Chinese Party Favors

             



          I made these fortune cookies for a
"Year of the Dragon"  themed baby shower.
It's not a novice recipe but if you're good under pressure you'll find them easy!

Boxed, tied up with red ribbon and a nice pair of chopsticks they're the perfect favor for any Asian themed party. Make them for a themed dinner party or as a unique way to announce some news!!!



       

         Fortune Cookie Favors    (2 dozen)




You will need:



Fortunes or predictions written on 1/2" x 3" pieces of paper.        
Chinese take-out boxes
Natural colored raffia or paper shred "noodles"
Red ribbon
Chop Sticks to tie on top (optional)

Recipe:
1 cup      all-purpose flour
2 tbsp     corn starch
1/2 cup   granulated sugar
1/2 cup   vegetable oil
2 tsp       water
1/2 tsp    almond extract
4            egg whites
              red and yellow food coloring
2-4        small cookie sheets


1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Thoroughly grease cookie sheets.  (The recipe did not specify what to grease the pans with so I started the recipe using cooking spray, but ran out and started brushing the sheets with vegetable oil and the second batch had a crispier texture and darker color.)  So if you can, I'd go with the oil. BUT BE CAREFUL!!!!! The oil ones were much hotter!!

2. Combine flour, corn starch and sugar in a large bowl. Mixing after each addition- stir in oil, water and almond extract. Add egg whites, food coloring (1 drop red to 2 drops yellow). Blend thoroughly.

3. Drop spoonful of batter onto greased sheet. Spread into circle, about 3" in diameter. (TIP: I blew through a straw to make them nice and round.Totally worked AND reminded me of summer camp and the taste of dish soap)! Bake one cookie at a time ( or two, once you get the hang of it)  until firm on top and just browning around the edge, about 4 minutes.

4. Quickly blot the excess oil off the cookie and place the fortune on the cookie. Using a spatula
fold the cookie in half over the fortune and in half again. Hold in place for a few seconds and cookie will harden as it cools. BE CAREFUL- the oil is very hot!

5. Continue with remaining batter, until finished!

 

Conversation Starters

Get People Talking......

At events where there are lots of people from different parts of your life,
like a wedding, it can be a challenge to get people talking. If you want to ensure that
everyone will mingle and have a good time, try to come up with a fun
conversation starter. Below is one example I came up with for a 40th
wedding anniversary.

This couple got married in the summer of love, 1969. Their son and daughter
wanted to make sure that the 150 plus guests had a good time, and that
they all had something to do and talk about, so I came up with these!
Enclosed in simple acrylic frames were 20 or so double sided cards
that were set between the daisy arrangements down the long family style tables.
They were a snap to design and they sure did the trick.
They included facts about the year they were married, for example:

In the summer of 1969, farmers in Bethel, NY were expecting 20,000 revelers to use their field for a "small" music festival. Around 200,000 showed up to the party that was "Woodstock".

Facts could include the cost of everyday items, sports stats, music, anything
you can think of. And, thanks to Google, you can find them online.
For a wedding, it could be facts about the bride and groom, or tips they received from friends and family for a successful marriage.

Below is another wedding idea to get the conversation rolling:
In lieu of table numbers, the bride named the tables after cities that were significant to the couple. And, in glass frames wrote a small blurb about why it was special to them. Where they met, their first holiday as a couple, where the spend their summers etc..

More fun ideas to come!!