Hard Times centerpiece

So in the spirit of the current economic mess and in anticipation of the worse mess to come, I put together a centerpiece last week on the cheap. So much so that I'm including it in my growing library of cheap fixes. Check this out:

I took a plate I already had and set it in the middle of my dining table. Then I filled three jars with sand. I'm forever soaking the labels off of jars and never using them for anything. Well, now I found a use for three of them. So the jars were already in my cabinet and the sand is what passes for soil in my part of the world. I sank a taper candle in each jar. I bought 8-inch ivory taper candles in a package of four from a dollar store. So at a quarter apiece, I'm up to 75 cents out of pocket for this thing so far. Then I pulled some mistletoe out of an oak tree in the alley and just broke off the sprigs and piled them onto the plate. Ta-daaa! Instant centerpiece and I collected compliments for the entire time it sat on the table. 

75 cents?! Martha Who?

Embarrassing recipe: the back story

Over dinner on New Year's Day, the conversation turned to those Rolo Pretzel things I wrote about earlier.  One of the assembled mentioned that they are nearly crack-like in their appeal --it's not possible to have just one of them. One taste brings about a Rolo Pretzel madness and a compulsion to eat all of them. He then reminded me that the originator of the recipe was lost to the haze of actual addiction some years ago, the poor thing.

Anyhow, since it's a holiday weekend and I've granted myself a free pass to write about anything I bloody well please, here goes. The whole drug addiction thing reminded me of a video I came across a couple of weeks ago that I find hilarious. Tragedy begets comedy folks, it's a tale as old as time. Besides, this video stars none other than Kristin Chenoweth, one of my favorite stars of stage and screen.

Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth by Kristin Chenoweth

Embarrassingly simple Christmas recipe

I bake like a man possessed on holidays and take great pride in the fact that I still make things the hard way. I suppose it's my Scots heritage, but in my mind taking shortcuts is cheating and I won't have it. I may be the only one at the table who gets it that my pie crusts are authentic and that my cookies are the real deal, and a lot of times that's all that matters. Baking without pre-prepared shortcuts makes me feel like I'm carrying on a dying tradition --I feel like I'm keeping alive the memories and traditions of my grandmothers. It gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction to share the results of those efforts with the people I love.

Though it pains me to admit it, probably the most popular thing that comes out of my kitchen at Christmas is a confection that every fiber of my being tells me is all wrong. It's embarrassing to put them out on the table and I wrestle with whether or not to make them every year. My public demands them and who am I to stand up to popular opinion? Besides, they're good to the point of obscenity. I'm referring to something called a Rolo Turtle. A Rolo is a chocolate-covered caramel that's not anything I've give a whole lot of thought to under ordinary circumstances. Combine a melted one with a pretzel and a pecan half though, and the humble Rolo is elevated to something that defies description.

An old friend of mine who's a huge fan of shortcuts brought them out at a party a couple of years ago and despite my inclination to turn up my nose and scoff, I couldn't get enough of them.

Here's the recipe but please don't credit me if you make them yourself. I have a reputation to maintain.

ROLO TURTLES

 

Ingredients:

 

1 package small square pretzels

1 13-oz. package Rolos 

1 package Pecan Halves

 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 250 Degrees.Cover a cookie sheet with 

aluminum foil and place pretzels individually to form 

one layer only. Place one Rolo on top of each pretzel. 

Bake at 250 degrees for 4 minutes or until the Rolos are 

softened. Immediately remove from the oven and quickly 

place a pecan half on top of a candy and push down to 

squish the chocolate into the pretzel and flatten out. 

Cool for 20 minutes, then place uncovered in refrigerator 

for about 20 minutes to set. Transfer to a decorative platter.

2008's greatest hits, volume two

So yesterday, I started a Greatest Hits of 2008 list and I ran the first part of my list. Well here's the other half. Pardon the self-indulgence, but it's a holiday.

• The Rocks in My Head, an Introduction
  
• A Working Definition of Granite
  
• Marble and the Metamorphics
  
• Onyx is Not What You Think
  
• Please Pass the Soapstone
  
• Sometimes, Granite isn't Granite at All
  
• On the Importance of a Contract
  
• Sinks by Kanera: Pure Love in the Form of a Plumbing Fixture
  
• Concrete Done Right
  
• A Whole New Take on Bathroom Mosaics
  
• Wow! Custom Fabrics on Demand
  
• Pottery Barn Doesn't Sell Wabi Sabi
  
• And it Feels Just Like I'm Walking on Broken Glass
  
• Notes on Orchid Husbandry

So as I look back on 2008, I'm looking forward to the challenge and adventure that awaits in 2009. I wish all of you the best for a happy, healthy and successful new year.

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2008's greatest hits, volume one

2008 was a really good year, all things considered. This blog took over a bigger part of my life about half way through and it's a welcome outlet for my energies. Although I don't consider every post on Kitchen and Residential Design to be a showcase of my writing skills, there are a couple pieces I've written this year that stand out in my mind. Just in case you missed them, here are some 2008 posts I'm proud of:

• How to Buy a Granite Counter
  
• Meet Christopher Peacock
  
• I Love  a Solution
  
• Vintage Floors from Italy
  
• Best Use of a Garbage Bag in a Starring Role
  
• And Away We Go
  
• Exeunt Omnes
  
• Mid-Century Classic Furniture Meets Prosthetic Leg
  
• A Bahamian Breakfast
  
• Great Source for Outdoor Showers
  
• Knock Off or Theft?
  
• Here's What I Mean by a Good Knock Off
  
• A Faux Re-education, or What I learned on my Summer Vacation
  
• Saturday Stop and Think

Well, there's the first half anyway. I doubt the Blogosphere's equivalent of a Pullitzer is heading my way any time soon, but I think I do a fine job with this thing.

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