a quick french meal...

...or so I thought. I came across this post when I was "researching" for my post on Paris and knew that it was the perfect time of year to make vin chaud. What better way to deal with below freezing temperatures (it got down to only 16 degrees this past weekend!!) than with some warm spiced wine? It also gave me a good reason to break out my new vintage glasses that I got at 1600 Below:



Aren't they so pretty? I think they're from the 40's. I'm just disappointed that there were only 4 of them. To complement the vin chaud, I wanted to make something French and something easy. And I thought I had it when I decided to make croque madames. I mean, how hard complicated can they be? Aren't they just grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with an egg on top? Of course it's not that simple - it's French! But it was worth the effort - very rich and very delicious:



I love French food. Yum.

This is the recipe I used for vin chaud:

Ingredients:

1 bottle of red wine (a fruity type, preferably)
1/3 cup of cognac1/3 cup of brown sugar (or more…experiment)
Zest of one entire orange
4 whole cloves
3 or 4 cinnamon sticks

Put the wine and cognac into a pan and heat. Once it is good and warm, and if you are feeling particularly brave, hold a match to it and let the cognac flame off. Or leave it be and enjoy the extra warmth. Lower the heat and add the sugar, orange zest, cloves, and cinnamon. Let it heat through for another ten minutes. Strain and taste. If it is a bit overpowering, water it down a bit. Serve it in glass mugs if you have them.

This is the recipe I used for the croque madames - which I found here:

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
6 ounces thinly sliced Gruyere
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
8 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts discarded
¼ pound thinly sliced ham

Directions:

Make the Sauce:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small heavy sauce pan over moderately low heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to make a roux. Whisk in milk and bringto a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop enough cheese to measure ½ cup. Whisk chopped cheese and mustard into sauce, then whisk until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover with wax paper placed directly on surface to keep warm.

Make The Sandwich:

Lay 4 slices bread on work surface. Divide ham and remaining cheese slices among them. Spread 1 tablespoon Mornay sauce evenly on each of remaining bread slices and invert over ham and cheese. Spread half of remaining butter evenly on top of sandwiches and transfer, buttered sides down, to an oven proof 12 inch skillet. Spread remaining butter on top of sandwiches. Cook over low heat, turning ounces, until both sides are golden, 6 to 8 minutes total.

Preheat broiler. Leaving sandwiches in skillet, spread tops of sandwiches evenly with remaining Mornay sauce. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat until sauce is bubbling and golden in patches, about 2 minutes. Transfer sandwiches to plates.

happy friendsgiving!

We had our annual Friendsgiving dinner this past Sunday and I had an amazing time. Everything just came together so well - Eric and I weren't as stressed as we typically have been, the table was set and the candles were lit by the time guests arrived (that has never happened before!), the turkey was delicious (some even said it was the best turkey they've ever had - kudos to Eric!) and all the side dishes that everyone brought were perfect. Maybe it was because it had been such a beautiful day and was a beautiful night, or that we were celebrating not one, but two pregnant couples, or maybe I was just happy to be able to wear my new dress - but I wasn't the only person in such a good mood - everyone seemed really excited to be celebrating and being together.

I had wanted to get disposable plates this year, but in an effort to save money, I decided not to. To dress up my plain white plates, I put the EAT. napkins that I made on top. What do you think? Since I already had the stamps, I stamped everyone's first and last initials onto cardstock and used that as placecards.

These branches were leftover from a wedding that I helped design. I was so excited when the bride decided to let me keep them (thanks Cristy!) because I knew I wanted to use them for Friendsgiving:) I got the paper flowers from West Elm. They had wire stems so I was able to easily wrap them around the branches.

I wanted to add a touch of color to the table, so I made little bouquets of orange tulips. The table probably could've used a few more tulips... OH - aren't the birds adorable?! They are paper mache and I got them at West Elm also. I couldn't resist. And I wanted all the whites and beiges to pop, so I made the tablecloth out of navy cotton, even though it looks black in the photos.

And I saved the best picture for last:

Now THAT is a good plate of food!! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back on Monday!

collectables...

I don't like clutter - a cluttered room, space, house makes me feel anxious. Which is one of the reasons I don't own a lot of knickknacks. However, there are a couple of things that I can't resist collecting - horse figurines and mini eiffel towers. Strange, huh? I mean, the eiffel towers make sense - I'm a total Francophile, but horses? I don't even particularly love real horses - but there's something about horse figurines that I'm drawn to. I'm not talking about the kind that look realistic - I like ones that look more abstracted...like this one:

Eric's mom gave me this horse - she got it when they were living in Japan years ago. I love the shape and the detailing of the reins - it's beautiful. It's my favorite in my collection...did I also mention that there are only three pieces in my collection? But three officially makes a collection, right?

I also find the Tema e Variazioni (Themes and Variations) plates by Italian artist, Piero Fornasetti, irresistable. They depict a woman's face that Fornasetti found in a 19th century French magazine and there are over 350 variations on this image.

image via

They are definitely a little strange and creepy, but in a good way. Her face is...spellbinding. At almost $200 a plate, I don't think I'll be starting this collection anytime soon. But there is a more affordable option:

Wallpaper! You can get it through Cole and Son and it comes in a few different background colors - I think a cream, a magenta and the grey-blue-green color pictured above. I found it for sale online for less than $100 - a bargain compared to the plates! Now I just need to find a place in my house to use it...

pretty plates please!

Our friendsgiving dinner party is coming up soon and I've been trying to think of ideas for how I want to set the table this year. One thing I know for sure is that I want to do something different with the plates - I use the same ones year after year and although I absolutely them, I think I need to switch it up a bit. I found some good options:

These mushroom plates from West Elm are adorable!




These plates are also from West Elm - I love the woodgrain pattern combined with the gold finish...very rustic glam:)



Black and white is probably my favorite color combination. So classic and graphic...and how cute are these Rosanna cameo plates?



But who am I kidding? I can't afford to buy fifiteen new plates! Plus I have nowhere to store them...have you seen my kitchen? I think my best bet are disposable plates. Fortunately, there are disposable, sustainable AND good looking options out there. These are my favorites:

My friend Michelle used bamboo plates for her wedding and they were really nice. They're rustic yet elegant...




I think these plates from Wasara are the front runner though. Aren't they gorgeous? I sort of wish they weren't disposable!