Procrastination

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With the opening ceremonies for the Martín Rico exhibition over and the Museum Flowers show about to start in 5 days...I am feeling a little ADD. 

My thoughts keep wandering over to this website Adventures in Cooking.  Good luck trying to stay focused after seeing this masterpiece!

​Spiced Apple Cake

3 Eggs

2 and 1/4 Cups Flour

1 and 1/2 Cups Unsweetened Applesauce

1 and 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Vegetable Oil

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 and 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 and 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon Cloves

1/2 Cup Golden Raisins

1/4 Cup Pecans

Salted Caramel Frosting

1 and 1/4 Cups Plus 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Whole Milk

1 Cup Plus 1/4 Cup Butter (unsalted), softened

1/4 Cup Plus 1 Tablespoon Flour

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream, at room temperature

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

2 Tablespoons Water

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

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Cava Club!

Scott Winterrowd, Curator of Education, will lead a discussion about Pablo Picasso’s Still Life in a Landscape (1915). Discover art, enjoy wine and meet people! Join us for a quarterly wine, cava and food tasting event for Museum members only in a relaxed social setting. Each session is inspired by a particular painting or artist and includes an insider¹s talk with a staff member or docent. 

Wine provided by Freixenet USA.

$35 per person. Space is limited to 30, advance registration is required. For more information and to register, call the Membership Office at 214.768.2765 or e-mail museummembership@smu.edu.

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Pablo Picasso’s Still Life in a Landscape (1915)

Pablo Picasso’s Still Life in a Landscape (1915)

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the day of flowers

Best part of Valentines day is the flowers.  My favorite flower is the lowly old Zinnia.  Here is an homage to Dallas floral designers.  God speed friends!  Have a great day!

Meadows Museum Open House = Success

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Fabulous Evening featuring The Art and Soul of Spain

I am so lucky to have such AMAZING friends who make the Meadows Museum such a beautiful space.  Photography: Tamytha Cameron Photography, Tablescapes: Posh Couture Rentals, Florals: The Garden Gate, Catering: SMU Catering with Denise Acuff Lentz and Scott Rubin. Music: Gyros string quartet, Gold Crown Valet, AFR event furniture, Event Planner: Marin Elizabeth Fiske-Rankin

Part two of Corinthia Christmas

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ENTERTAIN: CHRISTMAS IN CORINTHIA

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012

Yesterday we introduced you to our friend Marin Fiske-Rankin. (If you missed her incredible Christmas memories growing up on Corinthia, her family's horse-racing farm in Kentucky, you can check it out here. Trust us; her pictures will make you want to immediately move to the countryside and ride horses.) Hailing from Lexington means she is not only from the "Horse Capitol of the World" but also the "Bourbon Capitol of the World". Of course, we had to ask her how to make the perfect libation for cold, winter nights. With an English father who makes a mean mincemeat pie, she also shared her family recipe for Yorkshire Puddings. In return, we created the perfect tabletop for a Corinthia Christmas.

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Top image: Marin Fiske-Rankin | Middle Image (from left): Mint Julep cup, Elise cut crystal wine goblet, Silver goblet / Elise double old-fashion glass / Christofle flatware: P.O.S.H. Couture Rentals. Floral arrangement by DEBBY JEWESSON AT BRANCHING OUT EVENTS & FLORAL DESIGN

P.O.S.H. PLACE SETTING: Jan Barboglio hammered charger / Mottahedeh Lace charger / Exotic Bird dinner + salad plate / Christofle flatware / Inset: Ivory Chiavari chair / White hemstitch napkin and berry red tablecloth

POSH COUTURE RENTALS Hearts ME!

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NOSTALGIA: A KENTUCKY CHRISTMAS WITH MARIN

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012
If anything, the holidays should be a time to reflect on our family and blessings. With everything going on in the world around us, that sentiment is only too apropos this December. With that in mind, we asked a couple of our dear friends to share the very things that make Christmastime so special for their families.We know Marin Fiske-Rankin as a friend and creative Events and Food Service Manager at SMU'sMeadows Museum. (You may remember her handiwork from this post on the Velazquez Black Tie Dinner in honor of the collaboration with the famed Prado Museum.) Her sense of humor and sweet disposition immediately brought her to mind for this post, but once we found out she grew up on a horse-racing farm in Kentucky, we knew she would have great memories to share with us. See what makes a Kentucky Christmas so special below and check back tomorrow for a tabletop inspired by Marin and her scrumptious English and Kentucky recipes.

Top Image: MARIN AS A CHILD ON HER HORSE, SALLY / MARIN AS WE KNOW HER TODAY | Middle Image: THE GATES AND CORINTHIA GATE ARE ACTUALLY PICTURES FROM MARIN'S FAMILY HORSE-RACING FARM | Bottom Image: NOTHING BEATS SHARING CHRISTMAS IN YOUR PJ'S WITH FAMILY IN KENTUCKY

Thank you for sharing with us, Marin. POSH friends, we'd love to hear what memories make you nostalgic for the holidays.

Wood Butter

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One of my favorite gifts from my mom are wooden spoons.  Oh the joys of a new spoon!  Little ones, big ones, ones with holes for olives, and tiny ones for salt... Now, not everyone will shriek with happiness when present a tiny hand carved spoon.  But i do!  So I was thrilled to see this post from Creative Culinary (originally Bon Appetite Hon) Now I know what I will be making all my family and co-workers for Christmas.

Several months ago Wendi withBon Appetit Hon, did a post on Wood Butter; like you I had a moment of Huh? What? Well, typically called Spoon Oil, Wendi had decided that Wood Butter fit better and I agree; leave it to another food person to put the perfect name on this elixir that is so simple but so perfect for the care of the wood items we use in the kitchen. A necessity but also a bit indulgent…yes, butter is perfect! We need to take special care of our wood kitchen items in Denver due to the low humidity in our environment and I can be as lax as the next person. Making your own ‘wood butter’ makes it simple and inexpensive too. I was reminded by my friend Jennifer at Bread and Putter that it’s also magical hand lotion…and that it is!Though Wendi had to find an online resource for the beeswax part of the magic, I was lucky to find a local resource. Peak Candle Supplies provides beeswax in small pellets for easier melting; I bought two pounds which is enough for (48) 4 oz containers…um, that should be enough for awhile don’t you think? Finding the food grade mineral oil was easy once I finally remembered to put it on my grocery list; it’s typically available in the pharmacy. I now know why that poor guy gave me such a funny look when I lamented that I wish they had more than four bottles. I’ve always used it for wood conditioning; I’m thinking he was wondering why I needed more than four bottles of a laxative. Who knew?

The process is easy but can be messy. Most ‘recipes’ include heating the wax in a mid size Ball jar in hot water and adding warmed mineral oil to the wax once it is melted. I preferred using a large glass measuring cup with a pour spout as I was going to be pouring the combined liquid into a whole bunch of small jars. I also used a funnel just for canning and it worked perfectly. The only negative to this method is the removal of the wax from the measuring cup and funnel. I decided since I’ll be doing this again, I’ll just save those two utensils just for this process and candle making and not worry about the residue layer that remained inside each.

What better way to show you the magic of Wood Butter than a Before and After photo. Totally untouched, promise. Everything in this photo has been treated with an application of wood butter including the bottom board. Simply apply a bit to a paper towel or a piece of cheesecloth and rub a dollop onto the surface until it’s rubbed in. The bowl in front was an inexpensive one I purchased from World Market and it was apparently never supposed to touch water. It did, I thought it ruined but ‘the butter’ did the trick. I found the wooden rolling pin at a yard sale and can’t believe the difference myself. All of my cutting boards have a renewed luster; in fact they seem new again. It is not a sage compound butter but it is a miracle butter!

Wood Butter – A Recipe for Your Utensils!Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

A terrific homemade product to use for all of your wood kitchen products from wooden spoons to cutting boards.

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 ounces pure beeswax - measured dry. One package of the pellets that I purchased weighed 16 ounces and I used half a package at a time.
  • 32 ounces of mineral oil - typically packaged with 16 liquid ounces per container so I used 2 containers.

PREPARATION

  1. Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a gentle boil.
  2. Place your beeswax inside a 2 quart glass measuring cup or a 1 quart glass jar; set the glass into the gently boiling water.
  3. Place the container(s) of mineral oil inside another medium saucepan filled with water and heat to low.The mineral oil just needs to be warmed to mix with the beeswax; no need for a rolling boil.
  4. Once all the wax has melted, turn off the stove and carefully add the warmed mineral oil to the beeswax;stirring with a spoon to combine.
  5. Using a towel around the handle of the measuring cup, carefully pour the liquid into each jar fit with the canning funnel;filling them almost to the top.
  6. Finish filling all jars and wait for to cool and firm up before using.

Re-blogged from  Creative Culinary

I like fancy things

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Opening weekends are a marathon of  problem solving, decision-making, and actual running.   Oh! Don't forget the smiling!!  Here are some snaps from the best photographer in Dallas Tamytha Cameron Photography

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Texas Braised Short Ribs with a sherry porcinni sauce

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Seafood Paella

*presented in a seashell

served with herb roasted baby vegetables

Vacation time!

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Don’t leave the chickens to the last minute!  Your chickens deserve the best concierge.  Please email me for prices.  Prices depend on where you are located.  I will happily provide the following.

  • AM visit: Let the birds out of the coop, feed, and water, collect eggs.
  • PM visit: Close the birds up in the coop, feed, and water, collect eggs.
  • Extended Service: Watch the birds for an hour while they free range in the yard.
  • Coop maintenance: bedding change, mulch flip, straw fluffing.
  • Emergency vet visit: Take any birds that appear sick to the vet.

PS. Have a kitty or a dog?  Not a problem!  For an additional fee per pet, I will make sure your furry family is in as excellence shape as your feathered one.

Sad times around the yard.

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Sorry for the lack of posts, but Lola died the other day and I just have not felt up to it.  I am pretty sure she had a heart attack or stroke.    She just dropped dead.  I have been keeping an eye on the other ladies, but they are all fine.  Lola was always the runt of the flock and would have been culled on another "farm" ages ago.  She was a great little chicken though and will be missed.