Join us at the “12 Days of Christmas” shopping event!

Image Backcountry Mercantile
You are cordially invited to come shop in person, safely socially distanced, and masked tomorrow.  

Wednesday, December 2nd, from 10 am to 3 pm 
Linda Richards Showroom
114 Pearl Street, Port Chester
 A percent of proceeds support Sacred Heart Greenwich.
Participating Vendors:
Linda Richards, Back Country Mercantile, Adrianna Pepe Stationary, Ilyse’s Pieces, Jean Forte Vintage Gifts, Molly & Mags

Jean Forte Vintage Gifts

Ilyses Pieces

Backcountry Mercantile

Linda Richards

Molly & Mags

Adrianna Pepe Stationary

Etsy Holiday Shopping Gift Guide

Etsy is such a great place to shop for unique affordable gifts for everyone on your list. For my first Holiday gift guide, I decided to feature items from Etsy. Most of these choices are under $50. There are some great options for the hostess, bestie, kids, and even mom. Happy Almost December!!! And Don’t forget there are only 15 days left to order most items in time for Christmas!!! PS Don’t forget to click the link to learn more about the artist of the main image, she has some really fantastic artwork for sale as we!!

Image HLIllustrations

Charm Bracelet//Gold Earrings//Snowman Hot Chocolate//Monogram Cups//Green Foo Dogs//Paper Snowmen//Brass Reindeer//Leopard Coats//Feather Bag//Tiger Rug//Statement Ring//Vintage Tree//Santa Ice Bucket//

Who Need’s Black Friday When You Have My Christmas Playlist…

I don’t know about you but this year’s Black Friday was so overwhelming. I think I got an email every 2 seconds. As a blogger, honestly, everyday is Black Friday. Between all the product reviews and posting of best sellers and weekly sales, Black Friday is for amateurs!!! And really this year we need to shop local, shop small more than ever. I started the day with posting some great best sellers from Palmer and Purchase in Rye and some really fab J McLaughlin sale pieces. I went to Dabney Lee in town saw my friend Julie and bought an ornament for my mom. Then onto getting my tires filled with air and worked on the GREATEST CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST EVER. I promise you, these songs WILL get you through the end of 2020!!!!

Don’t worry I’ll be back tomorrow with the 1st Christmas Gift Guide….And I am doing the COOLEST thing tomorrow…going to the warehouse sale for American Christmas. This is the company that makes all the light displays for Saks, Rock Center, Radio City, and so many more famous places. I am sure I will have a lot to report next week. In the meanwhile, click on the Christmas Tree below to access my Playlist (and make sure to follow me on Spotify!)

Our Reader’s Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes- Day 3

At this point I am sure that you are all almost finished with your cooking but I have a few more AMAZING recipes for you……

For years I always thought that we should channel the First Thanksgiving incorporate corn with our Thanksgiving dinner. Last year I found this really really good Creamed Corn recipe for the Crock Pot. It was such a breeze to make

Image allrecipies.com

Slow Cooker Creamed Corn:

adapted by all recipes

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¼ (16 ounces) packages frozen corn kernels
  • 1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese
  • ½ cup butter 
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • In a slow cooker, combine corn, cream cheese, butter, milk, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Cook on High for 2 to 4 hours, or on Low for 4 to 6 hours.

And finally….the last recipe of this Thanksgiving Season, one of the most mentioned…The Green Bean Casserole. This one is Amandine….

Katie H’s Green Bean Amandine Casserole

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

3/4 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

2bags (12 oz each) frozen cut green beans

1tablespoon butter or margarine

1package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms (about 3 cups)

1shallot, finely chopped

1can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko crispy bread crumbs

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

  • Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat water, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to boiling over medium-high heat. Add green beans. Cover; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Drain; set aside.
  • In a 10-inch skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms and shallot in butter for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
  • In a large bowl, mix green beans, mushroom mixture, soup, milk, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread in casserole. In a small bowl, mix cheese, bread crumbs, almonds, and 1/4 cup butter. Sprinkle over green bean mixture.
  • Bake uncovered 35 minutes or until bubbly and topping is golden.

Our Readers’ Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes Shared…Day 2

The response to my question of “What is your favorite Thanksgiving side?” was so amazing. I heard from so many of you. Here are three more favs, including one of my mom’s. So many people said they loved creamed onions. It is such a blast from the past. My mom used to make them every year, so I decided to dig out the recipe for you. We actually made it a couple of Thanksgiving’s ago and it was as popular with the crowd as it had been my mom use to serve it in the 70’s!!!!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic and Pancetta from Katie D

Image Cooking.nytimes.com

adapted from epicurious.com

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
  • 2 oz pancetta, visible fat discarded and pancetta minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Toss together Brussels sprouts, pancetta, garlic, oil, and salt and pepper to taste in an 11- by 7-inch baking pan and spread in 1 layer.
  3. Roast in the upper third of oven, stirring once halfway through roasting, until sprouts are brown on edges and tender, about 25 minutes total. Stir in water, scraping up brown bits. Serve warm.

Baked Farro and Butternut Squash from Lori M

Image Food Network.com

adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

6 thick-cut slices applewood-smoked bacon

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups pearled farro

3 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade

3 cups (3/4-to-1-inch-diced) peeled butternut squash

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the bacon on a baking rack set on a sheet pan and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes, until browned (it won’t be crisp). Cut the bacon in very large dice.
  2. Meanwhile, in a small (9-inch) Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender and starting to brown. Add the thyme, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the farro and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Place the squash on top of the farro mixture, cover, and bake in the same oven with the bacon for 30 minutes, until the squash and farro are tender. Check once during cooking and add a little chicken stock if it’s dry.
  3. Sprinkle the bacon and parmesan on the squash and farro and bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the liquid evaporates, the farro and butternut squash are tender, and the cheese has melted. Serve hot directly from the pot.

My Mom’s Traditional Creamed Onions

Image All Recipes

Adapted from All Recipes

  • 1 cup pearl onions (my mom used frozen but its impossible to find them so now we use fresh)
  • 4 cups water
  • 6 tablespoons butter 
  • 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • Peel onions, and drop into boiling water. Cook until tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Set onions aside while you make the sauce.
  • Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour to make a paste. Mix together cooking water and milk. Add milk mixture slowly to the saucepan, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add onions, and transfer to a serving dish.

Our Readers’ Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes Shared…Day 1

I recently polled some readers and asked what their favorite Thanksgiving sides were. The list was really long with a bunch of true favorites, mentioned by quite a few people. I am going to post some of our readers’ favs for you just in time for Turkey day. OH, by the way, can you guess how many turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving Day??? (the answer is at the bottom of this post)!!!

Momo’s Sausage Stuffing

image Jonesdairyarm.com

Given by Maggie T and adapted by Jones Dairy Farm.com

1 (12 oz) Jones Dairy Farm All Natural Pork Sausage Roll  
2 medium onions, chopped  
2 celery stalks, diced or chopped  
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken or turkey broth or apple juice  
1 (14 oz) package stuffing mix/bread cubes 

Crumble sausage into a stock pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and celery; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sausage is no longer pink, about 6 to 8 minutes. (Do not drain or pour off drippings).

Add broth; bring to a boil.  

Turn off heat; add stuffing mix, stirring until bread cubes are evenly moistened. Transfer to a greased casserole dish.  

Bake covered in a preheated 350˚F oven for 30 minutes or until heated through. (For drier texture, uncover casserole during the last 10 minutes of baking).

Camille M’s Mom’s Delicious Cranberry Sauce

Image Gimme Some Oven.com

1 bag fresh cranberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
a few cloves 
Juice of two oranges
Orange zest to taste

We use a small slow cooker but you can prepare on the stove 

Put all ingredients together in the slow cooker for about 2 hours, Until cranberries have burst 

Remove from slow cooker and place in glass storage container, add the orange zest. Store in refrigerator. The sauce will thicken as time passes. 

Yum!!!!

Elmwood Ave’s Nancy’s Classic Pecan Pie

adapted by Karo.com

image Pillabury.com

This recipe was given to me by my sweet neighbor on Elmwood. I moved there when TJ was 3 months old. Nancy lived across the street from me and we spent many many days talking and sharing recipes (mostly her giving to me!!!!!). My favorite hands down was her Pecan Pie recipe. She would buy the HUGE bag of Pecans at Costco Thanksgiving week, and share 1/2 with me. I am so happy to share it with you. PS The Barefoot Contessa makes a very similar one but adds 1 tablespoon of Makers Mark!!!!

  • 1 cup Karo light corn syrup
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 1/2 cups pecans
  • 1 (9-inch) frozen deep-dish pie crust (IT HAS TO BE DEEP DISH)
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla using a spoon. Place pecans on the bottom of pie crust.. Pour filling into pie crust and over Pecans.
  3. Bake until center springs back when tapped lightly, about 55 to 70 minutes.
Image Bon Appetit

On Thanksgiving Day there are 48 Million Turkeys Consumed