Blogspot - Recipe Scratch Rusia

This year I've joined the Angels Board of The Children's Place,  a nurturing, caring place for the very youngest survivors of  abuse, neglect and other childhood traumas.    Their only goal is helping these kids heal a nd give them new hope for the future.   The work they do at the Children's Place is indeed the work of Angels. The Children's Place Mission: Nurturing and promoting the healthy development of young children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and trauma by providing specialized services and family support, within a safe and caring environment. Please learn more about The Children's Place, here > The Angels Board's mission is help fund this wonderful organization through events and our networks of friends and family.  I thought it would be so fun to bring you all into this mission with me.  I know we are all looking for worthy ways to give back for the Holidays.     Today, 20% of all sales will be donated to The Ch...

Emma and I made a Chocolate Buttercream cake for Mike's birthday.   Mike is a fan of the classics - chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies and brownies - so for his birthday, we thought a classic chocolate cake with homemade buttercream would be perfect. We've become fascinated by Culinary Dots cakes - I've never seen anything quite like them.   She recently made a cake with a Christmas Tree in the center that Emma thought would be fun to try.  I made the cake and frosted it with the buttercream (recipe below), and she made the Tree 100% by herself.  She started with an ice cream cone as the base, then added green buttercream. While Culinary Dots makes vegan treats... we used a boxed cake mix and this wonderful Homemade Chocolate Buttercream.  I made the cakes in these 8" cake pans. 8" x 3" Cake Pans, $8 Chocolate Buttercream 1 stick of butter, melted 1 1/2 cups of cocoa 1/2 cup of milk (plus more) 2 sticks of butter, softened 5-6 cups of powdered sugar (plus...

I've told the story before - before Mike and I were even dating, I served warm "homemade" bread at a dinner party at my house, and he raved about it for weeks.  Did that lead to him finally asking me out?  I guess we'll never know...  The Barefoot Contessa has her "Engagement Roasted Chicken" and I have my "homemade" bread.   You can make a loaf size as in the first photo, or you can cut the log into cinnamon rolls and bake them in the Medium Size Basket instead.  My secret weapon to "homemade" bread is Rhodes frozen bread dough.  (This is not paid, by the way.)  It is found in almost every grocery store in the freezer department.  Over the years I have transformed the simple dough into Cinnamon Rolls, Monkey Bread, Pecan Rolls, Pizza Bread, etc.  When I saw these Wooden Bread Baking Baskets I knew they would be just the thing to take my "homemade" bread to the next level.  I've seen them many times in Martha Stewart used t...

Wine is always the best Hostess Gift.  I like to dress up the bottles with wrapping to make it more of a special gift.  Sometimes we'll write right on the bottle with a gold sharpie - I especially like to do this for special bottles we give for birthdays or anniversaries.  And sometimes I tie a bow around with a tag to dress it up a little bit.  Recently, I wrapped a Wrap around the bottle to make a package that is a gift in itself.   I've added a new Deep Red Wrap to my collection.  This has been my go-to this season.  I don't own many (any!?) red blouses or sweaters, so this wrap instantly gives my wardrobe a festive flair.  I've worn it dressed up with a dark brown faux fir vest, my black wool coat and super casual with my olive and navy puffer vests.   For the Wine Wrapped Gift, I tied the bottle with Brown Velvet Ribbon and a Berry Tag . Super Soft Scarves, $12 $10   Wraps, $16 $14

'Tis the season for cocktail parties.  While Thanksgiving is all about the big sit-down dinner, Christmas seems to be more about the cocktail parties.  I put together this list of my favorite appetizers from years past.  Some are from my catering days, when December was my craziest time of the year and the parties were sort of fancy and refined.  Some are new recipes that we've become fond of now that we're in that kid-friendly entertaining phase of our lives where cocktail parties are really Open Houses with kids running around. Crab Stuffed Mushrooms The filling is like the center of a crab rangoon - so yummy. How to Build a Bountiful Cheese Board Sometimes this is the only thing I make for a party! Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish and Soft Rolls This is how to turn appetizers into a meal.  Everyone will oh-and-ah.  Such a treat. Mini Lobster Rolls Again, a little bit-sized luxury that everyone will go crazy for and feel completely spoiled. Baked Fontina ...