oooooh so pretty! Thank you to My Sweet and Saucy for bringing us inspiration in the form of cake stencils. She offers step by step photos of how she achieved this beauty you see here and leads you to her resource, Designer Stencils. The stencil site also has videos and how-tos (for more than just sweets).… Read More ...
Make Your Own Fortune Cookies
Fortune cookies are definitely on my list of “things I want to learn how to bake.” Thank you to “The Good Mood Food Blog” for reminding me of my to-do list and inspiring me to start checking things off. This Dublin-based foodie offers nicely detailed instructions (with honesty, too, warning that the cookies are time consuming to make) … Read More ...
Candy Sticks for Your Thanksgiving Table
These costumed candy sticks from Martha Stewart make a perfect centerpices/favors for the kids’ table. Or the grown-ups’ table. All instructions are of course included here. Also check out Martha’s candy cornucopias. Instructions found here. 
… Read More ...
Gorgeous Cocktails
These gorgeous cocktails from Brides.com would not only be incredible for weddings, but for any cocktail party. I’m picturing it now… a cocktail party featuring only fantastic, unique drinks like these. Sigh. If only our house would sell so we could buy the perfect cocktail party home. All of the recipes for these and more drinks found at Brides.com.… Read More ...
Pumpkin Ideas. And entertaining, collecting, projects, French treats, chocolate, sugar….
These pumpkins are just two little id
eas of many found on the gorgeous, part-fine art, part-inspiration, part-practical site of Matthew Mead, producer, stylist, author. It’s easy to lose much time milling about this site, so nicely polished I can see my reflection. Stunning photography and layout reveal ideas, tips, recipes, crafts and more on home, kitchen, entertaining, collecting … Read More ...
Foodie Contests! (one for kids, too)
Many, many thousands of dollars are out there for creative foodies. Win a $5,000 kitchen makeover or other incredible gift packages for the kitchen from Pilsbury with their “Make America Sweeter” contest. Enter your essay and photo of your sweet goods (using Pilsbury products) before December 31st.
Jif Peanut Butter has contests for kids and grown-ups. Kids can … Read More ...
The Great Cupcake Wars
After 8 weeks of testing all the cupcake shops in my home town of DC, The Washington Post Food Section just crowned the winner, Georgetown Cupcake. Ah Georgetown, my alma mater. How lovely to have had that shop opened so few blocks away many years ago when I was in school. They won for their “Chocolate Ganache” cupcake. And … Read More ...
Fall Baking: Pies!
First, check out this reversible pie-top cutter by Nordic Ware, available at Sur la Table. It has leaves on one side and apples on the other. (You can also use the cut out pieces to decorate your dough).
Second, Williams Sonoma also sells these Fall Leaves piecrust cutters
. The stamps even have intricate detailing to imprint the leaf … Read More ...
Owl Cupcakes (What a Hoot!)
OK, groan at the whatta hoot part, but not the cupcake part. So cute and clever and easy to make–with Oreos and M & Ms. The instructions are courtesy of “Ezra Pound Cake,” a wonderful foodie site by a pastry chef/writer. Of course, she had me at her site name (as a fellow lit masters gal, I appreciate … Read More ...
Chocolate Curl Tutorial…from The Pioneer Woman
Learn how to make chocolate curls–essential for any fancy dessert–from The Pioneer Woman. The Pioneer Woman is an incredible site from a city woman turned rancher. She has recipes, cooking tips, and a home and garden section, but what really makes this site stand out and read like a narrative are the stories of her ranch, children and … Read More ...
Egg Molds for Your Bento Box
One crucial prop from “The Dogs of Babel
,” a book by an alumna of my MFA program, Carolyn Parkhurst, is a hardboiled egg shaper. This garage sale find shaped eggs into squares. That tidbit has stayed with me long after I read the book, so perhaps that’s why my interest perked when I glimpsed these egg shapers for … Read More ...
Spider Eggs and Candy Corn
The lovely, dense (as in, lots o’ recipes) blog of “The Recipe Girl” has many many many topics and links to peruse. She gives great step-by-step instructions for these scary spider eggs, as well as beautifully done photographs. The spider eggs were originally Martha’s idea, as she is sure to give credit where credit is due, … Read More ...
Mmm…Bacon 5 Interesting Bacon Recipes
That’s right. A whole post dedicated to bacon (forgive me vegetarians, but these were too interesting to overlook). First, lollyphile. The San Francisco based company uses only high quality ingredients. That’s real bacon, sustainably farmed. They are only a year old, so thus far have three flavors: Maple-Bacon, Wasabi-Ginger, and Absinthe (yes, legal).
The uber-clever blogger of “not martha” … Read More ...
Endless Party Ideas
The Hostess (with the Mostess) site is chock full of fabulous ideas for hosting a party: Party themes, entertaining how tos, recipes, gifts, crafts, products, holidays, weddings and baby showers, the list goes on and on. And incredible resource. Shameful on my end to only just have discovered Hostess with the Mostess. You can even pick a party theme, and … Read More ...
Fairy Tale “Mushrooms”
I first found these darling “mushrooms” on the “Museum of Happiness” blog. Scroll down her “Food” page and find all kinds of edible craft links (I especially like the link to Rainbow Jell-O from the “Do Better” blog). After some quick digging, I found the original link for the tomato-topped eggs at “The Clubhouse Scene… Read More ...