How pretty is this centerpiece?!
Here you go: my annual posting of (honestly) unscrewupable recipe ideas for your Thanksgiving consideration. I'm on my way to the store a little later today to pick up the ingredients for our celebration, and Kendrick has requested that I include one of those green bean/pearl onion dishes, so if anyone has an especially great recipe to share I'd so appreciate it!
Happy shopping, happy eating, happy Thanksgiving. (You guys make me happy everyday. Thank you.)
Totally lit a fire last night (and yes it is 65F in Cali but I couldn't wait)
You know how most people (or, rather "most people on Pinterest"; not "most real people") do an annual spring cleaning? I always forget to do that because I'm so excited about actually doing spring-type things (like being outside as opposed to on my couch). Trying to get my house under control in preparation for the colder months simply makes more sense to me: winter - even in not-so-wintry California - is when we spend tons of time at home...so shouldn't we make that home as cozy and pleasant-to-be-in as possible?
Soup never solved anyone's problems, but sometimes it can help. This is the meal I make when I need the food equivalent of a hug, so I'm making it tonight, and eating it under a blanket, my phone and computer turned off and something Disney on the TV.
First, on the topic of baking, my friend Alisa - you know, the one who taught me how to make a fondant cake - and I are having a major problem at the moment. The problem is that she saw my video about Jell-O Worms, and decided to try making them herself, and instead of ending up with a single sad, limp (and blue) half-maggot, she ended up with this:
"Would you like a bloody slug?"
Come on, how cute are these guys?! I'm aware that the name "Bloody Slug" is mildly unappetizing, but let me assure you: these are suuuuuper delicious and will be consumed within seconds by the children in attendance - so if you want one, trust me and move quickly. (And yeah, they're essentially sugar bombs, but whatever, Halloween is like a Defcon 1 high-fructose disaster anyway. Might as well not fight it.)
So what these are, essentially, are cake pops made with extra frosting so that they sort of collapse on themselves and don't hold on to the exterior coating as well (thereby letting the color of the cake show through). And when the color that's showing through is red and the overall effect is that of a melty, ghost-ish, vaguely slug-like creature, there you go:
