Hippity Hoppity, Easter's On It's Way!

Learn how to make these eggs and more at Martha Stewart. Some appear to be a little complicated, but others seem doable. Whether you're going to make them or not, they're beautiful to look at. Check out the rest of them at Martha Stewart.

Cheeky Chickens

Striped Crepe Paper Eggs

Oversize Botanical Decoupage Easter Eggs.
Big-Eared Bunny

Puddly Pig

Simple

Foto: Mari Eriksson

Heavenly Holiday Desserts

They look impressive and taste divine, but the really extraordinary thing about these fabulous desserts from Southern Living is how easy they are to prepare.

Double Citrus Tart
Mary Allen Perry

Easy as icebox pie, this party-pretty tart pairs the bright fresh flavors of lemon and orange with a crisp gingersnap crust. It's just the right finish for a rich holiday meal, and freezes beautifully. Prepare the tart up to 1 month ahead, omitting the whipped cream and garnish; chill as directed. Remove the metal rim of the tart pan; cover and freeze in a zip-top freezer bag. Thaw overnight in refrigerator; add whipped cream and garnish up to 4 hours before serving.

Prep: 30 min., Bake: 25 min., Chill: 4 hrs.

Yield

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Garnishes: fresh mint leaves, lemon and orange slices

Preparation

Stir together first 4 ingredients. Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom; set aside.

Whisk together sweetened condensed milk, orange juice concentrate, lemon juice, and egg yolks until blended.

Beat egg whites at medium speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; fold into condensed milk mixture. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 325° for 20 to 25 minutes or just until filling is set. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. Remove tart from pan, and place on a serving dish.

Beat whipping cream and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Dollop around edges of tart; garnish, if desired.

Mary Ann Lee, Marco Island, Florida, Southern Living, MARCH 2005

Chocolate Fudge Cheese Cake

Mary Allen Perry

Never fearing too much of a good thing, SL topped their best-ever brownie batter with a ribbon of feather-light cheesecake, and poured on a chocolate truffle glaze.

The recipe makes 2 triple-layered treats – perfect for serving a crowd or sharing as a gift.

Prep: 30 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 15 min.; Chill: 8 hrs.

Yield

Makes 2 (9-inch) cheesecakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
• 4 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 7 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 Chocolate Glaze (follows)
  
• Garnishes: fresh mint sprigs, sliced strawberries

Preparation

Sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans evenly over the bottom of each of 2 greased and floured 9-inch springform pans.

Microwave chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30-second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth.

Beat butter and 2 cups sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.

Add flour, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and chocolate morsels. Divide batter evenly between pans, spreading over chopped pecans.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth; add 1 3/4 cups sugar, beating until blended. Add 7 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Divide cream cheese mixture evenly between each pan, spreading over brownie batter.

Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until set. Remove from oven; cool completely on wire racks.

Spread top of each cooled cheesecake with 1 recipe Chocolate Glaze; cover and chill 8 hours. Remove sides of pans before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Note: We topped each cheesecake with 1 full recipe of Chocolate Glaze. For a thinner layer of chocolate on top, divide 1 recipe of glaze between the two cakes.

Southern Living, DECEMBER 2005

Chocolate Glaze

Yield

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Preparation

Melt 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels and 1/2 cup whipping cream in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.

Southern Living, DECEMBER 2005

Raspberry Tiramisù Bites

Photo: William Dickey; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey

These luscious little gems are so quick to fix you can make dozens at a time. Inexpensive shot glasses sparkle as contemporary dessert dishes. For large parties, miniature (5-oz.) clear-plastic tumblers, available from party stores, are a great option.

Prep: 30 min., Chill: 2 hr. There are crisp Italian cookies also called ladyfingers, but be sure to use soft ones in this recipe. Look for them in the bakery or produce section of your supermarket.

Yield

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur
• 1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ladyfingers, halved crosswise
• 8 fresh raspberries
• Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

1. Microwave raspberry preserves in a small microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 20 seconds. Stir in liqueur.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy (about 1 minute).

3. Beat heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into a zip-top plastic bag. (Do not seal.) Snip 1 corner of bag with scissors to make a hole (about 1/2 inch in diameter).

4. Press 1 ladyfinger half onto bottom of 1 (1 1/2-oz.) shot glass. Repeat procedure with 7 more shot glasses. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp. raspberry mixture into each glass. Pipe a small amount of cream cheese mixture evenly into each glass. Repeat procedure with remaining ladyfingers, raspberry mixture, and cream cheese mixture. Top each glass with 1 raspberry. Cover and chill 2 hours. Garnish, if desired.

Stephanie Hawkins, Charleston, South Carolina, Southern Living, MARCH 2008

Source: Southern Living

More Than One Way To Have A White Christmas

For holiday sparkle, choose white and silver accents for a shimmery holiday glow.



Photos: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn
Source: Coastal Living

Today's Christmas Wreath

photo credit: Minna Mercke Schmidt
Country Living

au naturale

If you're thinking of forsaking the traditional red and green, why not try the natural colors of nature found in this beautiful garland?

photo credit: Brooke Slezak
Source: Country Living

Simple Decoration

A rustic door and luxurious velvet ribbon make for an elegant but simple detail

Today's Christmas Wreath

Photo: Minna Mercke Schmidt

This season, look no further than the backyard to find what you need to fashion natural and elegant holiday wreaths. Photographer, blogger, and floral design teacher Minna Mercke Schmidt crafts wreaths and arrangements from materials culled from her farm and garden in Sweden.

To read more about this wreath, click on the photo.

Source: Country Living

Today's Christmas Wreath

Blue Spruce Wreath Trio

Ring in the winter holidays with an impressive yet easy-to-make decoration for the front door that packs a beribboned triple punch.

For information on how to make this trio of wreaths, click on the photo.

Source: Martha Stewart

Today's Christmas Wreath

Photo: Robin Stubbert

Hydrangeas always remind me of my mother. They're a lovely and old fashioned flower. She grew them when I was a little girl, and I was lucky enough to get an offshoot of one of her original shrubs. My husband planted it in a flower bed in our yard for me. On long summer days, I can look out my window and see cool, blue spheres swaying in the breeze.

Blue hydrangea blossoms are the stars of this wreath. Green apples, fresh pine and cedar are the background singers. While this wreath was made for Christmas, I think I will make one like it for spring, and every time I look at it, I will think of Mama.

Source: Country Living

Traditional Christmas Table Setting

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

There are as many choices as there are people, but you can't go wrong with the traditional colors of this holiday table. Red napkins, a green boxwood garland, and white candles and china make this setting both traditional and beautiful.

The garland doesn't have to be boxwood. You can probably find something beautiful growing in your back yard. Put a pillar candle in a glass container and pile cranberries around it for the rich color. And sometimes you don't even have to bother with a table cloth or place mats. No need to spot clean Grandmother's table linens before you go to bed on Christmas night. Now, that's simple.

Source: Cooking Light

Display Your Antique Ornaments

Sadly, I have no remaining Christmas tree ornaments from my childhood, though, I've taken great care to properly store the ornaments from my son's childhood. Every year I wrap them in tissue paper, and they're never stores in a garage, basement or attic. They're placed in a closet that's located in a part of the house where the temperature and humidity are relatively constant.

Fortunately, some of the ornaments from my husband's childhood survived. Every year we place some of them in an antique fruit compote that belonged to his mother. It may be my favorite decoration of the season. The compote is not especially large, and the ornaments are not particularly elaborate or of great value, but they are part of his tradition, and that is where their true value lies. As we unwrap them every year, we admire the beauty of the subtle colors and the soft patina that can only be achieved with the passing of years. It's a ritual that reminds him of his mother and father and Christmases past.

Some of the following ideas that could be utilized in displaying fragile antique ornaments, remind me of our own holiday tradition.

Photo: Steven Randazzo

Photo: Janis Nicolay

Photo: Keith Scott Morton

Photo: Robin Stubbert

Photo: Steven Randazzo

Photo: Keith Scott Morton

Country Living

Today's Christmas Wreath

Silver Stars

Put some sparkle in your outdoor decorations with this small, sparkly wreath.

How to make it: Add a spray of chenille stems and pre-cut wood stars to an evergreen circle, and you have a wreath to wish upon. Wrap a length of bead garland loosely around the bottom, and add stars with holes drilled into them for hanging. Wire the chenille stems into the greenery.

Source: BHG

Jingle Bell Wreath

Savoring Simplicity has moved to WordPress. Please, join us at http://savoringsimplicity.wordpress.com/ or click here.


At the touch of a doorknob, this small wreath will fill your home with the delightful jingle of sleigh bells.
Martha Stewart