Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Wrap-up

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Oh Christmas.  We have so much fun together, but by the time you actually get here, I am glad to see you leave.  I don't usually stress over holidays, but with moving and dealing with a 1 1/2 year old who has an early case of the terrible two's, I'm ready to get things back to normal around here.

Nonetheless, we had a lovely holiday.

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I made a promise to myself that I would take it easy this year and not make any gifts, but as usual, I did not listen to my words of wisdom.  I completely blame Rae and her Lickety Split Bag Pattern.  I even got an email from her that included lots of evil laughter.  Darn you Rae and your awesome patterns!

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I wish I had the means to shower everyone in my life with elaborate Christmas presents, but alas, living on the salary of a second year resident and a stay at home mom doesn't allow one to be very flashy.  So this year it was chocolate to the rescue!  More specifically Chocolate-Orange Hazelnut Bark.   I whipped up nine batches of this baby and packaged them all up for gifts. 

Please forgive my massacred orange pic above.  I actually ran out of oranges at the end and had to resort to clementines, which don't skin nearly as well.  Lots of pith scraping....

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This is my absolute favorite bark recipe (any other chocolate and orange fans out there?), and I follow Martha's directions pretty closely.  My only changes include mixing in some good, dark chocolate along with the semi-sweet, roasting the hazelnuts beforehand, and generously sprinkling the entire thing with fleur-de-sel.  I love me some sweet and salty. 

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I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Anyone get anything super exciting?

5 comments:

  1. OH my goodness, delicious! Love your lickety-splitsies! They turned out so beautiful!

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  2. those bags are super cute ... that bark sounds extra delish!! and santa brought us something exciting - a 55 inch tv and a theatre system :) all hooked up tonight! hope you guys enjoyed your Christmas in your NEW house!!!

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  3. i used those same free gift tags on the homemade caramels that we gave to everyone...great minds think alike!

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  4. After seeing this post I HAD to buy the pattern for that bag and make one immediately. It looked a little intimidating at first, but it really wasn't hard, and I LOVE the outcome!!

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  5. I love the hearts from target too! I got them for ten cents a pack. I REALLY need them for a craft, so if you see any more, let me know....maggie_3@comcast.net

    That orange bark would make a lovely valentine treat

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