I Went Home & One of a Kind Finds . . . and a Give Away!

I had a wonderful time visiting home ~ but it is great to be back. I'll share more about that later.


I think one of the best things about arriving home was finding a package I had ordered from my friend Ann .




Those of you who know me know that I'm a huge "Ann-Fan" ~ she is the person who inspired and encouraged me to begin playing with food photography a couple of years ago.

Her food, recipes,photography and blogs are breathtaking! Please go by and visit, I think you'll become a fan, too.

I could hardly contain my excitement when I found out Ann has now opened an online gallery where you can choose from a wonderful selection of one-of-a-kind hand crafted wooden serving boards, spoons, stirrers, and soon perhaps wooden bowls. All handmade in beautiful British Columbia, Canada (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite places on earth.) :)

I've long admired Ann's serving boards which she has featured in some of her photos ~ they are absolutely stunning. And MORE good news! Ann is having a give-away on her on-line gallery. You can click HERE for the details.

It was a tough decision, but here is the first board I chose.
(The photo above is Ann's photo from her gallery.)

As beautiful as the Gallery photos are, these boards are even more beautiful in person.

Since they are all one of a kind, if you see one you like you would be wise to email to purchase it right away.

They come in a variety of beautiful woodgrains and hues; the hand-finished surface is absolutely silky smooth.

I adore the natural edges on the boards. These pieces truly will last a lifetime, and become precious family heirlooms.

I chose a large one for my first, but the boards come in all shapes and sizes. You simply must see for yourself by visiting the GALLERY to see what is available now, and look through the archives to see what has been offered in the past.

Don't forget to leave a comment, and enter the give away.

Thank you for visiting today, I would love it if you would leave me a comment.




And a special thank you Ann for making these gorgeous pieces available to us; you're a GEM!

Let There Be White ( ... and Silver) !

Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen is hosting Let There Be White, Part II, featuring all white tablescapes ~ Please click the logo below to be transported to Kathleen's blog.


Thank you for hosting us Kathleen.







Along with cooking, I love to play with dishes!

My home is now located in a heavily wooded forest area, and let me tell you, it takes a leap of faith to do a white table scape beneath a Douglas Fir tree which is frequented by the many, many birds (and squirrels) who visit our property.

Knock on wood, nary a "catastrophe" this time! :)

I went with a "Beachy" theme ~ all my life I've lived within an hour or so of the Pacific Ocean and beaches are dear to my heart.

Sources for most everything are listed at the bottom of the post.

Ahem, Ms. Kathleen...

I didn't get "the memo"... may I use "Silver" as my second color? :)

Along with cooking and playing with dishes, one of my other passions is gardening...

so to go along with the color scheme I just had to sneak in a shot of the rose "Sally Holmes".

Later, at dusk:

Thank you for stopping by today.

I hope you enjoyed our visit ~

please leave me a comment so I can come visit your blog, too.

~*~*~*~

Sources:

Iron and Glass Table and Chairs ~ Vintage, from a local Antique Shop

Tablecloth and Napkins ~ "Bistro" 100% cotton, from Beds Baths & Beyond

Glassware ~ French; Perigord, wine glasses. Polish; Williams-Sonoma at Home

Stainless flatware ~ "Hotel" from Neiman-Marcus

Silver Soup Spoons ~ King Richard by Towle

Woven Chargers ~ Originally brown, I spray-painted white

Dinner and Salad plates ~ Gibson from Big Lots (placesettings for 6 ~$19.95 on sale!)

Shell Bowls ~ Portuguese from TJ Maxx (if I recall correctly)

"Mercury Glass" candle holders ~ Big Lots

Clear Glass "Tulip" Votive Holders ~ Big Lots

Soup Tureen ~ I've honestly forgotten, I've had it for nearly 25 years but possibly Macy's.

The General's Chicken

Are you familiar with my friend Monique's blog, La Table de Nana ?

Monique and I have been internet friend for a couple of years now ~ she is an absolutely delightful person and has nurtured so much inspiration for so many of us.

You must go visit her blog and prepare to be wowwed.

We've discovered that our tastes are similar, and I always know if Monique recommends a recipe that my family will love it too. This one is no exception.

Usually with this dish the sauce is tossed with the chicken to completely enrobe it, this time I drizzled it over so each person could add as much or a little as they like.

Next time I'll toss the chicken with the sauce ~ it is DELICIOUS! And unusual that in addition to the Sweet Chili, the sauce is sweetened with pure maple syrup. Monique suggested to add a little crushed red chili pepper to the sauce, so that's what I did; it added the perfect little kick.

The other thing that sets this apart from other General's chicken dishes that I've made is that it is not deep fried, it is shallow fried. The batter is exceptionally light, crispy-crunchy and airy.

This one went directly into my KEEPER file. I look forward to making it again, soon.

If you make it, I hope you love it, too.

Tablescape Thursday ~ February 26th

Thank you Susan, for hosting Tablescape Thursday!

My theme this week?

Well...

I'm getting a little tired of old man winter...

It's all about Spring [GREEN!] and a bit of ivory ~ something cheerful while waiting for the weather to warm.

A little creamy Asparagus Soup and some homemade rolls... (the main course served up a little later.)

I've got quite a bit going on right now so I'll just show my shots of the table and soup.

I promise you, more food photos will appear this weekend.

The Darling Bakers have a BEACH PARTY coming up!

Stay tuned. :)

I hope you're all doing well.

I would like to thank each of you for stopping by...

I love to meet new friends...

I hope you'll add my blog to your favorites list, and come back and visit me again very soon.

I'm ready to say BYE BYE to winter!

How about you?

If you would like to see some of my other table settings, please click~

Valentine's Day Breakfast

Valentine's Day Cozy Dinner by the Fireplace

Christmas Dinner Table for 6 ~ 2008

Thank You Luncheon for 4 ~ For a Bird Lover

Tea with Ginetti ~ A simple Winter Tea for Two

Hope you enjoy!

Please leave a comment so I can come visit your blog, too! xo~

Chicken Cacciatore ~ Lidia Bastianich's

My sweet friend Cathy recently made Chicken Cacciatore .

Her beautiful photo made me long for it, and I was reminded that I hadn't made this delicious dish in a long time. A perfect, comforting meal for a chilly evening.

Yesterday, my dear girlfriend, Linda and I were discussing what we were going to have for dinner. I was just about to look through a couple of my Italian cookbooks for a Chicken Cacciatore recipe, I was looking for a version that I had not tried before.

Linda saved me the time of looking! She immediately emailed me two recipes; Sophia Loren's lighter Chicken Cacciatore (which looked great), but I didn't have any fresh basil leaves so I'll make that one another time.

The second was Lydia Bastianich's recipe from "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen", I have the book --- but bless her heart, Linda saved me the task of looking up the recipe.

Wow, aren't Internet friends great?!

You'll want to go check out Linda's blog How to Cook a Wolf . Linda is a great cook, however, my dilemma is that I always want to make EVERYTHING she posts about. It's all fabulous.

I haven't been dissapointed in any of Lidia's recipes yet, and this one is no exception. It's a truly delicious version of Chicken Cacciatore.

I made it with all thighs, and it was excellent. It is going into the "Keeper" file immediately.

I am really looking forward to trying both Sophia Loren's, and Tyler Florences recipes, too.

A huge thank you to both Cathy and Linda for all of their inspiration.

You can find the recipe on the Once Upon a Plate Recipe Blog:

HERE.

Chicken Cacciatore demands a pasta or polenta to serve with it to savor the delicious tomato-mushroom & bell pepper sauce. Stozzapreti (or Priest Choker), a toothsome, rolled, irregular sized pasta was the pasta of choice last night:

This particular brand is from Pianella, Italy. It is excellent, the pasta is extruded through bronze dies, and air dried for 56 hours before packaging. I highly recommend it.