Party Cut-Up Cakes

 I  L*O*V*E those little cook booklets with coconut cut-up cakes!  My Memaw was clearing out some of her old cook booklets and passed several down to me.  This one was my favorite! It was produced by Baker's Coconut and Dream Whip circa 1967. I scanned a few of the cutest ones:

Bow Tie Bunny

I think we will be making him for Easter next year.  He has such a sweet goofy expression in his marshmallow and red candy eyes! I don't see "bow tie" though.  It looks more like his chest and arms with him springing from a jack in the box.

Spot the Fox Terrier

I don't think a cake has ever been made based on a fox terrier but this guy is precious.

Myrtle and Milton Mouse

Not many couple mouse cakes out there. Application for these could be engagement party, birthday for boy/girl twins, valentine's day....I guess. Someone wanting to press their luck could tint that toasted coconut black and....well, have a "Mikey and Minky Mouse" cake set.

Mr. Snowman

Not a very original name but this guy is my favorite in the booklet. Super simple cut-out but super freakin' cute I can't stand it. Sooooo making him for christmas this year. The cut-out shape also reminds me of a robot.

Ella Elephant

She has pink gum drop toe nails!

Dandy Lion Cake

This guy has got such personality he looks like he could have his own TV show and breakfast cereal made after him.

Jerry Giraffe

Cheek pinch-able cuteness. Love the extra touch of the licorice and gumdrop tree.

Twinkies (ish!)

While at the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago I saw these...."Twinkie" cupcakes!

We have been having bake sales for Relay for Life lately and I thought how cool it would be to make these twinkie cupcakes into the classic twinkie shape... Then I found this pan on ebay:

I printed out some labels of vintage Twinkie boxes, adding to them "Twinkie-ish" and "Twinkie inspired snack cakes" so not to get sued by anyone left of the corporation or Twinkie the Kid, himself.

I looked up a few other ideas for food crafts using twinkies and there are some super cute ones for Halloween! Mummies, severed fingers, individual tomb stones, spiders. Yes! May have to order a second pan!

West Bend Buffet Patio Server

Many years ago,  in one of my old cookbooks, I found a lovely image of this exact buffet-patio server/bean pot... It  was shown among a table buffet, not the center of attention, but beautifully standing out regardless. It has been an object of my desire ever since. Now and again I would find one at a thrift, maybe missing the lid or the graphic was nearly worn away but certainly did not have the shiny chrome heating element (I actually didn't realize it came with one).  However these were not good enough.  I waited.... and alas...this bean pot was stitting on a shelf in the thrift...waiting for me as well! I don't think it has never been used. Original box, complete with heating element and cord (still wrapped as seen on the box) recipe guide (all dating 1969) and even:

 Inside the crock are the "packed by" stubs!

So what to do with this lovely jewel ?... because I despise baked beans.... Consult the included recipe, suggestion and care booklet! 

 First off, this " New idea electric helper keeps hot foods at serving temperature". So "Convenient for serving prepared foods such as potato salad, casserole dishes, canned foods (chili, beans, spaghetti, stews, vegetables, fruits), barbecue sauces, hot pudding sauces and soups."

There are a few recipes sans beans. Shown above is the server in action with spaghetti and meat balls.  It can also be used as a crock pot with a recipe for Mexican-Style Chili.  Put beans and water in and cook overnight. Add all other ingredients and cook for another 2 hours.  I don't know how safe I feel running this thing overnight with no supervision other than my smoke detector (with no batteries in it) to babysit. Other recipes include: Hot Potato Salad, Beef Stew, Split Pea Soup,Vegetable Chowder, and Prunes Norwegian style.  May have to try that last one out of curiosity. 

But the best thing you can use this gal for is Keeping your Weiners Warm! 

I love that idea the best!

I have yet to venture toward plugging the server in.  Partly from apprehension that it make spark and bring the curtains down in a blaze.  The other part is what if it doesn't work at all. That would be disappointing as well.   But the crock is cute and useful in it's self...I am sure it can keep my weiners warm without electricity.

Goofy Golf Ft. Walton Beach

Made it over to the The Goofy Golf in Ft. Walton Beach, built in 1958!  

It is super awesome!  

(and cheap! $3 for Adults and $1.50 for kids)

Every October, for one day, to celebrate their anniversary ( 54 years thus far!) they go back to original pricing of $0.75 for adults and $0.50 for kiddos).

There are many challenging holes and homemade obstacles.

Fun concrete critters!

I LOVE outhouse themed goofy golf holes!  You have to golf your ball into to the toilet...it's a two seater!

I golfed my ball into the alligator's mouth and it got stuck somewhere inside.  The attendant, without saying anything, walked over with a bucket of water, gave the gator a big swig and out came my ball from the tail! The attendant then trotted away again without saying thing.  Clearly not his first gator ball rodeo!

View showing a totem pole, wishing well, snake, cacti, and elephant.

View showing the big green dino, an ape, a shark, a kangaroo and baby.  Also seen is the neat vintage walk-up business stand.  

Guess what they sell at the concessions!? Candy cigarettes! They also have these yummy tutti frutti  icee drinks for $0.50.

 

The final hole is this cutie snake!  You have to golf your ball into it's mouth...didn't happen this time.

 Maybe next!

DIY Mini Goofy Golf

We've got Goofy Golf madness lately.  There are 3 courses in our area, all dating from the 1950's.  The closest one is all locked up and abandoned :(.  The others are a bit of a pilgrimage to get to, being in Panama City and Fort Walton Beach,Fl.

Last week we traveled several hours to go to the mothership of them in Panama City.  To keep our addiction at bay we pulled out our mini golf sets (bought at dollar tree several years ago) and built our own course!

Halloween  Spooky Town....Par 2

Cowboy and Indian Pow Wow.....Par 2

Dinosaur Invasion....Par 2

Corral....Par 2

We have come up with several other hole themes involving tiny toys and things that are around us in the past....Snakes, Alligators, Star Wars, Mexico, Roosters and chickens, Tiki, Octopus, Bonsai, Spacemen, Skeletons, Robots and Virgin Mary (made from little religious plastic statues).  Endless!

Panama City Beach Goofy Golf

 This week was PB's spring break and we did our best to fill it with as much fun as possible.  One place we went was to the Panama City Goofy Golf.  Not the best of ideas to go to PCB during Spring Break. But luckily for us,  those young drunken fools are not into Goofy Golf and we had the place to ourselves!  PB bought himself a putter from a thrift a few months back and has been practicing up for this adventure.

 He took it all very serious.  Even wore his "golfer's hat"...and threw a few tantrums, turning some of the holes from par 2 to par 10.

Some of our favorite things there....

 the giant monkey with red glowing eyes...some one had left an offering of real bananas in his upturned palm.

 Walk like an Egyptian!

The big purple dinosaur, was getting a new do. Here he is all primed up.  You can go inside him too! 

 Mr. Goofus McGolf (not sure if that is his real name...just made one up) 

He looks like he has a rusty nose ring. He is hard core.

 The last hole of Course 2. Behind the bars about 3 feet back is a concrete frog with his mouth open that sits a foot or so off the ground...very dark inside so no picture.  But the "catch" here is that if you golf your ball right into the frog's mouth...a loud celebratory bell rings out and...

FREE GAME!

Guess what!?

For more of my Panama City Goofy Golf  adventures click here.  You can see the inside of the purple dinosaur if you do!

and here is a post from us going to Adventure Golf in Pigeon Forge a few years back...it is very Goofy Golf-esque.

Etch-a-Sketch Portraits

I picked up an Etch-a-Sketch that wasn't in the best of working capabilities recently at a thrift on purpose.
In my picasa picture program there is a feature where it can transform any photo to a "drawing".  I thought the effect looked alot like an Etch-a-Sketch....so eyeballs peeled for months to find an old E-a-S at a thrift....to turn it into a picture frame!
I used a photo of us from our summer trip last year to South of the Border. We are riding on concrete burros in front of the fireworks megastore and PB is wearing his newly bought fez from SOB's World of Hats Store....certainly Etch-a-Sketch worthy.

Other possibilities crossed my mind that could work well with the Etch-a-sketch effect and frame....

 Mona Lisa...(like from the movie Elf)

 Star Wars

 My sweet Severus Snape

I didn't take the Etch-a-Sketch apart to put the photo inside it.  I just simply cut the photo to size and slipped it under the plastic frame edges in the front. It has fooled a few people into thinking it was a real Etch-a-Sketch drawing...I just thought it looked neat.

(BTW, this would be a great April Fool's Trick to pull!)

Nut Toasties

"The Cookie Book" by Culinary Arts Institute 1941"

"It's a clever cook who can turn bread into cookies, but it is simple enough when you know how."

Hey!  I want to be a clever cook! I read this statement in "The Cookie Book" booklet under an image of something that seemed to have coconut on it...I love coconut, and clever, and simple.  

The cookie is called Nut Toasties, however the term "cookie" is a bit misleading.  If by "cookie" they mean french toast sticks then yes, cookie it is.  Cookies for breakfast! I was so excited (doesn't take much if making cookies from bread does it for me) to try out this recipe.  I didn't make the french toast connection until about 3 cookies-dipped-into-egg-batter into it. I felt like I had just been hoodwinked. But I got over it because "Coconut French Toast Sticks" are a pretty cool twist and not too bad tasting. Also, I have to give the Culinary Arts Institute a break because I am sure they were starting to run a bit thin on ideas. Having to come up with 250 simple, new, exciting and clever ideas must be a challenge. I am surprised they didn't have sauerkraut snaps and cauliflower cookies.  The recipe is in the right bottom corner in the image below. It called for either nut meats or shredded coconut.

I can now claim cleverness and hope to be receiving some sort of certificate, ribbon or commemorative coin  from The Culinary Arts Institute in the mail any day now. 

And I have renamed these....(Coco)Nut (French)Toasties!

Extra credit for ramped up cleverness!

Lord of The Rings Party Part III

Part III and the final installment in Pumpkinbutt's Lord of The Rings 9th Birthday Bash.

On to the Prancing Pony for food and cake!

 PB had 2 cakes.  The first cake was topped with his shire lego set accompanied by sparkler candles.  The other cake was of The Ring.  I had planned on having someone dress up as a Ringwraith and try to steal the ring (cake) but decided against it because these hobbitses are wild...and they were equipped with plastic swords.... and they may have hurt the poor Ringwraith.  I made the ring cake by baking a cake in a ring form and then covering it in fondant that I tinted goldenrod yellow, orange-brownish icing for the elvish markings, and then sprayed the whole thing in gold metallic aerosol food coloring (great for covering flaws!).

For the Prancing Pony Buffet, I had several hobbit sized foods along with ones inspired from the movies/books.

  

"What's taters (tots) Precious?"

Frodo Fingers (Cocktail Sausages) 

Remember when Gollum bit Frodo's finger off?! There's some ketchup around here somewhere...

(They also ate with little mini bamboo picks that I called Hobbit forks.)

Dead Marshes Dip

(blue corn tortilla chips and guacamole) 

Council of Elrond

(E.L.Fudge cookies..get it? Elf cookies?)

They also had strawberries and cream ("Do you remember the taste of strawberries?"),  hobbit sized chicken legs, mini pinwheel sandwiches, grapes, baby carrots and bugles (Dwarf horns).

For libations, the hobbitses had a choice of Orc Brew (root beer) or Hobbit Ale (ginger ale).

PB drank out of his collector Lord of the Rings glass seen to the left.

As part of the conclusion to the celebration we erupted a miniature Mount Doom volcano...

 Then for the finale, we set off Galdolf inspired Fireworks! 

We even had one called the "White Wizard" with illustrations of "Gandulf, Frodu, and Legulos"....

We got sparklers for the kids...but decided these wild hobbitses would have burned the neighborhood down so those stayed hidden away.

I scavenged thrift stores for 2 months collecting fabrics and items to use as decor.  The main table cloth was a brown bed skirt with brown and gold tapestry bottom panels and gold tassels and fringe.  The food containers were various thrifted baskets with bits of ivy leaves attached (from dollar tree). I printed out covers of vintage LOTR books which I attached to green construction paper and hung up everywhere.  I made several fabric buntings (inspire by Bilbo's b-day party decor) that hung on the Prancing Pony deck. Also made a few extra Orc faces with party hats on that filled out the railing of the deck.

Breaking the party details down into smaller posts made writing it manageable. May consider posting about his other parties.    

Wheww... it's done. What will next year be?