Hot, Hot and Hot..Foodie Friday…

I am joining Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum..it is still Friday! I hope you will go visit ML and see what she, and many others, have cooked up for you..

Some chicken soup for what ails you?  Sending a big bowl to The Tablescaper, she’s feeling under the weather..( I KNOW. lots of people did soup! )

 

Or maybe some Pot pie??

 

I label it in case we forget what we are eating…:) My friend Sol at Memories in the Baking showed us that before we were bloggers..of course, she does hers better!) You can get the alphabet cutters in Michael’s with your coupon!

And some dessert..

  

An individual apple crisp made with left over oatmeal raisin cookie dough that never made it to the cookie stage..

Put a little ice cream on it, you deserve it!

Have a wonderful weekend…Do you have all you decorations down?  Inside, yes, but waiting to be hauled to the basement..outside..uh..nope..too cold and icy!

Thanks for stopping by…

Tablescape Thursday~ They Came Bearing Gifts..Gold

Today is the Epiphany, Little Christmas, Three Kings Day.

To celebrate the end of the Christmas season, I chose the last gift..Gold..plus I didn’t think myrrh and frankincense were good inspiration points..:)

I used a Quaker Cotton Lace tablecloth my mom gave me when I was first married…a gold and pearl garland for a little bling.

Gold glass chargers from Pier One…

 

 

The plates are Lenox Eternal. little cut glass bowls underneath, they were my mom's, gold etched stems, Gold glittered gift box place markers, Villeroy and Boch..

 

 

 

The centerpiece is in a Revere bowl I spray painted gold, with hydrangeas I sprayed gold too.  ( Kammy, the spray paint queen, will be so proud of me!)

Fresh white mums, and a gold beaded garland I got at Villeroy and Boch.

 

Star mirrors are from WSonoma Outlet.

White napkins, tied with gold and white striped ribbon and some gold berries and “gifts”. A cheapie dollar store gold runner for texture..

The flatware is trimmed with gold..by Wallace..

Gold candles in candlesticks by Mikassa..gold trimmed bobeches

Thank you Susan, for hosting ..:)

Please visit her beautiful blog, Between Naps on the Porch to see the other tables this week..

Thanks for visiting..hope to be back for Foodie Friday..

I will be hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Blog Crawl on the 17th of March …, everyone’s invited..more details later..Paddy will be here again too, unless he gets picked up by the IRA..he had a close call last year..:)

Laurie at Bargain Hunting with Laurie is having a Valentine’s Party ..hop over to see her invite..

Outdoor Wednesday~ Is it Spring Yet??

Oh my goodness, I am tired of this already!  And 3 more long months of it??

A view from my window to the house across the street..you didn't think I was going outside did you?

We didn’t get the 28 inches we got before Christmas….but it just kept spitting white stuff for 2 days…and the wind..brrr..

So everything is ICE…an hour away..NADA!  I don’t mind the cold, but the snow and ice keeps me out of the stores, and you know this economy can use all the help I can give!

So I’ll remember  it IS Winter ..I live in NY..and ..it is what it is!  6 months from now we will be doing this!

 

Flying Point, Southampton, NY

 

My blogger friend, The Tablescaper was out for the holiday weekend.  We got snowed out of a lunch, but finally met for coffee on Sat. before she left to return home.

We always have so much to talk about when we meet, the time flies! 

We exchanged gifts..she was armed with 2 shopping bags..this was a tiny little coffee cafe and we were taking up a lot of space..:)  I felt everyone’s eyes on us as we opened our gifts! But we didn’t get thrown out…( I just glimpsed at my sidebar and saw Sue has a good story for us.  I must have missed it in the NY paper..oh those Jersey girls..:)

TT has a thing about 12..she buys 12 of everything..so I was gifted with 12 of these lovely salad plates..

 

She also gave me a large bowl and 6 matching smaller ones she found at an antique mall while away for a weekend.

 

I have lots of plans for them..

If that wasn’t enough, she brought the take home gifts she gave at her luncheon I missed due to a dead battery.

It is a lovely glass candleholder surrounded by a pretty wreath!

If you missed her beautiful luncheon, you can see it here on The Tablescaper’s blog.  Thank you, A!!

And if you want to see what I gave her, you will have to ask her?  :)

I am joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday..Please go visit her blog to see the other entries..Thank you, Susan, for hosting..

As this is my first post of 2010, I want to wish you all many blessings in the new year…

A Rockin’ New Year’s Eve~NOT! Foodie Friday

My rockin’ days are over..actually, I don’t think they were ever here!

Maybe I missed them..:)

So it’s a quiet evening at home…which is fine with me, as the roads are slippery..

The huge snow storm of the 20th was almost gone..but now we have a new blanket..

The Three Kings are thinking 4 wheel drive might be good..

They arrive on Jan. 6th…Little Christmas, which marks the end of the Christmas season…and when the decorations start getting packed away..

Tonight, just a dinner for 2, for the last day of 2009. You can click to enlarge the pic…

 

A little red , black ,white, and plaid….

 

The tassel I used as a napkin ring is a wine tassel…I think they were .46 at WSonoma Outlet 2 yrs ago..

Tonight’s dinner is eggplant parm and stuffed shells..Mike prepared it..but we didn’t eat yet, so I can’t show you!  :)

 

But since I am joining Gollum for Foodie Friday…some food, which we had last night.. Please visit Designs by Gollum for the other participants..

Shrimp over a bed of linguine with sauteed spinach with a wine sauce.

Very light..

Dredge the raw shrimp in seasoned flour,  (save the flour) and quickly brown in a little olive oil and butter.Remove the shrimp to a plate and keep warm.

Chop some scallions and saute.

Drain off most of the oil and deglaze the pan with  fresh lemon juice and dry white wine .

With the seasoned flour from the shrimp  you can thicken the sauce a bit. Whisk with some water and add slowly till you get the sauce the way you want it.

Simmer, I add an envelope of G.Washington Gold.  You find that near the Herb Ox packets in the market.

In a separate pan, take fresh spinach, salt, pepper and a dash of sugar.

Saute in some olive oil..when it is wilted, stir in some freshly grated locatelli cheese.

Cook your linguine.

Make a bed with the pasta, sauteed spinach in the middle, and spoon the shrimp and sauce over the top.

Garnish with scallions, fresh parsley and lemon, and a few grinds of fresh pepper..

I am sorry, but I don’t use recipes except to bake..so I can only give you instructions without exact measurements. 

Very simple!

Happy 2010!!

Good health and good times..

Many blessings to you and your families..

And as always, thank you for visiting me!

The Two Susans

I haven’t joined Outdoor Wednesday for a while…so I am doing the 2 Susan post tonight..

Susan at a Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday…  and

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday..

Thank you Susan and Susan…

Outdoor Susan said we could post Christmas..

My outdoor Nativity..After the snow, even Joseph’s head was covered.. The stable blew away in the storm.. Gone with the Wind..:)

Maybe we will find it in the Spring!

 

After the winds we have had since last night, it is a wonder anything is still up!

 

 Mother Nature got carried away with the can of snow!

 

But it is time to go in and see tonight’s table..(actually it is time to put the dinner on the table..but that will wait a few minutes..:)

I found this tablecloth at CTS.  It was the only one, no tag or marking..

I loved the appliques and checked trim they had sewn to the edge..

No one could find a price, so she asked if 4.99 sounded good..VERY GOOD, I thought..

So I started from there..

 

Red ceramic chargers from WSonoma, checked plates from Neiman Marcus via TJMaxx, red salad, WSonoma…

   

Flatware by Cambridge, Napkins from the china closet drawer..:), I’ve had them for years…

Red berry wreath as a napkin ring..

Covered Lions head soup bowls..WSonoma outlet..

Red stems from Lenox..

 

 

I used this..my extreme bargain from WSonoma Labor Day..Lions Head Soup Tureen.(marked 99.00 and sale was 13.00  :)  )

to make the centerpiece using fresh mums and baby’s breath from the store, and greens from my yard..

 

 

Those little things you see hanging down are from my chandy.  This is my kitchen table, so I use greens and these cute little soft cherubs..

 

 

 

 

  

I had a few emails about the Shredded Dough Apple pie I posted..

 

Just freeze whatever dough you use and shred it with a grater over the top.  I could have used a little more dough on this one as it was piled high with apples..

Please stop over at Susan’s …A Southern Daydreamer, and Susan’s   Between Naps on the Porch to see the other entries.

Are you all resting up for the big New Year’s festivities??  It’s BJ’s birthday and she invited  all of us  to her party!  :)

While visions of sugared goods jumped in our Mouths..Mosaic Monday

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Now puleaaase don’t tell me you are taking down your decorations.

We enjoy ours till Little Christmas, Three Kings Day.

Growing up, our tree went up Christmas Eve, and came down Jan. 6th, and I keep to that tradition.

And it is several weeks before everything is in its place for the year!

I am joining  Mary of Little Red House for Mosaic Monday…

I am sure most of us are on a sugar high…. so I did my mosaic on some desserts I made for Christmas..

 

 

 

 

 

The first is an apple pie I made with 5 different types of apples, and a shredded dough crust…

 

Next is Mike’s Rugelach..apricot nut, chocolate raspberry, and lekvar…

 

 

A devils food cake, filled  with a layer of chocolate whipped cream, iced with whipped cream and decorated with choc cookie stars ..Those are little ornament picks I sent away for..

By the time it was served it was decorated with several tiny fingerprints!

And the last is the chocolate cake men and stars dipped in melted chocolate waiting to be decorated..

A rare quiet moment..a game of Christmas checkers..which was good till the 2 y o came and swiped all the pieces..then it turned to War! Notice the boxing gloves on the back of the couch?  :)

 

I hope you get to enjoy the week before the New Year begins…

Deck the Halls, and Handmade Holiday

December flew!  All month Susan at Thoughts from over the Rainbow has been hosting Deck the Halls..thank you, Susan!

Please check out the other entries..

And Kathy’s Cottage hosted Homemade holiday things.  Poor Kathy is under the weather, but since I made it, I’m showing it!

I had this on my list to try..Peppermint Bark…

I had tried it from WSonoma and it was so good, and sooo expensive..so I made it…

The white chocolate hardened quickly when I put it on the chocolate layer, so I used the old hair dryer trick to get it softer to accept the crushed candy canes…

 

It’s good, and very easy! I You can find one of many recipes here….

While we are in the kitchen, I’ll show you my little kitchen tree  that is on my island..

The little copper pots and pan ornaments I got a few years ago at WSonoma Outlet..and this year I treated myself to the little gingerbread chefs.

 

 

 

   

This is an old pic, but you can see the window treatment I made with plaid dish towels.  I sewed the plaid together with a co ordinating stripe..

  This is the dessert table from a Christmas past..

This is my dining room Angel Tree.  You can’t see them clearly, but there are all Battenburg angels on it, with silver ornaments..

That’s it for tonight, hope your halls are decked, your holly jolly, and that a reindeer doesn’t run over Grandma! (my dear mom hated that song! )

On the way out the side door  this vintage wreath will play a few songs for you..yes, it IS very annoying.  I often find the batteries removed by..??  elves I guess… :)

Thanks for stopping by!