My holiday treasures and tastes snapshot asks the question, if you love this time of year like so many of us do, why wait until after Thanksgiving to holiday it up?
Decorating one season at a time traditions, like rules, are made to be broken in favor of a richer experience.
Mix, mingle, layer, and jingle the best of the Thanksgiving into Christmas holiday season with treasures and tastes of the ho ho home for the holidays kind.
Letters To Santa Painted Metal Mailbox Copper Finish
Well deck the halls- I just heard the Hershey’s Kisses commercial with the bells ringing ♫We Wish You A Merry Christmas.
It’s official- the holidays are here!
Folks, this recipe for Pumpkin Coconut Fluff Pie is easy to make and impressive to serve.
Pumpkin Coconut Fluff Pie
Ingredients
1 9″ graham cracker crust
1 8 oz container whipped topping
1 3.5 oz box vanilla instant pudding & pie filling
1 15 oz can 100% pure pumpkin
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, add pure pumpkin, vanilla pudding mix, coconut, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. Using a wooden spoon, stir ingredients until combined.
Next, add vanilla and whipped topping. Fold until incorporated.
Spread the pumpkin fluff mixture into the graham cracker crust; cover with plastic wrap.
Chill covered pie for at least 4 hours to set.
Before serving dust the top of the pie with additional pumpkin pie spice.
Things are beginning to get busy as it does at the holidays.
Temperatures have dropped to baby, it’s cold outside numbers, family is on the holiday road heading home, and my kitchen cabinets and countertops runneth over with holiday dinner fixings to which I am most grateful.
Enjoy the process and the holiday treasures and tastes, dear friends.
The countdown to a three day celebration of summer, fun, and freedom 4th of July party ideas is on.
Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the calendar year for gifting us a three-day weekend for holiday fun in the summer sun.
Count that as 4th of July party ideas gold!
Fine and Yankee Doodle Dandy for the 4th, a fresh flower haul from the farmer’s market truck mixed with clippings and cuttings from around the yard pops the colors of the season.
It’s been so flipping hot of late I haven’t been firing up the grill, stove or ovens very much.
Dave the Builder continues to inform me we have central air conditioning, but it does make a difference in the late afternoon when you’re cooking-baking-grilling.
Light fare with an emphasis on easy, fresh, and cool suits the summer in all of us.
Have you noticed how much a jar of Duke’s Mayo is going for these days?
Psst…. the digital coupon gods at Kroger are granting shoppers a coupon for Duke’s mayo this week, so let there be homemade potato salad on the 4th of July dinner table.
Always on board for trying new recipes, I ran across this recipe for No-Mayo Potato Salad with Herbs from FoodieCrush.
Happy Holidays, readers and friends! On that note, may I present the annual Places In The Home Deck the Halls Holiday Gift Guide 2021.
Taking all things house that make a home into consideration and mixing in gifts for her and for him, this year’s gift guide is a balance of personal style finds and home decor accents and accessories for the decorista minded all I want for Christmas list.
Color plays a vital role in our taste preferences, and traditional holiday color choices play beautiful with fabulous new to the palette tones and hues thrown in for good and splendid measure.
Sounds beautiful to me!
Wrap up a home for the holidays and beyond treasure in traditional holiday colors, add a splash of focal brilliance, neatly top and trim in velvet ribbon and bows, and prepare to delight and impress.
Sourcing items to share with you all often benefits members of the family as is the case with this Cherokee Strawberry Blush Stonewash Printed Cotton Accent Rug.
According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, holiday shoppers are planning to spend $977.73 on holiday gifts and non-gift purchases with an emphasis on gifts for family and friends and food or décor purchases.
Click here to head over to the complete Pinterest Gifts For The Deck The Halls Decorista board where you can check out my fabulous and festive finds of the season and resource information.
You can also shop the sidebar full of holidays into winter season selections.
Today’s Fetching Friday finds us in the holiday spirit scrolling in a December Wonderland.
The twelfth month of the calendar year ushers in season’s greetings, snow dusted scenes, and visions of seasonal beauty dancing in a December wonderland.
Getting stuff holiday ready to greet the occasion with bells on has many of us giddy with delight and on a sentimental journey.
Dave the Builder asked me why I was up so early this morning, to which I replied, “company’s coming, Dave, and I’ve got to get the getting stuff holiday ready show on the road.”
I take from traditions of the past the very best and memorable points of eat, drink, decorate, table setting, and celebration interest and holiday from there.
Those of us currently experiencing brain fog, writing it down is the way to go.
Grab a notepad or open the notes app on your device and write down or type out the information you know you’ll need to refer to during this countdown to Thanksgiving.
Recipe ingredients.
Cooking times.
Serving timeline projections.
Who can’t have what ingredient (food allergies).
Things will steadily become more hectic, and our brains tend to shut down when overloaded.
Note to self: write it down.
Get in the holiday spirit with a holiday spirit.
Welcome family and friends in with a refreshing beverage seasoned, spiced, and appropriately spiked with the flavors of the season.
Uncle Herbert, can I get you a cup of rum punch?
Southern Living- Photography by Alison Gootee- Styling by Suzonne Stirling
Thanksgiving Punch with Rum
Ingredients
1/3 cup honey
12 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
8 cups apple cider, divided
4 cups cranberry juice, chilled
3 cups (24 oz.) spiced rum
2 (12-oz.) bottles ginger beer, chilled
sliced green apples, oranges, or lemons, for garnish
rosemary sprig, for garnish
Directions
Combine honey, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and 2 cups of the cider in a small saucepan over medium. Cook, stirring often, until honey is dissolved and mixture is fragrant with spices, about 7 minutes.
Remove from heat; cool and steep 15 minutes. Discard cloves and cinnamon sticks.
Combine spiced cider mixture, cranberry juice, spiced rum, ginger beer, and remaining 6 cups apple cider in a large punch bowl.
Garnish with sliced citrus and apples. Serve over ice.
Bring on the ooh la la factor by placing cake stands and serving pieces inside fresh or faux greenery wreaths both Thanksgiving and Christmas pretty and set about the table or countertop at various height levels.
Take advantage of this time to style the dining table to your liking. Place, stack, and set out the items you can now.
Cover serving bowls, utensils, and cake stands with a clean dish towel, label with a sticky note what dish goes in what bowl, and. mark this part of the process off the list.
Let those kitchen countertops pull serving table duty. I work with a salads and sides to the left, desserts and drinks to the right, keep it moving on down the line plan.
Space is one hot commodity in the Thanksgiving kitchen and dining room. Going with a dessert table frees up space.
A little birdie tells me you can cook the bird, ham, duck or roast the day before.
Slice the meat, cover with broth, place in plastic storage bags, and refrigerate.
Warm the meat and broth on low in a slow cooker on the big day.
One pound bag of carrots when cooked will offer up 4 to 5 servings.
12 ounce package of fresh cranberries = 2 ¼ cups cranberry sauce.
Cook cranberries in orange juice and add 2 teaspoons of fresh orange zest for a cranberry orange sauce.
16 ounce can of cranberry sauce = 6 servings.
Figure ½ cup of gravy per person.
6 cups of green beans makes 6 to 8 servings
A 5lb. bag of potatoes whips up 10 to 12 servings of mashed potatoes.
Music sets the mood and the mix.
Know your audience, and holiday company’s coming playlist from there with a mix of rock, pop, fall themed, kickin’ country, oldies, and vintage crooner tunes.
Don’t forget the holiday songs; it’s never too early for Christmas music.
I continually find the loveliness of clear string lights placed in a clear vase visually irresistible and a super effective-good for all seasons-simple way to create a welcoming atmosphere.
My, how times flies when we’re having getting stuff holiday ready fun!
Over the last few months I’ve been collecting a cornucopia of home for the Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories befitting a simple yet elegant holiday open house.
Debates questioning the glossing over of decorating for Thanksgiving in a rush to get the fa la la la lovely Christmas decorating party started and when exactly is too early to begin decking the halls is a hot topic of conversation this time of year.
News reports are giving new meaning to holiday rush with all the get it before you can’t get it turkey talk-bah humbug chatter, which may be the reason for the early decorating season push.
In a recent article of decorating interest, a group of psychologists weighed in on the subject in the affirmative stating decorating for Christmas early appears to make people happier.
Curious bee that I am, I conducted my own study by asking roughly thirteen (a decorator’s dozen) fellow decorating enthusiasts if decorating early for Christmas makes them happier.
Results proved what I thought the answer(s) would be with this select group.
Decorating for any holiday, occasion, event or reason makes us all happier.
Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories, in terms of decorating, is an extension of fall and a preamble to Christmas.
Here’s an idea; incorporate all three onto the canvas through balance and blending.
Dining accents and decorating ideas themes that easily make the leap from Thanksgiving to Christmas include:
Woodland splendor
Winter wonderland
Colors in rich and deep shades of green, red, gold, orange, purple and the forever favorite neutrals
‘Tis the time of year to let your personal style light shine delighting and dazzling the eye, and since the entire season only comes once a year and is short lived, I say seize the moment and decorate.
I keep my eye on the price and the ball by utilizing what nature supplies for free, reduced for quick sale finds, and decor goodies already in the decorating portfolio.
Many harvest moons ago my family and my best friend’s family spent Thanksgiving week in a lodge at a local state park.
Our holiday lodge home away from home came complete with a huge fireplace and mantel ready for cozy gathering and Thanksgiving themed decorating.
With coffee and hot chocolate in hand, we would walk the woods on Thanksgiving morning in pursuit of greenery cuttings, leaves, pine cones, berries and branches to use for decorating the fireplace mantel.
Decorative deer antlers and pillar candles from home found their way into my bag of decorating tricks to complete the holiday masterpiece.
Simple things often bring the most joy to an occasion, and our hunt and gather expedition became an anticipated, integral, and memorable part of our Thanksgiving in the woods tradition.
Decorative preserved wheat bundles remind me of the season and the set of dining chairs I so wish I still owned.
One of my favorite places to shop for antiques was and is the quaint shops of South Louisiana.
Fabulous people, finds, food, and fun.
For this antiques dealer, shopping the charming shops was an morning into afternoon marathon with great finds at great prices- the prize at the end of the day.
I hit gold one buying excursion when I spotted four off white wheat back dining chairs with whisper soft pastel (yellow, pink, green, blue) spindles, splat, and top finials.
You may imagine the chairs looked like they belonged in a baby nursery, but the pastel colors were so muted, so chic that they just set the palette and presence into a super eye-catching dimension.
The James Upholstered Fabric Dining Chair by Christopher Knight Home is not exactly a wheat back dining chair, but truly lovely all the same.
The chairs were brought into the shop and within the course of an afternoon sold to a fellow interior designer-decorator-antiques dealer for a client who she was working with who, let me see how to put this, was known for both her discriminating taste and difficult to please disposition.
Both designer and client were pleased in the end which delighted me, but in hindsight I wish I would have kept the set for the Places In The Home abode.
Believe me, I’m all for simplifying menu matters at the holidays.
I won’t tell if you won’t tell the butternut squash soup in the pretty soup tureen served with fresh pear slices, a dash of ground nutmeg, and a swirl of heavy cream is straight out of a carton.
Thanksgiving holiday dining accents and accessories thoughtfully chosen to accentuate your personal style and taste sets quite the lovely home for the holidays scene and table.
The turkey is done when the temperature with a meat thermometer reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in the breast and 175°F in the thickest part of the thigh.
The black graniteware covered roaster speaks holidays to me, but I’m always open to a new trad roasting pan that gets the Thanksgiving turkey roasted to perfection.
Personal preference for white meat drives me to simply roast a boneless turkey breast.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place turkey breast, breast-side up, into the roasting pan.
Dry the skin of the turkey breast by patting with a paper towel.
Give the outer skin of the turkey a generous rub down with butter.
Season the turkey breast with seasonings and herbs of your choice (see suggestions further down in the post).
Rub the seasonings into the skin of the turkey breast.
Roast the turkey breast at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes per pound until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees F.
I usually add a stalk of celery cut into three equal parts and ½ peeled and sliced onion or 2-3 cut green onions.
Add 1 ½-2 cups of chicken broth or white wine to roasting pan to keep the turkey moist during baking.
No turkey roasting-baking is complete without butter (Julia Child would be so proud).
Rub 4 Tablespoons (½ stick) butter over turkey breast meat under skin. Next, add 4 tablespoons butter to the turkey cavity. Finish up by rubbing a generous amount of butter over the outside of the turkey.
Sprinkle turkey with seasonings of your choice of seasonings such as salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, thyme, garlic, rosemary, or Creole seasoning.
November ushers in the holiday season, and the Thanksgiving Day meal sets the tone and the table for delicious times.
Gathering around the holiday table gorgeously set and featuring a Thanksgiving turkey baked-roasted-grilled-air fried to absolute golden perfection is a culinary tradition to feast upon.
With supply and demand a hot topic of conversation of late, today’s post offers a cornucopia of Thanksgiving kitchen information, sources, and tips to help plan, prep, and plate the perfect Thanksgiving meal.
You’ve got questions (demand).
I’ve got Thanksgiving kitchen information answers (supply).
As they say about the holidays, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Wonderful, delicious, and busy.
Let’s show and tell Thanksgiving kitchen information.
In my recipe book, culinary companion pieces aka time-saving kitchenware essentials that make the plan-prep-cook-bake-serve process a whole lot easier on the cook qualify as the consummate ingredient to a successful spread.
Sweet and savory seasonings flavor the taste of fall dishes.
Seasonal vegetables, baked goods, and meats glazed, infused, and enriched by the addition of jams, jellies, syrups, marmalades, spices and seasonings combinations put a delicious twist on the traditional.
Lock & Lock canisters are my go-to storage containers to store sweet potato puree to cornbread to chocolate walnut fudge.
Mashed potatoes will stay warm for an hour or so in a slow cooker set to low.
Now, let’s talk gravy.
If you slightly scorch the gravy, don’t panic.
Add 1 teaspoon of smooth peanut butter until the burnt flavor is gone. You may need to add more peanut butter. Do so 1 teaspoon at a time.
Tasteless gravy happens.
Remedy by adding a chicken bouillon cube, caramelized onions, and/or a splash of wine, and a generous pour of heavy cream to liven up the taste of an otherwise bland gravy.
Perhaps a heaping tablespoon of savory roasted garlic onion jam?
Simmer the gravy for 25-30 minutes, allowing the added flavors to incorporate and season.
Greasy gravy is nasty gravy.
Begin with a mixture of ½ teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon water. If gravy remains too greasy add another ½ teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon water.
If your gravy comes out too thin here’s a remedy to thicken it up.
Heat one cup of turkey or chicken broth (fresh or canned) until it reaches a simmer.
Mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one to two tablespoons of cold water in a small lidded jar. Shake to mix, making sure cornstarch incorporates and there is no lumps.
Slowly whisk the cornstarch/water mixture into the simmering broth, whisking continuously to eliminate lumping.
Simmer the broth until it thickens; about 2 minutes.
Add thickened broth to gravy.
Tried, true, and my new traditional holiday gravy recipe is easy and delicious.
In a large skillet, melt ½ stick of butter. Over medium-high heat, sauté pearl onions (if from a jar, drain) and chopped garlic until translucent and tender.
Pearl onions make a lovely presentation, but if you don’t like or can’t find these little bites of deliciousness, peel and chop a medium onion and go with it.
Add 2 jars of roasted turkey gravy from a jar. Stir ingredients together, reduce heat to medium.
Next, add 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence, stir, and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Use a vacuum bottle (Thermos) to keep the gravy warm and free up another stove burner.
Cut up vegetables such as green onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and root vegetables ahead of time and store in the refrigerator in air tight containers.
Here’s hoping this Thanksgiving kitchen information show and tell offers the information and source suggestions needed to ensure total Thanksgiving turkey success.
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‘Tis the time of year to let your 
Decorative preserved wheat bundles remind me of the season and the set of dining chairs I so wish I still owned.
Herb, Lemon, and Garlic Turkey
10oz Stoneware Pumpkin Jar White – Threshold™
