Autumn Chopped Kale Salad | Pumpkin Seeds, Cranberries & Pecorino with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

We rolled in at 2am last night from Mexico - we had Mike's sister's wedding over the weekend!  Obviously, I have no idea what we're having for dinner tonight, let alone this week, so instead of a weekly menu, I'm sharing this salad I promised a couple of weeks ago.  Hope you don't mind too much : )




This is my favorite Fall salad.  I order it from one of our favorite dinner spots - it has so many flavors and textures.  It goes great with my Apple Cider Roasted Pork Loin and Cheddar Grits, or is great to add some color and freshness to any comforting autumn dinner.  When I served this at home, everyone said - this is a perfect Thanksgiving Salad.  I also like to add sliced rotisserie chicken to make it an all-in-one meal, or served with a butternut squash soup.  Yum - maybe that is what we'll have for dinner!  

Pumpkin Seed & Cranberry

Kale Salad

with Apple Cider Vinaigrette 

4-6 cups of kale, chopped

1-2 apples, medium chunks

pumpkin seeds toasted, salted

dried cranberries

pecorino cheese

....

1/4 cup of cider vinegar

2 tablespoons of apple cider

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of sea salt

Wash kale, spin dry.  In a large bowl, combine kale and apples (not pictured, because I forgot!).  Stir together vinaigrette mixture, then pour over and toss.  Pile on platter and layer shavings of pecorino cheese, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds.

Heirloom Pumpkin & Acorn Sugar Cookies | Packaging Boxes of Cookie

Emma and I have been very busy baking sugar cookies.  Last week I shared our Black Bats, and today I'm sharing our Heirloom Pumpkin, Acorn & Leaf cookies.  Of course you could add a Jack-o-Lantern face to these and make them spooky for Halloween, but these Fall themed cookies would be perfect for Thanksgiving, too.

This packaging idea was inspired by a box of cookies I received when I attended a baby shower hosted by Amy Shaw.  Amy, formerly at the Dolce Baking Co. here in KC, is now making amazing desserts and pastries at The South End Buttery in Boston.  She has a great flair for making (and packaging) scrumptious looking desserts.

I love that you can see the cookies through the scalloped window of the box, and that the kinkle helps cushion the cookies to keep them from breaking.  Wouldn't it make a great gift for teachers, neighbors or a party?

(The last day to order Halloween Products is this Wednesday.) 

Products for Packaging Cookies:

- Kraft Cookie Boxes (with Scalloped Window), $12 for 10
- Kraft Krinkle, $4
- Halloween Tags, $6

Products for Baking Cookies :

- Parchment Sheet Pan Liners
- Disposable Pastry Bags

As I've said before, great looking icing colors can make a huge difference on a cookie - even with a simple design and minimal decoration. 

My rule of thumb is to mute the colors I'm mixing slightly by adding a touch of the opposite color.  For instance, here I am mixing a pale orange to match the heirloom pumpkin.

1 drop red
1 drop yellow
1/2 drop green

The green helps to mute the orange so it is not as bright and a little more natural looking.

Recipes : My Favorite Sugar Cookie (made with powdered sugar) & Royal Icing.

I made a pale brown to match the stem color.

1/2 drop of red
1 drop of yellow
1/2 drop of blue
1/4 drop of black

Then I created a brighter orange to match the squash by adding more red.

Next, I made acorns and oak leafs.

The oak leaves are a great mustard yellow with dark brown stems.

The acorns are two different tones of brown.  I wish I'd had brown sprinkles for the tops!

When decorating the pumpkins, I tried to leave some vertical streaks as I piped in the icing to mimic the shape of a a real pumpkin.  You can see the colors look pretty close to the real thing.  Two years ago I did four different colors of heirloom pumpkins complete with icing tinting instructions - you can see it here.

Here are the cookies boxed up.  You can see how the krinkle helps hold them in place and protect them... too much work to have them break.

Sweet little hands helping tie (ok, untie) bows.

I'm offer three different tags for Halloween :

- Happy Halloween
- BOO! Happy Halloween
- Trick or Treat


Again, the last day to order Halloween products is this Wednesday to receive them by October 29th (at the latest).

Here are more of the Halloween Cookies we decorated and packaged in Cello Bags.



































These Ina's Orange candles would also be great for a spooky Halloween treat.  I'm planning to put these on top of cupcakes with black sprinkles for our Pumpkin Carving Party this weekend.

They come in 15" tall & 6" candles, $15/$7

This Week's Menu | Slow Simmered Bolognese, Goat Cheese & Caramelized Pizza, Lemon Chicken

I can not believe it is already the third week of October.  My heartaches a little thinking about it.  The weather is perfect.  Skies are blue, leaves are gold and red, air is crisp - perfect.  I can not get enough of it.  We've been a bit on the run for the last couple of weeks, so I'm going to really try to slow down and relax this week - long walks with Emma and D, easy dinners that leave us a time to play outside in the evenings (before it gets too dark!), and less working.  We have nothing on our calendar for the rest of the month besides a couple of halloween parties and I couldn't be more glad.  Time always skips a little faster for me because I'm already working on packaging up Thanksgiving products this week.  There is a lot of wheat involved (hint, hint).  I do have a couple of more Halloween projects to share, though... I've been dreaming about some Peanut Butter Cup inspired Cupcakes that will come in the next couple of days.

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful October day!
Jenny

Slow Simmered Beef Ragu

This. Is. So. Good.  Tomatoes, cream, parmesan, thyme, rosemary, garlic, wine... all slow simmered with beef makes the most comforting, delicious beef ragu/bolognese.  If your family allows, add mushrooms, too... mine does not : )

Roasted Lemon Chicken Breasts with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Vegetables

This is such an easy dinner - using chicken breasts make it simple and quick.  The lemon butter thyme sauce that the chicken cooks in is perfect drizzled over the mashed potatoes.

Lemon Orzo Soup

In honor of my blogger friend, Tessa's home being featured in Midwest Living Magazine's holiday issue (that is now out!) I'm sharing her recipe for one of our family's favorites - Lemon Orzo Soup.  I'll use the chicken from our Roasted Lemon Chicken to make it an easy dinner from leftovers.

Goat Cheese & Caramelized Onion Pizza

Homemade Pizza is much easier than you think... especially when you used pizza dough from Trader Joes :)  This will be mine, Emma and Mike will make a simple margarita with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.

This Week's Menu | Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Braised Cabbage with Goat Cheese & Homemade Applesauce

Well, this is the week.  The last week of living in our house, that is.  We will be packing up ev-er-y-thing we own, putting it in a Pod (hoping it fits...) and moving out for the next six months.  Trying to explain the process to Emma has been a little difficult - I keep telling her that Mr. John is going to come build us a new house.  In the next couple of weeks I'll share how we finally picked and hired a contractor and some of the lessons we've learned along the way.

For now, after I post this weekly menu, I'm going to finish up a couple of posts for the rest of the week (Bathroom Inspiration board included!) and some recipes... then, I'll be in the basement.  For the rest of the week.  Don't think I'm crazy, but I love packing.  I love cleaning out, donating and neatly packing everything up - fresh start.  I've resolved to keep only things that I love and know exactly where they will go in the new house.  Everything else will be given away.  I've noticed in this process, that I get a little more lenient with this rule as we go on, and have to keep reminding myself.  For those of you that have emailed - the Acorn Cookie Cutters should be back in stock by the end of the week!  Hope your week is off to a great start!

Jenny

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Homemade Applesauce & Braised Cabbage with Goat Cheese

Oh my gosh, is this good.  It is more of a Sunday Supper type of meal, but this week, I'll be making it tonight, on a Monday.  It makes great sandwiches for the rest of the week for Mike's lunch.

Chorizo & Vegetable Soup with Fancy Grilled Cheese

We try to do soup once a week, especially now that the weather is cooling down.  This is a great soup that has so much flavor!

Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad

Even though the weather is turning colder, it is prime tomato season.  I'll probably serve this salad with a grilled Flank Steak or piece of Fish.

Butternut & Beef Chili

I'm making this on Thursday afternoon, because it will a great thing to have for leftovers the rest of the weekend while we finish the packing.  It will be great to have a filling meal that is just a microwave away.

Slow-Braised Short Ribs | Planning for the Weekend

I'm trying to be a little more organized with our weekends.  Our weeks are a little nuts and then we just sort of 'crash' over the weekends.  We need some time to just unwind and be lazy.  But in addition to that I want to plan for some time to do some of the things I love to do... that usually get lost in the mid-week shuffle.  
One of the things I am going to be more mindful of planning is to have some leisure time in the kitchen.  I don't love spending alllll day in the kitchen, but one meal a day is the perfect amount of leisure cooking.  We always look forward to lounging around Saturday morning.  While I'm all for a run for donuts, on snowy days staying in is more fun.   So, I'm gong to find a new recipe to try for Saturday breakfast/brunch.... suggestions?  

We usually go out or get pizza on Saturday night and out for brunch on Sunday after church.  Sunday dinner is really the main event.  This Sunday I'm bringing back a cozy dinner - the kind that cooks all day and makes the house smell amazing.  

At the beginning of January I wanted nothing to do with rich, comforting dinners... I guess that's what happens after too much indulging during the Holidays.  The weather was mild, it felt more like the beginning of spring and I was in the mood for fresh and light.  Fast forward to three weeks later and we are in the midst of snow and winter seems to be here to stay for a bit.  It feels a bit like starting over - getting in the mood for hot chocolate, fires every night and thinking of stews and hearty dinners again.  Slow-Braised Short Ribs is at the top of our list.  We made it for our family Christmas dinner - it is that good.  Cozy dinners here we come : )

.....

Repost from 2014 :

 

I love to fix a big dinner on Sundays... preferably one that simmers on the stove (or in the oven) all day so it fills the house with the most amazing aromas.

This is how our table is set most Sunday nights for dinner, with the addition of a high chair, of course.  And, there is not always wine.  A lot of the time there is, but not all of the time.   I usually keep some sort of bountiful seasonal display on our table so when we set down for dinner it feels special.

Did I mention I made an apple pie, too?  The house smelled out of this world.

And while I set the table...

Mike and Emma play - this is the "couch house" they built for Emma's babies.  Sunday is their day to play together and I get to spend the day in the kitchen.

Of course, she's always available to help me in the kitchen if I should need her assistance.

Here is our table - set for three.  Since Emma was 10 months old, we have sat at the table every night with Emma in hopes that she would learn to sit through dinner with us... we're still working on it. 

The candles used on the table are my favorite for fall - 12" Tapers in Edgartown Sand.

Dinner is served.   Can you smell it?  Simmering beef, rosemary, wine, thyme....

Oh, it was so good.  I created the recipe by combining some of my favorites from Martha Stewart and The Barefoot, of course.  It was completely divine.  I can not tell you how delicious the vegetables were - they had absorbed all of the flavors from the herbs and wine... served with mashed potatoes, no less.

 

And our Apple Pie (made with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest) for dessert.  Recipe coming tomorrow.

Braised

Short Ribs



serves 4-6

New! Printable Recipes, here.

6 beef short ribs
sea salt & cracked pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, medium dice
6 carrots, peeled, medium dice
4 celery stalks, medium dice
1 leek, medium dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of red wine
4 Bay Leaves
4 Rosemary Sprigs
4 Thyme Sprigs
6 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 275.

Heat a large dutch oven on the stove.  Cover short ribs with salt and pepper.  Add olive oil to the pan, then sear the short ribs in the oil for about 2 minutes on each side until browned.  Remove short ribs and set them aside to rest.

Add onions and carrots to the same pot - cook on high for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add celery and leek.  Cook for 5 more minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook for another minute.  

Pour in red wine and cook for about 5 minutes on high.  Tie together fresh herbs with cotton twine and place them in the pot.  Add beef stock.  Bring entire pot up to a simmer.  Put the short ribs back in the pot then cover and place in the oven.  Cook for 3 hours at 275 degrees.

When finished cooking, place the pot on top of the stove and let it rest for 30 minutes.  

With a ladle, scoop off the broth and place it in a clear glass container (or two) and put it in the refrigerator.  Recover the pot with the ribs and vegetables in the meantime.   Refrigerate the broth for 30 minutes, then go back and skim the fat off of the top.  Pour the remaining broth back into the pot and reheat until it is simmering.  Remove from heat and cover to keep warm until serving.  

I served our short ribs with mashed potatoes, but a crusty piece of bread would also be fabulous. 

......

Here is the Pin Strip :

Autumn Harvest Collection | Harvest Berry Block Print, Velvet Pillows, Plaids, Deer Prints, Mini Leaf Cutters & Halloween

I love this time of year.  The breeze carries with it a sense of nostalgia.  The mornings now require a light jacket and hot coffee, after school walks home through kicking leaves and crunching acorns, and early sunsets make for long lazy evenings.  Weekends are filled with baking in the morning, car trips to the country and bonfires at night.  We're savoring these days. 

The Autumn Harvest Collection will launch at the beginning of next week (exact day and time to be announced when the linens arrive...).  As our front steps are filling with pumpkins, I am ready to begin warming up our home this time of year by ushering in rich colors and textures.  I have designed a new color collection of block prints just for this season that will be stitched into cushion covers and table linens.  The new velvet pillow colors are perfect compliments to bright pumpkins and so unbelievably soft.  In addition to the Block Prints & Velvets, I had a small number of custom cushions made with velvet and linen backings and piping.  They are spectacular.  Our favorite Plaid wrap in rich chestnut, persimmmon and greens (that I also use as a throw) from last year will be back, plus all of the solid wraps have been restocked. 

Baking season is upon us.  I've created a collection of new (and old) Halloween Tags and classic ribbons to dress up treats, and homemade goodies, too.  I found the most perfect collection of Mini Leaf Cookie Cutters to adorn pies + I had our favorite Acorn, Bat & Pumpkin Copper Cutters made for sugar cookies, too.  

Please check back for exact day and time for the launch.