Create a moist and flavor packed turkey this Thanksgiving with a baster set. Inject your turkey with flavor before it cooks and continue to keep coated with a delicious marinade or glaze as you roast it to perfection.
Mrs. Meyer*s – Crisp Iowa Pine November 6, 2009
Mrs. Meyer*s Clean Day aromatherapeutic household cleaners introduces a wonderful holiday scent. Crisp Iowa Pine is a light touch of clove and cedar, bringing you the sensation of that just-cut tree without any messy needles!
From diffuser to house hold cleaners – to lotions and candles, you will be able to fill your house with a lovely holiday scent.
Alice Supply Co. November 4, 2009
Add to your Alice Supply Co. collection of hip house wares with your own stripped broom and floor mat. Alice Supply continues to take function and make it colorful and stylish. They give you the tools you need, with a look that won’t have you hiding them in the closet. 
Creative Candles Holiday Colors November 4, 2009
Creative Candles holiday colors have arrived. Come in early for the best selection of these elegant tapers and pillars. Creative Candles uses a blend of all natural waxes and cotton wicks, so that the candle burns clean with almost no drip.
Click here to learn more about what goes into making these stunning candles.
Cucina – Pink Pepper and Anise October 30, 2009
The newest Cucina scent has arrived, Pink Pepper and Anise – a fresh and spicy fragrance with an aromatic hint of anise. Unlike the fruity tones of Cucina’s other scents, the licorice and pepper inspire fragrance has the same subtle finish and quality as it’s sisters.
Packed with excellent cleaning power, all Cucina’s products are comprised of natural and plant-derived ingredients. Cucina offers you a biodegradable product, which works, and is not texted on animals.
Dinner Party Bash October 25, 2009
Traditional appetizer and drinks, followed by a sit down dinner with polite conversation is just fine, but why not kick it up a notch. Make it a tapas party, and get everyone to the table early.
Instead of the normal cloth placemats, cover your table with silicon Modern Twist placemats. In fun, colorful patterns, set on semi-translucent bases, you won’t lose your table’s natural beauty.
Now here’s the kicker. Scatter your table with multi-colored ball point pens and let your guests have at it. Try a drawing contest with a centralized theme, such as “The Holidays,” “Babies,” or “Sports.”
Go for a drawing continuation, where each guest starts a picture and then passes their placemat to the left, for 2 minutes at a time, until they get their placemat back.
Follow your drawing games with several different tapas, allowing your guests to engage in the food being served while still interacting with one another.
Let the wonders of creativity expand your dinner party into a night to remember, with Modern Twist placemats and fabulous dishes. Whoever said a night in was boring should check again.
For tapas suggestions or Modern Twist placemats visit us at across the way, and let us help you plan the dinner party of year.
A Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash October 24, 2009
Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me some good…
squash to eat?
Yes you heard right. Lou Seibert Pappas takes pumpkins and squash and transforms them into dishes you will ask for time and time again. Her A Harvest of Pumpkin and Squash cookbook is a full force grasp on the seasonal delights of hearty fall and early winter produce.
“Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce” – “Roasted Autumn Root Vegetables” – “Delicate Squash Rings with arugula, fuyu permission, dried cranberries, and feta” – “Five-Spice Pumpkin-Ginger Cake” – Do I even need to go on? Warm, comforting, and sweet, Pappas’ flavors will fill your house with welcoming smells, while satisfying your hunger all at once.
Five-Spice Pumpkin-Ginger Cake
Serves 12
6 TBS (3/4 stick) butter, melted
3 TBS grated peeled fresh ginger
½ cup honey
½ cup molasses
2/3 cup pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 large eggs
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
½ cup thinly slivered crystallized ginger
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Whipped cream or ice cream for serving (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-inch round baking pan 2 inches deep or a 9 inch spring form pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, fresh ginger, honey, and molasses. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat until well mixed. Add the pumpkin, yogurt, and eggs and beat until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda five-spice powder mixture and mix just until incorporated.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with the crystallized ginger and chocolate chips. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Serve warm or at room temperature cut into wedges and topped with whipped cream, if desired.
From the Earth to the Table October 23, 2009
The end of baseball season, marked with coming rain and dropping temperatures, leads us from one sports haven to the next. Monday night football, beers with boys and cheering with the girls. It’s fingers food. It’s rich succulent dishes. It’s Pizza. What better way to enjoy the game, then sharing a victory together over a big pie?
Tomorrow, Saturday the 24th, the Angles take on the Yankees again. So cancel those dinner reservations. Call your friends, get out your pizza stone and let’s get ready to rumble.
Let John Ash’s, From the Earth to the Table, take your pizza party out of the delivery man’s box. His “Potato, Red Onion, Arugula, and Brie Pizza,” will wow your guests. Settle back with a “Double Olive and Pepper Pizza with Prosciutto,” for walk on the satisfyingly salty side. Take your pizza rich and creamy finish with his “Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza with Sage.”
Each pizza as with the recipes throughout Ash’s book, is carefully paired to a wines which compliments it. Subtly he takes the fabulous to the extraordinary, as the wine highlights your food’s natural flavors.
Make sure to use a pizza stone, which you can pick up at across the way, to truly develop a crisp crust with just the right bite. By pre-heating your oven and stone together, you will ensure your pizza comes out just as wonderful as the pizzeria down the street.
Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza with Sage
Makes enough topping for one 14-inch or two 8 to 10 inch pizzas
1 recipe Pizza Dough with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Herbs (also featured in From the Earth to the Table0
4 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces creamy blue cheese, such as Point Reyes Farmstead Original Blue or an Italian Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
¼ cup fresh sage
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, preferably with a pizza stone or brick-ove insert in the oven.
In a deep, heavy-bottom pan, heat 3 TBS olive oil and sauté the onions until golden brown, stirring regularly to prevent burning. This may take 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Scatter the onions evenly over the top to the prepared dough. Scatter the blue cheese and sage leaves on top and drizzle with remaining TBS of olive oil. Bake the pizza on the stone for about 15 minutes or until the dough is puffed, golden, and cooked through.
Recommended wine: A rich Petite Sirah or Zinfandel with bright, jammy, berry notes.
A Closer Look at Creative Candles October 16, 2009
We wanted to give you a closer look at why the candles we carry are so beautiful.
Candle racks hang from the ceiling at the Creative Candles factory in Kansas City, Missouri. The effect is like massive candelabras in an array of bright, bold colors.
Wicks are strung on the rack and then the dipping process begins.
Racks holding the longest tapers, 39.4″ in height can weigh up to 100lbs when the candles are completely dipped.
All pillars are poured by hand. The wicks are one of the most important elements in the candle. The “secret recipe” Creative Candles uses for their wicks makes these candles burn the way they do. Once the candles have cooled, each one is separately measured for the correct size, cleaned of the outer silicone residue on the outside of the candle and shaved on the bottom. A blowtorch is used to lightly melt the candle, making for a smooth, finished product.
The Big Book of Chicken October 16, 2009
“Why did the chicken cross the road?” I don’t know, but with Maryana Vollstedt’s, The Big Book of Chicken, I’m sure going to eat him. Vollstedt takes you by the wing through delicious appetizers and hors d’oeuvres to elegantly roasted chicken, zesty casseroles, fresh salads and simply pleasing sandwiches. Chicken is no longer just chicken, as she transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Check out her “Chicken and Orzo with Spinach and Gorgonzola.” The rich cheese pairs well red wine and the spinach provides excellent color.
Chicken and Orzo with Spinach and Gorgonzola
4 Servings
1 TBS olive oil
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 ounces (about 1 cup) orzo, cooked according to package directions, drained
¼ cup chicken stock
½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola
In a medium skillet over medium heat, warm with the oil. Add the bell pepper, shallots and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and chicken and mix well. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the orzo and stock and sprinkle with the Gorgonzola. Serve immediately.
