Foodie Friday-Bread Pudding-

     I am joining up with Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum.

            My daughter is coming home tomorrow night from the city with a friend and always asks for Bread Pudding-like grandma made- for dessert. How can I refuse when it is so easy and I usually have the ingredients?!
        
     Bread Pudding

              5-6 slices of white bread-lightly toasted and lightly buttered  (Mom says 4-5 but I use more)

         Cut the bread into strips

         Place them in a lightly buttered casserole dish or deeper pyrex

       

     Place in dish in a cross-hatch pattern.

See my Mom's recipe in her handwriting the lucite plastic frame? I use that when I cook so I don't slop up the recipe card...

Beat 3 eggs and mix in  1/2 cup sugar (I go a bit less)

          Heat 3 cups of any milk until scalded and a skin forms on top...

 Don't worry if the bottom burns a little, you can strain the milk and leave the burnt part behind

(not that I am speaking from experience! ahemmm)

"Temper" the egg  and milk mixture by adding a bit of the hot milk mixture into the eggs so as not to cook them as you would have sweet scrambled aggs!

       Pour the egg/milk/sugar mixture over the bread

          Sprinkle with raisins or currrants if you like...press down bread in liquid 
          Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar
          Bake 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes
               Serve warm or cooled with ice cream or chocolate sauce drizzled. I like it as is.....warm amd yummy!

~Bread Pudding~
5-6 slices of white bread-lightly toasted and slightly buttered
Cut the bread into strips
Place them in a lightly buttered casserole dish or deeper pyrex
Heat 3 cups of any milk until scalded and a skin forms on top...

Temper" the egg and milk mixture by adding a bit of the hot milk mixture into the eggs
Pour the egg/milk/sugar mixture over the bread Sprinkle with raisins or currrants if you like...press down bread in liquid
 Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar
Bake 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes

Hope you like!!

Eddie Ross and the Big Window Challenge (and my Little Vanity Chair)

   Do you follow or subscribe to Eddie Ross? You should!

      Right now Eddie is involved in the Big Window Challenge held in Bloomingdale's NY. Yes, right in the window! Three competing designers have recreated an apartment room in a Bloomies' window for your voting pleasure! Go see the competiotion at The Big Window Challenge and here you will read all about Eddie's window-gorgeous-I want to move right in!

       You can read all about Eddie here and why you DO know him...(season two of Bravo's Top Design) and "in October 2009, Eddie appeared on the HGTV special Halloween Block Party in which he transformed the classic tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, into a beautiful, budget-friendly party to remember. Shortly thereafter, he appeared on Celebrity Holiday Homes, another HGTV special in which he decorated Kathie Lee Gifford's house for the holidays. "

So give Eddie your votes and enjoy his amazing blog.

Apartment in a window.....

I am linking to Met Monday at BNOTP!!!

Now down to business!!!!

    Now onto to my little vanity chair. This chair was part of my mother's bedroom set (1946) and was one of two.

        The other went with her vanity to my brother's house...why? I don't know...first dibs...

So, I am at least left with this one and as my bedroom set is cherry and the trim is white, I decided to leep it close to its original color and spruce it up. I unscrewed the seat and then I used a Minwax Stain in mahogany and just went right over the finish after dusting and wiping clean. It was pretty scratched and the back had a veneer trim that I removed.

        I removed a piece of replacement fabric and then traced around the seat and cut out the shape leaving about 3 inches all around. The fabric had been on sale at JoAnn's for $7.99 a yard and I took a yard and a half for future use. I took my trusty staple gun and stapled pretty close to the edge and gathered the corners. I cut away where the chair meets the back and around the screw holes.

       Popped it back on and ....Love it! Nice and fresh! I would have liked it in black or antique white but kept it similar ...for now! I can always change! But for now, I have a nice clean place to put on shoes -"Don't sit on the edge of the bed!" (did I say that?) and to show off pillows.

My project is nothing, but I got it done finally! Now to rejoin this chair with the vanity.....

Go to BNOTP for some really wonderful changes!

Some real help for Haiti go to Coins for Comments....

I LOVE Masterpiece Theater!!!

     Last night, my son walked into the room where I was sitting and asked "What are you smiling at?"  Yes, I was probabably smiling for 2 hours. I don't watch alot of television- In fact, for about a month we did not have HGTV or  Food Network, so, other than CREATE, I wan't too interested. My college son was home so ESPN and any game going on at the time was on. (Also, the reason for not blogging too much-spent alot of family time and long dinner times!) There was much male bonding-which is good.
         BUT-Sunday night is Masterpiece Theater! An hour or two-no commercials! (which are getting sooo much louder lately!)  I love it. I enjoy Masterpiece Mystery and Contemporary, but Classic-ahhhhhh! That is my cup of tea! 
         Last season- Dickens and Jane Austin-I was delerious!  For the last month it was Cranford and Return to Cranford.....could I have been happier? Judi Dench-so lovely! For me, it is a "holiday" to the English Countryside!
    Last night-  

   

I have read the Jane Austen book many times.... I like the 1997 version - It starts Kate Beckinsale as Emma and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley..  I adore the  1996 Miramax adaptations starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam!!

But last night's ....here is a clip

This version is 3 Sundays and last nights was 2 hours of bliss!

  

You can probably still catch it this week and tape (eww-I am still so out of it!  tivo or DVR) It is on in NY PBS tonight -late night 2:00 am and again on Saturday night.

 PBS has also offered that  You canwatch it on line HERE!! until March 9th. Usually they do it by week -so check it so you will not be disappointed!

           From PBS-

     SYNOPSIS-Emma Woodhouse (Romola Garai, Atonement adorable!!) was born with the sun shining down on her. The radiant, privileged girl grows into a remarkable talent for matchmaking, as observed by her loving but disapproving father (Michael Gambon, Cranford) and childhood friend Mr. Knightley (Jonny Lee Miller, Endgame-sooo cute!!). When the decidedly less privileged Harriet Smith arrives, Emma meddles with fate to find her a match, until her flawless intuition is called into question. Dissuaded from more matrimonial predictions, Emma nonetheless continues to cheerfully contemplate superior men — and meets one of her own in the handsome, gleaming Frank Churchill. But after being so busy managing everyone else's heart, does Emma know her own? A fiercely funny new version of the Jane Austen novel, Emma was adapted by Sandy Welch (Jane Eyre).

Go to the website-there is a quiz to see what bachelor of Highbury would be your match!!! Mine-Mr. Nightly...but I would not take any less!

So, I hope you take a look -if British accents, English countrysides, handsome men, romance, comedy, beautiful period dresses, handsome men (did I say that?), gorgeous homes and Jane Austen are your thing....give it a try!
    

 I also love Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway....

and Lost in Austen, a modern day take on Jane.

 

There's also a "Bollywood" Emma in the works, according to BollySpice.com: "Anil Kapoor has announced that he will be producing a version of Jane Austen's 'Emma' for [daughter Sonam] to star in..." Sonam Kapoor herself has publicly mentioned her desire to star in an Emma adaptation on at least one occasion. The Kapoors confirmed the film - titled "Ayesha" after its Emmalike heroine - in February, 2009. The film is shooting as of September, 2009. Have you seen Bride and Prejudice? Pretty cute!

Don't even get me started on my love for Pride and Prejudice!!!! Another post!!!

Foodie Friday- Everyone to the table and eat!

I am linking up here:

http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/2010/01/foodie-friday-2-dinners.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DesignsByGollum+%28Designs+by+Gollum%29

Go and see some amazing recipes!!!

I am a little late as I had so much trouble uploading my pics!!! So excuse the little image you see here! The pasta dish is delish and a family fave! We had it Thursday with crusty Italian bread and lots of Parmigiano. We just got one of the cheese grinders from a Pampered Chef party and everyone loves to crank the cheese!

Bucatini with Peas, and Prosciutto

Taken from Lidia Bastianich’s show on CREATE and PBS

1 cup frozen peas defrosted and drained

Salt

1 pound fresh mushrooms (sometimes I make it without)

5 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled

sliced prosciutto or chopped bacon

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large can crushed Italian plum tomatoes with their liquid

fresh Italian parsley or dry

1 pound bucatini or percatelli (thick spaghetti)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or whatever you have!

Heat water for pasta.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Hit the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and add them and the prosciutto/bacon to the oil. Cook, stirring until lightly browned. Stir in the mushrooms, season them with salt and pepper, and stir until they are lightly browned and soft, about 7 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, season them with salt and pepper, and bring the sauce to a boil. Lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer and cook 5 minutes. Stir the peas and chopped parsley and cook until the peas are tender.

While the sauce is simmering, stir the pasta into the boiling water. Return to a boil and cook the pasta cover halfway stirring occasionally until done.

Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in about three-quarters of the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, tossing to coat the pasta with the sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Transfer the pasta to a warm platter, top with the remaining sauce, and serve immediately.

Eveyone in my family likes this –even the pea-hater! It is so much easier to make than it sounds…just throw stuff into the pan! Very fresh taste!

For more of her recipes-

http://www.lidiasitaly.com/tv-show

"Tutti a tavola a mangiare"  -Everyone to the table and eat!

Back to Reality!

Southern Daydreamer

Well, we are back from our trip to Florida for the Christmas break. We drove from NY to Ft.auderdale on the 26th and very unusual, had the worst traffic you can imagine. I am not a complainer-we were going to Florida after all-but we had rain and cars from the Verrazano Bridge all the way through Virginia! That is so strange! I can only think that the weekend enable travellers an exra 2 days after Christmas so people went visiting! That's a happy thing, right? My husband-not so happy. We can usually do the trip in 23 hours and it took 27. We drive through stopping to eat, etc. We go to WAWA, Scheetz, Kangaroo, Chilis, McDonalds, Stuckeys...most of which are not in NY. We stopped to eat dinner in Fredricksberg, Va. at Chili's, which was great. I like that town and would love to see more than a pass through! Sometimes we stop at exits that have nothing but a gas station...we beg to go to the next one bc these are the only stops! Someday, I will get to see Savannah as I see the sign on I-95.  We sing, play "I'm thinking of a ..." , Bingo (yup, still!), Lic. plates,  Uno and sometimes Scatagories.  My kids are not little and still enjoy the trip...so as long as they will join us-we do it! 

I felt as we went down that I passed so many of you! I almost said, "My friend-----lives off here!" My family doesn't really get how I feel about all of you!  In NJ, PA, VA, NC, SC, GA, over in AL and down in FL I felt I was passing by your homes!

We left 18" of snow, a decorated house, a beautiful tree  my beta, and our dog, Logan behind (my brother watching over things). 

AND COOKIES!

It was in South Carolina, that we see the first palm tree...a beautiful sight!  It was cold, tho'! It was in the 30's all the way to northern Florida! Then we saw this....

...a bit chilly!

Best Western-just right..got it through travelocity for a great price-clean ...steps to the beach and Los Olas and a huge hot breakfast buffet in the morning. With 2 big boys, the free breakfast is important!

A little cloudy this day-the day we left!Intracoastal.

We had a wonderful time and supposedly it was the best and warmest it had been in a few weeks!  We deove down to South Beach. Miami for New Years...We had a wonderful dinner at Hosteria Romano at Espaniola Way  and then went to the beach area for the fireworks-which were amazing!! (And I come from NY and we do fireworks pretty good there!)

Happy New Year!!!!

January 1st, 2010!!