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It has been all about the freelance writing project that ate San Francisco around here. Ok, maybe San Francisco is doing fine and it just ate ME, but either way, there has been some unwashed hair, piles of laundry and general havoc.

I did manage to throw a little party in the middle of it (special hair washing occasion).

Some of my darling friends, eating and chatting.

Some painted ornaments drying.

The girls did the cutest things with their wee cookie-cutter baker's clay ornaments! I'm only sorry it took so long to bake the darn things, because some very busy people (moms, lawyers) had to leave before their ornament was cooked and cool enough to paint. But I had some already made that they could paint and take with them.

I served Kir Royales with cranberries(just for garnish), hot mulled apple cider, macaroni & cheese, pumpkin soup, truffles and palmiers. And because I like you, I will share two of the recipes (maybe I've posted the pumpkin soup one up here before, but it is good so no harm in doing it again).

SIMPLE PUMPKIN SOUP
(tweaked from epicurious)
2 15-ounce cans pure pumpkin
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup half and half
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder*

Bring first 4 ingredients to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking often. Whisk in syrup, butter, and five-spice powder. Simmer soup 10 minutes, whisking often. Season with salt and pepper. (Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Bring to simmer before serving.) You can serve as-is or sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

* A blend of ground anise, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and ginger available in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Chocolate Truffles (tweaked from Ina Garten's recipe)
3 1/2 ounces good bittersweet chocolate (I like bittersweet so I used all bittersweet, but they can be sweeter! If you use half semi-sweet as in the recipe)
3 1/2 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon prepared coffee (hot is good)
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract
unsweetened cocoa powder

Chop the chocolates finely and place in a bowl.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it boils. Immediately pour the hot cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with the chocolates. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. (If the chocolate doesn't melt completely, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes just until it melts.) Whisk in the coffee and vanilla. Cover and chill for 45 minutes to 1 hour until pliable but firm enough to scoop.

With 2 teaspoons or a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop (I used a 2� scoop), make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres. Roll the chocolate in cocoa powder (or toasted nuts) and chill again. Truffles are best when they're allowed to set overnight in the refrigerator.

If you want to flavor the truffles you can add flavored liqueur in addition to the above ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur, or chambord, or grand marnier etc.

Baker's Clay
(for the ornaments)
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water

Mix together into a stiff dough. Knead 5 minutes. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets.
Bake in a 350�F oven for 30 min- 1 hour or until hard when tapped with a fork.
Can be decorated with paint and coated with varnish, shellac or sealant for long-term use.

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