Weekly Menu Nov 1~ 7, 2010

Is it really November? This fall is flying by! In just 25 days it will be Thanksgiving. It is amazing how the days go by so quickly! I am now getting organized for a big family Thanksgiving and extended weekend  here at StoneGable.

I'll want to enjoy family, food and lots of fun activities so I need to be super organized and work ahead so I don't miss the memories and fun because I am bogged down in the kitchen!

That is why I am posting a Thanksgiving Countdown. 

Starting tomorrow until Thanksgiving day, I will post reminders, tips, tidbits and a schedule of all the things to do to pull off a less-stress, memory making Thanksgiving.

I know most of you have wonderful tips, advice, things that work for you, recipes, organizing ideas, fun ideas... so leave me a comment any day until Thanksgiving about Thanksgiving prep and I'll post some of my favorite ideas on upcoming posts! Use my comment box as a forum for great Thanksgiving ideas!!!!  Just join in! Let's help each other!!!!

What's on the menu this week?

Monday: Leftover Day
We are having the leftover Turkey Thighs! They got 2 thumbs up!! I made extra for this week.
Baby Spinach Salad
Pomegranate Glazed Turkey Thighs
Roasted Potatoes  and Carrots with Onions and Garlic

Recipe: Pomegranate Glazed Turkey Thighs
Recipe for this Foodie Friday!

Tuesday
Buternut Squash Ravioli With Panchetta And Sage
Ceaser Salad with Star Croutons

Recipe: Ceaser Salad Dressing
Making your own dressing is soooooooooo much better than anything bottled. It does not take that much time and the taste is light years better! I am known for my Ceaser Salad. Shhhh, don't tell how easy it really is!

Rough chop freshly washed romaine lettuce. Add dressing, freshly grated parmesan cheese and star croutons. Toss and serve immediately.

Click HERE  for Ceasar Dressing and look for the recipe on Tuesday's menu.

Recipe: Star Croutons
These are so much fun and really look wonderful in a salad. Just watch them, they burn quickly!
10 slices day of dense, thin white bread (I use Pepperidge Farm White)
melted butter
garlic salt
tiny star cookie cutter (1 inch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut crusts off of bread and reserve to make stuffing or breadcrumbs. Cut out stars using cookie cutter. Brush with butter and lightly sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake until golden brown. I don't want to give a time~ watch them! They go quick!!!!

Recipe: Butternut Squash Ravioli With Pancetta And Sage
This recipe speaks to my soul! Oh my! Get this from Dining With Debbie. She host a delicious meme, What's On The Menu Wednesday. An Internet cookbook of yummy dishes!

Wednesday
Eye Roast on Rotisserie
Mashed Potatoes (Make double batch)
Gravy
Sauteed Spinach with Garlic Oil


Thursday
Grilled Turkey Sausage With Apples and Sage
Creamy Polenta With Mushrooms
Homemade Applesauce
Recipe: Creamy Polenta With Mushrooms
The pictures will make you want to lick your computer screen! This culinary delight come from All That Splatters. This is one of my real favorites!

Friday
Waldorf Salad
Salmon Pinwheels
Homemade Rice A Roni
Green Beans

Recipe: StoneGable Waldorf Salad
3 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
3 Bosc pears, cored and chopped
1 cup red and green seedless grapes, halved
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup roasted walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
3 TBS mayonnaise
3 TBS greek yogurt
3 TBS apple juice

Put fruit, celery, nuts and pomegranate arils in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt and apple juice. Add dressing to fruit bowl. Gently mix.

Recipe Homemade Rice A Roni:
Who doesn't love Rice A Roni? But what is in it? Being able to make a this kid-of-all-ages favorite using healthy ingredients is a real plus!
3/4 cups rice
1/2 cup angel hair pasta, broken into pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 TBS oil
1 TBS butter
2 3/4 cups hot water
2 chicken bullion cubes (or more if you like a real hearty chicken flavor)
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add rice and pasta. Cook until slightly browned.

Meanwhile, add bullion to hot water and dissolve. When rice is slightly browned, add water and put a lid on the skillet. Cook until gently simmering. Cook about 20 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice and pasta are soft. You may need to add a little extra water if it gets too dry. Take off heat and add parsley.

Saturday
StoneGable Individual Pizza's
Deli Antipasta Salad

Recipe: StoneGable Artisian Grilled Pizza
We use the grill all year long and love these easy and scrumptous pizza. This is such a great dinner to start the weekend! Click HERE to make these great single serve pizzas!

Recipe: Deli Anitpasta Salad
This is fun! Go to your deli counter and build a great antipasta salad! Peruse the grocery isles for any other ingredients that strike your fancy!
Anitpasta Salad suggestions:
olives
marinaded mushrooms
pepperoni
salami
pickled eggs
fresh mozzarella balls
artichoke hearts
provolone cheese
marinaded pickled veggies
anchovies
sliced fresh melon
sliced fresh pears
grape tomatoes

Sunday
Homemade Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Game Day Chili
Corn Bread

Recipe: Homemade Tortilla Chips
These are so much better than the ones in the bag!!!! Give them a try and you will LOVE them!

Heat 1 inch oil in a large skillet. Stack 4- 10" flour tortillas and cut in half. Cut each half into thirds until you have 6 equal wedges per tortilla. Stack 4 more tortilla and do the same. When oil reaches 360 degrees add chips in a single layer, do not crowd. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon to a rimmed sheet pan lined with paper towels. Salt. Cook in batches.

Recipe: Game Day Chili
 Football and Chili, a perfect combination! We are huge fans of both. If you love Sunday football and food this is a recipe to try.  This delicious sounding recipe come by way of the Green Bay Fan's at Calm Energy. Maria is one of my great blog buddies! She is delightful, as is her blog!

GO E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!  We love all football fans! (Go Penn State, too).



I am joining Maryann at Domestically Speaking for a Countdown To Thanksgiving Party. Go visit to start getting your ideas for Thanksgiving!

Sunday Scriptue, October 31, 2010

Abraham's well, Beersheba Israel

And Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believed in Him should not die, but have eternal life.

For God did not sent the Son into the world to judge the world but that the world should be saved through Him.  John 3:16-17,  Spoken by Jesus



Bagatelle~ "A Little Nothing"

The word "bagatelle" is a french word meaning "something of little importance or value".  A musical sounding word! 

Here is a fall bagatelle, a little something to share with you.

When I was in the Hamptons last weekend I stopped by a shop called "The Elegant Table". Of course I had to go in. A lovely shop filled with pretty things. They were having a sale. There was a sign that said, "All tea cups $10.00". And another sign read,"All plates $5.00". Bagatelles for sure!

This beautiful tea cup, with birds and foliage was part of that display. I was so captivated by it!

Look at the scene!

And when I turned it over I noticed the retail price...

Yes, it does say $115.00. I asked the pleasant sales clerk if this tea cup was really  on sale for $10.00. She said, "Yes, all the tea cups are".

There were 5 other gorgeous cups and saucers. I picked up all 5. Two of the cups and saucers were $135.00 a piece! I have some plans for them that I will show later.

I also picked up 2 bags of stunning plates. Look for a tablescape on Thursday using some of the china plates!

I knew that I wanted to fill this delicate tea cup with bagatelles of nature. Little this and thats!

I have a penchant for collecting "little nothings" and putting them together to make "a little something".

My fall tea cup holds acorns gathered from a trip to the mountains, tiny pinecones, star anise, small sprays of berry beads, a waxed leaf from my sugar maple, a faux leaf and a little round faux orange studded with real cloves and a star anise crown.

The juxtaposition of the fine bone china cup and natural  earthy elements is so intriguing. One elevates the other... but which one?

My little bagatelle has found a home in my dining room. 

There is great beauty and simple pleasures in "little nothings"!

I am participating in Pink Saturday. A big thank you to our hostess, Beverly. This week Pink Saturday has taken on an orgage...ish hue! Happy Halloween

I am joining Holly at 504 Main for Tickled Pink.

StoneGable Loaded Baked Potato Soup

We are soup people here at StoneGable! 

What's more delicious than a cozy bowl of yummy hot soup on a blustery fall day? Not much ... especially if it is this delicious Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

It's sure to be a family favorite!

Autumn Patchwork Tablescape



Last year StoneGable celebrated the softer side of fall. But this year Fall is in all it's glorious color!

Today's tablescape was inspired by the wonderful table linens the kind folks at April Cornell sent me. Can you imagine my excitement when an April Cornell package showed up at my door!!!!!!!



Fall is truly a patchwork of harvest colors and textures. Browns, rusts, golden yellows, scarlet and green. I see these colors in the beauty of the country vistas all around me. So when I opened the package from April Cornell and found their Harvest Patchwork Brown place mats, napkins, button napkin rings and potholders I knew that I would set a table that would be a nod to the nature's Autumn Patchwork!



Instead of a tablecloth, two burlap runners anchor the tablescape. Placed in a criss cross fashion they give great texture to the table.



Beautiful patchwork place mats adorn each place setting. Their lovely gently scalloped edges and coordinating fabric add great detail. The patchwork on the place mats are little works of art! The other side is a beautiful brown plaid. Look for it on an upcoming post.

I wanted the elements on the table to also have a patchwork look and feel. Dishes of different colors and shapes are "patchworked" together. Alternating place settings around the table are just a little different, like the squares of a quilt. Different enough to give them interest but not be too busy. Can you spot the differences?

The bottom plate is a sturdy brown ironstone (Olde Millhouse Shoppe). A Yellow square plate (Wegman's) is next in the stack. It picks up the warm golden yellow in the place mats!!! All  four place settings have these plates.

The top dishes are alternated around the table. Two place settings have a rust colored square plate (Pier 1) topped off with a green leaf dish and matching leaf bowl (HomeGoods).

And the two other's are set with a round green plate with an oil rubbed bronze rim (HomeGoods). A rust colored leaf plate and matching bowl (HomeGoods) tops off those settings!

The edges are different and make a striking profile.





Just for a little added whimsy, a wreath of acorn and brown bead accents circle the leaf bowl. I like to have an unexpected element at each place!

Antique flatware with beautiful earthy handles sit on the pretty fall place mats. A mini ear of Indian Corn is placed next to each knife. All of the Indian Corn is different. And they are so delightfully variegated. Just like the colors on a patchwork quilt!

Extra forks rest on dessert plates.

Harvest colored plaid napkins coordinate perfectly with the Harvest Patchwork Brown place mats. They have a soft "hand" and a fringed edge that gives them a cozy, informal feel. I paired them up with a different solid colored napkin. They are gathered together with these ADORABLE button napkin rings, also in coordinating fabrics. I was so captivated with these sweet napkin rings! Homespun is the word I would use to describe how wonderfully they are paired together!

Yellow leaf bowl will hold an apple, beet and carrot salad. YUMMY!

Brown ribbed  glasses on a short stem will hold  sparkling cider.

Dessert plates on a dark brown turned pedestal wait for melt-in-your-mouth Pumpkin Roll!

The centerpiece is a rust mum, dressed up to be a big-statement arrangement.

If  it looks familiar, it is! I used it in my post yesterday on dressing up the humble mum! Click HERE to visit yesterday's post.  I added acorns, berries and leaves to give it  little more punch and to continue the acorn/leave/corn theme.

The variegated corn is gathered in luscious rust to brown ribbon that is tied in a big bow.

Small green glazed pots (Olde Millhouse Shoppe) are filled with Indian Corn kernals and soft orange votives are nestled down in the corn!

 

Individual acorn candle holders with slim green candles light each place (Wm-Sonoma).

I want to thank the kind people at April Cornell for sending me such beautiful and well made table linens  to enjoy!!!!  It was a true joy to set this table!

Please visit April Cornell's website to see all their gorgeous products. Click HERE to visit.

The Menu

Harvest Patchwork Luncheon

Apple, Beet and Carrot Salad

Baked Potato Soup

(recipe on foodie Friday)

Ruben Sandwiches

Oven Fries

Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Filling

Sparkling Apple Cider

Coffee and Tea

I am participating in Tablescape Thursday atBetween Naps On The Porch. Thank you, Susan for being our gracious hostess!

Mum Makeover Magic!



Mum's are a traditional and abundant part of Autumn. Decorating with them indoors and out brings color, texture and a definite splash of Fall. These seasonal blooms are such a terrific buy. And they keep on giving. When their flowers are spent, they can be replanted in your garden for years of floral picking!



But let's be honest... a mum in it's plastic container can look a little dowdy!



I say, "Give mums a little embellished makeover"! They are so pretty and festive, let's just make them up a notch! Help them be all they can be... and more!

Think Outside The Pot!

Don't let that ugly black pot be part of your fall decor. Hide it, cover it or... if all else fails replant the mum!

Use a big bowl that goes with your decor. Just put the whole pot in a prettier container!





 Use an unexpected container, such as this silver champagne bucket or a soup tureen . An old basket works well too! Look around your house for a container to repurpose!

Transplant a mum in a big planter or urn. A mum will only last about a month so you are not committing your container for the long term.

Cover an unsightly container with burlap.

Hiding a pot with a vertical row of pretty Indian Corn is very festive. Put a rubber band around a container and slip ears of Indian Corn under the rubber band all the way around the container. Cut the husks to an appropriate height, fluff and add a beautiful bow!



Top It Off!

Don't worry that the ugly black container is  larger for your container. Hide the rim top of the container by adding a grape vine wreath over it.





Spanish moss, straw and reindeer moss also work wonderfully to hide a plastic pot while adding a little softness to the arrangement.

Adding pumpkins, gourds and leaves around the base of a mum gives a look of Autumn bounty!





Bling It On!

Add a little more interest by adding bits of this and that to the mum. Picks of berries and acorns work well with the Autumnal theme.



Add a big bow in a gorgeous color. Talk about a big statement! This luscious ribbon came on a giveaway gift from Decor To Adore (show and tell on Foodie Friday post). Click HERE to visit this very beautiful and inspiring blog!

Gilded fruits and squashes also add a lovely touch.

Include natural elements too! Don't forget the leaves! This is after all FALL!







Take It To New Heights

Adding "sticks and twigs" to the center of an arrangement adds great height and interest.

I keep a collection of natural elements in a plastic kitchen trash can in the garage, ready for use at all times!

Just a side note: No spray paint on my brass in my dining room!!!! These candlesticks and lamps( not shown) are from Japan. My father brought them back after a military tour over 50 years ago. They have beenn passed down to me. They are irreplaceable in quality and sentiment.

The humble and long lasting mum can be elevated from boring to the center of attention!

Make some of your own MUM MAGIC!

I am participating in Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters. These idea could be used to make a beautiful centerpiece!! Please check out all of the creative and fabulous fall centerpieces!!!!!