Caught in the Rain ~ No Pina Coladas though

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and all of that. If you are in Brisbane you will understand how sick of the rain we are all getting. There was a thunder storm, at 8am this morning. I was caught in it.

And the floods, horrendous. Really sad. I am scared of those swimming snakes.

Now, lets get down to business.

NEWS NEWS NEWS!

So much love and joy around me... which could be why I haven't baked or blogged for so long and the fact that I have been totally distracted.

Rebecca (my boss) had her little bubby... Olivia Harper on 23 December.

Then Tracey's boyfriend decided he should put a ring on it! And he proposed on Christmas Day.

Then a day or so later and totally in love Claire from Claire Lousie Bridal gets engaged!  I can not wait to see what beautiful dresses (yes dresses plural) she comes up with.

Then, Bianca founder of Peekabook Magazine brought sweet and beautiful Heidi into the world yesterday.

So much love, so much joy!

And my heart has been touched.  It is wonderful.

There is just so much to rabbit on about.... yet so much to be left unsaid.

But I take heed and caution in the wise words of Bridget Jones:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.

I will leave you with favorites of my 2010 Christmas & New Year's Photo Collection from all Family Events. NB: Not in order because blogger is playing up with my loading pics.

Me and my little nephew at my sister's house Christmas Morning.

I dressed up like a Christmas decoration.. see!

My ex husband's wife and I exchanged gifts.

We each got a tea towel set and a kitchen utility.

I gave her Donna Hay, that's how I roll.

Ironic!

Boxing day in the home which has been in our family since the early 80s

Our Fruit Cocktails.... in jelly.

New Year's Eve we held at Bad Taste night.

My niece on the right, is 12. BAD TASTE!

My sister Lachana with my daughter Liana at the beach.

At the family home on Boxing day... look at the bubba's face, his name is Emile.

My Little Christmas cake.... Pink and Green. Just how I like it.

SO MUCH LOVE!

Panettone Triffle Cake

Well this is how it started....

Earlier this month David Herbert from the Australian did a food story titled Festival al fresco  in short is list of beautiful outdoorsy food suitable to an Australian Christmas, well outdoors. But we all know on the east of Australia at the moment the only thing going on outdoors is boating down streets and swimming to the letterbox!

Anyway, back to the story... so Mei Yen Chua the author of Brisbane's Budget Bites and my twitter and foodie friend tweeted about making a Panettone Triffle Cake and how yum it was. I was all over that like a fat kid on a smartie and got the details STAT! For any other wog or wives of wogs you will know that the dry cake which is Panettone is in ample supply at any festival, Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, funerals.

So I plan to action this cake with Mei's twist and a little twist of my own.

This is the adapted recipe.

Panettone Trifle Cake


This is based on an old family cake recipe, replacing the sponge cake with a panettone (Italian Christmas bread). Thick slices of this citrus-flavoured bread are brushed with orange syrup and layered with cream and raspberries (or strawberries, if desired), giving you an almost instant “trifle” cake.

Syrup
Grated zest 1 orange
Juice 2 oranges
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau


Cake
500g panettone
500ml cream
400ml custard (Pauls Premium Custard in tub is my choice)
Zest 1 orange
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 punnets raspberries
2 punnets strawberries
1 Mango

To make syrup, combine zest, juice and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer for 1 minute then leave to cool. Stir in alcohol.

Remove paper from panettone. Slice off 3 rounds about 2.5cm thick from bottom. Save rest of panettone to eat later.

Brush or drizzle each of the rounds with syrup.

Beat cream, orange zest and caster sugar together until it forms soft peaks.

Place one of the rounds on a platter and cover with a layer of custart and whipped cream. Top with some fruit. Repeat with remaining panettone rounds, drizzling with any remaining syrup.

You will now have a three-layered cake.

Cover top and sides with custard cream, topping with remaining fruit.

Serve immediately, or chill for up to 2 hours. Serves 8


Mai has told me that it betters with age! I will let you know how it goes!

Posts script: It was amazing! Even better the next day. If you are going to use frozen berries make sure they are very good ones. My custard and cream variation was THE BEST!

Christmas Capers Issue 3 - Wrapping Mk2

Carol! I love it. Inspired by Mary Poppins is Carol's low budget, high impact wraping theme for Christmas 2010. Go HERE to see more of her post.

I have gone with the similar theme. Brown paper but with crepe paper bows.

It just shows you do not have to spend a lot of money to get beautifully wrapped and themed gifts!

Christmas Capers Issue 2 - Pretty Decorations

How sweet are these?! I found them at Creative Chaos via Daisy Pink Cupcake.

Go HERE for the tutorial. If I had a day or two and a sewing machine I would give it a go for sure. But for now I will just enjoy looking at them.

Christmas Capers Issue 1 - Wrapping

I am stressed. I wont lie. I am normally so much more organised than this. Truly.

But my blogging, work, children, new friends, old friends and real estate happenings have distracted me a lot.

Saturday's storm in Brisbane caused local havoc in my 'burb. The rain came so hard and fast I did not have time to close all of my windows at the same time and all of my beautifully wrapped presents got soaked. (well all six of them, two for dogs and four for me. Yes as you can guess I am WAY behind.) But I didn't really like the style I first thought up this year, so that gives me a chance to change it.

Anyway, I am loving this idea over at Concrete and Honey and I think this wrapping and me can make Christmas pinkoful!

I am going to action probably the first one, because the second one looks far too complex for my current state of mind.

What is everyone else doing? Send me photos and links if you dare!

Christmas Pudding Cookies

Aren't these cookies so cute!

Linda at Bubble and Sweet has made them and provided a tutorial. Easier than it looks and I am going to tackle these with the children next weekend.

Go HERE for all the details.

And while you're over at Bubble and Sweet, check out the most amazing Wizard of Oz Party and Cake and say "Hi" from me.

Carolyne Roehm & Workshopping Christmas

Each Christmas I choose a theme and everything is teamed with that theme. Even my Christmas day outfit.

Green and Pink have featured once, and as I have explained in an earlier post, I think it might feature again this year.

A friend and I did a book swap a couple of months ago. I got the ones below to borrow for a while. I LOVE them.  My favorite one is 'Presentations'. Carolyne Roehm creatively displays how to wrap any gift perfectly. I like that. You can visit Carolyne Roehm's website here. I have long been a fan of her stuff, and her new website is beautiful.

You know, I would prefer someone give me a beautifully wrapped gift with nothing inside, than a CD in a plastic bag. Its all about the WOW factor for me - that's how I roll.

Carolyne Roehm Books

So this friend doesn't know that I am going to drop this on her. But in a couple of weeks time I am descending on her house armed with the books to return, and we are going to sit and workshop Christmas ideas. She is going to hook me up like no ones business with what I am going to give the teachers, the work friends, the neighbours and I will be set like jelly.

Now what does she get in return? Well apart from the wonderfulness which is Digella, I will bring some cured meats, fresh produce and something sweet from Couquette I think.

I wonder if she will comment on this post. I haven't told her yet. How's Saturday 20th November looking?

Christmas Scheming - Green and Pink

In 2007 I hosted Christmas Day and everything was themed lime and hot pink. I LOVED IT! And so did everyone else.

Each year I change the theme, but I want to do pink and green again. So I will.

This year though, I am thinking a few shades of each colour to create a softer, more feminine feel. Why not!

I found these beauties through a fave blogger of mine Tanya over at Save the Date for Cupcakes, who found these on Sweet Cupcakes and Treats.

I am in adoration of talented people.

I just wish I lived near Pakenham, Victoria, Australia and I would be on her WEBSITE and order some of these babies for my Christmas Table 2010.

Ada & Darcy Loves Pink Too

Well seeing you all love pink, I thought I should do another post about some more pink things I am loving at the moment.

Kelly of the blog Ada and Darcy loves pink as much, if not more than I do. I love her style.

She has opened an online store, in case you missed it. You will love.

These are the pink things I am putting on the Christmas list for myself

How is this for a lampshade! I love candy stripe. HERE

A baby pink Moroccan Pouffe HERE

I would love a little wall of frames, this Strawberry one is sweet HERE

 

Thank you for your lovely comments, now that I am convinced even more that pink is cool I feel better about my obsession. My boys are used to it, but maybe as they get older I will have to tone in down a little. I don't want them bringing girls home to meet me and I look like that sad spinster surrounded with kitch florals and candy stripes.

Dessert Table Ideas from the 1940s

Can you guess what these little babies are called? More on that later.... 

Over the weekend I decided to exhume my mother-in-law's mother's Good Housekeeping Cookery Compendium from its little box and have a look through for any interesting baked ideas.  Whenever I see old cookbooks in book shops etc, I am reminded of Nigella's stories of where she found some of her most prepared dishes and I now look to these tatted books with hope and inspiration.

The Box the book was delivered in.

So I found some really interesting creations. Like this cake adorned with marshmallows, tinned peaches and sponge fingers.... mmmmmm not my kinda cake and I am thinking the beginning of the processed food mothers!

Thrown together cake!

Spider Web Cake

Easy for Halloween!

I have always wanted to make a fluffy icing cake - PERFECTION for Christmas!

So what are those delightful little ice cream cone cake balls in the first image called?

How times have changed. I do not expect to see these labelled 'gaily' on a dessert table any time soon!

Christmas Scheming

You do realise that as soon as Fathers Day is out of the way this weekend that Christmas decorations will be EVERYWHERE! And today I received another cupcake courier (taking my total to three and capability to courier 108 cupcakes on demand) with some Robert Gordon Homemade Cooking Stickers and I am feeling inspired to start creating!

So step into action I say.

My crafty and creative friend and I are attending Black Pearl Epicure's Edible Gifts Class in December. Mucho excitement right here!

Each year without fail I make homemade Baileys Irish Cream and some Christmas custard shortbreads.  Sometimes I produce vanilla vodka, however this often turns to a very messy Christmas day so that is only an occasional gift because I am then likely to get blamed for Boxing Day hangovers. Not good.

Last year I produced a little cookbook as a Christmas Card with a selection of my most requested recipes. That was a HUGE hit!

This year I will make some Christmas Cookie Mix Jars like Sharnel did. Why? Because they are super sweet and I ever since I saw how fantabulous Sharnel's looked last year I have wanted to make them.

Sharnel's Reindeer Cookies

Go to this link HERE to see all of lovely Sharnel's Crafty Christmas Posts.

I really like Glory's idea of little cookie bags. I might use this one too for the domestically challenged men. I will make them some cookies, then all they have to do it eat! See HERE on how to make these little gems.

Glory's Cookie Bag How To

Who else has started Christmas Scheming?

Retail Ravings

Now that all the tax returns are here or on their way, I thought I would post a little of what I have seen this week to buy.

I have a few upcoming social engagements and normally could exhume something from my wardrobe however I am so excited to see more red, white and blue coming out this spring that I may need a few items to spruce it up.  I have always loved nautical.

Now, on some more 'designer news', Hermes to come to Brisbane in December 2010. Just in time for Christmas.

Brisbane Hermes

The view from Hugo Boss Brisbane to Hermes

Look past the Clearway sign, and the Garbage Bin ... feast your eyes on the hording which stands between us (the commoners) and Brisbane's world of Hermes.

If you put your ear up very close you can here the hum of the workers behind the wall. How exciting!

Now back to the middle of the road fashion again for a moment, I love it when the Seed Feeme email hits my inbox monthly. I really like the outfits they put together, and am pleased they are launching Seed Femme in DJs in coming months.

Seed Feeme

Myer is my one stop shop for lunch time shopping today. I opened the Myer Catalog last night and was very excited. Here are some of the items which caught my eye.