Ballerinas, Berries, and Betsy McCall -- A Little Birdie Told Me No. 22

image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

"A child sings before it speaks, dances almost before it walks. 

Music is in our hearts from the beginning."  

~Pamela Brown

Welcome to 

"A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday!

If you're here to share a craft, recipe or project post,

you'll find the linky and the specifics on how to 

join the party after the features below.

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When I was a little girl,

I wanted to be a ballerina.

an illustration from Little Ballerina, one of
my favorite books from childhood.

I felt like that little girl again,

dreaming of pink tulle tutus and satin toe shoes

when I saw the

Ballerina Birthday Party

at Seven Sisters

Does this sweet little ballerina look familiar?  It's the darling Betsy McCall,
the iconic paper doll from the 1950s and 60s.  

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Here's Betsy again, the hallmark of one of my favorite places in blogland,

Yesterday on Tuesday

Inspired by her grandmother Millicent's

recipe box, Malia has launched a new series,

aptly named Millicent & Malia

where she'll be sharing recipes from

the heirloom collection.

This week she shared Millicent's recipe for
Lemon Velvet Cake

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As a little ballerina, one of my most

favorite desserts was fresh strawberries 

with sour cream and brown sugar.

Somewhere along the way

I forgot about this simple treat,

along with my aspirations to

take the stage as Clara or Odette

The recipe for

 Deconstructed Strawberries Romanov 

on Jam Hands brought it all back.

(And in my mind, I did a little pirouette of joy.)

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If you've been featured 

(this week, or in a previous week)
feel free to grab a "featured on" button
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Now it's time to link-up and share your creativity!

Just 4 SIMPLE GUIDELINES

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Meditations on Memorial Day

In gratitude to those who serve and have served our country...

"All we have of freedom, all we use or know -

This our fathers bought for us long and long ago."

~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

"Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen, was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men."

-- Richard Watson Gilder

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A Very Special Apple for Teacher -- Homemade Caramel Apples With a Twist

Every year, since my eldest daughter was in Kindergarten, we've enjoyed making these special caramel apples at the end of the school year as gifts for the teachers. The teachers always enjoy the decadently dipped apples and appreciate the fact that the gift doesn't leave them with another little tchotchke to to take up space on their desk.  

The nice thing about these caramel apples is that the recipe is versatile enough to be enjoyed all year. They're just as perfect in the fall as a First Day of School Gift as they are at year-end. They make wonderful favors for parties and celebrations. In fact, I can't think of a time that a beautifully crafted, gourmet apple wouldn't be welcome!

Here's how to make your own:

Chocolate Dipped Caramel Apples

8 medium sized apples (we like Fuji and Pink Lady)

8 new pencils (I use a small handsaw to shorten the pencils by 1")

Clear packing tape

For the Caramel (source:  divinedinnerparty.com)

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup light corn syrup
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8-10 medium-sized apples, washed, thoroughly dried, sticks inserted in tops

Candy Thermometer

Tray or baking sheet lined with a silpat or greased parchment paper

To decorate:

10 oz. chocolate, chopped

Heath Toffee Bits

White chocolate or white candy melts

Mini chocolate chips

A roll of cellophane

1. To remove wax from apples, fill a clean kitchen sink with hot water and 1 cup salt.  Add apples.  With a vegetable scrubber or clean abrasive sponge, scrub each apple. You will begin to see the wax float on the water.  Drain sink.  Rinse apples in hot water. Remove to a counter lined with a towel.  Thoroughly dry apples with a lint-free towel.  

2.  Prepare pencils by wrapping the unsharpened tip with a small piece of packing tape.

3.  Twist stems from apples or use kitchen shears to snip them away.  Insert a pencil into each apple, taking care not to push it all the way through.

4.  To prepare caramel, stir together the butter, sugar, corn syrup, condensed milk and salt in a heavy sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

5. Cook on medium heat for about 30-40 minutes until the caramel darkens and thickens and reaches the "firm ball" stage of candy-making 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

6. Remove finished caramel from the heat and stir in vanilla extract.

7. Dip apples into hot caramel. In order to get as thick a caramel coating as possible, dip each apple at an angle and spin to coat.  Dip as much of the apple in to the caramel as possible, as it will shrink back when set down.

8. Pull apple out and allow excess caramel to drip off. Then turn the apple upside-down for a moment (apple on top, stick on the bottom) and let the caramel settle for a few seconds. This prevents large bare spots at the top of the apple.  Place dipped apples on the lined pan.

9. Let cool for an hour to set.

To decorate:

Melt a small bowl of high quality chocolate.

Dip the bottom portion of apple in melted chocolate.

Place back on a parchment or silpat lined tray.  Refrigerate to help set the chocolate.

Put remaining chocolate in a pastry bag or ziploc bag and snip a tiny hole in the tip. Drizzle melted chocolate on an apple and sprinkle the chocolate with toffee bits before the chocolate sets.  Repeat with remaining apples.  Refrigerate 10  minutes to set the chocolate.

Melt some white chocolate or candy melts with 1 teaspoon oil.  Place in pastry bag or ziploc bag and snip a very tiny hole in the tip.  The white chocolate is very sweet, so you'll want the drizzle to be very fine.  Drizzle white chocolate over an apple and immediately sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.  Repeat with remaining apples.  Refrigerate to set the chocolate.

To wrap the apples, cut a square from a cellophane roll, large enough to come up over the apple and to the stick.  Secure with a ribbon. Using a cellophane square makes wrapping and unwrapping the sticky apple much easier than when using a cellophane treat bag.

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Summer Pasta Salad Recipe -- Orzo with Lemon and Kale

Ruffles are still in vogue for summer fashion, so why not carry the theme through to your summer cuisine? Kale, nature's most ruffly green, is a nutritional powerhouse -- packed with vitamins A&C, beta-carotene and lutein!  Healthy and delicious too, Kale harmonizes beautifully with lemon, feta and orzo pasta in this quick and easy pasta salad:

Orzo Pasta with Lemon & Kale

1 small onion or 2 large shallots, diced

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 bunch of kale, thick stems and ribs removed, leaves chopped (approx. 10 ounces)

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 pound dried orzo pasta

Zest of one lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

3 teaspoons kosher salt

pepper to taste

crumbled bacon or toasted pine nuts for garnish (optional)

Step 1:  Bring a large pot of water up to boil for the orzo.  Cook according to package's instructions.  While orzo is cooking, prepare kale:

Step 2:  Heat 2 TB olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add onion and saute for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, till translucent and lightly browned.

Step 3:  Add chopped kale, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and chicken stock.  Cover and simmer over medium heat for five minutes.  

Step 4:  Remove lid and stir kale.  If pan is dry, add a bit more chicken stock.  Cover with lid again and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Step 5:  Remove lid and stir.  Continue to cook until kale is completely wilted and all moisture has evaporated.

Step 6:  When pasta is ready, drain and set aside in a large bowl.  While still warm, toss in feta cheese and kale/onion mixture.

Step 7:  In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 3 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Whisk until well combined (about 2 minutes).  Pour over the orzo and stir to combine.  Pepper to taste.

Step 8:  Chill at least 2 hours.  Best when chilled overnight.

Serve with a garnish of crumbled bacon or toasted pine nuts

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Washi Tape and the New Blogging Vernacular -- A Little Birdie Told Me No. 21

Welcome to 

"A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday!

If you're here to share a craft, recipe or project post,

you'll find the linky and the specifics on how to 

join the party after the features below.

------------------------------------------------

Bloggers are dreamers and doers,

thinkers and makers

crafters and bakers

And this week, I discovered that

this community of innovators

is crafting a new lexicon as well...

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For example, Jocelyn of Inside BruCrew Life

tickled my "so cute it hurts" nerve with:

PUFFY HEART

AS IN

"I puffy heart anything coconut 

and these didn't disappoint!"

She was referring to her
 Coconut Cream Cheesecake Brownies

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Alison of Stuff & Nonsense

charmed me with

ROOTLED

AS IN

"Rootled through the cupboards

to be sure the necessary ingredients

and tools were close to hand"

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Christine of Christine & Co.

reminded me how much I love and love-to-say

WASHI TAPE

Say "Washi" ten times fast. It's fun!

Check out Christine's source for

unique Washi Tapes 

Did you know you can make jewelry with it?

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Lyssa of Born Again Crafter

got all "old-school" on me by using the term

SILHOUETTE

AS IN

"A drawing consisting of the outline
of something, especially a human profile"
-- thefreedictionary.com

NOT

a popular crafting machine

You can read about her technique for
specialty machine and PhotoShop free
Silhouette art HERE. 

------------------------------------------------

If you've been featured 

(this week, or in a previous week)
feel free to grab a "featured on" button
from the sidebar.

------------------------------------------------

Now it's time to link-up and share your creativity!

Just 4 SIMPLE GUIDELINES

1)  JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE NICE -- COMMENT AND FOLLOW

2)  LINK-UP -- Link-up the URL of a specific post -- craft, recipe, DIY project, or anything else you'd like to show-off.  This is not  a place to advertise merchandise you are selling.  If you're interested in promoting your business with Rook No. 17, please visit the "Advertising" section.

3)  POST THE BUTTON OR A LINK-- Grab the code for the button (below) and paste it into your sidebar or the body of your post.

4)  VISIT the 2 LINKS BEFORE YOURS --  Linky parties only work if we all do our part to support and encourage one another.

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4) Paste the code into your sidebar or post.

REMEMBER TO
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Sandcastle Cake Recipe -- A Fun and Easy Summer Classic!

A whimsical, sculpted cake in less than an hour!

Every year my daughters' school has a year-end carnival that includes a Cake Walk. The end of the school year is so impossibly busy  -- Who has time to spend on an elaborate cake?  I love Nordicware bundt pans for their ease of use, consistent results, whimsical designs, and for the way that they can make anyone look like a cake sculpting pro! My favorite Nordicware design is their Castle Bundt Pan.  I've enjoyed using it to make this crowd-pleasing Sandcastle cake, especially when I'm in a pinch for time, but still want to do something special.  The Sandcastle cake is the perfect celebration or donation dessert -- delicious, charming, and easy!

Here's the super short-cut version to making your very own Sandcastle Cake using the Nordicware castle pan:

Castle Bundt Cake

(takes approx. 50 minutes)

Ingredients

1 box yellow or white cake mix

1  3-3/4 oz. box instant vanilla pudding

4 large eggs

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil, plus more for coating pan

1 cup water

 (You can make your bundt cake and frosting from scratch as well)

Nordicware Castle Cake Pan ($24-$30)

16 oz. container vanilla frosting (not whipped)

1 sleeve graham crackers, finely crushed

1/2 cup raw sugar

optional:  chocolate graham cracker or wafer cookie

Flags:  1 bamboo skewer, ribbon, tacky glue

Chocolate Seashells -- Wilton candy melts and shell mold

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350.  Use pastry brush to completely coat the inside of the bundt pan with oil.  Lightly dust the inside of bundt pan with flour.  Tap out excess.

Step 3:  With a mixer, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and water on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour evenly into bundt pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes (until cake springs back to the touch).

Step 4:  Remove cake from oven and invert on a cooling rack.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  Flip cake pan back over and, with your fingers, make sure that the sides of the cake are pulling away from the sides of the pan.   Re-invert pan and gently shake cake loose.  Set cake on cooling rack.

Step 5:  Set the cooling rack over a baking sheet.  Open tub of frosting, remove foil seal, and melt in microwave for approx. 30 seconds to liquefy the frosting.  

Step 6: In a small bowl, combine raw sugar and graham cracker crumbs.  To add some dimension and depth to the "sand", I like to crumble in a chocolate graham or chocolate wafer cookie.

Step 7:  Working in small sections at a time (i.e. one side of the castle, brush melted frosting on cake.  Immediately press a handful of "sand" against the frosted section of castle.  Continue until entire castle is covered.  Use remaining "sand" to fill in around the base of the cake and inside the "courtyard" of the castle.

FOR A WHIMSICAL NOD TO SUMMER BEACH FUN,

SERVE WITH A PLASTIC BEACH SHOVEL

FOR THE FLAGS (5 minutes)

Using sharp scissors or wire cutters, snip the sharp end from a bamboo skewer, then cut the remaining length into four equal pieces.

Cut four equal pieces of ribbon, twice the length of your final flag. Apply a line of Tacky Glue along half of the wrong-side of the ribbon. Place stick in the middle and fold ribbon over on itself.  Pinch to seal. Cut a notch in the end.  Repeat with remaining flags.  Insert in castle turrets.

FOR THE SEASHELLS (15 minutes)

In separate bowls, melt equal parts dark chocolate melts and white chocolate melts. Transfer melted white chocolate to the dark chocolate bowl and give one quick stir. Spoon chocolate mixture into shell mold. Level and tap out air bubbles. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Pop out of mold and decorate cake.

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