Volleyball Cookies and Lessons in Icings

For 4-5 months of the year during the Spring/Summer and early Fall, I am a golf widow.  My husband took up the sport the morning of our wedding 17 years ago and was immediately addicted.

The rest of the year, my husband is a volleyball widower.  Nights and almost every weekend is dedicated to volleyball both high school and competitive club.  My girls and I are constantly on the go.

This past week our girls' school volleyball teams had a potluck.  We were given plenty of notice and the girls were assigned to bring cookies.  Well, in the craziness of our week I forgot about the potluck. The day before, they reminded me...I played it off like of course, it's the first thing on my mind as I dropped them off at school.

While driving to work, my wheels in my overloaded brain start turning.  Could I just pick a couple packs of cookies from the grocery store?  No, that is just not in my DNA, I couldn't possibly be that boring.  Could I pick up a gourmet case of fancy cookies from Costco and just drizzle some melted white chocolate on them to look homemade?...of course not.  No, I decide with just less than 24 hours until the event that I am going to make 48 volleyball cookies and individually package them in cute little clear bags tied with ribbons in their school colors.  Can you say "insane, overachiever"?

Now mind you, I am not much of a baker or a cookie/cake designer by any stretch of the imagination. So, I spent a good amount of the day during breaks on Google, Pinterest, Wilton and any other website I could get my hands on to figure out how I was going to pull this off....brain overload!!  I had no idea about the world of "icings".  I can honestly say I now know everything about "bordering", "flooding" and "settling".

Thank God I discovered King Arthur Flour.  This website positively saved my sanity and my mission.

Simple Cookie Glaze
Courtesy of King Arthur Flour

2-1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1-1/2 to 2 Tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon milk (2% or Whole)

Mix all of the ingredients together.  Stir until smooth; a fork works fine.

The glaze should be thick, but soft enough to "settle" when you spread it.  If the glaze is too thick, dribble in another teaspoon of milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.

King Arthur Flour Tip:  Be sure to measure accurately here.  Too little milk, and the glaze won't spread nicely.  Too much milk and it will be thin, spotty and develop splotches overnight.

Once the glaze has hardened, you can color on it with foodsafe markers or you can pipe another color over the top.  You can sprinkle sugar on top of the wet icing for a sparkly effect.

Yield:  2/3 cup of glaze (this amount glazed 24 cookies)

** I used Wilton's Cookie Icing in Black for the volleyball lines.

Spreading the glaze with an offset spatula for "settling".

Before and After Glazing

One volleyball player....

...two volleyball players helping out.

Resting for packaging.

Our basket of little beauties - mission accomplished!

One Year Ago: Mocha Mint Delight

Orzo Salad With Everything and Redecorating Everywhere

As all new school years typically go there is the new wardrobe, new school supplies and new haircuts to start the year off fresh.

Well, since we had recently moved into our new house, the girls decided they also wanted new rooms...something a little more grown up, sophisticated and mature. Yes, another rite of passage that breaks my heart...my little girls are growing up too fast.

We have spent the last couple months searching out ideas on Pinterest and slowly transforming not only their rooms, but also seeing them really coming into their own young ladies.

Love the owl lamps and owl headboard piece we discovered.

The oldest one really took to the set designs of the show Gossip Girl.  She loves the elegance and classy sophistication of their home in New York.  My daughter really has an affection for her owls and I found the greatest finds at Hobby Lobby to finish it off.

Gossip Girl's infamous butterfly wall design.

We started her collection of accent pillows, a beautiful jacquard bed set and she now has her espresso colored dresser and nightstands.  I love finding great deals and never paying full price for "fabulous".

My other daughter is more of a relaxed, colorful spirit with a touch of pizazz.  She loves organic designs and lots of color around her.  Again, we searched far and wide and found incredible designs and deals at Target and Hobby Lobby.

The perfect wall decals to bring out the bedding colors.

Eggplant color framed mirror with her sparkle arrangement.

Beautiful art piece that sparkles in just the right light.

After the finishing touches everywhere it was time for our neighbor's annual end of summer potluck dinner with all the neighbors on their street.  I decided to make the family Orzo Salad With Everything.  

My sister-in-law Leslie first introduced this salad to us at one of our family dinners.  Love this salad...really versatile and goes great with any type of meat dish.  Leslie and my husband's brother Steve will be visiting us in the next couple weeks, so I know that there will be much cooking, baking and BBQ going on...stay tuned for that one next month.  They both love to cook as much as me and my husband, so rest assured no one will be starving that weekend.

Orzo Salad With Everything
Courtesy of Leslie

1-1/2 cups orzo (rice shaped pasta) uncooked
1/3 cup (packed) chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
1 cup finely chopped radicchio (about 1/2 of a small head)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Cook orzo in a pot of boiling, salted water until tender.  Drain well.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, oil, vinegar and olives.  Toss to blend.  Let stand until cool.  (This part can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead, cover and refrigerate).  Bring to room temperature before continuing.

Mix chopped radicchio, pine nuts, chopped basil, Feta and garlic into the orzo mixture.  Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

One Year Ago: Pasta Puttanesca