At Nanns Table: My First Giveaway ...Valentines Tea for Two

Check out my friend, Nancy's blog and you might win a really beautiful prize. Good Luck.

At Nanns Table: My First Giveaway ...Valentines Tea for Two: Hello Hello ....I am SO EXCITED to tell you about my FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY . And it is for ta da...... DARLING Valentines Tea Cups an...

Delicious Dishes By Debbie Has Been Voted The Sauciest Blogger of 2011

Right before Christmas The Saucy Mama Cafe ran a big contest to have Facebook voters vote for their favorite Food Blog.  Thanks to my great friends and fans of Delicious Dishes By Debbie we were fortunate enough to win this prestigious title.  What an honor and privilege to be voted The Sauciest Blog of 20ll. The prize was this HUGE gift basket of some of the Saucy Mama's favorite things.  It had so many really amazing things in the basket. Saucy Mama represents Barhyte Products.
A HUGE thanks goes out to Shannon Imlay for being the push behind voting for this blog.  You can visit her blog Shannon's Shanonigins.

Shannon has a wonderful entertaining and food blog.  It is beautiful.  Shannon also has a Facebook page you can like. 

These products include so many different varieties of mustard, cooking sauces, stuffed olives and so many wonderful products.  In my basked were some jalapeno Stuffed Olives that were to DIE for.  I haven't had the chance to try each and every thing yet, but I am working on it.
 

Not only did I receive some delicious food products, but I also received a beautiful dish towel, bright red colander and a Saucy Mama red stripped apron.

Thanks so much to all who voted for me and support Delicious Dishes By Debbie.  I encourage you to become a friend of The Saucy Mama on FB and to follow them on Twitter.  Go and check out The Saucy Mama website too.  You can order these great items and try them for yourself.  I have set up the links here on my blog and if you click on them you will go directly to their Facebook or Twitter pages and you can follow.  They are running different contests throughout the year and you could be a winner of their products also. 
Click on the Red highlighted words to go directly to that blog, website, twitter or facebook page.

Here is one of my recipes using their Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing.


Pacific Rim Ginger Bruschetta

Ingredients:

3 T. olive oil
1 green bell pepper
1 onion
1can diced tomatoes (I used Hunts diced roasted garlic tomatoes)
1/8 t. salt
1/2 cup of Saucy Mama
                  Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing

Chop bell pepper and onion into small chunks.  

Heat skillet and add olive oil.  When oil is hot, add peppers and onions.

Saute peppers and onions until soft.

 Drain extra water off of the tomatoes and add tomatoes to peppers and onions.

 

Simmer for 5 minutes and add Saucy Mama Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing.

Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes until chutney is slightly thick.

 Spoon over slices of baguette and bake for 5 - 6  minutes at 350 degrees.

It is also great to serve over a baked potato...

Give as a gift and make several....

Follow me (realwomanofphil) on Twitter and leave a comment.
Follow Saucy Mama on Facebook and leave a comment that you've done this.
Follow saucy Mama on Twitter and comment that you've done so.
Follow Barhyte Specialty Foods on Facebook and comment that you've done this.
Follow Barhyte Specialty Foods on Twitter and comment that you've done this.
 You can find out more about Saucy Mama products by going to the Saucy Mama Cafe.  Just click on their button on my page and it will direct you to the site. 

Saucy Mama's 6 newest creations:

Apricot Ginger Mustard
Tarragon Lemon Mustard
Dijon Mustard
Sweet Heat Marinade
Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing
 Chipotle Ranch Dressing 

Thanks Saucy Mama!!Your products are awesome!!!

Shannon's Shanonigins: Freshwater Pearl Give-Away

There is an amazing blog I want you to check out and the bonus is that you can sign up to win this wonderful gift set. PEARLS....wow, don't miss this one for sure.

Shannon's Shanonigins: Freshwater Pearl Give-Away: Happy 2012! I hope you all had a joyful, loving holiday season :) I thought it would be fun to start the new year off with a great give...

My Gluten Freedom: UPDATED Sneak Peek at the Big Launch Party

I have some friends who require a Gluten free diet and I wanted to share this blog and giveaway with all of you. Check it out. I find it to be an exciting new blog that you will like if you are interested in Gluten Freedom.

My Gluten Freedom: UPDATED Sneak Peek at the Big Launch Party: If you are reading this, you are one lucky duck! It means you have a chance to get a leg up on the hundreds of dollars in gluten free giv...

Christmas Treasures in Our Hearts and On Our Plates

I can't believe Christmas is already over and we are counting down until next year.  I have to tell you that I still wasn't ready with all I had to do by Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I must admit that I could have done better in the gift department and I vow to do better this year.  Every year I say, "I've had 365 days to prepare for this and I'm still not ready."  Four of those days have already passed until next Christmas and I am already resolved to do better.  One of my problems is that I can't wait to give the gifts I've purchased in advance and go ahead and break down and give them early.  Then I am totally unprepared for Christmas.  I vow not to do that this year.  Now, about what was on our plates.....
Yummy!

Even though I wasn't totally prepared for that either, we ate well.  I want to share some photos and a couple of delicious recipes that we made and hope that you might want to use them for your New Years Eve Party or a future event.  On Christmas Eve, we always have a meal of finger foods, appetizers and goodies.  It's not a formal sit-down dinner, but a buffet style free for all.  Eating begins the minute they hit the door and finishes when they can't eat another bite. 

One of the best things we ate were what we called Muffy Puffy's in the past.  Now they would be called Shrimp Crostini.  It's the very same thing, but an updated name.  They are on the snowman plate pictured above.  Here is my recipe and believe me, the family requests them each and every year.

Shrimp Crostini

Servings: 24 crostini
Cook Time: 10 min
Difficulty: Easy

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients 

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced green onion
24 medium fresh cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
24 toasted French bread rounds

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients except for bread.  Spread shrimp mixture evenly over French bread rounds. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until crispy and brown. Serve hot! Enjoy!

Of course no buffet is complete without an assortment of olives and other goodies to put on a cracker...

Even though Christmas is over this year, we will always have the great memories of an evening spent with family and the love that was shared by all.

The food was amazing, they company even better.  As usual we had too much food to eat and had leftovers for a week.  At this point, I have no desire for any more of this type of food...but give me a month or two and I'll be ready to have another party and find something to celebrate.

Now about what is in our hearts.....

The highlight of the year for us was two things.  One, having my parents back in Florida for Christmas and the winter.  They had been away for 6 years and not able to come back for the holidays.  This was their first year back and I hope the first of many.  There is nothing like having your mother and dad with you for the holidays. 

Of course, if you've been following my blog, you know that the other highlight is our first grandchild, Jack.  Even though he was too little to enjoy or participate, just having him here was such a blessing.  He is our miracle child and we are totally in love with him.  Having Matthew, Trisha and Marshall here and being able to be together is so important to me.  On Christmas Day we were able to have more of our family here, my brother Mark and his wife Marie along with their children, Stephenie, Trevor (Stephenie's boyfriend) and Christian.  Marie's mother and here sister and her family joined us as well. So Christmas was about the real treasures in our hearts.  The birth of the most important baby ever born, Jesus Christ and celebrating that with our family. 

May God bless you all and bring you a healthy and happy New Year.  I vow to you to make this food blog one of the best that there is out there for your to enjoy this year.  I already have some things in the works. 

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!!!

I Can't believe that Christmas is only a few days away.   This year has brought so many changes.  I am a new grandmother...Gammy for short and I am loving every minute of it.  I can't wait for the day when baby Jack will want to eat Gammy's goodies and maybe even be interested in stirring the pot.  At the least, I know he will want to lick the spoon just like his father did when he was a boy.  Come to think of it, he still loves to lick the spoon.  Here is a photo of my little bundle of pure love and joy!

I am having my annual Christmas Cookie/Candy Baking and Sharing Party this Sunday....I would love for some of you to send me some new recipes to try.  I always stick with some of the same good recipes that my family loves and requests each and every year.  It would be wonderful to incorporate some new goodies.  Chocolate Chip Cookies, Buckeyes, Fudge, Divinity, Bourbon Balls, Date Nut Cookies, Mississippi Mud, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and Rice Crispy Treats are some of the all time favorites.  Very traditional I know, but when you have men in your family, they seem to love the "tradition" of it all by eating their favorites and reminiscing of years past.

I'm going to post photos of the party and ALL of the goodies next week.  Maybe we will be able to give you some great ideas.  One of the best things about foodies, is that they like to share recipes with one another and love to experiment with new things. 

I am posting a new recipe that a fellow blogger and amazing woman, Shannon Imlay, shared with me. Many of you know Shannon and are followers of her blog, Shannon's Shanonigins.  I met Shannon through The Real Women of Philadelphia and we became instant friends.  Shannon and I both went to visit a mutual friend, Nancy Judd, last February and had the best time ever.  Shannon, Nancy and I cooked for two weeks...sharing recipes and lots and lots of calories.  Nancy was an amazing hostess and showed us around her town and we hit all of the very best places.  How would you like to make this very special cake?  Isn't it beautiful?  Shannon has agreed to share the recipe with all of us. 

Here is the recipe for Shannon's 
New Years Wishing Star Chocolate Mousse Cake

 

Tools
9 Inch Spring form pan
Electric mixer



Ingredients
7 ounces semisweet, or bittersweet chocolate
(chips, or chopped)
1/4 pound unsalted butter
7 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, separated
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Whipped Cream Frosting  Recipe Below

 

Instructions

1). Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2). Melt butter and chocolate together either in a double boiler, or in 30 second intervals in the microwave until melted, and combined. Stir in vanilla, set aside.

3). In large mixing bowl beat egg yolks and 3/4 cup of sugar until doubled in volume, pale yellow and thick enough to leave a ribbon on itself, this will take 3-5 minutes

4). Fold the egg yolk mixture into the melted chocolate mixture until combined

5). In separate clean mixing bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Once soft peaks form, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form.

6). Fold egg white mixture gently into chocolate mixture. Reserve 1/4 of the mixture for filling, cover the 1/4 chocolate mousse mixture and refrigerate.

7). Put 3/4 of the chocolate mousse mixture into a 9 inch spring form pan. You can line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper to make cleaning the pan easier. Cover and refrigerate 1/4 of the chocolate mousse.

8). Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes, do not over bake. When cake is done baking, let it cool completely

9).The cake will fall as it's cooling (like a souffle) take your 1/4 remaining chocolate mousse and fill the top of the cake

10). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let mousse set, you can let this set in the refrigerator overnight

11). Frost with Whipped Cream Frosting

Whipped Cream Frosting
2 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Once soft peaks have formed, slowly add sugar, then vanilla until stiff peaks form. Once it has formed stiff peaks it is ready to use.

To Decorate your cake for New Years Eve I placed Glitter Stars at the 12,3,6, & 9 o'clock positions (these are not edible but can be easily removed. You could bake sugar cookie stars and sprinkle them with edible glitter.

 

Place edible pearls on hour positions

 

Place edible silver dragees in minute positions, make the clock hands out of silver dragees and place them at the midnight position.

 

Place seven (lucky) candles in the center of the clock face

 

Sprinkle cake with edible star glitter

 

Right before midnight, light the candles and have everyone make a wish for the New Year, count down from 5 and have everyone blow out the candles.

 

This is a nice family alternative to making a toast because it doesn't include alcohol and everyone can participate. I wish you a Happy New Year and hope all your wishes come true.
--

Shannon's Shanonigins: Thanksgiving Giveaway

Shannon's Shanonigins: Thanksgiving Giveaway: I'm so excited to be celebrating my one year anniversary with this blog and I thought that called for a give-away. I can't tell y...

Sweet CHIC is my new favorite "treat" cookbook!

Have you ever just gotten a cookbook that you couldn't put down?  Or one that you wanted to make almost every recipe in it?  I just received a cookbook that is just that.  It's called Sweet CHIC Stylish Treats to Dress Up For Any Occasion and I absolutely adore it.  It is a book about stylish treats to dress up for any occasion and was written by Rachel Schifter Thebault.  Don't know if you've heard of her, but trust me on this one.

Rachel Schifter Thebault, author of Sweet Chic: Stylish Treats to Dress Up for Any Occasion, is the founder of Tribeca Treats, and spent seven years as an investment banker before transforming her side hobby of making truffles for friends into a full-time career in confections. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, she opened Tribeca Treats in 2007. The bakery has won honors from American Express OPEN and entrepreneur organizations, and is a pillar of the Tribeca community. A sought-after speaker and panelist, she has also taught cooking and baking to children. She currently lives in Tribeca (and travels the globe) with her husband and their two daughters.

This wonderful book will help you to transform a regular dessert into a masterpiece without all the hard work that you would usually have to do.  Rachel has already done the hard work and has given you the keys to looking like a professional chef from home.  Rachel begins with the basics and takes you all the way to being a polished baker.

There are three sections of this cookbook.  Section one is all about cookies, section two is about cakes and my favorite is section three, confections.  I especially enjoyed the recipe for Ballpark Bark.  It combines sweet and salty, crunchy and soft and will make you wonder why you haven't had some of this all of your life.  Simple yet delicious, this recipe will become one of your holiday staples for sure.
Rachel even tells you how to store and how long to store this wonderful dessert.  It can be kept fresh for 4 weeks. Wouldn't this be great to give as a Christmas gift???  Something to think about with the holidays coming.  So please, run right out and pick up this book or order from her web site
http://rachelthebault.com/index.php.

The illustrations are beautiful and you will love this book.  I encourage you to order one for yourself and your favorite friend. 

For more information please visit http://rachelthebault.com and Amazon.com,  and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter
I was not paid for this review of the cookbook.

Cooking Up Some Family History in the Mountains of Kentucky

I know you all love to cook or you wouldn't be visiting my blog.  I absolutely love to create new things and to experiment in the kitchen. My family has such a rich history of great cooking.  On my father's side of the family they were raised on a large farm in the mountains of Kentucky.  They farmed right up the side of the mountain.  It wasn't easy to do since the land was not flat, but they did it with literally hundreds of acres of fruit trees and 20 acres of their personal garden.  This garden was used to feed a family of seven.  The year's crops had to last through the winter so there was lots of work to be done.  My grandmother canned all the fruits and vegetables.   They also raised all their own meat and cured it to use throughout the year.
I also love to collect different dishes and items to decorate my kitchen.  I am in the process now of redecorating and am so excited to add new things to my collections.  I think I am going country for my new kitchen and would love some suggestions.  I recently found a pepper shaker in the ruins of an old home that was a homestead for my Aunt Nell in Kentucky.  My grandfather had lots of land in the mountains several of the children built houses on the land.  This house was my Aunt Nell's and it was recently torn down.  It was built in 1935 and the chimney will be left standing as a monument to the home. Since the site had not been cleaned up yet, we went through some things...it was such an adventure and we found some great things.




Fortunately Aunt Nell didn't have to cook over the fire but the fireplace was in the middle to keep all warm.  I wish her stove would have still been there, but most everything had already been removed from the house before it was demolished.  I'm sure many great meals were cooked in that house. 

My Son Marshall By the Chimney

I'm going to do my best to find a photo of the home from years ago when it was still standing.  I have to do some research, but will bring it to you when I do. We were given the fireplace grate to keep as a special piece of history and will find a use for it somewhere at home.  Don't know yet exactly what we will do with it.  Any suggestions?

 
We found several OLD canning jars...empty of course. I wonder what was in this one.  Being raised on a farm, my family canned all of their vegetables and raised almost all of their food.  My Aunt Nell would always have a big pot of Chicken and Dumplins on when we came over, along with green beans, corn bread, soup beans (pintos with lots of soup) and usually fried chicken.  She was a fantastic cook and loved to serve everyone with great joy.

 This was an old pepper shaker we found.  We tried to find the matching salt, but to no avail.  I also found this old rug...wonder who made it?

Isn't it so wonderful to actually get to go back and see the place where family history took place?  My Aunt Nell was a wonderful cook.  She is 90 years old now and in a nursing home, but I did get to go and see her and visit her oldest daughter Jenny.  Jenny was canning all kinds of great things when I stopped by her house.  Jenny gave me some green beans, tomatoes and sauerkraut to take home.  I can't wait to try it and I want to share some canning tips with you in another posting.

I want to tell you how we cook Southern Green Beans if you don't know how.  They are cooked until very tender and well done.

2 lbs. fresh green beans
1 ham bone
2 t. salt
1 t. pepper
water to cover beans

Wash and string the beans.  Snap into 2 inch pieces.  Stringing the beans means removing the end pieces and any "strings" that are attached to the sides of the bean, just pull down on the string and it will peel off easily.  (If you do not want to do this, you can cheat and use canned green beans.  Just drain and rinse them thoroughly.)  I just add all these things to a large pot and simmer for at least two hours.  The ham bone will make the beans taste delicious.  I always buy a "bone-in" ham so I can have the bone for later.  I just wrap it good in foil or a zipper sealed bag and freeze it until I am ready to use it.  Sometimes I save some of the meat and add to the beans also for flavor.  As simple as this is, my beans are requested at every family dinner.  Even the kids eat them and that's saying a whole lot.  My nephew Christian calls them my "juicy green beans". 

Apple Dumpling Delight - Food and Wine Community Photo - Inspiration served daily

Apple Dumpling Delight - Food and Wine Community Photo - Inspiration served daily

Shannon's Shanonigins: 4th of July Give-Away by Eco-Glam Events

Shannon's Shanonigins: 4th of July Give-Away by Eco-Glam Events: "I'm so excited to be bringing you a really fun holiday give-away from a really fun ETSY shop. One Shanonigins follower will win these fun c..."

Shannon's Shanonigins: Black & Pink Vintage Glamour Give-Away

Shannon's Shanonigins: Black & Pink Vintage Glamour Give-Away: "If you've missed my give-aways, there baaaack :) I'm getting very, very close to having 100 followers on Google Friend Connect, and to be ..."

Saucy Mama's Fabulous With Five Recipe Contest brings BIG FLAVOR.

 Saucy Mama's Fabulous With Five Recipe Contest!!

Have you tried or seen Saucy Mama Products or are they new  to you?  Whatever the case, you are going to love the very simple recipe for Saucy Mama Pacific Rim Ginger Chutney that I have created. This chutney can be served on bread to make a great bruschetta, on a baked potato, served over pork and in so many different ways.  That's the beauty of this recipe.  It even makes a great gift to give to someone. This recipe has 5 ingredients, other than the olive oil and salt, and is quick and easy to make.  Let's get started.....

Pacific Rim Ginger Bruschetta

Ingredients:

3 T. olive oil
1 green bell pepper
1 onion
1can diced tomatoes (I used Hunts diced roasted garlic tomatoes)
1/8 t. salt
1/2 cup of Saucy Mama
                  Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing

Chop bell pepper and onion into small chunks.  

Heat skillet and add olive oil.  When oil is hot, add peppers and onions.

Saute peppers and onions until soft.

 Drain extra water off of the tomatoes and add tomatoes to peppers and onions.

 

Simmer for 5 minutes and add Saucy Mama Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing.

Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes until chutney is slightly thick.

 Spoon over slices of baguette and bake for 5 - 6  minutes at 350 degrees.

It is also great to serve over a baked potato...

Give as a gift and make several....

I also am going to choose someone from this blog to win some goodies of their own from Saucy Mama.  You will win a kit that will contain one bottle each of Saucy Mama Sweet Heat Marinade, Saucy MamaTarragon Lemon Mustard, and Saucy Mama Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing.

In order to win this prize, please visit the Saucy Mama Cafe and choose the product you think sounds the most delicious to you.

For a second entry, post this to your blog, website, or facebook.  Leave a comment that says you've done this.

For additional entries,
Follow me (realwomanofphil) on Twitter and send a tweet about this contest. Leave a comment.
Follow Saucy Mama on Facebook and leave a comment that you've done this.
Follow saucy Mama on Twitter and comment that you've done so.
Follow Barhyte Specialty Foods on Facebook and comment that you've done this.
Follow Barhyte Specialty Foods on Twitter and comment that you've done this.
Drawing will be held on June 1st by using Random.org.

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 7 Result: 1 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations to Marie...winner of our drawing for the wonderful Saucy Mama Products.  Yea!

 

 You can find out more about Saucy Mama products by going to the Saucy Mama Cafe.  Just click on their button on my page and it will direct you to the site. 

Saucy Mama's 6 newest creations:

Apricot Ginger Mustard
Tarragon Lemon Mustard
Dijon Mustard
Sweet Heat Marinade
Pacific Rim Ginger Dressing
 Chipotle Ranch Dressing 

Thanks Saucy Mama!!Your products are awesome!!!