Me and my niece!

Do we look alike?

Moonlight Serenade 2011

The Truth about Barbarians

Austin's sister, Brenae, has a fun way of honoring Friday the 13th-- she and her husband invite friends over to share a Barbarian Feast. The rules are simple: the messier the food, the better, and no hands allowed!

We've been waiting for Friday the 13th to roll around so we could steal this tradition from her. We invited some friends in our ward, and we had a blast. We ate rolls, pistachio pudding, fruit and dip, spaghetti, cole slaw, jello cheesecake, and of course, Dirt Cups-- the ultimate Barbarian delicacy (good thinking, Carly).

As we were eating, we tried to be as barbaric as possible, but it soon hit us: Barbarians weren't idiotic slobs, they were just limited in their choice of utensils. They probably utilized the eating tools were readily available to them: fingers and gravity.

So I say, Hoorah to the Barbarians! Hoorah for hand-eye-mouth coordination, opposable thumbs, incisors, and other God-given gifts that help us enjoy our food!!

Hey everybody! I'm beautiful!!!

"Good morning, Mommy!"

This is what Geneve looks like in the mornings when I go in and wake her up.

Angie makes Éclairs au Chocolat!!

I tried my hand at an éclair recipe that my french teacher gave me last year. They are surprisingly easy to make (easy enough that I managed to make them).

1 c. flour

1 c. water

1/2 c. butter/margarine

4 eggs

Heat water and butter to a boil. Reduce heat; stir in flour. Cook 5 minutes on medium heat until it forms a ball.

Let cool a few minutes and add in beaten eggs. Form into éclairs or puffs (see below: puffs on left, éclairs on right). Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

The Crème

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups milk

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a pot on medium heat. Add milk gradually; stir until thick, boil for 1 minute. Stir in eggs yolks, boil and stir for 1 minute (don't stop stirring!!). Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Now is the fun part: getting the cream inside the éclairs. Most of the éclairs will develop small holes during the baking process (see the photo below).

Pick one of the holes, and poke a straw/stick inside to clear the way for the cream. The éclair will be hollow, so you don't need to remove the inside stuff. If you don't have a pastry syringe, you're gonna have to get creative. I cut the corner of a ziplock bag (tiny, tiny hole), filled it with the cream, and used it to inject the cream into the éclairs. It was very messy.

The next step is optional, but highly recommended: the chocolate topping!!

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

1/4 c. milk

I didn't follow this recipe exactly; I just melted a handful of chocolate chips and added some milk. Make sure you melt the chocolate chips evenly (double boilers). You want the chocolate to be thick enough that it can be spread over the éclairs. Put on as much as you WANT!

Voilà!

Vous allez manger comme un vrai français!

Mangez bien! Bon appetit!!