Let it Snow China Glaze 2011

I found these at my local Sally's a few days ago. I must admit... I'm not really ready for holiday collections, but if you don't get em now, you may not find them. My Sally's did not have all of the collection available. I will give you the entire list from China Glaze, and show you the pictures of the ones that I did find.


Poinsettia : Ruby red cream inspired by the traditional holiday plant.
Ring In The Red : No Holiday season would be exact without this glittering red polish for Holiday gatherings.
Winter Berry : Creamy,cranberry-red perfect for sipping hot cocoa by the fire.
Velvet Bow: Rich red cream color inspired by your favorite red wine.
Glittering Garland : A dazzling glittery green to match the holiday greens of pine trees, garland, and mistletoe.
Holly-Day : Looking for a bold color without the glitz? Holly-Day is a rich hunter green without the sparkle.
Champagne Bubbles : Sophisticated gold metallic with a golden shimmer.
Twinkle Lights : A mix of glittery shades to emblemize twinkling tree lights.
Snow Globe : Frosty white polish with flecks of snowy color.
Icicle : Smooth silver shimmer with a hint of flash and ice.
Tinsel Town : Bold silver, metallic glitter and the perfect match for sparkling night on the town.
Blue Year’s Eve : Ring in the New Year with this lustrous, shimmering blue.




Poinsettia. Geez this was hard to photograph. It is a bright creamy red. Leaning toward pink. Reminds me a bit of OPI's Color So Hot it Berns from the Swiss collection. Two coats, very right and pigmented. This feels almost like a jelly, but as you can see it has wonderful coverage.



Velvet Bow. Like Poinsettia this feels very jellyish. It's a nice dark wine color, reminds me of OPI's William Tell Me About OPI, or even Lincoln Park After Dark although perhaps not quite that dark. A gorgeous vampy.



Tinsel Town. Glitterbomb! This is two coats, and as you can see it covers amazingly well. This is stunning on. The mixture of gunmetal gray and bright silver works wonderfully.





Holly-day. OMG. I love this so much. Has the same jelly feel as the reds, but is a gorgeous saturated green. You need this in your life, promise.




Blue Year's Eve. This was VERY difficult to photograph. It is much brighter in real life, closer to China Glaze's Frostbite in color. It is glass flecked, which we all know China Glaze does unbelievably well. A nice blue to add to your collection if you feel so inclined.

All in all I like these. No application problems. These seem a little thin to work with, but end up well. I love Tinsel Town and Holly-day, they are my two favorites of the ones I found.

What do you think of this years collections? Are you ready for the holidays?

Potato Soup

It's faaaaaaall! I can tell because the mountains are orange and yellow. I can also tell because it's starting to get chilly. Today I bring you potato soup. SUPER EASY potato soup. I'll bet you didn't know that I have an affinity for soup... did you? Yeah, I'm sure there is absolutely no way you could tell that. This soup is ultra filling, and very easy to make. The instructions seem very intense, but it's very simple and easy. It stores pretty well in the fridge too. This is one of those things I just eyeball when I make. Sometimes I make a giant batch, sometimes I cut it down and just make enough for two. I'm going to give you the larger version, but go ahead and add or subtract based on your needs.

Ingredients
About two pounds of potatoes... I used 7 sm/med red potatoes
5 to 6 cups milk
Salt and Pepper
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp flour
1 c shredded cheese
1/2 c sour cream or greek yogurt

to garnish
cooked and crumbled bacon or sliced deli ham
chopped green onions
shredded cheese
sour cream


Scrub your potatoes clean then chop into fairly small pieces. The smaller pieces mean they will cook quicker, but also that they will be easier to mash. Boil potatoes until done, a fork will pierce them easily. While your potatoes are boiling, place your onions in a non stick pan. Carmelize the onions on medium/low heat until the are almost done. Just moments before they are finished add your garlic. Continue to cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Remove from heat and remove the onions from your pan. In the same pan add your oil, butter, and flour. Stir constantly until it develops a light brown color, about five to seven minutes on my stove. This is your thickener, but it will also add a little flavor. Drain potatoes and put back into your pot. To a clean pot add the flour and butter mixture, and your milk. Whisk together well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat until boiling. While waiting for milk to boil mash potatoes with onions and garlic. Boil your milk about 7 minutes until beginning to thicken, stir occasionally. At this point add in your potatoes and let simmer between 5 and 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in your cheese, then sour cream. Serve warm with loads of toppings.


Get your potatoes in the water. Boil well.

Carmelize your onions.

Flour and oil

Stir well. Cook until tan.

Add your mashed potatoes into the milk mixture.

Simmer.

Add your cheese.



Cover with toppings and serve.

What do you think? Do you love soup too? I want to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading!

Peach Raspberry Pie

Ok... I know, I know... another pie. But this one is a fruit pie. A stone fruit pie. Don't you wanna see it??? Don't you wanna TASTE it? You do. You know you do. Heck, I do too and I'm the one that made it. There is something about eating the perfect peach that just makes my insides happy. It's hard to be angry or upset about anything while sucking the juices of these delicious babies. You'll need pie crust obviously, enough for the top and bottom. If you are afraid of pie crust, get over it. You will enjoy your pie so much more knowing that you did it! And pies aren't supposed to look perfect, so if you have a weirdy piece, just be pleased with it! Without further ado....

Ingredients
2 lbs ripe peaches (I used 5 peaches)
2 c fresh raspberries, well washed and drained
2/3 c granulated sugar (you can use less if you get REALLY sweet peaches)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
2 tablespoons sugar to top crust before baking

Wash, peel, and slice your peaches. I like to have both thinner and thicker slices, the thinner ones melt into the filling a bit and the thicker ones are still pretty toothsome. In a medium sized bowl combine peaches and berries. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine sugar, spices, flour, and cornstarch. Stir into fruit, make sure all the dry ingredients are wet. Add lemon juice.

Before preheating your oven, place your rack in the center. Cover the bottom rack with aluminum foil or place a large baking sheet on the lower rack. This pie is.... juicy. If you don't do this, you will have burnt peach juice in the bottom of your oven, not good. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out your pie crust. Work fairly quickly, you want the butter to stay cold. Once your crust is in the bottom of your plate go ahead and add the fruit. You can mound it up a bit, but not too much. I have had to remove fruit from pies before, just make sure it's right before you put your top crust on. Put your top crust on, fold your edges over, and perforate with a fork, or slits. If you don't cut some slits your pie will be... explodey. Cover with egg wash, and sprinkle with your reserved sugar. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375 and bake about 45 more minutes. Sometimes it needs a few more minutes, you'll be able to tell when it's done because the crust will be golden brown all over, and the juices are bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before serving. This pie is awesome warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream.


Martha's Pie Crust (courtesy of marthastewart.com )
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 to 4 Tbsp ice water


In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Don't overmix.
Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over dough; press to shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll dough to a 14-inch round with a floured rolling pin. Wrap dough around rolling pin, discarding paper; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate (opposite). Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate (do not stretch dough).
Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. Fold under itself to form a rim, and press to seal. Using thumb and forefinger, crimp rim of crust. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.



Pie crust dry ingred. Make your crusts first, they can be chilling while you finish your prep.

Butter!

Ready to knead, then into the fridge to chill.

Peaches, pitted and ready to be sliced.

Flour, sugar, and spices for the peaches.

Peaches and berries getting their flour bath.

Waiting for filling

Mmmmm looks good huh?

Put your top on.

Prick your holes, add your egg wash and sugar.

Apparently I do not have a picture of the finished pie... so... have a picture of my rhubarb pie... it's almost the same. :D

Spicy Tuna Salad

Intrigued? I knew you would be. This is perfect for lunch, or dinner, or a snack, or anytime really. It's quite healthy and has a lot of great bright flavors. I make this very often, I don't always have all of the ingredients so I improvise. The pictures you will see are of an improvisation, I did not have parsley, scallions, or capers. I often make this with dried herbs because I always have them on hand. This recipe is from the wonderful Cat Cora, I believe it was in some sort of health magazine back in the day... I've been making this for at least four years, so I'm assuming it came out sometime around then. Be aware, it gets spicier the longer it sits, so if you're making it ahead, possibly knock down the spice a little.

First, the dressing.

Ingredients
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano (if using dried only use about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp finely minced garlic ( I usually use about 4 cloves cause I like garlic)
3 Tbsp olive oil - use the good stuff you can really taste it
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar.

In a small bowl combine all ingredients for dressing. Whisk well. Set aside.

Tuna Salad

Ingredients
3 (6 oz) can tuna in water, well drained
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed dried chili flaked (I usually double this... I like it spicy!)
2 finely chopped scallions
1 sm red onion, finely chopped (you can also use shallots here)
2 Tbsp capers (I never use these, but they do add a nice briney tang)
2 celery ribs finely chopped
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, grapes halved cherries quartered
2 tsp finely chopped fresh italian flat leaf parsley (if using dried use about 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp fresh basil, about two leaves, finely chopped

In a large bowl toss all ingredients except parsley and basil. Right before serving pour dressing over tuna and mix gently. Sprinkle with parsley and basil.

You can enjoy this on a bed of baby greens, or in a sandwich.

Sometimes I add a whole lot more celery, tomato, and onion. I like the volume that it adds and makes me feel like I'm eating SUPER healthy!



The team.

The dressing.

Garlic and Shallots.

Added the celery

And tomatoes and basil.

Pour the dressing over, and toss! Mmmmmm...

Do you like tuna? Or do you have a hard time with fishy things?

Sugar Pie

Wait... you've never heard of Sugar Pie? Oh you poor dear. Sugar pie is... well... it's like... holiday love in pie form. It's creamy and spicy and sweet. Do you like Pecan Pie? Then you'll love this. Sugar Pie is basically the gooey sticky yumminess that is Pecan Pie... without the pecans! It's incredibly easy and unbelievable delicious. I will be hurt and offended if you don't try it. Just kidding. But in all seriousness, if you are looking for a new pie to try, or have never made pie before, this is the pie for you. It is incredibly easy and no one will know that it was your first attempt.

Obviously you need to start with a pie crust. I prefer this pie with a tart crust. The crunchy texture marries nicely with the gooey interior. I find that a regular rolled out crust just doesn't add anything. You can use any recipe that you'd like, I will post the one I use but make what you're comfortable with.

We're going to post a little differently today, let me know how you feel about this kind of layout okey dokey?



The crew.

Add your sugars, spices and salt.

Combine well.

Add your eggs.

And milk.

Cook over medium stirring constantly.

Until it looks about like this. Then stir in your butter and vanilla.

Carefully pour into your pie plate. Bake. Cool. Voila!

Ingredients
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves (can be omitted)
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 can evaporated milk plus about two tablespoons regular milk or cream (you're looking for 2 cups of liquid)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix well. Add the eggs and yolk and combine well. Gradually stir in the milk until well blended.

Turn the flame onto medium heat and cook ingredients, stirring constantly until the filling is thick and bubbly. This will take between 7 and 10 minutes usually. Be careful not to over cook it will change the texture of your pie.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Remove from the oven and cool. You can serve this warm (my favorite) or cold. It is delicious both ways.


Tart Crust
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 c (4 Tbsps) very cold or frozen butter in the smallest pieces you can get
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 Tbsp cream cheese
2 Tbsp cold milk

Combine dry ingredients. Add butter and cream cheese. Work together with a pastry cutter, or you fingers until you have multi sized pieces of butter. Work quickly! We want the butter to stay cold! Whisk together your milk and oil. Add to the butter mixture. Combine quickly with a wooden spoon or fork. Your dough will be chunky, and you'll think it's not done... but it is. Pour directly into your pie pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides. I usually use a combination of my fingers and a flat bottomed glass.

This can be used for custard and no bake pies, but you will need to bake the crust off first. To do this blind bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. Remove and take off your weights and bake another 5 minutes to brown.