It's a Mad World...

“Have I gone mad? I'm afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are.”
~Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland

If you have ever read Alice in Wonderland (the book, not the movie) then you are aware of the extremely brilliant chaos around the Mad Hatter's tea party. There is something to be said about his quotes and how mad they truly are.

I recently had the pleasure to work with a team on a project of madness to help produce a "pinterest worthy" baby shower for my wonderful sweet niece. My task was to create the menu and cook it while my Sis-in-Love (Sue) was asked to do all of the items required by pinterest my niece to create a magical scene from the ceiling to the floor. As you can see in the pictures below, it came out pretty cool and it was certainly not a job for one person to tackle.

My first task was to create a menu of small bites for a tea party, but making them hearty enough for the men that would be attending since it was a coed shower. Keeping within the "mad" theme, I added bacon to several items and put some whimsy into others. All in all, I think we covered the first task.

My second task was to create cupcake toppers out of fondant to mimic the Alice in Wonderland characters. I first went online to try to purchase them.  The price was way too steep for my budget and after all, I thought to myself, it is part of my job as a recipe developer and food stylist to know how to make and do these things. So off I went to YouTube to research fondant and Alice characters. I settled on easy enough shapes that I could cut and paste together on round white disks of marshmallow fondant. What I did not figure in was the time it would take to make 30 of these toppers. After one day on my own, I asked my friend Lisa and my Mom to come over and help and I'm so thankful for that help as it allowed each of us to add our own artistic touch and style on each one that we made.

It was nice to have the fondant toppers made, dried and packed to take on the plane, but my job was easy compared to the countless hours Sue put in. From 9am Friday morning when she picked my daughter and I up at the airport until Sunday at 6pm, she did not sleep once. As an ER nurse, she may be used to those hours, but even if that's the case, I was still blown away by her energy. She led our collective team down a rabbit hole of crafts and turns and stores and ideas that only a Mad Hatter could dream up. So with the help of brothers, sisters, nieces, great nieces, nephews, future grandparents, daughters, and a handful of good friends, this party's atmosphere was formed and created within 48 hours. I often wonder how those people on pinterest create the functions that they do. Or how they pull off those amazing event themes they post. I am here to tell you that there is no way they do it by themselves.  I can honestly tell you it takes a Mad Mad team to pull off a Mad Hatter Tea Party without having to hear "Off with her Head"... I'm jus sayin!

The Main Dining room for the Tea!

The Amazing Centerpieces (such attention to detail & everything handmade)

Of course, no baby shower these days is complete without a "diaper cake". How clever is this topsy turvy cake made collectively by Mackenzie, Melissa & Kevin (I especially like the tea pouring half-hazzardly out of the pot into the cup.

Did I mention that every tea pot and tea cup and paper item was hand made and folded using a cricut?

We had guest participation too. How creative are you at painting a saying on a onesie?

Speaking of creative - my brother custom designed this croquet set. Now you know what I mean when I say my daughter got her artistic genes from him. This is so cool and the kids (and adults) had a great time playing. 

Yes my beautiful daughter stayed up to 3am designing and painting this photo booth. (I personally think she has her Uncle's artistic genes)

There was a sugar sweet candy bar that Sue's friend Delaney put together. As you can see, this is not her first time putting one of these objects of confections together. She has a great eye for detail.

One thing my niece had insisted on was pom poms and she wanted them hanging everywhere. Pom poms she made and they were beautiful hanging from the ceiling in her signature colors.

Behind the scenes making of the diaper cake. That's my sweet niece Melissa and she spent alot of time on finishing that cake.

This is my sweet little MackaRone (aka Mackenzie, aka soon-to-be big sister). I let her place all of the fondant toppers on the cupcakes. She has so much attention to detail with tasks that are given to her. Do I see Chef in her future????

Time to eat!

The buffet table almost filled

Bacon Wrapped Pretzel Rods.
Preheat oven to 350'
Line a cookie sheet with foil and then parchment paper.
Wrap one slice of bacon around a pretzel rod. Place in a row with as many as you prefer on a cookie sheet so that they are not touching. Sprinkle lightly with brown sugar and chili powder. Bake 20 minutes or until the bacon is cooked. Remove to a plate to dry. Rods will be soft and wiggly at first due to the heat and bacon drippings. When they cool the will become hard again to place in an upright vase to serve. ~Hint~ Make extras as they go fast.

Meatball Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350'
Use foil/parchment lined cupcake liners.
Make your favorite meatloaf recipe. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop one ball into each liner in a muffin pan. Make a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, and chili powder. Spoon a tablespoon on top of each meatball. Bake for 25 minutes in oven. Remove and when cool to touch, pick up each muffin and try to drain some of the fat out. This can be a little tedious but less fat means less splatters on the eaters. Make your favorite mashed potato recipe. Pipe it on the top of the meatball (frosting) and sprinkle with bacon bits (and shredded cheese if you prefer). Top with a cherry tomato if you like.  Refrigerate until serving where you can warm them in the oven at 200' for 15 min.

I had leftover mashed potatoes so I piped small rosettes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and sprinkled with cheese and paprika. Baked until set, about 15 minutes in a 350' oven. They went fast with all those helpers.

A quick recipe I found here - I substituted large slices of pepperoni with these cute little minis. I doubled the batch as well.

My sweet niece and nephew - Can't wait to welcome baby Jayden!

Are you ready for Dessert?

We had red velvet and chocolate cupcakes. Topped with brilliant colored buttercream. And each had a topper on them and my signature "orange" pansy. We also purchased plenty of delicious tea cookies and I made a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries as a last minute request.

I used this recipe for the marshmallow fondant and this tutorial for help.

My Sister in Love Suzie

12 Days of Meyers - Meyer Ricotta Cheese Skillet Cake

I first met Elizabeth a couple years ago at the Tech Munch Conference here in Austin. We were sitting next to each other and I originally thought she was a model. Tall, gorgeous and owner of an amazing smile, I wanted to break the ice and introduce myself so I went to the complimentary snack table and loaded up on several pieces of Miles of Chocolate Brownies. When I sat back down, I offered her some and we have been friends ever since. It’s no surprise to me that Local Savour's following reaches far beyond just Austin. She has a passion and desire to take local, in-season ingredients and create easy and tasty dishes with them. Her success and reputation grows with each award she wins, e-books or videos she produces, or story she posts. To me, this recipe sums her up completely. It’s fresh, light, easy and beautiful. Enjoy!

When we first bought our current house, one of our good friends (that happens to have studied horticulture) gave us some great advice. "Plant fruit trees," she said, "It's the one regret that I have from when we bought our own house." Our friend eventually planted fruit trees in her yard but not until after they had lived there for over 10 years. "We could have been enjoying fresh fruit from our yard all of that time," she continued, "They are just now producing fruit." SO ... one of the first things we did was plant fruit trees in our new yard. We have only seen a few fruits develop over the last couple of years and I am eagerly waiting to see if this is THE year for our trees but for now we are lucky to know a few folks that are already enjoying the fruits of their labor (ha!) and are willing to share their delicious produce with us. One such friend is Kristina from Girl Gone Grits. Her backyard Meyer Lemon trees have been bearing a healthy amount of fruit for a few years and she has graciously shared a large basket of the sweet and tart yellow spheres along with her sinfully delicious Limoncello recipe.

What's a girl to do with copious amounts of lemons? Host a 12 Days of Meyer Lemon Recipe Event of course. Visit Girl Gone Grits for more amazing recipes with Meyer Lemons.

And in the meantime, I really can not think of a better way to ring in the new year than with a good slice of an easy-to-bake cake. Not everyone enjoys tasting lemon in their desserts but I have always adored a little zest in mine. The combination of tangy lemon blended with creamy ricotta cheese has long been one of my favorite blends when it comes to the classics and this warm Meyer Lemon and Ricotta Cheese Skillet Cake doesn't disappoint  –– it's going to be a great year.

Meyer Lemon and Ricotta Cheese Skillet Cake

Ingredients

• 2 medium Meyer lemons - zest and juice
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• For the glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 medium Meyer lemon zest & juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use one Tablespoon of butter to coat a heavy duty or cast-iron 10-12" pan and set aside.
3. In a large bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir together well. Next, add milk, egg, ricotta cheese, lemon zest and juice, and remaining melted butter and continue to stir together well until the batter is formed.
4. Pour batter into the buttered pan and then sprinkle with remaining Tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until outer edges are slightly golden and center is cooked through.
5. Remove from the oven and make glaze.
6. Add powdered sugar, lemon zest and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and stir well until it becomes honey like in texture adding a touch more lemon juice if needed, 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Drizzle glaze over cake and serve