Las Vegas stage star mixes baked goodies for the holidays — PHOTOS
The Kats! Bureau at this writing is “The Sweets’ Spot” YouTube studio. Or, Melody Sweets’ living room-kitchen suite where the series is created and posts live at noon Pacific time Fridays through December on Sweets Spot TV.
Sweets is baking white chocolate, strawberry, pistachio truffles (full recipe below). Or, as we call them, holiday dessert balls. The recipe involves salted butter, vanilla extract and heavy cream. The star just asked, hypothetically, “Don’t you just want to stick your face in that?”
Special guests are favorite Vegas burlesque performer Buttercup; co-creator and wicked comic talent Anais Thomassian (the original Penny Pibbets of “Absinthe”), drummer-for-hire Mike “Beans” Benigno, and “Mystere” performer Jimmy Slonina. Sweets is familiar to Vegas audiences dating to the origin of “Absinthe,” where she played the Green Fairy.
Slonina plays a mobster in the series, talking of how important it is to keep his vehicle waxed and shiny. Sweets just commented about my ‘67 Mercury Cougar parked outside, “Did you see that sweet Cougar outside?” Slonina says, “There’s a car out there, as well.”
Thomassian says she finds Slonina funny, and he says in his Joe Pesci-“Goodfellas” voice, “Oh, you find me funny? You calling me a clown?” “You are a clown,” Thomassisan said, referring to Slonina’s Brian Le Petit usher character in “Mystere.”
Sweets and Thomassian are performing a tribute to the pottery scene from “Ghost” with the buttery-creme concoction in the bowl. “You’re a baker!” Thomassian just said. “You can’t say ‘Ewww!’ to flour!”
Mike Thompson was on hand, behind the camera, as Light Forge Studios of Las Vegas shoots the series, and worked on “The Sweets’ Spot” original YouTube series. Sponsor Jordan Adler of Beach Money Cigars was also part of the studio/house audience.
John Di Domenico as Guy Fieri — or is it Fieri as Di Domenico? — is to be featured in an upcoming episode. Amy Saunders of “Miss Behave Game Show” and “Mavericks” is planned for Friday. She plays the production’s narrator/voice-of-God role.
The live show is organically Vegas, filled with local talent. It’s great fun, sexy and stylish, and ending with an actual baked dish. Everyone wins, including Sweets’ adorably clumsy dogs Pearl and Bleu, wresting and slobbering their way through the holidays. We should all be so lucky.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
Melody Sweets'
White Chocolate, Strawberry, Pistachio Truffles
**
4tbsp salted butter
2tbsp heavy cream
12oz white chocolate chips (good quality)
1/4 cup chopped freeze dried strawberries
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (clear)
1/4 tsp strawberry extract (clear)
**
First, in a small sauce pan over low heat melt butter and heavy cream and whisk until a little frothy. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and strawberry extracts. Set aside.
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals (2) and then 15 seconds until melted.
Finally, stir in chopped strawberries and pistachio. Cover with a plastic wrap pressed on the top of the mixture so a film does not form. Then refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes (until firm).
When the mixture is firmed, using a tablespoon or a melon baller scoop out the mixture and roll into inch sized balls.
Finally, roll each truffle into powdered sugar to coat them well.
Store in the fridge in airtight container up to 1 week or freeze for longer storage.
