Ever wondered just what goes into making wine? This tutorial is clear and in-depth, and will have you making your own wine in no time!

How To Make Modeling Chocolate from Candy Melts (courtesy of cakeb0t.com)

Only 2 main ingredients!
14 ounces candy melts (color of your choice)
1/3 cup of light corn syrup
Directions:
1. Warm the melts in the microwave them at 30 second intervals. Until it is just melted. The discs will keep their shape, but will soften once you start mixing. Use Candy Color to make custom colors.
2. For this next step, make sure the melts are cooled, not hot. Pour corn syrup into melts. As you mix ingredients, the mixture will become taffy-like.
3. Pour the mixture onto parchment. Sandwich between another piece of parchment. Flatten to about ¼ inch thick.
4. Let it rest until set, about 2 hours.
5. Uncover, and break up the sheet as needed.
6. Knead until it becomes clay. Shape, mold or cut…just like clay!

Cute, edible flower – yum! Use to decorate your cakes! Enjoy, and please visit my blog – Cakeb0t.com!

How To Make DIY Valentine Gifts (courtesy of GlamTrotter.com)

Hey you guys, it’s Amber, and this is going to be a little Valentine’s do-it-yourself video, and this is something that I like to do for my husband, as well as my friends and family. We love chocolate covered strawberries – I think a lot of people probably do – and, they can be quite expensive when you’re picking them up from a bakery, or like, Godiva in the mall for example. They’re so expensive! Like $6.00 for 2 strawberries! So, I’m gonna show you kind of a cute, little way to do it yourself – to make your own chocolate covered strawberries, and sort of turn them into a Valentine’s Day gift. So, if you are interested in how I make them, please stay tuned, and I will show you how I kind of present them and package them as well, at the end of this video.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Measuring Cup

Your Choice of Chocolate Morsels

1 Quart of Washed Strawberries

Ribbon with a Wired Edge

Package of Empty Treat Boxes

Wax Paper

Tray/Plate Lined with Wax Paper

Add 1 cup of morsels.

Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Churn the mixture from bottom to top.

Heat mixture for 30 seconds.

Again, churn the mixture from bottom to top.

Heat mixture for another 30 seconds.

Finally the chocolate is ready for dipping!

Since these are gifts, select the most attractive berries. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Line your box with wax paper.

Place the berries in the gift box.

How To Hard-Boil An Egg (courtesy of 5Min.com)

From Out and Bound to Martha Stewart to Jacques Pepin – everyone seems to have their own way of making the perfect boiled egg. I’m Katy, and, with my simple method, there’s no egg puncturing or pan shaking required!

First put the eggs in the saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover by 1 inch. You may want to consider using room temperature eggs, but, fresh from the fridge is fine, too.

Then, bring the eggs to a boil on high heat.

Next, cover the pan and immediately remove it from the heat.

While the eggs are sitting, fill a medium bowl with ice and water.

After 10 minutes, remove the eggs from the hot water, and transfer them to the ice water bath. Let them sit for another 5 minutes. Giving the eggs a cold water bath helps remove the shell, so if you’re looking at 2 eggs and can’t tell which one’s raw, spin them on the counter top. Hard-boiled eggs should spin quickly and easily, like a top!

For more delicious egg recipes, like my famous deviled eggs, check out Yum Sugar TV!

How To Roast Garlic (courtesy of EHowFoods.com)

To roast garlic, first start with your oven set to 350º.

Next, take a head of garlic, and go ahead and cut off the top part of the garlic, so it’s exposing the cloves.

You’re gonna next set that into a little foil bowl, on a sheet pan, with a roasting rack.

Next, add a little olive oil on top of your garlic cove.

And then, we’re gonna add just a little bit of salt.

Next, we’re gonna set it into the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it gets really soft to the touch.

And that is how you roast a head of garlic!

Learn how to make delicious tamales (courtesy of AllRecipes.com)

Tamales are as beautiful as they are delicious! Wrapped and steamed in leaves, this authentic, Latin-American treat can be made in so many variations – just like the American sandwich! Served as a special occasion food, in part because they take time to make, tamales are steamed, cornmeal dumplings filled with moist, flavorful filling, all wrapped up like a gift, in a corn husk! First, let’s take a look at what goes inside a tamale, from the inside out.

Filling. This is traditionally meat – braised beef or pork – but, you can pack tamales with chicken, roasted veggies, cheese or seafood.

Masa dough. The dumpling or breading of the tamale, is made from ground corn flour, lard and salt. This doughy mixture is cooked into firmness through steaming.

The wrapper. Tamales are wrapped and cooked in a plant leaf – dried corn husks, fresh corn husks or banana leaves are common wrappings. This non-edible layer holds the tamale together as it cooks, and it gives the tamale its distinctive, authentic look. Before you get started, be aware that tamales take a fair amount of time to make. Some tamale makers suggest you may need as much as 2 days.

Day 1 – You cook the meat.

Day 2 – You assemble the tamales.

Others suggest that you make the tamales all in one day, and make a party out of it! Invite over your friends and family to form a tamale making assembly line. Either way, here are the tools to make tamales:

A dutch oven to cook the meat
Large capacity, 16 to 20 quart steamer to steam the tamales
Tongs
Knife, spoon or spreading utensil of your choice

Step 1 – Prepare the filling. Most tamales are filled with braised pork or beef, in a sauce of spices and dried and crushed chilies, but you can use chicken, roasted vegetables, cheese, beans or seafood. Even make dessert tamales, filled with a sweet mix of fruit and nuts!

Traditionally, you simmer a large, 3-4 pound piece of pork or beef roast in a dutch oven with onion, garlic and enough water to cover the meat. Cook the meat on low heat until it’s tender and cooked through, for at least 2 hours. Ideally, you want to be able to pull it apart with a fork.

Once you’ve cooked the meat, you can ad spices and seasonings. Typical choices are chilies,
chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, black pepper and salt. Well, here’s how you season the cooked meat. Heat a splash of corn oil in a large pan. Heat on medium-high and add seasonings of your choice. Add the pulled, cooked meat and mix with the oil and seasonings.

Step 2 – Prepare the husks. Soak the dried corn husks in water for about an hour, to make them pliable.

Step 3 – Make the masa. Traditional tamale dough is a mixture of masa, lard and salt. Fresh masa is dried corn that has been cooked in lime water, soaked overnight and ground up while still wet. You can buy fresh masa. It makes the lightest, fluffiest tamales! Or, you can make your own masa, using Masa Harena – flour from dried out masa. If you use Masa Harena, you add liquid – either water or meat broth, to moisten it.

For light and fluffy tamale dough, whip the lard and salt with an electric mixer for a few minutes. If you don’t want to use lard, you can use the same amount of vegetable shortening. Add masa and continue to whip, adding water or broth, until the mixture is the consistency of soft cookie dough. How do you tell if your masa mixture is moist enough? Here’s a test. Drop a small ball of dough into a glass of water. If the dough sinks, it needs more liquid whipped into it. If it floats, it’s ready to use!

Step 4 – Wrap it up! Open up a corn husk or leaf and lay it on a cutting board. Spread a layer of masa dough, about a ¼ to a ½ inch thick. Then, spread a tablespoon of filling down the middle of the masa dough. Carefully roll up the husks so that the masa dough completely covers up the filling, and the parcel stays in tact. Use a strip of husk to tie the package closed. Pretty, isn’t it?

Step 5 – Steam the tamales. Stand the tamales upright in a steamer basket. Turn the water to high and steam over boiling water for 45 minutes. Remove the tamales from the steamer with tongs, taking care not to burn yourself. Arrange the tamales on a platter, and Dig In! Remind tamale newbies to remove the corn husk before eating!

Make a lot of tamales and freeze the excess. Tamales can be frozen for up to 6 months. Wrap them in a heavy, resealable plastic bag. To re-heat, thaw tamales in the refrigerator, and steam or microwave them until they are heated through.

If you’re craving tamales, set aside some time, invite over friends and family, and get rolling! Tamales are easy to make, when there are lots of hands to help!

How To Prevent Common Christmas Disasters (courtesy of Howcast.com)

With a little forethought, you can avoid many embarrassing, annoying, and downright dangerous holiday mishaps! You will need:

Emergency gifts
A drink limit
Kiss-avoidance strategies
Graciousness
Fishing wire
A computer with internet access
Orange and lemon rinds (optional)

Step 1: Have wrapped, unisex gifts on hand in case you forget someone. This is also useful if someone gives you something that cost twice as much as what you gave them: Just say, “And here’s your other gift!” Pick things you can use if you don’t give them as gifts, or stuff that can hold until next year.

Step 2: Figure out how much alcohol you can drink at the office Christmas party before you’re at risk of doing something you’ll regret. Then stick to your limit.

Step 3: Avoid an unwelcome mistletoe kiss by saying you have a cold – or feigning a cough or sneeze as the person closes in on you.

Step 4: If someone gives you a lousy gift, simply say, “Thank you.” If you pretend to like it, you may get more of the same next year.

Step 5: Prevent an emergency trip to the veterinarian by keeping sweet treats away from dogs and cats. Chocolate toxicity is the most common holiday-related illness for pets. Poinsettias are also poisonous to your four-legged friends.

Step 6: Keep kids and pets from knocking over the Christmas tree by securing it with clear fishing line attached to the treetop and a ceiling hook. If you have a cat, scatter orange and lemon rinds on the tree skirt; most cats hate citrus scents.

Step 7: Don’t panic if you still need gifts and even the drugstores are closed: Just go online, order a gift, and print out a photo of it. On your way out when you realize you’ve forgotten someone? Pick up some movie passes or a gas gift card.

Did you know? The average person gives up on trying to make their new electronic gift work at 11:48 a.m. on Christmas morning, according to a survey!

Learn How To make Christmas Cookie Bouquets (courtesy of Howcast.com)

Follow this recipe to make a festive, edible decoration that everyone will enjoy! You will need:

Roll of cookie dough
1/3 c. pasteurized egg whites
4 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
Cookie and cake decorations
Peppermint candies
Equipment:
Christmas cookie cutters
Wooden skewers
Electric mixer with paddle attachment
Colorful ribbon
Holiday-themed bowl
Florist foam
Red and green food coloring (optional)

Step 1: Roll out the cookie dough to double the thickness of your skewers. Then use your cookie cutters to cut out cookies. Poke the skewers into the sides of the cookies to make cookie lollipops.

Step 2: Bake the cookie lollipops according to package directions, adding one to two minutes to account for the added thickness. Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Step 3: Make the icing by beating the egg whites in the mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Step 4: Change the mixer speed to medium-low and slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping the bowl between additions. Use more sugar for stiff icing to decorate designs and less sugar for loose icing to fill in the designs.

Step 5: Add the lemon juice, increasing the speed to medium-high until stiff peaks form and the icing is no longer shiny — six to eight minutes. Then ice the cookies. Divide the icing and add red and green food coloring.
Step 6: Use festive cookie and cake decorations to embellish the cookie lollipops. Tie a piece of colorful ribbon around each stick.

Step 7: Stick the lollipops into the florists’ foam in the bowl and hide the foam with peppermint candies. Use your bouquet as a festive centerpiece — if you can stand not eating it first!

Did you know? In 1979, in honor of the American hostages in Iran, only the top ornament of the National Christmas Tree was lit.

How To Have A Skinnier Thanksgiving (courtesy of Howcast.com)

You can save calories without sacrificing flavor, just by tweaking your Thanksgiving dishes! You will need:

Low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
Fresh cranberries
Sugar or sugar substitute
A little restraint
A fat separator
Flour

Step 1: Favor the white meat over dark to cut four calories and one fat gram per ounce. Don’t ban dark meat altogether – it’s actually more nutritious, containing more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12
.
Step 2: Cook your stuffing outside the bird; it’s lower in fat that way.

Step 3: Remove the fat from the pan drippings before you make the gravy, either by using a fat separator or chilling them in the fridge and then skimming off the fat. You’ll save a whopping 56 grams of fat per cup of gravy! For a really low-cal gravy, skip the drippings and make it out of low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth mixed with a little flour dissolved in water.

Step 4: Use chicken broth instead of cream and butter to make mashed potatoes. Consider making smashed potatoes by leaving on the nutrient-rich skin.

Step 5: Make the traditional green bean casserole with 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup and cut the calories by more than half, plus eliminate 14 grams of fat. Shave off another 250 calories by using only half the can of French-fried onions.

Step 6: Make your own cranberry sauce. Wash a bag of fresh cranberries, put them in a pot with a cup of water, let them cook until the desired texture, and then stir in sugar or sugar substitute sparingly, to taste.

Step 7: Slim down the candied yams by cutting back on the added sugar or maple syrup — you probably won’t even miss it — and nixing the mini marshmallows.

Step 8: Stick to pumpkin pie. At around 240 calories a slice, it beats apple, mince, and pecan. Don’t eat the crust and you’ll save another 100 calories.

Did you know? On average, Americans take in 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day!