Hurray for Saturday!

The party went off splendidly.  The girls were great.  They had fun decorating Pfeffernuese Men.  I had the dough already made so why bother to make gingerbread.

It was so cold today.  Halfway through the day, after we cleaned house and put it back together, we decided to take Anne to Village Point to spend some of her gift certificates.  We got hungry.  We usually stop and eat but I thought, hey it's a perfect kind of day for fondue.  We stopped at the store for a package of fondue cheese and a bottle of wine.  So fun, and very filling.

picked up this fondue set online at JC Penny for about $25

I think Owen liked it best!

homemade sourdough bread

Almost forgot to write the happy birthday message!

The cake is finally done! Girls will be here in 3 hours!

Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil and coffee liqueur. Beat until ingredients are well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cake springs back when lightly tapped. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

Ganache Icing

Ingredients

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Directions

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
2. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Tonight I make Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

Anne loves chocolate and sweets so this should be right up her alley.  Not exactly sure what I'll do for decoration.  I'll post a picture with the finished product so stay tuned!.................

UPDATE:  Cake smells delicious but I tried to flip it too soon and so it's not photo worthy.  I will make another cake for the party and drizzle chocolate ganache with fondant decor.  I'll take a pic of that one so stay tuned on Friday.

Tonight we had salmon marinated in balsamic dressing.  Recipe called for Italian but I didn't have any...well it didn't taste that great.  Definitely edible but I'd avoid doing that again.  I made the Steakhouse bread again in the bread maker and again it was delicious.  It's a small loaf so perfect for 4 people.

This Calla Lilly has lasted for about a month now.  I bought three plants and as the flowers begin to wilt I put them in vases.  I've not had to throw out any yet.  They are amazing.  Quite a value

Oh What Fun!

Here are some pictures of a few of our cookies.  We finally finished tonight.  They are little pieces of art and will be hard to part with but at the same time...what the heck would I do with this many cookies if I kept them.

I love this one Anne came up with

These are ones Owen did

I love this star Anne made

Christmas Cookies with the kids

Finished decorating  about half the cookie.  This was the first year that the kids were really interested for more than a couple of cookies.  Anne came up with some incredible designs.  I think we may do this more often now that they finally enjoy this.

Royal Icing, using plastic bottles

1 bag confectioners' sugar
4 T. meringue powder (actually, I just dump some in but that sounds about right)
2 t. flavoring (usually almond)
warm water

Put confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in mixing bowl.  Start beater and mix slowly
for a few seconds.  With mixer running, add 3 to 4 T warm water.  Add flavoring.  Continue
mixing and adding water a little at a time until you get the consistency you want.  Divide and color!

NOTE:
Remember that royal icing only takes a long time to dry after you put it on a cookie.
Until then, it turns to concrete in seconds.  Keep your containers covered until you are
ready to use it.

Cookies are ready for decorating.  There are a lot, so we may have to do them in stages.  Starting... Tomorrow.  Stick a fork in me, I'm done.