Candy Dish Blog

Here’s a great way to enjoy the beauty of candy in your holiday decorating. Examiner.com has a craft to make a heart-shaped Christmas tree ornament. This makes a great frame to display a child’s photo or another loved one’s photo. Not only that, but once you decide to take the tree down, you can easily recycle this frame by munching on the peppermint treats, thus giving you a little snack to enjoy during your labors.

What do you do with candy canes? Simply hang them from the pine boughs or do you have a craft like this you like to do?

I love this simple candy cane centerpiece idea from Better Homes and Gardens magazine (courtesy of their You Tube page) for a number of reasons.

1. While I have a tendency to not be overly excited about red roses during the rest of the year, there’s something wonderful about a deep red rose at the holidays.
2. You can make it with a pickle jar and a rubber band.
3. It’s a great use way to use traditional candy canes in a non-traditional way.

See, I told you it was simple.

One question we always get is how candy is made. Since it is the right time of year, I thought this candy cane video would be fun to share.

This is a great video. I had never seen the whole candy cane manufacturing process mechanized before. Previously I had seen people rolling candy canes by hand, or else getting the peppermint sticks from a roller and crooking them by hand. It’s neat to see how all this is done by machine.

This is a great craft to make, using the beauty of candy canes, a nice floral centerpiece. The red and white peppermint sticks go really well with the red roses in the video. What’s nice is that the centerpiece is reusable when one set of flowers withers. The best part, if course, is that the peppermint sticks are still wrapped and thus edible. That means even more candy cane goodness for all!

Who’s on the guest list to my party? I have been asked who I would invite to my party if I were eligible to win the candy cane giveaway we are sponsoring. Well, my wife would be a hostess, so she does not count as a guest, but I think I would invite these four people:

• Kurt Vonnegut. He was like a grandfather or dear friend to me during my youth and although I never met him, I miss him dearly. (Thanks for the idea, Carrie!)
• Audrey Hepburn. I think I fell in love with her when I saw her as Eliza Doolittle or perhaps Mary Poppins. She had an interesting life and at one point adopted a fawn she acted with in a movie. That’s about as cool as it gets. Incredible actor and philanthropist.
• Peter O’Toole. I once heard an interview with O’Toole on NPR, in which he said that Shakespeare’s plays were mixed – some great, some horrible and a lot in between. Shakespeare’s sonnets, however, he said, were universally beautiful. He said that he had memorized all of them and even recited a couple when tested by the interviewer. He said the sonnets were the greatest friends he could hope to have – imbued with beauty and ever present. The only downside to O’Toole is that he has a reputation of drinking like a fish, so I might have to buy extra party supplies.
• Thor Heyerdahl. Kon Tiki was one of the most exciting, informational and fun-to-read books I have ever had the pleasure to devour. Like any adventure book, it reflects more than just the external journey but also the internal quest for knowledge. It is beautifully written and would be an inspiration to anyone who is passionate about the human spirit. And I bet Thor likes chocolate. I think Norwegians like their chocolate, as do anthropologists, so Thor would be a double winner.

Who didn’t make the cut?

• Randy Travis. My old friend Jamey said that country music star Randy Travis would probably be a fun guy to go fishing with. Maybe so, and I considered him, but I think this isn’t quite the right venue. Maybe when I get the boat gassed up after the weather warms up. And after I buy a boat. So never, probably.
• Thich Nhat Hanh. A man of peace and love. The serenity he embodies is obvious when you see him or hear him speak. He has a lot of wisdom to share with the world. The downside is that he does not drink and would not feel comfortable with all of us. The extra bonus is that he does not drink, so more martinis for us!
• Andy Griffith. Cool when he was younger but not nearly as cool since he started playing Ben Matlock. Although I do like Matlock’s suits. I am a sucker for seersucker.
• Dick Van Dyke. See Andy Griffith for explanation, except make that Dr, Mark Sloan in “Diagnosis Murder.” That’s like Matlock as a doctor. It’s just not cool and he doesn’t even have nice suits or southern sensibilities and homespun wisdom.

Who would you want at your party? Go to our contest page and let us know. Heck – you might even win some candy!

Chocolate Martini by Unhindered by Talent.

This Valentine’s Day, use up those leftover Christmas candy canes by hosting a peppermint and chocolate martini party using this recipe from the Candy Dish blog. Did you eat or distribute all your candy canes? Don’t worry – you can win some more. Candy Dish Blog and CandyBlog have teamed up to create the Candy Cane Contest. Sure it’s January, but we told you how you can use them up.

Here’s how you win: Tell us which four people you’d invite to your peppermint and chocolate martini party. Your guests could be present day friends, historic figures, celebrities – basically anyone you want. Just tell us who you’d pick and why and you might get your hands on some very tasty candy canes.

To enter: Leave your answers in the comments section of this entry. We will have four winners, who will be chosen shortly before Valentine’s Day and will receive a whole bunch of Pure Fun Organic Candy Canes. Update: Deadline to enter is 9 a.m. on Feb. 6th.

Chocolate Peppermint Martini

Ingredients

• 2 oz. vokda
• 1 oz. crème de cacao (light)
• 1 oz. peppermint schnapps
• Candy canes

Directions

• Combine vodka, crème de cacao and schnapps over ice in shaker
• Shake

Presentation

• Dip rim of martini glass in crème de cacao and touch several times to plate of crushed candy canes
• Pour cocktail into a martini glass
• Break the rounded end off one candy cane and insert the straight stick into the glass as a cocktail stirrer

Martini Glass by Carodean Road Designs.

Thanks to Cybele at Candy Blog for giving us something to do with those leftover crook-necked confections. One thing she left out, although she hit all around it, is to roll truffles in crushed candy canes instead of cocoa powder. Susan S. and her daughter did that when they made their holiday truffles and gave them as gifts. My wife and I nearly went nuts when we ate them. I highly recommend this.

Candy Canes by LexnGer.