Edible Spray Paint

No this is not a joke. This is real. You can now bling out your tomato or chicken!

The Deli Garage Food Cooperative, based in Germany, has developed an edible spray paint for those times when, you know, you want to impress your guests or simply just change it up a bit!!!

Sort of love it tho... :)

Via The Deli Garage 

Inspiration: Amazing Cakes

I recently discovered UH-MAZING cakes by a Toronto based company ~ Cake Opera Co. I mean once you see these cakes you will understand why I had to share. Sad to say that they are far, far away from us but still offer plenty of inspiration. 

Cake Opera Co. was formed by the wildly talented duo Alexandria Pellegrino and Jessica Smith. Alexandria, the resident ‘artiste,’ and Jessica, the patissier, compliment each other’s talents and have created a totally unique take on the art of cake making. They describe their look as dramatic, evocative and design-sensitive, gearing their pieces to truly confident connoisseurs of sweets. "My inspiration from the 18th Century bourgeois and the alluring concept of beauty and the sublime", explains Alexandria. Alexandria’s art takes the form of delicately sculpted, ornate cakes with her signature hand-modeled shapes like birds, Louis XIV and Venetian Moretto Mask figurines. Their cakes would not be complete without gilded flowers, gold and silver flourishes, (edible) Faberge eggs and other rich design elements that seem to explode off their pieces.

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Oh my! Low Calorie Cocktails

Look Better Naked author (also Women's Health Magazine editor) Michele Promaulayko, and contributing nutritionist, Keri Glassman created a bunch of low calorie cocktails and they are actually delicious! 
PS. I totally feel like I am betraying Bethenny right now...the real Skinnygirl, still love you! xxx

Trends From New York Bridal Fashion Week 2011

One of my fave annual events in New York Bridal Fashion Week because the prettiest wedding gowns come out on display and the most amazing event planners come out to play! For one week only we get to see the best of the best is out on display and totally soak it in. Here are the top tips and trends that have come out so far xxx Enjoy xxx

Wedding Gowns
One of my fave designers, Monique Lhuillier on the bridal trends she loves:

"I love a lot of light frothy whimsical looks. It's about looking beautiful but everything needs to look effortless. I showed a lot of layers, sheer tulles, low backs with an overlay over it. I did a lot of corsets where you could see through the organza. It was about showing the illusion of more skin, adding slits to gowns and just making it a little more sensual."

On a trend she'd like to see disappear:

"I'm kind of tired of the over-the-top, oversized bouquets. I work so hard at making sure the bride accessorizes beautifully and then she makes the mistake of carrying a very big flower arrangement that covers all the details. I would love to see that trend of big bouquets go away." 

On a trend she thinks has staying power: 

"Ivory bridesmaids dresses is a trend that is very strong, and will stay on."

Event Design 

Event designer Marcy Blum on the trend towards food - centric affairs: 

"People used to say, 'I don't really care about the food, just don't kill anyone.' [Now, the food is] not necessarily expensive, but they want the meal to be interesting--maybe it's vegan. They really want something different that's more reflective of food trends out of Food and Wine magazine than food trends out of wedding magazine."

On the trend towards more dancing: 

"The main course is the last time people are going to be seated and then they're going to push the tables away and have a dancing and dessert party. They really do not want a traditional four course seated dinner." 

On why the DIY trend has run its course:

"It's a nice concept [but] I would rather people just cut the guest list...Don't waste your time and money trying to arrange the flowers when you can find someone to do it at a fairly decent cost. When I see brides the morning of their wedding sitting around trying to finish stringing the paper carnations, I'm like, 'What are you doing?' It's penny wise, pound foolish."

Cake Galore 

A legend in the wedding cake world, Sylvia Weinstock, says she's seeing brides who want elements of their dress on their cakes: 

"The beading, the embroidery, the lace work and sometimes the folds and the draping. We'll mimic it in butter cream on a cake. All of it is edible."

On what flavours people are loving right now:

"[We're using] the most delicious fruits--we just did pineapple ginger for a wedding cake--rather than the regular vanilla or chocolate. You could do anything you want [but] remember the cake gets cut and it's food and you want something that's not only beautiful but delicious."

On what wedding trend she can't get on board with:

"We don't use fondant ever. I hate fondant." 

On which cake colours she would like to see disappear:

"I want a cake to look like food. I don't like dark blue, dark red: I want to be involved in eating something that's delicious and food doesn't look like that."

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Creme Brulee French Toast

Who doesn't love Creme Brulee?? So I found this amazing creme brulee french toast recipe and decided to make a super special breakfast for my honey <3 We loved it (minus my semi burned toffee) and will make it again! Here is the recipe : 

Toasts
1 loaf unsliced white bread, brioche (can be found @Ferry Rd Markets) or rich bread of your choice (we used cafe bread)
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur or 1/4 teaspoon orange zest1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping
2/3 cup granulated sugar


How to make it;


1. Place the bread in a small rimmed tray. Mix the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, orange liqueur & vanilla extract in a bowl. Pour the mix over the bread.(PS.We put our bread in an oven proof dish - it was slightly deeper and worked better).   

2. Place the bread into a 160C* oven for 30 min. Ensure that you turn the bread over so that it is evenly soaked.

(I totally have some cooking skills as shown above :P )

3. To make the toping, melt the granulated sugar in a pot on low heat.

(And this is where my cooking skills left the building...I burned the sugar...well to my defence it was not melting for ages.)

4. Once the bread is finished, place on plate (to serve) and put 1 teaspoon of the melted sugar on top of each bread. We also added strawberries on top! Alternatively, instead of the melted sugar use honey or icing sugar.

(Yes! He loves it!)

Enjoy xx  

Food: Cool Summer Desserts

Check out these cool summer desserts. Please click on the link to get the full recipes and of course enjoy :) xx

1. Let's hope that banana prices keep dropping because I just adore them! These orange- banana smoothie pops are delish :) 

2. Watermelon Granitas- super refreshing but remember with 1/2 cup of sugar involved that this one is a treat not an every day dessert!

3. Ok, so I love watermelon however what you see above is a watermelon pop made out of jelly! Yum! 

4. What is the best way to cool down? With a lemon cremsicle ice cream of course!

5. Personal fave: Cherry Sorbetto! Gosh this is so delicious & can be made 2 days in advance! 

6. One for the kids: DIY Lemonade Cookies. 

Trend: Cupcake Cakes

This trend will not be going away anytime soon. Cupcake Cakes are huge when it comes to weddings and now even birthday parties. I am loving this idea because its easy and simple, not too messy and really quite gorgeous. If you are worried about the tradition of cutting the cake- don't be! That problem is solved by having a small cake at the top of the tier that the couple can cut and then the little cup cakes are distributed to the guests :) Here are a few of our fave cupcake cakes xx Enjoy

Kids Parties: Oreo Turkeys

I love the idea of fun candy...well fun food in general and these little Oreo turkeys are cute and easy to make! xx

Ingredients: 

Oreo Cookies (double stuffed are preferred)

Candy Corn - can be found in candy specialty stores

Whoopers

Peanut Butter Cups

Yellow frosting

Optional: red frosting and black sprinkles for eyes

To make: 


1. Grab a cookie. You don’t have to put frosting in there however it will hold in the candy corn a little better. Just give it a little squeeze of chocolate.

2.  Stuff in your candycorn.  If you’re in some sort of candy corn shortage, you can cut off the white tips to use later for your beaks. The candy corn sticks in better with the tip so if you can, leave it on.  Go ahead and do all of the cookies through this step.

3. Put a dab of frosting on the opposite end of the cookie and secure it to the “base” cookie.  It helps to place them next to a wall as they dry so they stay put.

4. While those are drying, unwrap your PB cups.  Take a sharp knife and cut a sliver off of one end.

5. When ready, flip your cookies over, but you may find it’s easy to keep them next to the wall.  If your frosting is a bit soft, so they needed the extra support. Place a dab of frosting on the pb cup, and place it on the cookie like so:

6. Now those little guys will need heads, so glue a whopper on there with frosting as well. It is best to put frosting on the side of the whopper that hits both the cookie and the PB cup.

7. While they’re still laying there, use a dab of frosting (use yellow) and glue on the white tip of a candy corn for a beak.  Put two yellow dots on for eyes, and for the black spots in the eyes you can use a dab of chocolate frosting, or a mini chocolate chip, or a little sprinkle (as it's really the perfect size if you have them).

OPTIONAL: 

Once the beak stays put you can flip them over and draw on some little yellow feet.  If you have red frosting too  you can add a little gobble gobble!

Party Perfect !!!

Cosmopolitan Jelly Shots!

It has been a while since my last post because I am officially on holidays! I am currently exploring the wonderful city of Melbourne. There has been one thing that has caught my eye- cosmo jelly shots! Amazing! Here is the recipe - perfect for any event! 

Ingredients: 


1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup orange flavored vodka
1/4 cup Roses lime juice (or fresh lime juice and a dash simple syrup or agave nectar)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier (substitute Cointreau or Triple Sec for a milder tasting jelly shot)
2 ½ envelopes plain Knox gelatin (1/2 envelope equals ¾ teaspoon)
Lime zest for garnish, if desired

How to..

In a saucepan, sprinkle cranberry and lime juices with gelatin. Allow to soak for a few minutes. Heat on low, stirring constantly, until gelatin is fully dissolved (about 5 minutes). Stir in the liquors, making sure to fully incorporate. Pour into pan or molds, and chill until set, several hours or overnight. .

To serve, cut into desired shapes.  Garnish with the lime zest. Makes 18 to 24 shots.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

How perfect is this for a kids party? So simple and so yummy! 

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Adapted from: More from Magnolia

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

·       CUPCAKES:

·       1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

·       1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·       1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

·       2 cups sugar

·       4 large eggs, at room temperature

·       1 cup milk

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

3.     In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

4.     In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

5.     Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

VANILLA BUTTER ICING 

• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 6-8 cups of confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cup millk
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

TO DECORATE: 

1. Pre-dye your coconut shavings with blue food coloring. Add the food coloring directly into the bag with the shavings and shake it until they are evenly coated.

2. For the eyes; white chocolate melts and the eyeballs are quite self-explanatory (jumbo chocolate chips over the regular ones are better!). 

3. A box of chocolate chip cookies for cookie monster! Cut them in half or crumble them!

Jello Lovers - Dragon Flowers

Here is another fun and super easy recipe for your next party! 

Ingredients: 

Thai Flowers Flavor Agar Agar (it is fuchsia) 

Pear Vodka

Pitaya (dragon fruit) pulp

Thinly sliced kiwi

Simply mix together, chill and enjoy xxx

Make a Starbucks Frappuccino at home!

I have a terrible addiction to Starbuck. Since the closure of most stores in Australia, well the Gold Coast, I have been reducing my addiction. Recently I came across a recipe of how to make the Starbucks Frappuccino at home! Now that I can live with. Here is the secret recipe. Enjoy xx

Frappuccino ingredients: makes 2.5 cups (590 mL)

• 1 cup double-strength Starbucks coffee OR 3/4 cup fresh espresso (cold)
• 3/4 cup milk (low fat, 2%, whole or whatever)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or to taste)
• 2 cups ice
• Secret ingredient: Pinch of xanthan gum OR 1 teaspoon dry pectin (keeps Frapp from separating)

Creative Menu Display

I love all the little things in life. Special touches shall we say. I also LOVE food. Therefore I am the person who get excited by a menu! Here is a collection of my fave menu displays. Next time you are planning a special event, dinner with friends or a wedding take into consideration these creative ideas :) xx 

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