Thursday, December 16, 2010

Meet Bahama - the Llama

Meet the latest addition
at my dad's

In addition to the horses, dogs & cats

He is pretty dang cute

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Better Homes & Garden Printable Labels for the Holidays


I apologize for not posting much lately!
I didn't feel well during
Thanksgiving
so
my creativity waned a bit
but
I did do this
which was so easy

I printed the labels on regular paper
I bought cheap wines
that had labels that just
peeled off
I used krazy glue
(the one with a brush)
and
they turned out pretty cool


I can't wait to print the Christmas labels

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Throwdown with Bobby Flay with The Pioneer Woman

It was almost a year ago
when I went to my first book signing
to meet Ree Drummond,


Then,
just recently,
I went to
 my second book signing
to meet Bobby Flay
from the Food Network

Well,
you can just imagine
my excitement
when I got a message
from a friend on Facebook last night
that The Pioneer Woman 
had actually challenged
Bobby Flay
on his own show, Throwdown
to a Thanksgiving Throwdown 

Total Greatness

Friday, November 12, 2010

Kitchen Aid Mixer


How have I ever survived without you?

It was a "hand me down"
I am embarrassed to admit
that I was intimidated
by this appliance
so...
it has been
sitting on the
top shelf of my pantry
for a very long time

tragedy

Watching my friend use hers
to make
homemade pasta
and
homemade butter
finally made me take 
it out of the pantry

It is now a
permanent fixture  
in my kitchen

Now, all I need
(for now)
is
 the
pasta attachment

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Betty Crocker Decadent Supreme Cinnamon Swirl Cake

This is one of my son's favorite cakes


Some things just taste better baked in a bundt pan

Cinnamon glaze
powdered sugar.milk.vanilla

 
So Yummy!!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Fall Table Decor

A while back I posted
about my fun placemat collection

Here is my fall table decoration

Torre di Pietra - Fredericksburg Winery

A couple weekends ago
I went to Fredericksburg
for a very brief visit
with Aunt Janae

We stopped at several vineyards
(I will be posting about our stop to Becker Vineyards soon)

We had our first glass of wine

What a lovely winery
I really liked
the
chenin blanc


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Chocolate-Red Wine Cake

Chocolate-Zinfindel Port Cake

About a year ago, I clipped this recipe
out of

I was meeting my friends
for a birthday dinner
at our favorite winery

I was assigned dessert
so I decided to try this recipe

I wanted to use something from the winery

So, I used this Zin Port
since it goes well with chocolate
Wow!
What a kick 


The recipes says to sprinkle with powdered sugar
but
I thought it needed this chocolate glaze

Monday, November 8, 2010

Green Chile Polenta - Test Kitchen


I got this recipe from Pioneer Woman

 I have been dying to cook with polenta
so I used corn grits

Green Chiles & Rotel Tomatoe
4 oz cubed cream cheese

 8 oz grated monterey jack cheese

Yummy spicy creamy polenta



Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives - Cafe on the Route

On our way to Trader Joe's in Chesterfield, Missouri
We veered off the path to check out

Cafe on the Route featured on Triple D's

Cafe on the Route
is located
in Baxter Springs, Kansas

off Historic Route 66


Check out the 
 cream of baked potato soup
YUM 
smoked turkey pretzel sandwich
with havarti cheese
(you can barely see it, but it's over there)
with fried potato salad
OMG

fried cheesecake
This was the absolute best dessert
I have ever had
The cheese cake filling was like heaven

Monday, October 25, 2010

Viking Cooking School - Dallas

Have you been ?

I haven't
but
I hope to real soon
(there's a chocolate ephiphany class in November
that sounds absolutely divine)  

It is located
@
4531 McKinney Ave
Dallas, TX
(214) 526 - 3912

Here's the schedule for October/November

Check it out!

They have a holiday planner
that you can actually download! 

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Hip Flops

I got these totally cool flops
at the
Texas State Fair
for
only $10 bucks each


I love animal prints

isn't it cool how the
leopard flops
match my awesome
new fall purse
that my darling friend gave me?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Trick or Treat


Aren't these fun?

I have no idea how they taste
I bought them at World Market

Trick is a 2009 California Red Table Wine
It is recommended to serve
on a full moon
with eye of newt and BBQ ribs

Treat is a 2009 California White Table Wine
It is recommended to serve
at a midnight picnic



Monday, October 18, 2010

Throwdown with Bobby Flay

Bobby Flay is in Dallas!
I am so excited!

He will be signing "Throwdown"  @ Borders today @ 5pm

"Throwdown" is one of my favorite Food Network shows

A while back I mentioned a place I've been dying to go to in Austin 

The throwdown between them and Bobby is in the book!
&
I just happen to be going
to Austin this weekend
&
finally get to check this place out

I cannot say it enough
I'm totally pumped

This is my 2nd book signing
I learned my lesson back in December
when I attended
The Pioneer Woman's book signing

I remember getting there a little before 6pm thinking
wow, this is a breeze!
I got my book and wristband
No line at all
Only to learn
that
people had been getting wristbands
since 10am
and
I was like #400
so
6 and a half hours later..

well...

not this time...

I was at Borders by 9am today

I was one of the first 10 to get a green wristband

Bobby is supposed to start signing at 5pm

I
can
not
wait!!!

Pumpkin Topiaries



I love cinderella pumpkins!

I saw in a magazine about building your own pumpkin topiaries.

What do you think ?




Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Halloween Hearth

I've had these cats for a while
Not sure why I can't get the one on the left to keep his head up

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Darling Goblins Plates by Ursula Dodge

Don't you love it when you pull out your holiday decorations
and find something you totally forgot about?

I bought these last year at the end of the season at TJ Maxx.

Aren't they adorable? 

Monday, October 11, 2010

San Martino Winery - Paella Night

The winery has Paella night several times a year
My friend, Misty and I have been wanting to go forever
Finally...
Misty and I (with M's friend, Melissa) were able to check it out earlier this month

This is the winery
It is located off Hwy 205
Just outside the Rockwall City Limits

Here is the paella
(rice with artichokes, peas, roasted red pepper, mushroom, squid, scallops, shrimp, pork, chicken, chorizo, mussels, clams, etc)

The paella was awesome especially paired with
their Tempranillo Reserve

They ended the meal with this Zin Port

...served

 ... in this chocolate cup

Yum

Click here to get a list of events at the winery

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Monday, September 27, 2010

Kitchen Chic

I found this totally cute cuppa cake apron
@ Kroger's of all places 

It was marked down to $11.00 

I love love love this one
I found it at Pier One for $15

They are almost too cute to wear in the kitchen

Friday, September 24, 2010

Saturday Brunch

This past Saturday I put together a brunch
to kick off my bible study/book club

We pick a book,
read a chapter or two,
then get together once a month to discuss
good times

We'll be reading
"So Long Insecurity, You've Been a Bad Friend to Us"
by
Beth Moore


Brunch Menu

Bacon, Eggs & Toast Cups
Biscuits & Gravy
Cinnamon  & Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches
White Chocolate-Banana Creme Brulee Tarts
Cafe Au Lait Punch


Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 slices white or whole wheat bread
12 slices bacon (cooked)
12 large eggs
Coarse salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven 375
Lightly butter a 12 cup muffin pan
With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly & with a 4 1/4 inch cookie cutter
cut into 6 rounds
Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup,
overlapping slightly, making sure the bread comes up to edge of each cup
(Use extra bread to bridge gaps)

Brush bread with remaining melted butter
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until almost crisp
(4 minutes, flipping once)

Lay 1 bacon slice in each bread cup
Crack an egg over each slice of bacon

Bake until egg whites aer just set 20-25 minutes
Run a small knife around the cups to loosen the toasts

Cafe au Lait Punch

This recipe came from the
Junior League of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
River Road Recipes IV
Warm Welcomes
Entertaining Menus from Our Home to Yours
Copyright 2004


Cafe Au Lait Punch

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark roast coffee  @ room temperature
1 liter ginger ale @ room temperature
1 liter club soda @ room temperature
2 cups half-n-half
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream

Directions
Combine the sugar, coffee, ginger ale, club soda
& half-n-half in a large punch bowl
Mix Well
Fold in the ice cream

White Chocolate-Banana Creme Brulee Tart

I got this recipe from Pillsbury
This is my 2nd time to make these
They are delicious
The key is to not over cook the pastry shells


Cinnamon & Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

This recipe came from
100 Perfect Pairings
small plates to enjoy the wines you love
by
Jill Silverman Hough

Cinnamon & Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients
1 - 3 ounce cream cheese @ room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 slices cinnamon raisin bread
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, salt
& cinnamon
(This can be prepared up to a day in advance storing covered in the refrigerator)

Set 2 tablespoons of cream cheese mixture aside
Spread remaining cream cheese mixture evenly on 6 slices of bread
Top with the 6 remaining pieces of bread
Trim the crusts & cut sandwiches in quarters
Place the pecans on a plate
Spread the reserved cream cheese mixture along one edge of each of the sandwiches
Gently press into the nuts
[You can prepare the sandwiches up to 4 hours in advance & store in the refrigerator]

Server cold or at room temperature
{Pairs well with gewurtraminer}

Becoming More Than Just a Good Bible Study Girl

We kicked off our bible study on Saturday. This is our 7th book over the last 5 years. I am really excited about this book. It was just r...