hurricane cocktail

or how to celebrate 14 years!

I love cocktails!

Of course I rarely drink them,

but I love the appeal,

the classic 50's charms

and of course some of the cheesiness associated with them!

So get your favorite Sinatra song

and have a drink with me

to celebrate my 14 years in the US.

Here is my favorite hurricane recipe:

and yes you need all of this,

well at least all of none shiny part!

1.5 oz of clear rum

1.5 oz of spiced rum

1 oz of fresh lime juice

2 oz of fresh orange juice

1 Tbsp of passion fruit syrup

1 tsp of baker sugar (fine, dissolves better)

and at the end 1 tsp of grenadine

and of course ice!

put it all together, stir well

and enjoy!

"Luck be a lady tonight"

It also works well without the alcohol,

I always make a virgin version for the kids,

so that we can fun all together!

Remember the giveaway,

enter here

Happy day!

Raclette for Mardi Gras

This year for Mardi Gras, we are eating some raclette!

It is a rich meal, fun to share with friends and family.

Since it generates a fair amount of heat at the table,

it is best served in winter!

We always use our raclette machine

 (purchased more than 20 years ago, very sturdy!)

but in a pinch, the cheese can be microwaved carefully,

it is not as good but if you just want to try it out...

Finding raclette cheese can be challenging,

not every grocery store will carry it ou even every season.

Usually Whole food or Wegsman have it,

or even a fancy Safeway (not my regular one :( !)

The cheese melt below the surface, the bread and charcuterie get heated up on the top.

It is traditionally served and eaten on top of boiled/steamed potatoes:

My kids are not huge fan of potatoes,

 so they cover their bread with the melted cheese instead.

Either way it is fun and tasty adventure!

I must warn you that it is a fairly smelly,

during and after....

Happy days!

Previously, we celebrated Mardi Gras with

Rum cake:

Hurricane cocktail:

Galettes:

Gratin Dauphinois:

and Far Breton:

of quilt and school

This week end, after recovering from the hurricane and the lack of power,

I started working on a little quilt for donation.

I had not made one in quite some time,

and it was fun!

I followed the direction from this tutorial from Swim, Bike, Quilt!
and make this top.
I had purchased the flower fat quarters probably 7 years ago,
and this was a great way to use it, may be not very modern
but definitively charming!

I made the top in one afternoon, so a fast and easy project,

now I need to find some fabric for the back...

Today was the first day of school,

it is hard to believe that it is Brick Master's last year of elementary school,

and that Miss C. is already in 2nd grade!

They just keep on growing!

(guess who needs a bigger jacket?!)

Happy sewing!



gratin dauphinois for Mardi Gras

For Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday (literal translation!)

it is customary to eat rich food,

and to me nothing days rich food like gratin dauphinois:

cheese, cream butter and potatoes....

what's not to like?

It is easy to make but takes a long time to bake,

it is perfect to keep the house and you warm,

especially with a new snow storm on our steps.

And while it is cooking, have a little hurricane cocktail,

and for dessert, a little rum cake to keep the theme.

But, first let's go back to our delicious potatoes:

thinly sliced potatoes

a little butter to grease the pan

shredded Swiss cheese

cream

salt,pepper, nutmeg

(garlic if you must)

alternate potatoes, cheese and seasoning,

cover in cream

sprinkle more cheese on the top

bake for 1h30 at 375, or until the potatoes are cooked.

enjoy in moderation or not!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Fall is here!

I finally decorated the house for Fall.

In a new place, it is always hard

to figure out where and how to decorate.

In this house there is no mantel above the fire place,

but there is a side board by the dining room table,

so I decided it would be the perfect place

for a Fall vignette.

I grabbed some large sticks/branches (thanks to the hurricane)

and added some older sunflowers for a touch of color.

The bird cage holds a pumpkin (made here last year)

The table runner is also from last year, it works perfectly here.

The terracotta pumpkin is made for candle, and glow beautifully,

my in-laws brought it back from over sea.

I printed this lovely fall picture from Today's Fabulous Finds,

just the right touch of words!

I also made this cute garland from felt leaves.

I followed a great tutorial but I cannot find from which blog....

I spend a fair amount of time looking for it,

so if anyone knows it, please let me know,

I would like to give credit to the right person!

(I am a RnD scientist, I like when my work is properly referenced!)

*here is the tutorial! from Maureen Cracknell Handmade*

Anyway I used my slice cutter for the leaves shapes (paper),

cut one leaf from felt, use a contrasting felt color (without cutting),

free motion stitched both layers together to make stems,

them cut the background felt a little larger.

It went fast and it was fun.

I used a band of drop cloth to make some binding

to attach all the leaves.

It looks much better in real life,

today is a very rainy day...

you can also notice that whoever (previous owner!) painted did a bad job,

which means I will have some more painting to do!!

Overall, I am happy with the result,

Fall is here!

See that cake on the table, just over the quilt?

I will talk about it next time!

Well I am going to have a slice with a nice cup of tea,

yes it is that rainy!

Happy sewing!