Something to be Thankful for

This year as hard as it was for our family personally. We had a lot of losses this year so unexpected. I was not going to let that get in the way of traditional Thanksgiving. I still did our typical fixings and made my  Spiced – Cured Turkey just as Martha explains here. It happens to be my favorite recipe. The only thing I do admittedly do with this recipe is I will cut back on the portion of the salt by almost 1/2 as I am not a lover of that and try not to avoid it at all costs.

Our table definitely was not as elaborate as had in the previous years but it still was a pretty tablescape.2015-11-26 15.15.03

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I never know what flower will strike my mood, I just walk into a florist see what flowers they have that I think will work and home come and create.

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All of my dinnerware was found by antiquing and I have been by collecting by stalking craig’s list, IG accounts, ebay and thrift stores. This year’s find was the bread plate. The images are hard to see in the photograph but they were gold foil swirls. As luck would have it anything gold foil is trending. 20151126_135441

Ofcourse we cannot forget Ellie the Elf that comes out each year on Thanksgiving. Look closely to spot her 😉IMG_20151126_140213

I can still say we are truly blessed regardless of this years heartaches and loss. We have such wonderful support group from our family and friends. Our daughter is the Greatest gift of all and that is all I can ask for ♥ Happy Thanksgiving from Ours to Yours!

Pinkalicious Angel Food Cake

Sweetapolita is always inspiring me by either making these little pretties myself or to create events with cakes similar to what my eyes lay fest on.  I found this Gem just in time before summer ends.  I decided am going to attempt this for our neighborhood block party in the next week. I will let you all know how it turns out.

In the meantime enjoy this recipe from Sweetapolita.

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Pink Angel Food Cake

Yield: One 10-inch round cake

Classic, light as air, moist pink angel food cake topped with billowy swirls of pink marshmallow frosting and rainbow sprinkles.

Ingredients

For the cake:
    • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (140 g) cake flour
    • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (150 g) confectioners’ sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups (13-14 egg whites), room temperature (left out about 1 hour)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
    • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (180 g) superfine sugar (see Sweetapolita’s Notes)
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
    • 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
    • Few drops pink soft gel paste food color (see Notes)
For the pink marshmallow frosting:
  • 6 egg whites (180 g)
  • 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (390 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (45 g) light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
  • Few drops pink soft gel paste food color (see Notes)
  • Rainbow nonpareils, optional

Instructions

Make the pink angel food cake:
    1. Arrange oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift the cake flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt together 4 times. Set aside.
    2. Wipe the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice, to remove any trace of grease. Add the egg whites and beat on the lowest speed until they start to become frothy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and sprinkle the cream of tartar over the egg whites. Beat on medium speed until the egg whites thicken just slightly and you can see swirl lines in the mixture from the whisk (very soft peaks), about 1 minute. Add the superfine sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until the egg whites thicken and reach soft/medium, droopy (not stiff) peaks, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract, and a few drops of the food colouring, if using.
    3. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift the dry ingredients 1/4 at a time on top of the meringue and fold gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Gently transfer the batter to an ungreased 10″ angel food cake pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula. Bake on the lower rack of the oven until the top of the cake springs back when touched lightly, and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Don’t check the cake before 35 minutes, or you could deflate your cake, but also try not to over-bake.
    4. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the whole pan onto a wire rack so it cools upside down. Let cool for one hour and then loosen sides around the center and outside of the cake using a thin metal spatula or knife. Gently coax the cake out of the pan onto the wire rack and let cool completely.
Make the marshmallow frosting:
    1. Wipe the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer with paper towel and lemon juice, to remove any trace of grease. Add egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 130°F (54°C) on a candy thermometer.
    2. Return the bowl to the stand mixer and beat on low speed for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes. Increase the speed to high and beat until it is very thick and glossy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and food colour, if using, and beat to combine. Best used right away (for best texture to apply frosting to the cake–after that it’s best enjoyed up to 1-2 days at room temperature).
Frost the cake:
  1. Place the cake wide end down onto a cake plate, board or pedestal. Pile the frosting on top of the cake and use a metal spatula to spread the frosting from the top down. Create swirls using the back of a spoon and sprinkle with rainbow nonpareils). Slice cake using a serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion. Cake keeps at room temperature for up to 2 days. Best enjoyed day 1 (the cake stays very moist for days, but marshmallow frosting is best enjoyed sooner than later).


all images are from Sweetapolita.