Tissue Paper Pom Poms

These decorations are SO easy to make and instructions come courtesy of Martha Stewart. Of course, right? I mean who else figures out that tissue paper can be made into "dahlialike pom-poms." Uh...yeah. She sells a kit for these at Michael's for around $20. But using these instructions (found here), you can use any tissue paper you like. From the pictures on Martha's site, you'll see her versions are more prestine. But she IS kinda scary like that. I'd prefer to choose my own color of tissue paper, make my own folds and cuts for a lot less than $20 and sacrifice some of the crispness to them.




I've also made small versions to place on top of vases and table tops. You just take the tissue paper called for in the directions and cut the sheets in half. If you look closely, you'll see the center pom pom is actually two different colors. You can accomplish this by alternating colors of tissue paper in your stack before you fold it acordian-style.

Tartletts

This is a crowd favorite. It is enormously impressive and so cheaterbug easy!

Ingredients
pre-made pie crust (or of course you can make your own) - the quantity depends on how many you are making. I believe I can get 8 tartletts out of one crust and each box contains 2 crusts.
1 jar of good lemon curd - Trader Joes has the best one I've tasted this side of the pond
1 container of no-bake, pre-made cheesecake filling (Philladelphia makes one you can find right by the pie crusts!)
Sugar
Your favorite berries - fresh only, frozen won't do for this

Take mini tartlet pains (you can find them in most cooking shops, Sur La Table and Bed Bath and Beyond both carry them) and spray with a cooking oil. Form the pie crust into the mold. I usually use a round cookie cutter to cut out the shape, form in the mold and the remove the excess. Sprinkle a light dusting of sugar over the tartlett pans. Bake in the oven per the pie crust instructions. I usually shorten the cooking time a wee bit. Once baked, cool and remove the crusts from the molds. These will store in an airtight container for a couple of days if necessary.

Gently combine the cheesecake filling with the lemon curd by folding in the cheesecake filling. Try to keep as much air in as possible to retain the fluffiness. Pour mixture into a gallon ziplock bag. This will store for a couple of days if necessary.

When ready to serve tartletts, cut a hole into the corner of the ziploc bag and pipe mixture into the tartlett cups. Top with berries and serve.

Note: These don't sit well. Try to do this last step only when they are ready to go on a platter to serve. They'll sit for 2-3 hours before they start to get soggy.

Optional: If you want your berries to be nice and shiny you can warm a few tablespoons of apricot preserves or some marmalade (or a combination of both) and toss the berries in that mixture once cooled. Then place berries on the tartletts cups.

French Toast Casserole

This is a recipe from Paula Dean - the butter lady on Food Network. Needless to say I've taken some liberty in reducing the butter. There's no reason for your guests to have a heart attack on the spot!

I've tried this recipe several different ways. I'm not a fan of the original recipe as is but of course feel free to try it, you can find it here! Below I've provided my list of ingredients and instructions; I've omitted and changed quite a bit from the original. I've experimented with different breads and I like the results you get with regular ol' cheapo white bread. Yes, it's nutritionally void, but if you were looking for nutrition in this recipe, we probably need to have a little chat!

Ingredients
1 loaf white bread (like Wonder)
2 whole large eggs, 4 large egg yolks
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows


Directions: Toast bread in a 350 degree oven until dried out (you aren't looking for color but a little brown is fine). It will take roughly 3 minutes a side (though I've never formally timed this step - just test it to the touch). If possible, allow the bread to dry overnight to really get all the moisture out. I find it really important to not skip this drying step as it allows the cream and egg mixture to really be absorbed by the bread.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat until blended. Dip each piece of bread briefly in the cream mixture to ensure each piece gets coated (when I've skipped this step there have been random spots of dry bread). Arrange slices in a buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, 3 layers high.

Slowly pour the mixture all over the bread. make sure it gets in between the slices. I don't always use all of the cream and egg mixture as I don't want the casserole to be soggy - the amount you use will be dependent on how dry your bread is. You want some mixture pooling in the bottom of the pan, but it shouldn't be so much that it starts to come up the sides of the pan. I do not allow this to soak overnight. When I have, I don't like the texture of the finished product. I allow the mixture to soak for about 5 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 degrees. If when you are about to put it in the oven all the liquid has been soaked up add a little bit more.

Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes with the foil on (this ensures an even moistness) and pull foil off and allow to finish about another 20 minutes until puffed and lightly golden.


Praline Topping:
1 stick butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
added 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.

I will often dry the bread and make the praline topping the night before then the day of, I'll soften the praline mixture by popping it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so and assemble the casserole. I put this in the oven about 2 hours before my guests arive as I prefer the casserole to set up a bit which it does when it cools.

So I keep trying to think of something poignant for my first blog post. But well, there just isn't. And in that case, I guess I'll just dive in. I keep getting asked for the same recipes as I've been a part of throwing two baby showers in the last four months. I figure this is an opportune place to post them. I've also been asked about some of the decor. I'm posting everything separately so it can be found later separately. Thanks to all who came out and celebrated with Tonya, it was so nice to see everyone!