thanksgiving recap

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone - and I'm recovering and getting around to writing about it! This was our second Thanksgiving with both of our families at our house, and I feel like things went better this time around with the first year's experience under my belt. Here's a recap and review...

Appetizers:

chips and fresh salsa

relish tray

parmesan straws - I used the recipe from Food Everyday's November magazine on page 60, but it's not available yet - basically it's the same as this one minus the herbs

Tasty, but nothing terribly special.

Menu:

honey glazed carrots - from November's Food Everyday- page 46 - can't find a good comparison online

Great recipe. The carrots were tender and flavorful. The honey isn't pronounced, but maybe next time I'll add more and simmer the sauce longer. Even the next day, the carrots were cooked well. AND this cooks on the stove, not the oven - a plus.

brussel sprouts with leeks and bacon

Meh. The sprouts were good but ended up being overcooked. Also, I couldn't really taste the leeks. Pluses for stovetop cooking, but minuses for the sprouts being a little tempermental when it comes to cooking time.

puffed mashed potatoes

Best recipe from this meal. I am over garlic mashed potatoes, and the Manchego cheese adds a new flavor while still keeping the recipe pretty traditional. This recipe also didn't take much butter or cream, but still tasted rich because of the cheese. The husband says this recipe is a keeper. I agree.

savory bread stuffing with pears

So good. I did use homemade chicken stock, which added some flavor, but even with store bought stock I'm sure it's good. The pears are not overpowering and add a new flavor. Will make this one again.

roasted butternut squash with mustard vinaigrette

Good but not great. I overcooked the squash because I'm not too familiar with it - and also because I made it the night before and heated it up the day of. If you make it before, don't cook it all the way. Also, next time I will omit the apple cider vinegar - it made the squash smell funny.

smoked turkey - from a local butcher

Smoked turkey is the bomb. I thought it would taste smoky like beef jerky or something, but it definitely did not. The turkey was juicy and tender - more so than any other turkey I've had before. And the next day? Still tender and not dry at all. I will buy smoked turkey every year - all you do it heat it up and it tastes fabulous! The price tag, though, is pretty steep.

cranberry jello salad - my mom

onion rolls - mother in law

pumpkin pie - Costco

Go ahead and knock it - but at $5.99, you can't beat the Costco special.

persimmon pudding - my mom

I also wanted to share, er, brag, about my $14.99 Costco arrangement that I made:

I used a plate and floral foam and made a long arrangement to go down our long table. I used some tricks I learned during last year's flower arranging class that I took. Overall, I was pretty pleased at how it turned out. Especially for $14.99! I did use my pear place cards but received some heckling about them. Whatever. It's my house, I will make pear place cards if I want.


Keeping the food warm and ready at the same time is the biggest challenge to me. I don't mind cooking, and I try to precook what I can, but I only have one oven and it's only so big! Especially with a big ass turkey in it. I think I did better this year but it's still a struggle. If you have any tips, I'd love to hear them!

mini pears = cutest thing ever

I headed to the grocery store this afternoon with my mile - long list for Thanksgiving. I needed to pick up two pears for the stuffing I'm making, and I stumbled upon Seckel pears. I don't know how I hadn't ever noticed them before, but they are THE CUTEST THINGS EVER! I bought a bag and had a plan to use them on my Thanksgiving tablescape. Yes, you read the word tablescape. I like to pretend I'm Sandra Lee sometimes. When I'm not pretending I'm Martha, that is. This is a Seckel pear compared to a regular one. SO CUTE! I thought I would be original and make them into place cards, but as it turns out, I am not the first to do so. I found this cute image via the kitchn. I might just put the little card in front of the pear. Nothing says Thanksgiving like slicing open a finger while making place cards out of mini pears. I'll have to share my table with you all - I am being brave (read: crazy) and making my own floral arrangement this year using my flower arranging class skills. It will, no doubt, feature mini pears as an accent in the arrangement to tie in the place cards. Martha, watch your back.

you can teach an old chair new tricks

So back in February (oh my - didn't realize it was that long ago!), I told you that I had a plan to recover a chair. The chair had been in my grandma's house and was purchased in the late 80s/early 90s. It's not an antique but I definitely remember its place in her house.
I had a crazy plan to recover it myself. I'm not an upholsterer by any means, but I figured it couldn't be that hard. Right? As it turns out, it wasn't that bad. My grand plan was originally to rip off all the fabric and get down to the stuffing, but after I started ripping out staples I realized that 1) it took damn near forever and 2) I could probably just staple new fabric over the old and get away with it.

So that was my plan. I ended up finding a remnant of fun fabric at Joann Fabrics for about $12 and estimated that the piece I found would be big enough. And as luck would have it, it was! So here is the finished product:

Ta-da! I opted to keep the wood and not paint it. The fabric is stapled to the layer and frame underneath and then trimmed with dark brown gimp. Did you know that trim is called gimp in the upholstery world? Kind of a funny word. Geee-yimp. Yeah, it's funny. Here's the back of the chair - instead of stapling it (because the fabric is under the wood), I cut a piece of fabric to fit and just stuffed it in. In person, the wrinkles aren't noticeable. Plus it will face a wall anyway, most likely. Here is where the chair is now - in the entry way in front of my bizarre-o blue half wall. The blue is actually turquoise, and in person it's not so appalling. But I am at a loss as to what to put in this area. I can't really put a table and lamp because there's no outlet. I did put up my oil painting of fish that my mom gave me, but it's a little big for the space. The husband does not like the blue. Or the fish. I kind of don't either. I'm hoping that inspiration will come to me. Here's an action shot of glueing on the trim. Geee-yimp. Whatever. I bought mine on Ebay because it was cheaper than the fabric store.

And here's a close-up of the chair back. Though I'm obviously no expert, I'm pretty happy with the finished product. I like reusing old things. And I like spending less than $20 for a fun project!

martha + crane = paperlove

I got an email yesterday from Fine Stationery that Crane & Co now has a line with MARTHA! Martha sure is building up her empire lately... she'll sell you flowers, cookware, home organization wares... even a turkey. And I wouldn't be half surprised if she raised those damn turkeys herself.

So onto the goods... here are some of my favorites. Oh peonies.... I love thee. I need to get married again so I can use these. Or at least have a grand garden party. And then send thank you notes for it.Or maybe a postcard... ... or a black tie affair. Check out the scallop! Love it. You can find Martha products at Fine Stationery as well as in my virtual shopping cart!

game day chili

A few months ago, for my alma mater's homecoming tailgating festivities, I made a batch of chili using a new 'recipe' and loved it. I didn't have a recipe the first time but now... it's taste tested and approved. I've made it several times since. It's easy to make, relatively healthy, and can be transported anywhere in the crock pot. Today, I thought it was fitting for the Colts vs. Patriots game taking place this evening. I'm not waiting 'til kickoff to eat it but... whatever.

My chili recipe has two secret ingredients: 1) Tabasco brand chili starter; and 2) Red Gold diced tomatoes with jalapeno. This is what the chili starter looks like:

You need this chili starter! It's only a little hot and has a ton of flavor. It's awesome. My #2 secret ingredient is below - the Red Gold diced tomatoes with jalapeno. It's the middle top can. It says 'hot' on the can - and it is hot - but in the chili it adds a nice flavor and heat. If I were brave, I'd do two cans of them instead of one. Maybe next time. I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to heat! Red Gold is superior to other brands in my opinion - the tomatoes are grown in Indiana so you I'm partial to them. Here are the cans of the ingredients I used. I usually use the Jiffy brand corn muffin mix. You could also make it from scratch if you have the time. This is the meat and onions cooking. I now get all of our ground beef from a local butcher after reading a scary article in the New York Times along with the book Fast Food Nation about meat and food safety. I like that the butcher sells local meat that they butcher and grind in house and it makes me feel better about what I'm eating. Okay, back to cooking! And here is the chili cooking in the crock pot. Yummy! I tried to make a recipe below - let me know if I'm missing anything! I don't usually write entire recipes with steps and all so bear with me.

Game Day Chili
serves 8-12

1 pound lean ground beef (ground round or sirloin is preferable to chuck)
1-2 yellow onions, chopped
olive oil
1 jar Tabasco chili starter
1 can Red Gold tomatoes with jalapeno
1 can Red Gold chili ready diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
water or light beer

Optional:
corn muffins (I use Jiffy muffin mix)
sour cream (I use fat free)
shredded cheddar cheese (I use the light kind)
green onions
Tabasco hot sauces

Turn crock pot onto high setting or put Dutch oven/stockpot on the stove on the medium setting.

In seperate frying pan (for crock pot) or in the Dutch oven, brown ground beef in about a tablespoon of olive oil; add onions midway through. Cook until beef is no longer pink and onions are translucent.

In crock pot (or in the pot you're using if you're using a Dutch oven), start adding the chili starter, tomatoes, and beans. After you pour in the chili starter, fill up the glass jar with water or light beer and add that. Add beef and onions to the crock pot, making sure to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Turn your crock pot or Dutch oven to the low, or simmer, setting. You want it higher than the warm setting though.

Cook for 4-6 hours. You can eat it after 1 but it gets better as it simmers. Serve with corn muffins and the condiments of your choice. For tailgating, I served it in 16 oz. styrofoam cups with a ladle full of chili, a corn muffin, and topping the cup off with more chili, with some cheese or sour cream on top. It's an easy way to eat it while standing and worked great.

Enjoy!

makeup review: metro chic matte polish

Last night I tried out Metro Chic, a new matte nail polish from Sephora's OPI partnership. I used Chip Skip underneath because it's matte as well. Here is the finished product with two coats. It was much more matte than I thought it would be, if that's even possible. I thought it would have some satin-y finish. The polish itself isn't thick at all, so I put an extra coat on after this one.
I'm still deciding whether I like it or not. I did get a chip this morning but the rest look alright. I think I'll end up putting a top coat on it. I do like look of a glossy gray. The matte? Eh... I'm not sure. Maybe it takes some getting used to.

dear sandra lee,

I have your cookbooks and think you're pretty funny. And I like that you make boozy fun drinks and appear to have fun making them. And drinking them! So please don't take this the wrong way, as I'm a BIG dog lover, but why are you sending me this email?

Am I to assume that your dog died? I have never seen your sweet pup on any of your shows. I'm sure she was lovely. But could you at least have included a photo of you with the dog OR at least indicated who the email was from the the body of it? I feel bad even saying anything at all, but it was... a tad bizarre.

Let's get back to the cooking emails and Semi-Homemade mango-chill-aritas, okay? Many thanks.

i love boxes and boxes of new shoes

A few days ago, 6pm.com had Nine West shoes on their website. I had never ordered from them before, but they had some CUTE pumps for $19.95 each. 6pm doesn't have the same brands constantly on their website - it's more like a clearance sale. But under $20? For decent shoes? Sign me up! I started filling my cart and narrowed it down to 5. I was a little nervous after I ordered them - seeing as how I hadn't checked out 6pm.com's return policy, but I tried them on tonight and they all fit! The ones on the far left with the pointy toe are a little big (even though they're all a 6), but I think it's the pointy toe plus the heel. My mom wears a half size bigger than me, so I can always give them to her if they don't work out.

Overall, I'm really happy with the purchase. Sometimes I make idiot decisions on sale items, but these are all versatile and can be worn with any number of outfits. And did you know that 6pm.com is owned by Zappos? It doens't say on the website (that I saw), but the charge on my credit card was for Zappos, not 6pm.com. Interesting! If you need me, I'll be in my closet having a fashion show with... myself.

the trouble with tissue tees

I've gotten a few tissue tees in the past months, and I've noticed a trend with either my washer or my dryer DESTROYING them! It's always small holes near the bottom of the tee - whether it be the front, side, or bottom. I was quite upset to see one of my newer JCrew ruffle tees be the last victim of this strange occurrence. I had worn it ONE TIME.

I do have a front load washer - has anyone else noticed this? I thought that I read that front loaders were supposed to be more gentle on clothes. Is there anything to prevent this, short of taking the tees to the dry cleaners? Or am I destined to be the girl that wears holey tissue tees?

Your opinions are wanted, please weigh in.

covered jars

I really liked these covered jars from Crate & Barrel... but didn't love the price tag.Last week I found these two at TJ Maxx. Not identical, but close! I think I'll settle for these as they were $7.99 and $9.99. I filled them with driftwood from our trip to Michigan this summer and shells from previous beach vacations. The middle one is from Pottery Barn and has flowers from my bouquet from our wedding.

Ick - purple Barney fireplace! Oh well. At least the containers are cute!