Cheers To The Happy Couple

                    
There is no case of cold feet here. I'm jumping back into the world of hand painted glassware and it's a union that was meant to be!!   I here by promise to love, honor and obey my inspiration and bring you fun, unique and whimsical designs that will delight and excite.  From this day forward and forever...Woo hoo!  Can you tell I wrote my own vows?  Here, let me show you how the happy couple came to be. Good thing they're not modest so they don't mind if you watch them get dressed for their big day :)

                        

Congratulations to the happy couple!   Now it's time to party!!!  Cheers to the happy couple on their special day.  May you be blessed in your union and always take the time to laugh and be grateful.  Amen!

These bride and groom champagne flutes can be made even more special with the addition of the bride and groom's names on the base of the glasses along with the date of their union.  In addition, they can be made more personal by coordinating the colors that will match their unique color scheme.  It's all about the happy couple and thier big day! 

If you're interested in finding out more information regarding these, or any of my hand painted glasses or tiles, drop me an email at:  info@kudoskitchenbyrenee.com   I'll love to hear from you and discuss your own personal design.

Kudos to you!
Sincerely,
Renee

Creative-Full-Circle

My creative career (if I can be so bold as to call it that) has taken many a twist and turn over the years.  Long, long ago I first started making and painting magnets and whimsical jewelry out of salt dough when my boys were little. I called my little home business "By Renée" and I rented retail space in 7 craft stores in and around my home state of Illinois.  Happily this was a way for me to be a stay at home mom for them and also help our young family by earning a little bit of extra cash. Truth be told, the thing it did most for me was keep my creative spirit alive and gave me exciting goals to reach for. I didn't know where I was headed (creatively) but I knew I was headed in the right direction and I was happy with where I was at the time.

Roughly 10 years later, it was the mid 90's and my boys were close to grown.  That is when I decided I would like to branch out of my comfort zone a bit and try something new and creatively different, albeit still include paints, brushes and, strangely enough, still have me work from home :)  All at once, I had a "clear vision" (pun intended) of where I needed to point my paintbrush and follow along.  Painted glassware was calling my name and I was ready for the change!!!
                    
At the time, I loved the process of creating these custom painted glasses, vases, bowls and other assorted pieces.  Unfortunately the thing that held me back from taking my painted glassware to the next level were my own fears and apprehensions.  I was unsure how to market, show and ultimately get my product out in the public eye.   I had done a few "home trunk shows" (so to speak), where I would literally would lug giant, heavy, plastic containers filled with piece after piece carefully of wrapped glassware. 

At that time (and in that way of showing my work) I had painted and accumulated so many various designs, all with my thought process of needing to show the scope of my work. My thinking was, that people would want to purchase what I had brought along to "show and sell"...but that wasn't how it worked.  It never failed that I'd get orders, but they were always custom orders and never for the pieces I had brought to sell "on site".  There had to be a better way but I didn't know what that was...at least, not yet!

Ultimately I burned myself out even before I really got started.  Even though my glassware had been growing in popularity (locally), sadly I soon I packed up my glassware, paints and brushes and decided that maybe this direction wasn't quite right for me either.  Little did I know I'd be back... but not before trying just one other thing. 

Enter the world of designer cookies. It had been a year or so after I packed up my paintbrushes when I went to work at a local bakery.  I've ALWAYS had a love of cooking and baking so it just seemed a natural step for me to enter the world of culinary arts. 



After the bakery decided to close it's doors, I wasn't yet prepared to give up on my new found passion for cookie artistry so I decided to, once again, attempt another home based business.  This time I'd be designing, baking and decorating custom cookies for events and celebrations.  Fortunately for me, I have some dear friends who own a local party store. They were kind enough to let me display my cookies there, amongst their paper party goods, as a way to advertise and get my new business up and running.   Happily, Kudos Kookies was born in the fall of 2006.

During my time running Kudos Kookies, I also started the fine art of blogging (which I totally fell in love with) along with the running and upkeep of a cookie website that would showcase my various designs and ideas.  All this in one spot and all with the click of one little mouse.  Who knew?  No more lugging product around from one place to another and you can reach millions and millions of people from around the world with just one little website? (Ha, maybe someday I'll get that lucky)  I was quickly learning just how important this internet stuff was going to be to my own little world of home based businesses.  Count me in!!!

Now, I owe a great deal of gratitude to my time spent as a cookie designer/decorator. It helped me to developed a confidence in my work that I had never had before. It also gave me the courage to dip my toes into the world of social networking and media (twitter and face book) that I would have never had the nerve to do even a few years prior. I was well on my way to making some wonderful and invaluable contacts and friends that would serve me well into the future and in any direction I decided to travel. The encouragement and support I received (and continue to receive) from my many wonderful social media friends is what keeps me interested in always learning and growing to reach my full creative potential. They keep me on my toes, if you will, and for that I am forever grateful :)  But we're not done yet...



Three and a half years of decorating cookies had me yet again wondering if I was on the right path.  I was now really starting to miss my paints and brushes and was beginning to crumble at the repetition of decorating cookie after cookie of the same design day after day.  The business was taking over more and more of my home kitchen (even though at this point I had moved into a commercial kitchen space for baking), I was still doing all the decorating and packaging at home, on my kitchen table.  I was starting to feel as though the cookie business was going to eat me alive and I needed to save myself!  That's when I had my light bulb moment.

Since starting my original Kudos Kookies blog and realizing how important and hugely personal bloggers take their own little piece of the internet, I once again turned to my paints and brushes to find my genuine creative niche and make my own little paint blotch on the world.


What if I offered a service for an item that is tremendously personal to people who blog or anyone who runs their own small business?  An item that would allow you to display your passion for your blog or business, in a new and unique way?  An item that nobody else has or has ever offered before?  What if I combined my passions for painting, cooking, baking and love of "everything home" all in one spot and then tailored my product to all those areas?   What if, I ask you...?


Enter Kudos Kitchen By Renee.  Where I've combined the "Kudos" from my cookie business, my "Kitchen" from where I feel my most comfortable and do my best work and the "By Renée" because that's who I am and who I need to stay true to above all else.

It is now my honor and pleasure to offer you the most unique, highest quality, custom painted ceramic tiles and now re-introducing hand painted glassware, you'll ever find!  Items that are specifically tailored to your own passions and personality.  Items that will speak to you and who you are.  Items you will love for a lifetime.   I'm back, paintbrush in hand and I could not be happier!!! And, thanks to the internet and my blog there is no heavy lugging involved.  It's all done at a click of a button. Don't you just love it!?!  I like to call it my "Creative-Full-Circle"!

So then, what can I paint for you?  Email me today to discuss your order:  info@kudoskitchenbyrenee.com

Now, I know this post has been very long winded and most likely extremely boring so, if you've made it to the end, I commend you and now tell you this ...  get a life !!! LOL. Not really!   However, That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

With love and best wishes, from my Kudos Kitchen to you!
Renée

Daring Bakers - Joconde Entremet

If you couldn't tell, it was chocolate covered strawberry theme day at my house the day I decided to make my Daring Bakers challenge.  I had been trying to figure out what design I was going to make with my joconde paste for the spongecake walls of my entremet for a long, long time. Time was running out and my completed challenge was due in just a few days.  As luck would have it, earlier that same morning I had been painting some chocolate covered strawberry champagne flutes when that the little bell of inspiration went off in my head.  Don't you love it when stuff like that happens?

From visiting the forums and seeing everyone else's completed entremets (they're all stunning and so professional looking) I've come to the realization that I may be one of the only ones who used a trifle dish, and not had a free standing dessert.  I was going to use my spring form pan but decided against it because it seemed a bit too wide. Sadly I am ill-prepared in my kitchen with smaller sizes of spring form pans at the moment so the use of the heart shaped glass bowl seemed like a perfect vessel to showcase the chocolate covered strawberry design.  So, I went with it.

This recipe is long and seems complicated (why do you think I held off so long in starting it?) but in all actuality, it was fairly simple to make and gave me a great sense of accomplishment when I'd finally completed it.  I will even tell you that it was fun to make and I learned a lot of new stuff in the process.  Here goes:

Joconde Sponge

3/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1/4 cup cake flour
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter

-In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and the granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks, Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
-Sift almond flour, confectioner's sugar, cake flour (this can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
-On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time.  Mix well after each addition.  Mix until smooth and light.
-Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighted the batter.  Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
-Fold in melted butter.
-Reserve batter to be used later.

Joconde-Décor Paste

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cusp plus 1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
7 large egg whites
1 3/4 cups cake flour
Your choice of assorted fool coloring gels.

-Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
-Gradually add egg whites.  Beat continuously.
-Fold in sifted flour.
-Tint batter with your chosen colors of food coloring gel. (I used, red, green and brown)
-Use a piping bags to design your pattern on top of a sheet of parchment paper with assorted colors of paste.

-Freeze until hard.  Approximately 15 minutes.

-Remove from freezer and quickly pour the joconde batter over the design.  Spread evenly (using an off set spatula) to completely cover the pattern of the décor paste. 
-Bake in a pre-heated 475 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes but watch it carefully so it does not burn.

-Cool slightly and then add another sheet of parchment paper to the top of your sponge and then stack another baking sheet on that.
-With a quick motion, flip the 2 baking sheets over (your pattern will now be face up) and allow to cool completely.

-Since I used the trifle dish, I measured the height of the dish and cut strips of my joconde sponge to fit the sides of my trifle dish.
-With the remainder of the sponge, I cut it into smaller pieces to layer the bottom and center of my entremet.

 -I then covered it with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge.

We had all sorts of options as to what to fill our entremets with. Be creative when you make yours :) 
After giving it a bit of thought, I decided to fill mine with vanilla pudding (use your favorite recipe),  some sliced fresh strawberries, semi-sweet chocolate chips and some melted strawberry jelly.  Oh, I also used some Grand Marnier to brush onto the sides and layers of my sponge.  In the great words of Ina Garten "How bad can that be?"

I layered and brushed as I went making sure to end up with the top layer being the vanilla pudding:

-Using additional semi-sweet chips melted with 1 tablespoon of butter, I filled an additional piping bag with the melted chocolate I piped some diagonal lines on the top.  I also dipped some whole strawberries into a bowl of melted chocolate for the completed, full effect!

I enjoyed this challenge very much and I'm very pleased to have stepped out of my comfort zone to try something I wouldn't have ordinarily tried to make.  Now that you know how easy and fun this is to make, I think you should try it too, don't you?  I'd love to hear your comments and ideas about what you'll fill your entremet with.  The possibilities are endless!
Sending you love and  Happy Valentines' Day!

Oh, and by the way, if your wondering if I paint all the tiles and glassware that I've ever so casually strewn about in my photos (haha, not), I totally DO!!! Drop me an email if you're interested in having me paint something for you:    info@kudoskitchenbyrenee.com     I know...  I'm shameless :)

Blessed To Do What I Love!

I get super excited, and feel truly blessed that I get to paint really cute, unusual and creative designs for clients and friends.  This one made my heart sing from beginning to end.  It's whimsical, colorful, cheerful and is food related.  What more do you need?  It's a one-of-a-kind custom art piece that you won't find anywhere else!   I hope you'll enjoy seeing it come together from start to finish.

This 6x8 ceramic tile was done for the wonderfully friendly home chef and blogger, Megan of  Megan's Cookin'  It is a combination of her old blog site, along with the font of her current blog site.  Please take a moment to check out her blog and all of her her wonderful recipes.  You won't be disappointed. 

Do you have a design you'd like painted for your very own one of a kind custom tile?  If so, don't hesitate to drop me an email to discuss your design and for a price quote.   Email:  info@kudoskitchenbyrenee.com


Sincerely,
Renée

Flaedlesuppe (German Pancake Soup)

This dish takes me back to my childhood and the special occasions that my grandpa would make a soup he would call "Pan-A-Cake" soup in his heavy German accent.  This is not his specific recipe but I do believe it's very close to what he made in his own kitchen so many, many years ago.  This recipe serves 15-20 people easily.  Cut back on the measurements if your serving a smaller group.

Flaedlesuppe

2 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
pinch of salt
grated nutmeg to taste
10 cups good beef stock*   (recipe follows)
chives for garnishing

Mix together flour, eggs and salt in a large bowl.  Gradually add the milk and nutmeg, stirring all the time until smooth.  This mixture needs to be quite thin as you will be making crepe like pancakes and the batter needs to easily roll quickly around the bottom of a heavy non-stick skillet.  Add additional milk to thin the batter if needed.

Heat a heavy non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Pour a small ladle full of batter in the middle of the pan and move the pan swiftly until the batter covers the bottom of the pan.  Flip or turn your flaedel once the bottom is golden brown.  Continue making flaedel's until all the batter is used and cool them completely.

 Once your pancakes are completely cooled, roll them up into cigar shapes and slice each pancake into thin strips.  They are now ready to add to your hot beef stock*  (See the following recipe) or you can use good quality store bought stock if desired.  Very important: Do not put the hot pancakes into your hot stock as they will fall to pieces and form a gooey mess.  You can also freeze your cut pancakes as they hold up beautifully in a zip lock bag.  This is a perfect dish for entertaining as everything can be made in advance, frozen and assembled easily on the day of your event.

                      

Beef Stock

Add the following ingredients into a large stock pot, cover with water and simmer on low for a good 5 or six hours.  The longer the better.

4 large beef bones, roasted in an 400 degree oven for 1 hour.
5 stalks celery, chunked
7 carrots, chunked (no need to peel)
2 large onions, cut in half (no need to peel)
1 large head garlic, cut in half (no need to peel)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3-4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Kosher salt

Leaving the peels on your veggies will give your stock a deeper, richer color and flavor.  When your stock has simmered and all your ingredients are withered and reduced, strain your stock and discard everything but the broth. 

 You're now ready to transfer your stock to storage containers or use immediately.  This stock freezes beautifully.  I made mine in advance of making my Fladlesuppe so I froze my stock until I was ready to prepare the completed dish.

To serve your Flaedlesuppe (or Pan-A-Cake Soup) as I so fondly remember it, add your desired amount of pancakes into the bottom of a soup bowl.  Add your hot beef stock and garnish with some chopped chives.  Easy, peasy.  Simple yet elegant...

Soup's on! Come and get it!!!!