How did I get here?, originally uploaded by sewtrashy.

Do you ever look at your life and wonder, “How did I get here?” The road through life is an exciting and unexpected journey. A journey for which I am truly grateful.

sleep well, originally uploaded by sewtrashy.

Have a restful and relaxing Sunday. After a Saturday full of rearranging my loft… I know that’s all I want today. Oh, and some kettle corn.

Generally, empty toilet paper rolls end up strewn in pieces all over our living room rug after Bonsai (our dog) gets ahold of them. I managed to salvage one for my first challenge for Project Restyle. I decided to make something I could hang by the window. After few snips and hole punches finished off with a simple string it was ready to hang! I love how it turned out. Now, I’m tempted to make lots of them to hang in a cluster. Could be really lovely and fun. We’ll see if I can snatch them up before the dog gets them!

More information on Project Restyle.

How did I get here?, originally uploaded by sewtrashy.

For the past 28 days I have been a busy bee. Crafting, making, flying, seeing, picture taking, entertaining, cooking, eating and lots and lots of organizing! I will be back soon with lots of fun things to share with you.

In the meantime, Bonsai decided to help me organize yesterday. What goes in doesn’t always know how to get out. Little guy was stuck in the box.

Enjoy your weekend!

Three days before Christmas, our fridge decided it didn’t want to stay cold. I opened the door to find the temperature was at 50 degrees. That is, in fact, the Danger Zone. Quickly, I salvaged all the dairy and condiments I could, and used our vintage Coke Machine as a fridge. So very thankful to have that as a back-up!

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas Eve! I’ll be making cookies and relaxing with my husband. Can’t really ask for anything more…

I made my first pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, and I decided to go all out by making it completely from scratch, including the pie crust. I turned to Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, of course! I cannot endorse that book enough. It’s full of wonderful recipes, tips and techniques. It hasn’t let me down yet.

The pies turned out perfect… exactly what pumpkin pie should be. However, I thought it could use an unexpected kick. Maybe a little spiked whipped cream… or a lot if you like that sort of thing. Which, of course, I do! It was the perfect addition to the not too sweet pumpkin pie.

Homemade Spiked Whipped Cream

This is not an exact recipe. Just a guide. You will have to taste and determine how sweet and how spiked you like it.

You will need:

Heavy whipping cream
Liquor (I used orange Triple-Sec, but also love Coconut Rum or Amaretto in this.)
Sugar

Pour some heavy whipping cream into the bowl of your trusty KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the wire whisk attached. Start whisking on medium-high until soft peaks form. Turn the speed down. Now begin to add some sugar and your liquor a little at a time. You can turn the speed back up for a few seconds after each addition until you find that perfect flavor.

I tend to let mine get thicker than most because I like it like that, and it softens a bit as it sits. However, I doubt it will “sit” for very long! Use it to top your pies, ice creams and coffee. Or, just eat it by the spoonful. It’s that good!

We’ve also used it in Frozen Chocolate Chip Amaretto Whipped Cream Sandwiches in place of ice cream. Simply put some whipped cream between baked and cooled chocolate chip cookies and freeze on a baking sheet. Wrap each individually once frozen. So delicious!

How would you use spiked whipped cream?

More information on making homemade whipped cream can be found here.

Growing up in the South, we always made turkey, mashed potato, gravy sandwiches with our leftovers. Thanks to my husband and his Mexican roots, I have now been awakened to the gloriousness of that which is The Thanksgiving Leftovers Burrito. It’s pretty amazing. You must try it.

Friday afternoon, we made a small post-Thanksgiving meal for just the two of us. We brined and cooked a turkey breast, made mashed potatoes, gravy and had some yummy rolls we snagged from our friend’s Thanksgiving leftovers. The meal was wonderful, but it’s really all about the leftover burritos.

The burritos I made for my husband consist of shredded turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and I threw in a little Jalapeno Asadero cheese we picked up recently in El Paso at Licon Dairy. With every bite, he was in heaven. “I love this cheese,” he exclaimed. These are also extremely tasty with a little dressing and even cranberry sauce if that’s your thing.

The key to a perfect burrito is to NOT OVER STUFF THE THING. A little goes a long way.

Try these. Today. No, really. Try them.

Hope your Thanksgiving was full of friends, family, love, fun and good eats! Living miles and miles from our families is always sad around the holidays, but we were blessed this year to spend our Thanksgiving with many new friends and a sweet old dog named Ruby. It was a perfect day, with a perfect meal and way too many (fabulous) desserts.

Here’s to the start of the holiday season. My wish to you? May you remain in a state of peace and serenity in the midst of insanity.

XO ~ Whitney

Pictured: Homemade Pumpkin Pie with Orange Liquor Spiked Whipped Cream

Today’s recipe from Around My French Table is Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake. While this was quite the simple recipe to make, I wasn’t 100% pleased with the outcome. I did everything exactly as the recipe instructed, but this turned out more like a bread pudding than any sort of “cake”.

Don’t get me wrong, the flavor was nice as it used rum and vanilla with the apples, and it smelled so good as it baked. I was really excited to try it, but it just didn’t do it for me. I’m not a fan of bread puddings so I wouldn’t jump to make this again for myself. It would probably been nice with a little rum spiked whipped cream!

I felt like it was so wet that it just would not cook completely, especially the bottom. It was soggy. I’m thinking of cutting it into pieces to cook in a hot skillet for breakfast tomorrow. Making a sort of apple pancake thing. My husband would be happy with that!

Either way, I’m glad I tried this. Maybe I’ll attempt again sometime, but with fewer apples. The batter didn’t cover my apples at all like they were supposed to. Although, I still think this is a lovely looking cake, don’t you?

Starting today, Foodie Fridays will be replaced by French Fridays with Dorie. I’ll be cooking through Around My French Table along with many others. Hope you enjoy this detour as I learn more about french cooking.

Today’s recipe was Gougères. This was such a simple, satisfying thing to make. My batch yielded 44 servings, not the 36 mentioned in the book. I baked a dozen, froze the rest. Did I mention I ate three before I even started writing this post? This will become a staple entertaining food for me since you can bake them from frozen. What a nice little treat for guests to have a warm, golden cheesy nugget like this!

This time I used gruyere, but I will try cheddar next. I’d also love to add a little spice to them and play with different flavors. Great recipe. Turned out perfectly. Can’t wait for next week’s recipe!

Enjoy your weekend! Eat something yummy.