Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Christmas Recipes to Die For....

Looking for some unique and interesting recipes for Christmas? Planning to make your Christmas dinner different and more special this time? Then look no further we put our favorite Christmas recipes in this blog. Here we have brought you some delicious Christmas recipes and menu ideas for the festive season.


Poinsettia Punch


Ingredients 

  • (750-milliliter) bottle Champagne, chilled 
  • 3 cups cranberry-apple juice, chilled
  • 1/4 cup thawed white grape juice concentrate
  • 1/4 cup orange liqueur
  • Poinsettia Punch Recipe

Preparation

  1. Stir together all ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher.
  2. Serve in Champagne flutes. (Decorate serving tray with fresh cranberries, if desired.)

Melting Snowmen Cookie Balls

Ingredients 



1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
24   NUTTER BUTTER Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)
2 pkg. (6 squares each) BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted
1/4 cup  PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter
48 Mini OREO Bite Size Cookies
2 Tbsp.  decorating icing

http://www.kraftfoods.com/assets/recipe_images/Melting-Snowmen-Cookie-Ball-Pops-52162.jpg

Preparation

Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended. 
Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls; place in single layer in shallow pan. Freeze 10 min. Mix chocolate and peanut butter until well blended. Dip balls in chocolate mixture; place in shallow waxed paper-lined pan, allowing excess chocolate to pool at bottom of each ball. Decorate with remaining ingredients as shown in photo. 
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cupcakes  

Ingredients

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix
1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup cold milk
1/2 cup  PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
4 squares  BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/4 cup PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts, chopped 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cupcakes recipe

Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F.
Prepare cake batter and bake in 24 paper-lined muffin cups as directed on package. Cool 30 min. (Cupcakes need to still be warm to fill.)
Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 min. Add peanut butter; mix well. Spoon into small freezer-weight resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Snip off 1 bottom corner from bottom of bag. Insert tip of bag into center of each cupcake; pipe in about 1 Tbsp. filling.
Microwave Cool Whip and chocolate in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min. or until chocolate is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 1 min. Dip tops of cupcakes in glaze; sprinkle with nuts. Keep refrigerated.
Holiday Cheese Truffles
Ingredents 
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg.  (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
Dash  ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
  green onions, sliced
1-2/3 cups chopped PLANTERS Pecans
SOCIABLES Crackers
Holiday Cheese Truffles recipe
Preparation
Beat first 4 ingredients with mixer until blended. Divide in half. Add peppers to half, and onions to remaining half; mix each until blended.
Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.
Shape each mixture into 24 (1-inch balls); roll in nuts. Serve with crackers.
Chorizo and Cranberry Stuffing 
Ingredients
2 pkg. (6 oz. each) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 lb.  chorizo, cooked, drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup  chopped cilantro
Chorizo and Cranberry Stuffing recipe
Preparation
Prepare stuffing mixes in large saucepan as directed on package.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Glazed Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup  maple-flavored or pancake syrup
1/4 cup GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard
1 whole  fully cooked boneless ham (5 lb.)
Whole cloves
12   maraschino cherries, halved
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 can  (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
Glazed Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Sauce recipe
Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F.
Mix sugar, syrup and mustard until well blended. Use paring knife to make shallow even diagonal cuts across top of ham in one direction. Repeat, making slits in opposite direction to form diamond shapes.
Insert cloves where cuts meet. Place ham on rack in shallow pan. Place cherries, cut-sides down, on surface of ham.
Bake 2 hours or until ham is heated through, brushing occasionally with 1/2 cup syrup mixture after 1-1/2 hours. About 10 min. before ham is done, mix remaining syrup mixture with cornstarch and pineapple in saucepan; bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir on medium-low heat 5 min. or until thickened.
Slice ham. Serve with sauce.

So From Our Families to Yours, We wish you Happy Holidays and Great New Year !

























  


                                                            

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Top 10 Must Have Holiday Gifts

1. Apple IPad 2 
It's all about the apps, folks. While the Galaxy Tab 10.1 rivals the razor-thin iPad 2 in terms of build quality, Apple has maintained a wide lead in app selection. With 140,000 to choose from, the iPad 2 has become a veritable Swiss Army Knife, and even if you think Android's catalog is vast enough, many developers still write for iOS before they ever turn their attention to Honeycomb. Until Google's ecosystem can match Apple's, this remains the tablet to beat.
2.Amazon Kindle Fire
Hear that? That was the sound of other Android tablet makers taking a big gulp. Though it undercuts its competitors by at least $100, the Fire still manages to offer a high-quality IPS display and a (heavily skinned) version of Android that covers the basics -- email, web surfing, watching movies. What's more, it's closely tied to Amazon's vast empire of books, movies and MP3s, giving it a tighter ecosystem than what most other Android tabs have to offer. Sure, it lacks a camera and anything that qualifies as beefy storage, but with a price that tempting, its value is undeniable.

3.LeapFrog LeapPad Learning Tablet
The LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet from LeapFrog is an electronic educational gaming system for children aged 4 to 9. It features over 100 activities for young minds in the form of cartridge games, applications, videos, digital books, flash cards, and downloadable content. Parents are given the ability to monitor their children's learning progress, and children find the games to be fun and engaging.
LeapFrog LeapPad Learning Tablet - TOP 10 TOY for KIDS 2011
4.Nikon D7000
Nikon's 16 megapixel D7000 has landed into the world of officialdom with a bang, bringing with it an almighty 39-point autofocus system, 100 percent viewfinder coverage, 1080/24p and 720/30p video options, dual SD card slots, 6fps burst mode for up to 100 shots, and magnesium alloy top and back covers for that extra bit of metalized durability. The continuous video autofocus that debuted in the D3100 is here too, though bear in mind there's a 20 minute cap on uninterrupted recordings. 

5.Wizgloves
Wizgloves let you keep your hands warm while you keep in touch with your device. Wizgloves interacts with your touch screen devices, including iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and other touch sensitive digital devices.

6. Roku 2 XS
Thanks to a varied range of content offerings--including Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, Crackle, and Pandora--that beats the Apple TV, the Roku 2 XS is the best all-around streaming-media box you can get for less than $100
7. Sony RDP-X500iP speaker dock for IPad or Iphone
Sony's churned out plenty of speaker docks for the smaller iDevices out there, but until now, it hadn't given the largest Apple handheld any love. It's a little late to the party, but the company finally jumped on the iPad bandwagon with its latest RDP-X500iP speaker dock. Sporting a built in subwoofer, magnetic fluid speakers and Sony's Clear Phase DSP sonic technology, this little gem purportedly packs a pretty good bass punch while delivering quality audio.

8.Samsung BD-D5700 Blu-ray player
Sure, it may be 2011, but not everyone owns a Blu-ray player. Or perhaps they need one in another room, or a new model with access to additional entertainment like Netflix streaming. Samsung's BD-D5700 also includes access to the Samsung App portal with a slew of internet content to play, plus compatibility with local media in AVI, MKV, WMV formats, among others.
9.Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Move Bundle (320GB)
 The PS3 Slim Move Bundle is not only an excellent value, but offers an impressive amount of storage space, too. And because the PS3 is such a great media hub, we recommend all the hard-drive space you can get.
10.Animal Planet Air Swimmers
The Air Swimmers are large, helium filled versions of aquatic animals. Currently they come in two varieties, the Air Swimmers Shark and the Air Swimmers Clown Fish. The Air Swimmers have fins and tails that move so fluidly that it's almost like watching an actual fish swimming around in water.
Air Swimmers - TOP 10 TOYS for KIDS Christmas 2011



Monday, November 28, 2011

New Lights Over the Holiday Weekend

So this past holiday weekend while others were fighting the Black Friday shoppers we were at home hanging lights.... no not holiday lights but new lighting for our foyer.

Our existing foyer lighting was too small for the 12' high ceilings and for a while now I had been looking for something to replace it with and just had not found the perfect piece. Since our foyer is next to the dining room it had to be a light fixture that complemented the dining room chandelier.





Once James took down the old fixture he had to re-work the wiring for the new fixtures. Instead of just adding one fixture we had decided to add three. That's right three; all of which would work on one switch.







Once the wiring was complete we proceeded to hang the new fixtures.








And voila we have light!!!!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Turkey Day Table Ideas

 Turkey Day Table Settings Ideas
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. You get to eat and eat to your hearts delight.This year you want the family to feel comfy and homey during this special moment, right, this is the time to incorporate decorative and seasonal elements.

Less Is More
The addition of a green linen or simple ribbon and pinecone to a folded napkin can elevate an elegant table setting. Added contrast to white china or yellow pale dinner set with a bright color purple napkin. You can certainly set your tone or theme only by changing colors.



Candle Light Set the Mood
Candle creates homemade warmth and illumination. Candles are practical, beautiful, and if you want to blend in the spiritual side, they are welcome in every religion, thus everyone will feel welcome to your table. If space is limited or you have small children in the home, try sconces that hang on the wall. This will keep your shelf and table space open for other items and keep little fingers from getting in the candles.

Fruit and Flower Power
Flower empowers the color of the centerpiece besides adding fragrance that calming and soothing the surrounding table layout. Decorate your centerpiece with a large array of flowers along with fresh fruits and vegetables. If you don't have the time to work with floral sticks and wires, you can position grapes, apples and pears around the centerpiece. You can still get a similar beautiful effect.


 

We hope you all have a great start to the holiday season.

 

By the way....

Keep in mind, Morrone Interiors can help you with your holiday shopping!  In case you didn’t know, we offer gift certificates for our consulting services.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Fauxed Doors

A little over a year and a half ago I met an amazing Faux Artist (Max Monarch of Meridian Studios) that can take a dull boring door and turn it into a work of art. Since meeting her I have had her "faux" multiple clients doors and finally this week she fauxed my front door. Talk about excited; I went from a plain white door to a tiger eye wood door in just the matter of hours; well hours over a three day process :-).

Unfortunately I was so excited about my door that I forgot to take before pictures so instead I am showing you a clients door that she fauxed for me. Talk about amazing!!!!


This is the door that we found at the store.

Once the door get installed she adds a coat of primer to it.

The next day she works her magic and it looks like a real wood door.


Finally she seals the door with a coat of poly to protect it.


What's amazing about this process is you have a beautiful door that has the elegance of wood with out the cost or the upkeep. Her cost for fauxing a door is only $350.00!!!! She truly is amazing!!!