food & festivities — pleasure in simple things

Tag: food & festivities

picking asian pears

September

What is better than getting fresh fruit at a Farmer’s Market? Getting fresh fruit from a farm, of course! Today, for Friday field trip you are joining me as I pick some Asian pears!

Have you tasted an Asian pear? They are delicious! With a texture similar to apples, the light sweetness and crispy texture (maintained long after they are picked) of this pear make it a really great addition to salads.

Asian pears are native to Japan and China where they have been grown for over 3000 years. The most common grown in the U.S. are Japanese varieties which have a shape similar to an apple.

The first documented appearance of an Asian pear in the United States was recorded in 1820 when a Chinese sand pear was imported to Flushing, New York.

Today Asian pears are grown not only throughout Asia but in Italy, Spain, Australia, France, Chile and New Zealand as well. In the United States, the bulk of commercial production comes from California and Oregon with a smaller supply coming out of Washington State, Kentucky and Alabama.

We are so lucky to have some Asian pears growing here in Connecticut and people come from far away to pick them!

If you haven’t ever tried an Asian pear, I hope I have inspired you to do so! Sliced on a green salad and garnished with a fig vinaigrette…yum!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on picking asian pears | field trips, food & festivities, garden

state shaped sugar cookies

May

Remember when I made the state gift tag for a baby shower I was attending? I was attending a party in Connecticut for a baby being born in Florida. I really wanted to acknowledge both states in my gift and I came up with the idea of using both shapes as a gift tag. (See the gift tag by clicking here.) As the date of the shower got closer, I thought “Wouldn’t it be cool to make cookies in the shape of the two states to add to the dessert table?”

I had visions of spending many hours cutting each state cookie out by hand – since once I have an idea like this; I have no choice but to follow through on it! No question, I have cut out many unusual shaped cookies in my day – particularly for children’s birthday parties. In the past, I have made cookies of each one of the Wizard of Oz characters and all the Ninja turtles – cutting out each shape carefully with a dull knife.

With visions of cutting tons of Florida and Connecticut shaped cookies using a knife, I wondered if there might be state cookie cutters available. Sure enough, I searched the Internet and quickly found, not only could I order a cookie cutter for any state, but I could get them pretty darn cheap! What a time saver!

So, I made my sugar cookie dough, rolled it out, and cut out the shapes of the two states using my new cookie cutters. What an awesome way to acknowledge the two states!

Are the wheels turning? Are you thinking of all the ways you could use state cookie cutters? Showers, rehearsal dinners, reunions, graduations – even Christmas tree ornaments! So fun!

I decorated my state cookies to match the colors of the baby’s nursery – pink, gold, and white. (Did you see the shower gift I made? Click here to see. )

After the shower, when the baby gifts got packed up to be sent to Florida, the Florida cookie cutter was tucked into the box. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing with Crafts a la Mode, The Shabby Nest, and House of Hipsters.

Comments Off on state shaped sugar cookies | diy, food & festivities, inspiration

april book giveaway!

March

‘Spring has sprung*’ and with it starts the season for entertaining! Beginning with Easter, the events in spring just seem to parade on, one after another – bridal and baby showers, graduations, Mother’s Day…the list seems to go on and on.

The thoughts of celebrating in mild weather is so appealing after the crazy winter we had here in Connecticut – where guests needed to negotiate snow drifts to get into the house and subzero temperatures made warm weather gear a necessity like never before! Don’t get me wrong, cozy fires and warm drinks do have a certain appeal – but, enough already!

With these thoughts in mind, I have come up with a really unique book giveaway idea for April and I am excited to tell you about it!

I found a great vintage book – published in 1966 – about entertaining, titled All About Entertaining: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Fabulous Social Life by Kay Corninth and Mary Sargent. With talk of “gloves are not only correct but called for” and “no matter how generous your husband may be with your clothing allowance…” this book is sure to be an interesting read!

I thought it would be fun to contrast the old with the new – SO. the winner of this month’s giveaway will receive TWO books. One is this vintage find and the other is a more recent book on entertaining called The Butler Speaks: A Guide to Stylish Entertaining, Etiquette and the Art of Good Housekeeping by Charles MacPherson. This is an author signed copy and is a great reference book for contemporary entertaining. The author has over twenty-four years of experience in household management. In 2009, he opened North America’s only registered school for butlers and household managers in Toronto. MacPherson is an expert in the areas of staffing, training and planning, and is recognized as a world authority in the household management and butler fields.

How fun to see the differences – and similarities – in entertaining guidelines between the 60’s and today! Leave a comment to be entered to win. The winner will be chosen at random from the comments. Good luck!

Congratulations to Becca, a blogger over at Becca’s Backyard, winner of the March selection Lazy Days and Beach Blankets. Shoot me an email with your address, Becca, and I will send it right out to you! This book about alfresco dining is a winner!

In the spirit of the giveaway, our Instagram challenge this month will be to post pics of entertaining. Please share the favorite moments of your celebrations by using the hashtag #pleasuregram during the month of April.

*P.S. I am ignoring the fact that it is snowing as I write this!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie xo

7 comments » | food & festivities, good reads, monthly book giveaway

special date valentine skewer

January

What better way to commemorate a date with significance than to just spell it out…with food! I guess my ‘playing with food’ theme from earlier this week is still going strong! Once I get started with something, it is hard to stop! So, for Friday field trip today, come into my kitchen where I will share an easy and fun idea for Valentine’s Day…or, any day!

I am using fruit (any melon works great) on a skewer for a Valentine meal to evoke memories of a special day. Mini cookie cutters are perfect to cut numbers from fruit! Do you have a date with special significance? Maybe a first meeting? Or, the date you were engaged? Maybe it is a future date – like the due date of your first baby (a great reveal!) or the closing on your first house. Whatever the significance may be, putting it right out there on the plate is a fun way to include past or future memories to your Valentine’s Day table.

Can’t think of any date appropriate to serve up? That is okay…just make x’s and o’s…or, hearts. :) Or, at a family meal, spell out the names of your children (just monitor the sticks!)

The fruit can be served as an appetizer or as a dessert…served with a spiced yogurt dipping sauce, melted chocolate – fondue style, or alongside a scoop of sorbet (you guessed it – I am thinking of my favorite, coconut lemongrass!).

I prefer a simple skewer, but if you want to get fancy, you can simulate an arrow with a few strategically placed pieces of pink paper!

Have you thought of a day you would like to use? Have fun with it!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

Sharing at Nancherrow, Crafts a la Mode, Craftberry Bush, The Shabby Nest and French Country Cottage.

3 comments » | diy, food & festivities, inspiration

homage to squirrels on their day

January

I often wonder why I even like squirrels – they are just rodents, after all. And, in my yard, the pesky things are forever digging up all the bulbs I plant in my garden!

But, admittedly, I do like them…I have fed them nuts by hand from my backdoor, I have been in awe of a white one that hangs out in my yard and, I even have a squirrel feeder in a backyard tree!

Well, tomorrow is National Squirrel Appreciation Day. And, even though I don’t know exactly what it is I appreciate about squirrels, I am paying homage to them on their special day!

In the past, I have used a squirrel cookie cutter to make cookies, pancakes, and toast embellished with a squirrel shape – what I am saying is that my homage is pretty much playing with food! And this year is no different since I have created a squirrel pound cake!

You may have tried this technique before – using a shape baked into a pound cake. If not, it is not too hard to do, but two pound cakes need to be baked. First, I made a pound cake, adding cocoa to get a dark color. (You could use food coloring if you wanted to do a different motif….say green for a Christmas tree shape, for example.) Anyway, after the pound cake was done, I cut out a bunch of shapes – in this case – squirrels. I lined up the squirrels – one after the other – down the middle of a loaf pan – until they stood from one end of the loaf pan to the other, flat against each other. Then, I made a second pound cake and spooned the batter all around and on top of the squirrels standing in the pan. After the second cake is baked and cut – Voila! Squirrels!

If you have never tried to make a pound cake with a shape baked into it, it is a fun way to add a motif to a theme party.

Because the squirrel part of the cake is actually cooked twice, I thought that part of the cake may turn out a little dry…so here is the sauce I came up with to spoon over the cake. (Of course, it had to be a nut sauce!)

Walnut Sauce
1 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons honey
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lightly toast walnuts (optional) and set walnuts and vanilla aside. Combine remainder of ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat. Serve warm…when ready to use, stir in walnuts and vanilla before serving with the pound cake.

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. If you are a squirrel lover, be sure to check out all the cute photos of squirrels in the squirrel photo album on my Facebook page.

Sharing with Elizabeth & Co, Coastal Charm, Cookin’ and Craftin’ and Sand & Sisal.

4 comments » | food & festivities, inspiration, recipe

earl grey – lavender hot chocolate

January

Do you have a favorite hot beverage for a cold winter morning? Hot cocoa? Mulled cider? How does Earl Grey-Lavender Hot Chocolate sound? Granted, it is not for the faint of heart…a decadent, chocolaty drink with a wonderfully fragrant lavender and Earl Grey flavor combination.

When I saw a recipe for Earl Grey-Lavender Hot Chocolate in last month’s giveaway book, I knew I needed to give it a try. (Click here for more on Winter Cocktails by Maria Del Mar Sacasa.) I love using the flavor of Earl Grey in desserts and I love the flavor pairing of lavender and hot chocolate.

How do I know this? Because I adore the hot chocolate with lavender foam served at Chocopologie in Norwalk, Connecticut! So, if you like these flavors as much as I do, you need to give this recipe a try! I’m calling it my ‘snow day hot chocolate!’ (Remember the Earl Grey cream puffs? Or, the Earl Grey creme brulee? Click on name to see!)

Yes, it is a little more work than a traditional hot cocoa to make, but creating something wonderful in the kitchen is what snow days are all about, right? This is a wonderfully hot, chocolaty treat to enjoy slowly on one of those days when you are housebound and enjoying the slow pace of a snow day!

Earl Grey-Lavender Hot Chocolate – Serves 4
½ cup dried edible lavender flowers
½ cup loose Earl Grey tea
4 cups whole milk
4 Tab unsalted butter
½ cup natural cocoa powder
3 Tab packed dark brown sugar
6 oz. finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
Pinch salt
1 Tab vanilla extract

Bring lavender, tea and milk to a simmer in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let steep 15 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Wipe out saucepan.

In the same pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and brown sugar and whisk together until a paste forms. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in chocolate and salt and cook, stirring, until chocolate is completely melted.

Notes: If you haven’t used lavender in cooking before, be sure to use culinary-grade lavender. I found containing the Earl Grey and lavender in a spice bag created a smoother drink texture and eliminated the need for a sieve. Don’t plan on accompanying this drink with a pastry or biscuit – it is a dessert all on its own!

Hope you enjoy this cold weather treat! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Remember to find pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing with French Country Cottage, Kim Klassen Friday Finds, Sand & Sisal, Elizabeth & Co., and Coastal Charm.

11 comments » | food & festivities, recipe

‘eggs’traordinary

March

Inspired by the playful works of art in Japanese character bento boxes, Williams-Sonoma sells a product that changes the shape of a hard-boiled egg! I was fascinated with the idea of this product when I spotted it at the store…and, with Easter quickly approaching, I knew I had to try it out! I am sharing the adorable results with you on today’s Friday field trip.

Following the easy directions on the box of the Egg-Design Molds, I set out to create a heart, a star, a rabbit, and a bear from some hard boiled eggs.

My true interest was in the rabbit (for Easter), but I also wanted to test the star to use for deviled eggs later this summer – very patriotic for our 4th of July party on the beach!