Christmas in November?

What a fabulous week we had! Pat, Avery and I certainly enjoyed having the Sr. O'Brien family here. Not only did we have our first introduction to Huey O'Brien (what a cutey) but we got to have a sneak preview of Christmas.
Of course this involved many evenings of enjoying the Swiss Chalet Festive Special - and some rather intense trades involving Lindor White Chocolate Truffles.



Mother Nature responded accordingly, supplying us with a nice blanket of snow for our winter challenged South Carolinian family. Huey was more than confused about the white stuff, forcing Aunt Leighlow to brush away any sign of snow in order for the little man to do his business.



Avery will surely go through withdrawal from the excess amount of attention he received from Granny KK, Poppy Ray and Aunt Leighlow. He'll have to wait until April, when we make our way across the border to Columbia for a visit. Until then, we just want to say THANKS AGAIN for everything guys. We sure loved having you here and we miss you already!

Copious Caramel, November's Daring Bakers Challenge

I anxiously awaited November's Daring Bakers Challenge pretty much as soon as I had finished October's. I was over the moon when I saw it involved an abundance of caramel. I have been obsessed with salted caramels for a while now... so this was right up my alley - Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. There was also an option of making Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels. Our hosts for this month brought us back to the sweet side of baking, after having a few savoury challenges. Dolores of Culinary Curiosity hosted November's challenge, and was assisted by Alex, the Brownie of the Blondie Brownie duo, and Jenny of Foray into Food. For those of you with a gluten allergy (KK this one's for you!), check out Natalie at Gluten a GoGo who assisted the hosts in creating a gluten free version of our challenge.

I completed this challenge quite early since I was bringing Avery to work for a visit and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to unload some of the excess sweets tempting me at home. The challenge didn't allow for much variation, but I decided to make cupcakes instead of one cake (for ease of sharing with my co-workers). The cake was quite easy to make and turned out ridiculously moist. Because the cake teetered on the edge of being too sweet, I added quite a bit of salt to the icing and topped each cupcake with some more fleur de sel just for good measure!



The Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting recipe came courtesy of Shuna from Eggbeater (it's her signature cake!) as published on Bay Area Bites. You'll find the recipe here. While it may look like a lot of steps, it really is a breeze to do. Best of all, you can spread the preparation over a few days.

The recipe for Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels was taken from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich. Something to note for the caramels is that I found cooking them to anything higher than 250°F resulted in more of a toffee than a caramel. I made Fleur de Sel Caramels and Cinnamon Caramels as a variation on the original recipe. Both turned out beautifully. I plan to make lavender, chipotle and cardamom versions for my Christmas care packages. YUM! On to the next challenge!



GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS
- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels -

Ingredients
1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, purchased or ground in a coffee or spice grinders, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

Equipment
A 9-inch square baking pan
Candy thermometer

Procedure

Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F. Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.

When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.

Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

...let it snow! Avery has had his first taste of winter and I must say, I think he likes it! Since the snowfall on Wednesday evening, Avery and I have spent many hours walking outdoors. Avery certainly does not seem to be bothered by the cold weather yet...which bodes well for some winter wonderland adventures.



What a weekend we've had. First of all, I must note an amazing discovery we made this week. Avery is now able to sit on his own. I tested it out after Lindsay, a fellow stroller mom, told me she has her son Owen sit on his own for a bit each day. I thought to myself, should I be trying this with Avery? On our first attempt on Monday, he lasted about 45 seconds. By Wednesday, he was on his own for a good 5 minutes. Now, he is able to sit there until he decides he's bored and has had enough, at which point he cries until we pick him up.



Okay, back to our weekend. Saturday morning, we met up with Ashley and Chris for a stroll and a delicious morning coffee from La Crema, courtesy of Chris (thanks again!).



This morning we went to Hot House Cafe for brunch in honour of Misty's birthday. We joined Misty, Troy, Karyn, Nick, Michele, Jerry and Truman. We were so happy when Misty suggested to go, as we try to hit up the restaurant at least once each year. The food is delicious and abundant, and today we were front row to the jazz band. Truman had fun dancing to the music, while Avery just fell asleep!

This afternoon we headed out to Newmarket for some more "good eats". Avery's Grandma KK, Grandpa Ray and Aunt Leighlow have finally rolled into town! So, we met them at Pat's Aunt Pam and Uncle Colin's house for a wonderful evening. Avery delighted everyone with his crazy amusement in hanging upside down. Unfortunately, by around 6pm Avery was ready to leave and became quite cranky. Of course, once at home, he refused to go to sleep and was laughing up a storm at 9pm.

He's finally gone to bed and I hope for a nice restful night for all of us. He needs his energy for all the hugs and kisses that Grandma KK and Aunt Leighlow are sure to bestow on him for the next two days. Avery, are you ready for it?

Tag, You're it!

During my stroller fit yesterday, Gina (one of my fellow stroller fit moms) asked me if I had read my blog recently. She told me that she had tagged me. Being a blog tag virgin, Gina graciously explained to me that it is something like a chain letter, but only more fun.

Here are the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Share six (6) non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here it goes...

Six Things About Me:
(1) I am a (partially) closeted singing superstar. I say partially because anyone who has had the pleasure(?) of being in my presence during karaoke or Rock Band knows I hold on to the mic like grim death. Also, you can easily ask my upstairs neighbor for a comment. He has often asked me if I plan to audition for Canadian Idol. He know doubt overhears my attempts to soothe Avery with sing song.
(2) I don't want to steal Erika's thunder, but I too have an obsession with picking ear wax, snot and eye crust from my son's body. It was inevitable, since I have always been an avid pimple popper. What can I say, it's a sick obsession.
(3) I am quite sneaky. My parents, friends and husband are well aware of this. I have always found it hard to not snoop around for Christmas gifts and things like that. I try to use every ounce of self control to avoid spoiling a surprise... but it's the thrill of the hunt that I love.
(4) I have never fully outgrown my sweet tooth. My family loves to tell a story of when I was wee (probably around 8 or 9) I found the family's Christmas stash of chocolate (refer to #3 for my problem with sneaking). During the next week or so I ate through about 3 or 4 boxes meant for us to share come Christmas morning. I have spent the last couple of decades trying to convince everyone that I prefer salty snacks over sweet. While I would most likely pick french fries over cake - it has come to my attention that I do indeed still love sweets. I have my husband (and his massive sweet tooth) to thank for converting me back to my roots.
(5) I am obsessed with Christmas. I am sure many of you out there already know this - and if you didn't before, you soon will. I usually secretly start thinking of Christmas sometime in August. I don't dare tell anyone (except maybe Pat) for fear of ridicule. I can't help it. I find the entire season drips with nostalgia and I really can't get enough. I have recently found someone who partners my obsession (Ashley) and it has been nice to let my Christmasitis all out!
(6) I am in love with the Cosby's - yes, Cliff, Clair, Theo, Denise, Vanessa, Rudy and even Sondra. I have been relishing in the fact that they play two episodes daily on Peachtree TV. I often dream about how I might have fit in with my make-believe TV family (between Denise and Theo) and what it would've been like growing up in Brooklyn in the 80's. They just came out with the complete box set and it is pretty safe to say that one day in the not so distant future, that box set will find its place at home in my DVD collection.

Just as Gina and Erika, I only began blogging after Avery was born, so I don't know of too many people to tag. My darling sister Michele, Anya and Stephanie (I am sorry to do this to you Stephanie, but I didn't know anyone else to send this to!)
Have fun ladies!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Well, I must say, Avery certainly enjoyed his first Hallowe'en. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his *new* mom and dad... but at least he didn't cry. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of our poor neighbor Julian, who instilled shrieks from our son upon coming down for a visit with some spooky makeup on.



We were so impressed by our neighborhood's decorations and jack-o-lanterns. We definitely can't wait until Avery is old enough to go Trick-or-Treating. This year we opted to hit up a few neighborhood parties. Staying up way past our little pumpkin's bedtime, we stumbled home at an astounding 9pm! Truthfully, we were all exhausted anyhow and Pat and I subsequently fell asleep on the couch shortly after putting Avery to bed. Of course, this was probably the result of a candy bar induced sugar coma.







Avery finally rolled on his own on Friday, much to my surprise. We were playing on the couch and all of a sudden he managed to maneuver himself from his back to his stomach. I was tempted to help him onto his back again, but he did so all on his own. Since then, Pat and I have been trying to coax him into doing it again by placing all of his toys just out of reach.

On Monday, Avery and I start our new Stroller Fit class. What cruel and unusual punishment I am voluntarily signing myself up for. An hour and half of brisk hilly walking through High Park - luckily there is a Starbucks coffee at the end as my reward! At least Avery will get to enjoy the view of all of the changing colours - including his mom's face, which will more than likely turn a tomato red.