Merry Christmas

Hey love bugs!

Hope Santa was very good to you this year. I'd love to hear what you got! Monday I will feature a very special storage post so you'll know the best ways to store your new loot!

Be fabulous today.

Friday Foodday

It's Friday Foodday Christmas Eve edition!!!!!

Have a Happy Holiday all!

Onion Tart

Ingredients

• -1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in refrigerator
• -2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• -3 large Vidalia onions or other sweet variety, thinly sliced
• -4 thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish
• -Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• -1/3 cup good quality beef stock

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a work surface, roll the puff pastry into a roughly 10 by 16-inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, trim uneven edges to make a perfect rectangle. Evenly cut off the outer 1 inch of each side of the rectangle in strips; put the puff sheet on the baking sheet. Dip your finger in water and run around the top edges of the rectangle and replace the removed strips of pastry along the edges of the sheet, pressing lightly to adhere. With a fork, pierce the interior of the tart shell to prevent rising; do not pierce the adhered edges. Bake until the outer edges have puffed and are golden in color; about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and thyme sprigs and season well with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown. Add the stock, a tablespoon at a time, as the pan gets dry, scraping and stirring the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom oft the pan. When the onions are caramelized to a dark golden color, remove from the heat and discard the leafless thyme sprigs (the leaves fall off while cooking).

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Evenly spread the caramelized onions on the cooked pastry shell and heat in the oven until warmed through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven, to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Arrange on a serving platter and garnish each wedge with a sprig of fresh thyme. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Creamed Onions with Bacon and Chives

Ingredients

• 100 or so pearl onions, unpeeled (from 3 10-ounce bags)
• 2 1/2 ounces bacon (applewood-smoked is suggested), cut into a small dice
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1/2 bunch chives, cut into 1/2-inch segments
• Kosher salt, to taste 
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Directions

Blanch the pearl onions for 3 minutes in a pot of boiling salted water. Drain, shock in a bath of ice water, and drain again. Peel the onions (making a slit with a paring knife down the side made this easiest for me), leaving a little of the root end intact.

In a medium saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp, then remove it with a slotted spoon and drain it on paper towels. Leave only two tablespoons of the cooking fat in the pan, and add the pearl onions, heavy cream and nutmeg. Add salt to taste.

Cover the pot with a lid, leaving it a little ajar. Cook onions until they are nearly cooked through, about 90 percent of the way then remove the lid and finish cooking the onions while reducing the cream by half. Stir in the sherry.

If your onions are done cooking before the cream has sufficiently reduced or if you’re unsure about the alcohol in the sherry, remove the onions with a slotted spoon and transfer them to your serving dish. Continue cooking the remaining sauce to the desired consistency and taste and pour it back over the onions.

Garnish with bacon and chives and don’t forget to share.

Jingle Bell Cookie Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup red and green candy-coated chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup hot fudge topping, heated, if desired

Directions

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-inch pizza pan with shortening, or spray with cooking spray. In pan, break up cookie dough into pieces and press out dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Sprinkle marshmallows and candies evenly over crust. Bake 2 to 3 minutes longer or until marshmallows are puffed. Drizzle hot fudge topping over top. Cool completely, about 1 hour. 

The Perfect Holiday Outfit

Merry Christmas Eve Eve lovebugs!

I hope you are all heading to family and friends homes today and tomorrow.  Spending time with loved ones and giving gifts from the heart.  I'm so happy to have been a part of you daily reading this holiday season and I cannot wait to continue in 2011.

Today's post is about the perfect semi-dressy outfit for __________. You know what I mean, church, Christmas dinner, holiday party, take your pick.  You want to look fabulous (obvi) but you don't want to look like a walking Christmas card either.  My advice is to stick with a few basics: cords, chunky sweaters, dresses and skirts with tights.  Use your accessories to show you Christmas spirit.

Wyatt, olive stretch jersey dress, $80

Love, love, love.  Wear with a long necklace or a skinny belt.

Ann Taylor, Flocked plaid mini, $47 with code SAVE40

I love this skirt, so much visual impact without making your hips look wide.

Halogen, Beaded sweater, $39

I love the embellishment right down to the top of the pockets. Pair this with black skinny cords.

Modcloth, Sheer with me dress, $52.99

Not too holiday, just perfect for dinner or a party with maybe a shoe like this.....

Modcloth, Deck the toes, $30

Be fabulous today.

Dos and Don'ts of the Holiday Party

Hey there!  As the best of holiday of the year approaches, I wanted to show you something that I think most certainly qualifies as the handbook of holiday parties.  This list has been circulating the web lately and I just had to share it with you!


1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls. 

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas! 

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. 

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? 

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog. 

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again. 

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day? 

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards. 

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.