ShoppingArchives
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- September 2010
- February 2010
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- May 2009
- March 2009
Categories
Blogroll
- A Cup of Joe
- A Sweet Spoonful
- Apartment #34
- Apartment Therapy
- Color Commentary
- Design Mom
- DesignSponge
- Documentation
- Effortless Chic
- fric and frac
- Habitually Chic
- Hostess with the Mostess
- House of Turquoise
- Little Green Notebook
- Miss Mustard Seed
- Perfectly Imperfect
- Pink Wallpaper
- Remodelista
- Shelter
- Southern Hospitality
- Stylemonger | ELLE Decor
- The Crafts Dept. – Martha Stewart
- The Inspired Room
- The Kitchn
Tag Archives: holidays
Heavenly Deviled Eggs
___________
Will you be hosting a brunch this weekend for Mother’s Day? Deviled eggs are always popular. And delicious! Here is the basic recipe, one you have it mastered, you can add your own spin. Try adding hot sauce, capers, crabmeat, bacon, or swap out the mayo for mashed avocado. To duplicate the serving idea above, line one of my serving trays with long chives or garlic scapes and place the egg halves on top of the greenery.
Basic Deviled Eggs
4 hard-cooked eggs
Salt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
Paprika or fresh parsley leaves or chives for garnish
Peel the eggs, cut them in half lengthwise, and carefully scoop out the yolks.
Mash the yolks with a sprinkle of salt and the mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spoon the filling back into the whites.
Sprinkle with paprika, parsley or chives and serve.
Easter Craft Projects
We are seeing lots of fun Easter craft projects and menu ideas from bloggers. Here are some of our favorites. Do you have any suggestions for us?
Not Martha made Chocolate Easter Surprise Eggs.
Not Without Salt made Homemade Cadbury Eggs.
A Subtle Revelry is making Photo Print Easter Eggs.
Sugar and Charm is making gold leaf Easter Eggs.
Oh Joy! has neon dip-dyed eggs.
Oleander + Palm makes chalkboard eggs.
Rook No. 17 has Easy Silhouette Easter Eggs.
Art in Red Wagons makes beautiful and unique “green” eggs by covering them in repurposed maps, a page from Pride and Prejudice, a dictionary page, an old cookbook and saved wrapping paper.
Studio DIY is making pretty sprinkle eggs.
Creature Comforts offers up unique Easter gift basket idea for grown-ups.
Mint is making orange honey butter wheat rolls for Easter dinner.
Easter Brunch
I love Easter Brunch — it’s a great time to celebrate with family and friends. My friend keeps chickens and sometimes duck eggs, which are good for quiche, they are so big! The brown eggs seem to take Easter egg dye better and result in deeper colors, except for the yellows.
For appetizers, I like to spread a fig and sage jelly over goat cheese & sprinkle it with walnuts. The veggie tray and orange bowl of hummus are vintage Annieglass.
For a fresh healthy dip that tastes like Spring try my Green Pea Hummus.
Cook 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas in boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes, drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking — the fresh flavor will cook away if you skip this step.
Pulse in a food processor 4 or 5 times or until smooth with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2tsp. chopped fresh mint, 1 garlic clove and dash of salt . Serve with fresh veggies- tiny sweet peppers, carrots, jicama, carrots, celery, radish halves, sugar snap peas or endive leaves.
Its also good to serve with toasted bread slices or sweet potato chips.
Freakishly Simple
No mason jars on my table!
I remember how excited I was a few months ago, looking forward to new ideas for fall and holiday dining experiences, new recipes and interesting ways to set an inviting table.
Like everyone else I got into kale. Kale and white bean soup and with some kale toasted in the oven being the best! I found some nice recipes from Ina Garten in her How Easy is That and again in the new Foolproof cookbook from her. Some of her recipes are a little too rich and I adapt them to suit the way we like to eat. I found some nice salad ideas using pomegranate seeds or Marcona almonds with rosemary to liven up week night salads, fresh beets too. So many delicious ideas.
But I felt so let down with the table settings that I was seeing everywhere — so much so that I must let off some steam because the Spring suggestions coming out are not any better! Rustic is one thing, but so many of these tables are just plain and unwelcoming!
If I take the time and effort to invite friends over for a special evening to share their company, I want my table to be as inviting as the food and conversation. I am going to invite 2 couples over for a pre- Valentines day dinner. Of course being Annieglass puts expectations higher but still, we should all make the effort. I am excited and looking forward to decorating the table and planning the menu and wine. Valentine’s Day is such an easy and fun theme. I’m using my own Annieglass hearts or chocolate ones as favors at each place setting, and thinking about the flowers and branches around my yard that might go together. Even a few tulips tucked into some branches could be pretty but still wintry.
I rebel against Martha Stewart fussiness but do we really have to go so minimal? Extreme simplicity? Freakishly simple? Some of those holiday tables, I swear to you looked to me like they were shot during the time of the potato famine or the Great Depression. …sad, lonely, uninviting, couldn’t be bothered –looking affairs. A twig of rosemary tied with string around a crappy dish towel, in lieu of a napkin is just sad in my book. Sorry to step on any toes here. I like Mason jars as much as the next person, go ahead drink your luke warm coffee out of one but don’t make me see another table set for company with string, brown paper bags or twigs!
I really like my guests and I want to show it as soon as they sit down at the table. Will keep you posted on my table plans!
Posted in Miscellaneous Adventures
Tagged holiday tables, holidays, table scapes, Table settings, Valentine's Day, valentines
Leave a comment
Healthy Dips For New Year’s Eve
Can you believe that this is already the last day of 2012? It seems like the year just zipped by, doesn’t it? How are you celebrating New Year’s Eve? Whether you are celebrating with a cozy family party or a huge fete, dips are always a key part of any party — that’s why we design chip and dip sets in our collections. But at the end of such an indulgent season, I’m always looking for ways to eat a little more healthily, which is another reasons dips are so great. By incorporating healthy ingredients you can create a dish that is festive and seems indulgent but is low in fat and high in nutrition. Like a white bean and edamame dip. Just mix together a 15-ounce can of drained cannellini beans, 1 cups shelled, cooked edamame, a few chopped garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons each of water, fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil, and blitz in a food processor or blender until smooth. Serve with pita chips and raw veggies. You can also puree the white beans with just basil and the olive oil. Or take a bunch each of cooked kale and spinach and puree with a few peeled garlic cloves, a handful of pine nuts and about 1/2 a cup of olive or walnut oil for a pesto-like dip for veggie chips.
However you choose to celebrate, I hope that you have a wonderful New Year’s Eve. See you in 2013!
