November Recap

November has been a very busy month around here.  First there was cleaning up all the Halloween décor.  Then there was prepping the house for our Fall dinner party, and of course hosting said dinner party.  Next I had a last minute Thanksgiving panic attack and decided that I just had to put some kind of pretty something on the Thanksgiving table.  That was followed by mad woman cleaning since the in-laws were coming for Thanksgiving.  Then there was the post in-law clean up the house and get back in to our groove session.  All that with a little Christmas shopping, Christmas crafting, and a whole lot of research thrown in for good measure.  And let’s don’t forget meal planning sessions, dental cleanings, and a myriad of other mundane activities along the way.

Starting with a trip to Shapiro’s Deli where my husband had the largest salami sandwich I have ever seen.  Don’t get me wrong, I like salami, but this sandwich made my esophagus burn just looking at it.

Then, we had a little dusting of snow a few days after that.  I was hopefully that meant more was on it’s way, but so far, no dice.  Sorry, the snow was so lack luster that I didn't take any pics!

About a week before Thanksgiving I got panicky because there was no Fall décor in the house.  So I went to Hobby Lobby, and lo and behold all the Fall décor was 80% off.  It was also 75% off at Garden Ridge.  I scored some great stuff.

One of my projects started out with these items (two small carvable foam pumpkins and two sunflower bouquets)…

And turned in to these arrangements.

The table ended up looking like this.

All the items on the table were either bought at Garden Ridge or Hobby Lobby and there was less than $20 in the whole spread of décor.  I know that I should have posted this earlier so others could reap the bounty too, but I did post it on facebook, and quite a few of my friends got in on the deals.

This was our Thanksgiving meal.  Minus the steamed green beans, deviled eggs and the homemade cranberry sauce.  Do you like canned sauce?  I really enjoy making it homemade with tons of orange zest, and it is great on leftover turkey sandwiches.

We had herbed turkey breast, and a smoked turkey leg with gravy (no giblets), Fall salad with walnuts, apples, dried cranberries, bleu cheese and an apple cider vinaigrette, dressing muffins (single serving size and they cook much faster than a pan of dressing), roasted Fall veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and butternut squash) with cinnamon, smoked paprika, and cumin, and roasty toasty caramelized Brussels sprouts.

This is what our table looked like once all the candles were lit (that is my father in law in the background).  Can you believe that we did not have wine with dinner?  I was having tummy troubles, and didn’t want to make them worse with alcohol, and lets just say everyone else at the dinner table had less refined taste in beverages than I do.  Can you say chocowine (bleh)?

Just yesterday, I was very excited to find these at Meijers

I had read about them on various other blogs that I follow, and I was just thrilled to find them.  We had them for dinner last night, and I have to say that they totally lived up to all the hype!

Well, folks, that is really all that I have for now.  I know that I did more in November, but alas I was a bad picture taker.

Bad Blogger!

I know, I know...I have not been a very good blogger this month.  Seeing as it has been over two weeks since my last post, I am hoping that I have not lost all of my readers!

I am working on a November recap that should post tomorrow (if my photos will upload some time this decade).

Until then, stick with me folks, I haven't disappeared...not yet!  I have some fun things to share coming up in December too that you are not going to want to miss!

Friends, Food and Belly Laughts

Saturday, I finally got around to having my annual Fall Dinner Party.  I am sorry to say that I never once got my camera out.  I know, I know.  I was just a little too in the moment to grab the phone or camera (which I finally found).

I ended up making three recipes out of my last two issues of Bon Appetit.  They were:

Pimenton Roast Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

Apple Croustades

and last but not least Parker House Rolls.

We started our meal with a salad of mixed greens, brie, roasted walnuts, and pears along with a store bought pomegranate vinaigrette.  We also had Oven Roasted Asparagus in the way that Ina would make it, and Oven Roasted Mixed Veggies (onions, mushrooms, zucchini, red peppers, yellow peppers, olive oil, S&P, 500 degrees, 20 mins).

The chicken was was really good.  I only marinaded it for about 6 hours, and I can only imagine it would have been unbelievably good had we been able to do it overnight.  I learned a few things along the way while making it.  The paprika/garlic paste would not spread out, but once I wrapped the chickens in stretch-tite, I was able to use it spread the paste very nicely over the chickens.  Next time I make it, I will start the cooking process with the chickens breast down, and then flip them breast up when you are supposed to turn the oven down (30 minutes in).  The thighs took a long time to get done and were a little soggy, I think that flipping the chicken would alleviate this problem, and if I were only making one chicken, I might even consider doing it beer can style among the potatoes.  The recipe states that you can make the chicken and potatoes in a separate pan, but I say that would be a mistake.  The chicken lends great depth of flavor to the potatoes, and my dinner guests just kept raving about how good the potatoes were.  Chicken fat...it is the new pork fat. ;)

The Parker House Rolls were pretty good.  They were not as good as I had hoped, but I think if I used softened butter in between the rolls instead of melted, that might have done the trick.  Also, I hand kneaded the dough, and I think next time I would throw it in the kitchenaid with the dough hook.  To me, this always yields a smoother dough than when I hand knead.  All that said, everyone really enjoyed the rolls, and someone took the leftovers home with them.

The Apple Croustades had a great taste, but I felt like they were a little fussy to make, and I probably wouldn't make them again.  They just didn't offer enough wow factor for the effort.

On a funny side note, our neighborhood was having a bonfire Saturday night.  As soon as some of our guests arrived, one of the neighbors came by and told us we really needed to come to the bonfire because it was going to be a lot of fun.  Great...maybe we will stop by.

About 45 minutes later, the same neighbor, now about three glasses of wine in comes by, slurring her speech, and telling us we really need to come by, because they are having a blast.  After which, she falls down in my yard.  We all got a good giggle out of that.

Another hour or so later, the door bell rings, and there is the same neighbor.  Up until this point, only my hubby had been dealing with her.  This time I went to the door, and here is where it got creepy.  She looks at me with that "we all bundle" kind of stare, and says, "Everyone is there, you all have to come over."  Then she runs her fingers through my hair and says, "You have such pretty hair, I wish my hair was like yours!"  Yikes, it was totally a single white female kind of moment.  But, after the door was closed, and I made sure she didn't fall down the stairs, we all got some major belly laughs over it, and I am sure that though the food was great, this dinner party will be remembered for the crazy neighbor!

***I paired our meal with a Casillero del Diablo 2010 Carmenere wine.  It paired beautifully with the whole meal!  At first I was afraid it was going to be too oaky for my liking, but after the glass breathed for just a few minutes, it was fabulous!  It is less tannic than a merlot, but it is a deep red wine.  The berry flavor came through strong with hints of coffee and an almost chocolatey finish.  This Chilean wine may very well grace our Thanksgiving table, and you should give it some thought for yours as well!***