Another Random Linky. Oh Joy. But Wait There's More!

Actually, I'm getting lots of comments that you are liking the recent random linkies, so let's do one more. How about this week link up something you aspire to - a technique, an actual project, a style - what's it for you right now?

For me, one thing is really stellar straight-line quilting. On my last project, I did plenty of straight-line, but I had some issues with occasional puckering. I'd really like to get over that. Megan/Canoe Ridge Creations has some helps: Straight-line Quilting: Tips & Techniques. I'll be skimming that piece as well as researching elsewhere to see how I can improve my own technique.


Next up for today, I just gotta tell you I am beyond pleased (read: astonished) to have found my name on this list yesterday: 2013 AQS Modern Quilt Challenge – Award Winners. Excuuuuse me? Wow. What an honor. The quilt is "Common Affection," and you can read my original post about it here. This is the first time the American Quilter's Society has had modern quilt categories, so that's exciting! My quilt won the "Creative Use of Neutral Fabrics Award." I really need to thank the members of the Mid-Century Modern Bee, as they helped me by making blocks and a special thanks to Linda/Flourishing Palms for encouraging me to enter the competition in the first place!

photo by Kim Ogle

There's a certain handbag I want to make and when I realized the handles suggested were oversees, I went looking for a U.S. source. Sara/Sew Sweetness responded to my inquiry with a couple of suggestions: HautMess and TallPoppyCraft. Just an fyi for the rest of you in the U.S. Side note: Purse Palooza is going on now - always lots of purse-goodness there!

After making my Anticipating Autumn quilt I really wanted to try a scrappy little maple . . .

and decided to make myself a fall mug rug. I was inspired by Darcy/Modern Cozy's mini maple quilt. 

click for maple block tutorial

And finally, many of you may know of Kathreen Ricketson, who died tragically in May 2013. I'm sorry to say I did not know of her until that time, but have since read about her and her work. So I was interested to see a blog tour for her newly published book, Brave New Quilts. It looks awesome and inspiring and went straight on my wish list. I thought some of you might be interested too . . .

That's it for this random Thursday. Hope it's a good day for you.

Linking up with Random Thursday.

Deja Vu and Other Randomness

Last week's random linky was quite fun! I really enjoyed seeing all of your most-viewed flickr photos! While we're on a roll, I thought we'd do it again. But this time, how about linking up your very first blog post? {Mine's here.} It's good to take a glance back now and them, not just to see how far you've come, but also as a reminder of what prompted you to start blogging in the first place. I love the hopefulness and innocence in these posts. And if you aren't a blogger, link up your first flickr photo or any other first for that matter.

Hard to believe quarter 3 of the Finish-A-Long is almost over!! The FAL is always a great motivator for me and I'm excited to be sharing a tutorial in this round up! I'm also quilting like crazy in an effort to finish just one more w.i.p.!

Interesting new books by authors I 'know' are more than abundant lately. What's enticing you? This one popped into my cart this week (on preorder), a dictionary of sorts by two awesome quilt bloggers, Lynne Goldsworthy and Kerry Green.

And so did Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette.

Molly's first book, A Homemade Life, is one of my favorites, where she "recounts a life with the kitchen at its center". I can relate to that.

Jennifer of Ellison Lane has a great quilt block resource on her blog this week! She posted several 
of her own tutorials as well as providing a linky for others to link up their own. Very cool.

We're already in the final stretch of the Zakka 2.0 :: Patchwork, Please sew along. {snif}

I hope you'll stop by next Monday and see the project I get to present! Here's a little sneaky peek!

And fabric has shipped out for the Modern Quilt Guild's Basics Challenge with Riley Blake Designs. The Seattle Modern Quilt Guild will be participating - any one else?

Well that's about it for this week!

Linking up with Random Thursday.

Tuesday at the Table

Last week at The Table, I showed off my Weck jars, so I figured I better report back that I have used several of them. I've since shared how fun it was to meet Alice Currah at the Tom Douglas Cookbook Social we went to last week. I want to tell you more about that too . . .

So about the salty caramel sauce . . . batch #1 turned out just a little toasty. Ie. Not quite burned, but it just had an edge to it that didn't make it giftable. And I needed a gift that night. So I tried another recipe that had the descriptors, 'easy' and '30 minutes.' It was The Pioneer Woman's Easy Caramel Sauce.

And it was good. But still, I wanted to give Jen's salty sauce another try. And good thing I did. On my stove, with my candy thermometer, I took it just to 325-degrees, and it was perfect. And delish. I sprinkled the finished sauce with some Maldon flaked salt just for fun. mmmmm

And for those of you more fabric-inclined, I did make another set of Brrr! potholders to go with that caramel sauce. 

And the Cookbook Social . . . It took a trip downtown, and en route, I was able to catch a decent photo of our city's landmark. 

An annual event, this year 20 local chefs were represented, signing their cookbooks and sharing tastes.

There was bacon spread from Skillet Street Food. I mean seriously, for a bacon lover, what choice did I have but to buy some to take home? What began as a food truck enterprise now includes  a catering business, several food products, and two restaurants. When I shared this pic on Instagram, it was deemed 'best condiment ever,' so I'm anxious to try it - oodles of recipes on their website. (At the social, they served some mighty fine duck tacos - a first for me!)

Hubby really enjoyed the Carrot and Rosemary Soup from Kathleen Flinn, who wrote The Sharper Your Knife,The Less You Cry about her experience at Le Cordon Bleu. And I really liked the Cream of Porcini Mushroom Soup from John Howie.

But best bite had to be the Nutella Brioche from Macrina Bakery. Oh my, they were good! Just had to buy the cookbook. I've visited the bakery a few times - always delicious - and these brioche would sure be fun to try.

Source: Uploaded by user via Elaine on Pinterest

So there's my food adventures for the past week. How about you - anything to share? I see lots of table runners, potholders, Christmas goodies, etc. all over blog-land. For a fun little end to the year, I'm offering a $40 gift certificate to Pink Chalk Fabrics to a winner chosen randomly from this month's link-ups. Just link up here through December 28 for a chance to win!

Tuesday at the Table

So on the day of the recent Mod Pop photo shoot, hubby and I were actually out and about Christmas shopping. And as usually happens, I came across something I didn't even know I needed! This time it was some really cool Weck canning jars.

And no worries, I know exactly what I want to put in them. Salty Caramel Sauce from Jen of BettyCrockerAss. I've heard raves on blogs and on Instagram, and I'm thinking I really need to try it. Soon.

Obviously, having purchased six of these jars, I'll most likely be giving some awesome sauce away. I really like the idea of giving gifts of food. Unfortunately I think about it more than I actually do it, but it's only December 4, so I'm still in that hopeful mode. Some things I've enjoyed giving in the past are homemade  kuchen, spiced nuts, toffee, biscotti, liqueur, and even peppermint marshmallows . . . Do you give foodie gifts? Please tell us about your own hopeful plans!

Tuesday at the Table

We're still getting some sunny days here in the Pacific Northwest, but the mornings and evenings - they are definitely autumn. And I know it's true because I've begun to have some cool-weather cravings. The first being chili.

Now I have a fancy chili recipe I really love, and I know everyone has their favs - not to mention definitions of what chili IS. But the one I've been craving is a simple, simple one. From my childhood, and quite possibly one of the first meals I managed to cook by myself.

Chili
recipe from the back of a seasoning packet loooong ago

1 lb ground beef
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (28 oz.) kidney beans, undrained
1 Chili Seasoning mix

Brown hamburger and drain. Add in the seasoning mix, tomatoes, and beans. Cook in pot until hot, stirring several times. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream...and ALWAYS serve with corn muffins . . .

About those corn muffins. Occasionally I'll switch it up and make cornbread,
but usually, it's these muffins with chili.

Corn Muffins
recipe from Muffin Mania by Cathy Prange & Joan Pauli

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup corn meal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter (1 cube)
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Combine dry ingredients. Melt butter. Add milk and egg and combine well.
Add to dry ingredients; combine till just moistened. Divide among 12 greased
muffin cups. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Always served with chili . . .

What's your first craving of the season?

Last link up of September {here} - a random winner will be chosen 
Thursday morning!

Tuesday at the Table

After a week's vacation, returning to a busy work week, and then being down with a nasty cold for several days . . . well very little sewing has gotten done, and very nearly zero cooking. Especially the days I was home not feeling well, hubby thankfully took charge in the kitchen, which is so not his norm. But he did a fine job providing appropriate comfort food, including grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, eggs, an occasional sweet, and plenty and varied fluids. In short, today's post will be short and sweet.

While on vacation, we stayed at B&B's for a few nights, and it was a real treat waking up to gourmet breakfasts each morning. I'm an odd one, and took photos of the menus with my phone.

  

Luckily, I was able to find the recipe for one of my favorite breakfast entrees online! It's that French Toast Avignon up on the first menu. Find it here. (Ours was crispy on top and I'm wondering if they sprinkled them with sugar before flipping to cook that side - ?) I'll be trying that recipe out on my family one of these days, to be sure.

Every breakfast was super tasty, but I also really loved seeing our hostess press fresh tortillas for the Huevos Rancheros - oh my!

Anyway, I also wanted to share that I finally put together a little linky give-away for this month - a short fat-quarter stack of Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee.

I confess I chose my favorite colors and prints from the line, but sure hope you like them too!

What do you have to share from your table?? Link up here!

Tuesday at the Table

There's some exciting news from the table today! I'd like to announce a special event coming in June - Tuesday at the {summer} Table. It'll be the Tuesday at the Table that you already know with some change-ups to make it extra special and fun!

To start, I'm suggesting topics ahead of time for each Tuesday in June. Not that you have to stick with the topics I suggest at all, but if you want to join in and need some help, there ya go. But there will be just one linky for the whole month - posted on June 5. I'll include a link back each week so you can find it easily, as well as keep it front and center in the Tuesday at the Table tab under my header. 

And there will be a prize at the end of the month. Any time you post about a summer recipe, meaningful time around the table, or a table-related project, well link it up for a chance to win. And at the end of the month, we'll all have some summer recipes to try, have shared some table-talk, and been inspired by each other's projects. Sound good? So here's the recipe categories for each Tuesday:

June 5: Beverages & Appetizers

June 12: Salads & Vegetables

June 19: Grilling

June 26: Desserts

And here's a button, if you want to add it to a post. A smaller one is over in my sidebar if that suits you better. Or if you'd rather just link back to A Quilter's Table, that's great too. Know some foodies? See a table-related project pop up in your reader? Feel free to spread the word and invite your friends to the table.

<a href="http:// http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="A Quilter’s Table" src=" http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x440/debjeske/TuesdayatthesummerTableREDO-175.jpg"/></a>

To inspire you, I'll link back to a few posts containing recipes or links to recipes I will for sure be making this summer.

Iced Coffee
Hubby's Mojitos
Corn Relish Dip
Citrus Parmesan Farro Salad
Pavlova

So be thinking about summer and the table, and we'll begin Tuesday at the {summer} Table in two weeks.

Tuesday at the Table

Something's been niggling in my mind ever since I posted about quiche and macarons back around Easter. I remember replying to a few commenters that macarons were on my "top ten best foodie moments" list. Which is the honest truth. And it got me thinking about other 'top' foodie moments - yours and mine both. So I'm going to share some of mine and am really hoping you'll either link a post - or go right ahead and tell us in the comments - about a foodie moment of your own. Something that you just can't forget - an actual bite of food - an awesome meal - a time around the table - whatever it might be for you. Please share it.

So here's a list of mine. They may not be the very top ten, but they sure are up there!

1.   Those macarons. First tasted February 13, 2010. Life changing.

2.   The caprese skewer our first full day in Florence. Best mozzarella ever!

3.  The last meal with my step-dad at the table. I'll never stop wishing there was one more.

4.  The Limoncello experience. An unexpected treat on the house. Unforgettable.

5.  The first time grandgirl sat at the table with the rest of the family. A precious moment indeed.

6.  My first figs. I'd had no idea.

7. The years son and daughter made their first Thanksgiving pies. Pride in a pie pan.

8.  Mom's prime rib. She has the indescribable gift of seasoning.

9.  Cakeballs. A revelation.

10. Ugali. Our Tanzanian friend cooked his native dishes in our very own kitchen. We were transported.

So there you go. Some foods and table moments I relish.

Tuesday at the Table

Farro. Do you know it?

A type of hard wheat, I discovered it a year or two ago, and go through spurts of cooking with it. I've seen it mentioned around blogland alot recently, and I was reminded again of how much I like it.

First it was Audrie over at Blue is Bleu - she shared an amusing convo with her hubs regarding farro, and served hers fried up with ham and broccoli rabe, topped with fried eggs. Then over on chez us, there was a yummy sounding recipe for Farro and Roasted Broccolini Salad.

Personally, my go-to recipe is the first one I ever tried - Citrus Parmesan Farro Salad by Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks. (Heidi has several more tasty-sounding farro recipes here.) Sometimes, when I don't have the exact ingredients for her recipe, I use the basic formula of farro-dressing-veg-cheese and use ingredients I have on hand. Last weekend, I used the leftover dressing from Friday's Table Tidbit; spinach, tomato, and shelled edamame instead of the mixed greens; and crumbled feta in place of the Parmesan. Delish.

If you haven't tried farro, do! And if you have a recipe that uses it, please do share!

Tuesday at the Table

Back in post-college days, my roommate and I had a routine - we'd take turns making quiche each week. Then we'd share with each other - basically providing ourselves with several days' tasty lunch. At the time, I thought we were pretty adept at the quiche-thing.

One day, years later, a friend made quiche for me and it was so rich and comforting, something you couldn't really say about the quiche I usually made. When I glanced at the recipe, it was obvious right off what the different was. When I made quiche, I was always trying to 'slim it down', using skim milk. This new recipe used, ahem, half-and-half. It made all the difference.

From that day forward I had a new notion about quiche. If you want it, make it as yummy as possible. And that's exactly what I did for my family on Easter. Do we have it often? No way. But for a special occasion treat, it certainly hits the spot.

Pam's Quiche
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (8 oz., I like using Gruyere.)
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups half-and-half
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 Tb. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash cayenne
2 Tb. melted butter
2 Tb. grated Parmesan cheese
1 unbaked pie shell

Toss Swiss and bacon and put in unbaked crust.
Combine half-and-half, eggs, cornstarch, and seasonings; our over bacon and cheese. Drizzle on melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 375-degrees for 40 minutes or until center barely jiggles. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

And speaking of special occasion treats, I acted a tad out of character and purchased some macarons for our Easter dessert.

From Honore Artisan Bakery in nearby Ballard, I knew from experience they'd be sweet, light, and colorful, a perfect end to our holiday brunch. (And if anyone has actually made macarons, I'd love to hear about it!)

Tuesday at the Table

I totally forgot to mention that I did get Grasshopper Pie made on Saturday, per hubby's request. Glad I did.

What I really want to share today, though, is a yummy new salad I made recently - Chopped Salad with Bacon and Fried Garbanzo Beans. In general, I love a good chopped salad. This one was full of fresh ingredients, a little different with the fried garbanzo beans (yum!), and all-around tasty. (I did leave out the Ranch dressing which I thought was unnecessary, and subbed black beans for the butter beans, as that was what was in my pantry. I could see all sorts of mixing and matching with this one.)

                        Source: oprah.com via Debbie on Pinterest; Recipe created by Traci Des Jardins  

And now, friends, I need your opinion. I've been thinking about ending the linky aspect of Tuesdays at the Table. It's not about numbers - I totally enjoy each post and am fine with their irregularity. I'm just wondering if you're liking that feature or not. Just let me know - if you link regularly, now and then, or never - is it a good thing? Or would you rather see it go away? Feel free to comment here or email me at aquilterstable at gmail dot com. Thanks!

But for today at least, feel free to link up!

Tuesday at the Table

I've told you about my cookbook collection, but I don't think I've ever mentioned the first cookbook I ever purchased. It was in April 1980, a few months after hubby and I got married. He was off skiing with a friend one day, and I went shopping. I only remember one item I purchased that day - a cookbook by Susi Anderson called Feasting after . . . work and play. Published in 1979, it was a new release then - 30+ years later, it looks very used. And it has been!

It's there where I still go for my two favorite salad recipes, cheesy bread, baby cheesecakes, and Dutch babies, among others. More often than not, I've gone to the most-loved page of all, where you'll find peppermint bars.

In my little world, they're known as mint brownies. And there's a bit of a funny history surrounding them. In my cookbook, they have a red star and the word, great!, marked in the margin. I made them off and on in the 80's, as hubby is a real chocolate and mint fan. Well in 1988 when I went to work in a bakery, I found one of their signature items was mint brownies. I would make big full-sheet pans of them, sometimes two in one day. And once chilled, they'd be carefully cut 2" x 3" and placed on a triangle of parchment paper, and plattered up, where they proceeded to fly off the bakery shelf. They were a standard - the #1 item I could never run out of. One day it dawned on me how similar they were to 'my' peppermint bars, and it prompted me to compare recipes. You got it - one and the same (except for quantity, of course). 

From then on, they've been called mint brownies, and when I left the bakery and went on to other jobs, they became a favorite with my coworkers as well. Which is exactly why I made them last night. 

Mint Brownies

Brownie:
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
Melt butter & chocolate in saucepan. Remove from heat & add beaten eggs. Beat well with whisk. Add sugar, flour & salt. Pour into greased 9" square pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350°.

Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 heaping Tb. butter
1 Tb. milk
1/2 Tb. peppermint extract
Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Spread on cooled brownies & chill.

Glaze:
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tb. butter
Melt butter & chocolate together. Pour over chilled frosting & tilt pan to completely cover. Chill well before cutting.

I've had some requests for a Tuesday at the Table button, which you'll find below, as well is in my sidebar. Spread the word and invite others to joinaround the table.

<center> <a href="http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x440/debjeske/saturdayTatTtestREDO.jpg "/></a></center>

Tuesday at the Table

When I asked the question on Giveaway Day yesterday, "What is your most unusual holiday tradition", I didn't anticipate what fun I had in store! There are all sorts of interesting, clever, and yes, unusual traditions out there. I love that many of them revolve around food and the table. 

One of our family's favorite traditions - that of having a huge array of home-baked Christmas cookies to enjoy through the season - has diminished somewhat, with my job so crazy during December and baking helpers growing up and out . . . well let's just say it ain't like it used to be. But if we can manage it, there are a few favorites that are top priority. And those would be Deluxe Sugar Cookies. . . 

Nutmeg Logs. . .

photo  courtesy of The Deutsch Girl

and Buttermint Cookies.

Just in case you're needing some new holiday cookies to add to your repertoire, here's some tasty suggestions! Enjoy!

Deluxe Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, soft
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
colored decorator's sugar

Mix thoroughly butter, confectioner's sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Blend in flour, soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and chill 2-3 hours.

Heat oven to 375-degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each half to 3/16" thick on lightly floured board. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters; sprinkle with decorator's sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake 7-8 minutes or until light brown on the edges. Makes 5 dozen. from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Nutmeg Logs
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. rum extract
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 tsp. nutmeg

Combine sugar, butter, extracts, and egg. Add flour and nutmeg. Divide into six parts; roll each part to 24", then cut into 3" lengths. Place logs on cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes at 350-degrees.

Make frosting by combining:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 oz. butter, soft
2-3 Tb. milk
1 tsp. rum extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Frost cooled logs by spreading across the top of each cookie. 'Score' by running a fork along the length of each cookie. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Makes 4 dozen.

Buttermint Cookies
1# butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. mint extract
granulated sugar for finishing

Combine ingredients and roll into balls. Press one time with a fork that's been dipped in sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes at 300-degrees. While still warm, 'roll' each cookie in sugar. Makes 6 dozen.

Tuesday at the Table

On December 1, hubby and I met some friends downtown and attended what has become one of my favorite holiday traditions - the Tom Douglas Cookbook Social.

Basically, it's an event that brings together a group of well-known Seattle chefs and cookbook authors, all offering tasty bites from their cookbooks, plus of course, their books are for sale, and they are more than happy to sign them!

Over the last few years, this is where I've met and mingled with Gluten-Free Girl Shauna James Ahern, Fran Bigelow, creator of our favorite Gray Salt Caramels, Piper Davis of the legendary Grand Central Bakery, Leslie Mackie of Seattle institution Macrina Bakery, and of course, Tom himself.

One of our favorite bites this year was Lisa Dupar's Ginger Molasses Sandwich Cookies. The recipe is posted on her blog {here!}, though we indulged by buying her cookbook as well. We are real molasses cookie fans and this one is extra special - pretty sure we'll be adding this to our holiday baking this year!

Tuesday at the {Thanksgiving} Table and A Giveaway

If there's a food item that means Thanksgiving to me, it's definitely the pie. It's not even that I'm a pie-lover like some people are. And it's not that I don't totally enjoy the turkey and gravy, the sweet potatoes, and (hope against hope) those homemade rolls. It's that I care about the pie. As a former pastry chef, there are alot of pies in my past! I wish I could remember the numbers I used to bake. All I really know is that I was engulfed in them, pretty sure even dreaming about pumpkin, pecan, apple, and marionberry. The orders for them, arranged by date and time of pick-up, covered the entire side of the fridge in my baking station. Trays and trays of pies baked with the love that somehow the buyers couldn't or didn't have time to invest.

And so it's not surprising, is it? That it matters where our Thanksgiving pies come from. Not that the big warehouse store in our town doesn't make a mighty fine pumpkin pie, but to me, there's nothing like pouring the filling in that crust, placing pecans carefully on top one by one, and later, pulling that fresh-baked goodness out of my oven. And there's really nothing like having home-baked-with-love pies cooling on my kitchen counter.

It's been a right of passage of sorts in our home. My now grown kids have each taken their turns baking the holiday pies, the pride almost tangible. For us, it's a couple of pumpkin and a pecan. Though I hear from far-off places that son, who is providing the dessert for his Thanksgiving gathering with friends, will be trying pumpkin pecan together this year. Though a different take on the originals, I'm confident the love-part will still be a key ingredient.

Here's what I'll be baking up this year.

Pumpkin Pie   makes 2
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1# pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 1/2 cups half-and-half or evaporated milk
2 prepared pie shells

Mix filling ingredients in order given. Pour into prepared pie shells. Bake 15 minutes in preheated 425-degree oven. Reduce heat to 350-degrees and bake 45 minutes more until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (I usually make up the filling the night before to let the flavors meld, as they say. And then serve on Thanksgiving with whipped cream. Yum. No wonder this is a tradition. And if you're inclined to use up the extra pie dough to cut out seasonal shapes to decorate the top, well that's fun too.)

Pecan Pie   makes one
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tb. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 prepared pie shell

Mix first five ingredients in order given. Pour into prepared pie shell. Arrange pecan halves on top in rings. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 50-55 minutes. It should be a tad past golden, and jiggle slightly in the center.

Of course, cool these lovelies on your kitchen counter, stand back, and admire. While they're cooling, come back and enter today's giveaway! See all the details here, but the basics are: link up to this post to enter -  about food, fabric, story, home - anything relating to the table qualifies. The linky will be open through Friday night. Two winners will be chosen on Saturday, and each will receive a solid fat-quarter pack and $20 gift certificate from Pink Chalk Fabrics. Note to non-bloggers - just share in the comments section and email me a picture and I'll link you up!

Tuesday at the Table

She took one tentative bite, looked up at her adoring fans standing around her . . . and smiled. It was my granddaughter's first birthday, and she had just tasted her birthday cupcake, her first taste of real dessert.

The table is sometimes a crowd of people surrounding a high chair.

What is it about this time-honored tradition that is so meaningful? That baby's tastes are now expanded into new territory? Watching the discovery of joy found in a tasty treat, joy smeared all over one's face and in one's hair? Or the simple pleasure in a new experience?

What was baby thinking as she took that first bite, and as she proceeded to devour her cupcake, tiny bite by tiny bite? Was she really thinking that it was delicious? At the very least, she must have been realizing, "I am loved," as this act was indeed, a sharing of love through good food.

Whatever, it was a good thing. As was the scrumptious spread baby's parents placed before their family and friends in celebration of the undeniable blessing that is their precious daughter.

I contributed this easy appetizer to the buffet. It's a family favorite and great for a crowd. Enjoy.

Tortellini with Parmesan Dip

1 pkg. (9 oz.) each refrigerated spinach-cheese and plain cheese tortellini (of course, all plain is fine too)

Parmesan Dip:
1 1/2 cups ranch salad dressing
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare tortellini according to package directions. Drain; cool under cold running water.

Prepare dip: Combine dressing, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until serving.

Assembly: Skewer tortellini on wooden picks. Serve with dip.