Showing posts with label centerpiece. Show all posts
Showing posts with label centerpiece. Show all posts

5.09.2010

Chocolate Mousse Tartlets & Baby Shower Centerpiece

When preparing for helping to host an engagement party recently, a friend of mine came across this recipe for Chocolate Mousse Tartlets here. We thought it looked delicious, so another friend who was also hosting made them as her contribution to the party. That night they got rave reviews, so when trying to decide on some bite-size sweets to make for a baby shower this weekend, I went back to this recipe, along with my key lime cupcakes that I posted a few weeks ago.
Now, if you haven't ever been to The Pioneer Woman's website you must change that now. Ree Drummond is like Martha Stewart meets cowgirl combined with a little Lucille Ball. She really makes me laugh. But one of my favorite parts of her site is Tasty Kitchen. It is a separate site where her followers who share her love for cooking can share recipes. What a treasure trove! This is often my go-to source when I am looking for a new recipe or to be inspired by some really good cooks. I recommend that you try it!
These tarts are very easy to prepare, and the finished product is very impressive, not only by the way it tastes but also by how it looks!
Begin with mini fillo shells in the freezer section of your grocery store. They come in packages of 15. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the shells on a baking sheet--I sprayed mine with a little Pam just to make sure they didn't stick. Put 1/2 cup hazelnuts in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. (I didn't have hazelnuts, so I used almonds. I think they worked just as well!). Next, place three dark chocolate chips in the bottom of each shell, then top with 1/4 teaspoon chopped nuts. Bake shells for five minutes. Remove the shells from the oven. Using a toothpick, combine the melted chocolate and nuts and spread to cover the bottom of the shells. Place in the freezer to cool for five minutes or refrigerator for 20 minutes.Meanwhile, mix together in mixing bowl four ounces softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup of sugar. Add two tablespoons Nutella and mix well. Gently fold in four ounces Cool Whip until well combined (do not overmix).Using the same method that I used for the batter of the key lime cupcakes, put this mixture in a gallon sized ziploc bag and snip a small portion off the bottom corner of the bag. Pipe the mixture into the cooled shells. The original recipe called for this amount of filling for one box of shells, but I was able to fill three boxes (40 shells). Lastly, top the mousse filling with another 1/4 teaspoon or so of chopped nuts. Next, I topped mine with a strawberry garnish. Lovely!And while we're on the subject of baby showers, I have another idea to share. I have done this for a couple of parties, and it has turned out great both times! Effective decoration with little cost or effort.
First, I purchased 12 glass baby bottles and a simple white crib sheet with multi colored dots at Wal-Mart. Then the day before the shower I purchased twelve gerber daisies from my local florist--both times I have used six red gerbers and six yellow because that's what looked best in the room it was going in and also that is what looked best with the crib sheet. Then I found two small to medium boxes to place under the crib sheet on the table the decoration was going to be on. This is to give it a multi-dimensional look. Then I arranged the baby bottles on the sheet--some on the table itself and some on the boxes that were under the sheet. Hard to describe, but this is the finished look: What fun to be in on the excitement of celebrating the blessing of a new baby with precious friends!
Chocolate Mousse Tartlets
1 to 3 packages Mini-Fillo Frozen Shells
1 package dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or almonds
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Nutella
4 ounces Cool Whip
Strawberries for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place mini shells on a baking sheet (spray with Pam) and place three chocolate chips inside each shell. Pulse nuts in a food processor or finely chop into coarse or fine pieces. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon nuts over chocolate chips in each shell and bake shells at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Remove shells from the oven and use a toothpick to gently combine melted chocolate chips and nuts, spreading evenly along the inside of the shells. Place shells in the freezer to cool for 5 minutes, or in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the Nutella and mix well. Fold in Cool Whip and stir until the mixture is well-blended and fluffy (be careful not to over mix). Put mixture into gallon sized ziploc bag. Snip corner and pipe mixture into the cooled shells and top with remaining chopped hazelnuts. If desired, garnish with small pieces of strawberries. Store in the refrigerator or freezer if not serving immediately.


4.02.2010

Easter!

I don't know about you, but Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. Dreary winter is gone; in its place comes beautiful days and signs of new life all around us. And on top of all that, we are able to celebrate one of the most important days in the life of a Christian. I am truly thankful to God for what Easter means in my life.
Another thing that I am thankful for is that all of my children will be home for the weekend. We have some fun things planned--eating Mexican together on Friday night after everyone arrives, having a picnic Saturday for lunch, taking all the dogs (6 total) to the local dog park, cooking together Saturday afternoon for a yummy dinner that night, and last but not least going to church together on Sunday. Then, we will come home and have lunch together. The menu will include: standing rib roast, new potatoes with ranch dressing and bacon (thanks to my friend Melia for sharing the recipe!), broccoli casserole, green beans, sauteed corn with red peppers, frozen fruit salad, rolls, and dessert. I plan to share several of these recipes in the coming days.
As you can see, much of our time is spent around the table together. I would think that is the case for your family as well. I had fun today putting together centerpieces for my dining room table where we will eat that big Easter Sunday lunch. For Valentine's Day I did something similar for a luncheon that I had and I thought it was cute, so I decided to go with the same idea only with an Easter theme.
I purchased 5" diameter round cylinder vases at Michael's (I think they were about $2-3 each). Then I found some round 3" vases the exact same height at WalMart for $1 each. My table seats 8, so I use three of these down the center. I placed the smaller vase inside the larger one (I put a piece of double stick tape on the bottom to make sure it stayed in place). For Valentine's Day I filled the space between the two vases with "red hot" candies, then filled the inner vase with red tulips. They were adorable.
For Easter, I bought bags of multi-colored jelly beans and poured a layer into the space approximately 2" high. Then I placed Peeps yellow bunnies in the remaining space.
After filling the entire space with Peeps, I carefully filled the inner vase with water (with a little flower food added). I purchased an assortment of flowers from my local wholesale florist (gerber daisies, iris, freesia, button mums, and tulips) and had fun filling the containers with them. Now, I am not a very good flower arranger, but that is not terribly important with a project like this. One of the most important things is to not leave the stems too long.
Here is the finished project......
And here are all three of them on my table.
I got this idea here.
My mom used to get a kick out of me when I was young because I always wanted to make the table pretty even when it wasn't a special occasion. I still enjoy doing that! It makes me happy to welcome my children home and to celebrate a special day together.
I hope you have a special day with your loved ones!