It's raining babies!...Dessert table

by Karolina, 12th December 2012

Today's the time to show you the dessert table I made for my sister's baby shower.
The colour scheme was blue and yellow.
So check it out:

Above I featured some details of the table.
My favourite - lemon cake baked...in the lemon! (I'll post the recipe soon).
Then cute small bottles with mix of juices with pretty striped straws.
Because it was a baby shower, I couldn't skip these lovely milk bottle sweets.
And last but not least tea cupcakes with mascarpone and flower made of dried pineapple.

But that was not all :) I loooooooooove dessert tables...so, there's more :)

Here you can see a bit more overall look and feel of the table.
I added some yogurt covered dried fruits and nuts in the apothecary jars.
My mum prepared yummy chocolate filled yeast dough cake :) And after a few perturbations and a bit of search, I added two-tone blue jelly with cream. I really like the jeweled tones of it!
How do you like the backdrop?

Do you think it's all?
Of course not!
There's more :) Yes, I wish you were there as well ;)

Here are a few extras:
- chocolate dipped mandarins
- cotton candy in a biiiiiiiig vase :)
- creme brulee spoons

OK, even I have a bit of sugar rush now....
I think it's enough sweets for today. What do you think?

I'll try to post a few of the recipes here in coming weeks.
But if you're particularly interested in some of them, drop me a note or comment below and I'll share with you straight away!

Speedy Hostess (2)

by Karolina, 8th July 2012

Speedy Hostess is back :)
Today, I wanted to show you a perfect entertaining idea which will make your party preparation or last minute entertaining stress-free.

Pretty little pastries...Quick and cute.
This is really no-brainer.
A few simple ingredients combined together + pretty presentation.

OK, this involves cooking shortcut, kind of baking cheating...Store-bought pastry shells. I always keep pastry shells in the cupboard. They're life-savers for last-minute parties! Seriously, if you don't have them in your pantry yet, go and get them...now!
Don't get me wrong, I really like making things from scratch, but sometimes little shortcut means that you have a few more minutes to prepare something yummy or that you actually have time to do your hair before guests arrive, or just that you have 5 minutes before the party to chill out with glass of wine instead of frantically running around the kitchen.

So, how to create these tiny beauties?

It's just assembling job really...(and simpler than Ikea stuff, I promise :))

You need:
- pastry shells
- whipped cream or mascarpone
- fruits for topping

Fill the shells with cream or cream cheese (depending what you have on hand) and top with a few fruits. I used variety of fruits to have nice colour palette - blueberries, red currents, strawberries. But actually any berries will be great. In winter when it's much more difficult to get hold of nice fruits , I would use cut pieces of peaches in syrup or even dried fruits. Really, the choice is huge and sky is the limit when it comes to different variations. Arrange cups nicely , decorate with fruits or leaves (I used some red currants and mint leaves). And you're ready to go!
5 minutes and pretty little tea snack or dessert buffet option is ready.

Do you use any shortcuts in the kitchen?
I'd love to hear about it from you.

Hola Amigos!

by Karolina, 5th May 2012

Time for fiesta amigos :)
It's Cinco de Mayo tomorrow...ok, some of you are just asking - so what? 5th May, nothing special...

But it is a special day for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. The 5th May is commemorating the battle of Puebla where highely outnumbered Mexican army defeated a much better-equipped French army. This is as well a day in USA when Mexican heritage is celebrated. And of course it's a perfect excuse for a few margaritas! :)  So put on sombrero and get ready for fiesta mexicana!

Of course the most popular Cinco de Mayo parties include tortilla, buritto, nachos and guacamole.
However, I wanted to propose you a few sweet things to accompany your margarita:


1.Fruit Tacos with Chocolate Tortillas via Munchin with Munchkin

2.Churros Cupcakes with Salted Dulce De Leche Sauce via Bakingdom

3.Coconut stuffed limes from MySweetMexico cookbook via houseandhome.com

4.Pinata cookies by Sandra Denneler at She Knows



Enjoy your fiesta!

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

Orange inspiration

by Karolina, 02 May 2012

This post is inspired by my new nail polish :) No, it's not a post sponsored by cosmetic company :)
Apart of being a foodie and craft lover, there's a bit of fashionista in me as well.
Flicking through the magazines this Spring and browsing websites, it's quite obvious that neon colours are definitely in. Actually not only in fashion - all designer world seems to be in love especially with ORANGE.
So I decided to give it a try.

This is my new Spring manicure.
But that's not all - inspired by this colour I searched for some kitchen inspiration as well...
And here it is - if you don't fancy orange dress, shoes or manicure...maybe try some neon in the kitchen?

 

1.Gazpacho with roasted peppers via Beetroot & Halloumi
2.Orange Sweet Potato Baked Chips with Thyme by Melangery
3.A Sicilian Orange Salad by The Tasteful Life
4.Mandarin orange prosecco preserves by Salted&Styled

I find it very sunny and optimistic - a sign that Spring came for good and will stay with us :)

And how do you like this orange trend?



St George's Day

by Karolina, 23rd April 2012

It's St George's Day today,celebrated by several countries including England where St George is the patron saint. You must not mix it up though - it's English holiday (although not public holiday), not Welsh, not Scottish either. English but not British...I know it's complicated, if you're interested check out this site.
England was my home for over 3 years and I have to say that it's still quite dear to me (despite some small inconveniences & a few flaws).
And I will say it out loud - despite bad reputation- some of the best food I ever had was in Britain. Yes- believe it or not, but there's some really good food out there. OK, I admit, if you filter it down to fish & chips with vinegar, bacon butties & mushy peas...it doesn't look that good at the first sight.
But if you look under the pre-packed, frozen aisle surface you can find amazing gems.
And I'm not even talking about British chefs who are showing modern British cuisine to the world (and to British themselves) like Heston Blumenthal, Nigella Lawson or James Martin (and endless others), but there are lovely British blogs around which show that British is not "yuck" but "yummy" :)

My Favourite spots for checking what's cooking British are:
http://www.britishlarder.co.uk
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com
http://www.renbehan.com/
www.uktv.co.uk/food
http://www.deliaonline.com/

And here are some of my favourite British classics, I'd like to share with you
(singing Jerusalem or Rule Brittania while cooking is not necessary :))

1.Trifle via Moonlit Kitchen
2.Scones with strawberry jam (perfect with tea) via Bananamondaes
3. Beef Wellington via BBC Good Food
4.British gone lux- Beef with beer and roasted onion sauce, mini yorkshire pudding, horseradish flavoured potato puree, oyster mushroom, spring onions and turnip via Almond Corner
5. Phesant with wilted watercress via British Larder