Thanksgiving week – Part 1

I know I’m late posting about our American Thanksgiving week. What’s new?

First up: I finally finished a puppy sized quilt for our Mini-schnauzer Pepper. I used leftover scraps of fabric in reds, blacks, and whites. I tried to go with an animal theme so I had some paw-prints, cows, and one flamingo fabrics along with flowers, some kites, polka dots, and miscellaneous red, black, and white prints.

I framed it with solid white and charcoal. The back consists of two different pieces of grey flannel that I had to piece together to get the right size. Boring so no picture.

I didn’t bind the edges but simply sewed the front and back together leaving a 4-5 inch open section to turn it right-side out. Then I machine quilted about a 1/4-inch inside each block.

I keep it on the ottoman that Pepper likes to sit/lay/jump on to try to keep it cleaner.

I spent the night with a friend (who lives an hour and a half away) so we could get a jump start on a craft show in her city on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. She used to always bring a plate of homemade cookies or her delicious buckeyes to me whenever she was in the area, so I thought I’d make something edible as a hostess gift for the weekend.

With one decorated sugar cookie success under my belt, I made and decorated some autumn inspired leaf cookies.

I forgot I had these leaf shaped cookie cutters that must have been a gift with purchase or something similar from Nutella some years ago. (Confession: I am not a huge fan of Nutella, so that means more for you!) Perfect for the season.

I think these turned out pretty nice. I’m still learning how to use Royal Icing and practice makes perfect. I plan on making more cookies this week for our church Christmas Party next Sunday.

Stay tuned for a sock update!

Funny faces

I made stuffed peppers for dinner Sunday night. It’s one of my favorites. I just make my regular meatloaf mixture (without rice…yuck), stuff the raw peppers and bake for 45 minutes to an hour testing the meatloaf mixture with an instant read thermometer for doneness

I also use red, orange, or yellow peppers as I like the flavor of those more than the green ones. I got red ones this time but…

…should have bought orange ones to make this fun meal! The recipe is different than mine but just cutting the orange peppers would have been enough for a fun meal.

View this recipe here.

Patti

The last slices

I love Irish soda and have tried to make it myself but haven’t had much success. So I make sure I buy a couple of loaves each March.

I freeze at least one loaf to enjoy later in the year. This was the last of it. Warmed and slathered in melted butter.

Now I have to wait till Saint Patrick’s Day to get more.

Patti

The Great Grape Walk

We went to Lake Chautauqua in New York last month for the Great Grape Walk at the Johnson Estates Winery in Westfield, NY. We didn’t participate in the actual walk as the weather wasn’t cooperating but managed to walk through the part of the grape vineyards.

They had harvested most of the grapes and these were some that were left on the vines. I don’t remember exactly which grapes these were. We sampled a couple and other than the seeds, were quite tasty.

Halfway through the vineyard we started to feel sprinkles. We headed back to the main building but were pretty wet by the time we got there. Fortunately it was warm enough that we weren’t chilled and the rain shower didn’t last very long.

They had an outside dining area set up for tastings and charcuterie boards. Mr. Aitch and I shared a flight of red wines and a charcuterie board with foods that would enhance the wines. My brother and his wife tried the dry rosé wines and had a charcuterie board with foods that enhanced their selections. Both had similar items but they were not exactly the same.

Here is another example of the charcuterie boards. (I wasn’t thinking or would have taken some pictures of ours that day.)

It was a great afternoon with wonderful wines, foods, and family.