Claudine, Oui c'est Francais

Happy Halloween

 

Happy Halloween...

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Halloween is almost here and gone and I am already looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although it is my craziest time of the year for work but a little turkey and Christmas lights always helps.

So this weekend after a visit to the pumpkin patch I made a mini turkey dinner. Partly to do my "research" on the newest issue of Everyday Food for November and partly because it just sounded so good. And then there is the plus of the leftover turkey sandwiches...

Nothing is better then a think layer of cranberries, turkey a little mayo on toasted bread.....

But also in time for Thanksgiving Martha is having a "countdown to Thanksgiving workshop" It starts on Monday November 3rd, sign up today. You can even get the shopping list and first week of projects now. Just click on the links

Let the turkey games begin....

Oh and don't forget to buy up the small pumpkins at the store before Halloween. I save them up for a coat of glitter to use on Thanksgiving. Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween anymore...

we voted

 

In Oregon we vote by mail, it is so easy and there should not be any excuses for people to vote and get it back in the mail. So all those fellow Oregonians, vote, slap a stamp on it and get it in the mail. The earlier the better!

It's no secret who we voted for in my house.

Obama 2008, it's a good thing!

October Everday Food -in review

Just in time before the newest issue is on the newsstands I have some favorites from the October issue. As I always say some issues are filled with tons and tons of great recipes. This one did not disappoint

In Season, Page 26: Chocolate-Pumpkin tart. This was so easy and perfect for fall. The combination of the pumpkin with the chocolate was a great match

Kick It Up, Page 30: Seafood Mac-n-Cheese, it sounded a little strange but I made mien with chopped prawns that I was also using for something the night before. It is a little more economical then crab, lobster or crawfish.

Eat Smart, Page 34: Lighter General Tso's Chicken. Homemade Chinese food is always great. I don't like a lot of "sauce" so you can control that when you make it at home. The addition of the snow peas was really tasty

A to Z, Page 58: Chicken Cheesteaks with peppers. I made this on one of the debate nights so the quick assembly was perfect.

Page 72; Lemon Shrimp with Rice. This recipe called for using the microwave, but I did it on the stove-top. It came together really quick

Grocery bag, Page 81-92: Monday- Spicy Coconut Chicken Casserole. This was so good! I have already recommended it to friends and family that get the issues. The spiciness of the curry paste with the coconut milk is one of my favorite things. Although the recipe called for 1 to 2 teaspoons of red curry paste, I used 2 to 3 tablespoons. if you like spice, go for it!

Tuesday-Open faced burgers with horseradish sauce and green beans. Again I think I doubled the horseradish. These were very flavorful and nice that it is served on a slice of bread rather then all the bread on a hamburger bun

Wednesday-Spinach and prosciutto lasagna, no meat in this one, but very good. It was the first time I used the no-boil lasagna noodles. Worked out great.

Thursday-Roasted Pork tenderloin with fennel and garlic. They were out of fennel at the store so I went with my now favorite roasted cauliflower instead.

Friday-Quickest Mushroom-barely soup, perfect for a cool fall day

More Meals, Page 99: Slow-cooker pot roast. Using the Worcestershire sauce gave this pot roast some amazing flavor

Weekend Dinner, Page 105: Cheddar-topped shepherds pie. Could there be anything else that would fall under the "comfort food" title then Shepherd's pie. Really it is Cottage pie since it is beef and not lamb but who cares....

There are even more great items in the October issue to make, race out and get it before November is on the newsstands Monday

On the bookshelf today

brand new and available today at your local bookstore or Amazon.com is the newest book in the Martha Stewart Library. Martha's Cooking School, Recipes and Lessons for the Home Cook

Imagine having Martha Stewart at your side in the kitchen, teaching you how to hold a chef’s knife, select the very best ingredients, truss a chicken, make a perfect pot roast, prepare every vegetable, bake a flawless pie crust, and much more.

Check back soon for the Martha Book Club to start cooking up some of the items in the new book and check out Martha this week as she starts her Martha Stewart Cooking school on her daily show

I can't wait to find this waiting on my doorstep after being out in the wilderness for two days.... If I am not back and posting by Wednesday, a bear got me....

Christmas gifts-Crafty items

Christmas is right around the corner and here are some wonderful gift suggestions from the house of Martha.... and my favorite

   

I love the cutting boards, the chicken reminds me of the one I made in shop class in 6th grade, my mom still has it.  And the cookies cutters are always a must have

 

These are some new gift sets at Macy's this year. I love the olive oil gift set and the candied almonds are a wonderful gift. I have those pens and the colors are great. That is another must have.

 

Do I need to write anything at all about the glitter..... just buy it!

Seafood chowder

Saturday night was a big night for our beloved Red Sox, they had to win the game to force a game 7 and hopefully take them onto the World Series. So in my expanding tradition of cooking for a sporting event I had to make something special for the Red Sox game and dinner.

                                             

I went to MarthaStewart.com and searched Seafood and up came some wonderful choices. As soon as I saw Seafood Chowder I was done. Martha made this on her show back in February and it was fantastic!

it worked wonders since the Red Sox won the game, we better have leftovers tonight and hope they win again and head to the world series

Madeline birthday cake

Today is my nieces birthday and she requested a cake with Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Well she got that at her party on Saturday, so for our family get together she gets a Madeline cake. Partly because that is what I wanted to make, and she really likes the Madeline books and dvd's.

 

I found a straw hat in the doll section of Michaels and covered it with yellow felt. And then the Barbie with red hair, that was harder to find. I feel bad for those little girls with red hair, but finally found one at target. she got a little haircut and then she looked a little more like Madeline. The coat didn't come out exactly as I had hoped, but it worked. Add a little French "happy birthday" and she was ready to go.

Look how cute she is when she came out of the cake. I think her little coat is really cute. And the cake was red velvet, so it looks like she was in a hit and run

happy 4th birthday little one...

Debate night cake

I had to race home to pull it together in time for the debate to start and here we are...

 

It is a little like a Democratic Donkey marry-go-round

Weddings-Fall

Although I got married 6 years ago, I still love and get the Martha Stewart Weddings issue every time they come out. Each issue is filled with wonderful ideas that can be used for any occasion. I think it is one of the best issues that the MSLO team puts together. Headed up by Darcy Miller the spunky little editorial director and face of the Weddings magazine, she will be on Martha on Wednesday sharing some of the greatest wedding ideas from the Fall issue.

Such as:

The cutest favors packaged in creative little boxes. I love these clear boxes,I have done something like this for work with clear small square boxes. All they need is a nice little ribbon.

And some very cute photo cards, this is a great idea, not just for weddings. This would be a great Christmas gift for grandma and grandpa .

The whole issue is filled with great ideas and even peeks into some "real weddings"

make sure you pick up the issue available on the newsstands now. And don't forget to watch Darcy on Martha on Wednesday, and if you miss it Fine Living will show the episode on Thursday night as well.