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| Craft Time at the party! |
This recipe is soo autumn! The flavors just scream "fall" in your mouth. It's always a crowd-pleaser!
1/2 cup finely chopped apples (1/2 an apple, peeled)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TB melted butter
pinch of kosher salt or sea salt (just to bring out the flavors)
Preheat the oven to 350*. Slice the round of brie in half, horizontally. Combine the apples, cranberries, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and add the pinch of salt. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir. Layer half of the apple mixture on the bottom half of the brie, and cover it with the top half of the brie, like a sandwich. Top with the remaining half of the apple mixture and bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve with crackers and/or sliced apples.
For the kids, they of course had cake (which the adults were welcome to, also) and individual bags of chips and juice for the movie. It was a rainy day and a Veggie Tales themed party, so what better way to spend it than by watching a Veggie Tales show? I also made cake pops to look like the "French peas" from the show, but sadly forgot to take them out!
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| My "ugly" cake pops that never "popped" out of the freezer!!! :( |
Like finding the perfect wedding dress for the big day, I always feel like once the cake is done, the rest of the birthday party planning/preparing will be a snap! For Abby's cake, I actually make 4 cakes: 2 chocolate buttercream (1 round and 1 rectangular) and 2 vanilla (1 round and 1 rectangular). I used my own recipes. The entire bottom layer of the cake would be chocolate while the top layer would be vanilla, this way each piece would have a little of both so no one had to pick or choose what kind of piece to take. I made a traditional buttercream frosting which came out nice and fluffy. I kept the frosting white to glue the cakes together. I fit the round cake and rectangular cake together and carved a "Larry the Cucumber" out of the rectangular cake. The scrap pieces of cake are what I used to make the cake pops. Once the shape of our 2 friends leaning into each other was formed, the rest was just a matter of food coloring and minimal artistic skill. ;) Bob the Tomato & Larry the Cucumber in cake form--perfect for our Veggie Tales themed birthday party!
That night's dinner consisted of macaroni and cheese two ways. Macaroni and cheese is one of Abby's favorite meals, but I had a feeling she wouldn't like it baked (and I wasn't about to serve Kraft!). I was right, but it was a chance I had to take. Everyone else loved the dishes. Although I don't have pictures, here are my recipes...
Traditional Mac & Cheese
1 lb pasta (I used medium shells)
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 lb sharp and 1/2 lb mild)
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
salt, pepper
1 tsp stone ground mustard
*If you want to make this dish ahead of time, cook the pasta to al dente and then bake it the rest of the way when you're ready. If you don't want to bake it, just cook the pasta fully the first time and serve right when the dish is put together.
Cook pasta to al dente following package instructions. While it's cooking, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Add the milk and mustard and bring to a boil and then reduce heat and let thicken, stirring constantly. Pour in the cheese, all except about 1/2 cup and stir in a figure 8 motion until the cheese is all melted and the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and add it to the cheese sauce. Pour the whole mixture into a baking pan and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. When ready, bake at 350* for about 20 minutes.
Philly Cheese Steak Mac & Cheese
This recipe follows the same concept as the traditional mac & cheese but we're adding roast beef and caramelized onions.
1 lb pasta (I used rotini)
3/4 lb roast beef, roughly chopped
2 cups shredded provolone cheese or Italian mixture
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup beef broth
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup flour
salt, pepper
Again, cook the pasta to al dente. While the water is boiling, start caramelizing the onions by cooking them over medium heat in a skillet with some extra virgin olive oil. Cook the onions until they get a good caramelization. In another pan, start the cheese sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour. Cook for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Add the milk and bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let the sauce thicken, continually stirring. Add the cheese when the sauce is thick and stir in a figure 8 pattern.
When the onions are caramelized, add the roast beef and cook for another minute before adding the beef broth. Keep warm.
Combine the meat sauce and the cheese sauce and when the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce. Pour the whole mixture into a baking pan and bake at 350* for about 20 minutes.
Both of these dishes made great leftovers for Sunday, Day 259!!!
For desserts with Abby's birthday dinner we absolutely had leftover cake, but being the kind of "over-cooker/baker" that I am, I also had 2 other desserts prepared: apple pie and pumpkin whoopie pies. If I had remembered to take pictures of the whoopie pies, I would include the recipe here. Not only did I make them for Saturday, but also for 2 events on Sunday. They're always a huge hit. I guess I'll just have to make them again so I can take pictures and post the recipe. I don't think Randy will mind...
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