This is precious. I don't care who you are or how tough you think you are, when you see food shaped like a precious little penguin you won't be able to help but get a smile on your face. This was my inspiration.
My boss is one almost like the Mad Men kind of bosses. Short of the sexual harassment and making me get his family's Christmas present (I wouldn't put it past him though), he has me do a lot of stuff for him. I don't mind though. Well, for the office Christmas party he told me to bring something for him so he wouldn't have to think about what to bring or make his wife do it. So I started searching. Since he's a macho retired Navy captain I thought, "What better contribution on his part that food that looks like penguins?" So away I started.
I made 27 in less than 45 minutes. Here's how:
1 can of jumbo black olives
1 can of small black olives
1 bag of presliced carrots (I'm lazy- so sue me)
1 lb monterrey jack cheese
1 bunch green onions
27 skewers cut to around 3 inches.
I'm sorry I don't have pictures of my "during" process, but the instructions are so simple you, intelligent reader with opposable thumbs, will be able to get it. Also, I didn't use cream cheese. While I love cream cheese, I also believe it has it's own time and place and it just didn't sound appetixing with the olive/carrot/green onion mixture.
1) Cut skewers to 3 inches (or even better, if you find longer toothpicks, those would work as well).
2) Drain olives. Cut small wedges out of carrots- the wedge will make the beak and the rest of the carrot will make the feet.
3) Slit one side of the large olive. Cut cheese into a rectangular shape large enough to push crack of olive open, but not break olive- I won't give precise measurements since olives vary, but mine were about an inch tall and about a 1/4" thick. Like I said- it varies. Put cheese in olive, put on top of carrot.
4) Take small olive and turn so that the larger hole faces the front. Take your skewer and put it right through the small olive, the cheese, and down through the carrot. Don't worry about going through the jumbo olive. Because it's clinging for dear life to the cheese. I know this looks cruel to the poor penguins, but they don't stay together otherwise.
5) Take your small wedge and put it in the small olive's exposed hole. You can stop here or you can give your penguin a scarf. Disgustingly cute.
6) If you're adding a scarf take a stem of your green onion and cut it into 4 thin slices. You want them thin but not too thin. While you need them to be pliable enough to go around the neck of the penguin and tie, you don't want them to break. Because the penguin does not have a regular neck (no offense, penguin, but you don't), you'll just tie it tightly enough that it fits between the two olives and the pressure from the olives keeps it in place.
This is my finished product:
I would HIGHLY recommend this. It's fun, adorable, and everyone gets to compliment you on your awesome skills of cuteness. Here is the pin.
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