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

Dinner For Ruby's Parents

It was a few years ago that I first had the honor of meeting Shelley from FranishSpeaks. It was at the first Austin Food Swap and not knowing what to expect, I showed up so nervous about my wares that I simply looked for the friendly smile of anyone to cling too. I know that sounds cheesy but it's true. There was Shelley smiling away and eager to put the first handshake forward.  Since then we have become friends as well as fellow food bloggers. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was when she announced she was going to have a little girl. Her friend and fellow food blogger Ilke came up with this great idea to host a virtual food shower. Bloggers were invited to post one of there "freezer friendly" recipes during the week of June 27th. This would give plenty of time for Shelly to prepare and freeze a number of go-to, heat-and-serve meals for when that sweet little Baby Ruby makes her debut in August. So what do you cook for a dad who is a professional chef and a mom who is a trained pastry chef?  As daunting as that may seem, I know that their professions will be the last thing they are thinking about after being up all night with that sweet little one. Many of us have been there and we know that just about anything that can be thrown together quickly or heated up fast will fit the bill and be appreciated.  But even with that, the challenge is still to make a dish packed with flavor so I thought I would do a pasta recipe that my family loves and, as a Steel Magnolia once said, "freezes beautifully".  After all, Baby Ruby is a soon-to-be special dinner guest and though she may not be eating the same food as her parents, she will definitely be the honored guest at the dinner table... I'm jus' sayin'! 

Ruby Red Tomato Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound tube pasta such as penne or rigatoni (I used Trottole  because I had it on hand)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally (I sliced mine 1/4" thin while still frozen.  Pre-cutting and cooking at this size saves valuable cooking time)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. of crushed garlic
• 6 cups whole milk
• 1 large portabella mushroom, finely diced
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella (6 ounces)
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
• 1 cup of bread crumbs (I used day-old garlic bread that I put in my food processor to create crumbs)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season sliced chicken with salt and pepper. Saute until golden. Set aside.
• In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in mozzarella and parmesan.
• Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each casserole with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.
  
• Wrap one in plastic wrap and then foil to tuck away in the freezer. Make sure you put a little sticky note or write with a sharpie on the foil that there is a layer of plastic wrap under the foil. (no new parent should have to deal with that mess) Also, if you are giving the freezer one away, place a card with the re-heating directions directly with the dish.
• Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Speck of Ruby Salad 

Ingredients:

1 head of butter lettuce

1 Rio Red Ruby Grapefruit, peeled and supremed (reserve juice)

1 avocado peeled and sliced
Dried Cranberries
Crumbled Blue Cheese

Grapefruit Vinaigrette:

• 
  
• Reserved juice from grapefruit and enough extra to make up 1/4 cup of juice.
• 1 Tablespoon of Agave or Honey
• 1 Teaspoon of Honey Mustard
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 6 Tablespoons of olive oil
• In a small jar combine the ingredients and shake vigorously until thick and emulsified. Keep leftover in fridge for up to 3 weeks.
• Gently wash and tear lettuce into large leaf bite sizes. Arrange the avocado and grapefruit slices on lettuce leaves. Sprinkle dried cranberries and cheese over the top. 
  Drizzle with vinaigrette. 

http://youtu.be/kjIGU4BCpn8

Ruby Red Spritzer

Pomegranate Juice

Sparkling Water

Pitted Cherries.

Fresh Lime juice

Drizzle of Agave syrup (too taste)

Ice

In a tall, ice-filled glass, fill 1/3 of the glass with  pomegranate juice. Fill the glass with sparkling water and drizzle agave and squeezed fresh lime to taste. Garnish by floating a cherry or two on top. Now sit back for a moment and relax as theses moments will be rare. 

Check out all the other Bloggers that chimed in on Ruby's welcome.
Anna from Keep It Luce
Carrie from Bakeaholic Mama
Elaine from California Living
Esra from Irmik Hanim
Ilke from Ilke’s Kitchen
Jennie from Pastry Chef Online
Jennifer from Scissors and Spatulas
Lana from Bibberche
Lisa from Lisa Is Cooking
Renee from Sweet Sugar Bean
Robin from A Chow Life
Sarah from Snippets of Thyme