Martha Monday--Martha's Entertaining

I finally got my hands on Martha Stewart's Martha's Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations.  And it's amazing. 

Martha's Entertaining is an inside look at a year's worth of celebrations as planned, coordinated and executed by Martha Stewart.  All celebrations were authentic: they were done for that particular holiday/occasion, and nothing was staged.  What a refreshing change from the usual magazine schedule...for magazine layouts, they often shoot a feature or story 6-8 months in advance (such as a Christmas scene staged in the month of June). But for this book, the parties and soirees were real events hosted by Martha throughout the year.  Awesome!

The book is divided into times of day: Mornings, Afternoons and Evenings. Every single holiday was given its due, from Easter to Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas. Several dinner parties, cocktail hours, family breakfasts and picnics are also included, and formats ranged from very formal to completely relaxed.

Martha's Entertaining contains a ton of beautiful pictures about every aspect of each event: the food, guests, decorations, preparations, setting, etc. 

A large section at the end of the book contains recipes and how-to instructions.  No matter what you are planning, this book is sure to provide an invigorating dose of inspiration.

Have you seen this book? If so, what did you think?  I love the glimpse it gave into Martha's life.  Everything is so beautiful and it seems totally effortless to make it happen.  Though I know better--events are a ton of work, and Martha has an entire staff to do that work for her. 

Now, more so than ever, I want to live her life.  Or maybe be reincarnated as one of her dogs.  Either way, that's a win-win.

A trophy for the Titan of the Tureen

Our Second Annual Super Souper Bowl Party is right around the corner.  There's still a lot to be done (clean the house, rearrange furniture, make all the appetizers, bake desserts, stop the kids from destroying the house that I will have just finished cleaning, etc.) but I am totally ready with the trophy.

For those new to the blog, our Super Souper Bowl party is a contest: guests bring their prized chili, soup, or stew, everyone samples the fare, and we vote on our favorite.  The winner takes home a totally awesome trophy and bragging rights for the year. Last year's winner Michelle won with her version of Paula Deen's taco soup:

Just like last year, this year's trophy is hand-made from bits and pieces I found at a local resale shop.  The candlestick was $1.50 and the bowl was $0.90. Unbeknownst to me, both were half-off, so the cost for the materials was only $1.10. Score!

After cleaning both pieces, I used a hot glue gun to adhere the bowl to the candlestick.  Easy!  Side note: I love my glue gun but rarely use it. I need to find more opportunities to glue stuff together.

Once the glue was dry, I spray painted the whole thing gold.  It's gorgeous! Truly, this is a chalice worthy of a Queen of the Crockpot.  Or Titan of the Tureen.  Or King of the Cook-Off. 

Whatever we call the champ, and whoever that person may be, I think we all know who the real winner is:  ME.  Because people are bringing food to my house.  So that I can eat it. And award this awesome trophy. Score!

Sign up now for 'Happy Holidays!'

For the fall semester, my Live Well, Spend Less! course has been divided into three one-night seminars for a fun "Happy Holidays" series:


Creative Gift Solutions at the downtown Aurora campus
Monday, October 24, 7:15-8:45pm
Cost: $19.00 (The cost of $59.00 as listed in the WCC course catalog is incorrect.)
We'll focus on fabulous and frugal gifts for everyone on your list, as well as great gifts for families, online deals and homemade goodies that friends and family will be delighted to receive. I'll have great ideas to help you shop for even the hardest-to-please person on your list.  I understand that resources are limited, and my suggestions for holiday gift-giving will leave you with time and money to spare!

Perfect Party Solutions at the Sugar Grove campus
Monday, November 7, 7:15-8:45pm
Cost: $19.00
Does the thought of hosting a holiday gathering have you stressed? I'll have tips and tricks for organizing and hosting everything from office cocktail parties to family feasts that will make you the host with the most!  Whether it's a simple gathering for friends or a 7-course meal for fussy in-laws, I'll help you create a memorable event.  Be careful, following my suggestions could have your family begging you to host the holidays every year!

Holiday Activities for the Whole Family at the Plano campus
Monday, November 21, 7:15-8:45pm
Cost: $19.00
I firmly believe that the holidays should be a time for fun, family and friends...if your holiday preparations have you threatening to cancel the whole season, then something must change! Let me help you find ways to reconnect with your family during this busy season, whether it be by creating new traditions, improving upon old ones, or finding ways to tackle holiday chores in ways that will leave the entire family feeling merry.

Registration information is at the links.  As always, you can find all of my Waubonsee Community College courses listed to the right. I hope to see you in one soon!

Queen of the Crockpot

Even though we had four amazing soups/chilis at our Super Souper Bowl, there could be only one winner.  And that Titan of the Tureen was Michelle who made a version of Paula Deen's taco soup. Yum!  Even the super-picky Big Guy loved it, so taco soup will be making another appearance in my kitchen very soon.

Not only does Michelle have bragging rights for the next year and something really impressive to put on her resume, but she is also now the proud owner of the "Super Souper Bowl" Champion trophy. 

Put that thing on the mantle, Michelle!

While I didn't compete in the Super Souper, I did have a winning appetizer recipe.  I made pizza dip and served it with Ritz crackers.  It was really good and gone within minutes.  Seriously, I'm not sure the dip even lasted through kick-off.  You can find the full recipe and directions here, but I kept it simple by including only the cream cheese, sour cream, oregano, pizza sauce and cheese. 

Super Souper Bowl

I'm pleased to say that our Super Souper Bowl party went off without a hitch, and everyone had a great time.  We provided the appetizers, desserts and drinks. 

Have you seen a larger collection of football-themed dishes?  I think not!

Here are those cupcakes I was telling you about on facebook.  They're inspired by Bakerella's cupcakes, but my decoration is made entirely of buttercream. 

Here are the competitors for the Super Souper Bowl.  Each soup was in a crockpot on our kitchen island plugged into a power strip, which worked out well.  Bowls and spoons were on the island, too; condiments such as cheese, sour cream and crackers were on a different countertop.

We had four entries:  cream of chicken mushroom, taco soup, vegetarian chili, and bacon chipotle chili with pork shoulder.  Each one was delicious!

After tasting each soup, guests were encouraged to vote for their favorite.

I'll post the winner tomorrow.  This whole concept and party was a ton of fun.  And completely brilliant, if I do say so myself!  Think about it:  PEOPLE DID THE COOKING FOR ME!  And they brought it to my house!  And it was awesome!

I'm thinking of having a party like this every weekend--a pot roast competition, a grill-off competition, etc.--so people will bring their best dishes to my house on a regular basis.  I'm more than happy to make a trophy to encourage competitors.  Anyone interested?

Wrapping party

I recently had some friends over for a "wrapping party."  I've done this in holiday seasons past:  we simply get together, eat, laugh, wrap gifts and work on various Christmas projects.  It's a good time.

It's also a great way for me to share my abudance of bows, wrapping paper, ribbon, gift bags, etc. that I stock up on every year after Christmas. 

The Big Guy thinks I have problem.  "Honey," I say, "if loving gift wrap and owning 30 or so rolls is wrong, then I don't want to be right."

To start, I put bows, tape, scissors and gift tags on dining room table.    The buffett held the tissue paper, ribbon and gift bags. 

If you do this, be sure to provide a large variety of gift bag sizes...it's a good thing.

I provided about 25 rolls of paper for my wrapping crew.  We went through several rolls.

I wish I could show you pictures of the happy little elves at work, but I was too busy laughing, talking, eating and wrapping gifts to pick up the camera.  But trust me, we had a fun and productive time.  Special shout-out to Anita for wrapping some gifts for me.  Thanks for a wonderful evening, ladies!