I ♥ December

December is definitely a special time of year, especially this year. My dad had his 55th birthday on Saturday and I decided to make it a really special day for him. With...food of course. LoL. You know how the saying goes: 'the way to please a man is through his stomach', right? (Okay, so its probably not the way it goes, but I'm sure you get it...) Well...that's what I was working with; well no, I was working on food with that saying in mind. (smile).

First things first, I made Scandinavian Almond Bars, on which I added red and green maraschino cherries to give it the "Christmas" appearance. Since we have the community Christmas concert coming up, all us single girls make a small but special dessert and this year I want to try something new so I have to try out recipes. Since my dad's birthday is shortly before the concert usually is, its the perfect place to try new things.

They turned out really well, but regardless of how good they look, I will not be making them as my square. (Sad I know, but I don't actually have almonds on hand and won't be getting any, so there goes that. lol) It's all good...I'm in the middle of trying some other recipes so I'm pretty sure I'll end up making one of those I've been slaving away with all morning. Hmm...might end up posting later about those.

The next major item on the baking schedule for my dad's birthday was of course, a cake. Unfortunately, I didn't have any kind of frosting on hand and was running out of time so I couldn't make any either. Soo I decided to get creative and went through the pantry to see what I'll find. Ended up finding....bananas. Hmm my dad enjoys a banana, as do most of the kiddies... and I got this totally creative idea. I then checked the fridge for whipped cream, and wah-lah! whipping cream!! Whipped it up, sweetened it, and then frosted my cake, which then got garnish with bananas.

Mom assisted with the design and the slicing of the bananas, as did my two little sisters. (smile). They enjoyed it, and dad thought it was clearly creative.

Thennn right before everyone came over, mom cut up some delicious, homemade garlic sausage, and some delicious homemade cheese as well... and left me to do the arranging.

Looks absolutely delicious right?? I knew you'd agree.

Now...aside from the photo juust above here, most of the items on the table are not exactly healthy. Mostly, they are laden with sugar and flour and all that stuff, so we had to get something visually appealing as well as delicious and healthy on the table too. Soo...mom cut up and colorfully arranged a plate of fruit.

Gotta admit, despite the fact that its the healthiest thing on the table, it looks really really appealing. LOL

Take care, and enjoy yourselves. :)

♥ Jachelle!