Ending the year on a sweet note

I read a quote the other day by the author Judith Viorst, that said: "Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands-and then eat just one of the pieces". The truffles and orangettes I'm about to present to you require no manual labor to dive into as they are already individually portioned. However, they require a great deal of restraint to not eat the whole batch. I'm a firm believer in always ending things on a sweet note: a bad day, an amazing meal, a difficult task, a rainy afternoon, a long run, and of course the last hours of the year.

 

The Cripple Bakes Cookies

A Day in Ina's Shoes- Pecan Bars & PBJ Bars

 

I have a slight obsession with Ina Garten. This woman has impeccable taste. She is the hostess with the mostest. She manages to be both elegant but understated at the same time. Her kitchen has everything a cook could ask for but is not pretentious. Her entertaining style is flawless but not showy. Her food is always classic comfort food that is elevated to the next level.  As a cook, and a woman, it’s hard to watch her show without envying her. After following her show for years, I think I have her day down to a tee now (at least the day I picture her having).

Dessert Party

I invited my girlfriends over recently to catch up and to watch a certain movie where Channing Tatum, along with a few other gentlemen, take their shirts off. Since my girlfriends and I usually are quick to skip to dessert, I figured that this gathering would involve around just sweets (ok maybe one savory dish, but only because I came across a cute mini mac and cheese recipe). There was an abundance of pink bubbly (ok a lot), cute little meringues made by my trusted sous chef, and mini brownies brought by my other fellow baker. I may have gone over the top and baked a whole red velvet cake, along with mini cheesecakes with caramel sauce, and rice krispies with marshmallows. And not to forget popcorn with white chocolate and sprinkles to pop in your mouth during those scenes where everyone was just screaming at the tv. Two of my girlfriends arrived early and while waiting for me to finish up, took it upon themselves to create name cards for all the dishes and arrange all the platters. Sometimes all you need to is some sugar, a DVD, and an abundance of your best girlfriends to have an amazing night.