signs point to cooler fall weather. While I'm waiting for that to happen, I may as well enjoy the last of the summer delights. With that, I bring you my Peach Fuzz Tea:


Ingredients:
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
3 Lipton Island Mango & Peach White Tea bags
1 Can Jumex Peach Nectar (found in juice section of grocery store)
Peach Slices





Bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat. Add tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Add peach nectar and stir. Pour over ice-filled glasses. Garnish with peach slices.

Serves 2.

Piña ChaiLada

Last night, we got together with the neighbors to do our seasonal progressive dinner. We each take turns doing either appetizers, dinner and desserts and rotate among our three houses, starting at around 7 PM and ending around midnight. It is a good way to catch up on the neighborhood gossip and sample everyone's good cooking. By the end of the night, we all regret not having worn elastic pants because we've stuffed ourselves silly.

For this progressive dinner, the assigned food theme of the evening was Pineapple. We all whipped up a variety of pineapple concoctions ranging from grilled pineapple to pineapple pie.

With this theme in mind, I worked on tweaking a tea recipe I had tried a month or so back, which had never made it to this blog until now. I adjusted a few ingredients and asked my neighbors to sample it. They gave it their seal of approval, so I'm finally able to post this nice, refreshing summery beverage recipe here today:


Piña ChaiLada

Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 Coconut Chai tea sachets ("Zhena's Gypsy Tea" brand)
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 cup Pineapple Juice
1/2 cup Cream of Coconut (Either "Coco Re'al" or "Coco Lopez" Brand)
Pineapple Slices for garnish
Ice (I prefer crushed ice for easy blending)





Boil water; add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add tea bags and allow tea to steep for 4-5 minutes. Fill Blender with ice. Pour tea mixture, pineapple juice and cream of coconut into blender and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and add pineapple to garnish. If you want more pineapple flavor, you can also add chopped pineapple before blending.

Serves 2.

Rosemary's Raspberry Earl

Rosemary, if you're reading this post, this one's for you. I'm raising this glass to you as I'm typing. You could probably use a caffeine pick-me-up as you're working those long shifts at the hospital and going to nursing school at the same time. I don't know how you do it! Thanks for introducing me to this awesome tea. I love it so much, I'm naming this recipe after you.

I have always loved the floral fragrance of Earl Grey tea, but by itself, the floral taste is almost too strong for me. This raspberry/Earl mixture is the perfect blend. I usually mix my flavored teas with black tea (Lipton!) to give them a different flavor and to stretch a buck or two, so that is what I did with this batch. Lemon juice adds a nice punch to the flavor.



Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 Raspberry Earl tea sachets
2 small bags of Lipton black tea
Juice from half of a small lemon
Rasberries for garnish
Sweetener of choice

Allow tea bags to steep in hot water for 4-5 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice into the tea mixture. Add sweetener of choice. Fill glass with ice and rasberries, pour in the tea and enjoy.

Serves 2.