Laura Childs: Photo Finished

You can use your favorite rubber stamps to decorate beverage glasses, glass votive candles, or even mirrors and windows. When it’s time to clean up, colorful stamp pad ink can be removed in a flash using ordinary glass cleaner.

Using a piece of fabric as background for your photographs adds texture, dimension, and color. Also consider snippets of embroidery, antique lace, scraps of baby clothing, or a piece from a wedding veil.

Glassine envelopes, incorporated into your scrapbook pages, are perfect for holding photos, old letters, valentines, beads, trinkets, sand dollars, a bird feather, dried rose petals, a single earring, etc. Envelopes also give your scrapbooks a fun, interactive quality.

Scrapbook pages are more interesting when you tell the complete story surrounding an event. Get pictures of the before, the during, and the after. For example, a page detailing a child’s birthday could be told with the before (getting dressed or decorating), the during (the party), and the after (the family dog lapping a plate of cake crumbs).

The same scrapbooking techniques you’ve perfected for your albums can also be used to create beautiful collages that can be framed. Family photos, old letters, and precious documents can be mounted together in a picture frame, then displayed on a wall or desk.

Use your paper punches to create other interesting shapes. For example, if you have a heart punch and a circle punch, you can create a flower. Punch out a single circle to use as the center, then a dozen or so heart shapes to use as petals.

Since so many family events center around food, be sure to include recipes in your scrapbook. Use colorful recipe cards or print your recipe on a die-cut (a nice big apple, for example!).

POPOVERS

4 eggs

2 cups milk

3 tbsp. butter, melted

2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt ½ cup pecans, finely chopped

HONEY BUTTER

2 tbsp. honey ½ cup butter, softened

Stir honey into the ½ cup softened butter, then cover and chill. Whisk eggs, milk, and melted butter together in a large bowl. Add flour and salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into 12 (6 oz.) greased custard cups, filling each cup halfway and placing them on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until firm. Serve immediately with honey butter.

12 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped

1 ½ cups sugar ½ cup fresh lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a heavy pan and cook over low heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. When apples begin to break down, increase heat to medium and cook, still stirring, for another 25 minutes or until thickened. Spoon apple mixture into hot sterilized jars and seal. Yields about 6 cups.

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 ½ cups whipping cream

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add sugar and lemon juice. Stir constantly for 6 or 7 minutes or until mixture turns a rich caramel color. Add whipping cream, a little at a time, and continue stirring. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into sterilized jars, and seal. Yields about 3 cups.

4 tbsp. butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced green pepper, chopped

1 tsp. salt

Dash of pepper

Pinch of Cajun seasonings

1 can tomatoes (14 oz.)

1 lb. shrimp

2 cups cooked rice

Melt butter in large pan. Add onion, garlic, green pepper, salt, pepper, Cajun seasonings, and tomatoes (including juice). Simmer for 12 minutes. Add shrimp and continue simmering until shrimp are cooked through. Pour over rice. Serves 4.

1 tbsp. butter

7 oz. duck liver, cut into bite-size bits

2 tsp. whole-grain mustard

1 tsp. fresh chopped parsley

2 tbsp. Marsala wine

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

Salad greens

Heat butter in frying pan, add liver, and sizzle until sealed. Blend together all the other ingredients except salad greens and add to pan, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Spoon the duck liver over a bowl of salad greens and serve immediately.

1 tbsp. butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups arborio rice cup dry white wine

4 cups chicken broth

1 lb. asparagus, chopped in 1-inch pieces cup water

2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender. Add rice and stir for 1 minute. Add wine and cook until absorbed (4 to 5 minutes), stirring often. Add cup of the chicken broth and simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue to cook, adding more broth by cupfuls and allowing liquid to be absorbed before adding more. This process can take a good 20 minutes and you must remember to stir often. Add asparagus and stir, adding the water as mixture becomes creamy. Keep stirring and give the rice time to cook. When rice is fully cooked and very creamy, add parsley and cup of the Parmesan cheese. Stir, season to taste with salt and pepper, and transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese (or blue cheese)

2 tbsp. butter, softened

2 tbsp. walnuts, chopped

1 tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

6 veal rib or loin chops, about 1-inch thick

Combine cheese and butter in a small bowl. Add walnuts and chives, mix well. Divide stuffing mixture into 6 equal portions and set aside. Cut a 2 1/2-inch horizontal pocket in each veal chop and insert 1 stuffing portion into each pocket. Close pockets with small skewers or wooden picks. Place chops on rack in broiler pan so meat is approximately 4 inches from heat. Broil 12 to 14 minutes for medium doneness, turning once. (Note: Chops may also be cooked uncovered on an outdoor grill.)

3 oz. ginger beer

Juice of ½ lime

1 ½ oz. dark rum

Gummy worm

Into a tall glass filled with ice, pour ginger beer, lime juice, and rum. Stir well and garnish by hanging a gummy worm over the side. (Note: If you want to de-monster your drink, garnish with a thin wedge of lime instead.)

14 oz. vegetable broth

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced

16 oz. pumpkin meat (fresh pureed or canned)

2 cups milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

Salt

Pepper

Nutmeg

Put broth, onion, and carrots in a large pot, and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until carrots are soft. Mix in the pumpkin, milk, and cinnamon, then simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with ground nutmeg.