Faux-Fancy Dessert: Trick Your Friends and Co-horts!

No pics today, friends. But I wanted to share this wonderful idea for a faux-fancy dessert.

In case you hadn't already guessed why I call it faux-fancy, don't worry... I'll clue you in. I take sympathy on people who don't immediately put things together on their own... who stand scratching their heads while everyone else is laughing hysterically. You are not alone; I am one of you.

Anyway... I call this dessert faux-fancy because, like faux-fur...


or a faux-hawk...


...it is only pretending to be fancy when it is really quite simple. (Oh look at me... I said no pictures but I just couldn't help myself!)


Here's what I did when I needed dessert in a snap:

I took a box of one of my favorite fall staples, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread Mix.

I prepared it according to the package directions and baked it in my mini muffin tin. Which brings us to step one for creating a faux-fancy dessert:

1. Make It Mini!
Have you ever noticed that fancy restaurants always serve tiny little portions? Or think about those darling little mini-tarts or tea sandwiches at tea houses. Those are sooooo faux-fancy! I mean come on, all they are is cream cheese and cucumber slapped between plain white bread. Ahhh, but cut them into cute little triangles and... voila! Fancy little delicacies. So next time you are getting ready to bake up a packaged-mix but you want something a little more special, consider baking them in your mini loaf pans or mini muffin tins.

Next I made a glaze for these darlin' little pumpkins... which brings us to step two for creating a faux-fancy dessert...

2. Top it, Baby!
Create a snazzy topping for your simple, out-of-the-box dessert, and your guests will be none the wiser!
In the case of the mini pumpkins (Hmmm... that sounds like a film noir waiting to happen), I made a quick and simple, yet fancy-sounding glaze. Here's the recipe:

Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze
courtesy of The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.
  
• Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. Let boil for one minute, stirring often.
• Remove the pan from heat, and let the glaze thicken slightly. Spoon or spread the warm glaze onto the cake (or faux-fancy mini-cakes) of your choice.

So, like I was saying, I whipped up this delicious, DELICIOUS concoction to drizzle over the tops of my cakes... but there is still one more very important step to creating a faux-fancy dessert...

3. Dish It Up!
As with anything, presentation is everything. The way you display your dessert will really determine whether it deserves the title of faux-fancy or not. Even if your dessert isn't anything super special, you can make it special by serving it on a pretty platter and/or giving it a fancy title. On this particular occasion, I wrote out the name of the dessert on a small piece of white card stock and laid it in front of the dish. (I don't always do this, but I know some people don't like pumpkin desserts, so I took this extra step). I called them, "Mini Pumpkin Cakes with Brown Sugar Glaze." Super fancy sounding, but it took no time at all!

So there you have it! 3 easy steps to a fabulous, faux-fancy dessert.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY: A DUTIFUL DISCLAIMER
Don't Forget... fanciness is fun and all, but what your guests will remember most is what a gracious hostess you were and how welcome you made them feel in your home. That's what true hospitality is all about. I really do enjoy making things fancy and special for my guests, but not when it overshadows my ability to be truly hospitable. It should be about making your guests feel special, not about impressing everyone with your mad skills (like nunchucks, for instance). And that's my two cents...

Mambo Italiano: Antipasto on a Stick

I made these appetizers this weekend, and they were so easy and fun! They turned out to be quite a show-stopper for something so simple. Next time you want to add a little wowie to your zowie, try making these babies! Here's what you need:

• wooden skewers (no need to soak, cause we're not grilling!)
• 1 baguette, cut into cubes
• 1 jar kalamata olives
• 1 jar green olives (*insert McPreachy's gagging here.* He hates green olives, but I think they are like manna from heaven.)
• 1 stick o' salami, cut into hunks (or chunks... whichever you prefer...)
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes
• 1 tub of bocconcini (This is just a Fancy Nancy word for mozzarella balls. I got mine at Heaven's Threshhold, a.k.a. Trader Joe's. I used their marinated bocconcini for this recipe)
• 1 package of basil

Now it's just time to get creative and skewer your delish antipasto items. My pattern was: bread (I put bread on the ends to keep it from getting soggy), kalamata olive, green olive, salami, tomato, cheese, tomato, basil leaf, bread. But who cares what I did... you just go with your bad self, and do it your way! Add your own favorite antipasto items, like peppers, marinated artichokes, mushrooms, prosciutto... the possibilities are endless!

Happy Skewering!

Repurposed Chalk Pots: A Good Thing

When decorating my home, I am a huge fan of re-purposing things we're not using anymore and using them in a whole new way. These chalk pots are a good example. My mom's group made them as a craft last year, and I just unearthed them from under an enormous pile of old blankets, paint cans, baby gear and empty cereal boxes (to be recycled, of course!) in our garage. You take plain, terra cotta pots and paint around the top of them with chalkboard paint. Then you are supposed to plant herbs in the pots and label them with chalk, all artsy-like. It's quite a darling idea... unless you have a black thumb like me. Somehow a trio of dead basil, rosemary and thyme in cute, little chalk pots just doesn't sound so darling, which is why I probably never used them in the first place.

So the other day I was hosting a little get-together and needed something to hold my cutlery (I use the word cutlery loosely, since it was really plastic wear from Albertsons...) I tried several containers, and they all looked pretty lame. And then... ta-dah! The light bulb went off in my head, and a re-purposed pot was born.

I love them so much, now I'm using them all kids of places around the house. Like here on my desk.

I also think they'd be super cute with kids art supplies in them.

See! With a little love and creativity, you can re-purpose almost anything!

Entertaining: Easy Schmeezy Appetizer

I'm a big believer that the simplest things are often the best. This especially applies to entertaining. I speak from experience when I say that biting off more than you can chew when entertaining will just end up stressing you out and make you never want to entertain again!

I love to offer a little something to nibble on when people are coming over for dinner... something simple and not too heavy since we will be eating pretty soon. One of my favorite things to do is a cheese board. It is simple, easy and just enough to tide guests over until the meat comes off the grill.

Making a cheese board couldn't be simpler. Here's how:

1. Grab a cutting board. Don't worry if yours is a little "rustic" (a.k.a. scratched up/stained). This gives character to your presentation! I made this one on a small cutting board, but if I were going to add fruit (grapes, still in a cluster and sliced apples or pears), salami or mixed olives (in a cute little dish on top of the board) I would have used my big mother of a cutting board, and it has a very, very used feel...

2. Head down to your friendly, neighborhood Trader Joe's for a selection of cheeses. Try to get a good, varied selection. Today's cheese board featured sharp cheddar (note: from here on out cheddar will be referred to as "cheddah"), mild muenster and a nice, soft brie. Other favorites include a big old hunk of parmigiano reggiano, blue cheese or smoked mozzarella. As goes the old adage, "It's hard to go wrong with cheese." Okay, that's not an old adage... but it should be!

4. Arrange your hunks/wedges of cheese on your cutting board, including a small knife, and place your crackers in a basket alongside. I put mine in this cute little sectioned wood server.

5. Now slice about 1/3 of your block cheeses, leaving the rest of the block on the board. This adds to the homey, rustic charm of this appetizer! For the soft cheeses, like brie and blue cheese, just leave 'em whole, and let guests have at it!

And that's it! This is a great example of how unique presentation can make simple foods into something special.