Shower Recap

Saturday was the shower for Maria.

Despite the insane 24 hours prior (including a field trip, PTA meeting, baseball game, birthday party and a 1 am trip to the grocery store) everything came together.

We kept things simple.

~Menu~

Cobb Salad

Quiche'

Garlic Bread

Fruit Platter

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Pink Lemonade w/ Preseco

I was extremely happy with how the cupcakes turned out. So moist and fluffy, my best batch to date. It was also a really good batch of cream cheese frosting. I used real lemon juice (since I had one on hand that I had used for the salad dressing) and it was a super juicy lemon. Since there was so much juice I left the milk out of the recipe all together. I think I might just skip the milk from now on.

Overall, I would say the shower was a success.

Super Simple, Super Yummy Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 C butter


• 8 oz room temp cream cheese


• 2-3 T lemon juice (fresh or bottle)


• 1 lb powder sugar

Combine the all ingreds and then mix on med for 5-7 minutes

Enjoy

Kickin' Off the Holidays

Saturday night we hosted our annual Christmas Bash. This is our 7th year and I think it was the best yet. We had 50 folks show up to kick off the holidays and it was such a blast. Akiko and I had been planning the menu for months and I had spent the week leading up shopping, prepping and cooking. When all was said and done our spread looked pretty good. We got a lot of compliments on it and the courses of yummy sounds throughout the night was music to our ears.

Just because we worked so hard and it turned out so well, I wanted to share a picture of it. It was tons of work, but soooo worth it.

Menu

Sushi (made by Akiko and Joji's mom)

Beef Satay

Luau Chicken

Tequila Shrimp

Deviled Eggs

Baked Artichoke Dip

Spinach Dip

Smoked Salmon (smoked by my dad)

Goat Cheese on Spiced Mango

Stuffed Jalapenos

Veggies and Dip

Cheese and Fruit Platter

Humus

Sausage Balls

Turkey Cranberry Sandwiches

Caprese on a Stick

Melon Wrapped Prosciutto

Chocolate Fountain with Poundcake, Fruit, Marshmallows, Pretzels & Rice Crispy Treats

The Paperboys and Cheese Fondue

Good Morning Everyone!
I hope everyone had a fun and safe St. Pats Day. We spent ours kid free with some friends and we had a great time.
We had tickets to see The Paperboys and the show was great. They played the Showbox downtown and it was a perfect venue for this Celtic, bluegrass, folk rock band. If you live in W. WA they are a band you would hear on the Mountain. That being said, I guess I just have to accept the fact that I'm coming to an age where the concerts I go to will most likely involve some type middle aged, yuppie mosh pit. But seriously, the music was great. Even the opening band Chuckanut Drive (can you guess they are from Bellingham?) was really good. This was our second Paperboys show and I'm sure we will see them again. They are coming to the Triple Door at the end of April (another great little venue) and I highly recommend them.
Another thing I highly recommend is this recipe for Cheesy Beer Fondue. We made it as part of our preshow apps party and it was a big hit. I'm all about the easy and this could not be easier:
Cheesy Beer Fondue

2 cups beer (I used a pale ale Henry's)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons ground dry mustard
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (3 cloves was pretty garlicly)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
Combine first 4 ingreds and half of the flour
Toss rest of the flour with the cheese
Once beer mixture is boiling, add cheese and melt (add a couple of drops of lemon juice if cheese is too clumpy)
Then dip all kinds of yummy stuff like bread, apples, veggies, etc.
Enjoy

While at one of my favorite thrift stores, I found a Rival electric fondue pot for $4.00. If you ever have a chance to pick on of these up I highly recommend it. I've had the flame type fondue pots before and they are kind of a pain (we never seemed to have the bunson burner stuff on hand). With the electric one you just plug it in and voila you are ready to roll. You can also control the heat better and the fondue wont' scorch as easily. (I suppose a small crockpot would work as well)

Well, that is was is new at Chez Yoko. Not much on the agenda today except to curl up with a book for a few hours. I'm reading Love in the time of Cholera. It is okay so far, but it sounds promising.
Happy Humpday Everyone :0)

My Attemp at Being Crafty

So Sam tells me she wants to have a tea party.
We agree on having a couple of kids over to decorate Christmas cookies.
Massive snow hits and it never happens. Sam is bummed so we decided to reschedule for a Valentine's Day cookie decorating tea party instead.
I must say I'm a little nervous. The girls she has invited I really only know one of them. I'm hoping the other two are nice. The party is only two hours long, which will include lunch, so I'm sure it will be fine. We will be decorating sugar cookies and since that usually means mess I decided to make some aprons for the girls to wear.
While I was at JoAnn's the other day I was hoping their Valentine fabric would be a little more discounted, but I found some really cute fabric anyway. I had some "love bug" fabric that I was going to get, but then I saw the cherry fabric and knew I had to get that. I also found some red and white polka dot fabric to back the aprons and use for the ties.

I read a lot of blogs of folks who are actual sewers and they are always talking about the amazing fabrics in their stashes. I also have a fabric stash, but for some reason I hate to cut into the fabric. It just seems so final. Weird I know, but the lady who cut my fabric at the store said she was the same way. Anyway, I've started the first apron and I think it is going to be super cute. In fact, I'm not wanting to use all the cherry fabric up on the aprons for the girls I don't know. Isn't that awful??? It would be one thing to send this super cute fabric home with girls I knew would appreciate it, but unknown girls?? Hmmmmm that is a toughie. I think what I will do, is make Sam the apron with the cherries and make the other girls' aprons out of the red fabric and do the pocket in the cherry fabric. That way I will still have some of it left for other projects (an apron for me perhaps) In hindsight I should have grabbed a few more of the Target aprons when I was there a few weeks ago. Of course when I did go back all the aprons were gone. Oh well.
So today I will spend sewing, making cookie dough and possibly cleaning. The sun is trying really hard to peek out and I hope it makes it. I'm so much more productive when it is sunny.
Happy Humpday :0)

Night Owl

It is 2:55 and I can't sleep.

Today is "Special Guest Day" at school and as chair of the hospitality committee, I'm in charge of setting up all the goodies. I have folks bringing stuff and I hope it is enough. I really hate to delegate. Last year, everyone was late bringing their stuff. I felt like an idiot standing at the table that was only half full. We get about 200 parents or more coming through, so we need a decent amount of food.

I was supposed to bake yesterday, but I didn't. I spent the day in Seattle bumming around with a friend and by the time I came home, I was pretty tired. The thought of dirtying up my kitchen was not appealing at all. But now I can tell the stress of not having enough goodies is keeping me awake, so I might as well get up and get busy.
I think I will make some Gingersnaps, PB thumbprints and some Chocolate w/ White Chocolate chip.
Happy Friday Everyone :0)

GTC for WSU Laura

Here is the recipe for General Tso Chicken or "GTC" as well call it. This could not be simpler and you probably have most ingreds already. The recipe below is for "4", but like I mentioned in my last post, you might want to make more than you think you will need. Saturday I cooked 14 chicken breasts and made one and half batches of sauce which was not quite enough. Next time for that much chicken I would double the sauce.
I like this dish because it is very easy and has a really pretty presentation. Makes folks think you slaved all day. My only words of advice are to plan ahead for the cooking of the chicken, it does take a while. You don't want to crowd the oil, which will drop the temp and then make the chicken take longer to cook. Other than that it is easy, peasy.
Enjoy!!

***Make sauce and refrigerate until needed:***
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Water
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Ginger
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
1 can Chicken Broth
***Meat***
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Cornstarch
2 cups sliced Green Onions
dried hot peppers they can be found in the Mexican isle
Directions:

Sauce:

Put everything into a quart jar with a lid and shake it up, then put in the fridge. Just shake it up again when you are ready to use it.

Meat:

Mix chicken, soy sauce, and hot peppers. Stir in egg. Add cornstarch, and mix until chicken pieces are coated. Deep fry 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time in a 350 degree oil until chicken pieces are crispy. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all chicken chunks are fried.

Place a small amount of oil (1 Tbsp.) in wok or large pan (I use my dutch oven) Add onions, peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan. Cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add water to right consistency. Add chicken to sauce and cook until all is hot and bubbly. Serve with fried or steamed rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Acorns and Roasts and Baseball, Oh my

I survived yesterday. Just barely, but overall it was a pretty good day. I remembered to go the appreciation assembly at Ben's school. Joji came home early and that was a TOTAL lifesaver. It ended up being just me and Lily (not that Sam and Enz would not have sat quietly in the bleachers with the little hands folded, but I'm sure the idea of playing in the backyard was more appealing.)
I knew I was getting recognized since I am on the PTA executive board. It is so rewarding to work hard for an organization for 4 years, hear how wonderful you are and then have the principal not only butcher you last name, but give up half way through and tell the crowd "I never get it right anyway". I guess it shouldn't worry me that an educator cannot read a name that is pronounced phonetically. (insert a BIG eye roll)
After that I was getting ready to leave. Lily was climbing out of the backpack and it was a million degrees in the gym. They were handing our the Golden Acorn Awards and I wanted to stay and cheer for my friend Liz who was getting one. After they called her name, they started with the next recipient.
Now for some reason the committee likes to do a little "This is your life" thing before they announce who won. I'm not sure why they do this. Who cares where you grew up. Who cars what your hobbies are. This is a service award, not a personal ad. Anyway, when they started off with she grew up in FW. I knew it was me. After the 5 minute recap of my childhood, they got to the portion where they listed my service. I gotta say, felt a little proud. I do a lot for my kids' schools. I do it because I enjoy it. Even though it does cause a bit of stress for me every now and then (or everyday, right Joj), I feel strongly that if you want change you have to be wiling to help make it happen. Next year, both Ben and Sam will be at Browns Pt. and I'm sure I will be up there all the time. Although my goal for next year is to cut back and only take on projects that I really enjoy. We will see how that goes...
Once Lauriefest was over, I had to get going on the DND dinner. I thought I had picked an easy meal. I thought I had planned accordingly, but that was not the case. I really need a double oven. I guess I didn't realize that everything had to be baked. Not only baked but all at different temps. And to top things off the 80 minute roast took 2 and half hours. It was a good thing that I had apps already to go. I made the Jimmy Dean meatballs in apple butter I saw on Jolen's blog and although they sounded sketchy, they are very good. Better yet, super easy. Once 9:00 rolled around, the food was ready. The boys got Garlic & Rosemary Rubbed Porkloin Roast, Scalloped Potatoes, Homemade Bread with butter and roasted garlic (note to self: roast more garlic~yummy!!) and a big Spinach Salad. I went to get the camera because the spread looked pretty good, but got sidetracked mid route and you know how that goes. Oh well, Even though it is a lot of work to pull off these dinners the guys are so appreciative. Plus they will eat anything and more than willing to be my recipe Guinea pigs.

To cap of my night, the M's beat the Angels. It was a great game. How can you not LOVE RAUUUUUUUL Ibanez?? He is one of my favorite M's. I was so sad when he was traded to KC a few years ago. But he is back now and doing great. He is my favorite kind of player: quiet, humble and oh so talented. If only my "Big Sexxy" Richie Sexxon would get going. I guess not chasing those low and aways with a 3-2 count is a start, but this is his contract year and he needs to start doing some damage if he want to stay in Seattle.
In other baseball news... with 38 minutes until game time, Ben just now informs me he is unable to squat in his baseball pants since they are too tight. Lovely. I guess a trip to Big 5 is in our very near future. Being the mean mom that I am, I'm making him wear them and tough it out. I want to see if he tells Coach Ted that he can't play due to a wardrobe issue. He won't and he will be fine. This is Ben's first "kid pitch" game more affectionate referred to as HELL. Should be interesting, just hope Ben does well and doesn't' take another pitch on the chin.

Holiday Fun

The carpets are cleaned and the tree is up. Holiday buzz is in the air. We have begun the prep for our party. We still have 20 folks who have not RSVP'd yet. I doubt that most of them will come, but it would be nice to know either way. Wednesday is the deadline, so I'm curious to see if I hear from anyone. One of the nice features of "evite" is that it will remind you if you have not RSVP'd.
We were going over the menu tonight. It takes a lot of thought to make up a party menu. I'm kind of a picky eater, so I really try and be sensitive to other picky eaters out there and have something for everyone.
Here is what is on the menu so far:
Sushi (California rolls, unagi maki, ebi sushi and some type of cucumber roll ~ Akiko and BaChan make amazing sushi it is the star of the show)
Beef Satay
Hot Wings
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Egg Rolls
Baked Spinach Dip
Cantaloupe and Prosciutto
Veggie Tray
Deviled Eggs
Meat and Cheese Platter
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Bruchetta
Pigs in a Blanket
Chocolate Fountain with various dippers
Sugar and Gingerbread Cookies
As for spirits, we keep it simple. Big bucket of ice with beers and "mikes". Usually we have Cosmopolitan Jello Shots. Kind of cheesy, but very tasty. However, I'm in a slight panic due to the fact that NO ONE has cranberry Jello. Hopefully, I can find some. If not, we will just have to make due with a Cosmo punch :0)

Thanks to the folks who signed up for the cookie swap (hopefully, we will get some more) I'm thinking our official post day can be the 12th. That way folks can get to see the recipes and still have some time to try them out. If you know anyone who might want to join us, send on over. The more the merrier!!
And speaking of merry... check this out. Too fun :0)

The Art of a Cookie Exchange

I love the idea of a cookie exchange. I love to bake and I take a lot of pride in what I bake. So when I hear about a cookie exchange, I get excited and sign up. Well, I haven't participated in a ton of these, but I always seem to have the same experience. I spend a lot of time baking cookies from an old family recipe, put them into pretty packages and then show up only to come home with many ziploc bags full of broken snickerdoodles (I'm not knocking the snickerdoodle, I just find it funny that it seems to be a very popular Christmas cookie, who knew?)
Anyway, one night my mom stumbled across a website dedicated to the art of hosting a cookie exchange. Of course, having a little German in us, we instantly went to "the rules" page. She minces no words on what kind of cookies are acceptable and what kinds are not. She also encourages you to find an upscale bakery if you your cookies are not up to snuff. Apparently, her methods work and she hosts a huge exchange every year. On the website are pictures for many of the years and I must admit is looks fun.
I have always wanted to host a cookie exchange of my own, but it always seems December slips away too quickly. So I thought I would try and host a virtual cookie exchange. I planned on posting pics and recipes of the cookies I was planning to make and I figured why not invite others to share. So if you are interested (and I really hope folks are) let me know if you would like to join me and I will "try to" create a link list.
And now for the RULES:
Post a recipe and pic of your favorite Christmas Cookie on December 12th
If there is a story or history behind the recipe, feel free to share that as well.
Don't stress and have fun (seems to be a common theme for folks this year)

Tonight we are setting up the Christmas tree. Sammie and Ben are so excited. It is also supposed to snow tonight. How great would that be?? :0)

The quiet before the storm...

It's Tuesday night and I'm not really feeling very stressed about my hosting duties on Thursday. We will have 14 all together, although not all at the same time. Joji's mom and sister will probably get there about the time the turkey sandwiches start to make an appearance. The only thing that concerns me right now is the size of the turkey. My brother got one from work and it is 14 lbs. I consulted the butterball website and they recommended a 12 lb bird if we didn't want leftovers. I'm hoping it will be enough with a little left over. I just hate the idea of running out of food. I will most likely pick up a turkey breast tomorrow to cook along with the bird, just to make sure.
I did my big shopping today. My cart was completely full. I don't usually shop that big, but I hadn't been shopping in a while and we were out of everything! It was a good chance to clean out my fridge though. Not just toss the past date stuff, but actually wash out the drawers and shelves. (It is amazing how funky stuff can get) But now it is all clean and I won't have to worry if someone is rummaging through my fridge.
Speaking of fridges... we have a side by side. At first, I was excited to have this style, but now, not so much. I like having stuff up high, but you can't fit very much in there. I certainly couldn't defrost a turkey in there. I am so wanting the french door/freezer on the bottom kind of fridge. The only rub is that you have to decide if you want just water in the door or water and ice. If you get ice, you can have "crushed" ice (big selling point), but you loose the storage space on the inside of the door. We keep going back and forth on this. Storage or crushed ice... tough one. Hopefully, but the time we decide they will have come down in price.

And so it begins...

Well, I survived all my "have to's" of late and now the fun stuff starts. I just sent out the invites for our annual Christmas Party. It seems so early, but it is really only three weeks away. I used evite, which I don't love (I used to send actual invitations) but I do like the fact I can see who has read the invite and who has RSVP'd. I'm sure I will be compulsively checking the evite for the next 3 weeks. Oh well, it is so exciting when the "will attend" list grows.
My sister-in-law Akiko and I already have the menu. We like to cook and our guests like to eat, so it is win/win all around. Akiko makes the most amazing sushi and that of course is a major draw. I like to think my friends come to see me, but I know it is really the sushi. This year, I will be making Beef Satay. It is so good my mouth is watering just thinking about it. However, it requires Joji standing at the BBQ in the middle of December. Typically, outdoors in W. Washington is not the best place to be in December, but this year has been unseasonably mild so far. I guess this is the upside to global warming (Sorry, Al)
Last year for his birthday (late December), Ben wanted a chocolate fountain. We felt the need to do a little test run at the party. It was a big hit. I highly recommend one if you are entertaining.
So now as I wait for my rsvp's to pour in, I will begin the list of chores that I want to get done prior to the party. I usually average about 50% completion rate. That's okay. Beer goggles work on houses too, right?
:0)

Everyday Food

I have been a Martha fan since her PBS days. I've always enjoyed being inspired to create all kinds of "good things". Well, tonight I have to say old Martha let me down.
Once a month my husband has the boys over and I prepare a small feast. Every now and then I like to try something new. For dinner tonight the hubby flipped through the current issue of "Everyday Food" and picked the recipe that was featured on the cover (Pork kabobs with Ginger/Pineapple rice). Seemed easy enough, no complicated ingredients, I'll give it a try. It was awful. There was no flavor at all. I even tried to kick it up a bit, but no use. One of the guys asked "what kind of meat is this?" Not a good sign.
I hate when you put all that time into a dish and it is such a flop. It really says something when there is food left (usually these guys lick their plates clean- I wish I wasn't exaggerating) About a 1/3 of the kabobs are still waiting to be eaten. Maybe the late night munchies will kick in and they will be gone when I wake up, but I'm not counting on it.
This was my first recipe out of "Everyday Food" and now I'm a little leery. Anyone else have this experience? I am hoping this was a fluke, because a lot of the other recipes look so good. Oh well, live and learn :0)

Motivation

It has been a very gloomy few months. Not a lot of sunshine. No sunshine = lack of energy. So to help shake off the cobwebs (literally) I've decided to throw a little girly lunch. Sammie is excited to have her friends over for "tea" and I'm excited to have my friends over as well. Now I am in the throws of getting the house ready. The routine is always the same. Start with a long list of things that no one will ever notice (except for me), focus on the "least of my worries" and then cut the list down to "the basics" just before everyone arrives.
My husband's response to the pre festivities panic is always the same, "why do you stress yourself out?" He doesn't get it, but that's okay.
I'm just glad that I have a great group of friends who are not going to enter my house armed with white gloves. Instead we will spend the time enjoying each other's company and hopefully some yummy food to boot.