elizabethramos.com

“Only when we know good can we begin to inch up from good to excellent.”

— Michael Ruhlman, Ratio

food and friends.

Last night we began our cooking/dinner party get-togethers again. Last year, four of us girls would get together once a month, cook something new and share the ingredient costs. When all the work is done, the husbands join us and we eat everything up.

Almost 10 months had passed since our last dinner, so we’re all really excited to start this up again! Last night was fondue! It was our turn to host and for the first time ever, we held a party in our backyard. It was done purely out of necessity as our kitchen doesn’t comfortably seat eight. But it was lovely! Definitely something we’ll repeat!

bacon tortellini.

One of the best things about life right now is that I often get to cook for my family. This was one of the best new recipes I’ve tried in a while. Baked Tortellini with Bacon from the December issue of Everyday Food.

It looked so good in this dish I had to take a picture. This is a piece from local potter Christine McMakin. You can buy her beautiful pieces at art & light.

decorations from the kitchen.

With the addition of a dog (+ crate) to our house this year, we no longer have room for a full-size Christmas tree. [So we can postpone the real vs. fake tree dilemma for another year.] In lieu of a full-size Christmas tree, I purchased a small rosemary tree, which I thought was brilliant (in spite of the fact that the only surviving herb in our garden is rosemary). But I do love that we can plant it when we’re done using it indoors. I used a pretty screenprinted tea towel as a tree skirt.

The bay leaf wreath lives in the kitchen, instead of on the front door

After a few weeks of having it in the house, I have to say it’s not quite as brilliant as it initially sounded. I was excited to avoid the wastefulness and expense of either kind of tree, and especially the mess of a real tree, but this rosemary plant has actually been more messy than the real tree we had last year! Granted, it could be my knack for killing plants, but it also doesn’t look nearly as good now as it did when this photo was taken a week ago. The upside is, with rosemary leaves falling everywhere, all the presents smell lovely!

Regular ornaments were too heavy and clunky to hang on our tiny tree, but a wooden star we bought in Germany this past summer makes a really great tree topper.

A few other decorations live here and there in our house, but overall, it’s pretty simple this year. At first, we weren’t going to have a tree at all, but I’m glad I went with this stand-in rosemary tree. Whether our house smells like pine or not, it wouldn’t feel like Christmas without a tree.

holiday kickoff.

Thanksgiving is quickly becoming my favorite holiday. Heading to the mountains the last few years with (the local part of) my family instead of staying in Greenville has given the entire holiday new life.

This years Thanksgiving was:
pie made from pumpkins
a heritage turkey (brined!)
games on the iPad
an amazing view
never needing to know the time
a steady supply of food
magazines and books
Rook
Dutch Blitz
a giant puzzle
hiking to see a waterfall
naps and general laziness
taking photos
quality conversation

It was not:
football
a fireplace
Black Friday shopping
cell phone service
internet
emails
Riley

I’m so grateful for a relaxing start to the holidays this year. The next few weeks will fly by I’m sure, but it was wonderful to have a couple days to relax and take a deep breath.

sugar cookies

If you’re on a quest to find the best sugar cookie recipe ever, look no further. These cookies literally melt in your mouth! I think it’s the combination of powdered sugar and regular sugar, but they are like no other sugar cookie I’ve ever tasted!

Also, just a note: they are pretty crumbly, so they’re probably not the kind to decorate.

The perfect recipe box.

I wanted to suggest a box or two that would complement our Two Over Zero recipe cards, so I headed to Etsy’s vintage section. So many amazing options available, there was no way I could just pick one! And most are $10 or less!