And the award for Best Aunt and Uncle goes to...drum roll please...Dana and Dale of Moses Lake, Washington! (Don't worry Denise, with a little effort you and Bill can claim that top spot!) Not only did my wonderful aunt and uncle give me a great suggestion for something I've never done before, but they sent me the materials to complete the task.
While it may not be the traditional season for making a gingerbread house, I figured now is as good a time as any to begin to develop my architectural pastry techniques. Plus, Halloween is known for massive amounts of candy consumption so it makes perfect sense to incorporate all those sugary delights into some seasonal home decor.
As I opened the box the scent of gingerbread penetrated through its packaging and permeated the room. I unloaded the rest of the adornments and set to work. After a brief bout of sever frustration with roofing panels sliding off their perch (a problem easily remedied with kabob skewers cut to size and used as shims) it was time to get down to business and give this gingerbread house some serious candied curb appeal. My self-diagnosed case of mild OCD did cause this process to take a little longer than it would for most. Attempting to get the perfect lines and symmetrical candy placement that I had pictured in my head, and on the box, proved to be a bit of an impossible task. In the end I decided this was supposed to be a haunted house anyway, so imperfections would only help retain the integrity of the theme.
Once all the candy was lovingly placed in on the gingerbread structure (that is, what candy made it through my strict quality control process of taste testing each decorative element) it was time for the toughest part of the entire process. Any faithful viewer of Food Network Challenge knows the part I'm talking about. It was time for the nerve wrecking, white knuckle move from the prep area to the display table, hoping and praying that the whole thing doesn't come crashing down.
The move was successful and now I have a beautifully adorned gingerbread house to complete the Halloween ambiance in my living room. Quite honestly my future in building and decorating edible structures looks bleak. My future in eating said structures, however, is quite promising. And now for the final challenge of this gingerbread building adventure...to keep my dog from devouring my masterpiece!
That's great! I actually found this blog cuz I read Sarah's FB post about your house smelling like gingerbread and I said, "There's gotta be a photo of that somewhere, probably on Lindsay's FB page..."
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