Almond Joy To The World!

Its my favorite time of the year once again! Normally, just seeing red and green is enough to make me giddy but with all the lights and decorations around nowadays I cant help but grin constantly! :) Christmastime and the entire holiday season is just so very special! I love that no matter what religion or culture, we all are able to look back and be grateful for the countless blessings over the past year.

Not surprisingly, another one of my favorite things about Christmastime is all of the wonderful sweets, cookies, cakes, candies and confections. Gah!! I definitely have had to exercise my will power muscle even more as of late but hey whats the holidays without a few special sweet treats?

For the past few years, we've made something sweet and yummy to share with my husbands coworkers and staff. As soon as November hits I keep a look out for great recipes to try. This year I came across this recipe from Ina Garten who has been sharing her favorite christmas cookie recipes on her facebook page. It seemed so unbelievably easy that I had to try it and of course add a little bit of a twist to make it my own! I decided to add toasted coconut flakes and roasted almonds because it reminded me of one of my father's favorite candy bars, Almond Joy! They were not only addictingly delicious but with only 4 ingredients super simple as well!

p.s.They remain wonderful even without the added nuts.

Almond Joy Crisps

Cant you just hear the satisfying crunch as you take that first bite?
Then the chocolate melting and oozing.....
Also love that they look like snow dusted pinecones :)

Ingredients:

11.5 oz bag of Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips

3 cups of cornflakes

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted (reserve a tablespoon for garnish)

1/2 cup of sliced honey roasted almonds (reserve a tablespoon for garnish)

Directions:

1. measure out cornflakes and place in a large mixing bowl

2. add coconut flakes and almonds

3. Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler and mix constantly until smooth

4. pour melted chocolate over cornflake mixture

5. quickly and thoroughly mix all the ingredients

6. spoon heaps onto a parchment lined baking sheet or onto a silpat

7. sprinkle more toasted coconut flakes and sliced almonds on top

8. allow to harden for 15 minutes in the fridge

9. carefully pull off the parchment paper and... 

10. Devour. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Thank you for encouraging and supporting Our Eyes Eat First with your visits! Wishing you peace, love happiness and joy during this wonderful season and always! 

Painting a Portrait..... with Chocolate!

Get ready to be blown away.


So, I was in the middle of cooking dinner and needed a quick "how to" on something. As usual I "google'd" my question and an interesting link about chocolate paintings of all things popped up. I clicked on it and was led to  http://eyecandy.nanakaze.net/?p=313.

Needless to say my jaw dropped. That's a painting! Made out of chocolate! That looks so real!  I knew I had to try this.

The first problem was deciding who to paint... I could paint myself but that would be a little vain.. LOL.. I could paint my husband but he would enjoy that too much : j

Then it hit me. Ill paint one of the most beautiful women Ive seen and she happens to be my favorite singer of all time - Sade. Shes just breathtakingly gorgeous and can I please look that good when Im her age?! Plus it will get me even more excited for her concert in June - Ive been waiting 10yrs since her last tour to see her! Alright - I'm ready. Lets go!

The eyecandy blog had great step by step pictures and I took a cue from that and decided to share step by step pictures of my project with you as well. The finished project was AMAZING and I couldn't believe how quickly it came together. There were a few mistakes I made which I will share with you so that it will avoided next time. Its all about learning from your mistakes! And because its so easy there can definitely be a next time!

1. Find a great black and white picture or one that you can make black and white. What you are looking for are distinct black, white and midtones areas.

 she's flawless! (from her "Best of" album cover)

2. Print out this picture. If there is any writing on it be sure to print it backwards as your final product will be a mirror image. Tape to a secure surface like sturdy cardboard. Then take parchment paper and tape it over the picture. You will basically be tracing over the picture with different layers of chocolate.

 fyi my parchment paper is unbleached which is why its brown and not white

3. Chop up dark chocolate or use dark chocolate chips like I did. Put them into a sandwich bag and let them sit in a bowl of hot water and melt. Also gather bamboo skewers which you will need.

4. Once the chocolate is melted cut a small tip off of the corner of your bag. Now whereever there is black in the picture trace over that area with the chocolate. Keep steady pressure while piping out with the bag. . Once you outline everything then fill in the black areas with the dark chocolate. Use the bamboo skewers to help you fill in the gaps. You can then use the bamboo skewers to dip into the chocolate to be more precise when tracing over the eyes, lips etc. Refrigerate while you prepare for the next step.

dark chocolate layer done! that was easy...

5. For the next step prepare and melt the white chocolate in the same way. Mix together the white and dark chocolate to get a good mid-tone color.

yum..

6. Take the picture out of the fridge and just like tracing fill in the mid-tone areas to give your painting its depth. If some of the lighter chocolate gets on the dark chocolate don't worry because it wont affect the end product. Once done, refrigerate.

mid-tone colors filled in - that was really quick!

7. After the chocolate has hardened (this doesn't take long 10 minutes or so) its time to do the last and easiest step. This is where I made a mistake and I will tell you how to avoid what I did wrong. First outline the outside of the entire picture with melted white chocolate.

Then pour white chocolate over the entire picture so that it is completely covered. (not pictured) It is VERY IMPORTANT that your chocolate is not too warm otherwise the chocolate underneath will melt. Smooth the white chocolate gently and evenly and be careful not to disturb the layers underneath. This is where I went wrong. I was a little heavy handed and ended up messing up the dark chocolate layer over one of the paintings eyes. Also tap the chocolate on the counter/table to get rid of trapped bubbles. Again, this is something I didn't do enough of so there were craters in my finished product. 

Last layer - seriously this is too easy..

8. Once you're done smoothing out the white chocolate layer, place back in the fridge or freezer. When the chocolate has hardened place another sheet of parchment paper over the painting and invert carefully. Peel away the parchment paper and voila! The finished product! 

     done!

Again I was completely surprised at how easy and how little time it took for how wonderfully professional it turns out! I hope you try it out and surprise someone special with a really unique gift!  (How great would it be to surprise your loved one with a personalized chocolate portrait as the topping on their next birthday cake??)

remember: be sure to tap out the trapped bubbles
or else youll be left with craters!

...and be careful when smoothing out your final layer of chocolate.
I wasnt :(

pretty good for a first try but will attempt to fix it....

after a few touch ups : j

Will leave you with my favorite song by Sade (and the beautiful lyrics). Enjoy : j

There must have been an angel by my side

Something heavenly led me to you

Look at the sky

It's the colour of love

There must have been an angel by my side

Something heavenly came down from above

He led me to you

He led me to you

He built a bridge to your heart

All the way

How many tons of love inside

I can't say

When I was led to you

I knew you were the one for me

I swear the whole world could feel my heartbeat

When I lay eyes on you

Ay ay ay

You wrapped me up in

The colour of love

You gave me the kiss of life

Kiss of life

You gave me the kiss that's like

The kiss of life

Wasn't it clear from the start

Look the sky is full of love

Yeah the sky is full of love

You gave me the kiss of life

Kiss of life

You gave me the kiss that's like

The kiss of life

You gave me the kiss of life

Kiss of life

You gave me the kiss that's like

The kiss of life

You wrapped me up in the colour of love

Must have been an angel came down from above

Giving me love yeah

Giving me love yeah

You gave me the kiss of life

Kiss of life

You gave me the kiss of life

Kiss of life

Happy Un-birthday!

Birthdays. Love 'em or hate 'em?

I love them. Not just my own, but all of my family's and friends' birthdays as well!  The candles, cake, food, parties, deocorations, presents - I love it all. 

My favorite part of a birthday celebration is that special moment when everyone gathers around singing Happy Birthday, the lights are dimmed as the glowing cake is brought out and the birthday girl or boy takes in a deep breath to blow out the candles and make a wish.

At precisely that moment I  imagine the whole universe coming to a halt as it waits to hear what the next birthday wish will be; and I remember a quote from The Alchemist - 

"When you want something the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it." -  Paulo Coehlo

My little sister had a birthday recently which inspired me to make these yummy "Birthday Cake Truffles".  Although she is in a different state I decided to make them anyway to celebrate her birthday and my un-birthday. : j  They are super easy to make plus these little bites are just as filling as a huge slice of cake. A cute twist on the traditional birthday cake.  Enjoy!

Birthday Cake Truffles

Ingredients:

1 box of Yellow Cake Mix (or make your own )

Milk Chocolate Melts

Sprinkles

Steps:

To see a step by step with pictures guide to making cake truffles see this post I wrote earlier: http://oureyeseatfirst.blogspot.com/2011/02/step-by-step-rose-and-white-chocolate.html

Substitute with the yellow cake and chocolate melts.

Once the cake rounds have been dipped in chocolate top with sprinkles and if you like, add candles!

Whether its your birthday or your un-birthday, make these adorable birthday cake truffles and wish away!