Pre-party

Sent from an alternate universe

Lynne's beef stew

"Chocolate Yummy"

Peanut butter fudge

Today at school

Done gone crazy

That's right. I made one and was bedazzled by it. We thought my mother-in-law would like one - she did! Then, just because I wanted to try another one with a particular color scheme and tinsel (and glitter was everywhere anyway) I made a third. I am seriously thinking about making a St. Patrick's Day one. But perhaps I can just bide my time on ebay, ordering up vintage ornaments during the off season, until I feel like it's an appropriate time to start holiday crafting and watching Elf again. We call that November.

Baby Shower

I spent a long time thinking about what would be appropriate, what people might like and how I would decorate these cakes for my friend's baby shower. I even did single layer cakes a month earlier in each flavor just as practice! The final cakes were triple layer (because I wanted to make triple layer cakes for some reason, though just two would have been plenty). In the end, they turned out just perfect...

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream frosting on the left.
Classic White Cake with a hint of Almond, accompanied by Vanilla Frosting and sprinkles on the right. Can you guess what she's having?

I also made a decorative garland of pennant flags that I had so much fun doing! Apparently I felt the need to get my craft on.

Pies, tarts and logs

Ginger Pumpkin Tart / Cranberry Orange Tart / Bourbon Pecan Pie

Yule Log

Lemon Squares

Year End

It has been a long while since I've been a regular contributor to my own blog. Not sure why, just busy. But frankly 'busy' is the norm. So what gives? I don't know. I was busy preparing for Thanksgiving, then my best friend's baby shower, then nary a break until Christmas was upon us, for which I made 2 gifts. Now it's January, and I finally have time to sift through stacks of mail, photos on my phone, etc. So, I guess that explains it.
Also, as far as cooking during that time frame, I made a few new salads that I neglected to shoot. But otherwise stuck to the basics: roasted veggies with either turkey burgers, turkey tacos, or chicken strips. An occasional pork loin. Essentially, the norm at our house, not entirely worthy of documentation, just praise for keeping us alive during the holidays.
That said, I do have several photos to show of crafty stuff I've done over the last few months, desserts, a couple of school shots I had a hand in creating. That's the funny thing with assisting classes at the New School, sometimes I'm proud of what turns out, and want to photograph it, but usually I didn't actually make it. I just helped. A lot in some cases. So it feels not entirely authentic to claim it on my blog. I suppose I can just call it all "student work" and still feel accomplished, as I do when I complete a shift.
Anyway, I realized I had fallen in to a rut lately cooking-wise, so I have been trying to branch out a little, and make new or seldom made dishes. Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution. It's never too late to be resolute. Here is one I made last week that was quite good, from the Inspiralized blog. Butternut squash and Sausage Lasagna (I added Zucchini too).

Making vegetable lasagna, listening to Fresh Air