Cupid Hits the Workshop

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the chefs at my workshop and I have been working on fun Valentine’s Day cookie decorating ideas for my daughter and her kindergarten classmates.  So we decided to keep it simple by baking sugar cookies, which the kids will then be able to decorate however they’d like. We took a container of vanilla icing and simply mixed in food coloring to make pink and red icings as well as the white. We also have a selection of Valentine sprinkles for the kids to use. But don’t forget about the packaging-there’s always a way to let your creativity shine!

Some of the fun Valentine's Cookies.

And if you’re looking for a fun way to spend this weekend with your family, try holding a Valentine’s Day cookie decorating party! It will give your kids a chance to be creative and enjoy a delicious Valentine’s treat.

Laura Curtis enjoying one of the Valentine's Cookies!

Today Show Touchdown

I hope you were watching my segments on the Today Show this morning. If you missed the magic, here’s a summary of how you can make your Super Bowl party stellar while using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Before...

By adding a few splashy touches to the basics, you can go from familiar to fabulously festive. You can find my recipes for cajun-inspired condiments, crowd pleasing sides, gold & blue drinks, and gourmet popcorn on the Today Show’s website at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35240536/ns/today-today_food_and_wine//

... and after!

Complete your preparations by decorating flower vases with colored tissue paper representing your team of choice. Choose buds in the same scheme and add mini footballs for a fete to remember.

A halo of white tulips hangs over Peyton's #18. Will his heavenly passes be enough to win on Sunday?

Show your Saints spirit with sunflowers as Brees and Meachem try to lead the team to victory!

Party Planning!

The Challenge: Create a late-winter dinner party menu for 20 with light hors d’oeuvres, an all-age friendly main course with sides, and dessert. What do you cook?

At a brainstorming session with my chefs, Laura and Laura, we cast visions of phyllo-wrapped asparagus, herb-crusted pork loin, baked salmon, pear and blue cheese, and ginger-pear studded cheesecake. We filtered the concepts to remove any unpleasant and unnecessary steps and to add extra fun. We put the pork on the back burner. The salmon became “en croute”, or wrapped in phyllo, to make pre-party-day preparation easier and to avoid a fishy smell on party night. We de-formalized the appetizers, choosing to serve them in mini taco-cones, which are easy to prepare and eat. We planned a build-your-own dessert bar bar, with several sweet options and with fabulous toppings to mix and match.

The date changed from Saturday to Sunday, so we revised our salmon to a less time-sensitive option: ribs (braised food always taste better the day after). Despite setbacks, we finished preparations Friday evening. Here is the final menu.

Appetizers

Taco Cone Trio: Pear with Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts; Shrimp Salad; and asparagus with prosciutto

Main Course

Pomegranate-BBQ ribs and Chicken Fingers with Potatoes au Gratin, Pineapple-y Corn and Carrots, and Fennel Slaw

Dessert

Dessert Bar Bar: Citrus Bars, Coconut Cranberry Brownies, and Cheesecake  with Pear Ginger, Raspberry Sauce and Chocolate Sauce

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

The weather outside reminded me of a pre-Oz Kansas prairie. However, inside the Katie Brown workshop we have our very own yellow brick road! Over the weekend our floor went from dusty grey to daffodil yellow. The blustery wind also blew in two new additions to the Katie Brown Workshop: Laura and …. Laura (Mathews and Curtis). The girls are both joining the culinary team. After introductions, the team sat down to discuss upcoming events including a spot on the Today Show featuring the perfect Super Bowl snacks. Of course, salty, fatty, and finger-licking are the foods of choice for most football fetes. Nachos, pigs-in-a-blanket, chili, and wings all come to my mind. What do you consider the quintessential Super Bowl snack food? More brainstorming, and hopefully more sunny days to come.

Deck the Halls, and the gifts, and the tree…

Holiday season is among us and it is time to get in the spirit! Here at the Katie Brown Workshop, my elves and I have been doing just that. Our gift-wrapping and bow typing skills have become quite impressive over the past couple of weeks if I must say so myself. That’s one piece of what holiday season is all about—giving back to those you love. Whether you give someone a hand-made card, an iPod, or both… just letting someone know you’re thinking about them is a beautiful and thoughtful gesture. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. It’s about togetherness and giving families an opportunity to get all of their loved ones in one place and what could possibly be better than that? Absolutely nothing.

As the temperature begins to dip and snow starts to fall, I can feel the holiday excitement all around. In my family, Christmas has a way of working itself into the entire month of December. Between decorating the tree, picking out and wrapping gifts, and spending quality time with friends and family—the holiday is almost a one-month celebration, which I love. Take advantage of the holidays and remember to relax and just have fun with it!

Tis the season!

My family’s beautiful Christmas tree—I love all of the different colors and textures this year.

Mom’s Little Helpers

My deliciously adorable daughters!

End of the day celebration

A couple of the KB Workshop elves unwinding after a long day at the office and enjoying my impressive cheese platter assortment.

Pete and I working hard to finish all of our gift-wrapping!

Completed product! Well done, Peter!