by heidi on November 25, 2013
Every year it comes down to the same thing. The holiday hype and the self-impressed pressure of finding the perfectly unique gift for my favorite foodies. In my book, this is serious business.
And when you can get your holiday shopping started with a $100 gift certificate, it suddenly becomes even that much better.
While I’m a fan of sturdy wooden spoons and pretty linen dish cloths, when it comes to gift giving I’m always on the hunt for gifts that showcase wit with a sidecar of sensibility. A present that brings a smile to my gift giving target.
I’d have to say I’m a pretty stellar gift giver. Just ask around.
For years, one of my all-time favorite destinations to make these unique finds has been through my obsessive catalog shopping at Uncommon Goods. While I still get the catalog to leaf through via the good old USPS, I’m now making my buys with the click of a finger via my good friend Ms. Computer.
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by heidi on November 22, 2013
I’m starting Thanksgiving early. But this year you won’t find me in the kitchen.
While I’m usually hostess with the mostess and making turkey dinner for the fam, complete with green bean side dishes and pumpkin desserts galore, this year the family is doing it different with the sound of crashing waves on the beach lulling me into an afternoon nap instead of the usual tryptophan-induced side affects of a juicy gobbler dinner.
Here’s what’s been going on at FC HQ this week, clockwise from top left:
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by heidi on November 20, 2013
This post is presented in partnership with Swanson. Thanks for supporting companies I believe in, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you.
This time of year always brings out the party bug in me and the holiday season and entertaining go hand in hand. Swinging their joyously clasped palms in unison as they skip along and infest everyone they see with a big dose of cheer.
Parties. Entertaining. Friends and family. When the party bug in me invites the cooking bug to the festivities, that’s when I get busy in the kitchen.
I’ve always been a holiday cook. As a kid I would bake for days, striving to create the best lemon bars on the planet while snacking on my Mom’s Best Homemade Fudge. As an adult, I’m now the hostess hoping to be the mostess for Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas brunches where without fail, we make this every single year.
But it wasn’t always that way.
As a kid, our family almost always did the same celebratory traipsing when it came to holiday time together. Christmas brunch was always at my mom and dad’s house and Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve were always at Grandma Mary Jane’s. It’s so funny to me that we all referred to it as “Grandma’s house” even though Grandpa was always there too. Maybe because she was the heartbeat of the family, adored by her husband, children and their children that the label just stuck.
Grandma was one of those women who just had the “it” factor. Call me biased, but it’s true. The woman possessed poise in the most genuine and accessible way possible, making everyone around her feel instantly part of the fun.
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by heidi on November 19, 2013
Who doesn’t love pie? I mean, Thanksgiving is right around the proverbial corner and that sends nearly every pie lover on earth into pie fantasy orbit complete with little pilgrim space helmets. But Pumpkin Tiramisu? In the shape of a pie? We’re talking Mayflower to Mars.
While I’m a fan of pies, particularly pumpkin pie which has ALWAYS been my favorite, sometimes I go stark raving off the typical Turkey-day-desires charts and crave something more. Well, maybe not more, just different. Like a pumpkin tiramisu shaped like a pie.
When the husband and I were carousing Costco in Las Vegas, doing a little boozey-perusing (Utah’s liquor laws don’t allow hard alcohol or wine to be sold in grocery stores—I know, don’t get me started), my little eye spied a pumpkin liqueur.
It looked creamy, it looked dreamy and I immediately knew I had to cook with it. Funny that I didn’t even think about drinking it. But now I have, and trust me, it’s good for that too.
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by heidi on November 15, 2013
Hey guys, this week I’m trying something new and focusing exclusively on a my favorite things from the week. Do you miss having one of my recipe links to start things off? Let me know in the comments below.
This week’s Friday Faves list started early, so how about we start things off with what I was crushing on this week via my Instagram.
Insta-Craving: In need of produce that was photo shoot ready, I headed to our first local Winter Farmer’s Market. I went a little nuts, inspired by the most gorgeous watermelon radishes, beauty queen looking beets and carrots in every hue of the rainbow, which inspired an amazing recipe coming your way.
Insta-Crushing: Did you know that October is Adopt a Dog Month? I’ve been involved with animal rescue for nearly 15 years, volunteering, fostering and adopting three furry babies. Say “hi” to Chewy and Gigi, 12 years young. Adopt and give a dog a home and you’ve just given them a second chance at life.
Insta-Fun: The new version of Clue. I was obsessed with this game as a kid and it’s still a blast to play with my Smudge, but my, how things have changed. The conservatory has become a spa, Professor Plum is now a self-made video game dot.com billionaire and the lead pipe has morphed into a trophy. I guess everything from the 80’s is in need of a nip and tuck here and there.
Insta-Savoring: The last days of scuffling through fall leaves. Oh this glorious weather! But I’m bracing myself as snow is in the forecast for the weekend, making way for fluffy, white Instagrams.
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