My Dad loves a good whoopie pie. In fact, since the first time that I made whoopie pies for a family function, my Dad has started asking (jokingly?) every time I’m baking something whether or not I’m bringing whoopie pies. For Father’s Day this year, I made him black and gold whoopie pies to celebrate both Father’s Day and the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup. They were a resounding success.
My family has a lot of birthdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (My niece/nephew-to-be will soon be added to the list!) It is nice to find a way to make these birthdays special. This year for Dad’s birthday I made one big giant whoopie pie cake instead of a standard frosted cake. The recipe is really pretty easy, but there are a couple of tips in the notes to help ensure your success. Dad might have guessed that I was doing this, but I think he enjoyed it all the same. I hope you do too.
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I’m a sucker for countdowns anytime of year, but especially THIS time of year! Now this isn’t the Best of MK Design 2011 (um…blog idea….yes please!) but, here are the TOP FIVE decorations that I love in my own home this year.
5. Mirror, Mirror, on the Table
For my dining room tablescape, I love the look of mirrors under flowers or candles. I purchased these for about $5 a few years back and have certainly gotten a ton of use out of them. I may change the colors and the scene, but I always love the dimension it adds!
4. What’s Old is New Again Read More »
Ahh, Shabu-Zen, just thinking about it brings me to a peaceful, food-coma place. This restaurant has to be one of my all time favorite places to go. I LOVE it here. I crave it, seriously! My mouth is salivating right now just thinking about it. I get way too excited when I know I’m going. I know, I am giving it quite the build up but I’m telling you once you try it, you’ll be hooked!
Shabu-Zen isn’t your ordinary restaurant. It is Asian “hot pot” cuisine. What is that exactly?
Well…just like any other restaurant they have appetizers and main courses to choose from. The difference is you cook what you order. Yes, you are the chef! You don’t like garlic don’t add it. You want your beef cooked medium rare, go for it. Kinda cool, huh? I think so.
So this is how it works. When you sit down you are given the following:
The tools:
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One of the things I like to do for Christmas is to make treats for people as gifts. It started in part as necessity while I was in grad school–I couldn’t afford to give gifts to everyone I wanted to, but I could make treats. I’ve always made our traditional family Christmas cookies, but then started to want to give different kinds too. In some ways, I have been a victim of my own success. Now people are hoping for my baked goods each year. As much as I like to vary what I give, there are a few standard categories–cookies, cake, nuts, candy, or biscotti.
There are so many fun ways to package these as gifts. You can buy great printed clear plastic bags, treat bags, takeout containers, or mason jars. Some years I have done very simple packaging, putting the treats in a plastic food storage bag and then in a paper lunch bag. Then I folded down the top of the paper bag, punched two holes in the folded top, and tied ribbon through in a bow. Last year I gave some people spiced nuts in plastic bags together with a wooden bowl all in a gift bag. It was simple and (hopefully) delicious. I still haven’t quite decided on what I want to do for this year yet. Here a few of my favorites or ones I want to try. Read More »
