~~~Madeira and Peppercorn Sauces~~~

 Hi Everyone! On Sat. night Joe and I treated ourselves to a delicious dinner of filets, asparagus and baked sweet potatoes. We love to add a sauce to our filets ever since having them in restaurants. Joe LOVES the peppercorn sauce. Since it is COLD out and our grill is not outside yet, we did them in the cast iron skillet. Get it SMOKIN HOT before you begin:)

 pictured here,

 and I love the madeira sauce. Oh honey, it makes the filet SOOOOO good!!!!

 Of course you have to have a nice glass of wine to go with this dinner:)

 Here is my plate,

 ready to EAT!!!!!

It was delicious!!!! here are the recipes for the sauces:
Madeira Sauce
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup each of finely diced carrots, onions and celery
1/4 cup finely diced boiled ham
3 cups brown beef stock, or cans We use Campbells beef broth, it has a nice rich flavor.
1 TBSP. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
2 TBSP. powered arrow root
1/4 cup dry Sercial Madeira or dry sherry
S and P to taste
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the diced vegetables and ham and cover the pan. Cook slowly for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and slightly browned. Add the stock, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf;simmer for 30 mins. then remove from the heat.Stir the arrowroot in a small bowl adding enough of the wine to to make a smooth paste. Stir in the rest of the wine, then stir the mixture into the hot liquid. Bring to the simmer for about 2 minutes, until sauce has thickened and cleared.


Joe's Sauce au Poivre
2 TBSP.olive oil
1/3 cup onions
1/4 cup shallots
2 pinches cracked peppercorns
2 tsp. green peppercorns (soaked in cognac)
103/4 ou. beef stock
2 Tbsp. cognac
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. When the oil begins to smoke, add the onions. Saute the onions til they are tender, then add the shallots. Add the cracked peppercorns and continue to saute til the onions and shallots are caramelized.Deglaze the pan with the cognac and then add the cream to thicken. Finally, add the butter to enrich and thicken. If necessary add Kitchen Bouquet to corrct the color and thincken with cornstarch and cignac mixture.


Either of these recipes can be doubled or tripled for company.
I hope you try one or both of these. They really enhance a filet!!!.
I will be linking to these parties:

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for WOW Wednesday

Ivy @ Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Kristen @ We Are That Family for Works For Me Wednesday
Lindsay @ Southern Lovely for Show and Share
Roeschel @ DIY Showoff for DIY Fall Festival

Judy @ DIY by Design for Fall Into Fall
Yvonne @ Stonegable for Tutorials - Tips and Tidbits Thursday

Gina @ The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursday
Lindsay @ Southern Lovely for Show and Share Thursday

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here for Open House Party on Thursdays

Katherine @ Katherines Corner for Favorite Things Thursday Hop

Niki @ The Vintage Farmhouse for Creative Things Thursday
Kathy @ A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday
Richella @ Imparting Grace for Grace at Home
Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday
Pamela @ From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Let's Dish

 

Feathered Nest Friday

Cedar Hill Ranch for Cowgirl Up~

StoneGable for On the Menu Monday~

Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday~

2805 for Potpourri Friday~

 

XO, Pinky

~~~Thanksgiving/ Birthday Table~~~

First of all and MOST importantly, I want to wish EACH and EVERYONE of you a Happy, blessed and grateful Thanksgiving. I hope you will be surrounded by family and friends and truly BE thankful for life's blessings. This is a true American holiday and one that brings us together to be grateful for all we have. On Sat. we hosted our son-in-laws 40th birthday dinner and the table for Thanksgiving will be VERY similiar. So this is one post to cover 2 dinners!!!! I used my BOUNTIFUL tablecloth that is covered with pumpkins, leaves, gourds etc. Then I placed a brown woven placemat, a rust colored charger, green dinner plate, punpkin dessert plate and a decorative pumpkin to top it all off!!!! I also placed a faux leaf in between the plates for even more interest.

 A shot of the placesettng.

 I have plenty of these pretty brown napkins that have a leaf embroidered onto them. I crossed the  dinner fork and dessert fork to see the leaf! And, again, I used my brown bamboo flatware.

 I started out with my leaf wine glasses.... and a pumpkin placecard holder and pumpkin tealite holder.

 they have 3 different leaves on them

 At first I had these candle holders but later swithced them out. I felt they were too tall for comfortable conversation.

 I made my centerpiece several years ago. It is a wicker cornucopia, filled with beautiful leaves, pumpkins, gourds, flowers etc.

 Our menu consisted of filets, crabcakes, potato casserole, mac and cheese and confetti corn. We made 2 sauces for the filets: a madiera sauce and a peppercorn sauce.

 So, I needed my 2 gravy boats.

 This is the candle holder I used and with the rust colored candles. I liked the cream color of the holders with the cream of the tablecloth.

 I LOVE these fun, pumpkin candle rings!

 I also added my brown bubble water goblets.

 Time to get those candles LIT!!!! Can you see the pumpkin placecard holders and the pumpkin tealite holder!

 We are ready for some FOOD!!! I had to remove the centerpiece, but we want to have room for the food, now don't we!

 This was Dave's birthday cake: chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling and fudge frosting!!!!!!!!!!

 And we were surprised with an anniversary cake: yellow cake with raspberry filling and fudge frosting!!!!!

It was a wonderful, fun evening with family and they will all be back on Thursday!!!! Blessings and love to all of you. Next time I will be sharing CHRISTMAS decorations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to go do a clients house tomorrow, but I did start on my house yesterday. Just downstairs....nobody will know:):) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XO, Pinky

~~~Happy First Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~

HI Everyone. 9/11 will always be a different kind of day for us because last year on this date my daughter was married. It was a beautiful, perfect day! But we will ALWAYS REMEMBER the awful day that was 9/11/01. Last night we had a little dinner party for our daughter and son-in-law for their first anniversary! We had the same menu that we had at the reception: crab cakes and filets. We served the filets with a Madeira sause and a peppercorn sauce. We also had holiday potatoes, and confetti corn, rolls, and some good wine! My daughter loved the table!!!!! I was so happy! She said she loved the green and black. The centerpiece is a combination of real and faux hydrangeas!!!!! Can you tell???? My hydrangeas are all green now so I added some faux white ones! They are in a footed,glass trifle bowl.

 I used black wine glasses and green water goblets.

 I used a green tablecloth, a black placemat, the white charger, green dinner plate, black and white salad/dessert plate and a faux artichoke votive holder to top off the stack!

 A beautifully printed black and white napkin is folded very simply. I also used my Napolean Bee flatware that I adore!!!!

 I found these pillar candles at Pier One a couple of months ago and got them with this table in mind. The candle sticks are new recently. I got them for fall as I love the leaf design carved into them!

 Here is the dessert plate. I found these at Home Goods several months ago.

 2 black gravy boats were used for the sauces. I will share the recipes in a later post if you would like them.

 I sure will miss my hydrangeas when the frost comes:(

 I used 2 different sets of S and P. These are shaped like a pagoda, you know my love for anything oriental!!!!

 These are cabbage S and P.

 I thought I would take a few shots of the room, since I will be changing out the summer decor starting TOMORROW:):)

 Now it is time to light the candles!!!

 I am sorry I didn't get pictures of our meal. It is always a rush to get everything timed to come out HOT together and everyone to the table!

 Here are the happy couple!!!!! They are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 We do have their top layer of their wedding cake in the freezer but the bakery gave them this anniversary cake for free!!!! It was part of the package, they said! It is just like the wedding cake was: chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse filling and fudge frosting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH HONEY, it was so dang good!!!!! Everyone at the wedding said it was the best wedding cake they had ever tasted!!!!

 How did the baker know that I was planning a green and white table!!!! I was so thrilled when I saw how they had decorated it!

 This was my piece and I ate every crumb!!!!!:):)

 Happy Anniversary Tracy and Dave. We wish you all the happiness in the world forever!!!!  I love you both!!!!! XO, Pinky

I will be joining some of these parties this week:

Table Top Tuesday at :  http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
White Wednesday at:  http://fadedcharm.blogspot.com/
Wow Us Wednesday at:  http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/
Tablescape Thursday at:  http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
Vintage Thingie Thursday at:  http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/
Feathered Nest Friday at:  http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Foodie Friday at:  http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/
Show and Tell Friday at:  http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/
Inspiration Friday at:  http://thepicketfence.blogspot.com/
Open House Friday at:  http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/
Sunday Favorites at:  http://happytodesign.blogspot.com/
Seasonal Sundays at:  http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/