Christmas Log, Fish, And ,,,Pegasus

It's Christmas eve!  And I know the title of this post sounds a little strange,   but hopefully your curiosity is piqued.   You see...Cheryl did not want Christmas to end up being like thanksgiving.   That is:   Cooking a dish that is difficult and makes Ethan Grumpy in the kitchen!   So se sent away for some Christmas goodies that even I can't mess up and will still be special and fun and tasty.   Enter the Christmas LOG!  

Bûche de Noël  is the technical term.   Etsy has a really great picture of one....our pine bough  became a little disconnected in transit..so we just used the mushrooms.   By the way. .  the cakes is REALLY GOOD!   Moist and sweet despite being frozen for a week before we set it up. 
Next up:   The Pegasus.   Origami that is....I know it might be confusing to put origami in between the food,  but hear me out...  There is a reason.  Basically I tried another Pegasus with a larger piece of paper.   I think it turned out pretty good even though I liked the thicker paper a little better.



    And now on tot he main event:   The Christmas Fish!  Salmon Florentine En Croute is the real name and you can purchase one here.    It's really simple to cook up and was quite tasty!   The fish itself is four lbs.!  and serves 9 people.   So  Cheryl and I are going to have lots of leftovers for several days.  That being said,   These left overs are going to be calling to us as long as they are in the fridge.

   So there it is...We also made some Blueberry Macaron today.  Sorry,  no pics.    We made them for the folks at work and to brush our own inflated egos.   We are just that self centered.   Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Eve and are looking forward to Christmas day the same way we are.  Merry Christmas!

Macarons! And another Origami Pegasus

As the Christmas crazy time winds down for us,  Cheryl and I have been working on the gifts for the people who helped make this season happen.  Namely, the postal and UPS guys!  Oh,  and a few family members as well.  I don't really keep in touch with my only living family member much any more,   ( my brother...)  so Cheryl's family gets most of the attention.  Back up a bit...My brother has his own things going on in Michigan, and I'm sure he has his hands full with his own family and does not waste time worrying about me.  It's all good...
   So, to make Cheryl's family an extra special Christmas gift,  We decided to make and send macarons!   "Surprisingly simple!"   they tell you in the books and on Youtube...Don't be fooled!  There is MUCH to learn and get the hang of before just diving in...which we often do.    Weather it is burning toffee,  overcooking fudge, or ruining the Oreo cake cookies....Cheryl and I have figured out that practice runs are essential to a presentable product.   So  This year we may have shot a little over the top.   I believe our macarons look so good,  no one is going to believe that we slaved over them for two days!   YES!   TWO DAYS!    They take a surprisingly long time to assemble.   First   if you want anything that looks cool,  you need to make several different versions...  Second,   it is best to make the cookies  first then work on the filling.    Third.  Packaging is everything!  
   As posted before,   there is a nack to making them that I'm thinking some people forget to mention.   Example.   when making merengue..  make sure the eggs are at ROOM TEMPERATURE!  Otherwise they will not form the white fluffy stuff.   Another example:   If the dough is runny while you pipet it out...that is GOOD!   It may be messy, and will require a little practice to get the size and spacing right,   but if it is not runny,  they will end up puffy.  
   That all being said...I think we did a good job.   Six batches took five hours yesterday.   and making the fillings took an additional three hours.   However,  they turned out exactly as we had pictured them in our minds.  Additionally,  Cheryl purchased several boxes to match the cookies size and they look quite professional!   So there it is...Macarons for this years "Ethan And Cheryl's Odd Ball Christmas Treats"   Hope the family likes them.    they are so delicious that I made myself sick eating all of the cripples   ( well...a slight exaggeration.)   There are many Youtube Videos that are a great help,  even though they may fail to explain tiny details that aid in success.   At the very least, they show you how to make them....
   And finally,  an origami Pegasus that I just finished for the post office.   It will most likely be the last one I give her this year so I wanted to try a slightly more difficult version.    I actually have several versions in my library, but this one looked the most complicated.   It is wet folded with a large cardstock cotton paper.  I think it turned out pretty good,  considering the thickness of the paper made it difficult to form the hooves.   Hopefully,  Molly ( the post master in Wellman)  will like it and add it to her collection. 

Pegasus finished.

Ok a quick post on the finished Pegasus. The picture does not do it justice. I snapped it in haste as we were walking out the door. Perhaps I'll have a better pic with good lighting and background to show off later. Other than Origami, I have been raking leaves for the past three days. Not as much fun as I remember and the wind, rain, and broken rakes have been a bather as well. But...the yard for the most part is clean. I'm not sure what my next project should be, but the new book should help me make a decision

Latest origami Pegasus

A quick post on my latest origami. It's taking longer than I thought....I never had a project take over a day! It's basically the same origami pattern that I have used before, but with the larger paper, I wanted to see what little 'extras' I can add to it. A little trick I learned from one of the Masters is the paperclip and glue. I know that there might be this "unwritten rule" that the design should not b e glued up so it can be unfolded at any time....but why? Why put 4-8 hours into a design only to unwrap it! So the glue adds a little permanence to it. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks I'm breaking the rules here, but I'm tired of my designs looking good for only a few hours and then slowly coming undone as the paper begins to expand. Anyway this is a work in progress photo so here it is.

WooHoo Thursday!

Sold 7 seats tonight, but only carved up 6 since one of the customers changed her mind at the last second. I'm thankful I didn't jump right in and carve up her seat before she emailed us with the change. ( It has happened before!) But that means for the most part that I am caught up for the weekend! Bring them ON! Tomorrow I want to work on making my dust table a little more "pretty" by adding some drawers, bins and hopefully a downdraft fan. Arby's has a 4 for $5 roast beef sale and I was able to score some of their wrapping paper for origami. I like the metallic paper because it holds its shape better and is larger than the 6 inch squares I usually use. With larger paper I can take on bigger patterns and cooler animals. Here's an elephant and another Pegasus. I have a couple of pieces left so I might try something new. Will post it when I made up my mind. Have a great weekend!

Another Origami Pegasus

I could only get 4 seats tonight, so I had to push two seats off until tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day with deliveries and we have to go to Grand Rapids for a couple of new tires! Hopefully we Will pick up a couple of seats there and perhaps a new spare. Otherwise, I have finally found a Pegasus design that I like. One of the reasons is probably because I created it myself and I do not have to follow a complex folding pattern to get it. But second is that I think of all the previous patterns, this one looks the best. I can't believe it is Tuesday already! Have a great Night!