Southern Weddings Magazine Winner

Drum roll please….Heather Brown is our winner for the Southern Weddings Magazine giveaway. Congratulations Heather!

Emily from Southern Weddings Magazine will contact you via email for your information.

Again, congrats! We are excited for you.

Scones for the Holidays (or for any great morning)

Recipe makes 12 large scones (you can cut down the scones to the desired size)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups bleached all purpose flour

1 ½ cups dry oatmeal

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons or 1 stick unsalted butter

1 ½ cups raisins (You can use any kind. A variety of colors makes beautiful scones).

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Parchment paper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees

Set out your butter to ensure it becomes soft. 

Using the food processor, pulse the raisins to avoid whole raisins or chop with a knife. 

Place a piece of parchment paper on your pan.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly by hand or pulse with a mixer 5 times. 

Cut the softened butter into 12 pieces and add to the mixture. Ok, I will let you in on a secret, I fork in my butter, but my dad uses the mixer.  When using a fork to add the butter, the process takes longer and requires a bit more energy, but I truly enjoy every second. You also want to make sure that all of the butter is not clumped but rather evenly distributed among the dry ingredients. Basically, you want the ingredients to resemble a fine meal.   

At this point, you want to add your raisins and milk.  This creates soft, wet dough. 

Clearing a work space, cover the area with additional flour and work in the flour until the dough is less sticky.  This often requires more flour than you would imagine and practice makes perfect. 

Make a circle with the dough and flatten it to about an inch thick. Cut the dough into four quarters.  Using a knife cut the quarter down into smaller pieces and place on your pan. (see picture). 

Bake the scones for 10-15 minutes depending upon your oven.  I have a gas oven and things cook quickly, as a result, these only take 10 minutes for me.  Optimally, you should be able to stick a toothpick in scone and pull it out without any dough hanging on for the ride.  Avoid a dry scone, which occurs when they are left in the oven too long. 

After the scones cool, make icing out of powdered sugar and water and drizzle over the top (see picture above).   

Happy Feasting! We eat these year round and everyone especially loves them around the holidays.

All pictures are from www.sweeticedtea.wordpress.com.

Tuesday Tip: Price Per Ounce

Image courtesy of EveryoneEats.org

 

These days, everyone is trying to save money (and Southeners have always been pros at being thrifty nifty). In a recent foray into the world of grocery shopping instead of eating out every meal, husband and I were trying to save money by buying many items in the store-brand version, instead of the name brand. And most of the time, this is a great way to save a few pennies–and most of the time, no taste or quality is sacrificed.

However, it’s not always the case. For instance, I was about to sacrifice and buy my favorite cereal in the generic brand, and got a few complaints about the taste quality, so in looking at the Price Per Unit, instead of just the price (I don’t do math too well), I discovered the family sized box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch was actually less than the price of the smaller Toasty Cinnamon Crispies. And goodness knows I can go through me a family sized box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

So, if you’re not familiar with this part of the price tag (I only just discovered this nifty trick recently), take notice next time you’re shoping. And don’t be fooled by just those sale prices. Sometimes the cheaper the price, the larger the packaging. So the Price Per Unit is an easy way to save money.

Tuesday Tip: Unwanted Credit Card Offers

We’ve all heard the funny story about the man whose town installed cameras above traffic lights to catch red-light runners. When the man received a ticket, with a picture of his license plate, he sent back a picture of the check for the cost of the ticket.

Well, this Tuesday Tip isn’t quite that vindictive, but it runs in the same vein. If (IF?) you get unwanted credit card offers in the mail, unsolicited, cut it up in a few pieces, thrown away half, and mail the other half back in the pre-paid envelope that came with the offer.

This may sound just plain fun, but it really serves another purpose. In the world we live in, thieves aren’t above dumpster diving these days to steal your identity. No matter how many pieces you tear it into, they’re all in the same general vicinity in your trash can on garbage day. All it takes is a few pieces of tape and a copy machine for someone to fill out an application addressed to you. But if they can only get their hands on half, it’s impossible.

These days, we can’t protect our credit or identity too carefully from watching eyes.

Thanksgiving Table

If you are gathering ideas for your Thanksgiving table, consider using what you already have available, instead of buying new items. You can mix and match chairs, silverware, cups, plates…I think you get the idea.  You can always add decor from your backyard such as, pinecones, tall grasses, flowers, and even leftover pumpkins (check out last year’s table).  It is so easy to get caught up in the “I want this” mode during the holidays, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, use what you have available, be grateful, and use it well!

(The recipe for the scones you see in the picture will be available tomorrow.)

Don’t Forget about the Giveaway

Don’t forget about the exciting giveaway from Southern Weddings Magazine which ends today at 5pm. Married, want to be married, engaged, or just a wedding fanatic…you can leave your comment….check out the post!

Johnny Cash by Elloh

"Ode to Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire" by Elloh on Etsy

I’m not sure if I’ve pronounced my love yet here for the great Mr. Johnny Cash, but if not, I’ve been remiss. And I know I’ve pronounced my love for Etsy.

So when I saw these fantastic prints in Elloh’s shop, paying homage to some of the great icons of our popular culture, I immediately wanted, well, all of them. But a few, including this gorgeous Johnny Cash print, made it onto my Christmas list (you reading, dear husband?).

But better hurry. She’s retiring several of these prints on Etsy on December 15th, 2009!

Go on over, take a look, and tell her we sent ya!

P.S.- Spending a good part of my childhood in Nashville, I’d just like to say I loved the great Johnny Cash long before the wave of popular Walk the Line (beautiful movie with beautiful music and acting, though, by the way) came out. Just for the record!

Holiday Guide: Corn Bread Stuffing

I’m not a big one for traditional stuffing, for some reason. It’s sad, I know. But y’all know I love corn bread. And, there’s nothing better than a holiday dish that’s assemble only, and then hands-off.

Stephanie, from over at A Year of Slow Cooking offers a delicious recipe for Corn Bread Stuffing that I just might have to try out this year (bonus, it’s gluten-free!). Good thing I still haven’t made it to the grocery to pick up my Thanksgiving fixin’s. Yikes!

Screen Door Series: Athens

Do you ever find yourself listening to a stranger’s conversation in a public place, or creating your own scenario of what might be happening between people when you cannot hear the words, but can read the body language?  Then I think you will understand where I am coming from, when I say I do this all of the time, and it even overflows into evening walks with my boyfriend.  We often walk in the evenings and I love his neighborhood.  Just love it.  Because so many of the homes are older and carry their own personalities, I tend to make up little stories in my head about their owners (who I do not know), and notice their décor as we stroll by.  I realize it might sound a bit strange, as I basically love looking into people’s houses, but it is fascinating to see how other people live. Just for the record, we are on a walk, so we do not stop and look into people’s homes.  Most observations are just casual comments on our evening stroll.   I know many of your Southern cities are great for this including, Charleston, which is perfect for walks of observation, especially at night. 

With this being said, we found the cutest screen door on our fall road trip in Athens, Georgia.  When I come across such delights, I instantly think of who and what could have lived in such a home. For example, could this home originally been a wedding gift to a young couple, who’s parents wanted their daughter to have a great social life thus moving her into the heart of Athens? All the while being funded by her banker father until the new husband found his footing?  As you well know, one must live in the best places to meet the best people and find the best jobs.  Of course, this is how many people lived “back in the day,” but perhaps over the years as the couple grew older the home became a burden to their children and they were obliged to sell.  As a result, the home is now occupied by a university professor or perhaps by an older man who lives his day to read the paper, smell a cup of coffee and walk the neighbor noticing the change in seasons.  He keeps things tidy, of course, and Horace, the cat brings him constant cheer and companionship.  Don’t fret over his companionship as he is very active in the Presbyterian Church around the corner, and sings in the choir each Sunday.  “God is good,” he says, and lives another grateful day. 

Really, I do not know the history behind this screen door, but it doesn’t stop me from dreaming.  If you think about all of the screen doors and the stories they carry with each swing, you will never be bored or tired for amusement. 

All pictures are from www.sweeticedtea.wordpress.com

As American As Apple Pie

Does it get any better than apple pie? This is my hubby’s favorite dessert, so I make it as often as my little hips will allow. While there’s nothing better than a big slice of pie with ice cream or whipped cream, sometimes, with just the 2 of us, a whole apple pie is just too much.  These individual apple pies are just perfect enough to make me feel virtuous, but easy enough to throw together on a weeknight for a special treat. Doesn’t someone in your life deserve these? (You?) Yum!

Classic Apple Pie

(taken from the classic Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook — double this if you want to make a deep dish pie… yum!)

• 1/2 cup sugar (I use brown sugar, so use a little less… maybe 1/3 or even 1/4… depending on how sweet you want it, and what type of apples you’re using – sweeter or tart)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 6 cups peeled and sliced apples (this equals to a little less than one bag, if you buy them that way)
• dash of nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 recipes, favorite pie crust (mine is called freezer section – comes out the same every time)

Preheat oven to 375. Stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg. Sprinkle over and stir to combine and coat apples. Press one part pie crust into 9-inch pie pan. Transfer apple mixture to pie crust and spread out evenly. Cut second portion pie crust into lattice or favorite top pattern (circle with slits, or use cookie dough cutters to top with shapes) on floured wax paper. Top with crust. Place pie on baking sheet and place pie in oven for about an hour or until middle of the pie is all bubbly inside. (Cover the pie with foil for the last 10 or 15 minutes to prevent the top of the crust from overbrowning.) Cool pie before serving.

Yum! The smell of cooking apples - nothing like it!

Individual Apple Pies

(taken from the fabulous cookbook The Pleasure Is All Mine by Suzanne Pirret – she swears, and I agree, that these are better than indy apple pies from McD’s)

You'll only need these few ingredients (and the apples)!

For the Pastry: Combine half a cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, half a tablespoon sugar, pinch of salt, half a scraped vanilla bean. Add 4 tablespoons cold butter and rub the mix between your hands until crumbly. Drizzle on ice cold water until it just comes together. Form int a ball, flatten, wrap in plastic, and let rest in fridge for half an hour while you make up the filling.

For the Filling: Peel and dice two medium apples. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan, add the apples, small squeeze of lemon juice, half a scraped vanilla bean, a tablespoon of sugar (or honey), and a dash of cinnamon. Depending on the type of apples, add a few tablespoons of water, if the apples aren’t releasing much liquid. Cook down until they are soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Let cool.

Roll out the dough and cut into a rough circle (about 8 inches). Place the dough on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Heap the apple filling onto one side of the circle, leaving an edge. It will be puffy, but the apples will cook down a bit. You want this to be full. Moisten the apple edge lightly with water and fold the other half of the dough over the filling. Trip the dough to half an inch of the filling. Prick the edges with a fork to seal. Brush with melted butter and slash a few vents in the top (about half an inch or a pretty little pattern) for steam to release. Bake at 375 about 15 – 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the juice of the apples begin to ooze from the vents and trickle down.

Devour with a glass of milk!