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Jun 25

cake pops – the mystery is solved

It seems in the entertaining world that we are always searching the new “haute” thing.  That party food, drink, giveaway or trick that leaves people talking – and impresses with the ever sought after “I’ve never seen that before!” comment.  Cake gave way to cupcakes about seven or eight years ago, and in the past couple of years its been all about the cake pop… the bite sized cake on a stick encircled with icing and some cute design.  Well – my girls first birthday is coming up, and rather than pick some up at a bakery I had to learn how these delectable little morsels were made and what special round pan or press I needed to splurge on to make them happen. 

Turns out no such pan is required.  Simply bake a cake – from a box – in a sheet pan.  Then add icing and crumble up the cake into a big mess – and melon ball scoop the cake forming it into little balls.  Pop them on a tray in the fridge until chilled and slightly firm and meanwhile melt some candy coating (try Michaels or your local baking shop).  Place your pop sticks in a bit of the melted candy coating to make the cake stick – then into the round chilled cake ball and dip the whole thing into the melted coating.  Stand your pops in a tray (made mine from a cereal box that I cut slits into) until they are dry.  Voila! Cake pops!  Now if you’re really cool you can make your pops into bumble bees and butterflies and a whole world of cute animal friends – but I have other appies to plan for so I’m satisfied with knowing that these cool little bites are from the bakery of Kerri B.  Here’s hoping that the bakers of all the cake pops I’ve consumed washed their hands lots because the method behind these little cuties is less than attractive to think about…

What is your party food de jour?  My sister makes an amazing mango salsa … maybe she’ll post it here (hint hint…)

Jun 25

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Choices…

I’ve taken a hiatus – still written a lot so you might see it up here in a flurry one day.  I’m back now with what might not be a popular post.  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I value.  That’s where all the etiquette and niceties come from isn’t it? What you value, what you see as important and hold as key to your happiness.  Above all else I value my family.  I will never be grateful enough for the family that raised me, or the family that I now have the privilege of raising.  I adore them. Those three little faces are my and my husbands whole world.  So why is it that I’m leaving them in a month to go back to work full time?  Choices.

I play the scenarios in my head at least 20 times a day – how can we make it work so that I can maximize my time with my babies during these fleeting moments when they are so small, so impressionable, so full of love and wonder and need?  It doesn’t seem to work.  Any way we slice it I need to leave them in someone else’s care.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy or feel fulfilled with my career – in fact I love the prospect of what I’ll return to – and I value where I work and what it stands for – but I feel empty inside when I think about leaving my babes five days a week right now.

Unfortunately this is the world we choose to live in. The city we choose to own a house in.  The clothes and toys and vacations we choose to “need”.  I want nothing more than to have the will power to throw it all to the wind.  I want to tell all those women who fought so hard so that we would have the choice to work that they only created a society where we still don’t really have a choice – instead now we have to work. It seems so wrong.

I want to be stronger. I want to be able to put my ego aside and be happy with whatever we end up with so that we can raise our family the way that we wistfully spoke about seven years ago when we first got married.  At what point did “choice” become a scary word wrought with opportunity cost and lost chances?

A dark return – and not entertaining to say the least – but fear not I have recipes and party tips galore right around the corner.  Until then my friends – please share with me what you value most and how you marry your choices to that which you hold dear…

 

Apr 13

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hosting a haute event

If  you google good hosting these days, a series of appropriate tips and suggestions do not jump out at you.  Instead you are faced with a wall of internet hosting options for your very own web page.  And while we could always use a new website, it seems like the cache of hosting etiquette is still best found in the books that we were raised with.  So I dusted off a few in an effort to remind us what makes a great host regardless of the type of event.

1. Greet your guests at the door.  Look them in the eye and smile.  Make them feel like you are genuinely excited they came to your home/event.  If you have children, involve them in greeting guests as well so that everyone feels comfortable right away.  Take coats, shoes, bags or direct your guests on where to leave them.

2. You are the reason these people are here.  You are the link if there are multiple people at your event, so be sure to have everything prepared in advance so that you can spend time with your guests, and make connections for people as you introduce everyone.

3. No wall flowers – if you see a lonely guest – spend some extra time with them or bring them into the larger conversation.

4. No empty glasses.  This one actually comes straight from my Dad.  From the minute you walked through our door you had a glass in hand and it was always full … regardless of what was in it -somehow it made for many extremely enjoyable events.

5. Early/Late guests: If people arrive early, try to involve them in last minute prep or invite them to join you in the area that you are prepping so that they can converse with you while you finish up.  Stragglers need to be entertained to a point – but once you reach the end of your rope – start cleaning up with them while you converse – if they still don’t leave by the time you are all in your proverbial PJs find a polite way to signal the end of the event by either offering to call them a taxi or thanking them for coming and offering to walk them out.

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