Purple Chocolat Home

Chocolate Raspberry Love Muffins

2012-02-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Warm luscious muffins fresh from the oven with

rich melting chocolate and warm juicy raspberries,

what could say love better on a cold morning?

I featured these the other day in my tablescape for
Valentines.

Topped with a Dove heart which slowly melts

from the heat of the muffin.

Chocolate and raspberry stuffed inside the warm muffin. You can see
how moist these are. Enjoy!

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

2 C. flour

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 C. sugar

2 large eggs

1 C. milk

6 T. melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 C. frozen raspberries

3/4 C. mini chocolate chips

1 tsp. flour

Preheat oven to 400. Line 6 jumbo muffin cups with the
jumbo liners or 12 regular muffin cups. I love to use the
jumbo ones!

In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients. Melt the butter
and stir in the milk and vanilla and then add the eggs.
Whisk the wet ingredients to break up the eggs and
get everything combined. Make a well in the middle of
the flour mix and pour the milk mix in. With a spoon, stir
just until combined.

In a small bowl toss the mini chips and the flour. The flour
keeps the chips from sinking in the batter. Stir the raspberries
and chips into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles
or sanding sugar. Place in the oven and
bake for about 25 to 30 minutes for jumbo muffins and
about 20 minutes for regular sized muffins.

Let the muffins cool 5 minutes before topping with
Dove chocolates. They will slowly melt from the
heat of the muffin. Yum!

I will be linking this up with
Foodie Fridays
Seasonal Sundays

Valentine's Snack With My Sweetie Pie

2012-02-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

This Valentine's snack is for one of my sweetie pies -

my granddaughter that I am babysitting.

She loves chocolate milk - just great old Hershey's

syrup mixed in milk and made more fun in a pretty cup.

She was staying with me for a couple of days and I wanted

to make something special so I made some

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

topped with a little

chocolate love.

I included additional raspberry jam, but we really didn't

need it.

The muffins were hot out of the oven

bursting with mini chocolate chips and raspberries.

Then I topped

them with Dove chocolates.

I made some of them without the heart sprinkles and

my granddaughter didn't like the fact that some

were missing the sprinkles. I told her that I hadn't

decided which way I would like them best.

Of course the sprinkles ones went first.

I had picked up some fun old fashioned candy sticks when I had

the chance to visit Trader Joes in Las Vegas. Each glass got

a candy stick (in pinks and reds of course!)

If I ever get close to a Trader Joe's I fill a suitcase full of

goodies to bring home. This time we went back three times

to pick up more and more and more goodies!

I just love Dove chocolate. It is so smooth and wonderful and these

fun hearts are perfect for Valentines. You can see the warm muffins beginning

to melt the Dove hearts as the pictures progress.

I have to say that I could hardly stop eating and licking my

fingers long enough to take photos.

Does your camera ever get covered with food? Mine sure

does - so far it hasn't killed it yet.

The flavor combination was incredible - definitely serve them warm.

She would probably want you to notice her nails which we had

done this morning! Then after school we had to go shopping

for clothes. She is 7and wanted to look for high heels at Target.

We didn't find any (whew!)

She wasn't the only one who got in on the warm fresh

muffins. My daughter-in-law and my youngest son

walked in right as the pictures were done and everybody

got to sample the yummy, hot muffins. I was

rewarded with lots of oohs and aahs!

I will be sharing these warm yummy goodies with

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

And I will share the recipe with you in my

next post!

Valentine's Ice Cream Sandwich Hearts

2012-02-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

I knew I wanted to create an ice cream sandwich

dipped in rich, delicious chocolate

for

Valentines

but I honestly

didn't know what kind of cookie to make.

I definitely didn't want something thick that would lose its

shape easily and I didn't want them to look messy,

so I googled (love Google) "ice cream sandwich recipe"

and looked at a few and chose this one

off

the site INSTRUCTABLES

where people share their recipes.

The author of this recipe is Smoocharoo (could

give her a smooch on the cheek for this great recipe!)

The dough is a brownie recipe spread really thin on a Silpat lined

cookie sheet. I chose my rimless one for this job.

The baking time is only 10 minutes. I loved that!

The cookie is so thin that it cooled really quickly too. Cut it

with desired cookie cutters or you can do as she did and

make it into bars.

I used Kirkland's Vanilla Ice Cream. We have taste tested it

against Haagen Dazs and like it better. Yup, it's got more fat

than Haagen Dazs too!

Ice Cream Sandwich Cookie Recipe

1/2 C. melted butter

1/2 C. white sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 C. cocoa powder

1/2 C. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place Silpat or parchment paper on a rimless

cookie sheet.

Mix the melted butter and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Whisk in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl mix the remaining

ingredients then stir into the wet ingredients. Using an offset spatula

spread the dough evenly across the Silpat lined pan covering

most of the pan. Get it thin and even.

Bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Cut into desired shape and set aside.

Remove ice cream from fridge and let soften just a few

minutes. Cut the package away from the ice cream so that

you can easily slice the ice cream into desired slabs. Replace

slabs in freezer and work with just one at a time.

I placed one piece of ice cream on parchment paper and

then covered it with more parchment paper and rolled it

with a rolling pin

over the paper so that I had a smooth and even slab.

Then using your same shape, cut the ice cream out. Then

I used a knife to cut away excess ice cream on the outside

of the cookie cutter before trying to move the ice cream

shape. Next I placed a cookie on a dish to go in the freezer,

right side down. Place the remaining cookie on top of the

ice cream cutout. Slide a knife under the ice cream and

gently place it on the other cookie. Place in the freezer

immediately. Working one at a time, complete all the cookies.

Let them harden for several hours or overnight.

You can serve as is or if you want to dip them in

chocolate. Melt your chocolate and take one well frozen

cookie at a time and dip it in the chocolate. The great

thing is that the chocolate hardens so rapidly from the

cold cookie. Return to the freezer.

To store, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer

or place them in individual Ziploc bags.

My cookie cutters were pretty good sized. I got about 6

large heart sandwiches out of one batch with extras for

cutting out some scrap cookies (see below).

Plain Jane, not to snub your nose at though!

The best part was getting to taste the creation along the way!

These beauties were dipped

luscious chocolate.

I love the look of these!

A cook should definitely taste test a new recipe

BEFORE

even considering giving it to anyone else.

They were so

lip-smacking good

that I cut the scraps

out into lip shapes. The cookie is fabulous all on its own!

Good thing I took some pictures so I could

post this with

Foodie Fridays

Metamorphosis Monday

Vegetable Board and Restaurant Style Ranch Dressing

2012-02-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

Anytime you need to serve fresh veggies and dip

this will put them over the top with just a quick

bit of magic.

I saw this in Martha Stewart Living Magazine
this fall

and saved the picture. Even my 17 year old son

was wowed by this presentation of veggies and dip!

Purchase a variety of cabbages and greens that

have great color and texture. Choose clear glasses

of varying sizes to serve the veggies in. Wash and

dry the leaves that you have chosen to use.

I decided to wrap the leaves on with twine but felt

the twine was too bulky, so I split it into three pieces

and then wet the pieces to pull out the kinks in the

twine.

Cut the leaves to size, especially cutting the bottoms

off so that they will be flat on the bottom. Use enough

leaves to encircle the glass. While holding the leaves

in place, encircle the glass with the twine and tie it

off. I chose to wrap it twice.

Fill with a variety of vegetable dippers. I used

asparagus, green beans, carrots, and peppers

but you could use many others. Serve with

the dip. The leaf wrapped containers will

last several hours in the fridge. I prepared

and filled them earlier in the day.

Have you noticed that the homemade ranch

dressing you make at home isn't quite as good

as the ones you get in the restaurant? I

decided to put on my sleuth hat and figure

out how to improve on it. Here is my new

and improved version that I hope you will

love. I can't keep enough of it at our house!

Ramped Up Ranch Dressing

(for salads or dip)

3/4 C. buttermilk

1 1/4 C. real mayonaise

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (buttermilk variety)

1 T. extra hot horseradish

1/4 tsp. granulated garlic

Mix everything in a blender. Place in a covered

container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

If you want a great taste, don't substitute with milk

and low fat mayonaise and be sure to buy the

buttermilk variety on the mix. You won't taste the

horseradish, it just gives it that extra "umph".

I will be posting this with
Weekend Wrapup
Foodie Friday

Very Very Valentines Table

2012-02-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have this love for heart shaped Valentine's boxes

and love to save them when I receive them for

Valentine's Day. I have them from years and years

back.

I chose some of the smaller ones that would

fit on my heart shaped white plates to create

the theme for this Valentine's table.

Even this red beaded container was used to

top a plate.

This is one of my favorites even though it didn't

come filled with chocolate.

As you know, we all love good chocolate here

and these beautiful boxes evoke a lot of

wonderful memories.

The placesettings began with these red heart-shaped

placemats. I just love how they were tied together

with this wonderful beaded and woven string that

threads through a pretty little openwork heart.

I am definitely saving this.

These Valentine's red flatware pieces are perfect.

The cutwork napkins get tucked in the red goblets.

A closeup of the napkins show the fun

heart cutouts.

The center of the table is filled with candles,

hearts, lettered blocks and candy.

What an adorable way to spell love!

Glittery red candles add height to the

table.

Of course the chandelier with the red shades

goes perfectly with the table.

Sweet and sparkly, that is how to create

a fun Valentine's Day table.

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Valentine's Petit Fours

2012-01-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

These petit fours for Valentines Day are so much fun and

so easy to make.

This is one of those recipes that is perfect for the kids

to help with as you can use ready made ingredients

and they are pretty much fool proof.

All you need is:

1-2 packages Sara Lee Pound Cake

(in the freezer section)

Betty Crocker ready made frosting

decorations

Slice the pound cake into thin layers

and frost one side with desired frosting

and sandwich them together.

Using a small cookie cutter, cut the sandwiched

cake into desired shape.

I got two out of each "sandwich"

I love the Sara Lee because it cuts so cleanly

and there is very little crumb.

Place the sandwiched cake on a cooling rack with a

piece of parchment paper or waxed paper underneath.

Spoon about a cup or half of the can of frosting

into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave

for about 15-20 seconds or until soft. Stir

trying to not add air bubbles. Spoon over the cakes

trying to cover all sides. Use the spoon to fill

in any gaps.

The excess frosting can be scraped back into the bowl and

reheated. You don't want to put the whole can in at

once because it does get a little stiff the more you microwave

it. Let the frosting cool slightly so that your decorations

don't slide right off. You want it slightly tacky when you

apply any candy decor.

Use a sharp knife to loosen the petit fours from the

cooling rack after the frosting has comletely dried.

Each pound cake will make about 12 petit fours if

you sandwich them, depending on how thick you

make the layers.

Vary the color of your frosting and the type of candy

and serve up a platter of beautiful treats.

Too easy and too fun.

Cinderella Is Proof....

2012-01-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

I saw a quote on Pinterest -

Cinderella

is proof

that a new pair of shoes

can change your life.

Don't most women love shoes?

I have heard that it is because they always

fit even if we gain weight.

But I think it is because they are little

works of art.

(Sorry men, I can't say that about your shoes!)

I found this beautiful pair of shoes

in Las Vegas at Shooz

while at Miss America and thought

they were just too fun and too pretty

and so I had to have them for Spring.

I don't know that they are really going

to change my life, but I have them sitting

out as a decoration on my dressing table until

Spring arrives - inspiring me.

I also received this little shoe for my

birthday.

Can you tell what it is?

It is a tape dispenser by Scotch. My good friend

Ann gave it to me.

She admitted that she added the bling!

Don't you just love it?

I am an admitted shoe-a-holic and

these both brought a smile to my face!

Chinese New Year - Hot Pots

2012-01-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

January 23rd was Chinese New Year this year

and one of our favorite ways to dine at home

Chinese style

is to have a Chinese Hot Pot.

We love to serve this dinner on the coffee

table in front of the fireplace with everyone

sitting on cushions.

It makes a really fun party atmosphere.

My husband does business in China and brought

me home this beautiful replica of one of the clay soldiers.

He stands guard over our table today.

I was so impressed that my hubby was able to carry

this clay soldier half way around the world

without it breaking.

Look at the detail on his uniform.

I got the Chinese hot pots at least 20 years ago in

San Francisco

when my sister Jean lived there. We bought them

at Cost Plus World Market. We went right home

and made dinner with them. It is one of my fond

memories of San Francisco with Jean.

The hot pot is filled with hot seasoned broth and each

person places their vegetables and meats in the hot

broth and then scoops them out with little wire

scoops as they cook.

It is then eaten on top of sticky rice.

It is one of those fun interactive dinners that

everyone loves.

The pot is heated with charcoal if you are eating

outside or Sterno if you are eating inside.

I love the geometric

clean shapes of the chargers, plates and bowls

that come together to give this table a sleek

Oriental feel.

Everything was done in black and white

with the punch of color in the beautiful

yellow mums.

The yellow mums play well with the gold accents

on the black and gold chopsticks and the brass

wire baskets.

The plates/bowls have beautiful curved lines and

with their triangular shapes and thick beveled edges, they

are quite the statement makers.

I hope you enjoyed your visit here at

Purple Chocolat Home today.

May 2012 bring you great fortune.

Pull up your coffee table in front of the fireplace

and set a fun Oriental table. Kids and adults love

the great setting.

I had to laugh at my fortune. I decided to open another

and it said the same thing! I guess I need to keep practicing!

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Sources:

Triangular plates/bowls - Tai Pan

Square small bowls - Tai Pan

Square chargers - Tuesday Morning

Chopsticks - 1st Oriental Market (local)

Napkins - Home Goods

Black goblets - Pier 1 years ago

Mums - Costco

Hot Pots - Cost Plus

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie (In My Opinion) Spiked With Almond Flavoring!

2012-01-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

People ask me what my favorite chocolate chip cookie

is and I have to tell them that this

Almond Spiked Chocolate Chip Cookie

is hands down my very favorite.

If you love almond flavor like I do, you

will love these too.

Hubby likes milk and I like semi-sweet so I

combined both for the cookies today.

I love to use my small scoop to make the cookies

uniform.

(raw dough)

And I always bake on parchment paper when

I make cookies. It helps them to keep from

spreading and from over-browning.

Almond Spiked Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1 C. real butter

1 C. brown sugar, packed

1/2 C. white sugar

2 large eggs

4 tsp. pure almond flavor

2 1/2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips or a combination

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars.

Mix in the eggs and the flavoring.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, soda, baking

powder and salt. Add it to the butter mixture and

mix thoroughly, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop onto parchment paper lined baking sheets

and bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes. I like to bake

mine just until the tops are dry. Take them out of

the oven and let them sit on the pan until cool enough

to handle. This way the centers are soft and gooey

and the bottoms are not overbaked.

These were perfect for a cold snowy winter day.

Miss America 2012

2012-01-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have hardly been home during the month of

January so I haven't gotten much blogging done.

I spent a whole week in Las Vegas for the

Miss America Competition. Here I am with

Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan.

Theresa was the youngest ever Miss America

crowned at the age of 17. She was also the

only contestant from Nebraska to ever win

the title of Miss America.

You couldn't meet a sweeter, nicer, more mature

young woman. Every person I saw her engage

with felt her warmth and sincerity. Truly it was

a delight to get to meet her.

I was there with our Miss Orem who

will be competing in June for Miss Utah,

Hannah Harkness. Hannah was one of my

Young Women and she and her family invited

me to attend Miss America with them.

Here she is meeting Teresa.

I would not say that I am someone interested

in pageants, but I have now twice had the

opportunity to attend Miss America with

young women in my neighborhood, this year

with Hannah and in 1996 with Miss Utah,

Amanda Moody. In both cases it was a lot

of fun to see the whole process following

the competition all week long.

A lot of time was spent trying on formal gowns

at the trunk shows where girls can get competition

gowns at a discount. Hannah chose a Sherri Hill

gown and got to meet Sherri, the designer.

Not a gambler, I had a lot of fun shopping

for shoes and clothes

and eating, eating and eating.

I had never heard of Hash House A Go Go!

Don't you just love that name. Their motto is

"Twisted Farmhouse Food". I don't know about

twisted, but exceptional and huge definitely describe

their portions.

Biscuits and gravy with mashed potatoes,

Pork tenderloin benedict with a BBQ cream sauce (absolutely killer),

Coconut and mango pancake (18 inches across),

Chicken and asparagus skillet with a biscuit that

must be 4 inches tall,

and my dish, Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles.

I had heard and read of this Southern classic dish so

I just had to try it. Wow! This is a must try. If

you are in town Hash House a Go Go was a foodie

paradise.

Another recommendation would be Mon Ami Gabi

at the front of the Paris Hotel. Outside seating will get

you front row seating to the Bellagio fountains across

the street but you have to wait for those seats and

they are crowded from the moment they open until

they close. We ate inside.

Your meal starts with this wonderful warm bread

that comes in their signature paper bag.

We sampled all kinds of things. I loved these

waffle fries as an appetizer.

The famous French sandwich, Croque Monsieur - yum.

It's a good thing we walked everywhere with all of

this eating going on!

Miss Wisconsin was crowned Miss America 2012.

I had to give a loud cheer having been born and

raised in Wisconsin.

Miss Utah won the swimsuit and physical fitness the

first night so that was fun too.

It was a treat all the way around and I was so glad to

be invited. A big thank you to my friends, the Harkness family.

It was a very fun and educational week where

Miss Orem learned a lot about the Miss America

pageant and we had a lot of foodie and shopping fun.

Lemon Mousse Tres Leche Cupcakes

2012-01-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful way to serve an easy Tres Leches

cake in these fun silicone cupcake cups shaped like

a tea cup and saucer.

I have two ways I serve this, one with a lemon mousse

topping and then whipped cream and the other with

just whipped cream. I prefer it with the lemon mousse.

I found the silicone tea cup shaped cupcake

molds when I was in Washington DC last year

at a specialty store but I have seen them this year

at Z Gallerie. I filled them half way and then if

they went above the cupcake cup I sliced the top

off. That actually helped as the cake absorbed

the cream mixture more easily.

These cute chocolate cups were a find from Home

Goods, but were smaller when we once opened

the package so I used it for raspberry sauce and

some fresh raspberries.

Easy Tres Leches Cake Recipe

1 white cake mix

3/4 C. melted butter

6 eggs

1/2 C. water

2 T. shredded lime peel

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan or if

you are using the silicone cupcake cups, they need no

grease.

Combine the cake mix with the butter, eggs and water. Beat

on low until combined and then beat for 2 minutes on medium.

Stir in the lime peel. Bake for 35-40 minutes for the pan

or 20-25 minutes for the cupcakes or until a toothpick

comes out clean.

The batter will be thick. Spread it in the pan or fill the cupcake

cups half full. Bake for 35-40 minutes for the pan

or 20-25 minutes for the cupcakes or until a toothpick

comes out clean.

Meanwhile mix:

2 C. cream or half and half

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

2 cans evaporated milk

When cake comes out of oven let it cool

and then poke holes all over it with a wooden

skewer or a chopstick. Slowly pour half of the

milk mixture over the cake. Cover and chill

overnight. Cover and chill remaining sauce.

About 1 hour before serving pour remaining sauce

over the cake.

To serve top with lemon mousse and then

sweetened whipped cream.

Lemon Mousse

1 1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

1 jar lemon curd

Beat the whipping cream on high speed with

the wire whip attachment. When it starts to

set add the jar of lemon curd and continue to

whip until stiff. Pipe or spread on top of the

chilled cake.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1 1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

3/4 C. powdered sugar.

Beat the cream and sugar together until stiff.

Pipe or spread onto the top of the cake.

Raspberry Sauce

12 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed

3/4 C. sugar

Blend the thawed raspberries and add the sugar.

Press the blended berries through a sieve to remove

as many seeds as possible.

What a fun way to serve a delicious and refreshing

dessert.

I will be posting this with

Foodie Fridays

Sweets for a Saturday

Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos

2012-01-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

This incredibly delicious and easy dish has been all over

Pinterest and I decided to give it a try.

I think the original came from Our Best Bites

and it has been a big hit whenever we have made it.

I made it last week for my 3 Kings Fiesta

and everyone wanted the recipe.

The filling is one that could be used for

other dishes. We made it and shaped it

into a cheese ball for a party. It was delicious

that way too.

This recipe has the healthy side benefit of being

baked not fried and when I serve it no one can

believe it is just baked.

Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese

1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack or Mexican blend cheese

8-10 small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425.
Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly
coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about
20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir.
Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder,
onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine
and then add cilantro and green onions. Add
chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead
of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
Spray both sides of each tortilla and heat
in a medium high frying pan until golden brown
on the first side and starting to bubble on the
second side. Place the golden brown side
down so it ends up being the outside of the
taquitos.
Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower
third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.
Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet.
Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and
make sure they are not touching each other.
Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray
and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for20-25
minutes or until crisp and the filling starts to bubble.

Serve with our imitation of
Cafe Rio's Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

1 packet of buttermilk ranch dressing

1 Cup mayo

1 Cup buttermilk (the smallest carton is perfect)

1 bunch of cilantro

2 tomatillos husked

1 jalapeno (take the rib and seeds out)

Garlic powder (just a few shakes)

juice from 1 lime

First Put the mayo, dressing mix, buttermilk, and garlic in a blender

and mix until blended all together. Place in fridge for at least

an hour to thicken.

To keep it light I served it over a bed of

shredded romaine lettuce and topped

with a sprinkle of cheese, chopped

tomatoes and the dressing. Serve additional

dressing on the side.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to

Purple Chocolat Home

today.

Give this easy delicious recipe a try.

My Birthday Table - Purple Elegance

2012-01-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

For my birthday my kids all made the

meal and my husband provided the dessert.

I decided the least I could do was to

set the table.

I wasn't thinking of blogging about it but as

I got it put together, my husband told me that

it was so pretty that I should take pictures

for my blog.

I chose my beautiful white embossed square

plates with lavender chargers and my fancy

silver plated flatware.

I just love the shape and design of these

plates but wanted a little touch of color.

A little dark punch of purple was added

with napkins

and goblets.

The goblets are dark amethyst with a clear
twisted stem.

I had the centerpiece put together with some
pink flowers (not the best) when my friend
Monique stopped by with a purple flowering
plant for my birthday.

The pink flowers were quickly moved off the table
and replaced with a much prettier flower that
fit in perfectly. Talk about timing!

I just gathered some purple accessories from
around the house to accent the center of the table.

A purple organza table topper anchors
the centerpiece.

My son made a deboned whole chicken (which

he deboned himself) that was stuffed with

ham and peppers and onions with mustard

and herbs which he learned on his mission for

our church in Argentina, his wife made an artichoke dip,

my other daughter in law and my son made a

savory monkey bread style

appetizer with homemade roll dough which she stuffed

with a piece of pepperoni and a piece of mozzarella,

then rolled in butter and parmesan and parsley. My

oldest daughter made incredible, rich creamed corn

and my younger

daughter made a baked Havarti cheese ring

with biscuits.

It was so much fun to eat all of their wonderful
creations and realize that they had done this for me!

That afternoon my good friends Annette and
Wally and their daughters Hannah, Grace and Esther

stopped by and gave me some fun gifts they found in

an all purple store in San Antonio Texas.

This was on a little card they gave me from the store:

Purple Profile

You are a purple person if:

You are imaginative, sensitive, artistic and sophisticated. You have noble

ideals and a keen appreciation of the cultural

You are alert, demanding, foresighted, confident, resourceful, spontaneous,

and highly independent. You take delight in the beautiful, the gracious,

the sensitive, but maintain an attitude of critical appraisal.

In love you seek to attain a magical quality and refuse to settle for anything

else. You refuse to be "swept off your feet" unless genuineness and

integrity can be absolutely ascertained.

You are active in the support of things you believe in, and are concerned

with the pursuit of truth and other human values.

You take chances and believe that you must do so to make the most

of what life has to offer.

Purple is an exclusive color, mystical in quality, blending the two extremes

of the spectrum, red and blue. Traditionally, purple represents splendor, dignity,

royalty, rank and wealth.

Purple is a unique color, and it is a truly unique individual who holds it dear.

I think a lot of it fits!!

It was such a great birthday! Thanks to all of my
family and friends who made it so great.

I will be partying this week with
Tablescapes Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday

Sources:
Plates - Tai Pan
Goblets - Spiegel catalog (years ago)
Tablecloth and topper - homemade
Chargers - Z Gallerie
Silver plated flatware - Horchow
Napkin rings - Bloomingdales Home
Purple mercury glass and candlestick - Home Goods
Candle - Home Goods

Eating My Way Through Disneyland - Happy Birthday to Me!

2012-01-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday and my daughter and I

who are known in our family as the

"Disneyland Psychos"

spent the last half of last week at Disneyland for our

birthdays. We are called that because we speed walk

from ride to ride and go as early as we can to as

late as we can. (We do take time to go back to

the hotel and nap during the late afternoon though.)

For about 5 years now we kept saying we wanted to

go to Disneyland and see the Christmas decorations

but we haven't been able to make it. Her friend told

her that they keep the decorations up the week after

New Years, so this year on a whim we made reservations

and went. This was an adults only trip and really fun.

Of course it made it even better that it was 82 degrees

while it was snowing at home!

The decorations are just wonderful there at this time of year.

This was the perfect birthday celebration for me!

Some people complain about park food, but Disney has

done a wonderful job of improving the quality of their

food and it is a big part of the experience for us

We have our list of the foods we must eat. (I have to

tell you before you see all of the food that we shared

everything as portions are really big!)

One of the big ones is the Dole Pineapple Float

right by the Tiki Room. You may have seen it

on Pinterest. I believe in the power of Pinterest

because I have never seen such lines for this light

and delicious pineapple frozen treat in pineapple juice.

I counted 75 people in line one night.

We also "HAVE" to have the beignets in

Downtown Disney at the Jazz Kitchen - amazingly

soft freshly made donuts tossed in powdered

sugar in a bag. I gave you instructions

on how to make some exactly like theirs here.

This year we found Mickey beignets at

the park in New Orleans Square, but they

were a disappointment, dry and thin. Maybe

it was an off day for them.

My daughter gave me my birthday present

early by treating me to lunch at The Blue Bayou

where I had to indulge

in the Monte Cristo Sandwich.

The lighting in there is dark and wonderful with

the river from Pirates of the Caribbean flowing

by and fireflies in the trees so the pictures

are pretty dark. This is definitely the priciest

restaurant on the property but a fun special

occasion place.

We also have to eat the beef and chicken

skewers at Bengal BBQ and Grill.

Their

bacon wrapped asparagus is fabulous too.

We had the chili in a sourdough bread bowl

over in California Adventure at the Pacific Warf.

You can watch

them make the sourdough bread fresh and then

sup on a delicious bread bowl with soup or salad.

You can't get fresher, softer bread.

Jolly Holiday

at the end of Main Street (from Mary Poppins)

just opened this last week with fresh pastries to grab as

you enter the park. I got a croissant to dip in their

creamy delicious hot chocolate.

We stayed at the recently remodeled

Disneyland Hotel.

The fiber optic lit carving above the bed was just

magical and the bedding was so beautiful. The

light below softly played "A Dream Is A Wish

Your Heart Makes" and the pillows on the bed

repeated that with one saying, "A Dream Is A Wish

Your Heart Makes" and the other saying, "When

You're Fast Asleep".

The room was just

magical with Mickey appearing in the beautiful

carpet too.

The crowds were still crazy the week after

New Years but we got to go in the park early

two of the mornings and then we were able to

ride a ton of rides and get a lot of fast passes

that we could use later in the evening as it got

busy.

Did you know that there are apps for your smart phones
that give you very accurate wait times so that you
can decide if you want to walk to that ride? My DIL
told me about it and it was amazing to be able to see
that this ride had 10 minutes wait time and another
had 45 minutes wait time, so I could make a choice
without walking all across the park to see. Check
out the app Mouse Wait. It had both parks - it
was wonderful.

It was definitely a treat to see them light the

Sleeping Beauty's Castle
at night and enjoy the holiday

fireworks which they had ever night.

This year we went to the World of Color for

the first time. My daughter had read online that you

could buy a picnic lunch for $15 and then you

would receive priority standing room.

The lunch was terrible - really the only yucky

food I had at Disneyland - just give me a ham

sandwich as one of the options for a picnic

lunch - but it was worth it to be on the

front row right down by the water. It was

a spectacular show.

This beautiful Belle Caramel Apple was

something I hadn't seen before

and of course we had to get a Minnie.

I carefully hand carried these home to share

on Sunday for my birthday dinner.

I didn't get a chance to go to Disneyland until

I was an adult in college and it has been

a love affair ever since. I am awed by the details

and the magic that goes into everything. Just look

at those magical caramel apples.

Disneyland

To all who come to this happy place

WELCOME

Disneyland is your land.

Here age relives fond memories

of the past and here youth may savor

the challenge and promise of the future.

Disneyland is dedicated

to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard

facts that have created America... with the

hope that it will be a source of joy

and inspiration to all the world.

July 17, 1955

I hope you enjoyed celebrating my birthday

with me. I believe in celebrating my birthday,

birthweek and birthmonth. I am glad for

each birthday, I think each one is a gift and

I hope you do too.

Celebrating Three Kings Day With A Fiesta

2012-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today's table has been set for a

meal I am having for friends

this week.

Since Three King's Day is January 6th

and is celebrated in Mexico, I decided we

would have Mexican food and the

table would follow this festive theme.

The tableware is all fun items I have picked

up in Cabo from the plates and the bowls

to the glassware. I always, always, always

bring a hard side carry on so that I can bring

back dishes and glassware if I fall in love.

These bright yellow and blue plates

caught my eye. I love the hand painted

detail and the brilliant color. I am always

drawn to square plates and this is a fun way

to mix the two.

I brought back the pewter bowls to use as

small serving bowls but they top the plates

perfectly.

Such great handles on these small bowls.

These fun straw placemats remind me of

the palapas you see all over Mexico.

I tried both silver and black flatware

and decided I liked the richness of

the black the best. If in doubt, try both

out and choose which one you like best.

The placemats give the table a fun

casual feel.

The short deep cobalt glasses

are paired with the tall cobalt

rimmed glasses. We will be having

non-alcoholic lava flows to drink

but I always like to serve ice water

in addition. The short glasses are our

everyday glasses.

The centerpiece has fun theme related

candles. The pewter one came from Cabo also.

I love how the light shines through

the glass on these tone on tone hurricanes.

These little crowns show off the candle

light in a fun and different way.

We are almost ready for our meal.

I am using the pewter bowls as individual

chip bowls. I think that is a fun touch.

I always like to serve appetizers

when I entertain. It makes for

fun conversation (and I just love appetizer

type foods!)

For the first time since I can remember we haven't

gotten together as siblings for a Christmas party.

(My parents have both been gone for over 15 years now.)

The day before Christmas Eve my husband and

I were at the mall and we ran into my brother and

his wife and my sister and her family. My brother

commented on how he thought the Mexican tradition

of Three King's Day was such a fun way to extend

Christmas a little and that we ought to do it too.

I laughed and said, "Yes, that way we can have a

family party after Christmas as before Christmas

was just too busy this year." So his comment

was my inspiration for this fun Mexican fiesta.

(And our weather has been so warm

you could almost imagine you are in Cabo!)

I will be posting with

Wow Us Wednesday

Tablescape Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Sources (other than Cabo items)

Placemats - Home Goods

Napkins - Tuesday Morning

Flatware - Horchow

Crown candle holders - Home Goods

Gold hurricanes - Hobby Lobby

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2011-12-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

The holidays call for parties with lots of appetizers

at Purple Chocolat Home.

This year we tried a new one that will be on the

favorite's list from now on. We all are a little

addicted to that savory heat of buffalo chicken wings

so when I saw a recipe for a dip

recreating those flavors in

Southern Lady Holidays

magazine, I knew that we would be testing this

one out.

(I had never purchased this magazine before, but absolutely

loved it - of course it is all about lovely southern lady style!!!)

I did tweak the recipe just a little for convenience

and personal taste.

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

2 large cooked chicken breasts, cut into small cubes

1 tsp. onion powder

1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

5-6 oz. blue cheese (I love Boar's Head if you can find it.

We have it at Harmon's Grocery Store.)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 C. Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce - Buffalo

(get the regular, the hot buffalo is too hot for us)

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8x8 or

medium sized casserole dish. (Mine is a beautiful new treasure

that I found while treasure hunting

Home Goods this year.)

Mix everything together in a microwave safe bowl,

reserving a little of the

blue cheese. Place the bowl in the microwave and

heat for 1-2 minute or until everything can

stir together nicely.

Place the mixture in the dish and bake for 20

minutes or until the cheese mix is bubbling.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake another

5 minutes.

Serve with toasted pita triangles as I did (just cut the

pitas and spray with Pam and toast in the oven for

about 10 minutes at 350) or with crackers, or bread

cubes.

(The family loved this so much, they ate it after in

tortillas.)

(The original was doubled and had you cook raw

chicken in olive oil adding fresh onion and garlic. They

also added additional salt and red pepper. I chose to

use cooked chicken and omitted the salt and red pepper.)

(Before baking)

Fabulous flavor. Give this one a try - perfect

for New Year's or the Super bowl!

(If you can find it, give Southern Lady Magazine a try too.

The whole Holiday magazine was filled with beautiful

tablescapes, tempting recipes and Christmas decor.

I will definitely be buying this magazine again.)

I will be posting this with

Christmas Celebration of Another Birth

2011-12-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

There is no more magical place to have a meal

during Christmastime in Utah than at

La Caille at Quail Run.

As you enter the gates of this

French country estate

style restaurant, you are greeted with

wondrous Christmas lights.

Tonight we even had a dusting of new fallen snow.

A larger than life pewter colored soldier

stands guard at each side of the gate.

The beautiful French Country restaurant of

La Caille looks like a lovely country home

and at this time of year it is awash with lights.

I shared this restaurant with you last year during warmer

weather and you might remember the peacocks that

roam the property. This year they have created

a peacock in lights at the front window.

In the grand entry of the estate you are greeted

by this walrus topped fireplace. It truly

feels like an elegant home that you have been

invited to for a holiday evening.

Most of the seating is up this grand staircase.

We are here tonight to celebrate another

Christmas time birth, the birth of my firstborn

who came into the world just a few days

before Christmas.

We took her and her husband to dinner here

to celebrate both of their 30th birthdays.

(His was at the beginning of the year.)

We thought that called for a big celebration.

(I was just babysitting my son's children two

days before and his oldest who is four asked

"Grandma, do you know how to change poopie diapers?"

I told her that I had been doing that for 30 years!!)

Wow, it is hard to believe that I have a 30 year old but

we have been married for 32 years - how can that be

when I feel like I am still in my 30s!

Everything inside and out is just magical.

We started with hors d'oeuvres.

I chose this elegant crab cocktail.

The shrimp cocktail was great too, but lacked

the presentation they normally do (similar to the crab).

Then salads come with the meal and you have

a choice of four delicious ones. This one is

a warm spinach salad.

I chose this salad, a beautiful presentation of

avocado, grapefruit and crab.

Beef Tournedos with

Bearnaise sauce

And Chicken Piccata with a caper cream sauce

were the main dishes of choice tonight.

We all chose to indulge in their dessert sampler -

left to right - a raspberry creme brulee, warm beignets with

a cream dipping sauce and a warm chocolate cake.

(We did choose to share after since we were so full!)

When you are there for a special occasion, they

bring out this fabulous sparkler.

The sparkler was placed in a

chocolate dipped strawberry

this time.

(Wish I could get some of these sparklers!)

Afterwards we walked around the restaurant to

take in all of the wonderful decorations.

They have many fireplaces aglow at this

time of year. Each one is a jewel.

We took a peek upstairs in my favorite room.

No one was there tonight so we could wander and

take pictures. The ceiling is vaulted with a curved vault.

I love this huge "chocolate" foil wrapped horse that

topped this fireplace. He is just magnificent.

At this end of the room you can see the curve of the

vaulted ceiling.

At the opposite end you can look out on this

snow covered patio that is alight with twinkling

Christmas lights.

As we left the long meandering drive we had

to stop to take pictures. The trees are all wrapped in

colored lights and these beautiful ducks decided to

stroll across the drive.

A very sweet lady came running and offered to take our photo.

It was a wonderful birthday celebration of two

incredible members of our family. We feel so

blessed to be close to our family and to have

them near at this time of year.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

And may you have a very Happy New Year.

I will be posting this with

Wow Us Wednesday

Tablescapes Thursday

Seasonal Sunday

Merry Christmas Or Happy Holidays To You

2011-12-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

(My family when they were young - 16 years ago.)

Do you say Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays or both?

You may have heard about the controversy

concerning those who want to force a change

with Christmas from

the religious holiday that it always has been to a secular

holiday.

(My family now, 16 years later!)

There is pressure to use the word holidays rather

than Christmas. I read someone's blog and listened

to a clever song about not patronizing stores who

want to take Christ out of Christmas by substituting

Merry Christmas

with Happy Holidays. (Sorry, I can't

remember who had it on their blog!!)

(Rett from the Gazebo House reminded me that

it was her post. Thanks so much! Click on the above

to listen to the song.)

So yesterday I was shopping and a clerk said,

"Happy Holidays." I replied, "A Merry Christmas

to you too!" I pondered on this and loving to look

up in the dictionary the etymology of words and being

quite certain what I would find, I looked up the etymology

of "holiday".

(A forever family!)

What do you think it means?

Holy Day!

That's right - even with all of the political pressure

that they think they are wielding, they can't take God

out of the equation.

When we say Happy Holy Days, we are admitting

that Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks to God,

that Christmas is a day we celebrate mass or a

religious service in honor of Christ and His coming

to earth, and that The New Year rings in a new

beginning for the earth which rotates and begins

a new cycle according to God's laws and order.

(Most everyone's favorite shot - all taken in Hawaii for Thanksgiving.)

So try to force us to say Happy Holidays - or shall

we say

Holy Days!

It all says the same thing - that the world is happy

to celebrate that

God lives and that He sent His son

Jesus Christ

to earth.

What good news!

This is my e-card to each of you, my wonderful

blogging friends! We had a hard time deciding.

Most everyone chose the last one. We just set up

the tripod and I kept running! Now I really should

have gotten a remote for the timer (next time!) I

chose this last photo and

sent for a reprint in a 16x20 from

mpix.com.

It came in 3 days and is just stunning. My

professional photographer friends use them for

their prints. Give them a try. (You do have to upload

their uploading program, but it just takes a minute!)

I will be posting this with

Seasonal Sundays

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday

Icy Winter Stag Table

2011-12-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Inspired by this sparkle encrusted stag ornament,

I created this icy blue table and I think it is

one of the prettiest tables I have put together

for this Christmas season.

Stacking plates that I already had in icy whites and

blue, and layering aqua and white napkins with

a reindeer napkin ring,

and pairing it with a square crystal placemat

and my sterling that I received from my parents as a

wedding gift,

icy blue goblets and pewter goblets,

and filling the center of the table with

mercury glass and sparkle. This table

just shines and reminds one of an icy winter day

when the trees are covered with ice and

the world just sparkles.

Notice the stag handles on this silver container.

I filled the stag container with inexpensive

florals in silver and icy blue.

The candlesticks came with their own ice

encrusted medallions.

Hanging an ornament with a ribbon

from the top of the mercury glass dish

add a pop of the icy blue.

I also filled a small container with a couple

of the ornaments.

The aqua glasses and the aqua napkins layered

with white napkins add another pop of color.

The napkin rings only came in red, so I sprayed

them silver and added a sparkle topcoat.

These stags stand so majestically in their snow

filled dishes!

It is snowing outside right now, just the perfect

touch to finish off all of the Christmas

preparations. Just a little to make the world more

beautiful on a winter's day. Not too much as I still

have places to go!

I hope you can take some time during the hustle and bustle

of these last few days before Christmas to remember

the

Reason for the Season.

May the Peace that Christ brought into the world

fill your life this year and always.

I will be posting with

Tablescapes Thursday

Open House Party

Feathered Nest Friday

Weekend Wrapup

Seasonal Sunday

Sources

White round plates and square plate - Home Goods

Aqua plate - Tai Pan

Stag ornament - Tai Pan

Plates - Tai Pan

Aqua goblets - Tai Pan

Larger mercury glass - Tai Pan

Mercury glass candle holders - Home Goods

Stag container - Home Goods

Candles - Home Goods

Placemats - Home Goods

Aqua napkins - home made

White napkins - Pier 1

Napkin Rings - Target

Florals - Michaels

Pewter goblets - gift

Kirk Steiff Old Maryland Engraved Sterling - Wedding

Cooking Up An Apron for Mrs. Claus

2011-12-17T23:13:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas

and it will be a merry one in this

wonderful Christmas apron for

Mrs. Claus!

Maybe you have figured it out by now,

but I have a soft spot in my heart for

dear

Mrs. Claus.

I am WELL AWARE of how hard she works and

she rarely gets any credit. She needs a little TLC

this time of year so I created this

gorgeous ruffled apron.

I think we should make up a song for her

that goes a little like

"Mrs. Claus is going to town...

in this apron."

This isn't her everyday work apron, this

is her Christmas Eve party apron.

And she deserves something this dressy

after all she does to get Christmas ready.

Take my basic directions for making ruffled

aprons from here.

I purchased 1 1/2 yards of red gabardine,

1/2 yard of black gabardine and

1/2 yard of white Minky fur.

I altered the pattern just a little by making the

bottom of the apron flare out a little more - about

two inches more on each side. Then I cut the apron

across at the waistline because I wanted the first

ruffle to be inside the seam.

Measure for 3 ruffles (doubling the fabric) about

6 - 7 inches for the first and 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 for the

other two. Cut white Minky fabric out to 4 1/2 inches

by the length of each ruffle. Turn the Minky fabric

wrong sides together and serge onto the bottom of your

ruffle pieces.

Also serge a piece of Minky fur onto the top of

your apron bodice.

Finish all edges of the bodice by serging.

Finish the edges of the apron bottom by serging.

Serge all sides of the ruffle pieces, then sew in a gathering

stitch along the top side. Pull gathering stitch up

and pin onto the right side of the apron skirt. Serge

the ruffle on, adjusting gathering as you go. Then

serge the skirt with the attached ruffle to the bodice

with the fur trim.

Repeat the application of the fur, finishing the edges

and making the gathering stitch and attaching it to the

apron front.

Turn under the serged edges of the bodice and topstitch

in place.

Cut out black fabric 4 1/2 inches by width of your

apron and enough to tie on each side. You may have to

piece this depending on the length of your fabric.

Sew a seam lengthwise and close off one end.

Turn, press and finish second end.

Find the center of this black belt and the center

of the apron. Pin in place and topstitch over the

waist then topstitch on the other side of the band.

Do the same thing for the neckband, determining

the length you need. Then attach the neckband

on the wrong side of the fur trim.

Attach a buckle by hand sewing it into place.

And your Mrs. Claus will be ready

to hit the town.

Mrs. Claus will be partying in her new apron with

All fabric and buckle bought at

Hancock Fabrics

Fantastic Turtles with Homemade Caramel

2011-12-16T04:17:00.000-08:00

Turtles with homemade caramel are really

easy to make and give that WOW factor

for a nice gift.

Lots of my friends prefer nuts and chews to the

cream centers so turtles are a great choice for them.

Easy Homemade Caramel Recipe

1 C. melted butter

1 C. light corn syrup

2 C. brown sugar

1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Before you begin any candy recipe, you should

calibrate your thermometer. In the mountains here,

it is going to boil at a different temperature than at

sea level. Mine boils at 200 and water should boil

at 212, so I must subtract 12 degrees off any recipe

I make.

In a heavy saucepan, mix the above. Bring to a boil,

stirring constantly on medium high. Turn the heat down

and keep it on low to keep the caramel from scorching.

After it comes to a boil wash down the sides of the

pan with a pastry brush and water (to catch any

undissolved sugar).

When the candy reaches 238 (sea level - so I cooked

mine to 226) pull it off the heat and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla.

Pour into a buttered pan for caramels that you

cut and dip or spoon onto a pan of nuts that

you want to make into turtles.

Top with melted chocolate. I use dipping chocolate

but you need to melt it and then let it cool to about

90 degrees, stirring in between each few. If you don't

let it cool and then stir it constantly it will streak.

Get a little instant read thermometer to make sure

that it is cool enough. Also you should work with

dipping chocolate in a room that is between 65 and70

degrees.

(I usually use Peters, Guittard or Merckens dipping

chocolate. It can be purchased online if you don't

have any specialty stores that sell it.)

You can also top it with chocolate molding discs

if you don't want to mess with real chocolate. It

won't taste as good, but the newer discs are pretty

good. Chocolate chips work too with just a touch

of shortening - which helps it from streaking, but

still cool it.

Put it in a pretty box with colored

tissue for a great presentation.

Fill a parchment paper lined

cookie sheet with broken pecan

pieces. Spoon the hot caramel by soup

spoonfuls onto the nuts leaving space between.

I have never done this before, but I decided to use

a small round cookie cutter to make the turtles

into a perfect round shape.

I love how they look perfectly round!

You can either top the turtles with chocolate or

you can dip the entire turtle. I do both but today

I just spooned and swirled chocolate on the tops.

Now I want to show my beautiful

bangle bracelets that I received

this week in the mail from Marsha

Splenderosa.

Marsha designs and sells exquisite jewelry

and she had a giveaway. I got to choose which

color of stone I wanted. I have worn them

every day!

They are dressy but look great

with a sweater or leather jacket and jeans.

Visit Marsha's stylish blog and Etsy shop.

There is something for all price ranges.

She always has

the latest in fashion and everything is just a

visual delight.

I will be posting this with

Weekend Wrapup

Sweets for a Saturday

Pink Saturday

Foodie Friday

Seasonal Sunday

Mrs. Claus' Candy Table

2011-12-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Claus loves to decorate for the

Christmas and she especially

loves to create a table for the little

children.

Her table is filled with wonderful

Christmas treats that delight

the children's eyes.

Wonderful candy that makes

the little ones gasp in awe

fills the center of her table.

All of it in her favorite colors

red and white.

Even the plates and bowls look

like peppermint candies.

Such a fun table that is

certain to thrill.

Her beautiful ruby goblets

match the color of her boots.

Mrs. Claus has style!

Love the pearl buttons.

I think I would love to be invited

to sit at this fun table.

Here is a closeup of the fun peppermint plate.

Pretty lollipops are tucked into

jingle bells

for napkin rings.

Red ruffled chargers are topped with

beautiful textured plates.

Some of the peppermint bowls are

green and some are red.

Christmas red flatware are perfect.

Such a beautiful table on a snowy cold day.

I will be joining these parties

Tablescapes Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Home Sweet Home

Seasonal Sunday

Sources

Chargers and peppermint dishes - Wal Mart (last year)

Red flatware and napkins - Tuesday Morning

Red boot and red plates- Home Goods

White plate - Tai Pan

Red goblets - Costco

Ornament Cookies

2011-12-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

These sugar cookies are so adorable

shaped like ornaments and topped with

edible glitter and a large silver dragee.

My daughter in law Audra made them

for her two year old's birthday.

Pipe contrasting colors and draw a toothpick

through to get the great designs

For complete recipes see

here.

Almost too pretty to eat, but we managed!

Here is some more of the party. Adele had a

pink Happy Birthday tree

for her party.

The beautiful pink cake was made by dipping

pirouette cookies in pink molding chocolate

and drizzling with white molding chocolate.

I love the effect.

Everything was finished off with a pretty

pink ribbon.

Audra also made these adorable

North Pole cupcakes. You can imagine

they were a big hit with the children.

What an adorable party mixing in the

fun decorations of the season with the

birthday theme.

Chocolate Dipping In A Real Chocolate Factory

2011-12-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Boxes for chocolates, lined up, row after

row, waiting to be filled with hand-dipped

fresh chocolates for Christmas.

Many wonderful varieties, creams, toffees,

caramels, truffles, each one fabulously

delicious.

That's what you will find in this little

family owned and run candy shop in

Salt Lake City, Utah

at 1479 S. Main Street.

Condie's Candies - hand-dipped since 1924

is a seasonal business that is in it's fourth generation.

It was first started by George Charles Phillipps who

specialized in European caramels and roasting nuts.

(One little interesting fact is that Dad is a first cousin

to Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and he

orders chocolates from them every year!)

Besides the smell of chocolate that greets you as you

enter, they have fun little sayings about chocolate

upstairs in the store part. I love this one!

The breakfast quote needs to hand in my kitchen!

Downstairs is where the production is done.

This bevy of beauties are three sisters and

one sister-in-law that are busy little elves

at this time of year creating centers, dipping,

boxing and wrapping nearly round the clock

to meet the Christmas demand.

From left to right we have Pam (their sister-in-law),

Shelly, Nanette and Karen.

They are proof that eating tons of chocolate

keeps you thin and beautiful!

First we toured everything. This is

the yummiest place - the packing

room.

Then they were kind enough even at this super

busy time of year to open up their

shop and let an amateur like me try a hand at

professional dipping!

Pulling my hair back and donning the

black apron that everyone wears, I dive in.

(Don't be afraid to get a little dirty when you

dip chocolate. It is so smooth and silky, it

feels wonderful!)

Geri, the matriarch and owner

(with her husband Phil)

just turned

80 and still dips - and she

is a fast professional - a quick

flick of the wrist

and a touch to the paper, then

a quick initial written in chocolate to identify

the variety and she is at it again.

I have been dipping for 30 years and

I felt like a total klutz next to her.

(But notice the pan of dipped centers

by my side - I slowly dipped all of those!)

Aunt Linda specializes in the nuts and toffees

filling tray after tray of wonderful chocolates.

She is very fast too.

Condies has had its ups and downs. About 15

years ago they had a fire and the fireman was

sent in to rescue the original hand written

recipes (pictured above with

charred edges). He found the recipe book

floating in the water, soaking wet. They pulled

the recipe book apart. There were no recipes

on the pages anymore, but as they dried the

words reappeared. You wouldn't believe it,

but these are still the only copies available.

Hopefully someone will get them written down

on a computer so they won't be nearly lost again.

All of the original equipment survived the fire and

was transported to a new building. On the left is

one of their copper cooking kettles and the burner.

On the right is an old piece of equipment that cuts

the 10 pound blocks of chocolate.

They use Guittard chocolate which is put into vats

in the middle of the table to melt and to stay warm.

There are gas burners underneath each vat that melt

the chocolate and keep them warm.

The dipping process begins by Karen

scooping up the warm chocolate

onto

marble slabs to warm up the marble and to

cool down the chocolate. Dipping chocolate

needs to be tempered, or brought up to melting

point and then brought back down to around 90

degrees so that it will create the wonderful

shiny and crisp coating that we expect from

fine chocolates.

As the chocolate cools additional

warm chocolate is scooped out and

added to keep the chocolate at a

perfect temperature. It was a great

way to dip.

There are two dipping stations on the

side of each of 3 vats of chocolate.

I had never dipped on marble before. That went

well, but try to write a cursive L (for lemon creams)

backwards and from bottom to top. Only a few

of mine had recognizable Ls!

(They will use them

for seconds - to give visitors!)

We were told that no one has ever been

allowed to come and dip on the factory

floor before. My good friends Wally and

Annette are relatives and Wally got me

the invitation. I felt so honored. Our

good friend Rachel (in the pink) also got

to come along and give chocolate dipping

a try.

Wally and Annette's twin daughters Grace and

Esther love to come and work at Condies and

want to start learning to dip.

They usually spend most of their time in

the boxing room (sampling as they go along!)

Hey - that is half the fun of working in a chocolate

factory - you get to sample.

Meanwhile there is always something

cooking in the kitchen. Nanette is the cook.

She has all of the recipes in her head

(or mostly she says.)

There are three

main ingredients in the kitchen -

butter, cream and sugar!

No wonder every single

variety was absolutely delicious.

I LOVE chocolate and love to try

different chocolates everywhere I go. With

every manufacturer of chocolates, I like some

varieties and some I dislike. You might say I am

a bit of a chocolate snob.

I can honestly say

I love every flavor they have (and it seems like we

got to try most of them! Plus I bought a 2 lb. box

and have been snacking on them.)

Bubbling hot toffee is poured on

the cooling table.

One of my favorite things was getting to

see all of the specialty equipment

they have, like this special roller that scores

the toffee to make breaking into pieces

easier.

That is a huge batch of toffee,

ready to be dipped.

This is one of the greatest little machines.

The hot fondant (for cream centers) is

poured into this machine that was patented

in 1901. Cool water fills the chamber to

quickly cool the fondant. After about

an hour, when the fondant is cooled, the

machine begins to stir it.

They wanted to know if I made my own

cream centers at home. I said yes and they

wanted to know how long I had to stir it.

I told them it was usually 40 minutes to

an hour. Sure enough, that is how long

their machine stirs it. This would be

amazing, but one batch makes enough

centers to fill 4 cardboard boxes - a bit more

than I could use.

From when the door first opened and the incredible

smell of chocolate rushed out

into the open air

to washing the chocolate off our hands and

carrying our hand-dipped and hand-boxed

chocolates out to the car, it was an

incredible experience

and opportunity.

Thank you to all of my dear new

friends

at Condies.

You can order Condie's chocolates

online at

Condies Candies.

It was such a wonderful experience,

quite different from my home dipping.

To see my post on

Mrs. Claus' Chocolate Factory

and to see how I dip at home and my little elf who got into

the candy dipping from last year,

click the above.

These are some of the varieties I usually make.

We just started making centers this week.

I will be posting this with

Foodie Fridays

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sundays

Three Kings Table

2011-12-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

Now when Jesus was born

in Bethlehem...

there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

saying, "Where is he that is born

King of the Jews?

for we have seen his star in the east, and are

come to worship him."

Matthew 2:1-2

This elegant table is in honor of the wise men

who knew the signs of the coming of the

Savior of the world and followed the new star

seeking Him.

Elegant square, scalloped white plates

sit on a silver charger.

They are beautiful by themselves. I love their

square design and the raised texture,

But add the elegant bowl that looks

like a crown and they become royal,

befitting our table for the wise men.

I had seen these on Yvonne's blog

Stonegable in the spring,

and just fell in love. She said

she had purchased them at Home Goods but

I had never seen them there. Just a few weeks

ago, I was treasure hunting

at Home Goods and

they had just put these out that morning! I was

able to purchase 20 of each! That is the best

treasure hunting I have ever had at

Home Goods.

By the way,

Yvonne just announced that she

will no longer be blogging. Visit her exquisite

blog and tell her goodbye. She is such an inspiration

and we will miss her elegant touch that she gives

everything. Her blog was one of the first blogs

I ever visited. Joni (my sister) at

Red Couch Recipes

told me I had to go visit this wonderful blog.

Truly, it has been a great experience being one

of her blogging friends.

I just love this royal pitcher with

its rustic elegance. It makes up part

of the centerpiece vignette.

A crown sitting on a rustic

stone pedestal also sits in the center

of the table.

Elegant candles add height to

the centerpiece vignette.

A dessert spoon and napkin sit

at the top of the plate

with a crystal napkin ring.

Silver goblets are at each

place setting.

Here is a closeup of the

grapevine details.

My silver plated flatware have crowns

on the ends of them.

I hope this season of the year

brings you peace and joy

with the good news that

Christ was born.

And may those feelings go with

you through the entire year.

Wise men (and women) seek Him still.

May the true spirit of Christmas

permeate your home and life this year.

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Holiday Block Party - Dining

Feathered Nest Friday

Sources

Silver chargers - Target

Plates and bowls - Home Goods

Candles - Home Goods

Silverplated goblets - Spiegel (years ago)

Silverplated flatware - Horchow

Napkin rings - Pier 1

Pitcher, crown and candlesticks - Tai Pan

Silver peace word - Tai Pan