Have you had the pleasure of meeting Reagan at Miss Remmers’ Reviews?  I hope you have!  Reagan is going to school to be an English Teacher and her blog has a wonderful theme, it is all about finding great reads to draw Young Adults into the pleasure of reading.  When Reagan told me about her plan to find YA reviews throughout the blogesphere I knew I wanted to help her promote this. 

All you need to do to participate in this is go over to Miss Remmers Reviews blog and connect your great YA review to her Mr Linky.  Check first to make sure she does not already have the review and that she doesnt have it on the schedule… but if you are the first one to offer her a review of a YA book, this would be a great help to her to continue her encouragement to get Young Adults to find books they enjoy and start planting that “need to read” seed in their hearts.

I am so excited about Reagan is doing that I would like to add to her challenge.  Anyone that connects over at Miss Remmers Reviews with a YA review (or two, or three…) let me know here (in the comments) what book review you linked her to on your blog.  For each review you link her to, let me know on a separate comment here and I will choose a winner using random.org on December 24.  If I have 20 comments here with book reviews you have offered Reagan to use I will give away a $10 gift card to Amazon.  If I have over 30 separate comments of reviews given to Reagan, I will make it a $20 gift card.  *Remember – each comment is to let me know that you did sent her a book review link and what that book title is for me to count your comment in the giveaway.

Because I can send the gift card by email to you, this giveaway is open world wide!

I hope many of you will do this!  Most of us have read a YA that we have enjoyed, by allowing it be posted at Miss Remmers Reviews she is linking it back to your blog as well as letting YA’s that may not be big readers yet know about the real enjoyment you can get out of reading.

Thank you everyone for helping out a fellow blogger and making great reads available to others!

** You must connect over at Miss Remmers Reviews first with your YA link..then come back here and let me know what YA book review you gave her.

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility. The cannoli is a fried, tube-shaped pastry shell (usually containing wine) filled with a creamy amalgamation of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate, candied fruit or zest, and sometimes nuts. Although not traditional, mascarpone cheese is also widely used, and in fact, makes for an even creamier filling when substituted for part of the ricotta, or by itself. However, cannoli can also be filled with pastry creams, mousses, whipped cream, ice cream etc. You could also add your choice of herbs, zests or spices to the dough, if desired. Marsala is the traditional wine used in cannoli dough, but any red or white wine will work fine, as it’s not only added for flavor or color, but to relax the gluten in the dough since it can be a stiff dough to work with.

Despite not technically a “baking” challenge, I was SO excited to see this month’s challenge recipe at the Daring Kitchen.  I have only had cannoli a few times, but have always loved their delicate crispy shell and creamy fillings.  We had a choice of fillings, so I made half with vanilla and half with chocolate, and dipped the ends of both in melted dark chocolate.  For the cannoli with chocolate filling, I then dipped the ends into candied orange peel also for a bit of a jaffa flavour.  YUM YUM!!

Anyway, if you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it here.

My first batch, I tried the forming them around the premade cannelloni tubes.  Unfortunately, they blistered and cooked along with the cannoli and I was unable to separate the two without smashing the entire thing into smithereens.  Luckily, I had some stainless cream horn shapes in my cooking stash, and they worked a treat.  Had they not worked, I would have opted for the flat, layered version aka millefeuille/napoleon style.  All in all, a great hit with the family and definately will be made again.  Am hoping Santa will bring me an ice cream maker for Christmas, as I can really imagine these with a yummy home made ice cream filling!!  Delish!

about a month ago (31 October) i started to write a new post publicly committing to join in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the month of November. After a paragraph was finished I got distracted by who knows what and never finished the post. I also never participated in the month long novel writing challenge, wherein the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. do i regret this? yes-and-no. i think this would have been good for me, i have wanted to write a novel, but have a hard time committing to things and had a lot of school work during November. but now, i am going to publicly announce my prospective commitment.

i know i have mentioned giving up meat before, becoming a vegetarian, reducing our negative impact on this place we call home. the reasons for which i advocate these things is not because i believe humans are the enemy, it’s because i believe we could live our lives in a wholistic way and they could be better: mentally, physically, psychologically, socially (etc.) and this is why i (and hopefully my parents) am/are doing the “go dairy free” challenge. the challenge is 10 days with no dairy-no cheese, no yogurt, no milk, no ice cream, no chocolate, etc.-unless it has some sort of dairy substitute.

for me this is not an animal rights issue, it is a health issue. milk is one of the most common food allergens in the western world. lactose intolerance is very common, and some people may not even realize that milk is the problem for digestive problems. we are the only species to continue to drink milk after weaning. there are greater chances to having diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and ironically osteoporosis, which all but osteoporosis runs in my family. milk is not the only place you can find calcium, to name a few you can get calcium from soy milk, asparagus, baked beans, green beans, sesame seeds, almond butter, oranges, etc. the milk we drink from the stores is from a cow no longer with a calf that needs milk. in most scenarios the cows are given rBGH(recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) which stimulates the production of the IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) hormone which helps produce milk. (the science of it.)

really, who knows what will happen if i give up milk. maybe my allergies will get better, or maybe i won’t have heartburn anymore. maybe nothing will happen, but with all of the potential side effects and the knowledge of the prospective health benefits, why not try it.

i haven’t decided when i’m going to start, but i want to do it with my family, so whenever they are on the same page-hopefully before christmas.

http://www.godairyfree.org/

http://www.alternative-healthzine.com/html/1200_2.html

CHRISTMAS UNSHOPPING
Buy NOTHING this Chrismas

 Give no gifts this Christmas.
 Explain to your family that you are using your economic power to help the poorest by giving no gifts. Often, the gifts we give are useless or unwanted.
 Instead, make gifts or cards which are much more personal.
 Join the Advent conspiracy
 Give Christmas gifts directly to the poor by buying presents through Oxfam Unwrapped
or Christian Blind Mission Gifts of Life

GIVE to the needy

PRAY differently

More silence
More meditation
More reflective reading of Scripture
Fewer words
Different symbols (candles, ikons, etc.)

Seinfeld has cemented itself as the best sitcom of the 90’s. But it also was a clever take on relationships involving it’s kooky cast. Jerry himself called the first date one big interview, which is true in itself.

One of the classic episodes of Seinfeld is season four’s “The Opposite”. George, the bald-headed loser of the group, is down in the dumps as all of his life’s decisions have only resulted in pain and hardship for him. That is until he is inspired to do the exact opposite, which results in him landing a gorgeous blonde of a girlfriend and a job for the New York Yankees.

Now while George’s opposite behavior is a bit extreme, he makes the right steps.

1. He orders the exact opposite of his usual at the cafe, which in turn gets looks from a woman who orders the same thing. He approaches the woman and states his current loser position. Although this is sharing too much, the right move in approaching her first worked. One could say he played up humor in his line too. (All in all, this portrays confidence.)
2. At the movie theater, he shouts down some hecklers and which gets the praise from the audience. (A bit extreme, but confident.)
3. At the end of the date, he refuses to go back to her apartment after she asks. This is great. This is playing up challenge (readers of “The System” would know all about challenge.) Simply put, he makes her wanting more by being different from any other guy. This will drive up her interest.
4. During the episode, George applies for a job at the New York Yankees, where he berates Steinbrenner (team owner) for his moves involving the team. Steinbrenner says to “hire this man immediately!” Again, a bit extreme, but George’s newfound confidence got him somewhere.

Confidence and challenge are two big parts of “The System”. In a nutshell, these two things are helpful when it comes to dating. Don’t follow all of George’s steps, but learn something from them.

See George in action:

I originally posted this at Open Salon in response to the Thanksgiving leftovers Salon Kitchen Challenge.

I really love cooking for the fall and winter holidays, but have never before tried to get really creative with leftovers. This year they included turkey, roasted veggies, lots of homemade turkey stock, cranberry relish, and healthi-er takes on some southern classics like corn pudding and sweet Vidalia onion cornbread dressing. I used a little bit of everything to pull together what proved to be a little bit of an awesome meal. I love adding champagne to the challenge!

In the bowl:

CREAMY TURKEY AND ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH (CHAMPAGNE) AND CRISPY VIDALIA ONION CORNBREAD DRESSING CROUTONS

To start, I sliced cold cornbread dressing into 2×3-inch squares, about ¼ inch thick. I put them in the oven at 325 degrees to dry out and crisp while I made the rest of the soup.

In a dutch oven, I browned one chopped yellow onion, one large chopped shallot, and four small cloves of garlic. When the onions became translucent, I added about two cups of turkey stock and about 3/4 cup of potatoes chopped small and about 2 cups of chopped asparagus. When the potatoes were soft, I used an immersion blender to puree the vegetables. Then I added about four or five cups more stock, another ¾ cup of chopped potato and about two cups of chopped cooked turkey meat. When the potatoes are soft, the broth should be thickened. Adjust thickness with flour and water if desired, but the puree of vegetables should give it some thickness.  Turn off heat and add ½ to ¾ cup leftover champagne (a great use of flat champagne). Stir. Turn off heat. Remove croutons from oven.

Ladle into bowls and top with a tablespoon of half-and-half, croutons, and a sprinkle of paprika cayenne pepper.

On the side:

BAKED CORN PUDDING PUPPIES

Corn pudding is a custardy concoction that is traditionally made of creamed corn, cornmeal, a bit of flour, eggs, butter (I used non-fat Greek yogurt) and milk. It is baked like a casserole and spooned to serve. To make corn pudding puppies, I shaped spoonfuls of cold corn pudding into one- or two-inch balls (the size and shape of hushpuppies), froze them to hold the shape, then dipped them in egg wash and dusted them with flour. I then sprayed them very lightly with olive oil and baked them at 450 degrees until they were brown and crispy, turning once after about 15 minutes.

In the glass:

CRANBERRY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

One part chilled vodka, two parts cranberry juice cocktail, shaken, poured, topped with cold champagne and a lime twist.

The leaders around the world were put to test in 2008 with the recession in their laps. It is a test that no leader would want to face when he/she is challenged on daily basis ensuring the survival of the business in today’s competitive market.

While the strategizing must have been a great challenge, I think that another challenge for any leader in tough times is motivating employees to perform par excellence or even close to how they were performing earlier. There are so many distractions that a lot of leaders forget that they still have people following them and they need hope for survival. I think the leaders shouldn’t forget either that the strategies they are developing for survival will be executed by the same followers.

The best way to keep in sync with employees is communication. Nothing matters most than communication during tough times. The employees need to be informed more than ever. With all the uncertainty surrounding everyone, people are afraid and distracted. When leaders communicate well, they minimize the distractions for employees and hence enables employees to focus on real job.

i have grown to admire carlos whittaker, what he stands for, and his influence in the ministry world.

he recently put out this challenge.  you can watch it here.

basically, for the next 30 days, instead of making holiday excuses for the disconnect we feel in our lives, let’s make an intentional effort to grow in certain areas.  mainly:  spiritual, relational, physical.

so here are my goals:

1.  physical – get under 200Ibs (currently 206)

2. relational – hang out with my parents more intentionally (coffee, lunches, etc)

3. spiritual – finish B90x (before 2010) & memorize the verses los puts on his blog.

hope you’ll come along for the ride.

New Portsmouth boss Avram Grant is confident that he can turn around the club’s fortunes…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: soccer team. For a different topic see las vegas crowd levels. The blog is also related to: footbal soccer.

This week I took a hi-res image and cropped it into a perfect square then reduced it down to an approximate print size of 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches at 72 dpi. I then applied the mosaic filter at a strength of 16-pixel squares.

That process resulted in the image on the left. I’m hopeful that this challenge will prove a skosh tougher than the ones we’ve done before but still be solvable.

If this image stumps you, I have provided a slightly easier version with a strength of 12-pixel squares after the jump. But try not to give up too quickly.

If you solve this one I’d like to know if you did it using the 16-pixel or 12-pixel versions.

Good luck!

Are you still stuck? Here is the same image with a 12-pixel square mosaic filter applied:

UPDATE: Here is an 11-pixel square version. Does this help un-stump you?

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Well what a week this has been, Firstly sorry for the lack of blogging, I caught one of those wintery bugs that are doing the rounds at the moment, so I’ve been full of cold  &  feeling pretty yukkie for most of the week, but I’m feeling much better today.

I sat yesterday colouring in a few images that I downloaded for FREE, yes FREE  from Cuddly Buddly, this Dragon is designed by Kim MacFarlane isn’t it soooo cute? I printed it onto whisper white card stock, I was a little worried that it might smudge when I coloured it but hey presto!! no smudging, although I had printed them a few days before, don’t know if this made any difference.

I’ve combined Two challenges Mojo Monday which is a fab sketch by Julee and Cute Card Thursday which is Snips, Snails and Puppy dog tails, cards for younger boys.

I’ve turned this sketch into an easel card, so I’ve used the sketch twice.

Card Ingredients

• Free digi download from Cuddly Buddly, coloured with promarkers.
• DP is Basic Grey 6×6 Archaic pad.
• Border punches  SU scalloped and Martha Stewart two dot.
• Square scalloped and inverted scalloped Nesties and round plain and scalloped Nesties.
• SU ribbon.
• Craftwork Card dots.

Here’s a close up of that gorgeous dragon.

Have a great weekend!!!

Thanks for looking.

Hugs Sonia xxx

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85. -Mary Schmich

 

The regular walked in and for the first time she was wearing a happy-coloured head scarf.  Coffee’s on me today, I told her. Decaf right?

***

I only ever fancied men with dark, dark hair, but Legolas and Spike once caught my eye. However, they’re not human are they?… So does that really count?

***

She was bigger than Miley in China, a pint-sized-fair-superstar. The locals all wanted to pose with her for photos, but none ever, ever touched what they prized the most, her long, spirally, spaghetti-coloured hair.

***

Granny always was a red-head. Frizzy, curly and cropped short. An orangey-halo. The day she stopped dying her hair I stood frozen on the linoleum floor looking up at her. She was completely grey. And she suddenly looked old…like a… granny.

***

Shite the hairdresser sighed holding my hair in one hand. At least I wont need to thin it out anymore, he said, oh…don’t worry…I doubt anyone else would notice. I looked down at the effen-awesome-heels I was rockin’.

***

What are you doing? I asked eyeing the box in the bathroom. It’s just getting too grey he said. But I thought quietly to myself… that’s the way I like it.

***

Dad was completely silver by twenty-five. Look at my back though, he would say…not a silver one there. Go fucking figure.

***

Our friend the ginger-ninja once admitted that she couldn’t find a scrunchie so she used a g-string to tie her hair up with. My daughter wanted to know where the ginger-ninja got a violin string from? I wanted to know who the bloody-hell still wears scrunchies?

***

Nonno’s head looks like a bowling ball! They laughed. Hey! I said, that’s not a nice thing to say. What? Why? We love bowling!

***

My hair is curly and I straighten it every day. I curse at it, and at how effen long it takes to make look nice. And then I remember the regular.

And… I curse at it a little less.

As readers of this Blog would know, I have been reading ‘The Reformers and Their Stepchildren,’ by Leonard Verduin. I have now completed this book and maintain that this is a book that should be read by all Reformed believers. It is a brilliant treatment of both the Reformers and those who sought a more ‘radical’ reform, in order to bring the church back to that which was modelled on the New Testament example.

Verduin deals with many of the disputed areas between the Reformers and the Stepchildren, and in so doing shows how the Reformers chose to go only so far in their work of reformation and indeed how some chose to back peddle in some areas. As much as I respect many of the Reformers (if not all), I have always been saddened by their refusal to fully reform the church/separate from it, and to set up a church based on the New Testament model, which was something the stepchildren also sought. The Reformers treatment of the stepchildren will always be a blight on their legacy also.

Read this book without being biased either way and allow the truth of the Scriptures to determine the path on which you walk. There is much food for thought in this book and a real challenge for Reformed believers throughout.

19 Jahre ist es also her, daß Bob Carver sein Röhren-Ungetüm erschuf.

24 Jahre ist es her, daß die Carver-Challenge stattfand. Daran würde ich gerne anknüpfen, mit den entsprechenden Transfer-Function-Modulen von damals, neu zu definierenden für die A-68 und dem östereichischen Digital-Amp (Hypex) sowie dem aktuellen Kelpin-Baustein.

Auch ein Treffen von Bob und Paul wäre vielleicht eine fruchtbare Spätfolgenabschätzung, sofern ersterer überhaupt noch zu derartigen Unternehmungen fähig und willens ist.

Lassen wir 2010 heran kommen, dann ergäbe sich auch eine nettere Zahlenkombination als im laufenden Quartal: 20-25-80-68-nn-mm: da läßt sich doch was dazu erfinden!

Man inspiriert sich…

PS: zu 80 notiere ich mal prophylaktisch 2153611

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the ItalianPastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book. After recovering from the mild heart attack after reading Lisa Michele’s tag line in the DB forum : “Sorry all, we’re not baking this month…”, I was glad to see we were heading to Italy this month.

Deep frying is something I have rarely done, not because I don’t like fried food, but because I never liked the lingering smell in my apartment afterwards. With Hun, though, it is something I’ve had more of a chance to explore. Hun has a backyard. And that’s where we setup the Coleman stove and fry our hearts (or at least, dinners (hum…. turkey…) appies and desserts (hum… deep fried oreo wontons…) out. In moderation, natch.  :)

This challenge also brought some bittersweet memories back. The only time I had done some fried Italian pastries was in the early 80’s, following the death of my stepfather, who was Italian. I still remember being in the kitchen of one of his sisters, with the rest of the women of the extended family, frying something called, I think, bugis (sp?) (liar, in italian), a fried strip of dough, with powdered sugar sprinkled on top. These were served at the memorial the following day. I can’t remember how many of those we made that afternoon, but looking back on it, I find it interesting that food not only brings us together in times of celebration, but also in times of mourning.

I didn’t have any cannoli tubes but following Lisa’s suggestion, I fried my cannoli as sheets instead of tubes, and stacked them with the ricotta filling in between. I made a lemon/limoncello sauce to go with it. This dessert closed an evening of Daring challenges, with sushi as the main course. It was a busy weekend!

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar

Note – If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Cannoli shell preparation, cutting out the dough circles, sealing the dough around the form, frying the shells, finished shells ready to fill

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

Here’s a card I created for the sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You.  Love the DTs work over there.

Twinkle

I’m trying to get all of my Christmas cards completed within the next week… these challenges really help!

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was great.  Because a lot of my family had other plans for today, we’re having our Thanksgiving on Friday.

Moving on…

This is my first time participating over at Mojo Monday.  I’m still pretty new to the whole card thing, but I really enjoy it.  Here’s what I did for the sketch this week.

Christmas Card

Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who owned a wheat field.

“Who will help me harvest the wheat?” she asked.

“Not I,” said the dog. “I’ve never done that before.”

“Not I,” said the cow. “I’ve got way too much to do already.”

“Not I,” said the duck. “That’s not on my job description.”

So the little red hen did it herself.

“Who will help me grind the wheat into flour?” she asked.

“Not I,” said the dog. “You’re so much better at that than I am.”

“Not I,” said the cow. “There’s not enough time to show me how.”

“Not I, “ said the duck. “I would probably just mess it up.”

So the little red hen did it herself.
“Who will help me make some bread?” asked the little red hen.

“Not I,” said the dog.  “I’ve got a deadline to meet.”

“Not I,” said the cow. “I’ve got to leave right at 5:00 p.m.”

“Not I,” said the duck.  “You can’t trust me with something that important.”

So the little red hen did it herself.

When all her guests arrived that evening for the farmyard dinner party, the little red hen had nothing ready to serve except the bread.  Now, it was some fine bread – the best anyone had ever tasted – but it was disappointing as a main course nonetheless.  The little red hen had been so caught up doing everything herself that she didn’t have time to get anything else ready.

Moral of the Story:

Leaders learn how to delegate.  They involve others throughout a project for both the project’s and the team members’ good.  Good leaders challenge their performers to do more than the performers think they can, and good leaders never “chicken out” by doing the whole thing themselves.