Fall 2016 Decor

Give Thanks Fireplace

Harvest Pumpkin Pillow

 This pillow was inspired by Pottery Barn's Fall Catalog

 I found it at Ross for $9.99

Fall Place Setting in the Kitchen

 You cannot really tell, but the pumpkin is on top of 

the cutest little bird plate

Fall Buffet Decor

 I love the pumpkin harvest table runner

I had left over candy corn from my halloween decorations

so I just decided to incorporate it into the Fall decor

Front Porch - Give Thanks

 Love the mum from Costco. 

They are always big and have the best price. 

I got this one for $10.99

I just have a hard time keeping them alive 

Owl Plates

 Love these cute little plates. 

I've had them about 2 years now.

I got them at Walmart. 

Fall Table Decorations

Trader Joe's Fall Flowers

 

 Love flowers from Trader Joe's. 

They are always festive 

&

reasonably priced

These were only $3.99

They lasted over a week

In person, they were so pretty, they almost didn't look real

Cute Thankful Heart Turkey Plate

"Fall in Love" Wine Glass

 I LOVE this wine glass! 

I found 3 of them on sale at HomeGoods

for $2.49 

Plan to take them out to my dad's

for our Thanksgiving Eve celebration

Tis the Season to be Grateful Plate

Eat Drink Get Stuffed Wine Glass

Fall Flower

Marigolds

  Bought these pretty marigolds when I bought the mum 

at Costco for $10.99 as well

Gobble till you Wobble Wine Glass

Out of all 3 glasses, this one is my favorite

Pumpkin & Plant

Rachael Ray's Chicken & Green Bean Casserole

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole with Fried Shallots

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole without topping

 Last year at Thanksgiving,

 I attempted to make 

Green Bean Casserole 

from scratch 

I made several mistakes:

1. Attempting to try a new recipe on Thanksgiving Day
2. Not allowing enough time to cook it  i.e. getting stressed, too many people in the kitchen ( need I say more? )
3. Using way more fresh green beans than I had sauce for - result, a very crunchy and dry casserole.  

It did not make a very good impression

 

Needless to say,  I knew I needed to try it again before our next Thanksgiving as I really like the idea of using fresh green beans and making my own creamy mushroom sauce.
  
I turned on the Food Network last weekend, and Rachael Ray was preparing this dish.   This is a perfect dish to prepare now since it has chicken in it; it's like a full meal.  

This is really amazing.  First of all, it has Boursin Cheese.  One of my favorites. 

Since I was doing it all from scratch, I even made my own onion rings.  If you have the time, it's so worth it... as Rach would say "YUM-O!"  

This is definitely my "go to" Green Bean Casserole recipe (without the chicken) for Thanksgiving!

 
 

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole

Rachael Ray's Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed & cut into thirds
• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 4 TBSPs butter
• 1/2 lb button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large shallots, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Pepper
• 2 TBSPs fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 TBSPs flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock or poaching liquid (if you poach your chicken)
• 1 cup cream or half-and-half
• 1 wheel Boursin or other garlic and herb cheese (5.4 ounces)
• 1 1/2 lbs cooked, pulled chicken either poaches or store bough rotisserie
• For Fried Onions (store bought are fine as well to save time)
• Frying oil
• 1 small to med onion, very thinly sliced ( I used 3-4 shallots)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup flour aggressively seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika

Directions

•  Bring a few inches of water to a low boil in a skillet.  Add salt and the green beans.  Cook 3-4 minutes until tender-crisp; drain
• Heat the EVOO & butter in a large, deep skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Add the mushrooms & lightly brown them, 7-8 minutes.  Add the shallots & garlic, season with salt, pepper & thyme.  Stir for 2-3 minutes more; add the flour, stir in for a minute, then add the wine. 
• Stir in the stock and thicken. Add the boursin cheese, green beans and chicken & thicken a bit
• Transfer into a casserole dish.  Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly about 45-60 minutes.  Top with the homemade or store-bought fried onions.
• For homemade fried onions:
• heat frying oil to 365 degrees F in a countertop fryer or
• 2-3 inches of oil in a deep, medium pot over medium to medium hight heat
• Separate the onions into rings and soak in the buttermilk
• Toss a few rings at a time into the flour & fry until crips
• Drain on paper towels and repeat with the remaining onions.

NOTE: I fried the shallots first before preparing the casserole.   Also, I think next time I will use half-and-half instead of cream.  The Boursin cheese is pretty rich.  

Williams Sonoma Technique Classes - November Schedule

Call your local Williams Sonoma store to determine correct date/times.
I usually go to the store located in Plano @ Preston Rd and Park. They hold theirs on Saturdays.


THE PERFECT TURKEY
November 6 & 7
Let us be your guide to preparing the perfect turkey, the star of the Thanksgiving table-moist, flavorful and a showstopper! We'll discuss how to select a turkey, what brining is and does, the secrets to roasting and tips for carving like a pro. Whether you'll be roasting your first holiday bird or your twentieth, join us for this essential class before it's time to turn on the oven!

THANKSGIVING SIDES & STUFFINGS
November 13 & 14
While the turkey may take center stage, for many of us, it's the side dishes that steal the show. Learn the basics of preparing potatoes, savory stuffings and other impressive sides that will make your Thanksgiving table both bountiful and memorable.

WILLIAMS-SONOMA ALL-STAR THANKSGIVING
November 20 & 21
Thanksgiving is less than a week away-but it's not too late to add an amazing side dish to your menu or discover some time-saving tips. This final Thanksgiving technique class features our favorite recipes plus last-minute tips to make your holiday truly special and stress-free.

Quick Trip

So, on the way to Graham

We had to stop and buy beer

so we stopped here

Doesn't this just scream road trip

Is it wrong that it wasn't even 10am, 

and we were trying to buy beer? 

Well, the store didn't open until 10,

so we had to mosey on over to this place next door

for breakfast.

 

Finally, beer store opened...

check out the parrot

"polly want a keg?"

We arrived in Graham about 12ish

We arrived at the party about 1ish

Check out this smoker...

This is some serious BBQ

Stuffed Jalapenos

These were stuffed with cream cheese

 and strawberries

This was my favorite

Cherry pie cooked on the grill

(chuckwagon style)

Can't wait to figure out how to do that for our country Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a great holiday!

I have many things to post...

my homemade marshmallows for starters

so stay tuned

it might be Friday or Saturday before I get to it

off with my pumpkin fudge, corn dip, homemade rosemary bread, artichoke dip, and marshmallows for

a good ol' country bonfire~

Oops - My Bad.

I thought they were finished. So, you missed the part where Shawney turns around and points to everyone singing names like flanigan, hanigan, sheninagan really fast. (ok, so I may not have the names right..but if you have ever been to a irish pub, you know what I'm talking about).. ok.. so now they are finished.

Back to the Digging...

Aluminum siding - almost to the turkeys
Turkeys look awesome. They are normally squished.
Doesn't everyone transport their turkeys in a golf cart to the table ?

Ready for Carving - where's Ryan ?

Thanksgiving - Carving Turkeys

(Now this is my 2nd attempt of videotaping. Again to listen, click on the arrow)

This is Ryan and Brian (a family friend - new to our Thanksgiving) both carving turkeys for the first time. I am using the video recorder from my Sprint Treo - so it's not the sharpest video or it could be that I'm not a very good videographer. As you will see as I take a bite of turkey and lose focus of the carvers. (Also, I think I had a couple beers already because I found EVERYTHING soooo funny!!! )

My Thanksgiving Menu

As you know, my Dad and Bev handle the turkeys so everyone else brings side dishes and desserts. My contribution this year:

Thanksgiving Eve

Addictive Corn Dip

Tortilla Rollups

Pumpkin Fudge

Thanksgiving Day

Tee's Corn Pudding

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Pass the "ground" turkey, please...

For the last 15 years or so, Ryan and I have spent Thanksgiving at Dad and Bev's. They live on about 15 acres in the country. Thanksgiving at their place is buffet style with tables set up outside to accommodate about 30 people. (It gets a little tricky when it's cold and rainy - thankfully, it's a gorgeous day today - sun is shining - and I think it's going to be in the 70's)

On the Thanksgiving Eve, Dad digs a hole (pit) in the ground - starts a huge fire, and once the coals are burned down - gets the John Deere Tractor , moves the coals, places a piece of aluminum siding down - puts 2 big 28 pounder turkeys wrapped with many rolls of heavy duty aluminum foil on top - then puts another piece of aluminum siding on top... then gets back in the tractor and puts the coals back on top. Then 12 hours later - back in the John Deere Tractor to dig up the turkeys. This is quite an event EVERY year. I have many pictures that I will post soon. Here is a picture of the fire from last night.

(Did you think I was going "healthy" on Turkey day - Heck No!!!)