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Sfogliatelle

09 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, baking, books, family, Uncategorized

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Tags

baking, cake boss, sfogliatelle

He had me at this statement:
“Unless you are a professional baker and an accomplished one at that, you probably shouldn’t try to make these. I’ve seen grown men brought to the brink of tears trying to make sfogliatelle.”
Thus was the introduction to the Sfogliatelle recipe in Buddy Valastro’s Cake Boss cookbook so I absolutely had to try it. I would be meeting Buddy Valastro at his Cake Boss tour in Raleigh NC, 2011, and wanted to tell him that at least I tried.

My son and I truly enjoyed the intensity of this recipe process. Buddy was right, it’s not for the faint of heart and you need a really BIG table. I covered our wood dining room table with a plastic tablecloth so we would have enough space.

1

Holding the sfogliatelle dough after it went through the pasta machine.

Starting Buddy Valastro’s “The Cake Boss” sfogliatelle dough. We put the sfogliatelle dough through the pasta rollers about a dozen times, sometimes folding it in half, until the texture seemed right.

2

Beginning to stretch the long strip of sfogliatelle dough.

Here we begin to stretch the sfogliatelle dough.

3

Continuing to stretch the sfogliatelle dough.

Stretching the sfogliatelle dough.

4

The dough gets thinner.

Stretching the sfogliatelle dough. The recipe is on page 175 of Buddy Valastro’s “Cake Boss” book.

5

Stretching sfogliatelle dough.

We had to be so very careful to not poke holes through the dough

6

Stretching the thicker edges of the sfogliatelle dough.

Stretching the edges of the sfogliatelle dough.

7

The sfogliatelle dough felt incredible, like cool, soft velvet.

It’s hard to believe this dough was made from just flour and water with a little sea salt. Amazing! It had a cold velvety texture and was super drapey and soft.

8

Checking the thinness of the sfogliatelle dough.

The dough is almost thin enough! We had to take that little strip from the pasta machine and stretch it to 7′ by 2 feet. It hung over the ends of the table.

9

Not too many holes in the dough. Yay!

Sfogliatelle dough, stretched and thin enough with not too many holes. My son Noah and I are elated that we did it.

10

Spreading shortening by hand and rolling the dough.

Beginning to roll the dough. Noah spreads shortening completely across the dough as I roll it.

11

Continuing to roll the sfogliatelle dough.

Continuing to roll the dough. We cut the two foot roll into two pieces and put them on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator to bake the next afternoon.

12

Slicing the long roll of sfogliatelle dough.

The roll of sfogliatelle dough is sliced 3/4″ thick for the beginning of Lobster Tails.

13

Pressing the dough out like a telescope to make the cones for filling.

Pressing the dough out like a telescope, the dough is formed into a cone.

14

Piping the pate a choux pastry into each cone of sfogliatelle dough.

Pate a Choux (Cream Puff dough) is piped into each cone of dough. It was quite a challenge piping filling into all the bent ones. They looked like mummy-strangled popovers, with filling oozing out all the cracks.
The suspense is building, isn’t it? All that flaky goodness is surely going to be something amazing? Well… see the next photo.

15

hahaha our super crispy and flakey sfogliatelle are all wonky!

Ha ha ha ha! All our Lobster Tails burst! They look seriously deformed. We were ROFL over them. But they actually are extraordinarily light and crispy with a blizzard of shattering crumbs with each bite.

16.

A sugar-dusted, crispy, light, amazing Sfogliatelle, recipe from The Cake Boss cookbook.

Sugar-dusted Lobster Tail. Recipe from the Cake Boss cookbook. 3 days to make, 7 luxurious minutes to eat, 8 seconds to lick the fluffy, Italian Cream Custard Filling and last crispy crumb off the plate.

I took a small container filled with the best of the sfogliatelle to Buddy Valastro’s show. He was so charming and entertaining and awesome! A genuine good-hearted soul. After his show, we stood in line for our chance to meet Buddy and get a picture taken with him. The line moved fairly quickly.
As soon as it was our turn to meet Buddy, I opened my bin to show him my attempt at Sfogliatelle. The first thing he said was “Those smell good!” He picked one up and held it and studied it and said “It’s so light!” I was so happy! I asked him what we did wrong to make them all burst at the seams and he told me we rolled the dough too thin, to keep it thicker next time and to not push the cone out too much so there was more overlap of the strips. I got the impression that he would have loved to talk a lot longer about making good sfogliatelle but other guests were waiting in line for their photo with him. I would have loved to talk for hours about pastry! We got our picture and I walked out feeling so encouraged. It was a fantastic experience.

Meeting Buddy Valastro after his Cake Boss show in Raleigh NC 2011.

For years I kept one sfogliatelle in the freezer because “That’s the sfogliatelle that was touched and blessed by Buddy Valastro!” haha That was the only time I’ve ever made sfogliatelle but I’m thinking of giving it another go.

I raise a toast to the true Cake Boss.

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The little cake she decorated

29 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, baking, birthday, cake decorating, family, food

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birthday party, cake, cake decorating

She turned 10 and had fun putting the royal icing fantasy flowers on her little cake at her party.

She even broke some petals from the flowers and used them so creatively. I love her style!

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A Hot Air Balloon decoration for my granddaughter’s room

02 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, crafts, granddaughter, grandkids, home decor, On my Worktable, projects, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

decorating, granddaughter, home decor, hot air balloon

We have a precious new granddaughter. ♥

I wanted to make something special for her room so I made a Hot Air Balloon mobile to hang up.

Hot Air Balloon mobile, made from a Japanese paper ball, embroidery hoop, basket and brass charms.


The beautiful paper ball was purchased when two of my sons and I visited Tokyo a couple years ago, so the Japan connection is very special to my son. He also has been on a hot air balloon team so thus the connection to hot air balloons.

Hot Air Balloon decoration to hang in my granddaughter’s room.


My daughter-in-law loves butterflies so I was really happy to find the metal filligree butterflies and brass keys in my craft supplies.

Brass butterfly charm sewn to the side of the basket


The hardest part of making this was tying all the knots equidistant from the top of the balloon so it hung straight.




I hope my granddaughter enjoys it for many years.

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I wrote a menu

04 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, calligraphy, cooking, encouragement, food, Free Idea, nature, photography, recipe

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

allsparkledup, food, idea, menu

It’s for a restaurant in my imagination. Outside, surrounded by trees and mountains and seas. The rush of wind and fall of water.
Whole Earth.
Five Courses – Water, Field, Tree, Rain and Root.

A menu for Whole Earth, a restaurant in my imagination.

A menu for Whole Earth, a restaurant in my imagination.

What limits your dreams? What stops you? What if you never quit? In addition to a dozen other professions out of my reach, such as surgeon, lawyer, scientist, glass blower, architect and machine engineer.. I would love to be a chef. Here is a menu for my non-existent restaurant, Whole Earth, with some of the courses. Don’t ever let anyone stop your imagination. You never know how far it will reach.

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The rest of the hearts

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, art, crafts, encouragement, home decor, Inspirational, photography, sparkling, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day, words

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

art, crafts, hearts, home decor, photography, Valentines

On Instagram this month, I posted a heart a day, #amonthofhearts. AllSparkledUpDesign . Part way through the month, I wondered if I would have the stamina and commitment to finish. Some of these took hours to complete. The discipline of taking a creative photo every day for a whole month taught me so much.
~ You never know you can do something until you try.
~ Don’t give up. Just keep going.
~ God has millions of ideas. Scripture says God is the author of all inspiration. If you hang out with him, you’ll find that out.
~ Don’t over think it. Sometimes what you do doesn’t have to be big or loud or even shared. God enjoys the flowers blooming deep in a jungle, unseen by humans, the songs of birds unheard by ears. Some creativity is just for your and his enjoyment. It’s ok. Slow down, breathe deep.
~ I had more ideas for hearts than I had days in the month. So I’m hoping to do this next February too.
Today is Day 28, the end of the month of hearts. Here are the remaining heart photos I posted on Instagram. Enjoy!

15.

Date Marmelade Scone and Turkish Coffee

Date Marmelade Scone and Turkish Coffee

16.

French Beaded Flowers.

French Beaded Flowers.

17.

Pennyslvania Dutch Heart. I'm still not finished with this one.

Pennyslvania Dutch Heart. I’m still not finished with this one.

18.

Our Siamese kitten and her favorite stuffie and scarf.

Our Siamese kitten and her favorite stuffie and scarf.

19.

Marble Heart.

Marble Heart.

20.

Coffee Heart in a cup I used as a child.

Coffee Heart in a cup I used as a child.

21.

Peach Walnut Flip. I usually bake this in a U-shape but twisted the ends to form a heart this time.

Peach Walnut Flip. I usually bake this in a U-shape but twisted the ends to form a heart this time.

22.

The old Remington Portable typewriter was really fun to use for the typed heart. I had forgotten how noisy but charming a typewriter sounds!

The old Remington Portable typewriter was really fun to use for the typed heart. I had forgotten how noisy but charming a typewriter sounds!

23.

A heart of Charms. Some from my childhood, some from my husband's family, some from my mom and grandmother.

A heart of Charms. Some from my childhood, some from my husband’s family, some from my mom and grandmother.

24.

I really didn't want this month to be about sweets. But... Chocolates!!!

I really didn’t want this month to be about sweets. But… Chocolates!!!

25.

Orange Ginger Cake. I didn't write down the recipe as I made it up. It was scrumptious!

Orange Ginger Cake. I didn’t write down the recipe as I made it up. It was scrumptious!

26.

I was feeling so rushed but decided there WAS enough time. And there was! I just had to believe it and it happened.

I was feeling so rushed but decided there WAS enough time. And there was! I just had to believe it and it happened.

27.

I drew this four times before I decided to just let it go and do it freehand. Words of wisdom from I Corinthians, chapter 13.

I drew this four times before I decided to just let it go and do it freehand. Words of wisdom from I Corinthians, chapter 13.

28.

For the very last heart, I made a paper cutting. So simple and yet so deep. Love them all, ALL of them.

For the very last heart, I made a paper cutting. So simple and yet so deep. Love them all, ALL of them.

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A Charming Heart

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, art, miniature, photography, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day

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heart, miniatures, toys, Valentines, vintage

On Instagram this month, I am posting a heart a day, #amonthofhearts. AllSparkledUpDesign . Today is Day 23 and I thought it would be fun to share the full size image here. I’ve had most of these charms since my childhood and some go back to my mother’s childhood. Some are old Cracker Jack prizes, some are homemade. My granddaughter and I spent a couple enjoyable hours placing these charms in heart shape for this photo. Click on the image to access the full size. At the end of the month, I’ll post the rest of the photos here as well. Enjoy!

A heart of charms. Can you find two toucans? A mouse with no tail? Two boxes of teeny tiny roses? Ken's missing sock? A Real Wicker Basket? A sphygmomenometer?

A heart of charms. Can you find two toucans? Three trains? A mouse with no tail? Two boxes of teeny tiny roses? A roll of paper towels? Barney Rubble? An old iron trivet? Ken’s missing sock? A Real Wicker Basket? Sparkly ballet slippers? A sphygmomenometer?

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

14 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in allsparkledup, art, crafts, encouragement, flowers, home decor, photography, projects, sewing, sparkling, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day

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Tags

All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, allsparkledupdesign, hearts, photography, Valentine's Day

If you follow me on Instagram, AllSparkledUpDesign, you know I’m posting A Month of Hearts. Today is Day 14 and there are 14 days of hearts to go! Here are the hearts I’ve posted so far. Make sure you check instagram so you can read all the captions that go with these photos. Love to you all!

1

1-peach-valentine-box-6144

Pink Lace candy box

2

Candle-lit heart

Candle-lit heart

3

Real, edible, miniature chocolates.

Real, edible, miniature chocolates.

4

Mercury glass heart and pearls.

Mercury glass heart and pearls.

5

Beaded Heart, neat and tidy

Beaded Heart, neat and tidy


Beaded Heart, wild and unkempt

Beaded Heart, wild and unkempt

6

Circuitry Heart

Circuitry Heart

7

Welded Heart

Welded Heart

8

Tiny Raggedy Ann and Andy

Tiny Raggedy Ann and Andy


Tiny Raggedy Ann with her ILY heart

Tiny Raggedy Ann with her ILY heart

9

Vintage Valentines

Vintage Valentines

10

Ribbon Flower velvet candy box.

Ribbon Flower velvet candy box.

11

Silk Ribbon Embroidered heart box.

Silk Ribbon Embroidered heart box.

12

Stone and Crystal Heart.

Stone and Crystal Heart.

13

Pink Ribbon Flowers.

Pink Ribbon Flowers.

14 Happy Valentine’s Day!

Two swans heart.

Two swans heart.

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Don’t miss it

23 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, color, encouragement, gardening, nature, photography, sparkling, sunlight

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encouragement, macro, nature, photography, sparkling, sunlight

Yesterday I took a poinsettia outside to shake out the dead leaves. One leaf from the poinsettia had fallen. And then it rained during the night.

The day was busy but from the dining room, the tiny sparkle caught my eye.

The poinsettia leaf was no longer on the plant. During the night, it rained.

The poinsettia leaf was no longer on the plant. During the night, it rained.

I looked closer and it was even sparklier.

The poinsettia leaf had fallen but it was still good for something. It held rain.

The poinsettia leaf had fallen but it was still good for something. It held rain.

What are you missing today? Is there something you need to look at? What is tiny and quiet that you forgot? Love it all. And if you’re what has fallen, collect light from where you are.

Even a fallen leaf can still be bright. Don't waste anything, even hitting bottom.

Even a fallen leaf can still be bright. Don’t waste anything, even hitting bottom.

Never give up.

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Sweet & Sparkling Specialty Sugars for tea and coffee and sprinkling

31 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, baking, cooking, crafts, DIY, food, recipe, sparkling, tea time, tutorial, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

allsparkledup, crafts, DIY, food

So happy she loved the gift I made for her! Specialty Sugars for her tea and coffee and sprinkling on toast, cereal or anything else that needs a little sweet sparkle.

Delicious and beautiful flavored sugars in jars.

Delicious and beautiful flavored sugars in jars.


I bought the decorative knobs and glass jars at Hobby Lobby. It was easy drilling a hole in the corks, using a hack saw to shorten the knob bolt and gluing them together with a few beads.
1-specialty-sugars-s-5648
~ Lavender Sugar ~
I ground up culinary lavender with a mortar and pestle, then put the lavender and sugar in a food processor. The lavender sugar was then layered with crystal sugar in the jar.
2-specialty-sugars-spice-sugar-and-lavender-sugar
~ Lemon Orange Sugar ~
Lemon and Orange zest were placed in a food processor with sugar and ground medium fine. I’ve been making this mixture for years for use in cheesecake because it makes a very fine textured cheesecake. To fill the jar, I spooned in a layer of Lemon Orange Sugar then used tongs to place white sugar cubes against the side of the jar. Then I spooned in more sugar and repeated the layers. Next time I’ll add more orange zest for a darker orange colored sugar.
3-specialty-sugars-lemon-orange-5636
3-specialty-sugars-lemon-orange-5638
3-specialty-sugars-lemon-orange
~ Vanilla Bean Sugar ~
I scraped the seeds from two vanilla beans and ground the seeds with sugar in a food processor. I used one half of each vanilla bean, split lengthwise, to place in the jar. I spooned in about 1″ of Vanilla Sugar in the bottom of the jar. Then I used tongs and a wood skewer to position each vanilla bean against the side of the jar before adding the rest of the Vanilla Sugar.
4-specialty-sugars-vanilla-bean-s-5669
~ Pumpkin Spice Sugar ~
This recipe is something one of my sons and I made up, based on the spice ratio I use in my Pumpkin Pies. We keep this sugar blend on hand to make Pumpkin Spice Lattes, which everyone knows don’t have any pumpkin in them anyway. haha. Still, the flavor is very close to my pumpkin pies, sans pumpkin. To fill this jar, I used a small spoon and a tiny funnel I made from two straws. I can’t explain how I did the design but if you look up “sand art in a bottle” on youtube, you’ll get the idea. The white layer is Vanilla Bean Sugar. The dark brown “spots” in the white layer are pieces of cinnamon stick. I wanted to position the cinnamon stick pieces to look like hearts but the white sugar kept filling in the spaces so it didn’t work out.
5-specialty-sugars-pumpkin-spice-s-5665

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” it is said. So true. I couldn’t access my precut wood pieces or run a saw so I ended up using the only wood on hand, a 30 year old piece of Sassafrass root from my parents property. It’s been in my tea collection for decades and still has a beautiful scent. I used a small craft saw to cut thin slices of the wood to make the tags. I wrote on them with permanent marker. Now I wonder if I had wood-burned the words in… could the slice of sassafrass be steeped in boiling water to flavor tea? What fun that would be! I’ll have to try it out.

6-specialty-sugars-lavender-sugar-s-5666

7-specialty-sugars-lemon-orange-sugar-s-5668
For each of the flavored sugars, I used one cup of granulated sugar plus the flavoring agent. That was plenty to fill the jar, with a little left over.
8-specialty-sugars-s-5671

9-specialty-sugars-s-5658
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! We sure had a jolly time.

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31 Wonderful Things Severe Pain Taught Me

19 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, encouragement, God, Inspirational, nature, Scoliosis, Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, encouragement, inspirational, nature, pain, photography

31 Wonderful Things Severe Pain Taught Me

He gave me a bouquet.

He gave me a bouquet.

1. Your mind is very powerful. “Mind over matter” makes sense when you’re dealing with crippling pain. Fill your mind with wisdom and knowledge. There is plenty of room for thoughts that aren’t related to your pain at all.

2. You’ve heard it said, but those who have been there truly know: You ARE much stronger than you ever thought humanly possible. If you think today’s pain is a 10, downgrade it to a six. Then rejoice that you’re still 4 away from max.

3. There may or may not be another day. But time is on your side. Time is not the enemy because God is in charge of your time. And God never makes mistakes.

4. You CAN adapt.

5. These statements are simultaneously true: Things can always get worse… AND… This is the worst it will ever get. Which means this moment, right here, right now, can be the most fantastic moment you’ve ever had. Make it that way.

6. There are many ways of coping with pain. If one way doesn’t work, try something different.

7. Laughter can be The Best Medicine Ever. You’ve got to try it! Read humor, watch comedy, laugh with family and friends. Don’t just hope laughter might happen, deliberately make it happen.

8. Distractions are valuable. Listen, taste, see, smell, feel something new. Enjoy it slow.

9. Friends are pure gold, whether they’re wearing skin or fur.

10. Don’t let the sick part of you stop the healthy part of you. Let pain take up only its own space. If your head hurts but your hands are fine, let your hands delight in the day.

11. It’s never too late to learn something new, even something challenging. Learn a new language, study geography, literature, science, art.

12. There is a time to fight pain and a time to roll with pain. When pain is an ocean, be a fish.

13. Always take a little less pain medication than you need. Learn to be comfortable with pain instead of always trying to banish it.

14. Be glad if you have identified your pain-bearing limit. Then work to stretch it further.

15. You CAN do this! You can live WITH pain. Don’t listen to any voices that say you can’t. Don’t listen to voices that only want to lay pity on you. They aren’t helpful and you end up stuck in a swamp.

sunset-beach-nc-6139

16. It’s OK to cry. Let your eyes express and acknowledge pain. But remember to let your mouth smile. Your mouth is good for that.

17. Pain is divisive. It will divide parts of your body from functioning together. It will divide people from functioning together. Fight against further dysfunction. Recognize the crevasses caused by pain and build bridges to go over.

18. Remember that this life is not the end. We were created to live after our bodies can’t go further. This life is the path to the next.

19. Pain is a heavy weight, sticky and personal. Don’t make your pain an issue that pulls others down into the stickiness. Let others help lift you up from it.

20. Pain is a noun. Give it a name… like Motivator, Teacher, or Police. Artist, Poet or Musician. Rest or Transformation. Never let pain become Politician, Spoiled Child, Bully or Tyrant. Make your pain the noun you want to live with.

21. Pain is a story, with a beginning, middle and end. Write the story you want pain to be.

22. If you face pain, face it fully. If you run from pain, don’t miss the scenery.

23. You do have a strong will. But maybe you let it get weak. Work at strengthening your will power.

24. Pain is dark. Find ways to add more light. There are always ways to add light. Find ways to “Be the Bright.”

25. There will always be something excellent that you can derive from pain. Don’t look for the damage pain caused, look for the benefit.

26. Don’t confuse fear with pain. Fear can be conquered even if pain can’t be.

27. Everyone has pain. You are NOT alone.

28. Pain can be ugly or beautiful. You’re in charge of that.

29. Don’t let pain get louder than it should be. Pain only has a voice if you give it one. If Pain needs to speak, try letting it speak through writing, through painting, through music. Some of the most beautiful art in this world was created with pain.

30. Listen to other people. Even if that’s all you can do, it’s ok to just listen.

31. God is here now and he knows everything about pain. Have some great discussions on the topic with him.

I’m praying for you. Sometimes it’s not about the completed painting, the final finish line. Today there is beauty in the brushstrokes, the breaths taken one after the other. Today the beauty is in the heartbeat and the single footstep, the eye contact and hand holding.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Every breath has enormous value.

You can do this!
sunset-beach-nc

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