“Mustache Pins are THE Stocking Stuffer of the Year”

I had tons of fun at the booth Kait and I shared at Artists & Fleas yesterday! When the lights stayed on, our display and our stuff looked pretty great. When they went out… well, we were in the back corner, so you couldn’t see anything… Kait’s Dad took some pro pics, but here are a few I snapped with the iPhone.

So, we literally used furniture and things from our my apartment to dress up the space. I brought some tins that I keep sewing supplies in to hold merchandise and my picture of a classy chap with a great handlebar mustache (you know, just to keep the table looking classy). From the top left, going clockwise above, you have: Hipster Pins 3 Ways, Crocheted Birds (thanks, Big A!), iPhone cozies, really cute Owl ornaments that Kait made, Kait’s Pot Holder sets, and my Pillow Huggers Pillowcases (shown is a set – both have the girl on one side, the heart on the other, and her arms reaching all the way around on the hem).

I was really pushing the Hipster Pins. There’s the Mustache, the Cheeseburger, and My Cold Black Heart.

And I kept telling people that the Mustache Pin was THE stocking stuffer of the year. I think I declared it so much, that it just might become true (come on, The Secret!). Get your hands on them now, people! Stuff those sequined stocking with something awesome. They went over pretty well amongst both mustached and non-mustached shoppers.

Kait’s aprons also got a lot of attention. People loved her fabrics, and the kids aprons I think might have inspired shoppers to do a little baby-making… They’re just so cute, you want a kid to put in one. And above those, I embroidered some new drawings from Kendra into pieces of wall art.

I’ll be putting what didn’t sell at the market onto Etsy. And hopefully, it won’t land me a spot on Regretsy… PS : Did you see she got a book deal already???

Dear Whoever Goes Around Reading Blogs Giving Out Book Deals,

… Hi!

Sincerely,

Big A and Little A

Anyway, I hope to do Artists and Fleas again soon, and I hope people bring more Mermen to sell.

.a

Italian Christmas Cookies

No.  The stockings are not hung by the chimney with care.  Nor is my tree decorated.  And the presents remain unwrapped.  But I’m having fun baking holiday cookies!  And this is probably my all-time favorite Christmas cookie, as it was one of two recipes that my mom would make to kick-off the holiday season.  The other was strufoli, a labor-intensive little morsel drenched in honey and adorned with tiny, colorful sprinkles that everyone, except me, just loved.

There are so many versions of Italian Christmas Cookies, but this is the recipe that has been handed down in our family, and I am happy to share it with you!

Italian Christmas Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 eggs

6 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.  Slowly add flour to creamed mixture and mix until blended.  Hand-roll teaspoon-sized balls and place 2″ apart onto ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 until cookies are set and bottoms are lightly browned.

Confectioners’ Frosting

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla, almond, lemon, or anise extract (my personal favorite)

1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer, or by hand.  Beat until smooth.  Dip tops of cookies into frosting.  Leave plain or add colored sprinkles.  Let dry completely on cooling rack.

I have 15 days to make it all happen.  I do believe in miracles, I do believe in miracles….

“A”

Christmas Cookies – Snowflake Cutouts

Today was our first “snow day”!  School was closed and all my daycare children spent the day at home with their moms.  With Christmas only 16 days away, I wondered how best to spend this precious day off.  Write Christmas cards?  Wrap gifts?  Decorate the tree?  All VIP, but not nearly as important as baking Christmas cookies!  Cut-out cookies are time-consuming, but I just love the way a pretty snowflake glistens on the tray.

I used the “Butter Cookies” recipe in Creative Cookies by Toba Garrett.  It produces a tender, flavorful cookie, and the dough handles easily and can be rolled out immediately.  I frosted the cookies with Glace icing and decorated them with Royal icing…both recipes in the book.

To freeze frosted cookies, or not to freeze.  That is my dilemma.  I don’t think they’ll taste fresh if I leave them out, so off to the freezer!  I’ll let you know how it goes.

“A”

Artists and Fleas Preview

The underpants gnomes have it right.
Phase one: collect underpants.
Phase three: profit.

They never say it, but I’m pretty sure Phase 2 involves a lot of trial and error and wasted denim. Phase 2 also involves lots of sub-phases. And as I move from the design sub-phase to the production sub-phase, I’m sharing a few ideas that I’m happy with.

iPhone cases, iPod cases, mustache and hipster cameos, eyeglass cases… And more soon!

.a

Turkeys on Parade

Holidays are a perfect time to engage kids with fun crafts.  These little turkeys have become a yearly tradition for my daycare children, and they just love making them and munching on the supplies :o)  You’ll need:  1 apple, mini-marshmallows, craisins, candy corn, some toothpicks, and your rendition of a turkey profile (cut out of a paper plate or any sturdy paper).  Directions: have the kids skewer the marshmallows and craisins onto a toothpick, and color the turkey profile.  Top each toothpick with a candy corn and insert along the top ridge of the apple for the feathers.  Slice a thin cut into the front of the apple, and slip the turkey into the slot.  That’s it!

We also made turkey placemats.  I traced the child’s hand, cut out the handprint, and glued it onto a sheet of construction paper.  We added a few details and I used clear Contact paper to laminate it for Thanksgiving dinner!

I used my new Cricut for the names.  What a great little machine!!  So many fonts, images and endless possibilities.  The cartridges are pricey, though.  This is one obsession that could spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e.  Help!

Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all!

“A”

Christmas Cookie Preview

I decided to test new recipes for my “Christmas Cookie Day Marathon”. (There’ll be lots more about this annual event in upcoming posts). As if I don’t already have enough cookie books and holiday baking magazines, I went ahead and purchased the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications “Christmas Cookies”.

Lots of different recipes! The section that really caught my eye was the one on whoopie pies…Classic Whoopie pies, Mini raspberry and white chocolate Whoopie pies, Red Velvet Whoopie pies with peppermint filling, and many more!  Did I make the whoopie pies?  No.  I tried these instead:

RASPBERRY STICKS

These are so buttery and flavorful. The recipe calls for dipping them in melted white chocolate, but I substituted an almond-flavored confectioner’s glaze. As yummy as they are, I doubt they’ll be on my Christmas Cookie tray. They’re a bit big and, quite honestly, they look more like Pop Tarts to me. My second effort:

Cranberry-Almond Wedges

This cookie came from a section called “It all started with a mix.” The cookie base is made with Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. I felt like I was “cheating”, but the end result was a delicious cookie! The crunchy almonds, chewy cranberries and buttery shortbread are a great combo. I’m not sure if this cookie will make it to “the tray”, but it would make an excellent “cookie swap” treat.

The magazine is certainly worth the price of admission ($5.99), with 128 recipes, tempting photos, and some great packaging ideas!

Next up:  Whoopie!!

“A”

December 12: Artists & Fleas

Just confirmed! My crafty friend Kait and I will be selling some wares at the Artists & Fleas indoor craft market in sunny Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Saturday, December 12.

More soon with a preview of what we’ll have available, but for now, all you need to know is this: hearts, mustaches, plaid flannel, and cheeseburgers.

For more info / directions : www.artistsandfleas.com

.a

NYC Marathon Strata

Today was the ING NYC Marathon, and guess what I did?!

I baked a strata!

(What? You didn’t think I was going to say I ran in it, did you? Really…)

So, the new apartment is on the Marathon route – about halfway along, and our neighbors downstairs invited us to their Marathon Brunch Party. They invite all their friends, hang out between the street and their apartment enjoying Bloody Maries and other brunchy goodness, and cheer on the tens of thousands of admirable marathon runners. They even go an extra mile and put together a rockin’ playlist that they blare out the windows of their apartment. Those runners loved them some AC/DC, I tell ya… It was a great way to be a part of the Marathon and a part of the neighborhood.

So I brought a strata, which is basically a breakfast casserole of eggs, bread, and whatever else you want. I took a recipe from Epicurious.com for a Spinach and Cheese Strata, and modified it to make it a Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Strata.

I bought a chunk of maple-glazed ham at the deli (asked him to slice me the thickest slice he could, which was about a pound), cut off the glazed part (it’s fine if you bake the ham yourself, but deli ham has a funny ’skin’ on it…), cubed it, and fried it up a little in the pan before sauteeing the spinach. At yesterday’s Farmers Market, I bought a sourdough loaf and a regular ‘peasant’ loaf to mix, as well as fresh spinach to use instead of the called-for box of frozen spinach. I added shallots to the onions, added Fontina to the Gruyere, and substituted 3/4 c of the 2 + 3/4 c of called-for milk with half-and-half.

Put it all together yesterday, put it in the fridge overnight to soak (this is what makes strata strata…), and baked it this morning. It got rave reviews, and I have to say, I enjoyed it so much that I’m insisting I make it for Christmas morning, Big A.

I love putting my new kitchen to good use!

And I love not running a marathon…

.a

Bunco Beef Stew

On the last Monday of every month, you will find me rolling dice and shouting “luck, be a lady”!  No.  I don’t frequent the “craps tables” at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, but I do get together with friends for a fun-filled evening of BUNCO (an easy game of dice, played in rounds).  There are 12 players and we each take a turn hostessing the game, which includes buying the prizes and serving up a meal.  Each and every player in our group goes out of her way to welcome us to her home and delight us with great prizes and fabulous food.  This past Monday was no exception.  It was hosted by Nina and she made the best beef stew I have ever eaten!  She graciously shared the recipe and I just had to give it a try.

Soooooooo good!  I made it in my LeCreuset 9 qt. Round French Oven.  I only own two pieces of LeCreuset but, I have to tell you, I am in love with this cookware.  I don’t think it’s my imagination, but everything I make in it seems to be so tender and taste so savory.  As I’m dicing and chopping, and adding ingredients to these pots, I become Giada.  (Okay.  I look a bit more like Ina, but I choose to channel Giada).  Anyway…a dutch oven will work perfectly.  Here’s the recipe:

Beef Stew Casserole

2 ¼ lbs. boneless chuck (1 inch cubes)

12 small white onions

peas (1 pkg frozen)

carrots – 5 quartered lengthwise

1 (no.2) can diced/crushed tomatoes

1 tbsp. salt

1tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ cup soft bread crumbs

¼ cup minute tapioca

3 potatoes peeled & quartered

1 clove garlic peeled & halved

Put all ingredients in 2 ½ quart casserole – add water to just cover.  Bake in

slow oven – 250 degrees for 4 hours.  You may use 1 cup dry red wine for part

of the water.

Cook’s Notes:  I used baby carrots, 1/2 cup minute tapioca (for a little extra thickening), and after an hour, I increased the oven temp. to 300.  I also cooked it for an extra hour (total of 5), during which time I pulled the lid back a bit.  Also, I had an open bottle of white wine, and I poured that in, instead of the red.

Nina served the stew with crispy, steaming popovers and strawberry butter.  She said that I didn’t need the popover pans; I could use muffin tins.  Uh, uh.  Anyone who cooks or bakes knows, it’s all about the tools.

And now, it’s all about going to Marshalls and Homegoods in the pursuit of popover pans.  I ask, again, “luck, be a lady”.

“A”

Personal note:  If you happen to find the popover pans, and you’re looking for a new BFF, call me.

if you like crafts, and you like to laugh…

Then you need to visit my new favorite website : Regretsy.com

These folks peruse etsy.com (everyone’s favorite hand-made marketplace), find the best of bad crafts, and add their commentary. It’s hysterical. Their tag line is “Handmade? It looks like you made it with your feet…”

Check out the latest posts on the homepage, but make sure to click on the Category links on the left. Categories like Michael Jackson and Twilight provide the best of pop-culture inspired crafts, and look for gems in categories like Pet Humiliation, Art, and (for mature audiences only) Vaginas.

Make sure you hit the restroom before logging on to this site, as it might make you laugh so hard you pee your pants. (That’s a warning for you, Big A!) ;O)

Enjoy!

.a