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Morning Glory Tea Set

April 24, 2013 by Shanna Hatfield

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Uncle John, my dad’s only (and younger) brother,  was in the service stationed in Japan in the early 1950s.

When he came home, he brought all his sisters (including his lone sister-in-law) a lovely tea set.

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The pattern is Noritake Morning Glory and from what little information I’ve been able to find, it was only manufactured from 1950-1953.

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I can remember my mom using her tea set for  extra special occasions.

snake plate

She would carefully take the cups and the little snack plates down from the high shelf of a cupboard and serve special little sweets to the ladies gathered in our home.

Long admiring the set, I was thrilled beyond words when my Dad gave it to me the last time we were at their house. Trying to downsize since their move from the farm into town, I was more than happy to give the tea set a new home.

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And I need to plan a little party so I can use these beautiful china pieces.

Thanks, Uncle John, for being so sweet and bringing them back to your sisters in the first place!

If any of you know more history about the dishes, I’d love to hear it. Please leave a comment or send me a message at shanna@shannahatfield.com

She Who Loves Old Dishes

Posted in Dishes and Serving Pieces, Entertaining Ideas | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

How To Train Your Husband

April 23, 2013 by Shanna Hatfield

I read something yesterday that made me laugh. A lot.

It was a relationship article written by a man giving women five pieces of advice about how to communicate more effectively with men.

His spot-on comments made me think of Captain Cavedweller and also of a movie I remember watching long ago on the Saturday afternoon reruns with my sister. It featured Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin.

if a man answers

Made in 1962, the movie was called “If a Man Answers.”

It told the story of a new bride and how she struggled to make things work with her husband until her mother gave her a book that would fix everything. The wife was appalled when she realized it was a dog training book, but desperate, she began using it on her husband anyway.

This would be a great movie to watch with girlfriends. Make some fun beverages and have some close friends over for a relaxed dinner and movie!

The movie is super funny with a cute ending. And if you need some tips on how to train your husband…

She Who Is Still Chuckling

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

April 19, 2013 by Shanna Hatfield

flourless choc cake finished

The other day I needed to make a delicious dessert for a get together with girls.

I decided to give a flourless chocolate cake a try.

That turned out to be a very good decision.

Easy to make, you can make this as fancy or as simple as you like with a few garnishments.

Ingredients

Ingredients

 

Chop chocolate into small pieces. Set aside.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. Set aside.

 

Beat eggs until they're senseless, er... light and fluffy.

Beat eggs until they’re senseless, er… light and fluffy.

 

Mix in melted butter, then sugar, cocoa and chopped chocolate.

Mix in melted butter, then sugar, cocoa and chopped chocolate.

 

Pour into a pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with a piece of parchment. If you have a springform pan, use it. If not, a round cake pan will do. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until just set.

Pour into a pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with a piece of parchment. If you have a springform pan, use it. If not, a round cake pan will do. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until just set.

You can pour a glaze over the top, lavish on a ganache, dust with powdered sugar and accent with berries or whipped cream.

You can pour a glaze over the top, lavish on a ganache, dust with powdered sugar and accent with berries or whipped cream.

 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

4 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup cocoa

2/3 cup sugar

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Chop baking chocolate into small pieces. Set aside.

Beat eggs until light and fluffy (a couple minutes). Add melted butter. Mix in cocoa and sugar, then chocolate pieces.

Spray a springform pan or round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment to fit in the bottom of the pan then spray it with the non-stick spray.

Pour batter into pan and bake about 30 minutes or until cake is set but still a little jiggly in the middle.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before inverting on serving plate.

Top with ganache, frosting, dust with powdered sugar, dollop with whipped cream or eat plain.

It is really rich and a little piece goes a long way.

She Who Loves Chocolate

 

 

 

 

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Recipes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

Chocolate Chip Cookies

April 17, 2013 by Shanna Hatfield

choc chip cookies

Okay.

Here’s the thing…

I can’t make chocolate chip cookies to save my life.

I can’t.

Honest to goodness.

I can make flaky pie crust from scratch, make homemade bread, create somewhat difficult desserts with no problem whatsoever.

But chocolate chip cookies?

Can’t bake a batch that is edible no matter how hard I try.

I think the link in my DNA code that enables a person to make good chocolate chip cookies is sadly missing.

I’ve tried all sorts of recipes from the Nestle Toll-House recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips to an assortment of others. I follow the recipes to the letter and still no luck.

I don’t want hard, crunchy cookies or cookies that melt into a lake of oozy dough. I want the perfect cookie – soft, chewy, and wonderful.

So I’m begging, if any one of you have a fail-proof, idiot-proof chocolate chip cookie recipe, would you share it with me?

You can post a comment here or email it to me at shanna@shannahatfield.com

As with most things that challenge me, I’m determined to overcome this one or die trying. After all, a chocoholic needs to be able to make a great chocolate chip cookie.

She Who Is Humbly Hoping for Recipes

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