In My Kitchen posts are hosted by Sherry, from  Sherry’s Pickings. Please visit her site to see what everybody else is sharing this month. I join four times each year, on the first day of January, April, July and October. If you are a food blogger, considering taking part of this fun event. It is chance to share those little things you bought or received as gifts and that make your life in the kitchen easier. 

Starting with gifts… 

From my niece Raquel, all the way from Brazil…

A beautiful pie plate, with incredible blue color! So touched by this gift.

From my future daughter-in-law Courtnie…

A very unique ceramic bowl from an artist in New York, so delicate and elegant! Thank you so much…

From Phil…

A Cricut Air Explorer 2 cutter, which I will use exclusively for stencils to use in my cookies… I’ve been flirting with the idea of getting one for the longest time, so now it is time to face that learning curve and play with it. I have already used it for some cookies recently featured on my cookie blog (see here and here).

From my dear friend Jill…

I cannot think of a better pair of earrings for me! MACARONS! Can you see my big smile when I opened the package? Thank you thank you thank you!

From my dear friend Ines…

We are both quite fond of his show, and I was already planning to get this book, but Ines beat me to it… thank you so much! She also sent us Panforte, the delicacy from Siena, but we destroyed the beauty of it so quickly I could not snap a good picture. That stuff is just amazing!

From my dear friend Christine…

Every year she sends me an AMAZING Christmas card… makes me feel so special… thank you a million times, much appreciated!

From our dear friends Pat and Bill…

A gorgeous plate with the most beautiful painted cardinal, my favorite bird! And a couple of placemats with the same pattern, that matches our dinner plates so very well! Thank you, thank you, thank YOU!

And now, moving on to acquisitions from the past 3 months…

In our kitchen…

This beautiful wooden stand was all alone at Marshalls, and I could not resist rescuing it… Love the patterns and the cream & white motif.

In our kitchen…

Not for the faint at heart, a hot hot hot flavored salt from Spice House, called quite appropriately Vulcan Salt… use sparingly… or NOT! 😉

In our kitchen…

These are smaller than the mini-chips you can normally find in grocery stores. They are perfect to incorporate in cookie dough (I mean in the cookie dough itself before rolling it out). Stay tuned for more on this important subject later.

In our kitchen…

Perfect Palate, a powder flavoring agent I heard about from professional “cookiers” in groups I follow. I decided to give them a try and was very pleasantly surprised. I’ve used all three in buttercream fillings for macarons. A little bit gives a ton of flavor, with no artificial “feel” to it.

In our kitchen…

A new cutter I could not resist, so I could make a festive New Year inspired cookie. Inspired by Haniela, by the way.

In our kitchen…

Two new colors for luster powder, from The Sugar Art. Really lover their products, and with Springerle season starting, I need the right tools for the job…

In our kitchen…

Speaking of color, this was the gift I gave myself for Christmas…. a set of watercolors from Sugarprism, a product released just this past month… So easy to use, you wet the brush and get the colors going. I’ve used exclusively on Royal icing but if you follow Michelle’s Facebook page, you will see many other uses for it, and be able to follow her many free tutorials. She is just amazing.

Here are my first cookies painted with Sugarprism watercolor (I am no Van Gogh, let’s keep that in mind)…

And now, it’s time to introduce a few changes in the In My Kitchen posts.

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER!!!!!

No more sharing MY spotlight with ingrate canines. All they do is induce chaos, mess, disorganization and grievance. They can get their own blog going. 2022 is the year of change!

FREEDOM FOR THE BEWITCHING KITCHEN!

Perhaps they know me too well. I do have a set of three soft spots in my heart… So yes, I will – reluctantly – allow them to bark their piece. Let’s see what they’ve been up to lately…

First for some big news! BogeyQuitThat^TM had his virtual wedding to the lovely Margaret, who barks all the way from California, and – it goes without saying – has a very discriminating taste as far as partners go.

There they are, happy in their virtual honeymoon to Arizona, to visit family. BogeyQT is very big on going bye bye in pickup trucks.

Oscar was a bit jealous, but once he heard he could be what is called “The Best Dog” in that virtual party, he thought justice had been done. Because who else could play that part?

Bogey has a few thoughts on the matter to share with his brother…

As you may remember, Buck has lost most of his hearing, and that changed a bit his personality and the way he interacts with the other pups.

One of the things we need to pay attention is the fact that if Oscar growls at him, he won’t hear, so he does not realize the danger. He has a few scars from altercations with the younger brother, nothing too serious, but we have to be always vigilant.

But even his hearing loss is not enough to guarantee a peaceful night’s sleep in our household….

Buck and Bogey for the most part are best buddies. Quite often they get in a similar wavelength, enjoying a snooze together in almost identical position.

And every once in a while, one of their humans might join the fun…

They are of course also partners in begging…

Whereas Oscar prefers to act solo…

Although, as far as gastronomy is concerned, he has some idiosyncrasies…

Buck prefers food with more political substance….

Speaking of Oscar…

Mr. Burr Magnet strikes again. Arrow points at a region with about 109 needles stuck to his very sexy beard. Of course, cleaning that all up makes us at risk of getting a visit from the Animal Protection Agency, as neighbors 1 mile away will definitely hear his screaming.

That’s all for now, folks… the gang at the Bewitching Kitchen is marching together to embrace the new year that starts, so we take this opportunity to we wish you all..

ONE YEAR AGO: Happy New Year in My Kitchen!

TWO YEARS AGO: Happy 2020 In My Kitchen!

THREE YEARS AGO: Happy 2019 In My Kitchen!

FOUR YEARS AGO: Happy New Year In My Kitchen!

FIVE YEARS AGO: Happy New Year In My Kitchen!

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen: Happy New Year!

SEVEN YEARS AGO: And another year starts…

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen: January 2014

NINE YEARS AGO: Tacos with Pork in Green Sauce

TEN YEARS AGO:  Maui New Year!

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Natural Beauty

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sunflower Seed Rye