Clemson Game Menu

Hey everyone! Since I'm not the Thanksgiving maker (heck, I'll probably be in charge of desserts! ) I'm going to post all the things I'd like to make for Saturday. I'm gonna change it up and post the goodies that I'll be making for T-Giving tomorrow or so. My mom makes a DEEEEE-lish Turkey soup that I actually like more than the traditional T-Giving dinner, but that's ok. Saturday I was to make a big gameday menu so this is what I'm thinking:

1. Pigs in a Blanket

P's in B's are one of my all time FAVES! I absolutely love them and literally can eat about 20 at a time, I kid you not. My extended family even has served them at wedding receptions since we all like them so much. I love mine dunked in ketchup! I make them with regular refrigerated Cresent Roll dough and the "Lil' Franks" that Hillshire farms makes. I've tried making them with Boar's Head mini franks, but they're gross and don't make a good "roll" with the Cresent Roll dough.

2. Onion Dip and Spicy Nacho Doritos

It may sound gross, but I think its great! This is is a "recipe" that I stole from my aunt Megan. She serves hers with regular nacho Doritos, but I love the spicy nacho ones personally, so this is always a staple at parties. Just give it a try, I promise it's good!

3. M&M Pretzels I found a website called foodgawker.com and it has the most blogged about/most commented on/overall best online recipes and good ideas for cooking. This recipe I think looks so delish and so easy to make! I'll either make this OR a Chex Mix recipe called Muddy Buddies. That will be my sweet tooth fix!

4. Pizza Bites I mean they're even called party food on the website! I can't believe it! These are like those Totino's Pizza Rolls (which I happen to LOVE) but homemade. It doesn't get much better than pulling them apart? Am I right? Yet another recipe from foodgawker. Seriously one night, I just spent awhile adding them to a "FOOD" bookmark tab on my Safari!

5. Fried Mozzarella Balls I think this will be a little difficult, but so yummy! I've never really fried anything, so I'm not sure if I'll do this or just grab the ones from Friday's in the frozen food section. Again, I got this from foodgawker too. If you have time, check it out. There are literally 100's of chocolate chip cookie recipes as well as tons of homemade Chinese food recipes!

I'm sure this will end up being tougher than I imagine, but there are 2 fun games on that day. Carolina/Clemson and Navy/Hawaii! I can't wait to see how my teams do! What are you guys making for the Thanksgiving games? I'll do another post about my Thanksgiving desserts (Mom, I'm taking over dessert, FYI! Haha!)

What are your Gameday staples? Any snack that's specific to your family or has a cute tradition?

xxKatie

First official dinner in my house

Saturday

I will have the official

first guests

in my "maison"

Sabato avrò a cena

i miei primi ospiti ufficiali

I've been spending hours

imagining

the table setting

the menu

The styling

Ho trascorso ore a immaginare

il set della tavola

il menù

lo styling

I could see myself

all smiling and beautiful aprons

as a new Nigella Lawson

with wonderful food in my new pans

and the notes of some jazz in the background

Già mi vedevo

tutta sorrisi e meravigliosi grembiuli

come una novella Nigella Lawson

con del cibo strepitoso nelle mie nuove padelle

e delle note jazz di sottofondo



Instead

last week happened some things

and I've found myself

in the worst mood ever

No Nigella

I feel

More like Bridget Jones

Invece

la settimana scorsa sono successe

alcune cose

e mi sono ritrovata

nel peggior stato emotivo possibile

Niente Nigella

Mi sento più come

Bridget Jones

So no time

for preparing

for styling the table

for searching new recipes

No time

and

no will

Quindi niente tempo

per preparare

per lo styling del tavolo

per cercare nuove ricette

Nè tempo

Nè voglia

At last

I called my first dinner off

Alla fine

ho disdetto la cena

The fact is

that my friends are awesome

And really did not want to

call anything off

So

They take

the food

the drinking

And their love

Il fatto è

che i miei amici sono meravigliosi

E non hanno voluto disdire un bel niente

Quindi

Loro portano

il cibo

le bevande

E il loro affetto

I offered to prepare the cake

So I was looking for some inspiration

This blog is one of my favourite

I'm always astonished

not only by the fab recipes presented

but on how food looks more like

a work of art

Io mi sono offerta di preparare almeno il dolce

Così stavo cercando un po' di ispirazione

In questo blog che è uno dei miei preferiti

Resto sempre a bocca aperta

non solo per le ricette favolose

ma perchè il cibo sembra più

un'opera d'arte

I've already prepared my french-style tablecloth

The red plates

A bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape

The bistrot cutlery

Ho già preparato la mia tovaglia in stile francese

I piatti rossi

Una bottiglia di Chateauneuf du pape

Le posate bistrot

Nothing is like I've imagined

Maybe it will turn out

ever better....

Niente è come l'avevo immaginato

Ma forse sarà

anche meglio....

{images Cannelle et Vanille}

Pink Julep Sweets: Sweet Couture Cake Boutique

Sweet Couture Cake Boutique is this beautiful but tiny little nook in the Covent Garden area that I found recently while wondering around London.

I was lured in by the beautiful display of pretty & perfect little cupcakes! I gave in completely once I saw the peanut butter cupcake. Peanut butter sweets are always my favourite and the cupcake from Sweet Couture did not disappoint. It was amazing and I'll be going back for more!

I loved the walls of this little nook bakery, lined with muffin tins. How cute!

Sweet Couture has recently opened a shop in Canary Wharf and will be available online soon! Also available from the boutique bakery are wheat-free brownies, full-sized cakes and muffins galore! For more information on these beautiful and tasty cupcakes & cakes, click here!

Exploring London and Other Weekend Antics

We had a great weekend with my little sister! We mostly spent our time exploring London and showing her the sights... some familiar and some we'd never seen before. I'll be sharing the photos over the next few days since we covered a lot of ground!

We had a lot of fun in the Picadilly Circus area and found this great touristy souvenir shop called Cool Britannia. It's a great place to buy knick knacks if you ever visit London! We were however a little disappointed that most of the Picadilly area seems to be under construction and renovation... probably in preparation for the 2012 Olympics as there will be loads of tourists.

One of my favourite finds this weekend was M&M's World, a 4 story emporium of M&M's and memorabilia. We had a lot of fun in there and treated ourselves to a few sweets!

The decor in M&M's World is awesome and the walls are painted with animated M&M's characters throughout the years. It was fun to look at the ones from the 80's to see what I remembered from when I was a little girl.

We loved all the characters throughout the shop! This is a really fun place to visit!

There was a solidier...

A princess...

and a knight, pictured here with my knight in shining armour, Mr. Julep. It was great fun and they have M&M's in every imaginable colour and the gift selections are great! I've already requested a bottle of M&M's for Christmas... it's a wine bottle full of colourful sweets. What's not to love?

I hope all my British readers had a great holiday weekend!

Recent Obsessions

Source

I have been a lip gloss girl for quite a while, but recently I've been falling back in love with lipstick! I am absolutely loving Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils! They are great, compact and not nearly as messy as traditional lipsticks! I love to wear them matte on their own or sometimes I add gloss to make them more dewy!

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I have always been a normal coffee gal and would only have the odd cappuccino, but lately I can't get enough of skinny lattes! They are my new morning drink of choice!

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I bought Love Chloe last October and wore it a few times over the winter, but lately I find myself wearing it every day! I just love it!

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If you've never tried Haribo Starmix, then you don't know what you're missing! This is my favourite candy in the world right now! I eat them all the time! I started noshing on them after reading somewhere that Kate Middleton is a fan... I can see why!

Source

A friend of mine gave me this Soap & Glory Glow Job tinted moisturiser as a gift and I just love it! I've been wearing it all summer in lieu of foundation because it's lighter and doesn't sweat off as easily as heavy make-up! This is the #1 ingredient for my summer make-up look and I love it!

What are you obsessed with lately? I always love trying new things so if you're using a product or eating something really great lately, do share so I can try it too!

A la table!

If the kitchen is your kingdom

you may understand why I find

those images soooo inviting!

Happy weekend to all!

Se la cucina è il vostro regno

potete capire perchè trovo queste foto

troppo invitanti!

Buon weekend a tutti!

{maggie lynne}

{tiny white daisies}

{pugh}

Dinner Time: Jackets Required!

Source

I love that the British call baked potatoes "Jacket Potatoes"! It's so appropriate if you think about it because the skin is like a little jacket. Tres fashionable, non?

I recently saw a classic British jacket potato on a menu and though I'd already eaten, I filed it away in my brain for a future dinner option! I made it on Monday night for dinner and I must say, it was devine, super easy and a fun dinner! I then found myself lying in bed with insomnia dreaming up all the fabulous ways to dress up a jacket potato and I thought I would share them! Kids would love this meal and if you're entertaining, it would be really cute to do a potato bar, letting guests create their own suit, starting with the jacket!

Here are a few ways I would serve jacket potatoes:

*All potato ideas are better with plenty of butter and salt, but if you're health conscious like me, try either olive oil, a flavored olive oil or a low-fat, low-cholesterol spread with Lo-Salt or an alternative salt substitute. If you're in the US, I'm a huge fan of Mrs. Dash and they come in multiple flavors!

*Pop the potato back in the oven once it's full of toppings to melt the cheese! YUM!

1. Classic British
Chopped bacon (smoked ham would be a good substitute)
Heinz Baked Beans (look for the blue tin as UK baked beans are different than US versions)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese


2. Southwestern
Chili con carne
Kidney beans, if not already included in the chili you use
Corn
Shredded cheddar or Mexican blend taco cheese


3. Meatless Monday
Boil a generous amount of frozen shelled edimame or soya beans according to package directions. Boil 1/2 - 1 cup of water and mix well with a veggie boullion cube. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (to taste). Season with salt, pepper, crushed chili flakes, crushed dried parsley and any Italian seasonings (basil, oregano, etc.). Add Edimame to the sauce. It should thicken slightly.

Top potato with edimame sauce mixture. Top generously with shredded parmesan cheese.

*This is an approximate recipe as I make it for 2 people, but can/should be modified for more or less people. If sauce doesn't thicken enough, use cornstarch to get the consistency you desire.

*I like corn in this recipe as well. Experiment with adding additional veggies you like.

4. Mexican Fiesta
Fajita chicken/beef or taco filling
Refried beans (black beans work too)
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Shredded cheese
Any veggies you desire

5. Italian
Grilled chicken (the premade ones for salads in the deli are great!)
Sauce - Either tomato type or cream based works
Pancetta, Prociutto or Salami add a punch
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (a little parmesan sprinkled on top is nice too!)

6. Pizza
Pepperoni
Veggies (if desired)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

* Add further meats for a different "meat lovers" type dish including ham, sausage, chicken or ground beef.

7. Bangers & Mash Guvnah!
Diced pork sausages
Onion gravy (beef gravy works well too)

*Add fried onions if you like.

8. Roast Dinner Jacket
Chopped grilled or roast chicken (can be bought pre-made)
Diced, cooked carrots
Corn
Chicken gravy

9. Southern Comfort
BBQ chicken
Corn
Cole slaw

10. Thanksgiving
Stove top Stuffing
Sliced turkey
Corn
Carrots
Turkey Gravy

*Add cranberry sauce or additional veggies if you like.
*If you like, this might be nice on a baked yam or sweet potato instead.

11. Hawaiian
Pineapple
Ham
Mozzarella Cheese

12. English Breakfast
Heinz Beans
Chopped bacon
Chopped sausage
Fried egg
Shredded cheddar

*Add black and/or white pudding if you like. Serve with toast.


Don't be fooled. These aren't just potatoes. They're a meal. I made the classic British version this week and we were STUFFED! I just love the idea of a self-contained meal like this and it's great fun! It's also cheap and easy... what more could you want from a potato? Also, potatoes aren't as nutritionally devoid as we've been lead to believe! The following information is from Wikipedia.org.

"A medium-size 150 g (5.3 oz) potato with the skin provides 27 mg of vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. The fiber content of a potato with skin (2 g) is equivalent to that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals."

Would you try any of these funky jacket potato recipes? Do you have an interesting recipe for them you'd like to share? I'd love to hear it, so leave me a comment!