Finer Things Co

pumpkin macarons

2012-10-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

side note: I'm thankful for having an island in the kitchen

Nothing beats the smell and the flavor of pumpkin anything during this time of year. This is the only time of year when I'll venture into trying pumpkin flavored anything - I guess not venture, I just crave it.

By adding some pumpkin spice mix into an original macaron recipe, you can have a crunchy/chewy macaron. Add orange food coloring to give the familiar orange/yellow color of a pumpkin.

beautifully shaped pumpkin spice macarons

green tea vs pumpkin

say hello to my mini's. arent they cute??

DIY: thanks a latte

2012-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

side note: I just bought a torch - almost time for creme brulee!!

I don't know what it is about this time of year, but during the fall/winter months, I'm always in a "giving" mood. I enjoy baking more and even making (anything) more.

Here's a mix blend I made last year; still one of my favorites! It's a simple act of kindness, looks super cute and makes people happy.

Ingredients:

1 cup non-dairy coffee creamer
1/2 cup instant coffee
1/4 cup chocolate drink mix
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1 tbs ground nutmeg
1 tbs ground pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

- mix all ingredients together in a bowl
- place mixture into jars
- give a little love to the packaging detail and share

**2tbsn of mix + 1 cup of hot water/milk = perfection in a cup

Macaron Ice Cream

2012-10-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Side Note: I just purchased a 10 pound bag of flour.

Lately, I've been somewhat obsessed with with the thought of macarons. It's actually taken me almost 2 years to perfect (some what) and every batch comes out better than the batch it followed. To craft the perfect macaron takes much practice (this I still need) but for now I'm happy with my current out comes.

I remember my first few batches were horrendous - though they tasted great. I had no guide and had no idea what they should even taste like. They had no feet (crackly ring around the edge) and the shells were super delicate - almost see through...if that's even possible.

Hello my happy feet!!

For my recent batches, I made a coffee flavored one and a strawberry flavored one.

For the coffee, adding some instant coffee bits (or even finely grounded coffee bean - for a more deeper flavor) to a standard recipe does the trick.

For the strawberry flavor, I wanted to use ingredients I already had at my house... So I opened up a bag of Special K cereal and hand picked a handful of dried strawberries. I then grounded it into fine powder and added it to the standard recipe. -- came out sweeter than I actually wanted, but it definitely gave it a nice soft color ( well on the ones I didn't toast. -.-).

The ice cream sandwiches were made to eat. I did think of making them ahead of time, but honestly, it's more fun when you're involved in the making of your food right ?? Ok, I ran out of time and wanted to join the fun haha. Anyways, placing the macaron shells on a plate next the the ice cream allowed everyone to serve themselves however big of a serving they wanted.

Some chose the "fancy one scoop" route and others the "functional bowl and spoon" method. No matter your preference, the flavors still blends the same. ^^

Yay for Friday !!!

Photo credit: sara kim

New Finds - typewriter

2012-10-01T18:15:00.001-07:00

I've recently been on a typewriter hunt via thrift shops, Craigslist, amazon, and ebay. It was quite a journey (to say the least) as I was at a constant bidding war on eBay. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride as you wait in hopes of having the highest bid, only to find that I was out bid by ONE DOLLAR (happened multiple times) - so annoying...

Anyways during my latest bidding adventure, I ended up bidding one two items (thinking that I'd for sure lose one of the battles) only to find that I won both -.- . I wasn't too thrilled about knowing the news but figured I'd start the collection sooner.

If you are wondering why I would be interested in these vintage finds, it's because I'm in the process of opening up a rental shop - why buy something you'll only use once? Simply consider renting - it might even be cheaper!!

Though my shop is not yet opened, I'll share my finds with you one at a time.

Recipe: Caramel Apple Cider Cookies:

2012-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

side notes: Its still disgustingly hot here in Cali, but at least the nights are cooling down. Its almost time for me to stock up on my core ingredients for baking - flour, sugar, eggs, and butter.

Happy OCTOBER!! Its by far one of my favorite months of the year. Why you ask? ... Its my birthday month!! Not only that, the weather starts to cool down allowing you to put on layers and even wear boots (my favorite). I forgot to mention, it's also my MOTHERS birthday today ^^.

To Celebrate, here's a prefect recipe (to take to someones birthday, or even just to eat during this lovely time of the year - FALL. It'll fill your kitchen with the smell of apple cider - one of my favorite fall drinks. I found the recipe fromScrambled Henfruit so I'll share it with you (edited version). Its a simple recipe (fool proof really) so I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar [original recipe didnt have this, they just used 1 cup of granulated sugar. brown sugar = chewier cookies ]

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix - all 10 packets (should be located with the teas and hot chocolates)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups all purpose flour

1 bag Kraft Caramel - (my market carried caramel balls which is perfect for this recipe)

Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line your cookie trays with parchment paper
- Whisk butter, sugars, salt, apple cider instant mix until smooth
- Slowly incorporate the eggs and vanilla extract
- Mix in the remaining dry items [flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon] into the butter mixture
- Fold in the caramel balls and refrigerate for 30 mins - allows for easy scooping
- Spoon even rounds onto parchment paper [I use a 2tsp spoon] and bake for 8 mins - I like taking my cookies out just shy of being completely baked. Allowing it to finish baking on the tray out of the oven helps avoid crunchy cookies.

Above is the picture of the Caramel Balls. They're must softer than the caramel squares AND unlike the squares, they're not individually wrapped (what a time saver)!!

Stay tuned for more fall time favorites!
Excited for my house to be filled with the scent of crisp cold air, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and apple cider. Happy Fall~

cheesecake weekend

2012-08-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday!! It's been a pretty relaxing week and I'm glad to say that I finally have some time to do some baking. It was my first time using the oven at my new house and I'm so relieved to know that the oven is to my liking. :).

I dusted off my stand mixer and got to work. The extra kitchen space is awesome - cant explain. Corona, thank you for being kind.

White chocolate cheesecake and green tea cheesecake with blueberries: nice summer twist.

Enjoy~

Bridal Shower: French Province

2012-05-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we styled our very first bridal shower. It was French Province inspired with a touch of vintage. The menu was prepared keeping various wine pairings in mind. Guests drank from hand-etched wine glasses, which were taken home as party favors.

Diana and her Bridesmaids

Venue: A community center in the Bride's neighborhood.

Menu: Bridesmaids

Desserts: Audrey with Finer Things Co.

Event Styling: Sara with Finer Things Co.

Backdrop: Hannah with Finer Things Co.
Party Favors: Hannah with Finer Things Co.

Photography: Sara and Jean with Finer Things Co.

Tasteful Tuesdays: Easter Inspired

2012-04-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Easter is just around the corner? Honestly, this year is zooming by so quickly. I can't believe we're already in the month of April. At the end of this month, I'm going on a super mini vacation trip up to Seattle with my mother. I cannot wait to eat some good food with good company. Anyways, today, I thought it would be nice to share some edible ideas for Easter.

colored eggs//chicks//heart eggs//tomato egg

Colored eggs - a lovely twist to the plain jane deviled eggs. Rather than serving your deviled eggs in egg whites, dye your whites a bit and have a colorful plate.

Chick eggs - such a cute and creative way to serve your eggs. Take your favorite deviled eggs recipe and take some time to be create your little new borns.

Heart eggs - make your boring shaped eggs into lovely hearts. Your friends will think you're so cool.

Tomato eggs - a clever and effortless way to make you look like a superstar.

scrambled//coconut//chocolate egg

Scrambled eggs - take pretzels, white chocolate and yellow m&ms and make your little masterpieces.
Coconut nest - I wish I thought of this...coconut macaroon recipe + chocolate and you have yourself some nests.
Chocolate eggs - an inverted cheesecake with sauce. One day I think I will definitely try this recipe.

Well there you have it! Some great ideas with and without eggs. Try one or try all and share how it came out.

Wednesday Wonders: FTC Invitations

2012-03-28T14:32:00.003-07:00

Hello! It's Sara again. I have couple invitation designs for you today that was made right here at FinerThingsCo. We are all super crafty and enjoy every little details whether it's decorations, desserts, or even invitations and thank you notes! Our specialty is having one of a kind invitations matching with the theme of your event from weddings, bridal showers, and to baby showers. We make them even more special because we love embellishing them! We add extra love to them which makes it a perfect fit to the finer things in life~

We even handmake and print our invitation jackets!

Don't you love the little feather accent! It was so much fun with our Madmen theme party!

For pricings, please fill out our contact form! Talk soon~

♥

Tasteful Tuesdays: Orange Souffle

2012-03-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

I think I'm in love with Pinterest. I'm very thankful for it and I love that from it, I've come accross many new ideas and great recipes. Last week, my friends and I had another Girls Night In - each person brings a lovely dish and we all eat. For this meal, I decided to look through my dessert list to find the perfect recipe. I came accross a recipe for a lemon souffle and thought that it would be perfect. I adjusted the recipe a bit (to use oranges) and I can assure you that it's super easy. I feel like a pro souffle maker....(kinda kidding).

lemon souffle: ediva

I just had to show you this picture. It was the picture that drew me in to this little souffle journey. Follow the directions, don't be afraid, become a master souffle baker!

ingredients:
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 3 large eggs separated
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsn flour
- 1/4 tspn salt
- confectioners sugar (optional for dusting)

directions:
- preheat oven to 350 F
- combine egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice, flour in bowl. whisk until pale yellow
-over a double boiler, continue whisking yolk mixture until thick (be sure to constantly whisk to ensure yolk doesn't over cook.
-take off heat and continue whisking until cool
- combine egg whites, 1/4 cup sugar in clean metal bowl. place over double boiler and mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm.
- remove from heat, beat to soft peaks.
- whisk 1/3 of peaks into yolk mixture
- fold remaining into yolk mixture
- fill ramekins (you can also place inside fruit shells - lemons or oranges)
- place on baking sheet and bake 15-30 mins (really depends on how big your ramekin is). take out when your mixture rises and browns a bit on top.
- serve immediately and ENJOY~~

Wednesday Wonders: Recap

2012-03-21T10:32:00.002-07:00

Happy Wednesday! I just wanted to recap with you all with our past events. Finer Things Co has come a long way. We used to meet up just as a girls get together after watching an episode of "The Office" when Pam, Toby, and Oscar had an exclusive FinerThingsClub. They had cheese, wine, and talked about books and just enjoyed the Finer Things in life, so we decided to get together with a few of the girls and enjoyed cupcakes, crafts, and some fruity wine! Then we decided to take this get together to the next step and actually provide these finer things we enjoyed to everyone and that's when we came up with the FinerThingsCo. With tea parties, mod picnics, MadMen Christmas party, and baby showers, we are filled with finer things and love. Thank you for the love and support and don't forget to like us on facebook and spread the love!

♥

Tasteful Tuesdays: Mini Food Party

2012-03-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my friends and I had a mini food party. I love that during our hangouts, we're all in the kitchen creating new dishes and experimenting with new ingredients. Take these personal sliders for instance. The guys marinated the ground beef with some herbs, spices, and an egg. Flavor to taste and enjoy!

Take a look at these mini corn dogs! Cut your favorite sausages to preferred sizes and place skewers through the center. For the batter, I mixed instant cornbread mix with bisquick, added an egg and whisked in milk to perfect consistency. Dip sausages in the batter and straight to the fryer it goes.

No real recipes for you today, just a couple ideas. I totally loved these corn dogs. I forgot to mention, we even made some cheese dogs!! So delicious~~ happy experimenting!!

Tasteful Tuesdays: Garlic Bread Knots

2012-03-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

whiteonricecouple

In the spirit of St Patricks Day this weekend, I thought I would share with you a savory appetizer this week. A couple months ago, I went to C&O's and fell in love with their garlic knots. Bite sized wonders that melts in your mouth and then makes you call out for more.

whiteonericecouple

Ingredients:

-pizza dough (frozen, homemade, fresh)

-1/8 cups olive oil

-2 tbsn unsalted butter

-6 cloves of garlic, diced

-1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley

-Sea Salt (to taste)

Directions:

-preheat over to 400F

-roll out dough, cut in half vertically, then cut strips horizontally.

-roll strips into rope then tie a knot and place on sheet pan.

-cover with lightly damp cloth (I used paper towel) and allow for knots to double in size.

-lightly coat knots with olive oil and bake in the oven for 12-15 mins (oil will allow for a nice brown finish).

-prepare your garlic mixture by warming your ingredients (minus salt and parsley) in a saucepan.

-place mixture in a bowl with the knots and toss to evenly coat.

-finish by seasoning with the salt.

whiteonricecouple

This recipe is pretty close in flavor to the bread knots from C&O's (maybe less buttery). It definitely is a crowd pleaser and very simple to make. The next time you have a gathering, potluck, reunion, etc, why not try baking these little beauties.

Happy Baking!

Wednesday Wonders: March Baby Shower

2012-03-07T12:30:00.006-08:00

Last weekend we had the pleasure of putting together a baby shower for a very special family. We collaborated together to come up with a party that fit the theme chosen by the expecting mother. Flags were hung, plaids and checks were worn, and an old school barbecue was had!

Location: The backyard of the family's home in Southern California

Event Decor: Finer Things Co

Catering: Beach Pit BBQ

Desserts: Audreys Edible Creations

Photography: Finer Things Co

Thanks for "check"ing us out!

Tasteful Tuesdays: Caramel Apple

2012-03-06T19:20:00.002-08:00

Caramel apples is a snack that I love to share with my loved ones. They're tart from the apples and sweet/chewy from the caramel. Its a swee childs dream, adults guilty pleasure. Well, to make these little beauties is quite simple...you can simply buy some caramel (the soft ones), melt them in the microwave with maybe a spoonful of milk, mix and dip. For those of you who would like to be a bit more adventurous, maybe try making your own caramel. The procedure isn't difficult and quite frankly, it'll taste better.

This recipe, taken from Tasty Kitchen, explains the steps clearly.

ingredients:
-1/4 cups unsalted butter
-1 cup white syrup
-14 oz, fluid Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
-2 cups white sugar

-1 tspn vanilla extract

Directions:

-heat all ingredients (except vanilla extract) in saucepan over med/low heat. stir constantly.

-once caramel mixture reaches 235F-240F, remove from heat and add vanilla. let cool.

To make caramel apples, simple stick popsicle sticks into your apple and dip into the caramel mixture while warm. Place caramel apples on parchment paper and allow to harden. For quicker results, place caramel apples in fridge.

Sweetly yours,

Tasteful Tuesdays: Cookies

2012-02-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Can you believe February is almost over? How will you be spending your leap day? Perhaps at a party..or maybe at home baking? Should you choose the latter of the two, I thought I would share one of my most treasured recipes. This recipe was the very first recipe that I ever baked from scratch back in high school. At first bite, I fell in love with baking and I never looked back.

audreys // audreys // two peas

So to all who asked for the recipe, here you go:

TOFFEE ALMOND COOKIES

ingredients:

- 1 cup unsalted butter

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup white sugar

- 1 tspn vanilla extract

- 2 eggs (room temp)

- 2 cups flour

- 1/4 tspn salt

- 1/4 tspn baking soda

- 1 bag toffee candy bits (8oz)

- 1 cup oatmeal

- 1 cup sliced or chopped almonds

directions:

- preheat oven 350F

-cream butter and sugar together.

-add eggs and vanilla and mix.

- sift flour, salt and baking soda - add to the butter mixture and mix.

- fold in toffee, oatmeal, almonds.

- place spoonful of dough on parchment/baking sheet.

- bake for 15 mins (time will vary depending on size of cookie)

If you do decide to bake, do share your pictures.

Sweetly yours,

Tasteful Tuesdays: Spun Sugar

2012-02-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been completely obsessed with "spun sugar". The look of a light fluffy delicate cloud on top of your desserts. It takes an average dessert and turns it into an elegant wonder. Whether its keeping the natural color and decorating your desserts to dipping nuts into the burning sugar, or flavoring and coloring them to make them to my favorite cotton candy, the art of making spun sugar is quite easy and can be made right in your own kitchen.

seriouseats // zoebakes // marthastewartweddings // cakengineer

Two recipes for you today:

Spun Sugar

-2 cups sugar

-1/4 cup water

- 1 tbsn corn syrup

-bowl of ice water

Directions

1. Place 2 wooden spoons with the stick resting over the counter. You will want to place something heavy on top to avoid any accidents. Its also nice if you spray cooking spray on the spoons to avoid sticking. Place newspaper on the ground for easy clean up.

2. Place water, sugar, corn syup in pot and boil over medium-high heat. Once sugar mixture reaches 295F, place pot in the ice water bath for a couple seconds.

3. Allow sugar mixture to cools to around 250F. Dip fork into the sugar mixture and when it drips into a thin string, drizzle back and forth over the wooden spoons. Remember to work quickly.

4. While warm, roll spun sugar into desired shapes and place on parchment paper.

Candied Hazelnut

- spun sugar recipe

- hazelnuts

- wooden skewers

Directions

- Place hazelnuts on wooden skewers.

- Dip hazelnut in [spun sugar mixture]

- Allow skewers to rest over the counter [like the wooden spoons in the spun sugar recipe]

- When cooled, break the sugar string at desired height, take off wooden skewers and decorate!

I hope this inspires you to create simple elegant desserts.

Sweetly yours,

Wednesday Wonder: V-day Photography

2012-02-15T00:02:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! This is slightly a vday after party. I've been completely in love with these pictures that I found at random on pinterest. I get slightly jealous when I see these pictures but overall I'm in love with people being in love! I think I'm going to go get some balloons and hide out with my boyfriend and try that last picture... hehe :)

<3 sarakim 

Tasteful Tuesdays: V-day Eats

2012-02-14T22:11:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!!! A short post for you today as I am out an about with my lady friends. I have gathered with a couple of my friends to eat amazing comfort food. A mixture of comfort meets class.

Have a wonderful week with all your loved ones!!!!

Wednesday Wonders: February Mock-up

2012-02-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday everyone!! I am happy to announce that we are now ready to share some of the pictures from our mock up event. To look at more pictures, visit our facebook page. With the help of James of Per Pixel Photography we decided to take shoot at Trabuco Canyon. When we pulled up into the parking lot, I was in awe of the beauty. I'm pretty sure we were lucky that it rained the week before...we were welcomed with beautiful green hills and big tress. It is definitely a great location for a photoshoot.

I really wanted to share these cookies with you...simple sugar cookies decorated with fondant. Personalize them by writing your loved ones letters or simply make them look like envelopes.

Now onto the mini table for two. I hope this entry inspires you to take your loved ones outdoor on a planned picnic or activity. Keywords here: "outdoor" and "planned". Taking the extra 15 minutes to plan an event should bring some excitement into your lives.

Pair a homemade tomato soup with your favorite sandwhiches. Take the extra time to cut them out to show how much you care.

Set the table with a personalized card, menu, and even a name card!!

Hope your valentines planning is going well!!

Sweetly yours,

Tasteful Tuesdays: Macarons

2012-02-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

I recently was asked for a quote on macarons and was pushed to look deeply into these delicate desserts. Creating these little beauty takes a lot of patience, time, and love. I've experimented with both the Italian and the French method and thought that it would be nice to share a little about both.
The French method: beat egg whites into a meringue and slowly add the sugar and beat to stiff peaks.
The Italian method: boil a sugar and water mixture and add to the beating egg whites. Beat until stiff peaks.
My personal favorite method has to be the Italian method. It's a little more forgiving. Once you have perfected one of the methods, try experimenting with new flavors and/or shapes.
Lavender: MelangerBaking
Strawberry lemonade: i-heart-baking
Green tea: AudreysEdibleCreations
Heart: lateliervi
Donut: Via Pinterest

sweetly yours,

Wednesday Watch: James of Perpixel Photography

2012-02-01T01:37:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of working with James of Perpixel Photography for our latest photoshoot. He was friendly and perfectly personable. He even helped us carry our props to and from our cars!

FTC: How did you get into photography?

James: National Geographics and computers. Yes, I was a huge nerd, even in elementary school. Most kids would read Goosebump books (Harry Potter of the 90's) but I would read National Geographic and Zoobook magazines. I would be fascinated by the stories and photographs. My other interest were in computers. In high school, I built computers for friends and studied programming.
College comes. Time to decide. What will it be? Should I do something in the creative field or technical field? After multiple major chances, I stumbled upon photography. BAM! found what I want to do. This is why....
At first, I had no interest in being a photographer, I was just intrigued by the visual elements. I would spend countless hours on professional photographer's site just admiring their work. (mostly commerical photographers like www.aruell.com)
Up to that point, I thought photography was just simple, random snapshots but realized how "unrandom" it is. I loved how photography incorporated both art and technical skill. Two worlds colliding in one medium. I get to use things like composition, color, emotion, framing and couple it with the technical side of light, aperture, shutterspeed, ISO, etc.
Match made in heaven.

FTC: What's your favorite part of shooting an event?
James: Favorite part in a wedding event is the ceremony. Love it when the bride and groom exchange vows and rings and profess their commitment to each other in front of family and friends. I feel like it's my job to capture what commitment looks like and that's something I value. CORNY I KNOW. but i really mean it.

FTC: What's your favorite shooting location and why?

James: Favorite places to shoot are outdoor places with a lot of trees and life. I'm a big nature freak so I get inspired when I am at a place like that. Plus, the light is nice and soft under a tree :)

FTC: What's your favorite weather to shoot in and why?

James: Sunny! I know a lot of photographers prefer overcast because it makes the light nice and even. However, I feel like pictures can be flat and one-dimensional. I love love love directional light. When used properly, it creates depth.

You can catch more of James on his website Perpixel Photography.

Happy Wednesday!

Tasteful Tuesdays: White and Red

2012-01-31T01:06:00.000-08:00

With valentines just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to share a couple tasty ideas today. Chocolate covered strawberries seem to be the crowd pleaser this time of year...but lets try and be a little more adventurous.
White chocolate covered cherries are to die for. The flavor combo is quite amazing and you're able to eat it in one bite. I can't believe I didn't think of this myself.

photo credit: traceylau

What about raspberry stuffed with white chocolate chips? It's a perfect pair of sweet and tart that makes your lips pucker. This is an amazing surprise and accident proof. You can take all the credit for the crafty idea and spend no time baking.

photo credit: newnostalgia

Lastly, my favorite of them all...s'more strawberries...well marshmallow covered strawberries torched to perfection. My mouth is seriously salivating just looking at this picture. I can't wait for an event where I can pitch this idea to the client in hopes of experimenting....or maybe I'll bake them for a secret admirer..who knows..^^

photo credit: pinterest

sweetly yours,

Tasteful Tuesdays: Meringue Cookies

2012-01-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

There's days when I sit around wanting something sweet. Something a bit light and small (mainly so that I don't feel any guilt from eating it). It would definitely be easy to grab a chocolate bar, or a handful of skittles...however, there are days when candy does not fulfill my craving. Today, I share a somewhat simple recipe [meringue cookies]. Now, don't be intimidated by the word 'meringue' and be a little adventurous. This is a recipe for those who always complains that their baking never comes out correctly [ie:burnt, undercooked, poorly decorated, etc]. This is literally a "set it and forget it" recipe.

Ingredients:
-2 egg white (room temp)
-1/2 tspn cream of tartar
-1/3 cup + 1/6 cup granulated sugar
-1 tspn vanilla extract -pinch of salt
-additional ingredients to peronalize your meringue (food coloring, coconut, hazelnut, chocolate, etc)

Directions:
-preheat the oven to 350F.
-beat egg white until foamy. add cream of tartar.
-once you reach soft peaks, slowly start adding the sugar.
-half way through, add vanilla and salt.
-continue beating until medium stiff to stiff peaks form.
-add desired additional ingredients and gently mix ingredients into the meringue.
-pipe or spoon mixture onto parchment covered baking trays.
-place try on middle rack oven. close oven door and turn off the oven.
-allow the meringues to cool with the oven (about 2 hours)

Heres some of my creations: original, green tea, coconut, and my personal favorite -chocolate hazelnut and walnut. Try this recipe out and share with me your creation!!

sweetly yours

Tasteful Tuesdays: Wild Horse Winery

2012-01-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Walking down the wine aisle in the grocery store can be quite intimidating. There are so many to choose from and for new wine drinkers, there is little knowing which ones are good. My fiance and I love wining and dining and we have a few go to wineries that we pick from when we don't want to risk feeling disappointed. My fiance's favorite go-to wine maker is the Wild Horse in Paso Robles. Mult-vineyard sourcing is a key philosophy for them, producing complex wines by carefully blending the same grapes grown on different central coast appellations. Wild Horse wines are smooth, well-balanced and easy to drink. Their reds have been pretty consistent every year and is a crowd pleaser under twenty bucks. Next time you have trouble picking a wine for a party you're going to, and you're not sure what to pick, Wild Horse will not disappoint. This week my fiance and I are drinking the Wild Horse Cabernet Sauvignon and we will be pairing it with some homemade margherita pizza for tonight's wine-in and dine-in.

TasteOfHome / CorksAndCaftans

diana