God Bless Us, Everyone!

Just finished A Christmas Carol today. It was a bit of a frantic run, but enjoyable. I'm quite exhausted. I didn't have much of a part, but I DID have 6 costume changes and 4 make-up changes. Ugh. Enjoy some of the many faces of Emily:

Masquerade and Menu

It's been a bit since I've posted. Ah well. I've been terrifically busy lately, in ways that both fulfill and exhaust. Pictured at right is the costume that served as my masquerade gown and Halloween costume. Check out my mask, too! I had a grand old time at the masquerade ball, and even won best costume. Go, me! On Halloween, I wore my costume all day. The photo at right is at Modoc's where I was getting my daily mocha. Mmmmmm. Mocha.

That evening, I went out with my friend Candie and her friend Casey. We also met up with Sammy for part of the evening. Candie and Casey went as a cat and mouse, which was quite entertaining.

The next day was the Day of Healing. For the last few years, I have prepared a meal for the guest speaker and the heads of the committees that put the conference together. This year was no exception.

Here is the menu that I prepared, with recipes:

Appetizers
Cheese Tray (Double Gloucester with Stilton, Gruyere, Jarlsberg, Sharp Cheddar, Chevre, Smoked Fresh Mozzarella, and Feta)
Shrimp Cocktail
Bacon/Blue Cheese Flatbread

Salad
Mixed Savory Greens (Escarole, Spinach, Radish Greens) with Manchego Cheese, Fresh Pears, and Pumpkin Seeds (I used a light balsamic dressing)

Soup
Carrot Soup with Lemon and Ginger (Really tasty!)
2 medium yellow onions, sliced
1/4 c. butter
2 T. freshly grated ginger
2 T. freshly chopped garlic
2 lemons, juiced
3 lbs carrots (whole is fine, but feel free to chop if you want it to cook faster)
3 lbs chicken stock (one of the large cans)
1 c. heavy cream or half and half

In large pot, sautee onions in butter until carmelized. Add ginger, garlic, lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add carrots and chicken stock. Put lid on, and cook on medium for roughly 45 minutes or until carrots are tender. (When I was cooking for the Day of Healing, I did all of this the night before, then let it sit in the fridge overnight. If you don't want to wait, just let it cool to room temperature.) Using either food processor or blender, puree the soup mixture till smooth. Bring back to just below boiling, then add your cream just before you serve. You can serve with creme fraiche and grated carrots if you're into showmanship.

Main Course
Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Pomegranate Wine Sauce
Gorgonzola Bread Pudding
Asparagus with Fresh Parmesan Shavings and Bacon (I meant to use pancetta, but forgot to pick it up. People liked it with bacon just as well.)

For the pork tenderloin, I used a countertop oven, which is really excellent for keeping in the moisture. I rinsed the loin, patted it down with rosemary and sea salt, then poured a bottle of red wine over it. I turned the heat up to 400 and let it cook for 3 hours. If you are using a traditional oven, I'd consider using foil to keep the moisture in.

Cranberry Pomegranate Wine Sauce
8 shallots or 1 large red onion, chopped
3 T. olive oil
2 T. garlic
1 T. rosemary
30 oz. fresh cranberries
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 pomegranates, seeded
1/2 bottle red cooking wine
1 can pomegranate-cranberry juice concentrate (from the freezer section)
1 cup sugar

In large saucepan, sautee shallots (or onions) with garlic and rosemary. Once they are well cooked, add cranberries, sugar, and vinegar. Let cook until the cranberries pop, stirring occasionally. Add juice concentrate and red wine. Cook until the mixture has thickened. Just before serving, add pomegranate seeds.

Gorgonzola Bread Pudding
3 c. half and half
8 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese
3 T. fresh, chopped thyme and rosemary
2 T. fresh, chopped garlic
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
9 whole eggs lightly beaten
1 loaf (approx. 1 pound size) day-old French bread or Italian bread cut into 1-inch cubes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat half and half in a stainless steel pot to a simmer. Add cheese, herbs, garlic, oil, seasoning and stir until cheese is melted. Slowly add liquid mixture to beaten eggs. Tear up bread by hand and fill a buttered baking dish or you can do individual muffin cups (That's what I did! Be sure to grease the muffin tins well, or you'll never get them out!) Pour egg/cheese mixture over bread and let stand for 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Bake for 40 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.

Dessert
Pear Camembert Tarts
Brown Sugar Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

Pear Camembert Tarts
I have no idea of the quantities I used in this recipe, but here's what I did:
Using the crust recipe below, I rolled out 1/2 of the dough amount at a time. I then cut the rolled-out dough into 8 equal pieces. (It doesn't matter if the edges are ragged, these are rustic tarts, and you'll be pinching it into the shape you want.) I put roughly 6 thin/medium slices of pear in the middle of each piece. I then sprinkled cinnamon on top and put a thin line of honey over the pears (maybe 2 t.) I put a medium slice of Camembert (or Brie) on top of the pears and pinched the corners up until it looked like a football. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. Sorry I can't be more precise on this. I don't like using recipes very much. These were quite phenomenal, however, especially if you like cheese and fruit together.

Crust Recipe
Makes one double-crusted 9-10 inch pie.
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. sugar
13 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1 in pieces and stored in the fridge
7 tbsp. leaf lard (or more butter, if you must, but I really recommend the lard it made the best pie crust I have EVER made!)
6-7 tbsp. ice water

Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers cut in the lard until no large pieces remain. Add the butter, and cut into flour until the largest pieces of butter are the size of large peas.
Sprinkle ice water over flour in increments of one tablespoon, toss with fork after each addition. (Try not to add too much extra water, but I usually end up going over the recommended amount.) When dough clumps together when squeezed in your palm, gather dough together into two discs. At this point, you can refrigerate over night, or use immediately. You can also make the dough in double or triple batches and save the divided discs in the freezer. It doesn't take long to thaw, and WHAM, instant pie without the mess of making the crust each time.

Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Crème Brûlée (I got this recipe from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups heavy whipping cream
8 tablespoons raw sugar or golden brown sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk pumpkin, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in large bowl. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla, then spices and salt. Bring cream just to boil in medium saucepan. Gradually whisk hot cream into pumpkin mixture.

Divide mixture among eight 5x1-inch ramekins. Divide ramekins between 2 large roasting pans. Add enough hot water to pans to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are just set in center, about 35 minutes. Chill custards until cold, about 6 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon raw sugar over pumpkin custard in each ramekin. Using kitchen torch, melt sugar until deep amber. (Alternatively, use broiler. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar [not raw sugar] and melt directly under broiler until deep amber.) Refrigerate 15 minutes to allow sugar to harden. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 hour ahead. Keep chilled.

The pumpkin crème brûlée was tasty, but honestly, tasted like pumpkin pie. If I were going to do it again, I would make an actual pumpkin pie and torch sugar over the entire pie. Using ramekins and water baths is a bit much for essentially, pumpkin pie. I probably will go back to regular crème brûlée from now on.

Even More Ella

I will actually do some writing on here shortly. As it is, I can't get enough of this little girl!

A Whole Lotta Ella

Ella Grace Dale

I'm an aunt again!!!!!! My sister, Rachel, has given birth to a beautiful, miraculous, precious, perfect baby girl! Can you tell I love being an aunt? :) Ella Grace was born at 11:58pm on August 6, 2008. She was 7 lb 13 oz and 21 inches long. She has dark hair like her mommy did when she was born. She's got a very determined cry, and a healthy appetite. Welcome to the world, little Ella.

I Wish to Go to the Festival (56)!

I took a three day vacation this week. Some theatre friends of mine asked me months ago about going to a theatre festival in Illinois. I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time. Turns out I was right. Festival 56 is a wonderful event that takes place in Princeton, IL which is about 100 miles west (and slightly south) of Chicago. The website tells me that it is "Illinois' Largest Summer Theatre Festival". We saw the three shows featured above, although Jesus Christ Superstar, Vanities, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, and A Doll's House were all part of the festival, as well. We saw truly talented actors perform, some of them in all 3 shows. The Odd Couple was phenomenal, but I particularly enjoyed Hamlet, which was performed in the park. I truly enjoy seeing Shakespeare done well, and the Hamlet of this performance was quite good. City of Angels, which I was unfamiliar with, was quite entertaining. It's a "film noir" type of show and also a musical, which makes it interesting. I knew some of the songs without knowing what they were from. Jason Simon, who played in all three shows (most notably as Oscar in The Odd Couple) played Bialystock in The Producers when I saw it at the Honeywell Center*. I didn't put two and two together until I got home, although I had multiple opportunities to speak with him. We could've discussed how awkward it is to sit between your mother and your grandmother during the "Hold Me-Touch Me" scene. Ah, well. Side bar: John Cormier, who played Felix and Laertes, was an exceptionally talented man, and I enjoyed visiting with him after the show, as well.
The girls and I had a fantastic time. In addition to the shows, we spent some time bonding over Project Runway, antiquing, and enjoying some good eats. I found some marvelous pieces of jewelry (as seen to the right), and a juicer for my brother.
I would highly recommend Festival 56 as a destination for theatre-lovers. If you go, be sure to visit the 28 East Tea Room, which serves a full tea service by reservation. Otherwise, you have a choice from 4 entrees from an ever changing menu. I had the Hummus Platter and the White Chocolate Lime Cheesecake with a pot of peppermint tea. Yum! Have some complimentary sherry in the lobby while you wait.

*Update, March 2009: As it turns out, I didn't put two and two together because it actually WASN'T Jason Simon I saw, although it was the same company he had been in. Saw J.S. in the Wizard of Oz and met with him after the show, which is where I learned all this info.

A Piece of Cake!

A few months ago, I agreed to bake cake for my music ministers wedding reception. It wasn't his ACTUAL reception, mind you, he had that in Ohio after his wedding. This was the reception the church was throwing for him after he got back from his honeymoon. In any case, I was a moron. I don't really have cake baking experience, especially on a large scale. But, as seen by my photo above, I decided to get organized. On Thursday night, I planned to bake several cakes. I instead had dinner with my parents, my sister and her husband. I did manage to bake 3 cakes, two 9" round ones and a 9" by 13". I put them in the freezer to frost the next day.

On Friday night, I had a caketastophe. I somehow managed to break a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge, causing the entire gallon to spew down upon every item in the refrigerator. However, I was still able to put together two 9" by 13" carrot cakes. While they were baking, I mixed the cream cheese frosting. I set the bowl of powdered sugar down too hard, and ended up with a reverse dalmatian sitting at my feet. She got relegated to her room, and I finished the frosting without incident.

Once the cakes were out of the oven, however, I was left with this. A carrot caketastrophe. I salvaged what I could, and created a two-tiered ugly cake. It could have been worse. The cake actually tasted delicious. On Saturday, I did manage to finish the rest of the cakes. I made Chocolate Pudding Cake with Toasted Coconut, Lemon Cake (pictured below), Almond Cake with Almond Buttercream, the aforementioned Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Fudge Cake with Toffee and Almonds. After my initial caketastrophes, everything went ok. On Sunday, I had to sing special music and praise team, so I was at church at 7:45am. I sang for first service, rehearsed for praise team, then went home to finish icing my chocolate fudge cakes, ran back to church, begged passing people to get the cakes out of car, sang for second service, sang for third service, then set up the room for the reception. I had lunch and then went back to serve the cakes. They were a hit! People really enjoyed them, however I had made too many. Luckily, I had ready volunteers to take home the leftovers.

All I Want is Loving You and Music, Music, Music!

Yesterday was an enjoyable day, but long. I had praise team brush-up at 8:00, then, of course, praise team & church at 10:45. From there, I drove to Marion to meet up with my brother and his wife, and mutual friends of ours, Travis & Amy Vanest. They're only in the country for a few months, and only in the Wabash area for a few days, then they're on their way back to Albania.

I left their company with a belly full of ribs and wings, and 45 minutes to get back to Wabash to the Dr. Ford Home for a string quartet performance. The music was beautiful, even if the ground was sloshy from the uncooperative weather (RAIN!).

I left the Ford home with sunburn isolated on the left side of my body and 10 minutes to pick up some burn cream and head to Charley Creek Gardens to hear an electric violinist and her band. The music was catchy, even if there was no dance floor to let the cha-cha out. I then continued to the Gardens building to hear a lecture about Music & the Community and a dinner following. It was the culmination of the first annual Charley Creek Music Festival (in coordination with the Paradise Spring Arts Festival). The day was just lovely, and it ended at 9:30-ish when I finally arrived home.

At work today in preparation for my 4-day weekend for the 4th of July, and anxiously awaiting baby news from my cousin Julia, who is a few days past her due date for Wren Alice Stotlar.

Planning to see Footloose at the Wagon Wheel this weekend, with my Kira friend playing Vi, the preacher's wife. Anyone want to go with?

New Do, And a Big To-Do!

So. . . it's been a really crazy week for me, here in the 'Bash. I had just finished the show in Peru (see last posting), when I got a call from my friend Evan on Monday. He lives in the northernmost part of Indiana. On Sunday evening, a couple and their son had stopped in at the restaurant where he works. Low and behold they were on their way to Wabash. The son, Ranaan, happens to be an amazing double bassist. I had seen him perform at the Honeywell Center in his group Time for Three. AMAZING! Seriously. Anyway, Evan said that Ranaan should look me up. Ranaan thought that was a swell idea. He gave Evan his number, and Evan gave it to me. So I was able to meet Ranaan on Monday evening. He was very nice, but I didn't stay long as it was me plus 14 double bass guys at this gathering. Even I'm not THAT ambitious. I then went on Friday night to see his concert at the Honeywell Center. (After buying a new dress and aforementioned 'do in Marion.) The concert was a culmination of a week-long double bass camp that Ranaan and two other instructors had taught that week. The music was beautiful, and with such an extensive variety, especially considering that it was all double-bass or double-bass and piano. Breath-taking. Honestly. After the concert, I went to the post-show dinner. I sat with 4 of the bassists, a co-worker and her husband, and a cutie named Ben. Excellent wine, food, and conversation. All in all a good evening.

Today, I worked til 4, then went to the Paradise Arts Festival for a bit. Bought a beautiful painting that I really can't afford, but I'm still glad I did. Then rushed back home, changed, and left again to have dinner with the fam at the country club. Ran into the bass boys from the previous evening, and was able to show off my nephew, Nicky. Then, it was on to see Bill Cosby at the Honeywell Center. I was amazed at how that man was able to reference his "naughty bits" over and over without actually using words that were over PG-13. Not quite the show that I expected, but still hilarious at 70 years old. Tomorrow, it's praise team in the AM, lunch with Martin, Tatiana, Travis, and Amy, then a concert at the Dr. James Ford Historic Home.

Busy. Busy. Busy.


Finally.

Another Closing, Another Show

Last Saturday was our fourth and final performance of Night and Day: A Soapy Cole. Legendary lyricist Cole Porter was born in Peru, a small town located west of my home. For the last 4 years, they have done a revue featuring his music, and I've been involved for the last 3 of those 4 shows. Each year has a theme. Year one: A Cole (wedding) Reception. Year two: A Cup o' Cole (a morning show). This year was a soap opera theme. In the first picture, I'm with my on-stage fiance (first act) and husband (second act) in the show, Dr. Jim Stone (aka Jeff Carnagua). In the second, I'm with Australian P.I. Krikey Dingo. I played Flora Gardener. Yep. It was that kind of show. Loads of fun, though. And it had 34 Cole Porter songs in it, not including the lyrics thrown into the dialogue.

I actually was supposed to be drugged/drunk the entire first act, so that was a big stretch. Tee hee. I did some research on the weekends leading up to the show. I'm totally method. My favorite song this year was called The Tale of the Oyster, which I had never heard before. I sang this song in the second act, so my character was sober. I think it'd make more sense if you were drunk, though.