Filled Strawberries and The Bunny Napkin Fold

The strawberries at the market have been decent, so they will be on our Easter menu. If your schedule is very busy like mine, filled strawberries are quick with the prep time being about 30 minutes. They are best served the same day you make them.. My family will be joining us, and we are up to 14 people. Tomorrow evening, I am looking forward to hosting a dinner for friends. 

Filled Strawberries

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8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 TB tablespoons confectioners' sugar

12 strawberries

Directions:

Whip room-temperature cream cheese on medium speed until slightly fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 2 TB confectioners' sugar.

Trim tops and bottoms of 12 strawberries to level. Use a small melon baller to scoop out tops.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip with cream cheese mixture; pipe into berries until it brims over tops.

Toast 1/4 cup sliced almonds in a 350°oven until golden-brown,

3 to 6 minutes; arrange slices over filling. 

Photo from Pinterest

Our Easter table will be filled with bunnies. I found a tutorial on You Tube that was easy to follow, and I  mastered the Bunny Napkin Fold. I wrote to her and told her that the video was great.

Thank you for stopping by! I will be joining Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm.

Happy Easter,
xo

Debbie

Maple Walnut Biscotti

My love of maple syrup started as a child. My parents would treat us to maple sugar candy in our Easter baskets. And in the summer, they would treat us to maple walnut ice cream at an ice cream parlor. To this day, I still eat maple walnut ice cream if we are out for a drive and stop for ice cream ;o)  It competes only  with coffee ice cream.

 I hope Mr. Mountain Breaths will put a maple bunny in my Easter basket this year.

I help support the maple producers here in Central New York, and was delighted to find a biscotti recipe on La Table De Nana's blog. The recipe came from Costco Connection Magazine so please check it out at their site if you are interested. We served the biscotti  with tea to dear friends on Saturday, and it was a big hit.

Thank you for stopping by! I am joining Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm.

Debbie

Blueberry Streusel Bars

I've been using the blueberries that I picked in July and froze.  Each year we go blueberry picking and the organic blueberrries are so delicious and I freeze some to use during the winter.

Each year, they give us a sheet of recipes, and I think I am up to Volume 6. Tried and  tested recipes from the blueberry pickers. The blueberry streusel bars is my very favorite although they have all been very good. 

Blueberry Streusel Bars

Printable Recipe

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2 c. rolled oats

1 c. flour

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. butter melted

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 c. water

2 c. blueberries

1/2 c. white sugar

2 TB. lemon juice

.

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour and brown sugar. Stir in butter, 

blend until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. Press remainder 

into bottom of an ungreased

9 x 13 pan. Set aside. 

In a large saucepan, blend cornstarch and water until smooth. 

Stir in berries, white sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over low heat until thick. Pour over prepared crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool. Cut into bars.

Thanks for stopping by! I am joining Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.

Debbie

Butterfly Garden

Each butterfly shows off a signature MacKenzie-Childs pattern (look for your favorites). I'm getting a little excited about seeing butterflies flutter in the sunlight and flitting from flower to flower. It's going to be a while, so I brought the butterflies indoors on the table.

My mom gifted me with this beautiful teapot from the new MacKenzie-Childs Butterfly Garden Enamelware collection and I bought four salad plates. I filled it with white tulips, but you can see the cute lid in the picture above. We have a special love of butterflies just like they do at Mackenzie-Child's Aurora, NY farm. Looking forward to warm summer days when we can sit in the backyard and watch the butterflies in the garden.

While we were in Walmart, mom told me about the frozen Macarons she has been buying. 

They are very good and are baked and shipped by Looka Patisserie in California.

Since I wanted to serve you all a dessert that coordinated with my butterfly garden plates, I used a really cute cookbook to inspire my inner-artist that I received for a gift from my friend Pam. I was drawn to the dark brown and white striped Jaconde cake with strawberry mousse. I figured it would coordinate well with my Mackenzie-Childs dishes since the stripes were very dark in the cookbook photo. I followed the recipe exactly, and rarely have flops, but mine came out a really light brown. We loved it anyway, and I served it in jars.

I should have made my tried and tested cake with butterflies that I made last year for my sister-in-law's birthday ;o)

Thank you for stopping by! I have made so many friends through blogging, and appreciate and love your visits.

I am joining Susan at Naps Between the Porch for Tablescape Thursday, Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday and A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday.

Debbie

Rooster Table

We surround ourselves with what we love. Much of the fun comes from using items that have meaning. This tablescape was inspired by a black and white table runner that I received from my dear friend Paula.  

I have received so many lovely gifts from beautiful friends over the years, so I'm going to start featuring them on my blog from time to time. 

Once in a while, I check the stats on my blog. It tells me what is popular, and these rooster plates with Mackenzie-Childs chargers are very popular. The plates have a wonderful scalloped design with tassels.

The layers consist of Pinzon chargers, MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check, and Rooster plates.

The centerpiece hen is nesting in a MacKenzie-Childs strainer. 

My weeks have been very full, and I promise to share two wonderful dessert recipes very soon!

Thank you for stopping by!

Debbie