Party Appetizer made Simple

Stress Free and Good Looking Recipes

Christmas can be a stressful time for everyone, but in particular for my mom. She has to buy all the presents for everyone, send Christmas letters and on top of that she bakes hundreds of Christmas cookies. We have a party every Christmas Eve at our house, so I decided to be helpful and make a party dip as one of the dishes, which was a perfect blogging opportunity.  I decided to make spicy corn dip (pictured below) which was something I had never had or made before. I got the recipe from the Upscale Downhome cookbook by Rachel Hollis and she mentioned in the book that this dip was one of the most popular recipes on her website (Hollis, 62) so I hoped it would be a good choice for the party.

When I do cook food I usually always make it last minute when I haven't even fully read through the preparation directions. But this time, since I was making it for a special occasion, I took the time to read through the directions the night before so I knew exactly how long this was going to take me. So, the morning of Christmas Eve I woke up early to start prepping my dish because Rachel Hollis had said in her cookbook "Whether it's for twelve people or for two, or just you and your cat, the fact that you put effort into the preparation made it something special" (Hollis, 8). I had fully made the dip before church and was just able to put it into the fridge until closer to the party when it needed to be cooked. Rachel Hollis was right, everybody at the party enjoyed my dip and I thought the bell pepper and scallions added nice color to the dish, so overall it was a success!

What is your favorite party dish? Why is it your favorite?

Hollis, Rachel. Upscale Downhome: Family Recipes, All Gussied Up. Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Griffin, 2016.                                                   

Strawberry and Cream Sponge Cake (Christmas Edition)

For Christmas, I've decided to make a strawberry and cream sponge cake. The cake is very common in Asian culture to have during Christmas, especially for Japanese people. This dessert is made of a soft and airy sponge cake base, sandwiched with freshly whipped strawberry cream and some fresh-cut strawberries. For my cake, I named it Strawberry Wonderland.🍓☃🏘

Ingredients:                                              Sponge cake:        Whipped Cream:

4 eggs🥚            3/4pintof heavy whipping cream

70grams of sugar                  1/4cup of fine sugar

40ml of milk🥛          1/4cup of strawberry puree 

30ml of canola oil 2cups of 🍓(filling&décor)

1tsp of vanilla extract  

Meringue and egg batter

 50grams of all purpose flower

50grams of corn starch

Steps:

1.To make the sponge cake, first combine the egg yolks, milk, oil, flour, corn starch, vanilla, 1/4 of the sugar and whisk until smoothed. (Set aside for later use)

2.Using an mixer, whisk the egg whites on high speed for 5min or until medium soft peaks form. When whisking, add sugar gradually after the egg whites become frothy.

3.Gently fold in the two mixtures in 3 parts until combined. "Fold"-"To gently mix a light mixture into a heavy one, avoiding knocking out the air"(Paul 247) This had help me understand the importance of folding gently instead of just whisking till combined. It really makes a difference in the end result of the sponge cake. From being stiff to light and airy.

4.Pour batter into a round baking pan and bake for 45min in a 300 degrees Fahrenheit oven.

5.For the whipped cream, blend strawberries into a puree and strain the seeds with a sift.(set aside)

6.In a bowl, whisk the whipping cream and sugar together until it becomes stiff. Whisk in the puree.

7.Slice the cooled cake equally into two. Spread a layer of cream on the cake and place a layer of strawberries on to the cream and cover the strawberries with another layer cream. Finally, placing the last piece of sponge cake onto the cream.

8.Frost the cake and decorate it with the rest of the strawberries and cream.(put in fridge overnight)
"put your chosen tip in pastry bag then fold over tip of the bag to form a lip that sits over your hand and fill the bag with chosen frosting"(Paul 188) This has help me to fill the pastry bag quicker and made the whole process of decorating easier.

Lastly I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas! I hope you all get a chance to try this cake❤

What r your guys favorite type of cake and what filling do you like in it?

Get Festive with a Winter Themed Polar Bear Towel Animal!

Its that time of the year again. Getting out those heavy boxes from the garage, baking yummy sugar cookies, placing each ornament on the tree precisely and as equally spaced apart from other ornaments as possible (Is that just me), or just binging on Netflix for 8 hours, Its hard to accept that it is the holiday season. Those days where you just sit on your bed all day, thinking whether to do your homework or procrastinate until the 31st, why not add to your Christmas decorations by creating your very own polar bear towel animal! Guest will for sure be in awe of the cuteness of this towel creation on Christmas Day and wonder where to buy one on eBay (which they'll realize they cant buy a towel animal and to make one themselves), which Is why I am here to teach you how to make one! As I have read my book Holland America Line Towel Creations over the past few weeks, I have learned to be more patient and self-conscious with myself when making towel animals. In the end, the accomplishment of adding the googly eyes to your finished product creates a sense of happiness and is something you can share with everyone. Anyway, lets get started!


For materials, you will only need a large 30 x 50 in. towel and a medium sized 17 x 18 in. towel. Add to the festive season by adding decorations such as hats, scarfs, a snowy background, etc. to your towel animal. Recommended, but optional.


Step 1:Starting with the large towel, you will create the main body first. Begin by grabbing the sides of the towel and tightly rolling each side to the center (Holland 62), creating what looks like 2 burritos.

Step 2: "Fold the towel in half joining the four rolled edges together" (Holland 62), creating what looks like now four burritos together

Step 3: Grab the corners of each roll and pull out the center of it to form the body, make sure to hold the corners tight in your hands or else you will mess up (Holland 62). Done with the first part! It should look like what you call a chicken rotisserie

Step 4: Now grab your medium towel to create the head. With it, "Fold towel into three folds widthwise, pull down the corners towards center to form triangle and roll tightly to center"(Holland 62). This step might seem long and confusing at first, but just read it slowly at first and imagine what the outcome would look like. For me at first, I ended up making a square at this step, but with a clear image and goal in mind, I ended up with the correct results.

once again...

Step 5: "Pull down front flap to cover half of [a] nose and pull small edges from back as the ears" (Holland 62) to create the head. This is really tricky at first, but make sure to pull both edges of your towel to the back

Step 6: Place the body in an upright sitting position. Then place the head between the top-middle part of the body (Holland 62) and then add decorations (optional) to your polar bear. Your all finished!

As I continue to read this step-by-step book, I deal with many hardships and tough challenges along the way that hold me at a stopping point. But I should mention that I couldn't do this without the help of my aunt; who helped me clarify some of the steps and even let me use her laptop as a background for my towel animal. Especially during the holiday season, as your loved ones come over for that big family dinner and reflect back on those special moments this year, remember to cherish what you have and don't forget to never stop practicing on your towel animal skills. To end this year, I would again like to ask you for more suggestions and how your family has been with you in times of need.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Janice Herrador  



Holland, comp. Towel Creations: Holland America Line 40 Designs. Seattle, WA: Holland America Line, 2007. Print.



Christmastime Cheer

The holiday season is here! Soon it will be gone but for this blog post I wanted to capture the essence of the season in these photographs. Christmas is many people’s favorite time of the year for many reasons including putting up lights, exchanging gifts, drinking hot cocoa, and seeing friends and family. One of my favorite activities to do during this time of year is looking at lights. No matter if I stroll through a neighborhood by car or go to a local park, I love how much Christmas cheer a string of lights can bring. 

I ventured to a local park that was having a lights display to take some photos of Christmas lights. This time I decided to use a higher quality camera, the Canon EOS 60D. I admit I still need to get comfortable with using some of the buttons and adjustments on this camera, but in the long run I’ll be able to take better photos once I figure it out. 

In my independent reading book, Ang says, “. . .your versatility as a photographer improves the more you see color as a subject in itself, not something that is only a feature of your subject. . .Try isolating a strong color against a muted background to emphasize the shape of an object or the perspective in a scene” (Ang 36). I kept this in mind when I shot these photos. Since it’s currently winter time and the sun sets early, by the time I got to the park the sun had already set and it was fairly dark. I used this to my advantage since lights are more vibrant at night. I would be able to use the author’s tip and isolate the strong colors emitted from the lights, while also including the shape and backdrop. In my 3rd photo I attempted to isolate a single light, but since it was so dark the color was washed out and the photo didn’t come out the way I wanted. Although, I thought the other two photos turned out pretty well since the bright colors give off a feeling of high-energy and excitement (Ang 37).

What do you love about Christmastime? What aspects of Christmastime would you choose to photograph? 

Ang, Tom. How to Photograph Absolutely Everything: Successful Pictures from Your Digital Camera. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2007. Print.