Thursday night I hosted girls night, holiday style. Candles glowing, aromas of fresh baked goodness, and some delightful new age holiday music set the stage. The plan was to build gingerbread houses and watch old Christmas movies. No one actually brought a favorite movie, so we watched my most frequented classic, White Christmas. How can you beat Bing at Christmastime?
The stage was set. Bowls of treats were perfectly placed upon the counter, waiting patiently for the opportunity to grace the trusses of an elaborate and perfect artistic culinary masterpiece. I worried endlessly about not having enough, well, anything, but think that now, 6 houses later, I have more candy than I started with due to others contributions to the decor pool.
The night didn't quite go as planned. First, I set the egg whites in the ol' kitchen aid to whip them to "light and frothy" while chatting away with the girls. By the time I checked on them (mere moments later, I swear), my light and frothy egg whites were nearing stiff peaks with the best of meringue. Had there been a way to get a little sugar in there I would've baked it and grabbed a spoon. Instead, those perfectly overbeaten whites got dumped straight down the sink.
Try #2: The egg whites reached glorious perfection and it was time to add the sugar. Somehow, it was not incorporating into the eggs the way I thought it should. After a small group discussion about my inadequacies with royal icing I realized that I'd added twice the sugar called for as I was being, you know, efficient, and not reading the ounces on the bag before I dumped it in. Surely the recipe just uses one full bag. Long, boring story shorter, by the time the frosting was finished(and I must add downright wonderful), we were all bursting with anxiousness to get going.
Then the fiasco of gluing the houses together began. Cheating, we were using graham crackers. Yes, I know that one could argue the differences between an authentic gingerbread house and a graham cracker house... I was aiming for simplicity and economic prudence. The icing didn't set quickly enough and walls were collapsing right and left. It was much like some of the custom homes built one street farther up the hill, but I digress. I melted some sugar and figured we'd glue the assemblages that way. It's fast, easy, and much more stable. That is until one covers their thumb with hot, molten sugar net effect being instant blisters.
Things didn't exactly go as planned. I had grandiose visions of immaculate confectionery villages, but this is what we ended up with instead:
The stage was set. Bowls of treats were perfectly placed upon the counter, waiting patiently for the opportunity to grace the trusses of an elaborate and perfect artistic culinary masterpiece. I worried endlessly about not having enough, well, anything, but think that now, 6 houses later, I have more candy than I started with due to others contributions to the decor pool.
The night didn't quite go as planned. First, I set the egg whites in the ol' kitchen aid to whip them to "light and frothy" while chatting away with the girls. By the time I checked on them (mere moments later, I swear), my light and frothy egg whites were nearing stiff peaks with the best of meringue. Had there been a way to get a little sugar in there I would've baked it and grabbed a spoon. Instead, those perfectly overbeaten whites got dumped straight down the sink.
Try #2: The egg whites reached glorious perfection and it was time to add the sugar. Somehow, it was not incorporating into the eggs the way I thought it should. After a small group discussion about my inadequacies with royal icing I realized that I'd added twice the sugar called for as I was being, you know, efficient, and not reading the ounces on the bag before I dumped it in. Surely the recipe just uses one full bag. Long, boring story shorter, by the time the frosting was finished(and I must add downright wonderful), we were all bursting with anxiousness to get going.
Then the fiasco of gluing the houses together began. Cheating, we were using graham crackers. Yes, I know that one could argue the differences between an authentic gingerbread house and a graham cracker house... I was aiming for simplicity and economic prudence. The icing didn't set quickly enough and walls were collapsing right and left. It was much like some of the custom homes built one street farther up the hill, but I digress. I melted some sugar and figured we'd glue the assemblages that way. It's fast, easy, and much more stable. That is until one covers their thumb with hot, molten sugar net effect being instant blisters.
Things didn't exactly go as planned. I had grandiose visions of immaculate confectionery villages, but this is what we ended up with instead:
Laticia's prize winner. She definitely takes the cake in the creativity/completion/actually still standing categories.
Aeryn's little cottage. See the red spray on the roof? I'd never seen spray food coloring before. Neat stuff I tell ya. That is until one turns the nozzle towards themself and presses, hard. Red dye spray + eye = not having fun yet.
Katie's little castle. Yup, it's collapsing before our very eyes. She'd never in her life made a gingerbread house (and she's 20) which I would have thought to be impossible.
My crowning glory. This is my custom built creation, although construction has been halted due to overextended credit and a poor housing economy. Perhaps at some future date when the market shifts it will be reasonable to resume construction and complete the dream.
Next year we're doing this instead:
Cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma that go together like puzzle pieces. Get them now for only $14.95. They are worth it, I promise.
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2 comments:
I love it! Brings back memories, I tell you, and I loved the laughs! And oh by the way, we cheated up here and used a kit . . . complete with a stand to help the house actually stand while you glue it together!
You are too funny Michelle. It seems like you had a lot of fun, though, and if it is any consolation your houses look much better than the monstrosity Steve and I created. My mother-in-law was kind enough to give me a kit and though the house is still standing, it looks as though it was put together by a two year old. Steve and I finally got bored and started finding random things around the house to add to the landscape. There are little frogs hanging out in the yard, and bumper stickers on the roof. (Don't ask.)
I miss the days when my Mom would make gingerbread from scratch and would get the icing to the perfect cement like consistency. I also miss having enough time and patience to glue Neckos to every inch of the gingerbread roof.
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