Springtime Party Favors (& a First Birthday)

This past weekend we celebrated Will's first birthday!  Time flies!  I didn't go nuts with decor, but made up a few "W1LL" banners to match the general theme of the Paperless Post invite we sent out:

The party was Saturday so we spent most of Friday evening cleaning & grocery shopping.  It seemed like we were all set - plenty of food, a clean outfit for the baby, dog-fur-free living room, birthday banner hung.  Once Will had gone to bed and Jesse was watching March Madness, I began to worry that we needed party favors for our guests.  I started out thinking we needed favors just for the kids but then thought to myself that I should have something for the adults, too.  When it's 8:45 at night and you live in the woods, you have somewhat limited options but I headed out to the closet Home Depot, which was open until 10 and bought, on a whim, some flower bulbs.  At the Target next door, I got some paper Easter grass and rushed home to assemble them with some plastic bags and ribbon I already had.

Here's what I came up with - I was pretty pleased...

...except they're basically the least kid-friendly favor ever.  We had 4 kids there besides Will and I think they were hoping that these were chocolates.  Sorry, kids, just gladiolus bulbs.  Also in hindsight I wish I had gone with bulbs that can be planted inside since some of our guests were apartment dwellers.  I had just grabbed gladiolus bulbs because a) it was late and b) I think they're really pretty.  Lesson learned!

Happy Birthday, Baby Will, and Happy Spring, readers!

Kraft Paper Table Runner

Last week, Jesse & I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for 22 people.  It went off without a hitch - delicious, cozy, and fun - and I actually want to do it all over again.  The food was great but I can't take much credit for that (thanks to my family & to Jesse, turkey fryer extraordinaire), so I'll focus on the way we turned our breakfast nook & living room into a table for 15 adults (the kids sat on pillows around our coffee table, decked out with paper & crayons).

Our regular dinner table fits 6 people, so we used some folding tables and borrowed chairs to create one very long table for Thanksgiving dinner.  I wanted to have a cohesive element among the hodge podge of chairs, the tables of varying widths, and the mismatched cloth napkins and so I used kraft paper-style wrapping paper (cut in half, width-wise) to run the length of the three tables.

The brown paper managed to be rustic enough to tie in the mums I had running down the table and the various fall-hued napkins.

Place cards were just simple cardstock cut and folded in half.  I didn't think through last year's seating very well - it had my family on one half of the table and Jesse's family on the other half.  Jesse requested that this year we shake it up a bit and mix the two crowds (everyone knows each other anyway).  We spent a few minutes the night before the meal deciding who would go where and it seemed to work out well (vegetarians seated together, my brother the teacher next to Jesse's cousin the teacher, etc).

Here it is right before we ate (next year I may do it buffet style with so many guests but this year we served it family style).  You can see in the top of the photo how the tables are uneven but the runner helped to draw the eye away from that.

I hope you all had as great of a Thanksgiving as we did.  And with Thanksgiving 2013 in the books, I'm ready to move full steam ahead with Christmas prep around here!

Wrapping Paper Table Runners

Jesse and I are getting ready to host TWENTY people at our house for Thanksgiving.  In the week that lies between now and then, there is a lot I need to accomplish.  I know that good food and good company are the heart of any memorable Thanksgiving dinner, but of course the crafty little decorator in me also wants to have an impressive table setup.

With this many people joining us, we'll be pushing two dinner tables together for one loooong table and I am thinking of using wrapping paper as a table runner to provide a more cohesive look.  The benefits?  No sew.  Easy cleanup.  Inexpensive.  Yes, please.

Below are a few shots I will be using for inspiration as I shop around for paper to proudly display on our table...

Martha Stewart does it beautifully, natch:

A Christmas tablescape using wrapping paper from The Sweetest Occasion:

Project Wedding's yellow & black runner:

What do you think?  Yea or nay?  Is Thanksgiving a time to mix it up or a meal best served on your favorite family table linens?  Let me know what you think and stay homey!

The Best Blueberry Pie

I've mentioned a few times that my mother is a fabulous baker.  On Mother's Day, she made an amazing chocolate chip & orange cake and, naturally, she baked up another amazing treat for Father's Day:

My mom makes this blueberry pie for special occasions every summer when the blueberries are fresh & delicious.  Here is the recipe she uses, adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  You'll need:

double pie crust of your choice

8 cups of fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon of heavy cream

Start by lining a pie dish with half of your pie crust and roll the second crust flat.  Refrigerate both crusts for half an hour, until firm.  Meanwhile, put the blueberries in a bowl and crush some with your hands so that half of the berries stay whole and the rest are in pieces.  Add the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.  Mix together, then add the blueberry mixture to the now-chilled pie shell ("mounding berries slightly in the center," says Martha).  Dot the top of the pie with butter.

Here's where we differ from Martha a bit... you can cut out the remaining pie crust into stars, as shown in the cookbook (the Post-It note says "ROLL THE STARS THICKLY" in my mom's handwriting)...

...or just cut into strips and lay into a latticework pattern, as my mom did.  She does stars sometimes, for Fourth of July or various other patriotic occasions, but Father's Day 2012 called for classic latticework.

To give the pie crust a sheen, whisk together the egg yolk and the cream.  Brush the rim of the pie crust with the egg mixture, then add your lattice (or stars) and brush that gently with the egg mixture as well. Put the pie back in the fridge for about a half an hour until it firms up and preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the lower third.

Once your pie has chilled, place it on top of a parchment-lined baking sheet (this helps with cleanup) and bake about 20 minutes.  Then, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes, at which point the pie juices will be bubbling and the crust will be a golden brown.

Let it cool & enjoy with ice cream, whipped cream, or on its own.  Dig in and stay hungry!

Chalkboard Mini-Menu Frames

On Superbowl Sunday, we were expecting a house full of people, all bringing their favorite appetizers. To make the sharing & enjoying of the savory snacks easier, I grabbed some cheapie frames and chalkboard paint (leftover from these projects) and made some mini-chalkboards.

I separated the frames and took the glass out to paint into little chalkboards. After three light layers of the paint, I popped them back into the frames...

...and used them to mark the appetizers that were quickly arriving. Once the Superbowl was over, I rinsed them off and tucked them away for our next party. I think these would be great for a baby or bridal shower, too. Or maybe you could just use them for dinner ("It's quinoa, dammit!").

Stay hungry, friends, and stay homey!

Cucumber and Salami Tea Sandwiches

So I'm not entirely sure what makes a tea sandwich a tea sandwich, but to me, it's a tiny little finger sandwich without crust.  So, I'm calling these tea sandwiches. 

The possibilities are endless - you can add roasted veggies, turkey, etc.  All I knew was that I had a whole mess of boursin cheese and needed to use it up.  Another way to use butter a cheese?  Sign. Me. Up.

Cute, right?  It's a little purse of tastiness.

The ingredients are pretty simple here.

Boursin Cheese (recipe here)

White Bread

Seedless Cucumbers

Salami

Make sure the boursin is brought up to room temperature - this will make it much easier to spread. 

Line up the cucumbers like this so every bite will have a little crunch.  Don't worry about the ones that are hanging over.  We'll fix that next.

With a sharp, serrated knife, remove the crusts from the sandwich.

Yummy.

Make sure if you are throwing a party that you use a different knife/setup for the cucumber one as you do the salami one to avoid cross contaminating for your vegetarian guests.  See Caitlin, I got yo' back.  I eat everything under the sun, so it didn't matter much for me. 

Start again by spreading boursin liberally on the bread.

Layer on some salami...

...and trim the edges.  I ate the salami/bread/cheese scraps before I even got a chance to take a picture of them.  Oops.

Lastly, make three finger sandwiches like this.

Here are a couple of garnish options.  I placed a thin slice of cucumber on top of the cucumber ones with a dollop of boursin cheese and a bit of dill.  For the salami tea sandwiches, I tied a sprig of chive around it to make it look like a little present.  Don't ask me why I did this because I honestly have no idea but I think it's cute.

Mmmmm...these were so light and refreshing.

The cucumber is so perfect with the creamy cheese spread and light fluffy bread.

You can make these ahead of time, just make sure you dampen a couple of paper towels.  Not dripping wet here - just damp.  Line up the sandwiches (before putting a garnish on) on a cookie sheet and drape the damp paper towels on top.  Finish with plastic wrap.

These would be perfect for a shower, a snack, or just because you feel like making something a little special.  Stay hungry! 

Post-Thanksgiving Brunch

For the last five years, I've been having brunch the day after Thanksgiving with three of my college roommates who come home to the Connecticut/Rhode Island area to do Turkey Day with their families. Some people camp out at Best Buy or fight the crowds in Target, but I love knowing that every year I'll get to see my dear friends and catch up over some good food.  We eat at different local restaurants every year but since my house is relatively central for my friends and since some of them haven't seen it yet, I invited them to come here instead of going out.

I know that turkey sandwiches are relatively standard post-Thanksgiving fare, but I wanted to think outside the box...and let's not forget, I don't eat turkey.   I decided to start with baked brie and serve a spinach & apple salad and a garlicky leek pesto.

First, I started with the brie...

one round brie

jam of your choice (I used raspberry, but I've also used black cherry and it was amazing)

dough (I used Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, but puff pastry would also work)

crackers for serving

Unroll the dough and place the brie down on it.  Spread the jam on top of the brie...

and wrap it all up.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until it looks nice and golden and crispy.  Serve with crackers.

Yum.

Once the brie was ready to go, I started on the salad:

spinach

granny smith apples

dried cranberries

walnuts

oil & vinegar & salt & pepper for dressing

This one was simple - mix all together in a bowl and serve:

All that was left was the pesto and it was pretty quick. I adapted the recipe (barely!) from Mark Bittman.  I just took out the bacon (sorry).  Start with chopped leeks and garlic...

and cook them down in olive oil...

Blend with parsley, an egg, and salt & pepper...

...and serve over hot pasta.  Yum!

This was also an opportunity for me to fool my friends into thinking I'm a fancy adult by using cloth napkins and placemats:

Voila!  A lovely (and not too heavy) brunch on Black Friday.  Whether you're cooking, sleeping, shopping or seeing friends today, stay homey and stay hungry!

Chemical Reactions and Elbow Grease

Doesn't polishing silver seem like such an adult thing to have to do? It's not like I have a ton of silver just lying around the house, but I picked up a piece at my church's annual Christmas bazaar last weekend and it was in serious need of polishing. I also grabbed a few old silverplated trinkets from my parents' basement (thanks, Mom!) and got to work figuring out how to make them shiny again.

Here's what I started with:

I picked up the standard Cape Cod silver polish cloths but also looked online for some alternative (aka less scrubbing-intensive) solutions. Many websites suggested submersing tarnished silver in a tin-foil-lined bowl of hot water, salt, and baking soda, but other sites warned that it would be too rough on your silver. I decided to try out this method using the bowl from the bazaar. I bought it for $2 and so I wouldn't be heartbroken if anything happened to it. Plus, Jesse and I just finished season four of Breaking Bad and so I'm pretty jazzed up about chemistry these days...

I boiled some water, lined a glass mixing bowl with tin foil, and liberally sprinkled in salt and baking soda. The effect was much like the old baking soda volcano from elementary school fizzing and frothing. I tossed the silver bowl in and waited for the magic to happen...

The magic happened! Look how clean it looks! This is after five minutes in the solution.

From there, I spot cleaned a few specks of tarnish using the Cape Cod cloths. Good as new!

Since the other pieces of silver were a bit dearer to me, I decided to heed the warnings on the internet and polish everything else with the cloth. This is where the elbow grease came in. 

It took some serious rubbing and buffing to get rid of the tarnish but I think they came out pretty well:

When it comes to chemical reactions and family heirlooms, be sure to do your own research and figure out what works for you. For items you are willing to take a bit of a risk on, I had great success with the baking soda and salt option. If you can find old silverplated items at thrift stores or tag sales (plus there's a ton on eBay), I say give it a shot. Renewed silver dishes, cups, or utensils would make a great holiday gift. Good luck and stay homey!