Allison Cafe

As 2009 comes to an end and we make plans for the year ahead, it is a great time to reflect and to count our blessings. We feel truly thankful for all of our loving friends and family. We were blessed in so many ways this year. 2009 was a year full of ups and downs but we enjoyed every minute. We especially enjoyed the time that unemployment gave us to spend with each other and with friends and family. Thank you to all of our readers and thank you to our friends and family for your love and support.

Here is to a happy and healthy 2010!

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you are your thankful for, share a favorite memory from this past year or a goal for next year.

For many of us in the United States, New Year’s Eve parties conjure up memories of watching Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve bash on television, sipping champagne at midnight, and unfortunately crowded bars and restaurants with ridiculous cover charges. I have long loathed that last one. To me, New Year’s Eve has been more about spending time with close friends and family, and of course that special someone to kiss at midnight. It has been less about needing to attend large parties and spending ridiculous amounts of money just to be there. Do not get me wrong, those events can be fun sometimes, but many times I would much rather be in a smaller setting ringing in the new year with the ones I love and not hundreds of strangers.

I think that is why a lot of people decide to create their own party and host it at home. Not only is it a lot more affordable, it also can be a more intimate event. And it can still be just as chic and fun as the trendiest clubs, if you take the time to decorate. And do not be afraid to ask guests to contribute to the menu. Hosting it as a pot luck can actually be a lot less work for the host and make guests feel like part of the planning committee. And let’s be honest, not all of our friends want to cook for the party, so task those guests with bringing other key ingredients like beverages.

New Year’s Eve should (more…)

Vote For Me!

Hi Friends, our furry family member, Hayley, has been entered into the Muttroplois photo contest. You can click on each photo once a day, per pet, between now and Dec. 17th to vote. The pet with the most votes will win the $1,000 grand prize. Hayley is really hoping to win so we will buy her even more goodies! Thanks for your support, visit the link below to cast your vote today!

Click here for Hayley’s page:

http://photocontest.muttropolis.com/photo.aspx?Id=851

Stones Into Schools

We met Dr. Greg last night! I was so excited to meet him, that my very patient husband and I waited in line for over an hour to have our copy of his new book signed. It was worth the wait! Our local bookstore, Warwicks, along with several other local groups organized an evening with the best selling author of Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson. His latest book, Stones Into Schools, was released on December 1, 2009. After reading Three Cups of Tea this past summer, I was eager to read Greg’s new book. Stones Into Schools picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off in his journey to promote peace.

There are several things that I took away from the presentation and book signing event yesterday evening. First of all, hearing Greg speak and meeting him in person reinforced his message for me. Change is not created by addressing the negative, it is inspired by hope. And in this case, the hope for peace specifically.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

He spoke specifically about the subtitle of his first book. And talked about why the subtitle reads “one man’s mission to promote peace…” and not “one man’s mission to fight terrorism…”. What I also appreciated about meeting Greg in person is that I got to fully experience his brand. Let me explain. If you have read the books you know that Greg is a modest and often quiet person. He is not one to place emphasis on the material things in life and he does not particularly take pleasure from the sales aspect of his profession. Hearing him speak last night I took note of his mannerisms and appearance. He was dressed nicely but he did not dress the part of a well polished business person in a well tailored suit. That just isn’t part of the Greg Mortenson brand. Nor should it be, after all this is a man who gives tirelessly and selflessly to a higher cause. His work has been so influential that his books are now required reading for many military personnel and he has even recently been nominated for a Noble Peace Prize.

Image from Three Cups of Tea, Greg reading to school children

But appearances aside, the biggest illustration of the Greg Mortenson brand is the smile that he is always wearing and his strong bond with children. At last night’s event there was a group of school children in the front row. The children had raised over $2,500 for Greg’s Pennies for Peace organization. You could tell by the way that he spoke to and involved the children in his presentation that he truly does draw strength and inspiration from working with kids.

I also appreciated his message that we all can make a difference in our communities, and that there has been a bigger movement in recent years to make our communities a better place. One such example that he gave was about an 11 year old boy from Florida who created a non-profit called The Little Red Wagon Foundation. He raised thousands dollars to bring awareness to the issue of homelessness among kids in his city. Next year he plans to walk across the country to raise a million dollars to bring awareness to the issue across the country. He sounds like a truly remarkable kid.

Me with Greg Mortenson in La Jolla

When I finally got to meet Greg at the book signing, it was well worth the wait. I shared with him that as someone from Montana, I also appreciated hearing about his time in Montana as well. Even though it was almost 10pm and the line was still hours long behind us, he took the time to shake our hands and make us feel important. I think that is the charm of Dr. Greg, he has a calmness to him and an ability to connect with people on a very basic level. And in these days where we are all rushing from place to place and communicating mostly in digital worlds, Dr. Greg reminds us of the importance to actually spend time with people in person and build relationships. Thanks Dr. Greg, for all that you do.

Oh, and my apologies to the Warwicks crew, we told them we wanted to have my husband take a non-posed picture of Greg signing my book for me (posed pictures were not allowed), and somehow it turned into a posed photo. My face turned so red, I felt like I was breaking the rules! Sorry Warwicks! But while we are on that note, I have to say that Susan McBeth and her team that helped organize last night’s event are owed a huge round of thank yous for a fantastic evening. Here are the links to buy the books from Warwicks, as of last night they still had some signed copies of the children’s book Listen to the Wind, you may want to contact them to see what signed copies they might have left:

Stones Into Schools (hardcover)

Three Cups of Tea (paperback)

Three Cups of Tea- Young Readers Version (paperback)

Listen to the Wind (children’s edition of Three Cups of Tea)

Enter to win a handmade coffee cuff and coffee gift card!

The talented team at the Domestic Nest is conducting another fabulous giveaway this week.

Visit their blog post here for the giveaway and submit your comment before December 15th (12AM PST) for a chance to win.

The Domestic Nest

Besides being unique and creative, these coffee cuffs are the eco alternative to the paper ones. These would be a great gift for that ‘hard to buy for guy’ or your favorite latte lover.

Coconut Snowballs

Looking for an easy, creative and fun way to have ice cream already scooped for a party? Looking for an easy kitchen activity to make with your kids? This is super easy and saves you time when you are ready to serve the ice cream. And you can even offer “on the side” options at serving time to make these even tastier. Try a de-constructed Almond Joy by offering chocolate sauce and chopped almonds as toppings.

Recipe adapted from Real Simple. Makes 15-20 snowballs.

Ingredients

• ½ gallon French Vanilla or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (homemade recommended)
• 1 14 oz package shredded sweetened coconut

Preparation

Place the coconut on a plate. Using a 1 ½ inch ice cream scoop, scoop the ice cream into balls and then roll the balls in the coconut. Place the balls in foil or mini muffin liners and set on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve along with chocolate and caramel sauce as optional toppings for your guests.

Creative Cookie Packaging

We can’t all be like Martha Stewart, or can we? There are some really simple and creative ways to package your baked goods for friends and family this holiday season. Some of these tips are inspired by the Queen of crafting herself and others are from our own favorite gifts we have received recently. I used this simple wrapping to bring some of the festival crescents I made to my Mom’s house. It looked so much fancier than plain Tupperware. Happy crafting!

Cookie Packaging Ideas, A 5 Step Easy Gift Wrapping Project

Step 1: Visit your local art supply store and purchase some basic white or brown boxes of varying sizes.

Gather Supplies Like Unused Scraps of Wrapping Paper, Scissors, Ribbon and a Plain Box

Step 2: Use those scraps of wrapping paper that you have lying around your house that are too small to wrap a package, but are the perfect size for the top of the cookie boxes.

Cut The Paper To Fit Your Box, Use Double Sided Tape to Adhere

Step 3: Line the boxes with parchment paper, and/or muffin liners if the box is large and you are including several varieties of cookies. The muffin liners will help ensure that the cookies don’t mingle too much on the way to your host’s home. You can separate layers of cookies with a sheet of parchment paper cut to size for your box.

Line The Box and Fill It Up

Step 4: Purchase, or use ribbon you already own, to tie the boxes as gifts. I save pretty ribbon that I receive throughout the year and recycle it for projects like this, it is a great way to dress up your cookie boxes.

Tie It With a Simple Ribbon

Step 5: This step is optional but if you are looking to add a little more “bling” to your package, consider creating gift tags that either simply have a greeting, your recipient’s name on them, or detail any cookie names or food warnings such as “may contain nuts”.

Creative Cookie Packaging

That is it, you’re done and your cute cookie boxes will leave your friends wondering where you got your Martha inspiration for the day!

Have you ever wondered why the holidays stir up memories of the smell of baked goods wafting from the kitchen? There is something about November and December that just makes some of us want to spend more time in the kitchen. Perhaps it is not only the sweet taste of sugar, but the memories that cookies create.

As a kid I can remember spending time in the kitchen helping my mom make cookies. There was something so magical about being asked to help with the oh so important Christmas cookie. Everyone had their favorite cookie. My dad loved the powdered date balls, and I think he still does. My favorite was the thumb-print cookie, which was a bite-size cookie covered in nuts and had a maraschino cherry or large chocolate chip pressed into the center of it. Those were super fun to make as a kid, I had a fabulous time and felt great responsibility when given the task of placing the cherries onto the cookies.

Now that I have a kitchen of my own, I am in the cookie driver’s seat and recently found myself with the profound decision of what cookie traditions to start in our home. With pride in my own roots and an exploration of my husband’s Greek heritage, I decided to try some ethnic recipes. I noticed some similarities between a Hungarian nut horn recipe and a Greek festival crescent recipe that I had been given. Deciding that those recipes would be a good blend of our family tree, I started baking.

Making the nutty crescent cookies was surprisingly simple. You simply combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, shape them, bake them, and then coat them with sugar. It also was a welcome distraction from all the other holiday stresses, like shopping, creating holiday cards and planning the side dish recipes for the holiday meals. Realizing that the cookie production had taken my mind off of everything else is when I decided that making cookies is great therapy.

Some recipes require your complete concentration. Have you ever made a batch of baked goods while attempting several other household tasks, only to find that the finished product is sub-par? Either because you did not take the time to measure evenly, forgot an ingredient, or baked the items at the wrong temperature or for the wrong time? If you had just let yourself live in the moment you could have ended up not only with a better baked good, but possibly with a happier state of mind.

There is something so sublime about getting lost in baking cookies or frosting a cupcake. It becomes less about the anticipation of eating the sweets and more about the pride in a job well done, perhaps while enjoying the baking journey along the way. And if you can employ the little helpers in your life in the kitchen, you are creating a wonderful bonding experience and lifetime of holiday memories. Happy baking!

Festival Crescents

Just in time for your holiday baking! This is a super easy recipe and can be served as a accompaniment to coffee in the morning or as a sweet anytime. These cookies are subtly sweet, so they are sure to please any crowd. Makes 12-15 cookies.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup hazelnuts or almonds, or a combination of both
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/8 cup superfine sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp brandy, or Metexa Greek brandy
• ¼ cup cornstarch or arrowroot
• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (Note: you can use whole wheat flour, but the end result will be a little “heavier” tasting)
• Orange-flower water
• Powdered sugar

Easy and festive

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly butter. In a food processor, chop the nuts finely but without reducing them to ground nuts. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and brandy, then stir in the nuts. Sift the starch and flour over the mixture and stir. Add more flour if necessary in order to create a firm dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a clean working surface. You may wish to lightly flour your hands. Break off a small piece of dough and roll into a small ball, then place the ball on the clean surface and roll into a 3 inch log, tapering into pointed ends. Shape into a crescent and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the crescents are made. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the cookies are firm but not too brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Pour the orange-flower water into a small bowl. Place the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Dip the crescents into the water quickly and then into the sugar to coat them completely. Store them loosely in an airtight container.