Monday, December 28, 2015

Silver

How is it going?  We are working here....cleaning, painting, etc.  Nothing fun, just deferred maintenance.  Our favorite task so far:  polishing the silver.  We have been using the chemical reaction method, and I've been telling the kids it is a science experiment.  



 It is wildly satisfying....it doesn't get your silver looking brand new, but in five minutes they are all pretty good.  I use something similar to the recipe on Apartment Therapy, but I line the sink in aluminum foil and don't bother to measure the salt, baking soda or vinegar.  Random aside--we were out of vinegars except balsamic on Round 2 of silver polishing, so I went with lime juice and it worked like a charm.  (Anyone know why some recipes have salt and vinegar, and some just have baking soda?).  This recipe/method is great when you wait to the last minute to polish silver:  nothing like spreading your serving pieces with stinky carcinogens a hour before the guests arrive--yuck.

The other silver thing that is on my mind is tinsel.  Yeah, yeah, Christmas is over.  But Christmas stuff is still everywhere and I'm being haunted by vintage Christmas trees covered in tinsel on my Pinterest feed.  I'm thinking this needs to come back.  Thoughts?












If only I had the restraint to reduce the ornaments so that tinsel could be the real star.  In the end, my tree looks pretty much the same every year and that is how I like it.  But if I had extra trees to decorate, they would be like the more-is-more-tinsel tree below.  Some of you have tinsel experience:  Speak up old ladies!  Will I be disappointed with modern tinsel?  Is the magic lost along with the old silvered mylar and tin?  Will I ever be as happy with my tree as Shirley Jones is above?



Friday, December 25, 2015

MERRY X-MAS or HAPPY FRIDAY



We welcome all people at the Church of What's Happening Now, or at least all who enjoy a good Mr. T reference.  Have a great day and try your best to do your internetting on a computer--those phones will make you go blind.  

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Cookie time!


I would REALLY like to get my sh*t together and bake some Christmas cookies asap.  Molly is begging daily, and I appreciate finally having someone in the house besides me who is into the idea of baking Christmas cookies.  Somehow I just realized that the Nutcracker is next weekend, and is going to kill Wed through the following Monday for me (glad I bought 5 gingerbread house kits.....) so the baking probably needs to start this weekend.



I prefer to have a wide assortment of cookies available on Christmas....like my own mini dessert buffet.  These were the leftovers 2 years ago, and even they don't look so bad.  That really is the best part of those cookie swap parties.  My Mom used to attend a "100 cookie party" where you arrived with and left with 100 cookies, your haul being 2 or 3 of each kind the guests brought.  Practically, providing such diversity on your own is difficult.  Also, it's kind of fattening to have 5 full batches of cookies immediately available because they will all be eaten,  so my plan was to space out the treats throughout the month and not worry if some come post x-mas.  We'll see.....



You've got to do cut cookies.  It's the only time of year I break out cookie cutters (even for parties, I usually buy from Etsy).  Sometimes we do gingerbread cookies, sometimes sugar/butter cookies (usually go to a Martha recipe, but I've hit the Betty Crocker mix at the last minute, too).  I used this recipe a few times and it got good reviews--it's a great medium between gingerbread and sugar cookies.    


Post Molly's egg allergy, I've done a full, painfully messy, bagged royal icing decorating session.  Pipe and flood, people.  We idolized the cookies on the cover of MS Living when I was little--I remember some animal cookies particularly vividly.  These days, its not unusual for this to happen on Christmas day.  For my cookies, I just pull a royal icing recipe off of Martha or FoodNetwork, but I usually go with one that uses egg whites over meringue powder because who wants to buy Meringue Powder now that you can get pasteurized egg whites?  But meringue powder is OK for cookies (but not OK for gingerbread houses--remember that).  Also, you really can just cut the corner off of a ziplock.  It might hold you back if you were going all out with crazy detail, but for a standard pipe and flood design they are fine.  Oh, and toothpicks really are handy, for the flooding (like you see in the tutorials) but also for fixing outlining, adjusting sprinkles, etc. 

2014 Christmas Cookies included lovestruck Gators

I'm still nowhere near editorial skill level, and I'm usually rushed and trying to keep the girls from squeezing the icing out of the back of the bag, but I keep a "practice makes perfect" attitude and keep plugging along.  And now that we're here, how about a walk down cookie memory lane.  RIP Martha by Mail.  (Looking for cookie pics, I stumbled on this fan site that has a TON of Martha by Mail stuff....its insane.  Thanks, internet.)



While most people in my home eat these decorated cookies and seem to enjoy them, they are not really my favorite for eating.  I just like decorating them, and the decor element they provide.  But there is good eating on the rest of the cookie plate:  



Martha has a recipe that works for thumbprints and cut cookies (plus 2 others), but I'm thinking of nixing thumbprints (kind of involved, really) for Coconut Palmier Hearts.  Crazy easy, and since they are the intersection between pastry and cookie they add some diversity (sidenote:  egg free).  



Also, Molly is going to make these.  Hershey's Hugs melted over pretzels.  She loves Pinterest almost as much as I do.

via Cooking Classy


[Top image is a screen shot of my google image search results for Amy Atlas Christmas Cookie.  Try it--there are some gems]

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Holla!

From Stop Throwing Terrible Holiday Parties via NY Mag (Getty Images)

It's been one of those weeks.  I'm behind on screen time.  But I have 2 non-sequitur items to share with you.  First, this article on throwing parties from NY Magazine.  It was funny.  Hey grown-ups, let's throw more parties this year!

And Amazon Dash buttons.  Yeah, I started seeing these in my banner ad but didn't really pay attention.  So I figured some of you might not have paid attention, either.



IT'S THE F^&KING FUTURE, EVERYONE!  I mean, this sh*t is straight up Jetsons.

(PS--I don't like #@^ because they put the burden of filling in the bad word on you and I take full ownership of my sailor-like way with words.  However, I have learned that some filters are blocking the profanity....indicating I'm your only friend with a potty mouth, btw).  



Do you run out of something regularly?  Just put this handy, Wi-Fi connected device in a convenient place, and when you run out of something just hit the button and that product will show up on your doorstep.  As someone who lives by an Amazon distribution center, that could be hours later (spooky, right?).




"Hey, what is that cool button on your washing machine?" "Its my Tide refill button...hit it and detergent just shows up at my door."  Worried your kid will go crazy or you'll get all old-person-y and hit it 20 times to make sure it works?  It sends a notice to your phone, allowing you to cancel the order PLUS it will only ship 1 container at a time (unless you go in and alter the settings...you know, if you are all 19 Kids and Counting and order your detergent 3 gallons at a time).

I just ordered my Bounty button.  That is one thing that really shuts the house down.  Garbage bags next (we are strictly weekend launderers, so that isn't too tricky and I currently buy toilet paper like a doomsday prepper).  I'm pretty sure that if I lived in Nebraska, I would buy all the buttons and 20 gallons of shelf-stable milk and not leave the house until March.



I usually try and wait to review a service before going off on its praises, but the buttons are currently $5 and you get a $5 coupon off your first order.  So minimal risk.  And a great stocking-stuffer....for someone too old to put up a stocking.  (Although with Smart Water and Lara Bars, it could be good for a dorm room).  And I will post a retraction if my paper towels don't arrive.


 I can't wait for them to have Method dish washing pellets, too.  Cross you fingers, and they'll have these for milk in a few years.  It's not robots and flying cars, but it's close.



Anybody have turkey tablescapes to send me?