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Pumpkin Party

October 19, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

As the weather turns colder, the leaves more golden, and the air crisp, my thoughts (and tastebuds) seem to wander toward all things pumpkin.

I had a piece of pumpkin cheesecake from one of my favorite restaurants the other day. If I hadn’t been at home enjoying it, Hubby would have had to scrape me up off the floor of the restaurant. Yeah, it was that good.

So that got me thinking about how fun it is this time of year to host a pumpkin themed party.

Start with the invitations. You could use mini pumpkins and florist picks. Type out a simple invitation on some card stock or hand-print a fun invite. Place the florist pick into the top of the pumpkin and insert the card in the holder then hand deliver to your guests.

 

Another fun idea would be to color a black band around your pumpkin and then write in metallic or glitter a very simple invitation message. This is guaranteed to get you some attention.

You may also use some fun pumpkin paper, cut your invitations out in the shape of a pumpkin or just use pumpkin colored paper.

Once you have sent out the invitations, think about decorations. The options for decorating with pumpkins are only limited by your imagination. You can carve them, bedazzle them, color them, and stencil them.

Etched Pumpkin from Southern Living at Home

Etching is a great way to display a fabulous design without having to dig out all the messy insides of the pumpkin. I’m pretty certain this would take way more creative talent than I can muster. If you do find yourself having to clean out a pumpkin, use a sturdy ice cream scoop. It gets in there and digs out all the icky goo like nobody’s business.

Line your driveway with illuminated pumpkins. Carve out the letters “w-e-l-c-o-m-e” as a fun greeting for guests. Have piles of pumpkins by your door, set little pumpkins on tables and in corners.

 

You could even march them down a table for a fun and easy accent.

Think about using white pumpkins mixed with the traditional orange or go all white for a dramatic effect.

 

Hollow out pumpkins for candle holders or serving containers. This large pumpkin works great as an ice bucket.

Don’t forget to light a few pumpkin candles so your home even smells like pumpkin. Two of my favorites are Spiced Pumpkin from Yankee Candle and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath & Body Works. You can even get pumpkin soap, if you want to really take your pumpkin theme to a whole new level.

For your menu, think about fun things you can add to tie in the pumpkin theme. You could offer pumpkin soup or even a chunky stew served in hollowed out mini-pumpkins. You can offer pumpkin bread, mashed pumpkin or grilled pumpkin. Serve up a pumpkin dessert like Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Roll (a holiday-must have at our house) or even a Pumpkin Trifle.  And for goodness sakes, don’t forget the pumpkin seeds. You can make your own or buy them plain or with interesting flavors like chipotle, lemon or barbecue.

Have fun with your pumpkin party and explore all the fun possibilities.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin

Salt

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the strings and rinse.

In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Spread  a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Sprinkle on a bit of salt, and seasoning if you so desire.  Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating.

Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!

Shanna, aka the pumpkin fan

 

Posted in Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Gallivant

October 18, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

Word of the Week: Gallivant

gallivant

(ˈɡælɪˌvænt)

to go about in search of pleasure; gad about

She spent the weekend gallivanting around the countryside.

I spent time during the past weekend with a fantastic group of women that I love to pieces – my aunt and cousins. We shopped, ate, laughed, shared and had a most wonderful time. I’ll post more about it later this week, but they have helped give gallivant a whole new meaning for me.

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Family, Musings | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

Chicken Marsala with Browned Butter Sauce

October 15, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

Chicken Marsala with Browned Butter Sauce

Hubby and I stumbled across a restaurant chain called The Old Spaghetti Factory years ago. Whenever we travel to a corner of the world where there is one, we enjoy eating there. My favorite thing on their menu is their Chicken Marsala. It is served with this luscious browned butter sauce and topped with Myzithra cheese.

I finally found a Chicken Marsala recipe with the browned butter sauce that tastes just as yummy as the The Old Spaghetti Factory’s recipe. At first, I was a bit fearful of making it because a recipe that cautions you about setting your cookware on fire always makes me stop to think if I really want to make it. But I did, so I plunged ahead and no fire extinguisher was needed.

Ingredients for Chicken Marsala

Start by making the Browned Butter sauce. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan.

As the butter cooks, it will begin to foam. The trick is to keep it from foaming out of the pan and possibly catching things on fire.

You'll cook the butter sauce until it turns brown and has a caramel smell. Then you strain it and it is ready to serve.

Flour the chicken before placing into a saute pan.

Brown the chicken before adding in the wine and mushrooms.

Put your cooked chicken Marsala on a bed of thin spaghetti noodles.

Grate your cheese and sprinkle liberally over the chicken after it is plated and you have spooned on butter sauce.

Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala with Browned Butter Sauce

Chicken Marsala:

4 -6 boneless, skinless, thinly cut chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. butter

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

1 bottle Marsala wine

dash of salt

seasonings to taste

thin spaghetti noodles, cooked according to package directions

Put olive oil into a deep skillet or saute pan. Warm over medium heat. Mix  flour, salt and seasonings in ziploc bag. Coat each piece of chicken with flour mixture before placing in saute pan. Brown on both sides – about two minutes per side. Add wine and mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Cook spaghetti noodles and set aside.

Browned Butter Sauce:

2 cubes of butter

1 cup Myzithra cheese, finely grated

Cut cubes of butter into 8 pieces  each and place in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Place the pan on a burner on medium heat. Bring butter to a slow boil (about five minutes). Once the butter starts to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The butter will foam and rise as it cooks.  Do not, repeat, do not let it overflow the pan. This could start a fire and that would totally ruin a perfectly good recipe!

Once the butter stops rising and foaming, cook until it is amber in color and has a caramel aroma.  Remove pan from burner and let settle for a few minutes. The sediment will settle on the bottom of the pan.

Pour the butter through a strainer into a bowl. Do not disturb the sediment.  Set aside. (The butter sauce can be stored covered in the fridge and reheated as needed).

Using a fine grater, grate 1 cup of the Myzithra cheese. This cheese is a Greek hard cheese and can be found in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores.

Plate noodles, top with chicken and mushrooms, spoon on butter sauce and finish it off with a liberal sprinkling of the cheese.

Enjoy!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

Posted in Main Dish, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

John Day Fossil Beds

October 14, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

 

 

John Day Fossil Beds - Sheep Rock Unit

 

On the way back from our laid-back trip a few weeks ago, Hubby and I decided to venture through part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon. Maintained by the National Park Service, there are three units that make up the John Day Fossil B eds: Clarno, Painted Hills and Sheep Rock.

In the Sheep Rock Unit you’ll not only find great places to hike on trails and take in unbelievable views, you’ll also discover the Thomas condon Paleontology Center and The James Cant Ranch.

Many people don’t know that most of Oregon was once like a tropical rain forest. The Paleontology Center takes visitors through 40 million years of history through a collection of fossil specimens and large murals.

 

 

Oregon's Rain Forest days.

 

 

 

What a rhino may have looked like millions of years ago.

 

 

 

Informative displays throughout the center provide insight into the history and evolution of Oregon.

 

 

 

Some displays were multi-dimensional.

 

 

Some displays had frightening looking prehistoric animals. Like this tiger and the sweet little deer. I thought the deer would have made a great pet. Maybe even a great replacement for our Heinous Cat.

 

 

 

Some displays showed a bit of humor.

 

 

A prehistoric gopher - would not want to have him digging in my backyard.

 

When  we finished up at the Paleontology Center we drove about a quarter-mile up the road to The James Cant Ranch.  Scottish immigrants James and Elizabeth Cant bought the land in the early 1900s and operated the ranch in the dry hills of Oregon until the National Park Service purchased it in the 1970s.

The 1917 Ranch House has been renovated to house the park headquarters and a museum telling the story of the people who inhabited the area, starting with the American Indians up through the sheep and cattle ranchers. Visitors are allowed to tour the house and the grounds. Signs cautioning visitors to leave the rattlesnakes alone kept us from getting to adventurous in our exploring, but the ranch was fun to see.

 

 

The Cant Ranch House

 

 

 

The grounds at The Cant Ranch are very well maintained.

 

 

 

The Cant Ranch Corrals with painted hills in the background.

 

 

The Cant Ranch barn

 

Elizabeth Cant spent a large portion of her life in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. It appeared that she was well-known for her good cooking. The museum even had a recipe of hers to share, so here it is. I haven’t made it yet, but it sound really yummy.

Mother Cant’s Macaroon Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup Crisco

4 egg yolks, beaten

4 tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Vanilla

Dissolve cocoa powder in 5-6 tablespoons of hot water. Mix together sugar, Crisco and beaten egg yolks. Add cocoa mixture. Stir in milk then beat in flour.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with baking powder and a dash of vanilla. Add to batter and mix well.

Here is where the directions end. So I’m guessing you would pour this into a prepared cake pan and bake at 350 degrees until done.

If anyone gets ambitious and makes this cake, please let me know how it turns out!

 

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Travels | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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