Christmas Cookie Exchange 2010!

We had a great time at Jayna's home!  I am so impressed with all of the amazing baker-rellas in our ward!  Wow!  Tasty! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!

Don't forget to give your recipe to Jayna by this Sunday so she can compile them for everyone!

Super Saturday!

Lighted Garland Tree - $14 for Silver, $16 for Gold

Rice Heating Pads - $3

Glass Etching on Pans - $3 per pan (please provide your own glass pan)

Silver Leaf Temple Pictures - $6 each (black or sliver frame)

Please join us for a fun-filled Saturday morning!  We are going to be crafting up lots of great projects!

When:  December 4th @ 9-12.

Where: Church bldg.

72-Hour Kits

 

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT MADE IT!

Cars 101

We want to thank Jayna Smith for teaching the activity on basic car maintenance. Changing a tire was a lot easier than we all thought it would be! We want to thank everyone for coming and had such a great turnout!

Here are the tips she gave us!

Changing a Tire:

1. Find a stable and safe place to work and make sure that the car cannot roll

2. Take out the spare tire and the jack. Place the jack under the METAL part of the frame near the tire that you are going to change.

3. Raise the jack until it is supporting, but not lifting the car. Remove the hubcap and loosen, but do not remove the nuts by turning counterclockwise.

4. Pump or crank the jack to life the tire off the ground.

5. Remove the nuts the rest of the way and remove the tire. If the tire does not move, a nice kick sometimes does the trick!

6. Place the spare tire on the hub and replace and tighten the nuts. It is the best to do this in a star pattern to insure that the tire fits snug on the hub.

7. Lower the car to the ground. Finish tightening the nuts as much as possible.

8. Place the flat tire in the trunk and remember to put away all tools.

JUMP STARTING A CAR:

1. Turn on your headlights. If your headlights or dash lights are dim, your battery is most likely your culprit.

2. Park working car near the disabled car as close as possible, open hoods of each car and locate the batteries.

3. Make sure the RED and BLACK ends of your jumper cables never touch each other once they are connected to the batteries. Failing to do so can result in serious shocks and damage to both cars.

4. Connect the jumper cables in the following order:

RED clamp to the POSITIVE terminal of the dead battery.

RED clamp to the POSITIVE terminal of the good battery.

BLACK clamp to the NEGATIVE terminal of the good battery.

Black clamp to the NEGATIVE terminal of the bad battery.

5. Start the working car, wait 30 seconds and then start the disabled car.

6. Remove the jumper cables once the car starts. Do this in reverse order in which they were attached.

7. Keep the disabled car engine running for a minimun of 20 minutes.

Water Aerobics

We want to thank Ashley for teaching our water aerobics class this week! We got a great work out and enjoyed our fresh salads afterwards!

Kimber's Pasta Recipes

We want to thank Kimber for teaching us how to make delicious homemade pasta that is a lot easier than we all thought! She made delicious Basil pasta, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Carrot Pasta and Beet Gnocchi.

Kimber dresses the Basil Pasta with Olive Oil and Parmesan cheese

Rolling out the Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Letting the Carrot Pasta dry

THANKS AGAIN KIMBER! IT WAS DELICIOUS!

Ricotta Squash Gnocchi

2 lbs butternut squash/sweet potato/pumpkin

1 large egg

1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese

¾ c grated parmesan (or similar) cheese

1 2/3 c flour

Beet Gnocchi

3 small beets, trimmed
1 pound ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1 large egg
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups flour, divided (I had to add more flour to the dough. use your judgement)

Gnocchi instructions – combine into soft dough, roll into 1-in tubes, cut into 1-in segments, press with back of fork.

Plain Egg pasta

2 c flour (plus extra for dusting)

3 eggs

(combine into dough either by hand, mixer or food processor. Knead until smooth and elastic, not too soft)

Carrot Pasta

3-4 medium size carrots (cut into 1in chunks, steam & puree)

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

2 ½ c flour

1 tsp+ course salt

(combine in food processor and then turn onto board and knead a few minutes with extra flour.)

Basil Pasta

2 c flour

1 ½ c. fresh basil leaves

¼ c parmesan or similar

3 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk

(combine flour, basil & cheese in food processor or blender. Add in eggs to processor or by hand. Knead.)

For above 3 pasta recipes, you can roll thin with pasta maker or rolling pin and cut with pizza cutter into desired width.

Bishop's Store House Activity

Thank you to all the girls that came and helped at the Bishop's Store House project! We really appreciate the time you took out of your Saturday to help serve!

Here are some fun pictures of our girls!

Cooking Club... Creme Brulee

Thank you Jenna for teaching this awesome class! You are wonderful!!!

Classic Crème Brûlée Recipe -serves 6

2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

4-inch piece vanilla bean, or 1t good vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks

1/3 cup granulated sugar

6 T granulated sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 275˚

Pour the cream into a medium saucepan, split the vanilla bean lengthwise down the middle and scrape the seeds and add those to the cream. Place over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool while whisking the eggs. Remove vanilla bean and scrape any remaining seeds into the cream.

Whisk the egg yolks until pale lemon in color then whisk in 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved. Temper the eggs by adding a few tablespoons of the cream and incorporating it before whisking in the rest of the cream. Don’t over beat (bubbles are not desirable.)

Place 6 (or more, depending on size) ramekins in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet. Divide the custard mixture among the ramekins. Pour warm water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the dishes.

Baking

The exact cooking time depends on the size and shape of your ramekins. If you are making this recipe for the first time and are unsure how long to cook it for, simply cook for 50 minutes and then check every 10 minutes until done. A good trick for checking when it is cooked is to stick a toothpick in the center; if it comes out clean (or with crumbs on it) then cooking is complete. If it comes out wet then cook another 10 minutes and check again. Don't overcook as the texture will become too firm rather than creamy. Once you've made the recipe successfully, simply note the cooking time you've used and always use the same in future.

Caramelizing

After baking let cool briefly then refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. When ready to serve, evenly sprinkle 1T sugar on each custard and using a blowtorch, caramelize the sugar by holding the torch 4 inches from each custard and passing it constantly over the sugar so it browns evenly. When using a broiler, place the dishes on a cookie sheet about 4 inches from the heat source. Watch carefully and turn the cookie sheet to brown the custards evenly. If a broiler is used, refrigerate the crème brûlées for 5 minutes to cool slightly before serving.

Variations

crema catalana – omit the vanilla and add 1 cinnamon stick, ¼ t freshly grated

nutmeg and 2 T lemon zest to the cream.

crème brûlée à l’orange – omit the vanilla and add 2 t orange zest and 3 T

Grand Marnier or other orange liquer.

berry patch crème brûlée - omit the vanilla bean/vanilla, reduce cream to 1 2/3

cups and add 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese or sour

cream. Do not cook the cream. Simply whisk egg

yolks as in original recipe then whisk in mascarpone

or sour cream and cream. Divide 2 cups mixed

berries among the ramekins and pour cream on top.

After caramelizing, garnish with an additional ½ cup berries.