Stilettos & Spice is upgrading!!!

Now that stilettosandspice.com is live and growing, I will be disconnecting my blogger site and closing this page. If you haven't signed up for new post newsletters on the .com sight, please do so now so you don't miss the next blog post. You can subscribe on the right column of the website just below the "about me" section. 

Thank you everyone for your support! I look forward to keeping in touch with you through the new and improved Stilettos & Spice website!

Valentine Chocolate Toffee Crackers

I can't believe Valentine's Day is this Saturday! This year is flying by already. If you're looking for a quick and easy treat to make for the ones you love, or to share with co-workers and friends, this recipe for Chocolate Toffee Crackers is perfect. I have shared this one before for Halloween and wanted to show you how versatile it is for any occasion, just by switching up the sprinkles. How cute are these heart and ball sprinkles I used for Valentine's Day?

I recently made a batch of these for the Super Bowl and the entire plate was consumed in under 20 minutes. They only take about 30 minutes to make and truly are like candy on crack.

Now that we've gotten the chocolate part of the holiday covered, let's talk love. My Mom and her friend Bonnie have been delivering Valentine cards to the elderly couples in the senior community by our old neighborhood, for the past 11 years. Last year was the first time I got to go with them and participate. It was so much fun to hear about all of the stories that have taken place over the years and to see how much this kind gesture of love means to the residents. I'm looking forward to joining them again this Saturday for the twelfth year running. I'll be sure to take pictures and update this post accordingly.

What fun Valentine's Day traditions do you have? Leave a comment below with your favorite Valentine candy and tell me your favorite way to celebrate. My favorite treat are my Mom's famous sugar cookies. I'm looking forward to breaking my meal plan to enjoy a few this weekend.  I'd love to hear your stories, memories and traditions. Here's wishing you lots of love and reasons to smile.  XOXO

Homemade Pizza Dough/ McCoy's 2nd Birthday Party

I would eat, sleep and breathe pizza if it was as nutritious as kale, it's absolutely my favorite food. Making homemade pizzas with my family has become a yearly favorite tradition. I've hosted several pizza parties for friends and have enjoyed seeing everyone gathered together in the kitchen, cooking and eating to their heart's content. Everyone get's to eat their own custom made creation and feel like a Neapolitan Pizzaiolo/a for the day. 

A pizza party works great in the winter, as the oven warms up the room, without making it stifling hot like it would in the summer. The smell and warmth radiating from the pizzas baking in the oven, makes for a cozy and mouth watering atmosphere. 

My cute little nephew McCoy turns two today and to celebrate, my sister had the family over for a pizza dinner party. She made her own dough, (sometimes we get premade from a local pizza joint) and was sweet enough to cook up several pizzas and share her recipe with me. By the way, my sister Erin is also pregnant with my future niece and blew me away at all the work she put into the party. She's the best Mom, I love seeing the creative touches she adds to events she puts on and her children's birthday parties are no exception.

Since this was a child's party, she kept the ingredients simple and traditional. We had alfredo and traditional red sauce, supreme vegetable toppings and pepperoni. The key to baking perfect crust lies in using a pizza stone as shown above. I suggest purchasing two pizza peels; one for raw pizza dough you can top while the one in the oven bakes. The second peel is to remove the baked pizza from the oven without disrupting the raw dough. Trust me, you will be so greatful to have two for parties. They are reasonably priced on Amazon and worth every dollar.

I'll talk gourmet toppings in a future post, but let's focus on the crust for today. Erin uses this recipe from Fine Cooking, she doubled the recipe and divided each batch into thirds. Her method yields about 6 large pizzas. Cut the recipe into 6 individual balls for personal sized pizzas.

Classic cheese with garlic and herbs it a great starter for everyone to munch on as an appetizer. Serve with marinara dipping sauce.

McCoy approves of his cheesy pizza goodness

Here are some pictures of the rest of the party:

McCoy blowing out the candles on his homemade Oreo cookie cake. Make a wish!

Yummy cookies!

To help the kids expend some of their full throttle energy, I taught them a few yoga moves. Frog position was their favorite, they thought it was hilarious to hop around.

McCoy and Grace hopping around like frogs. Leap, leap!

So serious. :) My little buddy loves to mimic everyone around him right now. He is so cute!

Thanks for sharing in our day! Leave me a comment below and let me know what your favorite pizza toppings are. Happy Monday!

Naughty Or Nice? Devil's Food Coal Cakes or Candy Cane Kiss Cakes?

I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve! Have you been naughty or nice this year? Well I have the perfect solution for the little devils or angels in your life... Naughty or Nice Cupcakes! Devil's Food Chocolate Coal Cakes for the naughties you know and Candy Cane Kiss Cakes for the saintly angels who are sugar sweet.

If you are looking for a last minute dessert idea for tonight or tomorrow, I have included both of my "Naughty or Nice" cupcake recipes for you. Both recipes are made with boxed cake mix for an easy and quick last minute bake-a-ton. They are so festive and cute! Look for last minute Christmas cupcake papers at your local grocery store, or just use a standard white or silver liner, as the frosting is colored red and green to make for a Christmas themed cake.

I want to let you in on a little secret I've used with boxed cake mix. I try to avoid cooking with oil at all costs and use baking substitutes as often as possible. I have found that Greek yogurt is a perfect replacement. It makes the cakes extremely moist and gives a beautiful spongy, light and fluffy cake texture. You're saving a few calories, using natural ingredients and also making for a much better cake finish out of a box. I think you'll have a hard time baking cupcakes with oil again after trying the recipe with yogurt.

Devil's Food Coal Cakes

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 cup water
1 cup plain greek yogurt
3 eggs

Christmas sprinkles or toppings of your choice

Add to basic buttercream frosting:
Green food paste or coloring
peppermint extract*

Mix cake mix, water, eggs and yogurt together in a medium bowl until well combined. Dispense into cupcake liners, filling half way. Bake according to box directions. Remove when done, cool completely before frosting.

After your Devil's Food Coal Cakes are cool and your frosting is made, do yourself a favor and make the frosting a little easier on yourself. Invert half of the piping bag inside a large glass. Now you can fill the bag with frosting without having it slip or move around on you. Make sure to tightly wrap the top of the bag to seal in the frosting and hold with one hand to secure closure while you frost. Decorate the frosting with crushed Christmas candy, sprinkles or cute paper signs as shown in my photos. Have fun, be creative and mostly, enjoy.

Candy Cane Kiss Cakes

1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
1 cup water
1 cup plain greek yogurt

3 eggs

water 

greek yogurt
1/2 cup of crushed candy cane

Christmas sprinkles or toppings of your choice
Hersheys Candy Cane Kisses for cupcake topper

Add to basic buttercream frosting:
Red food paste or coloring
peppermint extract

Mix cake mix, water, eggs and yogurt together in a medium bowl until well combined. Dispense into cupcake liners, filling half way. Bake according to box directions. Remove when done, cool completely before frosting.

After your Candy Cane Kiss Cakes are cool and your frosting is made, do yourself a favor and make the frosting a little easier on yourself. Invert half of the piping bag inside a large glass. Now you can fill the bag with frosting without having it slip or move around on you. Make sure to tightly wrap the top of the bag to seal in the frosting and hold with one hand to secure closure while you frost. Decorate the frosting with crushed Christmas candy, sprinkles or cute paper signs as shown in my photos. Have fun, be creative and mostly, enjoy.

Basic Buttercream Frosting

6 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks room temp. butter
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream

2-4 tablespoons extract flavoring of your choice*
red food paste or coloring

Mix the powdered sugar,  butter and cream in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment and splash guards in place on low, until combined; about one minute. Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the coloring* flavor extract, beat mixture until fluffy; about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides again. Check for consistency, add an additional tablespoon of cream, one at a time until frosting is creamy, but firm. Taste and adjust flavoring or color as needed. 

*If you are making multiple colors of frosting, divide into separate bowls after frosting is well mixed, add color and whisk by hand until color is well combined.

This batch will frost approx. 24 cupcakes. Double recipe if you are making both recipes of cakes. 


I hope you all have a safe and very MeRrY ChRiStMaS! I would love to hear your holiday plans or family traditions in the comments below. Happy holidays and may the festivities begin!

Tea Party Wedding Shower

I wanted to share a fun family moment from my cousin's wedding shower the other night. My cousin Bryce is marrying his adorable fiance Clair this Friday, so my Mom had the cute idea of throwing them a tea party themed shower.  My Mom is the reason I enjoy cooking so much today and has inspired so much of my passion for good food and entertaining. She's the best at organizing and planning the cutest details for a perfect event. 

We both decided to break out her Fine China and silver for the occasion. This is a suggestion I would recommend for everyone keeping theirs locked up in a dusty cabinet. These treasures should be given life and used! It's ok to be selective, but realize that they are made to be eaten on and your guests will feel extra special that you trust them with your family heirlooms. It is a tea party after all, bring out the China!

Mom ordered scone mixes in a variety of flavors from King Arthur Flour and baked up a storm that morning. They turned out amazing! She served them with flavored jams and marmalades, and I picked up a jar of clotted cream to give the tea an authentic English touch. As this was my first time ever trying clotted cream, I did a little research before and found out that depending on where you live, there are strict rules on the order that the cream is applied to the scone. This article from The Guardian gives insight to the clotted cream and tea feud between Devon and Cornwall on the issue, I found it an interesting read.

It took some searching, but I was lucky enough to find some at my favorite gourmet shop, Pirate O's. If you don't live in Utah, you're still in luck and can order from them online! Check them out. They have yet to let me down on an ingredient or rare find and have the largest variety of selections that I've ever seen. From oils to spices to a wall of chocolate bars, they have it all!

The cute couple, Bryce & Claire who are getting married this Saturday! So excited for them!

The punch is a combination of limeade and Sprite with fresh lime and cucumber slices. You could also use Ginger Ale as a festive option for the holidays.

Look how beautiful the scones turned out! My Mom sprinkled sanding sugar over the top to add a little sparkle and sweetness.

I conjured up my inner Audrey for this Breakfast At Tiffany's look. I was lucky enough to find this Ted Baker dress a few days before and thought I would arrive to the shower in my London best.

Bryce, my Mom Dianne and yours truly.

This was my plate before I garnished the scones with jam and cream in the Devon fashion. Sorry Cornwall! I think the assembly holds up better for eating with jam first, then a large dollop of cream.

*Hibiscus flower and Mango herbal tea

I hope this post inspires you to plan a tea party for your next book club gathering, or just as a way to get your girlfriends together to reconnect and converse. You could turn this into a full luncheon with tea sandwiches and a light soup as well. 

*I shot at night in poor lighting, but still wanted to share how cute everything turned out. Here's the jams and clotted cream.

I really enjoyed seeing my family and welcoming Claire into ours. We don't get together as often as we used to, but always enjoy catching up when we do. I've always been especially close to Bryce. He's the oldest male cousin and has always been a great influence on me growing up. Our Dad's were thick as thieves as the two oldest boys out of 8 kids. They were full of mischief as little boys usually are.  It amazes me that my grandparents decided to have 6 more, knowing they might duplicate Mark (Bryce) and Steve (me)! But I'm glad that they did! Mark passed away in 1984, but I know he is a proud papa of his son and will be there with them on Saturday. I'll be sure to update this post with a few wedding photos to share.

 

Tangy Guacamole inspired by Chipotle's Famous Guac

As the temperature increases outside and the days run long, I look for ways to keep the kitchen cool and to take advantage of the fresh produce that is back in season. Grilling season is back in full force and with it, side dishes and appetizers.

One of the easiest ways to feed a crowd, is with a bowl of tangy guacamole. I've finally mastered the easiest and best guacamole recipe based on the flavor of Chipotle's famous guac. I found the ingredients and nutritional info listed on Chipotle.com and began concocting my own version. I went to town peeling, chopping and smashing my way into guacamole heaven.

Funny enough, but sometimes simplicity is the best recipe. I have tried every seasoning packet, mix and spice I've ever come across. None of which turned out half as good as the simple art of letting the ingredients speak for themselves, without all the add in's overpowering the avocado and ruining the flavor.

Ingredients:

4 ripe Hass Avocados- Halved, pitted and sliced into cubes.

1 Med Red Onion- Diced

1 Jalapeño- sliced into fourths (leave the seeds for added heat)

1/2 bunch of Cilantro

1-2 limes- juiced

Sea Salt

Directions:

Place cilantro and quartered jalapeño in a food processor and pulverize. 

Scrape the avocado flesh out of each skin into the bowl with a large metal spoon. 

Add the diced onion and mash mixture with a fork until blended. Add lime juice, cilantro puree and salt "to taste", as everyone has very particular preferences on the amount of lime and cilantro ratio in their guac. I am a more-the-merrier person, so I add it all. Garnish with a lime slice or sprig of cilantro & serve.