ohmydoodle

Walker Art Center - Graphic Design Exhibit

2012-01-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

TV show posters in back wall are a reminder of how simple design can be.
They can be purchased here.

There was equipment to make your own poster.

So we did. The lady with the cool braid made one too.

Who was this chair designed for?

Inked art should read "too".

I don't like posters that tell you what to do, or remind you of our crappy economy. But i do like the color and they remind me of how much i like white frames on white walls.

Liked this info graphic so much that i had to overlook how out of focus it is.

As much as i liked the voting aspect of this part of the show,
i've seen all of these before/afters on brand new blog.

by bob barton. of course i like anything hand drawn.
and drawn badly in a good kind of way.

like how i positioned the relections of the overhead lights on this cover?

i appreciate how much work went into this cover that the average person would dismiss in one brief glance. note to self: where are my old spy magazines? Guess i can skip the spider-filled crawl space. You can find them here.

lizzy this is for you. a blinged out cover but of course only released in england:

i can only image how many years it took to die cut this book:

The wallpaper as i exited the show just made me smile in an IKEA kind of way.

Drawer Safety (FIFMNoodle)

2012-01-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

BH&G's Almond Icebox Rounds Review

2012-01-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

I spied this cookie on pinterest and had to try it.

From the Better Homes & Gardens website, it's called Almond Icebox Rounds. You can get the recipe here. First you mix up the dough.

I used Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal instead of "3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped". I did not toast the almond meal.

The dough tasted devine!

Plop half of dough on plastic wrap.

Form a log by rolling it back and forth in the plastic wrap. Then coat with sliced almonds and chill.

Slice and bake. They don't spread out much so you can fit all of them on 2 cookie sheets. There is no egg or leaveners in the recipe.

I swept stray almonds "under the cookies".

This recipe is definitely a KEEPER. Freezes well, too.

Pepperoni-Pesto Popovers

2012-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

I have written many posts about the 44th Pillsbury Bake-off® contest, but not one about how to make my winning treat, Pepperoni-Pesto Popovers. People ask if I still make them now that the Bake-off® contest is over. The answer is "yes! I still do!"

Click here for the recipe.

Here's how: oven to 375˚. Brush popover pan with olive oil.

Sprinkle with semolina flour (for a crispy crust).

Pop open the Pillsbury crescent rolls. Unroll onto a clean countertop and smash seams shut (or use seamless dough sheet). Sprinkle on garlic salt. Spread with pesto. Add pepperoni slices.

Add a handful of mozzerella and some parmesan cheese.

Slice into six pieces with a pizza cutter (one long horizontal cut and 2 vertical cuts).

Roll each section up to make a long roll.

Fold the long roll in half (like you are making a letter V) and place in the oiled popover cup. No need to be perfect. I like the messier look and if cheese oozes out it makes for an even better tasting crust. Bake 18-20 minutes on 375˚.

I like that they are all different and seem to have their own personalities.

no year's resolution

2012-01-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

Xmas Wish Blisst 2011

2011-12-11T07:46:00.001-08:00

Last year's xmas list was BIG.

Here's what I ended up with:

1. Shampure in the giant pump bottles. Check. Used 1/2 of it in one year. Great gift.

2. White hangers. Great, but by mother's day I decided to switch to the black huggable hangers, which are better because your clothes don't slide off of them.

3. Make-up mirror. Well that was just plain frightening. Back to the store it went.

4. Gift card: Always the right size. Did not find a new coat until a couple of weeks ago at Nordstrom Rack:

But what about this year? Funny that the same items are back on the list, like boots and hangers. I wanted a back rub last year, but it didn't make the list.

Sure, anyone can clip a list to the fridge.

How can I top last year's 5 foot list?

Guess I needed to THINK SMALL.

Pretzel Graffiti

2011-12-06T08:36:00.001-08:00

Trader Joe's has pretzel rolls, but I thought "that's something that you want to eat fresh out of the oven". I found a recipe from my friends at Cook's Illustrated. Love it when I have EVERYTHING I NEED and don't have to go to the store.

I had Pillsbury BREAD flour in my cupboard. I keep COSTCO's yeast sealed in the fridge. This is a least a year old and still works (or so I thought). A steal at only 3 bucks.

Measure, mix and knead in the stand mixer. So easy.

Dough is very dense and heavy.

That dough ball was just asking for that. BTW, that's Jilly's face.

First rise took a long time, 2 hours.

Maybe the yeast is loosing it's luster. Another one hour rise.

Then time to shape. I pulled it into 2 long logs. Directions said to cut into equal pieces.

It was impossible to stretch those little balls into 20 inch long strips so I got out the pizza cutter and went to work.

Create pretzel balls by pulling dough from the top around to the bottom side to create a nice round shape. Twist to secure.

The secret to the dark brown crust is boiling briefly in baking soda.

Drain on paper towels, cut star shapes into the rolls, salt and bake.

Mmmmmmm. Even better brushed with butter. This silicone basting brush is from IKEA.

Homemade pretzels just might replace popovers on xmas eve this year!

Reindeer Ravioli Revisited

2011-11-28T10:33:00.001-08:00

In 2004, I made up a cookie for our cookie exchange at work. It was a graham cracker Hershey bar filled ravioli shaped cookie. I named it "Reindeer" ravioli because when I packaged up the slab, I used a reindeer that I had drawn on the tag. No reindeers were harmed in the making of this cookie.

When I saw an ad on Food Network asking if anyone had unique xmas cookie ideas, I sent in a tape. You can view the video here.

Imagine how excited I was to see Pillsbury's Reindeer Sugar "SHAPE" (not flavored) cookies at Cub Foods. Now I can make "Reindeer Reindeer" Ravioli cookies!

Here's what I did:

Slice each cookie in half with a sharp knife, being careful not to distort the design. Place rounds between plastic wrap and flatten carefully until they are about 1/8" thick. Again, don't distort the deer! Place in freezer while you make the filling.

I used Trader Joe's version of peppermint OREOs and a dab of cream cheese. Chop 'em up with an AS SEEN ON TV quik chop and use a fork to work in the cream cheese. I had thought the frosting within the cookie would be enough "glue". Add just enough cream cheese to hold it together.

Remove dough from freezer and gently pry it from the wrap. Place a flat round on the cookie sheet. Place 1 tsp of filling on round. Place another round of dough on top of filling. Press gently around filling to remove air pockets. Seal edges. You could use a round cookie cutter to clean up the shape if you want.

On its way to the oven.

They tasted great. I only made 4 filled cookies. I'm only in the playing stage and haven't developed a full recipe yet. As some of us know playing with food can get you here.

The rest were baked according to the package directions.

I am probably the only blogger who photographs the backs of my cookies. My mom had told me a perfect back is very important in cookie baking.

There's something really fun about a pan of cookies smiling at you. Happy holidays!

Mike's New Mike

2011-09-27T06:21:00.000-07:00

my brother needed a new microwave.

he's been using my parent's 1975-ish model for quite some time.

it still works, but maybe it wasn't very energy efficient.

i think it was $400-$500 new, which in today's dollars would be quite a bit.

the cool part is the spinning dials and the flipping numbers on the clock. notice the temperature settings and food suggestions for high. "Flash Defrost" was my favorite setting. it even had a probe to detect the internal temperature while cooking.

say goodbye to your old friend.

whenever we go up north someone always gets hurt.

the perfect home for my pillsbury bake-off prize.

did anyone bring any microwave popcorn?

Light Construction, 1953 (post 1 of 4)

2011-09-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

My dad was selling these books at his garage sale, called "Light Construction File, 1953".

It is a giant bound book of home supply catalogs from 1953. Roofing, siding, tiling and kitchens are shown here. A great reference if you have a rambler, but even better if you are a graphic designer. The typography and layout is great. Naturally, I love the big "S".

See the S on the house?

Love it when the type is literally what it is:

This one reminded me of my layout for vita.mn.

Brands we still know are represented, like Armstrong.

The winner of the HGTV's design star, Meg Caswell used peg board in one of her challenges.

I also really like it when the logo is a person made from their product. No company dares to do that any more, because they might introduce a new product and control man won't work for their sprinkler division. Now companies have names like Nortivia and Gigacom and a squiggle or circle is their logo.

Gotta dash. Stay tuned for 3 more posts on this topic.

Earring Post. Get it?

2011-08-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

What I thought was the perfect solution wasn't. My plastic earring holder from The Container Store was messy looking and it had a broken hinge. It was getting full and I needed to find a more attactive way to house my growing earring collection.

So I sketched out my dream earring holder. How about rotating disks with a light?

Maybe I could adapt the rotating racks I saw at Marshall's. But they were ugly, broken, and the wrong color. I happened upon these candlesticks wrapped in rattan.

Maybe I could tuck my earrings into the lattice?

Here are some of the earrings that needed a new home after the failed craft show (I only sold ONE pair in 8 hours). Sick.

Can you believe no one bought these?

I'm actually glad no one did. So here are the towers are all loaded up. Reds/oranges on one, and blue/greens on the other. I've staggered them and worked my way around, kind of like Charlie Brown's shirt.

To finish my dressertop tableau, all I need are these low touch lights I saw at Home Depot yesterday.

In deep-fried trouble!

2011-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Each year our department designs shirts to sell at the Star Tribune booth at the Minnesota State Fair. "I'm Fried" was one of the selected concepts. You can see some of last year's shirts here. Seems simple. But maybe not. First you need to find the perfect corndog off-season. These were not bad for frozen. They look like a work of art:

After consulting with Rick Nelson, Star Tribune's food critic, we discovered that you could find fresh ones in town. Martha found these bacon wrapped dogs at a bar downtown. Hefty price @ $8 a piece, but the bacon made them lumpy and the sticks were too short. Not ideal for a photo, but they sure tasted good!

Next problem to solve: the mustard writing. Will we need to thicken with cornstarch? Will the Plochman's bottle write like a pen? And what about frosting in a can from my favorite company? Will that make a better pen?

The mustard barrel bottle was the winner! Perfect consistancy and color and easy to write with. Well, it got easier with practice. And the fonts got more personality with time.

You can see the frosting was more yellow and was not the right thing to use. How unfortunate that I did not need it. Wonder what happened to it?

Fellow staffer Tom W. shot the photos. We cleaned up the mess. When I got back to my desk I realized I forgot to draw smiley faces. A letter "D" and some periods saved the day. After a little work in Photoshop, it all came together:

Messy Message for a Messenger

2011-08-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jane!

I tried.

This is what I envisioned:

And this is what you get:

Reminds me of the recent ban on Photoshopped make-up ads in England. I think even the most skilled baker would have trouble achieving the perfection you see on the box.

I've been intrigued with the Message In a Cookie Cookie Cutters from Williams-Sonoma all year. "IN" a cookie?... more like "ON" a cookie. These aren't fortune cookies.

Check out the helpful video (see link above). Yeah right. I'd like to see the real footage.

I bought this on my mom's birthday, intending to give it to her as a gift (she has more patience than I do and I'm sure she would have no trouble with this). Instead, I decided to just make her the cookies. About 1/2 way through the painful process, I decided this would be a really bad gift, for many reasons.

First you need to flatten dough into a disk and refrigerate. And why the disk? Dough rounds ALWAYS crack when you roll it out. And this dough needs to be REALLY cold. So here's what I learned. Press between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4" thickness. Roll with rolling pin to smooth. Then put in fridge.

WHAT ELSE?

Next you will need to FORCE the letters into the molds. Here's a tip. Spray with PAM. The letters slide in only slightly easier. And if you didn't get it centered the first time? Find a muscle man to move it over.

And the tricky part? Holding the spring down while you insert the letters with your PAM covered slippery fingers. Watch the lady in the video. She stumbled a bit here too but elegantly recovered with careful editing.

You have to lay the message out SDRAWKCAB.

And forget writing Happy 29th Jane! It's doesn't come with numbers. Or punctuation.

Before you force the letters into the channels you need to clean out the dried lime green tinted dough from last time that has now become concrete. A toothpick does the trick.

Like I said before, the dough needs to be really COLD or you get this mess.

Smash it back togther and back it goes into the fridge. Cookbooks say reworking your dough will make it tough. I have never heard ANYone ever complain about tough cookies in my life. So play and have fun and use up every scrap. I ended up liking the marbled dough look the best.

You learn as you go. Plop cold layer of flat dough onto parchment. Cut out shape. Peel away dough from the negative space. Or so I thought. Dough stayed in the cutter and you need to pry out a corner with a toothpick. Maybe flouring the cutter before you cut would help. Guess I should have watched the video first.

Smashing the message with the spring is always a mystery. How far in do you push it? Funny that we did much better in July when I first tried this. We didn't even use the channels because we couldn't insert the messages--which in the end was good because we got a better mix of messages.

You can't tell very well from the photo, but I used the lime green dye. Not very appetizing. One more thing, the thinner you roll it the more cookies you get.

And Jane, you are probably wondering...where are my cookies? We are eating the bad ones and I froze the rest for Wednesday's meeting.

What the Palahniuk, Chuck!

2011-08-13T05:01:00.000-07:00

On Friday I was working on a new layout for Star Tribune's Talking Volumes ad. That was happening on my regular computer in front of me. I have an extra computer monitor, and on that I keep e-mail, internet and junk. I glance to the right and the brown paper catches my eye (pinterest). I read the quote and realize that name is familiar...because it's from the guy whose ad I'm working on. Small world.

Fuel for the Fourth!

2011-07-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

I've had this clipping for over 10 years. It's from FAMILY FUN magazine (no date is on it).

It's one of those "so easy, takes no time, and the result makes you look like a pro" kind of recipes. This is all you need:

Tear off a piece of parchment. If it's curly, fold it diagonally to get it to lay flat.

Wash and dry the berries. They need to be really dry.

Here I've transferred them to 3 different paper towels to dry.

Melt about a 1/2 cup of chips in a little cup for 30 seconds on high. Stir. Give it another 15 if needed.

Dipping really doesn't work. It's easier to spread it on with a mini knife.

Hold the berry over a bowl to catch the sugar drippings.

Transfer to the parchment.

When dry, transfer to a pretty plate.

Gap Dress Re-vamp

2011-05-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

Got a great deal on a dress at the GAP.

I'm not a strapless kind of girl. Maybe I could just wear a shirt under it like January Jones.

MMMM...what could I do?

I opted for the skirt. Adding straps to make a jumper was problematic.

Here's how. Cut off the top edge to an even width.

The waist band needs to fit to your body.

Rip out former dart lines, and pin in place.

Sew darts above the pockets, and on each side of the zipper.

Time to try it on and see if it fits.

It was a little tight, so I ripped out 2 darts in the front.

I had marked the previous seam with tape (more accurate than pins, which fall out).

I hand sewed the dart and tried it on again. Bingo!

Time to sew the dart and rip out the hand sewing.

Tack the lining and the waist together.

Time for a break.

Fold top edge under (width of one of the squares) and iron.

Fold raw edge under 1/4 inch. Zig zag for a clean finish (do it now, not later like I did).

Place on ironing board. Pull up lining as flat as you can get it.

Cut lining flush with top of folded waistband.

Tuck lining up under folded waistband and pin in place.

I decided to secure the folded edge with a zigzag, so I had the unpin, sew zig zag and re-pin.

Add a few tucks to the lining so it will lie flat. No need to sew fancy darts. It won't show.

Hand sew using a hem stitch to secure lining.

I didn't want any machine stitches to show on the front.

Since the zipper was too long, I folded it over and hand sewed it down.

Voila! New high waisted skirt!

Mystery Gadget

2011-05-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

I found this in my kitchen drawer. I must have picked it up at a thrift store or flea market. I never knew what it was. There was a clue on the handle but I couldn't read it:

Then one day I was thumbing through an old Cook's Illustrated magazine, and there is was!

It's a food grater.

I finally cleaned it up and gave it a try.

It took a little muscle to use, and most of the cheese sticks to the grater. I'd don't agree with Esther's comment below.

If I you need very thin, shaggy cheese shards for your creation, this is the grater for you.

It's available online at the Vermont Country Store. Here's some reviews from their site:

“My mother did use this type of grater. I had it until about 10 years ago, when the grater fell apart (after many years of use). I have been looking high and low to find it again. Every time I walk into one of the big "housewares" stores I check to see if they have it, but they never do. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it in your catalog!! Thanks!” — Deborah Jacobson, Gurnee, IL

“This is a the only grater I use. It's obviously for fine grating, but so much easier for bread and soft cheeses like mozzarella. Also flat, so easy to store.” — Cynthia Mason, Long Island, NY

“My Mom passed away in 1993. Naturally, as her only child, I inherited her prized "rehbahzen" (safety grater). It was absolutely ESSENTIAL to her potato kugel, latkes, etc., not to mention a variety of other fruits, vegetables, cheeses and other items. Since my mom had inherited the grater from my Bubbie when she died in the early 70's, it began to show signs of wear shortly after I happily received it. I've been looking for one since then. YOU GUYS MADE MY DAY!!!!!!!!!! and that of my kugel/latke loving family.” — Lynne Novack-Doig, Trenton, NJ

“Reading the other reviews, I now know why my mom liked this grater SO much—no sharp edges, no danger of cut skin at all! And—it's NOT electric (save money on electric bills!). Also, it grates BETTER, FASTER, and CLEANER than other graters, I guess because of the HUGE grating surface, and the large spaces between the "grating strips." I suspect that these large grating areas allow for even "hard-to-grate" vegetables (like celery) to be grated—I don't know if it can, but I'm sure if ANY grater can do it, THIS one will! I know it does a great job on carrots, potatoes, cheese....even grating liver for chopped liver! It's truly "the greater grater"...for my mom's time, for my time....for ALL time!” — Esther Nash, Denver, CO

Tater Tale

2011-01-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

my brother gave me a bag of potatoes

grown in northern minnesota

1.75 pounds

so I baked it, cooled it and cut it up the next day

fed family of four

Let's Party Like It's 1785

2010-12-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

It was a very pink year. Not the pink you think of, but a salmon-y pink. Pantone had a dirty salmon in its color preditions for 2010, but nothing bright like this.

I saw it in fabrics and in fashion, old and new.

In meat and in messages.

Near the King's palace.

In "just the right size" presents.

Or on just the label.

Fresh tulips from mom.

Even the compost pile can be pretty.

How Willy Wonka Saved the Cookie Exchange

2010-12-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

Mom was really into ordering premiums from the back of cereal boxes when I was a kid.

My kit came with Wonka bar molds, my favorite cereal characters and few holiday shapes.

It's even "Made in the U.S.A." How great is that?

Also included were illustrated instructions and Wonka Bar wrappers. I remember not wanting to use them up. Maybe if they had color copiers back then I would have.

Looks easy enough. Right?

Wrong. It doesn't work with CAKEPOPS batter.

I thought if I froze them, they would pop right out like ice cubes,

as they had showed in the instruction book.

After cleaning out the 2-sided Oompa Loompa mold a couple of days later, I tried again with tinted white chocolate.

Appetizing... huh?

Yippee! It worked. My cookie exchange bag included hot pink cake balls and my precious divinity. I also made Santa's Buttons (from refrigerated fundraising cookie sale batter, how lame is that?) as a back-up.

And how about a witch to spread that holiday cheer?

What cereal is she from anyway?

My Divinity Was Not So Divine

2010-12-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

Growing up candy making was our holiday tradition. Fudge, divinity and caramels. I had tried making Divinity a couple of years ago and it didn't work (maybe that was the pre-induction stove's fault?). So I gave it a whirl. The recipe is simple enough:

First I had to rig up the tippy candy thermometer:

Notice that tip on the bottom? Is that supposed to be there? I searched the internet, the thermometer manual. Nothing. So on it stayed, since it wouldn't come off.

First you boil the sugary syrup to 248˚. Be patient. While that is happening, you whip 2 egg whites in the stand mixer.

When the syrup reaches temp, I ladled half of it into a PYREX measuring cup to make it easier to pour into the whites (growing up we poured it from the hot pan, always tricky to do without burning yourself).

Pour the hot syrup into the running mixer while the hot syrup on the stove continues to cook. The stand mixer is much easier than the hand mixer we used to use. I can still remember the smell of the motor burning out. Once the rest of the syrup is ready (272˚), that goes into the whites. The photo below shows you what happens when you pour it in too slowly. It started to solidify.

That is not good.

Time to get out the spoons. Actually 4 is better because when the time is right you will need an extra set of hands. Growing up we used wax paper. Mom put a dab of sticky syrup on all four corners of the wax paper to hold it down and keep it from curling up. Smart idea. But fast forward to 2010: I have silicone mats and that really worked great. Long handled malt spoons from the 60s are ideal to use.

So back to the mixer. It mixes for a while and you have to figure out when it's ready. If you go too early it spreads out like this:

So I let it mix some more. I think it needs to cool while it mixes (maybe the metal bowl is keeping it too hot). This is how it's supposed to look:

Slightly glossy and holds its shape.

Sure looks easy doesn't it? Well the test batch I made in November yielded only 6 good pieces. The rest were pancakes:

After sitting on the counter for a few days, they dried out a bit and were smooth and tasty.

After deciding this would be my cookie exchange item, I made this 3 times last weekend. Only the batch you see on blue tray (scroll up) worked. I wanted to add pink to the mix so I used red food coloring and almond flavoring the next batch, which was a flop.

Even though they set up, there were chunks of glass-like syrup strands throughout. It's supposed to be silky and smooth. So I punished myself again and tried again. I had to wash all of the dishes and start again. The 3rd batch did NOT set up at all, even after it cooled down it still didn't work. It spread out like pancakes. Inspired by this magazine clipping, I thought I could save them with a paint brush and some food coloring.

It was after midnight on Sunday and I would need 3 days for these to dry out. So threw them in the oven with the light on to get them out of the way. Well you guessed it. On Monday I went to pre-heat the oven for pizza and of course I forgot they were in there.

And the reason for all of the failure? Still not entirely sure, but my hubby removed the plastic from the tip of the thermometer. I have yet to try another batch. I'm not giving up.

UPDATE DECEMBER 24, 2011

I decided to ditch the family recipe. Betty Crocker's got great reviews and didn't have the 2 stage temperature instructions. Since the ingredient list/amounts were nearly similiar, I thought it was worth a try. Here's the link to the recipe.

Getting it to 260˚ was easy. Like last time the mixing took almost 20 minutes-FOREVER! I was thinking "oh boy not again - why can't i make this?$#@$ candy"! Lucky to have a stand mixer to do the work. The batter is heavy. I started to use ice packs to cool down the hot stainless steel mixing bowl. I don't really think it's the mixing time, I think the batter just needs to cool down. I got a clue when I saw a recipe online that said to "cool candy to 220˚and then add to eggs whites". I might just do that next time to reduce stress on my good ol' mixer (btw, best xmas gift EVER!).

Crafty Pancakes

2010-11-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

So what's one to do with 75 pairs of earrings? Why not try to unload them at your local holiday craft show? So when found out about the FAIR school's Crafty Pancake event (with the affordable fee of $25) I jumped on it. What a super cool looking school:

First of all, I needed to create a display costing NO MONEY.

Covered with a Martha Stewart flannel scottie dog pillowcase,

the display was easy to transport and setup.

I used 2 lightweight LACK tables, red IKEA runners (that exactly fit the table!) and 2 IKEA retired speaker towers that had heavy concrete bases.

I wrapped the towers with drapery ring tape and strung the XMAS garland (thanks judy!) between the towers using twist ties to affix to the drapery loops.

I made earring cards from old holiday cards.

I'd say only 20% of my stash are ACTUAL cards. Most are photo cards.

My mom had bracelets to sell, too.

And what would I wear? Of course I needed a crazy craft lady outfit.

So I wore the ribbon and apron I made for RETRORAMA.

And how would we kill 5 hours of time?

I brought my supplies and made this:

Alaina designed this one. She bought the pin at the craft show to use to build her design around that coincidentally had the word FELT on it!

And Lizzy completed this design (with a few needles pricks to the finger):

And how did we reward ourselves afterward?

Dollar butterburgers at Culver's (can you believe it's their 9th anniversary?)

And with lots of tv and good nap. The funny part is that I awoke to a movie playing in the room. It was a scene where a kid was getting dropped off at school. And at what school? Can you believe it was FAIR school (the movie was Joe Somebody). What are the chances of that?

It's Been a Blue Ribbon Kind of Year

2010-10-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to meeting Marjorie Johnson at The Woods gift shop all week.

She's been on Jay Leno, The View and she even baked a pie with Martha Stewart last year.

I wanted to give her something special. One of my recipes?

A bag my Reindeer Ravioli? Nope-I was out of time. So from this crafty mess -

came this...

... in about 30 minutes.

How would I give it to her?

And what would we chat about?

Why the Pillsbury Bake-off® of course...she's been 3 times in the 70s. She won a fridge from Monty Hall (to Betsy Chan: don't you have a Monty Hall story too?). I could have talked to her for hours. Now off to read her cookbook and decide what to make first.

One more from Mom:

2010-10-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

here's a close-up:

from my mom's noodle

2010-09-13T05:59:00.000-07:00

Buy a bag of beads at a garage sale and here's what happens:

only from the minds of minnesotans

2010-09-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

STATE FAIR ARTS AND CRAFTS 2010

this is a welded piece and quite large

this was made of spoons

a wood carving

love when the artist considers the frame

saw a lot of tiled pieces i liked

of course seed art is always a favorite:

last but not least, the state fair gopher:

Speaking of Awards

2010-09-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

and blue ribbons and state fair time:

new from anth

although i'm not a fan of sleeveless, "i die" for the fabric:

pin one on!

2010-08-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

created a last-minute gift to celebrate judy's 25th.

here's the back:

congrats!

state fair mini-donut holes at home

2010-08-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Recipe can be found at King Arthur Flour. I made a half batch. Nutmeg gives it that Tom Thumb mini-donut taste. Judy used cardamom.

A half batch makes 19 mini-muffins. They rise up tall and bake quickly. 10 minutes at 425˚.

Then you brush them with "butta" (thanks Kris), then roll in cinnamon.

Recipe says to brush top of muffin with butter...WRONG...brush entire muffin.

Double click on this photo to see the animation.

No need to half the amount of cinnamon sugar either. MMMMMM.

from my department's noodle

2010-08-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Artwork look familiar?

These are some the t-shirts you'll find at the Star Tribune booth this year at the fair. Here's a few more designs my clever co-workers came up with:

Hurry, they sell out quickly.

Garden Tour 2010

2010-07-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Mom,

Here are some highlights from the four gardens I toured this weekend. Most had water features--most were hilly and some were wet from the "big storm" the night before. One had a triple river (reminded me of a hot wheels race track). Seems like the people who are into water and paving stones aren't really into plants..."That's a hydrangea over there," I overheard a homeowner say. I liked the "doin' the dishes" water tub and the rusty roosters. PS if you double click on the pictures you can see them better.

More Me Me Media

2010-06-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I met a lot of cool people at the bake-off. I met Sue Zelickson, long-time food reporter from Minneapolis. She's fantastic and knows absolutely EVERYONE in town.

Here she is with Betsy Chan, finalist from Bloomington and my friend Kathy.

I also met some media people from out east, Chris Bartlett (left) and Stephen Fries (right).

Execs from Cub Foods, Dale Munson, his wife Carol with Michelle Gauer, finalist from Spicer, MN:

Ali Wentworth, roving correspondant from the Oprah show.

And last but not least, the coolest personality by far at the Bake-off:

Eye Eye Eye, Me, Me MEEE-DIA

2010-05-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

I've put all of my links in one spot for friends and family. It all started with Food Network in 2005. Here's a link to the TV show, Winning Holiday Cookies:

Here's the recipe for Have S'more Rockin' Reindeer Ravoili: (P.S. don't bake it for a half hour like they say, 13-15 minutes does the trick)

So fast forward to the spring of 2009, when I created Pepperoni-Pesto Popovers for the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off® contest. I was selected to complete with 100 other finalists in Orlando, Florida for the million dollar prize!

The interviews started with a Star Tribune article written by Kim Ode about the Minnesota finalists.

Then I got some TV experience on KARE 11 with Pat Evans, host, and co-finalist Cathy Wiechert (the mini-video in on the right side of the screen about half way down the page).

And then I went solo on KMSP's Twin Cities Live with Elizabeth Ries and John Hanson:

Babette from BakeSpace.com captured some video footage from the floor of the contest. Click here to view.

Here's my big WIN on youtube. That's Sandra Lee of Food Network giving me the prize. Funny how it all came full-circle, back to Food Network!

One-butt HOT dish

2010-05-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about appliances lately. My husband recalled that in our first townhouse, we had a stove with a dishwasher where the oven should be. The oven must have been above the range. I have no recollection of that. When we moved to a real house, our new kitchen was much smaller, with a "one-butt" kitchen, as I called it. All you had to do is pivot and everything was "right there". It had horrible oak cupboards (actually top-notch quality if you like oak), and pink art deco wallpaper.

Way back when I was cooking in those kitchens, I remember making enchiladas a lot. At the time I thought it was a LOT of work. After taking a 10-year break from making them, I revisited it--on a work night. I could no longer find my old recipe, so I just did what it said on the can.

The only thing I changed was to add green onions on top to garnish.

I used flour tortillas from Trader Joe's (the best, in my opinion). The organically raised burger was from there too. Enchilada sauce came from Cub Foods. The cheese is shredded from a big block of Costco co-jack. And the green onions? Target.

This was so EASY to make! And everyone liked it. It was very mild in flavor, so the kids could eat it. AND it wasn't the big production I remembered. Or has cooking just gotten easier for me over the years?

the icon range

2010-05-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Love it that St. Louis has an arch. Seattle has a space needle. What does Minnesota have? That #%$@ Spoonbridge! Ok, it's kind of neat to visit, but does it define our state, and our people? As a designer, clients usually want us to include that icon that represents us. A big fish? Paul Bunyan? Turns out that Ohio and Montana also think that Paul Bunyan is their icon too. He did stamp out all of the those lakes all over the country. Anyway, I spied this t-shirt at the thrift store last week. Some anonymous illustrator's take on icon-ry:

Just after I put up this post, I received this mailer from the MN Historical Society. It's done by Brett Schoonover. Super talented guy. http://www.brentschoonover.com/

Here's a close-up:

One thing about the shape of the state of Minnesota--all designers CHEAT the pointy shape on the upper right side. You always have to shorten it to fit on the page. Here's the true scale of the state:

But certianly more interesting than COLORADO! What is your favorite state shape?

Sewing Your Own Oats - Part Dew

2010-05-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sure, freezing a log of dough and saving it for later is a nice thought. In a month, when I'm crunched for time I can bake up a sheet of cookies for that unexpected drop-in guest. Well, not gonna happen. Seems that the "cookie duh" (cookie monster) apppeared and devoured most of the dough.

It's neat how the knife sliced right through the oats.

Here's what the log yielded: SEVEN!

In the fresh batch, the butterscotch chips were hidden.

You're right Cathy, they didn't spread out as much.

Sewing Your Own Oats

2010-05-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

I've found it's IMPOSSIBLE to duplicate a friend's recipe exactly as they made it. Beth makes the greatest "stolen neiman marcus (or is it Mrs. Fields?) chocolate chip cookie" recipe. It uses oatmeal that you put in the food processor to make it a finer texture. Some of the chips are ground up too, which gives it a brownish/taupe-ish color. Then you bake for a VERY short period of time. So I tried it myself. Close, but I think I'll just let Beth make them. She has it all figured out. Perfect every time!

So on to BEV's oatmeal cookies. She brought them to a party at my house a few years ago and they were memorable. So memorable that when I saw her the other day, she was happy to give me the recipe.
Here's my attempt:

Things didn't start out very well.

I set the microwave for 25 seconds...or so I thought.

I wasted a whole pound of butter. @$%#! Thanks to mega quantities from Costco, I had more butter in the fridge so I moved forward with the project.

Standard mixing proceedure, sugar/butter, eggs/vanilla, dry, then oatmeal/chips.

Nothing unusual, except for the delightfully scripted recipe which includes:

1 teaspoon soda (That’s baking soda not Coke)

3 cups “Old Fashion Oats” (Don’t be using any of that quick stuff)

½ cup chopped California walnuts (I’m sure there are other places in the world that grow walnuts)

1 cup raisons (leaving the raisons out or substituting would be sacrilege)

Well sacrilege, here I come, because I substituted BUTTERSCOTCH CHIPS. They are my vice of the month. And no nuts. The kids would have a fit.

Also in the recipe: "Here comes the good part – Eat while still warm."

My first pan of cookies were like pancakes, way too thin. But very edible.

So I added a smidge more flour:

Much better. This is the backside (probably a blog photography first):

One last tip from the creator: "For freezing: (But why not eat them all right now) Make rolls of dough and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper, seal in double freezer bag. Good for 3 to 6 months."

So I did it but this log doesn't have the extra flour so they will be pancakes. Can't believe I even own freezer paper...what did I buy that for anyway?

PS coming soon: my attempt at Dianne's Oatmeal cookies...but never mind. Let's just say hers can't be duplicated either.

The Garage Condo: The new "UP NORTH"

2010-05-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were invited to "CARS AND CAFE", an early morning event that's over and done with by 11am. It has a flea market, carnival-like atmosphere, but the items on display and aren't for sale. It's held at the Auto Motor Plex in Chanhassan, right near Paisley Park studios. Upon arrival, the first thing we saw were tons of people and heard the roar of expensive engines.

The next thing we saw were the "garage condos".

Rows and row of the them, many with great garage decor.

There's a main lodge. If this place had a pool,

you could come here for a vacation.

Cars aren't the only things housed here.

I saw a guy working on a great big boat.

I also learned what a "Rat Rod" is.

It's a car that is intentionally left rusty and raw.

The surface is sealed so the rusty stays perfect. Really cool!

SOOOOO a Needle Pulling Thread...

2010-05-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Remember when Maria from the Sound Of Music made outfits out of curtians? A few years ago I picked up this fabric at Unique Thift. It was a nice cotton that was made into 2 lengthy curtian panels. I paid less than 3 bucks for it.

I thought the pattern/color was very similiar to a dress I had just seen in Vogue. This spring at Target I saw these dresses and thought the fabric was very similar to curtian fabric stashed in the basement. Maybe Target was inspired by the dress in Vogue, too.

Elastic waist skirts are also very "IN" this year. I picked up WIDE elastic at Joann Fabrics for $6.

Sammy has a skirt similiar to the ones above. Looked very easy to duplicate. Idea is now hatched.

I put the girls to work. They learned how to make and pull a gathering thread & press and sew a hem.

Of course all couture creations involve fittings.

All for less than $5 bucks each. Don't they look great? I still have enough fabric to make one more...

Caramel not Carmel

2010-05-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

Mom makes everyone caramels at Christmastime.
She makes boxes out of old Xmas cards to hold the
candy and writes everyone's name with her calligraphy pen.
2004's packaging had a curvy shape:

Mom's been wanting to teach the girls how to make them.

She came the house last weekend fully prepared.
That's the girl scout and teacher in her.

The recipe is from one of the volumes in
her Woman's Day recipe encyclopedia.

Once everything was measured (and don't ruin it by adding nuts!)

all it needed to do was to cook on the stovetop.

Sammy went first. Notice tiny bubbles early on.

Stirring duties were transfered to another willing student.

Still stirring. Notice how the bubbles are larger.

That's the same wooden spoon we used when I was a kid.

They tested the temp by dropping hot candy in cold water.
I didn't take a photo of that.

The pan is from Martha Stewart's collection at Macy's.

Nice even heat with a non-stick coating.
It worked great and clean-up was a breeze.

Seems like they stirred for about an hour...
think I'll check the photo records for the time.

Wow! I was right. They started at 11:20 and didn't
pour it into the Fire King casserole until 12:24pm.

And mom wasn't trying to be hip and trendy by using
the old yellow glass casserole.

She got it for her wedding in the 50s,
and "that's the pan I make the caramels in".

The caramels needed to cool before cutting.

After about a half hour, we put it in the fridge and
went to the fabric outlet. All I brought home was my life
(that place is a fire trap!) and this lovely photo.

Oops, we were gone a little too long.
Now the caramel was a little too cold.

See the spatula marks where mom forced
it out of the pan onto the cutting board.

After cutting into 1/2 inch strips and then into one inch-ish pieces with a chef's knife,

Mom showed us how to wrap them in waxed paper.

"Roll it than twist the outer end of the wrapper and push it in.

If you twist it too close to the caramel, it can tear the paper."

I put the bowl up high. When it's in full view, you're constantly into it.

Think I'll go have one--RIGHT NOW!

Gee Winz!

2010-04-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Mom gave me some old letters last weekend. I don't think they are bake-a-lite, but could be made from the earliest form of plastic invented. Thought I'd spell out a little message:

Here's the link to my WIN on youtube:

There were many food bloggers covering the bake-off this year. Food bloggers carrotsandcake captured exactly how I felt.

Weeee GE!

My Road to the 44th Pillsbury Bake-off

2010-04-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

My interest in the Pillsbury Bake-Off® contest began in 2004 when I saw an Oprah episode featuring the million dollar prize winner. She smashed a wrapped granola bar with a hammer to make a pie. Two years later the next winner used waffles to make a chicken stuffing dinner. Hmmm. What could I do? I'd developed simpler, easier version of Todd English's turkey meatloaf that my family loved and thought I could enter that...until I read the rules. You needed to use one ingredient from list A and one ingredient from list B. List A was mostly Pillsbury rolls, doughs and mixes. List B contained flour, nuts, chocolate chips and jellies and more. How do I adapt my recipe to work? I wrote this e-mail to my friend in March of 2007: "I finally figured out my angle for the Pillsbury Bake-Off®. Turkey Meatloaf Burgers. Everyone gobbles up my meatloaf. So if I bake or fry mini-patties and use biscuits for the bun, that might work!" My friend wrote back: "Yummy! I'd add the word Mini. Mini is cute." But the meatloaf is so good on its own. Why make it more difficult? I shelved it.

The contest is every two years so I got another chance in March of 2009. Pillsbury publishes mini-cookbooks and magazines to keep the Bake-Off® "top of mind". I saw one at Cub foods and decided to finally do it. I approached it like a graphic design problem. I read the rules, highlighting ingredients that interested me. I brainstormed, sketching out ideas that combined my repertoire of recipes and unused equipment in my cupboard. I made a special trip to Cub and spent 30 bucks on ingredients to "play with" that weekend. But I was sidelined with the flu. The deadline was looming so I pulled myself out of bed early Monday morning and cranked out 3 recipes and entered them online. No one in my family ever saw them. The brownie recipe needed improvement and the other two recipes were OK, but being sick--I tossed it all out. I just wasn't in the mood to eat pesto at 10am. I never thought about it again.

Fast forward to the Minnesota State Fair. I was touring the sauna barrels in the grandstand when I got a phone call from my husband: "I just got the strangest phone call for you. She wouldn't leave her name wanted to know what time you'd be back. The caller ID said GENERAL MILLS...did you apply for a job there?" Nope, but I had been to their website after reading Star Tribune's article about them being the best company on the planet to work for. Nope, I wasn't qualified for the co-pilot position that I saw on their website. Maybe it was a word of mouth thing. Did a former co-worker recommend me to the BIG G? My employment fantasy fizzled when it finally dawned on me---THE Bake-Off®....OMG THE Bake-Off® IS CALLING ME! And yes, my dreams always have registered trademarks in them.

It was the Pepperoni-Pesto Popovers that had gotten their attention. I wanted to tell the world, but I had a long questionairre to fill out and legal documents to sign. It paralled being pregnant. What if I loose the baby? I kept it secret for 6 weeks until I got the official word.

Being a Bake-Off® finalist is great because it makes for great conversation at cocktail parties. If I'm having a bad day, I can daydream about winning the big prize. I can empathize with movies stars. "It's great just to be nominated," they always say. It really is. I have a trip to Orlando to look forward to and I've already made some new friends. And someday when I die my obit will say "this Pillsbury Bake-Off® finalist divided time between her riverfront condo and the dusty sands of Idaho..." (i made that up).

There are five Bake-Off® finalists from Minnesota. Some of us met for first time in Mill City Museum's test kitchen on Feb. 14th. Left to right: Michele Gauer of Spicer (Double Chocolate-Orange Scones). Laura Stanke of Maple Grove (Pepperoni-Pesto Popovers) and Cathy Wiechert of Mound (Pecan Cookie Waffles with Honey-Cinnamon Butter).

Betsy Chan, of Bloomington (3rd from left) has entered Rachel Meatball Poppers. Not pictured is finalist Carole Holt of Mendota Heights (Chocolate-Caramel Crumb Cupcakes). For a complete list of finalists go to pillsbury.com or click here.

All in the Family

2010-04-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

No sitting in librarys hunched over microfiche machines. No flying across the country to find the info you need. Just google it and it appears! I had always thought that great Aunt Hilda was in the Bake-off in the 40s. Well, I was wrong. Her great accomplishment was that she was the first female pharmacist to graduate from the University of Minnesota. How cool it that. But I wasn't too far off with the story. It was her son John that was in the Bake-off. He got second place in the 17th Busy Lady Bake-Off, Junior Division. He won $1000 at the age of 16. His recipe had a creative name: Gold Rush Brunch. They lived in Alaska at the time and lived through the earthquake. Here's the clipping I found online--and wow, that's a lot of sour cream!

Here's the recipe:

Gold Rush Brunch

John Forrest Edwards

$500 Junior Second Prize Winner and $500

Bright Idea Bonus Award Winner in Pillsbury's 17th Busy Lady Bake-Off

1 pkg. Pillsbury Hash Brown Potatoes

1/2 cup (1 medium onion) chopped onion

2 Tblsps. chopped parsley

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup Pillsbury's Best Flour (Regular, Instant Blending or Self-Rising)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 pepper

1 1/2 cups dairy sour cream

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. sliced Canadian - style bacon

8 eggs

Prepare potatoes according to package directions; drain well. Stir in onion and parsley. Place in well-greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream. Pour over potatoes, lifting potatoes lightly to permit sauce to mix well. Arrange bacon in an overlapping row down center of dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Make 4 indentations on each side of bacon; slip 1 egg carefully into each indentation. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Bake 15 to 20 Minutes longer or until eggs are set.

Hilda's comments:

4 cups of cubed fresh potatoes which I prefer using, cook them partially.

Sliced ham works well. I've also made it without eggs.

think i need a vita.mn!

2010-04-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

Chicken 'n' Biscuits

2010-03-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I'd rather cook for 2 hours than go to the store to get ingredients for something easy. I got started at 4:15. First I measured everything.

I rarely have shallots in the house so I that instead of a stinky onion.

I used 3 chicken breast halves (1.25 lbs). The recipe called for 3 lbs!

First you saute the veggies.

The recipe is great because you simmer the extra large chucks of chicken in the sauce for 10 minutes. This eliminates that extra step of pre-cooking chicken and burning your fingers when you shred it.

While the sauce is cooking, you make the biscuits. Which cookie cutter to use?

For some reason, I always choose the heart cutter for biscuits.

I used my large IKEA gold casserole dish.

It bakes in a very hot oven, 425˚ for only 16 minutes.

It's now 6:15 pm. MMMM. Worth every minute.

The recipe I used is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, page 323 called "Chicken Pot Pie". I topped with "Buttermilk Biscuits" from their recipe on page 482. I didn't have any buttermilk so I used regular milk and it worked out just fine. For flour I used Costco's newest White Whole Wheat. Love the bit of extra grittyness it gives food. AND it's good for you.

mr. salty must have retired

2010-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Remember these as a kid? Very thin with great chunky salt.

Rold Gold just didn't cut it. Not even worth the calories. Too thick and have a strange glossy coating.

Bingo! HK Anderson are the most like Mr. Salty that I've found.

At Lunds/Byerlys.

Drawing from others...

2010-02-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Today on designsponge, there is a woman who draws houses and makes rubber stamps. Here is the link. I too had this idea many years ago. My homes are a little more whimsical. So if you want me to draw your house in the good 'ol USA and not the UK, just e-mail me.

As Holmes would say: Take It All Down!

2010-02-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a storage idea for xmas garlands: Cut a gift wrap tube in two. Cut a slit up the end to secure one end of the garland.

Wrap until it's full and secure the other end.

The dish towel is by one of my favorite illustrators in Minnesota, Faye Passow. You can find her dishtowels at many gift shops throughout the state or you can order online.

The Off-Season, Part II: Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

2010-02-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Surprised to find a half bag of kisses left in the cupboard in February, I whipped up a batch of cookies ususally only seen during the holidays. Too lazy to go to the basement to fill up the flour jar, I used one cup regular flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour. Tasters were none the wiser.

When I ran out of kisses, I used Swedish Pearl Sugar that I got from my mom for Xmas. Here is a tip from my mom: Hint for pearl sugar: Put a ball of cookie dough in pearl sugar that is in a small bowl. Flatten slightly. Coat only one side. Sugar will be evenly spaced as cookie spreads while baking. -MOM

You can make really cook marks in the cookies with this crazy fork.

It's from my "Meaball Magic" set. But that's another story...

Equipment Tip

2010-02-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

What do you do with your corn-on-the-cob dishes in the off-season?

Makes a great butter dish:

Or a nice spatula rest:

Had the greatest lunch the other day.

2010-01-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't have to drive 331 miles to Pasty's in upper Michigan.

Just cranked my oven to 350˚ for an hour.

Popped in a frozen Pasty (past-ee) from Byerly's and few taters.

Made some beef broth gravy.

Voila! Home-made goodness.

mmmmmmmm.

As Seen on TV

2010-01-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

I have a fondness for AS SEEN ON TV products. Maybe it's because I used to work for K-tel. So every XMAS, I glom on to one of them and buy them everyone, CUZ kids LUV as seen on tv stuff! This year it was the BIG TOP CUPCAKE!

First you bake the cake. Normal cakes take about a half hour to bake. Towards the end of baking, the cake batter bubbled up and spilled over the top like a volano. Really cool effect for kids.

I thought the lava flow would ensure a fully-baked cake. You can see here that at 45 minutes, it still wasn't cooked completely:

When it's baking, it rises up to into a big cone, which needs to be sawed off to flatten it out.

Here is the aftermath (with plenty of scraps to snack on):

At this point the meltdown and whining started: "This is horrible, it doesn't look like the picture! Mommy you do it...(fuss fuss mess mess)."

So I smoothed it out and topped with with some sprinkles.

Make Your Own Cocoa Crispix

2010-01-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

What to do with a plate of leftover graham crackery xmas cookies?

Put them in the food processor and grid them up.

I like to put a scoop of it on my breakfast cereal.

Score with Personalized Cards!

2010-01-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Every year we get a holiday card from a realtor friend that is personally illustrated for him. It stands out amid all of the others I get.

Susanne's Cards doesn't have a website -- sometimes you just don't need one. Here is her info:

from my mom's noodle

2009-12-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

mom's way better with flowers than i am

the greenery is a sweet potato vine that strouted in a pot somewhere in her house

the red amarylis you see on the table are probably great great great grandchildren from the ones in the wagon from several years ago:

she wrapped all of the artwork in her house with gift wrap to look like presents

and added coordinating folded stars and tiny packages made from greeting cards to the walls

each gift had a different color scheme

the gift tags are her calligraphy--many saved from the past--one says "from eva" who is gone now. here is a close-up of her folded handmade stars:

this is a "martha stewart everyday from kmart expandable bamboo trellis" covered with lights on the deck outside the kitchen window

on the tiny 2 foot inside the house, are knit dolls i used to play with when i was a kid

here's my attempt at decorating:

Ham Croquettes

2009-12-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

One of our family holiday food traditions.

From the Better Homes and Gardens Meat Cookbook, 1960.

Original recipe was deep-fried and used saltines.

Mom developed a baked version using techniques she learned

watching Cook's Illustrated on TV.

Brown the crumbs on the stovetop:

Nice close-up from my new camera.

Making the gooey white sauce.

Mixing in the ground ham.

Breading with egg white for maximum crunch.

Yuckky fingers.
Ready to bake, just 12 minutes at 375.˚

Don't forget to make more eggy white sauce as a topping.

Finis. Hope you like washing many pots and pans!

Score some S'mores

2009-12-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

Click here to see my "five minutes" on Food Network.

I Felt Like Making S'more Pins

2009-12-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

I used to have this Snoopy pin on my ski jacket in high school. You can see what I was thinking last November and how my idea has changed here.

Silver and gold, silver and gold (but not for Xmas!)

2009-11-17T06:30:00.000-08:00

I spotted these gold and silver pumpkins in my neighborhood. They are REAL pumpkins. Maybe she was inspired by the gold and silver lions up as THIRSTY's in Osseo:

Puppy Party

2009-10-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Max took these photos. His great work can also be found here.

AccessVikings.com TV spot

2009-10-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

My initial concept was for the guy to act like a valley girl -- then Ryan McArdle hit it home - he morphed into the ultimate "accessvikings.com fan".

Raspberry Rascal

2009-09-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Fricken Furniture !#$%?

2009-09-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

The hubbub is not about the f-bomb in my world. (See the video here.)

It's about the barrel furniture I spied on craig's list last year:

The price was $400 for the entire set. The seller was from Oakdale, MN.

And no--I did not buy it. But was highly amused by it.

1963 was a very good year.

2009-09-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Even priced at a $1.95, I couldn't pull the trigger.

A quick sneaky photo in the store, and I'm good to go.

Fair Finds

2009-09-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

Judy's first of course.

Sally's Hot Man

2009-09-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

This early layout (about 8 feet across)
edited down became this:
The eyes are speakers (the backs of them are big magnets). The nose is a cable from Mike's camper. "That camper had every accessory on it from the Kmart automotive aisle!".

Harvey McKay of Cloquet

2009-08-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

Summer of Love

2009-06-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Target has these great 24"x36" retro posters in the store for summer. Less than 10 bucks.