Better Late Than Never!

I mentioned the other day about my let down in not being able to host and prepare a Thanksgiving dinner last week.  So in order to feed my hubby the turkey and stuffing he missed out on and feed my need to be all domestic we decided to have what I have been calling "Better Late than Never Thanksgiving!".

I was hoping to document the preparation of the meal making, but once I got humming along chopping, sauteing, and mashing, I completely forgot.  I only managed to snap one picture! However it is of something that I believe is a crucial part of the Thanksgiving meal.

Like so many of the American foods you can not easily come by in the grocery stores in Ireland a can of French's Fried Onions is one of those things.

I have been told by several people that they can be found every now and then in various stores, but much like my applesauce debacle a few weeks back I never came across them. So I set out to make my own fried onions! They were quite easy albeit a little time consuming! I simply followed this recipe and voila! I know they look greasy but that's what you get from deep frying and that is the reason they taste so good!

The recipe claims they can be stored in an airtight container. However, they will loose their crunch. Like most fried foods they are best consumed immediately. Fortunately they crisped up again quite nicely in the oven on top of the green bean casserole!

So that is it for my the cooking portion of today's blog! I know it doesn't make up for not chronicling the whole meal but here are a few snapshot of my coveted stash of leftovers.  I had a piece of pumpkin pecan cheesecake for breakfast!

Oh and guess what else?! I got to unleash my inner Martha and pulled together a simple little tablescape! I used clean empty jam jars wrapped in burlap and twine as votive holders. I used these same jam jars to hold the greenery when decorating for the woodland themed baby shower I hosted a while back. I also tied simple handwritten place cards to small pears. Like the jam jars they will also have a second life... as a tart!

Turkey Day Blues

Sad to report that Turkey day was kind of a bust for us here in Ireland. The friend who originally offered up her home for our traditional Thanksgiving meal had a conflict last minute. This was the first time in seven years that I have not cooked the Thanksgiving meal, and I was slightly heartbroken. Not to mention NO LEFTOVERS!

All was not lost. however. An American friend living in Dublin, Hannah, invited me along to a proper American turkey day meal. I had a such a wonderful time sitting around the dinner table with eight relative strangers chatting about our new lives in Ireland, the experiences, challenges, and the things we miss about the states (there was a lengthy discussion about Chick-Fil-A).

Unfortunately Adam had to attend a work dinner and so he missed the Turkey and all the goodness that goes along with it! So when we returned to Cork yesterday we proceeded directly to the market and bought everything we will need for our own private Turkey day a week too late! You know what they say, better late than never! So Tuesday I plan on serving up all the turkey with all the fixins right down to the pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce!

Stay tuned for this week's What's Cookin' Wednesday as I will do my best to hit the highlights! 

Turkey Day Tablescape Trends!

Last week while having my hair done, my Irish hair dresser asked me about Thanksgiving and wanted to know exactly what is the reason behind the celebration. I instantly flashed back to grade school where we crafted Pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses out of construction paper, and traced our hands onto paper to fashion turkeys out of their outline. 

I finally managed to fumble through my lame recollection of Pilgrims, Indians, and Plymouth Rock, and ya da ya da ya da...we now celebrate Thanksgiving.

I just can't help myself I love her, always have!

History lesson aside I am happy to report that just because we are living in Ireland this year we will not let the Thanksgiving tradition go by the wayside. I have been given the opportunity to share this wonderful American tradition with some lovely Irish people at a friend's home in Dublin. In preparation I began channeling my inner marthastewartness.

I love planning and preparing all the goodies that go on the table and that is when I came to the sad realization that because the dinner is not taking place in my own home I will not be able to set that table. I am not just talking about laying down a plate, fork, and knife.  I love layering a table with tablecloths, napkins, flowers, candles, etc.  It's a special day and I think the table deserves a little special attention too!

So because I will not have my own table to set this year I thought I would share with you some inspirational tablescapes trends instead.  

Maybe you fancy a more traditional table decked out in warm oranges and browns, leaves, pumpkins, acorns, pine cones, and turkeys.

Get creative with your flower vase!

Little details like these at each person's seat tie together the rustic fall theme.

Varying heights add interest to this traditional decor.

If you are lucky enough to have beautiful changing leaves falling around you take advantage! So simple, but such a lovely statement!

Think outside the box! Love how this plaid stadium blanket was used as a table runner! 

In love with these golden gobblers!

If traditional table decor is not your style consider giving white pumpkins a try. They can lend your table a more simple or even contemporary feel.

Can't find large white pumpkins like these? Spray paint will do the trick!

Simple and sweet

Contemporary cool

These may all be white but repetition and size variations engage the eye.

Maybe color is what you are after, no one said the Thanksgiving table must include monochromatic rusty reds, oranges and browns. Other colors can lend a welcome and surprising change to traditional fall decor. Your table should complement you and your home's style!

Love this peacock inspired theme! It's rustic but oh so modern!

Orange and blue are perfect compliments!

Pops of yellow and an intricate table runner frame up simple white china.

Another orange and blue complimentary scheme updates a traditional blue and white china pattern.

This is my favorite! I am a little biased because this is my parents' house! They live in southern Florida, so a bright and tropical themed table is just perfect for their Turkey Day feast!

 Finally, don't forget the little people! If you have to have a "kids table" make it special for them too!

This is even cute for the big kids table!

Supplying the kids table with crayons and a table they can color on helps keep the little ones busy so you can enjoy your meal!

Stuff that paper bag turkey leg with toys or treats!

They are rocking the hats just like I remember from my childhood. Thanksgiving right of passage I guess!

So if you are charged with the task of hosting a Turkey Day feast in your home, I hope you will channel your own marthastewartness. Dressing up your table will not only make you feel good, but it will make your guests feel special too! And as Martha would say "That's a good thing!"

Gobble Gobble!

Showcasing My Scarf Stylin'

Look out Tyra Banks, I am about to become Ireland's Next Top Model!

OK, clearly I am just kidding, but I did have a fun evening last week pretending to be a model! Laura Eliason of Laura Eliason Designs gathered a group of creative and fashion forward bloggers here in Cork to style and model one of her fabulous hand-dyed scarves. To my great surprise she asked me to model! I may be a blogger, but fashion-forward is not exactly an adjective I use to describe myself. Don't get me wrong I adore fashion but a more casual lifestyle here in Ireland has left me feeling less than fashionable lately. 

The first step was stopping by Laura's studio to select a scarf to style.  I was overwhelmed by so many wonderful choices. Initially I was drawn to the silk scarves like these. I love the effortless gorgeous shapes they create with just a simple drape, and the feeling of soft silk on your skin is a bonus too!

However, keeping in mind Laura's request to showcase our personal style and utilize the scarf how we would in everyday life I opted for one of the lightweight 100% wool gauze scarves instead. They felt a bit more casual and cozy to me. Perfect for the blustery Irish weather!

Laura will be publishing individual posts about about each of the lovely ladies over the next few weeks on her blog. So if you want to see my big fashion debut you can check it out here! I would encourage you to take a look at all of the other talents who participated in the scarf styling photo shoot. Talk about fashion forward! I was totally blown away with the many creative ways there are to rock something as simple as a scarf and tailor it to such individual styles. Here is just a little sneak peak!

A huge thank you to Laura for allowing me to participate and share her talents with the blogesphere! Additionally, thank you for your kind words and encouragement of my own talents and aspirations! You have been a huge inspiration to me when it comes to my own artistic abilities.

FYI, only 26 more days until Christmas! Why not treat someone special to a beautiful and versatile handmade gift this year! Laura's scarves can be purchased here!

Good Beer Karma

By now you probably know that my husband is into beer. I mean really into beer! Not only does he drink it, brew it, and collect it, but he also sells and trades it.

Adam has a collection of rare beers that the average beer swiller has never heard of. Individual bottles regularly sell on Ebay for $40, $60, up to $100, sometimes more! However, some people in the beer world frown upon selling beers on Ebay. Apparently it is bad beer karma. To avoid this bad karma as well as enhance his collection Adam also sets up trades through beeradvocate.com.

While mourning the loss of our last Twizzler and surveying our diminished stash of assorted American treats Adam came up with the idea of using this beer bartering system to obtain more than just rare beers! We quickly put together a list of American candy and food not available in Ireland, and Adam put up two difficult to obtain beers for trade on beeradvocate.com.

A 2011 Black Tuesday by the Bruery, a California Brewer; and a 2011 FouFoune by Cantillon in Belgium. These bottles could sell for about $100 each. However this was a trade situation and beer nerds in America heard our call! Within 24 hours Adam had over 40 responses to his request for American treats!

He decided to make the deal with a person who just recently started trading beers. Adam felt that offering hard to obtain beers for everyday items was a nice way to share the beer love with someone with a less extensive cellar. See, good beer karma!

Here is what we were rewarded with:
2 boxes of Lucky Charms (Oh the irony! You can't get Lucky Charms in Ireland!)
2 boxes of Sour Patch Kids
2 boxes of Mike and Ikes
3 boxes of Little Debbie Nutty Bars
2 bottles of Mrs. Butterworth syrup (yes, I like the fake stuff! My apologies to Vermont)
2 jars of Better than Bouillon chicken (really it is better than bouillon!)
9 Reese's Peanut Butter Christmas trees
1 big bag of Twizzlers
1 large bag of Reese's Pieces
3 large cans of Libby's Pumpkin Pie Filling (just in time for Turkey Day!)
1 Giant bag of Tootsie Rolls
1 bag of candy corn
2 cans of chipolte peppers in adobo sauce
6 packets of ranch dressing mix
and
celery salt (apparently you can find it here, but I haven't had any luck)

Sweet and Blog Worthy!

While trying to decide what to feature today on What's Cookin' Wednesday I realized that all past WCW posts showcase savory cuisine; and almost all are about dinner. I guess this is because I am not much of a baker. In fact I am not into precise measuring and recipe following in general, so baking is not something I do often. Additionally when given the choice I would probably choose savory over sweet. However on the rare occasion I do choose something sweet it is usually because dark chocolate is involved!

So off I went in search of something sweet and blog worthy. I came across this recipe for dark chocolate & caramel salted truffles while cruising epicurious.com and drool formed in the corners of my mouth. I took that as a sign that I must attempt to make these tempting truffles! Christmas is coming up and I thought they might make a nice hostess gift should we be invited to any holiday parties. So a trial run was necessary before adding it to my holiday treats list.

I skipped taking pictures of the caramel making and chocolate melting as they required my full attention and Adam was not home to help take an action shot.

I basically just followed along with the recipe but took suggestions from several reviews to up the caramel quotient by doubling the sugar and water used to make the caramel.  The amount of cream remained the same. Once the chocolate and caramel mixture was firm it was rolled into bite sized balls and then dusted with coco powder before taking a little nap in the fridge overnight!

Woke up this morning, tempered more dark chocolate in my make shift double boiler, and the chilled truffles went for a dip!

Topped them with a few flakes of salt, (the recipe called for fluer de sel, but I used Maldon sea salt flakes) then tucked them back in the fridge to cool down after their warm chocolaty swim.

Final step, ENJOY! They are very rich, but the dark chocolate, caramel, and salt balance each other so well, so they are not too sweet.

These are totally hostess gift worthy, now I just need a party invite! Hint hint!

Oil Painting is My Jam!

I mentioned in a blog post last week that I have finally gotten back into a painting groove. When we first arrived here in Ireland I decided to give acrylics a try. I painted two large canvases and while they turned out well I was less than impressed with the medium. I found it frustrating because it dried so quickly and didn't seem to allow for a lot of blending and fluidity. You can adjust the drying time by adding a slow drying medium to the paint, but I found it made for a rather sticky mess. So I switched back to oil and realized that oil is totally my jam! 

Yes, I did just say "my jam" when I know full well I am probably not cool enough to use that phrase. What I mean to convey by saying oil painting is "my jam" is that it is my preferred medium to work in. As soon as I switched back to oil paints I got a little painting high! Maybe the high was just from inhaling the turpentine fumes, but whatever it was it jumped started my desire to paint.

So today I wanted to share with you some of the things I have been working on. Mostly Irish city-scapes and landscapes for now. Not sure what I am going to do with them, maybe set up a shop on Etsy? What do you think?

The Four Faced Liar
Oil on canvas
16 x 12

Down Patrick's Hill
Acrylic on canvas
36 x 28

Up Patrick's Hill
Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 28

In Progress

St. Finbarrs
Oil on canvas
14 x 10

In Progress

Sheep on the Slea Head
Oil on canvas
10 x 14

In Progress
oil on canvas
10 x 14