Crafts: Bachelorette Basket of Booze

So, I apologize in advance: this post isn't going to be about food. Sometimes I like to be a bit crafty. Since this is MY blog, I guess I can write about anything I want, right? I feel like everybody is always looking for inexpensive and cute gift ideas, and here's one I made!

A few weekends ago I traveled to Tampa to celebrate my friend Becky's Bachelorette weekend. I had no idea what to get her, so I did some searching on pinterest. I found this adorable 21st Birthday basket, and decided to recreate it Bachelorette-style. It turned out AMAZING, and she (and the other gals) loved it!

You need:
a basket/bucket
foam to fit the basket
spray paint
wooden dowels or lollipop sticks (I used these)
ribbon (I used 2 spools)
super glue
easter filling for covering the foam
shooter-sized bottles of your Bachelorette's favorite booze
anything else fun (I got a thong and some Bachelorette cards)

Start by cutting your foam down to fit your basket. I cut mine so it was an inch or two shorter than the top of the basket. I recommend doing this outdoors. I did it in my kitchen and there were little white pieces of foam EVERYWHERE! Then, spray paint the foam to match your basket (mine was dark brown so I spray painted it black; I just didn't want it to be glaring white through the slats in the basket). I also spray painted my lollipop sticks black as well. This was harder than it seemed... I ended up having to stick them in the excess foam to be able to get all the sides, and even then, I ended up with spray paint everywhere! (Another outdoors portion of this project.) I then cut ribbon about 18" long for each stick and superglued it to the ends. Tie your shooter bottles to the sticks with the ribbon. I made a cute bow on each one too. Then stick each one in the foam. (There were a few that were a little too heavy to tie, so I just placed them in there.) Add your easter grass and voila!

Here's an overhead picture:

The most expensive part of this project was DEFINITELY the booze. I didn't really pay attention to what I was picking (I got 20 bottles) and the bill was a shocker at the end. But, I bet you could find those $1 shooters and then this would be a lot cheaper. Other than the booze, I spent maybe $20 on all the other materials (use those Michael's coupons to your advantage.. you can even print them off the website!). An adorable, thoughtful and inexpensive gift!

Get creative.. even when you aren't in the kitchen!! :)

APOLOGIES!! & A Yummy Salad

First, let me start by saying I am truly and deeply sorry I've been supremely lax about this blog. In the past few months, I moved to Ft Lauderdale, have gotten settled and into a routine, so hopefully now I can start a. cooking more (eating out is expensive and BAD for you!) and b. writing this blog again!

My favorite salad of all time is tomato & cucumber salad. Basically chopped tomatoes and cukes with olive oil and rice wine vinegar. Well, lately, I've been getting SUPER into pinterest, and found this little gem of a salad the other day that I wanted to make. I made it (semi-according to the recipe) and it was delicious. This morning as I was making lunch, I had an extra cucumber but no tomato, so I decided to whip it up again. I started to cut up an apple for a snack, but thought that it might be tasty to add it to the mix, and it turned out AMAZING. (Confession, I sorta liked the apple more than the cucumber part of this salad.)

Sweet & Spicy Cucumber Salad
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp white sugar
red pepper flakes to taste (I added a bit too many, oops, spicy!)
salt & pepper to taste

Start by slicing up all the veggies. My cucumbers were a little fat, next time I'll slice them thinner. The red onion I sliced very thin and it turned out great. I hate raw onions, but these were a little pickled and super yummy. The original recipe says to salt and drain the cucumbers for an hour, I did this, but I'm pretty sure you could skip it. Mix the water, vinegar, sugar, red pepper, salt & pepper in a bowl. The sugar should dissolve after a few mixes. Add in the veggies and let sit for a few hours in the fridge (if you can wait that long!). I made this at 7:30 this morning and ate it as a morning snack and it was perfect.

ENJOY!

(Sorry for the tupperware and questionable picture quality, I clearly didn't think this through fully this morning.)

Confessions of a Recipe Hoarder

My Name is Janie, and I Hoard Recipes.

Every month, I get these amazing magazines (Bon Appetit thanks to Coke Rewards, Food & Wine thanks to some spare Delta Airline points, Real Simple thanks to an impulse purchase at Publix and Everyday Food thanks to one Miss Flossie Gillen) and every month I religiously go through them and tear out recipes I want to try. I missed a couple months and took like 5 Bon Appetits to Germany with me and went through all of them while I was there and tore out a ton of recipes. (This doesn't even begin to count all the recipes I get from the email subscriptions to all these magazines too.)

I have a wonderful recipe binder from William Sonoma. And it's neatly divided into sections like Appetizers, Soups & Salads, Breads, you get the idea. And in each section I have all my favorite recipes on cards neatly organized. And then I have a plastic sleeve with all my hoarded recipes staring me in the face every time I turn to that section. Problem is, I hardly EVER get around to trying them! Mostly because once I find something I like, I want to make it again and again because it tastes so good when it hits your lips, which leaves little time to try new things. I'm also like this at restaurants. So when I try, and like, a new recipe, I move it from the big plastic sleeve, to a recipe card sleeve. I've gotten too lazy to transcribe them all onto fancy cards, so I just stick the cut out in the sleeve.

Since the arrival of pinterest on the scene, my recipe hoarding has gone digital... and gotten worse. Now daily I can scour the pages of pinterest, find and pin recipes that look amazing, but I will likely never make. I have a board for savory recipes, for sweets, for drinks, for healthy food, even for holiday recipes! HELP! I'm pin-ddicted!

However, now that I'm all settled in Ft Lauderdale and my roommate and new coworkers are ready to EAT, I need to get to cooking, and pronto! My piles aren't getting any shorter! My goal is to try one pinterest recipe a week and one "real" recipe a week. Let's see how we do!

Peanut Sauce

I made this the other night to go with some Shrimp Summer Rolls (blog to come shortly!). It was super easy and super yummy, but it made A LOT, so if you just need a little, I would half it.

Peanut Sauce 

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy and it was super yummy, but use what you have)

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced (I used jarred garlic and put a little of the garlic juice in too)

1 teaspoon chile-garlic paste (so I went and bought this, but after I opened it, I realized it's really close to sriracha sauce, so if you have that, don't buy this!)

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup water

Mix everything together until smooth. I found it easiest to use a whisk to get it smooth.

Serve on anything and everything. Like I said, I put it on summer rolls, but you can also use it for chicken or beef satay, thin it out and use it as a salad dressing or marinade, use it to top noodles, or even for a stir-fry. Use your imagination!

And... don't be afraid that you won't use the ingredients you have to buy to make this again. All of them are pretty common ingredients in Asian cooking that you'll definitely use over and over if you like experimenting with different foods!

And... (promise this is the last thing), if you have an Asian/ethnic grocery store or market in your neighborhood, CHECK IT OUT! There's one right around the corner from me called Dong-A-Supermarket, and it's filled with all sorts of strange things I've never heard of and will never eat, but it's also filled with all sorts of treasures that you can't get anywhere else, and they're all SUPER cheap (6 limes for $1! please!). BTW and I went there one evening and spent 2 hours wandering the aisles just taking it all in. Go out and explore your neighborhood, I promise you won't regret it :)

Sriracha Remoulade

A few nights ago we had sweet potato fries with dinner, and instead of ketchup, I wanted to make something a little more special. I've been hoarding (okay, I'll admit it, I'm a recipe hoarder) this recipe for Sriracha Remoulade from Bon Appetit for awhile, and thought I could whip up a version with ingredients I already had in the pantry. I've obviously deviated (quite a bit) from the recipe, but you know my policy -- use what you have!

Sriracha Remoulade
1/4 cup mayo
1 tablespoon sriracha (or more if you like it spicy)
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
fresh ground black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and enjoy!

[Again, no picture. Blame New Years.]

Cheese Truffles

The second yummy I made this weekend was Cheese Truffles. I made them because my roomie is vegetarian, and I didn't want him to feel left out with the Pancetta Crisps. These are also super easy and super yummy! I found this recipe in some magazine a long time ago. Officially, it's a Tillamook Cheese recipe, but it's totally okay if you don't use Tillamook cheese. :)

Cheese Truffles 
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallot
4 ounces Jack cheese, broken into chunks
4 ounces White Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese, broken into chunks
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy or cognac (I actually used Grand Marnier, and it was fine!)
1 tablespoon finely minced celery
pinch cayenne
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (don't use panko)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Heat oil in small frying pan and saute shallots until soft. Set aside to cool.

Place cheese, butter & brandy in bowl of food processor. (I used a Vitamix blender, because out of all the crazy kitchen appliances we have in this house, we actually do NOT own a food processor!) Pulse until mixture is smooth.

Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in shallots, celery and cayenne. Chill in fridge 1/2 hour or until firm.

In separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and parsley. Using a teaspoon, form balls and roll in breadcrumb mixture. This makes about 20-24 truffles. Serve (to your vegetarian friends) at room temperature!

Thanks to John & Juan for the beautifulest plates EVER :)

Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese & Figs

Gosh, I must be the WORST blogger in the world. But I made some yummies this weekend that I MUST share with you.

So my crew had an impromptu dinner party Saturday night, and I had to bring an appetizer. I've been eying this recipe for awhile, especially over the holidays, but never found the perfect occasion to make it. But I decided a small gathering of close friends wouldn't judge me if it went terribly wrong. So I made it! And it was a big hit! And, the best part, it's SO easy to make.

Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese & Figs
(I'm gonna give you the recipe for 12, but I made 16. However many you want to make, just get that many pancetta slices.)
12 thin pancetta slices (I had to go to the deli counter, don't get them TOO thin, though!)
12 arugula leaves
12 teaspoons goat cheese (softened)
fig jam or preserves (so I couldn't find this in Publix, but I bought some extra dried figs, blended them with water and honey and made my own fig "preserves")
6 fresh or plump dried figs, halved (I cut them in half lengthwise -- if that makes sense -- so the pretty side shows)
chopped fresh thyme
fresh ground pepper

Lay the pancetta slices on a rimmed baking sheet (I actually used a rack inside a half-sheet pan, like I make bacon, to let the grease drip down). Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes. You want the pancetta to be crispy, but not burnt. Keep an eye on it! Cool pancetta slices. To assemble, get one pancetta crisp, spread with a little fig "preserves", top with a leaf of arugula, then a teaspoon of goat cheese, and finally lay the fig on top, pressing down a little to secure into the cheese. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and ground pepper.

 
ENJOY!

[Side note about the photo--there was an incident involved my camera over New Years so it's now in the camera graveyard. Therefore, until I decide to shell out for another camera, please enjoy these sketchy iPhone photos!]