DECOR : All Things Pear 11.9.10

Many Associate Pumpkins with the changing leaves of fall, but why not change it up with another colorful autumn fruit... The Pear....

Create A Pear Wreath; Using premade wreaths from your local craftstore and a handfull of fall leaves and faux fruit you can have a festive wreath to greet guests at minimal cost.

Create an Autumn Centerpiece for entertaining with a mix of pistacios, apples, pears, hand-cut multi-color leaves with festive notation, add faux berries or pine cones for extra color and texture!

        Simple, clean, and super cute! Pear Place holders! For extra sprucing

       spray paint pears with your favorite metallic tone!



ETSY SPLURGE OF THE DAY November 6th, 2009

PINE CONE WREATH

Available on NHWoodCreations Shop for only 29$! Had a little sparkle and spice to your hearth!

The Fingerlakes for Wine, Pumpkins, and Halloween!

Spending my Halloween weekend in Upstate New york, enjoying the fall foliage, friends, family, wine, and ghosts and goblins. What a fantastic time to be in the fingerlakes, the leaves are falling and it couldn't be more beautiful !

The Kask Wedding October 17th, 2009

Below are images from my most recent wedding event, The Union of Marjorie and Nick. The wedding took place in Georgetown on a cold rainy Saturday in October. It set the mood for the crackling fires and cozy atmosphere experienced during the reception at the Tregaron School later that evening.

All pictures taken by the Charming and Talented Susan Solo.

SUNDAY BRUNCH

Blueberry Ginger Bellini

Ingredients

1/2 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cups blueberry juice

1/2 cup sparkling wine, divided

Mash blueberries with ginger, sugar and lemon juice. Add blueberry juice and let steep for at least 5 minutes. Strain; divide among 4 champagne flutes. Top each with 1/2 cup sparkling wine.

Hudson Place Cards

These adorable place cards are available at Etsy, 10 for 6$. They will be a perfect addition to your fall brunch table setting.

Sweet Potato Hash with Spicy Hollandaise

Ingredients

8 slices thick-sliced bacon
3 medium sweet potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
2 to 4 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar8 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter1
.9-oz. envelope hollandaise sauce mix
1 Tbsp. chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Fresh chives


1. In 12-inch skillet cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble half of bacon. Drain all but 3 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Meanwhile cook sweet potatoes in boiling salted water for 3 minutes or until just tender; drain.
2. In skillet, cook onion in hot drippings until tender. Add sweet potatoes and cook until potatoes begin to crisp and brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper; transfer to bowl. Stir in crumbled bacon and maple syrup; keep warm.
3. Rinse skillet and fill half full of water. Add vinegar to water; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer (bubbles should barely break the surface of the water). Break one egg into measuring cup. Holding the lip of the cup as close to the water as possible, slide egg slowly into water. Repeat with remaining eggs, allowing each egg an equal amount of space. Simmer eggs, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard. Remove eggs with slotted spoon and place them in large pan of warm water to keep them warm.
4. In small saucepan, combine milk, butter, and hollandaise sauce mix. Whisk and heat over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir in peppers.
5. To serve, transfer sweet potato hash to serving plate, top with two poached eggs, and cover eggs with hollandaise. Top with bacon strips and chives. Makes 4 servings.

RECIPE OF THE DAY October 8th, 2009

This is one of my favorite recipes that's great for grilling and super easy, Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin.... so delicious and infuses the air with the scent of cinnamon while grilling!

INGREDIENTS

1.5 - 2 lb (unmarinated) pork tenderloin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup worchester sauce

2 teaspoons of honey

pinch of brown sugar

1) Heat Grill. Mixed above ingredients with wisk and place tenderloin in mixture. Let marinate overnight for best flavor (8 -16 hours)

2) Poke with fork so meat will heat thru. Grill till desired inner temp.. I usually cook on medium 20 - 30 minutes dependent on the size of the tenderloin and desired inside temp.

I make this and serve with a spinach salad with cranberrys, chopped walnuts, crumbled gorgonzola and honey balsamic dressing (mixed honey, spicy mustard and balsamic with a little

olive oil to taste)

FESTIVE FALL DECOR MADE SIMPLE

Fall is finally here and that means that pumpkins, gourds, ghosts, black cats, and cob webs are on everyones shopping lists to create a Halloween inspired entry way or Thanksgiving clad dining room.

The good news is you don't need to spend a fortune to get a fall inspired look in your home, being frugal works wonders for a ghoulish scheme.

Check out the fall garland(below) available at etsy.com or create your own using felt or craft paper and ribbon.

Contemporary Pumpkin Carving made easy; just create a stencil using multiple circles varying in size and you can't go wrong. Faux berried branches (seen below) are available at your local grocery store, craft store, etc.

Want to add a little Halloween spirit to your foyer or create an easy centerpiece for your dining table. Gather branches or twigs from your yard, preferably one with many smaller branches grown off it. Spray paint black and cut hole in pumpkin stem just so the branch sits inside. Create a bat stencil and cut several bats from black construction paper or foam. Tie each bat to a branch using purple, green, or orange string and Presto! An easy (and inexpensive) Halloween motif! (see below)