Posted in Referrals, tagged Tasty Kitchen on June 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This Wednesday Shout-Out goes to The Tasty Kitchen website.
Founded by The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, this site offers a wide variety of fun and tasty dishes, complete with great photos and detailed instructions.
You can check it out here.
If you search for Chocolate Bombe and Raspberry Cream Cake, you may even find a couple of my recipes.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Posted in Entertaining at Home, Home and Garden, Party Theme, tagged Gift Wrapping, Gift-Wrapping Ideas, Wedding Gift Wrapping on June 22, 2010| 3 Comments »
Here we are knee-deep in wedding season. Isn’t it awesome! As I may have mentioned before, I love weddings.
Going to weddings involves taking gifts and that involves, at least for me, wrapping them up pretty! Yes, I like to wrap gifts and yes, there are certain standards that must be met!
For weddings, two of my favorite gift wrapping tools are satin tape and organza ribbon. They both are staples to wedding gift wrapping success.
As you can see, a bow tied with organza ribbon turns a ho-hum package into something quite lovely. Add a special little touch in the center of the bow like ribbon rosette or a wedding bell. It will finish the package like nobody’s business. Anyone can use organza ribbon to make a gift look spectacular. If you can tie your shoes, you can tie a bow with organza. It is that simple. Honest and true!
Another little thing I like to do to dress up packages is make star bows. These are not the ugly little star bows that you can get a bag of 120 for 99 cents. (Which, by the way, should be outlawed and banned from stores.)
These are hand-made star bows that make quite a statement on their own. If you can cut a snowflake, you can make this bow.
Start with your unadorned package.
Cut a piece of matching wrapping paper almost as big as the top of the package. Trim it into a square.
Fold it in half.
Then fold in half again, so you have a small square.
Fold the square into a triangle by bringing outside edges together.
Trim the top of the triangle into an oval shape, then cut down the both sides, almost to the tip. It is extremely important you DO NOT cut through the tip.
Start unfolding your bow, one layer at a time.
Keep unfolding, you are almost there.
Once you have it completely unfolded, you will lap each little triangle piece over the top of each other and secure with a bit of tape. This makes the petals.
The first layer is done. You'll repeat this process two more times, decreasing the size of each bow by an inch or so. When you have three graduated layers, you are ready to attach to the package.
Tape each layer in the center of the package. I stagger where the petals rest instead of lining them up because it rests better that way and looks fuller. Use a fun bow for the center. I found some great sparkly ones at the dollar store that fit perfectly in the center. I attach these with hot glue because the stickies on the back never hold like they should.
Happy Wrapping!
Shanna
Posted in Musings, tagged Goldfish crackers, Spectacles on June 21, 2010| 4 Comments »
Word of the Week: Spectacular
[spek-tak-yuh-ler]
2. dramatically daring or thrilling
A few weeks ago, I found myself driving the hour-and-a-half home from a party into a rainstorm. The clouds were rolling and the sky continued to darken. I wasn’t paying that much attention to the weather, munching away on my ziploc bag of Goldfish crackers (which are on my top 10 list of snacks I love and know I should not eat).
As I topped the summit of the mountains on the freeway, lightning completely illuminated the sky in a spectacular spectacle, followed by ominous booms of thunder. Needless to stay, that startled me out of my party-induced trance and was thrilling enough to cause me to send said Goldfish crackers flying all over my car. Literally. I mean everywhere. After two cleanings and much maneuvering of the vacuum nozzle, there are still little fish surfacing from under the seats. I hope they aren’t multiplying under there.
Just a warning – beware of spectacular spectacles while driving in the rain on the freeway!
Still recovering…
Posted in Easy Recipes, Salads, tagged Cucumber Dill Salad, Cucumber Salad, Sour Cream and Cucumber Salad on June 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »
When Hubby and I venture to Leavenworth, WA., there is a restaurant we really enjoy called King Ludwig’s. They serve great German food and, if you are so inclined, you can sit and listen to a German band. I’m usually not so inclined because I am much more interested in the fantastic food. Like their Spätzle and Schweine Schnitzel (breaded, pan fried pork cutlet). No calories in either of those at all, by the way. Not only are they fun to pronounce, they are so, so delicious.
But my most favorite thing to eat at King Ludwig’s isn’t even always on the menu. It is a light and tangy cucumber salad. Sliced paper thin, the cucumbers float in a sea of sour cream and dill. I can’t describe it, but it is absolutely wonderful. Especially in the summer – cool, creamy perfection.
One time we went and the salad was not on the menu. I asked the waitress if they still had it and she hemmed and hawed if they did or did not. I begged and pleaded, cried and sobbed and told her how we had driven hundreds of miles just so I could eat their perfect cucumber salad. She finally gave in and brought me a plate of the salad. It was divine. The last time we were there, it was back on the menu. I’m thinking the wait staff just couldn’t deal with too many customers like me.
I’ve tried to find the recipe so I could make the salad myself and have finally found one that tastes similar. Enjoy every refreshing bite!
Simple Ingredients
Slice the cucumber into very thin pieces.
Cover the cucumbers with plastic wrap then set a heavy bowl on top to help squish out the water.
Drain off the water and pat dry.
Mix with the sour cream and dill dressing.
Savor the cool, creamy salad with just a kick of vinegar and dill.
Cucumber Dill Salad
5 mini cucumbers (or a couple regular sized ones)
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
fresh dill, chopped
salt
Wash your cucumbers and thinly slice. I found the most wonderful mini cucumbers at Costco and left the peels on, but you can peel if you so desire.
In a shallow bowl, layer slices, sprinkling a little salt between each layer. Cover with plastic wrap and set a heavy bowl on top. You want to press the water out of the cucumbers, so let it set this way for an hour or two (or overnight – please put in the fridge if going the overnight route).
When you are ready to make the salad, drain the cucumbers and then pat dry. In a separate bowl, mix together the sour cream and vinegar and the chopped dill. Mix well with cucumbers. To make it look pretty, add a few fresh sprigs of dill to the bowl and serve.
Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!
Shanna
Savvy Entertaining 
