Abbie's Berry Pink Christmas Party!

May the season rekindle childhood joys of

holidays past.

A Maine House Mosaic

Estelle's is throwing a holiday Christmas party for our one and only granddaughter....Miss Abbigaile, AKA "Abbie", AKA, "Miss Abbie", AKA, "ABBS", AKA, "My Darling Abbie"....oh lawd, I could go on and on with little pet names. She is THAT precious to us! I am telling you this is the sweetest child I have ever seen. From the moment she was born (Grandma and Papa presented her with a ginormous white, fluffy, soft as silk polar bear with a big satin pink ribbon), she has been so loved by all of us. When I redecorated in Texas, we made one of our bedrooms "The Princess Room!" It was girly beyond belief and was reserved for the Divine Miss M and Miss Abbie. Lo and behold, there were several of Rob's college friends that seemed to enjoy the Princess Room when they stayed over the weekend visiting from Texas A&M....go figure?? Miss Abbie is now eleven, soon to be twelve, so Grandma is taking sheer delight in hosting a berry pink Christmas party for Abbs and her little friends. We are serving a pasta casserole, fresh green salad, homemade french rolls and the most heavenly ice cream cake with pink sparkling grape juice with raspberries! A touch of elegance, a touch of grown-up, a touch of berry pink (Abbs signature color) and a whole lot of love! Merry Christmas our darling girl!

White Chocolate-Cherry Chip Ice Cream Cake

1 box Super Moist white cake mix

1 box (4-serving size) white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 egg whites

6 cups cherry-chocolate chip ice cream

1 cup whipping cream

1 package (6 oz) white chocolate baking bars, chopped

1/4 cup hot fudge topping

Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray bottom only of 13" x 9" pan with baking spray with flour. In large bowl, beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, oil and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes (batter will be very thick). Pour into pan. Bake 29 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, place ice cream in refrigerator 1 hour to soften. Cut cake into 1- to 1 1/2-inch squares with serrated knife. In very large bowl, stir ice cream until very soft. Add cake squares; stir until cake is coated (cake pieces will break up). Spoon mixture back into pan. Smooth top. Freeze about 3 hours or until firm. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream until hot but not boiling. Stir in chopped white chocolate until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into small bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours or until cold. Beat white chocolate mixture on high speed until soft peaks form (do not overbeat or mixture will look curdled). Spread over ice cream cake. In microwavable food-storage plastic bag, place hot fudge topping; seal bag. Microwave on High about 15 seconds or until melted; squeeze bag until topping is smooth. Cut off tiny corner of bag; squeeze bag to drizzle topping over cake. Serve immediately, or cover and freeze.

May you always be a child at heart!

Happiest of Holidays!