"mini" news and stories

Miniature food items never fail to totally charm me. Pecan tassies are my favorite cookies, primarily because of their status as pint-sized pecan pies. In today's photo, Rebekah has made some adorable (and very tasty-looking) individual apple pies in ramekins. She claims that it was her first attempt at apple pie, but I would tend to doubt her assertion, since they came out looking so flaky-crusted and perfect.

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Want an alternative to a pumpkin pan for Halloween? How about giving a (semi) scary Skull Cake Pan a try? The nonstick metal pan measures only 7 1/2" x 8 1/4" and makes four little skulls at a time. You can make them as creepy or as cute as you like - depending on who your audience is and whether you are trying to go for a dessert for a really elaborate party.

I suspect that this pan is meant more for Day of the Dead celebrations than it is for Halloween, but that doesn't mean that it can't do double-duty and produce cakes for both occasions. And as long as you have a good cupcake recipe, I don't think that anyone will object to having cake two days in a row.

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Just in case the Swarovski crystal refrigerator is a little bit too much bling for your kitchen, Italian company Smeg, which already has some crazy designs in their catalogue, has partnered with automaker MINI Cooper to make the Smeg FAB28MCS refrigerator. The bright Laser Blue refrigerator with quintessential-MINI white bonnet stripes was created in celebration of MINI's release of their new 2007 models. The FAB28MCS refrigerator is a limited edition, so you'll have to do some hunting to get your hands on one of the 250 units.

[via: AutoBlog]

I snagged a bag of these Reese's Limited Edition Fudge Mini Peanut Butter Cups yesterday while I was shopping at Target. Looking at the bag, there is nothing to indicate what precisely makes them "fudge" flavored and the illustration of the candy looked identical to a regular mini cup. I hoped that they might be dark chocolate coated and bought the bag ($2, on sale).

Unfortunately, the candies are not dark chocolate coated. Instead, they appeared to be identical to regular minis, but with a smell that had a stronger chocolate scent. The taste was basically unchanged, as far as I could tell, but a few people I gave them two commented that they seemed "creamier." I attribute this to the outdoor temperatures of more than 90F, then again, I am not a peanut butter cup expert. Perhaps Cybele could find a bag of these and give them a taste, as she did with the rest of the Reese's line.

CuteOverload isn't about food unless cute animals are eating it. A post yesterday detailed how to make a miniature burger for your pet hamster. Using a little coring tool, simply punch out buns, cheese and ham, toss on a little parsley for lettuce, and your mini sammie - as Rachael Ray, who loves those cutesy expressions, would say - is good to go! And don't worry about the inclusion of ham, because hamsters are omnivorous and do sometimes eat meat. If you want your little hamster to stick to a vegetarian diet, just swap the "patty" out with a small carrot round instead. Either way, a little burger is a little more interesting, not to mention a bit healthier, than most gourmet pet foods.

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