After five performances and countless edits it's time to call it a wrap on The Georgia Youth Ballet's thirteenth year of the Nutcracker Ballet!

Truly, this was one of the easier and more pleasant "gigs" that we have worked in recent years. Each performance delivered holiday magic with stunning costumes, charming actors and talented young performers.

A special thanks to Cay Ellis, mother of Co-Director, Randi Lancaster, for the original suggestion to co-ordinate episodes of Home At Last! with the rich history and foods traditionally associated to the dances of the Nutcracker.

Some of the recipes developed for the show will seem familiar and simple, but I have also developed a few recipes to challenge your perception of what can be easily accomplished with a little planning and a few quality ingredients.

The most enjoyable surprise of the season was my homemade Honeybell Orange Brandy created to enhance my Strawberries Romanoff episode.

One of my all-time favorite tea desserts, I imagined how delighted Czar Nicholas I would have been with my vanilla brandy sweetened with sun-ripened Honeybell Orange juice and richly-scented oils extracted from the plump skins.

Unlike the Limoncello that requires 80 days to develop its lemony-goodness, this velvety brandy can be accomplished within two weeks! But be warned, you might want to double the recipe! I paired the brandy with Paromi's new Coconut-Almond Tea for a winter hot toddy! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pate

Image
Every silky-smooth bite of this pleasing chicken liver pate was worth the extra calories!  Created by my daughter-in-law's mother, Jill, the recipe captured everything I love about pate! A perfectly smooth pate enhanced by the addition of cognac. The rich chicken livers pared deliciously with a dark berry compote made of strawberries, blackberries and fresh blueberries! Recipe: Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pâté FAST MAKE-AHEAD 1/2 pound chicken livers, well-trimmed 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced 1 small garlic clove, smashed and peeled 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves Kosher salt 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 teaspoons Cognac or Scotch whisky Freshly ground pepper Toasted baguette slices, for serving In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to l...
Read more

California Sourdough Bread

Image
I found this recipe in one of my favorite chef cookbooks. The recipe is made over a couple of days and calls for starter made from potato water. I had just made up a batch of potato starter-but with potatoes and the potato water, so, that was the first substitution I made. I also switched one cup of the required bread flour for a cup of Italian flour. The results were wonderful. As you can see there is a golden crust around the entire bread but instead of a typical chewy sourdough crust this was a little more crispy. . .like German brotchen. The recipe called for spritzing the dough with water before putting into the oven-which I did-but I also placed a small glass bowl with water in the oven-occasionally pouring water on the floor of the oven to create steam. My husband told me he loved me as he ate his hot-from-the-oven bread! I wanted to share a photo of the inspiration behind all the sudden interest in bread baking.  My friend, Char Fontane gave this to me for Ch...
Read more

Parrot Fish

Image
Asian-style Parrot Fish Dark soy, sesame oil mixed with a little olive oil, freshly-grated ginger and garlic! Yum. A little chopped green onion and blood orange. Yes! One of my last blood oranges was squeezed for a citrus marinade that made for a nicely-flavored and springlike taste! I might be rushing the seasons a little but this easy recipe would certainly be good anytime of the year! The Parrot Fish has a nice firm texture with lots of flavor. The bones were easily removed from the meat and so the yield is very good. I grilled the fish on the infrared for about eight minutes and finished it off in a very hot oven! Definitely worth a try!
Read more