My Most Favorite Thing In The Kitchen ...

... is my stoneware bundt pan. From Pampered Chef. Yes. Pampered Chef.

This bundt pan and I go way back. Before I lived in Charlotte. Before I went to cooking school.

I remember the day I bought it like it was yesterday ... except it was over 10 years ago. I was working as a consultant in Charlotte and still living in Miami. A new friend, who is now a dear old friend, was hosting her first Pampered Chef party and invited me since she knew that I didn't know anyone in town. So I went to her home, met her friends and family and bought this bundt pan. It was love at first sight. Okay ... glimpse in a catalog ... since it was about a week or so until I had it in my hands.During the week between when I ordered it and received it, I went to the Barnes and Noble at South Park and browsed through cookbooks. I found the perfect cookbook with the perfect recipe for a vanilla bean poundcake. That recipe alone was worth the price of the cookbook.

I schlepped the bundt pan and the cookbook back to Miami (since my rental apartment kitchen was not equipped for baking) and made that first glorious poundcake. It was about the same time I discovered vanilla bean paste ... an efficient and cost effective substitute for vanilla beans ... it's the same end result without all the work. I don't use anything else ... 10 years later.

This is my winning trifecta ... my stoneware bundt pan, my vanilla bean poundcake recipe and Nielsen's Massey's vanilla bean paste. Don't you agree?I schlepped them all back to Mooresville a year later where they live comfortably in their appointed spots in my kitchen. If there's ever a natural disaster or some other reason to leave home in a hurry, after I grab my passport I'm getting my bundt pan!

Tickled Pink!

I'm hosting the Golden Girls later this week. We'll be making fiery, hot and sexy appetizers and desserts. What are we going to drink with it?

A Tickled Pink cocktail ... made with X Rated Fusion Liqueur, a blend of premium French vodka, blood oranges from Provence and mangoes and passion fruit from Brazil (available at our local ABC store).

The recipe is quite easy, one part X Rated Fusion liqueur mixed with 2 parts Champagne or Prosecco served in a flute! I'm positive we're going to have a great time and lots of laughs!

Here's a link to the X Rated Fusion site (it's safe): http://xratedfusion.com. There are recipes on for other cocktails on their site.

Better Late Than Never ... Buche de Noel

This holiday season I set one simple goal for myself, to make a buche de noel or traditional yule log cake for the first time. I did not get a chance to work on it before Christmas so I decided to tackle it on New Year's Eve. I figured if I got it in before year end I would feel good about being able to accomplish something.

I searched high and low for the perfect recipe and even borrowed a couple from our new friend and customer, Lorraine. In the end I used a cake recipe that I liked, the filling I used in my almond tiramisu and milk chocolate ganache. At the end of the three hour effort, we had a delicious but very unattractive Christmas Cactus. I will try again next year. Here's a recap of the fun!

Gathering the key ingredients

The Cake Batter

Batter Before Baking

Cake Out of the Oven

Coating the Cake with Amaretto

Filling Made with Mascarpone, Whipped Cream, Powdered Sugar, Amaretto and Almond Extract

Spreading the Filling

Rolling the Cake. This was a Nail Biter!

The Log Before Being Frosted

Ganache or Grout for Cake according to Carolyn

Adding the Bark

The Final Log with Sliced Almonds ... not exactly a Yule Log ... more of a Christmas Cactus

Holiday Sparkling Cocktail

Looking for an alternative to the mimosa for Christmas morning? How about a Pear, Pomegranate Prosecco cocktail?

I was flipping through the December issue of Family Circle magazine while getting my hair done (there were no People magazines available) and thought I would try this. The ingredients are easy to find and pomegranates are in season.

(photo and recipe courtesy of Family Circle Magazine)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pear nectar

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

2 cups chilled seltzer or prosecco

Pomegranate seeds for garnishing (optional)

1. In a large pitcher, stir together pear nectar, pomegranate juice and seltzer or prosecco. Place pomegranate sees in bottom of 4 glasses (if using).

2. Divide cocktail among glasses; serve.

Serves 4. Takes 10 minutes to make.

Pear nectar and pomegranate juice can be found in the same place as apple juice and sparkling cider in our local Harris Teeter grocery stores.

Looking for some other cool holiday cocktails? Here's a few that look interesting ...

S'mores Martini from the Bar at the Peninsula Chicago

Candy Cane Martini from the Peabody Hotel in Memphis

Hot Apple Pie from the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco

Have a great holiday!

Holiday Party Tips

Last weekend as I was catching up on past issues of the Charlotte Observer (yes, I still look through the "real" paper) I noticed an article on the front page of the Home section titled "20 Party Do's and Don'ts". Of course I had to read it to see if I had committed any (and how many) party faux pas along the way. As I read through the article, I realized that I agreed with many (if not all) of the advice given. Seeing that it's prime holiday party season, I thought this would be a great article to share.

I tried to find it online on the Observer's site but gave up after 10 minutes. Luckily, I still had the printed copy (see, it's good for something) which led me to the original source, an article from House Beautiful magazine which actually lists 101 Do's and Don'ts for hosting/attending a party. Even better! I've looked through the list and here's my top 10 Party Do's and Don'ts (in no particular order).

1. Loosen Up: "Have a stiff drink before anyone arrives. If you are having fun, everyone will have fun." -- Miles Redd, designer (Tip #5)

2. Charm the Host: "Don't come to a party empty-handed." -- Jayne Michaels, designer (Tip # 8)

3. Don't Recipe Search on Party Day: "Don't try a new recipe at a party." -- Tricia Foley, designer/author (Tip # 9)

4. Don't Delay Dinner for Tardy Guests: "Don't wait for late guests. People resent being hungry." -- Issac Mizrahi, fashion designer (Tip # 16)

5. Prep Ahead: "Get everything ready the day before." -- Suzanne Kasler, designer (Tip # 47)

6. Have Drinks Ready: "Have beverages visible from the moment guests step in the door." -- Matt and Ted Lees, chefs/cookbook authors (Tip # 51)

7. Play with the Centerpiece: "Flowers are overused as centerpieces. Use seasonal fruit, a tureen, or an interesting sculptural centerpiece instead." -- Christopher Spitzmiller, ceramic designer (Tip # 13)

8. Follow the One-Bite Rule: "Keep hors d'oeuvres to one bite. No one wants to talk or kiss with a mouthful." -- Larry Laslo, designer (Tip # 18)

9. Keep Champagne on Hand: "You should always have a cold bottle of bubbly stashed in your refrigerator in case friends drop by, and a bottle of something sparkly for non-drinkers." -- Christopher Hirsheimer, Co-founder, Canal House Cooking (Tip # 28)

10. Make Extra Food: "Don't be stingy with food and beverages. Like my old grandma used to say 'I'd rather have lots of leftovers than have someone leave my party hungry.'" -- Frank Fontana, designer, TV personality

Of course, I always follow #9 ... but not for company ... in case I have a bad (or good) day at work.

Check out the full article and browse House Beautiful's website for other great ideas. Have a great holiday!

Holiday Wine Elf

We hosted our first Open House for the holidays yesterday. As promised we had wine and nibbles and a visit from our favorite wine elf, John from Tryon Distributing.


Althought John poured four awesome wines, he was the big hit of the afteroon in his elf outfit which consisted of Santa hat, turtleneck sweater, suspenders, festive boxers and tights. The only thing missing was pointy elf-shoes. Maybe Santa will bring him some this Christmas!

Thanks for being a great wine rep and an even better sport, John!

Best of Appetizers 2010 - Ham and Gruyere Thumbprints

We originally planned five recipes for our Best of 2010 Appetizers class this past Wednesday but I decided to add one more, one of my all-time favorites, Ham and Gruyere Thumbprints, into the line up. I've been making this recipe for years and it's become a staple. Since it can be made in advance (and even frozen until ready to use), it comes in handy for wine tastings and if I have to take an appetizer to a party.

The original recipe came from Martha Stewart but I've modified it to suit my taste buds. I use my proven recipe for pate a choux, add Parmesan cheese to the dough and double the amount of ham.

The recipe starts out with making pate a choux (also called choux paste or cream puff pastry), a base that can be then used for sweet or savory pastries like cream puffs, eclairs, gougeres or thumbprints. The ingredients for pate a choux are simple but the technique requires a little skill. Sarah, one of our new friends, helped with this recipe. Here's what she did.

Water, butter and salt are heated in a saucepan until it just begins to boil (notice the small bubbles). Don't boil it too much or else the water begins to evaporate which throws off the liquid to flour ratio.

Once the water boils, add the flour in quickly (all at once) and start stirring. The flour will absorb the liquid mixture and will come together in a ball. Stir until the dough pulls away from the side and leaves a thin film at the bottom of the pan. Let it sit (off the heat) for about five minutes.

After the dough has cooled, eggs are added one at a time. This is the coolest part of making pate a choux. When you first add the egg and start mixing, the dough looks slimy and loose. As you keep stirring the egg absorbs into the dough and becomes smooth. By the time the last egg is incorporated, the dough is silky and manageable. From here, you can go sweet or savory. We added diced Black Forest ham, parmesan and a little pepper. Some of the thumbprints were piped using a pastry bag and some we formed using a cookie scoop. Then we wet our fingers with water and stuck a thumb in each one to make an indentation. The thumprints were baked for about 25 minutes at 400F. Little blocks of gruyere were added and then baked again until they melted.

This is what they looked like before we ate them. They were yummy. Of course.