One of the biggest problems with a stand mixer is that the mixer blade does not reach all the way down to the bottom of the bowl, so you have to get out a spatula and mix your batter by hand. It’s only an annoyance because the beauty of a stand mixer is that it should be hands-free. Over the past several months, a number of companies have come out with  mixer attachments that offer a solution to this problem, and Beater Blade is one of them.
Beater Blade looks like the regular paddle attachment for a mixer, but it has a flexible “wing” that reaches out from the paddle to the bottom of the bowl, so it scrapes the bowl with a soft blade that mixes efficiently without damaging your mixer. The company makes Beater Blades to fit all different styles and brands of electric mixers, including KitchenAid, Viking and DeLonghi, and all the Blades are dishwasher safe.
I used my Beater Blade to whip up some egg whites and to make a batch of cupcakes. It performed very well at both tasks, scraping in every last bit of flour for my cupcake batter - without over-mixing and making the cupcakes tough - and whipping the egg whites up so that they were fluffy and left no unwhipped pool of egg white around the dimple at the bottom of my KitchenAid bowl.  I was a bit skeptical before I tried it, but the Blade delivered all that it promised and is a nice accessory to have in the kitchen if you want to make better use of your stand mixer.

  The holidays are fast approaching and So you will have a full house. Here is a great make-ahead breakfast that everyone will love.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
• Butter, for pan
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Dash salt
• Praline Topping, recipe follows

Directions

Praline Topping:

Maple Pumpkin Custard

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• a pinch of ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup solidly packed pumpkin mash, or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, yolks, vanilla extract, spices, and salt. Set the mixture aside.
2. In a medium-size saucepan, whisk together the light and heavy creams, pumpkin, and maple syrup, then bring the mixture to a simmer over medium- low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not let the mixture boil.
3. Remove the pan from the heat once the pumpkin mixture is hot, about 5 minutes. Add it by the ladleful to the yolk mixture, stirring continuously. Don't pour it all in at once or it will cook the yolks too quickly.
4. Once the mixtures are blended, divide the custard evenly among 6 standard custard cups. Pour 3/4 inch of hot water into a large, shallow casserole dish, then arrange the cups, evenly spaced, in the dish. Bake the custards, uncovered, on the center over rack until their centers are jiggly but no longer soupy, about 45-50 minutes. Carefully transfer the cups to a wire rack to cool.
5. When the custards reach room temperature, cover the dishes individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 6 hours. Makes 6 servings
   

How in the world did a pumpkin shortage come to be? The good folks at Libby’s, the largest producer of canned pumpkin in the nation, have released a statement describing how sustained heavy rains for three plus months saturated fields making it impassable for tractors and other harvesting equipment to maneuver at all. Additionally, the longer the pumpkins sit in their soaked seats the lower the quality bar of the gourd falls. If the pumpkins are wet long enough eventually they will rot.  Because of these compounded reasons, Libby has stopped harvesting and canning pumpkins causing inventories to dwindle rapidly with no reserves coming to replenish local shelves.

Since my absentee pumpkin incident, both Publix and Sweetbay Supermarkets have released statements concurring they will have enough canned pumpkin supply to get through the holidays. However, that also means fierce competition to get your hands on what is left. You can fight it out and dodge some sharp elbows in aisle three if you want, but I think I’ll take this opportunity to try something new for the Thanksgiving holiday........... well, maybe after I try these new Pumpkin Maple Custards I just found, YUM!!!

 As the holidays approach I realize that make ahead food is critical for my survival.  One of my favorite stand-by dishes is lasagna.. easy to make and easy to bake! But I always find it to be a mess in the middle and not fully cooked..... so imagine how excited I was when I discovered THIS lasagna pan (they were the first to make a brownie pan will EVERY bit having edges!)  Check it out HERE!

With the holidays approaching, I know many of you are looking for something to do with the kids. I know, I know..... We havent even made it through Thanksgiving!!! I like to plan ahead and have a list of ideas, so I am not under the gun.  Serve these yummy cake bites to "top" off your Hanukkah dinner.  These adorable mini driedels are fun for kids to help make......... so add them to the holiday fun!

What You Need (shown above with Marshmallows as an option instead of pound cake)

1 frozen pound cake, cut into 6 thick slices
White Chocolate candy melts
White Chocolate candy kisses
White striped straws, cut into 2 in. pieces

OR

1 Frozen pound cake, cut into 6 thick slices
Milk chocolate candy melts
Milk chocolate Hershey Kisses
Pretzel sticks

What You Do
For ease of cutting, make sure the pound cake is frozen. Using a serrated knife, trim the "crust" (outside brown layer) from the pound cake slices.

Cut each slice of cake into 4 rectangles - slice vertically in half and then horizontally in half. Holding a rectangle - long sides pointing up and down - stick one piece of a straw into the top of the cake, creating a handle.

Melt candy melts in the microwave according to directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of chocolate.

For the White chocolate version
Holding onto the straw handle , dip each piece of cake into the white chocolate, turning to cover. Lie on plate and immediately stick a candy kiss onto the open end of the cake. After dipping in the chocolate, you can immediately dip into sprinkles or colored sugar. Once all of the cake pieces have been covered with chocolate and sugar, chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Tint the reserved 1/2 cup of chocolate light blue. Fill a small plastic Baggie with the blue chocolate, creating a decorating bag. Barely snip one corner of the Baggie. Use this to draw the outlined boxes and letters on the Dreidels.

For the “Real” chocolate version
Holding onto the Pretzel handle, dip the end of cake into the melted chocolate. Lie on plate and immediately stick a candy kiss onto the open end of the cake where you dipped chocolate. Let it cool, ensuring the Hershey kiss is on securely. Once all of the cake pieces have been covered with chocolate, chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Melt some white chocolate candy melts. Fill a small plastic Baggie with the chocolate, creating a decorating bag. Barely snip one corner of the Baggie. Use this to draw the outlined boxes and letters on the Dreidels.
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Can be frozen after decorated.

Image courtesy of Nicole Heady

After being in the wedding industry and planning or attending as many weddings as I have, I’ve seen it first hand time and time again.  However, the experience I had several weeks ago at a friend’s wedding was so unbelievable.
Hollar to all planners who know their stuff. You are fabulous and deserve  big props but most importantly you deserve to be paid and respected. You help facilitate one of the most memorable days in a couples’ life.

 The Inspired By This blog is the professional wedding industry blog of Los Angeles Wedding Publicist Leila Khalil, owner of Be Inspired PR, a subsidiary of Be Inspired LLC.