Catalog Overload

I may be alone on this, but I've been irritated and overwhelmed with the amount of catalogs that I get in the mail.  Every.  Single.  Day.

While I like flipping through a Pottery Barn holiday catalog as much as the next girl, I feel incredibly wasteful tossing stacks of catalogs each afternoon when I check the mail.

With three weeks to go until Christmas, I'm receiving duplicates of both the catalogs I enjoy flipping through (Anthro, J. Crew, Pottery Barn, Garnet Hill) and catalogs I have zero interest in (Vermont Country Store, Orvis for Men, Talbots).  After some quick searching on the web, I found a website that is free and claims to stop the catalog overload.  Behond CatalogChoice.org:

It is not possible for me to be less interested in getting a "Title Nine" catalog

Once you click through the settings you want (in my case, NO POSTAL MAIL from every company), select your name and address, and scroll down to enter the numbers on your catalogs:

The customer number and source code are on the back of each catalog, above your address:

From here, Catalog Choice will update each company with your request.  Now I just need to wait and see how well it works.

Is not wanting to receive a slew of catalogs around Christmastime too "bah humbug" of me?  Are you having this problem too?  Tried CatalogChoice.org?  Let me know what you think!

Holiday Roundup: Fabulous Christmas Treats

No Christmas would be complete without a sugar high that gives you heart palpitations. Oh Christmas, how I love thee. 

Here are a few of Hardly Housewives' favorite Christmas treats.  Any of these would be perfect to bring to a cookie swap, to your office to spread some cheer, or to thank your children's teachers for being extra patient this year.  

1.  Five Layer Bars.  My Uncle Mike and Aunt Deb send a box of cookies every year and inside the little treasure chest you'll find these babies.  They are usually the first to go.  Because I eat them all.

2. Dark Chocolate Chili Truffles. These are delish and a little different, so if you're looking to shake things up a bit, this will do the job. 

3. Oreo Truffles.  Thank you cousin Lesley for introducing these and my favorite drink, Minnesota Bootlegs, into my life. If there aren't a surplus of these when I come to visit this Christmas you are in big trouble. 

4.  Saltine Candy Bark.  This link will bring you to a post written by Caitlin and photographed by me.  We just like to confuse you.  Caitlin's friend's mother-in-law first introduced this to her, and my Aunt Martha first introduced this to me.  You know a recipe is great when neither of us can spend the holidays without it. 

5.  Salted Caramel Blueberry Bark.  I don't think I'm going to make this, this year.  I can't keep my hands off of it.  I put it in the freezer thinking it would deter me from eating it all in one sitting.  Instead, I just munched on frozen solid chocolate all week. 

I'll be sharing one of my families very special, traditional holiday treats soon, but in the meantime let us know what some of your favorite holiday treats are and stay hungry! 

Silverware Place Card Tags

A week ago today, Jesse and I hosted eighteen guests for our first Thanksgiving at the new house.  We had guests from age two to age ninety one, two turkeys, all sorts of tasty sides, and a table (okay... a conglomeration of folding and wooden tables) set for twenty.  As you can see, I nixed the wrapping-paper-as-table-runner idea at the last minute when I realized it made the differences in table widths more pronounced...

With that many guests, I wanted to have assigned seating to cut down on chaos as we sat down.  I sat the vegetarian crowd close together for sharing of veggie sides.  My dad and Jesse sat next to each other, since they were the ones who showed the most interest in fried turkey.  I should have thought to give the leftys seating at the end of the table, but, hey, there's always next year.

Before the crowds arrived, I tied up forks, spoons, and knives into bundles with blue raffia and attached a name tag (gift tags from the craft store).  My mother-in-law lent us the silverware - twenty sets of silverware from her "party stash".

Overlook the wrinkled tablecloths, please...

...and behold an easy, safe idea for place cards (for a dangerous idea on making place cards, see last year's Thanksgiving place card holders).

Nix the orange and the turkey and these are ready to go for your Christmas table!  Stay homey!

Creamy Hoagie Dip

Hoagie dip isn't a new concept.  You basically take your fav Italian sub (aka hoagie) fixings, chop em all up, and use mayo as a loose binder to create a meaty bruchetta topping.  I was craving something creamy and particularly fattening because I didn't get fat enough over Thanksgiving so I decided to change up the traditional recipe a little.  Whew.  I'm tired. 

The outcome was very, very good, but I ate far, far too much, much.  I could cry just thinking about it.  DAMN IT.  I'll be working on my fitness extra hard this week, man.

1 Block of Cream Cheese, room temp 

1/3 Cup of Mayo 

1/3 Cup of Sour Cream 

1 Tsp of Dried Italian Seasoning 

1 Tbs of Dried Red Pepper Flakes  

1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder 

1/2 Tsp of White Pepper 

1/2 Cup of Pappadew Peppers, Chopped* 

1/2 Lb Salami, thick cut, chopped 

1/4 Lb Mortadella, chopped 

1/4 Lb Capicola, chopped 

1/4 Lb Provolone, chopped 

1 Cup Shredded Iceberg Lettuce 

1/2 White Onion, chopped 

1/2 Cup Chopped Tomatoes 

2 Tbs of Quick & Easy Italian Dressing*

Blend the cream cheese, mayo and sour cream together.  I blended it together in my stand mixer.  Add the seasonings and mix.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the lettuce, onion, tomato and Italian dressing and mix again.  Taste and adjust, if needed.  Pour dip into a shallow dish and let it mellow in the fridge for 2-3 hours so all of the flavors meld.  You can make this a day ahead of time.  Before serving, let the dip sit out on the counter for 30 minutes.  Top with lettuce, onion, and tomatoes.  Drizzle some of your favorite Italian dressing on top and serve with a good, crusty baguette.  You could also serve it in a bread bowl if you wanna be all crazy like that. 

Notes:

*If you can't find pappadew peppers, you can substitute roasted red peppers, pimentos, or pepperoncini. 

*Quick & Easy Italian Dressing: 2 Tbs of Olive Oil, 1 Tbs of Red Wine Vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  Don't skip the dressing!  The vinegar adds the right amount of kick and acid to cut through the creamy dip.  

Try it peeps.  It's DAHLICIOUS, DAHLING.  Stay hungry! 

Handmade Ornament Ideas: Best Of HH 2011

Thanksgiving is over (phew!) which means that we can finally delve into full-on crazy Christmas prep.  Jesse and I are going to pick and cut down our tree this weekend, I've been able to catch my favorite movie (Home Alone) on TV twice already, and I have the Nutcracker Suite piping through our house whenever we aren't on conference calls.  I know, I know... it's still November.  But where I'm from, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (sorry) and I am looking forward to making our home all cozy and Christmas-y in the upcoming days and weeks.

Last December, I made a handmade ornament a day until Christmas.  There were some highs (below) and lows (I'm looking at you, Moose Ornament) and before we start with 2012 Christmas projects, I wanted to recap my favorites from last year (here are ALL of 2011's ornaments):

CD Ornament

The CD Ornament, above, is a) sparkly and b) repurposed, two selling points in my book.  This one has been showing up on Hardly Housewives Pinterest page all year and I am excited to pull it out again this year for our tree.  Just mind the jagged edges when making your own...

Snowy Truck Ornament

I am still in love with this Snowy Truck Ornament... so country and vintage feeling.

Polar Bear Ornament

This fuzzy, felt Polar Bear Ornament is one of my all time favorites (and not just because Diet Coke tweeted it out to all of their followers).  I still think it's super cute and it was very easy to make (no sewing!).

Wedding Invitation Ornament

Finally, I loved how this Wedding Invite Ornament I made for Jaisa and Charlie turned out.  Last December, I was all, "Oh, I'll send this to Jaisa right away."  In reality, I brought it up to Maine in June when I visited Jaisa & her family.  I was so proud I didn't forget it.  A festive reminder of a very happy day!

I will be back with more handmade ornaments in December, though maybe not one each day this year (I have a lot of other handmade Christmas projects on tap).  Stick with us, put on your favorite Christmas tunes, and stay homey!

Banh Mi Sandwiches on the Grill

Banh mi?  Banh YOU.  

Sorry. 

The last time my husband and I made these, we were at the Pats vs. Bears game in Chicago.  It was 4 degrees and there was a full blown blizzard that day.  The pork was frozen.  Solid.  That was fun...NOT.  Anyway, this past Sunday was a much warmer 35 degrees and sunny.  A perfect day to start drinking at 8 am.  I mean, a perfect day to grill outside. 

Banh mi is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich that's savory, spicy, creamy and crunchy all in one. 

 The key to a really good banh mi sandwich is the marinade for the pork.  We love adding fresh chopped lemongrass.  I can't really describe lemongrass.  It smells AMAZING.  It's as though you mixed a chive with a fresh bright lemon.  Sort of.  You'll just have to try it to see why I love it so much.  It's used a lot in Thai and Vietnamese cooking.  

The bright, crunchy, pickled veggies add the perfect texture and flavor.  I usually like to do a mixture of carrots, radishes, cilantro, and jalapenos.

And let's not forget the awesome spicy mayo and crunchy, airy bun.

 Yum.  If you haven't tried a Banh Mi yet, I recommend you do so.  Stat.  Here's the full recipe.

Pork:

1 1/4 Lbs Pork Tenderloin 

1/4 Lemongrass, chopped 

1/2 Cup of Teriyaki Marinade 

1 Tsp Sesame Oil  

Veggies: 

1/2 Cup of Shredded Carrots, 

15 Radishes, Sliced Thin 

3 Jalapenos, Sliced in Matchsticks 

1/2 Cup of Rice Vinegar

1/4 Cup of Water

3 Tbs of Sugar 

Spicy Mayonnaise: 

1/3 Cup of Mayo

1 Tbs Soy Sauce 

2 Tbs of Sriracha* 

1/2 Lime, Juiced 

4 Small Hoagie Roll 

1 Large Bunch of Cilantro 

Slice the pork into half inch slices.  Remove the top third of the lemongrass stalks and the outer layer before chopping.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the pork and marinate overnight.  Throw all of the veggies into a bowl and add the water, sugar and vinegar.  Let the veggies stand for 1-2 hours before serving.  Grill the pork until medium well.  Generously spread spicy mayo on each hoagie roll.  Add grilled pork, veggies, and a few fresh sprigs of cilantro.  

Vegetarian?  Swap out the pork for tofu.  Don't like pork?  Chicken or beef works awesome here too.  We've tried (and love) it all. Pork just happens to be our favorite. 

*Sriracha is a hot sauce made from red chili peppers, used often in Asian cooking.  It's much thicker than traditional hot sauce and has a unique flavor that goes great with other Asian ingredients.  You can find it in the Asian aisle at your grocery store.  

Stay hungry! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers!  We were both able to share delicious food with loved ones today and hope you were, too.  We are both overwhelmed with thankfulness for our wonderful husbands, families, friends, and all of you.  Stay hungry!