Stars & Stripes Bombs

Prep your silicone shot glass mold generously by using a regular, unflavored baking spray to ensure easy release.  Place upside down onto a paper down to soak up any excess spray. Place mold onto a baking sheet for easy transport back and forth to the refrigerator.  Eating these is a bit of a challenge, so I would suggest just bombing it in your mouth - the buzz will follow momentarily!

Cream Layer

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup sugar

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 tbsp. vanilla-bean paste

1 cup vodka

Place cream, sugar and unflavored gelatin into pan, stir with whisk to combine.  Turn heat below pan to medium and whisk occasionally until gelatin is dissolved and mixture is beginning to steam.  Remove from heat and add vodka and vanilla-bean paste – stirring to combine.  Pour into a liquid measuring cup and fill mold half full, until the 'faceted edge' on the mold.    Place into the refrigerator and allow to chill for 20 minutes.

Blue Layer

1 cup water

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1-3 oz box Berry Blue jello

1 cup vodka 

Place water and unflavored gelatin into pan, stir with whisk to combine.  Turn heat below pan to medium and whisk occasionally until gelatin is dissolved and mixture is beginning to steam.  Remove from heat and add vodka and flavored jello – stirring to combine.  Using a tablespoon measurer, fill almost full and pour into each well of the mold.  Place into the refrigerator and allow to chill for at least six hours.

Remove from refrigerator and with the mold right-side up, gently squeeze the molds with your fingers to assist them in releasing.  It probably takes a minute to coax each jello shot out of it's mold, but it will eventually slide out effortlessly.  

Fill each glass with Kinky Liqueur and enjoy the explosion!

Stars & Stripes Tea

The Long Island Iced Tea updated for your 4th of July Celebration.

In a tall glass fill with:

¾ oz Blue Curaçao
¾ oz Gin
¾ oz Tequila
¾ oz Light Rum
¾ oz vodka

Fill ice

1 ½ oz sour mix - preferably homemade
1 oz Sprite (or any lemon-lime soda)

Combine in a pint glass, shake and serve with a lemon wedge. This one really packs a punch. Too many of these will have you seeing stars and stripes.

Flag Tarts

I have made these for years for any holiday that celebrates our country. They are super easy. You will need 3 3/4-by-13 1/4-inch, fluted, rectangular tart pans, which are available in many shops that specialize in culinary tools. This recipe also calls for golden raspberries, but you can use regular ones since you ultimately will be covering that tart with powdered sugar.

Pate Sucree (make this recipe twice and divide the dough into thirds)

2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup ice water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
Salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Lightly beat yolks and water in a small bowl until combined. Pulse flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream. Process until mixture just begins to hold together.

Divide the doubled recipe into three balls and wrap each remianing ones plastic wrap.

Place one of the prepared pate sucree balls between two silpats, roll out a disc of 1/4 - 1/8inch thick to fit each of the tart pans. Carefully transfer dough to each tart pan, tuck dough into the edges, gently pressing along sides, and allow excess dough to overhang the edges. Trim the dough by running your rolling pin over the dough against the edges. Gently shape the edges by pressing the length of your forefinger against each flute along the sides. Prick all over the bottom with the tines of a fork. Transfer to the refrigerator, and chill for 1 hour. Repeat with 2 more discs of dough.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove chilled tart shells from refrigerator, and line each with a piece of parchment paper that overhangs the edges by at least 2 inches. Fill parchment with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until just starting to color, about 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights from tart shells, and return tart shells to oven. Continue baking until tart bottom is golden, about 20 minutes more. Transfer tart shells to a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely. Carefully remove tart shells from pan.

Prepare creme fraiche filling.

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces creme fraiche
1 cup confectioner's sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and vanilla until soft. In a separate bowl, whisk creme fraiche with a balloon whisk until it holds soft peaks

Fold in fraiche while gradually sifting the confectioners' sugar over the top; fold just until combined. Cover with plastic wrap; place in refrigerator until ready to use, up to 2 hours.

Using an offset spatula, spread 1/3 of the creme fraiche filling into the bottom of each tart shell. To glaze blueberries, toss in a small bowl with 1/2 cup warm strained blueberry jam. Arrange blueberries in one of the shells. Arrange raspberries in second shell and brush carefully with 1/2 cup warm raspberry jam. Arrange golden raspberries in the third shell, toss in a small bowl with 1/2 cup warm apricot jam - generously dust golden raspberries with confectioners' sugar. Chill for at least one hour. Arrange tarts on a serving platter. Serve and enjoy!

A look back at the bake sale

For my first bake sale, I would write it down as a success. I have never seen so many, great people. I was asked many times what was selling the most and it was even across the board. Everything was kid friendly and adult tempting. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, it was great meeting you! Click here for a slideshow of the day.

July 4th Star Cookies

Here I used my vanilla-bean sugar cookie recipe with my 7" star cookie cutter. Topped it with colored sanding sugar before baking. These will be at my bake sale!

4th of July Carnation Balls

Carnation balls are a fresh take on a humble flower. They add a fun burst of color to your Fourth of July table, and they're easy to make. Thoroughly saturate a sphere of floral foam with cool water, then insert short carnation stems — cut to an inch below the calyx — in a concentric, coiling pattern until the sphere is almost covered. Each of these 4" spheres holds about 50 carnations. Display carnation balls individually, or cluster balls of varying sizes — and color — on a favorite vase or tray to create a distinctive and dramatic centerpiece. Place sphere with its "bald spot" in a glass or saucer of cool water; refresh daily and it will last a week.

Oh, and don't let me forget to say these are sooo easy to make, your friend and even your parents will be impressed!

Carnation Balls - How to

Here is how to make the carnation balls on your own!
You are going to want to start out with 4" oasis foam balls. Place them in a tub of water and let them sink on their own so they fully soak up as much fluid as possible. If you are going to place these in a saucer when you are done, cut off a side of the ball to form a flat surface that will accomodate the saucer.You will roughly need 50 carnations to fill a 4" oasis ball - 75 carnations to do a 6" ball. Start out by cutting them roughly 2" below the calyx on the diagonal. Instert them into the wet oasis ball.


Continue to fill the carnations in tight so you do not see the oasis.

Finally place the ball on a surface once you have filled in the top. This allows you to fill in the perimeter of your bottom area. Alternatively if you are placing these in a saucer, now is the time to do that. I used water glasses as they allow me to elevate the arrangement.

Fill the in the perimeter and when that is done fill in the area between the top and bottom so it is full. If you find yourself running low on carnations, now is the time to do some rearranging.

And finally you have the finished product!