Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Problem Cake #2


If you remember from our first posts in the summer, I tried to make a chocolate cake that just did not look edible. Well here is cake nightmare number two: burnt and cracked rose cake. Zach bought me a silicone rose-shapped cake mold to make bundt cakes. The picture shows my second attempt. The first one looked better but was still unpresentable. At the time, I thought maybe the modifications that I had made to the first cake recipe had been the problem. Now after two tries both Zach and I seem to think the oven is the culprit but we're still investigating. Zach made some powdered sugar to try and make the second cake look better but I wasn't impressed.

More Christmas decor



I found some gift bags in the shape of christmas stockings with the Hawaiian saying "Mele Kalikimaka" to hang on the backside of our kitchen cabinets along with christmas cards from family and friends. Zach also decorated the lanai railing with rope light and lighted garland.

Cookies, Mochi and Candy



I forgot to take a picture of the buffet table before we ate and before I cleaned it up but I realized that I still had some cookies, mochi and candy that I could show. The top picture is of the candy that Mingxiao brought for us to try: Pineapple sandwich cookies and jelly filled Burger Mallows. The bottom picture shows the different cookies and mochi we had to eat. Clockwise starting at the top: chocolate mochi (made from rice flour), butter mochi (tastes just like pound cake!), Walnut topped stuffed sugar cookies stuffed with Keebler fudge mint cookies, Anna's three cookies, and last Zach's Peppermint pinwheels.

Our First Real Christmas Tree

Past Christmases we have always had an artificial tree but this year we decided to get a real tree! We got a Noble Pine from Home Depot and decorated it with a candy cane theme. We like it and thought everyone else might want a gander.

More Christmas Pics





More pics of us wearing funny hats!

Our First Christmas Party in Hawai'i




Anna, Katie and Mingxiao came over for a little dinner party. I wanted to try out a new chicken recipe, Ginger Sesame Chicken, and some new cookies, Peppermint Pinwheel and Walnut Stuffed Sugar Cookies. Zach made the chicken which quickly disappeared off the platter and he also made the Peppermint Pinwheel cookies. I made the Walnut Stuffed Sugar Cookies and an asian salad with spinach, almond slivers, mandarin oranges, and raisins. Zach had to show Mingxiao the tree stand to prove to her that the Noble Pine we had for our Christmas tree was real! We enjoyed opening some christmas poppers wearing our paper crowns and reading our silly jokes. Cookies were swapped as Anna brought some really good star anise, shortbread, and mint cookies. Katie brought salami and gouda. I warned her about Zach's propensity for making sliced meats disapper and it didn't take long for her to see what I was talking about. Anyway, we had a good time eating, watching House on Fox and playing CatchPhrase which Anna learned can be played by passing the game instead of holding on to it till it beeps. Thanks to the gals for coming and bringing good food.