So recently I took my 6 year old Christmas Shopping. At one point we ended up at Nordstroms and this wonderful man brought us a tray filled with hot chocolate samples to try. It doesn't get better than chocolate and shopping! The memory alone is enough to keep me smiling! Anyway so my 6 year old finished hers then mine and demanded more. Having spent already more than I care to admit to even myself I promised her I would make some just like theirs once we got home. Here it is:
Hot Chocolate like at Nordstroms
1/4 cup of Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of hot water
the smallest pinch of cayenne pepper
4 cups of milk
3/4 teaspoon of vanilla
Whipping cream and
Cinnamon for garnish
Heat cocoa, sugar, water, and cayenne on medium low heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Add 4 cups of milk. Stirring constantly, heat chocolate milk until just before boiling. Do not let it boil! You can tell that the mixture is just about to boil if when you stir it
you can see a generous amount of steam rising from the pot. Not letting
it come to a boil avoids the mixture developing a skin. If you look
closely you can also see a little tension in the milk but no bubbles. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve with a dollop of whipping cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon or some crushed candy cane.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick
generous pinch of ground clove
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
whipping cream for garnish
Directions:
Combine milk, cinnamon, cinnamon stick
and clove in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Heat the mixture until just before boiling. You can tell that the mixture is just about to boil if when you stir it you can see a generous amount of steam rising from the pot. Not letting it come to a boil avoids the mixture developing a skin. If you look closely you can also see a little tension in the milk but no bubbles. ( In the South we'd say "It's fitt'n to POP!") Let the cinnamon stick steep for
2 minutes & then remove.
In the bowl of a standing mixer combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk
together until pale and fluffy. With the mixer on low, pour the hot
milk mixture into the egg yolks 1/4 a cup at a time, tempering the yolks. Whisk until well
incorporated. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on medium low for about 5 minutes, continually stirring, until thickened
and creamy. Do not let it boil, or the egg nog will curdle.
Stir in the vanilla, heavy cream and nutmeg and refrigerate over night. (Don't skip this step! The egg nog is great, but it is phenomenal after it has had a chance to sit over night!) When ready to serve garnish with a spritz of whipping cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Seasoning your Chalkboard is very important to do before you use your new chalkboard or one you have just made. Otherwise, the first words or pictures you draw on your board will get "burned" into the board.
1. The first step to seasoning your chalkboard is to take a piece of chalk and and run it vertically along the entire board covering the whole surface.
2. Next run it horizontally along the entire chalkboard.
3. Afterwards you can erase the chalkboard with an eraser or a paper towel. If you prefer a newer looking board use a wet cloth.
4. Enjoy! Your new Chalkboard is ready to use!
For how to make your own framed chalkboard click here.
For more crafting fun Click Here
This is a super fun and easy project that will make you want to repeat it over and over again! I just got called to be our ward camp director and I plan on using my framed chalk board to help decorate for one of our pre-camp activities.
Supplies:
Cute Frame (TJ Max is an excellent source for inexpensive and unique frames)*
Valspar's Black Chalkboard Paint
Paint tray or large dish
Small roller Brush
Garbage bag and some tape or some other protective surface
Chalk
Have a sheet of masonite cut to fit into the frame you have chosen at your local hardware store
1. Make sure the masonite board you have had cut fits into your frame perfectly. Make any adjustments necessary. I had my board cut to fit standard sized frames, but after I got home I was surprised to find that so many of the frames I had on hand weren't quite standard! I ended up using my quilting ruler, an X-acto knife, and my cutting board. You wouldn't want to do all of your boards this way (lot's of elbow grease), but it works just fine for small adjustments.
2. Protect your work surface with some plastic sheeting or a plastic bag. As you can tell I have reused mine several times:)
3. Make sure the sheet of masonite is clean by wiping it with a damp cloth removing dust and debris. Let it dry.
4. Poor a small amount of chalk board paint into a paint tray or large dish.
5. Lay your masonite on the plastic sheeting and roll on the first coat of chalk board paint. Do this much like you would paint a wall. Start by painting an M or a W then spread the paint with first horizontal lines and then follow through with vertical lines until the whole board is covered.
6. You will need to do 3 coats, but you have to allow for enough time for the coats to dry thoroughly. Valspar Chalkboard paint requires a full 24 hours between coats, so fold up your sheeting, wash out your brush and be patient!
When I purchased my masonite board at Lows it came in a very large sheet for around $8-$9. The first 2 cuts are free and then each subsequent cut is .25$. I had them cut 2 of each size of frame. So for example 3X5, 4X6, 5X7, 8X10 etc. I always have extra frames lying around, so why not extra chalkboards!
7. After you have painted your 3 coats and allowed them to thoroughly dry slip the glass out of your frame and place the new chalkboard, but don't forget to season your chalkboard before using it! (see my tutorial for how to)
*On occasion you may find that the glass in your frame is actually glued down. I used my X-acto blade to slip in between the layers of glass and frame to separate the two, but I'm not sure I would recommend doing this. It would be much easier to find a frame that is not glued to the glass.
Hope you have fun, I certainly did!
I also had fun creating a chalkboard table for my kids to play with while outside. What fun!
This recipe is a combination of a couple of different recipes and tips I have picked up from watching other seasoned homemakers.
What you will need:
For the Crust:
2 1/2 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour (King Arther happens to be my favorite & yes it matters!)
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) of chilled butter, cut into 16 pieces
6 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
7 Golden Delicious Apples
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
butter for dotting
flour for dusting
How to do it:
For the Filling:
1. Core and slice your apples. Place in a bowl and mix with sugar and spices. Set aside.
For the crust:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
1. The first thing you will want to do is prepare the work surface you
will be rolling your pie crust on. You will need a clean, large, flat,
work surface such as your kitchen table.
2. Mix flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl with a wire whisk or else in a mixer such as a KitchenAid.
3. Add cut pieces of butter to the flower mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all of the pieces of butter are coated with flour.
4. Now get ready to make a mess! Dump the bowl of butter and flour mixture onto your work surface. Working as quickly as possible roll the flour and butter creating large wide flakes of butter. It is helpful to have a dough scraper handy. Roll a few times then scrape your flour and butter into a pile and roll again. Some of the butter will stick to your rolling pin and the table, just use the dough scraper to pile it all up again. Once all of the butter has been rolled into wide flakes of butter use your scraper to scoop it back into the bowl.
5. Add 6 tablespoons of ice water to the dough and mix just until combined. There will be some large clumps of formed dough and debris that have not clumped. The dough will not be smooth! Press together with your hands forming a rough ball. Your object in working quickly is to keep the butter cold and flaky so that it remains suspended as identifiable pieces within the dough. This is what makes the crust so tender and flaky with a puffed quality.
6. Dust a large, clean, flat surface such as your kitchen table with a
generous portion of flour. Next sprinkle it with sugar and roll your
rolling pin over the surface to help spread it around and coat the
rolling pin with flour as well.
7. Separate the ball of dough into two equal halves.
8. Now it's time to roll your pie crust! Here is a video that shows how. My mother-in-law took the time to show me and it was very helpful. You can tell by the picture that the table has been generously dusted. That is key to not having your dough stick to the table or the rolling pin which can result in tearing. You'll notice that when the dough is small I shift it around picking up extra flour to keep it from sticking. As the crust gets rolled bigger I adjust by changing the position of the rolling pin instead. Roll from top to bottom, then from side to side, and then in diagonals, and repeat the process until you have a piece of circular dough large enough to more than cover your pie plate and account for any unevenness.
9. Center the rolled dough over the pie plate by using your rolling pin to help lift the dough. (Shown in video). Cut the excess dough away leaving about a 1/2 an inch to 1 inch of dough to fall over the sides of the pie plate. This can be done fairly crudely without to much worry.
10. Dump your spiced apples into the pie plate, dust with a bit of flour, and dot with butter!
11. Roll the top crust as in step 8 and use it to cover the top of the pie. Trim to the same length as the under-crust. Next fold top layer of crust under the bottom layer of crust creating a pocket.
12. Shape the crust by using your fingers to create ruffles. My pie plate is shaped with ruffles but this works just as well with a regular pie plate.
13. Create vents in a decorative pattern using a fork to prick the dough.
14. If you like you can add a little interest by adding a "centerpiece". I used small leaf cookie cutters from William Sonoma and added some coarse sugar for fun.
15. Next fashion a pie shield using tin foil so that the edge of the pie does not get overly done.
You can opt to save your "pie Shield" for future use or just make it from scratch each time
16. In goes the pie! Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes then rotate the pie a half turn and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 more minutes. Remove the pie-shield and bake for a final 10-15 minutes until the pie crust is a delicious golden brown!
