A Fun Twist to Your Pies!

A fun decorative piece to your pie.

I like to take leftover pie crust from my homemade pie crust, and add a decorative topper to the pie from my favorite holiday season cookie cutter.

For this year's Thanksgiving pies I made pumpkin and pecan. Both, I topped off with a pumpkin in the center.

Tip: To prevent over browning of the decorative piece, add the decorative piece about half way through your pies bake time.

Cauldron Cupcake!

This spooky treat is sure to delight kids & adults alike!

Start with a vanilla cupcake base, and frost it with a milk chocolate coating. Halve a plain size donut and frost with a dark chocolate layer placing it atop the frosted cupcake. Roll the outer edge in red sugar crystals to give it the fiery glow. Pipe lime green frosting in the middle, place cotton candy on top for that wisp of smoke. Finish the look with a pretzel rod inserted in the frosting, & a black licorice piece to arch as a handle. This recipe was featured in the October issue of the Food Network Mag.

A Simplicity of a Table

The importance of the holiday table. . .

When it comes to a holiday or simple entertaining, I feel that the simple things make all the difference in the world. For this year's Thanksgiving table I collected leaves, nuts, and long grasses from the local park in Downtown Denver. I bought glittered pinecones from Pottery Barn, and small pumpkins from the local supermarket.

In layering the punch bowl, I filled the bottom with the glittered pinecones wrapping the long grasses around the inside of the bowl, and placed the pumpkins, leaves, and nuts on top of the pinecones.

For the table I bought a table cloth at a Homes Goods Store. I wanted the table cloth to be simple. I found a orange table cloth with a fall pattern around the edges of the fabric. I found one of my Great Grandmas handmade table squares that was a hand sewn scene of a old country house in the forest. I put the table square in the center of the table, and the glass bowl filled with pinecones, nuts, pumpkins, leaves, and grasses in the center of the table. I topped the table off with a few leaves and pinecones laying around my "centerpiece." After the table was decorated, I looked up the proper way to set a table, and did so accordingly.

To top off the table I made butter turkeys. To make them I had to buy a turkey mold from an online store. To get the butter to fit the mold I had to let it set to room temperature. Then I pressed the butter into the mold using a spatula. I then put the butter mold in the freezer for an hour. After a hour my turkey was ready, and popped out of the mold. I let the turkey continue to set in the refrigerator until it was time to have our meal.

I really enjoy entertaining. I have to say that our Thanksgiving table was a festive collection of everything that makes fall a wonderful time of the year. I could not have asked for a better dinner table look! And let me tell you my family and friends were impressed. Little did they know that it was so simple.

Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy!

This savory dish incorporates thick bone-in pork chops over a bed of white rice. Drizzled over the dish is a flavorful mushroom gravy with cut up scallions. This recipe can be found in the November issue of the Food Network Mag.

Homemade Spinach Manicotti & Strawberry Cake!

This manicotti features two different sauces and contains three different types of cheeses: Swiss, Ricotta and Parmesan. With the combination of the spinach it can be a tasty meatless dish, or protein packed with the red meat sauce. This recipe can be found in a Better Homes Cookbook

The complex Strawberry Cake can be found in the July/August issue of the Food Network Mag. It features a white cake base with a delectable portion of fresh quartered strawberries on the top. Rounding off the top is an intricate lattice design of homemade pie crust.