Sunday, April 15, 2007

Celebrations


Fifteen people helped Jill celebrate her upcoming wedding this past weekend. The shower was a lot of fun and Jill got a lot of great stuff. (She got enough bed sheets that she is now set for life.) Since this is my blog, I'm going to 'brag' a little about my party hosting skills. I got into Michigan last on Friday evening. And after a quick bite to eat, I got to baking. I found a cute cake recipe in one of my new favorite magazines, Everyday with Rachael Ray.

It was a two-tier white cake with raspberry filling. In order to allow ample time for the cake to cool, I had to bake it on Friday night and assemble it Saturday morning. I was a little nervous about putting it together since I've never done a two-tiered cake, but I think it turned out all right. I also made chocolate covered pretzels dipped in pink sugar. (Can you notice the pink theme??)
Once Jill left for the evening, Mum and I put together the shower favors. I wanted to make sure that shower and the favors reflected on who Jill is, so I created Cosmopolitan kits for all the guests. When leaving the party, each attendee received a bag filled with a pink martini glass, a nip of vodka, a bottle of cranberry juice and a recipe for Jill's favorite drink, a cosmopolitan.


I hope all the guests enjoyed them. (For those of you who couldn't make it to the shower, there is left of ingredients so we can enjoy this tasty treat during the wedding weekend:) Grammy - Don't worry, I'm sure we can dig up a Margarita mix too.

All the festivities this weekend got me excited for the wedding in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see everyone. I can't believe that it has been almost six months since I've seen a lot of you. Only a few more weeks to go!!!

Friday, April 06, 2007

Oy! Matzos!


Matzo pizza, matzo brie, matzo cake and matzo kugel. I'm about matzo'd out.

For those of you who have never experienced matzo(please consider yourself lucky), it is about as tasteful as eating a cardboard box. So to make this spring delicacy somewhat eatable, I spread butter or cream cheese on, but then it just taste like butter-covered cardboard. And I'm only on day four of eight. Oy! - it is going to be a long weekend.

Don't get me wrong, Pesach (Passover) is one of my favorite holiday. I love the story telling and being with family and friends. But the food. Oh dear. It is horrible. And for a foodie, trying to make anything tasteful out of this terrible wheat floor by-product is like trying to milk out of a bull. It just ain't happening.

So I'm stuck with four more days of potatoes, chicken, broccoli and matzo. If you have any suggestions for dinner that does not include bread, beans, rice, corn - I'm all ears. I think the lack of carbs has limited my creative menu ability.

In need of a Passover laugh? Check out JibJab's Matzah video.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

My Plea...

America - or at least those who read this blog with any regularity - please vote Sanjaya off of American Idol. For crying out loud, the kid can not sing. Every Tuesday I watch, glued to my TV waiting for the outrages outfit and hair-do he will come on stage with. And every week, I'm surprise at his chose of clothing and throughly disappointed by his singing performance.

Please note, American Idol is a singing competition. The keyword in that sentence was singing. You actually have to be able to sing in order to compete. WHY does someone who CAN NOT SING keep earning enough votes by the American public to stay on this show.

Please next Tuesday, tune into American Idol and cast your vote for any of the other seven talented contestants on the show. Sanjaya has had his 15 minutes of fame. He is done.

Thank you for your support.