Need a New Years app? Make your own fancy cheese balls. Roll 2 inch sections of a goat cheese log into a ball and roll in anything. Chives, crushed walnuts, cranberries, and sunflower seeds were pretty tasty.

Dominate Christmas. Normally, I say resourceful above all else, that is, except for any holiday that surrounds you with extended family. You know, the family members you have to one-up in some way to “win” that holiday. This recipe will help secure a win this season. It’s really easier than it looks and is so worth any effort involved. If you serve it while it’s warm, it’s basically hot cocoa on kittens.

Syrup
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or scrape 1 vanilla bean)

Custard
2 1/2 cups of milk
6 egg whites

Whipped Cream
6 red and white peppermint candy canes or 24 red and white mini peppermint candy canes
2 cups of whipping cream
Recipe:
Syrup
Combine cocoa and water in a saucepan and whisk over medium heat until cocoa is dissolved.
Add sugar and whisk until dissolved.
Bring to a boil. Boil for three minutes, whisking constantly and remove from heat.
Add vanilla extract, then transfer to a container.

Custard
Warm milk over stove-top, add in cocoa syrup to taste and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
Gently whisk the egg whites till a light bubbles form.
Sieve the egg whites into the milk. Whisk it lightly to mix well.
Pour the milk mixture into each bowl equally.
Cover the top it with plastic-wrap.
Double boil over medium heat for about 10 or so minutes until slightly firm (center should still be slightly jiggly though).

Whipped Cream
Unwrap candy canes, break them up a bit and place them in a blender or food processor.
Process until the candy canes until they are a fairly fine powder.
In another bowl, whip cream until firm. No need to add sugar. The sweetness will come from the candy canes.
Fold in the candy cane powder in the cream.

Top the cocoa custard with the peppermint whipped cream and serve.

Recipe adapted from the following sites.

Syrup: The Plastic Free Chef

Custard: Foodagraphy

Whipped Cream: Real Mom Kitchen

Bloody Pina Coladas. Little set-up is needed. I found this tasty looking recipe on MarthaStewart.com, but I wasn’t hot for the corn syrup. I used her drink recipe and added homemade raspberry syrup to rim the glass and make a bloody mess. Just heat a few cups of frozen raspberries, mix with sugar and voila!

Pina Ghoulada

Whisk together drink ingredients. Place 2 1/2 cups ice in a blender, and add 1 cup drink mixture. Blend until smooth; add more pineapple juice if mixture is too thick. Repeat with remaining ice and mixture. Carefully pour into prepared glasses; serve. Link

Carved peppers filled with tasty brains. This is a super easy and healthy Halloween dish adapted from a recipe on The Meltaways. It might even get your kids to eat (gasp) something besides sugar on Halloween. I made a vegetarian version here, but you can easily make it vegan by omitting the cheese or carnivore by using real sausage. Really, you can stuff these guys with anything – bonus points if it looks like brains.

Sausage and Pasta Stuffed Jack O’ Peppers

 1. Compile tasty ingredients

2. Carve faces on peppers

3. Carefully cut off top and clean the inside

4. Mix tasty ingredients – I cooked pasta, onions, garlic, and vegan Italian sausage and then mixed it with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh parsley, and mozzarella chunks.

5. Stuff your peppers with the mix and replace top

6. Bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes

7. Eat  : )

Inspired by: The Meltaways: Spooky Stuffed Peppers

Everything Fabulous is just that. I’m so addicted to this blog. Here are 3 cocktail recipes for that classy lady-like brunch you always knew you had in you.

All recipes found on EverythingFab.com.

Lillet Rose Spring Cocktail

Words to describe Lillet Rose: “The smell of Rose wine grows out of the humidity along with floral notes of primrose, rose water, honeysuckle and then fades into an earthy, dewy, after-a-rainfall finish.” 

Lillet Rose Spring Cocktail

Ingredients (Serves 6)
* 12 ounces Lillet Rose
* 12 ounces Ruby Red grapefruit juice
* 6 ounces gin
* 6 edible flower blossoms (optional; chefs-garden.com)

Directions
1. Combine 6 ounces Lillet, 6 ounces grapefruit juice, 3 ounces gin, and ice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Shake until well chilled.
3. Strain and divide cocktail among 3 stemmed cocktail glasses, such as Champagne coupes. Repeat.
4. Garnish with flowers. Serve immediately.

I can’t seem to find a distributor online of Lillet Rose in the US, so I contacted the company to find out. I will update and tweet about the info once I have it. For Europe you can buy it {here}.

Rose Petal and Prosecco Punch

Lavender Vodka Lemonade

Glass:
* 1.5oz Vodka
* 1.5oz Lillet Blanc
* 1oz Lavender Syrup (recipe below)
* 1oz Lemon Juice
* 2oz Chilled Soda Water
* French Lavender Flower for Garnish

Pitcher (makes 4 glasses):
* 3/4 Cups Vodka
* 3/4 Cups Lillet Blanc
* 1/2 Cup Lavender Syrup
* 1/2 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
* 1/4 Cup Chilled Soda Water for each glass
* French Lavender Flower for Garnish

Preparation:
1. Mix first four ingredients with spoon.
2. Pour over ice,
3. Add chilled soda water and
4. Garnish with lavender flower (or lemon wedges if you can’t find fresh organic lavender).

Lavender Syrup:
1. Add equal parts sugar and water to a medium saucepan and bring to boil.
2. Add fresh organic French lavender to taste (or 1/2 cup dried food grade lavender for every 4 cups water/4 cups sugar)
3. Boil for one minute over medium/high heat.
4. Remove from heat and let steep for an hour.

 

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Red food coloring
• Ginger Bread Man cookie cutter
• Small heart cookie cutter
• Toothpicks

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Separate a small section of dough and  fold in a few drops of redfood coloring. Cover both,and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut plain dough into men with the Ginger Bread Man cookie cutter. Cut small hearts with the red dough.
3. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Cut out a small heart in the center of the cookie and replace with a red heart. 
4. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven.
5. While cookies are still warm, poke in the toothpicks wherever you see fit.

Sugar cookie recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com