Maple Pecan Pie plus a Holiday Cookie Decorating Class!

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Well, the holidays are upon us and now that Halloween is over it is now all about turkey and all the fixings -that includes pies! Probably one of my favorite part of the Thanksgiving line-up of food is dessert. TT and I are hosting the dinner this year and are busily getting the house in order and making sure we have all the ingredients to pull it all together. Last night we completed our grocery shopping list and now we just wait for the butcher to call us about picking up the 20lb bird we ordered! It's going to be a feast!

The tables have been set and I am doing what I can to prep whatever possible to make things easier come Thursday. Who wants to be stuck in the kitchen right up until the turkey is about to be carved!?. I've come to realize that making things or prepping ingredients in advance surely makes your holiday run a whole lot smoother. I am less stressed and can enjoy the company of family and friends. So, with that said, I have made one of three pies I am serving on Thanksgiving. You can make this pie (along with pumpkin pie) a week in advance and once baked, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. The day of, take it out and let it come to room temperature. 

Pumpkin Soup with a surprise garnish!

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We love pumpkins this time of year, particularly when they're roasted and whipped into a creamy, cold-weather soup. So thankfully there are many variations on this classic Fall meal that have shown up on several of the blogs lately. Try pumpkin and coconut milk (a classic), but also chipotle chocolate pumpkin soup, or a spicy southwest version. All it takes is a few new ingredients and you'll be tasting pumpkin in a whole new way. 

My pumpkin soup is tried and true, is simple clean with fresh flavors that will please even your Mother in law!! The popcorn garnish, well, it is just a little surprise!!

Let's make art! Gourd Art!!

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A few weeks ago I took a class to make "Gourd Art". Oh... was it fun! I wanted to share my experience with you. Jane Bogg's taught the class, "About her" is below. She is fun and wants to help you become a "Gourd Artist" outside of class. She is excited and interested in you really learning the art, which make for a wonderful experience for her students. She also sell her art from her studio, contact information is below.

Nibble, nibble Jalapeno crackers!

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Gearing up for Thanksgiving!  

As November kicks into high gear, it's time to start thinking about Thanksgiving.  From now until turkey day we will be offering some dishes for you serve up for your Thanksgiving feast. These dishes are guaranteed to create the most tasty Thanksgiving yet. In addition I will be giving you a unusual craft, that you could make before Christmas!! Sweet One has her hands full this week with a full interior color change on the walls of her and TT's new home and the addition of an in home gym!! I can't wait to see it!! Her house is swarming with workers and she can't get near her kitchen!! She promised to be back next week with a yummy dessert for Thanksgiving!

Count Down six blogs to Thanksgiving!!

SIX: Start with Nibblies!

  

Peter Peter Pumpkin eater! Ravioli to die for!!

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 With all of the pumpkin dessert recipes that have been televised and blogged about, I thought it was about time I feature a recipe that uses this incredible squash in a savory application. This ravioli has been  a favorite of mine - warm with the scent of toasted pecans, the mingling flavors of rosemary and sage; the perfect balance of flavors, all complimenting one another, in harmony. Sweet and savory hand-in-hand. I look forward to Fall every year when, it feels so good to make this delicious dish.

Miss Muffet sat on her Tuffet!

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These two adorable cousins are our Grandchildren! Emma who is almost 6 months in this picture and Julia who turned 1, sitting on her tuffet!!

A tuffet, pouffe or hassock is a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in cloth so that no legs are visible. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more rigidity. Wooden feet may be added to the base to give it stability, at which point it becomes a stool or a footstool. If the piece is larger, with storage space inside it, then it is generally known as an ottoman.

A couple of years ago I took a "Tuffet" class with my friend Fawn, from Myra at Northwest Quiltworks in Bellevue,Wa. We had so much fun and started making  the cutest little footstools/child's tuffet. I thought, what a perfect gift for a child! They just love to sit and have their Mom, Dad, Grandpa or Grandma read them a story. Story time was big in my children's lives, they still remember that special time. And now, I am making these tuffet's for my Grandchildren, on their first Birthday, so that they can have their own special seat for story time. Wee Bear buys three story books to complete our traditional 1st Birthday gift to our grandchildren. To date of January 2017 I have made 10 tuffets for my grandchildren and a few others as gifts. I have one more to make the end of 2017, for grand child number 11.

Pumpkin Bread

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I recently bought a new fall inspired loaf pan at Williams Sonoma and decided to bake a pumpkin bread using it. It came out beautifully and the bread stayed moist for an entire week. Great with coffee in the morning! I was a little skeptical that the batter would stick in the grooves of the pattern, but a good spray of non-stick cooking spray turned the bread out perfectly. Next time I think I would give the finished bread a dusting of powdered sugar -I think that would look pretty over the pumpkin design.