Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel

So happy to do my first food blog!  I've been wanting to try and make these chocolate treats  for the longest time, I figured there is no better time to start than right now.  The chocolate covered candied orange peels turned out so well, so I want to share the recipe with you all.   I’m sure they make the perfect munchy for you and your guest this holiday season.  You’d want to make extra and tuck away some just for your own!

Ingredients

6 thick-skinned oranges (I used navel)

4 1/2 cups of sugar, plus extra for rolling (I used extra fine sugar for rolling)

1 1/2 cups of water

1 cup of dark chocolate (or whatever kind you prefer)

Directions

Cut the tops and bottoms from the oranges.

Score each orange peel into 4 equal pieces, cutting only the peel, not the fruit.

Remove each piece of skin with pith off of orange.

Cut the peel into strips about 1/4 inch wide.

Put orange peel into a large pot with cold water to cover.  

Bring to boil over high heat, pour off water.

Repeat for one or two times depending on your taste preference.  

This is to remove the bitterness of the pith.  I boiled mine three times total.

Whisk together sugar and water, bring to simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Add peels and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until peels are translucent.  

Stir gently so peels do not break.

Drain the peels and place them on cooling rack to dry over night.

Save the syrup for ice tea!

Day 2, while the peels are well drained yet still sticky to the touch, roll in super fine sugar and return back to rack for further drying.  I rolled about half of my peels in sugar, and left the other half just as is, just to have variety.  The drying takes anywhere from 1 to 3 days depending on humidity.  

Day X, after countless hours of staring and drooling over your peels, the time has finally come!  Melt chocolate, I prefer dark, and dip each peel in chocolate and place on parchment paper to dry.  If you like the peels without chocolate, that is perfectly fine too.  

If you like, before chocolate sets, decorate the peels with holiday sugar sprinkles, or drizzle white chocolate to add extra wow factor.  Voilà!  Enjoy, and remember to package peels in cute plastic bags or boxes to use as holiday party favors for friends and family!

XOXO

Jia

Bond (Girl) Fever - Skyfall Nail Polish by OPI

I was real excited to see the latest Bond movie Skyfall at Cinépolis with boyfriend.  It was no doubt a first class experience, the luxury cinema even offered special Bond cocktails such as the classic Vesper, and couple modern drinks Honey Ryder and Miss Moneypenny.  The movie was brilliant, and Daniel Craig is by far my most favored Bond ever!  The Bond girl Séverine played by French actress Bérénice Marlohe definitely caught my attention as well, there was something different about her, maybe her mysteriousness and complexity... 

Celebrating 50th anniversary of the iconic British Spy James Bond, and the release of Skyfall, OPI has created a Bond themed nail polish collection, with colors named after some of the stand-out films such as The World is not Enough, Goldeneye, The Spy who Loved me, and etc.  Amongst all, the supremely decadent 18k Gold Leaf top coat, The Man with the Golden Gun!

I really wanted to recreate the Séverine look, with Skyfall, a deep maroon on top and a sparkly gold on the undersides. 

Two coat of Skyfall, very smooth application, beautiful job OPI! 

For the gold effect on the undersides, I used ORLY Instant Artist in 24K Glitter instead.  Since it is quite similar to Goldeneye by OPI, I didn't feel the need to purchase a new one.

It was a messy job painting the color on the underside, maybe because my nails are not as long as they need to be.  But for ladies with longer nails, definitely try this design, very fun and very unique, great for the holiday season IMO!

See the complete Skyfall collection at OPI website.  And remember to catch the Skyfall movie in theater this holiday season!

XOXO

Jia

Let's Celebrate like it's 12.12.12!

Just want to make a mark here and share a few fun facts about 12.12.12 with you all :)

1. At 1:21:02 a.m., palindrome lovers everywhere can rejoice in the single second that marks when the date-time combination is the same read both forwards and backwards: 
2012-12-12 1:21:02 = 201212-1-212102.

2. Dec. 12 is the last of the repeating dates until Jan. 1, 2101. Repeating dates (like 12/12/12) can, for obvious reasons, only occur in the first 12 years of a century.

3. Those who wish to take part in yet another time-based phenomenon, at 12:12:12 pm, the number 12 will be given a “sixer” – 12/12/12 12:12:12.

TWELVE NOTABLE TWELVES:
12 days of Christmas.
12 months in a year.
12 pairs of ribs in most humans.
12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
12 hours on a clock face.
12 strikes to bowl a perfect game.
12 people have walked on the moon.
12 face cards in a deck.
12 apostles of Jesus.
12 jurors in felony trials in all but four states, federal and D.C. courts.
12 signs of the Zodiac.
12 inches in a foot.

XOXO

Jia

New Item! Mix & Matching

Just watched Silver Lining Playbook, with two of my favorite actors Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, over the weekend.  I liked the movie very much and thought it was meaningful and entertaining at the same time!  Pat, Cooper's character, suffers from bipolar disorder and dramatized after witnessing his wife cheating, is determined to get his life back in track, using positive thinking and his motto 'Excelsior'!  I left the theater feeling revived and that everything in life was okay again~

Back to real business here (＾ω＾)  I've always liked making something that is a little more interesting and not quite monotonic.  I'm quite happy with how these earrings turned out, as they are perfectly mixed and matched with different colors, stones, textures and shapes.

Hope you like them as well!  Find these earrings in my shop here.

XOXO

Jia

New Item! Citrine Aventurine Flower Earrings

Inspired by earrings worn by the stunning British beauty and opera singer Katherine Jenkins :)  Aside from her heavenly voice, Katherine was one of my all time favorite from ABC show Dancing with the Stars, and IMO she and Mark should have have been the winner of the season!

As you can see I have made some changes from the original pair worn by Katherine.  I'm really happy with the design and the rich citrine color of the aventurine.  Hope you guys like them as well!

Find details about these lovely earrings here in my Etsy shop.

XOXO

Jia

Give Great

Great news!  

10 days of great holiday shopping starts today!  

My most sincere appreciation for all of you, dear blog readers and Etsy customers.

  Visit my shop Le Petit Ruban and

Receive 10% OFF all product with code: GG1012

Offer expires midnight PST December 14th, 2012

U.S. customers, order early to grantee Christmas delivery!

Shipping upgrade to Priority or Express mail available, just contact me for details.

XOXO

Jia

New Item! Petite Lace Needlework Earrings

Brand new addition to Le Petit Ruban's Paris collection!  

When one thinks of Paris, one thinks romance.  When one thinks of romance, one thinks soft candle lights, slow dance songs and those take-your-breath-away lacy things.  I love laces not only because lace has been big this year through out fashion.  Lace is sweet, feminine and full of character.  

These petite golden lace earrings are very adorable and delicate.  Definitely minimalist, definitely sweet, one of my favorite piece! 

Earrings can be purchased here at my Etsy shop :)

XOXO

Jia

Sinful Indulgences

As an Etsy seller, I find myself spending a ton of time, energy editing and perfecting product photos.  Which can be fun but painful at the same time.  As I am working away on this gloomy San Diego afternoon, I felt I needed something to warm me through and lift me up... :)  

Hidden in the back of my kitchen shelve, are these hot chocolate mixes I picked up over the Thanksgiving weekend from Williams Sonoma.  Why are they hidden you ask?  Because they are SO good, they are bad!  Unlike regular hot chocolate, these mixes are made from real chocolate shavings, as soon as I open the container, I already feel the rich chocolaty aroma filling my nose.  The package suggest to combine 5 tablespoons of the mix with 1 cup of whole milk.  I find that ratio a bit too intense for me, it is almost like drinking liquid chocolate, though I'm sure some true chocoholics out there love the stuff.  I like mine with just 4 tablespoons of the mix and 1 1/2 cup of 2% milk, the result?  Fabulous!  Just the right depth of bittersweet chocolate taste and silky smooth texture.  And the vanilla marshmallow cubes, what can I say, they are not your average marshmallows, they are very dense and creamy and a hint of vanilla, a crème de la crème!  Yum!

Here I have the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate mix, the Classic Hot Chocolate mix and the box of Vanilla Marshmallows.  I have yet tried the salted caramel flavor, would be something to look forward to for sure.  I feel my day is getting more productive by the minute as I sip up my hot chocolate one heavenly drop at a time.

XOXO

Jia