Gorgonzola & Toasted Pecan Sourdough Wreath

2018 is just around the corner, folks! This last recipe of the year goes out to all my peeps with a sourdough starter. I just love fancy-ing up my sourdough for celebrations, and this braided wreath has New Year's Eve cocktail party written all over it. If you don't have a sourdough starter, fear not. You can still make this lovely bread. Just see the directions at the bottom of the recipe.

Elevate your holiday cheese tray with this gorgeous Gorgonzola & Toasted Pecan Sourdough Wreath!

This Gorgonzola and Toasted Pecan Sourdough Wreath is so festive. It's packed with chunks of Gorgonzola and loads of toasted pecans. It's also gorgeous and delicious and perfect for that New year's Eve cheese board.




I started with the basic sourdough bread recipe I use to make bread. I mixed up the dough the night before and left it to ferment on the counter overnight.




The next day I punched down the dough, rolled it out into a large rectangle, and covered it evenly with half a stick of very soft butter.




Then, I sprinkled on the cheese and pecans and pushed them down into the butter and dough.




Now comes the fun part. Roll into a long log and pinch the seam closed.

Use a sharp knife to cut the roll in half lengthwise, exposing the goodies.




Gently braid the two halves trying to keep the filling in the roll as best you can and then twist into a wreath tucking the ends underneath. It's okay if stuff falls out. I just pushed stray pieces of filling back into the dough.




Set on your baking sheet and put it in a proofing bag or large clean garbage bag to prevent a draft from drying out the surface.

After the wreath has almost doubled in size (about 2 to 4 hours at room temperature) bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.




Wait about 15 minutes before you slice into your bread as the bread will continue to bake out of the oven.

Each slice of this Gorgonzola & Toasted Pecan Sourdough Wreath is studded with chunks of cheese and toasted nuts.

Packed with chunks of cheese and pecans in every slice, this show-stopping bread is bound to impress your new year's guests.

Gorgonzola & Toasted Pecan Sourdough Wreath

Ingredients
3 1/4 cups flour + about 1/2 cup more
1 tsp salt
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup water
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
6 oz crumbled Gorgonzola
2 cups toasted pecans, chopped

Directions
1. Mix 3 1/4 cups flour with the salt, sourdough starter, and water. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel and leave on the counter overnight.
2. The next morning, punch down the dough adding in more flour if your dough is too sticky. Roll out into a large rectangle and spread with butter leaving 1 inch of the length bare for the seam.
3. Sprinkle on the cheese and pecans and gently push them down into the butter and dough.
4. Roll into a long log ending at the bare edge and pinch the seam closed.
5. Roll log so that the seam is on the bottom and cut in half lengthwise using a sharp knife.
6. Gently braid the two halves trying to keep the filling in the dough. Then, twist into a wreath tucking the edges underneath.
7. Gently set on a baking sheet and place in a proofing bag or clean garbage bag to prevent a draft from forming a crust.
8. Proof 2 to 4 hours at room temperature or until almost doubled in size.
9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
10. Allow bread to cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

* If you don't have a sourdough starter you can find ready-to-use bread dough in your grocery store's freezer section. Thaw according to the package directions and skip to step 2.

Nora's Vintage Floral Birthday Party

I go all out for birthdays. I get kinda crazy with making them super special and something totally tailored to the guest of honor. For Mateo's last birthday I made him an adventure map with flaps to lift up for each portion of his special day - children's museum, spaghetti restaurant, movie theater... . He also spent the day wearing a handmade birthday cake crown and finished out his birthday adventure with a strawberry mochi ice cream cake. Like I said, I go all out.

My baby girl's 1st birthday party was no exception. Before I get into the beautifulness of her special day let me just say that you will not find studio quality photos with perfect lighting, styling, and portraits in this post - I wish. What I do have to offer are real pictures of a real birthday party in real time in a real house with bad lighting. Sorry, not sorry. 😊 I hope the homemade recipes and handmade decorations inspire creativity and adventure in your own real home 😉 (tell me if I'm using too many emojis). So without further ado, here is all about Nora's special day.

For me, the decorations make a party. My eldest son would totally agree with me on that score. Nora's decorations were adorable crafts to make. I started by looking around for invitations I liked on Etsy. I wasn't looking to shop as much as I was looking for inspiration. I settled on a vintage floral theme as I had just finished putting Nora's nursery together and still had vintage on the brain. I used some of the same floral paper I used in her room to cut out hearts for her banners.



I used mini clothespins to pin the hearts between pictures of Nora throughout her first year. A dollar store ribbon served this project perfectly. I finished the banners by tying coordinating ribbons to hang off either end.

Grandma ordered those adorable dress cookies you see peeking out of the basket

I used the same vintage floral paper to make Nora a cake topper. I found a "1" I liked on google images and used it as a template to cut out the number in pretty papers, glued them to a wooden skewer, and added a pink ribbon for extra girlyness.



I printed out pretty little sayings like, "isn't she lovely" and "let her be little," and put them in dollar store frames. I nestled them on tables and counter tops that held food, cake, and drinks.

Pardon my reflection

I made a door hanger in similar fashion by taping a printed sign onto a dollar store mirror and looping a pretty pink ribbon through the back.



Handmade surprise heart packets served as party favors and added to the table decor. I found this idea on Craft with Mom. I cut out paper hearts, put two together only gluing half of the edges closed, stuffed them with treats, and then glued the rest of the edges together - all with a simple glue stick. Dollar store jars, flowers, and floral garlands also decorated the table. Pink paper lanterns, more floral garlands, and pink, peach, and teal ribbons hung simply on our chandelier.



The birthday menu included sausage cheese balls (I use Jimmy Dean's recipe), fresh fruit, mushroom quiches, a big bad cheese platter, sauerkraut & dill tuna salad (recipe follows), balsamic broccoli and bell pepper pasta salad (recipe follows), and a strawberry spinach salad. Nora's cake was a boxed vanilla cake mix doctored with fresh raspberries baked in and frosted with fresh raspberry buttercream (recipe follows). I also served orange-scented iced green tea and raspberry lemonade (recipe follows).


"Happy birthday to me y'all!"

Sauerkraut & Dill
Tuna Salad

(A.K.A. The Best Tuna Salad EVER!!!)

INGREDIENTS

2 cans Chicken of the Sea light tuna packed in water (do not use another brand), drained

4 green onions, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped thin

¼ tsp dried dill

1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

¼ cup sauerkraut(I use homemade), chopped

¼ cup mayo or to your liking

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well.

2. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or mayo to get the flavor and consistency you like.

3. Refrigerate in an air-tight container for a few hours for flavors to meld.

* Double this recipe for a party.

Balsamic Broccoli & Bell Pepper Pasta Salad

(This is an adaptation of the recipe found at picsandpastries.com)

INGREDIENTS

7 mini multicolored sweet bell peppers, chopped

1 head broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces

1/3 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins

½ cup diced red onion

12 oz box bow tie/rotini/penne pasta, cooked el dente

½ cup Bolthouse Farms Balsamic Yogurt Dressing (found in the cold case of produce sections)

½ cup mayo

½ cup toasted walnuts

½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
dash Balsamic vinegar

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and stir together.

2. Taste for salt. Add additional balsamic yogurt dressing if it needs more creaminess.

3. Refrigerate in an air-tight container for a few hours for flavors to meld.

Fresh Raspberry Buttercream

(This is an adaptation of the recipe from Sweet Celebrations by the owners of Georgetown Cupcakes)

INGREDIENTS

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 30 minutes only

4 packed cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

½ cup fresh raspberries, rinsed and allowed to dry

DIRECTIONS

1. Place raspberries in a food processor and process into a puree. You should end up with a little less than 1/3 cup of puree.

2. Cream butter in a stand mixer for 30 seconds with your paddle attachment.

3. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat with butter until creamy.

4. Beat in salt, raspberry puree, and vanilla extract.

5. Beat in last 2 cups of powdered sugar.

6. Scrape down bowl and beat for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

* Make two batches to frost a four layer cake.

Raspberry Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups water

1 ½ to 2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

4 cups raspberries

2 to 4 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. Make a simple syrup by heating 2 cups sugar with 2 cups water on medium low heat in a medium saucepan. Stir gently until sugar is completely dissolved and you can feel no more granules at the bottom of the pan as you stir. Cool to room temperature.

2. Place raspberries in a high speed blender with 1 cup water. Blend on low until raspberries are broken down, then slowly increase speed to high and blend on high a couple of minutes.

3. In a large pitcher add 1 ½ cups lemon juice, 2 cups simple syrup, all of the raspberry mixture, and another cup or two of water. Taste for sweetness and tartness according to your liking adding in more simple syrup, lemon juice, or water as you see fit.

4. Strain lemonade through a fine mesh strainer for a smooth drink.

5. Refrigerate until cold.
6. Garnish with fresh raspberries and lemon slices.