Frosted (JUMBO) Animal Cookies

{image from Mother's cookies}

When my friend, Teresa, from Blooming on Bainbridge mentioned that she loves Frosted Animal Cookies, a little light bulb went off in my head. 
{PS...if you've never visited Teresa's blog, go now...they say Disney World is the happiest place on earth; they're wrong.  It's Teresa's blog.}

Why not make my own *larger* version of them?

See, I love Mother's Frosted Animal Cookies.  When kiddo was a toddler, I lived on a diet of Mother's Frosted Animal Cookies and Vanilla Coke.  Then I weaned myself off of them and started my current diet of Starbucks Pumpkin Bread and Iced Decaf Vanilla Lattes.  Much healthier.

I didn't have all of the correct shapes for the cookies; I did have an elephant cutter, but the rest, well...I improvised.

We have frosted animal bunnies, ducks, giraffes....

....and the all-important frosted animal stegosaurus.

For the flavor, I wanted to be authentic. So, I checked a bag of Mother's Cookies to see what flavor they used to make them so delicious.  Vanilla? Almond? Lemon? Butter?  Turns out, what makes them so delicious is just plain ol' sugar. I couldn't find any flavoring in the ingredients whatsoever.

Or maybe it's the sprinkles.

So here is my not-so-authentic version:


Lemon Cut-Out Cookies

3 c. unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
2 sticks salted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.  Set aside.

With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and cold butter until fluffy.  Add in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.  Beat until combined.

On low speed, add in the flour mixture in 3 additions.  Scrape the bottom of the bowl as necessary.  Knead together the dough as needed by hand as it will be very stiff.

Roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes about 3/8 to 1/4" thick.  Place on parchment lined sheets.  Freeze 5-10 minutes on the sheets before placing in the oven (this will help prevent cookies from spreading).

Bake 9-12 minutes, depending on cookie cutter size.  Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Lemon Royal Icing

4 TBSP meringue powder
scant 1/2 c. water
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy.

Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine.

Add in the corn syrup and lemon juice

Increase speed to med-high and beat for about 5-10 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form. (You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold up and jiggle without the peak falling.) Do not overbeat.
 
Cover with plastic wrap touching the icing or divide and color using gel paste food colorings. (I used AmeriColor Gel Paste Food Color in Bright White and Deep Pink.)

---

Remember last week when I visited my friend Cheryl from TidyMom? She wrote a great post about our visit.  Even though it was our first time to meet, I felt like I had known her for AGES!  We talked from the second I stepped off the plane until the second she dropped me back off at the airport.

Cheryl is just what she is on her blog....fun, funny, creative, smart, beautiful...I'm so  thrilled to be her friend.  She also has an adorable husband and 2 beautiful girls! (AND, her cupcakes are delicious!)

Oh yeah, I also bottle fed a 750-pound lion.

If you have a bloggy friend, I highly recommend making the effort to get together in REAL LIFE!

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Duck Duck Goose

A few photos from the launch of Duck Duck Goose which I attended recently...

Duck Duck Goose
31-37 Artemis Lane
QV, Melbourne
Vic 3000
(03) 9005-0888
Website

Duck Duck Goose is a new bar and restaurant in QV, combining French and Chinese influences into one enormous restaurant and bar.

Upon entering, I was most impressed by the archways and gorgeous bar and lounge area. Its size and location would make it an obvious choice for Friday night drinks.




As I mentioned, Duck Duck Goose is absolutely massive, with seating room for at least 200. Beyond the bar and lounge area is seating for fine dining, as well as some private dining rooms.


From the private dining areas, you can see into the open kitchen. Personally, I find it so interesting to have a glimpse into commercial kitchens, especially for an operation the size of Duck Duck Goose!

Chefs taking pictures of their food. I'm not the only one!!!!!!!!!

There were many canapés on offer, with a focus on beef and seafood. There seemed to be varying cultural influences on the food, from European to Asian, which I'm sure will be represented in the regular menu.

Top left: Roast pork and vegetable skewers
Top right: Spicy risotto
Bottom left: Chef
Bottom right: Deep-fried crab balls

Other canapés included various dumplings, wagyu beef with apple, mashed potato with fish, beef jelly, pickled cucumber and more. The stronger dishes were definitely the deep-fried ones!

On the other side of the restaurant is a slightly more casual section, where I believe they will be serving yum cha and quick meals.


In the throng of people, we managed to run into a few food bloggers, and we also happened to meet Chef Paul Wilson (My only visit to The Botanical was after he left as chef, unfortunately!)

Look how happy Thanh is!

Ling, Chef Paul Wilson and myself - photo courtesy of Thanh

Thanks to all involved for a fun night!

Sarah and Sandra attended the launch party as guests of Duck Duck Goose.

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Please Hold...

I'm supposed to be closing on my house in the morning.  Unfortunately...that just isn't going to happen.

I'm ready!  The sellers are ready!  I've completed enough forms that I think I may have killed a few trees.  My loan is approved, got the home owners insurance all set....but the current lien-holding bank hasn't approved the sale.

I know I'm not alone.  This is the story of thousands and thousands of short sales in process right now...but it's still a bit frustrating and disappointing.

On the bright side - I'm going to start scouting out living room sets (I'd buy it now if I could guarantee that I'd have somewhere to put it in a month!), catch up on some reading, go to the beach, and otherwise enjoy a five day weekend.  :-)

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Celebrating Mom

Ladies, today was mom's last day of chemo!  I'm so happy for her.  I always knew how strong she was - and making it through multiple surgeries, pulmonary embolisms & chemo treatments has made me appreciate that strength all the more.

From here, she needs to go through HER2 treatments every three weeks for the next year.  In one way - these treatments are going to be a piece of cake in comparison to the chemo cocktail she was on.  But, these treatments come with risk and her oncologist says that heart problems are something that she keeps her eye on during this time.

I will be so relieved when she makes it through her HER2 treatments and is one step closer to being in remission!  Plus, that means she can go visit her friends in England - something she's been looking forward to for MONTHS.

Way to go, Mom.  You rock!

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How to Package Cookies for Shipping . . . Works for Me Wednesday

Works for Me Wednesday is over at University of Cookie this week.  

Have you ever wondered about the best way to package and ship decorated cookies?  In this VLOG post, I'll show you how.  

{And come see the World's Largest Bag of Packing Peanuts while you're there!}

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Spaghettini Con Cacio e Pepe

I recently came into possession of a block of lovely reggiano cheese, and thought it would make the perfect base for a simple supper-for-one. I chose to make a version of Nigella's capellini con cacio e pepe, from Forever Summer, as I thought it would really highlight the wonderful flavour of the cheese. It is really just pasta with pecorino romano (I subsituted the parmigano reggiano) and lots of pepper.

I have made it once before, but never got around to blogging it. (That was in the early days of this blog, back when it was pretty much all just Nigella recipes!)

I started with 150g of ri-donk-ulously expensive spaghettini that I bought at a gourmet shop...


... then cooked it in boiling salted water until cooked through but still slightly firm. (One of the benefits of cooking for myself is that I don't have to overcook the pasta until it is super-soft all the way through).

I chucked in a small knob (heh) of butter...

... and tossed it through 5 tablespoons of grated reggiano and a good sprinkling of coarsely ground black pepper. (Nigella's recipe says 1/2 a tablespoon, but I wasn't about to start measuring it!)


This is one of the times where you will probably need to hold back a bit of the pasta cooking water to help all the ingredients mix together well, as it is quite a dry mixture.


Delicious! If you can get your hands on some good pasta and good cheese, it is definitely worth giving this dish a go! I love the deeply savoury cheese, combined with the gentle warmth of the pepper. It's so easy and quick too - something you can definitely eat, guilt-free, whilst slumped on the couch after a hard day with a nice glass of wine.

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Tuesdays At The Table - Dragon's Breath Dip

Happy Tuesday! I can't believe that July is almost over.  Where has the summer gone?  Oh yeah, it's been a heatwave and we've all been stuck indoors!  I hope August is a bit better to everyone.

I'm supposed to close on my house this Friday.  It's still really iffy, so if everyone could keep their fingers crossed for me - I'd appreciate it!  Even if I do close on the house and am in process of moving - I will have a TATT post for you.  :-)

I've seen a few different variations of this recipe...but this one is my favorite.

Dragon's Breath Dip

2 heads garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. Brie cheese
1 (3-oz.) small pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash or two of fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut top 1/2" off the top of the garlic heads and remove some of the loose papery skin, leaving the heads intact. Place each on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle each with the olive oil, and wrap tightly. Bake at 350 degrees 50-60 minutes, until the garlic is very soft and begins to brown. Cool until easy to handle and squeeze each head to remove the soft roasted cloves.

In a food processor, process Brie cheese and cream cheese with the salt, pepper, and garlic cloves.  Refrigerate several hours to blend flavors.  Serve with melba toast, crackers, crustini or the like.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

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Six Wines and Six Dishes at Indya Bistro

Indya Bistro
643 Rathdowne St
Carlton North
Ph: (03) 9347-6387
Website

Indya Bistro is a casual modern-Indian restaurant located on a busy section of Rathdowne street (near Cafe ZumZum and other Melbourne foodie favourites). They recently hosted a "Wine and Spice Night", matching 6 courses with 6 wines for $49. Even though this represents excellent value, I was lucky enough to be invited along to the event. I think it was supposed to be a one-time-only thing, but it turned out to be so popular that they held another session the day after!


Indian food is notoriously tricky to match with wine - I'd always just choose beer - and the point of the evening was to showcase some great matches in a menu developed by sommelier Patrick Walsh and Indya's head chef Wilson Gomes. Ever since Sandra started working at Moortangi Estate, I've become a lot more interested in food-and-wine matching, and I was sure it would be a delicious and informative night. According to our waiter, the wines they've chosen are on the sweeter side, to counteract the spiciness in the food. We noticed the wines were quite fruity and citrussy, and quite light. There was only one red, and it was a pinot noir.

Each of the 6 wines was poured as each course was brought out. With the detailed tasting notes they provided, this gave us a good chance to really taste and appreciate the matches. We sat with Thanh and Ling, and I think it was good to sit in a small group of food-minded friends so that we could discuss our opinions over the meal. I was (obviously) impressed with the many Germanic wines and varietals on offer.

1. Spinach Paneer Delight with NV Stefano Lubiana Brut, Granton, Tasmania


This was a lovely starter - warm spicy spinach, topped with crumbled paneer, on little flat-bread triangles. It's the type of dish I can imagine served as a canapé at a function. (Although having said that, I could have easily eaten a huge bowl of that spinach for dinner and been quite happy).


2. Spicy Stir-fried prawns with 2008 Dr Loosen "Blueslate" Riesling, Mosel, Germany
The prawns were quite tasty, well-cooked and coated with a nice mixture of spices. The riesling that accompanied was slightly sweet and citrussy, and made a good match.

Sandra doesn't eat prawns, and they kindly substituted some spicy grilled chicken pieces instead.


3. Chicken Chettinad with 2009 Hunky Dory Tangle, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand
This was a mild and creamy chicken curry. Although I enjoyed the curry itself, we found this to be the least successful wine match of the evening - the combination of the spices and the Hunky Dory somehow tasted murky.


4. Honey Galic Gobi Florettes with 2009 Pitnauer Blaufränkisch Rosé, Burgenland, Austria

These cauliflower florettes were the hit of the evening! The florettes were covered in a sweet and garlicky coating that had a slight crispness to it. I thought it was similar to a Chinese honey chicken from a suburban Chinese take-away, just executed much better. Absolutely addictive. We've already decided that we must come back to try these again. The acidity in the matching rosé worked well with the sweetness of the cauliflower.


5. Pondicherry Fish curry with 2008 Villa Wolf Gewürztraminer, Pfalz, Germany
The fish was our least favourite dish of the night - whilst the sauce itself was nice, the fish was slightly dry and very salty, especially because it wasn't served with rice.


6. Marinated Lamb with 2008 Delta Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand

We finished off with a lamb curry, which like the chicken curry, was quite mild. The lamb pieces themselves were impressively tender. I thought the pinot noir complemented the lamb well, as it was able to stand up to the complex spices without overpowering it.

Despite there being 6 courses, the overall meal was still relatively light - possibly a little too light for all the wine - it's a good thing I didn't have to drive that night! It can be quite a challenge to make Indian food glamorous, and I think Indya has done a good job! Thanks to the team at Indya Bistro for a fun (and educational) night!


Sarah and Sandra enjoyed Six Wines and Six Dishes as a guest of Indya Bistro.

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Bambi

JC and the boys came across an unfortunately scene yesterday.  Momma deer had been hit by a car and killed... How sad!  They soon realized that hiding nearby was Bambi.

Here she is.  Isn't she cute?!?!

Bambi has been turned over to the local SPCA to be taken care of.  The boys got to play with a baby deer and do their good deed for the day.  :-)

Good work, boys!

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Cookies for TidyMom, DIY Custom Sanding Sugar and How to Market Your Business without Really Trying

Longest.Post.Title.Ever.

I'm in Saint Louis!!!  You've heard me mention Cheryl of TidyMom here numerous times.  She's just the BEST....baking, crafting, photographing, TIDYING....she does it all.

I think Mr. E was wondering if she actually existed, so he gave me a ticket to actually meet her in REAL LIFE!

Here we are yesterday.  (Yes, I do have eyes, they just don't want to show themselves in this picture.)  I'm having the best time getting to visit with Cheryl and meet her adorable family.  If you have a bloggy friend, I highly recommend getting together in person!!! I am LOVING this visit!

So, the cookies.  I'm going to admit I'm not thrilled with them.  Cheryl is working on a blog redesign and wait until you see it.  It's fresh and bright and modern...and I wanted to make her cookies that captured that look.

I'm not sure I succeeded.

The inspiration for these comes from Decadent Cookie Favours which were featured on Sweetopia last week. (They do them much better.)

One reason, I can't pipe straight diagonal lines.  When will I learn my lesson?

BUT....I did try something new that worked!  Making custom sanding sugar!!!  Here's how easy it is...

Mix plain sanding sugar with a bit of AmeriColor Gel Paste Food Color . Shake and stir until blended.  Voila!

Now, How to Market Your Business Without Really Trying....

I was on the airplane to St. Louis and, for the first time ever, I actually had a laptop to use.  I was feeling pretty darn cool.  Had the row to myself, got out my computer and started editing the pictures of these cookies...

....that I almost didn't bring because they didn't turn out like I wanted. 

As we're taxing to the gate, the man diagonally behind me said, "Excuse me....those cookie pictures you had on your computer....do you make those? Do you have a card?"

Then the lady across the aisle said she wanted one, too.  The the guy BEHIND me asked for one!!!

Lesson learned...you can be shy and market your business...just have your computer open to your pictures.

Lesson learned 2...NEVER look at anything personal on your laptop on an airplane.  Apparently, EVERYONE is watching!

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